Merry Christmas!

Just a quick moment to pop on here and wish you all a most Blessed Christmas! It has been a joy to get to know you through blogging and such. Thank you for your friendship.

 This picture of my front yard was taken a few years ago on a snowless Christmas.

Looks a little different today as it is completely snow covered : )

May you be filled with joy as you worship the One 

who made the journey from the cradle to the cross!

Christmas Hugs!

Victoria

Ever Blessed Winner

Thanks, friends, for sharing how you have been blessed this season in your life.
It is encouraging to me!
The winner for the gift certificate is Calamity Jr. Hooray for you!
If you have never ordered from Needlecraft Corner, you will be in for a treat. Working with Drema is wonderful and she has a 12 Days of Christmas sale going on now too.
Just send me an email Calamity : )

Hope your December is starting out with hope and joy!
Victoria

Ever Blessed

I finished this up a couple of weeks ago but thought it was a perfect stitch to share for today. A day when we, here in the U.S., especially feel "ever blessed."

 

 "Ever Blessed"

Heartstring Samplery - Beth Twist

30ct. Creek Bed Brown by R&R

a variety of DMC threads with a couple of overdyed

While stitching on this, I was wondering about the date and initials on the original pattern. Then it became so clear that it had to say this year, 2013, and our family name had to be on it. Two thousand thirteen has been quite a year for us. While the highs have been extra high, the lows have literally scraped the bottom. I can't say I felt "ever blessed" through all that. There is nothing easy about life's trials. But in my head and heart I still have to believe it to be true --- regardless of my feelings, regardless of my circumstances. I have learned to a greater degree from going through those things how "ever blessed" I really, truly am.

This year I am ever blessed by knowing His grace and mercy in a deeper way.

Whether you are celebrating Thanksgiving or not, how are you ever blessed?

Please tell me and I will enter your name for a $25 gift certificate to one
of my favorite places to order, Needlecraft Corner.
If a non-stitching friend wins - a $25 g/c to Amazon.
I will pick a name on December 2nd.
No need to "advertise." This is just for you faithful friends and followers : )
'Cause I am ever blessed to know you!

Victoria 

Widows and Kiddos Weekend

It rolls around every year.
You know, that weekend before Thanksgiving when men pack up their blaze orange garb and head for the woods to provide. When most of their wives head to the malls or craft sales. When this particular wife loves nothing more than staying home, hunkering down with some good movies and some fun projects.

This year I told the chili peppers they needed to make a list of what they wanted to do for the four days. My chief intention was so that when they came around bored and asked me what to do, I could just direct them to their lists. It worked perfect-they never asked because they already had ideas.

Fun stuff on there!

The Treasure Hunt on top of the lists is something BNH started 18 years ago. (Remember that one Auntie Lisa?) He writes up clues which sends the kids running all over the house until they get to the treasure, a box filled with resale puzzles, snacks, sticker books, a game or craft or whatever else he finds to put in. It is totally his deal and he does an awesome job of providing things to keep the kids occupied for the weekend.

My oldest girl came and spent the weekend with us too as it was her first "widow weekend" as well. The silly thing put "eat sweets" and "letters to Santa" on her list. So the peppers had to add that to theirs as well. No letters were written as we don't celebrate Santa, but we ate some pretty tasty gluten-free monster cookies!

And we made some fun projects too.
My littlest guy's Creatology Christmas house:

Bracelets made by my sweet 8 yr. old:

A beaded drape that goes over a plain globe ornament made by the newlywed:

Stitching for me:

 I started and finished this one in a day - quick and fun.

I just need some trim to put it together.

 

Bedford Falls

The Sampler Girl

30ct. Creek Bed Brown by R&R

DMC threads

 

 More work on Mary's Sampler II



And Needleworker got some attention too.

We all enjoyed being together and just chillin'. Speaking of chillin' our men were literally doing just that as it was -3° F on Sunday morning where they were. Brave souls! Feels more like January here than November.

I was kind of sad to see the time end as I always enjoy the weekend and its change of pace. Looking forward to next year already : )
Until later,
Victoria

A Most Blessed Day...and It's Not Over Yet!

