Toodle Loo...

you all get a lot of stitchin' done
while I'm away,
okay?

Reminder...
Country Stitches is closed from September 27 - October 4th.

I'll be back on the 5th of October with 3 new pattern releases
and some other new goodies from other designers,
too.

With thy Needle & Thread,
Brenda

Getting away...

The lovely coffee table book was gifted to me last Christmas by my son. He was dropping subtle hints that it had been over a year since I had visited him in the state he now calls home. Each phone call he would end it by saying, "When are you going to come visit me?" Mom knew it was time to visit, but was just waiting for a little slow down or lull at work.

So here we are, approaching two years since we've been out there,
still waiting for that little lull,
that little slow down...

A couple weekends ago we were on a little weekend road trip with my sister and her husband. Guys in the front seat, girls in the back seat and me sporting my groovy reading glasses and stitching in hand. The phone rings, it is the sonny boy. Dad has him on blue-tooth, so I'm hearing both sides of the conversation, with he and his dad. The boy is telling his dad there are cheap airline flights to Denver. Before I knew it the dh was handing over his credit card to his brother (yes, his brother is my sister's husband...sister's married brothers) and uncle Bruce is reading off the dh's credit card numbers and the son is booking the tickets. While all this is going on, I'm stressing from the back seat, thinking I can't be gone then, that's when the November Word Play chart releases, I then think holy schmolly I can't be gone that long, I relay that thought to the dh...he tells me, "yes, you can" in a somewhat firm sounding voice.

So folks, I'm taking a few days off...
I'll need to put in some long days
before I leave
but am looking forward to our visit.

I did tell the dh that there are going to be rules
though
on this trip.
I'm scared of heights.
I wasn't aware of this
until the son moved to Denver.
Maybe it's the mountains,
maybe its the thin air,
everything out there just seems so big and vast...
it makes one feel so tiny.

So the rules are:

1. I've already called shot-gun...I get sick in the back seat when driving in the mountains.

2. No resident of Colorado is going to drive the car when I'm a passenger in the car. This means all the driving is going to be done by the dh, peroid. You see the dh drives like an Iowa farmer out checking the crops, if you don't know about this type of driving, just think s-l-o-w. This is the speed I feel safest at when riding on the sides of a mountain with hair pin turns quickly approaching. The son's city driving method is, you have to get up to 30 mph (cause that's the speed limit) from one stop light to the next. Then you slam on the brakes and then do it all over again in one city block, meanwhile Mom's suffering from whip-lash and her food feels like it's tickling her tonsils... This is also the son that is always in need of new brake pads...

3. No hiking a snow/icy glacier this trip either... I'm a whimp, and I'll be the first to admit it.

So we are going to take in the sights of Colorado, the Aspen trees should be at their peak and I'm hoping for some good picture taking. The son mentioned a train ride. I've always wanted to go on a scenic train ride, so I agreed. I asked him if it was scary, he informed me the tracks ran along a river. In hind-sight, he really didn't answer my question. That should have been my first clue...gesh you would have thought I never raised any children. When they dance around your question, not really answering it, that's a red flag, always.

So I always like to research things,
you know like doing a Google search...
So I Googled
Royal Gorge Colorado.
Now I know my vocabulary.
I know what royal means
and
I know what a gorge is.
I just never put two and two together...

Remember I am a mid-western farm girl
and it is pretty flat in these parts,
where I live.

I'm sweatin' bullets folks,
in my Google search
I dug up some info.
There's this thing
called the
Royal Gorge Bridge...
something about it
being the highest
suspension bridge in the world,
at 1053 feet above land.

What have I gotten myself into?
I'm now pretty sure
that the husband
and
son
are talking about mom
behind her back,
poking fun at how freaked out
she's going to be...


So I need your help on this...
Any Colorado readers out there?

If so...

Because if I do,
maybe I should ride in the trunk.

Please tell me
there is a way to that train ride
from Denver
without crossing that bridge,
cause I get sweaty pits
and
white knuckles
just looking at that picture....


