Love finished

I referred to a design that I started on Saturday at my stitch-in. It's "love" by Shakespeare's Peddler. I believe that Theresa released it as one of 3 designs in a chart...and that went to Hoffman and all of the normal distributors. I bought it and the two others from her directly in kit form, so it came with chart, hand-dyed linen and the required Limited Edition Sampler Threads from Gentle Art. All for about $12 or $13...which I think isn't too bad. So...here it is:

Very quick little thing. And I think that once I get all three finished I might invest in the coordinating frames...cause I got just the place for them in the casa!

I will sell this chart and left over threads (plenty to stitch it again with...provided that you're responsible with your threads and don't drag them all over the place!) for $5. I also listed my Fresh Watermelon chart on my For Sale Blog. Stop on over there...SOLD!!!!  Thank you!!!

Fresh Watermelon…Now Ready!

Yesterday my sweet sweet hubby allowed me a couple hours to go get my oil changed and to go sit and stitch with the ladies at my LNS. Technically the Saturday stitch-in is the 2nd Saturday of the month…but there’s a group that shows up every Saturday. I haven’t been able to go in quite a while, so it was nice to see all of those friends again!

I was mostly done. All I had to do was stitch the last couple rows of the watermelon sign and add the blackbird and ants…and then…voila! Finis!

Here’s my favorite part…the ants!

I was also able to start on a quickie little chart/kit yesterday at the stitch-in, but I probably wont’ post a pic of that until it’s finished. (I know…I tried to pull out Geranium House to work on, but the stitching was at home, even though the chart was in the bag…strange!)

Here’s hoping you have a happy day!

Home Dec Projects done, and yet another sewing project

When I left you before, the kid table and chairs were kind of in limbo-undone land. So, 1 crazy fast trip to Wally World and to Hobby Lobby for more spray paint and a cool stencil. (Sidebar...while at HL a couple of super cute-can't pass them up wall hangings just fell into my basket...don't know how...but they're perfect in the kitchen!)
Back to the original story. So I came home, threw the kiddos in the pool, and finished those tables. And now they're DONE DONE!
And I still {heart} them just as much as before...maybe more...because they make more sense in my house now. Even hubby agrees that they don't look as "dirty" as they did...(see, honey!) And as promised, I did add a little number stencil to the chairs. And I love that too! Nicholas has already declared that he is the number 1 chair, because "1 is his favorite"...as if we didn't know...
And, while the black spray paint was out, I went ahead and fixed my step stool that I keep in the kitchen. This beauty was just raw natural wood when we got it from IKEA for the grand total of about $20 (worth every penny if you have small kids...and still worth it even if you don't!). I painted it black right away (again...small kids) and attempted a stencil in red that didn't work AT ALL. And it sat there...looking gross for a while. So, again, while the spray paint was out, I sanded off that old stencil, spray painted again, and put a new stencil on it...
See much better! Even Superman thinks it's better! However, I do think that Superman needs to invest some time and energy thinking about some summer attire. Those long-sleeves sure get hot when it's 103 degrees outside!
(oh...pay no attention to the piles of junk on the counter, dirty cabinets and dirty floors...we live in this house, OK?!!)

The sewing project was such a quick little cutie! So this is the 3rd project that I've completed using that now infamous Sultry Honey Bun.
For those keeping count:

• 1. Carry Me Bag by Bunny Hill Designs
• 2. Doll Quilt (for Hailey)

This little bag was so cute, and it matches the knitting bag nicely! You can find the pattern here.
Hope that you all have a great weekend planned!

He IS Home!

OK...last non stitchy post for a while...{I think}.

Thanks for all of the well wishes for my BIL. I just got this email from my sister (Aunt Susan)...and for the sake of explanation, my sister and BIL email out "Blue Skies" emails every so often with updates on their life and such (get it...Air Force...Blue Skies...anyway). The emails were more frequent during his deployment...anyway...

So Aunt Susan just wrote to say that BIL (Uncle Will...can now use his name that he's home!) got in on a standby flight yesterday at 7:00 pm. Yeah!!!! Here's a pic of them last night...both all smiles!
Welcome Home Uncle Will! Nicholas is already talking about coming to see Bo and Pink Dog for Thanksgiving...make sure you prepare Pink Dog now!

Love you both so much! Welcome Home!

He's coming home!

OK...I do post about family, but it's usually just my immediate family. This was deserving of a little attention, though, so bear with me!

My brother in law is an Air Force Captain, and has been deployed overseas for the last several months. We just found out that he's coming home tomorrow night! SOOOOO excited!
So, USAF Captain Brother-in-Law, just for your return home, I FINALLY got my American Flag hung today! Just now! Just for you! {insert smiling face of BIL and Aunt Susan here}
If you have a member of the military in your family, or a friend, or anyone that you know, past or present...please give them a HUGE hug and say "Thanks for being in harm's way for me! Thanks for being away from your family for a long time for me. Thanks for missing lots of things 'cause you're overseas for me...and my kids...and for all of us."

