Tuesday's Child is Full of Grace...

"Wee Benjamin William" arrived safe and sound and healthy in the wee hours of the morn of Tuesday, 30 June, 2009! Mommy, Daddy and wee babe are all wonderful! Welcome to our family my precious grandson...

Monday's child is fair of face,

Tuesday's child is full of grace,

Wednesday's child is full of woe,

Thursday's child has far to go,

Friday's child is loving and giving,

Saturday's child works hard for a living,

But the child that's born on the Sabbath day

is bonny and blithe and good and gay.

As you all know, I am woefully behind with blogging yet again... Thus, nothing doing but I must travel back in time a couple of months and bring you all up to date with some family and baby shower photos before the arrival of "my precious Wee Willie"... I have teased Jamie and Danielle quite gleefully about my nickname for Benjamin, and of course nothing doing but I must chant the nursery rhyme, "Wee Willie Winkie" along with my teasing... It was a favourite told to me at my Grandmother's knee when I was a child and of course one I recited to my children as well when they were were babes...

My children...

Mother's Day 2009...

Nick, Brandy, Elisha, Jamie and Danielle...

And the beautiful, happy parents-to-be...

Wee Jamie and Danielle...

And...

it's a Baby Shower...

Danielle and her mother, Flo...

with Gandalf the Grey...

What happens at Grandma's...

stays at Grandma's... ;)

Noah's Ark Cake for the baby shower...

Yummy...

And my sweet, precious Benjamin...

"Wee Willie"...

Proud Daddy and sweet son...

Glowing Mommy and darling son...

Proud Auntie Brandy...

Grandpa Ron... Danielle's Dad...

Grandma Lizzy with *My Wee Precious*...

And you know, of course, I had to toss in a stitchy photo or two for good measure! I have more stitchy updates and photos to share, but will save those for another post... I had started Noah's Baby by Hillside Samplings some time ago... and it was nearly finished but alas, I am having to frog "a lot" of over one stitching on 32ct Belfast Linen which is not going well for me at all... to say the least! So, I'm plodding along and completely discouraged with it! My dear KS Jan, Help! I need your expertise here to frog this sampler for me! ;) As much as I dread the thought, methinks I'm going to put this sampler away for a wee while, those black frogs made quite a muck of it indeed, and I'm moving on to something else... Thus, I started something new for "Wee Willie" on the eve of his birth...

Dragonlets Birth Sampler by Dragon Dreams...

Spice Blend Arabian Nights

Stitches and Spice Cashel Linen

DMC Threads...

Started on 30 June, 2009...

And you know, Mr Darcy

just had to be in the thick of things... ;)

And Mr Darcy says... "It's my precious..."

And Shelley is sooo ignoring him!

I just couldn't resist this one! ;)

Wee Willie Winkie

Runs through the town

Upstairs and downstairs

In his nightgown.

Rapping at the windows,

crying through the lock,

"Are the children all in bed?

For it's now eight o'clock!"

I just couldn't resist... ;)

Thank you all so dearly for your continued visits and kind, fond thoughts and wishes... and your emails... You are ever bright stars in the gloaming...

May the sun's rays always shine upon your paths and your long days and evenings remain content with blissful Stitching thyme...


Blessings and Love Always in Stitches...

Lizzy


I am grateful for precious moments... blessed grandchildren and children... and dearest friends...

Spring Blessings...

Spring is finally beginning to make an appearance... smiling jonquils scattered hither and yon dancing joyfully in green scented breezes... bright, sunny bursts of yellow beckoning, oh so sweetly for long dormant friends to join in the celebration of renewed life... and at long last dashes of sky blue, snow white, rose and lavender blossoms peek out of their winter homes turning lovely faces towards the sun... reaching, swaying... all lost in the rhythm of glorious, melodic birdsong...

And naturally, with all the flurry of colour and sweet flowering new growth and new beginnings surrounding me... how could I resist the oh, so tempting siren call of a few new stitchy projects? Sounds like a wonderful excuse... Oops! But of course I meant to say... It sounds like a wonderful reason for stitchy new beginnings to me! ;)

Thus without further ado... my lovely, new Spring beginnings... accompanied occasionally by my beloved Mr Darcy, Shelley and Gandalf the Grey...

