I heart my space and creating a peaceful place

There are days when I'm reminded that it's most important to me to keep those things that either bring peace, comfort, or functional. I'm not always the most practical part, as my other half is, but trying to get better as the years roll on.

Life is too short not to enjoy, what you enjoy.

I find in my journey that I have finely teased out many things that do not bring joy or really not functional lately. It's freeing. It's balance to the busy days. It's embracing serendipity.

One thing I love is the color pink so in my creative space I have alot of it.

  I love my studio/guestroom/yoga/meditation room as well. It used to be my daughter's room. She loved art and did well with it in school and therefore there are many of her drawings around the house that I would never part with, well, of course, for her, if she wanted them but she has not expressed an interest in them which is quite sad as she is very talented. So for now they are housed here with some of my favorite things.

I thought I would share a few pics around the room tonight. It makes a very good place to stitch in the mornings as the sun shines really bright through both long windows. At night I stitch better downstairs by the sunshine then!

Of course tonight it's pretty doggone dark out in the country. ;)

Over my favorite, most comfortable chair that I've had for years, I have a new pic I found last week at The Martin House near Helen, Ga., not far from where we live.

I knew it would be an inspiring piece for this room.

I don't knit (took one class LOL) but one day I will pick it up again. I know this for sure as I did enjoy the class I took. Anyways, I put this pic over the chair and really like it here.

Time to get the bunny pillow out again. It pretty much stays out except for Christmas. Found this last year at a thrift store for a goooooo deal.

I love bunnies too!

This one has been in my daughter's room since I became pregnant with her and knew she was a girl!

This one too. And I have several more I'll post closer to Easter but just a few in here, actually several more that I won't part with.

I'm so ready for Spring.

The tin tart warmer is THE best thing EVAH! I have 3 of them. This room I usually put the tarts from the primitive store local that is called "clean cotton" It smells like fresh laundry and line-dried sheets!

And here are my new stash boxes and I have the bottom full of linen cuts already.

The left side of the room is mainly my studio stuff.

This is where my Kay frame stays and now it's loaded with a design for DV awareness that I need to be finishing up when I'm in a purple mood as it is full of purple colors! On the desk I weeded out everything except what is functional or special. I have my son's dress military pic with a star light beside it and essentials for stitching ( in this room HA!) ;)

I have many of The Sampler Girl's samplers in this room.

Here's my patched heart pillow I made and put my scissors I got from a special trip. I made this pillow on a special day when my heart broke, literally, so I put to good use a torn comforter that was in the donate pile and cut the velvet into squares and there were several heart squares.

Then I backed it with some cotton fabric and put a patch of Raspberry Jobelan I had a scrap of, on the front and put my scissors in it for my stitching chair. I will never forget the day I sat in the floor, crying, making this and it will stay with me as long as I am alive. Not because of the pain, but because it reminds me that after the pain, I can and will patch my heart and something good will come of it. 

There is a much bigger purpose for our house one day and I just know it.

Nite-nite.  May your night be full of rest~~~ surround yourself with those special things and things that make your heart sing. Ditch all the others. ;)

Jennifer

A Sampler Finds a Home today

Few words to share today. Finished Tea with Jane Austen by The Sampler Girl and it found a home.

Here. The guest bedroom/ stitching studio.

It is placed right over the bedside table to invite guests for tea.

I really enjoyed stitching this piece. The frame is made by Will Willis, Tanya Anderson's brother and I love it.

Tea With Jane Austen

Designer~~ Tanya Anderson, The Sampler Girl

linen-unknown count, ? of 28 or 30 (thought it was 32--oops!)

Fibers-DMC, Crescent Colors

Frame made by Will Willis

Used Acid-free mounting foam board to frame

Framers-myself and my other half

I'm guilty to the first degree---I slept with my sampler last night

Can you tell it's pretty wrinkled and on top of my unmade bed right now. Cause I had a dream that I had failed at something else last night. It's a trend throughout my life.
Cross stitching is one thing I usually get half-right so I got up took my arthritis meds and got busy till I reached the furthest point of stitching to see if I could breathe through the rest and relax....I mean it is a hobby, right? LOL

It fit by the skin of my teeth!!!!!!!!

YEAH! I thought I used 32 count but it just may be 28, right now in my life it could 490, if my head wasn't attached I'd probably forget what it looked like too but I thought (thought) I reached into my 32 count pile.

And you know what? I have 2 (not 1) but 2 lovely gauges that tell you the size of your fabric and I can't find not one of them. So, I'm just glad it fit cause I love, love this frame for it!!!!!!!

I'll check back later when I've put that teapot in the middle on the bottom and finished the bottom row.

Well, better run, cause I think Ren is stuck in a corner of the bedroom between the dresser and the wall in a 2 foot space, poor soul. It doesn't bother him but it bothers me to hear his head banging.....maybe I should try it with him!! LOL

Squeezing in the frame may be a problem

I've stitched till my already nerve ridden left hand is now about completely unable to type but I'm determined to get this piece done.

