It's Been a While!! (and Halloween!)

Dear Stitching Friends,

I have been a bad girl, and not doing much blogging for a while!  I really enjoyed my break...Summer was busy and HOT!  But our weather has broken now, and we are enjoying cooler weather for a change!

I have missed out on some wonderful stitching by all of you!  I'm going through blogs now and seeing what's been going on!  I did participate in an exchange, and I really enjoyed that.  I'm catching up on all of your news and I'll be trying to comment and respond! I had to re-sod a part of my yard--my only two year old sod!  Believe it or not, it got chinch bugs and they ate and destroyed a big path through my formerly beautiful grass!  It was dreadful, but I just bit the bullet and called the sod man and now it's looking great again!  I hope this is finished.  I will not be doing this every other year!!!

It's almost Halloween, so I have done some Halloween decorating!  I love my beautiful concrete lion that sits at my front door.  It was my mother's and I brought it to my house so I could enjoy it after she died.  She had the little mask for him, and I put a fluffy bow on him, so he could participate in the Holiday Festivities!  ha!

 

I also put up my Halloween tree, which I adore!  I think the bright orange and black is so much fun, and it makes me smile!  In addition to the little clear lights that came on the tree, I add little "candy corn" lights that make it even more festive!  They don't really show up too well here, but they are cute in reality!

 

I've actually done a little stitching and that's been fun.  You don't realize how much you miss it until you pick it up again!  I hope to have some finishes to show soon!

I can't do a post without including my two favorites.....Precious Omar is always ready to pose!  He approves of my new chair and is always happy to strike a very becoming pose!

Darling Zoe is just growing too fast!  My son wanted to go to Buffalo Wild Wings, (I didn't particularly!) but we went and she loved her little buffalo hat! ha  Apparently those fries are pretty good, too! ha

Thank you for visiting!  If you are reading this, then you are one of my very few readers that I still have!  oops!  I will try to work on that!

I hope things are going well for everyone, and that you are anxiously awaiting the Holiday Seasons that are upon us!  I will do my best to make another post in a reasonable amount of time! ha

Frances

This Year Has Flown By!

Dear Blogging Friends:

I really cannot believe this year is almost over!!!  It seems like just yesterday when I put up Christmas trees, but it was a year ago!!!  I have almost completed the decorations on the largest tree, and I will show my Christmas trees on my next post!

Since I seem to be a step behind, I will show my Thanksgiving tree, now that the holiday is over!  ha  I love the Thanksgiving decorations.  There's something about those warm colors that just seem like home and family!  I enjoyed this tree. 

I had my family for Thanksgiving.  It's a small group now.  We had 8 adults and our precious Zoe!  I got a high chair for her, so she could sit with us.  She put on quite a show.  I thought she was tired, and we tried to put her down in her baby bed, but she would have not part of it!!  Also, as they were coming in, she spotted Omar and shrieked and laughed, so he went and got on my bed for a while.  While we were eating, he came out and sat in the middle of the blanket I had put on the floor for her, and looked around like he owned the place!!  ha  After the meal, some played with him and some with her, so it worked out fine!  This is my son and his little family!

I've been bird feeding and watching-a new, fun hobby!  I took this photo of what I think are red-winged blackbirds, even though I don't see the red spot on their wing area.  There were 9 or 10 of them on the patio this morning.  So pretty and very shiny black feathers!  I will let Beth look at this and give her opinion--she is our resident bird expert and I have emailed her and gotten much info!  You all know Beth from Garden Grumbles and Cross Stitch Fumbles.  In addition to her beautiful and fun stitching, she is an expert on birds and wildlife!!  And her blog is filled with her beautiful photography!

I received a WONDERFUL surprise from our friend Catherine at  I Love to Stitch.  She is so very sweet and kind.  I will show beautiful photos on my next post!

Thank you for visiting and please come back soon!  I will post very shortly!  I have my house almost finished for the Holidays!  I've even started stitching a small Prairie Schooler cardinal ornament, which I will show.

Have a great day!
Frances

Autumn is here and I'm a winner!

Hello Blogging Friends!  I'm excited that it finally feels a little bit like Autumn here!  And of course, it's time to show my Thanksgiving tree!  I have a few new little wooden pumpkins with words on them.  You can see the black one with "fall" on it at the top of the tree. There's a white one in the center of the tree with "harvest" on it.  Too, too cute!

