Interesting Cross Stitch Sites

http://www.classiccrossstitch.com/textiles.html

http://www.scarletquince.com/floss_coverage.php

http://www.scarletquince.com/pat.php?pat=BEA001

http://www.scarletquince.com/pat.php?pat=VER005,VER005-B

http://www.classiccrossstitch.com/history.html


Here are some places I cruised tonight. The information is great. I particularly like the first one about the different textiles used in cross stitch. I originally started researching what is Congress Cloth and one thing led to another. But all in all, an interesting plethora of information. The Scarlet Quince sites are really interesting with great tips and a gallery for lots of eye candy.

Beary Scarey!

I was cleaning up this afternoon and saw this in the local paper. I hadn't looked through the paper yet and this was in it where someone got a picture of one of the many bears we have here in North Georgia. So this is where the berries go and this is what Raven and Ruby bark at.


Honestly, this is why I do not like to be out after dark. Supposedly this was taken with a night vision camera by one of the locals. The bear weighed 450 lbs and 6 ft 5" tall. The article states the resident just clapped her hands and it went away. I wonder how they knew exactly the weight and height? Our neighbor saw one about this size a week ago at 8:30am near our trash. If I meet one of these on the way to the car going to work, I will do more than clap! LOL

We had one on the front porch one time eating old Mexican food out of the trash bag we had just sat there before taking to the trash down the road. He was happy eating the burritoes. Imagine clicking on your porch light and seeing this.

Sew Many Choices

I've been searching online and reading/comparing sewing machines. I saw this on ebay for my budget range. I know I want to go with a Janome and this is most likely going to be the one I choose. Woo HOOO! Saving those quarters really added up!
Here's a big thank you to my honey for a birthday present!!!

Anybody have one of these Janomes? Suggestions? Comments so welcome!

And the Winner Is...........

The winner is.......Peggy Lee! Congratulations Peggy!!! I will email you at your address and get mailing info.

Thanks again and hope you enjoy this Fall packet.

Jennifer

Here's the Layout of the Scarlett Watercolor

Wow~ I just had to lay this out on the floor tonight. Just wanted to share.

Thrifty Friday!

Came home from work and my honey is turning all the change he has collected in this huge radioshack container to rolls. He sweetly said that I could use it for a sewing machine for my birthday coming up soon! WOOHOO! Guess how much he rolled? $450.00 WOW!

I have a sewing machine that I use occasionally but it's actually my daughter's so now I can pick out my own and she can get her machine when she comes home.

I'm so excited! I don't need a really fancy machine but this will certainly make picking a basic one out a reality now!

Lucky Friday!

I have collected the names of the participants in the giveaway and will announce tomorrow morning. Thanks for your participation!

Planning to clean more this weekend so stitching may be slow this weekend. I just have to clean up this messy house! Clutter is driving me nuts!

Do you have ORTS around your house, you know the little strings that attach to your clothes, the floor, your pets, everywhere. For some reason, Ren likes to eat the DMC. Watching your dog poop DMC is quite interesting. LOL

Ren just drank a gallon of water so I'm sure we will be busy this evening taking him out. Poor soul can't find the door, so we have to just take him out. His supper of a ham and tortilla is not appealing to him, maybe a little sour cream with it and then he will be fine.

Got to start our walk back tonight. Of course with the local case of abduction in Blairsville, we are hyper alert about just walking in the evening. But when your married to the Body Guard, then no worries as he goes with me and the Labs.

Hope your Friday is going well!

Catching up on world news right now with CNN. Oh joy!

Jennifer

Giveaway ends at noon today

If interested in the giveaway please post under the giveaway posting by noon today and I will pick a name and announce in the morning. Thanks so much for you interests!!!!

Jennifer

Frankly, my dear........I'm crazy!

