God does answer prayers....

We've just come from the doctor's office and both his thyroid and his lung biopsy are benign.  I can't thank all of you enough for all your prayers and best wishes.  My DH was absolutely sure they were going to say cancer of the lung but God proved him wrong.  

Blessings Upon All of You on This Blessed Day

Barbara

It's a rainy day here in Orlando and a perfect day to finish up some sewing projects.  

First is little John Elijah's quilt.  Peyton liked one of those panels you can purchase and add the coordinating fabrics to it to make a quilt.  Sewing Studio had the panel but it was after searching online that I found all the coordinating fabrics to match.  Here's how it turned out.

 The theme of the nursery is woodland animals and this fits in with it really nice.  I loved doing it for the baby but I can tell my machine quilting days are coming to an end.  My back just can't stand it and my hands shaking makes for a hard time sewing a straight line.

 I saw this owl pattern and just fell it love with it.  The pattern called for it to have flowers on it but I decided a bow tie was more fitting for a little boys owl.

And of course at the top of the quilt is the little one's name.  It was fun to do but I'm sure glad it's finished.

I finished knitting my Rose Petal Cowl and I love how it turned out.  It is so soft with the rabbit angora added to the merino wool and it will be a pleasure to wear here in the winter.

I'm slowly stitching away on Olga and hope to have her finished soon.  The local lady who dyes this fabric has been asked to show her fabrics at the nationals in February and she would like stitchers to donate items that have been stitched on her fabrics so she can show examples.  I've decided to let her have as many as she would like to take of mine.  She has a great eye for color and since I love unusual colors for my fabrics, it works out great.

That's all for today.  Sorry for the long post but I'd rather be busy than sitting around like a stump as my Mother use to say.

Tomorrow we find out the results of the biopsy so please keep your fingers crossed.

Blessings to All, Barbara

Way to go Pa.

I was talking with one of my brothers this afternoon and he informed me that Lewisberry, Pa was playing for the Little League World Series Championship against Texas....score 2 to 2.  I turned the channel and saw some of the cutest kids trying their hearts out to win.  I was just in time to see Lewisberry get the winning score of 3 to 2.  If your not familiar with Lewisberry, the towns population is less then 375 and if you blink while driving thru it, you'll miss it.  One of my brothers lives there so I know the area.   

Congratulations to the Champs

I have some finishes to show you, but I'll post them tomorrow.

Blessings, Barbara

It's a beautiful day here in Florida and I hope where you are it's just as pretty.  Now if it would only cool down some, Vallie and I would enjoy taking walks again.

I started a new project and it's called "Olga's Tart" by Plum Street Design.  I'm stitching it on one of the Black Cauldron Fabrics called "Hag's Hair" and it's turning out really cute.  The pattern calls for 36ct and I didn't have any so I won't be finishing it the way the pattern shows. 

 I did go ahead and order some of the tart tins from Amazon....6 of them for $14.95.  I thought that was a pretty good price.  If you're interested in getting some, here is the webpage:  link

Remember I was going to make that cowl in the purple, grey and tan yarn....well that just did not work out at all.  You know how some times you lay floss on fabric and you go "Wow" that looks great but when you take those first couple of stitches you go "Ugh".  Well that's how I felt when I started knitting that cowl....so I changed my mind (as us girls are allowed to do) and started this one:

I'm calling it Rose Petals and the yarn is to die for.  It's called Invernal by Aslan Trends.  It's made from Rabbit Angora and Merino Wool and it's sooooo soft and it's wonderful to knit with.  I love knitting and crocheting in the fall and winter and have been stocking up on some yummy yarns that I can't wait to get needles in to.  So many projects.....not enough time.

Have a Blessed week, Barbara

TGIF

I'm glad this week is over and that today is friday.  Went and did a little shopping this morning and I had to run into Michaels for 1 skein of floss and came away with the cutest metal owl.

There were 2 different sizes and the one I bought is about 10 inches high.  The other one was about 15 inches and they both had a place on the back to put a candle.  He's just the sweetest thing and my DH was with me and usually me makes fun of me when I'm in a store of that type, but even he likes him.  He has been christened "Oscar".

Well I finished my Indian Corn Cowl and I can tell I haven't knitted in about a day because I really have the shakes today.  It's taking me forever to type this because I keep hitting letters twice.  

I absolutely love all the colors in this yarn that I used and enjoyed knitting this a lot.  My next project is this:

but in this yarn...

I love the purple with the gray and tan.  This should be a nice relaxing knit.

Lizzie Kate has asked that stitcher's do not post finishes of the SAL but here's the one I started.

It should be a fun stitch because it's not very big....on 28ct. about 5.5 x 11 inches and it has all kinds of beads, buttons and charms on it.  You also get 3 extra little charts that go with it.  I've just started part one and there's 3 parts.  

