WINTER WHITE

There was no need to dream of a white Christmas here in NW Iowa...

It was indeed a white Christmas

with 18" of

fresh

white

fluffy

snow.

I woke this morning and looked out the window

&

couldn't help but think of the Mr. Roger's song!

"It's a beautiful day in this neighborhood..."

So I strapped on my winter boots

& with camera in hand, went for

a morning walk in the neighborhood, to take in the beauty of this winter wonderland.

Bundle up and come along for a walk with me...

Our Red bud tree laden with snow that fell straight down...
something that doesn't happen too often on the windy plains.

It snowed for 3 days...
we didn't think it would ever
STOP...







Can you find the car in the above photo?
Hint...
tis to the right of the tree
& to the left of the man blowing snow!




Snowed in Bethlehem as well...


The soldier that stands guard over our lake
is now the
king of the mountain!

Tis going to be awhile before any grilling or use of this lawn furniture...

We are busy keeping our birds fed...

Looks like Aspen or Vail

not Iowa!

People are beginning to dig out...

The only living creature out and about in this yard appears to be either a rabbit or squirrel.

Snow-covered bushes look like

big

fluffy

white

marshmallows...

Speaking of marshmallows...

time to head inside

and warm up

with a cup

of cocoa

with

lots

&

lots

of

marshmallows!

Stay warm & enjoy your weekend,

Brenda

Merry Christmas!

May the peace & joy

of the Christmas season

be with you

throughout

the coming year.

Warm wishes to you & yours...Merry Christmas!

Brenda Gervais

It's almost time...

to crash & burn! The elves at Country Stitches have been busy filling your orders and are ready for a long winter's nap. Except for one elf I know...that elf has lots & lots of things to get done at home before Christmas...yikes!

