An angel that got her wings....

Helen Hedinger

March 17, 1917 ~ July 10, 2009

She had her halo for 92 years on this earth waiting for her wings to fly on to heaven, she was given them on Friday. Keith's Grandma Hedinger, a lovely woman I was graced to meet. I know she's in glory.....

May her soul and all the souls of the faithfully departed, by the mercy of Christ, rest in peace.

For Your Framing Pleasure....

I've created a tutorial on "my" framing process - now this is my way, doesn't mean it is the "only" way to do it. But anyway for those of you that are interested in learning the process that I've figured out for myself - click HERE I wish you many enjoyable hours framing your heirlooms!

The Postman came bearing gifts...

Happy Tuesday!
I have a lot of wonderful friends to thank today, so I'm going to get right to it. Yesterday, I worked, but last evening I came home to a passel of good stuff! The postman must of had a pack as big as Santa's because here's the haul....

From Cathy B I received a gorgeous hardanger fob....isn't it simply beautiful? Here it is modeled on my Sarah Gingher's and I believe it shall stay on my Sarah's...utterly gorgeous! Thank you Cathy!

Then I came to a package from Harmien...and it is just wonderful as well! Here's Blackbird Designs "Pins and Needles" stitched by Harmien, it is so lovely... and as always she paid attention to detail and stained her lace with coffee, I believe. It's prim, it's a Blackbird Designs, it's wonderful...what's not to love?! Thank you Harmien!!!

Harmien also sent a little present for our newest member, Master Lil' Red - she sent him some kitten mittens to play with....and let me tell you HE LOVES THEM! :o) Thank you Harmien!!

Next my friend AmySC sent me a lovely Prairie Moon Patriotic Box for this Yankee Doodle of the First Order ;o)

And on the inside was a perfectly stitched and assembled Pincushion filled with walnut shells! I've always lusted after these little deals, and now I have one for myself! Here is is modeling some needles...Amy also sent me two packages of John James Needles...never tried them am excited to give 'em a whirl! But isn't this precious?! And it fits so well in my home too! Thank you Amy!

Next my friend Terry P sent me a bit 'O Good Luck - who doesn't need that?! - in the form of the "Good Luck Biscornu" and here it is:

On the back she included our initials and like I told her this morning...BFF's FOREVER! Thank you Terry!!

Lastly (as this isn't enough....)Sweet Julianne sent me a gift certificate for stash! (how can you go wrong with that, huh?!) And here's what I picked out:

I got a large cut of Picture This Plus "Earthen" lugana and 4 charts from The City Stitcher....I've recently become a huge admirer of Samplers, particularly primitive samplers...and The City Stitcher fits the bill with these lovelies...check out the "BEE SAMPLER" I'm thinking that will look pretty doggone nice framed and hung near "The Bee Man", huh? Thank you Julianne!

And lastly dear Annemarie sent a gift certificate to me too and I'm awaiting the arrival of Carriage House Samplings newest "Fredricka" to use it all up :o) Thank you Annemarie!

Whew! What a haul, yes?! I am most thankful for the gifts, but the biggest blessing of all is just the friendship of these ladies....I appreciate it so much that they take time out of their busy schedules and lives just to do something special for me on my birthday...humbling!

And until next time....

I got a frame for my Blessings and Kind Wishes...and am working on framing it and making a Framing Tutorial...so keep an eye here, if you're interest in learning how Vonna frames her needlework! I've had a lot of e-mails about it and I thought I'd just write it all down once for all to see, if they are interested, of course!

Blessings and Kind Wishes....

