I have been busy stitching orders and am having a difficult time keeping up. So busy in fact that I’ve had to start saying no. It’s hard for me to say no but I realize that I just have to. It’s not fair to a customer to have to wait for weeks and weeks for something they’ve purchased and it causes way too much stress on my end. I promised Joe when I started selling my cupboard keeps that if it started to interfere with family life then I would stop. Well, it had gotton to that point where I felt I should be stitching all the time to get orders done. That alone interferes with family time because if I have to be stitching all the time I can’t be involved in other things. It also interferes in that if I’m constantly worrying about not getting my stitching done then I’m not able to enjoy other things. So, I’ve started to say no. I still have a ways to go in doing that but I’ve gotten much better! So, I’m still stitching lots of orders, but I’ve also put a limit to how many orders I will take, and I’ve started to say no. I’m so very flattered that so many people out there want something that I have made to display in their homes. It’s an amazing feeling. I can only hope that some of my humble little stitches bring joy to others. I can’t imagine not picking up a needle and thread on an almost daily basis and to know that I’m making something that others actually want and enjoy just makes the process even sweeter!
We’ve been so busy lately and it’s been hard to fit in some stitching but I’ve managed! I’ve been stitching orders and stitching things to sell and once in a blue moon I stumble across a pattern I just have to stitch for myself!
When we were at the quilting/needlework store in Amana we found this cute cross stitch/beadwork kit. Two of us purchased the kit and are going to make Christmas ornaments to commemorate our camping trip. I haven’t done beadwork in a long time and it’s been fun to do a little bit of it again. I’m looking forward to finishing mine and seeing how Susie finishes hers. I’m sure they will look totally different from each other and yet both will be beautiful!
You can’t really see how the beads sparkle but they do. And they’ll really sparkle on the Christmas tree! It’s fun to have someone else stitching too as I don’t have anybody local who stitches and I’ve always thought it would be fun to stitch with friends!
It’s a cold, rainy day here today, but no complaints. I love these kind of fall days. They just seem so cozy and homey to me. Although I do realize the fact I get to stay home and I don’t have to be out in it does make a difference. Although even when I was working full time, I still enjoyed these days. And I do have to go out and chore but it’s always good to get out of the house and get some fresh air and visit the chickens! Joe on the other hand is out in this weather willingly today. He took the day off to go pheasant hunting. He left the house at 5:00 this morning and we have no idea when he’ll be home. In the 30 years we’ve been married I don’t know that he’s ever gone pheasant hunting. I’m really hoping he gets at least one bird. I have never fixed pheasant but I remember Mom putting them in the crockpot and I remember I liked it. Plus, he has strict orders to bring me the tail feathers of any bird they get. I have wanted pheasant feathers for years to decorate with!
Pheasants always remind me of Thanksgivings as a child. We would always have Thanksgiving at my Uncle Jerry and Aunt Konnie’s farm. We are a small family so it was Grandma Ward, Uncle Jerry and Aunt Konnie (my dad’s twin sister), my cousins Terri Jo and Todd, Dad and Mom and me and my sister. Aunt Konnie was the best cook. Everything was homemade and just plain, simple, old fashioned cooking. Grandma always brought the homemade rolls and pickles. And the turkey was always a wild one Uncle Jerry had harvested. Then after we ate, the men would go pheasant hunting while the women would make a Christmas craft of some type. I can remember Christmas tree pins made from cinnamon sticks and fabric, or angles made from pasta. One year we made yo yo’s and turned them into Christmas trees on sweatshirts. Everything was homemade and simple. And so much fun. Then the men would come back and we would watch them dress the pheasants and we would go home with a meal for later. Such good memories of Thanksgiving as a child.
So back to today, Joe went to bed early last night and I stayed up and stitched. Then I was up early and started back up and finished this beautiful sampler. It was a fairly quick stitch and it turned out so beautiful. The designer is Falling Star Primitives. I had stitched a lot of her designs in the past and then she stopped designing for a few years. I was so excited to see she had started offering patterns again and this is the first one I stitched. I love her designs and I’m sure I’ll be stitching a lot more of her stuff. I was thinking I would dig around in my stash and see if I can find a frame and keep this one for myself but I’ve had someone ask about buying it so it will probably be shipped off to another home. And that’s fine too. I really, really don’t need to keep another stitched anything. And I can always stitch another one if I feel I just have to have it!
