~*Friday Finishes*~

Hello Dear Friends! It is Friday... so ya know what that means! Friday finishes! And there are lots of great ones to share!


First of all... I should apologize. I'm not exactly sure what happened, but this first finish was shared with me before last Friday & I didn't get it posted. It surely is too beautiful to have been looked~over. I am so sorry! My brain must malfunctioned or shorted~out! (which it does all to often anymore!)

Mylene has stitched up the latest ~*Valentine Freebie*~. Mylene stated that she was between bigger projects and had seen this one finished by another stitcher, Irene... so she thought she would do one too. I'm not sure what fibers Mylene used, but she did a truly delightful finish. There are more photos of this sweetie on her blog ~ she even stitched a lil' heart for the back too! So SWEET!


When I went to see Irene finish, I actually found two! The latest ~*Valentine Freebie*~

Stitched on 16 ct. white adia with DMC 816... and she stitched the back with 3 hearts & a cute border!

And last year's ~*Sweet Valentine Freebie*~

Stitched on 28ct white evenweave with DMC threads.

Aren't they just TOO CUTE?! :)

Nan has been busy with lots of stitches! She too has stitched last year's ~*Sweet Valentine Freebie*~... along with some other sweets! The ~LOVE~ pinkeep is a Stitcherhood freebie. Both were stitched on linen using cherry basket by Valdani. The ~Valenine~ pinkeep by Country Rustic Primitives was stitched on R&R linen, with Aztec Red by WDW. She hung a silver charm from a piece of french ribbon on each. And all of them are firmly stuffed with sawdust. WOW! Beautiful!


I ran across this sweet one, that was given as a gift to Su... stitched by AnneMarie. Again, BEAUTIFUL!


Louise too has stitched up a Valentine goodie... and added darling lace trim to make it even sweeter! She used used 28 count evenweave with DMC thread numbers 3804 and 3021. She filled her's with crushed walnut shells. So sweet!


This next one was lovingly stitched by Murf (no blog). She added some sweet rick~rack trim and a cute key charm. The pinkeep has a rick~rack hanger also that doesnt' snow in the picture. I just LOVE the bird with the lil' hat too! Aren't they both just too cute?! :)


My goodness! There are lots of great Valentine's Finishes! I'm delighted with each and every one! I also stitched up the latest Valentine freebie last week. It was a quick stitch. I was able to stitch it in an evening and then did the finishing the next day. If you haven't already stitched it (or even if you have), you should do one. They make great gifts! In fact, that is what mine was done for. It should be arriving at its new home today. Here is mine... stitched with DMC on prairie cloth. (I didn't get a very good snapshot of it before mailing it, sorry.) I pinned an old, rusty key to the corner that hangs from a strand of wool.


We are getting snow today ~ probably have 3 inches already. It would be nice to stay home, but I do have to travel to Topeka later today. Hopefully turnpike will be cleared and safe.

This final finish of the day is appropriate and will be in my thoughts during my travels... as home is best. This lovely has been stitched by Diane. It is ~*Home Freebie*~ offered some time ago. Her stitching is truly lovely... but I especially like the hemstitched edges. She stitched on 40 ct vintage light exemplar... using Anchor Bates threads from her "ollllllld stash".


Thank you Ladies, for stitching and sharing! Each and every finish is truly beautiful!

Wishing you all warm smiles...

Betty

~*Rug Progress*~

Sewing, stitching, and hooking! I was actually able to squeeze a little of all of that into the weekend & oh was it good for the soul! The sewing and stitching were for a gift... so I can't share those with you yet... but I can share an update on my house rug. I gathered up an assortment of wools & made my Rigby smoke! Then, while watching the football game last night, I was able to hook the year & area around it.



My 'hope' is that the rug will look scrappy, olde, antique, make~do... get the idea? lol I plan on filling in the rest of the rug in a random, patchy sort of way...



I'll share more later... until then... Happy Craftin' and Warm smiles...

Betty

~*Friday Finishes*~

WOOHOO! It is Friday! You know what that means... time to share some FABULOUS finishes!

There is LOVE in the air! Valentine's delightfuls to share...


