Dabbling with Dutch motifs and Nesting

This morning I feel so much better after a long rest and a very long day yesterday. Hubbie is already ahead of me on getting a jumpstart to chores and I'm at the dabbling again with designs. I haven't stitched this of course, yet but this is another one I wanted to share with you. This is the second Dutch motif I want to stitch for our Christmas tree this year and then when the holidays are over, into the big ole wooden bowl in the kitchen for fillers.  Want to stitch today with me?

A Dutch Motif Ornie---August

A Tree of Life

  I did design this for the following colors

lighter blue---CC Blueberry Tart

darker blue--CC-Blue Beatrice

darkest gold--- GAGrecian Gold

lighter gold--GA Buttercrunch

the birds--GA Maple Syrup

the birds legs--GA Cinnamon

but any combo you like is welcome. I tend to like blues and golds with Dutchey motifs.

Fabric is of choice.

You can sub your own initials, or any dates of interest to you.

Again, this is a freebie design and not meant to be sold. Thanks so much. Please share with stitching friends and credit to Feathers in the Nest is much appreciated.

Inspired by many things that floated through my mind on the driving there and back, I am reminded that life is in the hands of God and just as Fiona Cleary in The Thornbirds said:

I don't know, and never will how much of our lives we-re allowed to choose, and how much is decided long before we are born.

Such a statement of truth.

Here are few things I got from this week's rummaging through a thrift store. I actually went one day because they had an old, old rocker just on the front and Body Guard said to stop and take a look as one of our's on the back porch had seen it's better days. I did go back and get the rocker. It's wooden and is a glider, rocker. I had to replace the cushion. I'll have to show you a pic when I get the back porch a bit straighter. It's a mess right now!

So, I did go in and found a wooden angel. I'm not sure where she will sit at the homestead. Maybe on the porch or maybe in the kitchen.

and a basket, all for less than 4.00. I love baskets so for 2 bucks I couldn't resist.

I need to get my fingers moving faster and stitch some bowl fillers.

The chain of hearts, grapevine, I found several weeks back for 50 cents and couldn't resist.

I also saw this for almost a giveaway---fabric in beautiful colors.

almost 2 yards 

I'm into the fixing of the nest again. Must be the slight change in the air and the sunshine today.

I've seen this shade of teal in quilt stores. I'm not sure if this is a line of fabric for Ovarian Cancer awareness or Breast Cancer awareness.....I thought maybe some quilters could tell me about it.

As you can see I've got my mug of coffee ready to be filled again. Thank goodness for DECAF!!!

I hope your Saturday is filled with something colorful, something fun-filled, and meaningful too!

Just wanted to share of piece of my Saturday with you.  ; )

Onward to nesting today,

Jennifer

Watching a sunset from a different view

The day was a day full of missions. Do you have those sort of days, when you have to pack several large missions in a 24 hour period?

  I know we all do day every day, I just stretched this over many miles today.

Packed an overnight bag just in case I was too tired to drive but I just kept driving, and driving because I'm such a homebody that I had to get back home even if it was midnight.

The best part of my day was to put new flowers at the cemetary and this time, I happened to be there at sunset, which was so peaceful. I was surprised the weather was 75 and hardly any humidity. The grass was deeply green and lush and I just threw off my shoes and watched it.

I watched the clouds change shape and imagined what they could look like.

I love sunflowers so when I saw these, I had to put them into the mix.

Until October when I get back to put Fall ones out.

I started with these wildflowers from Hobby Lobby....my next to favorite store.

Then added the others. I know this is a wild mix but it all worked out.

Some folks may think this is morbid, but for me it's something I look forward to every 3 months at least. This spot is 4 hours from our house. I wish it was much closer and maybe one day it will be with a miracle.

Today I was by myself, so I just took a rest for a while and watched the sunset in the most orange of colors I wish my camera could fully capture.

Then onward again to my journey back home.

For I know his spirit is always with me and this is just his resting place many miles away and as long as I'm alive and able, I will always be the one to take care of this spot on the Earth.

Tuesday Chatter and Things that Matter

Well, tomorrow will feel like Friday for me as this is a short workweek.  Taking a very long weekend for some errands to run, and other thingies to do.

Thank you so much for the lovely compliments on the Abbie Summer Sampler! I appreciate your positive energy that always brightens my day.

Today I got more progress on another sampler that is in late Summery colors with names of Fragrant Cloves, Apricot Blush, Almost Auburn, Colonial Copper, Pea Pod and Peanut Brittle, CC and GA threads.

These are some of the colors I got last week. Just a peek at this one.

The Dog Days of Summer is almost done. One more good evening of work and then finishing. Probably will frame this one, but then again, my mind might change......just never know. : o

August is almost over and I can feel in the air on the back porch tonight, a slight bit of change. Just a tad bit cooler now at night and we are supposed to have sunny weather for the rest of the week with the nights reaching in the mid-upper 60's.

