~*And The Winner Of The Giveaway Is*~

Put at all the entries in a bowl & had my hubby pull the winner.....Carol from Firecracker Kids Primitives!! Congratulations Carol for winning my first giveaway! Your pillow will go out on Wednesday! I want to thank ALL of you who entered...wish I could send one to each and every one of you. I am overwhelmed by the wonderful response and new followers. I promise there will be much to come on my humble little blog.
Hope you all have a happy Memorial day weekend. I spent all day yesterday working on goods for my craft show next Saturday, even roped hubby into cooking dinner last night...I'll work more all day today, try to break away for a bit and do a little weeding & enjoy the sun that is finally out. Tomorrow a quite day with friends. Thanks again to all of you...    Blessings  ~Kriss~

~*Giveaway Reminder*~

Hi all!! Just a quick reminder that the deadline for entering my giveaway is today. I'll be drawing the winner & posting tomorrow. Speaking of giveaways be sure to check my sidebar for a wonderful giveaway from Hungry Hook Primitives. She has a beautiful hooked rug to offer, her work is beautiful...be sure to stop over & take a chance!
On to a holiday weekend.....do you all have plans or just taking some quiet time off with your families & friends? we are spending the day with friends on Monday but today & tomorrow will be work, work and work for me in getting ready for my first craft show next Saturday.
Hope you all enjoy whatever you do....have a happy & safe holiday.....see you tomorrow with the winner!!

                                                                      ~Kriss~

~*Friendship, a Swap & a Bonfire*~

Good morning!! I've been trying to find time to post all week. Do any of us ever have enough time?? First of all I want to send a big THANK YOU to all of you who have entered my giveaway...the response has been amazing! I'm looking forward to picking the winner on Sunday & getting it in the mail! Still have 4 days left to enter!
I want to share a couple of things with you. This post is about the blessings of friends. How lucky are we to have people come into our lives and share joy? There are so many different levels of friendship, each one special. There are the friends who come into your lives through circumstance(school PTO, sports,work), friends who we grow up with, friends who we seem to form an instant connection with and can share our hearts with, and friends that we meet along the way that just seem to connect.
I have been very blessed in my life to have many wonderful friends. I have three that I know will never be in passing...like sisters...and many that are always constant no matter how much time has passed between contact. I have also been very lucky to make some new friends through this blog. Such wonderful people...such fun! My hope for all of you is that you can be as fortunate as I have been to have wonderful people fill your life & hearts. Friends for the fun,friends for the lonely heart and friends for the good & bad times.
On to the fun news!! I just did a swap with Karen of My Colonial Home. She made me the most BEAUTIFUL penny rug and also sent along the cutest patriotic towel with a flag pocket full of dried sweet annie. I put it on a little table next to my dining room fireplace for now but it's permanent home will be in my bedroom when I redo it. If you've never been to Karens blog please visit her. She also has a pattern line out for her penny rug designs and just put a new one out with pansies....sweet!! I had so much fun doing this & have gotten to know her through emails...definitely a new friendship!
This weekend we had our first bonfire with friends Saturday night. We had such a great time. So nice to sit back & relax. Bonfires are something we really enjoy in the summertime. There's just something about being under the stars and watching the flames dance that soothes the soul.....
Hope you all are having a wonderful week so far. Hope none of you had been directly or indirectly affected by the last outbreak of storms....

Isn't this wonderful! Her hand stitching is beautiful...I'm doing my bedroom in reds & blacks so this will be perfect. Thanks again Karen!!

This is the little "extra something" she tucked in the package. this would have been enough for a swap!! What a sweetie!

   My friend Dawn & I getting ready to head out to the bonfire

Ahhhhh, where's the marshmallows & chocolate??

Our friend Jeff with their lab Chloe.....Dawn had cut a block of cheese up for some crackers and Chloe ate it all off the counter while we were outside taking pictures!! LOL  I love this dog, she has the spunk my dog Dakota had when he was young!

     My husband Michael, Dawn, Jill & Tony

Dawn, Me & Jill. I had never met Jill before and she was so much fun...we're planning on more get togethers with us three couples soon!

        Hope you have a happy & blessed day!   
                                      ~Kriss~          

~*Giveaway*~

Good morning! As I told you yesterday I would be doing a giveaway because I reached 30 followers! As thanks for joining me on this fun journey I will be sending one of you my
~* Little Blue Saltbox Sampler Pinkeep*~
This little pillow is from my pattern line and measures approximately 4 3/4 x 4 3/4 and is rag stuffed. The rules are posted below.

To enter my giveaway~
1. You need to be a follower (new followers are welcome).
2. You need to leave a comment on this post.
3. I will give you an extra entry if you post this on your blog (please let me know if you do).
4. If you find this post on another blog and it leads you to mine let me know and you will each get an extra entry (be sure to tell me the name of the blog in your comment!).
5. Deadline is May 28th. I'll pick and post the winner on Sunday, May 29th.


