Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! 

I finished this little "Slan" which means welcome, or peace...really not all that sure about the meaning of it as I've come across different sources.  I used HDF silk ribbon to edge the little pillow.  I think it turned out great.

 

Two finishes for the month of March! Now onto Spring finishes!!

Today is not only St. Patrick's Day, but it is also Blini Day for those who are Orthodox.  Blini is a Russian pancake, or crepe, which we eat with all sorts of different toppings.  We eat the blini before Lent begins, which begins tomorrow.  I will be missing having my coffee with cream and tea with milk the most.  That's always the hardest for me.  Not eating meat and dairy isn't such a big deal, but my COFFEEEEEEEEEE!!!!! As always, I adjust and then before you know it, it's Pascha!!

After church, and after we eat the blini, I want to take my Irish Nana to David's Tea to get a free tea if we wear green, to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.  It's a duo celebration day for both cultures!

Tomorrow is the IHSW update and I realized I forgot to do a TUSAL post! Oops! Lots to share with you...and lots of blogs to read.  I did see that Google Reader will be closing on July 1st which makes me mad.  I really enjoy Google Reader and found it so helpful for making sure I didn't miss any posts.  I found Blog Lovin' and will use that once Google Reader goes dark.

Cheerio and enjoy your day of stitching!!

P.S. Welcome to my new followers! I just realized I am close to 300 followers! WOW! So that means I need to think of a really good 300 follower giveaway....so stay tuned!

Got Luck?

Reports are finished! Thank you to all of you who wished me luck and good thoughts while I wrote them.  I finished them with plenty of time before they were due.  I have a lot to share with you but I will save that for later on this week.  I just wanted to share a finish! FINALLY!!!!

I managed to whip up a finish today.  I stitched this fun little freebie from Plum Street Samplers about two or more weeks ago.  I had plans to do a lot more finishing today but this one took awhile.  I'm rather pleased with the results.  I got inspiration from Carol for the two button layering.  Her finishes are superb!! I stitched this on 32 count Raw Natural linen using a mix of HDF, GAST and WDW threads.  It was a lot of fun putting this together and I'm so happy to finally have a March small to put in my basket...also inspired by Carol.  

This weekend, my hubby and I got to go for a bike ride and look what has come out to greet us....Crocuses!! So excited to see these happy flowers blooming in my favourite colours!!

With Spring Break around the corner, I am looking forward to catching up with all of you, finishing, stitching, cycling, baking and relaxing.  That's my plan!! I'm sorry I haven't been commenting as much.  I am reading people's blogs when I have time and also have been drooling over MANY Nashville releases.  Unfortunately, I have enough stash to last me awhile so I have to hold back.  Plus, I have been blessed with more RAK's from some lovely ladies, which I will share with you all later on this week. 

Take care and happy stitching!

Titus says Hi!!

Report Cards and a New Bike

March is here all rainy and blustery...in like a lion...hopefully out like a lamb? Please?!

It's also report card time and I've only managed to write half of them.  Each comment is taking me forever.  I want to make sure I'm writing positive comments interlaced with helpful tips for parents to support their children.  Thought I would take a break and write up a quick non-stitchy post!

This quote is at the forefront of my mind as I write these reports.
 
"Let the student’s strengths and not the disability define who they are as a
person” (Shaywitz, 2003)

So important to remember this because often, we focus too much on what the students can't do instead of what they can do.

I really wish cats could write reports....

Just this morning, my husband went out and bought us two new bikes!! They are really good bikes and the price was right!  Check out my new ride!!

It's so light and the tires are very slick.  We had to test drive them, but got caught in a torrential downpour.  Not the best idea!

 
Just before the storm.  Very murky river.

That's it.  No more procrastinating....I'll be back after March 8th...when the reports are due.

Hugs to all

IHSW and Lovely Gifts!

Be prepared to look at a lot of photos! Get yourself a cup of tea, or coffee or whatever your choice of drink is because I will bombard you with loads of photos!!

First signs of spring:

A delightful evening at the symphony with my hubby:

IHSW Stitching:

I had to add some motifs on Hannah since stitching borders makes me restless.  I love that little basket of fruit!!

A quick freebie stitch from the Primitive Hare that I started and finished in one evening. I used HDF's Barnyard green silk.. an utterly delicious green! (Click on the link and it will take you to the freebie chart)

Found a better fabric choice for Baked Goods:

Picked up another thrifty treat to match our other orange 40's glass bowls:

My RAK I sent to Angela was received, so here it is:

Stitched on Navy Blue 32ct. lugana with Kodak Blue HDF silk

I'm glad she liked the package! I found this lovely freebie pattern from Whispered by the Wind website.

I received another order I made in January and was told by my hubby that I have ENOUGH FABRIC AND STRINGS TO LAST ME A LIFE TIME! DO NOT BUY ANYTHING MORE   :(  So now I can't....

40 ct. Newcastle linen in Mirage and Sand

Trying out Crescent Colours Threads

My first ever SANQ magazine...love it!!

And finally....the mailman/woman has been very good lately delivering me all sorts of gifties.  I received my beautiful giveaway wins from Angela and Lynn.  Thank you so much ladies! Your finishing skills are exquisite and both pieces I cherish so much and have displayed already in my living room.  Dear Lynn sent me a few little extras and threw in some crinkle toys for Titus to play with! There are two crinkle toys but one has disappeared somewhere! He loves them and sends you a big purr Lynn!!

Angela's box is so amazing! I will be trying out her tutorial one day and try to make one of my own!! Thank you again dear Angela!!

Lynn's pillow is so pretty and I love the little buttons and threads she added to the package.

 Hugs to you both!! 

Blessings to you all!!

Valentine's Day and Kids

Sugar and kids.  What a mix.  On Valentine's Day at our school, we had quite the celebration.  First we had a "Love" assembly which was darling.  The kids sang the Beatles "All You Need is Love"...ba de da de dum...then in the afternoon, the parties started.  If you thought Halloween caused kids to go batty, Valentine's is worse! First of all, most of my kids who come to me in the afternoon, didn't come because of the parties.  I get it though! Who would want to leave a class full of sugar and love to learn in my room??! Even though I had cinnamon hearts and red jube-jubes to entice them with, it would be cruel to pull them away from the fun.  So off I went to go visit the Valentine's parties.

Wow....I never knew so much candy and chocolate everywhere could  smell so strong and overwhelm my senses!! Every room I walked into, kids were bouncing off walls while teachers were hiding in the corners at their desks thankful to see an adult who wasn't high off of sugar come and give them a reassuring hug and say in a soothing voice..."It'll be okay now...the kids are going home soon...ssshhhh...it's okay."  Kids came bounding up to me with pink cheeks, hair askew and speaking rapidly in high-pitched tones, "Mrs. Doll!!!! Look at what I got!! Here's your Valentine!!" Big hugs ensued and off they bounced like Tigger from Winnie the Pooh. Oh those munchkins!!

It was literally, a sweet day.  

My lovely husband bought me some roses which was unexpected and a lovely surprise.  I'm not usually that big on going all out on Valentine's but it was nice to receive some roses.  

In the spirit of Valentine's and pink, I picked up this lovely little hand-painted clay pot from Mexico at the thrift store for $1.00 and this oil painting of violets. 

It's IHSW and I should be stitching....


Big hugs to you all!!