Snow Day in PA...

Hello and welcome to a very snowy Silver Creek Samplers blog post. I hope you wore your boots and mittens because we are cleaning out from a storm that left us with perhaps 10" of that cold white stuff. I can't really complain too much as I have said I'd rather have snow than the brutally cold temperatures we (and a lot of you other folks) endured for much of January.

While my boys are out shoveling, I thought this would be a good time to catch you up on what's happening in my corner of the world. With the projected storm on it's way, yesterday my boss declared today a snow day. The print shop I work at is a very tiny company with 3 employees and my boss has a 1.5 hour commute to work every day. He said he couldn't expect us to get to work when he himself would most likely not make it either, so we closed up shop for the day. Quite sensible if you ask me.

So glad the boys didn't have trouble getting the shovels to start!

First order of business: an update on my transformation. I mentioned in a previous post, my long over-due and sorely needed trip on the weight-loss wagon. I'm still riding the wagon with a total weight loss of 55 pounds so far. I haven't felt this fantastic in many years. I can't put into words how good it feels to look in the mirror and actually like what I see. I have taken my picture every month so I can remind myself how far I've come. If you don't mind, I'd like to share them with you now...

September 2013

 

October 2013

 

 

November 2013

December 2013

January 2014

I'm up Monday-Friday by 5:30am to walk my 4 miles on the treadmill. I also walk every Saturday, just not as early. I hope to participate in a 5K in May and another in July. Thanks for sharing in my victories so far. Now on to NEW stitching business...

With so much of my focus on weight loss, I don't seem to be stitching or designing as fast as in years past. BUT I do have something new in the works that I'd like to share a sneak peek of...

"Shelter of Your Wings" will be my next release, as soon as I can finish the stitching. As with weight loss, stitching does take time and doesn't happen over night, but the rewards are sure worth it!

Thanks for visiting with me here at Silver Creek. Oh by the way, I'm almost up to 100 followers. Me thinks that it's almost time for another fun pattern give-away, so spread the word and invite some new friends to join my growing list of followers.

Stay warm and happy stitching dear friends!

Diane

Unwrapping a New Year

Hello blog-reading friends! Well, it's 2 days post Christmas. The gingerbread cookies have been consumed (only 2 small ones made it past my mouth!), the gifts have been exchanged, and there's only a small bit of Christmas dinner (chicken-n-biscuits) that remains in the refrigerator.

Colvin and Molly on Christmas morning.

Colvin, Me, and my hubby Alan

Since I began designing in 2009, this time of year worries me a bit. As each year has drawn to a close, I have amassed a collection of 10-15 newly designed samplers awaiting their time to be stitched and released. Each year, I wonder silently to myself: What if no one likes my new designs? What if my creativity fails me and I turn up with a bad case of designer's block?

Am I the only slightly insecure designer to feel this way? I surely hope I'm in good company and not in need of professional help. My wish is that 2014 brings downpours of inspiration and endless design ideas. I wish to thank all of you for supporting Silver Creek Samplers over the past 4 years. Without you, this would merely be a pipe dream instead of the reality that it has become. Thank you from the very bottom of my heart.

On that note, let us all clear out the clutter from the past year and ready ourselves to fill the blank pages of this brand new coming year. Together, we can make it GREAT!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
from Silver Creek Samplers

I hope there's still time.....

for you all to stitch another Christmas sampler. In a previous post, I shared a sneak peek of "Mary's Lullaby" with you. Since I'll be shipping them to my distributors very soon, I will now reveal the whole sampler to you...

Here is a list of the floss supplies needed for this sampler:
The Gentle Art..........Oatmeal
Weeks Dye Works.....Sand
The Gentle Art..........Cinnamon
The Gentle Art..........Crystal Lake
The Gentle Art..........Slate   
The Gentle Art..........Old Red Paint
Weeks Dye Works.....Hibiscus 
The Gentle Art..........Summer Meadow
Weeks Dye Works.....Deep Sea    
Weeks Dye Works.....Gold    
Weeks Dye Works.....Tin Roof 
The Gentle Art...........Dark Chocolate

Thanks for stopping by the creek!
Diane      

Sweet Lullabies

Did any of you have a special lullaby that you sang to your child?

