Lots of News!

Hidey Ho, my friends! Can you believe that fall is here already? Where oh where did our summer go? I don't know when I've had a busier few months.
As you know if you read my last post, my BFF's Julie and Sheila and I went on a girls weekend to Columbus, Ohio to the Country Living Extravaganza. We had a GREAT time! We got to Columbus on Thursday evening but not before stopping along the way. We found this really cute shop (actually, it was a group of shops) right off the interstate called the Homestead Collection (exit 161 off of I75) in Findley, Ohio. It was tucked behind an antique mall and we found it by chance. We each dropped a bit of money here and we hadn't really gotten started on our trip yet! Whoo Hoo - the excitement is building and we are getting geared up! BTW, this shop was SO wonderful in fact, we stopped on the way home and left what little money we had left after the Country Living Fair here. Definitely worth the trip if you're anywhere nearby.

Oh yes, the stuff inside was just as wonderful as you might imagine. Have a look:


Here are Sheila, me and Julie (left to right) as we got ready to leave this wonderful shop.

Okay.... back in the car and on to Columbus! When we got there, it was early afternoon so we decided to go to the fairgrounds to scope it out. They wouldn't let us inside but a really nice guy, named Mike told us that the parking lot opened at 6:30 and the cars would start piling in. Not to be outdone by anyone, we thought we'd get up and head over there about 6:30. That should be plenty of time to get a good spot in line, wouldn't you think? Well, you'd think right. We got there bright and early and were the ONLY people there. No worries. We grabbed a quilt from the car, grabbed our yummy Mickey D's breakfast and copped a squat right at the gate. Mike (remember the nice guy) saw us and just about hurt himself laughing at us. It was all in good fun, we laughed pretty good at ourselves, too!

It wasn't too long before the rest of the crazies joined us in line (in truth, it was about an hour, at least) but while we waited, we got to know the gate staff quite well. The best part about getting there early is probably that we got to be the first to use the porta-potties. I have to go REALLY, REALLY bad before I'll step foot into one of those things normally but first in - not so bad.
As the sun came up, Julie worked a bit on my BOAF Friendship sampler (yep it's done, pic later).

The fair was wonderful, lots of amazing vendors and we bought a lot! Here are a few of the things I got.
This white cabinet now has a new home in my craft room - yep, I can fit more stuff in there!

I bought all the goodies to make this little chair pad and yep, that's mine, already done. It's punchneedle with wool yarn. Looks like a rug - it was so easy and fun and FAST to do. I will definitely be doing more of these but I've got to find a better (read less expensive) source for wool yarn.

I bought a pretty painted, wood hamper for our bedroom, forgot to take a pic of that and a paper making kit - nothing pretty to take a picture of for that.


I want to show you some pictures of the vendors - just a treat for the eyes.






We three had a great time. There is nothing like a bit of time away with really good friends to restore your soul.
Have you had enough yet? As I mentioned above, Julie finished her girl on my BOAF Friendship Sampler. I love how it turned out.


I also finished the SB Sail Away piece I've been working on with my SAL friends. I love how it turned out. I changed a few things about it. Besides adding the boys names, I changed the color of the house from black to blue, changed the color of the fish so they'd show up a bit better and I changed the last line of the verse to read "Come sailing home to me" rather than, "come back again to me". I also decided not to put any of the charm's or buttons on this one - I like it just the way it is.
You can check everyone's progress HERE:


As if all this weren't enough to make me a happy girl, look what I got in the mail from PATTI.


I won her blog giveaway a while back and the goodies were worth the wait, wouldn't you say? Look at that beautiful piece of fabric, the scissor fobs, the pinkeep - whoo hoo! the thread separator is just the coolest thing and look at the pretty patterns and floss I got! What a wonderful giveaway, Patti. Thank you so very much! I love everything but of course, the best piece is the one you stitched and finished yourself. A keepsake that I'll treasure.

Whew! I'm worn out. I hope you enjoy the pics - it's a lot to take in. I know. Have a great week, wherever you are and know that I appreciate your visits, your comments and your friendship! I am off now to catch up on some long overdue blog reading!

