Good stitching weather!

Hope you all enjoyed a great holiday weekend!

 Mine didn't quite go as planned. 

 A weekend of yardwork and gardening was on my agenda,

however mother nature put a wrench into that... 

 

 We had 10" of rain in 48 hours...so much for yardwork and gardening!  

 

 

1500 homes/businesses in our town have flooded basements, we are one of them.   When I woke Sunday or maybe it was Monday...I could hear running water in the basement...it was water that had seeped in around our egress window and was running to the drain. 

 Unfortunately, the water has to run over carpet before it gets to the drain.

 

 

  So, I buried my head in my stitching,

while the dear husband dealt with the shop-vac and soggy basement....

 

On a brighter note,

I did get a lot of stitching done on the Summer Sampler

and wrapped up pattern instructions for my new charts.

 

Here is a peak at the pattern covers...

If you've purchased our new little book of needles,

the first three pattern covers will look familiar

as I've stitched those designs into

 pincushions

and a

 sweet sewing roll.

 

 

 

Won't the Dame of the Needle book of needles be a lovely little needful to tuck into the pocket of the sewing roll? 

 

The inside of the sewing roll is adorned with a blue bunting and floral wool applique...a nice mix of wool, linen, old buttons & cross stitch!

 

 

 

 



 

A miniature sampler inspired by the eagle family that resides in our area

 along the bank of a little creek bed...

 

 

This pinkeep uses a coil of wool felt in the center core, giving the pinkeep a nice, flat "pill box" appearance...looks like a flat little biscuit!  The piece measures just 1" tall by 4" across.

  

 

Patterns coming soon!

 

Severe weather is in the forecast today,

praying for no more rain...

 

Have a good day,

Brenda

Floss Keeps Re-stocked!

We've restocked the floss keeps and added 4 NEW designs!

 

Showing you a peek of two of them...

Check out all 4 new designs

here

 

Hoping everyone has a good weekend.

  We are off to visit our grandchildren

 and

 celebrate their Momma's birthday.

 

Brenda

Progress...

 

It's a fresh spring morning here...

sun is shining and everything is glowing green.

Our summer-time guests have arrived... 

 

Things are all beginning to bud out,

the trees are beginning to have that "lacy look".
Love.this.time.of.year. 

The yard is filled with all sorts of critters,

out and about,

enjoying the morning air,

and
 taking in a morning bite or two....

My morning entertainment and inspiration.

 

This guy made me chuckle...

Standing alert, little hands folded in prayer position,
with the morning sun kissing his furry belly,
complete with "feather on the nose"...

And I spotted our mother or father rabbit, they are annual guests in our yard....

out enjoying a nibble on dew-kissed greens.

I enjoy this morning quiet time...
time to take in the dawning of the new day,
 a time to plan how my day will unfold.

As any small  business owner, I wear many different hats,
my days are filled with various "things-to-do"...
Computer work,
 paper work,
 filling customer's orders,
 and
 sneaking in some stitching time,
when able...
It's a balancing act, of sorts,
 and at the end of the day,
I always hope to get all items crossed off my list.

 I'm making progress on the Summer Sampler. 

 Here's a peak.

  I don't have a whole lot left,

 it's just that I don't have a whole lot of stitching time....

that's a problem!

 I've also been working on the tedious task of charting Susan Dickinson, 1841.

Here is her color palette...

 Isn't it lovely?
 

Lots of "orangey reds" and "salmony pinks",
warm greens and browns...

all colors that make my heart a-flutter!

 The sampler is an Adam & Eve sampler. 

 Adam has hip problems!!
But,
 I don't love him no less...
makes me love him more, really.
 

  And the curious little guy to the left of Adam,
 is a fox...
So.Cute.

 The sampler has a simple meandering floral border,

and
 is filled with squirrels, birds, pots of flowers, owls, cherubs,

verse worked over 1,
and

a BIG red house!
Perfect.

And,
 I almost forgot,
 there are 4 NEW charts coming soon!
Their titles are...
Liberty House
The Sampler House
The Sewing Bird
&
The Dame of the Needles

These are smaller,
 quick-stitch projects,
 watch for their releases in a couple of weeks.

 

Have a good day,
Brenda

The boys are back in town!!!!!!

 My world this morning is a whole lot

 brighter,

cheerier

 and

 merrier...

what a difference a week makes.

 

 A week ago we were in a blanket of white,

this morning the trees are blanketed with fragrant blooms,

and

buzzing with bees...

things are coming to life!

 

Oh, what a beautiful morning!

 

While doing my morning stitching,

  I heard my first wren.

They have returned and soon this little guy

will be busy building several new "homes" for the love of his life. 

 It is usually safe to think

 that spring has arrived to stay,

when these little puff of feathers make their appearance.

 

The outside is so full of noises

 that are songs by my ears,

 this time of year...

This boy was busy drumming on our chimney this morning.

  As startling as this can be,

it's still music to my ears.

Sounds of springtime.

  After several minutes of drumming,

 on the tin flashing around the chimney,

 it was off to enjoy a nut or two...

Isn't he pretty?

 

And

the boys are back in town...

I've filled a couple of feeders with safflower seed just for my boys.

It's their treat of choice...

 

 

 

A trip to the grocery store

 to buy oranges and grape jam

 is on my list of to-do's today.

I've got bird chores to do....

need to get ready

for the arrival of the

Baltimore Orioles. 

They will soon be our guests.

 The boys are back in town...

Spring has finally arrived,

 I think I'll call in sick today!

