New Glasses and New Progress---Kate Spade

I've made some progress since last posting! I'm still working on the top down section with a lace border. I have about 30 rows left ( or when I have 191 stitches on the needles) until I get to all lace charts.

 And.........this will be my first project reading charts instead of written instructions.

A bit of a curl right now and hard to display but it's uber soft and buttery.

You can see at the beginning how the edging will look at the top and sides from the beginning.

So pumped about my glasses getting here in the mail this week!

 I ordered some readers and this time went a little out of my comfort zone for bigger lenses in size but I heart anything Kate Spade!

She mailed them to me like this AFTER I opened a box full of all different colored glittery paper.

I'm a sucker for packaging. I jumped up and down like a little girl. 

I love the detail she put on the outside of the wrapped part.

These are great quality. I used them today while knitting on the back porch. Hubbie likes them.  Alot. 

The inside of the case is so cute.

It's time for dinner and some knitting. I hope to get the first section completed by the end of the week if possible. 

Miss Abbie is hiding her treat bones. Yup, just don't shake out the throws on the sofa around here because you might just find one or two of them. :)

Hope your Saturday evening is a delightful one too.

Watching the sunset over the mountains, good food, a good book, good companionship, and knitting are my favorite simple ways to enjoy a Saturday night.

Tomorrow after church, a trip for fresh veggies. Maybe I'll take some pics!

Till later,

Jennifer

PS  Don't forget to take your vitamins.

A New Summertime Sampler Freebie, Abbie, and Starting a New Blog

Good Sunday morning, ya'll!  I started after much thought, a new blog on aging and skin care. I really want to incorporate some fun and facts which include any subject for women about aging, not just skin care and body care but also topics to help through this lifetime process we all take. I hope to utilize my experience as a women's health nurse practitioner to also share some late research on the subject, do product reviews as well.

Join me as I start conversations about positive attitudes, encouragement, some latest research about aging, skin care and beauty, exercise, healthcare, and anything pertaining to going through the aging process.

You can find it here.   The name is Aging Gracefully and Skin Care. I named it in part and honor of my grandmother Grace who left this life way to early at age 57 and who was everything I want to be in positive aging.

I have just posted a welcome note but plan to post something really soon!!

For your enjoyment, I designed a cross stitch summer piece. I hope you enjoy!

Summertime and Patience

copyright 2015

designed by Feathers in the Nest

Colors and linen of choice. 

just click on the pattern and if this does not work to make it larger, let me know so I can try to correct it. If you do stitch it up, please share with me, so I can put on the blog or just for encouragment. I have not stitched a model of this one up yet.

I picked the yellows/golds and greens just as preference. I love to watch the yellow butterflies around the homestead here. This summer definitely has challenged my patience, or should I say grown more patience.

On the homefront, I've been super busy at work, and finishing up a forensic examiner class. BUT!
I did bind off on my shawl and when I get my Ipad camera rolling this afternoon will include a picture of it. I really, really like it!  And last night here in the mountains was the perfect night to use it while on the porch. It turned really cool, much cooler than last week.

This is probably the hottest June I've ever seen in the past 14 years I've lived here. But no complaints because I love each season for just what it is and the cool summer nights and warm days with longer daylight, I love the most.

Speaking of Miss Abbie....................

Abbie has a hard life. No honestly, she loves this old pillow I was going to throw out. It was a 6.00 one from Walmart and had seen it's last day for me but she claimed it by the front door before I could carry to the trash. She is in serious yoga mode here.

While this spoiled one here pushes herself to get inside my robe, I just had to take a quick pic of her, so I opened up the side of the robe to show you that she must have part kangaroo in her. She loves to hang on in the pouch part of the robe. Silly Girl!

She loves her back rubs.

She now has Minties added to her diet, which are small bones that are green and replaces brushing her teeth,  guarenteeing to remove plague and good for her teeth. The doctor said she had plague so now at 830pm at night, my DH tells her it's time  "to brush her teeth" and she runs over where we give her this mint thing and she eats it in 3 minutes and loves them. I really didn't think she would eat them but then again, she has eaten an EOS lip balm in Strawberry Mint by mistake so it didn't surpise me. You can get these by weight of your dog, at Walmart.

Have a great peaceful Sunday,

Jennifer

Throwback Thursday---A little Sampler Revisited

Blooms in August

designed by Feathers in the Nest

Just a little bright thought of my past creative spirit to a pattern I created back a couple or few years ago in August in memory of my son Aaron. I'm sad to say I haven't stitched this one but it's calling me to do so.

In August, it's always that last heat, the last flowers bloom from the Summer to make room for the beautiful Fall mums and other varieties more favorited for cool weather.

Although it's been posted before, I thought I would repost this year because it's one my favorite samplers that I have designed. Being small in nature, I should start on it and maybe I will now.