With just a few more orders to fill tomorrow, the order clipboard should be empty...YIPPPEEEEE....hasn't been like that for a year!

~~~REMINDER~~~

Country Stitches will be closed from December 18th through January 3rd. You are welcome to shop online during this time, but orders will not ship until we return on the 4th. It is at that time we will begin filling the orders in the order they were received.

We'd like to thank all of our great customers for their patronage, it is truly appreciated & we enjoy serving you.

Looking forward to serving you in 2010,
Brenda Gervais

Taking a break...

Please note that Country Stitches will be closed from December 19th through January 3rd, so that I can prepare for and enjoy time with visiting family members. Orders placed during this time will not ship until the week of January 4th.

Hurry...there are just a few hours left to our free online shipping offer...ends today at 10:00 pm CST.

Have a good day,

Brenda

Just in case you're trying to reach me...

I am still snowed in!

See,

my darling husband is out of town and left me with a snow blower, but no gas/oil mix to run the creature....thanks dear! In all honesty, not sure if I'd know how to start the darn thing anyway...shhhhh, don't tell anyone.

I'd go out and do it the old fashioned way, but am just getting over this cold crud and the energy level isn't quite back yet. The air is cold, cold & more cold and am telling myself I shouldn't be breathing it in...yes,call me a pansy!!!

Soooooo.....if you've been trying to phone us, there is no one there to take your call. Sorry I'll be there just as soon as I get dug out.

I have a call into the snow removal people and hopefully am moving up the list of waiting people as I type.

With cabin fever starting to set in,

Brenda

Free shipping...

Enjoy free shipping at www.countrystitchesonline.com from now until December 12th! Free shipping offer ends at 10:00 pm CST on the 12th. Offer applies to domestic orders only on in stock items. International orders placed during this time will be billed for actual shipping costs via PayPal.

Give a gift of creativity this year...remember patterns, books & notions make great gifts for that special someone.


Snowed~In in Iowa,
Brenda

Snowed In...

The winter storm has hit NW Iowa so I closed up shop early today and headed home. After several tries, I did make it up my driveway...it is getting deep out there! Darling husband is out of town on business & am going to have to make friends with the snowblower if I want to get out once the storm passes...uggghhhhh!!!

As for today, I guess I'll spend the rest of the afternoon in front of my computer sipping green tea & honey (cures everything, right?) and uploading new patterns onto our website...should have them all done by this evening.

I am currently stitching the "Merry Christmas" pinkeep (pictured below) for myself, have just the sleigh left to do...this little chart works up very quickly! A wonderfully prim design by Pineberry Lane.

See the above cross stitch pattern amongst many other new ones under our "PATTERNS BY OTHERS" category.

It sounds like we are going to be snowed in tomorrow with blizzard~like conditions expected...hoping to finish the Merry Christmas pinkeep and tuck it in amongst some fresh picked greens.

Stay warm,
Brenda

It's beginning to look a little like Christmas...

...thanks to my dear husband who spent his Sunday afternoon putting out the Christmas lights rather then watching football...what a guy!

I've been under the weather this past week with a nasty head cold...yuck! I do feel like I'm starting to turn the corner though...it's 9:30 pm and I'm still awake! Whatever germ I had it sure wiped the energy out of me. With that said, it doesn't look like Christmas on the inside of my house. The pretty twinkly lights on the outside has me thinking perhaps tomorrow evening I'll begin on the inside of the house. The tree is in the stand, doing the relaxing it's branches thing...that too needs to be done. Eeeekkkkkk....Christmas is quickly approaching & I am so not ready! I need to get busy busy...no time to be sick.

The weather outside is looking very Christmas-like, with 11" of snow predicted for tomorrow into Wednesday.

We received cross stitch patterns in the mail today from Stacy Nash Primitives & Pineberry Lane....they are wonderful! I have lots of scanning and uploading of these pattern covers, but watch for these pattern additions to our website in the next few days!

Also, please remember that orders need to be placed by December 15th to guarantee delivery for Christmas (this applies to in stock items only). Plan ahead & shop early!

Have a good evening,

Brenda

The Christmas Stamp

As a youngster I loved stamps, all sorts of stamps...even the S&H Green Stamps...remember those? But the Christmas stamps were always my favorite. The day the mail man delivered the Christmas stamps was a big, big deal! When we needed stamps, we'd place some coins in an old mayonnaise lid that was placed in our mail box at the end of our country lane. The mail man would see the coins & do the math, leaving us the appropriate number of stamps in with our mail. The math was easy back then...nickels and dimes divided so nicely into dollars. A few nickels for a few stamps...I thought that was such a cool trade off as a little girl.

Extra care was taken when I helped tear the Christmas stamps apart...didn't want to put a tear in the Mother Mary! Mom EVEN let me lick the stamps & put them on the envelopes, can you believe it? Yeah, neither could I!!! Looking back on that I do know why Mom passed that job off onto me...the tongue wasn't quite right for the rest of the day...Thanks Mom!

Do you suppose mail carriers still find coins in mayonnaise lids in the mail boxes? Can you really still buy stamps at the end of a country lane??

Just think about this...it isn't necessary to tear stamps apart any longer, if we choose not to...we no longer need to lick the stamps, if we don't want to...we can even print our own stamps with our pictures on them, if we so choose...why, we really don't even need a stamp if we go the electronic route for sending our holiday greetings.

Our children and grand children's stories are going to be so much different then ours...

Times change.

Did you know the first Christmas stamp issued in the United States was a 4-cent stamp issued in 1962. That would have made me 1 year old at the time. The red and green stamp featured a wreath, two candles and the words "Christmas 1962". By the end of the holiday season, one billion of the first Christmas stamps were printed and sold.

Often times I turn to childhood memories for inspiration for my next pattern design...with that said, let me introduce a new punch needle pattern titled, "Christmas Stamp". I couldn't decide what the cost of this stamp should be...a nickel, a dime?? After some pondering, I decided it had to be 25 cents in honor of Christmas day. The first in a series of annual Christmas stamp patterns...start your collection today! (Copyright 2009 - With thy Needle & Thread)

Stop by our website for a visit to view this new punch needle pattern along with others!

With thy Needle & Thread,

Brenda

Over the river & through the woods...

to grandmothers house we go!

(Purchase above pattern here)

Over the river and through the woods
To Grandmother's house we go.
The horse knows the way to carry the sleigh
Through white and drifted snow.

Over the river and through the woods,
