Twisted Tuesday~~~~~~Going With the Pattern in Life

Hello sweet readers!

It's been a long time since last posting. I took a bit of a break while I am adjusting to a new schedule, new job, and learning lots of new things!!!  In the interim, I have decided that cross stitching AND knitting will be on this blog. I tried to create one just for knitting but kind of like "frogged" the idea. Yup, just going with the pattern of my life right now. It's kinda like going with the flow, so to speak---- a necessary retrospective evaluation for the best and purpose of my blog, and still balance other areas in my life. Simplicity is my goal for 2014 and I appreciate all who are strictly cross stitchers sticking with me through knitting projects and vice versa. :)

I love both needle crafts so!

So, soon I will be deleting the knitting blog. I really didn't have much on there. I have craved the time to stitch and work on a sampler of late but still in the home rennovation mode here at the homestead and into almost the third month, we are still waiting for the flooring company to finish the trim. It was kinda like moving as we had to completely remove things out of all closets and two rooms..........all while starting a new full-time job!!!

We are so pleased with the new flooring which blends in well with the family room, guest bath, hall, and two closets.The colors are very neutral and looks like, but is not, patterned tiles. Anyone who has looked at the new flooring really thinks it is real tile!

Miss Abbie was a bit confused through all the rennovations, and we had to do a bit of "re-potty training" again, but she is worth every bit of extra time and with a lot of love, she is getting back to normal. In fact as I write, she is taking a long sigh on the sofa, stretched out completely on a quilt. Seems like 9pm is her bedtime and slowly becoming my new bedtime after a long day of work ;)

In the beginning of the Summer, I put the knitting needles to mostly working on cotton dishcloths and washcloths. I started making a sweet blend of muted teal, green, and natural beige washcloths for the guest bathroom basket. I'm working on a fourth one now. (pics to come soon)

In the cross stitch world, I'm overwhelmed with the new beautiful samplers that are out. Just absolutely gorgeous!  I'm trying not to leave my WIPs to start another one, but the temptation is strong.

Is anyone else as pulled between the love of cross stitching and the love of knitting???

What are some of the samplers or knitting projects you are working on now??

Most of all, are you a morning stitcher or an evening stitcher??

Just some thoughts as I reach out to all things needles today!

I hope your week has gotten off to a good start. Time is certainly flying this Summer.

So it's off to bed without a stitch this evening.

  But, definitely every day is a new beginning for something new.

It's amazing how much "stuff" we have found and then "stuff" we have lost in shifting all the things around for putting in the new flooring!  When I find my memory disc for the computer, I will post some pics soon.

In closing, just a thought for encouragement. Figs make the Summer sweeter. As I love poetry, I read this tonight in one of my books of poetry I read over and over again.

 The book is "Poems That Live Forever" selected by Hazel Felleman.

