A trip to see the grandbabies

So excited!! I am going to see my grandbabies next weekend. I'm leaving on Friday and not coming back until Tuesday; four days of delightful little person love.

I hope to take lots of pictures and show you these wonderful little creatures who so brighten my day and fill my heart.

I want to share a few pictures from this week. I had a visitor to one of our willow oak trees. Can you see him?

I also wandered down to the Hubs garden but it is winding down and there wasn't much to snap. I did, however, love the really, really tall sunflowers.

And my companion went with me. He waited under his favorite tree for me to be done so we could come back to the AC. He likes being inside when it's hot. This is Bandit, my very spoiled Husky.

And finally, a photo of a square I made for a surprise blanket. I finished it on Saturday and got it in the mail on Tuesday. So YAY! I have an FO. How about that?

As always, thank you for dropping by. I hope you have a wonderful day wherever you might be.

Sharon

Memories

This is hanging on my office wall:

This picture is counted cross stitch. I found this kit in a catalog many years ago and just fell in love with it. It was from Denmark done on Danish Linen using Danish thread. I loved the colors and the serenity of the piece. It is quite large measuring 31-1/2 inches wide by 26 inches high frame and all. The finished stitched area is 23 inches wide by 17-1/2 high.

I wanted this kit so badly. I would go to my LNS and look at it over and over in the catalog. But the cost was way too much. At the time, I had 2 small children and was a stay at home Mom. All our money went to groceries, house payment and clothing and care of the babies.

I drooled over it and told everyone about it, knowing I would never be able to afford it. Then for Christmas, 1984, my mother-in-law gave me a package. She said it was from her to me because she knew I wanted it so much. I was blown away when I opened the package and there was my kit. I couldn't believe she had ordered it for me. I'm pretty sure I shed tears that Christmas.

It took me 5 years to complete this chart. I loved every moment I worked on it, watching it come to life. I was so happy to have it and the linen and thread were a dream to work with. For Christmas, 1989, my sweet mother-in-law told me to take it to the framers and pick out a frame and mat. I wasn't to go back and see it. This was her Christmas present to me that year, framed and ready to hang. Sadly, it was the last Christmas gift I received from her as she passed away in August, 1990.

I treasure this picture. I love it more than I can explain for many reasons. Knowing she was listening and cared enough about me to buy the kit for me and then to have it framed so it could be hung for all to see makes it a gift I will never part with. As  I said, it hangs in my office so I see it daily and I always think of her.

See the ducks! A serene pond in a beautiful landscape. I love it! Sorry for the blurry pic. I'm not the best photographer.

As always, thank you for stopping by. I hope you have a wonderful weekend, wherever you may be.

Sharon

Skyping

I have 3 grandchildren who live in Georgia. It's roughly 3-4 hours away and I don't get down there as much as I would like. I miss these little guys so much. Ella is 3, Lilly is 20 months and Elijah is 6 months. I haven't been down since the end of May and I'm getting so needy for small arm hugs and small mouth kisses.

This past Wednesday, my son called to see if I wanted to do a little skyping. You have to ask????? Of course, Grammy is always ready to skype. I ran to my laptop and got settled and waited for the bom-de-boo of the skype call.

Oh what joy to see those smiling faces. I am so in love with these small creatures. They make my heart sing. My son has bought a tablet to do the viewing on because the girls are never still. Ella was so excited about seeing Grammy. Lilly was right up in the camera and so cute. I asked her to say hi, Grammy, and SHE DID! She hasn't said Grammy before and oh, talk about excited. She is the stinker of the group, always into something. Ella told me about her first day of preschool and how much she liked it and then did a few bounces on her trampoline for me with a great dismount. I applauded and gave her a 10!

Lilly was wearing her favorite play necklace and I commented on how pretty she looked in her necklace so she tried to put it on me! She tried so hard to get that necklace on me on the tablet. It was just so cute.

Then we had to go on a tour of the house. So funny. I got to see Ella's new bed and Eli's and Lilly's room, but Dad called a halt to view Mom and Dad's room.

Bedtime called so the girls came to tell me good night and blow me kisses. Ella is so sweet, she always says, "nite nite Grammy, I love you". Lilly just wanted to give me a hug. She hugged the tablet so hard she grunted, then gave me the sweetest smile and said, "love you".

Ah, grandchildren. If you don't have grandchildren, there is no describing the joy and the heart filling love you get from them. I am so lucky that these 3 small beings are in my life. It is such a joy each time one of them says, "love you". Oooh, my heart  will swell and a huge smile comes on my face.

And there will be another addition in January. My daughter, who lives in Tennessee but almost the same distance away from me, is having a baby. I'm one thrilled and lucky Grammy. Life couldn't be sweeter.

Knitso giveaway.

My friend, Annie at the Knisofacto Blog, is having a giveaway. Swing by and leave her a comment. That's all you have to do to enter.

Sharon

Hidden Angel

Last week, when I was working on Elijah's birth sampler, I had to prowl in the cross stitch cabinet for an alphabet chart. My cabinet is not as organized as I would like for it to be so there was a lot of drawer opening and closing and shifting of things trying to find one particular book with the right alphabet.

I opened one drawer and oh my, there underneath a magnet board was my "Angel of Cross Stitch". I found this chart several (many ?) years ago and fell in love with idea of having her on the wall finished, framed and smiling down at me while I work away on projects.

