"Harvest Colors" knitted wrap... (an Autumn surprise in my ETSY shop)

As the days of summer gradually fade away, daylight hours of Autumn becoming shorter and shorter.  Temperatures drop with the setting of the Harvest sun,... before the winter freeze arrives, the hills come alive for a few weeks in their glorious painted display....

  the colors of the Autumn season...

  deep red, bright yellow, burnt orange, 

with pinks, and amber adding to the beautiful

 fall foliage palette...

 Introducing my beautiful

"Harvest Colors"

knitted wrap..

as the sun sets on our

season of summer...

Nature explodes in an amazing

display of beautiful

and vibrant

colors...

a final burst of glorious beauty,

as though Nature 

has been saving up all year

for this grand finale

 of color~ 

Autumn seems to be

suddenly upon us..

the mornings are foggy

and crisp...

"It was a beautiful bright autumn day,

with air like cider 

and a sky so blue you could

drown in it."

Diana Gabaldon, (Outlander #1)

the blooms

in Autumn gardens 

blossom in vibrant colors

 before the cold 

wretched frost arrives...

 Autumn...

the year's last,

and loveliest smile...

 this is a truly exquisite

knitted wrap..

a one of a kind 

accessory for your fall

wardrobe..

sumptuous and exquisite...

the wrap measures

80 inches long x 20 inches wide

embellished with over 60

handmade flowers...

~

each flower is delicately

accented with beautiful

seedbeads, glass and 

crystal beads

there is only one...

I made it so beautiful

that I can hardly bear to

part with it...

 you can find it

here... 

Love,love..

Vicki

Bitty's Knitted "Sunflower Dress"

Our youngest granddaughter is a tiny little thing,
 we call her "Bitty"~
             this is the little "Sunflower" dress
                                                   that I knitted for her...

who doesn't love

happy little sunflowers

blooming so bright and cheery?

 the dainty neckline

is beaded to resemble a tiny

necklace..

complete with a special

little sunflower bloom

to make it extra

 special!

each little bloom

is filled with tiny seed beads

to make the blooms

more vibrant

and beautiful...

"made by gb"

that's me...

(that's what our babes call me)

a happy little bluebird

sits on her nest...

(her pretty red wing is accented with seed beads)

seriously --

you just know I would have to add

a little bird nest 

to this dress! 

the little neckline

is beaded from "shoulder to shoulder"

along the front of the dress...

this little dress was a delight to knit..

it fits her perfectly

and hangs beautifully 

when she dances

 and twirls...

pattern info-

"Daisy dress" from Minnow knits

(although I made some alterations in the pattern

to suit my own taste and to fit our "Bitty")

~

yarn--

Cobasi Plus

 (a worsted weight wonder

 that combines cotton, bamboo and silk

 with a generous amount of elastic nylon)

~

 this yarn has incredible

sheen and the stitches knit perfectly.

when knitted, it is a bit

weighty, but that only helps

to make the dress hang more beautifully. 

Our little Bitty is beautiful

in this dress..

Welcome to fall....

I can feel it in the foggy mornings and at night when the temps drop -- at times, it's almost sweater weather in the evenings.  Our days though, are incredibly hot -- so for at least the next few weeks, our summer will continue. We are  trying to enjoy the last little bit of warm weather and our pool.  I'm just not ready to give it all up yet!

I've been knitting like crazy, some pretties to share with you later this fall, and working on little dresses for our granddaughters.  I have one more little dress to share with you in a few days...(it's adorable too!) I've also been making jam from a wonderful selection of summer fruits, spending lots of happy days in my kitchen! Everyday brings a new project of some kind and I seem to have happily been busy, busy, busy this entire summer... 

Somehow, I totally missed out on the whole Instagram thing these past few YEARS!  Hello!! --- well, I've caught up with the times and you can now find me on Instagram--just search for me

 @ 2 Bags Full.  I would love for you to be my Instagram friend!

  

The beautiful "BeachComber" nest was a wonderful success.

  Thank you to those of you who sent me 

such wonderful notes and to those of you

 who sent letters and 

to me. 

 I am so thrilled that you love your nests.

  YOU are the reason that I make these little creations,

 I am so grateful that you want to bring them into your homes

and that they bring you so much

joy.

~

xoxo

Vicki

 

Introducing my summer surprise --- the "BeachComber" nest

One cannot collect all the beautiful shells on the beach.
           One can only collect a few--
                       and they are more beautiful if they are few.  

Anne Morrow Lindbergh 

beautiful shells,...

memories of your favorite 

 walks along the beach..

treasures found~

a sand dollar,

starfish, whelk shells...

 fragments of glass and bits of shell

preserved forever

in a tiny glass jar...

 the glimmer of sunlight

on shells,

newly kissed by the tides~

introducing

the latest in my 

Designer Nest series..

the

"BeachComber" nest

~~

as with all my Designer nests,

the charitable profits are donated 

to a most worthy cause...

~~

the charitable profits

from the sale of these nests

will be donated to our local chapter of

"Make a Wish Foundation" 

~

this charitable foundation grants

wishes to children with life-threatening illness.

remembrances...

sunlight, waves, 

the tinkle of shells in the surf...

this beautiful "BeachComber" nest

is designed to preserve your most beloved

beach memories.. 

while each nest is a unique creation,

they are all similar in design...

each nest contains a collection of

beach treasures...

whelk shell, tiny white shells, 

starfish, sand dollar,

and a tiny jar

 filled with glass and shells

~~

a beautiful beaded starfish

adorns

 every nest~

perhaps you have

favorite treasures from your walks

along the beach

that you may wish to add

 to these collections~

  tiny fish nets

embellished with treasures from the sea,

just a hint of glitter

to make it all

 sparkle~

 this beautiful nest

has been in creation since

this past winter--

as with all of the nests 

in my Designer series--

the endeavor is

 HUGE!! 

