APRIL--A NEW MONTH FOR NEW ADVENTURES

 

April to me when I lived up north always meant more Spring time than March--so I have always loved the month of April--plus lots of time that 'bunny' showed up with Chocolate and colored eggs--like this year--and--it's my daughters birthday month!!!  And don't forget all the flowers and their colors that pop up during the month of April!!!

This past week --I did stay busy--but just don't seem to have many  photos or finishes, or even projects in motion--but let's see what I did come up with--

I did finish Melisa's Spring counted cross stitch and it's now on display--

I did do alittle adding on--it seemed to need a little chick!!!!

And my supplies for the new ABC sampler came in and after an afternoon of prep work I have been able to stitch on it the last couple mornings--only now I have a problem--

First --it has to do with the letter "C"--I ended up stitching this letter 2 times--as the first time I was off a row--grrrr!!!!  but now it is in--the color they have for it is a green and there is a word with the 'c'--it is corn and then at the end of corn there is a tall plant with corn on it--my problem is 'me'--but I think the word corn should be in the gold floss--not green????? ( and the 2 floss colors that are in the cobs of the corn on the stalk--are a bit too dark in this photo--)  so--do I go with the pattern or go with 'me' and the color gold?????---

and can you see the color Aida I got to do this one--its a pale greenish color--just love it!!!

I did spend time on stitching the red hexies all together into one piece--

first I had to make 8 of the white on white Hexies and then stitch them on and then attach the 2 rows-so I mainly worked on doing that all this week several nights--now I need to find some background fabric for them--these are 2 sets of mini charm packs and I used every charm square 84 in this  piece!!

And I got another baby sweater all knitted --

And I looked up what my #4 challenge project that is for the--

And it is this one--

Jenny's bom for 2024--So I need to get busy on these blocks--

Remember this plant--that I got in March for St Patty's day???

Well--it likes it's new home--look at it now--

It is loaded with blooms and there is 3 tiny white flower on each stem--first time one has ever given me blooms--and probably though only the 2 or 3 time I could afford one--!!!

Well would you believe that is all I got for this week--I did do some decorating for Spring and Easter--but not finished yet--so will wait till next week to show you--

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Back in mid January--I mentioned I was 'scared' for our country--and someone sent me an comment about what in the world did I have to be scared of--I wonder if she is SCARED  yet?????  Because I am more that 'scared' now!!!!!  

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DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU--BUT I AM SOOOO HAPPY I HAVE MY STITCHING TO THINK ABOUT INSTEAD OF WHAT IS HAPPENING TO AMERICA AND BEING SO SAD FOR ALL THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE LOST HOMES TO FIRES, FLOODS AND TORNADO'S-- I FEEL SAD ALL DAY NOW FOR THE MOST PART----

SO JOIN ME IN SOME SEWING--LET'S ALL START A NEW PROJECT THIS WEEK--SOMETHING WE HAVE WANTED TO DO FOR AWHILE AND JUST KEEP TELLING OURSELVES WE HAVE TO FINISH OUR 'UFO'S' FIRST--LET'S JUST GO FOR IT--!!!

HUGS, DI

 

NEW PROJECTS AND LONG AWAITED ONES--

 It has been a busy week for me--right here in the apartment--Monday was the Van trip--this past Monday we went to Aldi's and JoAnn's right next door--they are saying here, anyways they will be open till sometime in May and that all the merchandise has to be sold before they can close--and more is coming in--I seen lots of boxes in the back of the store--can't say the sales were all that great for what I was looking at--and this is all that came home with me--

 that first item is one of their little tote bags--it will come in handy for my new lunch box!!  Two packages of buttons for my baby sweaters, some DMC floss--(it was kinda funny--their DMC case was almost empty--but some of the slots had just one poor lonely skein in them--and mostly pink family ones--so you know I couldn't leave 'pinks' there all alone!!!

Tuesday--I decided to do the 'wall' with all the cross stitch projects--

I finished off one that goes under the one garden one--had it up there and it fell off the wall and the frame broke--so redid it and now just need to put it back up--and I will be putting flowers or Ivy in the half bicycle on the wall--soon!!

here is the wall over my sewing area--

 Then my next project was an actual sewing project--my Chookchallenge for March--sewing the placemats for my daughter--her birthday in towards the end of April--and I was gonna make these placemats for at least '2' years--first for birthdays--then Christmas --then birthday--then--

this is the 2nd fabric I got to make them--

These are the 2 fabrics I got first to make them and was planning on doing just '2' mats--with one mushroom print on the front and one on the back--but then I found that bird one at the top and that print is so her colors and she loves birds too--

So she is getting '4' place mats for her birthday--when I was first going to do these--she was alone--but now she has 2-3 good friends and they often come to her house for eats and cards--so I guess sometimes it's 'ok' to drag your feet on a project!!!!!

When I  found the brown bird print above--I also found a blue and light pink bird print--

So I did make it up too--there is 2 large placemats here--2 bit smaller ones and 2 small ones--some are for gifts--but I know I will have to keep one for myself--and here is what I used on the back--

Remember, one of my last  Walmart trips I just happened to pick up both of these 2 fabrics not having any idea what I would do with them--well--they are perfect for this project!!!

