Thanksgiving Pictures

 We all had a quiet Thanksgiving this year.  Amelia, Todd, Kendall and Landon joined us.

Amelia snapped the picture but you all know she is gorgeous so we do not need a picture to document that.:)

In Birmingham

My Margaret...

Katy and the boys. I love that Baylor is touching Elliott's head...that is how he gives a hug.

 And in Canton, Ga

Charles and Nancy had their long time friends come to visit.  

I thought you might like to see a picture of Kendall and Landon with their dad and his family. They recently had pictures done. Thanks to The Wild Four Photography for these previews.  And thanks to tara and Nick for sharing them on Facebook.

And one with their dad.

Family times can be had even when we are distancing!!

Saturday Stitching

 I want to open my post today with great love and sympathy to one of my favorite stitchers, Barbara at Sweet Tea and Sandals. She lost her beloved husband on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. He fought a hard fight but his lungs were too damaged by Covid.   Barbara is one of those people you feel as if you know even though you have not met her. I was sharing with Terri at Your Friend From Florida that I feel as though I know each lady who reads my blog. I pray for each one and when they are hurting, I am hurting. Those of you who believe in the power of prayer, please lift up Barbara and her children at this difficult time. 

Now on to stitching. I think we all need something to distract us in the times we are living in. I am thankful that God gives us talents that bring joy to our hearts. For some it is music or art but for me it is putting needle to thread that  calms me down and at the same time produces something of beauty 

I have finished my Christmas stitching so I got busy yesterday making plans for the rest of 2020 as well as the new year. I have been working on my samplers and I added a few things to my rotation that had been in time out. I am also kitting up a few things for the New Year. 

Feast of Friendship by Blackbird Designs is one of my new favorites. The colors are just luscious.

Pardon the wrinkles...I did not iron any of these I am showing today.

Sarah Platt by Pineberry Lane

I am changing the colors to pinks and dark fuchia as I am stitching this as a Mother Daughter and Granddaughter Samper.  With the first Alphabet I did my initials in Pink as well as the grand girls and Amelia. Three of us share an A so that was easy!! Margaret and Audrey are also Gs. Kendall got the K and L and the R is pink for Amelia's last name.  I guess I will have to write a description on the back of this when I get it framed. 

Strawberry Fields Forever by Blackbird Designs.

I put a G for me on this one and I plan to squeeze an A in there somewhere.

G Legere

I love this one too!!

The bunny's dress is coming along.

I laid this on top of another chart so pardon the wrinkles and the chart showing through the fabric. I promise I will iron it for you all to see when it is completed. 

Easter Parade is back in rotation. ( Seeing a Blackbird theme going on in this rotation.) I also found this mini Prairie Schooler chart that I will stitch for spring.

Alas by Lindy Stitches is also back from rime out.

Now for some plans for the New Year.

January and February Word Play.

Mychal's Prayer    I will be joining Georgia's SAL on this one.  It is in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of 9-11.

Winter Rose Manor by Brenda Gervais...it may be a while before I start this one as all the flosses are on backorder.

Valentine House by Waxing Moon. I am doing the white house with the heart on top.

Two Red Houses to go with my Two White Houses.

And finally I have a plan for next years ornaments for the grands 

I think Heart in Hand has done about three in this series so I will have a different one for each grand. And I am going to start looking for the small signs at Hobby Lobby on which these fit perfectly!  And none will have borders!! I have learned that lesson well. 

Happy Stitching dear Friends. 

Friday Five

 1. An Early Christmas Gift .....My high school friend, Sharon, and I exchange gifts in late November or early December as we both are early birds in getting things done!! And it is magical to open the first gift of Christmas. Dont you love the Christmas ornament? The little pouch holds some tweezers. Heaven knows at this age we can use them to pluck those eyebrows and other troublesome hairs that seem to sprout in our older years. Oh well I am glad I have lived long enough to have that problem. Who doesn't love some new kitchen towels to start out the New Year. I love all things Pioneer Woman.

2. A New Candle  I enjoy buying a Christmas candle every year. This one came from Pineapples in Decatur.  It is from the Swan company and his one is Holiday Home. It smells so good. You will be seeing it again when I post a Christmas tour.

3. A New Wreath  I found this one at Tuesday Morning. It is perfect as is. I just hung it up on the door!

4. A New Sign at Grimmwood....Brother Bruce got this sign made to place at the end of our driveways. We are 3091.  He and Leta always add some seaonal decor to the signage.  In case you are wondering, all three of our driveways are side by side but you cannot see any  of our houses. This is helpful to people coming to visit,  household service calls and emergency responders if we need them. 

5. A New Little Library in our Neighborhood....the new secretary of our neighborhood association was responsible for this addition to the Glens.  She is a former principal and she is very enthusiastic about reading. It will be nice to have this available to the residents. I need to go through my books and see if I have any to leave there.

Happy Thanksgiving Eve

 I am going to enjoy the day tomorrow such as it is so Happy Thanksgiving to all my blog friends. 