This tree is always one of my favorites!  I love the fall colors and the leaves and turkeys! Such fun!  And then it's nonstop busy until after the first of the year!!!!  I will be hosting my family for Thanksgiving.  I've done it for a decade or so.  I always enjoy it.  We put up the Christmas trees right after Thanksgiving!  Things will be chaotic for a few days, and then it's time to sit back and enjoy!  I love this time of year!  I know you all are in the same boat, and I hope you will be enjoying these next few days!

Look at this cute car that was parked next to mine the other day!  I've never seen car eyelashes before, but it's clever, isn't it!!

We enjoyed a wonderful concert on Sunday afternoon!  Mannheim Steamroller is in the middle of their Christmas Tour and we were so lucky that they came to Jackson, MS!  I saw them once before and they are just fabulous.  I have all their Christmas CDs and am ready to get them out and listen!

My cat Omar has been so great and is so loving, sweet and devoted.  One of his favorite things to do is to jump on my clothes when I change.  He is particularly fond of my bra.....I guess it might be strange to post this--oh well, it's so funny!

You may remember that I am having some work done at our house.  I've had upholstery and they are painting now.  All is turning out well.  I ran in the paint store the other day, and I had forgotten that they put discontinued samples out on their porch for people to take if they want them.  They had several wallpaper books and some wood floor samples, which I passed by.  However, I was very weak and picked up 3 Kravet fabric books.  They are just gorgeous.  Some are embroidered taffetas and there are a number of polished cottons, too.  They are PERFECT for ornaments!  Just enough fabric and tons of choices! And yes, there were only 3 fabric books and I took all of them!!    oink, oink

And finally, I am a winner!!!!!  Nancy of Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe had a giveaway and I won three gorgeous hand-dyed pieces of Aida.  Aren't these colors lovely?  I am so thrilled.  These just scream Autumn!!!  The photo doesn't do them justice.

I have been stitching and I finished the little Prairie Schooler Halloween ornament I was stitching.  I started another little Christmas mini card, and I intend to actually start a Prairie Schooler Santa!  I also need to use some of this gorgeous new fabric!

Thank you for visiting and come back again soon!

Frances

Oh yes--I forgot to say that I had yet another kidney stone lithotripsy!  It's become so common that I don't even think about it--sorta like rotating tires!!!!  But, we're getting them all cleaned out!  Oh my

It finally feels like FALL! *Edited*

Hello Blogging Friends!
I'm making a big effort to try and post more often!

Since my last post, I went with my husband to one of his annual engineering meetings.  It was at the Beau Rivage, on the Mississippi Gulf Coast--a beautiful hotel/casino.  We've stayed there several times, just for something to do and a place to get away for a night. Anyway, one of the spouse activities is always BINGO.  They budget money for lovely gifts, and a door prize or two.  Various committee members go and select the gifts.  There are usually really fun prizes and it all works out great.  Except, sometimes I haven't won a prize......and that's not so much fun!  Hahaha!  This year was different, however!  The stars were aligned, or something, and I did manage to make a BINGO!  You go to several gift tables and select what you want!  In reading all of your blogs, I see that many of you have Vera Bradley bags of various sizes and styles.  I didn't have one, so I was lucky enough to capture this one:

It's a wonderful tote bag and the color is perfect for Fall!  I'm so pleased to be a winner!!! YAY!  Then, at the end of BINGO, they draw for door prizes, which can be anything.  This year there were three and the big one was a spa session at the hotel.  There were also two $100 bills.....and I won one of those, also!!!  I have never won the door prize there! So I can keep my $$ in my Vera Bradley bag!  This made it a fun little get away!!!

Below is another photo of my new kitty, Omar....he loves to sit on this rug!  Isn't he a pretty boy?

I think I have told you that I have a designer coming to help me get my house in order.  I have been frantically cleaning out and purging.  It is hard to do, but is really getting easier!  I am so glad to see things shaping up!  I didn't think I was going to do any re-upholstery, but I guess I am!  haha  These are my fabrics, all of which I love!  I can't wait to get it done and finished!  It has been a lot of fun.

I finally got my Halloween tree put up, and I love it!  Halloween ornaments are fun and cheerful!  (At least the ones I get are--I don't enjoy the scary ones!!)  This is one thing I edited!!!  I kept looking at the tree and thinking it looked ok, but something was different. THEN, I found the orange and black bow that I put at the top--so, I removed the other photo and put this one!!  haha

I have a good selection of cross stitch and bought items.  It's such fun, and this is a fun time of year.  Thanksgiving and Christmas follow, and I even have some New Year's ornaments that I made after January 1st.  That will be a new one for 2016!

