helloooooo

Just a quick note to say hello! As most of you know I have been not feeling well lately. I decided to finally make the trip to the doctor. I was sent for a couple of tests. I had stomach pain on and off. Couldn't figure out what was going on with me, I just knew I didn't feel quite right.
On a visit a couple of weeks ago to see our Sailor Son, I was in so much pain after we had lunch, then the same after dinner. I could barely move to stand and walk. I had to just sit there and rest till I could finally get up. I thought I was going to go crazy with the pain in the middle of my chest! I know my Father had heart disease, so I was fearing the worst.
Turns up that my gallbladder is working at only 50 percent of what it should be.
Spoke with the nurse on the phone about the results.
Sounds like the only option will be surgery which I soooo do not want to do.
I have an appointment on Thursday. Will update soon!
Pray for me! I am scared :(

Louise ...who is shaking in her boots!

30th High School Reunion

Well, the invitation for my 30th high school reunion has arrived. Will I go? I don't think so.
I have already re-united with many old classmates on Facebook. The world of social media has brought me back in touch with so many people I used to go to high school with. Sometimes it is a good thing, sometimes, it is not.
Do people really change? Perhaps some lose hair, many gain weight.
Do their personalities change from their high school days??....
I was sort of quiet back in school, and had my own little group of friends. I remember so many cliques, the girls that would make you feel uncomfortable as you walked down the hall..as if you did not fit in with them, so you would never be a part of "their group".
Not that I ever really wanted to be, but I never really cared for the way some of the kids acted back in high school. I guess I was a little more mature than most. I had my own things to deal with at home, the family issues, and I found different outlets.
Sure I liked to go out dancing late at night...but I also played guitar and sang in church every Sunday.
I had a few girlfriends that I can honestly say were best friends as I grew up...we did grow apart at different stages in high school..branched out and found new friends...but we always stayed in touch.

 I accepted all the friend requests from old classmates on Facebook and thought it was so neat to see what they looked like now and how their lives were going.  It didn't surprise me all too much that the ones who seemed to have perfect lives in high school now have lives that are falling apart...
only because, I now realize we are all human. We all have the same feelings, emotions, issues, family problems, and no one is perfect. Except our God of course.
So many are still looking for happiness....... not seeing that they have happy things right in front of their eyes.
They talk of waiting for this happiness, and asking when it will arrive. Never looking in the present moment, and cherishing any little blessing that God has given them already. They criticize and are just plain miserable. Many never speak of God, but yet expect miracles in their lives.

I have come to realize that people never really do change. You are who you are. Even from a very young age. I started to realize that I have nothing in common with most of these people I graduated high school with. They are still who they are, and I am still the same me. Perhaps this is why we never hung around each other back then, and I can see we still have nothing in common now. We have all moved on with our lives, but for the true friends that kept in touch over the years since high school, and they mattered, well, they did keep in touch. That is just what I had done..the ones that I stayed close with all these years are the ones that have so much in common with me, and although we live in different states we will always be friends and close in heart.

So, for me, I don't believe I will be attending a reunion for high school. I am very content with staying close with the friends I have kept all these years, and the new ones I have made since then. I feel very blessed and know how precious true friendship really is!

I am curious to know if you had gone to your reunions?
I did attend my 10th reunion, and it wasn't any different from high school. People don't change!


What's your story?


Louise

Christian Cross Stitchers

Looking for a nice place to visit to post about your love of cross stitching? Have a strong faith in God and are Christian?
Do you belong to Facebook?
Look no further! Christian Cross Stitchers are a group of wonderful stitchers who share their love of faith and stitching all in one place!
Come join us for chatter and stitching about what we love most, our hobby and our faith!
Christian Cross Stitchers

I have just added an event to the group.
Do you crochet, or perhaps sew?
Would you like to let our wonderful military know that WE all do CARE about them?
I am a military Mom myself and I have decided to join in on this wonderful event...
to Crochet Squares of LOVE for our Soldiers!
More details on our page. Come take a look..perhaps you might feel a tug at your heartstrings to
want to lend a hand...
we will send squares to other Military Moms to put together into blankets of LOVE..these blankets will
be sent to grieving Moms who lost their sons or daughters in battle, they will also be given to wounded soldiers, or be given just because we CARE about our military.
They protect us, serve us, and are always there for us. God BLESS our military HEROS!
I am a military Mom myself and I am very proud of my Son who is serving in the United States Navy.