I was fascinated with the fact that every DMC color skein (at that time) was used in the chart and that she looked so lovely. I bought the chart and the fabric. I bought black Aida because I thought she would stand out so much better than on white. Of course, I was younger and my eyes were better. I have worked on her off and on for several years and had put her away because of baby commitments. Three grandchildren and one on the way take precedence over crafty things, right?

Anyway, when I saw her lying there all lonesome and forgotten, I was so sad. She told me she wasn't mad at me but that she had missed me and wondered if I would ever get back to working on her again. (Yes, I have conversations with my crafts.)
So here is a picture of her. Isn't she pretty? Of course I have to use a light box under the fabric to see the holes, but oh, she's so lovely and now I am itching to start working on her again.

I will have to wait awhile before I can start again because of more grandchild commitments but she will be finished and she will be framed and she will be loved.

As always, thank you for stopping by. I hope you have a great day wherever you might be.

Sharon

Bobble, Bobble, who's got the bobble?

Today was a zero day, term borrowed from the Appalachian Trail through hikers who take a day off occasionally while hiking the 2,100+ mile trail from Georgia to Maine. Or vice versa. (In case you can't tell, I've been reading a story about a through hiker) Anyway, today started with a blah feeling and pain in my shoulder and feet. I stumbled through the morning not really wanting to do anything. But then Jellybean's blanket called out to me and I sat down and worked on putting another few rows on it. I sat happily crocheting away, watching a little TV, and congratulating myself on making such good progress.

The pattern is a row of dc's followed by a row of sc and bobbles. I have used each color once now with the exception of this last one. The last color was going so well on the dc row and I was so happy because I would finally have my color pattern set and I could move on merrily adding rows.  I made the turn to start the bobble row and I noticed that something didn't look right. I checked and looked and checked again. Then I saw it. I had lost a bobble!!! Yep, on the last bobble row, I had missed the very first bobble. Curses!!!  I had to pull back 2 rows to get to the beginning to put in that bobble. I finished that row and put the blanket away. Tomorrow I will try again to put the last color on and see if I can avoid dropping any more bobbles or losing my marbles.

So a short post to let you know I'm still around and working on the blanket. More news later on the baby sampler.

As always, thank you for stopping by. Have a great day wherever you might be.

Sharon

Procrastinaton--Take a Hike!

Today I packed Procrastination's bags and showed her the door.  I told her it was time for her to enjoy a vacation and I would be fine while she was gone. I don't think she believed me but she went, slowly dragging her suitcase and casting looks back to see if I had changed my mind.

I finally got the rough draft of my grandson's cross stitch Birth sampler done today. It is very rough but is close enough that I can get my fabric and colors together and start stitching. I have been trying to get to this point since his birth in February. Now I wonder how long it will take to actually do the sampler??? The whale pattern was ordered from Etsy at www.sewingseed.com. The shells, starfish and nautilus are from a chart entitled God's Love by Ursula Michael. Eli's room is decorated in a whale theme with sea creatures here and there. The chart has passed inspection by my daughter-in-law so forward I shall go.

I realize this isn't a very good picture but it's hard to photograph pencil lines. I hope you can get the feel of it though. There will be much counting and adjusting placement but I am pleased with it and I hope it will make a cute addition to his room. There will be plenty of progress pictures and of course, a TA-DA.

I also added a couple of rows to Jellybean's blanket today. But all that lining and drawing and erasing and counting really made my right hand unhappy, so not much was accomplished. But I did do something on it so I kept Procrastination away.

I hope your weekend has been what you wanted it to be. As always, thanks for stopping by. I hope you have a great day wherever you might be.

Sharon

Catching Up

Oh wow, time has a way of getting away from me. I have lots to say and show you.

First of all, here are the pickles The Hubs made a couple of weeks ago. He ended up with 33 quarts missing his goal of 36. I'm not a pickle person but he says they are really, really good. He might be a little bit prejudice but then, he has a right to be. He has really been working hard in the garden.

He also has canned 7 quarts of beans. Here in the southern part of the US, soup beans and corn bread are a necessity!  These are Bird Egg beans.We've already had some of them this week and they are really good. We have a pretty good system going around here; he grows, weeds, nurtures, and picks. I shell or break or cut up whatever he brings in and then he cans, freezes or dries. I'm coming out on the better side of this, don't you think?

I finally got Jellybean's blanket started. YAY!  I am using this pattern and it is a dream to crochet. I love the way the bobbles pop out when you do the sc after the bobble stitch. It makes me giggle! I realize it's hard to see the bobbles in the picture. Hopefully when I get farther along, they will be more visible.

I am using Encore worsted weight yarn in these colors and it is so cuddly soft.  I thought about doing a totally random blanket but I'm a creature of habit and like things set in order and I just can't close my eyes and reach in and use whatever color I come up with. So I compromised. I am doing the set up rows randomly. I am truly closing my eyes and grabbing a yarn. When I get the color order established, then I will follow for the rest of the blanket.

The colors are top row, left to right: Very Blue, Red, Yellow. Bottom row, left to right: Orange, Deep Purple, Kelly Green and Navy.

So that's where I am right now. The last few days have been painful. For some reason, my hands, elbows, hips and knees have decided it's time to throw a party and all join in. The pain in my hands makes it hard to crochet so not much has been done on the blanket but I'm pushing on.

Thank you for stopping by. I have you have a great weekend wherever you might be.

Sharon