Farmhouse Summer Swap With Becky From Rebecca Rose Designs

I told all you gals I would have another lovely swap to share with you all.... and here it is.  I had the wonderful chance to get to know and swap with Becky from Rebecca Rose Designs.  Just look at the beautiful new treasures she sent me.  I can safely say I am one spoiled and lucky gal to have had such a fantastic swap partner!!! :0)

Just look at the sweet bird doll she made me....isn't she beautiful!!!  Becky had said that she had taken one of Colleen Moody's classes to learn how to make these sweet birds.  I myself own a few of Colleen's creations and to tell you the truth I don't think I could tell the difference between Becky's sweetie and one of Colleen's.  This says a lot about the teacher and the student.  She is simply divine Becky...thank you!!!!

 More wonderful goodies that Becky sent.  This sweet bee keep tuck found it's way upstairs with my other bee themed items.  It looks wonderful...wish I had thought of taken photos.  Notice the sweet fruit fabric in the background....she sent that too.  It makes me think of my Grandma Coates who had lots of kitchen towels in prints very similar to this. 

 I'll use these lovely photos Becky sent for my primitive wall pockets....can't wait to use them.  Do you see the sweet little fabric tag (bottom right corner) Becky made that for me too.

 Love this baking pan filled with yummy ribbons and lace in several colors.  She even gave me a frozen Charlotte doll...my first one ever.  I will do something special with it...something I will keep for myself. :0)

And if that wasn't enough Becky even sent me some cross-stitch patterns from one of my favorite stitchers Nan from Threadwork Primitives.  I told you I was spoiled...now do you believe me...LOL. :0)   I want to give a great BIG THANK YOU TO BECKY for being such a lovely person to swap with.  I also want to thank Amy from Bumble Bee Lane Cottage for hosting yet another wonderful swap.

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I also wanted to show you all a few finishes.  Here are two cross-stitches I finished...the crow one is a pin keep and the other is a trinket box or sewing box.

Finally got my other bird wall hanging done too...the one I was working on a few posts back was one that I was making for myself (which is also finished).  The one in the photo below I will sell.   They are very similar...the bird in this one is black where mine is brown....plus the corner blocks are in different creams where mine are in light tan colors.

Here are a few things on my work table now.  I hope I will finish them soon...a cross-stitch sewing book (to keep pins, threads, and scissors in), teacup pin keeps, and another wall pocket.

 I know that this post is already photo heavy but I wanted to share these sweet photos of Silas in his little pool.  It's been soooo hot here...just a few days ago it was 104 with humidity....today is a little cooler thank goodness.

Plus our butterfly bush hotel is in full swing already.  Almost every day we've had about 15 different butterflies feasting on the sweet smelling flowers of our butterfly bush.  I don't collect butterfly items mind you but I do love watching these beautiful creatures. I also like the challenge of trying to get a perfect photo of them in their element. :0)

 I know these yellow tails all look the same but they are all different. This guy has small blue dots on his wings.

 This one has a lot more blue on his wings then the others.

 This guy is all yellow and black but his bottom right wing has some of it missing.

 This fellow is perfect....they're all perfect in my eyes. :0)

Well my friends if you made it down this far.... you hung in there with all the photos...LOL.  I wish you all happiness and health.  Have a safe summer and hopefully I'll be back soon to share some fun adventures with you all. :0)

Hugs,

Theresa

Farmhouse Summer Swap with Amy From Bumble Bee Lane

What a wonderful swap with my good and sweet friend Amy from Bumble Bee Lane.  Not only was Amy one of my swap partners but she was the hostess for this lovely swap.

I was hoping Amy would pick me as her partner...LOL.....I already had a plan you see and I wanted to make her something  I wanted to make myself too (I know that's so bad of me... right).  I'm not going to tell you what it is either....you'll just have to keep an eye on her blog to see what I sent her...LOL. :0) Here is all the lovely things Amy sent me.  I must say she really spoiled me...I love everything.  I don't think I could pick a favorite thing... since they are all my favorites. :0)

Amy made this sweet pumpkin doll for me....she knows me all to well.....LOL!!! Everyone who knows me knows Halloween/Fall is my thing and that my studio is decorated all year round with Halloween goodies. I decided this sweetie needed to be where I'd see him a lot and what better place then next to my sewing machine.   I know this guy will be whispering ideas in my ear as I work away. 