Peace,
Terri

If you see me....

at the Country Living Fair, PLEASE say Hello. If you aren't sure you'll recognize me from all the self indulgent pics I've posted of myself on this blog (and trust me, I photograph better than I actually look!), you can recognize me by this:



I'm sure I won't be the only one with this cute, little cart so I thought I'd bring Miss Pitts (from CHS) along for the ride. Isn't she cute? Here's another picture of her:

Edited to add that I found these carts at Marshall's Home Goods ~ $19.99. Not the sturdiest things in the world but could they be any cuter?

I can't wait to get going. But, before I leave, Rob and the boys and I went out to dinner so I could spend some time with my guys before being away from them (oh yes, they are really going to miss me!) for the next 4 days. It was Wino night at the restaurant (bottles of wine were 1/2 price :-)). Not a good thing for Rob and me. We split a bottle of Pinot Noir so if this post doesn't make sense, you'll understand why. The nice thing about having driving age kids is that they can drive us home! YeaH!

I made these little bags for Sheila, Julie and I (I so hope they don't see this post before we leave in the morning). They're no great shakes but I found the bags at Hobby Lobby, tea stained them and then added some vintage buttons to form their initials. Then I filled them with travel essentials (yep, I included a dollar bill 'cause you can't give a wallet or a purse without money in it, can you?) . I hope they'll like them. So, that's another way you can recognize us. I'll be the one with the "T". Brilliant, I know. I included a sun screen, a lip block, some Tylenol (although I'm more likely to need that than they are!), a little book to keep track of what they see and may want to purchase and some candies and gum and a couple of other things. Nothing big, but still, kind of fun. Sheila has a cart just like mine but in navy and Julie's is in Green. If you see any of us, please stop us, they'll have my cell phone so they can call me if you find them before you find me.





If you're going, I hope I get to meet you! If you're not, please check back here next week for all the exploits! Be safe, have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by!

Peace!
Terri

Gearing Up!

BFF's Julie and Sheila and I are all heading off to Columbus, Ohio next Thursday for the Country Living Magazine Fair. I can't wait! We're leaving early Thursday morning and coming back Sunday night. Are any of you going? There will be all kinds of demonstrations, craft exhibits and shopping - lots and lots of shopping. You can read all about it HERE. In order to get ready for this event, I thought I should head out to our local antique market this morning. This little market is held three times a year and this was the last one for this year. I didn't find too much - not anything I couldn't live without anyway. Except for these.


They weren't very much money and I thought they were useful and pretty. I love glassware!


I seem to be one of those two steps forward, three steps back kind of gals. Now, you would think if a young girl, back in the 1800's, could stitch a sampler without any of the amenities we have today, that I, not being a total idiot, ought to be able to do the same. NOPE! I am, apparently, an idiot and not of the savant variety! This is Elizabeth Savilles and let me just say that who in their right mind would think a young girl would make a flower with white outside petals? Nobody! But look what I did - I can't tell the difference between the red and the white symbol on this chart. But worse than that, while I was stitching it I kept thinking this just looks awful. Why would she have done that? Well... she DIDN'T do it - I'm an idiot! Then there's another error with the flowers on the tree - they're supposed to have green tops, not red. I can't tell that symbol apart either. Now, all that stitching I did (and granted, it wasn't all that much) has to be frogged and re-stitched. Yikes! I do love this sampler though and wish I could get more motivated to work on it. I'm going to commit right here, right now, to finish this before I start anything new. Really.....



Finally, let me show you my progress on the Prairie Schooler Year over one project. I got stalled at July and haven't finished that block yet. I now have to try to finish July and August and September before the end of the month. Doubtful.


That's all the news that is news, sports fans! Have a great weekend! Thanks for stopping by and for all the wonderful comments you take the time to leave for me.

Peace,
Terri

A Blast from the Past

My stitching style has changed a lot in the years since I began stitching. I don't even have most of the things I stitched back when I was a teenager or early adulthood. I gave them away or did God knows what with them. I do have a piece that I stitched almost 19 1/2 years ago to celebrate Rob and I getting married. I wouldn't stitch this today but I loved it then. Do you have an old piece hanging around that even though your style has changed, you keep around for sentimental reasons? I think now I'm stitching pieces that will stand the test of time (not all of course, some you just gotta do for fun) but the samplers and more traditional things I think, I will love forever.