Ok, one of the stores, the Martin place, that I went today had a Gone with the Wind section and I'm a sucker for Gone With the Wind stuff. I really don't collect any of it, just like to look through it. I love the movie, own it and look at it occasionally on personal video. My hubbie likes it too. Of course, I"m sure he likes Vivian Leigh in it. and thus, dark hair, fair skin....yes, a resemblence...hmmm, anyway, I love looking at the stuff. SO, there was a section that had these packets, and lo and behold, they were cross stitch packets of Gone With the Wind Scenes. Cross stitch in Helen, Georgia? Oh my lands, as my friend , Dot would say!

They were packaged in such a way I couldn't open them unless I bought it. I caved and bought one. Guess what? It's 15 solid pages of stitching. This one I chose was Scarlett in Watercolor. If I started today, I would finish it in maybe 2050.

But, you know what, its only 80 DMC colors and WHERE WAS MY BRAIN? LOL

I didn't know it because I couldn't open the doggone package, but here it is for your view. And with all 80 colors and 15 pages, its only 11 x 15 if using 36 ct.

Whatcha think?????? Oh, yeah, I hadn't got to the wine store yet, so I was sober......LOL

I love samplers but anybody ever stitch such a piece before?

Jennifer

Thelma and Louise and other car issues

The girls, also known as Thelma and Louise........really begging for a walk tonight but thunder and rain is coming so, not tonight.

My after work exploring at the winery for Cherokee Rose bottle of wine with dinner.

Now, I switch from wine to church, I know that's hard in the Bible belt.....but it really is not sinful......I don't think. But this is a small church across from Sautee-Nacoochee Community Arts Center.

Here is the Sautee-Nacoochee Center, full of history, full of art, full of dancing, and oh, so full of prices as I tried to get a price for a stitching group monthly or bimonthly meeting but they want us to pay for electricity and be a corporate member. Wow! I digress.....

Here is the Sautee-Nacoochee Indian mound, a historic mark . Mount Yonah is in the background. We live in a beautiful, inspiring area for creative spirits.

And my necessary visit to the local animal shelter, looking for a gray cat, a cashmere solid gray. Well, didn't bring home any but one was very poor health and loved me alot. She will go to the vet tomorrow. If well.........we'll see. She is black, long haired with white feet.

Confession: my new car has a problem that I need to take into the dealership. It pulls over at every thrift store. Just immediately upon visualizing, the car gets into the turning lane. Now, this a problem we didn't know about when we bought the car. But obviously, it's causing problems! Traffic stops for me to turn over into a thrift store parking lot. Oh my, we must get this fixed! Here's an example. The Mall, antique thrift store in Cleveland. The car will park and not go again until I peruse the place, scoping out any linens or threads! LOL

But, all in all, it's a good day, filled with silver linings, somewhere.......................

Half Way Through the Week

I can't believe this week is flying by so quickly. Seems like it was just Sunday!

I started a new piece the Blue House sampler by the Sampler Girl but not enough to post a pic tonight. I do love the Vintage Exemplar Linen by Lakeside Linen. Its softer than the previous ones I worked with and the Crescent Colors are always lovely. I didn't use any kind of frame for the last 2 or 3 ones and just stitched them in hand. However, this one will use my wooden frame for it because the material is so soft, for the right tension. I'm working on the words at the top of the design and the color is almost just like pea soup to me. The movie Sixth Sense, the seen when the girl hurls the pea soup, is coming back to me. I remember that strange movie.

After work, we tried out a new local restaurant. From the outside, it's kinda like just a plain country cooking restaurant style but when we opened the menus boy did we get a shock with the menu and prices. But, the food was good. Reminded me of eating at some Chicago or Washington restaurants but in the country here. Different.

Ren is protesting dog food tonight, as we ate out, he is upset with having to eat dog food. So, after he barked a while we caved and gave him some bread and sandwich ham meat and he is happy as a lark now. He is so spoiled at this point that its really ridiculous. He will not eat tuna out of the can but will eat it if I make tuna salad....however, he sorts out the pickle relish to the side! Funny!

