Original Designs by Paulette Stewart
Prince Charles has announced the engagement of his son, William, to the lovely Kate Middleton.
These past twenty years, I've been saving Breanna for Wills. But apparently he didn't get the memo.
I suppose we'll have to just stick with being America's royalty.
I guess we weren't meant to be Tudors. Tooters, maybe, but not Tudors.
P.S. I think Mike is hot in that rough rider getup.
What have I done to deserve this?
Was I that bad of a parent?
Is this how she eats in the cafeteria at college?
Is this my cross to bear?
I'm blaming her father.
…the new bag of Thanksgiving Blend, sitting invitingly on my kitchen counter…
…the color of highlighter I'm using on a model pattern…
…the cinnamon-y pumpkin hand sanitizer from Yankee Candle I put on my hands before I stitch bc it smells so good…
…my sweet Sophie's swim cap…
Recently my mom and I headed out to one of our favorite little shops called Weathered and Worn. The shop was having its Christmas open house, so we decided to visit and see if there was anything either of us "needed."
One of the things I always tell myself I'm going to purchase each year – but never end up doing it – is a vintage-y Christmas ornament. I have to laugh at how so many things are made to look old. I imagine if I were around in the 40's or 50's and saw something in the store that was beat up or tarnished or chipped, I'd be aghast and never shop there again.
(I also know that if someone were to tell me back in 1984 that kids in the 2000's would dress in clothing from the '80's and call it a Halloween costume, I'd be aghast at that too.)
Anyway, this year was finally the year I purchased a vintage-y Christmas ornament, and I love it! Here it is:
Mom got the coolest vintage-y post card made into an ornament, and I did my best to make some more when I got home. Mine didn't turn out nearly as well as the store-bought one, but they were fun to make.
Here are the backs of a couple…
They were super easy! All you need is some paper and chipboard and ribbon, and anything you want to make it look old.
Now I'm ready for Christmas to get here, and I haven't even taken down the Halloween decorations.
Enjoy your weekend!
Despite my angry outbursts at spoiled doggy behavior, threats to send anything with fur to the glue factory, and refusing to share my ice cream, this creature insists that I am hers. I have tried for a year now to convince her to go love somebody else, but she is steadfast in her mission to make me love her.
She's a patient soul.
Maybe I'll keep her around.
Discombobulated, disorganized, discontented… the past month has been quite a hectic one, leaving me with little time to respond to emails or keep my blog updated. And amidst the chaos that was October, my computer decided to go comatose on me. That's when I realized that I broke two very important rules of mine:
1. Don't rely so heavily on technology that you can't function without it.
2. Since you will break rule #1, make sure you have everything backed up.
Yesterday the shop called to tell me my computer was ready for pickup, so I'm doing my best to get back on track.
In the mean time, I wanted to share with you a lovely rendition of Halloween Hornbook Sampler, finished by Karen V. She finished it into a cube, and I love what she did with the trim!
This is wonderful, Karen! What a great way to reorganize those squares. 🙂 Thank you for sharing it with me!
Speaking of stitching, I've been working on The Flood as much as possible in order to have it ready for the Nashville market in February. I'd say I'm about 1/4 of the way through it, but my goal is to be at the half-way point in the next couple of weeks. Today I'll be working on a tree and a hippo and some bees. And a crown, of course. 🙂
Poor Mrs. Noah. I imagine she would have traded places with me if she could. After all, cleaning up all those droppings would leave one feeling disturbed, dismayed, and surely disgusted. Do you think she broke her two important rules?
1. Don't rely so heavily on dry land that you can't function without it.
2. If an elephant raises its tail, back up.
Sophie has had quite a head cold these past few days, but that didn't stop her from performing her royal duties and donning her Red Queen (from Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland) costume to go trick-or-treating last night with her dad. If there's anything these two love, it's getting into their characters.
In case you didn't get to watch any scary movies this past month, here's are some stills from the set of "Why Don't These Two Go Off to Join the Circus and Leave Me to My Stitching?"…
They came back with loads of hydrogenated kernel oils, soy lecithin, and artificial flavors, all in brightly colored wrappers. (I remember when I was a kid, and they used this stuff called natural sugar that was really bad for you.)
I hope you had a wonderful Halloween night! Mine was fine until I suddenly realized one very frightening, heart-stopping, blood-curdling fact:
There is, indeed, a bored game for every occasion.
Goodbye, grasshoppers,
Hello, gourds.
Hush, robin-song,
Sing blackbird chords.
Jump into leaves
without diving boards.
Goodbye, grasshoppers,
Hello, gourds.
May these early fall days be the beginning of a wonderful new season for you.
Before I announce the giveaway news, I'd like to let those of you who inquired about where to find my designs at on the online Needlework Show know that you can find them in the Kelmscott Designs "booth!" 🙂
And now for an exciting giveaway! Head on over to Four Seasons Cafe to find out what it is! (And enjoy another delicious recipe from the Muffins and Soup Queen herself, Marsha (hi, mom).
Look – Mike is heading over there now!
(If you bake them, he will come.)