We've added 7 new colors of the vintage seam tape ribbon!
"Bunny Tails Too" will be released on March 5th! This will be a larger formatted pattern, including pattern instructions for 3 lovely Easter & Spring inspired projects. We call these our "3 for 2 Patterns"...3 patterns for the price of 2!
Think bunny tails, bunny whiskers, pretty silk bows, cross stitch, woolly appliqued tulips & daffodils...ahhh yes, tis it Spring yet???
I did see a Robin when visiting Des Moines last weekend, but that is further south and they are usually 10 degrees warmer and Spring arrives 2 weeks earlier there. Grandpa Dave & I are packing our bags and looking forward to a G-ma & G-pa weekend with little Beckham...should be full of fun!
Have a good weekend everyone,
Brenda
It is this time of year I do the "to me - from me" thing and buy myself a bouquet of these lovely Spring-time flowers each week. I love that on one side of my window it may still be cold and snowy, but on the inside it looks fresh & Springy. I love this contrast....the overlapping of seasons, if you will.So I carefully filled one of my favorite pitchers with the bouquet, added a few eggs and my very favorite antique treasure...a bunny who's made from a very coarse/scratchy sort of wool and filled with straw and has a cute little furry-type tuft for it's tail.
I came home from work yesterday and noticed this clump of fur on the floor and thought....hmmm Agassi (our family cat) must be doing some Spring-time shedding...you know, losing his winter coat, as they say... Upon picking it up and inspecting closer, I realized it was my bunnies tail. I look up and over to my little Spring-time flower display in the window and the bunny is missing! I now have a missing bunny, who's missing it's tail, and I'm pretty sure the said family cat is the guilty bunny snatcher. What would you think? I immediately went and checked out his water and food dish as this is usually where I find his "treasures"...but, no bunny. After more searching around the house I find my poor bunny wedged under one of my old cupboards, tail missing and well lets just say this bunny had a few dust bunnies on him! Bunny was a cat toy for the day. Isn't there a saying that goes, when the cat's away, the mice will play??? Doesn't he know he's not the mouse in this scenario????
Well...
After all is said and done, Agassi dusted my floors for me while I was at work yesterday, wasn't that nice of him??
Now, if I could only get him to do our laundry...
Have a good day,
Brenda
Look who's hopping down the bunny trail...
Our 7th in the "3 for 2" pattern series is nearing completion! Just as the other 6 were, this pattern too, will feature wool applique with our signature cross-stitched accent motifs & sheet music adornments, plus punch needle and more!
"Bunny Tails" coming soon!
The hike up the backside takes you through a craggy-rocky terraine lined with towering Ponderosa Pines.
And for the average tourist that doesn't get this opportunity of viewing Mount Rushmore from the backside,
Just kidding! Sorry, couldn't help myself...
This is the Hidden Hall of Records. It too is located on the backside of Mount Rushmore. It's original purpose was to house the original Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The original plan was revised, but the intent remained and in 1998 tablets with the story of our nation were sealed in a vault in the Hall of Records. They were placed in a teak wood box and placed in the titanium vault and finally sealed under a 1200 pound granite stone. The Hidden Hall is closed to the general public, due to the climb and public safety.
Upon reaching the top...
adding peace & quietness of this spectacular monument
honoring our founding fathers.
Happy Presidents Day!
the decision has been made
&
its been a tough decision...
I really wanted to stitch the "Ann Sandles - 1864" sampler myselfBUT
I know
if I don't get this out of sight & out of mind
and then I'll have 3 relatively large pieces in the works...
Good Bye Ann.
I've had numerous emails asking, requesting & pretty pleasing whether I will be offering any of our new Easter-time punch needle patterns in cross stitch form.
I'm happy to inform you that the "BUNNY & CO" design has been charted for cross stitch and is on it's way to April, one of my stitchers. She said she would have a "hot needle" and get 'er done quick! I knew I couldn't possibly take one more cross stitch piece on. I am currently STILL working on the Ann Dickinson sampler while watching TV in the evening and another piece while supper is in the oven. Yes, remember I have ADD when it comes to stitching!! Then there is the "Ann Sandles 1864" piece that is totally tempting & teasing my needle. But I keep telling my self, "I must refrain" as I play with the floss pallet of this piece...the colors in this piece are wonderful! This is a reproduction of an antique Adam & Eve sampler from my collection. There are lots of reds in this piece (yum, love red samplers) and it's been charted using Gentle Arts flosses.
I'd like to say "THANK YOU" to all of you who ordered our new patterns...wow, there are going to be some busy folks out there! A large portion of these orders have already shipped...get your needles & threads ready!!
Do you like my hand's dish in the above photo?? This is a new treasure of mine and I love it to death. The dish is an old AVON piece and the moment I saw the raised wording "AVON" on the bottom of it, I knew I had to own it. You see, I spent most of my summer-time days as a young girl playing Avon lady, in fact my very first blog post was about this. I'd have my bag filled with those tiny little white lip-stick samples that my Mom's Avon lady would leave her and I'd sit on our front steps, pretending...talking to myself...and writing up AVON orders. My hot pink LOVE IS notebook folder was my order book. Anybody remember the LOVE IS character? Hmmm...wonder whatever happened to the hot pink LOVE IS folder??
A great mix!
Stop by and visit us online to view all these wonderful stitching goodies...they are all temptations, that's for sure!
There, now he's not freezin' his little tail feathers off...the magic of digital photography!
We are all freezin' our little behinds off here....brrr, this is much, too much, too cold for February!
But I remind myself that our feathered friends begin to think about nesting, courting and singing their territorial bird songs in this very month of February. These little sights and sounds give one hope, hope that warm, sunny and melting days are coming!
Did you know that in the month of February (in our neck of the woods) these little things are going on outside your very window...
The Great Horned Owl is nesting.
Cardinals begin to sing before sunrise, loud & long....this is their courting song.
The woodpeckers begin their drumming.
Melting begins and icicles begin to decorate the edges of roofs like lace-edging.
We have gained an hour and 2o some minutes of day light since the winter solstice.
Raccoons are out now most nights and become very vocal.
The house finch begins to sing their territorial songs.
And the true messengers of spring-time arrive! The first sightings of the Robin usually occur in this very month.. Hard to believe isn't it??
With that thought in mind...bundle up, stay warm...
just 38 days until Spring!
Have a good day,
Brenda
much like a bird on her nest
does...waiting for her new arrivals to appear.
NEW spring-time arrivals coming soon!
See the cute little grass-lined bird's nest? See the robin & quails eggs above? When the order of these arrived it was like a fresh breath of spring-time air...even though it was 20 degrees below zero the day they arrived. These sweet spring spirited items are now available for purchase on our website. Yesterday I tucked a dozen of them in an antique Ball jar with a zinc lid...simply wonderful!
Do you see the bee?
The piece will be titled, "The Homestead Samplar".