This is a Charles Wysoki pattern for which I've long forgotten the name. Sorry for the glare - this was before I started using museum glass!



This is a glove mold that my dear, Aunt Katheryn sent me. I love it. Her daughter Paige had given me one but my Rob broke it, not too long ago. Oh, you can tell it's a hand but the finger that remains does not make the prettiest of pictures. Rob went on the hunt to find me another one and, he found one on ebay. It was such a deal that he got two for the price of one! Well, no wonder - the mold must have belonged to an amazon woman and her mate 'cause they were huge! That alone wouldn't be so bad but the hands were only glazed 1/2 way up. Unglazed porcelain gives me the willies! They weren't pretty. My mom mentioned to my aunt that mine had broken and she had one that she sent me! This one is a pretty, 6 1/2 size mold and I love it! Thank you Aunt Katheryn! The little piece of stitching is a little fob Julie stitched on paper for me last year.


The 6 1/2 is in front, the others are the two Rob got me.. Check out the wrists on those things! He waited too long to even look at them to return them, bless his heart.

BTW, did you know that if you talk about someone in a not very complimentary manner that if you add "bless his/her heart" that it's okay? Yep, my momma told me so. You've gotta say it in a really sweet, southern voice like she does though. "Why that boy is about as dumb as a rock, bless his heart." Really, it's true. Try it, you'll see. Okay, this is not a license to go be mean. Mean people suck!

This isn't old but it's what I did last night instead of stitching. I covered some cans with pretty scrapbook paper, added some pretty velveteen ric-a-rac and other goodies, put modge podge all over them and viola! I put a piece of cork in the bottom so the can wouldn't be so hard on my scissors or make so much noise. They look great against my red craft room wall.


While I was out yesterday, I bought some new ribbon. I love having pretty ribbon on hand to wrap packages or just to pretty a little something up a bit. I thought these were kind of fun and vintagey looking.



I have been neglecting some of the things I should be stitching (like my Prairie Schooler Year - I am woefully behind) but I have loved working on this little beauty with my SAL friends:

We won't stitch the last line of the verse or the fence at the bottom for another week so I have a bit of time to work on something else. You can check everyone's progress HERE I made a few minor changes - added my boys names, stitched the house in a blue/grey rather than the black and changed the color of the fish so they'd show up a little better, changed some flower stems and maybe a couple of other things, too. I love this and can't wait to have a finish!

Finally, I want to show you a pic of this poor little squirrel. I heard Sophie and Gracie barking like mad the other morning. I went outside and found this poor little guy clinging to our brick for dear life. He was so scared, I had plenty of time to run get the camera. He finally got down to safety!


I hope your week is blessed, not stressed like the little squirrel! Thank you for visiting and thank you for the lovely comments you leave for me. I love reading them and knowing that you were here!

Peace,
Terri

Unexpected Surprises ~ Part Deux

WARNING - HEAVY PICTURE POST!

This post was initially started on 6 August but didn't get completed or published until today, Sept. 2nd!

Boy! Has this been one busy month and a half! I celebrated my 50th birthday - UGH! Rob painted, sanded and generally fixed up the entire lower level (plus the upstairs bath) of the house, I removed wall paper (and didn't do a very good job of that) and then Rob had to try to fix the mess I made, Matt had his Eagle Scout ceremony and the big party at our house following, I refinished the bathroom cabinets in the boys bathroom, my parents came for a week long plus visit, I made lots of scissor fobs and seems like more ~ maybe I'll remember as I write this.

It has been a whirlwind of activity these last few weeks and I have so many things to share with you! First I just want to say thank you to all of you that sent such wonderful birthday wishes! This post is long overdue because I didn't feel like I could post on my blog about gifts until I had written thank you notes to everyone. I finally got them all mailed on Monday morning so if you don't have yours now, you should have it soon. In addition to all the good happenings, this has been a personally challenging month and I just have been overwhelmed. Fortunately, things are settling down and getting better and I'm ready to share!