Good Morning Friends :o)
First off, I'd like to thank each and every one of you who sent me notes and cards full of blessings and kind wishes for my birthday yesterday. Thank you! And while you were sending me some blessings and kind wishes, I was finishing the stitching on some Blessings and Kind Wishes of my own yesterday too! May I present:

"Blessings and Kind Wishes" ~ Loose Feathers #31

Designed by: Blackbird Designs

Stitched on: 30 ct. Olde Town Blend R & R Reproductions

Fibers: Gentle Arts, Weeks Dye Works and Crescent Colours as recommended

Started: January 10, 2009

Finished: July 5, 2009

~to be framed~

I originally was going to stitch and give this to my Mom and although I know she would like this because I stitched it. It really doesn't fit in her house decor, so I'm going to frame it and hang it on my "someday sampler wall". And...I'm going to stitch her something else.... Speaking of framing...I went to Michael's last week since my local store was having a "Frame Event" and I picked out a really wonderful custom frame for "Their Song" and a really nice complimentary frame for "Earth Sampler"...hopefully those will be in this week so I can frame them. I think after I get them framed I'm going to start knocking some holes in my walls to start my Sampler wall...I believe I have enough to start hanging...and golly gee...if I suddenly have more samplers to hang and I have to re-do the hanging layout, I've got some caulk and some paint to fill in the holes and re-paint the wall (shhh! don't tell my husband!) :o)

Well I guess that does it for me....

since I've been working I don't have much to write about! LOL! I guess working keeps a girl outta trouble! :o) However I'd like to say, for my birthday my dear sweet husband and family took me out for lunch at the Olive Garden where we spent a delicious time pigging out on the unlimited Soup, Salad and Breadsticks (well the adults did - the kiddos had spaghetti, pizza, fettucine and chicken strips) :o) I love their salad and their breadsticks...heaven.... :o) And the gift from my family for my birthday was some lovely black side tables I've been wanting for some time. As my kids get older and less "hard" on furniture - we're trying to get some new stuff to replace the old crappy stuff. So my old crappy side tables are gone and my new ones look spectacular! :o) YAY!

So until next time....

Love and Best Wishes, as you count your blessings and your stitches, from our house to yours! XXxxxx

Some gifts are big, others are small.

Gifts from the heart

are the best gifts of all.

~author unknown~

Their Song...

Good Day Friends! Last Friday, I found myself in a junction, I had finished stitching my Patriotic Exchange, and I needed something new to start. So I dug into my basket and pulled out - Blackbird Designs "Their Song". Last time I stitched on this, was the same day I started it and that was January 3, 2008 and here was my progress on that one day of stitching:


Three days later..... here is where it is now:

FINISHED!

Blackbird Designs ~ "Their Song" ~ Loose Feathers #24

Fabric: 28 ct. Apple Brown Bindy Linen R and R Reproductions

Fibers: Weeks Dye Works as called for

Started: 1/3/08

Finished: 6/29/09

~~to be framed~~

O Happy day! Another sampler for my "someday" Sampler Wall....now on to the next stitching project....hmmmm....what shall that be? Guess you'll have to wait to see ;o)

Thank you for all the lovely comments on my Patriotic Stitching Basket, I appreciate the positive feedback so much. And to answer the question on the star thread holders - this is so embarassing simple I'm ashamed to tell you .....I got them at Michael's, they were already cut out, they were already painted, they cost 79 cents per star and all did was drill a hole in there for the floss tag ring. Simple! See no magic! :o)

That's it for me today...so until next time....Love and Best Wishes, as you count your blessings and your stitches, from our house to yours! XXxxxx

Give generously, for your gifts

will return to you later.

~Ecclesiastes 11:1~

A Patriotic Basket...

Hello Friends! We had a very nice weekend and I was able to participate in A LOT of stitching...so much in fact that I was debilitated with "numb butt syndrome"! :) I should have a stitchy finish in short order to show you! :) It is an oldie, but a goodie!

In stitching business....

