Happy Spring

Greetings everyone: spring has finally sprung, as I sit here with my office window open, I can hear the gentle rain falling a train horn and birds singing, something I have missed this past winter.
We have been busy working on the house, I did get my spring cleaning done along with a garage sale with my dear friend Cheryl, we had a blast, it was two days long with lots of people shopping.
I met a lady who was shopping she was from a town two small towns away, she told us about trying to raise money for a new library,  in the small town of Kimball,  Mn. they are having a breakfast to raise some money one of many things they will be doing, they are having a silent auction, I am making twelve different colored beaded ornaments for the auction.
This is what I have done so  far last evening and today.

I have been stitching a little and want to get more done, this is from my Class project from Jeannette Douglas last month, not much progress. This is the Needleroll.

I hope to finish this whole set before May is over, good luck to me.

I bought flowers and hope to get them in pots by tomorrow evening, its raining now, looks like a little break for tomorrow, maybe then.
I wish you all a great spring and hope you are getting things done inside and out with your stitching.

Catherine

Missing In Action

Hello to my dear followers: I have been very busy, I have been to a weekend Retreat from Stitchville USA, Jeannette Douglas was the Teacher, she is an amazing Lady, so much fun and makes you giggle so much.
We worked on a scissor fob on Friday night the night the big hateful snowstorm hit us, I am so glad I arrived on Thursday many women come from around the U.S. to this retreat.
The class was a box and accessories to make to put in the box.

This is only the second class of this box and accessories, I feel so lucky to be able to attend this class.

I will be starting the stitching on the box top this evening, hopefully I will have the top finished this weekend.

I would show you all the gifts from Stitchville but they are numerous and will add some during my next post.

This above kit was gifted to me from Larue my Dear Friend, she is an amazing Lady and very sweet, I love being around her she is so warm and friendly.

This is from another amazing and wonderful Friend Sue, she makes a new music CD for some of us every year, some of my fav songs are on this.

I am doing the happy dance I finished the Little Snowy Blue Church, I did make some changes, I changed the big snowflakes to a shiny white, the blue snowflakes just did not do it for me, ( so sorry about the wrinkles )  I am going to frame this Saturday, I will post a photo.

I want to tell you it has been hard this past month, I get allergies from the mold under the snow, so went to retreat with a migraine and allergies, it was awful and the room I had the heat would not go above 62 degrees, I am a warm weather person so this was cold for me, plus I had to stay Sunday evening because the roads in our area were frozen with ice and snow on top, Mike did not want to chance getting into an accident, hence one more night with the cold and I found mold in the heater vent, the hotel was so sweet about it I got Sunday night for free.
There were several women that had to stay, it was fun having an extra evening with them.

To some of the people that comment on my Blog and do not have email addresses or a way to contact you, thank-you for leaving a comment it means a lot to this old lady.

Blessings
Catherine

 

Some Very Exciting News

The lovely Jo over at http://serendipitousstitching.blogspot.com has a Blogger Of The Week, you must stop by, click on the Blogger Of The Week Icon on the right side of her main page.
I have visited all the Bloggers Of The Week, I have to say this has put a big I want new stash in my pocket book,  I see so many designs I have never seen before and want to stitch, what a great way to view other Stitcher's work, I love learning what they are all about and see their work.
Jo has been gracious enough to ask me to be a Blogger Of The Week, I consider this an honor.
I have had my blog since March 28th 2009, I am almost ten years with Blogger, I feel very Blessed to have met so many beautiful and lovely people through my Blog, I have been able to meet with a few of them in person when they visit Minnesota.
One I have to tell you about her name is Mama Joan she can be found here http://stitchingsquad.blogspot.com please stop over and see what she is into, her work is immaculate and so perfect, she is a great finisher and framer.
I was at a Stitching Retreat and she was at another table, I still did not know who she was until the third day of the retreat, I was so excited to meet her, when I read her blog she made me smile she was watching her daughters cat and could not fine it, it was up on the fridge, I have been following her ever since.
I have to say that another stitcher that is way to busy is Chris, over at Tot Hill Farm Stitch's, sadly she is too busy to post on Blogger anymore, I miss seeing her lovely work.
I have been slowly working on my Little Snowy Church, not much work being done on it, I have been busy making neck warmers and beading ornaments for the Santa sale we will be having at Church the first Friday of December, I know I am way ahead of the game but want to make so many items I have given myself a budget of 50.00, I still have 25.00 to spend.

I love this little Church, I did change the color of the roof, I did not like the silver thread it called for, I plan on adding white beads on the roof like snow flakes are dropping.

