Spring has sprung

....finally.    And with it lots of stuff to do.   One thing is enlarging our deck and pergola.   The existing pergola is a baked aluminum one from Lowes that I love expect for the scraping and painting part.   The new one with be out of the trex decking and in addition to being larger, will be maintenance free.   Now I haven't decided if I am a contractor's dream or nightmare....I'll let you know after I share my before and after drawings with him on Monday.

I went to the 2nd Annual Needlework Emporium put on the by the Women's Club of Bethesda MD.   Well worth the trip.   Lot's of vintage pieces, lots of buttons, lots of pin cushions.   I scored this vintage file box.  Shout out to Stasi at BeeMused and BeeStitching.   Check out her post.   She thought to take pictures at the show.   It was a great day with two great Stasi's/Stacey's and me!

We pulled the drawers out and bagged them separately to made the walk to the car easier.   It wasn't until I was putting the drawers back that I saw papers wedged in the back.    Well the Nancy Drew in me has her interest piqued but I wasn't sure how I could get them out.    Good old gravity did it.

I turned it upside down and after a few good shakes and twists everything came out.   There was just enough room at the end of each drawer slide for the papers to wiggle free.

The papers are dated 1934, 1946, 1949 and 1976 with locations of Roy, Indiana and Flemington, New Jersey.   What a story this file box must be able to tell.

 My other treasures today included the small red and white bakelite buttons, a sock darner, a half round drum button, more ribbons and trims and 5 old chandelier prisms which I can't wait to hang outside with the sun with catch them.

 And look what fits perfectly in the draw.   I am going to have to move a couple of things around to somehow manage to get this beside my stitching chair.   It will be the perfect place to set my shaker tray of scissors and notions.

 I am on the Hot Mess Express with me huck embroidery project.  I am too far in to want to start over.  I am just going to stay in my lane and keep moving forward.    This was taught at our last EGA meeting.  It actually is quite easy if you don't try to create all your own motifs and use every single row available!   Restraint!  I need to show restraint!  Just do it, don't over do it!

My focus project has been my EGA Challenge Piece No. 4   I have made great progress since picking this back up and can actually envision me finishing it......but maybe not before the new Challenge No. is chosen.

 It's all the darned 'bleeping' eyelets!  I think I have 9 more letters to do.  Ugh.   In between the torture of the eyelets I have been completing the lower rows.   I know how my analytical brain works and I'll conjure up some mathematic approach to the letters..... kind of like those old grammar school problems....if a car leaves Chicago, traveling east at 60 mph and a car leaves Pittsburgh at ....... stitch a letter and a half and then treat myself to stitch a row and both be done at the same time. 

I hope to be able to post again soon with some updates on other projects as well as life in general.    Now off to check off a few more items on the to-do list!

 Thanks for stopping by and keep on stitching.