This is the Day by Hands to Work

January ~ February Issue of Just Cross Stitch

Stitched on Vintage Sand Dune Cashel Linen

by Lakeside Linens

with Gentle Arts, Crescent Colours

and WDW threads

and Belle Soie Red Fox...

I fell in love with This is the Day by Hands to Work when I saw it on Siobhan's blog back in January and it fair screamed my name... I do declare but it was all I could hear for days and days... So, naturally what could I do but ring up my LNS and order all the stash and the magazine... And at long last the moment is finally nigh... perhaps the voices in my head will settle a wee bit now... ;) And in visiting your blogs of late it seems there are a lot of stitchers who feel as I do about this gorgeous Sampler... :)

As you may or may not know, I love Bunnies and this designer is one of my favourites as well... I've had Easter Parade by Blackbird Designs kitted up since I saw it on Vonna's blog a long, long time ago...

Easter Parade by Blackbird Designs...

Stitched on R & R Apple Brown Bindy

Cashel Linen with Gentle Arts Sampler Threads

in Brandy, Butternut Squash,

Dried Thyme and Chamomile

Weeks Dye Works in Pecan

Belle Soie in Red Fox and Cinnamon Stick

and Gloriana Fall Foliage...

I did change almost all the colours...

And I just love Tanya aka The Sampler Girl's designs and Sense & Sensibility has long been a favourite of mine... the film, the book and the stitchery... I'm hoping to stitch Pride & Prejudice once I finish this one... Or who knows, I may just order the chart and stash and start it sometime soon as well... Aye! The more the merrier... ;)

Sense & Sensibility

by The Sampler Girl...

Stitched on Vintage Examplar Cashel Linen

by Lakeside Linens

with Gentle Arts Sampler Threads and

The Thread Gather Silk 'n Colours

Medieval Mulberry...

Oh, and this next darling lovely is another one I fell head over heals in love with back in early February and honestly, I did try to turn a blind eye and deaf ear... I do declare, but it was calling my name so loudly alas, I simply could resist no longer and I feared I'd go mad if I did not give Theresa of Shakespeare's Peddler's fame a ring and have her send it to me posthaste! It arrived last week and needless to say... I'm starting it! ;)

The Weary World Rejoices

by Shakespeare's Peddler

Stitched on Vintage Buttercream Cashel Linen

by Lakeside Linens

with Gentle Arts Sampler Threads

Winter Limited Edition 2009 colours

And of course this next wonderful lovely is by Carriage House Samplings... another of my favourite designers... I don't think Kathy has a design I don't love and hopefully, one day I'll have them all in my stash... ;) {insert slightly mad cackle here} And... Oh, happy day! I'm finally putting needle and silk to fabric on this one... I have no idea when on Earth I'll finish all of these new beauties... sooner rather than later I would hope... However, it is in the journey wherein we find joy, happiness and beauty... Thus I'm going to enjoy every stitch of the journey...

The Shores of Hawk Run Hollow

by Carriage House Samplings...

Stitched on Vintage Autumn Gold Cashel Linen

by Lakeside Linen

with NPI Silks...

I started Hen Party by Little House Needleworks a wee while ago and was stitching along with dear Sally... of course Sally finished a couple of weeks ago and I'm still plodding along... I'm hoping to have the last stitch in this one this week...

Hen Party by Little House Needleworks...

Stitched on R & R Iced Cappuccino Cashel Linen

with DMC and Crescent Colour Threads...

And my Christmas ornament for March... another delightful design by Carriage House Samplings... I've got to get busy, busy, busy as there are only a couple of days left in March... Yikes!

Merry Christmas

by Carriage House Samplings

Stitched on Vintage Maple Sugar Cashel Linen

By Lakeside Linens

with Belle Soie Old Crow

and DMC 221 and GAST Blue Spruce

My dear daughter, Brandy celebrated her 26th Birthday on the 16 of March... We had yummy *cake and opened pressies at her house... I can't believe she's 26 already... I can still see her as a beautiful wee blonde angel... long braids flying in the breeze as she scrambled after her brothers... or playing contentedly with games and dolls... lovely tea parties with her dollies... I so miss the beautiful little girl but dearly love and cherish the wonderful woman and dearest friend she has become... If I searched the world over, I could not find a more wonderful and loving daughter and I love and cherish her dearly and I thank God I was blessed with such an Angel every day...