I believe that every day with all its good and bad is blessing. But some days come along with extra goodness. Today is one of those days.

A good part of today's blessings started over 4 years ago. I met a very special lady at a homeschooling conference. She was there giving a talk about GraceWorks planners and how to make the best use of our time for His glory. I was already familiar with GraceWorks but just needed a "reboost" on using the materials. The talk was encouraging and I found the vendor's booth and spent considerable time there choosing what planner sheets I wanted to use. I took way longer than I needed to because I just enjoyed talking with her and her daughter. I remember going back to their booth later in the day saying that I wished I lived closer to her because I'd like her for a friend. That was a so-not-me thing to do! I told my husband that I hoped I hadn't seemed weird about that, but I had just felt a connection with her in many ways.

Eight months later on a boring, winter evening, I looked up GraceWorks and its blog. Poking around I looked at the "about me" and saw that Tricia had two other blogs. Well, you know how one thing leads to another when you're online. Before I knew it, I was viewing The Stamper's Stitches blog. Oh, cross stitching. I used to do that before I had all these kids. Wow! Look how the patterns have changed since the 90's! They're so pretty and way less backstitching. About a month later I dug out an old stitching piece and began to finish it. I lurked about on blogs for about a year before starting my own. And here I am today - back to stitching and meeting all of you.

And meeting Tricia again! I had been praying about meeting her for some time and today was the appointed day. If I even try to express what a blessing our time together was, I know it will come up short. Meeting halfway between our houses for coffee, we talked cross stitching, blogging, schedules, families, special diets, and learning about what grace really means. When I had thought back years ago that we had things in common, I found out today how even more so that is true. If she hadn't looked at her watch, I think we would still be sitting in Starbuck's sharing, laughing, and shedding a couple more tears.

Earlier I had sent her a chart to stitch for Christmas in case our meeting didn't work. Here is the sweet gift she made me. I love it!

Thanks again, Tricia, for your friendship, the pillow, and our time together. It was a gift from above! I sure hope a road trip will be in our not-so-distant future! : )

When I got home after 2:00, more blessings were in store for me. My oldest girl had come over to teach school this morning and get lunch for the chili peppers. There was a delicious smell coming from the oven as they were baking a gluten free pumpkin applesauce Bundt cake with a maple frosting glaze. Then she tells me that she cleaned my bathrooms and did 5 loads of laundry. Oh, my!

But that isn't all. She invited the peppers over to spend the night with her and her husband. My two oldest sons are both gone for the weekend. This is the first time in I don't know when that BNH and I will have the whole house to ourselves for the evening and part of tomorrow morning. He has no idea so I need to go hurry and get ready for a blessed evening as well : )

Wishing you a most blessed day too!
Victoria

Cold Weather Happenings

Hey All!

How is everyone?  Thought I share this quick pic out my kitchen window.

Ready or not winter is on the way.

My oldest son just told me it is suppose to get down to 16°F tonight.

That is soooo cold!!

My youngest kiddos were watching the rain turn to snow this morning and cheered when it was finally sticking to the ground. As for me, my head is still somewhere in October. I keep thinking I want to stitch one more autumn piece. I probably won't start one as I am trying to keep up with knitting the Christmas afghan gift for the newlyweds as well as work on the stitched ones I have started.

 

I did finish the Ever Blessed SAL last week. Walmart had no purchase-worthy fabric, so I will pop out tomorrow to the quilt shop for $2 Tuesday for all fat quarters.

I will post that one when it is completely complete.

 

I did get a chance to try dyeing some linen with black walnuts.

I used an old knee-high nylon and put the walnuts in it.

That way I didn't have to strain the liquid after boiling.

 Next time I will put in more walnuts for this amount of water. It didn't seem to be a deep enough stain.

 This is antique white linen, the top one is dyed.

This is Charles Craft tea-dyed linen with a piece of it walnut dyed on top.

The lighting wasn't the best when I took these.

The tea-dyed fabric looks richer with the walnut stain added to it.

All in all the results were so-so.

 I do think that I liked the results I got from tea and coffee that I tried earlier this year better though. It gave a mottled effect.

I just read what Nancy over at Victorian Motto Sampler said about dyeing fabric.

