Sisters of the Broom progress!

Making progress on my late summer stitch, Sisters of the Broom. I am really enjoying it! This is my first time stitching a Quaker type design, but I like it so far! Of course, I'm always up for anything witchy or fall themed. 

I like the colors I substituted, but I'll need to find a flesh color for the sisters because the gold isn't going to cut it. Shouldn't be a problem though! 

This past week was a bit scary in the weather department. We had several tornado warnings on Thursday and a neighborhood about 1.5 miles from us was definitely hit by a tornado. They had tons of trees down and about 30 homes were heavily damaged. When the storms left it took a big bulk of the humidity which was wonderful, and I'm hoping we're all done with the 100+ degree weather.

I got the most amazing cloud photo as one of the storms were leaving one day.

There's absolutely NO filter on that pic! It was just incredibly beautiful to see.

Don't know about you guys, but as always this time of year, I am looking so forward to the cooler days and nights that are coming soon. As much as I enjoy the changing of all the seasons, I relish the Autumn time so much.

I hope everyone is well and getting lots of stitchy projects done. I'll be back soon with more to share on my current stitch!

Fall Updates and Crochet!

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!

Goings on and Summer Bouquet!

Happy July! Hope everyone is well. Been working on a few things and trying to put some stitches in Summer Bouquet too, when I can! Here she is so far. 

Those bleeding hearts are awesome. I did something I've never done before and tried Anchor spooled floss! The hearts called for DMC 221, so I took it to JoAnn's and eyeballed the closest thing I could find and it was Anchor 0045. Here's a comparison pic for you.

At least for this experiment, I thought the Anchor was more vibrant with a very nice sheen to it. It was also "stiffer" or not as soft as the DMC, which I kind of preferred. It was also not nearly as fuzzy as DMC tends to be anymore. I usually wet and straighten the floss and use Thread Magic conditioner on it to try and cut down the fuzzy halo. 

So there you go. Just my own opinion on this first try of the Anchor. I would definitely use it again and wish I had decided to that with the brown used for the alphabet in this piece. Oh well! Next time!

My sweet kid turned 27 last month. Becoming his mom changed my life so much. I cannot imagine it without him or his wife and all they've brought to my existence. I sure miss them not living here, but I'm so happy they are enjoying life on their own and we see them all the time! 

My little Jenny turned 17 last month too! WOW. She's not as strong or as able as she was as a young 15 year old Jack Russell, but she's aging gracefully and still capable of trying to take down a rabbit (if she sees it of course) and showing up on time every day for breakfast and dinner! It's been 17 years of entertainment with this one!

I've been working on creating this simple little fun pattern of a chick. SO fun and SO cute. You can get the pattern HERE. She has other super cute ones too!

It has been SO hot here. Humidity too for good measure. I have tired of VA summers. And winters. I always love the sky in summer however. I caught a pretty cloud display the other evening.

Can I just please get paid to go around and take pretty pictures? Is that too much to ask? I think not. Oh well.

I hope everyone is getting lots of stitching time in and life is treating you well. I'll be back again soon with more updates and hopefully a near or full finish of Summer Bouquet. 

Take care!

BBD Update aka Slowpoke Check-In!

Oh boy am I not getting much stitching done lately. Here is some progress though.

Work has been unpredictable, and we have had a family member in and out of the hospital quite frequently so my thoughts are elsewhere sometimes. Stitching just hasn't been in the forefront of activities the past couple months. Life is like that sometimes!

My mom and I went to pick up some things from the framer and Flag Folk was worth the wait! The other is Cricket Collection and I think it was called Do You Hear What I Hear, but I'll check on that to be sure and update if need be.

During a recent drive, my husband and I were delighted to see the goats out with their new babies! Baby goats are so cute.

The weather has been up and down but mostly just gorgeous and mild. I am loving it and trying to enjoy it as I can. Hopefully you are too! 