My dear daughter, Brandy...

Happy Birthday Brandy Rose...

She has been wanting a new Bible with her new married name engraved on the cover... I had gotten her a white Bride's Bible to carry with her in her wedding... and she wanted her new every day Bible to be from me as well... So, I found this lovely chestnut brown and burgundy edition of the NKJV Women's Study Bible... She loves it!

Brandy, my dear son, Elisha and their brother, Joshua...

Wee Jamie and Danielle could not come down for Brandy's birthday, but popped in a couple of days later to visit and of course I had to take a photo of the sweet father and mother-to-be...

Wee Jamie and my future DIL, Danielle...

Oh, and lest I forget... as much as I'd like to... Today... 29 March is my birthday... I think I've been rather Scarlet-minded when it comes to my birthday of late... meaning I'm not going to think about it today... I'll think about it tomorrow! ;)

Brandy baked me a delicious chocolate raspberry birthday cake...

and cooked a wonderfully, yummy birthday dinner for me tonight!

Elisha was there as well and we had a lovely time

and I was truly spoilt with lovely gifties...

Sadly, wee Jamie and Danielle could not

be there as they are nurses and work those long hour weekends...

However, they are all coming for dinner at my house tomorrow night...

Woo Hoo... I get to play Scarlet for one more day... ;)

My deepest heartfelt thanks to you all my dear friends for your continued visits, emails and kind, fond thoughts... akin to lovely, blossoming flowers on a warm, spring day your love and friendship fills my heart and soul with joy...

Blessings and Love always in stitches...

Lizzy

I am thankful for precious moments... new beginnings, dear daughters, peaceful stitching hours and dear friends...

Deeply Honoured...

Good morrow, my dear friends... I was so surprised and pleased to discover my blog was honoured with a few awards of late... :) I am deeply honoured and I thank you with all my heart for remembering me and for continuing to read my blog...

Dear, sweet Sue of Stitching and Life in the Company of Pets knows well my gift of rambling... especially when I'm writing... she gifted me with this lovely award... Thanks ever so sweetly, dear Sue...

Sweet Carolyn of Carolyn's Stitching Chatter and More bestowed upon me this wonderful award... Thank you ever so kindly, dear Carolyn... :)

And dear Suzie of Cat in the Moon honoured me with yet another wonderful award and I was deeply touched and moved to sweet tears of gratitude by what she had to say...

"Lizzy, you may be the last one listed here, that is simply a matter of logistics. But now, the challenge of putting what I feel into a few words. . .I love that you are SUCH a romantic, and aren't afraid to show it to the world, in these days when everyone seems to put up guards and shields! I love your fancifulness, and the creative ways that you have of expressing it. I love that you continually find hope in the face of potential sadness's, and continue to spread that positive energy with whomever comes to visit you. Your choice of colors & music create an atmosphere where one can't help but feel good. It is a pleasure to add you to my list."

Thank you so much dear Suzie, Carolyn and Sue for remembering me so sweetly and honouring my blog with such wonderful awards...

As for presenting these awards to others... I love all the blogs I visit and even though I have not been leaving a lot of comments of late... I remain a silent admirer from afar... and choosing just a few is by far much too difficult a task... Thus... I'm choosing you all... please consider yourself presented with these awards if you visit my blog and post them on your blogs passing them along to other deserving stitching and crafting bloggers... and know that your friendship is treasured and your wonderfully creative blogs are ever an inspiration to me...

Blessings and Love Always in Stitches...

Lizzy

I am thankful for precious moments and stitching friends...

Angels in our attic...

Oh, I am woefully behind with everything these days... I just haven't had the heart or the words to write in a while... Still plagued with black frogs lurking in the shadows... However, blessed, golden rays of sunshine peek out when least expected and chase away the darkness on most days... and I continue to find Blessings and Joy in simple pleasures...

