A Plethora of Pinkeeps

Well, 2 pinkeeps at any rate. I am so excited to be actually finishing things. I have baskets full of unfinished finished pieces, if you know what I mean! ;) This is a freebie pattern from the Sampler Girl. I need to get another ribbon for it - one that is not translucent! I am having a lot of fun with the pins.

I have many, many, many Christmas ornaments from the past 8 years or so. None of them have ever been finished to hang on a tree. This is my first real, live ornament! It feels so good to finally find a finishing style I am comfortable with. I searched for years for acid-free foamboard that was not self-adhesive. I finally found it at H#bby L#bby. I hope they sold me the right kind!

Needlepainted Cameo

Oh My Goodness!!! I just found the Embroiderers' Guild of America! Click HERE to see the brooches. The second picture is a breathtaking cameo brooch - done with needle and thread! Inspiring!

A Parent and Some Pinkeeps

Sunday, we celebrated my mom's birthday. I made my first (slighty off-center) pinkeep for her. This morning, I tried again and made another pinkeep for myself. I really like making them. I am off to find some unfinished Christmas ornaments with pinkeep potential!

A Finish!

It feels so good to finish something! I chose to do only the first block of the "Jeanne d'Arc" from the digital magazine, The Gift of Stitching. I think it is lovely on its own - especially since it has St. Michael, my favorite saint!
I also finished three more days on "Adam Alone." I chose to concentrate on the flowers in the border; I could not bring myself to stitch anymore words one-over-one! I will have to think of a special treat for myself each time I do those words - and there are a lot of words! I hope to finish 3 or 4 more designs on this rotation so i am already planning on the designs to start to fill the empty spaces. That is the most fun! Well, off we go for some family summer outside fun! I'll post more pictures later. Oh, will someone tell me how I can post more than 4 pictures per post?

Wall grouping

 

This week I have enjoyed looking at Tanya's and Vonna's posts about using cross stich throughout their homes. Here is a shot of a "grouping" on my kitchen wall. The walls are a pale green. I like holding up various charts and planning what should go where next. Sometimes I think I want to change the stitching and the pictures out seasonally. I think I could just leave a summer, fall, and Christmas photo in each frame and switch the pictures out throughout the year. Switching the needlework would be a little trickier since they would be different sizes, and I do not want a bunch of holes in the wall. What do you do?

And a Forest Grew

I just finished my three days on "And a Forest Grew. Sometimes I actually think I might finish this.

What did I expect?

 

 

 

 

Paulette's Giveaway

Paulette is having a fantastic giveaway today on her blog - 5 of her beautiful charts!!! Click Here to leave a comment on her blog and be entered in this great giveaway!

A Lady's Dream

Here is my start on "A Lady's Dream" by Carriage House Samplings. I love the samplers in the 2006 Most Noble Pursuit, but I know I would never stitch it as one piece. I thought about stitching three of them separately, and hanging them near each other. We will have to see. I always make such great plans - planning is almost as much fun as stitching! I put my rotation on hold again to do this piece. I do believe in the "power" of the rotation, but I have to take side trips to keep me going down the main road - if that makes any sense! I just love the verse on this design, "The murmur of the summer stream is best to soothe a lady's dream." Sometimes, when I think about it, it does not quite make sense, but the words are lovely anyway. It has been a loooong time since I have stitched such relatively large blocks of a single color, but I am finding it relaxing after stitching so many words and alphabets on other designs. I hope everyone gets lots of stitching and reading done today!

Hornets, Lemon cucumbers and Catherine the Great

What do those things have in common? - My Week! Nutmeg got a caterpillar sting on Sunday and a Hornet sting on Tuesday. Today I am going to try to get her to the park, but she still does not want to leave the house; who could blame her? I picked my first lemon cucumbers this week. I think they are very yummy! They taste just like regular cucumbers, but the shape and color are fun. I am currently living on tomato sandwiches!
This week, Nutmeg and I studied Catherine the Great in history. We also looked at library books about the Russian Orthodox. We visited a Greek Orthodox church a few times this summer, so she had some context. Next week we will start Napoleon.

