A Country Stitches Christmas Kit!

I'm excited to share with you a fun little holiday stitch...coming soon!

 

"SNOW BIRD PINKEEP"

It's a tin snowflake base with a perfect little spot to insert a cross stitched winter-themed pincushion.

The tin base measures just 2 1/4" tall by 9" across.

The base is that wonderful metallic color...not to silver and not too "gold-ish", sort of reminds me of the old finish on a mercury tree bulb.  The points of the snowflake are gently bent, giving the piece such a lovely time-worn patina.

 

Unfortunately, I was only able to get a limited supply of the snowflake bases.   I purchased what the manufacturer had left, when the bases are gone...that is it!

 

The "Snow Bird" snowflake pinkeep kit is cutely packaged in a box, with all the necessary goodies included (linen, floss, batting, cardboard, vintage ribbon & tin base). 

You will need to supply a needle,

some glue,

 and a little free time for stitching...

 

A limited edition kit sold exclusively through

www.countrystitchesonline.com

No preorders will be taken on this item.

 

Watch for this item to go on sale on the website

sometime during the first week of November...

more news to follow, with exact release date.

 

 

With thy Needle & Thread,

Brenda

If squirrels could talk....

Hey you,

I'm up here, over to the left...

do you see me?

 

You do?

Oh, good good!

 

You see

I'm in sort of a predicament here.

 

If you could by chance make some noise.

Like clap your hands, yell, slam the door real hard,

let the cat out,

or maybe knock on the windows real hard...

You know,

sort of like you do when I'm doing up-side-down acrobats

from your bird feeders?

I would be forever grateful to you,

and maybe the guy over there to your lower right

would take a hike...

 

This squirrel owes me big.

I saved his little furry be-hind,

but,

 not before moving in closer to the hawk

and snapping a few pictures.

 

 

I'm not that familiar with birds of prey...a Coopers Hawk, Sharp-Shinned Hawk?

His coloring is quite handsome against the crisp-clear blue autumn sky.

 

 

You would think that a squirrel and a hawk in the same photo would not be a good thing,

if you were the squirrel.  

  Truthfully,

 it was the photographer here

that was in more of a panic,

 then the squirrel. 

 The said photographer

couldn't bear seeing squirrel smorgasbord

in her back yard.

The squirrel was probably safer in the tree then on the ground. 

No?

Can hawks make a kill in a tree?

I'm guessing no, their wingspan wouldn't allow it.

Any bird of prey experts? 

Please weigh in,

inquiring squirrel minds

 want to know!

 

 

 

Have a good evening,
Brenda

 

 

 

 

 

It's that time of year!

We've enjoyed a beautiful fall thus far.  Our yard has been loaded with migrating robins.

We have never had this many robins, ever.

Not much bird bathing...

they were more interested in quenching their thirst,

and an occasional

cooling off the toes.

Bird migration has always fascinated me.

 

 

 I have come to that time of year where I possibly can't eat another tomato,

 I've had my fill for the summer. 

 I'm ready for comfort food... pot roasts, roasted chicken, potatoes & gravy.

  A time for transition.

 

The days are becoming noticeably shorter. 

 I find that my morning stitching is in more darkness

with each passing day.

The mornings are a bit quieter, less morning song bird chatter.

 

To fill those darker hours of my day and evenings,

I've been working on a new design.   

 

It doesn't have a name yet. 

 My overload of tomato eating must have influenced my floss selection.  Lots of tomato greens & reds...

 

 It isn't an overly large sampler..

 

 

It has a delicate and petite feel to it...

 

 Lots of tiny little motifs, tightly spaced.

Easy to start and finish a motif with a cup of coffee or sip of tea.

Quick gratification.

I've chose to end the sampler with a sweet verse about the needle worker.

 

 

And if you look hard, you'll see tiny little robins tucked here & there.  

 I was often times distracted

by my birdbath of robins

while working this piece

 and had to include robins in this sampler.

  The sampler will always be a reminder of autumn 2013,

 the year I filled my bird bath 3 times a day!

 

With thy Needle & Thread,

Brenda

Apples & Pumpkins!

This week I had the enjoyment of visiting the grandkids! Daddy was gone overseas on business and I went to keep momma company and help with the two little ones.

 

We visited the local pumpkin patch! 

So many pumpkins, and nice ones too...how can you pick a favorite?

 

Orange pumpkins and orange tractors...

just the kind Beckham's great grandpa farmed with! 

 

 

After the pumpkin patch, we headed to the apple orchard.  The apple trees were loaded with apples, a bumper harvest for the growers for sure.  There are all sorts of fun things to do for the kids at the Cambridge Orchard...

 

 

The barn with the corn was a hit with Beckham...running on the bales of hay that surround the corn and then catching some "air time", jumping into the cold-on-the-toes corn.  We of course couldn't leave without visiting the goats that reside at the orchard.

 

After playing, we visited the apple store, bought some honey-crisp apples (mmm), and of course no one can leave there without buying freshly made apple/cinnamon cake donuts...a treat for the ride home.

Avry had her first taste of  "orchard donuts"...

she approved.

 

 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend,

Brenda