More than just Cross Stitchin': St. Patrick's Day

Showing posts with label St. Patrick's Day. Show all posts

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Since I totally skipped over Valentine's Day this year (as far as decorating my mantle goes), I thought I'd better not miss out on St. Patrick's Day... especially with my Irish roots.

I've changed things up a bit from last year and added one new tiny "stitched" item. I've had this pretty little frame for quite some time now but never knew what to put in it. I decided to stitch up this mini shamrock and it fit just perfectly. Weeks floss in "Hunter" is the colour I used.

Whether you celebrate today enjoying some corned beef and cabbage, drinking a green beer, or just wearing a little something green, I want to wish everyone (whether you are Irish or not!) a Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

I'd like to end this post by sharing an Irish Blessing I found...

Tracey

Friday, March 18, 2011

Lucky Us !

Jody hosted cross stitch this month and as usual, it was adorned with a St. Patrick's Day theme. She needed no help to decorate for the occasion because this is her niche; give that girl a theme and she's all over it like green on a shamrock. There were also some very excited little leprechauns to greet us at the door. Her boys always love it when Cross-Stitch Tracey, Cross-Stitch Anita and Cross-Stitch Bonnie come to their house.


Jody's always feeling something. And it's always something positive!

I'm not sure I've ever seen danglin' Shamrocks before, but if they're out there - Jody will find them.

Pretty. Green. And Simple.


I mean... she even decorates her stove!!! I do too actually, but it's usually with spilled food. Jody's is much nicer.

Now HOW cute is this?


Now the dessert was not green, but it delicious. Chocolate mouse, topped with cherries and pieces of Oreo cookies. It tasted just like Black Forest Cake.

All of it, Simple, yet perfect. Just like our Jody. We are all so lucky!

Bonnie

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

All Things Green

My mantle is all dressed up and ready to go for the 17th! (I'm thinking it looks a bit sparse though... maybe needs some different colours added to the mix. I'll have to be on the lookout for some extra things to add to the collection between now and next year.)

I stitched this piece in 2009, but this is the first year I've had it displayed. Didn't have it done in time to have out that first year, and last year it was packed away while we did our renos, so when I unpacked it this year, it seemed like it was brand spankin' new!

LUCK

by Bent Creek

This mug is very special to me. It belonged to my Nana and I can still see her sitting in her chair with her hands cupped around it drinking her morning coffee. I know her and my Bampa made a trip to Ireland once in their married life (I don't remember when, so I'm thinking it was before I was born), so I think this may have been brought back from that trip. I never noticed the band of little shamrocks (so cute!) until it came into my possession when she died. Now, I don't drink coffee or tea, but I still love it and the memory behind it.

This sweet little gem also came from Nana's house, in amongst a pile of other hankies. Did it come from that same trip? Did she buy if for herself, or was it brought back as a souvenir for her daughter Dorothy? I guess it's something I'll never know, since my Dad and his whole family are now gone...

I am truly thankful to have these cherished treasures to remember them by.

Tracey

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Luck O' The Irish

March is here, so it's time to gather up all things Irish and green to display on the mantle.

You may remember the heart garland I crocheted for Valentine's Day. Well on YouTube I found a video on how to crochet a shamrock. Along with the video, the lady gives you a link to her blog where you can print off the instructions as well. I have to admit the shamrocks were actually easier to crochet than the hearts. It took 5 minutes to make each one so the whole thing took a little over an hour to complete.

It's always fun to add a little extra something new to each holiday collection every year!

Tracey

Friday, February 18, 2011

A Little Bit Early

With the Valentine's Day holiday over we're on to the next! Even though I'm not a lover of corn beef and cabbage or green beer, there is something about that holiday that just draws me in. Must be my Irish roots or maybe the fact that my favourite colour is green!

My latest finish was a really quick stitch. I just seemed to get on a roll with it...perhaps it was the repetition of all those lucky shamrocks!

In my stash I had the perfect frame; just the right size for the piece but the light colour just didn't work for me. I dug out my old (very, very old) craft paints to see what I could do to change things up. I had some clear crackle paint which I put right over the cream colour and let it dry.

I then found some brown paint which I thought just might work. Opened the bottle and it was very thick... but I bit the bullet and decided to put a coat on anyway. It wasn't long before the neat crackle finish began to appear before my eyes.

I'm so very happy with the end result! This was a very "frugal" project from beginning to end (you'd be proud of me Jody!). I had every single thing I needed on hand to complete it all which is always a plus!

An Irish Shamrock Sampler

by Lucy Lyons Willis

Stitched using:

GAST- Dried Thyme and Tarnished Gold

Weeks- Chestnut

I printed this freebie in 2006, and always knew I would stitch it someday. You see, from my teen years on I knew a lady named Hazel who was a very close family friend and she always used the word "grand"... whether she wrote "have a grand day!" in your carefully chosen birthday card, or tell you that "she had a grand time!" when our families would spend time together. So, to honour this special lady I'll proudly display this sampler every St. Paddy's Day.

Miss you Haze!!

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