So now
if I could just figure out a way
to convince the airport folk
that these sweet little scissors,
at just 2 1/4" long,
are not a weapon...
Do they not know
how much stitching
I could get done in two hours
of un-interrupted time?
{sigh}



Enjoy your weekend,
Brenda

Sampler of the Season - Winter

Here's a peak...

To be released October 5th,
upon my return from our little get-a-way.

The linen and floss kits
for this sampler are already here....yayyyyyy !!!!

We are still patiently waiting for our Weeks Dye Works linens.
We have several of you waiting for these
and
please know we will ship just as soon as our order arrives.
The word on the long waits
for the linens
is that the mills in Belgium
shut down for holiday
for the whole month of August.
The USA hand-dyers depend on these mills
for their linens,
causing us all much distress.
Last word is,
they have their linens
and are dying as fast as they can.
I'm wondering if this back log of linens
and
dying needs
is even slowing down the shipment of flosses,
as it seems like
we are even having hard times
getting complete orders for the flosses.
So we just wait,
as we all love the wonderful looks
that these hand-dyed fibers
give our finished works.

Happy Fall Y'all,
Brenda

Time flies...

My mother always said that...
Time Flies.

With the starting of a new monthly series,
I have a hunch this year is going to fly by.

I'd like to shout out
a big thank you
to all of you
who've joined on board
with my new monthly series,
Word Play...
your response
has been very humbling,
to say the least.

As you are all working on,
or just finishing the October piece,
I'm putting the last stitches in November...
eekkk, I know!
I'm used to these type of deadlines
and to be honest
I think I work best
under pressure.

I'm just working
one month ahead
of you folks on this series.
The remaining 10 months
are just sketches in a notebook
and mental notes
fleeting around in my head.

It's scary to think
that I'm just a week away
from starting
December's Word Play chart.

So, I leave you today
with just a small peek
at the November Word Play.
November Word Play chart
will release
upon my return
from vacation on October 5th.

The goal is to release
the following months
on the 1st of the proceeding month.

Also,
I've had requests
about acorns.
Yes,
I have them on order
and they should be arriving any day.
I'll post a note here
when they arrive,
for all you acorn hungry squirrels!!

Have a good day,
Brenda

It must be Monday...

It's been brought to my attention that the color key and the chart on the Mansion at Fox Hollow don't jive. I think I need a Pepto Bismol, my stomach is in knots over this. Mistakes do happen and I just flat out missed this when proofing the pattern.

If you have one of these patterns in your possession, please take note that the instruction page that lists the symbols and floss colors is incorrect.

The page has been revised and you can find the corrected version here. If you have difficulty downloading this page, please email me at order@countrystitchesonline.com and I'll send you the page via snail mail.

I'm hoping this hasn't caused any confusion and please know I'm very very sorry about this.


Signed,
the one in the dunce hat
aka
Brenda

I've been thinking

please bear with me...

The Winter Sampler of the Season
was originally planned to release this week,
on the first day of Autumn.

(and here is the please bear with me part)

Due to a quickly planned mini get-a-way,
and the fact that the November Word Play
&
Merry Christmas to Ewe Samplers
are both very close to releasing,
the decision has been made
to release them
all together
when I get back.

So
some dates to remember...

Country Stitches will be closed
from September 27 - October 4.

October 5 -
Release date for 3 new charts
Sampler of the Season - Winter
November's Word Play
Merry Christmas to Ewe Sampler

X X X X X

The new sewing needfuls
from Bohin of France
have arrived!
I hope
to have them added
to our website
by this evening.

Not fancy,
but
very functional
&
sharp!
They are just 2 1/4" long
and have a very nice feel in hand.

It was a dreary rainy weekend,
a perfect weekend for stitching,
so I spent a good chunk of it stitching.
I tested the new needles & scissors
from Bohin.
Yep, they are tried & tested
and they've lived up to all the hype,
they have my stamp of approval.

I always am tending to "hunt" for my scissors when I stitch.
To solve this,
I took a piece of the vintage silk seam tape,
price-tag looped
the tape around the scissor handle
and
wore them around my neck.
Perfect, problem solved...