I was invited to participate in a Personal Patriotic Exchange. Being that I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy of the First Order (YDDFO), I took the bait and was landed on the shore in record time. I knew what I was going to stitch right off the bat. It was something that I've had on my mind to do for myself since this pattern came out. But thanks to this exchange Nancy K. got to be my victim. Here's what I stitched for her:

Patriotic Stitcher's Basket

including.....

a floss tag; ring complete with stars as the floss holders
and....


a needlebook
along with.....


a ruler and scissors pocket

All of these items were stitched using... Little House Needleworks (Diane Williams) "Hearts of America" motifs. I've wanted to make a basket of smalls using this pattern from the very first time I saw it, so now I had the chance and could see even the rest of the motifs used in a pincushion, a ruler pocket (so the ruler could have its own home) and a scissors fob. But maybe that will be another project for yours truly, we'll see. I'm sure you noticed that inside the basket, I had a Patriotic "stitch" all "kitted up" for Nancy - I'm into "themed gifts" can you tell? Anyway....how could I pass up LHN's Liberty and Justice Pattern? That's the perfect fit into the Patriotic Stitcher's Basket, no? So it's in there along with a cut of fabric and the thread (on the stars) so all Nancy has to do now is carry her basket with her on July 4th and she's set to go with needle, thread, scissors, fabric, pattern and a ruler to measure her margins! Presto! Shebang! Happy 4th Nancy, I hope you like the exchange I stitched for you!

Well now friends....that's all I have for you today....I'm going to go catch up on everyone's blogs, and then myself, my stitching and my four kiddos are going outside to work on our tans, which is a joke in and of itself being we are the fairest skinned people this side of the Mississippi and rather than getting that golden all over, take us out of the oven we are done, healthy look to us we burn and peel. :o( The humidity here in good 'ol Indiana has been cut in half and the temperature has dropped down to the 80's outside. It's like heaven!

And until next time....love and best wishes, as you count your blessings and your stitches, from our house to yours! XXxxxx

Happiness is something that comes

into our lives through doors we

don't even remember leaving open.

~~Rose Wilder Lane~~

My dear friend....

My birthday is coming up..... quicker than I want it to, in fact :o( And on Wednesday of this week, my buddy the Postman delivered this long skinny box from my friend Marie P. I was shocked, dumbfounded and amazed at what sweet Marie did for me, I'll let the photos do the talking:

A sweet Annalee elf holding a pinkeep announcing my birthday!

After my birthday is over I can just flip the pinkeep and Celebrate my Freedom as an American

Marie knows my scissors fetish and my Prairie Schooler lust so she gifted me with Premax scissors and a Prairie Schooler Strawberry to match :)


Marie found out about my obsession with red handled 1950's kitchen utensils

What does a girl say about this thoughtful, wonderfully beautiful, stunningly kind birthday gift? All I can say is, I have been blessed many times over in my life and one of the biggest blessings I have and count myself so lucky is that I have many people that I can call my friend and Marie is one of them. Marie, my dear, I know we've spoken of this many times.....but how I wish we lived across the street from each other, we would tear it up! Thank you for your kindness, your generosity and your friendship! Love ya!

And in closing, I shall leave you with a wee picture of two other best friends :0)

BFF's~ Lil' Red and Chatty

And until next time my dear readers, friends and fellow stitchers ~ Love and best wishes, as you count your blessings and your stitches, from our house to yours! XXxxxx

Were there no God we would be

in this glorious world with grateful hearts and no one to thank.

~~Christina Rossetti~~

Whoops We Did It Again....

*The Meeting*

*The Napping*


*A Protector?*

*Our New Baby ~ Lil' Red*

It's official, I'm a crazy cat lady....after some BIG family discussions, convincing of the husband, signing of legal documentation stating that I would not ask for any more cats after this adoption (just kidding, but I did agree verbally) ....we adopted this 2 month old sweetie-babe. And what a bargain too! Little did I know but June is 1/2 price cat adoption month at our humane society! Wow! How. About. That. $37.50 later....he's got his homemade kitten house, his own guardian angel and at least 5 admirers....I'm sure Daddy will come around someday soon!

How could I resist? The kids and I were S-U-N-K as soon as we saw the little darling - oh there were plenty to choose from, but this sweetie...He's spunky, that's all I have to say about that right now. We'll see how it all pans out as the week progresses! Sorry about the double post....I just had to share our excitement! And show off our baby :o)

Thank yous all around!