~~

my friend Mary is my

ever faithful assistant --

I could not do this without her help.

We have both worked long and late

to create this beautiful nest for you...

(plus- she lets me boss her around

and never, ever, complains!)

~~

Your nest will arrive

wrapped in beautiful tissue, 

 tied with a stunning, glittered

bird tag,

all created by my friend Sue.

~

from the minute you 

open the box...

you will be

"wowed"! 

there are 24

of these beautiful nests

listed now in my ETSY shop...

~

~ it was my own walks along the beach,

my collections

of treasures found along the shore...

that stirred my longing

to create this

beautiful nest for you...

xoxo,

Vicki 

Josephine's Children update --- Party Time!!!

After months of anguished waiting, travels across oceans to the other side of the world, miscommunication, "lost boxes", suspected attempts to "pirate" the last 2 boxes, and even an attempt to possibly hold them for ransom.... the prayers of the children have been answered!  All 3 boxes have safely arrived to the school and the children are inviting all of you to their celebration party...

 Dear Vicki,
Today the 4th of august 2015, our long awaited day has come to pass! The gifts have been given away... the children as you can see in the photos are all very happy and excited.. we have kept a few gifts for those that are in boarding school and all the craft items will be made to use during the holidays.

I can't express my sincere gratitude but I am so thankful for the time you took to help with my project and we will always be grateful for all that  you have done to help us.

Children have told me to pass on their sincere gratitude to you and for making their school time enjoyable. The items that were bought are very essential to them and will lift up their self esteem as many didn't have bags, shoes to walk to school. As the new term begins in September they will be even more happy to share the joy with friends.

Thank you for taking part in this project... I pray for more blessings and opportunities from you.
Josephine

 

 

Dear Vicki,

Indeed its a miracle! I am reading this mail just now and I just cannot stop smiling and thanking God for making this possible! when hope was almost fading. We were so worried and had put all our joy at a stand but we prayed silently but God has answered our prayers. The children are going to be happy again!

I am all ready with two cameras with different persons to take photos, I want every moment to be captured and sent to you and Sue. I can't stop to thank you and Sue and husband for all the effort, time and energy that you have given this project..no words can express that but I and the children have already started to design something for you and Sue to show how we have appreciated.

Thank you for making this possible! you are so dear and near our hearts.

Josephine

 

 

 these boxes have had enough "adventures"

to fill a novel!  

without going into great detail,

let me just say that

truly the power of prayer

has brought this wonderful

celebration 

to the children...

 

these photos were taken

by Josephine 

at the "opening of the boxes"

party for the children. 

 

 

 

 school supplies,

book bags, shoes,

and personal items were distributed

to the children at the

party..

 

Josephine related to me that many

of the children did not have shoes

to wear to the school ---

these boxes arrived

at the most perfect time!

 

 

 

 

 the children all received

a new Teddy Bear..

 

 

look at these happy faces!!

Can you imagine how proud

this beautiful young girl is feeling

right now! 

one of my favorite photos..

such a beautiful young girl..

this little fella

is all decorated with sticker dots

for his celebration!

I can just feel the excitement

of the children

as I look at these photos..

I would give anything

to hug this precious 

little girl...

I love her...

I love the colorful book bags

that Sue selected for these 

children..

so precious..

truly a celebration

and party for these children!

 

 

these children are going 

to be stylin'

when they go back to school!

 

 

 

this photo makes my heart smile--

they didn't even want to take

their back packs off

to eat!

 Dear Vicki,

We haven't done something with the craft supplies yet, we are still sorting and organizing them.

My plan is to start using them during the holidays when everybody is around... they are all very nice items that were donated from the bottom of hearts.  

 

I have to tell you that all of the items are very lovely and when you look at them and some bear notes, that you see the love that people have towards noble causes.

My regards,

Josephine   

Finally, 

this dream has come true

for the children...

~~

My heartfelt thanks to 

all of you who played a part 

in bringing these

wonderful treasures to the children

in this place so very far away...

~~

Your gifts, donations, money,

and most of all your prayers

have made this happen.

~~

My very special thanks to Sue

for all the efforts that she and her husband

made in purchasing the items

and organizing them to be mailed.

~~

I also want to thank my dear friend Mary,

who allowed us to use her business

address for you all to mail the packages.  

Mary carried packages home almost every day

for weeks upon weeks

as your donations begin to come in!

~~

So many people,

so many loving hearts,

have made this dream come true...

xoxoxo

 

 Updates from me...

Where has this summer gone?? Have you been as busy as me? Ive so many projects started -- nearly completed -- frantically trying to finish everything so that I can share it with you!  

 

I've been on some travels... a lovely week at the beach in Florida, a "girltrip" to Michigan,  I've been making jams this summer, knitting like crazy,spending time with grandbabies, and trying to relax a little,...

 

Fall is in the air, I can feel it, even smell it. As much as I do love the change of seasons, I would love for our summer to last a bit longer.  

 

My "journal" giveaway has ended, the winners posted and the journals are on their way to Australia, United Kingdom,... only 1 winner was from the United States!  All the rest went to Europe and down under!!

 

I will be back in a few days with a little summer project that I am so very anxious to share with you -- a little summer surprise for you all...

 

Love,love,

Vicki