Next is this wonderful corner shelf...I wanted to hang it but right now I'm moving things around in the house and I'm looking for a primitive corner cabinet to replace my glass one.  Then move the second glass case out altogether and put this beauty up with a small square primitive table under it (which I also need to buy).   I think for now it looks sweet with my bear.  Amy made the wax candles to go in it too....aren't they wonderful!!!

The table runner Amy sent has already found it's home on our dining room table.  I love the summer like colors and the beautiful bird drawing in the center by Michelle Palmer.  I think Amy did a beautiful job picking it out for me. :0)

This was more then enough but Amy sent even more.  A beautiful box with the sweetest bunny to sit on top...or at least that's what I'm going to do since they look like they were made for each other.  There was a surprise inside the box too...one of Amy's beautiful wax sheep (I forgot to take a photo of him). Here they are sitting on my new $6.00 shelf from Goodwill. As you can see I haven't filled it up yet with goodies....but I know I will soon....LOL. ;0)

Amy even sent more goodies... some lovely photos, keys, and a whisk broom to add to my collection.  Like I said Amy spoiled me with such lovely and dear treasures.  Thank you my friend for such a lovely swap and for hosting!!!! I had another swap partner too and she has received her goodies from me but she was delayed in sending her's out so come back soon to see more Farmhouse Summer swap goodies. :0)

I have just a few more things to share with you.  A while back I bought these two lovely bear drawings from Michelle Palmer.  Once I decided I'd like a banner with our name and wedding date under them I asked Michelle if she'd be so kind as to make one....she agreed.  Here they are all framed and hanging on our family room wall.  I just love Michelle's work!!!

Last we have been looking for a bigger car since late May and we have been going back and forth between the Toyota Sienna and the Honda Odyssey.  Finally we got the price we were hoping for and we brought our new van home.  I wonder what we will name her???  Any suggestions my friends?

Well I guess that is about all my friends.  I hope this post finds you all happy and healthy. :0)
Hugs,
Theresa

My Goodness Where Does The Time Go???

My goodness where has the time gone?  I've been wanting to post on my blog for sometime now but it seems like I always have a stack of things to stitch so I do that instead.  I do have a bunch of finishes so I guess I am using my time wisely....LoL. Here are some of them.

 

 

 

 

We also have been spending time with family.  Father's Day weekend was very busy.  My folks came down so we could all go to Cumberland MD to ride the Western Maryland train.  Silas and Grandpa were both in their element.  We stayed at the Holiday Inn in Cumberland and right outside our hotel window was CSX's four tracks...so trains were coming and going through the night. 

The ride on the old steamer was wonderful and the meal and service was outstanding.  My favorite part and I think Silas too.... was seeing them turn the train around. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In other big news Silas has a new bed...his first big bed.  Grandma, Grandpa, and Auntie Jo brought down his train bed and helped us put it together.  He absolutely loves it and I have to send a big thank you out to Auntie Barb for finding it on Craigs list.  

 

Yet another big thing that weekend for Silas was that my family got him a bounce house for his birthday. It was something they wanted to order at our Walmart down here in Maryland...and then pick it up for us because there was no way I could get it in my little car back in April. 

 

 

 

 

I've also been working on two boxes of swap goodies.  I have sent out my packages already so I should have some new lovely swap goodies to share with you soon.

Well my friends I'm so sorry it's been so long but all of you have been in my thoughts.  I hope you're all having a lovely summer!!!

Hugs,

Theresa

P.s...I'm writing this while I'm waiting for Silas to get out of gymnastics class...LOL...nothing like squeezing in a blog post but it had to happen at some point other wise you'd think I had died...LOL!!!

Hello Dear Friends I know I've been MIA

Hello my dear friends I know I've been missing in action as of late.  It seems like so many things have been taking up my time.  First was a late April trip up to upstate NY to see my family.  We did so many things that I actually needed a vacation after we got home LOL.   Anyway Silas and I made our journey up north leaving Hubby home to keep the home fires burning. 

