Sailing..sailing

Hello Stitching Friends!

I have been busy stitching away on Shores of Hawks Run Hollow.  I am now on the big block and am busily stitching sails...

Sorry for the crummy photo.  If Mike were here, he would make me take a better one.  But since he's not, you'll have to make do... ha! 

This is the previous block, all finished.  I do really like this one.  Love the house with the widow's walk.  It reminds me of Nantucket.  I visited there once many years ago, and have loved all things nautical for as long as I can remember.  It was always a dream of mine to live somewhere near the ocean, or near the water.  Instead, I'm still in central Illinois.  Not quite the same.  Oh well, I've enjoyed many vacations to water filled destinations. 

We had a lovely Easter here at home.  I didn't take the time to take any photos of the food, but it all turned out very good, and was enjoyed by all.  Then in the afternoon, our daughter, myself and our son's girlfriend enjoyed margeritas on the deck.  It was a beautiful day.  The flowers have all been blooming early here in the Midwest.  Actually I think this has been an exceptionally beautiful Spring.

I placed some pansies in an antique nail box, that was my Dad's, on the deck.  We have been enjoying them. However, I've had to take things in and cover others the last two nights, since we've had frost warnings. 

The lilacs have been really pretty too, but are almost over now.  However, the early tree peony is blooming.

The blooms are really big.  I picked these last evening after I got home from work.  I wasn't sure if the frost predictions would hurt the blooms or not.  And, I haven't had time today to go outside to check.  Hopefully they survived the cold night.

We have been busy working on scraping paint, priming and painting the outside of our house.  I have to admit Mike and our son's friend have been doing most of the work.  I will most likely be painting porch spindles and our outdoor shed in the near future tho.  We were very happy to be able to hire a friend of our son's that is fearless on a ladder to assist.  Mike is not overly fond of heights, and it seems to run in the family...ha! 

It seems like the days are whirling by at a fast pace.  But, we've been busy I guess.  We would like to get out to Pella, Iowa to see the tulips, but haven't found the time for that yet.  It's about a 3 1/2 hr. drive from here, so it will be a long day.  Not sure if we will find the time or not. 

I hope all of you had a good Easter holiday; and are enjoying the Spring weather. 

I've been busy reading also.  You can see in my sidebar some of my lastest finishes.  Some of my favorite mystery authors are releasing new titles this Spring.  So, I'm trying my best to keep up.  When is your favorite time to read?  I always take a book along to bed with me, and read until my eyes are too tired to read any more. 

I think I need to post more frequently and do shorter posts.  Sorry this one seems to have gotten long.  Happy Stitching! 

Where does the time go??

Hello All,

Not a very original blog post title, I know.  But it's been a month since I posted last?! I always have the best intentions, to be a more frequent blogger, but life seems to get in the way. 

This early Spring weather has been unbelievable around here.  Such warm temperatures, and everything has been popping out this week.  Daffodils, tulips, red bud trees, magnolias etc.  We are planning on a short road trip tomorrow to get some Spring pictures.  Things seem to change so quickly. 

I have been diligently stitching away on Shores of Hawks Run Hollow.  I will go find the camera, and take a progress picture to share in a moment. 

I went to a great yard sale yesterday and found some fun things.  Some easter type things and a Spring themed wreath that found its way onto the front door.  I don't go to many yard sales, but this particular person has a sale a couple of times a year, and I try not to miss it, since I usually come away with something I'm happy about. 

This is a sweet little pottery bird I bought.  After getting it home, I was pleased to discover it was made in nearby Bishop Hill at the Pottery there.

This is the companion pitcher, also made at the Bishop Hill Pottery.

And this sweet little nest shaped basket had to come home as well.  I thought it looked cute with my Spring cross stitch display.

This is the third square on Shores, that I was working on in my last post, all finished now.

This is the block I am currently working on.  I was glad to finally get the bricks filled in on this big house.  I am currently stitching the grass in.  I still have some words to complete on this block also.  After this one is done, the next is that humongous ship that takes up two blocks....  I have a feeling that is going to take awhile.

I've also been busy reading.  I recently finished The House on Tradd Street by Karen White.  I really enjoyed this.  I brought the next two home from the library in the series.  I try to keep up with a lot of the new releases at the library.  At least by the authors I enjoy.  So, at the present time, my shelf of library books is pretty full.  They seem to come in bunches.  If you are a reader, you should check out Good Reads.  It's a great site to keep track of your reading and share updates with friends.

Our daughter's best friend was here the other day with her little boy, who is such a cutie.  I have to share a picture of him.  He is going to be 1 year old in a couple of weeks.

He is such a sweetie.  Our daughter babysits for him once in awhile, so I enjoy it when he comes to visit. 

I have been trying to catch up with everyone's blogs over the last few days.  I had fallen behind in my reading.  I had to laugh over Edgar's description of SABLE.  Which by definition is Stash Above and Beyond Life Expentancy.  I can identify with that one for sure.  And, why do I eagerly look for what is new and upcoming??  There are still a couple of things on my wish list from the Nashville Market....

But, for now, I will be disciplined and work on Shores.  I want to get it done before moving on to other projects.  Because, when I don't stay with something, I fear I won't be motivated to go back and finish it.  But, I certainly enjoy looking at all the beautiful pieces all of you are stitching out there!!