Last Sunday I was embroidering away on this project--while watching the Nascar race--

I was using a light silver thread and doing the lines on the jar--I was almost done--when--I realized the lines where just stitch lines--not the color of thread lines--so, I found the pattern with the color picture of this design and realized--I needed to do 'red' thread--this is a jar of Strawberry jam--grrrr???  Some days I wonder where my brain is!!!--so all the stitching came out and it's ready to be worked on this afternoon while watching this weeks race---

And here is where I am on the red hexie project--

and I know the next step I am going to do with these!!!

I have even worked on hand quilting on Big Blue--

another row got finished and part of another row--so am down to 2 1/2 rows!!!!

This is the new cross stitch project I am working on--by our friend Melisa, 

while I wait to order the fabric for the Farmers mkt pattern I showed you last week--that one will go with the '5' I have already done in that series--

I put up the Spring on on display over the sewing machine--this week--

And here is another probably 2 year project I did yesterday--

I got the suitcase out from under my bed where I store my seasonal clothes and put away all the winter stuff and got out the summer clothes--I have 5 pairs of capris from Penny's that are a bit too loose at the waist--was gonna but a piece of elastic in back waist band--but instead--kept using a pin on the side--it was time--so all of them got that piece of elastic inserted and are all ready for wearing--yea for me!!!

So I got 2 long planned--needed projects done--the placemats and the capris and I got some decorating done too--so what do I have planned for this week--not sure--put I do have a couple ideas--so be sure to stay tuned to see what I come up with!!!!

YOU ARE AWESOME AND YOU CAN DO IT--KEEP THE FAITH AND KEEP WORKING ON YOUR HOBBIES--

BLESSINGS, DI

HAPPY DANCE AND HAPPY SPRING

 First for the Happy Dance--

I did take some time this week and figured out to download my photos from my regular hand held camera to my photos page--so now I can crop--turn things in the right direction again and highlight the photos--Whoo Hoo!!!!

And of course we had a major happening on the Calendar this past week--

something-- that so many many people have been looking forward too!!!

I kept busy all week that is for sure--though when you check the whole week in a summary of photos and such--it's like--is this all I got done--what else did I do with my time???

I was patiently waiting for  the new pattern from--

to come in the mail with the Aida cloth to start it--and it did come--only--I did not like how dark the cloth was--and this project is long--have to have fabric that is at least 24" long--though it is only 4" wide!!!  So went on line to my cross stitch company--123stitch and looked around found '2' I hope I like in the right length--only now I have to wait till the first of April to order it!!!( no $$$'s right now!!)

So --I decided to work on a couple small ones in the mean time--

When I was putting my thread away from the last project I found a cute small Robin bird that I wanted to do--sooo--

and this is how the pattern had finished him off--so  I got out my jar of old buttons and the pink fabric tote and here he is---!!

I also worked on my embroidery last Sunday for --slow stitching sunday--while watching my Nascar race--

the jar is done--and I have the tea tag and bow done and the tea spoon done--have started on the rim of the jar-

Evenings I have worked on the Hexie's project some more--

here is how each section is put together--

and here is how they all look lined up--

I also have been hand quilting on Big Blue evenings--I have 6 rows all done--just 4 more to go!!

And back to doing a bit of knitting late late evening--and finished one--

and have another on the needles--

Other wise--I have been back to doing some finishing of all my counted cross stitch projects--

one I did not make myself--but was a gift from a friend in NJ a couple years back or more--I decided to also turn it into a small pillow--

Two more smalls were framed--

the humming bird one I did not do myself--both of these have never been framed before!!

And I have some that are odd sizes--but I got them backed on boards (I use cake boards for them)

Zippy has never been displayed and I did this one a few years ago--

This one is a really old one--I had taken off the buttons when I washed it--so needed to get my novelty button boxes out for another one--also --and found some buttons for this one--can you find the little bunny???

And this one needed buttons--this has never been framed or displayed either--

I now need to decide how to finish them off????

I did get things made for the little area by the elevator that I now decorate--

There is window clings on the window--bunnies and chicks--

here is close up of the basket--I painted the large carrots and the yellow chicks--first time I have painted on wood in a very long time and it was fun!!!

and after I got them painted I decided I wanted something to make the chicks more 3-D--so got online and ordered some feathers--that came the next day--300 feathers even--all colors--just so I could use about 9 feathers on the chicks!!!!!

I had, also, from another company-ordered more 'rub on' stencils and here is how I used some of them--

we have this biggg--electrical box on our wall as you walk into the apartment and we are not allowed to cover them--so this is what I did--

this is not as bright as I would like--that box is such a dark color--???

and on the wall under it I did this--

this nice bright cheery colors!!!!Can you tell I love Bunnies????

