Inquiring Minds Want to Know....

where the heck I've been hiding..............................................
I know it's been a very long time since we visited last, and for that, I'm so very sorry. I was busy living the good life. August brought forth our 156th county fair in Harford, Pennsylvania. I entered 3 samplers. Dare to Fly and Sing a Sampler series earned first and 47 Hearts placed third. I entered a pint of maple syrup which didn't place at all, but will still taste yummy, and a digitally altered picture from Gettysburg which earned a third place ribbon.

Colvin took maple syrup for his 4-H project this year. He was the only 4-Her in the entire county to enter maple syrup, which he proudly earned a blue ribbon for. It was a very successful year at the fair!

Colvin started back to school on August 28. He is now a freshman, all 6' of him! Shoe shopping is getting more and more difficult with every passing year. He is wearing a 13! I told him if his feet keep growing like they have been, he'll have to wear the shoe BOXES!

The apple trees have been VERY gracious to us this year. I've been busy making applesauce and will take a stab at canning apple pie filling. While making my first batch of applesauce, I received a sweet reminder of God's love for me....

Which leads me to my next order of busy-ness.......NEW RELEASES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Johnny Appleseed"

"Old Black Clock"

These 2 new designs are on their way to my distributors as I write this. I hope you like them. I'm busy stitching a Christmas sampler in hopes of releasing it sometime in October. Maybe I'll share a peek in my next post.

I also forsee in the near future, another give-away of some sort. I'm almost up to 100 followers, so perhaps then.....

Whew! I'm out of breath now that I've caught you up on all of the "goings-ons" here at Silver Creek. I'll try to not stay away so long next time! Thanks for stopping by and an even bigger thanks for not filing a missing persons report!

We'll talk again soon,
Diane

Standing in the need of prayer....

To any and all prayer warriors out in blogland: please pray for my friend Holly. She is the face behind Misty Hill Studio cross stitch designs (another talented PA designer!). I won't go into detail (God knows them all) but she is experiencing some very difficult and discouraging storms in her life. Let's lift her up and pray that the Son will shed light and love on Holly and her whole family.

Matthew 18:20: For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

Thank you all. I know Holly will appreciate it. 

Blessings from the creek,

Diane

Canon in G... (long post with many pictures)

The 'G' stands for Gettysburg. I just returned Friday from a 5-day camping trip with our Boy Scout troop. This year marked the 150th Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. I couldn't have asked for better camping weather, although it was VERY humid. We only had to endure a few brief showers which fortunately made their appearance after we had turned in for the night.

Our Boy Scout Troop 50. We may be small in number, but we are BIG in fun!

On July 1, after partaking in a hearty breakfast of eggs and sausage, we began our almost 14 mile hike, which took us all throughout the park. We walked across the field where so many men, both union and confederate, had lost their lives fighting for our freedom. It was a chilling and moving experience. We passed by many of the memorial monuments, old homes, and barns which were witnesses to the battle that occurred in 1863.

The Pennsylvania Memorial

 On July 2nd, my body was unhappy with me and the EXTENSIVE hiking I had put it through the day before, so while the rest of the troop went on yet another hike (this one being ONLY 10 miles) I stayed at camp. I took a small opportunity to put a few stitches into my patriotic sampler which is a tribute to the Civil War. Here are a couple sneak peeks...

July 4th brought the highlight of the trip....the re-enactment. Thursday was VERY hot and the prices of cold beverages were at a premium, so we filled our hydration packs, leaving us a bit more money to spend on other non-essentials. I came home with a fife, a small pair of reproduction scissors and 3 t-shirts. I felt like I had traveled back in a time machine. The soldiers as well as civilians young and old, were dressed in period attire...

The battle included over 11,000 re-enactors. There were horses, canons, muskets, drummer boys and fifers. On the battlefield, was a horse pulling an ambulance wagon to recover the "wounded and dead". The battle was about 50 minutes long. This was the actual length of the original battle that took place in 1863.

The Confederate Soldiers identified by their gray uniforms

The Union Soldiers identified by their blue uniforms

In the upper left corner you can see the "ambulance wagon"

It was an amazing experience to be part of history. I came away from Gettysburg tired and sunburned, but filled with pride and appreciation for what had taken place there exactly 150 years ago. No matter where you may be from, north or south, we are ALL Americans. One Nation under God and united we will stand. Long may she wave.

Stakes and Hot Dogs

Recently I received 2 new orders from Hoffman Distributors. The total quantity consisted of 216 patterns. With summer vacation here, and LOTS of idle time to fill, Colvin was recruited to stuff the patterns into bags. I thought I was doing him a favor by providing a great source of "entertainment" which would make the summer hours pass by with great speed. He accepted the assignment and was polite enough to wait until I was out of the room before rolling his eyes in true teen-age defiance.