Unexpected Surprise #1 - Never, when I started blogging, did I expect to make so many friends! But - that's exactly what has happened. To all of you who posted birthday wishes on my blog, or sent me an email or a card, thank you so very much! I was tickled to death to get each and every one. In addition to that, I got some other wonderful, unexpected gifts (in no particular order):

Unexpected surprise #2, Britta (no blog - it's a pity!) in England sent me this wonderful hornbook! Look how dainty (just like I USED to be) and pretty it is. She also included a beautiful mother of pearl button with the little girl and dog on it (oh so pretty), two darling charms (that Eiffel tower charm is going on my BBD Eiffel Tower pinkeep when I finish it) and this wonderful graph paper, note paper. And check out the pretty fabric envelope that her sweet card was tucked into. Isn't it wonderful? Britta, to say I was shocked is an understatement. You could have knocked me over with a feather! Thank you so very much; I'm so pleased to have something you stitched in my collection of beautiful things!



Unexpected Surprise #3; Robin in Virginia (no blog.....) has become a dear friend of mine over the last couple of years. She's the best person I know about sending sweet cards for no reason at all, and never seems to forget a special occasion. My birthday was no different. Look at the wonderful pinkeep she made for me. Robin knows I love Mary Garry designs and this is a beauty! I will keep it with my collection of lovelies all year long because who can stand to put something so pretty away? Thank you dear, Robin!


Unexpected Surprise #4: Melissa in Canada sent me this darling package with the sweetest card. I love the little thread winders (each one is a different color) and will put them to good use! I am so inspired to get a sewing basket like Roz's going (previous post) because they need a really pretty place to be kept. She also sent me three strands of gorgeous fall colored floss as well. I will have to find just the right project to use these. Thank you so much Melissa! I love your unexpected gift and am so glad we've become friends!


Unexpected Surprise #5; CARI in Virginia sent me the most decadent box of chocolates. The Fed Ex guy knocked on the door and when I opened it, I was so surprised! Will you look at these beautiful chocolates? I swear, you all KNOW how much I love chocolate! I was literally drooling with anticipation. Have you ever seen such pretty edibles in your life? I wish Cari, and all of you, could join me on my patio for a tall glass of iced tea (southern style!) and a chocolate. But, since there's not enough to go around, I'll eat them all! hee hee hee ~ sorry! I have to admit, they are long gone but I will enjoy the memory of such a sweet gift for a very long time! I think these may have been the BEST chocolates I have EVER had. Thank you so much, Cari.


Unexpected surprise #6 JOLENE sent me this beautiful package. Can you believe it? Fabric from the temple (SB), darling patterns and needles. Thank you so much Jolene. Uh-oh, I just noticed that one of the patterns Jolene sent me I forgot to include in the photograph - I'll show you that one next time! I love the patterns and the fabric and can't wait to get started on a new project. Thank you!



The day of my birthday I celebrated with my Rob and the boys. Rob cooked dinner, got the cake and I was treated quite well. I got some more beads for my Troll bracelets, I got a one hour massage gift certificate and a beautiful gold bangle from Hawaii. This one has the boys Hawaiian names engraved on it. For my 40th birthday, Rob gave me one with my Hawaiian name (Keli) on it. Maybe for 55 or 60 (if I make it that long), I'll get one with his name on it! The smaller one, a quilt pattern, we got the last time we visited Rob's sisters that live on Oahu. I love bracelets!!!

My DF Sally (no blog) had a birthday this month as well. She is in the process of decorating her craft room so I got her these Gingher scissors and made the fobs to go on them.


I think she liked them. Those big, white blobs are pearls.....

Also this month I was supposed to be helping LORAINE lead a SAL on SB's Sail Away. I haven't been any help at all but Loraine is doing a fantastic job. In honor of leading without actually doing any of the work, I decided to make all the Sailors a scissor fob. I made 20+ fobs and I took this pic at the 1/2 way point. (You'll get yours next time I see you, Deb!)