She is right about what acid does. I wonder if there is acid in the walnut stain?

Anybody know?

 

Well, time to start a warm fall to winter dinner here -

Butternut squash and freshly harvested venison loins.

(My oldest son got a 14 pointer with his bow Friday night.)

Maybe some cranberries and apples simmered with cinnamon and brown sugar too.

 

Keep warm and be blessed,

Simply Victoria

Open Hands yet Stitching Fingers

Have you ever been in that place where it seems like things just keep falling through the gaps?

Instead of having your fingers close and hands together holding on to and dealing with life

It looks more like this:

Open hands, open fingers.

Whether it is the pressure of too much to hold or just needing to relax

 the hand position for a bit, life starts falling through the open spaces.

Before you know it, you look down and see what has fallen out on the floor

 and at your feet.

That's what has been going on with me.

Some of life has fallen through my hands.

 Blogging is one of those. Not yours - I have been keeping up, reading,
and commenting.
It's my own that has been sorely neglected.
                                                                                                                                                                                           

I have tried several times to  sit down to post about my daughter's wedding and it just hasn't come together. It was a most amazing day, joy beyond measure. But, trying to communicate that here just hasn't worked for me.  My BNH was also reticent about our youngest kids in any family photos, and I didn't want to post anything without the bride's approval.  Last week's happenings proved once again why I hadn't posted. Some ugly website viewed my blog. Bleh! It makes my skin crawl and it frustrates me all at the same time. What a spoiler. I am bummed not to be able to share it with you. Just trust me when I say, it was the most beautiful, Christ-centered wedding ever. No mother's bias, truly! It just really was.

Thankfully, one thing that hasn't fallen through my fingers has been stitching.

I can now show you this gift for Shirlee's birthday.

 Little House Needlework's "Peace"

28 ct. Sandcastle by Wichelt

recommended CC and 1 Weeks thread as a substitute in the words

I had fun doing this for her and she loved it!

I have been praying for her heart physically and emotionally so it was the perfect stitch.

 

A cool thing happened while in the quilt shop looking for the fabric for that one. The sales lady who came to help me noticed I was carrying around the linen and told me she used to be a designer, Prairie Primitives. It was fun to chat with her about stitching things. She quit because it is a tough industry financially. She couldn't afford to continue.

I asked her about her favorite way to dye linen. She said with black walnuts.

Well, my sweet married girl was with me that day and what did she do for me?

She collected a whole bag full of black walnuts for me. They were on the ground where she goes running and thought I would appreciate them. Oh, yes, I do!

Once they turn all black and gunky, I will have fun experimenting with them.

If any of you have done this with success, I'd love it for you share any tips with me!

Please and thank you : )

 

I have been working on these:

Plum Street Samplers "Mary's Sampler II"

LHN's "Needleworker"

 

and another SAL from Heartstring Samplery "Ever Blessed"

 

I also started a knitting project. I haven't knitted in a couple of years but really wanted to do this for the young marrieds - an afghan for their Christmas gift.

I am using Homespun Quick and Thick. It's going to be so toasty and perfect for a cold winter evening here in Wisconsin. I am not going to show you my progress on this one anymore. DD is a follower : ) While she picked the yarn, the final finish needs a bit of an element of surprise.

 

Guess that's it for this time.

Thanks for stopping by to visit with me.

So appreciative of you all!!

Simply,

Victoria

 



Wonder of Wonders, Miracle of Miracles

The Old West is finished!!!!

It is indeed a wonder and a miracle.

I have never made so many mistakes and had to frog so much.

One example is these sleeping cowboys.

While I found out way back in March that they and the cacti on the right were all

one hole too low, I didn't fixed them until 2 days ago.

My little buddy kept encouraging me to finish as it is going in his room. He liked reading the chart and figuring out where I was. Thursday afternoon he was helping me with the border on the bottom. He worked the needle on the top and I stitched from the bottom. He was getting the hang of over 2 pretty well.

So I finished everything except the gold x's for the gold nuggets. He wanted to help with those.



At one point when we were working, he said, "This is gonna be great." 



 

And the final stitch ----



 

Gold nugget x's! Finished by my six year old! : )

Just need to find the right frame.