I’m mixing up my holidays! I got these all sewed up and stained last night. Now today at some point they will get stuffed and closed up and will be ready to find new homes. The Christmas ones will hopefully find new homes. I’m thinking I will keep the two Halloween ones for myself. I just have to do that once in awhile and these two are calling out to me!
I was wanting to embroider a couple of pillowcases for the bedroom and/or camper when I ran across this adorable pattern of an old red truck. So I’ve put the pillowcases for me on the back burner and started on Christmas gifts instead! I ordered two of these thinking I could do one for Braxton and one for Drew. I changed the license plate to say IA and personalized it with Braxton’s name and I really like how it came out. But my plan for Drew’s pillowcase has changed as he saw this, asked for one for himself, but of course he wants a train on his. So, I guess I’ll be looking for a train pattern or at least a train picture that I can modify to fit on a pillowcase. Since I won’t be able to work on it until school starts when Drew won’t be around to see me working on it I’ll need to find something for Bayah to work on now. That shouldn’t be hard and it will be fun to work on something girlie in pretty pastel colors for a change!
I’m going to try this again. I’m not sure why I stopped posting. It just happened. I stopped posting and I stopped reading all of my favorite blogs. I just stopped. I’ve been slowly following my favorite blogs again and I’m going to try this again. So here goes!
Such a pretty little thing!
The last couple of months of 2017 were very eventful. Our beautiful baby granddaughter whose due date was December 6th was born November 10th – on my mom’s birthday! Her mama’s health was not going well due to preeclampsia and the doctor decided to bring baby Bayah Lynn into the world early. Thankfully after a two week stay in the hospital Bayah and mommy came home and are healthy and doing great. Bayah weighed 4 lbs. 3 oz. when she was born and she’s now over 6 lbs. She’s the prettiest little thing and is just perfect. And big brother Braxton is so in love with his baby sister. We are truly blessed. Braxton celebrated his 4th birthday at the hospital in the waiting room and he thought that was so much fun. He said it was the best birthday ever! Just goes to show kids don’t need big parties. He was just happy to have all his family, a cake and presents to open!
Then December came along. We lost my father-in-law the week before Christmas. He was 93 and doing great and then he came down with pneumonia and before we knew it he was gone. It happened so quickly and yet most of December was spent with my husband making the three hour drive to his hometown not knowing if his dad was going to make it or not. He would drive nights and spend nights there and drive back and forth. It was so hard to lose Albert but everyone was thankful he didn’t suffer and he was ready.
Sweet baby Babah – so little!
And then the flu hit. Poor Drew got sick at Grandpa’s visitation. Thankfully my dad and mom were there and were able to take Drew home with them. He missed Grandpa’s funeral but he just couldn’t have been there. Then I got sick, and Joe got sick, and Eric got sick, and Aaron got. Braxton was sick and Jeremy too. We postponed Christmas from Christmas Day to New Year’s Eve Day. Then my dad and mom got sick. Mom ended up sick on New Year’s Eve Day and couldn’t celebrate with us but thankfully we had FaceTime and she was able to still be part of the fun.
Then the following week my sister got sick, her daughter Diamond got sick, my Abby got sick. Whew – it pretty much hit all of us except for baby Bayah. Thank goodness. Andrew and I went to Abby’s house on the coldest day of the winter so far, it was -17 out that morning, to watch the kiddos when she was sick. Iowa was the coldest area in the country that day and we broke a 100 year record with the cold. Normally I wouldn’t have stepped a foot out of the house that day but when your baby needs help and you can provide it – off you go no matter what! I hated Abby being sick but it was fun to watch Uncle Drew and Braxton have fun and get to cuddle and love on Bayah all day!
Uncle Eric and baby Bayah
We are now all on the mend and ready to take on the new year! We’ve had bitterly cold weather and beautiful snow and a heat wave of 38 degrees today! My poor chickens are so glad to be out and about in the yard today. No eggs of course but that’s to be expected. Drew has been going stir crazy stuck in the house and then no recess at school due to the cold. Yesterday they had recess and he was actually tired and ready for bed last night! I’ve started a few projects around here and have plans to get a lot more done. I’ve been stitching and selling my cupboard tucks which has been so much fun. Joe went hunting over the weekend and had a great time. His nephew Mike came down and hunted and spent the night Friday night. That was a lot of fun. They hunted with our son-in-law Jeremy, Jeremy’s dad and Jeremy’s brother-in-law. Joe and Mike didn’t get deer but they had fun. That’s the main reason for hunting I think. To get out and spend the day walking the timbers and being together. A deer is great and I appreciate the meat too but I’m glad the guys get to do this together every year.