&
needles from Bohin are available in
size #24
&
#26.

The needle slip through the linen with ease,
much like cutting butter with a warm knife...
perfect!

Have a good week,
Brenda

I can't stop laughing...

While hopping from blog to blog,
I came upon the below youtube video
Have you seen this yet?
If not,
its really cute
&
worth
a good laugh!

It so reminds me of my parents,
this so could be my Mom & Dad.

My parents have a laptop.
It sits on Dad's desk
and
Mom always keeps a towel over it
when it's not in use.
Not sure why????

It's Dad's toy.
Mom doesn't use it.
Mom is afraid
she'll get
"that virus"
from if it she uses it.

Perhaps
that's why
the towel is covering it???

Dad has this problem
of
forgetting
his passwords...

He and Mom
argue
over what they think
the password
is...

Dad always thinks
it's
Mom's name.

Mom innocently proceeds
to tell Dad that she thinks
the password
is
"just a row of dots"...


Enjoy
Senior Webcam 101

Frost Warning...

To cover
or
not to cover...
that is the question
of the evening.

The weatherman is calling
for frost warning
tonight.

Will our growing season
come to an end
tonight?

The farmers are hoping not,
they would like a few more days
of warm & sunny weather
for
the corn & bean crops.

So,
with frost in the forecast,
I took a walk along the lake
and snapped a few pics
of our cities
flower gardens...

they have been extremely
beautiful this year...

I've enjoyed them
and am not quite
ready to see
them go...

Pretty shades of pinks, reds,
yellows, purples & oranges...

a candy-striped carpet
of posies,
if you will.
(How many of you had candy-stripe carpet in your home growing up? I might be dating myself here a bit... We had it in our family room and I thought it was the grooviest thing ever!)

But to all things there is a season...

The boys of summer
have put away their playing gloves,
jack frost is knocking upon our door,
&
Autumn is quickly approaching.

Autumn
the second summer,
when every leaf
becomes a flower.

We must have one to have the other.

X X X X X X

Have a good evening,
Brenda

Merry Christmas to Ewe Sampler

If you liked the Witch Hazel Sampler
you will love this one too...
it's a spin off of her!

Vintage sheet music trim will add
extra detail & charm to this
Christmas-time
sampler too.

It's a chilly September day here,
this morning,
think I'll break out the jeans
and a lightweight sweater.

Fall is definitely in the air...

With thy Needle & Thread,
Brenda

Darling!

One word describes these...

Darling,
As simple as that!

Just when you think
there can't be a cuter scissors
on the market,
these cute little 3 3/4" witch boot scissors come along.
{sigh}
They make the heart flutter,
don't they?

Also,
new from Kelmscott
is the Sunflower
needle minder.

New sewing aids
just in time
for your
autumn-time stitching...

Remember,
they make nice little gifts too!

Also new to the shop
are two new patterns from Italian designer, Nicoletta Farrauto
and Pineberry Lane. Check them out, they are good!

Items now posted on our website under the NEW ITEMS category.

Have a good evening,
Brenda

A-hem...

Excuse me?

Pardon me,
fluffy fur child of mine...

Yea,
you.

The one
who can sleep
with
one eye open...

See those stacks of new note cards
that you're about to knock off onto the floor?

The ones behind you.

Yea, those...

In case you didn't notice,
I was in the middle of a photo shoot here.

There is no time for napping,
not now.

I've got work to do...

Alrighty then,
you win.
Again.
{sigh}

Yea,
I know,
I know,
you've had such a tough week
chasing scraps of wool
across the floor
&
bird watching
&
you need your beauty rest,
right?
I've heard this story before...

Several hours
&
a refreshed kitty later,
the photos
are shot!


Announcing the arrival of 5
NEW
note cards,
all with a
sewing/stitching theme.

Note card photos,
taken by yours truly,
of some of my favorite
little vignettes
featuring
some of my favorite antique
sewing needfuls.