 Tomorrow we are going with Peyton and John to get the baby's crib.  I remember my parents buying Jennifer's and we asked them if it would be okay for us to buy little John Elijah's crib.  Then a nice relaxing dinner out at Kobe's Japanese Steakhouse.  So I hope all of you have a great weekend with your family and friends.

Blessings, Barbara

Come On Autumn...

When we lived in Pennsylvania, autumn was always my favorite time of year.  The colors were so beautiful.....as only Mother Nature can do them and I loved how the air smelled.  People  had fireplaces going to take off the chill and the burning of leaves.  I miss that so much.  When Peyton was little, she was living in Virginia for 4 years while her step mother went to college.  She called me one year and asked me what I would like for Christmas.  I didn't even hesitate and told her I would love to have some fall leaves framed.  I still have this standing in our living room....

Every time I look at it I remember the love that Peyton put into this but also how much I love the colors of autumn.  Here in Florida we can tell when autumn is coming when the rain trees change color.  If you are not familiar with them, this is how they look in Florida in the fall.

They get these pods on them about the size of a small walnut and they turn from gold to red.  They are pretty but not like what we were use to in the north.

After such a long day yesterday, I decided to treat myself to a trip to my LNS, Needle Orts.  Oh was I bad......I mean really bad.  

I decided to start the new Lizzie Kate Mystery SAL and of course I needed the fabric and I had to have the WDW and GA threads to stitch with.  Sound good so far?  

Well then I went and looked at the "new" section (Debbie always has the newest releases in a certain area of the books) and came away with 2 Jeanette Douglas designs.  The one that really struck me though was this one:

It's a Hands On Design that just made me smile.  It's suppose to be used as a thread holder (there's 3 holes on two sides of the wooden base) but I decided to weave some silk ribbon through the holes and make it into a stand up for Halloween.  I love Cathy's designs and this one was a really quick stitch.  

That's about all for today.  I am still working on my indian corn cowl (my name for it) and I'm just about finished.  I joined the second ball yesterday while at hospital and hopefully will be finished in a day or two.  It really does help with my shaking and I'm going to keep a knitting project going at all times.  You do what you must to get by.

Blessings to All, Barbara

Finally home....

I hate hospitals!  Let me repeat that....I hate hospitals.  My DH and I were told to be there at 7 am.  We didn't have to wait too long until he was called back for the ultrasound of his thyroid and it only took maybe 45 minutes.  Not bad right?  What they failed to tell us is that he wasn't scheduled for the lung biopsy until 12 noon.  So we sat and waited and waited.  Finally it was his turn and they told me that when they were finished doing the biopsy, he would have to stay for 3 hours afterwards for them to watch him.   I went home and they told me they would call me when to come back for him.  I did.  I received a call from a nurse about 1:30 telling me that he was scheduled for a chest xray at 2 and that he would be ready to leave by 3.  Fine.  I was at the hospital about 10 minutes before 3 and they still hadn't done the chest xray that was suppose to be done at 2.  At 3:30 they did the xray and the doctor read it and they discovered that the hole which they made with a needle to take some of the cells hadn't closed up and he would have to wait till 5:00 to have another chest xray.  Now you must remember that DH hadn't had anything to eat or drink since the night before and here it is almost 4 till they finally gave him a bottle of water.  Finally at 5:30 the doctor came in and told us that the second xray looked the same as the first and that he might as well go home.  After fighting rush hour traffic we made it home by 6:15.  Almost 12 hours at the hospital for 2 procedures that were only suppose to take about 4 hours and all you hear are excuses.  

The doctor did tell us that he doubts there is anything in his thyroid and that he was only able to get a few cells of the lung and that he hoped he got enough.  Now that's just what you want to hear right?

So now we sit and wait for the results and again, thank you for all your prayers and best wishes.

Blessings, Barbara

Hello friends on this beautiful Sunday.  We had some really bad thunderstorms last nite here in Orlando and I know they really named Florida correctly....the Lightning Capital of the U.S.  Poor Vallie was shaking and not letting me get 3 feet from her all evening.

I have been trying to keep busy and I received an order for two of my small round bags.  I thought I would share them with you.

They are for a customer at Needle Orts and I must admit, the older I get the more I like orange.   It's such a nice clean color and goes with alot of different colors.

Next up are some new patterns I picked up.  I'm shameless.

As if I have enough time left to stitch all of these.  I'm back to working on Cherry Hollow Farm by Stacey Nash.  It's slow going but I really want to finish this one.  I'll post a picture soon.

Then I discovered that when I start shaking if I knit a bit my shaking stops so I started a cowl for myself.  I have several solid color crew neck slip over sweaters and I found a chunky weight yarn that has every color of the rainbow....and then some.

It's an Ella Rae yarn called Lace Merino Chunky and it's 100% wool but so soft.  The pattern is a very easy one.  Use size 10.5 needles and cast on 140 stitches.  Knit 1 round, k1 p1 on next round, repeat these two rounds till you run out of yarn.  I have two balls of this so mine will be about 10 inches high by about 25 inches around.  It's a nice relaxing knit and stops the shakes for awhile so I can cross stitch for a little bit more.  I don't know why this works but it does for me.