 Please use the colors in the design as they have special meaning in this sampler. You can choose any blues or golds/yellows. 

Linen --- of choice

Thank you for keeping copyright guidelines for designers!

I hope you have a great day! Today is nice and sunny and really not too humid for the past couple of days. I'm sure out in the sun, it's pretty warm, like August is usually, but we can sense the change, the ever-so-slight change towards Fall air at night.

 September is right around the corner with promises of new beginnings and opportunities for us all if we seek them.

“Autumn seemed to arrive suddenly that year. The morning of the first September was crisp and golden as an apple.” 

― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Newbie Sampler~~~ Bear Good Fruit

Inspired by a big huge watermelon this week, designed this little sampler that should fit nicely in a 5 x 7 in frame or stitched as a pinkeep for your wood bowl in the kitchen!  I hope you enjoy this. The message is something I try to remember every day. 

I'm drinking a banana smoothie that my DH made me while I post it too! 

Bear Good Fruit

designed by Feathers in the Nest

copyright 2014

colors of choice

linen of choice

Summertime good juicy fruits are a definite treat.  

Enjoy and be reminded that we all have "good fruit" to give to others including love, patience, kindness, joy, and peace.

Jennifer

Bloom Where You Are Planted

Bloom. Blossom. Reveal your true beauty and potential.

The total opposite of Doom. You know that feeling that everything is out of control and chaotic?

Well, when inspired to design this sampler, a year or so back, I decided that amongst all chaos, we are to be the best we can be in whatever place or situation we are dealt with. I definitely learned that when we are in the right enviroment our best will shine and we will be happy.

So, hopefully, this will be an encouraging one for you. This one was formerly a freebie.
I am stitching unconventionally this model out of just ........ serendipity.

I'm using burlap. Yup, burlap stretched on a wood frame. I got this at Hobby Lobby and you can get th 10 inch one or 8 inch one. The inches is the space between the wood not the total piece.

This is the 8 inches of stitchable space. FYI Hobby Lobby frequently has a 40% off coupon and the 8 inch one is 5.99. So for 4 bucks you have a piece to stitch and the frame if you like primitive/ rustic, style decor.

I stitched it over 2 with 3 strands of floss.  I think 6 strands could also be used as well.

It's larger stitches than most would like to stitch probably but I would say it is  approximately like stitching on 16 count without the "aida" look to it. I've gotten spoiled to linen.

The sampler is called Bloom. Copyright 2011 by Feathers in the Nest

 

I'm using threads of Crescent Colors Barn Door, and Sullivan threads (2) I had on hand.

 

 

 

you can see how tight this is on the wood frame.

 

 

the underside

 

 

 

 

 

I just clip on my large clip Mighty Brite lite. I use it for reading and stitching. I really don't need it with my glasses on but just for comfort, it helps.

 

Burlap comes in several colors as well. I really am interested in the Oyster color.

But this is the natural. One of my dreams is to teach locally to school -age children how to cross stitch on something of this nature and providing it as a kit. One day.

 

You could also stitch this on 40 count on fine linen and make a small with it to make a nice smal pincushion, or tiny frame.

 

Different mediums, provide different results.

 

 

 

If you see where I have the top needle crossing, I counted my flower border and it stops here. One stitch short of the wood border. Whew!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

So off to stitching I go to finish this border. This will be awesome in my country kitchen or on the wall of the screened back porch. I chose the colors for my own decor and inspired by some flowers that literally took over in the woods one year.

 

 The situation was that I weeded out so many plants in the plant section of my yard, until I really didn't know what I was throwing over into the other side of the dirt drive in the woods. I just knew I wanted it clean. I wanted it back to the start so I could plant what I wanted to.

 

Well, the next year across the dirt road, Hydrangeas took root from this evidently and because in that spot, it had the sunlight (the right conditions), they have bloomed every year and the bush gets larger and larger. The root had been over in the flower section and I didn't realize what I was tossing as weeds but in the right sunlight, then it began to show it's beauty.

 

I learned a lesson from this that we, are not unlike flowers, and will bloom the best in the perfect conditions. Life is not perfect but we certainly can try to surround ourselves with love, honesty, kindness, and "the right sunlight" in order to bloom our best! We can weed out those that try to pull us down, prevent us from growing or threaten our very existance, almost like parasites. Those weeds have to go.

 

Each year, these blue blooms in the midle of nowhere, that took root totally on its own, provide our homestead with many blossoms for vases. I do nothing to them. They grow on their own this way now.

 

 

 

Purl of Wisdom~~~ Bloom Where You are Planted. Surround yourself with lots of good environmental elements and lots of sunshine (positive) and weed out the people, places, things, etc. that prevent or hold you back from shining the way you were intended.

