Abraham Lincoln.....150th Anniversary of His Death

In April we traveled to visit #4 daughter and family in Chattanooga and we were able to piggy-back a couple of other stops in between home and Tennessee. Those Civil War Anniversaries were winding down in April and one of the last ones was the death of A. Lincoln.  We spent some time in Springfield, IL on our way home and they were gearing up for "the funeral to end all funerals,"  the following weekend......their words not mine.

The Lincoln home is wonderful to visit, if you have not been there.  We have taken this in several times over the years....it is always wonderful.

One of the more riveting stories related to Lincoln's death is the discovery of the only known photo of him lying in state that was discovered by a 14 year old boy in the 1950's.  Lincoln Casket Photo

Because I have a hankering for all things historical and seem to have a fondness for all things Lincoln too.  I get these ideas that come to me.....how about a silhouette of Abe to commemorate his life.  This is what I ended up with.....

 But like everything I work on.....it always evolves in layers before it is done!

Also the pictures are not my best, between the glare of the glass and the white ribbon....I wanted you to see all the details, because those are the fun things.

Abe Lincoln Pattern

I found a side profile of his face and traced it onto some counted cross stitch graph paper.....then I stitched it out on 18 count cross stitch fabric using color #3371 DMC floss (a brownish-black).  Note:  I did not add the wording under his face like I have shown on the pattern, I started it and did not like it....so left it off.

 I had finished the cross stitching on the trip and when we decided to make a stop at Springfield....talk about perfect timing!!!  I knew they would have some tourist type things that might work to finish this up and make it wonderful!

I was not wrong....I ended up with this pin.....would be a great finishing touch!

I love the signature on the white ribbon and I liked the pin too.

I didn't end up leaving it like I bought it, but that's OK....I loved the way it turned out.

Lincoln Library Gift Shop
This gift shop has awesome stuff.....they do a great job a merchandising!  And of course it is hooked to the Lincoln Library & Museum.....which is NOT to be missed.  We spent several hours there to see it all.  You need to take time to see all the special exhibits besides the 2 shows they run each day!  They are wonderful and leave you trying to figure out what was real and what was not????

 I found the frame at the local antique shop in her basement....where all the junky stuff is.....perfect price and perfect size!  Added the pin at the top and the signature ribbon on the bottom.  Done and ready to hang!

 It looks pretty nice next to this small civil war sampler quilt...I have added lots of pins from the Civil War sites we have visited.  A great place to use them and see them!

 This piece has lots of Civil War images in the fabrics....tried to make really good use of that.  This quilt is from Temecula Quilt Company and was freebie called the 12 Days of Christmas.  Very fun little quilt to do!

 In case you might want to see close-ups.....I always do!

Easter Is Past & Spring Has Finally Sprung

Well this is long overdue....as you can see.  I shot these a long time ago and between my health issues and some family health issues.....blogs and extra stuff get set aside.

Even though Easter 2013 is past, I thought I would go ahead and post my pics any way.  We are finally seeing spring-like weather here in Ioway!  It has been a loooong time coming.  

I am wanting to do a give-away some time soon.  When this blog reaches 50 google followers, I will do a drawing.  So if you just follow with your email, please consider signing in as a google follower, it is easy to do and makes writing a comment very easy.  I might even let you pick your gift, how would that be for fun!!!

 Chicks, bunnies, & eggs, oh my!

The ceramic bunnies, eggs, and chicks were made by both my grandma's.  Can you find the one with my name on it?

I have several dozen ceramic eggs from the grandmas, they are all so cute!  You can also see several cross stitch ones that I did many years ago.

I have been filling my grandpa's toolbox with more eggs, chicks, & bunnies.  The tins have easter puzzles in them for the grandkids to do.

Even more ceramic eggs on a deviled egg plate....lots of spring quilts on my ladder and Easter postcards.

I love vintage postcards, I bought this postcard collection book at an auction years ago....love to display them in this book!  We had all of our local family here for Easter and the grands had a great time hunting their eggs.  We had a great day just being together.

One of the three table-fulls we had set up for the day....I think the big kid fits right in!

This is my cutie patootie.....she is my girlfriend!  I miss her!

What a sweetheart and oh that beautiful hair!!!!

Then these two nuts....playing with the old glasses that are in the dress-up box....gotta love those faces!

Then we had entertainment.....

I love that boy.....he played the guitar for us too.....what a hoot!

This would make a cute little cupcake poke, if you printed out on cardstock half facing right and the other half facing left, cut them out and glue a toothpick between.  Very sweet!!!  Or a larger one stuck in a Easter basket....or a bunch of them on a garland or glued to the top of a place card on your Easter table or.........

The Year of the Little Black Dress Part Deux

Remember this?  I wrote about this at little lovely at Coldwater Creek right after Christmas while shopping for a pair of black jeans.  If you haven't, go back and check out the December 30, 2011 post.  So this won't get too wordy, I am going to add a few random valentine's pics for you to enjoy!!!! 

This week was a big week around here.  After 3 years of study for my "Silver Fox" it came down to 75 questions to pass his RN boards.  We ended up traveling to Rochester, MN to pass Iowa boards.....now doesn't that make sense?  It was the closest location we could find so he could take it this week.