I hope all of you have a fantastic week and please say a blessing on Tuesday morning for my DH.

Blessings Upon You, Barbara

Updates and a finish

Hello friends.  I want to thank all of you again for all your best wishes and prayers.  I found out Monday that his biopsy will be done on the 18th and we have to wait till the 31st to find out the results.  When I was making the appt  for the follow up, the girl wanted to make the appointment in the middle of September.  I asked her if she would like to wait that long to find out if her loved one had cancer or not.  The best she could do was the 31st but she did say if the doctor gets the biopsy and doesn't like the looks of it, we will probably hear from them sooner.  

My DH was sitting with Vallie the other night and he was having fun making her wave.  I thought I would take a video of it and share it with you.  You must remember, I'm terrible at taking videos.

They are both such hams.  

My finish is one that's a long time coming.  Back in 2012, Jardin Prive had a SAL called "The Way to Happiness" and I started it but never finished it.  I found it the other day and read the words and they seemed so appropriate for what we are going thru right now.  I stitched it on 32ct. Queen Ann's Lace Jobelan with Au Ver A Soie 100/3 and I have ordered the bell pull hardware with Debbie and will finish it when I get them.  I'm thinking silk for the fabric on the back with a very thin cotton batting in between.  I'll be sure to post a picture when it's finished.

Thank you all for stopping in today.  I hope each and every one of you has a Blessed week.

Barbara

We had an exciting day today.  John graduated from UCF - University of Central Florida - with his  Engineering Degree.  They had to have two ceremonies to handle all the kids.  I hadn't been to UCF for several years and I swear the campus has doubled in size.

 A very happy John and a very proud Peyton.  It was nice to be invited for this happy occasion. 

Blessings, Barbara

Test Results back

We went to see the doctor this afternoon and the results are positive.  It also showed positive for a part of his thyroid.  The next step is to have an ultrasound of his thyroid and if they see any nodules they will take a biopsy and also a biopsy of his lung.  To say that I am devastated is putting it mildly.  He's handling it pretty good but the fact that his father died of lung cancer doesn't make it easier.  Now we sit and wait again for the hospital to call to make an appointment for all the new tests and he also has to have some blood work done.  I want to thank all of  you for your prayers and emails and to ask you all to keep him in your prayers.  

The winner of the fabric is Missy and I have contacted her via email.  The correct designer was Cricket and I've discovered that the next time I do something like this, to make the designer a little harder to figure out.

I do have a finish and it's the witch by JBW.  I stitched it on 28ct. Graziano linen that was dyed by WDW in the purple shade.  I finished it a little differently because I want to hang this on our front door and I wanted it a little bigger.  I actually found those large beads at Wally World and they match the green fabric perfectly.  

I hope all of you have a wonderful week with your loved ones and remember to give them an extra hug tonite.

Blessings, Barbara

P.S.  I just added some new patterns to my cross stitch patterns for sale store.

Come On....Enter....

Doesn't anyone want a free fat 1/8th of linen?  If you think the two other ladies have the correct answer it doesn't matter.  Enter the same designer's name and maybe you'll be eligible for the drawing of the fabric.  I cannot believe no one else has put a guess.  Is my fabric that I'm giving away that bad?  You're hurting my feelings by not entering because I'm thinking no one wants any of my fabric.  I promise you you'll love the color of this fabric for Halloween or maybe some other sampler type design.  Come on ENTER YOUR GUESS AND GET A CHANCE TO WIN THE FABRIC.

Sorry I yelled, Barbara

It's Contest Time.....

but first I want to share a finish with you.  This one is a freebie from The Primitive Hare and can be found here.  I finished it as a little pillow but added a hanger onto it so I could hang it from a tall mantle clock my Father made me over 40 years ago.  It's just some cotton fabric torn into an inch wide strip and then sewn on with a button at each top corner.  I like the look of it and where it's hanging has special importance to me.

Okay now for the contest.  I thought of something new to entice you to put on your thinking hats.  I've stitched this ..

What you must do is tell me the designer's name.  Post your answer in the comments section and please don't post the name of the design.....just the designer.  If we have more than one correct answer, I will draw a name from those ladies.  Here are 3 clues to help you:

1.  It's cross stitch

2.  It's stitched in Au Ver A Soie

3.  It's an ornament

You really didn't think I'd give clues did you?  Let's make this last until Wednesday evening and here's the kicker.....whoever guesses right gets a fat 1/8 of Black Cauldron Designs "Hag's Hair" 32ct. Iridescent Belfast Linen. The closest color that DMC makes to this is 372 so it's a perfect color for Halloween designs.   We'll also make this world wide because the mailing cost will be low. 

So get your thinking caps on and let's see who comes up with the correct answer.

Good Luck and Blessings to all,

Barbara

The Cat & The Ducklings

This might help you believe in tiny miracles.