More than just Cross Stitchin': June 2010

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Oh Canada !!

Well, jeepers! I searched high, and I searched low,

Looking for a Canada Day background – don’t you know.

I found lots with stars and strips and fireworks that burst,

But I could find nothing for Canada - not even July 1^st.

I Googled for Canada, I Googled for Maple Leafs,

I Googled until I found nothing but grief.

Disappointed I thought, 'Man – I’ll even settle for Red'

I could only find this – you get Strawberries instead.

So celebrate Canada Day and sit by the lake,

Watch the fireworks burst and eat Strawberry Cake!

Happy Canada Day everyone!

Sunday, June 20, 2010

I hope all you Dads out there enjoy your special day doing something you love with someone you love! For those of us whose Dads are no longer with us, we cherish all those memories we have of you and we will be thinking of you today. (I miss you Dad ...XOXO)

Tracey

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

My Stitched Garden

Since I showed you some pics of my gardens outside, I thought I would now share with you my love of flowers through my stitching. (As I sit here typing next to the open window, I am breathing in the lovely scent from my "Hall's Honeysuckle Vine"... heavenly!!)

This pattern is by Cedar Hill called " Country Poppies". (Those red poppies are everywhere!) I tried my hand at coffee dying the fabric for this and I'm really happy how it turned out.

This next pic is one in a series of 5 that I stitched by Sisters & Best Friends called " Spring Glory". (I have also done, "Summer Joy", " Autumn Thanks", " Christmas Wish" , and " Winter Peace".) Did I happen to mention that a have a thing for seasonal patterns?? LOL

Our favourite framer Neale from the Thread & Eye made this simple rustic frame in a neutral wood tone that works with all of the stitched pieces. (I also had Neale mount and lace each piece.) It is then so easy to just take out the piece of foamcore cut to fit the back of the frame, and then insert the appropriate picture for that particular time of year. This is such an economical way to display this series and thankfully all of the pieces are the same size!

Here's one of my favourites called "Four Seasons" by Marjolein Bastin. It was so much fun to stitch! (It was also a longggg stitch though... I worked on it off and on for about 4 years!) The end result after all those hours of stitching was well worth the wait.

I have a few of MB's patterns, but this is the only one I've stitched so far. I am also a big fan (and giver) of her greeting cards. On a personal note: I had a customer come in that was buying some of her cards and this lady made the comment that she went to school in Holland with this amazing artist. Thought that was pretty cool! :^)

I can't take the credit for stitching this last pretty piece. It was stitched by my dear friend René and was given to me on my 41st birthday. Thanks 'Ne!! I just love it!!

René can't remember for sure, but she thinks this may be a Bent Creek pattern... more than likely OOP. I just love the simplicity of this pattern. I've displayed it in many different places in the house, and it looks great no matter where I put it.

So in keeping with the flower/gardening theme, I must get back to stitching on Mirabilia's "Summer in My Garden". Hope to show an update of her soon!!

Tracey

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

One Part of the "More", In More than Just Cross Stitchin'

Right up there next to cross stitching on my "List of Loves" is gardening. What a joy it was to wander around the grounds while staying at Brentwood on the Beach and take in the beauty of all the lovely gardens; my absolute favourite being the scarlett red poppies out in the front bed!

Gardening takes you away to another place, clears the mind, and drains the stress away. (Well to me it does anyway!) A lot like stitching, I guess :^)

My hubby and I got serious about our gardens probably about 18 years ago and it has just evolved from there. We just love trees, and even though we couldn't squeeze another onto our property, we always manage to discover a new species every year while on one of the many garden tours we attend during the summer months.

I hate to admit it, but the gardens have been rather neglected so far this year, what with all the work having to be done inside the house. We did manage to get out and get some work done over the Victoria weekend in May, but we have a long way to go yet. It's funny how things keep on getting bigger and bigger though, even without any special attention. I was out walking around the yard tonight and I was just amazed at how huge everything is. I think the hot weather we've had the last little while has really helped things along.

A view of my Chocolate Vine (Akebia) on top of our pergola. Just loaded with flowers this year.

So happy... this is the first year my False Indigo (Baptisa) has bloomed :^

The gardens on the south side of our house. You can almost smell those lilacs right through the computer!

I hope you enjoyed taking a stroll through the garden.

