Butterfly

Present sorrows wings are taking . . .

Pleasant memories are waking . . .

The first of two butterflies . . . a recent interest of mine and a small nod to the aniticpated arrival of Spring.

xoxo

Jennie Lynn

St. Valentine's Day Finish

Thanks to Terri at Dixie Sampler Designs there's a finish of my St. Valentine's Day Freebie to share. The one on the left is something she designed herself. Isn't the variegation in the thread beautiful? I believe she said she used CC Old Brick. The finish is lovely too; it makes the tiny design so much grander. What a sweet little Valentine's treat.

I still haven't gotten around to stitching mine. Inspired by the new butterfly theme of my blog I'm stitching a little butterfly design (or two). As soon as I'm done I'll post pictures.

I hope everyone is making plans for St. Valentine's Day. My husband considers it a "Hallmark Holiday" and therefore doesn't give it as much credence as I think he should. It may very well be a "made up", highly commercialized holiday, but to me that doesn't matter. You don't have to support the commercialism and for me the opportunity to celebrate anything (especially something as worthy as love) is to be embraced. Sometimes there aren't enough reasons in life to celebrate and if you have "make some up" from time to time, so be it. Finding something (no matter how small) to celebrate every day is certainly a worthwhile endeavor and an excuse to get a box of chocolates is always welcome.

xoxo

Jennie Lynn

My Lost Weekend

I have spent way too much time this weekend mucking about with digital collages and working on my blog and little time doing anything else. But it was a lot of fun . . . . For those of you who have been checking the blog it probably hasn't looked the same way twice. I think I finally have it looking the way I want it to, although that is liable to change.

I think I'm finally sorted, feeling more like myself this past weekend. The house has kind of fallen to the wayside the past few days so I'm spending today putting it back to order. I'm anxious to get back to stitching, though I may have to revise my schedule a little. I still hope to get something out next week but I'd forgotten my husband's parents are coming to visit. I have no idea how I managed to misplace that little tidbit of information. My husband reminded me yesterday, hence my fervor of cleaning today.

I have decided, after the last few days, that sometimes doing nothing is exactly what I need to do. But thankfully that never lasts very long.

xoxo

Jennie Lynn

Not Myself

Do you ever have a day (or several days all in a row) where you don't quite feel like yourself? I've been out of sorts for two days now. I'm not sure how to describe it. I just feel . . . uncomfortable in my own skin. Just plain wonky. Of course my monthly visit (tmi?) is due any day now so I suppose its to be expected. I did nothing today but muck around with my blog. BTW, what do you think? The picture in the header is of a work in progress, a Quaker Motif I'll offer as a freebie as soon as I finish stitching it. Of course instead of actually working on it today I took pictures of it in it's sad unfinished state. Keeping Joy is also waiting to be finished. Usually when I'm so close to finishing a design I stitch like mad to get it done. Again, I just don't feel like "me" right now.

*Sigh*

On a good note, however, I've decided I have the best husband in the world. For two days now he's helped with the kids and done virtually all the cleaning in the house. Yesterday he even came home from the store with cheesecake for me. The day before that he came home with more tulips. I love my husband. Really what more could I ask for than a man who loves me even when I'm bonkers.

I haven't decided if tonight I'll stitch or simply curl up on the sofa with the rest of my cheesecake. I promise to have Keeping Joy finished sometime next week and the next free pattern should be up by then too. Hopefully I'll be feeling more like myself by then.

xoxo

Jennie Lynn

The Country House

I'm not sure if any of you are familiar with The Country House. They have an online store as well as a physical location that I happen to be fortunate enough to live within fifteen minutes of. They boast being the largest country store in the east and there are two seperate buildings each the size of a small warehouse. One building is comprised of a bunch of smaller rooms each decorated in a different primitive or country style. There are bedrooms, keeping rooms, dining rooms, etc and everything on display is for sale. It's wonderful to walk through: you feel as though you're taking a tour of a colonial home.

Their stuff can be a little pricey, but beautiful. Even if I have no intention of buying anything the store is absolutely lovely and simply spending an hour of so there can be such a source of inspiration. I can literally do several "laps" through both buildings and still not have explored every nook and cranny. Of course whatever my intention I rarely make it out of the store without buying something.

Today, however, I had a specific purpose in mind. Most all of my needlework, finished or in progress, lays about the house. It's either hung here, or draped there . . . I enjoy looking at it and if it's unfinished keeping it in sight increases the likelihood I'll get around to finishing it. In an attempt to curb our heating bill we've had quite a few fires this winter. I adore them, personally, but I've noticed most of my needlework is starting to smell slightly of woodsmoke. It's the one downside of having a fire going virtually every day and I can't abide it. Of course the moment I realized it I had to do something about it. I took a quick trip to The Country House (meaning I stayed less than two hours) and picked up some prim fixins, spiced cake scented. I tossed it in a mesh bag and now have it "steeping" in a small box with some of my needlework. Winter isn't over yet and I don't want to forego those cozy fires in the evenings so I'm hoping this helps.

Anyone else have any suggestions? I'm open to any and all ideas and of course if it requires another trip to The Country House I wouldn't mind.

xoxo

Jennie Lynn

https://www.thecountryhouse.com/Default.asp

St. Valentine's Day Free Pattern

I promise you I had every intention of stitching this by now . . .

What's that expression? Man plans and God laughs . . . after this past week I have no problem believing that.

It's a tiny pattern, only 1.5 inches by 2 inches when done over two on 40 count. With any luck I'll have it done by St. Valentine's Day but I wouldn't be at all surprised if some of you had it done before me.

If you'd like to download the pattern simply click on the Free Patterns link on my sidebar. Maybe pictures of some of your finishes will compel me to get started on it.

xoxo

Jennie Lynn

Journey's End

Let thy love my spirit cheer as my guard, my guide, my friend, lead me to my journey's end.

Now I have to admit this one gave me some trouble. (See earlier post regarding the trials and tribulations of hand dyed threads). Now with my husband being so busy the framing is going to take longer than I anticipated. So I decided to put up a picture of it unframed. I was just waiting for a nice sunny day since I was having a lot of trouble getting the white to show up. It shows up quite nicely against the dark linen but my photography skills are somewhat lacking. Then again I'm a stitcher, not a photographer, so maybe I shouldn't be so hard on myself.

Let me know what you think of the finished piece; feedback is always welcome. I was going to wait until it had been framed to put the pattern up for sale, but if you're interested simply click on the Patterns to Purchase link on my sidebar or e-mail me.

xoxo

Jennie Lynn