Good luck & Thank You for following!!    
             Blessings  ~Kriss~

Upcoming Giveaway

Good morning everyone! Have to admit I am a morning person...sorry to all of you out there that hate those of us who jump out of bed ready to go!! My morning just got better as I see I hit 30 followers...whoo hoo!! That was my first goal! I've been busy getting a pillow ready for a personal swap, still finishing my patterns and I just signed on for my first craft show. As a token of my gratitude for those of you following my humble little blog I will be doing a giveaway...keep an eye out for the details & picture of what I've made for you! What a great way to start my morning....thanks to all of you!!   ~Kriss~

Followers list gone!!

I finally had time to get on here for a few minutes and my entire followers list is GONE!!!!! Has this happened to anyone else?? I am so bummed! What do I do to get it back again? If any of you see this post could you please add yourself to my list again. HELP!!!!!!!

BUTTERMILK CREEK FARM: ~~IT'S GIVEAWAY TIME AGAIN``

BUTTERMILK CREEK FARM: ~~IT'S GIVEAWAY TIME AGAIN``: "WE ARE CELEBRATING HERE AT THE FARM..... First, our daughter is getting married on June 10th in our backyard. We are so excited and a litt..."

*Home is where your Heart is*

Good morning! I've had no time to post this week, I've been trying to get on here & there & check in. It's been a bit of a crazy (and fast)week. My brain is exhausted from trying to get my pattern covers done. I have only one completed as I can't figure out how I got the picture on it! Makes me sound pretty smart huh?? LOL I have an old program and kinda old computer so it's been very frustrating! I want to thank a couple of fellow bloggers who have been bright spots for me this week. Tammy of A Primitive Place & Karen of My Colonial Home. These two women are incredible! Thanks ladies........ I'm leaving you with a couple of sweet thoughts on how we love our homes......Happy Saturday!   ~Kriss~

    A house is who you are, not who you ought to be.  -Jill Robinson

Every spirit builds itself a house, and beyond it's house a world,and beyond it's world a heaven. Know then that world exists for you.  -Ralph Waldo Emerson

If a home doesn't make sense, nothing does.  -Henrietta Ripperger

Why do we love certain houses, and why do they seem to love us? It is the warmth of our individual hearts reflected in our surroundings.  -T.H. Robsjohn Gibbings

Home is the definition of God  -Emily Dickinson                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

~* I Am a Mother *~

My oldest son Joshua Michael came to me on July 15,1991 after three years of infertility treatments. We had reached the point of giving up and then I was full of life. His birth was terrifying. He came a little over a month early after trying to come a month earlier than that. A month of bedrest to protect and nurture my child gave him just enough time to be strong enough to great the world. After an emergency C-Section and all those horrifying moments for my husband not knowing if he would possibly lose one or both of us God held us and with medical care we were both fine. We brought him home after a week in the neonatal unit, this little miracle. I will always remember the smell of him and how my heart felt so full it would burst.
My second son Cody Alan came to me on November 15,1995. Medically we will never know how he came to be. I was to have surgery to try to conceive again, medications to make me fertile....and there he was just made from our love. I was so sure I would lose this child as I had lost one before Josh and one before him. I was in a weak mental state as my mother had just passed away.Circumstances can make you stop and ponder faith if you believe. He was conceived exactly a week to the day that my mother died, I found out I was pregnant exactly a month to the day that my mother died and his due date was that of the first child we had conceived and lost in miscarriage at almost five months pregnant. I should have had a hard time carrying him at all let alone to term and he ended up being  two weeks overdue. I had a natural birth and a healthy baby. It was an amazing moment to be a part of this birth, to have him go from my womb right into my arms. I like to believe he was a gift from God.....and my mother.
My sons are all that I could ask for. They are both handsome and kind and have good hearts. They are gentleman like their father. I love my boys so much and am so grateful and blessed to be given the chance to call them mine. Even though we are now beyond all those childhood days that I miss...no more PTA events to chair, Halloween costumes to sew, scraped knees to patch up with a bandaid & a kiss...I am into a new era with them as young men. They are building futures and finding their own way. This new chapter of their adulthood has been amazing as I watch who they become. I wonder what the future will hold when they move out and begin their own lives and my husband and I begin another one ourselves. Will they be happy in their career choices, have wives and (hopefully)children that they too will love as we have? Will they have to move away or will they be able to stay here and thrive? For today they are still here with ME...and I am so blessed!!
As I celebrate today I will love my children for the fine young men that they are, I will love my body though not a size 8 and will never see a bikini again because it gave LIFE, I will love my husband for creating these boys with me and fathering them with such compassion & grace, I will love my mother and hold her in my heart as I can no longer hold her in my arms, I understand her more now as a woman and not just a mother than I ever have. I will celebrate these blessings and pray for those who don't that they might someday be able to. Every day I am a woman, a wife, a sister, a friend, and I am a Mother.
**Blessings and love to all of you**                            
Happy Mother's Day
~Kriss~

                                                                                
                              ~Michael & I with the boys on the night of Josh's graduation last June~

                                                                              ~Josh~

                                                                              ~Cody~

~*My Early Mother's Day Gift !!!!!*~

Meet my new baby Teeka!! My son bought me this sweet little parakeet yesterday for mother's day! He seems like a sweet little guy (ok not sure if it's a boy or a girl for awhile yet until his beak changes color but everyone else here but me is male so let's assume...). He's pretty nervous yet and I have to keep myself from forcing him to love me yet but what a fun journey this will be!
My son who bought me this had two birds while he was little & I did like them but at that time in my life I was running an in home daycare, had two young ones of my own, two dogs(one blind), two cats & a hamster. At that time the birds were nice but just one more thing that pooped & needed fed, cleaned & cared for LOL!!
This is for me this time!! I've wanted one for so long & am so excited. What a great way to wake up this morning & remember I had him!!
I'm adding some pics too of my other fur babies....we can be mother's to many!!  