I thought I would share some pictures of the grands. Charles and Nancy took Audrey and Joshua for Christmas pictures. Here are two previews.  Thanks to Victoria Nielson who takes all the pictures of these two and does such a wonderful job. 

Charles snapped these pictures of Joshua as they were working around the house. Joshua is the grand right now that likes to have his photo taken. I know I am prejudiced but this boy just makes you want to grab him and squeeze!!! And Kiss and well you get the picture.

Katy sent me this picture of the Bham Grimmlins with their Christmas ornaments. As you can see Baylorman was not having it.lol

And finally the Roberts Clan at Bridgestreet in Huntsville. They made a trip to see the big Christmas tree. And in the spirit of the season, there are two turkeys on the extreme right of the picture. Their initials are L and H.  Amelia says this is as good as it gets with this crew.

Counting my blessings and it certainly includes this great bunch of children who are growing up right before my eyes. Happy Thanksgiving from Nanaland.

Change of Plans

 Chief Screaming Eagle says Happy Thanksgiving!!  Elliott's class dressed as Native Americans last week. Katy said the parents got to choose a name for their child and she chose Screaming Eagle. They live in Eagle Point Subdivision so it made sense. And heaven knows our Elliott is no shrining violet. But when Katy saw the names of the other children....precious Angel and Sweet Pea for a few, she thought she had taken it a bit too far.lolI love my Indian Chief....Screaming Eagle suits him just fine.

We were going to go to Amelia's home on Saturday for a meal but about half of the kids at Priceville are in quarantine and Decatur is not far behind so we decided Marvin and I should just stay home. Amelia was concerned about her children being exposed and then giving their germs to us. We are going to try to stay in as much as possible this week as the virus seems rampant right now.  

As Amelia put it...I am tired of living in a historic event. We hope next year to make up for all the cancelled plans of this year.  Hope is very important in the days we are living in. So I am choosing to be be hopeful and I am putting my trust in the Lord as are many of my family, friends and neighbors. 

Saturday Stitching

 Mostly Christmas again this week as I am ready to finish up all my Christmas stitches and work on some other things. However, I have to share that Riley Harbor is finished. I looked in my stitching notebook and I started this one  in 2019.  Stitched on Veldt, 32 count...one over two.  

Lanier's sheep is on the way to Memphis....I have to say several of my friends saw this one and wanted it.lol  That tea and biscuits floss makes a fine sheep! In fact I want to do one for myself. Hats off to Prairie Schooler for their designs that never go out of style. Stitched on 14 count coffee tea dyed Aida. 

Candy Cane wishes is finished and I used a small easel I found at Hobby Lobby as finishing, It said I love Fall Most of All but I used some big print red and white gingham on foam core to cover that up, then added my stitch. I am looking for a nice bowl that can hold some small candy canes and Hersey kisses to sit by it. As with all finishing you live and learn. I loved how the red and white looked when I laid the stitch on top of it. But in this small area, you cannot really see the background fabric well and perhaps I should have chosen something else. I guess it is just one of those things that really does not matter but I was a tad disappointed with  the results. ( Erica Michaels is the designer.)

I put it on my dresser with a vignette I put together...just so you can see the dimensions better. 

A small finish for Holly Jolly by Shannon Christine.  I wanted the words to stand out when I placed it on my tree. Stitched on 14 count Aida from my leftover pile of fabrics.

December Word Play by Brenda Gervais( With Thy Needle and Thread). I left off Merry, Joy and some small trees that were charted on the extreme right side.  I was going to make a pillow for the dough bowl as I have so many Christmas stitches to display however I found this frame in my finishing cabinet and thought, I wonder if this would fit? It is a 5 by 7 frame I have had for years and the subtle green and red really looked nice with this busy stitch.  I left the glass out as it makes it look  more prim. I love the results and some of my other word plays might just be finished this way as well. If I can figure out a line of words that really are not necessary.

And all three together.

I am planning to keep working on my rotation for the month of December. I still have quite a few things that need attention. However, I have my eye on Cathy Habermann's Winter Words. I put this  one my Wish List...a fun stitch for the beginning of the New Year.

Happy Stitching.

Friday Five

 1. A sweet homemade card from my friend, Gina at Where the Wild Bee Wings. What an encouraging note was on the inside as well.

2. Some nice December Bath Gel. I decided to get myself a treat for December. It is always such a sweet yet stressful month. Candy Cane is a soft peppermint that smells so good.

3. A Mackenzie Childs kitchen towel from one of my besties. I am saving this one for January when I will need a nice new towel for the kitchen. 

4. Cinnamon Brooms...mini size. I found these at Target and tucked one in my closet and it smells so good. Just right...not overwhelming.  They only costs 99 cents too.

5, A sweet exchange package arrived in the mail from one of my North Alabama Stitcher friends. 

I placed all my goodies in my dough bowl to snap a photo. I have to admit to having nibbled one of the Ghirdelli Peppermint Barks.

Tablesettings

 My sweet blog friend, Miriam, requested to see my Christmas China. So I thought I would share my three sets of dishes.