Hello my dear friends! I have a wonderful exchange to share with you today! I was asked to join a Patriotic Exchange through a personal exchange group and my partner was Becky K. She picked lovely designs from Anita's Little Stitches aren't these beautiful?!:

TOP: front of biscornu

BOTTOM: back of biscornu

Designer: Anita's Little Stitches

Patriotic Exchange from Becky K.

Goodies ~ Becky also sent me a mount rushmore bookmark...but that was confiscated by a little reader with black cat-eye glasses that lives in my home....hmmmm....so it is not pictured....

I love Patriotic Themes and have a lot of Americana in my home...these little lovelies will find a rightful place of honor here one shall go in my biscornu basket and the other shall live on my Freedom Scissors on my Scissors wall board. :) Thank you Becky! You did an awesome job...the work, stitching and finishing is apparent in this lovely ensemble! THANK YOU!

Next Up: Father's Day Celebration....we celebrated Father's Day on Saturday. I worked this weekend and Saturday proved to be a light day so I was home earlier than normal, Ian had baseball tournament games on Sunday so Saturday was the day for us to celebrate our wonderful Daddy! I made Keith's favorite meal which is Minute Steak in Ketchup Gravy, made it once when we were dating, not long after we were engaged ;) It's *that* good! Anyway....I think my Mama (who made the recipe calls it Swiss Steak)....I don't know...all I know is

A.) I think it Rocks

B.) apparently my family does too

I always make it with mashed potatoes so we can use the gravy on the taters complimented with either corn (my personal favorite) or green beans (another personal favorite). Heck next time I may get all jiggy with it and make it with both corn and green beans! I digress......anyway here's pictures to prove the love:

Ian is saying come on already..."let's eat" because this is about the 15th picture I took...

Here Keith is yawning, Katie's trying to be happy because I'm getting mad, Jake's staring out the window, Ellie won't look at me and I cut off Ian's entire body....

So....you'll just have to take my word for it....we love each other, we're happy our Daddy loves us and takes good care of us, we are thankful for Daddy and we also had a cake. Which is another whole story...I told Keith to get a dessert from the store because I wouldn't have time to make one. He brought home a Pink Cake with Hot Pink piping and Blue/Purple flowers. I took one look at it and said, "Happy Father's Day!"....LOL! Good grief!

On ending....how about that recipe for Swiss Steak? Might as well share the goodness....I know my American Readers will be able to make it, I don't know about my foreign readers due to the ingredients...but here goes:

Monica's Swiss Steak:

1. Package of Cubed Steak (I always get 8 - 10)

2. Make a dredging flour for the steak by using 1 cup of flour with salt and pepper to taste (I use probably around a Tablespoon of each); mix up well

3. Dredge both sides of the steak in the flour; tap off excess

4. Once all steaks are dredged then start pan frying the steaks in a skillet with 1 inch of oil; fry until done, place on a plate with paper towels to drain.

5. Once all the steaks are fried, pour off excess frying oil, but leave the bits of steak/coating in the pan, I just drain the oil and then use a paper towel to pat off the excess that won't pour off. Set aside.

6. In a large mixing cup (or bowl) put 1 cup of ketchup, 2 envelopes of Lipton's French Onion Soup mix and 2 cups of water...mix well. Put the steaks in the skillet, put the skillet on medium heat, pour the mixture above over the steaks, let simmer on the stove until the gravy thickens.

PRESTO!

A lovely down home, Paula Deen type meal, y' all! Use the gravy for mashed potatoes and/or some dinner roll/biscuit dipping! YUM-O :o)

Until next time....love and best wishes (and dishes!), while your counting all those blessings and stitches, from our house to yours! XXxxxx

My daughter

Katie has created a blog entitled The View From My Window she wants to have a sort of "online" journal of her life and the view outside her window. So after weeks of hounding, pleading, begging.....we set it up today and she's just posted her first blog. So if you all would like to take a look at her blog and follow her life adventures, she'd appreciate it. She got the followers list in the side bar and of course she's chomping at the bit for some comments! :o) No stitching will go on, but she's pretty funny...so the entertainment factor would definitely be worth it!

THANK YOU my friends for helping me welcome her!