Summertime stitching and a quick visit to Rome

Thank you! Thank you! I was so touched by the kind comments on my previous post about my youngest son's wedding. I never, ever want to come off as though I'm bragging--I'm just not that type of person... So, I hesitated to even post my photos and descriptions of that magical day. On the other hand, this blog is like my (not too personal) diary so I just had to include memories from that special family occasion. I appreciate each of your thoughts--stitchers are absolutely the nicest people! Thank you again!

So, July is nearing its end and what a summer it's been so far: extreme temperatures worldwide, tornado activity in spots where it's not common, and tropical storms. And let's not forget the horrible air quality (our Air Quality Index was at 368--in the hazardous category--last week) we've experienced due to the wildfire smoke drifting both down from Canada and up to Canada due to our wildfires here in the U.S.  It's so different than the summers I remember while growing up in the 50s and 60s in upstate New York. Yes, there were occasional uncomfortably hot days, but my summer was filled with playing outdoors with all the neighborhood kids from dawn to dusk: pick-up baseball games in the nearby park, roller skating and riding our bikes up and down the street, lazily reading book after book on my shady front porch, and playing kick-the-can until the street lights flickered on and it was time to head home. I wonder how many kids are able to enjoy these things on a daily basis with the climate changing the way it is? 

Summer stitching has been calling my name as I have very few purely summer related pieces to put out once I take my patriotic decor down. Oh, I have my bee and sunflower stitching, but I want more things that are pure summer. After many, many years, I finally finished the fourth and final chart from Prairie Schooler's "Country Seasons" (book no. 123): Summer. I had stitched the other three back in 2006 (Winter), 2007 (Spring), and 2008 (Fall) even before I began blogging in 2009! For some reason, the summer design just didn't catch my interest the way the other three had, so I kept putting off stitching it. But, it ended up being pretty cute, don't you think?

The fourth season, Summer, is finally stitched!

This one turned out smaller than the previous three because I stitched it on 40 ct. platinum Newcastle. I believe the others were stitched on 16 ct. aida and 32 ct. jobelan, but I'm not positive since I wasn't recording my finishes way back then. I've used the same frame to display each of the other three when I change them out for the season, but I'm afraid this frame is just too large for the smaller Summer finish. I'll have to figure something else out. Below I'm sharing all of the seasons--which one is your favorite? I especially love Autumn because the colors are so bright and vibrant!

All the seasons from PS. Book No. 123: "Country Seasons"

You may remember this charming Madame Chantilly piece called "Celebrate Summer" which I shared three years ago in this post. Well, I finally got around to framing it with a rustic, weathered looking frame which I purchased online from Franken Frames. Why, oh why do I procrastinate so long when it comes to framing? This was a particularly easy piece to frame as there were no straight borders to deal with on the stitching itself. As always, I use the framing method in this tutorial by Brenda Gervais. If you are on the fence about attempting to frame things yourself, give this method a try--it really isn't difficult!

My largest summer finish--finally framed!

 

It will be so nice to have this larger summer piece framed and on display for the next couple of months. That grinning whale and little girl in her vintage bathing costume always make me smile. 

I think I'll be stitching the "Celebrate Fall" chart from this series next and I plan on using the same frame.

Even though the Fourth of July has passed, I want to share my red, white, and blue stitching and decorating with you! Also, having photos to refer to, makes it extremely easy for me to decorate from one year to the next :) 

The sideboard in my kitchen all done up in red/white/and blue for July

How about some close-ups? If you have questions on any of these, just email me and I'll try to help!

 

 

This little patriotic display is the centerpiece on our kitchen table for the month.

 

And, last, but not least--the kitchen corner cupboard all dressed up for the Fourth, too.

Garden update... In spite of the sweltering heat and lack of rain, our garden has fared quite well due to the irrigation system my husband installed a few years ago...

We're growing corn this year for the first time, although these may turn out to be the smallest ears on record :) 

 

We picked a good amount of blueberries in spite of a nasty raccoon breaking into our fenced-in garden (he crawled right over!) and eating at least half of the berries.

 

Our blueberry haul so far--there are more to be picked!

