Hello dear friends,

I wanted to let you know that DMC has started their series on crafting studios and organization. Guess what? I'm first up! I hope you'll pop over there and have a look at their blog and the pics of my craft studio and the little tutorial I did. Trust me, the tutorial is no great shakes but mine (you'll see what it is when you visit the DMC blog) turned out really cute. I am just so tickled that they asked me to be a part of their blog and hope you'll enjoy it, too. If you are visiting my blog as a result of viewing the DMC blog ~ Welcome! I hope you'll enjoy your visit and I hope that you'll come back often.

Also, I want to show you a pic of a lovely PIF (pay it forward) gift I received from Sandy! Thank you so much Sandy; I love everything and have already made a new scissor fob for the wonderful scissors you included:

I am so into making these little strawberries right now - fun, fun, fun!!!


The other thing I've done is to make a Kentucky Derby hat for my dear friend Lisa's daughter, Julie. Julie is going to be a freshman in high school this year and she and Lisa and some friends are headed to the Derby this weekend. Lisa's son Eric is a freshman at UK and will also be at the derby! Julie will be wearing a black, white and pink dress that is so cute and I was
thrilled when Lisa asked me to turn her hat into something derby appropriate. What do you think?

Isn't she a doll!?

I know - another post with not much stitching - no point in showing a picture of so little done - but I can show you this.... I stopped by the SA this afternoon on they way home and picked up this framed pic for a song. I love the frame and the girl. The frame is old as is the backing so I'm assuming this little beauty has some age to it. How much, I've no idea. The backing paper is brittle and tattered but all in tact. I love it!


One final picture to share. Here are some of my scissor/flower frogs. The one in the pink and white stoneware are not meant to go together but I thought they looked great. Look for any kind of bowl that will accommodate the glass frog and you're good to go. A lot of the original bowls had three legs, tall stems or deep vases. A marriage of an old bowl or vase with a frog is a beautiful thing. Wouldn't you agree?



Thank you so much for stopping by and for leaving a comment - I really appreciate them! Someone on another blog asked if you remember how it felt when you first started blogging and you'd check to see if you had any comments and how you felt each time your count went up? Guess what? I still feel giddy when I see that I have a new comment and
I really appreciate that you take the time to leave them. Seriously, they're like little gifts and they are the best "awards"!!! Thank you so much!

Peace,
Terri

Is it Strawberry Season where you are?

We have had the best strawberries lately! I love them in salads, for breakfast with my unhealthy eggs, sausage and toast and especially in my craft studio! Look what's been blooming in Studio Terri (all pics are clickable):



For this one, I used an old, plaid skirt and added wool leaves and an old girl scout button to the top. Yep, I was a girl scout and have fond memories of it and thought the green button was fun.



This is a little better picture of my black and white scissor frog/vase. I found the bottom a while back and found the black (it's actually a very deep purple) top on an outing with my dh last weekend. More about that in a minute! The bigger strawberry is sitting on a singer sewing machine oil can with a vintage button on top. I really love how this one turned out - I will make more as soon as I find some more oil cans. If you enlarge the pics you may be able to tell that the smaller ones have beads sewn onto them but for the bigger one, I stitched little black x's for the seeds. The one in the pinkier tone is punchneedle.



I'm sorry, but this stitching blog hasn't been about very much stitching lately, has it? Long story but I just haven't had the energy or concentration required to stitch. I finally went to see my doctor today and I am hoping, after blood tests come back, that he'll start me on synthroid for my thyroid. I had the radioactive iodine treatment in December and in the past month, I've really felt the symptoms of an underactive thyroid. I've run fast for so long that this feels like extremely sloooooooow motion. Perhaps I'll feel more like stitching then but in the meantime - here are some more treasures!

Here's the little yellow stool I found on the outing with Deb which CATHEY so astutely noticed was missing from my pics:


This past Saturday, Rob and I went out to lunch and I convinced him to stop at the Marine City Antique mall. That's where I found the purple (black) flower frog top and a few other things to include these awesome buttons:

Some of them look very art deco and check out the sharp wheel buttons! How fun are they?

