The phraze "the bucket list"

has gotten to be a favorite thing to talk about among many people..........

the things we want to do............the dreams we want to make come true..........

the goals we want to accomplish................

before we "hit the bucket"

 

I, however, have just a different outlook on the things I want to do, the dreams I want to make into a reality, and the goals I want to reach..................not in an urgent manner before I die............

 

but things I want to do and accomplish by the time I reach 100.

Yes, I plan to live to be 100..............

I already decided on it.......

I have so  many things  I want to try............and so many dreams and ideas..........

that I won't get finished with them all until my 100th birthday rolls around!

 

I always wanted to marry the most wonderful man in the world..............

check............did that

(that is why it is hard to find him out in the world, he's with me)

I wanted to become a mother and be blessed with sweet babies............

check...........did that

(the sweetest time in my life!)

I wanted many friends..............

check......did that

( I have been so blessed)

I wanted to write a book.............

check.........did that.............

(it's not published yet.........but it's a book!!)

I want to learn as many things as I can..........

check..........did that

(still doing that)

 

And there is so much more...........

my latest thing I want to be able to learn?.............

knitting!!

On my shelf is a small group of knitting books...........some very old, some very new that I have picked up along the way.

In my sewing box is an array of different sized knitting needles that has been given to me as "cast offs and unwanteds.

I have glanced at them through out the years..........always grabbing my embroidery floss and needles..........or my crochet hooks and charts..............walking past them..........

always thinking.........someday, I will make myself learn.............

This past week...........that's exactly what I have been doing.

I have settled on one book, which is very good in detail and instructions to stitch and pattern. I am going very slow and working through each step and lesson.

My goal.............before I reach the ripe old age of 100?

I want to knit a sweater!

Even if it is only one sweater..........with a lopsided neck and one sleeve longer than the other............

I am determined to knit one!

So...............

how about you?

Do you think about a bucket list.............or something accomplished before you reach a certain age?
What is your wildest thing you would love to do?...........the sky's the limit..........

I would love to hear!

                                Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today.

 James Dean



I have posted about vintage handkerchiefs a while back......

and found that many of you love them as much as I.

 

I remember, as a child, watching ladies reaching into their handbags to pull out a beautiful handkerchief.............

I have collected a few over the years......some vibrant in print..........

others delicately embroidered.......

I love them all.

If you remember, a couple of posts back,  I posted about stitching small embroidery designs just for the love of stitching and getting small pieces done.........

I decided to turn some of my small embroidery into handkerchiefs!

 Do you like this idea?

So many times, when I am walking out in the Texas heat, or in a crowded, slightly air conditioned market..........a paper Kleenex does not last long when dabbing my face or neck.

This little hankie will take me a lot further............

They don't tear and stick to your skin like paper tissue.

I love small basket designs............

 

so many colors can be used to get a great effect.

 

I also embroidered a small design in the opposite corner.

Smaller, but still pretty.

So now, I have a handful of "homemade and hand stitched" handkerchiefs.

They fit perfectly in my back pocket if I am out in the garden heat...........

and they fit perfectly, tucked inside of a small bag, ready to use when I am out and about in town.

How about you?

I know you love vintage hankies............have you ever wanted to have some newly stiched  of your own to use?

I would love to hear.



Among some of the things I like to collect.............

thimbles hold a special place in my heart!

I think I can hear all of you who do some type of needle work, saying the same thing..........

yes??

 

I collect old brass ones and have recently been collecting porcelain ones because friend and family have been giving them to me, collected from their travels!

Do you collect thimbles on any of your trips?

I love them all and have been keeping them in a box ..............but I really want to be able to see them in my embroidery studio..................

I have a few wooden cola cases, in which I have placed old soda bottles on my front porch..............

my miniature perfume bottle collection................

and whimsical barn creatures and what nots.............

I now have one for my thimble collection! (as you can see, I still have spaces for more thimbles!)

I love the way it looks with my vintage teacup pincushion and basket of wooden thread spools.

In one corner I also placed my small sewing notions...........

 

As some of you remember, I cross stitched this piece to re-do the back of an old chair that I had fallen in love with.................

Last week a group of my friends and I gathered together and  Becky, showed us all that she was an artist. She painted this from a photo of the chair I had emailed to her and gave it to me!!!

Can you imagine how lucky and blessed I feel?? Thank you Becky!

I love it! Didn't she do such an amazing job? Of course it is hanging in my studio!

Do any of you like Brussels Sprouts.........or have you had them fixed boiled and do not like them?

My garden  patch of these are now ready for harvest and I found a wonderful way to prepare them that is so tasty! They are pan roasted............if you would like the simple recipe, hop over to my farm blog.......(click onto link) Eggs In My Pocket

With the recent cool front and rain we have been getting, I have been going through my cookbooks in search of  soups..........something different than what I usually make, and decided to try this........

BLT Soup.

It was so wonderful!

 It is creamy and hearty...........perfect to warm up with after being outside on a chilly walk.

If you would like this recipe, click onto this link to visit my cooking blog

My Country Kitchen

As you can guess from all of this, I am in the middle of a stitching project and do not have much to show as of yet.

I want to start stitching some items as gifts for the coming holidays and for friends and family that are coming this way to stop in for a visit.

How about you?

Is the weather cooling where you are and are you getting into the mood to start holiday baking, sewing and decorating?

What kinds of collections do you have and how do you display them?

I would love to hear!



For me, the little things do matter.........

when it comes to embroidery, that is..........

 

Often times, readers comment to me that they want to get either started back into embroidery or they want to begin to learn to do so. I have found that in many things, it is best to start out small and work your way up. This way, especially in embroidery work, the project at hand does not seem so overwhelming

and in just a few stitches, one can have a finished design that will be so enjoyable and rewarding that many times, one will then chose a larger design and before they know it.........they are embroidering every thing they can think of. Just a small design in the corner of a square of fabric, with basic embroidery stitches...............

Or if one wants..............get really creative with color and stitches and

breathe a lot of life into the design.

Very simple and basic stitches.............

can make even the smallest of designs so pretty.

Before you know it,  you can have a handful of embroidered linens, ready to use for your home!

How about you?

Have you been wanting to start an embroidery project?

What designs do you like best?

Find a small version of it and start stitching!

I hope to hear about it!



Last year......around this time.........

I finished stitching a set of seasonal clothesline pictures that I have for years now, wanted to stitch and then to place in my laundry room.

I framed each one in a separate frame........but never really liked how they looked and never hung them.

I finally found the perfect frame to fit all of them ................

Since each picture reflects a different season, I found a wonderful quote about seasons to place around the stitched pieces.

Now it is hanging in my laundry room and it is just as I have wanted it to look. I have an old scrub board hanging on the wall as well. I am thinking about sewing and embroidering a laundry bag for clothes pins to also hang beside the dryer..................what do you think?

If I had the room.............although, I don't, I would place a large scrubbing tub on the floor...........

Here is the quote for the stitched picture:

Spring passes and one remembers one's innocence.

 Summer passes and one remembers one's exuberance.

Autumn passes and one remembers one's reverence.

 Winter passes and one remembers one's perseverance.

How about you?

Do you like to decorate your laundry room?

Does it have plants..........a special framed painting perhaps?
I would love to hear!