Pillowcase Dress

On my last trip to Grimmwood, my sister told me that she had a project for me to finish. Leta had found a pillowcase dress kit and Mother was doing the embroidery for it. My job was to finish it up for granddaughter, Audrey. Thanks to my Home Economics Major friend, Sandy, and her tip of some you tube tutorials, I finished it this afternoon.

Here is a close up of Mother's stitches. I hope I can stitch as well as she does when I am turning 88. Mother will be 88 on August 11th.

I used one of Audrey's tank tops as a pattern for the arm holes. I made a casing at the top and inserted the pink ribbons. I left them a bit long because you can always shorten them but you cannot make them longer.

it is a precious little dress, perfect for these hot summer days.  If you have a special little girl in your life, there are several tutorials on how to put together this type of dress.  I finished this up in about 30 minutes doing it by hand as my sewing machine has been eating fabric!! Hand sewn makes it special.:)

The Stream

Good Morning....let's see what is flowing through Nanaland this morning...

1. I had my DNA done at Ancestry. I was surprised to find I was only 4% English. Mostly Scottish, Irish and Welsh.  I decided to subscribe to Ancestry for six months so I could do a little more research and put my family tree online.  I have found out that three branches of my family came from Renfrew, Scotland.   Now I am wondering if they all knew one another before they immigrated to America. Two are on my Daddy's side of the family and one on my mother's branch. I do have several family mysteries that I am trying to solve. I actually sent a letter to a fourth cousin that I do not know to see if he could shed light on my mystery. Of course, he probably thinks I am a crazy person from Alabama. Secretly I am hoping he will respond to my letter. Am I obsessed? Maybe just a bit.

2.I was really upset this week when I went to Amazon to order the 4th season of Shetland and all they have are British versions that will not play on American DVDs.   I could watch it on Netflix if I had Netflix.  So I went to the library and checked out the first season of Cadfael to take to Grimmwood this week. We watched Cadfael many years ago on Mystery so I think we will enjoy the reruns.

3. Marvin and I joke that Britain must have only 100 actors/actresses in the whole land. We see the same ones on the British DVDs we enjoy. We are always saying, "Oh that is so and so from such and such." And if we have an argument about it, we check Internet Movie Database.:)

4. I had a great time at my Stitching meeting the other day. Twelve ladies were in attendance and it was so neat to see what different stitching personalities that were represented.  North Alabama Stitchers is celebrating one year of existence. Many thanks to Brenda who started the group and does all the administrative work for the group.

5. Marvin took some time over the weekend to go through the last of his mother's things. It was hard for him to toss some of the sentimental things but as I reminded him, they have been in boxes for almost five years now and we have not missed them. We did find a few sweet things that we kept. One was a thank you note that Ben had written to his grandma Saramina. I mailed it to Ben and he can make the decision to keep it or toss it.  I have to tell myself that they are just "things". I have heard that if you have a hard time discarding sentimental things, just take a picture of it before it goes in the garbage can. But then, where do you put the pictures? Marvin and I are trying to be more intentional about the things we bring into our house as we know one day our children will have to get rid of it all.

6.  My first Fall magazine arrived this week. ( You may see it on my Friday Five this week). I also had dinner at Cracker Barrel and they have put some fall things in their store as well. I know many hate to rush the seasons but if you spend a summer in Alabama, you will be glad to think of a day with no humidity!!  Of course, Hobby Lobby is full out Christmas mode. I had to purchase some craft items there the other day so I can get started on some of my Holiday Crafting.

Well it was a rather shallow stream this morning. Time to get busy around the house!

Ava Maria Grotto

After living for 34 years in NoAla, we decided it was time to make a visit to Ava Maria Grotto in Cullman, AL.   We have seen the signs for it on Interstate 65 and we saw a program on Public TV about the Grotto and Brother Joseph Zoettl who labored on this masterpiece for a good portion of his life. We always say,"We need to go there." and we never did follow through. So on Thursday the 12th of July we headed the 30 minutes south to the grounds of St Bernard Abbey.

A lovely welcome center greets visitors to the Grotto. Senior admission was $6.  There is a gift shop and book store located in this building.

First you journey to Bethlehem.

Brother Jospeh used very humble items to build his images. Lots of concrete, shells and bits and baubles that people from all over the world sent for his use. This monastery has been in NoAla since 1891. The Benedictines came to Cullman to minister to the Catholic German Immigrants that made their home in Cullman. The School is still going strong and the grounds are just lovely. I told Marvin that I would not mind going to school at St Bernard's.

A replica of Brother Joseph's home church in Bavaria.

This is a life size statue of Brother Joseph. He was a tiny little man who struggled with health issues most of his life but he lived to be 81 years old. His work at St Bernard's was made a Shrine in 1934.

A replica of the Catholic church in Mobile, Alabama.

Rome as Brother Joseph saw it.

And Jerusalem...

It was rather hard to get this in one picture.  The temple is at the fore front.

The famous Grotto...Inside you will find the Virgin Mary, St Benedict and St Scholastica.

This small area was built to remember the young men from St Bernards who lost their lives in WW2, Korean Conflict and Vietnam.

