ABOUT FACE!

It's been a bit of time since I did a Marty Bell. I love the designs: old English cottages. I just framed an oval and have now started another. This one is very pretty and, as I understand, is the front view of another of her ovals called "Murle Cottage". I'm going to order it because I think they would be a great pair.

I'm doing it on 14 ct. antique ivory aida. I'm enjoying working on it because it is so simple stitching on it versus fighting linen. The DMC threads are a welcome change from overdyes.

I'm going to enjoy doing this one!

TOTALLY USELESS SAL

It's that time of the month again!! Here's my month's accumulation of orts and other various and sundry bits and pieces. There's a lot here: scraps of fabric, thread wrappers, one of my beloved gold needles and a Memorial Day paper poppie. I've also included some price stickers from my new charts.

I started looking for a creative way to store and display my goodies. I paid a trip to the local Hobby Lobby and found these neat glass (I guess!) balls and started loading them up. No, I don't think I'll make a Christmas tree from them. Maybe place them in a pretty glass bowl so that the multi-colors will show up well.

SOME FINISHES

This is Jo's bear. I began it before I received the call telling me she was not doing well. The next day the bad call arrived. I tried to work on it some a couple of days ago, but it just wouldn't come together. I finally finished it last night and now it's ready to be mailed. I didn't make it to her memorial service. I just chose to say goodbye in my own way.

Marty Bell has long been a favorite of mine. This is Morning's Glow. It's all connected to the English thing I have. I've now completed these three: one for each of my grandchildren. I actually framed it myself- how impressive is that!! It sits on my Marty Bell wall. Just to the left you can see part of my Jane Austen wall. Sometimes I have a small smattering of the organization thing. Not very often, though. You should see my kitchen table!

The Blackbird SAL starts tomorrow and I'm ready. Can't wait to get started. Some pics will follow when I get started and have something to report. Until then, HAPPY STITCHING!

NEW ISSUE!

Look what I found today!! And it's now in my hot,little hands. The ornie that caught my eye was the lollipop. It's by Prairie Moon. It's not too soon to get started.

In the meantime, the Blackbird Designs StitchALong starts Saturday. I'm doing "Autumn Bouquet" and chart, fabby and threads are at hand just waiting......

The phone call came yesterday afternoon. The one I knew would eventually come but somehow had fooled myself into thinking it was still a way's away.

Martha Jo Wafer Byers was an amazing person.

She was a true redhead. The last few years she spent most of the time without hair because of her chemo, but when she had hair, it was glorious. I could always tell when she was at the needlework shop when I pulled on the parking lot. Her car tag read "JOJORED". She, to my knowledge, never wore a wig. A do rag was her cup of tea.

Jo loved to stitch. And she did beautiful work. The one piece that stand out in my mind was the Christmas stocking she made for her stepson, James. And even if she felt bad, she was at Tuesday night stitching.

Jo has a sister named Pat. I've actually known Pat longer than Jo. They not only were sisters, but best friends. Where one was, the other was somewhere nearby. I never had a sister. Brother either, for that matter. That type of love passed me by and for that I'm so sorry. Pat is numb right now, but in the weeks to come she will face a life without Jo, as we all will. But the love of a sister must be so special. I see it in my two granddaughters.

Jo was a fighter. Even when the breast cancer occurred and re-occurred, even when it spread to her bones, she kept going. And this week it entered her brain with a vengeance. She was gone so soon. For that I think I'm grateful. I don't think she would have liked to linger as she would have been. Jo was healed yesterday. For the rest of us, especially Pat, we have just begun to hurt, much less be healed.

There is a good side to this story. Jo was a Christian and that means that one day we'll be sitting in some one's mansion, in Heaven, laughing and stitching. This time with the finest linen and solid gold thread. And Jo will have her red hair back. And Pat will be with her sister. All the pain will be gone: the suffering kind and the missing kind.

I have been stitching on a pink bear this week. With a purple hat with pink ribbons on it. It is to be a donation to Stitching For A Cure. I was going to write an "in honor" of Jo on the jacket. Then I thought it would become an "in memory of". I've changed my mind. It will stay as I planned. Jo is still alive in her family and friends. It's sitting in the chair facing me, waiting to be finished.

So, Jo, fly now. There's so much to see in Heaven, so I know the stitching will be put aside for a while. Enjoy yourself. You're free now.

TWO WEEKS OF HARD WORK!

