A finish and Belle

Hello Sunday evening to everyone.  I have a finish!!!  Yeah!!!!!  One on 32ct linen!!!!! and I love it.

This turned out so cute.  I've always loved La D Da Designs but this one is special for me.  I didn't think I could work on 32ct linen again and this one proved I could.  It's a small design....about 6 x 6 but for me it's huge.

I spent the afternoon over at Peyton and John's and we all went out to lunch at Wahlburgers.  If you're looking for an inexpensive place for lunch, this is NOT the place.  There were 4 of us plus Little John and we just had burgers and fries and our bill was over $70.00.  We were all curious to try it and that will be our last time there.  No burger is worth that much.

When we got back home, Peyton presented Belle with a new toy.  It's very hard to find toys that she does not destroy in 5 minutes so when we were in Pet Smart they came across some toys that were made out of genuine fire hose material.  I got a call from Peyton about an hour ago and Belle had destroyed it and pieces were laying everywhere.  Here's a picture of her before the destruction.  She's turning out to be a really good dog for Little John.  Everyday they lay on the floor with his blanket over her and his head resting on her belly and they watch tv together.  

Well that's all for this evening.  Everyone have a safe and happy week.

Blessings, Barbara

Almost finished

Hello ladies.  I'm happy that you are visiting my blog to see what I'm up to.  I started this a few days ago and I absolutely love it.  It's by La D Da and called Samplar Hare.  They give you instructions on how to make a stand up but I think I'm just going to frame it as it is.  Maybe some dyed rick rack instead of a mat.  We'll see....but here he is.

I'm actually working on a 32 ct without too much trouble.  

I also wanted to let you know that I'm putting quite a few patterns on my sale page so you might want to check that out.  Might be something you're looking for.

Blessings, Barbara

Some new stuff

Hi sweet peas!  Hope everyone is staying cool in this horrible heat wave we have going on.  I don't know how much longer I'm going to be able to live in Florida.  If I go anywhere I always make sure I'm out of the house by 9 am and I try to be home by 11 am.  Afternoon appointments just wipe me out.  I was lucky enough to go out with Peyton and Little John for lunch today and one of our favorite restaurants is Olive Garden.  I thought you might enjoy a picture of just how big Little John has gotten.   He was really enjoying his spaghetti today and he loves their breadsticks.

I must share with you a find that Peyton came across on Walmart.com.  She knew I was looking for a new rocker for our very small front porch and she found the perfect one on clearance.  The list price was over $200 but I got it for under $100 and it's very well made.  It's a heavy steel that is the color of bronze.  I love it and it's pretty comfortable to rock in.  

I'm very proud to announce that I finished the Cricket freebie and I'm just waiting on the firefly buttons and then I can make it into a pillow.  

I also went furniture shopping for an oversized recliner.  Remember me posting about the doctor advising I keep Vallie near me to pet and that it seems to help my hands from shaking.  Well this is the chair I picked out and as you can see, it has been Vallie approved.

  As you can see she has her toys and her blanket all ready.  It's a power lounger and it's quite heavy.  I'm not real thrilled with the fabric but you take what you can get.  I'm still not sure if this is exactly what I want because I have discovered that oversized recliners do not rock and that is something I must have.  When I knit or crochet I rock up a storm....weird right?

Peyton has come up with a new project for me.  Little John has a toddler bed that transforms into a twin size bed and they don't make sheets for the toddler bed size.  His bedroom is done in dinosaurs and we found this fabric for me to make him some sheets and pillow cases.  He wouldn't let go of it at the store so we figured he liked it.

That's all for now.  I'm waiting on a package from With Thy Needle and Thread and it should be here tomorrow.  I want to start a new cross stitch  project and you know I have nothing in my sewing room to work on.  😢  It's depressing.

Blessings Abound, Barbara

Just a quick note

Hello my sweet ladies.  I hope everyone has had a wonderful weekend filled with love and laughter.  Mine has been a quiet one so I started two new projects.

First a new shawl made from a lace weight merino wool from Freija.  It is the softest of wools and hand dyed in gradient colors.  The one I picked is called Pixie and I just love the colors.  The photo is a little faded out because the green is really a medium lime green.  Love it!

Then I started a new cross stitch project.  I'm working it on 28ct. hand dyed fabric (I forgot the name) and it's a pretty springtime green.  The design is a freebie from Cricket and you can find it at their website.  I have to go to my LNS this Wednesday to see if she has any firefly buttons from JABCo.  

I'm stitching this with Au Ver A Soie 100/3 silks and the ones at the bottom are colors I still have to add to the design.  I think this will make a really pretty summer pillow.  

I have discovered something and I talked it over with my doctor and he seems to agree.  When I get the shakes (my hands) if I pet Vallie it seems to calm them down.  I'm going to get a wider chair next weekend (found some oversized recliners at Ashley Furniture) so that Vallie can lay beside me and I can be able to pet her when I need to.  This has helped me with this new design I started and I can't wait to see if this helps on 32ct. as well.  I just have to be  patient.

Well that's all I have for now.  All of you be good this upcoming week and no getting into trouble...frogwise or other.

Blessings, Barbara

A finish, new start and update

I hope all my blog friends have been having a wonderful summer so far.  It's been terribly hot and humid down here and from what I hear from family and friends in the north, it's the same up there.  I can tell we are getting into the hottest part of living in Florida by our electric bill.  Whoa!

I finished another shawl yesterday using one of the MyMelodybyWolltraum yarns I purchased on Etsy from Brandi.  This one starts out white, to several shades of peach to a dark red.  I love it!  The pattern was a Ravelry find called Maid of Honour by Buttonnose Crochet.  It's a very easy pattern but I liked how it showed off the different shades of the yarn with the darkest red showing off the shell pattern on the border.  When I finished it, I only had about 10 yards left.  That's calling it close.

