Sunday, July 31, 2011

Prayers Please

Our daughter is going into the hospital soon for heart testing. Can I ask my dear followers and readers for a prayer or two for her? Many know she was born with heart defects. They were surgically corrected when she was just 4 days old.
She has done well all these years, and we count our blessings. The heart doctor has some concerns and scheduled testing to be done.
I pray dear Lord that everything will turn out fine. She is very nervous, as you can imagine. We love her so much and only want to hear positive news of the results.
I would trade places with her in a second if I could. I wish I could.
Thank you all, and thank you for always coming to see my blog :)

 ***Edited to add***
I want to thank those of you that took the time to post a message for our daughter. I went with her this morning to volunteer and clean the Catholic Church. She has been volunteering all summer long for the church. We were alone in the church this morning, and before we left I had her hold my hand and we lit a candle together for her. We prayed together and asked God for his almighty protection over her. Thank you again for your caring.
****Edited once again****
Well, it was a hard night here. Our daughter was very worried and upset. She woke up feeling the same way. She was so upset and nervous that she broke out in red splotches and hives all over her body before the test even began! The thought of the radioactive dye with an injection had her upset. She made it through, so thankful it is now behind her. We now wait on the results from the doctor. They said it could be a couple of days. Thank you everyone for keeping her in your prayers!

Louise, Mom to Christine

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Great Grandmother's Linens

I was going through more boxes from moving and I came across my Great Grandmother's linens. I don't have very many of them..my dear Grandma passed them down to me. As you can imagine, I was absolutely thrilled with the thought of owning hand stitched linens from my Great Grandmother! I never had the chance to meet her. She had passed on many, many years ago. It is such a blessing to me to have such beautiful linens that I can cherish and pass down to my own son or daughter one day. When I first laid my eyes on Great Grandmother's stitching and embroidery, I now know why I too love needle and thread! Needlework has been in the family many years, and it is in my blood :)
I must say my Great Grandmother did a beautiful job of embroidery and stitching, and I wish I had the honor of knowing her personally.
But, I am pleased and it overflows my heart with joy that I can honor her and take care of the items she put needle and thread to. Some of the linens have turned yellow with age. I am hoping I can restore them somewhat with cleaning. They have been stored for quite some time now.
I look at her work and can just imagine all the time she spent stitching and pouring her heart into her embroidery. Little did she know that years later there would be a Great Granddaughter, that would treasure her handwork for many more years to come!
I hope that the needlework I create would be saved and treasured by my own children. I believe that these pieces are truly heirlooms and something that can not be duplicated. Each and every piece tells a story of a time long past.
I wish I had a photo of my Dear Great Grandmother, but I do not. Her name was Madelina.
Aren't they absolutely stunning! I am very blessed indeed. My dear Great Grandmother has blessed me tremendously with her loving vintage embroidery!

Louise

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Stitchery Finishes

Just finished up two designs and also framed them. Each are stitched on 28 count evenweave with DMC threads.
First is a freebie I had for quite some time. It is called "Thankful" by Sharon Crescent and Diane Williams for Crescent Colors (although I decided to use DMC threads). This freebie dates back to 2005, and I am not sure if it is still available..I have searched the net and cannot seem to find it anymore. I happen to save everything, so I had it. :)
The frame I purchased in Hobby Lobby. Great sale today! The frames were 50 percent off. Woohoo!
I found a precut mat in green and think it suits it nicely. :)







I also stitched "Special Blessings" By JBW Designs. I needed something sweet for an upcoming baptism of my dear friends baby. This was the perfect design I thought! Another frame from Hobby Lobby. Love their beautiful frames!







I wish you a beautiful evening full of happy stitches!
Louise

Monday, July 11, 2011

Happy News and a little project

I have been busy volunteering with my daughter and enjoying each and every moment of every day. It is nice not working for the moment and spending time for "me". I have been catching up on some little projects, crocheting, stitching, and now plenty of sewing will be happening! My dear angel of a husband surprised me out of the blue the other day. He said we were going for a drive to a sewing machine shop!!
I have dreamed of owning a real quilting machine, and have wanted one for some time now. After working in a quilt shop in NC, I had gotten a taste of what it was like to sew on a quilting machine and knew that this was something I would like to have one day.
I explored the options in the past..asking friends what types of machines they have, and what would be the best for my needs. I really didn't want an embroidery machine, I wanted one more for craft sewing/quilting.
I never dreamed of owning a beautiful new machine would come sooner that I had ever imagined!
Did I ever tell you that I am married to the greatest man in the whole wide world, well I am! 
I am now the proud owner of a Janome machine!!! It is amazing! It runs so smooth and sews beautifully. I have been reading the book that came with it, and learning about all the features it has.
I truly think I am the luckiest lady in the whole wide world. I was thinking my first project up might be a table runner for our dining room. It is going to be so much fun creating new things.
I am soo excited!!!
Did I tell  you I am married to the greatest man in the whole wide world?!! :) (Can you tell how excited I am?!)
I stitched a freebie design by Carriage House Samplings (sorry I cannot find it on the web at the moment), I had printed it out some time ago. Not sure if it is still available or not?
I decided to omit the border around the edge. It was a quick easy design to stitch that I made into a pretty pin cushion. I used crushed walnut shells for filler, which they say sharpens the needles and pins with use.
I have a thing for purple, and just loved the fabric I found for this little cushion. It has pretty little purple flowers with bits of pink, green and blue. I love using crushed walnut shells as filler, it makes the cushion nice and heavy. I don't think I will use anything else from now on for my cushions!

I am off to tidy up the house a bit. Dinner will be easy tonight. Took out homemade meatballs in sauce from the freezer that I had made not too long ago. Having meatball hero's for dinner!
Tomorrow will be an enjoyable day volunteering at the church then lunch with my daughter :)
Last week we volunteered with young Mom's, teaching them how to make one of my favorite cookies! My daughter really enjoyed that. :)

I wish you all a beautiful blessed day!
Louise

Every Opening Flower

A new start! Every Opening Flower designed by Brenda Gervais. I am stitching this on 32 count cream Belfast Linen with called for overdyed a...