They're all the same, yet each one is slightly different. I hope everyone liked them and if you haven't received yours, by all means, shoot me an email! The blue and white pearls represent the colors of the sea and the individuality of each sailor, the turtle reminds us that no matter how quickly or slowly we stitch, that we will all get there eventually.
Here's a link to our SAL blog. Loraine did a great job with the blog and has one of my favorite Hawaiian singers in the playlist: Iz - go have a look and a listen.
Sail Away Stitch-a-long Blog
Here's a pic of my Sail Away progress to date:



My major activity this moth (August) was getting ready for Matt's Eagle Scout ceremony and party. I put an unbelievable amount of hours into a slideshow and in the script for the ceremony and the programs to hand out. I have cried at every Eagle Scout ceremony I've ever been to but not my own kid. I guess, after you've looked at the slideshow for something like 30+ hours, it's no longer quite as touching. I did shed a tear or two when Matt's pal Eric got up to speak but other than that, not so much. I won't go on about it more than I already have for the past few months other than to show a few pics.

Matt giving his speech and reflections on being in Scouts.

BFF Julie's son Josh leading the flag ceremony:

Matt's Cake (No! I did not bake/decorate it)

Me pinning the eagle medal on Matt:

Matt, his pal Eric (in blue shirt), his scoutmaster a fellow eagle scout named Tyler and another scout named Alex:

My mom and dad on the patio before the party:


A shot of the backyard before the party:

On the morning of Matt's party, my mom says, "Do you want me to recover the cushions on those old green chairs on the patio?" Surely she didn't mean today, the day of the party? Yep, that's exactly what she meant. While I readied the food and the patio, Rob got the ice, beer, wine, beer and sodas and beer, my dad vacuumed and my mom sewed the cushions. Here's a pic of my folks sitting on them just prior to heading off to the ceremony. Aren't they cute - my parents I mean, not the cushions (but the cushions are cute too). Can you believe they are both in their 70's? I only hope I age as well.....


I was also busy this month getting ready for my folks to come visit. For some reason, before they arrived, in the midst of all the other "stuff" I had going on, I got the bright idea to re-do the boys bathroom (which also serves as the guest bathroom). So, Rob painted the walls and I refinished the cabinets and bought and hung new window treatments and shower curtains. Refinishing the cabinets wasn't nearly as easy a task as I thought it was going to be but in the end, they turned out great. The old oak doors/drawers were just ick from all the moisture in the bathroom and I am so glad to have them gone! I still have a 4 drawers to finish (as you can see) but that'll get done in the next few weeks - no hurry now!


While my folks were in town, my dad, dh and boys golfed a lot. My mom and I shopped a lot. This is what I found at one of the antique stores:



Kind of pretty, don't you think? You can see that it used to be a pretty shade of blue but age has turned the top a lovely, deep green. I wish it still had the lock but that's okay, 'cause look what was inside:



The basket is marked Germany, as are the scissors. The larger pair of scissors are much more used, the gold is more worn than on the smaller pair but they're still pretty and they are still very sharp. The only thing that appears to be missing is a thimble (I think) . I paid all of $37 for this and while it's not in great shape, I just couldn't pass it up! Have you ever seen one like this - I've searched everywhere and can't find one. Any idea how old it might be? I don't know if it has any value but I just love it! I may try to recover the inside with new satin but then again, if I mess it up - I'd be sick so maybe I'll leave it be for the time being.

Also while my mom was here we hit a beautiful fabric store and got this old fashioned oil cloth. My mom is a talented sewer and I always manage to find a job or two for her when she visits! She made this cute, old fashioned apron for me. isn't it cute?





She also made this awesome tablecloth. The solid black is actually chalkboard cloth - shhhhh.... don't tell my boys (although I think they're too old to care) and it's not as shiny as it looks in the picture. I love it - I just wipe it down and keep on going. Didn't she do a great job?



Are you still with me? Here are a couple of pics of the new paint job. I used an off-white for the trim, a kahki color for the walls and a red for the accent walls. Here are a couple of shots of the new paint job:



And finally, sadly, my dear Aunt Nancy just passed away the night of the 31st. She had just begun her battle against lung cancer - we had a luminaria for her at the Relay for Life this spring. I will miss her as will all of her family and friends. She was a bundle of joy who loved Elvis and her family (not necessarily in that order!) and she will be sorely missed. Charlie, Dina and David, you are all in my heart and my prayers.

I hope that now that August has passed that I will have a little down time to stitch, visit your blogs and catch up on lots of things. I hope your summer has gone well, that your families are happy and healthy and that you know how much I appreciate your visits, your comments and your friendship.

Peace,
Terri