 

I love looking out the kitchen window and seeing these happy sunflowers nodding in the breeze in our garden.

Books... I seem to be listening to more and more books rather than reading them. I love hearing the different voices and the way I can picture the characters in my mind so much clearer than when I read the words on a page. Two exceptional, although very different, books that I've enjoyed this month are "The Calamity Club" by Kathryn Stockett (the author of that wonderful book from 2009 "The Help") and "I See You've Called in Dead" by John Kenney. "The Calamity Club" is a b-i-g book at almost 29 listening hours/and over 600 pages! I hesitated to begin it for that very reason, but, honestly--I could barely stop listening it was so well done. I'm sure it's wonderful to read, too, but do yourself a favor and listen to it! "I See You've Called in Dead" was not a title that called to me, but I read the excellent reviews and I'm so glad I took a chance on it. It's a much shorter book (at just 7.5 listening hours/300 pages) and I listened to it over the course of two days while stitching, cooking, and cleaning. To read a bit more about each book, just click here for "The Calamity Club" and here for "I See You've Called in Dead."  Who else loves listening to books?

Two of my favorite audiobooks of all-time! Give them a listen! 

Travels...  As I promised in my post about the wedding, I'll be sharing some photos from our travels while we were in Italy. This first batch is from Rome where we spent just one full day before we drove up to the wedding venue which was almost three hours northeast. We rented an apartment for two nights to get an authentic Rome feel and to be able to walk to the main historical section. Rome itself did not appeal to me--let's say I'm so not a city girl! I found it hot, crowded, noisy, filled with graffiti, and cigarette smoke. The traffic was insane and I'm so glad my husband had hired a car to take us from the Rome airport (which was just rated the third-highest anxiety inducing airport in the world--you can read about the top ten here) to our rental apartment. That being said, I truly enjoyed a brief walk around the historic part of the city to witness those iconic sites in person. The sheer age of the remains of the ancient Roman empire just makes my head spin...

This was the view from our apartment rental in Rome's Ludovisi neighborhood. Simply lovely!

 

Since we arrived very late in the afternoon, the only "touristy" thing we did that evening after dinner (pizza, of course, and, oh, was it tasty!) was walk to the Trevi Fountain. Although beautiful, it was absolutely mobbed with visitors. Rome has now instituted a two euro ticket for any non-resident wishing to go down to the water to toss their three coins. They are hoping this approach will help with crowd management. It's estimated the paid tickets will also bring in €6,000,000 a year in revenue. 

The following day, even though jet-lag was hitting hard, we wanted to do a quick walk past some of the ancient sites. They didn't disappoint!

What's a trip to Rome without at least a glimpse of The Colosseum--the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built. It could hold from 50,000-80,000 spectators depending on the time in history. We would have loved to do a proper tour, but there was simply no time.

 

The Temple of Venus and Roma is thought to be the largest temple constructed in ancient Rome beginning in 121 AD.

Remains of the ancient Roman Forum which, for centuries, was the center of daily life. Elections, triumphal processions, trials, speeches, and gladiator matches all occurred here. Just imagine all the history this site has witnessed over the years.

 

The Forum of Caesar was built around 54 BC to extend the historic Roman Forum and create more room for public meetings, processions, etc. 

The remains of the Temple of Venus Genetrix in the Forum of Caesar date back to 46BC.

The massive Victor Emmanuel II National Monument (also known as the Vittoriano) was built in the 19th century to honor Victor Emmanuel II, the first king of a unified Italy. 

After seeing a tiny portion of the ancient sites, we headed back to our apartment to cool off a bit. A beautiful park was located nearby so, after we rested for a while, we headed over and thoroughly enjoyed walking the paths of Villa Borghese. With almost 200 acres, the tree-filled park with many meandering paths felt a world away from the hustle and bustle of Rome's city center. 

So, there you have it--an extremely brief visit to one of the world's most historic cities. Would I go back? No... Rome was simply not my cup of tea, so to speak. I hated having to constantly worry about pickpockets and being harassed by people trying to sell me trinkets and such. But, I'm sure some of you have visited at less crowded times and loved it. In future posts, I'll be sharing more of Tuscany--a region that I definitely would go back to if given the chance! 

