Archive for stitchy gifts

in which i say a sad goodbye to conny

This morning I braved one of my  last Dutch traffic jams to spend an hour traversing a distance normally covered in a tad over 20 minutes to visit one of my dearest friends here in the Netherlands. While the traffic inched forward through the rain, I enjoyed a trip down Memory Lane remembering my first meeting with Conny - I’d purchased something from her on eBay and wanted to pick it up in person rather than having it posted. That very first time, something clicked and rather than just picking up a pattern and leaving, I enjoyed at least half an hour of chit-chat with her and we quickly became good friends. She’s also friends with the kids, all of whom have been to her house at one point or another and all of whom have been spoiled by her sweet generosity. :D

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visitingConny 009

Although I had to go empty-handed because the gift I’d ordered for her seems to have disappeared into a black hole, Conny certainly didn’t let me go empty-handed. As if the treasure (Sampler Girl design, btw) she stitched for me weren’t enough, she also bought me a wonderful collection of antique samplers (with patterns!) and some fun finishing goodies. Saying goodbye was difficult, but we managed to do it dry-eyed. Barely. Thank you, Conny!

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visitingConny 008

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overwhelming!

I’m at Niek’s computer again because mine is ready for a eulogy. Niek’s going to try some black magic on it to at least get stuff saved to our external backup thingie, but … it’s not looking good. :( I have introduced my camera to his ‘ puter, though, and they like each other, so here’s a little bit of visual interest for you. ;)

I opened my Do Not Open Till December envelope from Katrina and found this sweet ornament and card. Katrina and I have been in two Quaker RRs together and I hope we’ll do another in 2010. Thanks, Katrina!

From Katrina

I also finished my version of the Gift of Stitching challenge. I stitched the design over on on 38 or 40 ct R&R linen (from a grab bag, so I don’t know the color) using GAST Blackboard and made it into a wee necklace for my favorite girl. :D It’s about as big as my thumbnail. The backside has the same heart outline, but with Rowen’s initials. She didn’t want to take it off for bed. My first attempt at this sort of thing, and I was dependent on the very scanty supplies available from the local craft shop, but I will try this again in the future. (In trying not to close her eyes in a photo, Rowen now squints. Not really a big improvement, LOL.)

Rowen happily wearing her necklace

front side of necklace

back side of necklace

Thank you for your overwhelming advice to keep the name of the blog unchanged. And for your wonderful wishes for the upcoming weeks! :D You’re the greatest!!

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it wasn’t traditional

… and the closest we came to turkey was the smoked chicken in our lunch salad, but it was a wonderful, memorable Thanksgiving. :D

Harmien came over, and after braving the elements for 15 minutes (because I cannot hear the difference between 10 to 10 and ten-ten) she thawed out over a couple of cups of coffee and some slightly burnt focaccia bread. We also had some salad with smoked chicken and some homemade pumpkin soup. It wasn’t the best luncheon I’ve put forth, but neither did she keel over from food poisoning. ;)

Harmien came bearing gifts. Some speculaas mix (a fabulous Dutch cookie that I will seriously miss) and this lovely rendition one of The Sampler Girl’s fabulous freebies.

The Sampler Girl by Harmien

gifts from oma across the street 019

I had a gift for her, too, but it hasn’t yet arrived from Australia. :(

We both missed Annemarie. (((((Hugs)))))) I am so thankful for the wonderful friends I’ve made here.

A sweet gift for Arden from Nic arrived in the mail. When Nic showed this bunny’s sibling on her blog, I exclaimed (!) that it was JUST the thing for Arden with our upcoming journey to the US, and lamented for the 99 thousandth time that I can’t knit. So Nic very sweetly made Arden his very own bunny-travel-buddy. As you can see, Nic, it’s a big hit! :D I’m so thankful for my blogging friends!!

Arden's bunny from Nic

After Harmien headed for home, I took the kids to the doctor for their persistent cough (which has begun to worry me) and nearly all of them got a clean bill of health. Nicky has a bit of bronchitis-type action happening, but the doctor said it’s very mild and will probably blow over on its own. I was very thankful to hear this.

Later in the afternoon, just as the gloomy twighlight was coalescing into actual darkness, the “Grandma Across The Street” appeared at our door bearing gifts. Though she’s not a relative by blood, she has certainly fallen in love with our kids over the years, and even keeps dog treats on hand for when she sees us walking by. The kids call her ‘the other grandma’ (in Dutch, ‘de andere oma’) and we’ve enjoyed many chats together. She’s very sad we’re leaving, and we will be sad to leave the wonderful people like her in our  neighborhood behind. (Max also recieved a book, but declined a photo op. LOL) We’re thankful for the family-that-isn’t-family.

gifts from oma across the street

gifts from oma across the street

gifts from oma across the street

No matter how many times you count your blessings, what they add up to never fails to amaze!

