Ornament finish and March Ramblings...

I finished up my ornament for March. I am trying to keep on track with stitching one a month for the year. This is from the Just Cross Stitch ornament issue 1999. It is called Christmas Basket by Theron Traditions. I just love this design!

Looks like Spring has sprung in our part of NC!

Seeing these flowers gave me the inspiration to finish stitching "May Flower Basket" by Blackbird Designs :)

I also finished up my Patty Dovecoat sampler! This was a SAL in a Facebook group I belong to..

I went to a stitchers gathering in Rock Hill SC. It was so much fun! We shopped at A Stitch and Frame Shop. I wanted to buy everything! I did pick up two charts, The Irish Blessing by Erica Michaels and Time and Season Sampler by Moira Blackburn. Cannot wait to start stitching these!

Here are Bonnie's Belles!

I am in there also :)

I am in the back with the blue scarf!

With Saint Patrick's Day, I did lots of baking and cooking!

I also have been volunteering at the church on Wednesdays preparing the soup lunch for after mass.

Here are my Irish Soda Breads...

Our meal of corned beef and cabbage.. A tradition in our home!

I also made Irish potato pancakes, also known as "Boxty"

I baked some delicious shortbread too :)

We took a trip to GA and met our Sons wonderful girlfriend! We just absolutely love her to pieces!! They have been dating for a while now and we are looking forward to seeing what God's plans are for the two of them. They look so cute together! We attended mass at Our Lady Star Of The Sea. It was wonderful!

Pretty daffodils from my neighbor and friend Suzan! Picked right from her own yard. Love them!

She also knows how much I love my tea, she stitched and framed this little design for me :)

With the warmer weather, Charleston has been enjoying himself sunning on our back porch. One spoiled bunny, and rightly so! :)

I tried out my new bread machine.. Had to return the other one as it didn't work. It really makes a nice loaf of bread!

Now looking forward to Easter! I have my new running shoes on! :)

(No I don't really run) ;)

Wishing you all a blessed day! 

Louise xx

Sew....What's New! Long Post with Pics! :)

Hi Everyone..
Been a while, thought I would pop in with some updates (for my wonderful friends and dedicated readers who have been wondering where I was)..
So much has been going on in my life, always staying busy :) I have changed the picture on the top of my blog again, this time it is a picture of me and one of my younger brothers with an old pickup truck in our backyard.

 Sir Charleston Bunny is getting bigger by the day, a new updated photo so you can see just how cute he is!

We recently went to Charleston, SC to attend our Son's A School graduation in the Nuclear Program of the United States Navy. He is now a Petty Officer 3rd Class! We are so very proud of his achievements so far, it was so good to be with our son again!
Here is his new patch that is proudly worn on his sleeve of his dress blues..

A coin that I ordered from Northwest Territorial Mint, I had it engraved on the back for him with his name and date of Graduation..

It was a wonderful visit in SC, the weather was a little chilly, but my daughter and I still had fun on the swings in the local park near my Sailor's military base!

After visiting SC, we came home to find out that our Clematis had finally bloomed! I had planted it in a pot inside the house well before Christmas had arrived.. So pretty!

I have been cleaning up and organizing my sewing room. It is a nice loft above the garage. I am re-puposing the dollhouse my Grandfather had made me all those years ago..it is now a perfect place to store my fabric and some notions!

Some photos of my sewing room :)

Love spending time in here! :) Some pillows I have stitched and were finishing off...

I stitched and sewed a special wallhanging to put in our kitchen of our new home. I love the way this turned out...

I am helping a friend out by stitching a baby sampler for her daughter. She wasn't able to do it with being so busy, so I offered to help..this has been taking up most of my time right now. It is 12x12 inches in size and has lots of filling in of stitches. After I finish stitching it, I will do all the back stitching. It is called "Savannah Birth Record" and it is a kit by Dimensions. I have converted the floss to DMC and converted the Aida fabric to using 28 count Lugana instead. Getting there slowly but surely!

