An Awful Day / A Wonderful Day!

Well, my day started out with a text message while on the train that an emergency meeting was taking place and I should get to work as soon as I could. Ended up attending four meetings, so I wasn't able to even start working on my own responsibilities until about 4:00 pm. Worked a 12 hour day and finished at 9:00 pm. 

 Picked up dinner at the train station food court and ate it on my lap on the train. Got to my car at 10:00 pm only to realize that someone had hit my car while I was at work. Dented in the rear corner of the bumper several inches. Did not leave a note. Dragged myself home ready to unwind for an hour and head to bed to get up in a few short hours and do it all over again.

Everything changed when I walked in my kitchen! On the island sat a beautiful manila envelope from my Mom and Dad! I had an inkling that something wonderful was packaged inside. I momentarily entertained the notion of saving it for the weekend... or maybe Valentine's Day ;) and then I quickly opened it up! 

Be still my heart! 

Am I not the luckiest daughter in the world?!

 I love Love LOVE my gorgeous Valentine's Day mat!

 Thank you ever so much Mom for spending your time making such an incredible treasure for me! 

(And I am sure that she spent her time making an identical one for my sister ;)

I will treasure it always! 

Suddenly my awful day turned into a wonderful day! What a difference a package can make! It's going on my table just as soon as I decide I can take it off my lap :)

Aren't Mom's stitches just perfect?

And the wools that she chose are so beautiful!

I'm such a very lucky gal!

"I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."

~Ephesians 4:1-3

Blessings, Patti

Snowmen Part 2

In a post earlier this month I shared some snowmen decorations and snowmen that I made.

I remembered that I had a kit for Buttermilk Basin's January Basin Banner, so I pulled it out right away.

It went quickly and was lots of fun to stitch.

I decided to use buttons for all of the eyes and smiles.

I used rust velvet for the binding.

Has anyone else been having problems with blogger lately?
I've been having trouble loading pictures oriented in the right direction.
And my Reading List keeps disappearing.
Hopefully things will go back to normal soon.
If anyone has any tips, please share.

Now I'm officially moving on to Valentine stitching :)

I have to share an excerpt from the Affirmation of Faith that we spoke in church yesterday. It truly moved me:

"I believe it is a matter of faith to stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves.

I believe it is a matter of faith to recognize equally and love all members of God's human family. There are no exceptions to God's love.

I believe God's creation is good, beautiful and sacred; therefore to condemn any portion os God's creation is to condemn a portion of God. This is sin."

(from Shaping Sanctuary, page 91, adapted from Ruth Dick and Maren Tirabassi)

Blessings, Patti

Finely Finished

I am blessed to belong to a once a month stitch club.

There are eight of us and each month we meet at one of our homes for an afternoon or evening of stitching, snacking and fellowship. 

I've belonged to this group for a long time.

Over twenty years!

Wow, that sounds like a really long time :)

This month we met at our friend Jan's home.

Jan's specialty is finishing.

She does incredibly unique and detailed finishing.

She calls her business "Finely Finished" - isn't that perfect?! 

Most of the above were stitched by another club member, Aileen.

Great job Aileen and Jan!

I love wandering Jan's home and looking at all her lovely work.

She has completed so many wonderful Shepherd's Bush designs

And has finished many of them in her own unique way.

One more beautiful than the other.

She has a fabulous talent for picking fabrics and trims.

So many incredible creations!

And her master work! The setting was lovely, but you need to see this close up.

The stitching is absolute perfection!

Thanks Jan for sharing your home and your talents with us!

"She seeks wool and flax,

and works with willing hands."

~Proverbs 31:13

Blessings, Patti

A second finish and a house guest

My second finish for 2015: 

Stacy Nash's Country Sampler Sleigh Bells Ornament

from the Country Sampler Girls Club

I switched it up to match the pinkeep that I recently finished.

I thought the tree needed a little dimension so I added a bit of darker green here and there.

I'm pleased with them both.

Now I'm thinking it is time to quickly move on to some Valentine stitching.

It will be here in less that a month!

We have a house guest staying with us this weekend.

His name is Apollo :)

It feels so good to have a dog in the house!

He settled right in as his family is good friends of ours and he knows us pretty well.

He found a comfy spot very quickly.

He's a pretty big dog at 50+ pounds,

We were used to our little 12 pounder, Orion.

Maybe come spring, we might be ready to welcome another rescue into our home.

In the meantime, we will enjoy our weekend with Apollo.

“With what shall I come before the Lord,

    and bow myself before God on high?

Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,

    with calves a year old?

Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,

    with ten thousands of rivers of oil?

Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,

    the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”

He has told you, O mortal, what is good;

    and what does the Lord require of you

but to do justice, and to love kindness,

    and to walk humbly with your God?

~Micah 6: 6-8

Blessings, Patti

Snowmen

It's been cold in Chicago, but not a particularly snowy Winter.

So I just have to enjoy my snowmen inside :)

A favorite by Lori Brechlin, Notforgotten Farm

A Buttermilk Basin design

Hmmm, I see a theme here.

I really like Buttermilk Basin's snowmen.

and now that I think of it, I have another Buttermilk Basin snowman kit that I need to pull out!

The Basin Banner for January - you can see it here.

Now where did I put that kit...

"but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,

    they shall mount up with wings like eagles,

they shall run and not be weary,

    they shall walk and not faint."

~Isaiah 40:31

Blessings, Patti

First Finish 2015

My first finish for 2015 is 

Stacy Nash's Country Sampler Sleigh Bells Pinkeep

from the Country Sampler Girls Club

I changed up the fabric and the floss so that it would match the other Winter Stacy Club Kits I have stitched.

I switched up the snowflakes a bit too ;)

I think I need to find a bigger bowl :)

My friend Lisa and I have been affectionately referring to her as "Kim" as she reminds us of Kim Kardashian for obvious reasons :)

I'm stitching the ornament now and hope to finish it soon.

Before you know it, another club kit will be coming along...

"As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus."

~Galatians 3:27-28

Blessings, Patti 

Gifts that I have to share...

"Sledding in Connecticut" abbreviated version of a Notforgotten Farm design.

 I was so fortunate to receive so many lovely gifts this Christmas. I won't bore you with all of them, but there were a few that I thought you might like to see...

I think the gift from my youngest son will earn the title of most used! :)

I reaaaalllly wanted a long arm stapler and it hasn't disappointed! I've used it on two projects so far and it reached all the way from one side to the other. Once I have everything laid out, I just click, click, click and it is all stapled and ready to travel in no time! I think I'll be going through a lot of staples this year!

My other two gifts arrived as surprises in the mail:

This one came from Georgia from my Bittersweet Sister, Linda!

It's just perfect! Here we all are with Maggie Bonanomi holding a Merry Christmas runner and Linda added Santa hats! Too cute! It's fun and it brings back great memories! Thanks so much Linda!

My final gift to share came from my friend in Ohio, Ella:

Isn't this Baaa Hum Bug sheep too cute?! I am so thrilled to be the recipient of her time and talent :)

Thank you so much Ella!

"Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."

~Ephesians 5:1-2

Blessings, Patti

A Brand New Year

Design by Buttermilk Basin

This past year I worked on Buttermilk Basin's Calendar Block of the Month. Now that I have it just about finished, I thought I would share them each month since you have already seen my monthly mantles :)

My favorite New Year's were the years that we rented a big house in the woods with several other families.

We all had young children about the same age. 

During the day, we would hike, sled, and play in the snow. At night we would play board games. Each family would be assigned a meal and would cook for all. 

On New Year's Eve, we would have a nice meal and toast in the New Year with bubbly knowing that we only had to wander to our bedrooms. The kids were surrounded by playmates and loved the noise makers, party hats and the big countdown. They have happy memories as well.  

Maybe someday we will rent that big house in the woods again and create new memories.

This year we spent a quiet night at home which is exactly where I wanted to be. 

My friend, Jan, was talking about jigsaw puzzles recently and I thought how very long it has been since I did one. While cleaning for Christmas, I came across the one above. We put it together quickly on New Year's Eve. So I picked up another larger puzzle:

The white of the birch bark was a challenge, but my younger son is a puzzle master and finished it up in no time. Good thing I bought an even larger puzzle for next weekend :)

I've made a New Year's resolution this year. Maybe blogging about it will help me hold myself accountable :) I usually sleep 5 - 6 hours a night, but know that more sleep is much better for my health. I am going to try to get 7 hours of sleep a night. There is always so much to get done, that sleep is always the first to go. We will see how I do.

I also like to pick a word to focus on for the year. This year it was actually a Bible verse that kept coming to mind. So my verse for the year:

"Be still, and know that I am God!

I am exalted among the nations,

I am exalted in the earth.”

~Psalm 46:10

In a culture of constant multi-tasking and constant electronic communication (of which I am guilty), "Be still" is a tough concept. It is something that I want to be conscious of and try to make time to "Be still".

We will see if I can slow down, take time, focus on faith and sleep more.

Blessings, Patti