So as I am typing this post I ask Mike for help on rotating a picture, I go out to the kitchen and see my dog chewing on the roll of Kreinik thread  that is the color of the roof so now I have to order a new roll and wait to finish this, it has given me a headache a few times but I will get through it.

We have had a bit of snow, I am so sick of winter, I leave you with this photo.

Thank-you all for stopping by and to all for leaving comments.

Blessings
Catherine
 

He Is Risen

A Blessed Easter to all during this,  the  Most Holy Day.
Our Lord Is Risen!

Michael & Catherine

Some Stitching And A Construction Finish

Happy Spring my dear friends, it chilly today but not cold, as the ground warms the air seems warmer even when it is a balmy 36 degrees, the snow is almost gone but who knows what will come in the form of moisture, I am hoping for rain not snow.

I have been busy playing suzie homemaker I cleaned the fridge/freezer yesterday, surprising I only had to get rid of two items, I use baking soda in my fridge and freezer and change them every three-four months, you never know what smells that will appear in there.

I have also done very little stitching but have a construction to show you, this is a class project from Betsy Morgan Willing hands class from 2015, Paper Pieceing Bristol Bag, I love this even in all its redness on white, I usually do not do monochromatic projects.

I did get some stitching done on my Little Snowy Blue Church, I am still waiting for the Krienik thread to get to my home.

My next construction project is a Blackbird Designs Class Project, I hope to have this barrel finished tomorrow evening. I took this class last year in Chaska Minnesota, Stitchville USA has a Spring Fling every year.

I was reading on some  designers sites they like to back their pieces with lite weight fusing, it sure does help keep the wrinkles away, I would have done the same for the top of this barrel but that would have made my needle and pins dull so only the lower barrel is fused.

This evening Mike leaves at midnight for Adoration until 01:00 a.m. I then go from 02:00 a.m. until 03:00, unless the person replacing me does not show up which has happened before, I will be tired but do not have to work at the food shelf tomorrow, we will be delivering meals on wheels on Monday.
We will be serving dinner here on Easter Sunday, we are expecting a small group, we used to take everyone out for buffet but since so many have left this world we feel it is just as good for me to cook dinner which I am looking forward to.

Happy Easter to all who celebrate and Happy Passover to all who celebrate.

Catherine




 

Finally Finished

I worked on the last two pieces of the Kindred Spirits class project.
I stitched the Scissor Case yesterday, I hate rouching, hate it with the kind of ribbon that was in the kit, I did get it done not exactly my best work but it looks okay.
I finished the back of the ruler case and stitched the back to the front, I have ordered the ruler and two thread keepers from Ellen Chester of With My Needle, I hope they come soon.
So sorry the photos are not very good it is evening here, the brightest light I could find was in the laundry room.

I want to tell you about two Blog sites I purchase from, they both have new designs out.

Scattered Seed Samplers has a new Bunny design out which I am in love with, I will be ordering it.
http://scatteredseedsamplers.blogspot.com

SubRosa has three really cute Chicken designs that are oh so cute, please check them out.

And Sub Rosa Blog site
http://e-subrosa.blogspot.com

I am gearing up for Easter, we decided to have dinner here at the old homestead, we are not having ham, we are having turkey, dressing, potatoes, green beans (not green bean salad) ewwww pie and I bought a cake mix triple chocolate with milk chocolate frosting I am going to make a round cake and have frosting in the middle, I have given up candy, Pepsi, baked sweets and granolas, now you may laugh at the granolas but everyday when I have my homemade latte, I have a Nature Valley Granola bar with it in the mid morning, boy oh boy I miss that treat.
It is now time to work on my Little Blue Church, I am almost ready to add the beads, then I am not sure what I will work on.

Happy Easter To All Who Celebrate The Holy Season
Happy Passover To All Who Celebrate Passover

Catherine
 

I Hate Rouching So Much

Thank-you to all that left comments on my last post, you all are wonderful.
I did finish the construction on the needleroll, it is not my best finish, I tried very hard to do a great job but the rouching got to me, I hate the fact the needle and thread and ribbon faught me all the way to the end.
I did not follow the direction on how to put the needleroll together, I did my own thing, the directions were not the best for finishing, it was kind of a mess to follow.
I know I should have sent all the pieces to a finisher but I did not want to spend the money, that is less money for patterns and threads and fabric.
I only have the ruler and scissor case to finish now, I hope to have them finished this evening or tomorrow, it depends on what the day throws at me, I get the curves thrown at me when I am on a mission.

I will need to press this front again, so sorry for the wrinkles.