I think that's it. Just super excited here in Texas for this guy to get home!

In other news, I did work on my Shores last night, but not enough progress to post a pic. Will do that later today or tomorrow.

Happy Stitching...and remember what I said...seriously, go hug someone today!

furniture redo and last watermelon update

I'm ALMOST done with Fresh Watermelons. I've done all except finish the sign that says "Watermelon." It's very cute.
Today, since I'm caught up on my chores (NOT!) I decided to undertake a project that I've literally been putting off for about 3 years now! Really...

Painting this furniture. I {heart} this furniture. It was mine (and I guess I shared with my sister!) when I was little, and then it went to our cousins, and a few years ago it came back to me to use for Nicholas. Jack will be ready to use it sooner than I'm ready, I'm sure, so I figure now's the time to give it a bit of an update. Here's how it looks now (2:00 pm on Tuesday)...
I love that it is so stained with marks, colors, pens, paint, and who knows what else.
I love that it has chunks missing in spots...
But, I also love that it's going to be crisp and clean and "fresh" looking with it's new coat of black paint! It sits in my living room full time, and therefore, I feel that it should fit in a bit better with the decor...so black it is! I also have a feeling that eventually they will get this treatment...

OK...so it's a few hours later (7:00 pm Tuesday)...and here's how they look:

Not done yet, obviously. There are still plenty of brown spots. Definitely have to go get a couple more cans of glossy black Krylon.

Lastly for today, BeckySC is having a HRH stitch along. Click on the link that I've created, and then go to Monday, June 22nd. You'll see her post there. Anyone who either wants to start, or work on any of the three (Village, Houses, or Shores) is welcome to join! I think that this might be the key to me getting some more of this baby stitched!...my baby being of the Shores variety.

I'm off to finish watching the Tigers beat UT (fingers crossed) and work on Shores. Happy Stitching!

Fabric Friday!

Yesterday I had a great morning stitching with a friend. She worked on some casual summer clothes, and I worked on my berry quilt. I finally got all of the 87 million 2.5 inch triangles cut out for this thing...no...not exaggerating a bit! I also was able to get 4 squares finished. I love how it's turning out...and I love the variety of colors and patterns. It's using Berry Delicious by Moda...a very pretty line of fabrics that I believe was not noticed as much over the last few months...
Also yesterday I received in the mail my Mystery Designer BOM from Fat Quarter Shop and the Finishing Kit. The box arrived...
I opened it up and saw these GORGEOUS colors...
and let me just say that I now have a new love! The fabric is from 3 Sisters and is called Glace. Pictures don't even come CLOSE to how gorgeous this stuff is! I was so obsessed with Patisserie earlier this year (still am...don't worry!) and now I've got another fav to add to the list! The red in this line is the exact color of my dining room...and kitchen...and so many other places in my house, so I can't wait to have this one done! Only bad thing is that it's a BOM, so it's gonna be at least a year before it's all done! I guess that means that I just get to spread out the love, right?!?

Hope that you all have a good weekend. We're going to the last day of school picnic at the boys' school today, then swimming at Grumpsers tomorrow, and Sunday is church and an afternoon of rest. Fun Fun Fun! And of course I'll be squeezing some sewing and stitching in where I can!

Happy Stitching!

Creamy Italian Chicken Recipe

Whoa Nelly, did I have a ton of requests for this recipe...through your comments and through email! Well, here you go!

3-4 lb. chicken breast (cubed)
1 stick melted butter (I've used 1/2 this amount and it's JUST as tasty...)
2 cans Golden Mushroom soup (Campbells)
8 oz. chive and onion cream cheese
2 packets Italian dressing mix

Cube chicken and put in bottom of crockpot.
Mix ingredients together and pour over chicken.
pour 1 cup water on top of everything.
Cook in Crock.

Yes, folks. That's it! My recommendations: this is best cooked low and slow...so if you want to eat at 6:00, I'd start the crockpot by about 10...that way it will cook all day and be super yummy. Oh, also, I cook a bag of the No Yokes egg noodles and right before I serve it, I stir it in with the chicken and let it sit for like 2-3 minutes before I serve it. You could just put this on top of the noodles, but I like some of the juices getting into the noodles...it's really yummy. I think that it would also be good on top of mashed potatoes.

Oh, another warning...this one directly from Aunt Susan: If you are pregnant (as I was when I received this recipe), and/or you have a weak stomach...you might have someone else mix all of the ingredients for you. It does look a little bit "pukey" when it's all stirred together... so...for you PGs out there in your first trimester...you've been warned! It's yummy to eat, but might not be yummy to prepare!

Family Weekend recap

Well, this weekend was filled with family and friends...the best kind of weekend!