As you may remember, I mentioned back at the New Year that I am going to be a Granny... well, we found out a few weeks ago that my grandson may have Down Syndrome... Jamie and Danielle do not want to have the Amniocentesis, as they do not want to endanger the baby... The Doctor gave them the option of Amniocentesis or worse... I don't even want to say it... and with both of them being Nurses they know a lot more about this than I do. Neither of them liked the Specialist Danielle's OBGYN sent them to see and to say they were put off by her vagueness about the entire thing... Her coldness and matter-of-factness about what they called Selective Birth, is putting it somewhat mildly!!! Nonetheless, to see my son so worried and upset during what should be one of the most joyous times of his life fills me with sorrow. I have tried to put his mind and heart at ease the best way I can... This could be nothing more than what they refer to as *false positives* and the wee babe is most likely perfectly fine... I know I often look at the world through *rose coloured glasses*... but I try to see the positive in everything... even though it may take me a while... my Hope and Faith and my belief that Goodness always eventually prevails brings me through even the darkest of times... And as I have told my son, regardless of what the outcome may be, this child is a blessing and for that we are thankful. All we can do is pray... and I'm praying there are Angels in our Attic watching over my wee Jamie and his wee son...

And now to officially announce the winner of my Blogoversary Giveaway... I'm sorry it's taken me a while to post the winner here. I have already informed the winner and the parcel should be arriving upon her doorstep any day now... :-) As I mentioned in an earlier post, A Christmas Carol is one of my all-time favourite Christmas stories and films and this Dickens quote is very special to me... Anyway, I do hope she likes it... stitched and hand-finished by me, such as it is, I made it into a wee door knocker pillow... I know my finishing is not the best in the world, but I'm learning! ;-) Thus without further ado....

And the winner is...

Dear Sally of StitchyAngel's Treasures...

Honour Christmas by Forget-Me-Not In Stitches...

2008 Just Cross Stitch Christmas Ornament Issue

Stitched on Cashel Vintage Maple Sugar by Lakeside Linens

with Crescent Colours Belle Soie Silks

Red Fox and Collard Greens...

wee Mr Darcy having a nosey...

And the back of the door knocker pillow...

As for my other stitching... I finished a snowman by The Prairie Schooler and it was such a fun stitch... And I'm almost done with another Christmas Ornament, but I forgot to take a photo of that one and it's way too late to drag it out now... so stay tuned! There are so many lovely projects I want to start and I have a ton of WIP's I need to finish... I did start Shores of Hawk Run Hollow by Carriage House Samplings and Sense & Sensibility by The Sampler Girl... I'll post photos of my new beginnings next time as there are only a few stitches in each one just now... and we will not even mention The Nashville Market tonight... Oh, my Wish List keeps growing in leaps and bounds!

Snowman and Bunny by The Prairie Schooler

Book 151 ~ Santas & Snowmen...

Stitched on Cashel Vintage Maple Sugar

by Lakeside Linens

with DMC threads...

Snowman and Bunny by The Prairie Schooler

accompanied by wee Mr Darcy...

I had to work Valentine's Day weekend, and when the girl carrying the lovely bouquet of roses and huge balloon buzzed at the outside door {we have security monitors all over the building} we wondered who on Earth was getting flowers as there was no one in the building save my partner and I... Lo, and behold what a wonderfully, sweet surprise! They were for me! My dear daughter, Brandy and dear SIL Nick were so thoughtful and brightened my Valentine's Day immensely!!!

Lovely Pink Valentine Roses

from Brandy and Nick...

Naturally, Mr Darcy and Gandalf the Grey

had to have a wee nosey...

Oh, and I took these snowy piccies back in January when we had such a lovely snow... Thankfully, I was off work and had a lovely, cosy day stitching and enjoying the beautiful winter wonderland!

peeking out my front door...

a wee bird in the snow...

and my snowfolk flag at my front door...

bright and cheerful in a winter wonderland...

And what a wonderful, wonderful surprise I had when I discovered Dear Sally awarded me with a Fabulous Blog Award!!! Woo Hoo!!! My very first Blog Award and I am tickled pink!!! Thank you so much, Sweetie!!!

And now I am supposed to list my five addictions and also nominate five bloggers...
As for My addictions...
hmmmm to name a few... ;-)


1. My family and wee fur-babies...

2. Stitching and Stash and Stitching Blogs...

3. Watching films and Stitching...

4. Reading...

5. Coffee...

Now for my nominations, and as Sally posted... please don't be offended if your blog isn't here... it doesn't mean I love your blog any less... And believe me, it is not easy choosing just five blogs when I find such joy and inspiration by visiting all your blogs! And Sally, right back at you you Darlin'!!!