If you don't crochet, that's ok ....you might perhaps think about sewing a pillowcase if you sew.
Or perhaps buy a skein of yarn to give to someone who crochets to make some squares. Every little bit helps!
Thank you for even considering this.
If you are not able to do any of the above, perhaps you can pray for our soldiers, Army, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard, Air Force, they all need our prayers, God hears each and every one of them!
Thank you!!

I wish you all a blessed day and hope to see you come by our Facebook Group.
We would love to have you, it really is a group of wonderful friends,
Blessings!
Louise xx

Red, White, and Blue!

I have decided to go up into my sewing loft and get something done this morning. I took out the table runner that I started piecing together before we moved back to North Carolina last year.
I am binding challenged (although I really wanted to put binding on this one!)...I will have to have someone teach me all over again..for some reason that lesson never stuck well with me.
It's the corners that get me every time.
Anyways...this is my finish for today. It came out a little bit crooked, and not perfect, but I remind myself that only God is perfect. I like it, crooked and all. I love the Red, White , and Blue!
I have been waiting for quite some time to put this on my dining room table. I don't know why I waited so long to finish this piece. There is no pattern, just pieces I cut up and sewed together...

sorry, don't know why I cannot get the picture to go right side up...I took the picture with  my iphone..it was fine when I took it. If any of you can give me tips on that I would appreciate it.
I need to get sewing more on some other projects I love when I see my finished pieces, it inspires me to do more!
I want to sew another doll soon. I have something in mind....
I hope you all have a wonderful day. It is a beautiful day outside today, looking forward to the weekend, although I will miss my Son terribly on Mothers Day. :(

Louise

The Letter

I wrote a letter in my mind.
I wrote this letter many times. To my Mother not with a pen in my hand, always hoping she would understand. I could never actually get myself to send one out, always fearing and knowing what the outcome would be.
I wish I could tell her my actual feelings, although she would never come to accept the reality, or ever accept the fact how she always made me feel.
I suppose these feelings will remain and will finally be set free when she passes away.
I don't understand why she doesn't see how she is, and her ways (alcoholism)
It cuts like a knife.
She sends me messages on Facebook. Polite and sincere. Short and sweet. But I know better.
There will be no phone conversations, and I will make sure of that. If I give her too much time, short and sweet will give in to more time to turn condescending and hurtful. :(
She has hurt my soul since I was a young girl.
I never felt good enough to do great things.
I never felt strong enough.
I never felt my place in the world with her presence as my mother.
It is her choice to let it control her. It is her choice to let something take over her life and destroy her family. She chooses alcohol over her daughter that she says she loves so much.
She never knew her grand children, she lost so many years.
If you love your family so much, don't you question why everyone  doesn't want to be with you?
The hurt stings. It lasts.
It can trickle down.
Children don't have parents. Children don't have grand parents.
Excuses are made...for what? A liquid pleasure?
Scars for life.
I have come a long way so far, on my own. Without a Mother.
I have been a great Mom to my own kids.
I am glad for that.
I believe that is one accomplishment that has been a great and wonderful thing
my kids turned out wonderful. I am proud.
I didn't turn into my Mother.
I did a great thing.....




 

Crochet and WIP's

Hello again...warmer weather is finally here. Only a couple more weeks before school is out for the summer for our girl.Can't wait to spend the days with her! That's if she doesn't sleep all day...teenagers have a way of doing that! :)
I haven't been too productive lately on the crafting front...
I did start crocheting Blooming Granny Squares though...thinking of making a throw blanket.
I used a pattern from a wonderful book titled The Granny Square Book. Click on the title for the link to Amazon and you can take a look at it.
This was the first design I tried to make and it came out really well!
Here is what I have done so far...