I finished stitching "Persuasion," and am now back to my rotation. For now....

Persuasion and Random Thoughts

Well, it is summer. School is still in session, but we are taking a break from running all over N. Georgia to ballet and music. The girls have been swimming in mountain lakes, eating "hunky" bars with my grandmother, and taking walks under the pine trees with my grandfather.

Nutmeg is still recovering from a caterpillar sting we got while riding through the trees, I mean, riding along the paths on the golf cart.

Buttercup and I have been doing a FIAR Peter Rabbit Study this week. We are using the FREE lapbook resources from Home School Share.com. Today my littlest bunny and I took a stroll down the lane and gathered blackberries. Nutmeg stayed in nursing her now infected caterpillar bite.
Nutmeg and I are trying to finish some selected chapters from SOTW 3 before we begin our cycle again with SOTW 1. I thought SOTW 1 was a better place to pick up Buttercup. If she started with SOTW, she might never want to do history again! This week we are studying Russia, Catherine the Great and vaccines.
I am almost staying on my cross stitch rotation. I finished up my three days on "Grateful heart," but I needed a quick project to inspire me. Since watching "Lost in Austen," I having been craving all things Jane. (I have not decided how much I liked "Lost in Austen" yet.) I picked up Tanya's Persuasion design from JCS. It fulfills the Jane craving and has a summery-beach theme as well. I may start Tanya's "Return to the Sea" next. I cannot be a slave to my rotation schedule! I also did a quick biscornu fob using Brighneedle's "Bunny Hop" design.

Well, now I need to get the girls lunch, find the library books, pack for swimming....and on and on it goes!

The winner is...

Congratulations, Jennifer! I put all the names on cards, and Buttercup picked one. I have your address, so I will get it out tomorrow!

Giveaway Drawing Tomorrow!!!!!!

I will draw a name at random tomorrow morning at 10EST! Good Luck! Leave a comment on the previous post to enter a drawing for "Friends" chart by Prairie Schooler.

Blogiversary Giveaway!

I cannot believe it has been two years today! It seems like only yesterday that I was tentatively setting up a blog in order to show off the H#rry P#tter freebie from The Sampler Girl's blog. The Striped Rose switches between cross stitch, homeschooling and gardening at my whim. I do have a habit of leaping from project to project. I want to thank Tanya and all the other stitchers whose stitching blogs have and continue to inspire me. And if anyone is looking for a homeschool blog...I promise in the fall to return to Weekly Reports and curriculum reviews. I need the support and encouragement of the homeschooling corner of the blogosphere! I am checking in on your blogs throughout the summer. One thing I have discovered is that a reader comes to a blog because of a certain common interest, but eventually you get to know the blogger, and are interested in other aspects of the blogger's life - family, vacations, ups-and-downs. So have a cup of tea with me today, and leave a comment on this post to enter my giveaway. I chose a chart by Prairie Schooler - "Friends." I thought the title appropriate! I will choose a random winner on Friday. Good Luck!

Fun on the Fourth

We went to my parents' house for the Fourth. There was much food: peanut butter cookies, Key Lime Pie, lentil-carrot burgers, regular burgers and hotdogs, sweet potato fries, and all the fixings.

After lunch and swimming, the kids settled down for a movie. They shared afghans, popcorn...and STREP! One minute Nutmeg was playing in the pool, minutes later she had a 102 degree fever! I took her to the doctor, and the swab test will be back tomorrow, but trust me, the kid has strep. She has started antibiotics. I hope your kids don't get it, MommyLawyer!

My goddaughter, Tricky, took charge of our dog, Ursa. Tricky "walked" Ursa more than Ursa has been walked in quite awhile. Sunday morning, Ursa was so worn out, she just lay in the floor while Tricky smothered her with hugs and kisses. Oh, well, at least you don't get strep from dogs! ;)