The other awesome thing I found was this old paper cutter. When we first finished my craft room, I wanted one of these but could never find just the right thing. Saturday, while browsing around, I saw this but it didn't have a price tag on it. I asked if anyone knew the price and they said if they couldn't find out, they'd price it for me. They came back with a price of $10 which seemed extremely reasonable to me. I love the color, it still has a bit of the graphic on the top and it looks great by my new wall color. Now all I have to do is go buy the big roll of butcher paper. All presents, from this point on, will be wrapped in either recycled paper (grocery, shopping bags, etc) or the brown paper once I get it (or should I do white.....)? I'll use pretty ribbons to set them off but whoo hooo, no more buying wrapping paper for me.

I'll show you again once I get the paper loaded in it! We had such fun that day, thanks to all the gals at the mall - it was like old home week chatting with you all!

And last, but certainly not least ~ I got a wonderful package from Jolene. I won her drawing for a pincushion. Each recipe you sent her got an entry so I sent enough recipes to get my maximum number of entries. I was so happy to win this. Here's what the package looked like before I opened it all - oh so much more than a pincushion:



Do you see that awesome A&E chart? It's not only an Adam and Eve, it's a Scottish sampler to boot. Jolene didn't know it but I have deep Scottish roots and have long wanted to do a Scottish sampler. Well, this one is it! Not sure when I'll start this but it's definitely on my short list.

Not only the chart but beads - glorious beads. Jolene knows I like to make scissor fobs, beaded hearts, all kinds of things and she thought I could use some new stash. She spoiled me rotten!
Finally, though, here is the sweet pincushion she made - isn't it beautiful?

And here it is displayed in my craft room in a wire basket with my sewing basket and a few other sewing accessories.

Thank you so much, Jolene! You spoiled me rotten (just ask Rob!).

Thanks everyone for all your comments on my last post! I appreciate them so much.

KATE, when I pop out the LS pic, and if I decide I don't want to keep it, I'll let you know.

CARI, did your case come - do you like it?

ALISON, we will definitely have to plan to meet - I don't think that should be too hard to do, do you? And to get to meet KATRINA, LORAINE, JOLENE and NANCY too, I hope, since you're only an hour away would be so much fun!!!

I'm still behind in my blog reading but am slowly catching up! Thanks for stopping by and for gifting me with a comment, when you have the time!

Have a good rest of the week!

Peace,
Terri

A Happy Week!

There has been so much about the last week or so that has made me a happy person. First, a new friend from Italy just made my day recently! I received a lovely package in the mail from MANUELA. Look at the lovely package she sent me - for no reason at all! How sweet is that?! Unexpected and oh so thoughtful! Thank you so much Manuela! I love each and every thing you sent. I can't wait to plant the seeds and I have to find the perfect finish for your beautiful stitching and I love the feminine needlecase, which now has a permanent home in my stitching bag, and the pattern is oh so sweet and not one I've ever seen - And, did you notice the threads from Romy - how pretty are they? I love it all - thank you so very much, Manuela! You made me a happy girl!


How Cute is that little pincushion tucked inside the pocket with the little button closure?


Know what else made me happy this week? Getting into the Shepherds Bush Retreat with BFF Julie! For the past few years Julie and I have taken a stitching related trip together. It's just a chance for us to get away from the stresses of work, family and whatever else and just focus on stitching, which neither of us gets as much time to do as we would like. Oh, of course we throw in a "little" shopping and we always take movies to watch while we stitch the night away. Last year we went to the
Celebration of Needlework in Louisville, KY, the year before that we were both fortunate enough to get into a Leadership Training Seminar in Florida and we combined that with our stitching weekend. We wanted to go to the SB retreat that year but weren't able to get in. It's a good thing, too! Because this year we did get in and guess whose going to meet us there? Yep,
JOLENE and LORAINE! If we had gone two years ago, I wouldn't have known them but now, we're friends and we'll all get to meet, shop and sightsee together. To say that Julie and I are thrilled would be an understatement!!! I can't wait to meet Jolene and Loraine in person, to see the SB Store, meet the gals and oh, did I mention that two of my favorite designers in the world will be there!? Yep, Barb and Alma from BBD! I don't know how I'll be able to wait till September. Are any of you going? If so, we'll have to have a blog friends get together, maybe! What do you think? Can you tell this makes me happy!