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the good, the bad and the ugly

For the good stuff, look what Anne S. surprised me with in today’s mail. Anne, you’re the tops! Thank you so much for a very sweet pick-me-up. :D The needles are always needed, I love the colors of the floss (by Carrie’s Creations and Stef Francis), and that fob is so me! I’ve got smiles on top of my smile! (And a shamefully belated thank you to Tina and Jennifer for recent mail surprises. I’m sorry I didn’t photograph them, too!)

RAK from AnneS

The bad is that Dee Barton’s envelope, which I mailed yesterday, was returned to me today. The mail carrier was clueless as to what the problem was and promised to return it to the P.O. at the end of his route and have it manually sorted. So, Dee, if your envelope fails to arrive in 10 days or so, please email me.

Here’s the ugly. This was the library for years & years (Niek and I have over 3000 books, not counting kids’ books) until Arden really needed a place to sleep (he was keeping me  awake by sleeping in our room), so we moved a few books out and stuck his crib in there. Charming, huh? Not quite. Anyway, this morning I finished packing up all the books, but the room itself is still far from showroom quality. He’s napping now, though, so I’ll have to wait before resuming my labors in that room.

library/nursery: a work in progress

Oh, here’s another good. We can’t end on ugly, can we? This is what Nick and Rowen’s room looked like when I finished yesterday afternoon. I only wish I’d taken a before photo – you wouldn’t believe your eyes. I know it’s normal here for kids to share a room, but my heavens, there isn’t room to turn around for all the stuff that kids collect. This is actually an enormous room – as large as some living rooms – but by the time you put in two beds, a closet, a toy box, and a bookshelf …. Well, you get the idea.

kids' room

The countdown is serious now – one week from today and the realtor is coming to do the photo layout for our house!  It’s stressful, trying to do all this single-handed while also ferrying the kids to & fro and doing all the other stuff that’s part of running a household - but this is what I have to look forward to.

Landfall
Our future front door!

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in here it’s so delightful!

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.

backyard

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

from Annemarie

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!

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it’s okay to play with your food

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!

Lobster fun 

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.

picnic collage 

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! :D

stitching related treasures  Jenna and I meet in Princeton

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!

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28 count is huge!

I haven’t stitched on 28 count linen in quite awhile, unless it’s over-one, so when I picked HOHRH up the other day to join in with Becky’s initiative, I felt like I was stitching on window screening material. LOL. This is stitched on 28 ct Parkside by Silkweaver using the suggested DMC. I’ve been thinking that after I do house one on this one, I’ll go on to do house one on VOHRH and then SOHRH. Then on to house two, and so on. It sounded like an interesting way to get all three BAPs done without getting bogged down on one of them.

Day One:
HOHRH day one

Day Two:
HOHRH day two

Here’s the stash that Conny gave me for my birthday. Gorgeous, huh? Makes me long for autumn!

stash from conny

And my Liberty Primitives order came in today. Wow, she packaged it up so  nicely, with some gorgeous freebies. What a treat!

LibertyPrimitivesStashHaul

We had some fun at lunch today. Here are Arden and Rowen being very cute.

cute arden

Rowen being cute

It’s a gorgeous sunny day here – hot and bright and very summery. I hope you’re enjoying a wonderful day!

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at the zoo

There are lions and roaring tigers,
and enormous camels and things,
There are biffalo-buffalo-bisons,
and a great big bear with wings.
There’s a sort of a tiny potamus,
and a tiny nosserus too -
But I gave buns to the elephant
when I went down to the Zoo!
~A.A. Milne

 The kids had a free day yesterday, due to yet another teachers’ study day (I told Max he should give his teachers a pop quiz Monday morning!), so the five of us piled into the car as soon as the worst of the traffic jams were over and headed for Blijdorp Zoo in Rotterdam. Honestly, the kids spent more time & energy just running around and playing than looking at any animals – an educational trip it certainly was not. LOL.

blijdorp june

In the evening, I managed to put the last stitches into two of the three gifts that’ve been languishing on my To Do pile. Will the last one be finished this weekend? I’d like to know, too. ;) Deb and Coral both received packages this week, so I can share a few stitchy pictures.