This is Dakota, my 11 year old Sheltie and the love of my life!! He follows me everywhere I go and some days that's hard on him with getting older. I feel bad when he follows me upstairs & I'm only up there for a minute to get laundry....he's my always faithful companion and the sweetest dog you'll ever meet! I love my old boy so much. He had a bath & brushing later that night....should have waited till he was prettied up for the picture! I hope he lives forever!!!!!!!!

 This is Spazz my 15 year old kitty. He has catittude 100% of the  time. He has chosen my oldest son as his "person" but likes me for my skills as feeder & litter changer. He was actually born between my knees on the couch! My inlaws were home for a visit so we were sleeping downstairs & I woke up in the middle of the night to something wet & hot and there was his momma Angel giving birth right there!

 He loves this bucket in my laundry room. I was planning on filling it with vintage fabrics & sock darners & spindles but haven't yet as he seems to really enjoy it as a napping spot. It's on top of the dryer so it's warm & his food dish is up there away from Dakota so I guess it's the perfect spot.

It's hard to tell in the pictures but he's a pretty big cat so him squeezing in here is pretty cute. By the way, he thinks Teeka looks delicious!
So these are more of my babies....animals really add a lot to our lives don't they??
Off to stitch , have a happy Saturday   ~Kriss~

Giveaway!!

  Be sure to check out the giveaway from Tammy at A Primitive Place. She just reached 700 followers, wow!!! http://aprimitiveplace.blogspot.com/

**Pattern Preview** Added the pattern I forgot.....

The Salem pillow is one of my favorites.

**Pattern Preview**

Okay, I have so much to do but as I was getting things together I decided to take a few shots of some my patterns...some finished, some needing framed and one I just started working on last night. I also included one of my Christmas ornament designs. I do mainly cross stitch/samplers but also design sewing patterns too. I will have a special Halloween line(the Spells pillow is in it) and some special ideas for those of us who love prims but don't always have the nickels in our pockets to buy them. I'm putting myself out there....what do you think??  ~Kriss~

Tiny Downstairs Bathroom

Good morning!! Shhhhh, the sun is out...don't tell anyone! I think it's supposed to rain again later but for now it's beautiful, think I'll go for a quick walk before I begin stitching!!
I have a full day today. I am behind on completing my patterns & need to work uninterrupted for at least a couple of hours.  We have been having a major flea problem & I got all the stuff yesterday to wash the dog, powder the cat ( he DOES NOT like me....still hasn't forgiven me for washing him last summer after he snuck out and got sprayed by a skunk and last night as I was dosing him in the flea powder he was a little peeved), and spray down the floors & furniture. Fingers crossed that this works!!
We have to leave the house for an hour after I spray so the dog will get to go for a ride and the cat will have to be in his carrying cage on the front porch for awhile (more brownie points for me there!). After I get back I'll have to sweep every nook, cranny & corner to get all the dead fleas...yuck!!  Then a baseball game at my son's high school tonight. You're jealous right?? I know, the life of a princess is pretty rough!!
I took some pictures of my tiny downstairs bathroom. We hung a wood ceiling last spring & I still haven't put a finish on it as I can't decide to stain it oak or paint it bright white, what do you think? I want to repaint the walls a lighter color and paint the vanity & mirror. After all that I might just sew some new curtains & shower curtain. I also need to tweek the shelf a little, maybe some greens or drieds? It's hard to get good pics because it's so small but thought I'd share the before pics with you. Hope you all have a great day...I love it when you visit & leave me comments!!   ~Kriss~

~*My Garden Awakens*~

Just took a break from my stitching, threw on my boots, grabbed my cup of tea and took my first spring walk around my yard. This has been a cold, wet season here in northwestern Pennsylvania & my yard is a muddy mess but there is hope I think! Even though the sun isn't out and it's cold again today I felt lifted by the rebirth of a few of my perennials, my weeping cherry tree & my japanese pea tree. Thought I'd share with you the promise of spring to finally come.....  ~Kriss~

Closer to listing!!

I worked all day finishing up the the designs for my pattern line! Still have a couple more pillows to stuff & samplers to frame. Think I have three more patterns to chart and then all I have to do is finish designing my pattern cover & am ready to go!! Feel like I'm getting ready to have a baby LOL!! I plan on doing a giveaway when I hit 30 followers so check back!  *Happy Sunday*  ~Kriss~