Barbara

Harmien

Sue

Siobhan

Lynn B


And I'll have to save the rest for later as it's after midnight and my alarm will start clanging the back of 4:00 in the morning... Oh, I don't even want to think about it... Alas, my lovely, relaxing weekend of stitching and watching Midsomer Murder DVD's back to back and over and over has come and gone and it's back to the daily grind tomorrow...

Thank you ever so kindly my dear friends for continuing to visit my blog and for your emails... I know I am woefully behind with comments on your blogs and emails... however, I will catch up and I am visiting your blogs to see how you all are keeping... just haven't been any words of late!!! Your continued visits, kind, thoughtful and encouraging wishes are ever blessed rays of sunlight in my days...

And may there ever be Angels in your attic and Love in your Hearts...

Blessings and Love in Stitches...

Lizzy


I am thankful for precious moments... precious children and grandchilden, blessings in disguise, dear friends and Angels in our attic...

Scotland Homecoming 2009...

Loch Lomond... by Runrig...

In Honour of Scotland's Homecoming 2009...

I had to repost this as when I went in to edit to add a label and a wee bit of text... the video disappeared... and I couldn't make it reappear!

Blessings and Love in Stitches...

Lizzy

Ode to a Bard...

O, my luve is like a Red, Red Rose ~ 1794

O my Luve's like a red, red rose,

That's newly sprung in June:

O my Luve's like the melodie,

That's sweetly play'd in tune.

As fair art thou, my bonnie lass,

So deep in luve am I;

And I will luve thee still, my dear,

Till a' the seas gang dry.

Till a'the seas gang dry, my dear,

And the rocks melt wi' the sun;

And I will luve thee still, my dear,

While the sands o' life shall run.

And fare-thee-weel, my only Luve!

And fare-thee-weel, a while!

And I will come again, my Luve,

Tho' 'twere ten thousand mile!

~ Robert Burns ~

25 January 1759 - 21 July 1796

Today is The Bard's 250th Birthday... No, not Will Shakespeare... Scotland's Bard... Rabbie Burns... and thus begins a year long celebration, Scotland's Homecoming 2009... See the post below! Scotland Homecoming 2009...

As promised... here's my stitching for my blogoversry giveaway... I chose to stitch Honour Christmas by Forget-Me-Nots in Stitches from the 2008 Just Cross Stitch Ornament Issue... and as all of you may know it's a quote taken from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens... a quote near and dear to my heart and one of my all time favourite books and films! I have just a wee bit more to stitch on the back piece and of course add my signature blackbird... and then sew it all together and viola! I will have the drawing on the 2nd of February... that should give me, aka the slowest stitcher and finisher in the world, a chance to get the *finishing* all done!

Honour Christmas...

by Forget-Me-Nots in Stitches

2008 Just Cross Stitch Ornament Issue...

Stitched on 28ct Maple Sugar by Lakeside Linens

with Crescent Colours Belle Soie Silks

Red Fox and Collard Greens

Quote from A Christmas Carol

by Charles Dickens...

... and so saith Ebenezer Scrooge...

"I will live in the Past, Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach..."

"Scrooge was better than his word. He did it all, and infinitely more; and to Tiny Tim, who did not die, he was a second father. He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man as the good old City knew, or any other good old city, town or borough in the good old world. Some people laughed to see the alteration in him, but he let them laugh, and little heeded them, for he was wise enough to know that nothing ever happened on this globe, for good, at which some people did not have their fill of laughter in the outset; and knowing that such as these would be blind anyway, he thought it quite as well that they should wrinkle up their eyes in grins, as have the malady in less attractive forms. His own heart laughed, and that was quite enough for him."

Anyone wishing for a chance to win, please leave a comment and make sure if you don't have a blog that you leave me your email addy along with your comment... ;-)

Not a lot to chat about... the black dogs, aka the black frogs hae been upon me yet again, thus I have been hiding away of late... No, not the frogs of "rip-it, rip-it" fame, rather my version of Churchill's Black Dog... deemed Black Frogs by me... just because... Well, I suppose it is my humourous attempt to keep the black dog at bay and oftentimes it does work... Alas, that is yet another story and sadly enough, it is back to work tomorrow and my alarm will awaken me from pleasant slumbers in the oh, so dark and wee hours of the morning...

