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

The G.B.B.P. is DONE! Complete with pictures too!

The Grick Basement Beautification Project has come to an official end! Signal the marching bands, cheering crowds, and confetti throwers! I know you're all just chomping at the bit to see the pics, so without much further ado..... it all began with an idea from Pinterest:

Seeing this pic, made the wheels in my head begin turning. "I should build these bookcases to surround the basement loveseat. Perhaps that would be a good way to disguise the ugly print of said loveseat...

While perusing Pinterest, I discovered a way to makeover the loveseat, and give it an updated look:

The wheels in my head were now turning so fast that they were beginning to produce smoke. Ok. The loveseat will now be painted. Off to Lowes (my favorite store!) to pick out paint. After the first coat, I began to doubt if this was going to work, but I persevered and painted a second coat. and a third. and a fourth. Yes, it took 4 coats to make the ugly print of the past disappear. Then things began looking up:

I LOVED the transformation! It was then decided that the piping should be painted white for an added bit of pizazz. I did not paint the cushion, so I made a trip to another favorite store...Joann Fabrics! With paint chip in hand, I carefully selected an outdoor upholstery fabric (that was on sale for 50% off!) which would compliment the paint color...

Now with the loveseat makeover completed, I could build the aforementioned bookcases:

By now, I'm doing cartwheels! It looks just like the Pinterest photo, minus the oversized fish sculpture! These new shelves provide a perfect place to put clear totes full of Silver Creek Samplers inventory. You can also see the new floor tiles too. This complete transformation was 3 weeks in the making, but I couldn't be happier with the finished product! And to think this all began with something as innocent as cleaning my sewing corner.

We've all heard or said "A clean house basement is a sign of a wasted life", but my life has been everything BUT wasted! Thanks for stopping by our new and improved basement. It's getting hot here in N.E. Pennsylvania, so I'll have a cool and clean place waiting for me to escape the heat and humidity. Please stop by again to see what's new down by the creek!

Diane

Atom is Doing the Neutron Dance!

This June it will have been 23 years since I donned my mortarboard and white gown, and marched proudly down the auditorium aisle to Pomp and Circumstance. I left the halls of Montrose Area High School, educated and ready to take on the world. So glad I was that my test-taking, project making years were now behind me. That is, until I had a child.....

Colvin was required to make an atom model for 8th grade science. He chose Boron (as in: Science is very Boron!) Knowing Colvin like I do, he chose Boron because it was the easiest element to model. But don't tell him I said that! (He'd probably agree though.)

He asked for my assistance and buttered me up by saying that I was more artistic than he is. So, out came the craft containers that live in my Hoosier cabinet. He did the research and together we located the correct number of protons, neutrons and electrons. A bit of wire and hot glue (no craft project is complete without it), one wooden ball, one small screw eye, 5 pink buttons, 6 black beads, and 5 clear buttons later, his Boron atom model was born...

After we cleared the dining room table of all craft paraphernalia (including dried hot glue boogers) I asked Colvin, "We've just made an atom. Now when do we make Eve?" All I got in response was a smirk, complete with teenage eye-roll. I thought it was funny!

How many of you have been roped into projects like this? I guess it goes with the territory of being a parent (but I don't remember reading that part in the fine print). Oh well, atom is complete and memory #2,479 has been made. Yup, it's worth it!

Thanks for humoring this high-school educated gal by reading this far. I do hope you'll visit me again.

Diane