Here is the Abbey Church reflected in the pond. The grounds were just beautiful and we were assured it was permissible to drive through the property.

We came home with some Monk's Bread, Marmalade and Mystic Monk Vespers Coffee. We have already tried the bread and it is tasty.

It was a nice day trip for us and we can mark Ava Maria Grotto off our bucket list.

Stitching Saturday

It is Christmas in July here at Nanaland.  I finished up my current Farmhouse Christmas ornament.

I have three that I have completed in this series.  I am still pondering how I will finish them and use them at Grimmwood this Christmas.

I got another sled done as well.

I have three left to go to finish one for each Grandchild.  These are such easy and fun stitches. I keep a project bag in the car and it is filled with Christmas stitches like this one. I work on them in the carline!

Look what is being published this week! I have preordered my copy at the Cross Stitch Peddler. I need to get by there to pick it up.

And this will be up next!!

I am not sure of the publication date for this magazine but we stitchers need to get busy for 2018. Marlene at Cross Stitch Peddler says she thinks it will be released at the first of September.  While I was at the Cross Stitch Peddler picking up  a few things, a customer came in who was picking up her Lady of the Flag by Mirabilia.  Marlene received 10 copies of this much loved chart. It was out of print and there was a chart listed on EBAY for about $800. Mirabelia did a limited reprint and those sold out quickly. I asked the customer if I could see hers...and she gracioously allowed me to hold it in my hot little hand. I guess I did not look like someone who would grab the chart and run out the door with it. It sold for $20 and it is very pretty but not something I would want to commit to stitching.  This customer was so happy to have this chart and it was fun seeing her delight.  The stitching sorority is a sweet one.

 I am off to spend the day with the North Alabama Stitchers. Don't envy me!:)

Friday Five

1. Dollar Tree Disposable Chopping boards.

There ate two chopping boards in each package. I saw this helpful hack on You Tube. You line your fridge shelves with them and when something spills, it is easy to take it out and wash it and put it back.

Here they are in place in my fridge. I had tried the press and seal wrap as suggested by some but the press and seal would not adhere to my shelves. These work great and you can see through them so they do not make my fridge dark.

2. Stack bracelets

I have found these cute bracelets at Tootie's Boutique in Chatsworth. I love wearing these colors together.

3.Georgia Tech

It is almost football season!! I found this in Georgia and brought it home to display my school spirit.

4. Dollar Tree Bank...

Vacation Fund...these jars came with several sayings on the front. I chose this one! Vacation Fund.

5. Cracker Barrel Bags

These big bags are on sale now at my Cracker Barrel for $1.19. I picked up a few. They are great for TOTING things...as we say here in the South. They also make a great Gift Bag They do not cost more than the small bags. A friend told me she took a bridal shower gift in one of these bags and the young lady said, I got two gifts!! She loved the bag as well as the gift.

And now for the winner of the Pioneer Woman Measuring scoops. It may be Friday the 13th but someone just had a lucky day.  The random number generator picked  RJ. Congrats my bloggy friend. Please shoot me an email with you snail mail address and I will put the scoops in the mail to you!!

Late Summer Dough Bowl

Late summer you say? Well our kiddos go back to school one month from now so I count it late summer and it was time to take down the patriotic regalia, so what to do?

I have to brag on my Dollar Tree decor. Everything in this bowl came from Dollar Tree except for the old flower jar and the cotton bolls.  I found the rustic jar for $6 at Hobby Lobby's end of the summer clearance. I also purchased the cotton bolls there and I think I used my coupon for that purchase. Dollar Tree has really upped their quality on flower stems and floral decoratives. The small bowl has sunflowers on the side of it in keeping with my theme. This will do until it is time for fall.

The little hay bale and the rafia came from Dollar Tree too.

Some Dollar Trees have cotton bolls but as a Southern girl they just did not meet the mark for me. I had to get some more authentic  ones at Hobby Lobby.  But the berries and the other decoratives would have cost much more at Hobby Lobby.

I did go to several Dollar Trees to find all the florals. And this rustic jug is one I can use for all seasons. Be sure and check out the end of summer sale...there were some great buys to be had there.

Sunflowers

My sweet sisters went to visit a Sunflower Patch in Calhoun, Georgia on Saturday.

There were all sorts of colors.

The originals are still my favorite. By the way, Sis Kristi, took these photos.

Here are the two prettiest Sunflowers...

My sister Leta...she has always been outstanding in her field.

And Kristi..doesn's she look pretty with her salt and pepper hair. Her hair was jet black as a child and young adult and she colored it for a while but now she is going natural. I think it looks great on her.

And now for a special treat...

I saw these cute Pioneer Woman measuring cups in Walmart and I thought, what a great give away these would make. So leave a comment on this post. Don't use the word giveaway please. You must be a follower  or a regular poster here on my blog in order to be entered in the drawing. I want one of my faithful readers to win the prize and not a person who just comments to get a prize.  That is one reason I put the contest at the end of the post!! And buried it in my Sunflower Post.   I will announce the winner on Friday Five. Good Luck!!