• Friday night was neighborhood cookout...and this went into the WEE hours of the morning.
• Saturday we played around the house and then went to hubby's family in North Houston for food and karaoke! (pic is hubby on left, Grumpsers (hubby's dad) in middle, and Uncle Mike (hubby's brother) on right). They always sing a trio for karaoke!
  

• Sunday was birthday party (Hailey loved the blanket, by the way!). As soon as she saw the blanket, she "knew" what it was and ran upstairs to grab a baby. Only when the baby was sufficiently sleeping under the baby quilt was the opening of presents allowed to continue!
  

Due to the busy weekend...today called for a much slower pace. On the agenda:

• prepare Crockpot meal (recipe courtesy of Aunt Susan!) and it's something that even Nicholas will eat! It's a new favorite...Italian Chicken... It doesn't look like much now, but come 6:00 tonight...it will be AWESOME!!

• work on teacher gifts (last day of school is Friday)
• play lots of playstation

• lay around all day!

We've pretty much accomplished everything on the agenda so far!

What are you doing today?

V and Co Giveaway (Pampering Beki)

ok, so there's a SUPER COOL giveaway happening on V and Co's blog right now, and you must race over and check it out! who wouldn't want to have one of these cute necklaces...or earrings...or anything!

http://www.vanessachristenson.com/2009/06/giveaway-giveaway-giveaway.html

Dianne

Hailey's Doll Quilt

We are going to a birthday party this weekend for our neighbor's daughter, Hailey, who is turning 5. Hailey is a very girly little girl, and what little girl wouldn't love a pretty pink quilt for her dolls? I don't know of one...


One of the most exciting things about this quilt is that it was made 100% from stash! This is a first for me (in quilt-making, that is!), as I'm a relatively new quilter/sewer. I used some of my leftover Sultry honey bun strips from this project. I sewed two groups of 3 strips together, cut them into 3.5 inch blocks, and then alternated them to get this sort of basketweave look. It's a style that I've wanted to replicate since seeing it done here. I have also wanted to do some cross-hatch quilting, so I did both with this one and it turned out pretty cute! The back is just plain white, same as the border.

I think that Hailey's dolls will feel very luxurious with their new bedding, don't you?

Sultry bag finish and Fresh Watermelon update

First, thank you so much to everyone who's been leaving comments and kind words! I love reading all of them, and I do try to reply to those that I can. It's fun to share thoughts on projects, ideas, and such! Thanks!

I finished my Sultry knitting bag, and there's mistakes for sure, but overall I'm pleased. I. LOVE. these fabrics and colors, and unfortunately I couldn't get great pictures of it, but I was able to tweak these a bit to reflect the colors more accurately.
This was my first project that really used interfacing and Timtex and all of those crazy things, so like I said, there are some mistakes. If I use the pattern again, I wrote down some notes so that I would remember the things that I had to "fix" to make it work. But really, when you're sewing, you almost always have to do that, right? BTW...this picture below is the one that most closely shows the colors of the fabrics...see, pretty, huh?!
I also stitched quite a bit on Fresh Watermelons yesterday, and here's how it's looking now. I'm hoping to get this one finished up by next week! I haven't had a stitchy finish in a while now, so I'm feeling the itch to get another one in the finished pile!

That's about it for now, peeps! Today the kiddos are still at school (for a few more days!) so I'll do a bit of cleaning and shopping, and I'll hopefully get some more Watermelon hours it!

Happy Stitching!

Watermelon and Geranium updates

Quick little post to show my progress so far on Fresh Watermelons and Geranium House. As I prepared to take these pictures, I realized that both are almost the exact same colors of green and pink and brown. AND...I am also about to start a little sewing project using Sultry fabrics...also green and pink and brown. Hmmmm...maybe I like these colors? Or maybe I'm sewing girlie things because I have only boys? Whatever the case may be, all are very cute!
Well, that's it! Kiddos and chores are calling me :) Summer is definitely here, because we're spending so much time outside and TONS of time with friends and neighbors, sharing good food, good drinks, and making great memories.

Happy Stitching!

Fresh Watermelon

Didn't I just do a post about all the new stash I had, and all the new starts? I swear I did...

Well, here's another one to add to the list. I got Fresh Watermelon yesterday, and after pulling the DMCs for it, I decided that I HAD to start it! It's just too gorgeous!

Here's the chart, for those who aren't familiar:And here's a pic with my little tiny bit of progress and a shot of the fabric and fibers:

See?! I told you...gorgeous. I'm stitching it on the recommended 28 ct. Vintage Examplar Linen. A bit darker that I would have thought I would have liked (even darker than my picture shows) but it is STUNNING with the fibers. It's got a bit of the pink/rose color in the mottling, which totally matches the pinks in the watermelon! Perfect for summer!

So, this is what I'll be working on...now that I'm DONE WITH WORK for the summer! Well, I technically have to make it through the day, but it's graduation and I do get to leave a bit early.

What are you stitching on this weekend?