Don't let the difficulties of the present moments overshadow the reality of God's promises. God's promises still stand. And God's promises are stronger than our failures.

Saturday, January 31, 2015

Red Skies, Wool Stitcheries, Recipe Questions!

I couldn't resist showing you a couple of pictures of this morning's sunrise....God makes the most amazing colors!




Some mornings I just sit, holding my breath, watching as it unfolds.  Sigh.

I finished a couple of wool pieces this week in between bouts of preparing for the We Support You bloghop.  My day is February 9th and I'm all finished though my pictures haven't been taken yet.

Since we haven't gotten any snow yet this winter I just made my own snowman.


This is the first time I've added piping to a pillow and I found it was easy to do....just that I didn't do it correctly.  :)  However, I learned and will be changing my corners and ending the next time.

And because the colors were perfect for my house I stitched up these quick stars.



I liked the contrast of the textures in these outdoor pictures but it's probably going to reside right here on my sewing chair!

And now for my recipe question.  Next weekend, both Saturday and Sunday mornings, I'm going to be feeding breakfast to about 8 big men - 8 football coaches who are hearty eaters.  I need any tried and true breakfast casserole recipes and tips for preparing large breakfasts!  I've done this the last couple of years but for the life of me I can't find the recipes I used before.  I can look on Pinterest or Recipe.com but I want something you've actually made so I'll know it's good.  After all, who can I trust more than my blog friends?  :)


And on a final note this beautiful Saturday - don't forget the We Support You blog hop next week.  These will be the blogs you'll want to visit!


Feb 2nd 







Feb 3rd 








Feb  4th 







Feb 5th  







Feb 6th  





Tuesday, January 20, 2015

It's Morning On The Lake


This was the view this morning out my bedroom window.  Seeing this as I sit and do some Bible study is such a joy.  Only God could create such beautiful colors.

I spent 5 days last week helping my daughter and son-in-law clean out his parents house.  Both of them have passed away in the last year; they left behind a huge house - huge - filled with lots of interesting things.  They both had hobbies that took a lot of space.  His father loved model trains and had a big room filled with tracks and trains.  His mother was a crafter and did pretty much everything.  She loved ceramics and had 4 kilns.  She had tons of molds and both finished and unfinished pieces.  She collected dolls and made dolls.  She did needlepoint and counted cross stitch and knitted.  I didn't know her but I think she must also have enjoyed yard sales and auctions.  We found this Japanes made toy sewing machine (WWII era) with a price tag of $8 on it.  It's pretty dirty but the hand crank still moves.


I cleaned it up a bit today ( this is a before picture) and did a little research on it.  I didn't find much but I'm going to take it to the shop later this week to have a belt put on and see if I can figure out how to thread it and what kind of needle to use.

We also found a few interesting magazines - at least interesting to stitchers.


I couldn't find much information on this magazine either.  It's called The Designer and is dated January 1900.  It shows patterns inside and has other articles of interest to ladies - horticulture for instance.  We also found a Butterick pattern book from 1925.

I've gained some new to me counted cross stitch books along with some more embroidery thread.  Since I found a going-out-of-business sale last year I now have about 3/4 of all the DMC threads and multiples of many.

One of the things I learned from helping out with the closing of this home is that I need to do some more serious downsizing!  I don't want my children to be left wondering what might be worthy of keeping and what can be given away.  My advice to you and to me as well is label, label, label.  If it belonged to great-grandma Mary - put a label on it.  We know to do that with quilts but do it with everything else - dishes, jewelry, photos.  Your children will bless you for it!

Sunday, January 11, 2015

Tammy 4 All Seasons - Summer and Winter Here!


Back when I was in my early thirties I used to do counted cross stitch all the time.  That was thirty years ago - but it came back to me quickly when I started working on Winter, a vintage pattern by Brooke Nolan of BrooksBooksPublishing.  I gathered up my fabric, my q snap frame, my Readers, my Beam N Read light, my DMC thread, my needle and my thimble and got to work.  Seriously, I don't remember it taking all that stuff when I was younger but with age and time....I couldn't sew any more without my Readers or my Beam N Read or my q snap frame.  I've always used a needle and thread and thimble but the other stuff - lifesavers, truly.  So, many thanks to our sponsors who manufacture some amazing products.

When I first saw this pattern I knew right away I wanted to make an evening purse.  Somehow the richness of the pattern shouted "let's dress up!"  I used an Aida cloth that has a shot of gold threads through it and it was perfect for what I wanted.


I added some rhinestones - one on the shawl collar and one in the center of some of the snowflakes.


I had a long string of pearls, not real of course, that were my mothers.  The clasp was broken so they were the perfect thing to use as a shoulder strap.


I love the way it looks here next to some family pictures and my mother's clock (complete with a ribbon she won for one of her quilts hanging from the side)....and with the pearls I wore to my 50th anniversary reception.


But can't you just picture it with my black shawl.....a real treasure that came from China Town in New York City several years ago.  So fun!

We were also lucky enough to get a pattern from Cori Blunt of Chitter Chatter Designs.  I chose Summer....but I confess I bought all of her patterns and all of Brooke's.  I just loved them so much I couldn't choose!

Cori's pinny is designed to go with a Tammy Bag sewing bag.  Of course that wouldn't work with my Winter so....I just sat down and did another cross stitch.  This time I chose Summer.  I confess my poor fingers aren't used to so much hand stitching so they're a bit sore but I can hardly wait to do the rest of these adorable designs.  And since I bought the pinny patterns I can make a pinny to go with all of them - win, win!

I had a little piece of of a teal wool that I thought would be perfect for the little bird.



The ruffle is a bright teal print that blends perfectly.  I chose to put a little pocket on the back made out of batting...that way I could tuck my thimble in it and/or it will hold a needle or two.  And I copied an idea from one of our bloggers on Friday and put a tab so that it will hang over the clasp.



And how about this adorable Summer!  The touch of gingham on the bag, the swim cap, the starfish...I just love it!


I changed the colors a little...went from red to a rosy pink and from blue to teal to go with the fabric I had chosen.


This was such a fun project and I can't say a big enough thank you to Mary of I Piece 2-Mary for keeping us so organized, or to Madame Samm of Sew We Quilt for doing all the work that it takes to get sponsors and to dream up the ideas that we all love so much.  And to our sponsors...
BEAM N READ ( led light)
Brooke's Books ( seasonal vintage counted cross stitch designs)
Chitter Chatter ( applique and embroidered pinnies)
DMC ( heads and aida cloth)
H.A.KIDD ( monaco fabric)
MsAppleHeart ( Tammy Bag Pattern)
READERS ( best readers on the market for those who need to see their patterns
up close and personal) 
SNAP SOURCE  ( great gadget for adding snaps to our bags)
Yarn TREE  ( q-snaps)

Without these people many of us would be struggling along with less than ideal conditions for doing the stitching we love so much.

Thank you so very much for stopping by and following along with this hop - your comments are so cherished.  Please be sure you visit the other bloggers today, and in the rest of the hop.

January 12, 2015

Stitchin By the Lake (you are here)

January 13, 2015

Cheryl Wilkinson will post to Ipiece2-Mary

January 14, 2015


January 15, 2015


Julia Plunkett will post on Sewwequilt
It Seams To Be Sew

January 19, 2015

January 20, 2015