Stitchy things and lots more!

Hi everyone! I'm finally back w/bunches of pics to share w/you today, hope I don't bore anyone! It seems I can't just post a FEW pics, LOL!
First up is a stitchery pillow I made for a good friend/walking buddy of mine, as a b'day gift. She really liked it, so I was pleased w/the way it turned out. I tea dyed the muslin, but you can't tell all that much from the pic. :{
Next up is the MYSTERY gift I threw in the Americana give~away I had recently. It's from an old Mosey and Me pattern.

The gold star is stitched w/metallic thread.

The beard is stitched w/fuzzy thread. Someone I knew used to call it 'hairy' thread. :))

This pillow is a Blackbird Design that has been really popular w/stitchers recently. The fabric is WDW and really a bit darker than it shows, and it's filled w/crushed walnut shells, a.k.a ~ lizard litter. You should have seen the gal's face at the petstore when I asked for Lizard Litter! Now, I'm guessing she didn't think I looked like the type of person to OWN a lizard for pete's sake. LOL

I love the overdyed floss used on this design and I added the Mother of Pearl bird buttons I had leftover from my shop. They are from Homespun Elegance and I just flipped the one over to give it a different look. I didn't stitch the initial that goes in the upper right hand corner, because at the time I wasn't sure if I was going to give it as a gift or not. So far not....LOL

This is a hanging pocket I made for an exchange I was in recently. I made it on 18 ct. linen over two, using 4 threads. It is a SamSarah pattern called, Old Glory.

I added a little open brass star for an embellishment, which I thought went w/the star fabric.

And for that same exchange, this is the darling pillow I received! Blyn designed this herself and then made it into a flange pillow.

Notice the fabrics and the rusty pins on the corners. I absolutely LOVE it and think she did a wonderful job!

Love this fabric she used on the back!

Ready for some more?? I made a few aprons not too long ago. This one was from a panel I bought at a quilt store in Amish country last summer. I put a backing on it that it did not call for. I just think it looks more finished that way.

For this one, I basically traced a pattern from the panel above and made this a reversible apron. It is a bit deeper red in person.

This is what the back of it looks like. As you can tell, I love rick rack!

I draped some aprons over the back of the chair up against the wall in our new kitchen, for now.

Later I plan to hang them on the door going into the laundry room.

A table set for a recent dinner we had w/the in-laws. After eating off of a teeny tiny table for 23 yrs., we've certainly enjoyed having a much larger one. So nice when we have company.

I got the bowl trencher(centerpiece) at a prim shop recently and it was on SALE!! LOL The gal made her own candles too, so I thought 3 would look nice surrounded by rosehips.

This is the first completed stitched piece I finished earlier this yr. and had framed. It sits on that skinny black shelf in the corner of the kitchen. A LHN design, which is one of my all-time favorite designers! I have LOTS of her patterns, but haven't stitched that many. I will have to show another one I stitched awhile back w/sheep on it, but the pic was too blurry to show.

This was taken outside to show the true colors of the varigated floss I used.

The next few pics are stitched pieces I finished right before Easter, but forgot to post about them. The first one is a freebie from the Prairie Schooler. Still not sure what I'm going to make them into.

Last yr's Lizzie Kate kit.

This yr's L.K. kit. I changed out a few colors for ones I had on hand.

This is a wallhanging I made many, many yrs. ago and I remember finishing it right on the 4th of July that yr. It's from an old Fanci That pattern but I changed out a few things on it. It was when the varigated floss first came out.

This is my most recent finish and it is for an exchange I'm in. I'm still not sure how I'll finish it yet. The watermelon stitched up rather quickly, but the black/white checkerboard took forever it seemed!

It's from an old Sisters and Best Friends pattern, but I used my beloved overdyed floss instead of what it called for. I used to always have several pieces going at the same time, but this yr. I decided I was only going to stitch one thing at a time, and so far, it's been working out great for me. I actually feel like I'm getting more things finished for a change! It's still very tempting to get another project out while I'm working on another, but I'm really trying to be good! Ha

I did buy two flag buntings for the front porch, but next yr. I just might have to tea-dye them. Wasn't too sure about using the white ones, but thought they might look better w/the white bannisters.

Still haven't hung any hanging plants yet, as we've had horrible storms every few days, w/high winds. I've had to move things inside several times already.

Our Hostas are really growing and getting pretty big now.

This is my sweet little family at a recent reunion. My hubby's family has been doing this for 74 yrs. in a row! WOW!!

Mr. Fix It wasn't smiling like he usually is, probably cause he always blinks when pics are taken, ha.

Our oldest son Nicholas, is 19 and just finished his first yr. of college/tech sch. taking Carpentry. Following after his Dad's steps, ha. He just spent the month of June working on building a house for the needy, from the ground up. He has also worked at a local DQ for a yr. now, part-time and works for his Dad remodeling houses too.

