mainely stitching

Tomorrow’s going to be a great day! One of my oldest friends has returned to the Netherlands and is coming to visit! Hooray! Okay, his timing stinks – moving back just before I move away – but we can’t have everything, can we? Last time we saw each other, his daughter was a newborn and his son was (I believe) still in diapers. As with my own kids, the time has just flown and now everyone’s suddenly tall and mature and … well, practically grown up.

It’s interesting, as a foreigner, how friends have drifted into and out of my life. When I moved here, I had a small but very close-knit core of dear friends in the US. Making new friends was difficult because I’m (believe it or not!) shy to the point of being tongue-tied in most social settings. But living here without friends wasn’t really an option, so …. I began developing new skills. Friendships seemed to spring up very quickly with other foreigners but each time someone moved back to their homeland or disappeared for other reasons, I took it really hard. Why didn’t they stay in touch? Hadn’t they really liked me after all? The insecurity was nearly overwhelming. Many years passed before I understood that what I thought were friendships were really just acquaintances. Very different people thrown into the same situation, simply seeking out a friendly face to help  make it through the days. In the funny way that Life operates, once I realized this and quit trying so hard to make friends, I started making friends. LOL. And now that I’m moving back to the US, I find myself feeling sad at leaving behind this small core of very dear friends in the Netherlands.

(One wonders just who is out there laughing at us sometimes, doesn’t one?)

Through the years here, I’ve remained close to my dearest friends in the US, and I look forward to staying just as close to my dear Dutch friends after I’ve left. ((((Hugs)))) to you, dear friends!

So … the kids had a day off school yesterday (teacher workshops) and we had a showing scheduled. What a combination – get the house showroom-ready with all four kids at home and then skedaddle with kids and dogs before the showing. Well, thanks to Max’s help, the house was nearly ready at 11:00 – only the floors needed washing – when the phone rang. Yep, you guessed it: the realtor said the people wanted to reschedule for Wednesday! Groan!! It was too late to take the kids any where special to enjoy a day off school, so we headed over to McDonalds where the kids could play and relax (and make as much mess as they wanted, LOL!).

and while i was making lemonade

… dear friend Anne has been busy making the most gorgeous fobs you can imagine. Not only are they gorgeous, but they can be yours! Anne’s selling her beautiful fobs to help raise money for Coral’s grandson, Tim. Coral’s also a good friend who’s been mentioned many a time here in this blog. Her wee Tim has been diagnosed with leukemia and, as you can imagine, the medical bills are staggering. I’m giving Anne a standing ovation for her efforts and I’m hoping that you’ll stock up on some great gifts, stocking-stuffers, or even a little trinket for yourself. You know, a gift for sewing well, to borrow from Mary Garry.

Take care, all, and thank you so much for coming to visit with me!

A big happy-day shout out to Annemarie, who’s turning a page in her personal calender today. I hope your day is filled with laughter and blessed with good health!

There has been stitching done, really. I’ve started a new project for my Christmas exhange partner. Although I doubt she’s a regular reader I’ll forego posting a picture just in case. I also realized that I forgot to complete the outline around one of Karen V’s ‘pages’ – I’m sorry Karen! And for those who asked what colors and silks she used, I’d suggest you contact her directly. I sent her how-to sheet home with the project and didn’t make notes. She has amazing taste, doesn’t she? I’m still in awe of the MM&I NRR she created.

Tomorrow brings another showing of the house. Two in 8 days isn’t bad in this economy, but honestly, I’d just like someone to make us a reasonable offer. LOL.

Despite the damage done to my hands by all the intensive cleaning, I’ve managed to pull out some stitching and really enjoy it. First up is Karen V’s Quaker RR because there’s a deadline coming up next month that I don’t want to stress over. A fine group of us have done Ellen Chester’s Ackworth Friendship Book Sampler together and this is the last round. Karen’s is the only that isn’t monochromatic – isn’t it stunning?!

I also splurged a little bit on this threadholder from The Gift of Stitching monthly magazine shop. Kirsten comes up with the coolest things, and despite the fact that I’m supposed to be packing and getting rid of things, I simply had to have this. Check out the shop for this and other goodies! (Hint: The kits are fabulous!)

