Delights

This White Rose Tea is so good. The rose notes are definitely there but not overpowering, very soothing. 

It is always good to find delight in every day little things, but also in larger life experiences. I'm keeping busy with volunteer work this November. Will be back to stitching once I reach my volunteer work goal for the month. Although needlework is satisfying, relaxing, and wholesome,... nothing compares to the joy that comes from giving of yourself for a greater purpose.

M U G Shots ;-)

Although I will drink tea in any nice clean mug, drinking it in a cute mug makes me feel a bit more special ;-).  For tea my preference is for more delicate mugs compared to the ones I'll use  for coffee. So here are a few oldie (but goodie) previously posted pictures... we are going down mug memory lane.

How do you prefer your drinking vessel to be?  

Spring is Here!

We are in full bloom! Most days are still a bit chilly, but there have been a few really warm ones, great for visiting local parks! 

The red tulips were gorgeous, this Weeping Willow too!

We are keeping busy with: homeschooling, volunteer work, Dr. appointments, our spiritual routine, spending time with friends, the usual everyday chores/errands,...

and a little bit of stitching (pattern is K. Schmitz's Home Sampler). Thinking about restarting it; tracing it instead of using the printed sulky and using a different thread. Will see.

Although soon the pollen will be hitting us hard, it is still very cheerful to see nature's colors popping up everywhere!

Until next time!

A Freebie and a Masterpiece

Spring is definitely in the air on my side of the woods. Leaving a vintage embroidery pattern freebie for you to enjoy! Have a great end of the week and a lovely weekend!

Thoughts:

Despite the everyday hectic ins and outs, all the things that need our attention. All the running around. Our Heavenly Father gifts us with many awe inspiring moments, like this one yesterday on our way to one of my medical tests. 

Filled with Admiration.

Humbled and so Grateful.

Found awestruck by a heavenly masterpiece of beautiful skies. My day was made! 
(Psalm 8, Psalm 115:16, Psalm 37:29, Proversbs 2:21) 

Bits of Stitching's Needlework Medley Video

Just testing posting videos. 
Here is a video summary of past and present needlework
projects. May consider posting more in the future.
Thanks for watching! ;-)

Throwback Tuesday: Autumn 2016

Autumn is my favorite season. Today is beautiful here, my family went out to do a bit of volunteer work. I stayed behind in order to have some time alone and go over my younger one's homework, get it ready to go over any errors once she's back, and have a few minutes of me time with a cup of massala chai (aka: chai tea latte). 
Browsing thru old pictures while sipping chai, found these two of autumn of 2016. Above, a bit of english paper piecing on the the deck of our previous home, interestingly with a cup of chai ;-).

This other one, also on our previous home, of my craft desk full of projects... getting ready a towel for my older child to stitch. It took her quite awhile to complete (she started it here and completed it here). 
Sudden weather changes don't do me well. On a recent Dr. visit, she suggested I approached things a bit different, too soon to tell but so far it seems to be working. Still love Fall and all it's wonderful colors, flavors, scents! The sunlight and crisp air are wonderful, it puts a smile on my face just by looking out the window. Hoping you are enjoying the weather wherever you are, and that it is not causing you trouble!

Notes: 
The english paper piecing pattern on first picture is the Spring Stitching Club is by Mollie Johanson from her shop Wild Olive on Etsy.
The Flower design on the towel is from the book pictured on both photos: Beautiful Stitches by Susan Bates .... this is her website.

Setting Up a Crafting Space

Since we moved, I haven't been able or motivated to set up my new craft space. I've been missing my old space and how enjoyable the natural sunlight of that room used to be.

I'm adding a few pictures of my old craft space here. We had a very large home, beautiful custom home.... but it was challenging for me to keep up with (even with the help of my husband)... living with chronic illnesses makes things a bit challenging. We refocus and decided to downsize a bit.

 My new craft space will be craft room/guest room, so I'm lost as to how I'm going to set it up. The old one used to be in the kids playroom. So I had it set up to simply look like a craft space.

 New projects, books, work in progress projects, supplies, etc., used to sleep right on top of my desk. Waiting for me whenever I had free time to keep working on them, without having to dig them out.... or even worst, being forgotten. (By the way, I'm having to use see thru project bags lately to help me remember what things are in progress or new starts.) 

 Sometimes it was tidy just like the picture below, but that wasn't the norm. Every little crafty mess, was a happy mess ;-).

 Do you have to share your crafting space? If so, how do you make it work? I'm hoping to start setting up that craft/guest room this winter, if not sooner. Perhaps a sofa bed? Make it look like a lounging space? Really don't know.

We even thought of getting a bit of help from an interior designer, just to point us in the right direction and help us make the room multifunctional for a craft/guest room that looks put together and harmonizes with the rest of the house. If it can't be done in a satisfactory way, I may have to arrange a corner of the master bedroom for my hand embroidery, EPP, and cross stitch. In a way I'm already doing that, but may have to set it up in a more aesthetically functional way. 
Anyhow, today was a bit cloudy so didn't take pictures of some finished embroideries I wanted to blog about. Hopefully tomorrow we have some nice sunlight to take a few shots and post them here soon! Be well! Until next time!

Reminiscing

At some point I will continue to work on this quilt. The one that was meant for mom. There are a few older blog posts about this project. When mom's health started to rapidly decline it took us (my siblings and myself) by surprise, it happened so fast, like a ride down a playground slide. My grandmother (mom's mother) lived for many years with Alzheimer's, even her late stages were quite long. We thought it was going to be the same with mom. Not so. Perhaps the fact that mom also had Lupus accelerated everything? Can't know for sure, but it is a possibility. Perhaps, all was clear all along and we were somewhat in denial? Maybe. What if the natural disaster that hit the area had to do with it? No matter how many questions we may ask, what we do know for sure is that the 'unexpected events befall us all'. - Ec 9:11.
For safety reasons only certain things approved by the caregiving facility were allowed in her room, handmade quilts weren't part of that approved list. Below is the last block I got to finished awhile back.

This coming November will be a year. Finishing it and using it will definitely keep many memories, happy and sad, alive daily. One of my sisters and my niece encouraged me to finish it, they were the ones that helped me stitched two of the blocks. I'm not sure if I'm ready for the rollercoaster trip of emotions that will come to mind once I continue working on it. A totally different mind set from the one I started with. Maybe I'll continue where I left in November.... or not. Just going to wait and see.
Hoping your day is going well!

A Break

Yes, it's been a while!

For now it will remain quite around here.

So, so, so busy...

I'm thinking maybe until Spring.

We'll see! 

Until then!

Welcome To My New Spot!

Welcome to Bits of Stitching!

(this entry is postdated until 01/30/2012)

Hope you found your way ;-)!

 I renamed

the blog, that other blog name/web-address became available to someone else 

with whom I have no connections whatsoever.

Now Bits of Stitching! is my new spot for sharing/posting

about any of my, new and old, crafty endevors.

Life surprises us when we least expected and to

embrace that I decided to start a blog from scratch.

Why the name Bits of Stitching!?

Well.... if you knew me from my previous blog,

you may have noticed that even though I love

to handicraft and everything that comes with it...lol,

(supplies, pattern, books, etc.) the truth is that

I'm not able to complete much of what I start.

My time is very limited and I'm expecting it to stay

 that way for years to come. 

However I do like to squeeze some stitching 

a bit here and a bit there so

Bits of Stitching!

seems to be a perfect description of how I move along

with my handicrafts. ;-)