Here is the Christmas China. Actually it is ironstone and it was purchased by my parents in law at the commissary in Savannah, Ga.  I have eight place settings. Amelia was blessed to get 12 place settings along with several serving pieces when Aunt Mina gifted her this same set. 

I have some dessert plates as well as cereal bowls. I added my favorite snowman who is a gift from my friend, Deborah.  The tablecloth was a gift from my friend, Sharon. When she was downsizing her linens she asked if I wanted it....well yes! 

Here is my Haviland China.

I displayed it with the Fostoria Crystal that belonged to Mama G. The smaller glasses are Berwick, or more popularly known as Boopie Glassware. Those belonged to my mother. They were a wedding gift from her Aunt Lois who we called, Auntie.

Here is a better photo of the glass ware.

The etching on the Fostoria is so pretty but it is very fragile. It is mainly just eye candy in my china cabinet. 

Last, this is my husband's great grandmother's everyday china, which was gifted to us by Mama G. 

It is hard to tell by looking at this photo but the plates are much smaller than most we use today. I use these as dessert plates at the holidays. Because you need room for your Pecan Pie and a slice of your caramel cake. There are only four cups and saucers that remain with the set. I plan to gift a cup and sauce to each of my granddaughters and one will be left for me. Margaret loves her tea and this cup and saucer will be just right for her. 

I have a question....I was trying to update my blog roll and add a new blog to it and it is just not responding  to my editing. I have done this before with no problem but I have tried on Safari and on Google, even on my phone with no success. I hope this is not one of the "improvements" that came with the new blogger platform. I am still convinced the old platform was much better. So if anyone has any hints I would appreciate it. Diane shared with me a great hint after I complained about the spacing issues. I will admit, my current problem may be an ID10t problem.:)  An update....Thanks to Sharon at Moosecraft who let me know this feature is working again and woo hoo....I had success this time. Love my readers.

Thanksgiving Prep

 It is hard to believe it is time to start making preparation for the Most Wonderful Feast of the Year.

It will just be us, Todd and Amelia this year. Amelia has requested a caramel cake and I have my Pecan Pie in the freezer so dessert is planned.  We will just have a Turkey Breast as none of us are fans of dark meat.  Dressing using Mama Dip's recipe, Sweet Potato Casserole. Green Beans, Hash Brown casserole,  some sort of jello dish and hot rolls. I think that is enough don't you?  Amelia is bringing her fabulous sausage balls and a dip of some sort to nibble on as we finish up preparing the meal. 

I have already switched my Desert Rose dishes out for my Christmas dishes but we will use Mama G's china for our meal.  In all the years we celebrated Thanksgiving in Savannah, I never remember using those pretty dishes. They lived in the china cabinet. I bring them out for Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas.  We will have a real tablecloth and cloth napkins. To me that just makes a holiday. 

I will admit I have been bringing out one Christmas item each day.  Saturday it was my set of Christmas dishes that Mama and Papa G gave us for Christmas many years ago.  My sister in law, Mina, was getting rid of some of her seasonal decor and gave Amelia her set of the same dishes. Amelia was so pleased. She said it gave her all the good feelings she had growing up and eating off of those dishes each Christmas. It is good to know that your children are sentimental about something you did for them when they were children.  My older two are Grimms for sure and you never know what they are thinking or feeling so when something slips out, it warms the heart. 

Saturday Stitching

 Lots of Christmas Stitching this week....hoping to move on to working on my samplers soon.

I finished my SIL's Prairie Schooler Sheep.

I was trying to iron out the wrinkles but then realized it was the mottling of the fabric.:). This is one of my coffee tea dyed Aidas and I like the way it turned out. If you need to stitch a sheep I think Classic Colorworks Tea and Biscuits is the perfect color. In the original chart the sheep was black. I wanted a white sheep so I just reversed the colors.  

I also finished Holly Jolly by Shannon Christine Designs

This one does have a wrinkle I will have to attack with Best Press. I changed the bottom border to a buffalo check as I have some buffalo check fabric I hope to  use to finish this ornamen.

I also finished up Brenda Gervais's December Word Play. I left off the words joy and merry along with some small trees that are charted at the extreme right. I have so many Christmas stitches that I am going to turn this into a tree topper or a bigger Christmas ornament.

 

Yall pardon the breaks in this blog. I thought I had all the kinks worked out with the new platform but it is giving me fits this afternoon. 

Finally I have to share my solution to a less than stellar ornament. Remember this one?

I took off the original hanger and then I started playing with some things in my stash.

I found this metal form from the Spring Shop at Hobby Lobby.

I had already changed the ribbon to the red check. Could I hot glue the ornament to this piece? And could I pick out that black border that was driving me crazy?

Why yes I could! An hour and one million black fuzzies later I was done.  I like it so much better.   Here is the side view. Remember I had mounted this on a smaller HL ornrmanet earlier.

I found this spring metal piece because I was cleaning out the armoire in my bedroom. I had stashed several finishing things there that I had completely forgotten.  So ladies, sometimes cleaning over stitching is profitable. 

Happy Stitching...hope to have some finishes to share next week.