Happy Fall!

Farewell to Summer and Hello to Fall! If only I lived a little more north to be able to enjoy this wonderful season. I guess I will have to live vicariously through other's pictures and stories. September for Florida is a a very wet month as is July and August. We have had rain almost every day this month. If only I could wish the rain clouds to go to California. They can have them all!

The kids are back to school down here. My son started 6th grade this year at his new middle school. I'm so glad he is enjoying his school. He likes his classes and his teachers. He even joined the Cross Country team. He had no idea what that was about till the first day. I told him there was a fair bit of running involved! He really likes it though.

I do have a couple project updates to share with you today. 

Last month, I became an auntie! My older sister had a beautiful baby girl. I haven't seen her in person yet as my sister and her family currently live in Hong Kong, but my family and I get daily pics of the sweet baby. Of course, this auntie had to get busy on some handmade presents for her.

I started knitting this sweet blanket:

The pattern is called: Hooded Pipsqueak Blanket by Bernat. It is a free pattern on their website. The yarn is their Pipsqueak Yarn in the color "Baby Baby". It is supersoft. Its looks likes a fluffy towel, but I assure you, it is super cuddly and doesn't shed. 

I have also been knitting a new pair of socks. Last month I signed up for a sock yarn club called YarnBox.  Each month they send their Sock Yarn members a skein of hand dyed sock yarn by an indie yarn dyer and they also include a new sock pattern. I've been pleased with the club so far. It gives you a chance to experience yarns by dyers that you may never have known about. Yarn Box has other clubs also.

The yarn is by Phydeax Designs in the colorway: Vignoble. The pattern was the one included with the yarn for August. Here is my progress on Sock 1.

In case you didn't know, frogging cross stitch is a dream compared to frogging knitting. I've done my fair share of frogging on this sock only because I'm still learning the construction of socks. It is hard for me to visualize what the pattern is telling me to do but I'm getting there!

I have done some stitching too. I was bad and started a new project. In the spirit of September, I decided to stitch the September Cottage by Country Cottage Needleworks.

My Progress:

Let's see if I can finish this one before the month is over. Then I can start October next month.

Thank you so much for visiting me today. I hope you all have a wonderful week.

**Hugs and Love from Sunny Miami**

Jen

A Glimpse of Sanibel Island, FL and some Stitching Too.

Happy August! I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer so far. School will be starting again before we know it!

My boys and I had a little summer beach getaway of our own last weekend. We visited Sanibel Island, FL which is about 2 1/2 hours away from Miami. It is on the west side of Florida. This was a first time visit for us. It was such a peaceful couple days away. We stayed at a resort where the beach was right behind it. We didn't have to go far down the street for good food either. Of course, when you vacation in Florida in the summertime, you always take a risk with the weather. It was storming the first day we arrived. The next day was better for swimming but still cloudy. These gorgeous skies appeared on the day we were leaving.

Beautiful Sanibel Beach, FL

Sea Shells Galore!

Sanibel Island is known for its seashells. Normally you can walk around on the sand and not be bothered by them, but the bad weather changed that. The shells in the water were so exposed from the rough waves that it felt like I was walking on glass. Not pleasant at all. Note to self: bring water shoes next time just in case.

We ate so well last weekend. When we vacation, we go out of our way to find the mom and pop restaurants. We refuse to eat at the big chains.

Glorious Sunset

We will definitely be going back. We decided that our vacations going forward will be at least 3 nights long. Our visit last weekend was just not long enough.

Now for the stitching. I did make some more progress on my "Sunflowers in Summer" by Country Cottage Needleworks. Please excuse the wrinkles from my Q-Snap.

It is slowly coming along. My goal is to finish it by the end of summer. Not sure I will make that goal, but I'm going to try.

 Thank you so much for visiting. I do try to get around to reading everyone's updates on their blogs too. I highly suggest if you haven't done so already, to sign up for Bloglovin. That way I can become a follower and see your blog updates.

(Edit: It seems I had a changed setting for comments on my blog. Its fixed! You should be able to leave a comment if you wish.)

Happy Stitching!

**Hugs and Love from Sunny Miami**

Jen

Some Stitchy/Knitting/Crochet Progress Today

Hello Friends:

June has flown and now its time to say Hello to July. The summer time down here means that our A/C is working overtime. 

Since the bowling season has finished for me until August, I now have much more time to spend on my projects during the week. 

*Stitching Progress* 

 Sunflowers in Summer by Country Cottage Needleworks

Before:

After:

The Cottage is looking more like a cottage.

Olaf is my cheerleader on this project. He cheers me on to keep stitching.

*Knitting Progress*

I am still working on my first sock. I believe the last sock picture I posted was my first attempt on smaller needles that I decided to rip out. I found the sock to feel too tight around the ankle and it worried me that if I kept on going, it would continue to feel too tight. I decided to frog what I had done and start again with the next size needle to be on the safe side. It worked out so much better.

I am a short socks kinda gal. Most sock patterns are designed to be really long up the leg and those don't appeal to me. I decided to just do a 1/4" ribbed cuff to prevent the sock from rolling down at the ankle and jumped to the heel flap part of the pattern. I can't wait to finish this sock so I can start the second sock. I know exactly what mistakes I made on this sock and made note on what to do different on the next one. The second one will turn out much better. I'm also starting to accumulate a sock yarn stash so I better get to knitting!

