My Dad

My dad passed away on January 29. It's been a sad time for me and my family but I am comforted by the thought that he is happy resting in the arms of Jesus and Mary. If you would, please pray that he rest in peace.

Last night, I made this pretty satchel bag from the French General Home Sewn book. I got the Waverly material from a tag sale. The lady is an interior designer and had loads of pieces and bolts of fabric everywhere. I scooped up quite a bit that day!
My sister-in-law has been extremely helpful and supportive the past few weeks. She helped bring my mom back and forth to the hospital, helped with the wake and funeral arrangements and read at my dad's Mass, despite a nasty cold and laryingitis. I'm pretty sure she's much better, but I'm bringing her a pot of chicken noodle soup, oatmeal-cranberry muffins and tapioca pudding tomorrow; all in the bag. I hope the meal hits the spot and gives her a nice night off from cooking and the bag totes around her stuff in style.

My Daughter Knits, Too

Kaleigh loves to knit just as much as I do; well, maybe even more. She knitted this cute dishcloth the other day and tossed it over to me. She said, "Here, Mom, happy something. I knitted it for you." I was so happy! I decided to use it as a dishwashing cloth instead of a washcloth so I could enjoy it longer while washing dishes instead of myself. She used the free pattern from Kris Knits. (see sidebar)

For Christmas this year, Kaleigh knit me these beautiful Delicatto Mitts. I really like them alot as they're warm, pretty and soft. They are not an easy knit but she did a flawless job. I especially like them for driving. She used Frog Tree yarn and the Delicatto Mitt pattern found on Ravelery.

Primitive Valentine Cupboard Sampler

by the Sampler Girl. This was a fun little sampler that is adding just the right touch to my Valentine decorating.

My little girlies are busy playing inside during this dreary January day. When the sun comes out though, I bundle them up and send them outside for nice fresh air and some Vitamin D. But today, I'll just listen to them play in their pretend world and savor every minute of it.

My Little House & Country Cottage Stash

There were some excellent sales at the end of the year at the on-line needlework sites. I took advantage of several. Today I'll show you my Little House Needlework and Country Cottage patterns I bought. Tomorrow I'll show you another designer. From Country Cottage, I got: Sugar Plum Fairy, The Bakery, The Tea Room, and Summer Garden, from Little House Needleworks, I got: Always and Forever, Fa-La-La, and Pear Tree. Right now I'm working on a Valentine Cupboard from The Sampler Girl... I'll show you more of that soon. I'm hoping to get in some stitching time later tonight.
It looks like a beautiful day today, with lots of sunshine and crisp, fresh air. I would like to go for a walk later and do some errands. Hope you enjoy a great day!

Rose Baby Hats

My friend has the cutest little ones imaginable. She wanted two spring hats for them and we thought, seeing they like pink, these rose hats would fit the ticket. I'm sending them off this afternoon. Hope they like them!

Sew Love Pillow

I haven't posted in so long because I couldn't find the camera cord. I've been walking around for days looking for it, accusing the kids of taking it and losing it somewhere in their rooms. Embarrassing to say, but I found it in MY room under one of my untidy piles. Ooops! Maybe I should clean my room, huh?...but I'd rather be stitching or knitting. Ah, well, here is my newest finish, Sew Love by Carol. Once again, you can view her beautiful blog, Istitchaholic (see my side bar) and find the pattern there. I enjoyed stitching it very much and am quite happy with the end result. I have a few other Valentine stitching projects to do and will get busy on those soon. Several are from The Sampler Girl; small, sweet projects and one is from Blackbird Designs.

Sweet Holiday Pillow

I hope everyone had a nice Christmas. Mine was extra special as my dad was able to come home from the hospital on Christmas Eve! It was more quiet than usual as my parents couldn't come to my house, but we all got together yesterday for dessert and gift exchange so it turned out really nice.
I just finished up this little piece, Seasons Greetings, by Carol over at Istitchaholic blog (see sidebar). It's a free pattern and works up quickly. I like it a lot and it adds a nice little country touch to my Christmas decorating. I used leftover linen I had in my stash and some red and green DMC floss. I added a couple little jingle bells for an added touch. I used some leftover fabric I had from Carol's other design, Noel, that I just finished last week. I'm happy to I was able to squeeze in one more Christmas project before the new year.