PLUM STREET SAMPLERS

It's Good to Be Twelve.

I remember turning twelve. It seemed so old compared to eleven... My sweet Joonbug celebrated her birthday yesterday by inviting over her Meems and Pops and having a cookout here at home. She loves birthdays, no matter whose they are, and we did our best to make hers as special as she makes others'. (If it's your birthday, just let Sophie know and she'll be in a good mood all day - I'm not even kidding.)

She's just too much fun to buy for (as Bre can attest... she pretty much broke the bank bc she couldn't stop adding to the pile when shopping for Sophie in Aeropostale). 

Bean couldn't be with us bc she's taking a field course out in western Nebraska, but before she left, she presented Sophie with a new version of her old cell phone, which was quite exciting for Soph! Of course, Big Papa gets to deal with the data plan upgrade, but he did agree to it. It doesn't really matter that he was engrossed in a video game when the idea was presented, does it? (jk!)

Speaking of Big Papa, he taught the birthday girl all about the art of grilling...

(Btw, those are my "Sweeters" on the top grill rack, as Mike calls them. They're sweet potatoes with all sorts of goodies sprinkled on top).

This was Mike's plate.. I always thought his mustard technique for hot dogs was interesting (which is evidence for why I don't pick him for my team when playing Pictionary)...

Time for the bean bag toss, which was one of Mike's gifts to Soph...

I love this picture of these two...

We also played Ladder Ball, which is always fun!

One of Sophie's very favorite television shows is Cupcake Wars on The Learning Channel, so instead of a traditional cake, we surprised her with various gourmet cupcakes. (And for fun, since she's a Toy Story fan, I got her a miniature Buzz Lightyear cake.)

Sophie loved all of her presents, and she was especially glad her grandparents came over. Not that they would have missed it. ;)

I do have to interject, however, that her little brother got on her nerves a bit:

Especially when he took her prized earrings that were laying nearby and placed them in the bored-out eyes of the ice cream man he had created. This did not go over well with the birthday girl, and I reminded her that men are boys too, and they require much patience at times.

Sophie, you are amazing. And we're so very happy you were born. We love you!

P.S. This morning she said to me, "I'm starting to feel twelve now." And since today is the last day of school, she added, "And can you believe at 3:00 today, I'll be a seventh grader?"

A Fresh Look

A couple of weeks ago I decided that I was tired of the green walls in my bedroom. So after trying out several swatches of different colors (everything from mustard to colonial blue), I decided to visit the Sherwin-Williams Color Visualizer, and finally found a color that I couldn't live without: Crystal Clear. Also known as NPI 511.

Here's a picture of Tilly, perched on a favorite spot in front of my window, with one of the old green walls behind her:

And here's a picture of the new paint over my headboard, silently waiting for Dutch Beauty to return home from the framer:

Btw, I purchased a new bedspread as well.. it's called the Martha Washington's Choice, and I absolutely love it! It looks like it has sampler motifs on it...

I didn't want any shams or throw pillows or neck rolls this time. I'm converting to utter simplicity, so I wanted just a bedspread, and nothing else. So far, I'm very happy with it, although I've threatened Mike with complete despair for the rest of his days if he dares to lay his sweaty, fresh-from-the-gym self on top of it for an afternoon snooze.

Before I painted, I was planning on having Adam & Eve samplers hung over the bed. But I've since changed my mind, and have moved the A&E's to the bathroom. It's not like I have many; I only have Frances Eden and Paradise Lost there so far, but since my mother would need smelling salts if she saw that I wasn't working in odd numbers, I decided to add a third A&E to the mix...

This is A&E by The Primitive Needle. I kept most of the primitive color palette, but did change out a few of the colors to keep it as bright as Frances and Paradise. Of course, one of the colors added was NPI 511. ;)

I also changed the color NPI 775 to NPI 223, and stitched the deer and squirrel in colors from the chart's original NPI list, but not in dark brown, as the chart symbol indicated.

It's stitched on 35-ct. Weeks Dye Works Parchment, and I left off the straight-edge border, as I'd like to have the mats or frame come right up on the edge, where the border would have been.

That's about all I've been up to this past week! I suppose I've had enough fun lollygagging, so it's time to get back to model stitching. Although, the living room could sure use a fresh coat of paint...

Curio

My great-grandparents' dining room suite is mine now, and I love every piece of it. Especially the tea cart, which houses my collection of Majesty magazines (given to me by my mother), and the china cabinet, which is used for everything but china.

I love how comfortable the room feels at night when the little light inside the cabinet is turned on, and everything glows softly. Like the favorite fabrics that I can't bear to cut into, and the lonely Colonial figure, purchased at a vintage-and-antique shop, even though his mate was missing.

The photograph of my beautiful grandmother (btw, my "Beedie's Garden" pattern was designed for her)...