Oh and one other project I did--

found this frame with the string and clothespins on it at the Dollar Tree and brought it home and used it to display my 2 little hangers with very old cross stitches on it--I did these back in the early 90's--when my parents camped for the winter in an RV park over on the West Coast of Florida--and I would work on little cross stitches while visiting with my mom--the bow at the top and little crate of flowers are small rub-on's I got in the order yesterday--

There is 50 here in this pile--and boy are they 'hard' to pull off the backing to use!!!!!! But so pretty once you get it off---

Well--that is basically my week--this week we have mandatory apartment inspections--on Tues and Wed--so Monday will be basic house work to get ready for them along with the Van trip to Aldi's and JoAnns--talking about JoAnn's-- where am I gonna go to find my novelty buttons for my baby sweaters--I have to see the size to know if they will fit on the sweaters????  And what about the Dollar Tree raising their prices to $1.75 on some items--how soon before all the items are $1.75????

ENJOY THE CHANGE OF SEASONS--EITHER TO SPRING OR TO FALL--DEPENDING ON WHERE YOU LIVE--BE SAFE--AND HAVE FUN--

HUGS, DI

 

GREEN THE COLOR OF SPRING AND --GO!!!

 I, actually,  most of the week was--working on a project I should of done--like--5 years ago!!

When I made the move back down here to Florida from New York State in Sept of 2019--I only had enough money to ship about 10 medium sized boxes--So-- I took all my Cross stitching projects out of the wood frames they were in, and sold the frames and gently washed the cross stitch pieces--some were old and dusty by then--only '1' had some red threads run--then I rolled them all up into a bundle and put them in a box and down they came--and then apparently--I put them 'in time out' and they never got put back into frames or hung up--the apartment upstairs I had here--I had the walls full of curtain rods with quilts hanging on them--here--new plan for the walls--

In NY I had also planned to frame some of my photos and to sell them-so I had ordered some mats for the framing and I still had alot left so they got brought out and I went to work--

But first--I have a finish --a finish from this week--a new project--

The top photo shows the last block I picked to do on this sampler--by Melisa--there is kids in the forest playing around--and you all know me--they had to have 'eyes'--I have to always have eyes on critters and snowmen and dolls!!!  Maybe they are trying to 'flag' down the one on the sled in Block #8????

and when that block was done--I realized, I had forgotten to stitch the snow under Mrs. Snowman--so I did that and then I framed it--

I can't believe I actually framed something as I finished it!!!

When doing the framing--actually matting--I also found another sampler by Melisa that I had done--

And there  happened to be just the right color mat to go with it and seeing how 'spring' is in 3 days--it needs to  be hung up and enjoyed!!!

When I went to Publix this week as I walked in the door I spotted this plant--and it jumped into my cart sooo fast--

Every year I want one of these--but am usually too late to get one--this one was $5.00!

and at Walmart on Monday I bought a couple new ones--

These yellow pansies are a nice bright yellow and yes I still have the purple ones and they are blooming too!!!

Before I show you the rest of the projects I framed--I did a couple other finishes--

This is a cross stitch I did along long time ago--it's an odd measurement for a frame so I decided it would make a nice pillow so that is what I did--

 I had stitched these '3' little strawberry samplers up last year from Melisa--but they went into time out for some reason--now they are ready to be enjoyed--

And I had this little doily with the word --Believe on it --that a friend sent me back around 2017 or so and she had it on canvas frame I believe--but something happened to it--but I was able to save the doily --and I had this pillow on my bed--so they become partners--

I just tacked the doily to the pillow--

This week in the evenings I have been working on 2 projects--hand quilting on the Blue Heart quilt and working on these Hexies--

I am sorry that this photo is going up and down--when it should be side by side--(I am using my cell phone for photos right now and it has a mind of it's own and I still can't figure out how to turn my photos--grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!)  Any ways-- there is '3' sections of Hexies there side by side--I did not have enough of the prints to do the flower designs and as it's an old fabric line couldn't find more of the fabric--so kinda came up with this design--we will all have to wait and see 'where' this project goes???

And here is more photos of my Cross stitch projects--this one was done round 5 years ago??

These 2 are probably at least 8-10 years old--and have been framed and displayed in the past--

This one has not been framed before--I believe--

The '3' bunny ones in the top row--are new to frames--probably done in the last 5 years--the bottom row--2 of those where done back in the early 90's--not sure when I did the cat one--??? but he is newer that the others--on this second photo the 2 in the middle--the house and the bird are the older ones--at least 20 years I believe????

These 2 I did not stitch and are thrift store finds--but along time ago--first time though I got them matted for framing and to display--

Now I am not finished--I still have at least 13 more to frame--those don't fit the mats I have and will need to wait until I find the right sized frames--but at least some are finding the 'light of the day' and feeling 'loved'!!!!

And here is yesterday's project--I redid my 'tea bar' stand and added lace doilys--

but first over it I added 2 cross stitch pictures--the blue house is an oldie-from 2006 and the stack of teacups are from 2024--

HAPPY ST PATTIES DAY TOMORROW AND HAPPY SPRING OR FALL TO EACH AND EVERYONE --KEEP CRAFTING AND STITCHING--

HUGS, DI