Drew reading to big brother Aaron
Then last night after work Joe went over to Dad and Mom’s and hunted. Still no deer but Mom fixed chili for supper and Drew and I went over for that. After supper we played games with Drew and dad gave me a box of goodies. He’s been doing this lately. Giving me things now and then that he knows I will treasure and love. Earlier he sent me home with his first toolbox. No tools of course – he still needs those and I sure don’t – but I love this tool box. It’s the one I remember him using when I was growing up. It’s beat up and rusty and chippy and perfect. I love it! I’m not sure what I’m going to do with my box of treasures yet. A few things I’ll display, the rest I’ll store away. And hopefully I’ll be able to keep Drew out of it as he loves to sort through boxes of anything!
I’m making progress on baby girl’s Christmas stocking! I’ve been stitching instead of doing other things lately but that’s okay. I haven’t stitched forever and it’s nice to get back into it. Tonight Drew’s tired and crashed already and Joe is gone to the high school football game to run the chains which gives me an evening of quiet time. The windows are open and the cicadas are singing, it’s nice and cool with a breeze blowing through the house. Perfect for watching a little Alaska: The Last Frontier and getting some stitching done. Tomorrow I’ll be cleaning out the fridge, cleaning my bedroom and making a macaroni salad for a Sunday picnic with family out at Belva Deer. And I just made plans to spend Tuesday with a dear friend. She lives in town but has this beautiful little cabin out by the river. It’s family land and the cabin was built by family and her and her husband have fixed it up. It’s so cute. There’s no running water or bathroom but we’re country girls at heart – we can handle roughing it. It’s so fun to spend the day out there – away from everything. Just time for chatting and enjoying each others company, watching the river flow by, and maybe going on a 4-wheeler ride. Can you tell I’m really looking forward to it??!! I can’t wait!
During our first camping trip this spring the lady camping next to us was loom knitting a stocking hat for a baby and she showed it to me. I’ve never learned the art of knitting but this looked like something I could possibly do. So I ordered a set of looms off of Amazon and headed to YouTube and easy peasy – stockings hats and baby booties and these little dolls for baby girl. I enjoy it but it’s not something I want to sit and do all the time but I can now make stocking hats for the little boys and baby girl when needed. They’ll make great Christmas presents this year.
On a different note – yesterday was rough. Rougher than I expected. We moved Eric to college. The move itself was wonderful. Everything went very smoothly and we had him moved in in less than an hour. Of course the fact that he would only let me make up his bed and do nothing else made things go a lot faster. Girls are so different than boys when it come to these things. Not only did we have a small load to move, he wanted to unpack and put everything away himself after we left so that didn’t leave much for mom to do! Moving Abby was a whole lot different!
After we had everything up to his room we left to run errands. We kept running into another family we had seen at the dorms. We saw them at the restaurant and at Walmart and the boys decided they would meet up later in the evening. He seemed nice and that made me feel better knowing Eric might have already made a friend in his dorm. We ate lunch at Hu Hot then onto Walmart for a fan, microwave, coffee pot, groceries and odds and ends. He shares a bedroom and study room with one other boy and they share a small kitchen and bathroom with two other boys. The kitchen has a refrigerator and stove but he wanted a microwave and coffee pot. His roommate is bringing a toaster and a TV so that seemed fair enough! Then we had to stop at the Hawk Shop to pick up his computer and then back to the dorm.
