~*What Do Ya Do With a Pumpkin In July?*~

Hello Dear Friends! The kiddo & I have the answer to the question ~ What do ya do with a pumpkin in July?



Yes, this pumpkin is early... about 3 months early. We didn't plant it, but we did pick it from our backyard. You see, each year after we are done with them, we throw our Jack~O~Lanterns and pumpkins out in the brush pile... way out in the back of our property. We sometimes get lucky & have a volunteer plant shoot up. This is one of those lucky years! We picked this one just the other day... and it looks like we may get lucky with a few more, as there are more blooms on many of the shooter vines of the plant.

So, what do ya do with a pumpkin in July? Oh heck, that is easy to answer. You make a Jack~O~Lantern of course!





Wishing you all many warm smiles & a fabulous weekend ahead...
Betty

~*Friday Finishes*~

Hello Dear Friends! It has been a few weeks since I've been able to share a ~*Friday Finish*~... but there is a goodie today! With the sizzling heat outside, this one is especially nice to see...



Laura punched him so sweetly too! She just finished him last night and has him listed on Ebay. After the punching, she added a brass tag that she creatively oxidized ~ that is a nice touch! It made such a special finish too ~ don't ya think!

I noticed too, Laura has a tutorial on her blog for making floss cording. Be sure to swing by to check it out. Looks very cool!

Laura, thank you for sharing your finish. Keep up the great works!

Wishing you all warm smiles...

Betty

~*Bye Bye Bees*~

Hello Dear Friends! Some of you may remember me posting about bees in our barn. We have lived here 4 years... and it was a big surprise to us this year to have bees move into a knot hole in our barn.

This has been the best year for our fruit trees, so I suppose the bees were good to have around. We had a ton of yummy apricots & are enjoying ripe plums now. Soon we will have nectarines, pears, and grapes. (Our apple tree didn't do so well... but we think it is probably too old to harvest any goodies.)

We had heard the bees were not safe in the knot hole. We had been told they could over-crowd themselves and die. Plus we were concerned about structure damage to our old barn. Several weeks ago, I began calling to see if someone was interested in taking them. Two sounded interested and came out to look, but never came back. Well, while in town one day last week, I spotted a truck with a magnetic sticker advertising a beekeeper. I quickly grabbed my cell phone and called. She was very interested and made an appointment to come out to see 'em.

The beekeeper, Barbara is her name, showed up as promised and quickly set up a plan to move the bees. It was so interesting watching her work and hearing her talk to the bees. She kept telling them "be nice girls" as she smoked the hive, set her boxes, and moved the honeycomb. She has been by three times now and will be back at least once more as there is still a box in the barn collecting the "girls".









Did she get stung? Yes, at least 3 times. She would talk to the bee and say, "Bad girl. Be nice."

How did we get honeycomb pictures of her working to remove it? Well, she had an extra jacket that fit my dear Tony. He wore it to help open the wall to get to the bees and stood by to work as her assistant. Luckily, he didn't get stung at all. He was also able to snap a couple of pictures so we could see the honeycomb too.



Barbara is taking the bees to a safe location. She is still unsure if she has the Queen of this hive, but has a positive outlook for the colony. She is sure to harvest a lot of honey from them as well.

Wishing you all warm smiles...

Betty

~*Now Released!*~

Hello Dear Friends! Yes, it is true! I've been working away on my computer to put the finishing work on my latest pattern. After all, it is way too hot outside... and I really needed to get this done.

So... without further delay...

~*With Thy Needle*~

137 by 77 stitches... DMC floss
©primitivebettys 2010

This is now available in my Etsy Shoppe or directly from me via email. It will soon be available with my distributors as well to stock in your local needlework shop.

Thank you for your kind encouragement and supporting ~*primitivebettys*~!

Wishing you all warm smiles and a glorious weekend...

Betty

~*Not A Dust Bunny*~

Hello Dear Friends! Yup! I'm back! My computer is on the mend... and I'm hoping it stays this way. While it was down though... someone was making himself at home in the little cubby behind the monitor... that isn't a dust bunny back there...



This is Itty Bitty. He is my stepson's cat. I didn't know him as a kitten, but hear was was really tiny then. Now though... he is pleasantly PLUMP! (I'm not even sure how he got back there ~ he is VERY pleasantly PLUMP!) Isn't this just a classic kitty look? (slightly perturbed that he was awaken from a dreamy nap)



Now that my computer is back up & running... and the kitty has moved on to another spot... I can get back to working on the cover for that model I was teasing you with last week. It will be released as soon as I can get that cover worked up... it is the hard part for me.

I've got all kinds of ideas meandering around my head. Now there are more! My bud Joanne sent me what she calls "a cheese box full of trash". Believe me though, this is NOT trash! Can you just imagine the delight in my eyes when I opened the huge box FedEx dropped off the other day & saw all these goodies? ...a wooden cheese box, a smaller wooden box with a pincushion under the lid, a step stool, a ceramic 'pail', some cotton cording for finishing rugs, and a sweet kitty card... Thank you so much Joanne! You do know how to send & give GREAT goodies!



The quilt behind them is a machine quilt ~ with some of the funnest, brightest colors ~ that I picked up last weekend at a local auction. Sure it has some stains, but I think it will make a pretty table cloth for our pot luck/go kart parties. Pretty huh?

There is more to share... but photos & thoughts need to be gathered... and yes, computer work needs to be done... along with hooking, punching, and STITCHING!

Until next time...

