Wilting...

I'm sorry about my absence here,

 I just haven't had the energy to do much beyond work.

 I think I'm starting to wilt...

too many days of triple digits. 

 The heat just zaps me.

  It isn't the normal pretty green that we are used to this time of year in Iowa.

 The lawns are brown and crunchy,

 only the weeds are thriving, 

and the farmers corn fields are starting to fire.

  Firing is when the corn starts to dry up bottom to top....it is dying.

Sad surroundings,

 and it just seems to put you in a sad state of mind.

We all could use a little bit of this...

Since my last blog posting, I have purchased a new antique sampler,

J.M. Gardner, 1888.

It's one of those samplers

 where you like it,

but

 not totally

love it...

if that makes any sense!

 The sampler is worked on an 8 count canvas,

using thick bulky wool yarn...yuck! 
The orange is a bit too bright for me.

BUT,

I love, love, love

the little floral arbor

over the garden gate...

precious,

don't you think?

My plans are to

 reproduce and revise

 the color scheme.

I think it would be lovely

 worked in softer muted flosses

within the same color scheme.

The sampler measures about 16" square.

The sampler is backed with newspaper.  

 The article talks about a bad storm, gale force winds

including a couple of towns that were heavily damaged.

I'm hopeful this will be helpful in learning more about

the 12 year old, J.M. Gardner who stitched this sampler.

But,

first things first...

Francis Pool needs to be finished first!

I'm getting close to a finish on this piece!

I always struggle with changing a reproduction.

I like to stay true to the antique...

See the floral border?

  The flower blooms, stems and leaves were all

stitched in the same color...

this bothered me.

After much

do I?

or

don't I?...

I decided to put my signature on the piece

 by switching the floss out to green,

it makes me feel better!

Stay cool,

Brenda

Pssssttt.....

(I'm whispering this...

it's a secret)

SORRY, THEY ARE NOW SOLD OUT.

 There are 9 school girls scissors now available.  I got my hands on 9 more pairs of the scissors, that's all there are for now folks!  If you want a pair of these, hurry on over to here to purchase.  Hurry though, they will not last long!

And if you don't get in on these 9, no crying,  there will be more when I can get more of the scissors.  And for the inquiring minds... more floss keeps will be made too, when our charms shipment arrives.

Have a good day,

Brenda

New photos for the brag book...

The grand darlings were our 4th of July guests! 

Like everywhere else,

it was a hot & sweltering day

here in Iowa...

the cool wind off the lake

was our only relief,

as we took in the parade.

Momma dressed the little darlings 

in their little patriotic outfits,

and we tried our hardest

 to get a photo

 of Beckham and Avry together...

a tricky feat,

to say the least.

Big brother at times 

was holding little Avry 

 like a bag of potatoes!

Needless to say,

 photographer Grandma had to work rather quickly,

as assistant Grandpa stood off to the side

to be the spotter...

 

I love these baby headbands.

I'm pretty certain

 that if they were around when their momma was a baby,

she would have had one in every color

and would have worn one

every day :)

I probably would have even been making them...

perhaps

 even selling patterns to make them!

I usually poke little flags into my flower pots this time of year,

but the 4th seemed to have snuck up on me this year

 and it didn't get done...

so Beckham got to take a flag to the parade.

He was all about waving the flag...

so cute!

 

We didn't put the flag down...

He just stood at full attention

and took in the sights and sounds of the parade...

only putting it down 

to open a piece of freshly tossed candy...

 

As for Avry,

she didn't need a piece of candy,

her new found thumb

was her sweet!

She's working on mastering how far

she can stick it into her mouth without gagging!

At dusk we took in the fireworks over the lake.  

Prior to, 

we explained to Beckham that there would be some loud booms,

 but there was nothing to be afraid of. 

   He kept reassuring us that,

"Beckhams not afraid of the fire-works eder (either)."

 At the 15 minute from fireworks boom, we walked down to the lake.  

Over and over

we heard,

"Beckhams not afraid of the fireworks Momma",

at least a hundred times,

in the two block walk.