On Sunday, I got the opportunity to spend the day with DEB. She is a
person that doesn't mind driving hither and yon to find a quaint shop, an antique store or some other fun spot. She mapped out a route in advance and come Sunday, we'd be off and running. Only problem is, I started running a wee bit early. The plan was to meet up at about 9:45 in the morning at our first stop. I was so HAPPY to get to spend a day out and about with her that I called her at 8:35 and asked her where she was. "Uh, I haven't left the house yet, Terri. It'll only take me 15 minutes to get there." Uh-oh, I was more than an hour early! Honestly! So, what to do? I could go back home but that was more driving than I cared to do - I wasn't really starving and besides, I didn't see any place to stop. As luck would have it, I drove past an old cemetery and decided to have a walk around. Turns out, it's an old cemetery established after the Revolutionary War. It was kind of a cold morning with a lot of frosty dew on the grass, long shadows and a cemetery that's a bit run down, but for me, all of that makes for a HAPPY stop along the way. Here are some of my pictures from the cemetery.

Personalize a free digital collage

After I toured this little cemetery it was still a bit early so I happened upon a huge barn that was having a sale. I felt kind of bad heading in without Deb but I had to do something, right? So - in I went. Check this place out!

This collage generated with Smilebox

It was really a fun place and I found a few things - a small old sewing basket that reminds me of the one Ma Ingalls used on the Little House on the Prairie TV series. I found an old sack from which I'll make a cushion, I also found an old watering can, which I just love. It closely matches one that Rob's dad owned. I've hung them both on shepherd's hooks in my garden and when it rains, I'll collect the water and then use it later. Recycling and repurposing - yep, it all makes me HAPPY!

I packed a lot in an hour or so, didn't I? Finally, it was the real time to meet Deb so I headed to the high school for the antique show. There were a lot of dealers and we both found a couple of treasures. I didn't spend more than $22 on any single item and while some of you might think $22 would be too much for all of it put together, I love it all. The orange oil can Deb talked me in to.... "You can make a Halloween punch needle to go on it. It'll be cute!" For $3, it seemed like a good idea. How about the little, green, metal box!? I love it and it goes great in my craft room with the watermelon pink walls (yep, I've changed the wall color). I think my favorite find was the $22 frame - isn't it pretty? I can't wait to find the perfect sampler to
stitch and put in it. Sorry, but the Last Supper print will have to go. I guess my other favorite find was the little stool. It went right into my kitchen and I won't change a thing about it. Finding fun things while out on a beautiful day with a good friend makes me HAPPY!











