Hello, is anybody out there? If so, I know it's been a looooong while. Tonight is Halloween and it's kind of my first "new year" if that makes sense.
I'll update again this weekend with some pics, etc. But tonight is Halloween and I hope everyone (if anyone is reading), has a wonderful holiday and a safe one. Watch a spooky movie, have some tea, enjoy a treat for yourself.
Have a great night and I hope to be back this weekend!
Whew. Finallly finished her and can move on to other things! It turned out beautifully and I'm so happy I perservered and made myself finish all the fiddly backstitching! Cedar Hill Summer Bouquet on 28 ct PTP linen in Ale.
Just seemed to have been a lot going on this year. Keeping up with doc appointments, work, doing some crocheting and taking care of my pupper--some time just got away from me. But it's done now and that's all that matters!
Now look at this amazingly gorgeous embroidery!! My beautiful daughter in law made me this and I was so surprised! She has been embroidering for the past year or so and I can't believe her progress. She is really talented and excels at pretty much everything she sets out to do! I can't wait to find the perfect spot for it in my bedroom where it will stay out all year long!
I'm going to set about doing some designing and working on All Good Witches this weekend I think. Unless I come up with something else I'd like to do, like sew up a primitive winter doll or something. I want to do more craft sewing this coming year. And I'd like to learn embroidery too!
Take care everyone and have a wonderful upcoming Thanksgiving! I truly hope everyone reading this blog has a great time and is surrounded by those you love and cherish. I'll check back in after that with new stitchy progress!
Summer is gone. Halloween is over and I guess it's Merry Christmas time! I have not stitched on Summer Bouquet in a while. No update there. Haven't stitched on Good Witches either. Something is always taking away from the attention I want to put towards things lately. So I have been focusing on quick crochet/amigurumi project for a bit to take my mind off some things.
I'm telling you-I LOVE these little ghosts! They are so squishy and cute. One of them made their way to my daughter in law, because OF COURSE! I love giving her stuff and she loves it too!
And I've made quite a few of these little mushrooms too. I won't bore you with all of them, but I flew through these and made a set for my friend's daughter. They should have arrived today in fact. If anyone wanted to see them, you can peek at my Ravelry Page HERE.
How does a person with no kids at home and a (basically) part time job NOT have time for things? Well, I have an almost 17.5 year old doggie who I love and she requires a super strict schedule, lol. That's one thing. The other thing is that my mental capacity just cannot deal right now. My husband had an emergency surgery and needed to be off work for a month, etc. Don't get me wrong-I WANT to stitch. But something always comes up. I hope it won't be that way for long. I need to get over it and start doing it. Story of my life sometimes!
And, shhhhhhh!, I started designing again. I have several designs I'd like to get out, but I need to update my Etsy shoppe and get some things in order before I do that. But I am filled with ideas, which is super weird to me right now. But I made myself a strict goal and I stuck to it and voila! Imagine what I could do it my brain was at 100%!! LOL.
So many projects I want to do and create!
Need to get back on the walking and WW wagon again. I have goals there too. My mom and I went on a walk at the park recently and the weather was absolutely glorious!
We literally went from 88 degrees to 47 degrees in ONE DAY yesterday. The day before Halloween, it was so warm and beautiful. Yesterday was super chilly and felt like a different world!
I hope anyone that comes across this blog is doing well and taking care of themselves. As the wheel of the year turns to chillier weather, it's time for reflection and introspection. I plan on trying out some new warm and cozy recipes, tackling some interior DIY projects, along with some more designing and stitching. I need to come up with a schedule for myself so I can utilize my time better and be more productive.
My plans do not include waiting so long to update again, and maybe this will be the kick I need to get some stitching in this weekend!
Take care and I will see you soon with more updates!
I hope everyone out there had a fun and wonderful Samhain/Halloween! We were pretty low key here, with just sitting on the front porch handing out candy. Had a bit of rain, but it cleared up and it was a nice night overall.
We did some of our regular holiday ritual things, like going to King's Dominion a few times. We decided there really isn't anything about Halloween we don't love and that Christmas could learn a lot from Halloween.