Coral won my birthday giveaway drawing. I made her a little tiny bag with First Moon Colony by Bent Creek stitched on it. It’s one of those patterns that I think I could happily stitch a dozen times. :)

HomeSweetHome bag

And Deb’s belated but heartfelt birthday gift arrived, which included a tiny angel (cutout from a Mary Beale pattern) in a SanMan pre-made pillow form that Vonna sent me. I secured the angel with some invisible stitches and made some additions/changes to the original pillow form, so it’s now a true Deb Original. :D

bdayangetoDeb

Today’s big excitement was finding a little bunny on the way to Scouting. I don’t know if someone dropped it off over there, figuring it could range free, or if it escaped from someone’s backyard. I’ve contacted the animal services people and in the meantime, s/he is enjoying the amenities of Chateau Chaos. She’s staying in Lola’s indoor kennel and has made friends with everyone. :D

lost and found bunny

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signs of summer

During the daytime, if I have a chance to blog or stitch I sit at the table because there’s a very large window there that gives the best natural light. Our overgrown shrubs try to block out some of that light – but they’re also providing cover for at least one pair of nesting doves. I just love watching the parents go in and out of the ’secret’ passageway over by the window. Knock wood, Spin the Cat hasn’t noticed.

Although our back garden is full of overgrown shrubs (not to mention dog toys, kids toys, dirt dug up by the dogs, sand scattered out of the sandbox by the kids, and so on), there are some beautiful summer flowers inside the house. I received a beautiful bouquet from Jim and Gaby for my birthday, and yesterday an acquaintance brought me a really stunning bouquet to thank me for a favor. The peonies smell so incredible!

peony

Today’s mail included this chart from Becky K. She was giving away a few PS charts that she’d done or had duplicates of, and I asked if I might have this one. (I have big plans for Halloween this coming autumn!) Thank you, Becky! Be on the lookout for a little thank-you coming your way soon. ;)

PS gift from Becky OK

I’m nearly finished with Curious as a Cat and will wait till it is done to show another picture of it. However, I did make a small start on a little something that will be a future exchange. I’m trying something new and since it may not work out, I decided to get an early start. The blue marks are guidelines and will wash out.

my newest start

Well, it’s the weekend! The weather forecast isn’t too inspiring, but I’m hoping for a few quiet hours either indoors or out. It’s been a very busy week and I have to admit to feeling worn to the nubbins this evening. Thank you for visiting, and I wish you a most wonderful weekend!

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keeping the mail carriers busy

I think we’re in danger of wearing out the mail slot on our front door, LOL! A couple of days ago, I received Hickety Pickety by Little by Little from Melissa as a thank you for piggy-backing some other mail to another Dutch-based stitcher. Melissa, it wasn’t necessary, but thank you so much! And it seems that Melissa’s parcel was the one that broke the dam. Since then, the mail has been a’flyin’!

From Melissa E.

Ela received the Blackbird Designs exchange that I sent her. Now you may remember the glorious one that I received - as one comment said, ‘the bar for this exchange has been set high’. I really did my best to make something beautiful and functional, and Ela’s assured me that she really likes it. I stitched June Berries and used it as an insert for a wooden tray that I painted and sanded to look antique. I was really pleased with the outcome. Anyone who wants to sign up for the next round, head over the blog now and do so! :D

BBD exchange sent

Then I received my Prairie Schooler exchange from Roberta and nearly fell right over – it’s that wonderful! Roberta knows how much I’m looking forward to heading home to Maine and figured that this design from the July leaflet would really get me in the mood for the gorgeous Maine coast. She personalized the back gorgeously (look at that over-one compass insert!!). And then I opened it up and just squealed! Niek thought I’d stuck myself with a pin, but I’d actually fallen in love with this little lobster. Everything is finished to perfection, and I’m seriously considering taking this home to show to my family this summer. Thanks, Roberta!!

PS Exchange receipt from Roberta

And then the birthday fairy slipped something through that over-worked mail slot. Deb and I are birthday twins (add in Tanya’s son Ben and we’re triplets!) and every year this wonderful lady goes completely overboard gifting me with delightful goodies. The strawberry in this year’s package made Rowen’s eyes go round – you could just see her figuring out how good it would look with her new red hair! ;) Never fear, it’s safely installed in my Hall of Fame and I’ll make sure she doesn’t sneak it off to school. Deb also included a fat bunch of NPI silks in glorious greens. I love HDF silks, but NPI is actually my number one favorite to stitch with – they are so smooth  and so gorgeous. Deb also included a chart that I’ve l-o-n-g admired and some fun invitations that I will use the next time we have a Sip & Stitch at Chateau Chaos. Thanks, Deb!

birthday gifts from Deb

And then … yes, there is more! And then my order from TGOSM arrived. Remember I told you that there was a sale on the kits and that it really was a no-brainer to grab one? Here’s mine! I also splurged on some thread winders that will be popping up in packets that I send out. They’re so cute, and the price certainly is right. I’ve pressed my linen and installed it on a Q-snap so I’m ready to start stitching. But first, I decided I had to get an unpleasant chore out of the way – frogging all that I had done on Shores. I’m going to re-do it, either two-over-two or one-over-one. In either case, I need a different piece of linen and I want this one clean and ready to use for a new project. Good girl, right?

TGOSM stash order

Well, I guess that’s more than enough out of me for today, isn’t it? Thanks so much for coming to visit!

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