We are still looking forward to our trip soon and getting things done, finished, closed-out, and settled before we leave. One of them was to mail out the give-a-way to Patti, from United Kingdom. I have emailed personally and announced and put on her blog but haven't heard for a snail mail address yet. I don't know what to do with this situation? Draw another name? or what? I haven't had this happen before but I think if I haven't heard from the winner by Saturday, then I will redraw another name as I need to get this out before vacation plans in the next couple of weeks.

I have had several emails about selling the patterns and I am in the process of getting a website, supplies, etc so that I am able to do that.  I would add patterns available as I stitch them so you could see the finished product. I will also move over any fabric cuts or used patterns from the Nest Feathers Shoppe Blog to this website. This will all take some time and I promise to keep you up to date! I hope to start building a website soon, but the majority will probably be up and running about October after getting settled from vacation.

Thanks to all who take out time of the day to read and comment! I appreciate them very much!

Till Wednesday.....oops, I have 8 minutes to Wed. Better Scoot.

Jennifer 

Abigail's Summer Sampler 2010 finished tonight

Abigail's  Summer Sampler

32 count Bo-Peep Pink linen

2 over 2

Crescent Colors fibers

finished and designed by Feathers in the Nest

I had much fun with this sampler!  The colors blend well in our guest bedroom/ studio.

I felt so lucky to find the ball fringe trim last week as it really added to the design.

Abbie has special treats that are like wafers and dipped in pink frosting on the edges. She also likes her other treats as well. She's always, always begging for attention to play so this sampler fits her well!

Hope your Monday went well today.

A Dutch Design Motif

This afternoon I worked on this motif. The colors are Simply Shaker (GA-Liberty), Crescent Colors cotton--Blacksmith Blue, Crescent colors Tennessee Red Clay, and GA Gold Leaf. Stitch on whatever linen you prefer. I will probably select a vintagey fabric or an antique white.
I have these colors alot in our home and hope to make into an ornie for the Christmas tree this year.
After Christmas (or before) you can easily use as a pinkeep or bowl filler.

Hope you enjoy too!

A Dutch Motif--September

Please do not sell patterns if put on the blog. They are my original work and duplicated by needle and thread or printed copies for free for your enjoyment. This should print well. If not, please let me know.

 If you stitch and want to share your finish, please email me and I will share here on the blog if you would like. If you stitch, please credit to Feathers in the Nest.

Thanks so much!

Sunday colors in our yard/forest

I hope you are not tired of pictures of butterflies. They catch my attention as soon as I walk outside on the porches. They are HUGE this year and so beautiful. I wish I could capture the whole bush of butterflies at one time with about 50 flittering around, it's so pretty. Today the sun came out. Yep, the sun. We haven't seen that in 2 days now. It flooded so much last night that Body Guard said the in town between two major food businesses there is a cave now. Like the cement just fell in like an earthquake. I will have to take a trip into town later to see this. Evidently there had been some underground deterioration in the pipe system for awhile and unknowing. I would have had a heart attack if I was eating across the street and saw that!  It just made national news, so you may see this huge disaster on CNN.

But aren't we blessed, so blessed with shelter and protection?

I think I will start naming these butterflies. I did get a closeup standing by the tree here.

and more feeding on the bush.

His eye is on the sparrow, so I know He watches me........remember that song?

One of the butterfly bushes in the sun......in the SUN!  YEAH!

We have definitely had our share of rain and moisture. Seems my rosemary is coming along well in it's new home.

This is the road to the road to the road to another road to our house.

There's no place like home.

A couple of few weeks back I threw some seed bags I got at Target into the flower holders and it has rained hard alot so this may be weeds. I don't know. I just want to use them up. But it was a bag of wildflower seeds. This one above is growing fast. Is this a lily pad? a weed? I'm not really into the names of flowers and knowing whether it is a weed or flower. But one lady up here told us when we moved to the mountans that the definition of a weed is "an unwanted flower". She loved all kinds of stuff. I think she may have been ON weed.......just joking.

This is the variety of wildflower/weeds coming up from the seeds.

These came back as a perineal. Don't know the name but I like them.

This man is begging for his 2nd meal of the day. He lives for food. Please don't freak out with him on the table. We don't eat on this table......LOL

No, we don't, Thomas does. Have you ever seen a cat so babied?  Well, I think all our furbabies are.

Yes, Thomas has his food on the table with cover if it's raining. Plus the Labs, Thelma and Louise, ie. Ruby and Raven, can't get to it as easily.....and they will try.

He made a mess of it today.

Hopefully, he's off warding away the rodents like snakes and mice for the homestead. He usually does a great job and sometimes brings us one for a present! I then scream loudly.

And while I'm in our sheltered, nice, cool house, I look over next to me and on the stack of pillows, is Abigail. She's taking a nap.....thank goodness.

Yesterday all day and night through the storms she clung to me like Velcro and I was trying to get some stitching done.

This morning woke at 11:45am. Yes, you read that right 11:45am. I have not slept that late in about 10 years. So, I'm ready now for the day at 1pm.

Missed the morning completely. But so glad for the extra rest even though it was half-filled with strange dreams about Brandon's toys he had when he was about 8 years old. Weird.

Till later,

Jennifer