The Merry Month of May

Hello Stitchers........this blog has become an epic "fail" for me.  I always want to do better but I seem to fall apart between the desire and the action.  I do apologize to those of you who don't follow Little House on Facebook.

First things first.........our web site has all of the patterns we have released so far so I won't add them here.  I even have the new ones up that we ship tomorrow.

This is "My Lady Liberty" which is the third "My Lady" in an on-going collection.  She has been very popular with stitchers.  She reminds me of a paper doll that gets a clothing change with the seasons.

The frame is a perfect complement to the design.  

Shops can order it from Family Tree Frames.

My Lady Liberty

Also ongoing is The Sampler Tree which is a twelve month series of ornaments from Little House designed in an old-fashioned way which resemble colonial times or the simple life.

Sweet Apples

"Sweet Apples" the most recent release which ships to our distributors May 19th.

Moving on to other things..........in March I was diagnosed with breast cancer.  I have already had surgery and am waiting to heal up so that I can start radiation.  Between times I am working on more patterns for the end of the year and stitching my own cancer journey cross stitch design.  Very soon I will share the progress on it in the same way I did with Ron's.  They are worlds apart in style but each in it's way reflects the character of the person and their walk through the Big C.  

To put it bluntly, it stinks that this happened at all but it's worse because of the timing.  We still aren't finished with Ron .  Oh well.....we are made of pretty tough stuff so we'll get through this too.  I feel very positive about my outcome!

Last but not least is Gracie and her brother, Luke, on Mother's Day.  Cutie pie fur babies!

Happy Stitching!

Diane

Ding Dong

The actual name of the ornament this month is "Ding Dong Merrily on High."  And thank goodness I have Vonna doing the finishing again!  She is so creative.  I just love what she did with this one.

It is mounted on foam core and trimmed with twisted thread on the sides with a bow at the top.  All three designs will ship on Friday this week.  It won't be long now!  I hope to have the LHN web site updated that day too.

The temperature in Tucson is HOT.  It doesn't matter if it is 100 or 105.  There comes a point when it pretty much all feels the same.    

We just did some dog-sitting for Nikki while she and the family were away at Juliet's last dance competition of the season.  I caught a sweet picture of Luke and our grandson Andrew that I want to share.

It was so hot on Sunday.  Andrew stripped down to his diaper and played in the pool we had set up for Luke and Gracie.  It was clean water. . . . . I promise.  :)  The dogs were in it the day before, the water changed and then they went in after he left.

When Luke gets in he just lays in the water.  Gracie tip-toes around in it, gets a drink and gets out.

So that's all for now. . . . . thank you all for the wonderful comments on the new patterns, here and on Facebook.  

Happy Stitching,

Diane

Gracie and the Arizona heat. . . . . . . .

Had I ever mentioned that Gracie does not like the heat. . . . . . .at all?????  She is the biggest baby in the summer, wanting to spend all of her time indoors except when she is playing in the hose or out for an early morning walk.  Her brother Luke still comes to play and wears her out a few mornings each week.  They eat ice cubes together to keep cool (the remnants you see on the driveway) and then pass out.

What a baby!!!

And here's Luke. . . .  . .just taking a moment to relax after a ruff-and-tumble morning with his sister!

Awe. . . . . isn't that cute?

You all know Luke and Gracie by now.  Luke is at our house at least twice a week and sometimes more.  Saturday night he came over with Nikki and Juliet to play with Gracie.  They wore themselves out!  What's so cute is that they don't just lay down one here and one there.  They have to be touching as you can see. 

 

They look like angels here.  That's because they're sleeping.  :)

Happy Stitching,

Diane

Luke and Gracie's First Birthday!

The pups turned one on Sunday!!!  Our grandson Sean shared his birthday party with them after his was well over.  They wore cute little party hats, shared a can of dog food (they usually only have dry) and exchanged gifts.  Gracie gave Luke a nice stuffless cow because he always tears his toys apart to get the cotton out.  And Luke gave Gracie a cute pink dog which she loves.  Thanks everyone, for sharing their first year with us!

They are two wonderful dogs!!!!!

Diane

Play Time

It's been a long time since I posted a Gracie picture and in this one, she isn't looking her best.  Remember the sandbox that Ron made for her?  Well, she still fits in it and as a matter of fact, there is even enough room for her brother Luke.  Don't they just look like the king and queen of the sandbox in there?  Such cute dirty faces!

Dog Days of Summer

I always say it's a 3-ring circus around here and now we have the actual rings to prove it!  Anyway. . . . . when it's this hot (108) there is only one thing for a pup to do and that's get wet.  And why not?  Gracie has a kiddie pool but sometimes we just turn on the sprinklers and let her cool down that way. 

We puppy-sat Luke so his family could take a little vacation with the kids this last week.  One day we dressed them up (that's what dog owners without any kids at home do) and took them to Petsmart for new toys.  Lot's of fun taking two Goldens to the pet store!  They picked out two matching (of course) tires with attached ropes.

And here she is with the tire.  Happy and wet but missing Luke!