My worm garden...

Can you believe the last weekend of June has come and gone? It was a scorcher here in Holland. We have our doors and windows wide open to air out the house and try and dry out the walls. It is looking a little better damp wise but oh the mold look is not so pretty! *sigh* Good news is that we had someone come take a look and he says the mold is not a dangerous kind or one that needs major treatment. The walls however were measured for damp and are bad. It will be a couple of weeks yet for them to dry out before they can be redone. I am so glad they can be treated with a special coating and then repainted. That is better than having to have them rebuilt.


Well, lets look at some beautiful French geraniums instead which are on my table on the terrace.


It is so hot you want to kick off your wooden shoes and soak your feet even in our tiny tub used as a fountain. *grins* (Did you spy the little old pair of children's wooden shoes in the photo?)


But instead, I stitch looked upon by my little stitching mascot, the snail. I move at his pace with my stitching so we are the best of friends. I have been working in my worm garden. What must the worms think of all this heat?

It is coming along and I am having fun stitching it especially at this time of the year. I worked the right hand corner and then went back to the top to continue. Now that brown blob next to the terracotta pot looks like...well a brown blob but will be rabbit. I am anxious to see this section come to life. It is the last (well actually the first but I am working backwards) bit of the verse, lots of leaves, a birdhouse and even a worm.

What did you do this weekend? Did you get some stitching or quilting done?

Of mops, mold, pickles, beginnings and endings...

Did I get your attention with that title? And now you are thinking what does most of that have to do with stitching or, in fact, with each other? For the most part, I wish it did not have a connection but let me start at the beginning...

I have not blogged in over a week as life is very stressed at the moment. We had a problem with flooding in our home due to a burst pipe in the kitchen. Although we acted quickly to get everything mopped up, we have now had to face the fact the loosing the solid wood floors was not the worst of our problems. We are unsure about the floors still but there is now mold growing on walls in our laundry room, hall, kitchen and living room. Later this week, we will be having someone come out to inspect the damage from the insurance company but in the meantime are having a few made up at their request. We found out from one company that our best thing to do is rent an industrial strength dehumidifier which we got today. What a horrible noise it makes. It being summer is a bad thing. The humidity in the air is only making the walls damper. In the end, if we are lucky, they can treat the walls and scrap off a layer of plaster. They will need replastered and then painted. In the worse case scenario, they will have to remove some of the walls and have them redone. I just cannot believe it will be that bad?

So that takes care of mops and mold and why I have not been stitching as much as normal. My worm garden is calling me but will have to wait. Why?


I am blaming it all on Margaret and Annemarie. Hey, this is the second start I should not be doing involving Annemarie since I am doing the worm garden as part of her Lovelorn Sisterhood. You are bad for my stitching health my dear friend. *grins* We are doing our own little Mary Wigham SAL. It is going to be the slowest SAL on the planet and we will see who carries away the slow stitching queen prize in the end. I have a feeling it will be me. *more grins*

I tried to talk myself out of beginning this even as I was thinking over colors. So many WIPs lay in my basket calling out to me. I had already started on my idea of a wall of Quaker samplers all done in autumn shades and while I was debating that it would be a great one to add to the other two, I remembered the pretty DMC threads that my little Zoe Pickle (my 6 year old grand niece) gave me for a Christmas gift. I was saving them for something special. Well here it was! I could use them for this beautiful sampler. I finally got a start made on it this week. I am using a cream Flemish farmer's linen in 32-count. I am stitching 1/1 and it is really coming out nicely on this linen. I love how Quaker samplers feel like you have many little finishes with each motif.

So that takes care of pickles and beginnings but what about endings?


Those of you who used to read my first blog NeedleNecessities will know how I love to 'connect' to the past when I am doing any kind of needlework. I was reflecting about how wonderful it would have been to lived in these times (Mary Wigham's sampler is from 1790) when a girl was sent to school to learn things like perfecting her needlework. Or how mother's invested their time in teaching their daughters, among other things, to sew. It is sad to me that girls are no longer interested in sitting down and creating their own samplers. Look at the glorious samplers and quilts we so enjoy reproducing today because of those times. Girls in my neighborhood are outside for hours on end hanging around on the streets. I just find it sad that needlework has faded away and it is not trendy to do any handwork. If I would have had children, I would have wanted to give them the same encouragement I received from my own parents to go ahead and try the things I wanted to do. But are they not interested or simply not shown these things anymore? Is it a catch 22 situation or a hopelessly old fashioned idea? Do you or have you taught your own children some needlework?

So I leave you with the endings part of my entry to ponder. I hope the next generation will discover the joys of stitching, quilting and lacemaking as we have.

Water your gardens!

The weekend has past and that means some gardening. I even gardened on location as we had our Sip 'N Stitch at Harmien's house on Saturday. It was great fun to chat, drink tea, eat chocolate cake and special Italian sandwiches known from the city she lives in, have show and tell, stitch, drink more tea and eat more chocolate cake. *grins* I made her a project ditty bag with a patchwork block on it. How cute is her cat Kisse modeling it for her!


Now normally, I would warn you not to forget to water your gardens on a warm June weekend but as I write this post, the garden angels are doing it for me. It is raining here in Holland so the watering can can stay in its place and just look beautiful.


I feel like I did not make much progress (first progress photo link here) this weekend with my worm (Nobody Loves Me) garden. But when this rain stops, I have a watering can to keep my stitched garden looking beautiful.

Welcome! and Primitive ornaments SAL

Welcome to my new blog! A clean slate with new memory base as my old blog was full. I have also decided to place the emphasis on what I love best about needlework...the connection with the past.


My Primitive ornaments SAL will continue on this blog. For any wanting to still stitch the previous ornaments, they will be on NeedleNecessities so you can search for them there. Our next ornament is called Warm Hands and Heart. Don't you just love mittens in the winter? I do. They bring me back to my childhood when I wear them on a cold winter's day. I hope this ornament will bring that warm feeling to you too!


Enlarge the chart photo and copy to Word or an email to print. Substitute the mittens and/or heart with buttons, if desired.


I received emails from a couple of ladies that they had to finish their ornaments but Letty sent me the following photos of her Candy Canes ornament and all her ornaments in a tray. Don't they look great sitting together like this? Wonderful job Letty and thanks. This month's prize will be on its way to you soon.