First Fig

My candle burns at both ends,

It will not last the night,

But, ah, my foes, and oh, my friends~~

It gives a lovely light!

~~~~~Edna St. Vincent Millay

and my WIP awaits.........for new patterns of my life.............

Goodnight

New Freebie: Summer Time and Patience sampler

Summertime Patience

copyright 2014

designer, Feathers in the Nest

Jennifer Ann Fox

(Click on the design for bigger picture and to print out. Please do not sell, or distribute. Thank you for your understanding on copyright)

My inspiration for this sampler I designed is yellow butterflies and those green catepillars that I see every Summer. I love butterflies. Especially yellow ones. We have many out this time of year, soaring through the butterfly bushes and flittering around so we can see them through the windows or on the porch.

When I was a little girl, seems like Summers lasted longer than they do now. In actuality with school, we did get out earlier in the Spring and started back later in the Fall. Even though I loved the Summer time activities, I actually loved school more. My love for reading and writing persist to this day. I remember the best part of Summer was the reading book club at the library.

 As the years roll on, they get shorter and shorter especially if I fill up my life with too many "things" on my list.

Not only in Summer, but also any time of our lives in which we are going through times that seem to last forever and ever, the little catepillars can be a reminder that with time and patience they will become a beautiful butterfly one day.

As I get older, I seem to have more patience with things. I think it's because with time and many years of learning life lessons. I know the key to those long periods of wait are time and patience.

Introspection can really help me see the possibilities and set my perceptions to a positive direction, knowing that through those long periods, my patience is being sharpened for the next time and the next and the next. I am not perfect by any means  but I'm encouraged by a simple yellow butterfly to remember that with time and in the right time, beautiful things can happen. 

And I think yellow butterflies flying around are very beautiful!

Bottom line is, what we put our time and patience in, will yield something beautiful.

We may not be able to always see it, but we can always have hope. 

Summertime is shorter for me now. It flies by literally because the weather in the mountains is really not as hot as it was growing up in South Georgia as a child. However, I'm still reminded of situations in my life that keep trucking along at a catepillar pace sometimes but have been told many times to remember that with time and patience, things change for the better. 

I hope you like this little sampler and stitch it up for the Summer as a positive reminder when you pass it by in a special place in your home. We all need those positive reminders especially in this world of so much negative. 

For book lovers, you can stitch this one up on 40 count for a book mark for a special friend or a sweet pinkeep.

Colors suggested are

Gentle Art Spring Grass (light green)

Gentle Art Cinnamon (catepillar legs)

DMC 310 black

Week's Dye Work's Saffron (yellow)

I just love the Spring Green color! You can choose any that would match your decor, vintage it up, or whatever. 

I hope you start your week off with peace, happiness and hope.

With hope,

Jennifer

P. S.  Other natural beauty around homestead today were 2 deer. Just outside the window. A small buck and a doe. The buck was barely growing his antlers................sweet.

This is How We Roll in the 2014 Summer---Good Changes to the Homestead!

Hey there!

This is the first day of Summer officially and the longest day of the year!

It seems to be a long time since I posted last. I'm working full-time now and getting adjusted to the change has been so refreshing. I'm really enjoying this job and in fact, it combines the best of all worlds in the areas of nursing I have been in in my 30 year career. The folks I work with are the nicest I've ever worked with, very kind, helpful and alot of teamwork. I've been in the car alot, so I've read nearly 2 full books on my Kindle this week. When I travel, I just turn on my Kindle to text to speech mode and it makes the time fly by and also some interesting reads I had picked out on Pixel of Ink. If you haven't seen Pixel of Ink, go to facebook and search for it. This page offers about 8 books a day for free, or at a deep discount. You have to grab them when you can because then the next day the price goes from 0 to like 12.99 again. I enjoy watching out for some good reads on this page daily.

 We also have been working on the homestead here in the mountains and had a little hiccup with the new floors. After they put them in, bubbles started to appear and the store manager states that this has happened one other time with the particular flooring and is a defect. They now have to pull up all the flooring and start over with a new kind.  I'm bummed out about that because we had guests coming soon and I really liked the new floors alot! We are going today to pick out the new pattern and I think it will take a couple of weeks again to get it in. Slowly but surely though some changes have made a big difference in the flow of the house and to simplify and have only what we use and love.

Here is a peek at one side of the rooms. Yay, to my loving husband for moving a 600 pound piano across a huge room!!!!

Here's Abbie, a little confused for day 2 of the project, but now she loves the arrangement. The sofa is under the window and she loves to look out and watch the wildlife around here. Lou the cat, loves to sit on the porch bench and watch us in the house.

So this is just half of what we did and it really made a difference. It feels huge in this house now.

The kitchen I will take extra pics of later, even though that flooring will have to come up so you can see the kitchen table in there. The kitchen island was moved to the laundry area and provides a GREAT nook for storage of linens and a wide open top for folding clothes.

Over the buffet my downstairs sampler wall is rearranged a bit. This is where the piano used to be.

Abbie has her own spot. She loves the vintage, down-filled pillow to sleep on, and has her own basket of toys and "wardrobe" box. There's a little ray of sun there in the day and it's her favorite nap spot.

I absolutely love our chairs comfy by the fireplace now. My stitching chair will be cozy this Winter.

I sat down and played a tune or two and will soon be getting this piano tuned. I was waiting for it to be moved before tuning because any time you move a piano it has to be retuned anyways.

My dearest husband plays the guitar and he has two of them. They fit well in the house and we both share a deep love for music.

From the kitchen, this photo was taken, looking onto a whole different layout that really makes the flow in this area much better. Much bigger for entertaining guests.

As frustrating as it is cleaning out and sorting, donating and having to redo all the kitchen, hall and bath floors, there has been so much positive out of it. And it makes a world of difference for you to have a life partner/ husband who is willing to do anything to help. We make a good team and have very similar tastes in decor.

My other project is making my downstairs guest room, a REAL guest room. I've got some new ideas from a friend who has a you tube channel, about how to make it GUEST ready.

So more pics to come in the future of the old kitchen.................. the best part of the house to have a cuppa. Well, I take that back, the back porch is cozy too this time of year. Honestly, as hot as it's been in town, it's been no higher than the 80s here on the shaded back porch. We enjoy barbequing on the grill on Saturday nights and eating on the back porch table. 

I hope you are having a great weekend! Till later and after more cleaning and moving................and finding a good recipe for Kale. Yup, I've only eaten Kale once in my life and I love it. Trying to incorporate more veggies in our diet.

Thank you for hanging in there with me this Summer!

Jennifer