Wishing you all warm smiles...
Betty

*Computer Woes*

Hello Dear Friends! Well, the title of this post says it all... I'm having computer woes. Because of that, sadly, my new pattern won't be released until my computer is healed... and that won't be until the end of the week. Why-oh-why? Thankfully, I can still check emails & do minimal things on dear hubby's laptop... but can't do pattern work on it. I'm praying it is an easy fix & it is back up and running quickly.

Today we are headed out to an auction. The sale bid says there will be quilting, cross stitch, and other various craft items... so that sparked my interest. Maybe it will take my mind off the frustration & angry brought on by my computer.

I forgot to share this bit of info with you the other day... I received an email from Connie, an avid & beautiful stitcher, regarding the post about *Someone Else's Stitches*. She gave me some info about the pattern. It is "A Pennsyvania-German Sampler" from Barrick Samplers. Kathy copyrighted it in 1998. Here is Kathy's Etsy shoppe... she had one copy of this sampler left the other day. You may be interested in seeing Kathy's blog too. Thank you, Connie, for sharing the info. It is really nice to know more about the sweet sampler.

Also, before I sign off, Melinda asked about what other dyes I used on my stack of wools. For these, I used Pro Chem Dyes with recipes from Beautiful Wool by Laurice Heath... and a few 'thrown together' recipes when I was playing 'Mad Scientist'.

Wishing you all a wonderful Sunday full of smiles...

Betty

~*Friday Finishes From the Dye Pots*~

Hello Dear Friends! There aren't any ~*Friday Finishes*~ as far as stitches to share with you... yes, I know I have a pattern to share, but it is still in need of some computer work & photography before that can be done ~ it will be shared SOON though. Anyway... while trying to manage around the house & keep an eye on a very active almost 8 year old... and sometimes a few 8 year old friends... I've been busy with the dye pots.

The latest copy of the Wool Street Journal arrived in the mail the other day. Reading through the wonderful issue immediately inspired me to get the dye pots out & on the stove. Bonnie Smith shared instructions for tea dyeing wool with very clear direction. I just HAD to do it!

This is my tea~dyed wool...


These two pieces were in the pot together with 6 large tea bags. They must be two different chunks of fabric because one dyed a whole lot darker than the other. I'm really diggin' them both though!

And... it seems I couldn't just stop there... I dyed all this too...


Some came out the way I wanted... and some not... but my results all together make me pretty happy. Now can you guess what I'm thinkin' I want to do now?

Wishing you all warm smiles...

Betty

~*I Found Someone Else's Stitches*~

Hello Dear Friends! Oh, I'm so happy to report that my sampler is stitched & waiting to be framed. I'm actually going to be framing it myself (wish me luck!) in a frame my dear hubby made for me a few weeks ago. The sampler was designed to fit in the frame and it seems I've succeeded in that mission. Later on today, I need to swing by the store to pick up some sequin pins to hold the stitching to the foam core. So maybe, just maybe, I can share the finish with you tomorrow... or at least in the next couple of days.

Today I've been passing the time with some household chores and some wool dyeing. Between those duties though... I had a brainstorm!

Last February, I found someone else's stitches (literally!) at an antique/thrift shop. It was maybe $8. I thought it was just too good to pass up & be ignored and/or neglected in the shop. It was just sitting on the bottom shelf of displays with a bunch of trinkets. So I bought it. It was stitched on white Aida... and spotted with some stains. The white bothered me, but the stains didn't. Isn't that silly? So, I walnut dyed it a couple months back and it has been sitting in my laundry room since then. Today though... it finally dawned on me that I have a HUGE box of frames... some old & some new... sitting in the store room. Maybe one of those frames would fit this piece? Well, sure enough! I found one... an antique frame... complete with old wood backing & old 'scratched up' glass. So why the wool soaks on the stove... I set to work...

The walnut dyed piece...


Looks like the old & dirty frame will be a good fit...


With this framing, I had planned on saving as much of the original frame as possible... complete with the wood backing. This is NOT the 'right' way to frame things and is not how I intend to frame my finished sampler model. But for this... it works wonderfully!


All finished... pictured without the camera flash...


With the flash...


I'm pleased! :)

Well... back to the dye pots...


Wishing you all warm smiles...
Betty

~*Moving Right Along*~

Hello All! I've been a stitchin' & design' fool today... and am moving along wonderfully with the new piece!

Wanna see?



A warm THANK YOU to all who commented with the kind words earlier. You have really inspired me to keep on stitchin'!

Warm smiles,

Betty

~*Stitchin' The Day Away*~

Hello Dear Friends! T's raining... so what better way to spend the day... but to stitch! Here is a peek of what is to come...



Wishing you all warm smiles...

Betty

~*Happy 4th To Ya All!*~

I pray you all have a safe & happy holiday! Play, eat, and be safe!

Warm smiles...

Betty

~*Friday Finishes*~

Hello Dear Friends! There is a fabulous, ~*Friday Finish*~ to share with you! Michelle (no longer blogging) sent me this dandy~ditty the other day...



Her sister gave her the antique broach & she cleverly picked fibers to match. Isn't it sweet? That is a great way to color plan something too! I'll have to remember that the next time I'm having troubles trying to decide what colors to use for a pattern. Nifty!

Thank you, Michelle, for stitching & sharing! Keep up the wonderful stitches!

I hope you all have grand plans for the holiday weekend. Happy 4th of July to you all! Sometime today, I need to sit down with the cookbooks & choose a dish or two to take to the big, family get~togethers. Something sweet or a veggie side? Or both? I just don't know yet. My boys have been shooting fireworks all week. I enjoy watching them, but just have never gotten into shooting (or buying them) myself. I'm happy the boys enjoy them though.

Wishing you all warm smiles & a safe holiday weekend...

Betty