Today marks a very special moment in my life--on July 23, 1977 my husband and I walked down the aisle at the small Presbyterian church in my hometown and said our "I dos." Yes--49 years ago... We were two newly graduated 22 years olds--very young by today's standards, but completely normal back then. We have no regrets about getting married so young and are truly looking forward to celebrating our big 50th next year with a family trip.  Happy 49th to my dear husband--here's to many more years of love and laughter, fun family times, and further adventures!

Thank you all for stopping in today--it's always fun to read your comments and emails and I appreciate each and every one. I'll try to get back to posting twice a month in August. July just kind of got away from me! Take care now--and happy stitching! Bye for now...  

Up On the Housetop

Can you believe we are down to the final two days of August? Where has our summer gone? I feel like I was hardly outside due to the heat and humidity this year... And to prove it wasn't only in my head, the Pittsburgh area tied with several other cities as 10th highest in the nation for number of days (61) with temperatures above normal since June. Is your city shown on the slideshow? My sons kept telling me it's always this bad and I kept saying, "No, I never remember a summer this hot and humid!" It's nice to know that old mom is right every now and then!! So, you can see why I've been stitching Christmas ornaments in an attempt to cool down...


My first ornament is what I should have stitched during July for my ornament-a-month goal. I'm sure you all recognize it as a Prairie Schooler, don't you? It's from "Up On the Housetop" Book No. 25 and is stitched on some 32 ct. dark grey mystery linen that I bought on Ebay. I changed the color of the house to this pretty yellow (DMC 676), but the other colors were as charted. I've always had a thing for little yellow houses--they look so cozy and inviting. Do I have a yellow house? No...but maybe some day! I didn't plan this, but look how well the house color matches the trim color. Guess it was just meant to be...



For my August ornament this Prairie Schooler addict chose, what else--another PS design! This one is stitched over one on 28ct. Country French Cafe Mocha linen with the suggested DMC colors. It is just about 3 inches square--the perfect size for an ornament. This design can be found in one of the new PS charts: "And To All A Goodnight" Book No. 167.



Since this is quite a "busy" design, I kept the finishing pretty simple--just backed it with the fabric shown and added the plaid bow and red buttons for the hanger. It didn't even strike me that I was stitching the same basic theme as the previous ornament (Santa with his sled and reindeer) until I was just about done with the second!


The mailman delivered this beautiful Hillside Samplings chart this week as a gift from Melissa at Words and Blooms. Melissa had a special giveaway for some of her already-stitched charts for her regular vistors/commenters (see it pays to comment!!) and I was lucky enough to win this beauty. Thank you so much, Melissa--I am truly looking forward to stitching it and will definitely "pay forward" your kindness when I am done...


Most of you know that I love to bake, but without my sons around (except for Sunday dinners), I bake very little anymore. My middle son kind of teased me about it a while back saying, "Remember when you used to bake cookies, Mom?" Well, if I did bake them as much as I used to I would gain 100 pounds. My three guys were little cookie monsters when they were younger--there was no keeping up with them. So, as a special treat for their Sunday dinner today, I tried a new recipe: Oatmeal Raisin Bars from Everyday Food magazine. I love that magazine because it uses ingredients that you actually have readily available in your kitchens rather than having to hunt down exotic ingredients that you might use once in your lifetime! These were just great--moist and flavorful and you could really substitute any dried fruit for the raisins. Yum!!

I really enjoyed reading all of your comments on my last post about how many "unfinished finishes" you have hiding away at your houses. It was nice to know that I'm not alone! Some of you even had more than my 82 which made me feel much better. At least I've been good about finishing my monthly ornaments this year. And to show you how well I've kept up with their finishing...here they are from January through August:

Thought I would leave you with a collage of the winged beauties that have visited my garden this month. I'm just fascinated by dragonfly wings--that iridescent quality is so lovely...


And once again, thank you so much for each and every comment and email--they mean so much to me and I truly appreciate the time you take in writing me. May your week bring you only good things and I hope my American friends have a relaxing and stitch-filled Labor Day weekend. Bye now...