 

Things that help me "bloom" are:

 

a cup of hot tea in a special tea pot

 

the aroma of dried tea in many tastes

 

books, old and new, especially old ones

 

stitching of all kind

 

knitting

 

attending church to understand the Word

 

my dear husband's Christian love and committment

 

writing

 

taking care of Abbie, my sweet girl

 

reading the Bible

 

helping people in my job to help themselves

 

resting in the chaise after a long day

 

surrounding myself with good frendships, the kind that love unconditionally

 

living in the mountains and enjoying nature

 

Simple Living

 

Weeding out Chaos and unloving folks

 

 

I am fortunate to have many. I hope you have a great day and if only one thing to do in your schedule of busy Mondays, do something that helps you grow.

 Reach for the Son.

 

Till later,

Jennifer

 

Country porches~~~Color Therapy

I've been blamed for "loving my house too much".

 Ok. I confess, I do like the house because I put alot of work in it over the years and tried to make it a home. Before I moved here, I thought my dream came true to one day live in the mountains. It's honestly almost like a picture I had on the wall and would dream about it.

 I digress........

For the past 3 weeks, still working on the sanding of 5 layers of old bubbled up paint, in order to put a stain only, a redwood stain, on the floors.

I gotta BIG porch on the front, sides and back.

The project definitely took longer than expected but it's really so relaxing to sit outside at night, minus the skeeters. :P

I have to still do the trimming and sides where the pressure washer knocked off some paint on the bottom of the house and also will repaint these rails.

Note to self:  July is not so good a month to do such a job.

Yesterday and the day before we were in triple digits temp; but, the GOOD thing is a week without rain to do all this. I'm hoping and praying that it doesn't rain while the side is being done.

I was really hesitant at first to go with a drastic change in floor color but it really went well with the red tin roof and the front door. The front door is my next project but it will be painted in an oil based redwood. Then I'll put my "nest" sign back on.

I'm really pleased with the wood after the sanding and staining. So much better than painting over and over on bubbled up paint.

Abbie has been minding the computer and emails since I've been busy either working or running errands or chores around the house. However, she is NOT negected. LOL

She gets to watch from the top of the sofa through the windows.

Got the sticky stuff off the door that held the other sign. A good coat of paint in the same color will be good.

This is a pinecone wreath I've had for about 3 years from my Godmother, Dot.

And Thomas really does lay here under the bench on a freshly washed fluffy pillow.

The back porch, done yesterday, except the sides. Today I have to clean all the back porch and side porch furniture and move it back around.

Did this project ever make a sandy mess? Oh yeah!

The little sampler I stitched and was designed by The Sampler Girl about 2 years ago and it's sustained covered porch outside weather.

The lemonbalm helps keep the mosquitoes at bay.

What a project for today!

This table has always been with the house. The previous owner left it and I painted it redwood and it was housed on the back porch for the past few years. The top is an auction piece of stained glass window which fit perfectly on top of the table to have a spot to eat on cool evenings for two.

As you can tell I like red and I like hearts. This old shutter I got for 8 bucks at a local junkin place about 7 or 8 years ago.

Stay tuned for an after pic of the general re-do of the porches and rails.

This house should feel loved after all it's had done to it since moving here.

Even though I was hesitant at Home Depot, picking out this color, I'm glad I did.

I need to get busy cleaning but I"d rather be stitching. :)

Laundry is calling though. Tomorrow evening I think I will actually get some time to stitch. At least finish the sampler I am on and start a new one.......XXXX my fingers. Then it's back to work on Monday time.

The man that is making this sanding project possible

A cool dude who loves me mor-n- his coffee!

Stay cool!

Jennifer

Happy Sunday

It's just going to be one of those Jane Austen days.

the birds were out chirping early in the morning.

Abbie was lap-hugging first thing this morning

touching base with friends

the sun is shining today

there is peace in my home

a big day ahead for a brief rode trip

my Kindle is loaded with good books

my stitching holder is stocked the week's work

the house is clean all at one time-Yay!

thanking God this morning there are still gentlemen in this world like Mr. Darcy!

I hope you are enjoying your quiet Sunday and if not quiet, at least a small fraction of time to reflect quietly on how blessed we really are.

Till later,

Jennifer

Happy Sunday, friend!

Reading

I have a conflicted relationship with stitching and reading.

 You see, I love both. I'm torn between two lovers!

Recently, I read The Stolen Life, by Jaycee L. Duggard. It was intense, sad, emotional but I think everybody should read it, including cops, nurses, advocates, parole officers, and survivors of abuse.
It was a quick read and Jaycee is the bravest woman I've ever met. You can tell the book is from her heart.

I've also been reading Killing Frost by E. Don Harpe.

His can be found on Amazon as well. He is a great writer.

Tonight I started reading

Carson McCullers, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter

inspired by Oprah's website. This one will have to reach my kindle real soon.

and more to come this week. So whatcha been reading lately?