*Crochet Progress*

I haven't let my hook sit aside for long. I try to rotate my time between my stitching, knitting and crochet so each project gets some work done on it. It's a strategy that's actually working for me. This is a finished set of coasters I crocheted using cotton yarn. The yarn was a self-stripping yarn. The color changes on each coaster are different, but I think this set turned out lovely. These are currently listed in my Etsy store since I'm crazy to think I can possibly keep everything that I make.

I also have a new beanie hat in progress and I've made a couple more cup cozies. I will save those for another post.

Thank you so much for visiting with me today. I am counting down the hours till me and the boys go to the theatre to see Jurassic World this evening. I've loved Jurassic Park since I was a kid. The trilogy has been on TV so much this last month that I've probably watched all 3 movies a dozen more times each. I never get tired of them.

Have a wonderful week and Thank You as always for the lovely comments you leave me.

**Hugs and Love from Sunny Miami**

Jen

Stitching Update: Sunflowers in Summer

Hello Friends:

I have an update to share on one of my bigger stitching projects. This has been a Work in Progress for too long. I will feel so accomplished when this one is done and framed.

"Sunflowers in Summer" by Country Cottage Needleworks

Before Pic:

After 4 Hours of Stitching Time: A House Takes Shape!

I really love this design but for some reason it is hard for me to stay motivated. I think I will rotate this one with another WIP that needs some attention.

Thanks for stopping by and visiting. I hope you all have a fabulous weekend.

**Hugs from Sunny Miami**

Jen

A Stitching Update

It has been a while since I've showcased my stitching projects. They haven't gotten too much love lately, but I have worked on them. I had such high goals this years for my stitching, but that was before I embarked on this adventure with my online store. Building up my inventory has taken much of my free time. It won't be easy juggling everything I want to do especially come September when my son goes back to school and our new bowling season starts again.

Here is Bluebell by Nora Corbett.

Those wings are almost done. I can't wait! I have decided to save my pennies and send this lovely lady off to Rensel Studios for framing when she is done. I found a Fan Page on Facebook for Jill Rensel's work and I am just blown away by their framing work. She does hand painting and embellishments on the mats. The frames she chooses are just perfect. I think her work is worth every penny and many people say her fees are extremely reasonable too.

I also (finally) starting working on the first pattern of the Country Needlework's series called Frosty Forest. Right now I am working on Raccoon Cabin

I'm stitching the whole series together on one piece of fabric, 32 CT Pearl Grey Linen. These designs seem small, but I find that they do take more time than they seem. There are a lot of color changes in the houses. I love the colors though. They look great.

That is all for today. Thank you so much for visiting with me. I hope you are having a fantastic summer where ever you are.

**Hugs and Love from Rainy Miami**

Jen

March IHSW and an Award!

Hello Friends:

I hope you all had a great weekend. Not sure what kind of weather everyone else is having, but ours in Miami has been strange this year. For one, it was an abnormally warm winter and now the rain has kicked in early. It almost feels as if our yearly wet summer is already upon us. No fun at all I tell you.

Anyways, this weekend was International Hermit and Stitch weekend. I definitely did my share of stitching today. I actually started a new chart last weekend which I am enjoying very much. I just love Country Cottage Needlework designs. I'm just drawn to the vibrant colors in many of the charts because they are so cheerful and colorful. I think I've also developed a new love for stitched cottages too!

I am now stitching "Sunflowers in Summer" by Country Cottage Needleworks.

(Photo was borrowed from CCN's site)

My Progress as of March 19:

I'm stitching this design on 30Ct Cocoa Linen by Weeks Dye Works and using the recommended DMC and Over Dyed Threads. I really love the happy sunflowers in the design. So pretty. :D 

In other news, I got a surprise this week and was awarded the Liebster Blog Award by Linda at Stitchin with my Furbabies.

Some background: Liebster is a German word, meaning favorite, dearest or beloved and the Liebster is awarded by bloggers to other, newer bloggers, who have fewer than 200 followers, to spread the word and help the new(er)bies gain wider recognition. The award comes with four conditions that each recipient must satisfy when accepting.

1.  Choose five up-and-coming blogs (with fewer than 200 followers) to award the Liebster to. 

2.  Show your thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them.  

3.  Post the award on your blog. List the bloggers you are giving the award to with links to their sites. Leave comments on their blogs so they know about the award.  

4.  Share 5 random facts about yourself that people don't know about you.
 

**Unfortunately, I'm gonna be a rule breaker with this one. My problem is that most of the blogs I read have more than 200 followers and the ones that are under 200 followers have already received this award. Some bloggers have gotten it more than once it seems. So! I will just have to enlighten you all with 5 random facts about me and call it a day. :D Some of these I have mentioned before in other posts.

1) I am a competitive bowler. I bowl in two leagues a week and at least one tournament a month. My son and boyfriend are bowlers also. My son who is only 7 is really good and I always get a kick out of watching adults bowlers Oooo and Ahhhh over his skills.

2) I love Disney and take 2 vacations a year to Walt Disney World. 

3) I live in Miami but I hate the beaches here. I think our beaches are crappy. Not kidding!

4) I am addicted to coffee especially from Starbucks.

5) I absolutely adore the Harry Potter series. I have watched all of the movies (except the last) at least a million times and never get bored of them.

Thanks for stopping by everyone. I hope you all have a lovely week. The count down is on for me as I will be moving in about 3 weeks. My boyfriend and I are moving into a bigger apartment within the same complex. I am excited about that, but not excited about having to pack all my things. Believe me when I say, I have a lot of stuff. I think I could open a craft store with all my stash. If only genies and fairy godmothers were true I tell ya. I know what my wish would be right about now!

Take care friends. :)

Jen