Happy Memorial Day Weekend

I hope everyone has a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. This is a weekend that marks the beginning of summer for many people. For many, first weekend to go to the beach.... have a cookout in the back yard.... big weekend for car races (if you're into watching car races)....

For me, it is also a weekend to remember our Veterans. A Memorial Service is held on Sunday afternoon of every Memorial Day weekend at the National Cemetery in my town. I play in a community band, and our band always performs at this service. It is a small thing I do, but, for me, is one of the most important concerts we do each year. It's my way to thank, to respect and to honor our Veterans, past and present.

You may not agree with me, and, thanks to the freedoms we have in this country, you don't have to agree with me. But, if you do agree with me, remember to take a moment sometime this weekend to think about our Veterans, remember them, and thank them for protecting us.



I'll end with lyrics to "Taps". There are multiple opinions on the origin of "Taps". Eventually, lyrics were written, and there are multiple versions of those also. Here is a version I found...

Day is done,
gone the sun,
from the lakes
from the hills
from the sky,
all is well,
safely, rest,
God is near.

Fading light,
Dims the sight,
And a star gems the sky
Gleaming bright,
From afar,
Drawing, near,
Falls the night.

Thanks and praise,
For our days,
Neath the sun
Neath the stars
Neath the sky,
As we go,
This, we, know,
God is near.

Stitching and a Surprise

Happy Monday everyone. I hope everyone's week is starting out great. My week is starting on a high note thanks to a surprise I received Saturday night. Saturday night is date night for my sweetie (boyfriend) and me. This past Saturday night, before we went out to dinner, he disappeared to the other room for a second and came back and handed me a box. And in the box were these:



I was speechless and so surprised. Note, my birthday was almost 4 months ago and Christmas is a long way off, so this was a total surprise. Aren't they beautiful?

Now, onto stitching related things. Last week I completed a biscornu and mailed it to Karen for an exchange. She has received it, so I can now share a photo.



I found this biscornu on the Freebie Gallery blog, and fell in love with it. I love the red-on-red. I have enough fabric to stitch another and plan to stitch a second one for me eventually.

Tonight, I worked on finishing another biscornu, the needlepoint star I posted a few weeks ago. I have all sides joined except the last one. Just need to add the stuffing, close the last side and add the buttons in the middle. I'm probably not staying up too much longer tonight, so I'll finish it tomorrow night.

And, finally, I received the fabric I ordered from Silkweaver and now have everything needed for Mirabilia "The Lady and the Flag". I thought I would share the "ready to start" photo.



The fabric I chose (everything is piled upon it) is a Silkweaver Expressions Hand Dyed Lugana, 32ct. The color is "Chasescape". Piled on top of it is the pattern/photo and all of the DMC flosses, Kreinik #4 Braid and Blending Filament, and Mill Hill beads that I'll be using. I plan to start it tomorrow night as soon as I get the biscornu done. I have other projects I'll be finishing up and starting the next few weeks (squares for Fair and Square and for the Society RR), but my plan is to stitch on "The Lady" at least 1 or 2 nights per week over the next few weeks.

That's all for now. Good night all.

Do you like PINK?

If yes, take a look at these:



It includes hand-dyed, silks, satin, ribbon, & wool there, a total of 50 different fibers.

The Stitch Pink blogsite is hosting the contest. All you have to do is visit Stitch Pink and add a comment to the contest post. Deadline is May 15. There will be 5 winners, each winner getting 10 fibers.

If you have never visited Stitch Pink, please do. It's a nice site that tries to bring awareness of the importance of breast screening, and early detection of breast cancer.