Oh, how the wind does blow.
It stings the toes and bites the nose
As over the ground we go.

Over the river and through the woods
To have a full day of play.
Oh, hear the bells ringing ting-a-ling-ling,
For it is Christmas Day.

Over the river and through the woods,
Trot fast my dapple gray;
Spring o'er the ground just like a hound,
For this is Christmas Day.

Over the river and through the woods
And straight through the barnyard gate.
It seems that we go so dreadfully slow;
It is so hard to wait.

Over the river and through the woods,
Now Grandma's cap I spy.
Hurrah for fun; the pudding's done;
Hurrah for the pumpkin pie.

Visit our "PATTERNS BY OTHERS" category for several new patterns!

Gobble Gobble!

These tender little turkey shaped cut-out cookies have a wonderful taste of pumpkin pie...perfect for the "little" guests at Thanksgiving time, although your "big" guests will enjoy them too!

COOKIE INGREDIENTS:

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon orange extract
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt

FROSTING INGREDIENTS:

1 (3 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
2 T. butter, softened
1 T. canned pumpkin
1/2 tsp. pure orange extract
1/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp. Half & Half
decorator sugar

Combine 1 cup butter and sugar in large bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Add egg, 1/3 cup pumpkin and 1/2 tsp. orange extract; continue beating until well mixed. Reduce speed to low; add all remaining cookie ingredients. Beat until well mixed.

Divide dough in half. Wrap each half in plastic food wrap. Refrigerate until firm (at least 2 hours).

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface (pastry cloth is very helpful), one half at a time to 1/8 inch thickness. Keep remaining dough refrigerated. Cut out with 3" cookie cutter. Place 1 inch apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 8 - 10 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Transfer to wire rack. Cool completely.

Combine all frosting ingredients except the powdered sugar, half & half and decorator sugar in a small mixing bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Reduce speed to low; add powdered sugar and half & half. Beat until well mixed. Spread frosting on cooled cookies. Sprinkle with decorator sugar.

These cookies are best to set a day before serving to allow spices to come through.

ENJOY!

Happy Thanksgiving,

Brenda

Happy Birthday...

One year ago today...

our special little one

was born.

Happy Birthday Beckham!

Getting to know the youngest people in my life has been a joy. ~ Frank Tarloff

Some cool finds...

Robert Redford and the folks at Sundance have some cool finds...I must share!

Love Love Love this ribbon...

I've used some of this cool ribbon around the necks of reindeer and snowmen in my new Christmas patterns. And yes, it comes wound on these wonderful old-looking wooden spools. When the ribbon is all gone & you're sad...you still have cool old spools!

Love Love Love these tailor's shears...
Anyone collect old scissors? I love old scissors and have managed to start yet another collection of something! Although these scissors aren't old, they look old. and I love them! While sewing today, I couldn't find my Ginghers (I'm always looking for my scissors) so I tried out my new scissors and YES they really do work! Great old looking scissors & a great deal at just 18 bucks!

Hurry on over to http://www.sundancecatalog.com/ to view these goodies!

With thy Needle & Thread (& scissors too),
Brenda

P.S.

If Robert happens to take your order over at Sundace...be sure to tell him I sent you!;o)

New Samplers...

Two new sampler patterns now available for your stitching pleasure!

#CS36 Feather Your Nest

worked on 28 count Cashel over 1 thread

stitch count ~ 145 wide X 210 high

#CS35 Be Kind & Be True

Worked on 32 count Belfast linen over 2 threads.

Stitch count~166 wide X 207 high

A big "thank you" goes out to April & Suzanne for their beautiful work on these 2 new patterns...thank you girls!

Patterns & frames for the above are now posted and available for purchase on our website.

With thy Needle & Thread,

Brenda

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

as Santa's elves are busy putting the finishing touches on new pattern designs.

Coming soon!

With thy Needle & Thread,

Brenda

New dollies!

New WINTER~TYME patterns

coming soon!

Watch your email inbox for a newsletter announcing the arrival of new holiday goodies! If you haven't signed up for our newsletters, do so today! The sign up is on our websites home page (at bottom of page).

With thy Needle & Thread,

Brenda

Did you know...

...that red is my favorite color? The shades of red mother nature paints with in the Autumn...her palette is much to my liking!

A beautiful autumn day

captured on camera to be remembered...

as mother nature will soon mix up new colors of paint

in
browns,
greys,
whites,
& icy blues
and paint her picture of winter...


Enjoy these last days of Autumn color...

Autumn is

a second

spring when

every leaf is

a flower

~Albert Camus

Enjoying a beautiful day outside,

Brenda

New jewelry!

Just listed 7 NEW jewelry pieces...

Hop on over to our website

to see these!

Hurry though...

as these sell out quickly!

Remember...

the handcrafted jewelry makes

great Christmas gifts!

Have a good weekend,

Brenda

Grandma Bear

had a wonderful

Halloween weekend

at Baby' Bears House...

Thanks Momma Bear!

Have a good week,

Brenda

Super fun...

Super sweet...

&

Super special...

Is our little "super man"!

Happy Halloween!

Wishing everyone a

"spook-tacular"

Halloween!

Taking a "grandma day" tomorrow to go visit our little pumpkin!

Tricks & Treats to everyone,

Brenda

What are your thoughts....

I've been asked by a needlework distributor to think about starting a "Stitching Club"...

This is uncharted (no pun intended) waters for me

&

I'd like to get some input (good or bad)

from my blog friends.

The stitching club would involve a membership. You would join the club (becoming a member) at your local needlework shop or favorite online shop. By joining you are committing to purchase each cross stitch pattern in the series. You will be charged at the time the new pattern is released. These patterns will be available to members only. At sign up time you will see the first pattern of the series and know the "theme" of the club. The remaining patterns will come to you as a surprise!

Here is where I have some questions...

1. Would you like this to be a quarterly club or a bi-monthly club (meaning 4 patterns or 6 patterns in the series)?

2. What month would be best suited for you for the club to begin? Do you want it to begin in the summer months or the winter months?

3. What has been your experience in joining this sort of club? Good or bad comments welcome!

4. How many such clubs are you currently a member of?

Any comments are welcome & greatly appreciated! Please note that all comments to this post will be kept private.

With thy Needle & Thread,

Brenda

Merry & Bright!

Now available...

Merry & Bright Candle Pocket

Stitched into a petite 3 3/4" x 5" bag. I've filled the bag with black grubby candles for a nice & prim holiday accent piece. Fresh pine greenery and vintage candy cane pipecleaners tucked into pocket would be another fun & festive option.

Cross stitch pattern is now available for purchase on our website.

With thy Needle & Thread,

Brenda