Sharon has stitched up the most recent Valentine freebie ~ oh~so~sweetly too! She used Valdani 3-strand floss in shades of deep burgundy and variegated chocolate brown ~ stitching on a 32 count linen. She finished her piece by using a red cotton on the back and stuffing it with wool snippets (pieces of wool left over from her rug hooking). To make the hanger, she used more of her threads, but added a couple of vintage buttons for a little added sweet touch. How cool is that? :) She said the pillow finished to 2 1/4 by 6 inches. She also said she stitched this in an evening. That is a nice quick stitch! Lovely, Sharon!




Cindy has also stitched the latest Valentine freebie... but has also stitched one up from last year's freebie. She too has done a lovely job! Cindy has these (well, one is sold already ~ not surprising!) offered in her Etsy shoppe ~ Homestead Gatherings. She has used deep burgundy threads also ~ I'm assuming DMC ~ and stitched on 14 count Aida. Both are very precious, Cindy!



This DARLING needlepunch finish is from Laura... ~*Willie Has Found Love*~ freebie doodle. She added her own inspiration to the border with the scallops & I think it is so SWEET! She said she decided to make the change while she was punching ~ which was difficult she said, but I really like it! Splendid, Laura!

Thank you all for working with the freebies & sharing! It is so nice to see all the goodies!

Wishing you all warm smiles,

Betty

~*A Few Sweets To Share*~

In yesterday's mail I received the sweetest gift from a dear friend... Ginger of Primitives By The Light Of The Moon. She received my name in a 'My Sweet Friend' swap. Let me just say, I was tickled to be gifted such wonderful goodies!

Ginger made me a tea coaster with a sweet sheep ~ it MUST be Willie! This lil' ditty is not only cute as can be, but smells yummy too! She also punched me a darling pinkeep. Ginger does beautiful works always & it is such a TREAT to get another of her fine punches. Plus, check out those pins! She made lil' wool hearts to top the pins with. What a clever idea, huh? She included a bundle of luscious wools too. I'm sure I'll be putting those to good use soon... I'm thinking they will be part of my house rug that is still in progress. Oh, and I can't forget to mention the card. She drew the potted flower on the front & doodled some other sweet images inside too. She is one talented chickie that is for sure! Thank you Ginger! I love me new goodies!

A closer look of the pinkeep & heart pins...


I've been quiet this week... mostly because I've had computer issues. However, thanks to my oldest stepson, my computer is healed. I do just hate to be out of touch with friends!

I've been keeping busy though. This has been going with me on errands...


and this is all stitched... awaiting final finishing details...


The robin piece will be one of two pattern releases in February. More to come soon...

Wishing you all warm smiles,

Betty

~*Friday Finishes*~

Hello Dear Friends! It is that time again... time for ~*Friday Finishes*~...

You just gotta feel the love for ALL of these!

I've said it before... and I'll say it again... I really, truly think that my good buddy, Doris, sleeps with her punchneedle in her hand. She whips up so many great works ~ week after week! She can't possibly sleep hands~free! She always does such quality, fun pieces too!

Doris punched up ~*Willie Has Found Love*~ adding some sweet flowers & changing the shape of the finished piece. Truly LOVELY!


This is her rendition, with a little Valentine twist, of ~*Black Cat & Jack*~. Adding the heart is just PERFECT!


These next few are all done from the most recent ~*Valentine Freebie*~.

Lori stitched on prairie cloth and filled her lil' pillow with wool snippets. I especially like how she added the year. Charmingly prim! This will be one of the many wonderful ditties she will be offering for sale on her picturetrail update on January 18th. CLICK HERE to visit the update and see all of Lori's fabulous works.


Teri has not stitched for 35 years! It is great to see her stitching again after so long & I'm tickled that she choose one of my designs to get back into the swing of it!


Melissa didn't email me her finish... I found it on my own while reading her blog. None~the~less... I'm going to share it. LOVELY!


Cindy has been a busy bee! Punching up a storm! She offers her goodies on ETSY and did have both of these listed earlier this week. It seems one has been sold already. No surprise there ~ they are both charming!
~*USA Kitty Freebie*~

~*Symple Scissor FOB Freebie Doodle*~


Thank you to all of you for playing with the freebies and sharing! What a treat it is!

