A Beautiful Day !

Woke up to an absolutely beautiful day where I live. The sun is shining, a slight breeze, all the windows are open and I feel great!
I have two recent finishes to show all of you. Remember that baby sampler I posted that I was helping a friend out with..well, it is finished! YAY!~ It was a lot more stitching than I had expected it to be, but it came out so pretty, I just have to share:

The Mom had stitched the Monkey square separately, and I made a tooth fairy pillow out of it for her baby:

I put a big "pocket" on the back so the tooth fairy can leave some coins for a very special little girl :)
Now, onto something else I had finished stitching. I have a very dear and wonderful friend that has always been like a Mom to me. She was always Grandma to my children also. I have been wanting to stitch her something special for some time now. She will be turning 87 years old this year and knew I wanted to give her a stitched piece for her birthday. Here is what I stitched for my dear friend: "A Friend Indeed" an old freebie from Blue Ribbon Designs:

I had a "helper" while I stitched...here is my daughter's bird "Andy"!

and...his side-kick "Misty"!

By the way..if you would like to listen to Andy's whistles, he has his own Facebook page, yes he does!
 Click Here :Andy The Bird

My Son sent me a picture he took while on leave. It's our neighbors dog "Sparky" What a beautiful dog!

The picture looks like a postcard! Oh!, look at the closeup...
What a GORGEOUS FACE! I just LOVE him to pieces...yes I do! :)

I have been up to more crocheting...made another frilly scarf :)

Saint Patrick's Day is upon us..Although a wonderful day to celebrate, its also the day my husbands Father Patrick passed away , 20 years ago today. Our bird "Sunny" also passed away on this day years ago. I still make the traditional meal of corned beef, and I make the most wonderful Irish soda bread! I cannot stop eating it...(which is not such a good thing)! This recipe bakes up a wonderful bread that is so moist inside, I make this recipe every year now!

If you would like this recipe, head on over to my recipe blog! Click HERE!
My pansies have survived the winter months in their special planters...they are blooming now, prettier than ever!

I ordered some new stash in the mail, a new chart, and DMC threads. Sometimes I am able to get a floss fairy to help me out with DMC floss. The craft store for me is over a half hour away, and with the price of gas, I just don't go often :( It always seems that when I am in the middle of a project, that is when I run out, or need a certain color, and of course it is always the color I do not have! Love getting new stash in the mail!

This chart is called "Amish Alphabet" the designer is From The Heart. Pretty design!
I will show you a quiet place I go to sometimes..there is plenty of woods behind my house..sometimes I go for walks through the woods, sometimes I even sit down and take time to pray. It is so peaceful and serene out back, I know how blessed I am..

Sometimes I find little things as I roam around...

I wish you all a very Blessed Saint Patrick's Day!

Good Morning!

It is a beautiful day here in Florida!
I was hoping to attract birds to our back patio by putting out some seed..and....
it worked!
I have already seen Tufted Titmice, Cardinals, and Doves.
They all seem thrilled that there is food waiting for them every morning.
I hope to pick up a bird feeder soon to put on a shepards hook. For now, I am putting out a container of water and throwing seed all around.
They don't seem to be complaining! :)

 I am going to pick up some black oil sunflower seeds for my wild feathered friends. black oil sunflower seeds have a soft outer shell which makes them easier for the birds to crack open, and are a high source of protein . With these seeds you can attract many different breeds of birds. These types of seed are a favorite among smaller birds.These seeds also have a high concentrated of oil which is important to the birds during the winter time.

 I even had a squirrel visit me this morning. I made sure I put out some yummy treats for him also (nuts!).
 I truly enjoy watching all the wildlife in my backyard. I would like to get some better pictures..but for now, I have to take them from the back window..This is the only way that I will not scare them away!
Last evening I decided I was going to take down the lace curtains by the front door. There is three small windows beside our front door, and the previous owners had a very thick lace for each window as a curtain. I wasn't fond of the look, so I decided to pick up some pretty green and tan check homespun fabric and sewed my own curtains.  This is more to my decorating taste! I love anything country :)
I did not put a lining in the curtains, I wanted a little bit of light to come through if any. I think they look much better than the lace that was there before.