One of the things us girls did was go to the annual Flax Barn Sale....as always I find and buy way to much but their linen clothes are my favorite and I've been doing these sales since the early 90's.  This year it was at the Triphammer Mall.  My partners in crime were my mother who's waving in the photo and my older sister Joann.  This was the line at 8:30 in the morning... doors didn't open until 9 am.  There were a lot of people behind us too.

It's always crazy inside...LOL... let the clothes buying begin.  I must say everyone is nice about it...no pushing or yelling....just a lot of digging in the clothes boxes for the correct size and linen dust flying.

After the Flax sale my Sis treated me to my very first pedicure.  I know hard to believe...but true...I've never had anyone play with my feet before.  After they where done though my feet felt like fluffy clouds and yes we're going to go again the next time I'm up...LOL. :0)

 

The next day we celebrated my birthday... yeah I'm getting old.  I turned the big 40 this year and I have the grey/white hair to prove it...LOL. :0)

My younger sister Barb brought her stepdaughter Sariaha and boy does Silas just love this little girl.  He tries to kiss her and hug her every chance he gets.  I guess we could call this his first crush (sorry Robin and Misi). :0)

I just love this photo...so darn cute!!!

See I told you he tries to kiss her.  It's funny because right after this photo was taken...she was like YUCK a boy kissed me....LOL.

One of the other reasons for our trip north was to see this little lady.  This is my niece Rosalie and man has she gotten so big.  She is just over two months old and already she is 13 pounds and she managed to roll herself over while I was there. 

Here is one of my favorite photos...starting from the left...me, Rosalie, Silas, my younger sister Barb (Rosalie's Mom), and my older sister Joann.  I only wished we had gotten photos with Grandma and Grandpa too but sometimes the think tank doesn't work very well.

One of the days I  was up we got to go visit Maureen of "Sweet Meadows Farm" http://sweetmeadowsfarm.blogspot.com/.  Lucky for us she is just on the other side of Binghamton NY... where some of our family lives.   I know Maureen's shop wasn't officially open but I found enough to buy.  I can't wait to see what the shop looks like when It's officially open.  If  you've never been to her sweet shop you must go.  We have already made plans to visit again this summer. :0)

My Dad is a big train buff  (well so is Silas...he gets that from Grandpa) so not to far away from Maureen's shop was this big train bridge she told us about..... we had to investigate of course.   

 If you can't read the sign it says it was built in 1847-48 by the Erie Rail Road it is 1200 ft long, 110 ft high, and 30 ft wide on top.  The stone work is amazing...I keep trying to picture them working on it way back then.  We tried to find the top but had no luck...maybe next time when it isn't raining so much.

Here's my Dad and my sister Joann standing in front of the bridge to give you an idea just how big it is.  Grandma stayed in the car with Silas since it was raining.

I'm sure you all know that my hands have not been idle the whole time I've been MIA..... the above is a stitch I stitched for my dear friend Misi.  It of course is a Stacy Nash pattern.  It took me a few months to complete it but I think it turned out nice.

This sweet stitch was one of my Prim Sister's kits and finally I've had time to stitch it.  This sweetie is for me.  I just love the colors Wendy from Pineberry Lane picked for this kit.  I did change it just a little.... there was suppose to be a lady where I placed the spool of thread.  :0)

I just finished this stitch last week.  It is a Notforgotten Farm pattern and I just love it. I wish I was keeping it....oh well I'll just make another for myself at a later date.

This is Annie and Clarabelle.... I made these witches for Wendy's Spring doll challenge.  If  you didn't hear about the challenge she was hosting please go check it out  http://ravenwoodwhimzies.blogspot.com/.  I'd like to thank Wendy for hosting this lovely challenge and for giving us her doll pattern to create what ever we wanted with it. :0)

 

Well my friends I have finished other little things but I figured I'd show you the big ones at least....other wise you'd be looking at a lot of photos.  Also this post is long enough...LOL.
I hope this post finds you all happy and healthy my friends...as for me I'm still fighting my cold I got in NY...it was something else that came home with me and now the boys both have it too. Anyway I will try not to be gone so long next time but sometimes life has away of keeping me busy.
Hugs,
Theresa