Sunday, May 29, 2011

~*Memorial Day Wishes For You*~

May you celebrate the spirit of our great nation on this holiday... but not forget those that have fallen...

It is with the deepest respect... that I give THANKS to those that have served and are serving.

Thank you...
Betty

Friday, May 27, 2011

~*Friday Finishes*~

Hello Dear Friends! This has been the first week of Summer Vacation for us... and it has been a busy one! I'm not sure if the kiddo is keeping me busy or if I'm keeping him busy... but either way... it has been a blur of activity! I hope your week has been great as well!

Today is Friday... and you know what that means! So without further delay... here are some out~standing ~*Friday Finishes*~...

From Susan... and awesome hooker... her version of ~*1857 Bunny*~... a freebie on my picturetrail...


Janet has stitched up ~*Spring Freebie*~. She stitched on osnaburg with DMC floss. The flower is in two shades of lavender. Oh so pretty!


Pat (no blog) is the first to stitch & share her finish of ~*Simply Stitch Freebie*~ She made this for a friend who is always asking her what she is working on & says she gets inspired when she sees her works. So, Pat stitched this up for her... using a scrap of Aida, DMC threads 223 and 224 for the flowers, and Weeks Loden for the vine. She backed her lil' pillow with homespun and attached a muslin patch that says "Inspiration" with Gentle Arts Maple Syrup (one of my favorite colors!)...


What a beautiful gift!

Thank you to all of you for stitching, hooking, punching, and SHARING! You know I love to see & share!

Wishing you warm smiles...

Betty

Thursday, May 26, 2011

~*Coming Right Along*~



Hello Dear Friends! There has been great progress in my sampler. This is going to be part of that something special that I've mentioned a few times in previous posts...





I have been faithfully working on it each evening and staying up later and later. I'm stitching as quickly as I can... but still designing as I go. So, hopefully, I will have a finish to share with you soon... and will finally tell you all about the something special!

There are lots of babies greens growing here and there...


Thyme...











Basil...

Marigolds...


Texas Bluebonnets...
A mix of Zinnia, Morning Glory, stray Sweet Annie... and some crab grass (I do HATE crab grass!)...



A Marigold re~seeded in the bed from last year...



LOTS of Sweet Annie! This reseeds year after year & smells so yummy! It does tend to get very invasive... but we do enjoy it. Tony loves to smell it when he mows the grass...





4 O'Clocks popping up in yet another bed...





PUMPKINS! I'm going to have to decide where these will be planted... and soon!





I've got lots of yard work to get too... and probably should thin some of these plants out... but I much prefer to just let them grow!





Wishing you all warm smiles...



Betty

Monday, May 23, 2011

~*Thoughts and Prayers*~

There has been so much tragedy. The tornadoes on the eastern part of our country, the floods in the southern... and now tornadoes here in the Midwest. We could see this from our backyard Saturday night... it was about 9pm... taken from my phone...


My thoughts and prayers for all those affected throughout the country.

We have heard strong words of warning from the National Weather Service that tomorrow may include many more tornado and thunder storm threats. Please, if you are in areas of warning... keep an eye on the weather and stay tuned to your local media for updates... please PLEASE PLEASE stay safe!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sunday morning I was struggling to cope... struggling to find answers or ways of acceptance... finding meaning or guidance... faith. While I was walking around the yard, I stopped by to check on the Killdeer eggs. At first I thought they were just gone... taken by a snake or some other predator. My heart sank even more. I called my husband over and he saw more than I did... he saw the shards of hatched eggs. My heart lifted and I was able to see the joy of new beginnings. I carefully gathered a few of the shards in a small pile to show you...

When Killdeer hatch, they have their wings and are strong enough to fly on their own. They don't stay in the nest. This made me happy... to know that they are off enjoying their new lives!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Before the bad weather Saturday night, I was able to get some crafty~actions done... it is important to keep myself as busy as possible ya know. Kelley, awesome leader of our Ebay prim group ~ AAPG, gave us a SUNFLOWER challenge. We have until the end of the month to work something up... but I was so excited about her words, and the photos of inspiration she and others from the group shared... that I just had to get to work on mine. So... I dug out this wooden cheese box from my collection of STUFF, grabbed some linen, and cut some wool. And ta~da...




~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

And... I stitched more this weekend on that something special

After I get more stitched... I will share more with you about what I'm planning.

Wishing you all warm smiles... and requesting again that you stay informed & safe...
Betty

Friday, May 20, 2011

~*Friday Finishes*~

Hello Dear Friends! TGIF! For us, it is the last day of school. The last ALARM CLOCK day until the end of August! Yippee! Don't get me wrong, I am very thankful for each day... I am just not an EARLY MORNING kind of person. My days can begin naturally - without that annoying beeping - at about seven thirty or eight o'clock and I am much more happier and cheerful. I have lots of fun scheduled for the Summer break... a few day camps, baseball, visits to the library, Summer kid movies, and the pool. Of course, I am going to CRAFT - stitch & hook during these days too!

In fact, I have been working hard on that 'something special' I hinted about the other day. More to come regarding this very soon!

For now... how about some ~*Friday Finishes*~?