Tracey

Charlie Brown

Growing up, I had a pet monkey named Charlie Brown. Actually, he belonged to my sister and he came to live with us in 1966. You were actually allowed to have monkeys as pets then and if you can beleive it, he was ordered from an ad in the back of a magazine. Charlie Brown was a squirrel monkey (just like the ones in the Telus commericials).

Everyone in school loved when it was my turn for 'show and tell'. You will see in some of the photos (if the slide show downloads for me...) that he used to wear diapers. Eventually, he learned how to take them off. We had a rope strung across the kitchen from end to the other. We kept a piece of papertowel on the floor at the end of one rope and that's where he did his business. His rope provided many hours of entertainment. At bedtime, if mom and dad were not home when it was bedtime, he would sit on his roap and cry out until they returned.

If I was crying, Dad would put him up to my face to lick away my tears. He would dangle from my hair and lick from one eye to the next. It alwyays made me stop crying. He would play outside and every once in awhile he would swing from tree to tree and end up down the street at the neighbours.

Often you would find the monkey lying in the cast iron pan on the stove. The pilot light from the gas stove provided him a warm and comfy spot. He would also sit on top of the lamp shade for warmth, and if you ever heard a 'pop' - you knew he peed on the lightbulb. It happens...

Charlie Brown used to sit on the wall phone.... until it rang. That was always funny. He brought many years of amusement to us all and I miss him and his antics.

Bonnie

Warm hearts ... and warm toes!

Well since we are talking winter, let's talk about warm hearts ... and warm toes.

A few years ago at Christmas we had a gift exchange. Ironically, both Anita and myself had the exact same idea for a present. We always open our gift bags at the same time, and it was really hard for me to keep a straight face when I saw that Anita had had the same gift idea as me and while she explained that she thought slippers would be a good idea, that way we could carry them in our bag with us at all times. Anita had knit slipppers for everyone and made a little draw-string pouch, with our names embroidered on it, to keep the socks in.

Then they all opened my gift bag and we burst out laughing. I knew how much everyone loved snowmen, so I had stitched faces on white slippers and added a carrot button for the nose. Well we weren't finished with the laughter because I thought we should get a picture with our slippers on. So then we were all sitting on the floor trying to get different positions in order to get everyone in the picture at the same time. We tried sitting up against the wall and taking the picture of our toes all pointing up to the ceiling and then I said, nooooo - that will show the snowman's face upside down. Someone said... (and I won't say who...) "Good point, let's think of something else. What if we lay on our back with our feet in the air - you know... like if our feet were ON the ceiling"

Well then the faces would still be upside down wouldn't they. Spontanious Laughter.

We had to think of something else. It was decided that we would just stand toe to toe in a huddle and we would take the picture from above in order to get everyone in the picture. Sounded like a good plan right?

Well... not if you have a protruding belly and/or big boobs. After the inital light-headedness subsided from sucking in our bellies, we had to deal with the shadow from the boobs.

So we stood in our huddle, adjusting, wiggling and laughing with our arms around each other while we tried not to tip over. It was about that moment when Anita's daughter walked in on us, which of course added to the laughter when we saw the look on her face.

Finally the photo was taken and our toes are doubly warm.

Bonnie

It all started with a tea towel...

Quite some time ago when I was perusing the Dollarama, I came across the cutest autumn tea towel with a teddy bear dressed up like a scarecrow. It immediately reminded me of Jody and I thought 'I'm going to get that for her', and then I thought... why not get one for everybody? And so I did and it was a hit.

From that point on, it's no surprise to any of us if there just happens to be an occasional 'mini gift' exchange on Cross Stitch night. Once when Jody hosted in February, she gave us all a tiny picture frame with a 1" x 1" opening. I had no idea what to do with mine, but Tracey knew immediately. Because it was Valentines day, Tracey stitched a heart.

Mine sat for a good number of months before I could figure out what I could stitch in such a tiny area and not copy Tracey's idea. And then one day it hit me; Jody loves snowmen. I would do a snowman in the frame that Jody gave me. But.... do they make snowman patterns for less than 1" x 1"? I couldn't be bothered looking, so I winged it. And voila! A happy smiley snowman face. I think it took longer to write this posting than it did to stitch that happy face.

We'll have to get a picture of Tracey's heart posted after her renovations are complete as I expect it's packed away for now.

p.s. I wasn't allowed to Blog today unless I cleaned my house. It's half cleaned; consider this half a blog.
Bonnie

More than just Cross Stitchin'