It is snowing again but nothing like the east coast, I am so sorry about the tornados and winter storm Toby, I am hoping this cold weather stops soon and spring can really take hold.
We went shopping on Monday, we spotted three Great Blue Herons, they are here early, it seems they usually come back in April, maybe this is a sign that warmer weather is almost here, I hope so.
Well its time for coffee and some stitching.

Thank-you for your comments and for viewing my posts
Blessings
Catherine

I Have Been Busy

Happy Easter to all who celebrate this Holy Season: Spring begins on the 20th if and I mean if it does not snow, I feel if it snows it just is not spring yet.
So I shall show you what I have been up too, I have been stitching on my Little Snowy Church a bit and working on constructing my Kindred Spirits Class Project from 2015, I have made some progress until I noticed I made a big mistake and had to frog the needleroll, ouch is what I said.

This is what it looks like now finally, so sorry about the wrinkles, tomorrow I will work on constructing the needleroll.

 

I did finish the Pipkin, not my best finish but I am happy, on the ends I did ribbons, because I do not do ribbon flowers good enough. Not sure why there is a shadow on the front of the Pipkin, I did take a photo at night.

 

 

I did the Pincube also, I added a little weight inside the cube to make it have a little weight.

 

 

I also did get the bands inside the Shaker Box finished.

 

I have the Ruler and Scissor Case to construct and then I will be done, yahoo.

I did get some stitching on Little Snowy Church, I am loving this piece so much, I may do the other Church soon.

I wish you all a great week, keep those needles pushing.
Please do not forget to stop over to http://victorianmottosamplershoppe.blogspot.com to enter Nancy's giveaway, I have used her threads they are wonderful, she gives you a whole lot more then DMC or any specialty threads, her giveaways are fantastic.

Blessings
Catherine

 

 

 

Nancy Is Having Another Givaway Of Her New Threads

Hello My Dear Friends

Pop on over to  http://victorianmottosamplershoppe.blogspot.com

Nancy is having another wonderful giveaway of her fantastic new line, I have some of her threads, she is very generous with the amount of thread in each skein, the colors are lovely.

Please take a look at her other things she has for sale.

I have bought from her you can find the Sewing Necessaire in browns,  I bought from her back in my post in 2016, I love it, I have used some of the buttons and threads from it.

                                                      

                                                             Pop on over and enter

I will be posting what I am working on tomorrow, I have a mess going which is bothering me.
Did I peek you attention? it really was going good but a snag hit me twice and it was a doozy.

Blessings
Catherine

I Picked Up My Framed Pieces From Joanns Today

Hello my Dear Friends: I hope you are well today.
First Michael and I went grocery shopping at Super Target, I tried to buy a new top and dress but just could not find what I wanted.
We had lunch at Perkins which I wish we had not, I am ill, it is not pretty.
Mike said as long as we are 30 miles closer to Joanns lets pick up your framed piece, okay another 25 miles and bang I was a happy girl.
We have a Joanns  only 23 miles from home but they do not do framing.

The first one is a With Thy Needle And Thread  Design Cutting Paper Snowflakes, I love this design.

I also picked up With Thy Needle And thread Birds Of A Feather, I am so in love with the mat and frame.

So sorry the photos are not the best I tried many locations and could not get the right position for a good picture.

Blessings
Catherine
 

Thank-you From My Heart To Yours

I have been having a bad week, its not been an easy time here in the Laurent house hold, many things have happened good and bad.
I was feeling sad very sad today, I am being reminded of how ill my Mother was this time last year, I am getting better at handling things its just a slow process.
First Mike brought in the mail, I had received a card from an amazing Lady from the South.
I opened the envelope and to my surprise I see the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul Minnesota, it is a beautiful building with a beautiful history.
My dear Friend Frances,

too my surprise I was amazed to read and find a beautiful card of Saint Padre Pio of Pietrelcina my favorite Male Saint, we have numerous books on Saint Padre Pio, you cannot imagine my surprise, I did cry it is a beautiful gesture from a beautiful Lady.
Frances had this card touched too Saint Padre Pio's Glove, this makes a third class Relic, I am so touched by her generosity I had to cry.
To the people that are not Catholic, this is an amazing beautiful and heartfelt thing to do for someone.
Thank-you Frances you are one amazing and beautiful Lady.

Yesterday I read my emails and found a E-Card from RJ this card came at a time when I needed it, this E-card means so much to me, RJ has a way of making you feel special, she is also an amazing Lady.
I sent RJ a thank-you she responded with a return reply, I am truly Blessed to have so many wonderful and beautiful people in my life.
As a Blogger I feel Blessed to call you all my friends, we do live far from each other but miles do not matter in friendship.
Thank-you to you all for being in my life.