I have been doing a wee bit of other stitching, as well... alas, I shall save that for the next post, as the hour grows late...

My shadow, wee Mr Darcy...

I hope you all are well and cosy and stitching 'til your heart's content... Thank you ever so kindly, my dear friends for continuing to visit and leaving me such wonderfully kind and inspirational comments... they are ever sweet nectar to my soul!


Blessing and Love in Stitches...

Lizzy


I am thankful for precious moments... home, family and love eternal...

Comfort and Joy... And A January Blogoversary Give-away...

Happy New Year my dear friends! I hope you all had a wonderfully, jolly Christmas with your families and found many a lovely, stitchy treasure under your trees... Thank you ever so kindly my dear friends and family for the lovely Christmas cards, emails, warm wishes, the treasured gifties and thank you for your love and kindness most of all...

This was my first Christmas on my own so to speak and it was quite a change for me with many a blue cloud along the way...Thus needless to say, as I'm sure you've gathered by my long absence... I retreated back into the shadows for a wee spell... Nonetheless... it's a New Year with bright New Beginnings and Blessings... I had some wonderful Christmas/New Year tidings... My baby, wee Jamie is getting married and... I'm going to be a Granny! I am still smiling thru my tears at these glad tidings which herald a beautiful reminder for me... There are still blessings and miracles in the world and the sun's brilliant rays dispel the clouds when we least expect it...

I have a couple of stitchy finishes to share with you all, a few Christmas photos and a lovely surprise stitchy giftie from a dear friend! So, without further ado...

Joy by Lilybet Designs...

Stitched by Harmien

Thank you ever so kindly dear Harmien...

Harmien sent me a lovely ornament and My Dears, her stitching and finishing is exquisite! It now hangs in a place of honour as the very first ornament on my *Seasonal Year Round Stitchy Tree* and I will cherish it always, Harmien! {In these photos it's hanging on my main tree... poor wee darling was awfully lonesome hanging around by herself on my stitchy tree... so I thought she'd enjoy a wee bit of company for her photo shoot...}

The back of the lovely Christmas ornament

Harmien gave me...

I love all the stockings!

My Christmas Tree in the Living Room...

and wee Mr Darcy who isn't so wee anymore...

and Gandalf the Grey...

I started collecting new ornaments for my main tree last year as my tastes have changed through the years... and quite frankly I love Christmas ornaments and just can't resist all the lovely ones I have seen of late... and I thought it was time for a change... However, the cherished and treasured ornaments will always remain as I could never part with them... My eldest son, Elisha gave me my new tree this year as an early Christmas gift and I love it! My youngest son Jamie also gifted me with a tree... this one is a wee bit smaller and it's going to be my *Seasonal Year-Long Stitchy Ornament Tree*... As I mentioned earlier, Harmien's lovely ornament is the first one gracing it's beckoning green branches... Needless to say, I plan to be busy, busy, busy stitching ornaments for all seasons this year... I do have several already stitched up from the last few years and they are tucked away in a dresser drawer, quite upset at being stowed away in the darkness mind you and longing to come out into the light of day and shine in all their glory ... So, I plan to brave the unknown and start *finishing* the poor wee darlings... :-) My hopes are to eventually have enough Seasonal ornaments so that I can rotate the ornaments with the changing Seasons... Or, who knows I may just leave them all hanging year 'round! ;-) After all... the more the merrier!

Since this was Brandy and Nick's first Christmas together as husband and wife I stitched an ornament for them... and will continue to do so every year here-after... I had planned to stitch a set of Bride's Tree Ornaments for her in 2008... However... hmmm as the best laid plans of mice and women are oftentimes wont to go when it comes to my planning I am woefully behind... Hopefully, I will achieve that goal this year! Anyway... wonders never cease and I *finished* their ornament completely by hand all by my little ole' self... It was rather daunting and I procrastinated as usual as I was terrified of mucking it up... Nonetheless... here it is in all it's splendor and they both loved it! :-)

A Christmas Blessing

by Full Circle Designs...