I have been baking some...bread and blueberry pie! YUM!

I had a wonderful get together at my new home. All my stitching friends, and other friends also! We had a Grand time! I decorated with a Valentines Day theme. It was so much fun! I made baked ziti, garlic bread sticks, and ceasar salad. For desserts I made chocolate dipped strawberries, chocolate chip cookies, and mini vanilla cupcakes with butter cream icing. My sweet friends brought along Krispie Kreme donuts, an Orange cake, rice pudding too..oh and peanut butter cookies with a Hershey kiss!

Left to Right, Linda S. , Suzanne, Linda K., Louise, Monica, Cylvia, Bonnie and Juanita in the striped blue top:

We all had a wonderful time! I love getting together with my stitching friends. They are so warm, loving and loads of fun to be with. Looking forward to our next get together! :)
As our get together was starting to wind down, it started to snow outside! Sooo exciting being as I LOVE snow! :) I ran outside to get a bunch of pictures..
I snapped a photo of a very pretty cardinal bird in the tree out front.

The snow was falling heavy and as everyone started to leave the get together, I went outside and snapped another photo of the front of my house. So pretty with snow!

I have received wonderful RAK's in the mail recently. A wonderful LHN Chart "Winter Snow" from my sweet friend Connie

My dear friend Jackie sews many beautiful things on her embroidery machine. What a wonderful surprise to receive this Raggedy Ann wall hanging, made on her machine! Isn't it adorable..it will go perfectly in my new sewing room upstairs :)

She also sent me an embroidered heart she made on her machine..and put it as a topper onto a heart shaped Valentine box. To my surprise she also included wonderful kits to stitch!

I am blessed beyond measure.
Wishing you all a beautiful day today, and I hope it is filled with all things that you love.
Thanks so much for stopping by, if you would like to leave a comment, that would make me smile :)
Raggedystitches,

Sewing and Baking

I have decided to do some fun things today. My day started with baking fresh bread in the oven. I just LOVE the feel of the dough as I knead it. I was so excited with anticipation on the final results. Making bread brings back fond memories of my Italian grandmother. She used to make her own fresh bread and pasta noodles also. I used to love spending time with her as she cooked in her kitchen. She was a small woman in stature, about 4 feet 10 inches tall. Her homemade pizza was the best! Homemade bread always smells so delicious while baking :)
I usually have trouble with my dough rising, and today was no exception. It didn't rise up as high as I thought it would, but still, it did some. Some is better than not!
Here is the dough before baking:

After I pulled the loaves from the oven, this is the result!:

If you would like the recipe, I have placed it on my recipe blog
Country White Bread

It rained heavily last night, and woke me up about 4:30am. I am glad I was able to get back to sleep. Just until 6:00am to see my daughter off to school. I had a most enjoyable day!
Have I ever mentioned how much I LOVE Lorri Birmingham designs? I do!
I put a couple of stitches into a very old UFO. Peaches and Cream by Lorri Birmingham. This UFO is ongoing for about 12 years now! I don't know when it will ever get finished. I know that I will never part with it, because it is a very pretty design. One day it WILL get done ;)

I started putting together a bunny on my sewing machine. I didn't have a pattern, created one myself.
She is coming along, little by little. I think perhaps I shall name her "Claire". I love that name!

Here is Claire Bunny after I tea stained her..made a mixture of tea, cloves, allspice and cinnamon. Brushed her all over, and now she sits outside to dry :) She smells absolutely wonderful!
I have already sewed a simple primitive type dress for her. I used a pretty green homespun fabric..it will be tied up with raffia. Not sure how to paint her face yet..still thinking on that..perhaps very simple. Sometimes less is more!

The sun has begun to shine outside, and now the day is even better.
Time to sit down with one of my favorite magazines, a toasted slice of homemade buttered county white bread, and a cup of tea!

Blessings to you today!