I have also been working on another piece but I can't show it yet.

Next up? Too many choices! I thought I knew what I was going to do until a couple of freebie SAL's jumped out at me. Two new ones in one week: Plum Street Samplers' and Heartstring Samplery's.  My stash pile also grew again with some charts a dear friend was cleaning out. Such a problem! : P 

The fiery attack is still on here but lessening somewhat with the heat of intensity. Thanks to those of you who are praying! It means the world to me! We are getting in our homeschool groove here. This is the first year ever in 17 years that I have only 2 children to teach. It's refreshing!

My college girl, Miss Over-Achiever, was taking a break from homework at 9:30pm on  Friday night and called. She shared all about the speakers and artists on campus this week: Kirk Cameron was promoting his new movie, Unstoppable, which she also got to see; Mandisa was there singing; yesterday it was Willie Robertson and the David Crowder Band. Last week it was John Piper. Sigh! When she said she was writing a paper on a book by Tozer, I was really groaning with envy! I'd love to "have" to read Tozer. Think I could be 20 again and go back to college? That really would be a "miracle of miracles!"

Speaking of a miracle of miracles, anybody know where the title from this blog comes from?? If you do, leave me a comment and I'll send you a little something. But, no fair googling for the answer!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Victoria

What Remains

Cheerful colors of summer beauty still remain in my backyard. 

The flowers my 8 yr. old started in little covered pots back in May

are continuing to grow strong.

Sunflowers, zinnias and marigolds!

With no frost yet and a few warmer day here, it seems almost summer-like.

But this afternoon's roadside walk with my girl here showed another story.

 

Fall is definitely here. 

Goldenrod, marsh asters, and New England asters

 decorate the fall roadsides here in Wisconsin,

giving a show of color in the ditches.

Wild, natural, and beautiful in their own right.

 

Soon their season will end as well.

Snow will pile up heavy and deep.

Life and growth will cease for a time.

And while those seasonal changes must go on,

I am ever so glad that one thing will always remain.

Simply,

Victoria

 

The grass withers and the flowers fall,

but the word of our God stands forever.

Isaiah 40: 8 

DTGTWTH

Hey Friends,

I have been off the radar for a bit and now that I am back, I come with an obscure blog post title. I'm sure that seems quite unusual but there is a reason and I shall explain.

Part of the reason I have been absent is the fact that we have had a fiery attack here which has threatened to take us all out.

Monday, I was emotionally exhausted and just down.

But God in His goodness blessed me with a lift in the form of mail.

I suppose you could say I received a RAK. But there was absolutely nothing random about the act of kindness that was given to me. So, I found myself in need

of an new acronym much more specific.

 

Thus, DTGTWTH!

It is not really pretty.

It has too many consonants and no vowels.
It's not even pronounceable!

BUT, it works for me.

 

DTGTWTH

Divinely Timed Gift That Warms The Heart

 

And, that is what I have received - a divinely timed gift that warmed my heart.
From Shirlee!

I had asked to borrow her tea chart and look what she sent.

A very special card and a dear pillow too!

She says she is not good at color choices. hmm...

Look how she coordinated the tissue paper to match the fabric and even

 the colors on the chart. 

Does this rickrack and rose look familiar?

Myra posted it last week on her blog.

I thought it was so pretty. Little did I know it was for me.

Myra, this is lovely! Thank you, too, for your lovely work!

Your finishing is gorgeous and I am proud to own a piece!

Shirlee, I am blessed to be called your friend
and call you friend!

Yes! It was made with love : )

The same day I also received an envelope with some new charts from 123 Stitch.
Actually they were from Shirlee too. She drew my name last spring on her giveaway. Even though I entered the wrong category, she gave me a g/c to 123.

I say that while Shirlee's physical heart is not working correctly, there is absolutely nothing wrong with her heart in the truest sense of the words.
Her heart is beating steadily with generosity and kindness.
I am blessed to be a recipient of her heart's overflow!
Please remember to pray for her tomorrow!!

Shirlee, you are a DTGTWTH!
Thank you for your friendship, gifts, and for standing in the gap and praying!
Love you!

Victoria