Must be full moon. The Labs are running on the porch in the middle of the night and barking loud. Not good with insomnia. We have had neighbors this past 2 weeks who said they have seen bear here so we are not sure if maybe that's what is disturbing them. I so hope they are quiet tonight. Waking at 4 am is not fun when you can't go back to sleep and have to get up at 6.

It's a rainy, muggy, humid day here. Ragweed season is starting. I can tell very distinctly with some sneezing and coughing alot. Ragweed starts about mid August and lasts through the first hard frost. So, getting those antihistamines ready.......

Tonight I stitched a little watching Nancy Grace (my favorite TV show) and then stopped to look up some old movies, sad movies too. I don't know why. You know movies like The Thornbirds, Legends of the Fall, Old Yeller,Marley and Me, Terms of Endearment. What' s that about? Must be hormonal............

LOL

Other indications are that I say "is it hot in here or is it me?" alot and freeze us at night with the airconditioning. Hubbie doesn't complain. He goes with the flow........LOL

Gosh, its almost midnight and I better go get some sleep before the Labs start their partying on the porch tonight...........

Jennifer

Finished The Sunday Peacock Sampler

The Sunday Peacock Sampler

designer--The Sampler Girl

35 ct Lambswool linen

DMC floss

Reflection of Green

This morning is beautiful outside, hot, but beautiful in reflection of green, green forest. I'm so ready for Fall. Fall is my favorite time of year and before we moved to the North Georgia mountains, I would take a special week off in October just to come up here for the leaf season beauty. There's nothing like it in these hills and I'm ready for it.

I'm ready for boots and jeans and cool evenings. For cozy nights by the fire with the BodyGuard.
I'm ready for bright orange pumpkins and the sweet smell of oak burning in the fireplaces outside. More stitching time in the evening as days grow shorter. Hot chocolate with marshmellows and hikes in the woods. Mums and fall leaf colors in every hue dazzle the mountains with a glow.

But I just wonder how much we would all appreciate Fall and its beauty if we didn't know the contrasting seasons. Of course, I like Spring and Summer and Winter, but Fall really stands out to me. May be that early on I associated Fall with a new start with the beginnings of school back in the day when we had a real long summer off. The new pencils, clean, fresh paper packs, new books and one pair of new shoes meant Fall was coming. A new start. A new hope.

I hope, my friend, that you are anticipating Fall coming too and feel the freshness of the new hope it brings.


From Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8

To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heavens;

A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted:

A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;

A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

A time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war and a time of peace.

Have a great day!
Jennifer

Empty Nest complete

Literary Littles No. 6 Empty Nest--Anne Bradstreet sampler

designer, The Sampler Girl

28 count cream linen

DMC floss

Frame--Hobby Lobby, framed by myself

added an an old brown velvet ribbon with 2 pins

Confession time.........besides the DMC colors I found this dark brown wooden frame at Hobby Lobby which I thought would work well with the piece. Their frames are 50% off and really it had a matting in it for a 4 x 6 picture with a saying about family, friends, etc. So, I removed that, framed it and a perfect fit! The lacey ribbon I've wanted to use for a while. Problem I encountered was securing the ribbon to the back to hang with the ribbon, so in the mean time I put in 2 pearlized matching pins to hold until I most likely will put a small amount of glue to the frame and remove the pins. I haven't decided. I had kinda wanted to use the fabric in the background but decided to frame small instead for the particular space I had. The iron bed is catty cornered so that's why the first pic has part of the bed in it too......

The Battle of the Stitching Mind again.....LOL

But, I hung in it's special place in a bedroom and it fit the spot. I love the verse on it.

Battle of my Stitching Brain

A long day indeed.........

after work I was haunted by the Battle of the Brain. Do you ever have this condition?

That's what I call it when I'm trying to reason myself for or against something that day.

