11.30.2008

Happy Holidays from Country Stitches!


All orders placed between now and December 23rd totally $10.00 or more will receive the above cross stitch pattern FREE! This early style table runner is stitched on osnaburg and backed with a red civil war reproduction fabric. Fill the pocket with vintage pipe cleaner candy canes, sweet annie or fresh pine. This is a project that you can easily get done in a weekend.
Holiday Blessings,
brenda
P.S. Don't forget tomorrow Monday December 1st is FREE shipping day (Cyber Monday)...read below post for details!

11.26.2008

Cyber Monday & Free Pattern!

Come shop with us on Monday December 1st as Country Stitches is taking part in the ceremonial kick-off of the holiday online shopping season (Cyber Monday). We will be offering free shipping on all online orders placed on Monday December 1st between the hours of 10:00 am - 9:00 pm CST. This offer is good on orders shipped within the United States. No exceptions...thanks for understanding!
ALSO.... all orders placed between November 28th & December 23rd will receive our annual "FREE PATTERN" give away. The free pattern is a new cross stitch design of mine and has never been sold or will be sold as a pattern.
Happy Thanksgiving,
brenda

Back Home & Back to Work


Beckham all snuggled up in his Teddy Bear Fleece & ready to leave the hospital. He is not quite 48 hours old in this picture. Just as content as could be!

I spent a few days with Baby Beckham, Mommy & Daddy and had the time of my life! Being a grandparent is a wonderful experience. It gives you warm fuzzies watching your own children become these wonderful & loving parents...a neat experience in itself! Beckham is very very fortunate, he has great parents! I just couldn't get enough of those darling little fingers & toes... I took lots of pictures and they are printed off...need to buy my "BRAG" book today, oh how fun!

Wishing everyone a very Blessed Thanksgiving!

Lots to be thankful for,

brenda

11.23.2008

Look who's here!



Beckham Christian was born Thursday, November 20th at 8:30 pm. He tipped the scale at 7 lbs. 15 oz & 20" tall. Mother and baby Beckham are doing good & he is a very content baby so far. I am spending this week away from the office so I can enjoy this time and help Erin in any way that I can.

Until later,
brenda





11.20.2008

It's Done!




The "Snowy Meadow" cross stitch pattern is now done! This piece features Parson Brown out on a winter wonderland skate...won't you come join him? Lace up those skates!! This piece is worked on Dirty Edinboro linen using 2 strands over 2 threads. Piece shown above is framed in an 8" x 10" frame. Stitch count is 114 wide by 154 high. We will have this pattern & also pattern/fabric/floss kit posted this evening on our website for purchase.

Stay warm,

brenda

11.15.2008

Coming Soon!!


Here is a sneek peak at a new cross stitch pattern design that is in the works & is close to being complete. I am just showing you a snippet of this design. This finished size of this design is approximately 6" x 8 1/2". Stay tuned as updates on this guy will be posted right here on this blog.

11.14.2008

Baby UGGS & bursting with excitement....

Our daughter Erin & husband Rob are expecting their 1st baby & our 1st grandchild. Ultra sound due date says November 27th and actual due date is December 2nd. So you see, the count down has begun here at grandma's house....hmmmmm am I going to be Grandma, or Grammy (this is what I called my Grandmother), or Granny Brenda??? A brand new baby just in time for Christmas...how exciting!

One day shortly after we got the the exciting news from Erin & Rob a Hanna Andersson catalog was in my mail box. I LOVED Hanna Andersson and I sort of forgot about this company. I ordered clothing from them when my children were young. These clothes were some of the last ones I parted with as the kids outgrew them (there may even be a few pieces in a box around this big old house of mine, for all I know;-). I was amazed....how did Hannah Andersson know I was approaching grandmother hood? Do you suppose they have a way of keeping track of how old we are really growing? Once we reach that "grandparent" age, we magically become part of their mailing list again. Hmmm....perhaps this is why I haven't received a Victoria's Secret magazine in some time!!
Well about an hour after the magazine arrived, I had several little "boy" items ordered online. They even have UGGS...can you believe it!!??? I couldn't resist, I had to order a pair! Oh how warm would these little fuzzy, fur lined UGGS keep a babies feet? Does this sound like a grandma-to-be who is trying to convince herself that it IS okay that she just spent 50 bucks on a pair of baby booties? The UGGS were on back order for what seemed like an eternity. They finally did arrive and I am know realizing that they will fit the baby in about August...the heat of summer! So they do need to be returned for a larger size some day, but in the mean time I have enjoyed peeking at them in their precious little shoe box!!

The nursery is now done & is just waiting for the arrival of this little one. Dave & I spent last weekend at their home putting the finishing touches on the room. They have chose the MONKEY SEE MONKEY DO theme from Pottery Barn for the nursery, far from the "safe" mint green color schemes that I used in my day. The ultra sound says boy...crossing our fingers it is correct as this nursery says "boy" all over it. They decided they would like the stripes and letters on the wall above the crib just as pictured in the catalog. Of course no one at Pottery Barn could tell us if these stripes were a wall paper border or simply painted on...after some thought we decided that for all we know the stripes were computer generated and just simply copy & pasted onto the photo!