First up... from Dora... is a lovely finish of ~*Spring's Tweets*~. She used the recommended fabric and floss, and it was coffee stained after the stitching was completed. She finished the edges with a blanket stitch. So very lovely!


Another beautiful ditty... from Linda... and it is one of her Favorite Little Things... mine too! :) Linda has stitched up part of the ~*Spring Freebie*~ to make a sweet lil' pillow... Darling!


Thank you Ladies... for stitching and sharing! I do LOVE to see all the beautiful works! Keep 'em coming!!

Has anyone stitched up the latest freebie yet?

Keep an eye out on my blog... possibly sometime this weekend... I will reveal more of that 'something special'. I am super-duper excited about it & hope you will be as well. Until then... happy stitching...

And many warm smiles to you all...
Betty

Thursday, May 19, 2011

~*Simply Stitch Freebie*~

Hello Dear Friends! With the school year ending tomorrow and Summer break about to begin... I hope you and I both can take a few moments to Simply Stitch and craft. So... to begin your Summer break here is a little freebie from me to you. Enjoy...

~*Simply Stitch Freebie*~

© primitivebettys

66 by 36 stitches

Please feel free to use fibers of your pickins'... and be sure to email me those finishes to share for ~*Friday Finishes*~.

Please be kind and give credit to the artist/designer... Betty Dekat/primitivebettys.

I see this little stitch on a small pinkeep, a darling lil' scissor FOB, or atop a sweet box. Where do you see it?

Happy Stitching!

Wishing you warm smiles...

Betty

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

~*How Does Your Garden Grow?*~

Hello Dear Friends! Our garden is sprouting and growing...
potatoes, onions, cabbage, and tomatoes
jalapeno and bell peppers
cucumber, zucchini, sunflowers, and birdhouse gourds. Watering, weeding, and tender~loving care... with hopes of great rewards by Summer's end.

Walking around the yard the other day, Tony spotted some Killdeer eggs. I've never seen these before and it could be because they are so disguised. These are nested in the center of our burn pile with the watchful Mama near by... doing her best to divert strangers away.
I hope we get to see the babies when they hatch!

Oh, and I have started a few seeds in the greenhouse too...
marigolds ~ so super easy!
and Texas Bluebonnets...

and a few others that haven't popped out of the soil yet. :) It is so much easier to start seeds in lil' pots. I have a heck of a time telling what is flower from what is weed when I put them in the ground.

Wishing you all warm smiles...
Betty

Monday, May 16, 2011

~*Still Stitching*~


Hello Dear Friends! Yup, I'm still stitching & it feels AWESOME! I added some more to the pinkeep box lid... and started another sampler. The new start is going to be something *S*P*E*C*I*A*L*. I'm going to stay pretty silent about it for now, but is has something to do with this... Victor Minor ~ a one room school house built in 1887.



Wishing you warm smiles...

Betty

Sunday, May 15, 2011

~*Sunday Stitches*~

Oh... finally! Yes, I am FINALLY stitching & finally posting!

Hello Dear Friends! I'm sorry for my lack of posts ~ especially my lack of ~*Friday Finishes*~, but there hasn't been much time for posting & unfortunately, there weren't any finishes to share... mine or others. The days have been busy, but I'm hoping to have more time & control from here on out. In fact, today the gardens have been watered. They do need weeding, but I'm taking the day 'off' so I can just sit & stitch until it is time to fix supper.

My dear friend Marianne gave me Blackbird Designs A Stitcher's Journey for my birthday. It is a wonderful book & has inspired me. I'm not using a specific pattern in the book, but I am getting inspirations from it to stitch a pinkeep topper for this lil' wooden box I picked up at the craft store the other day.



I have missed my needle so... and it is so wonderful to be playing with it again.

Wishing you warm smiles...

Betty

Thursday, May 12, 2011

~*The Ol' Crow Says*~



I am an old fashioned, primitive gardener.

That is the only thing that it could be called... in my head I have visions of grandeur, but really no plan to get there. I envy those that can plot out & plan a garden ~ flower or vegetable. My Mom plans the most wonderful flower gardens. Rows of this and spots of that ~ each planted in the perfect location. Thankfully my Mom planned and planted the garden in the front of our home. It looks nice and I do love it. After three years, it is filling in nicely and I have been able to keep the weeds under control.



The latest issue of A Simple Life arrived in my mailbox yesterday and it is filled with glorious gardens.

My gardens though... are just a mish~mash of all... including some clover, crabgrass, and dandelions. Yes, I do try to weed that stuff out, but what is planted there is just 'thrown' in. These gardens are my old fashioned, primitive gardens... full of flowers here when we moved in, some I've purchased, started from seed, or was shared from a friend's garden. I am the kind of gardener that just digs up the dig and puts the plant it. I don't plan much at all. Yes, I do try to put the taller plants towards the back and the shade loving plants in the shade with the sun lovers in the sun, but honestly this does not always happen.

But... looking here and there you can see these right now...












These lavender, old fashioned iris are my favorite! To me, they smell like grape Kool-Aid and bring back childhood memories of summer fun.




These are just the blooms for today. There will be lots and lots more soon. I spent the day in the greenhouse yesterday and started yet more seeds. So... I'll share more with you soon.

Wishing you all warm smiles...

Betty