The little Dutch shoes that my sweet friend Karin recently sent to me...

Earlier this year, I spotted this adorable couple at my favorite country shop, Weathered and Worn...

Isn't he wonderful? I love his shoes! He looks like Ben Franklin to me.

And his lovely wife...

Of course, you-know-who is always into everything, so this doesn't surprise me in the least...

(I'll miss her when she moves, despite her silent-yet-intrusive self.)

I love my china cabinet. And I'm fairly certain that my great-grandparents, Ola and JC, had no idea that this is how their china cabinet would spend its retirement, some 50 years after they purchased it.

99-Cent Couture

Sabrina loves making her own costumes for all the themed parties she attends in college, and her favorite place to get the materials is at thrift stores. Basically, she re-purposes once-loved outfits, usually of the '80's persuasion.

Recently she acquired another one of these garments - one that was a size 16 (she's a size 0) jacket and skirt, with a wild pattern on it that involved ships and anchors and compasses. It was a hilarious success at the party she attended, and everyone thought she was fibbing when she said she only paid .99 cents for it (she even got a few questions asking if it was "a Ralph Lauren," at which she laughed and replied, "No, it's from the Good Will!").

Fast forward to last weekend, when she was asked to attend a fraternity's formal dance with a good friend of hers (she's no longer dating Joey, btw). She said she'd go, and jokingly told her friend that she would wear the nautical-style costume she had purchased, and he could wear the jacket so that they'd match. He agreed. She backpeddaled. He insisted, saying, "You only live once."

And so the pair wore the most informal formal attire in the history of Beta's formal dances, and they were formally the smash of the party.

I just about died laughing when she sent me these photos! The one above was taken in the lobby of Beta's house.

Her friend, known as Hugh Heffner on this night, was very ill with a fever, but he was a good sport. And Btw, my mom altered the size-16 skirt so that it would fit Sabrina properly as a dress, and I think it turned out so cute!

I don't post many candid photos of Sabrina on here, but I just had to show this one that she sent to me as well. This is the Sabrina I know and love: the silly, sweet girl who loves to have fun and doesn't care what she looks like in the process. If there's anyone who truly lives by the mantra "you only live once," it's her. (But thankfully, she doesn't take it so far as to shorten my life!)

Bean, you both looked fantastic, and I'm so glad you had a great time!

Even though you're ill with a fever now. ;)

New and News from Bre!

Bre has been so busy with her Hodgepodge Cottage designs lately, and I wanted to take a quick moment to share her newest releases with you all! She's got them coming out during the online Needlework Show on April 19th, and I couldn't be more proud of her. And to think, it all started with my grounding her as a teenager and making her learn to stitch while she worried away the hours...

Here is Cat and Mouse:

A Lucky Home...

And finally, A Warm Heart Welcome...

I just love these sweet little designs (although I may be partial to the designer). :)

You can find them on the Kelmscott Designs page during the online show. You can also get more information about Bre's designs on her Hodgepodge Cottage Facebook page.

In other news, my Bre has accepted a job. A real, grown-up job! She'll be moving away from home soon, as she has accepted a graphic artist position for a marketing consultant several hours away. I'm so very proud of her, and so happy... although that first night she's away, I know it will hit me hard. It's going to be quite different from her being only an hour away at college, but I know that even if it's going to be difficult for me, she's ready for it. I couldn't be happier for her.

I love how she worded it on one of her Facebook posts: "...I'll be moving into my own home, and it can really be the Hodgepodge COTTAGE!" Okay, now I'm jealous, bc I always wanted to name my home. I'll have to come up with something cool. (And no, Mom, I can't use Greatest Show on Earth bc it's already taken. And quit calling my house a circus.)

Btw, when she was getting ready for her interview, I took a few photos of her fixing her hair in the mirror before she stepped out the door. My girls are pretty used to me getting in their space and taking a ridiculous amount of photos, so they rarely look at me unless I tell them to. I can't help it though.. I just love all those in-between moments that actually never get posted on the blog bc my girls would be embarrassed. :) But all those little in-betweens are the cream in the Oreo, imvho, and I love every one.

Looky-here, Bre!

And then it was time for her to leave...

I love my girl. 

Coming Soon

I love George and Martha Washington. 

My love for them started last year when I was searching the internet for a new pattern to stitch for my mom for Christmas. I stumbled across Threads of Gold's MA Dutch Sampler (which I ended up stitching for her), and was immediately drawn to the tiny horse-and-rider motif. Suddenly, I found myself on a mad search for samplers with horses and riders, and discovered that most of these samplers were of a Colonial theme. 

That's when I realized that I adore little stitched men in blue or red coats. (Especially ones that look like Jason Isaacs in The Patriot.) And so my love for George - and eventually Martha - came to be. The quintessential Colonial couple - and the love they had for each other - are the themes for my newest releases coming out at the online Needlework Show on April 19th.