Wishing you all warm smiles,

Betty

~*Some of my Cherished Treasures*~

Hello Dear Friends! Today I thought I would share some ~ just SOME ~ of my most cherished treasures. Some of these are recent gifts for Christmas... but most have been in my home for awhile. For me, to receive a gift handmade with love is unmeasureable ~ truly heartwarming. To think that someone thought so much of me to spend hours, sometimes days (or maybe even more) to labor with their hands and hearts is truly amazing. It is no wonder that it brings tears to my eyes when I am gifted such treasures...


This lovely pillow was made by my good buddy, Ginger. It sits on an old doll I picked up at a garage sale a few years back. They both rest atop the spare bed... the only room in the house I can decorate for fun and show. This is only one of the cherished pieces Ginger has made me. I'm lucky to have lots more of Ginger's works... I should show some more in another post. You are sure to want to see them too!


My fun friend, Doris, made this heart for me a few years ago. It has hung from the knob of my old Hoosier~type cupboard off the kitchen since the day I opened it. It always brings a smile to my face when I see it. Doris did a needle punch pillow for Trinity too. I didn't get a photo of it today... but will share it with you soon. It too is truly darling!


This charming ditty was stitched up by my friend, Debbie. I'm lucky to have several of Debbie's handy works too. This is one of several ~ all are tender to my heart. A couple of them have been tucked away with our Christmas decorations... but I will make a point to unpack them to share... I should have done that a couple of weeks ago. This piece is hanging on the wall in the spare room ~ straight across from the door so it is the first thing you see as you enter the room.


Chris punched up this sweet cupboard hanger for me... again, just one of the treasures I have from Chris. I am still marveled by the texture. She used a wool yarn to punch the sheep body. It is so unique! I have it hanging on a cupboard knob in our living room.


Quilting... or piecing... is something that has always made my mind boggle. Imagine the surprise when I unwrapped this from Bren. It is just so amazing! I don't have a permanent home for this piece yet. In the photo, it is sitting on the spare bed... but I have been moving it from spot to spot trying to decide if I should hang it on the wall or set it on a table. I'm thinking I like it draped over the antique rocker in the living room best though.


I'm lucky to have a few of Sharon's wonderful handworks as well. This is the most recent goody she has sent me. For the Fall decorating season, it sat upon a side table in the living room. I think the boys were frightened beyond measure each time I caught them about to sit a cup on it. That was a big NO~NO! There couldn't be any harm brought to this beautiful piece. Isn't it stunning?


My sweet~sister~in~law, Robin, punched this up for me. She and I have become very close and love to craft together. I'm very proud to have several of Robin's ditties as well... again, I'll have to take more photos.


The doll and rug in this photo are yet more of my treasured gifts. The doll.(Tressa she is named.) was made & gifted to me by Lori. Isn't she precious? She sits perfectly with my teddy in the living room on the antique rocker. The lil' rug was made & gifted to me by Kimmie. I set it on Tressa's lap for the photo, but keep it next to my work area on the sofa table. I use it as my tea mug daily.

(The rocker was a gift also. It was given to me by my Aunt LaVon a few years ago. She calls it a Lincoln Rocker. I don't dare let any 'person' sit in it for fear it will break ~ but teddy & Tressa are welcome to it.)

I hope you have enjoyed my treasures as much as I do. I'll continue to take photos and post them for you soon.

Many of you have asked or commented about the robin stitch... thank you... yes, it will be a pattern release soon. I've been working on it and have it almost finished. It won't be much longer. I'll keep you posted.

Wishing you all warm smiles,

Betty

~*Subconsciously Thinking of Spring?*~

Could I be?

Hello Dear Friends! Here are a few more work~in~progress pics...

Could I subconsciously be thinking of Spring? Impatiently waiting for the robins to come home? It didn't dawn on me until I grabbed the pieces for picture taking this morning that the colors in both are 'robin' tones.
This is another 'freely ~ blindly' stitched sampler...


I've gotten the house hooked on my rug... now I need to decide how I want the rest of it hooked...


