In My Mail…

Wow I’ve had mail.  I’m still catching up!!

There were cookies from Ila.  Yes.  I shared.

YUM!!

I’m still catching up on what was sent before Kramer passed away too!!  There was a lot.

I got a fun package from a blog reader, Kelli, in Bondurant, IA.

Kelli has retreated at the cross stitch shop, Stitchery Nook, in Osage Iowa where the girls and I have shopped.  She read that we had been and then gifted us some things.    Oh..I love them all and would have totally bought them myself.  What a treat!!

I wish I had time to get these all stitched before fall but I’m certain I won’t.  Time is not abundant here…but oh, even if I don’t stitch them soon, I sure am going to try to do them someday.  Maybe fall of 2020 is a more realistic goal.  Like quilting there are so many patterns and so little time!!

This I also adore.  It’s a sampler of Christmas songs.  I’ve had the piece out and have looked at it several times.  There are so many things to see that I’ve missed the first, second and third times of looking at it!  Seriously, it’s so cool.

Kelli’s daughter and our son Karl went to college together at University of Northern Iowa.  That was a fun note that she added.  Her daughter, like Karl, didn’t get a reading endorsement and found that getting a job without one, here in Iowa, is really hard.

Charlene in AZ sent a box that had Kelli and I both swooning.

In one of the boxes was bookmarks.  The childcare kids have been using them lots.  Typically they are tickets for something they are playing or they use the back and design bookmarks.  Seriously, those kids use up LOTS of unusual things.

In another box from Charlene was a big binder.  It was full of cross stitch patterns.  At the time it came, Kramer was in the hospital.  Kelli actually opened the box and then called to video chat with me to show me the cross stitch patterns.  It made both of our days.

Here’s a selection of our favorites….We both have gotten to like samplers.

We both also started liking Prairie Schooler designs.
There were several in the binder.
Oh my..I loved this fall collection.
It’s got me hooked.  I’ve seen thing from the designer before but haven’t really leafed through or looked seriously at any of them.

Kelli was seriously jumping up and down over these!!  There were lots of alphabet designs that she liked too.  It was fun to see her so happy.

Brenda sent fabric and a card…TWO boxes filled…see??

Brenda said keep what I want and pass what I can’t use now.  I did exactly that.  Some of it went to my friend Nell who teaches quilting classes on a reservation.

Brenda mentioned some fabrics might be good for Georgia’s quilt.  I did nab a few of them.

…and a couple of these calicos and plaids….not all of them.

It was tempting but I keep telling myself, you are cross stitching too.  You can’t overload your space.  Thank heavens cross stitch doesn’t take up as much space as quilting things do.

There were little project leftovers.
Check these out…oh, what are those pieced wedges.

Oh my.  I think I love them.  Pattern foundation was included.  Phew!  I’ve have been on the lookout for that if it hadn’t been included.  A quilt of these would be super tempting to make.

This pile had some ticking that I grabbed and another piece for Georgia’s quilt.
It was so fun to hunt and sort through…Nell was thrilled with the fabrics too!!

The next box came from Caryn…so many goodies.

The water bottles were snapped up by the childcare kids.  I can’t have squirt guns but I can have squirt bottles.  I ended up buying more.  Outside they squirt EVERYTHING.  They mist the flowers, spray water on sidewalk chalk art.  Oh my….they love them.

A dinosaur kit in the box went home with on of the boys.  He was so happy…and fabric goodies.  WOW.  That was fun.

I am always amazed at what fun mail can be for the kids and ME!!

The last box in today’s post came from Diane.  She had cross stitch goodies too.

I always smile and wonder about what comes my way.  Then I start wondering what I can use…what I can’t.  I grabbed the black aida.  I’ve been wanting to try to stitch on black.  I’ve heard it’s hard.  I want to see if it is.

Kelli grabbed the thread and other fabric.

She took this fabric too….She’s stash building.

I took the magazines to bed with me for a few nights and then passed them on to Kelli.  It’s nice to share a hobby in that you can share things or pass them on to others.  It’s especially nice when the people are in the same family!!

Thanks so much everyone.  You have me in stitching and in quilting!!  And Kelli in stitching and Nell’s group in quilting.  My childcare kiddos love it too.  WOW.  So many people get blessed when goodies come my way.  We all appreciate it.  In fact, I got a note from Nell thanking me for them.  Seriously…no thanks are need for me.  It’s you all who send the goods.  I only move them around!!