Pretty soon I hear Daddy say,

"do you suppose he has himself convinced yet that he's not afraid of the fireworks"!!

He tried his hardest to be brave,

with only one minor melt down

from fear.

We got home from the fireworks and I asked him if he was afraid of the fireworks...

in his deep voice he said, "no".

I then asked him if he was just a teensy tiny bit afraid of the fireworks...

and in his deep voice

he said,

"yes".

Grandkids are a blast,

no pun intended...

they really are!

Have a good day,
Brenda

New Charts...

  "HILDA'S ALPHABET BREW"

worked on 22 count Fine Ariosa over 2 threads...

yep, 11 count...

easy on the eyes,

and works up quick too!

"AUGUST WORD PLAY"

the 2nd to the last chart in this monthly series...

do you have all 10 stitched yet?

Are you keeping up....

huh, huh??

Printing of these new patterns is now under way
and will be ready for shipment early next week.

It's been a busy & long day...
off to bed,
Brenda

Because you asked...

so here is a progress report on 

the Frances Pool 1832

reproduction...

This has been my "in between project"...

I pick it up and work on it

in between seasonal designs

that have critical deadlines.

This is what is so nice about a sampler...

it is non seasonal,

no deadlines,

no hurries,

just casual stitching...

 it is what I call an "everyday" piece,

one that can be kept out everyday of the year!

I have actually picked Frances Pool up again

and will put a few more stitches in it,

until I need to start the September Word Play,

the last in this monthly series.

Once the Word Play series is done 

I plan on finishing Frances

and hoping for August/September release

for this antique reproduction chart.

As you can see Frances came to me in pretty sad shape.

Dirty, stinky, holey, along with some stitch loss.

Like many antique samplers,

nails the size of Texas were used to secure it to a crude wooden frame.

The linen had darkened so badly

 that it some of the motifs on the antique

are hard to see.

  I knew that the linen as I see it,

 wasn't how it looked when it was stitched.

In looking closely at the edges of the sampler,

 my best guess was the linen

was closer in shade to the selvedge of the linen,

so this was my guide in matching up the linen.

The piece is being worked on 30 count Parchment linen

using Weeks & GAST flosses throughout.

With thy Needle & Thread,

Brenda

Scissor Weakness..

I have a scissor weakness... 

I'm guessing a few of you do too...

New scissor arrivals

to tempt

your scissor weakness...

 

With thy Needle & Thread...

& scissors {sigh},

Brenda

In the hoop...

and almost done!

~HILDA'S ALPHABET BREW~

Anticipating an early to mid July release date for this chart. 

 Design is worked on 

distressed 22 count fine Ariosa,

 over two threads. 

 I really enjoy stitching

 on this nubby & coarse cloth...

the end results 

are

 wickedly wonderful...

perfect for this piece!

And...

THANK YOU to everyone 

who purchased the Strawberry Hill Floss Keeps. 

They are now sold out.

 If you are one of the sad ones

 who didn't get in on

 the first lot of these,

 there will be more...

just as soon as I get more

 of the teensy tiny little heart charms

 back in stock.

Wishing everyone a good week,

Brenda

LOOK, A NEW ARRIVAL...

 the

 Strawberry Hill floss keep!

 A perfect stitching companion

 to the

 Strawberry Hill

sewing box & needle roll!

Floss keeps are now available for purchase

on our website,

supply is limited.

We had a lovely visit in Denver with son, Matthew.  

Time always goes too quickly.

When the boys were busy biking and golfing,

I sat outside Matthew's little brick bungalow 

and stitched the August Word Play.  

 While I stitched

a song popped into my head,

that goes like this...

"we'll build a bungalow,

 big enough for two,

 big enough for two my honey,

 big enough for two...

then when we're married

 how happy we will be...

underneath the bamboo tree...

or sorta along those lines!

Anybody know the song?

Well, I sang this song

at a bridal shower

 when I was about 5 or 6 years old (are you laughing yet!)...

I sang and sister Linda was my accompanist.

Anyhoo,

 the coziness of Matthew's bungalow

 (which really is only big enough for 2),

made me think of the song 

and I couldn't seem to get it out of my head,

and was worth a chuckle or two!