 

Happy Spring,
Brenda

 

New stitching goodies...

Are you a floss keep junkie? 

There are a few,

 and I know who they are!!  ;)

 

Don't you need a sweet little pair of scissors to match your floss keeps?

 

Freshly added to our website,

 are 4 different designs in the School Girl Scissors & Fob series. 

The sweet little embroidery scissors are 4" long

 and

 are stainless steel. 

 Not too shiny of a silver,

 almost a brushed pewter appearance to them.

  A tiny 1" fob

 hangs from the scissors. 

 The tiny frame, with it's ornate-trimmed edging,

 is home to a color print of cross stitched motifs. 

 

And for you floss keep junkies...

we will be refreshing the inventory of those in a couple of weeks. 

 Watch for some new designs this time too!

 

With thy Needle & Thread,

Brenda

Sweet potato lovers...

you must try these!

I made my first attempt at making sweet potato chips,

 and,

 oh

 my goodness, are these good!

 

 

No frying necessary, these are made in your microwave! 

 

 

You will need a mandolin or a food processor that slices very thin slices.   When buying your sweet potatoes, look for ones that are somewhat straight.  Scrub the sweet potato, removing any dirt or dark spots.  No need to skin the potato.  The skin is full of nutritional goodies!  Slice the potato and toss slices into a large zip-lock bag.  Drizzle olive oil over slices, close bag.  With your hands, work the oil around the slices, so all oil is evenly distributed.  Sweet potatoes will darken, so you don't want to slice the potatoes too far in advance of microwaving them.  I used two potatoes for the two of us, and had a few leftover for next day snacking.

 

Remove the glass circular tray from your microwave.  Lie it on a piece of parchment paper, and trace around, onto paper.  Cut parchment paper circle out.  Put tray back into the microwave, placing paper on top of the tray.  Place potato slices onto tray.  Don't overlap, but they can be touching slightly.

 

Sprinkle with fresh ground sea salt and rosemary.   If you don't like rosemary, omit...but this makes them good!  Microwave on normal setting for 6 minutes.  Timing may vary from microwave to microwave.  You can always do a test run with a couple of slices to determine the best amount of cooking time for your microwave.    As the chips start to cook, their edges will darken and crinkle up.   The chips will still be slightly soft when done, but crispen up, rather quickly, as they cool.  If they don't crispen up, they need more cooking time.

 

I will be making more of these this summer...yum!  A perfect compliment to grilled brats or burgers.

The best part is, they are good for you!  The sweet potato is the number one most nutritious vegetable...did you know that?

They are high in potassium, calcium and Vitamin A&C to name a few nutrients.  A good food to eat when you are under stress and tension.  Stress robs your body of potassium, leading to muscle aches, pains and cramping.

 

Another week has flown by, tis already Friday...

Have a good weekend everyone,

Brenda

 

 

 

 

 

 

Guess what?

It really can still snow in May...

This poor little tulip is saying, I'm so full of snow!

Me too....

I'm really done with winter,

I've had enough...

Like the saying goes,

this weather is for the birds...

I'm not so sure our little bevy of poofy-feathered doves would agree...

 

Oh,

 hi there robin,

you are supposed to be our messenger of Spring...

When will it arrive?

 

How many times will it snow upon your back?

 

The dear husband got up from the supper table, pushed his chair in and said...

"well, I'm going to go outside and build a snowman".  I detected a slight hint of sarcasm in his voice.

I told him, "do it and I'll take pictures"...

He knows better.

He knows if he did, there would be pictures of him,

pictures of him, 

in his cute little "walter hat" all over my blog...

 

Have a good day,

Brenda

 

Buena Vista!

 

My husbands 40 minute commute to work

 takes him through the rural countryside of Buena Vista and Pocahontas counties.

After commuting this for 20 plus years, he has found various quiet county blacktops for the trip...

the less traveled roads.

 

It was on one of these rural blacktops,

 about 200 yards from the road,

 he spotted a very large nest.

At supper that evening,

we talked the usual "work talk",

 "how was your day talk",

 and he mentioned he thought he might have spotted an eagles nest. 

 

So, with camera in tow, we went for a Sunday drive.

The big tree stands out in an open area along a creek bed.

Upon arrival, things seemed pretty quiet at the nest.  

No little heads bobbing up and down in the nest. 

 

 We just sat there enjoyed the smell of fresh black dirt,

 sounds of cow mooing off in the distance,

and watched,

 and

 waited.

 

   The creeks are running good with all of the rain we have had,

 and everything is starting to green up. 

 From watching the Decorah eagle cam,

 I was aware that the parent eagles usually sit in a tree

 relatively close to their nest.

 

I spy two eagles! 

Sitting in a tree next to the nest, there they were!

Sitting there so majestically, are mom and dad!

  This is the best I could do with my 270mm lens. 

Can you spot them in the tree?

 

 After several minutes of taking in the warmth of the early evening sun,

one flies off,

 following the creek,

fishing time!

 

 Buena Vista, beautiful view.

 

You may have heard about the eagles nest from Decorah, IA that has the webcam and went viral.  We all watched it, and didn't get anything else done, but watch the eaglets.  Some may not know that the parents started building a new nest over the winter months.  They chose the "over yonder" nest to raise this years young ones, so no Iowa eagle came.  I am relying on Facebook updates on the nest.  The pair has a nest of three eaglets and they seem to be doing well.

  I miss those cute little "poop squirts"....anyone else?!!

 

Happy May Day,
Brenda