A cross stitch piece I did several years ago, I love the frame too.

So while he was taking the test I was at the nearby mall, shopping and praying for my guy to do his best.  And what was the first store I happen to spot......Coldwater Creek, here I come.  Now just remember I don't have one close by.....  so this gets me excited.  I head to the sale racks and start going through every item and what to my wondering eye should appear but a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer........no that's not right....couldn't help myself.  :)

But there was the little black dress I so loved 8 weeks ago, marked down twice since then and then an additional 50% off.  I was beside myself.  So I hauled two different sizes to the "dress up" room.  And while I was trying them on.....Adele came on singing .......Rolling In The Deep.....  which for some reason that is still not clear to me, I LOVE this song.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XV9IQ_JzDhg&feature=related

Well, I took this as a sign...the clearance price pretty much had me as long as it didn't look like a sack on......which it didn't.  So I now have this little sweet thing hanging in my closet waiting.......

I made this valentine for Jeff last year.  On a whim hung it in front of Susan  Banch's book.....looks so neat!!!

After checking my watch a couple times thinking of my guy killing himself on this test.  He finally called ....the test took a little over an hour and the computer shut down at question 75, which was the minimum number of questions you could take.  To say this was an emotional moment right there in Apache Mall was an understatement as he met me and burst into tears as soon as he saw me.  We stood right there hugging, crying and pretty much oblivious to everyone around us.  As we finally could say this journey is finished. 

A beautiful valentine that my Grandma K. received at some time....isn't it stunning?

After pulling ourselves together I told him about finding the dress, the song, the clearance, the sign......then the bag with said dress.  He loved it.....now where to wear this baby on it debut.......stay tuned!!!

P.S.  I am taking a little break, but will be back in a couple weeks hopefully with some inspiring things to share with you. 

Happy Valentine's Day To You

A fun stack of " embroidered love" on my old kitchen scale all gifts from my friend, Normajean.

A ladder full of red quilts and stack of "love" books.

Valentine Greetings!!!

A valentine to my "Silver Fox" several years ago.  Find a verse that you love and print it out in several fonts and sizes.  Audition on a light box and trace the lettering with your light box and pigma pen.  Beautiful!!!

I added some silk ribbon embroidery too.  I just saw some linens like this at the dollar store for a buck.

Still life on my treadle, the young girl is my Grandma T. as a young girl.

I love pincushions, this is a sweet little red beauty with crocheted blooms.

A treasure box full of pink loveliness.

A box full of red hugs and kisses.

Happy Valentine's Day from me to you.

(Right click on the clip art and save if you wish.)

Reclaiming a Piece of Christmas Cross Stitch

I don't know about you, but every year as I put out my Christmas decorations and then put them away again, there are always items that need attention.  Some are an easy fix of glue or new hangers..... others require some more thought and effort.  Such is the case here...... 

 I stitched this piece probably 25 years ago and framed it with a piece of plain cardboard and no batting....big mistake.  Don't do this as the acid from the cardboard migrates to the fabric and discolors it.  So this piece has been lanquishing about in one of my storage tubs....not quite knowing what to do about it.

So Plan A.....I know I will tea dye it.....that should cover up the damage......

Steeping, steeping.....I used several tablespoons to hold it below the water and dye it evenly.

I rinsed it and laid it out to dry and wha-la.....the spots are NOT covered and the background is darker.

Plan B.....I will cross stitch snow flake and star shapes randomly over the discolored spots....

then that wasn't quite enough.....so then the beading stash exploded all over my work table.

Plan C included the crystal antique looking beads and here is the final outcome.
Project reclaimed and all ready to display for next year.  YEA!!!
BTW,  like the crochet background?  A tablecloth that my Great-grandma Weaver made....it is stunning. 

Little Christmas Quilts

Thought you might enjoy seeing a few of my Christmas quilts or the ones that lend themselves to the spirit of Christmas.

The spinning star quilt was a swap with my quilt group......Cabin Fever.  I have been with this group for over 20 years.  To say these women are really good friends is an understatement.  We know each other well.  We each made 12 blocks and then shared them with one another.  Each block is one red star, but when you put the blocks side by side, they make the green stars as a secondary design.....I love these kind of designs they look way more complicated than they are.

I found several small Christmas quilts the other day and decided to swap out my small quilt wall.  Funny thing, the pieces I changed were almost identical in size to swap with.  That would never happen again without  major planning.....I did leave the Bear's Paw at the top, but the rest of them have a Christmas theme or color to them.  A couple were gifts to me and the rest I have done over the years.

This little Santa was done by my friend Betty, who moved to GA over 20 years ago.  I have very fond memories of our families together when our kids were little.  It is a very sweet..... running-stitched primitive Santa. 

This little piece was stitched by my Cabin Fever friend, Pam.....I love these Santa's.....cross stitched and pieced into this little gem with bells on.  :)

A couple more Santa pieces.....the chubby guys are hand appliqued and the other one is a simple block that I have at  times hung with a mini-decorative hanger and tiny clothes pins to display.  Very cute and easy to change out.

This one I hand quilted with metallic thread and wrote out part of the story...... Twas' The Night Before Christmas in the green border.

An early piece of mine done for a quilt challenge probably in the early 1980's.