Next......DREAM

This is called DREAM  by Just Another Button Company.  I am near the end, just adding all of the dots here and there....the buttons come next.  I just picked up another like chart from same company called Keeping Promises.  Noah's Ark......with darling buttons.  Next time I'll share it.

Now I'd like to add another chart and my start of work.....we shall see what happens

It worked.  This is an Imaginating design and is lovely.  I am stitching on antique white, 28 count I believe.  There is another like design called NOEL.......done on black.  Check the website and link to Imaginating and you may be able to see it.

Here goes a delightful piece with compensating changes I had to make.
 This is a called Patchwork is Happpiness   by  one of our new French companies.  You can see the layout of the design and when I started, which was in the upper left corner, I zipped right along, down the side, across the bottom, and then up to the top.  I decided I was tired of triangles and would begin the patchwork. Start at the left side I began with the offwhite thread just two threads from the triangle border. Worked to the next part of the patches and then up to the blue small border.  When I arrived at the center, I looked back and realized that I should have left four threads from the triangle border, not two. Therefore my center patch didn't line up........great.   and I'm not ripping it out.   So if you notice at the center of the patch just at the corner of the paper chart......it looks a bit different than the previous one.  Remembering my days in school with our Danish teachers........saying "compensate".....I did just that.  I added two stitches in the center of the patch.....you can tell it when pointed out.  I will compensate across the remainder of the row with the correct patch.     Look for the next blog to check out.  I'm not much of a "ripper" and will do most anything not to take out the wrong stitches.......good thing or not good......otherwise I probably would have just put it in a box and looked for it two years from now!!!!!  Trust me it will look just fine and if I hadn't told you, hopefully you wouldn't have seen it.

My daffodils are ready to pop.....just as they look in the picture from a previous blog.  Today is Palm Sunday, tomorrow Passover, Good Friday, and then Easter.  Interestingly the showing of THE BIBLE on the History channel, which I watched with my grandson, helps fit the puzzle of Jesus entering Jerusalem for Passover celebration......and things took a change.  Often I think Jesus adopted me as I follow Him in my life for I wasn't born as a Jew or Israelly (sp)....just my thoughts.  My faith is such a real part of how I have survived the challenges of my life.   Many times, without the hope, trust, and love that I had been exposed to at Sunday School.....well, not sure where I'd be.

We all have taken many journeys through our lives....and many are in the midst of wondering "Why?"  I know in so many ways that we gather courage from sharing with others to simply lighten the burden .  My tree in the front is lighted with  BELIEVE  and as friends and neighbors drive by I trust they gain hope just seeing it.  Many from church always make some comment......BELIEVE....BELIEVE......even sometimes it is hard to do just that.  MAKE A DIFFERENCE in the life of others.......with just a hug.

I need to post this and pack my bags and pray that I can get to the airport and see my little brother tomorrow night......and his family.....love to all.......Ruth Ellen

Where is spring???

Well, the calendar says it is spring......but .....I am packing to fly to Houston, Texas, tomorrow and it is supposed to be snowing here.   Supposedly it is very warm in Texas....so we shall see. I have always wanted to see the Texas bluebonnets and am hoping this is my opportunity. 

Yesterday, the 23rd, I actually was a salesperson at the shop.  Beth asked me several days ago if I'd be there and Nancy, Phyllis, and I held down the fort.  I flubbed on the charge machine and had to ask for help but oh well.  The boys played a baseball game in Maryland......even in cold weather and did pretty well.  I was the dog sitter.

I have been busy stitching on some of the things the girls brought back from Nashville.  Winter Quakers has been my immediate task.  It is on its way to being quite nice.  Karen Kluba of Rosewood Manor has used Valdani thread....three fine strands variegated.  So far so good.  I'm stitching it on an overdyed blue 28 ct. from Picture This Plus.  The colors and stitches are wide and varied.....but enjoyable to put in place.  Now hopefully I can get my picture of this in this chatter.  Here goes.

March 2013

Well, another year has come and gone.......and yes, I'm still around.  It has been one of those years when I wasn't sure if I was coming or going.  My 96 year dad had many challenges as the year had begun and several trips back and forth to Ohio/West Virginia kept me in a loop.....loopy!  Dad hung in there until my sister, Carma, arrived from New Zealand, her home, in early September.  She headed to Pennsylvania to visit here a bit.....and Dad, an answer to prayer, decided it was time for him to "jump off the mountain"  with the Good Lord leading the way.  He passed away on the 12th, and we all headed "home" to celebrate his life.  And......Carm's return to New Zealand stayed right on schedule.  We have been blessed. 

Having said that, even though I was totally prepared for his leaving and had given him my blessing to meet up with Mom (she might even meet you with an apple pie, I told him, and say, "What took you so long?") I was missing my parent/s and the holidays ahead were different.  His birthday was January 1, so was always a part of our holiday time.  God is good.

Just weeks before we began preparation for Dad's leaving, Jimmy, my older grandson, 11, was diagnose with IBD....intestinal bowel disease....and getting him diagnosed and treated is still going on some 7-8 months later.  We must have a genetic connection to this "gut" problem as Abby, his mother, my younger daughter, was diagnosed with Crohn's disease...small intestine....years ago.....and my brother's youngest was diagnosed 9 years ago in Texas.   So I haven't been doing "nuthin", but my head just couldn't get around chatting. 

I actually had a hard time even finding how to get back on my 2 cents....and will see if this works.  We are beginning our 34th year as one of the largest cross stitch shops in the U.S........and now have the blessing of being one of the few with a door to open and invite you to look around.  Things are changing as mail order and internet worldwide are impacting our approach.  With that we are meeting many challenges, going forward with sharing our store worldwide and now and then having long traveling friends show up at the door so pleased to see a real shop.

I am planning on introducing some new ideas and will progress with that in the coming weeks.  Beth and Molly are coming home from the market so excited with new stuff for all of us.  Check out her "gabbing" on our home page......and I look forward to getting back "with it".    

Make today count..........and make a difference in someone's life......Ruth Ellen

Would you believe that the front of the "barn" is almost the same......the daffodils are stitcking the green leaves up.....no flowers yet.....but the tree is saying "BELIEVE" and will come down after Easter.