I did. I used to sing "Edelweiss" to Colvin every night. It was a soft soothing tune that was guaranteed to send Colvin on his way to dreamland, as is the nature of all lullabies. I decided to personalize this special lullaby by changing one word in the last phrase. "Bless my homeland forever" was lovingly changed to "Bless my Colvin forever." I can still hear his sweet little toddler voice asking me to, "Sing Edel-mice, Momma". Even though Colvin is now WAY past the age of lullabies, my song has now turned into a prayer for him.....May you bloom and grow forever.

With the Christmas season swiftly approaching, this post has me wondering what kind of lullaby Mary sang to her newborn Jesus. Surely he cried and needed to hear a soft melody that would calm and soothe him. Perhaps it was one that had been sung to her when she was tiny.

My new Christmas sampler which is due to be released VERY soon, is a tribute to the lullabies that Mary surely sang to Jesus. It is fittingly named "Mary’s Lullaby", and here is a little peak to feast your eyes on...

May the soft soothing sounds of the upcoming Christmas season, calm and quiet your soul.

Bloom and grow my friends!
Diane

My Pride...My Joy...My Baby Boy...

Those of you who have been following me for a while know that I have one child, a boy, whose name is Colvin. I affectionately call him my "Gentle Giant" as he is 14 years old, 6'1", and still growing! Although he is a big boy, he uses his size only for good and not evil. He has been taught to treat others like he wants to be treated, a moral that is sadly lacking in some youth of today.

Colvin just finished up his first year in Freshman football. The Montrose Meteors Freshman Football team had a very successful season with only 2 losses. In all honestly, I wasn't flipping cartwheels when he asked if he could play football. After all, what mother wants to see her son on the bottom of the heap and potentially getting seriously hurt? But I decided that he deserved the chance to play and prayed for his safety each and every game. I am happy to report that the position he plays ensures that he will not end up eating grass on the bottom of the pile. I am one happy momma!

With the fall in full swing, it came time to capture Colvin's smiling face for school pictures. This is the third year that I have taken his photo and it's getting to be more of a challenge each year. But I was able to FINALLY capture a moment that looks so "naturally Colvin"......

The setting for his 9th grade picture was upstairs in the old horse barn at my Grandpa's old farm. Colvin grew VERY impatient with me while I scrambled to get "THE" perfect picture. But I persevered and I am extremely pleased with the final results. I am proud to say that it was a successful photo session and that I managed to complete it without inflicting any harm to my lovely 14 year old. Even though I was very frustrated, all I have to do is look at that face and I am reminded just how much I LOVE that boy. End of Gush!

Thanks for visiting!
Diane

Ch....Ch....Ch....Changes

I have not been kidnapped, abducted by aliens, or entered into the Witness Protection Program. I've been going through CHANGES! Not "The" Change...(heavens, I'm MUCH too young for that!) but changes nonetheless. My husband Alan, started a new job about a month ago, at a book distribution company. We are all happy with this new job. The pay and benefits are terrific BUT.........it's second shift. So we are 2 ships passing in the night. or morning, whichever way you choose to look at it.

The second BIG change is ME! On September 21, I decided to turn over a new leaf. After many years and almost (gulp) 75 extra pounds, I've once again bought my one-way ticket for a trip on the weight loss wagon. I hope this will be my LAST trip. I'm sure you all understand. As of this long overdue post, I am proudly down 30 pounds.

I've had every excuse in the book.....and I'm done and ready to burn that highly overused book.

I also started a love affair with Ted Mill. He and I meet up every morning, 6 days a week, on the outskirts of my sewing corner in the basement. He graciously accepted my apology for neglecting him for sooo long, and enjoyed the thorough dusting that he so desperately needed. I aim for 2.75 miles each morning beginning around 6am. Ted is quite amazing. We've had an on-again off-again relationship for the past 10 years and even though I walk all over him, he is always waiting for me to return the next day. Alan has been very supportive of my time spent with Ted and although I spend a lot of time with him, he's really not my type. He's a bit too mechanical for my tastes. But we will continue to remain close friends until he plum wears out.

Because of these changes, I haven't been stitching much. So hang in there friends... there's more new designs yet to come....as soon as the dust settles from all these changes.

Thanks for stopping by. We'll talk again soon!

Diane

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