Seems just like the grocery store experience, I always get home and forget at least one item I needed. Well, last night I scoured my stashes for 2 DMC colors which were called for in the Saying Grace sampler I'm working on right now. I absolutely couldn't believe I didn't have every DMC color by now but nope, had 2 missing.

I usually can substitute but these colors are so pretty together that I wanted to use the ones in the pattern. And to top it off, I just went to the Dogwood Patch Saturday where she has DMC floss as well. But, like milk or bread, forgot it.

So, at lunch I did get more work done on the piece and started thinking that maybe I would just go get the DMC floss.

Thoughts like this ensued:

Well, why in the world can't I find the two missing colors! I know I have them somewhere!

Maybe I can just run up to Hobby Lobby after work.

Oh but that is another extra 40 miles round trip in addition to the other commute time back home.

But, then again------- I just may go.

I shouldn't go, I should substitute the colors.

But, if I go, I will be going against the traffic so that's a plus.

However, if I go I may get other stuff I don't need.

And, if I go, there's a neat Antique/thrift shop next door where I could look for a scissor frog.

Ok, I'm going for sure.

I can't decide.

yep, I'm going now, for sure to get those 2 DMC floss colors. At 35 cents a skein, what a savings even if I am burning 10.00 extra gas mileage! LOL

This is what I mean by those days with Battle of the Brain.

And through interstate traffic and rain storms, I became determined to get those 2 DMC colors........and I did. Whew! Long day.

Sunday Happenings

One of my favorite old, old porch chairs has a new braid heart rug, just waiting on some quality stitching time out on the porch.
This new building.............

is now the proud focus of this cat, Thomas, who really believes it was made for him! He roams around it wondering when we are going to hand him the keys to it. LOL

My Sunday giddiness turned out this..........

Well, this morning I had good intentions on attending church service but I overslept.....again.

I really wanted to go but oh, I could have just kicked myself for not getting up on time! LOL

oh well, woke up with a good appetite and remembered I forgot to run to town to get milk and bread yesterday so, that eliminated a good deal of breakfast choices. And of all things to my disappointment, no coffee. As my friend said, "OH MY LANDS"! No coffee?

Well, seeming that we live in the country and learn to make do until we do get to town, I whipped up a Mexican brunch. Had some center cut ham slices and then cooked Pinto beans, mashed them to a pulp to make refried beans with a little dallop of sour cream. Found some flour tortillas and cheese which I made on top of the stove and cut up a honey dew melon for dessert! What a combo, right? Well, Ren liked his little miniplate and is now snoring in his blanket for an afternoon nap.

But Bodyguard was pleased as usual with whatever I whip up in the kitchen. You have to keep in mind he was a confirmed bachelor until age 44 so anything tastes good to him! LOL

Turned on the TV to get the latest CNN news, mainly the Afghanistan updates and all I hear is healthcare reform and so I frustratingly picked up some stitching I kitted together near my basket and just started needlework on 35 ct Lambswool linen ( a leftover snip from Jonah's Hornbook) and started the peacock on the design by The Sampler Girl, Say Grace, which will go into a small 4 x5 simple black frame in my kitchen on the center island where we eat. It's a small design but many pretty colors, all in DMC. I plan on tea staining this one, but then again my mind could change at a moments notice and I may not.........such is life being a woman! ;)

As I do have a profession in the gynecology field, I do believe that is an estrogen issue!

We are going to make our little trip to town for a few basic groceries~~~~ oh please, don't let me near Walmart or I'll cave for other unnecessary items~~~~ and then plan to get an ice cream and coffee somewhere, I don't know where but that's the craving for our Sunday afternoon.

Then a long walk to circulate all that cholesterol to keep us healthy!

I hope your Sunday is peaceful and content and spent however it makes your heart sing......

Jennifer

The Road Not Taken

This is one of my favorite poems which is tucked away in a book I have called Treasured Poems that Touch the Heart compiled by Mary Sanford Laurence.

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same.

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet, knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I~~

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

by Robert Frost