Then I went and purchased some new yarn that I just couldn't resist.  The one on the left and the one in the middle are hand dyed by a lady on Etsy.  The brown shaded one is a fingering weight and the middle one is a lace weight.  Both are waiting to be made into shawls.  The one on the right is called Scheepjes Whirl and is a cotton/acrylic fingering weight.  I fell in love with the name "Blackcurrant Squeeze Me".  Isn't that a great name?

I started a new knitting project.  I had these two balls of Rowan Softknit Cotton on hand in a lovely shade of denim blue and decided to make myself a nice cowl out of it.  It is so soft and so far a really fun knit.

Now for an update on our furbaby Vallie.  She has finished taken all the antibiotic that was needed and the hair has just about all grown in around her eyes.  She's looking sweet as can be.....and I think she knows it.

Well that's all for now my friends.  I hope all of you are staying cool where you are.  I find the older I get, the more the heat bothers me.  I wonder how many times I have said I Hate Florida?  LOL

Blessings Abound, Barbara

Update on Vallie

Our sweet girl had her surgery last Thursday and she wasn't in very good shape afterwards as you can tell by this picture.

I was very worried because the area around both eyes was very red.

But this is our girl this morning and she looks alot better.  She's been taking her medicine to avoid infection and she's back to being her old get in trouble self.

Thank you for all your prayers for our furbaby, Vallie

Blessings, Barbara

Something went wrong somewhere....

because.....

Peyton and John didn't want to find out the sex but when she went in for her sonogram, the doctor forgot to turn the screen and Peyton saw before she could tell her.  Apparently it was very noticeable.  She's a little disappointed but like I told her....this will be less expensive for you because you have all of Little John's clothes.   They haven't decided on a name....I'll keep you posted.  I'm hoping for a middle name of Andrew.  It's John's middle name and also my father's.

Blessings, Barbara

The fireworks are over

I hope each and every one of you had a fantastic 4th of July.  Ours was a very busy day.  We started the morning in Winter Park for their celebration and there was all kinds of good eats.  We watched the  new citizens take the oath of allegiance.   There were 17 of them from 12 different countries and I can say there wasn't a dry eye among them.  They were so happy and we all cheered them on.

Then Little John went to see the firetrucks and came back with a fireman's helmet...

.....but he decided it looked better on my husband.

Then we went home for some rest (Little John's nap) and then went to Oviedo to watch the fireworks and listen to some fantastic music.  Little John discovered bouncy houses for the first time and had a ball.

We had some popsicles and some how Little John ended up with both of them.

It was a very hot day but we all had a good time until the first really big booms of the fireworks.  Little John decided he had had enough and we left early.  We didn't want him to have to go thru the finale they always have.  He liked the colors but not the boom booms.  Peyton kept her hands over his ears but he still didn't like them.  We all had wonderful family day.

I have 3 finishes to share with you.  The first is a small wool scarf that buttons.  The yarn is from a company called Freia.  It is located in California and all hand dyed.  This scarf was made from the sport weight and would make a fantastic scarf for those cold winter mornings.  Unfortunately we don't have those cold mornings here so this is in my store.

The next one was made from Melodyy by Woltraum and is a cotton/acrylic yarn.  Very light weight and perfect for spring/fall evenings when you just need something a little extra.  It starts out cream and ends up a beautiful medium blue.  It's a large shawl with over 1,100 yards.  Around the bottom is a delicate ruffle.  This one is also in my store.

The next one I made for myself.  It had just about all my favorite colors in it.  It's also a cotton/acrylic yarn and it starts out olive green - shades of purple - navy blue.  It's also quite large and I love it.

Well that's what I've been up to.  My week has been thrown off and here it is Wednesday and I'm doing laundry.  I feel all out of sorts.  Old age I guess.

Blessings, Barbara

I'm getting old!

Hi my sweet peeps.  Hope everything is good where you are and that you had a fantastic weekend.  Mine was so so.  I've been having back problems again.  I've had a bad back all my life and sometimes it acts up.  This week was one of those times.  It's better now and you just go on with your life hoping the next time doesn't come around.

I have sad news about the Lavender & Lace Angel of Light was I stitching.  I discovered I just can't do large projects anymore at all.  Between the shaking and the lack of concentration....it just didn't work out.  I sent everything to the lady I was doing it for in hopes that she can find someone to finish it.  I do have some small projects I would like to do but I just can't think right now about doing them.  I started a new shawl.  This one uses a yarn called "Cotton Flowers" and it's from Germany.  It is a 4 plied gradient yarn that is cotton and acrylic.  It's wonderful to work with.  Here are some pictures of what the skein looks like after working on this for about 3 days and the other is what I have finished so you can see the gradient colors.

This yarn starts out a very pale yellow, goes to minty green and ends up baby blue.  The shawl is already pretty good size and I'm about half way finished.

Sad news about my baby Vallie.  She has to have surgery on the 13th of July.  She has developed a wart on the inside corner of her left eye and it has to be removed.  Thank goodness they don't have to keep her overnight because she just wouldn't go for that.  I drop her off about 7 am and pick her back up about 5 pm.  I'd appreciate a prayer or two for my furbaby.  I'll be a nervous wreck till she's back home with her mommy and daddy.  

Now I want to introduce you to a new member of Peyton and John's family.  Her name is Belle and she's a rescue.  I wasn't too sure about her at first but she fell instantly in love with Peyton and every time she walks by Little John she licks his cheek.  The Vet thinks she's between 6 mos. and 1 year old.  

Well that's all the news hereabouts so I just want to say thank you to all of you ladies who read my blog.  I've met some wonderful people through this blog and I thank my lucky stars for each and every one of you.

Blessings for the week, Barbara