I've finally started finishing some projects I started a LONG time ago (plus a few small thingys).

The Amazing Grace pillow is for my granddaughter (yes, Grace is her name!). I don't remember the specifics because I did the stitching a couple of years ago. I bought the fabby and had it finished- I thought- until I saw the neat trim. So back to the drawing board. It will probably be her birthday gift.

The JBW designs are old. I dipped into the fabric stash and finally finished them. I had started off thinking I would make knob knockers, but since I have several more of the designs to do, I've decided to place them all in a special basket. As soon as I find a "special" basket.

Say Grace is going into the basket, too. I plan to do a couple more of them as gifts. A really quick stitch.

The two pincushions are made from the freebie on Blackbird Designs blog. I did the first one (pink) and was shopping for the backing fabric. I found the fab but also another piece I liked more. So back to the needle and thread (this time Belle Soir's Chester Blue and Lagoon).

So here's the latest. Plus all the cleaning closets I've done!

Well, back to watching Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It's the first time I've seen it. Love it!

SIXTY FIVE YEARS AGO TODAY

I've been watching Fox News today and seeing all the remembrances of today's anniversary of D Day. It was especially poignant hearing the story about the veteran who traveled to France, visited the cemetery yesterday and then passed away in his sleep. The newscaster pointed out that we are losing these veterans quickly now. I only hope that they realize how much we appreciate all of them- living and dead.

Okay. On to other things. I've finished a little stitching and actually sat down today and trimmed the pieces, as well as the fabric I will use to complete them. There are several JBW designs I finished a LONG time ago, so they are ready to be done. And I have finished "Souvenir de France", the freebie by Blackbird Designs. I actually stitched two of them. When I was looking for the "perfect" finishing fabric, I saw a piece I liked-which didn't match the stitched piece. So I bought it, came home and re-stitched, and now I have a birthday or Christmas gift as well as the finished pinkeep in the fabby I liked. Will post photos when done.

I actually got the courtyard furniture painted this week-black paint all over ME! But it looks good, so maybe I'll take the photos outside.

Oh! Wiehenburg is having a new SAL: a personalized sampler. Check them out!

NOW I KNOW!

Thanks to Jeannine, a dear person who read my blog, the mystery is solved. The sampler is "Catherine Ann Speel 1805". Although mine was a surface embroidery kit, she mentioned that hers was a chart by Handwork Samplers. That would surely be more pleasant that what I did. SE ain't my favorite thing!!

Thanks a bunch, Jeannine. Check out this site. A lot of great pieces:

http://www.handworksamplers.net/

A COUPLE OF FINISHES: A NEW LOOK FOR AN OLD PIECE AND THE FIRST DAY OF HURRICANE SEASON

Hello, all, on this first day of hurricane. That's right: until the last day of November we'll all be sitting here, waiting and waiting and waiting.....

I did this piece in 1976. It's surface embroidery and I believe it was kit. Anyway, I had a very old frame that belonged to my mother. I removed the picture from it and replaced it with my embroidery. It wore thin on me, so I filed it away underneath the bed for many years. Last week I got inspired. I removed the sampler from underneath the bed, opened the frame and went to work cleaning the whole deal.

In the middle of all this, I decided the mat wasn't the right color and I could save big bucks by painting it. Actually works! Then I messed up. I decided to stencil the newly-painted mat. Dumb move. The mat began to crumble. Off I went to Hobby Lobby and had a new mat cut.

Here is the finished product. Looks pretty good. I might could have centered the piece better, but this is passable. It hangs on the wall over the tub in the master bath. I know it's a replica of an actual sampler. If anyone recalls the name, please let me know!

This one is also a new addition. It's LHN's "Home of a Needleworker". I didn't notice until I was taking the photograph that it's not quite level in the frame. Back we go. Gotta get it right.

Nothing else new on the home front. I saw my doctor today and she made a few meds changes. Finally have had to add a med for HBP. Guess I'll get over it. She said I'll have to watch it for a while- to make sure my BP doesn't go too low. I guess I have officially joined the ranks of Senior Citizens: I have high blood pressure. Whooee.

I'm going to re-do my blog in a few days. I have some great new blogs to add, so I'm going to get rid of some of the other stuff to allow room. And I'm joining the Blackbird SAL. I'm not making much progress on my BP SAL, so I'm hoping this will do better. We have our choice of the Flea Market (which I've already completed) or Autumn Bouquet, which is the one I've chosen.