Eric’s roommate won’t be moving in until Thursday and they haven’t met yet. They have talked on social media. He’s from Chicago. The other two boys had moved in earlier but we never saw them. We did hear them in their room when we got back from shopping but they soon left without introducing themselves. Being a worry wart mom I immediately noticed when we first got in the dorm that it smelled like cigarette smoke. When I went into the kitchen I discovered an empty water bottle sitting on the table and it contained cigarette butts and the used cigarettes had been dropped on the floor down where the wall meets the floor. There is a gap there that doesn’t have a baseboard and I guess somebody thought that looked like a good place for used cigarettes. Along with that the kitchen window was wide open. I’m sure to try and get rid of the smoke. But – the air conditioning was on and although the bedroom was cool, the kitchen of course was not. I’m sure smoking is not allowed in the dorms but Eric wouldn’t let me go talk to the RA about the situation. He said he would wait until his roommate got there and they would work things out themselves. I get it. But I’m not happy with this situation. But, I’m sure everything will turn out fine. I don’t have a problem with them smoking. I do have a problem with them smoking in the dorm and leaving their mess in the kitchen like that. If just seemed rude to me.
Anyway, leaving him was harder than I thought it would be. No roommate, the neighbors just don’t seem friendly, he has no idea how to use the bus system, he doesn’t know anyone in his dorm . . . And yet he seemed fine. I’m just a worry wart! And then Drew was crying and refusing to put his seatbelt on because he thought that way we wouldn’t be able to leave Eric. I had to sit in the back with him and he cried himself to sleep. When we got home I texted Eric to let him know we stopped and picked up his car, which had been in the shop, and that it sounded great. The exhaust had needed some work along with the alternator. He said he was with Allie and they were at Target. I should have known. Allie is a friend and classmate from high school who also moved in yesterday only in a different dorm. Funny how much better it made me feel knowing they had hooked up already! And now I’m trying to stay busy and not worry and not text him. I will at some point today but I have to let him do what he needs to do without constant interruptions from mom!
Happy Snowman designed by Tina Herman, Shepherd’s Bush.
I had a surprise visitor yesterday. Aaron stopped by and spent the majority of the day here. It was so nice to see him and have a nice chat. We hadn’t seen him for what seems like forever. He started a new job as a manager at Walmart and he’s also still working part time at Casey’s. He’s been putting in 70+ hours a week between the two jobs. That’s too much as far as I’m concerned. I tell him what I think but ultimately it’s his decision and he knows I support him in whatever he chooses to do. As a Mom I have that right to tell him how I feel. He can take my advice or not, it’s his life and he’s an adult. He just knows I’m going to tell him how I feel and at the same time respect his decisions!
While visiting with Aaron, Eric and Drew I gathered up floss and linen and got a great start on Christmas ornaments. One stitched and a good start on another. I stayed pretty true to the suggested colors on these two, just switched them up a little. I still have to decide on Baby Girl’s. I’m thinking pinks of course! And I need to figure out a font to use to stitch the year and their names. Then hopefully I can find some tiny snowflake buttons and some fabric to back them with at Hobby Lobby. It’s great knowing I can head to Hobby Lobby now whenever I need to and not have to plan a trip to Iowa City! It’s good to be back to stitching. I didn’t realize how much I was missing it.
The rest of today is going to see us working on Eric’s bedroom, doing laundry and packing for college. My pack rat Drew is having a ball. Eric is giving him all his Iowa State stuff and he’s loving it! Then tomorrow we meet my sister to drop Andrew off with them. He’s heading out on a camping trip with them in their RV. They’re going to Illinois for the weekend. Saturday we go to Burlington to spend the day at our annual fish fry at my aunt and uncle’s. Looks like a couple busy days ahead. Sunday and Monday will be finishing up packing, organizing and probably shopping so we can move Eric to Iowa City on Tuesday. Now I’m going to be wanting to plan trips to Iowa City. I have a feeling he’s not going to be coming home often so we’ll be heading that way if we want to see him!
I’m mixing up my holidays! I got these all sewed up and stained last night. Now today at some point they will get stuffed and closed up and will be ready to find new homes. The Christmas ones will hopefully find new homes. I’m thinking I will keep the two Halloween ones for myself. I just have to do that once in awhile and these two are calling out to me!
On a different note – yesterday was rough. Rougher than I expected. We moved Eric to college. The move itself was wonderful. Everything went very smoothly and we had him moved in in less than an hour. Of course the fact that he would only let me make up his bed and do nothing else made things go a lot faster. Girls are so different than boys when it come to these things. Not only did we have a small load to move, he wanted to unpack and put everything away himself after we left so that didn’t leave much for mom to do! Moving Abby was a whole lot different!