A New Cross Stitch

Two days ago , I started a new project . My husband is the family genealogist. Because of this, when his Mom passed away, he was given all the family mementos. This included two wonderful pictures of his Grandparents. We think the pictures were taken for their marriage. I wanted to do something to honor them. I decided to stitch a sampler with their names and wedding date. I do love Blackbird Designs and they often suggest ways to personalize their samplers. I collected all the "Anniversaries of the Heart" series. The last one, Elizabeth Jane , had a bonus pattern called "for those recorded here." We thought it was very pretty and it had a good space for adding information. So that's the one we chose. I'm changing 3 colors so it will look good in the dining room where the pictures are hung. The 3 colors that were suggested were too pink. My room is more of a cinnamon color, so I chose threads that will compliment that color.

Here is the lady known by my husband as Grandma Boo. Her name at this time was Edna Bandina Johnson. These are old frames with old convex (curved outward) glass. Sorry for the glare!

Here we have James Washington Witter. He died when Jim's Mom was very young.

Here is the cover of the chart that I'll be using.

Here is the bonus pattern. As you can see, there is quite a bit of writing so I hope to have room for their names , the place where they were married , and the date.

I found a new source of thread. As I have mentioned, prior to my new discovery, JoAnns was my only local source for thread. That meant I had to take my chance with colors and order online. A nearby quilt shop has stared carrying a few cross stitch supplies(Thank You) !! They have Weeks Dye Works threads and Gentle Arts threads. They also have a small but good supply of linen. The shop is located in a small town called Port Gamble, WA. The picture shows a very nice 2-ply thread they carry. It is great to work with and the colors are super. They have several shades of a color sort of like the Needlepoint Silks.

The first motif is done and this does show my color choice.
Thanks for taking a look. If our plans go as we hope I'll have some great pictures to show tomorrow!

The Finish

Last night I finished my latest cross stitch project. I thought I'd get the pillow made today but we got busy with other things. My goal will be to have it done before the end of the weekend. We are pretty much stay-at-homers on New Years so I'll have lots of time to work.
I don't often write about what I'm reading , but I like that in other blogs so if I read something worth a comment, well, here goes. The SBA and I have listened to "State of Wonder" by Ann Patchett this week. I have been waiting for it for quite a long time as I had it on hold at our library. It got about 3 1/2 stars at Amazon and that's about what we would give it. I wanted to love it but didn't! It did seem to plod along a bit too much. We thought she added things that were not needed. Not a bad read, but not a great one! Well, that's just our opinion. I'm now reading "Those Who Save Us" and am finding it really interesting. I also liked "Sarah's Key." Guess I'm on a WW2 kick.
Well, that's about it. Hope you are all having a great between holidays week!

In the background, you can see the fabric I bought to finish the little pillow. We have a wonderful little quilt shop in Poulsbo that has lots of lovely fabric.

Here's a close up of the heart. It has been lots of fun to stitch-never boring! Again, the pattern is from Just Cross Stitch magazine Jan./Feb 2010 . I stitched on antique ivory Belfast linen 32 ct with DMC 3777.
Thanks for joining me.

Lighthouse-the day after Christmas

If you have followed this blog for awhile, you will have seen many pictures of the Point no Point lighthouse. In the summer the SBA and I serve as docents. The Friends of Point No Point decorated the lighthouse for Christmas. We finally got out there to take some photos. It is such a beautiful peaceful place. Today , however, it was cold and rainy. No walks on the beach today. We also saw the Victoria Clipper on its way back to Seattle. I hope you enjoy the pictures.

This is the keepers house. It was built in 1880. Today the National Lighthouse Society has offices in one half. The other half can be rented.

Here's the Lighthouse all fixed up for Christmas.

This strange house can be seen on the way to the lighthouse. I have seen it on either

HGTV or Travel Channel . I can't remember which. It is made from the actual front end of a boat.

Here is the Clipper. I heard on the radio that they had twice as many trips to Victoria BC. for the week between Christmas and New Years. Victoria is so pretty during the holidays. Buchart Gardens is all decorated.
I should be ready to show my latest finished cross stitch tomorrow! Thanks for taking a look.

Merry Christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL MY FRIENDS IN BLOGLAND