Sadly, this is probably about the extent of my Halloween decorating this year – that’s a no-no with the house up for sale. No showing off the beautiful Halloween goodies I’ve received in the past from Su, Becky SC, and Mylene (among others!) or those I’ve stitched myself. Speaking of the house, the realtor was duly impressed with the tremendous changes wrought since her original visit 2 weeks ago. The property pamphlet that she created for the house is very nice, and now it’s time to cross our fingers and hope for the best!

Even if we have to keep the place gorgeous, playing must be allowed, and here are the kids with a particularly elaborate train tracks and city they built this morning. (We also enjoyed a nice visit from Marlies, but I neglected to take my camera out. Oops!)

Enjoy a wonderful day!!!

It’s gray and rainy outside. And just look at what’s left of our back garden. Sigh. Needed doing, but I sure miss all that lush green.

Inside, however, it’s a party! Annemarie came to visit and it was just so great to see her! Look what she surprised me with.

I actually have two (different) Stacy Nash drum patterns, but haven’t dared stitch them because the finishing method daunts me. But An’s is gorgeous! And she filled it with the most delectable-smelling beech bark bits. I love it!

We chatted, ate, and stitched – amazing, huh? I finished a barn for my Prim New England Neighborhood, but you’ll have to wait till next time for photos. Time now to get busy doing Mommy Stuff. Thanks for visiting!

… I’m not showing you any pictures of it yet. Thank you so  much for all the really nice things you’ve said about my recent projects. You make me blush!

Today I had the pleasure of visiting with Conny. Naturally, I forgot my camera. Grrr. It was a too-quick visit, but one that I really enjoyed despite the time constraints. She gave me these lovely dried hortensia blooms from her sister’s garden, which are now posed prettily on the piano.

After school, Rowen created a lovely found-object collage for me. Quite the talented girl, don’t you agree?

And when I had the camera out to photograph his sister, Mr. Adorable came right up close and demanded to be immortalized, too.

Stitchy pics next time. Really. Thanks for visiting!!

Actually, I only pricked one thumb (the left one) but I did it a good many times …. I’ll spare you a picture of the poor little digit. I really should learn how to use a thimble. LOL.

Here’s my version of primitivebetty’s wonderful freebie. I knew I had to stitch this way back when she posted it on her blog, but it took me awhile to get around to it. This little darlin’ stays right here. It’s stitched over one on 32 ct lambswool with OWS Medallion Black. After I stitched it, I distressed it using coffee applied directly to the design side of the linen. The back is a gorgeous overdyed piece of silk that looks dyed-to-match the floss. And a bit of vintage lace finishes it off with a bit more flair than the average prim … but if something’s truly wicked, doesn’t it require a bit of luxury?

I’d like to thank both Betty and Tanya, while I’m at it, for not only being so generous with their freebies, but also for making them so accessible to those of us outside the US. I know that American (and perhaps Canadian?) LNSs offer freebies with purchases, but that’s just  not the case in other areas. So all those great La-D-Da and LHN (among others) freebies are impossible to obtain for the rest of us. It gets pretty frustrating, I’ll tell you! But don’t worry, I’ll get off my soap box now.

I hope your weekend involves a good amount of stitching as well as other happy-making activities. Mine’s been great so far. I actually ordered  new glasses (gasp!) – mine broke back in the early spring and since then I’ve been wearing a pair that dates back more than a decade. Tomorrow we’re off to visit a friend who was recently blessed with twin daughters. And hopefully I’ll soon be paying a visit on another good friend who just moved back to the Netherlands after several years abroad.

Another week that’s just flying by ….  Yikes. At this rate, it will be Christmas before I even know what’s going on. But on the bright side, I’ve managed to pretty much catch up on deadlines again, and in a couple of cases I even have a bit of an edge (not that it will last long, LOL). In between raking leaves and visiting friends and lots of other good stuff, I’ve managed to get a few stitches crossed. Here’s one of my designs that I’m pretty pleased with, particularly the delicacy of the colors. This is stitched on Vikki Clayton’s Old Gray Mare (a dark version of it) using her silks. What do you think of my eyelets?

I’ve also started a bit of holiday stitching. Seeing as how the days are whirring by me, I thought perhaps I should get a jump on Christmas stitching and decided to start off with this gorgeous little prim design by Annemiek of The Needle’s Content. This is her January prim floss tag – a year-long group that will soon be coming to an end. If you weren’t lucky enough to get in on the group, don’t despair! Annemiek will be offering these for sale, if I’ve understood correctly. It’s a great series! I’ve stitched my version on 35 ct HDF Old Gray Mare (lighter version) using GAST fibers.