Well, here's hoping I will be checking back in with another post before another whole month passes.

I hope you are all enjoying some beautiful Spring weather in your neck of the woods. But, most importantly finding some time to stitch on whatever your heart desires!

Progress on Shores...

Hello Stitchy Friends.

Happy Saturday to all of you.  I have been looking forward to this weekend. It will be a long one for us.  I had Friday off and will not be back at work until Tuesday.  (yipee!)  Mike has today off and is due back at work Tuesday as well.  Good planning on our part, since today is our 28th wedding anniversary!
Wow, the years go by quickly, don't they?  It doesn't seem like it should be that long.  But, we have a son that will be 24 this July, and a daughter that will be 21 in August. 

We are planning to go out for a nice dinner tonight, we haven't decided where as yet.  It's a beautiful sunny day today, altho a bit colder than what we've had of late.  We did receive about 3" of snow overnight on Thursday.  It made everything look so pretty.  I wish I would have taken the time to shoot a couple of pictures.  It was a heavy wet snow that clung to the trees, bushes and fences.  Not so pretty today, and it's melting quickly. 

I've been stitching on Shores.  I have been enjoying this piece.  I'm still on the third block. 

I am ready for Spring.  Last weekend when out shopping with our daughter, I found this sweet little basket.  It came home with me and sits on the table by my stitching chair.

When I was uploading these pictures from my camera, I found a picture of our son and his girlfriend.  I realized I haven't shared a picture of them yet.

Well, Mike is saying it's time to leave, so better close this post. 

Hope you're all having a great weekend, with lots of time with those you love, and doing what makes you happy.

Wedding anniversary

Hello stitching friends.

I have to share a picture of the beautiful flowers my dear husband sent me at work today. He outdid himself....they are so pretty.

There's nothing like flowers to make you feel special.




I've been doing some stitching since my last post. I am enjoying this piece so much right now. Not getting bored with it yet.

I'm still learning to use my iPad for posting. I was going to add another picture to this post but having issues.

So guess I will keep this post short for now. I will share stitchy pictures later.

Happy stitching friends!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Progress made

Progress has been made of sorts with stitching this week. Block 2 is finished and I've started outlining block 3.

This is the first time I've tried using my iPad to post. I just got blog press installed.

Seems to be working ok.

Hope you're all having a good week. The weekend is almost here. No long weekend for me. I am working on Saturday and even though the library is closed on Monday I have to go in and install software updates on the circulation computers. But it shouldn't take too long, providing it goes smoothly.

Happy stitching everyone!




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Happy Valentine's Day

Progress on BAP Shores of Hawks Run Hollow

Hello Stitchy Friends.

I want to post my progress on the Shores of Hawks Run Hollow.  I've managed some stitching time since my last post.  I think this block with the fish is going to be one of my favorites.

I don't have too much left to stitch on this one before it will be finished.  Just a few little blue fish in top left corner, and some more of the lighter green on the big seaweed. 

Here is how both of the blocks look together.  So far I am not bored with stitching this project.  Sometimes I get really bored with a big piece and want to stop and do some other smaller things that grab my attention.  But usually, I stick with one project at a time until it's done.  There are a few exceptions of course....

Last week I made a trip to Welcome Stitchery in Crystal Lake.  I did a small amount of stash purchasing...  It's hard to go without coming home with something.... 

I picked up a new zippered mesh bag.  Those are so handy to keep a project in.  I just love them.  I don't have to worry about curious cats pawing in my stitching bag, or someone spilling a can of pop on my stitching bag.  Both events have happened in the past...

As you can see I picked up two of the new Prairie Schooler charts, August and Bunnies.  Then I picked up an older PS chart, Santa & Friends.  I didn't pick up the January chart, I felt it was so similar to others they have done in the past.  I have the February monthly PS sampler done, but not framed.  Same is true with March.  I need to get busy and look through my frame stash to see if anything is going to work. 

I have received some beautiful pink roses today from Mike for Valentine's day, also some dove chocolates.... what a nice surprise it was.

Yesterday we went over to Lock and Dam 14 on the Mississippi River to see if there were any eagles around.  There weren't any there so we drove on up to Lock and Dam 13 at Fulton and found this

There must have been 50 eagles or more in the trees on the island near the dam.  The only problem was that they were too far away to get any better pictures.  But we were amazed to see so many.  It was a really cold afternoon, so after leaving here we went back to our first stop and found several eagles had shown up ready to put on a show diving in the river for fish.  So we had fun taking photos there for quite awhile. 

I wasn't as quick getting the action shots of the eagles swooping down to the river to catch the fish, but my husband got some good ones.  It was a beautiful sunny afternoon, but really cold.  After a little while standing outside doing this, I decided I'd had enough and retreated to the car to warm up and watch them from there.  Luckily I'm always prepared with my stitching bag... :)  so I was able to fit in some stitching time on a photo outing...gotta love that.

I've got a yummy supper in the crockpot for tonight, and have invited our son and his girlfriend to join us.  I've even made Valentine cupcakes.  So, our family will celebrate Valentine's Day tonight. 

Happy Valentine's Day to all of you and Happy Stitching!

I appreciate your visit to my blog and your comments.