   The photo shoot for the August pattern cover

 will take place this weekend

and then the printing/packaging begins.

 

See those pretty sunflowers?

They will be used in the photo shoot,

so,

 August Word Play hint...

think sunflowers!

 Hope you all have a sunny-type of day,

Brenda

Road Work...

Later this afternoon we are heading west.

Planning on some of this...

but,

I'm prepared for it!

and,

with any luck

it won't be this sort of road work...

 

however,

 this sort of road work...

hours and hours of in-the-car-style-stitching...

or my road work,

as I'm calling it.

 I'll be spending the 10 hour drive

 stitching the August Word Play.

And maybe even put the first stitch or two in the below piece...

(for those of you who loved the House of Blues & Browns Sampler chart,

this is a spin off of it, only for Halloween...it's spooky fun!)

Where are we going?

We are heading to Denver, CO 

to visit our son, Matthew.

  I'm excited to see him,

it's been since Christmas.

 He's promised us

 a meal of his famous smoked pork! 

mmmmmmmm

On Sunday, Father's Day,

Matthew and the dh

 are riding in a 100 mile bike ride 

around the Denver area.

  Which includes peddling up Look Out Mountain, yikes!

I hyperventilate and get leg cramps just looking at the photo of

that winding mountain road.

  

   As for me,

 I'll be sitting in his backyard patio,

 enjoying the dry summertime air of Denver

while stitching, 

and worrying, hoping

that the males in the Gervais family

 will return without incident,

no biking for me.  

P.S....Linen update,
we now have the 35 count Abecedarian Linen used on the Word Plays back in stock.
  Our order of the 40 count Parchment linen, used on the thimble purse patterns, is in transit to us.  I'll post this for sale on our website when I get back from our quick little trip.

Toodle loo,

Brenda

Wanted...

one pair of suspenders

 for a very hard working

 "cinnamon" truck driver!

(potty training isn't going too well, 

he's too busy making cement)...

The above photo was in my email box when I got home from 

work this afternoon...

totally made my day,

gotta love those khaki shorts dangling around

those little ankles! 

P.S.
When momma asks Beckham if he has to go potty,
his return comment is,
"no thank you, mommy".
What can you say?
He's got the polite thing down!
 

Have a good evening everyone,
Brenda

 

Little boys & trucks...

You all know from previous blog posts that Beckham loves trucks... 

Garbage Trucks...

 

UPS trucks...

At Easter time

 I had sent his Easter Basket

 to him

 and told him that,

 "tomorrow a brown truck is going to come to your house and bring you a present"...

 

UPS delivered the Easter basket

 and

 Beckham thought that was  pretty neat.

  Next morning he arose 

and asked momma 

if a brown truck

 was going to bring him a present today?

  He now thinks

 grandpa drives

 the UPS truck!

And then there are these,

Cement trucks...

"Cinnamon" trucks as Beckhams calls them.  They have a lot of building going on in their neighborhood and he loves watching them out the front door.  He told me, as the truck was leaving, "the cinnamon" truck will be back, he has to take his kids to school"...  yep, made me laugh too!  

A couple days ago we were at the gas station, and the dh poked his head in the car door and told me,

"we have a cinnamon truck behind us", yep, sure enough, I turned around to see a cement truck!  Grandpa said he'll never forget that and that is what we now call them!

A few day ago a new sort of truck came into Beckham's world...

the ice cream truck!

From the  photo,

 grandma B is guessing

 he was a little reserved

 about this pink polka dotted truck!

I'm willing to bet 

it will soon be another favorite truck

 and he'll soon be watching YouTube videos

 of ice cream trucks on momma's iphone!

Hope your day is a sweet one,

Brenda

Hair...

I need a hair cut and color every 4 weeks.

 The key word is

 need...

 however, 

it only happens about every 8 weeks.

 Then,

 when I decide I can squeeze the 2 plus hour appointment in,

 I make it with some urgency.

  The kind little lady asks,

 "and when would you like this for?"

 and I always want to say,

 "like, today"...