After arriving home from work, I found the stuffed patterns in neat stacks on the dining room table. Colvin helped me pack them into the shipping box. I tried to get him into the box too, but soon realized that I would never be successful, as his weight FAR exceeds the 70 pound limit of the United States Postal Service.

After adding the ship to/from labels, Colvin commented that the "S" in my logo, looks like a snake. I assured him it wasn't and that it was he who inspired the fishing boy who sits on the "S" of my Silver Creek Samplers logo. Colvin then asked if that meant he had a stake in the company. Without missing a beat I replied, "A hot dog maybe, but no stake!"

This time, his eyes rolled BEFORE I left the room!

Thanks for visiting with me down by the creek,
Diane

...and you thought ALL blue-haired ladies were OLD?

SO NOT TRUE!
That's right dear blogger friends.......I've gone blue!

Allow me to explain....... Thursday night I finished up a week of fun and folly at Vacation Bible School. The theme was Everywhere Fun Fair, and what fun we had! I was "Telly Ticket" the Assembly Leader. It's a great job that allows me to use my God-given big mouth! The kids learned all about who their neighbors are and that they need to be friendly, giving, bold, welcoming, and forgiving....just as Jesus is to all of us! I also worked with my friendly little neighbors by teaching them many new songs and dancing up a storm! It's a tiring week (leave work at 4:45pm, arrive home at 5:20, change clothes, grab a bite to eat and arrive at VBS by 6:00pm!) but the rewards are SO VERY WORTH IT!

Ok. On to the blue hair. I presented a challenge to the VBS kids. If attendance reached 35, I would dye my hair some crazy color. They came SO close, but not quite close enough. Therefore, I decided that I would include all of the teachers and helpers in that count. The kids were quite amazed, as were the adults, that I actually went through with it! Hey, just because you're an adult, doesn't mean you still can't have fun, right?! Colvin was my technical teen, helping run the laptop with the DVD as well as giving life to our puppet mascot, Godwin the Bird! He wanted in on the blue hair fun too....

His hair is so short and dark that the blue chalk dye didn't show very well, but he still enjoyed being included in the crazy hair challenge! I do so love that boy!

Vacation Bible School may be over for yet another year, but the pictures and memories will linger and won't ever wash out......(much like the blue tint that now clings to my white bath towel!)***sigh***

Thanks for being a friendly neighbor and visiting me down by the creek!
Diane

Stripping in my spare time.........

PAINT.......jeepers, what did you think I was talking about?! But, hey, I got your attention didn't I? Anyway, I just finished refinishing an antique blanket chest that has been in our family for a very long time. She is simply built with square nails, but possesses so much charm. After the basement beautification project was finished, I thought it would be nice to have something by the basement door to sit on while removing shoes. Mom said I could have this old beauty. And she is......now. You see somewhere in her lengthy past, someone thought she'd look nice with a coat of grass green paint...

 Knowing that under that green paint, there would be wonderfully aged pine, I decided to remove all of the paint. If you've never used a heat gun to strip paint, you're missing the boat! What I thought would be several weekends worth of stripping, turned into just a few short hours. Miraculously, there turned out to be only 1 coat of paint to strip! After baring her pine board soul and massaging her with various grits of sandpaper, she looked so different.....

Now came the hard part....deciding on what her new colors would be. I chose an old barn red for her trim, and I used the same mustard-brownish color that I painted the loveseat with, for the rest. I didn't want to lose all of her wonderful character marks under a thick coat of paint, so I watered down the paint so it was more like a color wash. I held my breath, said a prayer and completed the final step of her facelift....

Her slightly green cast from the past can still be seen, but I think it gives her more character. All of the dings, dents, and scratches are still visible, just in nicer colors. It was a challenge keeping the colors looking authentic. My goal was to have it look like it has always been in these colors. And I think I achieved that. I believe that every antique has a story to tell as long as someone is willing to listen.

Thanks for visiting with me at the creek!
Diane

I Believe I Can Fly......

A few posts ago, I shared a sneak peek of my soon to be released "Dare to Fly". I would like to now share the complete sampler with you...

It was stitched on 32ct "Summer Sky" jobelan by Wichelt. The design size is 144x71. This sampler was inspired by a poem written by A.A. Milne.

“Time is swift, it races by;

Opportunities are born and die...

Still you wait and will not try -

A bird with wings who

dares not rise and fly.”

This new pattern, as well as part 3 of Sing a Sampler are on their way to my distributors as I write this.

I'm still plugging away, stitching slowly on my new patriotic design. I don't think there's a snowballs chance in Arizona that it'll be released this year. It's so very hard to stitch ahead of holidays and seasons. But I will continue to press on and soar with the eagles!

Diane