I wanted to stop stitching on the patriotic BBD I had going. I'm not feeling very patriotic lately, and since Autumn began, I wasn't feeling it anyways. I wanted to start something with Autumn colors, but not necessarily Halloween, because I knew I would be stitching it after Halloween since I am so slow. So I began Pineberry Lane's Tansy Yarrow Rue. Perfect.
One of our very favorite places to eat has closed permanently. Joe's Crab Shack. I was going to meet my mom there last week for lunch. We'd just been recently too! Pulled up and got this in return. No name, empty parking lot, dark restaurant. BOO. I'm very sad about this. We spent so many great times in here with family. Lots of good memories.
As I said, we went to King's Dominion and had a lot of fun. They do such a great job on atmosphere and decorating. Magnificent!
I went out on a limb and tried primitive doll making!!!! This is something I have been wanting to do for a couple years now. And in fact, I bought this pattern online at Etsy two years ago and had all the supplies waiting for me in a bag on the back of a doorknob and I said "enough is enough"! So I got to work and had her done in a weekend! It probably could have been finished in one day, and I'm sure the next one will. You can find her pattern HERE. I cannot recommend this shop enough. Directions are clear and easy! I never thought I could do this!
I got a little glue gun happy so I made her a cowl. LOL. I think she's precious! I am hooked. So yet another craft under my belt and something else to take up my time and money. Makes me so very happy though and it's so fun to learn something new.
These mugs. I bought them at Marshall's and they kept me going this Halloween season. I fell in love with them! Super cute, and I'll be using them ALL YEAR. Adorable, am I right?
Now it's time to prep for Thanksgiving and Christmas I guess. The past couple of years have been a bit surreal. It seems time has gone so slow in one respect, but I look around and wonder where it all went. Story of my life!
I really hope everyone out there is doing well and taking care of yourselves. Please VOTE on Tuesday upcoming. I vote every election and take it deadly seriously. Just do it.
Keep stitching and doing what you love to do. Until next time,
Neglected the old blog for a few months and the time just flew! I really want to do an update now, so I can at least stay on track a bit and catch up. Whew, this fall has been a whirlwind. I don't have any stitching to show. I did a lot of beading earlier this fall, and have been crocheting some amigurumi plants and just working.
My son and his lovely girl are getting married this coming up weekend, 12/11 !!! I'm so happy for them! I couldn't have picked a more wonderful woman if I picked her myself! I will fill in more after the wedding, but it's coming up quick and we have little details to worry over.
A recent finish, (TODAY!), is my little Poinsettia. OMG, I cannot even with this face!
Thanksgiving was nice, with being able to see my nephews. Since their parents divorced, seeing them can be quite tricky. Half the time they are with the other parent, so holidays with them are very sparse anymore. But they are getting older and busier too, and that makes it hard as well. It was good this year.
Halloween was pretty low key.
The actual day of Halloween, we went bridal dress shopping and had a nice lunch out with all the gals involved! Very fun, and I am thankful every day to be included in all these goings on, and thankful I am here to see it all.
We've all been vaccinated and boosted and there's nothing more we can do. The wedding is small, only about 23 people and all but a couple of the children are vaccinated. My mother in law is dealing with cancer and chemo so we have to all be as safe as we can and try to protect our vulnerable people. Wish everyone felt the same.
I have too much cross stitch I want to do, and not enough time for the remainder of the year I don't think! I may forgo Project Life next year to concentrate more on stitching, but I'll see. I have enjoyed doing it again. Work has been insane the past month or two and I'm feeling burned out on so many things. This is going to be a busy week leading up to Saturday and I want it all to go off without a hitch for them.
Take care everyone! I hope to update before the end of the year with a couple wedding pics and more crafty updates, but I cannot promise a dang thing.
Until then,
Time for another slowpoke stitch update! I hope everyone has been enjoying summer. It's been hot and humid in Virginia, as always. August has brought a bit of relief and while still warm and sunny, you can nevertheless feel a change in the wind.
The stitching world had a great loss last week. Barb Adams, one half of the Blackbird Designs team, passed away at the age of 69. Far too early in my book. Apparently she'd recently been dealing with esophageal cancer. I'm so sorry for her passing. I never had the pleasure to meet Barb, but was a fan of Blackbird Designs ever since they made an appearance in the stitching and quilting world. One of my most favorite BBD pieces is With My Needle. I finished this WAY back in 2009, and enjoyed every single stitch. This design was one of the first Loose Feathers designs, and I adore it.