I took it out again of the Qsnap, wrinkles and all (like me) and oh, I have another bottom border to do. I'm crossing my fingers really really hard that it will fit. I can't figure it out. I thought I used 32 count and the pattern calls for 28, so if anything it would have more border, oops.

I'm stitching straight downwards so I'll know. Like this will matter that I have only 4 lines of words left? LOL
But I will adjust it because I love this frame. We'll see how this goes and if I can stitch tomorrow, I will try to get alot more done as I have loads of time on my hands right now. (no pun intended)

I like the water in the birdbath and how it turned out.

I guess it's about midnight and I'm still awake, as usual, my mind could keep going but my hand says I have to quit right now, but then again, I may just keep going until I have all five fingers shooting tingling nerve endings. Whatever, makes me feel alive! LOL

Jennifer

P.S. Deb, remember what I told you about that Needlework 4 system. It's looking like it might be something to order this week...........

Time to catch up

A bit wrinkled after getting out of my Qsnap frame but "IT IS WHAT IT IS!" I got through the 2nd section mostly sitting in a parking lot during lunch time because after work as demanded more attention than usual. I also injured the top of my left hand accidentally at work and have needles and pins feelings running across the top of my left hand. This is the arm that was affected in an accident already and I'm hoping and praying this heals and goes away soon. Not a good time to deal with physical issues too. I'm sure I just aggravated that nerve again but it has put a slow down on my stitching progress.

I filled in the number 3 with the Old Purple Paint CC color I got.

I do apologize for not writing daily as I usually do but I needed the time to reflect on critical issues that needed my attention. The week has been filled with good and bad, and actually I reminded myself that Maslow's hierachy of needs is really truthful and without being a psychology professor right now, I'm just saying that this week I was stuck on the first level this week, coping in ways which may or may not be acceptable to other people. Just reminding myself to eat and sleep was a challenge.

I had 1980 email messages saved in Yahoo and this definitely needed cleaning out along with purging what's important now and what's not important, to pull my own self through the last year of losses I can't even begin to list.

Probably the dumbest thing I heard this week was that a pill could be a substitute. NOT.

In my profession, I see more problems related to side effects of pills than I do the original problem and will not get caught up in that one-sided way of thinking. However, we do live in a society where loss and feelings of grief is not normal and that Prozac will take it all away make us perfect people again. Wrong. This is nothing against SSRI medications but I can just tell you that the side effects are overwhelmingly brutal to women. I don't know if they have a more sensitive system or what but I spend probably about 60 % of my work day trying to put a Bandaid on the side effects caused by pills when the real answer is true compassion and time/relationships. Believe me, silence is not golden.

When did it not become acceptable to be loved for who we were, to not have to meet certain conditions under tremendous strains of loss in order to bump up to level 2 or 3 in the hierachy here. And in swaying back and forth from daggers about my comments on my blog, my simple answer is if you don't like it, don't keep reading it.

There's always something good in ourselves even if others we love don't see it, and I just had to put some situations into perspective. This is a pic of Afghanistan women in a drug rehab center for themselves and their children/babies and the therapeutic classes on needlework.

I thought this to be striking and shows how needlework is sometimes the only thing that get us to the next level on the hierachy of needs. It's something to show we accomplished something, something beautiful, and that we as women are worth something.

I've been exchanging and changing on Ebay. I sold a nice leather belt that had hung in my closet for 4 years unworn for a couple of good things I know I would like including this sign for my sampler wall:

And a sampler by Beth Twist called Anna's Prayer. This I may stitch in rememberance of Elizabeth. The words are hard to see in the picture but if you click on the pic you can read them.

And most of all this week in my mail goodies, I received this package of goodies I exchanged on ebay for a bracelet I had (I know we needleworkers are desperate in our addiction), for this package of 30 colors of overdyes from Gentle Art. It include a stitching bag which I didn't really need but was glad to have when it arrived. There are special addition Gentle Art colors that I love and couldn't have gotten at a needlework shop for 1/4 of the price. My motivation for the inquiry was needing Old Purple Paint thread by Gentle Art.
This pic is from the EBay site and not the actual products that arrived because today I'm lazy and didn't take a picture ! LOL

I got part of the giveaway goodies in the mail yesterday and I was elated. I just received an email that I should be getting the other part in the mail next week. The last day is tomorrow at midnight for entry. See FEB28th posting if you are interested in this.

I'm so hoping this arrives next week so I can get out to the winner I will pick!!!

I love giving hope to others, I really do. It probably makes me more happy than the recipient. I wish I had loads of money and could do more but right now, this is all I can do, and include being here as a friend if anyone ever needs anything, such as a shoulder to cry on, a friend to talk to, etc. when all in life sometimes is not roses and finding true companions is a rare event.

Here's hoping you have a great early Springey Saturday and that you are in the company of the ones you love.

Jennifer

The start of Tea with Jane Austen

Meek progress on Tea with Jane Austen. I'm loving the colors and its flowing well.

I had to substitute a Crescent color for the DMC 833 but using the new DMC thread swatch book helped alot........I mean a real lot!!!!!

Nite nite,

Jennifer