Note cards now available for purchase here.

There...
can I go take a cat nap now???
Sometimes it's just hard
being owned by a cat...

Have a good week everyone,
Brenda

9.11.2001 to never be forgotten...
God Bless us
&
keep us safe!

As the saying goes...

One man's junk is another man's treasure...
I often times think of this saying
as I pass
a farm grove
filled with junk.
Why is it that groves
are the final resting places for
items
such as
old pick-ups...

for old clown cars...
I couldn't help but wish that this car was sitting in my backyard,
however,
I. L.O.V.E I.T.
Don't you?

old signage...

lichen-covered vehicles...

old cupolas,
look at that lovely verdigris-covered
copper roof...
{sigh}
LOVE IT.
I wouldn't mind this
in my backyard flower garden
either...

It wouldn't be a grove full of junk
without some
peace sign
graffiti...

old vehicles
make new homes
for spiders
and
fruit-bearing
vines...

If you look closely you may even
find a bird nest
tucked
here and there...

Mother Nature at her best,
wild seeds
planted by birds...

&
old
rusting buckets
become home
to new green seedlings...

all groves filled with junk
need a telephone booth,
right?

and
the more cars
the
merrier...
Look at that old blue paint...
I'm always trying to find fabric
and flosses in this shade of
faded blue.

&
an old
rusting
firetruck...
And that faded rusty red
color...
always trying to find flosses & fibers
in this shade as well
{sigh}

more signage...
There always needs to be a doctor in the grove,
right?

Wait a minute...
what's this?
Paint?
Rags?
Glasses?
It looks like someone works here,
underneath this big shade tree,
in amongst all this collection
of rusting iron...

the glasses are off,
and they've been rained on
&
it appears
the artist
is taking a break...

a break
from
his paint brushes...

a break from creating
creatures
from rusting iron.

BIG CREATURES...

The junk now begins to turn to art
as you meander
further up
the road in this
junk-filled
grove.

Art by the self-proclaimed doctor,
Dr. Evermore of Baraboo, WI.

His art is created from rusting junk
that was salvaged
from his demolition company.
Much of the materials
for his art
was collected
in the 1930-1950's.

Enjoy his creations...


Here we have two baby bugs
having what appears
to be a sword fight...
I'm thinking they're sibling bugs,
don't you?
To give you a better idea how big these critters are,
a picture of my sisters and nephew
being gobbled up
by this scary bug!

There were not only bugs but there were birds too...
BIG BIRDS.
Big birds playing musical instruments.
This one is playing the clarinet...
A bird on the base...
a bird on the chimes...

and
all bird bands
need a conductor,
right?
The dh here,
standing in awe,
just quietly
taking it all in...
Probably thinking of his
junior high school days on the trumpet,
would be my best guess...
&
a funky bird looking his way,
tooting his horns
at the dh...

and the whole bird band...

Heading over to the other side of the grove
we found this...
a baseball team
on the
playing field...

Here is the batter...

and the pitcher,
throwing a 97 mph fast ball...

Stee-rike three, batters out!

And, of course,
there must be an umpire...
See his face mask,
and
his chest protector?
Isn't that a hoot?
His hat is even on backwards!
LOVE IT...
my favorite piece of junk art!
I know a son who would love to
have this piece in his backyard...

A gigantic dragon standing guard

of this 4 ton piece of art...

The
Forevertron.

A space-like contraption
that Dr. Evermore built
to take him on his journey
to life after death.
Simply said,
it is huge!
It's hard to capture
the size of this piece
in a photo.

Some salvage-art pieces are painted,
such as the frog band...

A frog on the accordian,
isn't he cuter then a bugs ear?

At the end of our journey
through this man's grove
my eyes started to feel like these...

and these...

Open wide,
with awe
&
total amazement
of these
creations
constructed from rusting
salvage parts.

Creatures of art...
one man's junk,
another man's
treasure.

If you are ever in the Baraboo/Madison WI area,
look up this treasure,
you'll be glad you did.

Have a good weekend everyone,
Brenda