I have collected and amassed a good deal of their designs over the past 23 years. I sold off Summer Offerings, a blackbird surrounded by an oval berry border, some time ago, and I've always been sorry about that. Been looking for it ever since! Aside from her friends and family, the cross stitching world as a whole will miss this talented lady. I will, for sure.
Worked on Shoo! a bit this week, and Fancey is taking shape!
This has been a fun stitch too. I have to get some feet and beaks on those little crows in the sunflower plant though!
Now for some stash I bought last month while on vacation.
I scooped up some fabric too, soft aida as well as linen. Don't have any projects in mind for them, but they'll be there when I need them, right??!!
BIG pandemic news: We went to the movies for the first time in nearly 2 years!! We saw F9 Fast and Furious. It was super entertaining and we loved it. What a great thing to get back to. We sure did miss it!
I hope everyone is well and life is returning a bit more to normal wherever you may be. Get your vaccine and get back out there! It's great!
Until next time,
I'm calling this one done! I left off the top and bottom borders. When working on linen, they have a tendency not to line up crisply after framing. I attempted the top border early on, but I hated stitching it. So there. LOL. Just to recap, I also replaced the pinwheels with various quaker motifs, which I really enjoyed doing.
Can't tell you how happy I am that she is done! I enjoyed her, but as usual, ready to move on to a new one. Being a monogamous stitcher is boring sometimes. I seem to move so slow at times, but as with everyone, it depends on what is going on in life (and my motivation).
Keeping up with Project Life, I finished the first spread for Feb. Fancey even made an appearance!
The weekend has been sunny but cold. This week will be a little warmer. I want to put in a perennial bed this year, so I need to start sketching that out and deciding what I want to see out back. We thought we'd have a patio put in off of our deck but that hasn't happened yet, and I don't want to wait any more for flowers. I think I need moonflowers this year too.....
My little Jenny has to have surgery in a couple days (on Tuesday). She needs to have some lipomas removed from her side. This will be the third go-round for this type of thing. They just keep coming back. But we can't let it go, so surgery it is. She looks pitiful here, but she is still very spunky and ornery for being 14.5 yrs old. That's a Jack Russell for you!
I love this dog. She loves us all, but she's kind of a Momma's Girl. A real Princess and the Pea if you know what I mean.
Hopefully every one of you is warm and has power. We have been very fortunate to have all our services without interruption. As much as I always enjoy seeing snow, I also long for warmer days, extended daylight and the possibilities that spring and summer bring.
Stay warm and see you soon with an update as soon as I figure out what I want to stitch next! Until then,
I've changed up the pinwheels on Fancey Blackett's Brooms to quaker symbols! I thought it would look pretty and I'm loving the results! What do you think?
I don't know if I'll fill in those two left side symbols with anything. Still trying to decide! Fun design to work on.
My mom and I traveled to In Stitches yesterday to pick up my Giving Sisters by Notforgotten Farm. They do a spectacular job on everything. I have never been disappointed with their framing. They are meticulous! Framing is so very expensive, so when you get something back you want it perfect!
Please forgive the glare. It's impossible to get a photo without it! Just look at how perfectly straight those borders are! I'm not confident enough to pin linen, or lace it, even though I want to learn. But WOW, was I super happy with those borders, lol. Such a beautiful job, and a beautiful design!
I hope to work my way down to Fancey's cauldron this week, if work allows. It's been brutal! But I always have my stitching on my desk and my Ott lamp is always on, in case I finish up and have a few minutes to put some stitches in. It truly does help my outlook on things.
We celebrated our 34th wedding anniversary on the 8th! As my mom likes to say, "that's nothing to sneeze at!". We went to our favorite restaurant for dinner that we go to once a year, and had an really nice time. The weather was just gorgeous!
Time to plan out Thanksgiving dinner for just us and the kiddos. Sadly things will be different this year, but no way I'm taking chances with our parents. I just cannot. But, some turkey and cookies will probably be headed their way when it's all done!
Stay well and safe, and I'll be back soon with a Fancey update! Until then,