The year 1759 was when George and Martha married...

Their marriage took place at Martha's estate, The White House in Virginia, and George wore a blue coat and blue buckles on his shoes; Martha wore a yellow dress trimmed with white lace, and purple shoes, which she ordered from London. Here is a picture of the shoes she wore:

I designed her shoes in these samplers as pink, but that's bc I didn't want to add an entire skein of purple to the palette when only 2 stitches would be used. Feel free to use whatever purple you have on hand to stitch her shoes!

The verses on each of these samplers are portions of two different love poems. One of them you may have heard before...

Come live with me and be my love
And we will all the pleasures prove.

The poem, called The Passionate Shepherd to His Love, was written by Christopher Marlowe in the 1590's, and although it has nothing to do with the Washingtons, I thought it was a charming fit for their fondness of each other.

The companion sampler features part of a poem written by Sir Walter Raleigh around 1600, called The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd...

These pretty pleasures might me move
To live with thee and be they love.

I hope you enjoy my new spring releases. I'd like to thank Nicole Neville for helping me with the model stitching. Without you, I'd still be sitting on my couch trying to get them finished.

 Here is Be My Love...

 

It was stitched on Lakeside's 40 ct. Vintage Pearled Barley using Gentle Art Sampler Threads (in Cherry Bark, Old Brick, Chamomile, Tradewind, Piney Woods, Lambswool, Brethren Blue, Wood Trail, and Oatmeal). The frame is by The Family Tree Frame Company ("The Mae" style). Stitch count: 118w x 115h.

And this is Pretty Pleasures...

This model was also stitched on Lakeside's 40 ct. Vintage Pearled Barley using Gentle Art Sampler Threads (in Wood Trail, Shaker White, Buttermilk, Old Brick, Lambswool, Endive, Cornhusk, Cameo Pink, Mountain Mist, and Oatmeal). The frame is again by The Family Tree Frame Company ("The Michelle" style). Stitch count: 126w x 115h.

If you'd like to purchase either of these during the online Needlework Show, look for them on the Kelmscott Designs page and ask your shopowner to order them for you. And if you do decide to order them, I hope you enjoy stitching them!

Spring Break

For Sophie's spring break this year, she begged Mike to take her to Great Wolf Lodge in Kansas City, Missouri, so he took a couple of days off work and we loaded up the car and headed out. And since no Stewart trip would be complete without Mike longing to climb every single hill we passed, we had to pull over on the side of the road and let him get it out of his system.

Needless to say, our road trips to Colorado are a nightmare for me.

Although Sophie has been to Great Wolf Lodge several times, she never tires of it...

It's full of spouting fountains and spray guns and lounge pools and water slides - some of which you can see behind the hill-climbing duo below...

Soph just about lost her bathing suit bottom here... and in case you miss him, Mike is the tall kid with his arms up (most likely hoping to lose his bathing suit bottom)...

And here is Mike again, making up for all those childhood days of having only a bathtub to splash in...

The next day was spent at Great Wolf Lodge's MagiQuest, which is a wizardry game in which participants complete various tasks given to them by wise owls and talking trees, in an effort to conquer a mighty dragon in the end. It's sort of like an interactive video game, but instead of a controller, you choose a wand...

And once you've chosen (purchased) your wand, you can opt to add a topper to it that gives you extra powers...

Yes, Mike, we know you've always wanted one of these..

After consulting her Ancient Book of Wisdom, Sophie was off on her adventure...

Here she receives instructions from a knight:

The average length of the game is 4 hours, but after about an hour and a half, I decided to take my leave and get a coffee and settle in with Dutch Beauty in the lobby. Every once in a while, I'd hear Mike and Sophie run by (along with lots of other kids and an occasional parent), exclaiming how they needed "more gold!" or "The Whispering Woods are this way!" or something like that.

When it was just about time to defeat the evil dragon, they came to get me so I could take Mike's picture witness their mastery of the challenge...

The game took them just under 3 hours, but that was just one of three quests. The others will be completed at a future visit to Great Wolf Lodge, and I know the two are looking forward to it... although Mike expects to get to hold the wand next time.

Spring break was an enjoyable one, but as with every Stewart trip, it's all fun and games until someone gets their eye poked out. And usually that eye belongs to Mike.

P.S. For those of you who know Mike, you know exactly what I mean by that last sentence. ;)

Seven Sins and Nine Lives

Tilly has become quite spoiled living here. So spoiled, in fact, that I sometimes catch her in embarrassingly gluttonous situations when she thinks I'm in another room in the house.

Witness, if you will, her shame...

So caught up is she in her greed, she cares not that I'm watching her...

