I have to say, this SAL run by Rachel at Ten Hour Stitcher is GREAT for me to give me that kick in the pants I need in order to FFO some projects! Thank you, Rachel, for the wonderful idea of starting this SAL!

This month I framed 2 projects which I stitched last year. I am glad to get them out of the drawer and onto the wall!

First is Lazy Alphabet from La D Da. I just love it. It was hard to get the border squared up with the frame, but after a lot of fiddling, I think it is ok now.

Next is the Charmed Sampler from Raise the Roof. Yes, the design is cute but for me what is so special about this is how nostalgic is it for me. All these charms are so meaningful to me and I love to “see them all year” instead of having them on a bracelet I never wear in my jewelry box.

If you want to know about the charms, and learn a lot about ME quickly read on and I will list them here, otherwise, skip the next bit, and see you next month!

From top left:

Heidelberg: The city of my birth! My dad was in the army and stationed there the year I was born.

Shell: From our honeymoon in the Cayman Islands.

Beer stein: From Germany where my family lived again when I was in grade school.

Trumpet: I played the trumpet through high school and college

Crown: From a trip to London during my college study abroad

Piano: I took piano lessons from age 6 to 18. I should have kept it up better. It is an enjoyable skill as an adult those times I sit down to play.

Cat: I have had pet cats all my life. I guess my family has gone through 7 cats (only 1 or 2 at a time). I have 2 now.

Sombrero: From a trip to Mexico as a teen. My science club went to participate in a competition in Tucson, Arizona. It was on this trip that I fell in love with Arizona and why we live here now.

Turtle: From a trip to Hawaii last summer. We snorkeled and saw sea turtles!

Gondola: My family went to Venice, Italy, when I was about 11 (thanks to our time overseas with the army I was able to see a lot in Europe as a child)

Kangeroo: My husband worked in Sydney when our 1st child was a baby. I went over to visit. We also went to the South Island of New Zealand but I did not get a charm there.

Cactus: We have lived in Arizona for 15 years!

Mont St. Michel, France: I visited during my study abroad in college, then again with my parents and husband before children.

2018: The stitching was completed in 2018!

Plumaria Flower: From Hawaii where we traveled when I was pregnant with Baby #2.

Sunbonnet Girl: My Grandma who taught me to stitch made me a Sunbonnet Girl quilt which was on my bed my whole childhood. Of course I had to buy the Sunbonnet Girl charm!

Eiffel Tower: I studied abroad in Paris as a college student. Paris is my favorite city in the world. I have been back there more times than any other place in my life, except places I called home.

Violin: From Mittenwald, Germany, where violins and other wood goods are made, a trip with my family while we lived in Germany.

Cuckoo Clock: Also from that trip. Plus it is a cool charm with moving parts!

Windmill: My husband and I lived in the Netherlands for his work when we were first married.

Tower of Pisa: The family trip to Italy, and a later trip with my husband.

Statue of Liberty: Even though I was blessed to travel a lot internationally as a kid, I didn’t go to New York until I was an adult!

Bear: Symbol of Berlin. My family went the year after the wall fell. It was a very interesting time to visit that city. By that time the wall was completely gone except for a part left up as a memorial.

Lighthouse: My parents were both raised in Michigan and we spent many vacations there, including at least one trip to Mackinac Island.

Chimney Sweep: Another German charm. I always liked that this one has a cat on his ladder!

And that is a brief glossary of my charms! Thanks for reading about them!