We decided we'd give it a try, and paint the stripes on the wall. We used a masking tape called Frog Tape and it worked great...I highly recommend this tape! I was quite concerned of any goof ups made during the stripe painting process due to the fact that we had little or no wall paint left. Any mess ups would mean buying more wall paint and starting over. No pressure on Grandpa Dave (the painter in charge) at all! The stripes of bright white, orange & chocolate brown turned out perfect and looked great on the powdery blue wall. Really brought the whole room together with the sheets & quilt. The wooden letters that spell out the babies name were also hung that evening before we left. Now when guests come to visit they must run upstairs & take down the letters as they are trying to keep the name a secret. :-) We joked a few times and wondered what girls name we could come up with using the letters from their chosen boys name if the ultra sound was misread. I think there was one possibility for a girls name....

I have thoroughly enjoyed this whole pregnancy of my daughters and have gained a wealth of knowledge about products that I didn't even know exist. Oh my, how things have changed! (I think I remember my Mom saying this...oh know, isn't there some mirror mirror on the wall saying?) Today's strollers are no longer the Umbrella type that I used. Today's strollers are not only a stroller, they are the car seat & the infant carrier too! Playpens are now Pack N Plays. Then there is the device that warms the wet wipes so they aren't cold on the little ones bottom. There is also a waste basket of sorts contraption that holds something like 180 dirty diapers....not sure of this & really don't see a need to keep 180 dirty diapers in my house, stink or no stink! Then have you ever wondered how these cute, young pregnant woman are still wearing their regular jeans?? It is the belly band...what a great idea, whomever came up with it! It is a tube of knit fabric that you wear around the waist of your regular low-rise jeans. Your jeans are unzipped and this belly band simply holds everything together and keeps your pants from falling off! And baby booties are now called UGGS!

2 weeks and counting,

brenda




11.12.2008

Where's Rudolph?




There's Dasher and Dancer, Prancer and Vixen, on Comet and Cupid....where's Donder, Blitzen & Rudolph??? Must be playing that reindeer game of hide and seek from old St. Nick!

This design titled WHERE'S RUDOLPH was worked on 28 count Cashel Flax linen using 1 strand of floss over 1 thread. The design frames nicely in a 5" x 7" picture frame. I purchased an inexpensive frame from my local discount retailer and gave it a coat of Rittenhouse Red (Old Village brand) paint and then gently sanded and stained it with Minwax. I love the red frame around this design. I then propped the picture on an old iron coat hook of sorts that was a find at a local antique shop...makes a unique easel. I am looking forward to enjoying this design this holiday season in my red & green living room.

We are now taking advance orders for this new pattern and will begin shipping early next week. Pattern is posted on the website under the NEW ITEMS category. We are offering this design as a pattern only or a kit (includes pattern, linen & floss).

The Parson Brown cross stitch design is progressing nicely & should have it ready to go by Thanksgiving. Will keep you posted on its progress!

Happy stitchin,
brenda

11.09.2008

Stitching is done....now what??

Now it's time to decide how to finish this piece...small pillow, ditty bag filled with holiday goodies, put in a picture frame, or mount on a hornbook.... I will spend the evening making that decision and then completing the piece. Instructions & photo shoot to follow. I hope to have this new cross stitch pattern ready for shipping by weeks end!

Happy stitchin,

brenda

Warm & Cozy on the inside....


Winter seems to have made it's presence here in Iowa, temps have been cold & windy the past couple of days with a 1" dusting of snow... a good day for soup! Just finished preparing Chili for supper & plans for today are to curl up in my chair next to cracking logs in the fireplace and STITCH, STITCH, STITCH...


If all goes well, I think I will complete the new Santa cross stitch design today....yippee!!! Pictures of this to follow (hopefully in a day or so)...still have to come up with a pattern title for this guy! After 21 years of being in this business I find it harder and harder to come up with pattern titles...always afraid I'm going to repeat myself!


Sharing a couple of recipes today...enjoy!

Chili for Chili Weather

" A great chili with just the right amount of spices. Good served with a slice of Cheesy Olive Ciabatta bread or buttered Saltine crackers (my personal favorite)."
1 pound lean ground beef

2 - 11.5 oz. cans V-8 juice

2 - 8 oz. cans tomato sauce

3/4 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup chopped celery

1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper

1 T. chili powder

1 tsp. ground cumin

3/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

1/4 tsp. sugar

1 - 15 oz. can dark red kidney beans (drained & rinsed)

1 - 16 oz. can red beans (drain & rinsed)

1 cup water

1 T. white vinegar

Place ground beef in large skillet; cook over medium heat until browned. Drain & set aside. Add all other ingredients and bring almost to a boil and then reduce heat. Simmer on low heat for 1 1/2 hours; stirring occasionally.





Cheesy Olive Ciabatta Bread

1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup sliced black olives

1/4 cup sliced pimento stuffed green olives

2 green onions, chopped

1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1 loaf of Ciabatta Bread

Mix first 6 ingredients in a bowl. Slice bread in half width-wise & lengthwise. Place on a baking sheet. Spread cheese mixture over bread. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 - 20 minutes or until cheese is melted. Cut into serving pieces with an electric knife.


Enjoy your Sunday,
brenda

11.06.2008

Please respect the artist....

Please remember all photos on this blog are property of With thy Needle & Thread. Copying these images/files for your use is a violation of copyright laws. Please know that we do monitor such activity from this blog.
Thank you,
Brenda