So I leave her to indulge herself bc I can't, in good conscience, look on any longer.

But when I return, she's only gotten worse.

I really should intervene and do something about this, or I'll find myself dangerously close to envy slothfulness.

Patrick's Day

Jaime, Bre and I had the pleasure of shooting a wedding on St. Patrick's Day for a gorgeous Irish family. And how perfect that the groom's name was Patrick.

Here are some moments from the Bridal Suite...

And the groomsmen, attempting to get ready...

The groom had a twin!

The bride and groom opted to have a First Look, which is always so much fun to do...I thought it was so cute how she snuck up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder!

The ceremony took place inside the Durham Museum, which was the original Union Station in Omaha. The historic trains made for some really fun photos!

This is my favorite shot of the day...

The ceremony was held upstairs, and started right on time...

The bride's father...

After the ceremony, we all headed to the reception via the Party Bus...

The reception was held at the beautiful DC Center ballroom, where the First Look photos were taken...

The wedding was such a beautiful event. But what would you expect with we three photogs in attendance?

Yes, the reception had a dress-up photo booth area, and we sort of got into it. :)

Thank you so much to Bre and Jaime for shooting with me. You guys are amazing, and I couldn't do it without you. Now, back I go to my real job: designing!  I hope you had a great St. Patrick's Day. And of course, a huge congratulations to this beautiful, young couple!

Lately.

Life goes in seasons, and I'm thankful for it. I've not found much time for blog visits, but I did want to stop in here and say hello to anyone who may stumble past Plum Street today. Here's a few of the more ordinary, in-between moments from the past few weeks - and oh, how I welcome the ordinary!

Sophie mourned for a week when she lost Loo-Loo, Bonkers' little lamb friend. But thankfully, Loo-Loo turned up in a wad of wrinkled clothing in one of Sophie's very messy dresser drawers. Lesson learned, and the drawers have been neatly organized.

I baked these amazing gluten-free cupcakes, but my feeble mind refuses to remember what they were. I remember eating them, and feeling quite comfortable doing so, but looking back on them leaves me blank-faced and kind of hungry.

Tasha still snores loudly and then wakes up to troll the kitchen, waiting for anything - even an ice chip - to fall to the floor.

The Yorkie lives on.

Tilly still finds the dogs a most ridiculous species. (And to my delight, she actually walked past the Yorkie and spanked it on the bottom, causing the Yorkie to have a near stroke as it rabidly chased Tilly across the room in a hairy rage.)

Speaking of Tilly, I noticed a particular trend regarding cat people and non-cat people. When I shared a photo of Tilly sleeping soundly on my Dutch Beauty project in my previous blog post, it was mostly cat people who commented favorably. The non-cat people, however, were horrified at the sight, and some were led to promptly email me and let me know of their shock (all in fun, of course!). Except for Margaret, who is most assuredly a feline-lover, yet also a fierce protector of her stitching. (Hi, Margaret!)

I tend to lean more toward Margaret's way of thinking, but in Tilly's case, she was just too sweet to disturb (okay, so I may have barked at her a bit), and I decided to take the time to pick cat hair out of my project once her siesta was over. After that tedium, however, I've decided she is to never sleep on my stitching again. Sorry, Tills.

When we visited California last summer, Mike and I discovered Rubio's fish tacos, and I've dreamed of them ever since. My cravings were so strong recently that I decided to look for a copycat recipe online, and found one!

If you've never had a fish taco bc the sound of it is just wrong, please know that you're missing out. If you don't like fish, however, then you're not missing a thing. I'll post the recipe soon.

I still haven't figured out what those muffins were.

Bre has been working hard at learning the art of photography, and is doing a tremendous job, even if I do say so myself. :) Her goal is to be able to travel and shoot live shows, and I think her talent will get her there. (For you photo fiends, she used a Canon 7D and a 24-70 f/2.8L lens.)

Sabrina has taken up longboarding, which is a variant of skateboarding. I find her interests and hobbies to be so much fun - she's such a girly-girl on one hand, yet she can hang with the best of the boys who videogame (thanks to Big Papa, who raised the girls on gaming consoles and remote controls), loves organizing sand-volleyball games on campus, taught herself to play the guitar, and will soon be adding longboarding to her list of undertakings.

However, since Sabrina has to spend most of her time studying or working, Sophie has been secretly "borrowing" Bean's longboard and having a go of it herself.

Lastly, Nicole has finished a wee model for me (in addition to all the other crazy stitching she's been finishing lately), which will be released at the April online needlework show.

Btw, Bre has also been designing quite a bit lately, and Hodgepodge Cottage will have a few new releases as well in April!

And those are just a few of the in-betweens that have been going on around here. To those of you who have emailed to check up on me, I can't tell you how sweet it was to hear from you. I'll try my best to not be such a stranger. :)