 

My other edit is that I went in and tried to identify the various ornaments, and added a few other phtotos.  In the left photo, the top cute owl is designed by our friend Jacquie and was a freebie on her blog at one time.  The sweet "BOO" black cat is a Waxing Moon chart called #129 Black Cats' Halloween.
In the right photo is a cute little freebie called Halloween Delight! by La Chatelaine Designs.  It is so cute with the little black cats and beaded edge. I love the little "if the shoe fits" freebie.  It is several years old and I cannot locate it anywhere--does anyone recognize it??  The purple and black ornament is by Lizzie Kate "My Other Car is a Broom"!

On the left is a freebie from The Sisterhood--Boo! It's done on lavender Aida and I used Purple bat fabric and ribbon.  The cat and pumpkin is a French freebie from Nathalie and found on her blog.  It is backed in black velvet and the bottom features flat sequins.  Next is a sweet freebie from Homespun Elegance and I used some printed Halloween ribbon and backed it in the same fabric you see on the front.

                                          

Here's another freebie--but I can't find it online.  I have had some of my freebies for a while!!!  Sorry!

                                             

This cutie was in 2010 Just Cross Stitch Annual Halloween Issue,  It's by Casey Buonaugurio and is stitched on orange linen.

                                            

This little pumpkin freebie is by Judi Utter and can be found at Cyberstitchers.  Isn't it cute??


I have one little thing I'm working on for Halloween!  I must get on it fast--I don't have much done!!! I'm using a hand-dyed scrap of linen for a different look.   It's a little Prairie Schooler freebie card.  So cute, and working up sorta fast! I have a lot of those little cards and should make all of them because they are fast and too cute!

Thank you for stopping by and please come visit again soon!

Frances

SHOPPING!!

Well, I took a quick stroll to Hobby Lobby because I was in that part of town.  I love to look and they have great aisles of Christmas ornaments, when it's time for them!

It was SO HOT today!  Look at the temperature on my car!!!

I was walking along, seeing the sights and glanced over the leftover Fourth of July stuff.  It was extremely marked down, but there wasn't anything left that I needed!

On the next few aisles were the Fall items.  It'll soon be time to think about that!!

Then I came upon all of this!

Christmas comes sooner and sooner around here!  They had several aisles full and were about to start more.  I guess I sound like an old woman, but it's strange to go in there and find Fall and Christmas and also Patriotic, right together!  And, a little farther back was all the Summer items....on sale!  Too much!!  Of course, if you want bargains, now's the time to get them!!


Then, over in the needlework area, I saw these precious little animals that you can cross stitch on!  I haven't seen these before--maybe you have.  Aren't they cute???

My dear friend Janie is coming for a visit next week!  I'm so excited to see her!  We will have a finishing day and I will have LOTS to show you!  We get together and really crank out the ornaments or whatever!  I have stitched several things and have taken some old things out of frames to make new creations with!  Can't wait to get it all done!  I always feel like I've accomplished so much when I have a finishing day and admire my treasures!

Must run for now!  I hope you are all staying as cool as possible--it's really oppressive here!

Thank you for stopping by and please come back soon!

Frances

More finishing!!

Yes, I have two more finishes to show today!

I did not stitch either of these.  You may remember that I visited a real Cross Stitch Shop in Memphis recently, and while on my spending spree I purchased a few little shop models that were marked to practically NOTHING!!!  You can read about it here!!

One was this lovely Autumn piece.  It is a Bent Creek OOP chart.  It wasn't finished in any way.  Just a piece of fabric with stitching.  So, I made it into what else--an ornament!  It's about as large as one can go with ornaments, but I'm really pleased with how it turned out!  I will enjoy this in months to come!  It is backed with a simple brown fabric with yellowish leaves on it!  I went a little "wild" by putting some leopard charms to hold the ribbon!  I bought them on the "junk table" at Hobby Lobby and this seemed to be a fun place to use them!  HAHA!

This next one was actually in a cute little "tuck" pillow.  It was blue and had bees on it.  I loved the little pillow and I loved this stitching.  I didn't think they went together as well as they might have.  Plus, my Valentine tree is really pink and red, and the blue pillow would really stand out!  So, I just took the stitching out and made a standard rectangle ornament. I used sparkly pink buttons to attach the wide ribbon hanger. (Another "blingy" way to attach ribbon!)  I had a small scrap of glitter ribbon that was just enough to put on each side of the stitching!  These fabrics are from the wonderful stack that my dear friend Janie brought me from a quilt retreat--read about it here!!

Well, that gets all of my things finished!  I can now stitch with wild abandon!  LOL  Actually, I hope that I will get back to the real store in Memphis on Friday, so I will have more goodies to show!!

Thank you for visiting and please come by again!

Frances