Today I sent my latest sampler off to the framer. YIPPEE! I'm not sure how soon it will be back ~ but I am still hoping to have it as a pattern offing for market in February. I'll take the finished photo when it returns.

Wishing you all warm smiles...

Betty

~*Friday Finishes*~

Hello Dear Friends! BBBbbbbrrrr is it cold! We are experiencing record breaking cold temps here in Kansas right now. It is so cold that school has been canceled for 2 days. Well, yesterday it was actually canceled for snow ~ but today it is because of the cold. We are expecting to warm up by the beginning of next week... to the 20s anyway. I'm sure that will feel like a heatwave to us by then. It is 0 degrees right now... with a windchill of -20. So BBBbbbbrrrrrr...

I've been trying to work on my rug & sampler, but with the kiddo home there are several, yet loving, interruptions. I'll be sharing progress pictures of both soon.

For now though... here are a few ~*Fabulous Friday Finishes*~...

Just in time for Valentine's Day, Charlene has punched up ~*Hearts Pair 1857*~... and is offering it on Ebay... her seller id is redlockscreations
. Charlene explained to me that she is working on trying to get more of an 'antique look' on her backgrounds. Well, I think she is doing just that. She has used several different tones while punching the background & it looks sweetly, wonderful.


Barbara has been preparing for Valentine's Day as well. She is the first to share her finish of the latest ~*Valentine Freebie*~. She has stitched up a darling lil' cupboard hanger!


Thank you ladies... for playing with the freebies & sharing! They are both just beautiful!

Wishing you all warm smiles... happy stitches too...

Betty

~*Back 'At It'*~

Hello Dear Friends! Well, the school bus was here on time this morning... so that means I am back 'at it'! Well, maybe I wasn't fully 'at it' before the Christmas Break... but I'm still trying to be anyway. I have almost finished the sampler that I started right before Christmas. There are a few spots I want to re~do... that happens a lot when working freely & making it up while stitching. I do hope to have it finished and ready to offer as a pattern for the February Market in Nashville. Here is a lil' sneak peek...

While stitching, I was inspired by my Great Grandma. Those are her initials & year of birth. The other day, while visiting with my Grandma (her daughter), we chatted about Gram. She passed away when I was only 9, but I have always admired her and remembered her fondly.

So, I should be stitching more to prepare for market... but what do I do? Pull out a rug I've been working on. I started this rug a few months ago. I had the house only partly hooked and didn't care for it. So last night, I ripped all those loops out & re~hooked. I actually have more hooked from just last night than I had from earlier. Yes, my loops are all 'hickety~pickety'... but I like them like that sometimes. This rug is inspired by the lil' house, the original farm house, that is here on our property. I still want to use it as a studio someday... but that is still a long way in the future.

I re~scribbled on the linen last night too. Originally, I wanted to hook the rail and front porch. I've decided against that because I'm not sure how it would hook... and then the front door would have been missing because it is on the side of the porch (into the room with the peak).
Hopefully the rug will hook up looking good & olde... simple & prim. The year '1857'... if you haven't read me write about it before... is the year Americus (our small town) was founded. It appears over and over again in my works.

We are still cold here in Kansas too. We have gotten more snow on top of snow... and are expecting even more tomorrow. This is more snow than I have ever seen this time of year here. Normally our heavy snows are in February and March. We are surviving... and keeping our outside babies warm & inside. We have a heat lamp set up for the cats in the lil' house and another heat lamp in the garage for Brownie. (He does love to get out to run in the snow... but is so happy to run back to the garage when he is done. He is one spoiled pup!) Here is the snowman that Tony and Trinity built together last week. He has been covered with more snow after construction... and seems to be loosing an arm... but he is still standing. (This photo was taken from inside the house ~ through the kitchen window... it was too cold this morning to carry the camera for a photo shoot outside!)

Wishing you all warm smiles...
Betty

~*Happy New Year*~

Happy New Year to all my Friends! May you be blessed beyond measure today, tomorrow, and always!

Trinity and I enjoyed a visit with my Grandma today. We had a designer feast at our favorite bistro ~ yup, McDonalds!

As you can tell... the kiddo was the life of the party!
Warmest smiles,
Betty