If you've read Deb's blog she mentioned a little dog.... after we finished at the high school we headed back over to the barn I had been at in the morning. After a bit of poking around, we got in our cars and started down a very bumpy, dusty road and t, there was a little dog walking down the street. A girl in another car had pulled over and was trying to get him so I stopped to help (I was following Deb in my car). The girl that had stopped said that he was just walking around and she was trying to pick him up to see whom he belonged to. Well, he came right to me. I scooped him up, looked at his tag and had her call the
number on the tag. It had been disconnected! Now what? We were on a dirt road, the dog was caked with mud on his feet and he stunk to high heaven. There was no one around so I took him in my car. Deb was looking in her rear view mirror thinking "What in the heck is going on." I finally caught up to her and lifted the dog into the air so she could
see him. I called Rob and told him I was bringing another dog home - oh, yeah! He was thrilled (not). I gave him the number on the tag and asked him to call just to be sure and sure enough - the number was disconnected. The next stop Deb and I made was at a quilt store. I hated to take this pitiful, stinky dog into the shop but I couldn't leave him in the car, either. And, even though I own two little doggies, I don't carry the dog stuff with me. We (Deb and I) tried to get him to sit in a big paper bag but he was having none of that. The scrambling and scratching and jumping around that ensued was not pretty
- I was afraid the poor little guy was going to hurt himself. So, what else could I do but tuck him under my arm, waltz into the quilt store and ask if I could bring the dog in with me. We explained to them what happened and one of the women in the store held him while we shopped. By the way, this was a very sweet, pretty, older yorkie. He had bad teeth (of those that were left and you'll never believe it but his name is "Chompers"!) and he had a pretty, but graying, face. I don't know why I didn't ask Deb to snap a picture of us..... After a few minutes another woman walked in and just took right to him. Turns out, she had just put her own yorkie to sleep the day previous. "You should take him" I told her. She said that she didn't know but she continued to hold him and to shed a tear or two. Little Chompers actually fell asleep on her shoulder. I finally told her that perhaps God had placed us in her path that day and she agreed and took him home. She said she would take him to the vet to see if he had a chip and if they could identify the owner and if not, she'd give him a good home. All's well that ends well and saving a sweet, little dog makes me HAPPY!

Thank you so much for all the wonderful comments on my last post and I promise, this weekend, I will do some major catching up on blog reading and posting. I've been so busy at work this week, and gotten home so late that, I just haven't had the energy to do too much. You all are so sweet and your comments and emails and friendship really make me a happy girl. Boy! Folks that aren't blogging just don't know what they're missing, do they?

Hey MAGGIE ~ thanks for the layout help!

What makes you Happy?

Peace!
Terri

News, Organizing, Treats, Surprises and Awards!

It has been a while, dear friends since I've chatted with you. I've missed you - life has just been busy - way too busy. I haven't had needle and thread to fabric in a good two weeks but I have been busy with other things. First, I want to share some news. I am really excited because the good folks from the DMC BLOG contacted me and asked if I'd like to be featured on their blog where they'll be showing craft rooms, organization tips, etc from different people (around the world, I presume). Now, I haven't sent my pics in yet so I may end up on the cutting room floor but I hope they'll like what I send. The feature is going to run from April 19th - April 23rd. Even if I do end up on the cutting room floor, I'm sure there will be lots of inspirational rooms, organizational tips and project ideas for you to enjoy. Be sure to check back with them on those dates. And, just so that all of you that have seen my "studio" before wouldn't be bored to death, I had to make some small changes so you would want to check it out. Mark your calendars, this is going to be fun and I'm so excited!!!

I sliced my thumb a few days ago and it hasn't stopped bleeding yet - probably should have gone for stitches; that's what I get for sharpening my knives. Anyway, haven't stitched much so thought I'd show you a few other goodies.

Now, this isn't my idea but Julie doesn't have a blog so I asked her if I could post it. Get your ebay typing finger ready 'cause you're going to want one of these little cases. When she and I were shopping last weekend she found this and thought it would be a great way to organize her DMC floss. I agreed and she was right! It's perfect, wouldn't you agree?



The suitcase is a small slide holder made by Barnett and Jaffe. Isn't it wonderful!? What a great way to find a new use for an obsolete item. The cards to wind your floss on fit in perfectly and, had I not already organized my floss in another way, I'd be all over this solution. There are a couple of different varieties on ebay so if you're a person who likes drawer styles to match, look closely. Julie's has little hanging handles but there are some that look more like the card catalog type handle. How cute would these be sitting on a table alongside another vintage suitcase?