They are lots of fun to make and VERY addicting! I enjoy sitting with my dear husband in the evenings while making them. Love all the colors so far! I am using "I Love This Yarn!" brand from Hobby Lobby, but I also have some other off brands thrown in the mix. Great way to use up scraps :)
Many cross stitch WIP's of course, as always...
Roots and Wings...which I am having lots of trouble with the chart being as it is in color. I made a working copy to write on for the areas that I have finished..I mark them with a line of pen...

A chart titled "Winds of Change" which is very appropriate with having to let go of my dear Son for the Military! (US Navy)...

Also stitched a little more on "Rabbit Folk" by Notforgotten Farm. In memory of our dear sweet bunny Peter Rabbit that we lost last year :(
The fabric was coffee stained I believe, I had won this piece from Notforgotten Farm.

Can't finish up a proper post without giving you updates on our dear Bun Charleston! He is doing well and we found out his favorite treats are celery (especially the leaves!), fresh spinach, raw oats, almonds and apple bits. Such a silly boy! He will not let me pick him up to hold anymore, he is very fiesty! Although he does not bite, he likes to roam the house and he will come over to us for petting :)
Love him to pieces!

Raggedystitches and Blessings!
Louise

Framing done on my latest finish...

I am so excited to give this to my very dear and special friend back in New York!
She will be turning 87 this month and I will be mailing this to her for her birthday.
I have posted on this previously, this is a Blue Ribbon Designs freebie. You can find the chart HERE!
Just click on the word "Freebie" on the left side bar when you get to The Blue Ribbon Designs site.

Here it is! :)

I took a trip today to another town for some yarn..purples and greens of course! Love those color combinations together.. :)
Rainy day today and very chilly! Where is the Spring that was supposed to arrive?
I hope it gets here soon :)

Blessings to you!
Louise

Spring Things!

Ok, well, it's not really feeling like Spring weather in my town, but by next week it should be a lot warmer (I hope!)
I have been stitching up cute little Easter designs  :)
I found the design free at Primitive Bettys. Thank you Betty for such sweet designs!
Here is what I have stitched:

I then sewed them into pretty little door hangers, complete with lavender ribbons!

I then painted some pots with pretty purple flowers...can you see where I am going with this??

Oh yes, I love purple!!
I filled the pots with a little bit of chocolates, marigold seeds, purple nail polish, and purple peeps!
I then wrapped all the goodies up, complete with lavender ribbons and a cutout "egg" shaped tag for names... so pretty...for very special teachers!

I picked up some hydrangeas at the grocery...aren't they beautiful....

I stopped in to Tractor Supply to pick up food, hay, and treats for this special guy...remember him? Our "Charleston" Bunny rabbit! He is getting ready for the special day...

While at Tractor Supply, guess what I stumbled across? I nearly screamed I was so excited!! Yes, little things make me happy...
aren't they PRECIOUS!!! :)
Some of them even had little black spots on their fuzzy yellow fur!
Baby Chickens!!!

Sooo, SOOOO CUTE!!
I wanted to kiss each and every one of them :)

Well, there are signs of Spring popping up all over..I am starting to see the trees blooming with flower buds.
What a wonderful time of year!
Look at the size of this strawberry I found in the package from the store..
its' HUGE!

I hope you are all doing well and looking forward to this very Blessed Season of Easter.
Blessings to all of you,

Tooth Fairy Pillows

Long gone are the days when the tooth fairy would visit my own children.
The years seem to just fly by...
I have very dear friends that have small children who are just beginning with tooth fairy visits.
The whole family is such a blessing to us. We miss them dearly, ...they live in another state. I do call when I can to catch up on all new things.
I decided to stitch up tooth fairy pillows for their children.
I am not done yet, I have to fill them up with stuffing and stitch them closed..then off they will go through the mail to three precious little ones! I made sure I put a big pocket on the back of each pillow so the tooth fairy can leave a coin or two ;)
My sweet friend Julie has a beautiful blog. She is such an inspiration to me. Her love of life and family is so refreshing. If you would like to visit, click HERE!

Now onto stitching sweet little somethings for my daughters high school teachers...I have some ideas in mind for a little Easter time gift! More later....
Raggedystitches Always!
Louise

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!

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,