   You are probably wondering why I just don't pre-book...

because, I'm afraid I'll forget.

You know,

 the memory

 just isn't as good as it used to be...

and I'm really bad at keeping a calendar,

and or,

 I loose the little appointment card in that amount of time...

So a few days ago,

 being almost blinded by the glitter of the grey hair patch,

that resides on the right side of my head,

 in my rear view mirror,

 I decided

 today was the day

 to make thee  hair appointment.

  The soonest I could get in for a hair cut, color & foil was July 20th...

I screamed, literally. 

The poor lady on the phone sensed the urgency,

 and said we could possibly squeeze me in for just a cut tomorrow (yesterday), 

but,

the color will have to be done at a later date.  

So, I opted for a 2-part deal...

Now, I would have to find another day

to squeeze this in.

{sigh}

Barb, my beautician,

 introduced me to something

 to hold me over until my color appointment...

Grey Free

 It will be my savior until my hair color appointment rolls around.

It is amazing and well worth the 12 bucks!

Have you ever tried this stuff?

It is a miracle on a wand!

Comes in all hair colors,

says it's even safe to use on mens beards...

now, that makes me laugh!

For some reason,

I'm having a hard time coming up with a visual

of my darling husband using such a thing...

 

You just simply apply like mascara to the grey hairs

and they are gone...

until you wash your hair,

and

 then you reapply.

Hair appointments used to be fun.

I'm just realizing that they have become work

and

are stressful.

Stressful?

Yes,

because when you are a "50 something year old" female,

 you just hope that while your head is wrapped in tin foil

and 

your torso is draped in plastic,

while sitting under a hair dryer

 you don't have a hot flash...

sucks to grow old!

And since we are on the topic of hair,

 or lack there of...

let me share a photo of the two grand darlings,

 and a cute little incident.

Their daddy was in Holland on business for 10 days,

 and during this time frame

 he celebrated his birthday. 

So,

 mommy wanted to send him a photo of the kids 

along with a birthday greeting.

  I was there when this little photo shoot took place. 

 See the sweet smile on big brothers face? 

 The baby sister started the photo session

in a more upright position in big brothers lap,

 which made him giggle...

her little fluff,

of what hairs she has,

 was tickling Beckham in the chin,

 thus,

 the sweet smile on his face!

It was such a cute moment 

and the photo now graces my computer screen,

and

i.love.it

Hoping you are all having a good "hair day",

Brenda

New Patterns!

I'm happy to share with you

the new summer-time 

cross stitch pattern releases

for your stitching pleasure...

"Strawberry Hill Sampler"

A pattern that centers around re-purposing

a Whitman's Sampler Chocolate box (12 oz cardboard size).

 The box is painted, lined with old book pages,

and then topped off with a lovely cross stitch pinkeep...

a great little box to keep your stitching needfuls!

 

The pattern is filled with 4 fun-to-stitch projects...

A huswife for keeping your needles and scissors safe.

The needle roll folds up, bill-fold style,

and is secured with twill tape tie...

the back of the needle roll huswife

is adorned with a stitched sampler.

The 3rd project is the crow/strawberry pincushion

with antique lace edging and buttons...

And lastly, a little wool felt strawberry!  A little pocket on the front will hold your scissors

and the berry booklet opens up to secure your needle.

All the cross stitch projects in the "Strawberry Hill Sampler" are worked on 35 count Park City Blend linen over two threads.

X X X X X 

A NEW series,  

"Thimble Purses"

Tiny little purses worn around your neck

to keep your thimble safe! 

 These can be functional or just a fun accessory.

The pattern includes the mini purse frame.

  All designs are worked on 40 count linen over two threads.

...old buttons stitched to the purse

or slid on the hemp cording

adds extra charm!

Collect and stitch all 5!

X X X X X 

And last but not least,

JULY WORD PLAY 

July's Word Play has a nautical & 4th of July theme...

fish, sail boat, anchor and mermaid motifs worked in bright summertime

colored flosses!  The design is worked on 35 count linen over 2 threads.   Full and partial floss paks are available, as always!

With thy Needle & Thread,

Brenda