Our Easter celebration was spent quietly - church of course, and then a traditional Easter dinner. We all get Easter baskets and mine was put together by Rob and had a wonderful surprise. He had in it a movie for my room and this syrup holder (among a few other things as well). How cute is that? I love the tall pitcher and had never seen one. We were together a few weeks ago when I saw it but wouldn't buy it but he went back and got it for me. He had to go to a few stores before he hit on the right one and then had to have someone help him find it. I was thrilled when I saw it! He even filled it with Dove Chocolate eggs. Mmmmmm... want to come over for a pancake breakfast? I'll have plenty of syrup 'cause this baby stands about 9 inches tall!

I have to tell you that I won a giveaway from LISA'S BLOG. If you haven't checked it out before - you have to go have a look. She does fabulous crafty, creative, inspired and beautiful projects. Look what I won:

She made this fabulous bag out of her vintage lace collection and I just love it. I carried it all weekend and I must say, I looked pretty darn cute. I just forgot to have Rob take a picture of my sassy self! I got lots of compliments on it and at least one woman wanted a closer look so she could go home and make one of her own with her own lace collection. It has a super long handle so you can carry it across your body and it won't bang into things when you're shopping (I've tested it)! She also included the new Flea Market Style magazine which is just a great read and is the first edition so you better get yours, before they're gone. Thank you so much Lisa! I just love the purse and will use it a lot, I know!

I found a cute jar of buttons at the SA the other day and Gracie had to check them out. The jar was full of navy and other shades of blue buttons which was kind of fun. Nothing terribly special in the jar, but pretty just the same.


And finally, for pics, here's my latest cross stitch WIP. It is the Sally Spencer sampler by Birds of a Feather. I am working it on 35 count Weeks Dye Works fabric called Mocha with one thread over two. I've made some color substitutions but they're close to the called for fibers. I think it'll be really pretty when done. After this, I'm going to start on Be Kind and Be True because Dear Melissa was kind enough to send me her chart after she finished it. I also have to thank Sweet Loaraine for the chart she sent me ~ CHS Autumn in HRH! I don't know when I'll get motivated enough to start that one but it's going on the list! Thank you, both of you!


Finally tonight, just a bit of news about Tyler - he's doing well and although he's not too happy about wearing glasses, he's doing just fine. And, he made the high school golf team! They only carry 14 boys and a lot were cut so he is thrilled.

Okay, one more last thing - I have been given a couple of awards by Cath and Vinniey and Marilyn and Mary, too. I am so tickled and honored by them that I am a bit overwhelmed. I have made lots of friends, have visited many beautiful and inspiring blogs and so appreciate all of you!! But, here's the thing - I find it so hard to pass these on to only a few blogs I read. And, it's much too hard and time consuming to really take the time to type in every blog on my list. Believe me, if you're on my blog roll, I love your blog. If you're not on my blog roll, I probably haven't found you yet. So, oh gosh, please don't be offended, but I'm going to make my blog an "award free zone" blog (as soon as I find one of those button thingies). I really appreciate that you all like my blog - where would I be without you? I hope you'll understand. I don't really like the cop out excuse of "I nominate all of you on my side bar" because nobody ever really feels like they got it legitimately, when we do that and they don't accept it. The best way to leave someone an award, in my opinion, is to take a moment to comment on a post. Seeing your comment count go up is the best feeling and knowing that someone took the time to do that, is all the award I need. I hope you'll understand.

And, yes DEB, I do read each and every comment and did see yours "way down there"!

I've gotten a couple of emails about my "new" header picture. It's the Noah Stocking by Carriage House Samplings. I moved everything at the turn of the toe to the right to make it a straight sampler. I also added a few more bunnies at the bottom as well. If you like it, better buy it quick as Kathy has announced she'll no longer be selling and/or designing after this summer.

Cheryl, you asked about my Elizabeth Saville Sampler. I clicked on your name but didn't link to an email address - please send me a note with your question so I can explain, okay!?

I hope your week is filled with lots of good surprises! Thank you so much for all the comments on my last post and for all of you that sent me emails wondering where I was, I greatly appreciate that. I have made some great friends through blogging and am just amazed at the kindness and loving spirit of all I've come to call friends!


Peace,
Terri