Well I did get some stitching done this week, I was at Minnesota needlework Guild Retreat last weekend, I had a ball, the table I sat at was perfect, of course all the ladies that were there are very special.
I am still trying to catch up with my commenting on your blogs and sending out thank-you's for your comments on my last post.
Well here is my progress on Little Snowy Church by Nora Corbet I can really see the Church coming together now, I am not a big fan of Kreinik threads but have somewhat mastered them a little.

I did have two designs framed up at Joann's two weeks ago, I will post photo's tomorrow.
Well its getting close to dinner, I am on my own this evening, Mike is at a Serra Club meeting and will have dinner there.
Thank-you for stopping by and reading and commenting.

Blessings
Catherine
 

No Stitching Update But Some Constructions

Hello Everyone: I hope your day is going well, mine is, I was able to get Picasa to upload my photos finally.
I Spent most of Sunday afternoon in my sewing room, I wanted to get some of my stitched items constructed, I am thrilled with  what I was able to get done, while watching Matt Damon in the Bourne series I got to work.

First is a thread keeper pin cushion, I stained the wood a very light color, I was not sure I would like it until I inserted the stitched design into the wood square.
Now the best part is that this was an exchange from June over at http://butterfly-butterflywings.blogspot.com we were involved in an exchange, this is what she sent me,

So all this time I did not know what to do with it, this is perfect for this beautiful design.

I copied this idea from a Blackbird Design Exchange I did with Joanie, not sure if she still has a Blog or not.

I am keeping my threads and beads on this for the design I am working on now the Little Church.

Next I finished a pillow from Scattered Seed Samplershttp://scatteredseedsamplers.blogspot.comI love Tammy's designs.

I also constructed another Scattered Seed Samplers design I stitched, this is one I made a big mistake on and had to wing it in the construction, I used my own fabric, not because I did not like what Tammy chose but because of my own mistake.

It is hanging kind of wonky and wrinkled so sorry, I really like this design and how it is being used.

I have had this box for so long and did not know what I wanted to do with it, now it is a pin cushion and ort box, I took the glass out so the bird design would really pop up. This is a With Thy Needle and Thread design.

 

I plan on making other designs that I was gifted in an exchange, the other one I want to get constructed is the Pansy's from Gracie over at  http://needlespinsanddragonflies.blogspot.com

 

I am going to get lots of construction done only because I am tired of all the beautiful designs just laying in my to do drawer which is full.

 

I am going o a stitching retreat with the Minnesota Needlework Guild this coming Thursday, I am really looking forward to it.

I hope it does not snow rain or any other bad weather, I am so ready for spring, even my friends who hate the heat are begging for this winter to be over.

 

Time to get a dr9ink of water and head down to my sewing room.

 

 

Blessings

Catherine

 

 

A New Start And A Finished Stitch

Greetings to all: I am so sorry if I have not emailed you thank-you's for your comments on my last post, I am telling you the truth I have been busy with some stitching and beading and sewing,
plus I started my spring cleaning ewww.
First some news on the weather front, we have not had much snow but now Mother Nature feels its time, we have 5 new inch's on the ground from the last day and a half, with 3-6 inch's coming this weekend.
I am suffering, really suffering, I gave up chocolate baked bakery goods, Granola bars and my favorite Pepsi, it has not been easy, some of my friends who do not go to Church ask why I give them a lesson on how I need to do this.
Anyhoo, I did have a finished stitch.

I Started a new design, I bought this about seven years ago, while cleaning up and getting rid of crap in my sewing room I found this, I am loving this design, it is a Nora Corbett Design, it is working up faster then I expected, just five hours with breaks in between stitching and this is my progress.
It is called: Little Snowy Church, not sure where I will be hanging this, maybe in my sewing room and bringing it out in the winter.

This is from Scattered Seed Samplers, it is the "Midsummer's Day" Tailors Roll & Needlekeep Necklace, I love this and hope to get it constructed this weekend.

I did make another bracelet, just messed around with a few beads, it is a lot prettier in person.
It is so light weight it almost feels like there is nothing on my wrist.

My Sister in Law is coming over for lunch and beading on Tuesday, I love getting together with her, she is a boat load of fun.

I am going to a Minnesota Needlework Guild event next weekend, it is the Race To The Finish event, it is supposed to be a time to get all your UFO's finished, but I really do not have any, I always finish a design before starting another, I think I will take lots of silk  pins and pin together some of the designs I have waiting to be constructed, then when I get home maybe I will have the incentive to
construct them when I get home on Sunday.
I hope you all are having great weather, we are for now but the clouds are moving in slowly.
Please I beg you to Pray for all who are ill, please ask God to heal them.

Blessings
Catherine