Week Thirty-Five: Sunflowers

It is hard to believe that this is the 35th ornament I've stitched during 2009. September is right around the corner and I'm really looking forward to it. Not only is autumn my favorite season but fall pieces are my favorites to stitch (aside from Prairie Schooler Christmas ornaments!). I thought this one, stitched on 32-ct. sage Jobelan using DMC, Needle Necessities, and Weeks Dye Works fibers, was perfect for the end of summer/beginning of fall. This was actually a pattern for a beaded Mill Hill kit, but I converted it to cross stitch and added a few things such as the little bees and the grass sprouting at the bottom of the fence. The original kit had sunflower buttons so I had to chart some rather rustic looking sunflowers, also. I'm pleased with how it turned out and I think it will be a great addition to our family room.

When spring planting time rolls around, we make sure to plant sunflowers in our garden. They are such a strong, brilliant looking flower and they always brighten my day when I look out my kitchen window and see them. As you can see in the photo on the right, the bees like them, too. And, of course, the birds appreciate all of the seeds as the cooler weather arrives.

I hope you all have a great week with lots of peaceful stitching time! Until next weekend...

Week Thirty: Scene in the Dunes

In honor of our annual vacation in North Carolina's Outer Banks I've stitched this summery looking ornament from the Wishful Thinking website. "Scene in the Dunes," stitched on 28-count Monaco using DMC threads, is a free chart available right here. Doesn't this make you feel like you're right on the beach listening to the waves and feeling the warmth of the sun on your face?

This week my husband's entire side of the family (there were 23 of us in one huge beach house) gathered to spend the week in Corolla, NC. It was our first visit to this part of the Outer Banks--we usually vacation farther south in the Nags Head area. Each area has its pros and cons, but the most important thing was we took 23 family members from Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Connecticut ranging in age from 5 to 81 and spent a laughter-filled week in (mostly) sunny North Carolina. We have some great memories to add to out previous 24 years of family get-togethers in the Outer Banks...

Week Twenty-Eight: Summer Basket

Oh, what a busy week we've had here! I only had time to stitch this tiny, but cute, summer basket motif from Sue Hillis's "Seasonal Baskets" pattern. You all know how I dislike stitching with brown floss, but this basket came together fairly painlessly. I love how the backstitching makes the flag, the slice of watermelon, the red and white napkins, and the loaf of bread (crusty and French I presume!) really pop. I used DMC threads and 28-count Summer Khaki Lugana for this design and plan on finishing it into a little pillow. I saw the cutest basket filled with little stitched summery pillows on another blog that would be fun to put together.

My youngest son turned 21 on Thursday--like every mother I find it hard to believe the years have passed so quickly. I always say he was born with a smile on his face--he has that positive attitude and enthusiasm for life that I wish we all had more of... I still remember when he was a newborn and he had his days and nights mixed up. After one particularly exhausting night I sat there on the edge of the bed with him in my arms, desperately tired and weepy, and looked down to see the biggest toothless smile appear on his week-old face. I know, I know babies aren't supposed to be able to truly smile until they are six weeks old or so, but, honestly, he smiled at me that morning and I just knew everything was going to be all right...for him and for me.

Week Nineteen: Summer Scene

I guess the title of my latest finish, "Summer Scene", is just wishful thinking! After the wet and cold week we've had here in western Pennsylvania, summer seems a l-o-n-g way off...This piece, although small, was a challenge for me because it used not only cross stitching, but some specialized stitches that were new to me as well: Hungarian stitches on the roof; leviathan stitches on the front door; Smyrna stitches for the flowers; woven leaf stitches for the tree leaves; reversed cushion stitch on the sidewalk; and everyone's favorite--the French knot for the flower centers. I love the different textures that all of these stitches give the finished piece. This primitive folk-artsy "Summer Scene" designed by Cynthia Zittel of The Drawn Thread was stitched on 32-count Twilight Blue linen with DMC threads. Isn't that oversized cat sitting in the front yard so funny!

Wishing all of you who are mothers a Happy Mother's Day tomorrow--it is often a thankless, tiring, and messy job (especially when your kids are young), but I can't imagine life without my three sons! Oh, and thanks mom--I love you dearly...