2005 Just Cross Stitch Ornament Issue...

Stitched on Vintage Autumn Blush Cashel Linen

with GAST and WDW threads...

Brandy and Nick's

First Christmas Together...

This is the back of the ornament...

And yet another veiw...

I stitched a row of wee X's

all around the seams...

however they are not showing up

that well in the photos...

And I have another Snoopy Happy Dance to share with you all!!! I finished the Lizzie*Kate Wedding Sampler I was stitching for Brandy and Nick... {I still have a long way to go on the Lavender and Lace Wedding Sampler...} Anyway, I finished the stitching in plenty of time and had it framed and needless to say, she was over the moon with joy when she opened it on Christmas Day!!! It was the first thing I've had framed in years and years... {all my finishes since I started stitching again in 2002 are tucked away in a dresser drawer...}

And Two Shall Be As One...

by Lizzie*Kate

with a dash of LHN and CCC

for good measure...

Stitched on Vintage Mocha Cashel Linen

with GAST, CCN and WDW threads...

As you can see I modified the design a wee bit...

changing all the colours

and adding a few personal touches...

*** Edited to add... I forgot to mention the meaning behind the colour changes and personal touches... I wanted to use a green comparable to the green from Brandy's wedding and as for the other colours changes... I wanted to use colours that would go with most any decor and I chose colours I thought better suited to Brandy's tastes... As for the wee deer and fur tree... Nick loves deer hunting and he has his own forestry business... tree planting and land conservation et cetera... So, I thought the wee deer and fur tree would suit him perfectly! And they both love animals... they have three cats and a dog, thus the wee kitty... and Brandy loves flowers and her wedding theme was butterflies... They released live butterflies at the wedding... thus the wee butterfly...***

And here it is in all it's framed glory!!!

I just Love this frame!!!

Of course Mr Darcy

and Gandalf the Grey

had to give their nod of approval...

{photos are clickable}

And a close up of the frame

mat and *filler thingy*

which is the same as the frame...

Another close up...

Brandy was totally surprised and

over the moon with joy

when she opened
this gift on Christmas Day...

She didn't know anything about this Sampler...

My wee babes...

Elisha, Jamie and Brandy...

Nick and Brandy...

My future DIL Danielle and DS, wee Jamie...

Proud and happy parents to be... :-)

Cheers...

A toast to jolly old St Nicholas...

Happy Christmas Elisha...

Brandy and me...

And in keeping with the spirit of giving... it's my Two Year Blogoversary on the 16th of this month... My, but where has the time gone? Anyway... I degress... In keeping with the Spirit of Giving I'll be giving away something stitched and handmade by moi as a thank you to all my dear friends... You all bring such Comfort and Joy to my days and are ever an inspiration with your amazing talents and kind and generous hearts... Anyway... I'm posting a wee glimpse of what I'm stitching for the giveaway... There are hints in the photo... and many clues scattered throughout this post... No, I'm not going to make you guess what it is... however, you are welcome to try a guess now and then and wonder about it until the end of January when I have the drawing... ;-) So, if anyone would like something stitched and handmade by me, please leave a comment on this post mentioning that you'd like to be entered in the drawing and make sure I have access to your blog or your email addy... and I'll keep you updated on the stitchy giftie throughout the month with scattered clues hither and yon... ;-)

Once upon a time...

As for New Year's resolutions... I have but one this year and I borrowed it from a beloved friend, Ebenezer Scrooge...

"I will honour Christmas in my heart

and try to keep it all the year..."

~ Ebenezer Scrooge ~

~ A Christmas Carol ~

~ Charles Dickens ~

Thank you all ever so kindly for stopping by to visit... your thoughtfulness and words of encouragement are ever an inspiration... I wish you all a wonderfully, joyous and Blessed New Year... May happiness, peace, love, prosperity, good health and good cheer be your constant companions throughout the year... May your stitching chest forever flow with cherished treasures and May you find Comfort and Joy in many a blessed hour of stitching thyme... And may the threads of your life ever spin a tapestry of love and cherished memories...


Blessings and Love in Stitches...

Lizzy


I am thankful for precious moments... love eternal, glad tidings and blessings, children and grandchildren, furbabies and cherished Christmas memories...