I have more curtains to sew for our new house, and I will tackle one at a time. I still am very much in love with the colors green and red for my house. (sounds very Christmas like) :) I love gingham and anything primitive of the sort!
My husband and I found a new antique shop that we visited recently.
Oh my! It is wonderful. The way it is decorated is gorgeous. Next time I stop in there I will bring my camera along with me and share photos with you. The shop is located in Northern Florida and is called Enchanted Antiques. I have never seen a shop more beautifully decorated in my life!

I noticed this cute pumpkin on the way into the shop, and I could not leave without him! He looks so adorable among my Fall decor.
Soon I will be baking more, I just hope I don't eat as much as I bake! ;)

My husband is working on building a craft/sewing room for me. I cannot wait for it to be finished.
I look forward to setting it up and getting all my things in order. It will be nice to have my own little haven again for all my stitching, sewing and creativity.
I haven't had my own little space for many years now. It will be so enjoyable when it finally comes to be. :)

Raggedystitches,

Birdies

Our dear birds Andy and Misty enjoyed their free time today. I took a bunch of pictures and was able to get some really good snapshots of them. They are so cute! I noticed that Misty was having a bit of trouble..upon investigating further I could tell her toe nails needed clipping. After having birds for so many years, I am very good at clipping them myself. I carefully held Misty in a small towel and she was so sweet and well behaved while I took care of that for her.
She was so happy when I was done to get back to business getting into things again!
They really get along well. I am so glad we brought little Misty the parakeet into our home. She is a wonderful addition to our family!
Here is a snapshot I took today of the two of them.
Love our babies!
Raggedystitches,
Louise

Andy and Misty

Andy and Misty enjoy spending time together. I took some video of them. Andy was whistling a bit. He likes to whistle the tune from the Andy Griffith show! :)
Sometimes he whistles it very well, sometimes not.
I know the video might be a little noisy, the television was playing.
I know I have a better video to post soon :)

Birdie "SPA"

I just had to put this on my blog..it is the funniest site I see each day when I look out my window!
We did this last year and found that it really worked well for the birds outside.
You know those plastic containers that the sandwich meat comes in?
Well, we decided we could recycle them and use them for the birds.
We clean them up really good, fill them with fresh cold water, and place them outside on our deck railing for our feathered friends.

Usually we keep one out at a time..but I am thinking maybe perhaps we should start putting out more than one. They are starting to fight over who gets at the "spa" first!
It is the funniest and cutest thing to watch out our kitchen window everyday.

I decided to take out the camera and take some pictures. We have all sorts of birds visit, doves, robins, cardinals, even blue jays!

Here are just a couple of pictures for you to see.

The robin decided he liked it so much, he just sat there as if he was floating in the water. It was so histerical! I told my husband I was going to run and get the camera upstairs.. I thought for sure he would be gone by the time I came back downstairs to take the picture, and I couldn't believe my eyes when he was STILL sitting there in the container of water..he really had gotten a cooling off I suppose :)

The birds seem really happy with the little sandwich meat container filled with water..they bathe and drink from it..I usually have to refill it twice a day.

Love my feathered friends!

Raggedystitches,
Louise

Feathered Friends

Pretty DoveWoodpecker! (Click on the photo to see him close up, I can't believe I managed to get a photo of him) :)



It is a beautiful day outside today..the sun is shining and the air is so fresh!
I put out some seed on the deck for our feathered friends.
It didn't take long for them to come visiting.
There was a red bellied woodpecker, a dove, a titmouse too.
Such pretty birds here in North Carolina.
I could sit and watch them all day.
Here are some pictures I took from inside the window.

Raggedystitches,