The kids have been so busy. They enjoy every minute of it, but I can see that my little darlings do get tired from time to time. Here are a couple of quick shots of Rowen and Arden enjoying an after-school snack yesterday.

Autumn didn’t creep up on us this year. It plunked down one day and that was simply that. My gardens are full of  fallen leaves, the sky is leaden gray, and we’re all wearing light jackets. I spent my afternoon raking leaves and picking up the last of the windfall apples. It’s invisible work, though – when I asked Niek if he could see what I’d done today, he really had no idea. Sigh.

I have too many friends who are ill or are going through other difficulties, and I just want you to know that I am thinking of you. I’m terribly sorry I don’t write as often as I should, but you really are in my thoughts and I hope you’ll be enjoying sunnier prospects very soon. ((((Hugs!))))

Size isn’t everything. Really.

To prove my point, look at this tiny treasure I received from Su to round out our year of Seasonal Exchanges. This is Dutch Strawberries by The Goode Huswife done over one on 40 ct linen. It’s exquisite, and even more gorgeous IRL. Su’s finished it as a floss fob/ornament. For now, I’ve taken the metal ring off so I can display it as an ornament. It is just so incredibly gorgeous that I can’t stop looking at it! It’s backed with a beautifully coordinating Moda fabric.

Here’s a little trio of petite pretties that I’ve recieved over the years. I have many others, but I like how these three look together.

I’ve been busy with some tiny stitching, too. This is Hope from the Virtue Sampler Series by Carriage House Samplings. However, I’ve change “Hope” to “Love” because it’s a gift for Rowen’s teacher, whose daughter recently died after a long illness. I’ve stitched it over one using the suggested Crescent Colours and finished it as a very tiny box to hold small treasures of her daughter.

This isn’t so small, but here’s what I stitched in the latest round for the Blackbird Designs exchange group. This is a compilation of various BBD design elements from several of their charts that I’ve done in a schoolgirl sampler style and finished off as a ‘make-do’ pin cushion on a tiny porcelein soup tureen with a tiny lace and ribbon trim. I love it! Luckily, so did my partner, Pilar! (I had to steal her photo, as I forgot to take one!)

And to show how well the international mails are working, here’s the Halloween JCS that Jennifer mailed me – it arrived in less than a week! Jennifer, you are SO generous and kind. Here’s hoping that your goodness will come back to you tenfold!

In keeping with the theme of vacation fun, I thought I’d share some pictures of fun with food. Being in Maine, it was mandatory that we enjoy some good Maine lobster. And boy, did we! The kids were fascinated with the creepy crustaceans and frankly enjoyed playing with them more than eating them. LOL. We had learned quite a bit about lobsters back in May, so the kids could show off their knowledge by accurately identifying the swimmerets rather than calling them ‘the little legs’ like everyone else was doing. We had lobster rolls with my Mom and were treated to hardshell lobsters at my Dad’s. Yummo!

Of course there were also cookouts and picnics, mostly by the seaside. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera for a few of these outings (shame on me!) but I’m sure it’s obvious that fun was had by all, all the time. This collage also includes a shot of the blueberry pie eating contest at the Blueberry Festival - the kids were utterly fascinated by the concept of “having” to eat as much pie as fast as possible! And for some reason, I neglected to take any photos at Sara & Ken’s, where we were treated to some heavenly catfish and grilled chicken.

Several people have asked, “But did you do any stitching??” I had hoped to accomplish a great deal in that area – although I fell far short of my goal, I was happy with what I did get done. I stitched Tanya’s freebie on a lovely bit of banding and I finished a sampler of my own design. I also happened by a yard sale that included some lovely vintage linens and lace. But best of all by far was finally meeting Jenna! Niek and I abandoned the kids left the kids with their Grandma and made the drive up to Princeton, ME where Jenna & Terry were visiting family. It was such a wonderful treat to finally meet up IRL, and Jenna gifted me with some very special treasures (shown in the middle photo displayed on the yard sale finds).  Hugs to you, Jenna!

And now I’ll bid you a fond farewell for the day. Though the laundry is nearly caught up, there’s plenty more to keep me busy here at Chateau Chaos. Best wishes, dear friends, for a lovely day!