Steven, my redhead, is 16 and hoping to get his license real soon! (can you tell we have Irish blood in us)??? He is helping out w/the lawn-mowing and various odd jobs.
God has blessed us w/ two wonderful boys and we're very proud of the young men they're becoming.

Well, if you've hung in there this far, thanks so much for stopping by and for all the wonderful comments you leave. I sure enjoy reading each and every one of them!

I hope to be back again soon w/some more pics of various things going on around our little part of the world.

Here's hoping you're surviving the heat!

Tanya

Americana Front Porch Tour

Hello blogging buddies,

I hope everyone is enjoying warmer weather in your part of the world. It sure feels like summer in our area, so I thought I'd show you some pics of our front porch that my hubby totally re-did late last yr. He jack-hammered out the old 8-in. thick concrete floor and put in a whole new porch from one end to the other and top to bottom. I'm very proud of him for all the hard physical labor he has put into our home to make it look so much nicer!

Today I got a card in the mail from him for no reason, and it made me cry. It was so sweet and a total surprise. Gotta love a guy who has a romantic side too! God blessed me w/a wonderful hubby and I thank the Lord for him all the time!

Ok, enough of the mush, and on w/the porch tour! ha

We have a 4-pc. wicker set that we spray painted black and this first pic is where the table fits perfectly. It sits in the corner of our porch when you first come out the front door. Many of the pieces you'll be seeing in the next several pics were once used to decorate our old living room, but now are being used as porch decor. I like to decorate the front porch for each season.

I love all kinds of wooden signs and these are some of my favorites.


I had a flower pot w/nothing in it but dirt, so I just poked a bunch of my flags in it to give this area more color and fill in some empty space.

This old chair has been many different colors over the yrs, but now it's been painted black to match the rest of the wicker set.
I actually designed and printed up patterns for the 'Olde Prim Glory/Americana Rag Bag', which is very easy to make. It is actually two patterns in one. One for the rag bag and one for the stitchery part. I sold them a couple of yrs. ago, so if anyone is interested in purchasing one, just let me know. I think I still have a few of them left.

It looked a little lonely sitting there by itself, so I gave it some company, lol. The basket is made out of resin and the heart shaped box is paper mache, but inside it holds fabric coasters.

I always decorate the big picture window too. The sign used to hang in the living room where the faux fireplace is now.

This is a cr. stitch pattern/kit from Pine Mt. Designs. It stitched up very quickly.

This is a very old pattern from Cross Eyed Cricket, I believe.

Please excuse the dirty floor, it's very hard to keep clean w/all the stormy weather we've had lately.

I need input~ I painted the door white last yr. after the porch was done, but haven't been totally happy w/it. I'm not really a 'white paint' kind of gal and besides it tends to get dirty very easily. I'm thinking I'd like it better painted a darker color, like black or maybe even a dark barn red, but not sure if it'd be too much black or red color, in general. There are several other things on the porch that are white and so is the garage, so leave a comment and let me know what ya think. Paint it another color OR should it stay white???

In our area decorative flags are still seen seasonally. I change this out about once a month. Are decorative flags still a big thing in other areas??

The black barn star is actually about 4 ft. in person, but looks way smaller here. Again, we sprayed it to match the other features around the porch.

This arched part of the porch used to have old UGLY metal awning, which I hated because it was the first thing you noticed when you pulled in the driveway. It always embarrassed me, but not no more, ha. I love the way it turned out!

Hey, there's a sheep grazing in our yard!! LOL (You all know how much I love sheep by now, don't you)???

Oops, how'd BJ get in there? He's our baby, even if he is 5 yrs. old. He thinks he has to go everywhere we go.

This shows how close the 'barn' is to the house. It's right in our backyard and now that we have the new addition(which you can't see from this pic), it's even closer than before.

Our plants seem to be thriving this yr. so far, even tho' it's been quite hot and humid recently.

BJ snuck in there again! He loves getting a tan, lol.

I even like to decorate our garage just a little. (click on for a larger view if you need to).

He loves to go out front to wait for the mailman to bring him a treat. He whines like crazy when he sees him. :))

This is actually around back, behind the new addition, which I'll show at a later time. I call them my 'Jack in the Beanstalk' Lilies. They started out very tiny last yr. and this yr. they've gotten really TALL!

We finally propped them up straighter(since this pic was taken) and I'm guessing they are about 4ft. high or so now.

This is in front of the barn. I love the various shades of pink.

That's all for now folks. I still need to hang two flag buntings out front and I'd like to add some hanging flower baskets out there too, so I'll show that when I get it done.

Thanks to all of you who participated in the recent give~away I had. It was so nice 'meeting' many of you and I've enjoyed visiting your blogs too!

I hope everyone has a wonderful summer filled w/warm weather and long lazy days of fun w/your families and friends!

Hopefully next time I will be able to share some pics of our renovation and our new addition we added to our home last yr., as well as some stitchy things I've been working on lately.

So have a great week everyone and as always, thanks so much for stopping by! I love your visits! Take care!

Tanya