I need to make a goal of getting back to a weekly update. I don't know where April went! So I will be back in a week or less with another update. Have a great stitch week, and until next time,

 

Birthdays and Stitching Updates!

Happy Sunday! We had a great week and I actually got some stitching in! Last Sunday we took my son's girlfriend out to a nice lunch and just generally had a really nice time! She turned 24 and OH TO BE 24 AGAIN! I would actually really love to go back to that! I've said it before, but these kids are my life.

Went to one of my favorite places to eat in Richmond, Cooper's Hawk, and we all just really enjoyed it. Then home for some yummy chocolate hazelnut cake, courtesy of Basilica's. 

Work was light, and I did stitch, but didn't get in a chunk of time until this weekend. So here's my progress so far!

That pink. It's called Clover by Gentle Arts. It's so fun to stitch with! I love pink anyways, but pinks and yellows/tangerine colors are some of my favorite combos. 

We're getting closer to figuring out what we want to do out back. So we went to Lowe's and were looking at some plants and aren't these pretty?

I really miss my perennial garden flowers. That's probably the only thing I miss about our old place. But I'm putting in a new one, and I can't wait! 

No stash this week. Trying to reign myself in, lol. 

My second Covid vaccine went off without a hitch! Sore arm, but no biggie. I encourage everyone reading this, please go get your vaccine. It's open to all adults in just a matter of days!

I hope everyone is well and happy! See you soon and until then,

Fancey's Brooms Progress and Snow!

The time just flies by lately I swear! I hope everyone has been having a good start to their new year. I have not stitched too much the past few weeks, but I do have an update on Fancey's Brooms! I had another EPIC episode of frogging, followed by no problems! 

I need to complete the tops of the plants, and I may or may not do the top and bottom border. We'll see what this week holds. I'm happy with her, but want to move on as well.

I completed January for my project life 2021 scrapbook. I'm fleshing out Feb and will soon put the first two weeks of that in as well.

A bit of pandemic good news - 3/4 of my household now has their first dose of vaccine!!! This week my husband will receive his second dose and the week after, my son and his girlfriend. I am so thankful and relieved they will be protected as much as they possibly can be. I'm not in any of the first tier categories, so I'll have to wait my turn. But as soon as I can get it, I will. 

We have been treated to a couple of snowstorms the past two weeks! The most recent was this past weekend. There's just something about sitting inside and watching it come down. Jeff has been off from work for a while with knee surgery. He has a few more weeks to go before going back so I know it's been nice for him to just relax. He has managed to shovel his parents driveway still, which is nice.

I have some stash I've been meaning to post, but it'll wait until next time. I'm hoping to have Fancey wrapped up this week, and I'll be choosing my next start soon as well. 

Hopefully everyone had a great Valentine's Day yesterday. I had the best one ever and it was a 2.5 hour game of Bob's Burger Monopoly while snacking on some yummy fondue my son's girlfriend made for us! What a great way to end the evening. 

See you back here soon, and until then,

A week off and not much stitching!

I had the whole past week off and it was SO NICE! I walked at the park a couple times with my mom, spent time decorating for Christmas, and had a lovely Thanksgiving with the two kiddos and my hubby. 

 So relaxing and nice. Cooking still took most of the day, even though it was only us! It was worth it though, as it always is.

I did work on Fancey Blackett a tiny bit. I didn't sit at my desk too much because it's what I do all week anyways and I rather enjoyed being unshackled from it last week. At least I had some progress.

I just love the detail of one of the "O's" being different with that little Algerian eyelet. It's so cute.

A little side note on this pattern if you are going to stitch it. The upper right smoke swirl--I noticed that the printed pattern had it closer than the one on the outermost left side to the nearest other swirl. I studied the printed pattern and realized something---the stitched pattern photo had it RIGHT, and the printed pattern was off.  So if you stitch this pattern, just move that top RIGHT swirl (above the "S") over two stitches, and you'll be fine. You'll be fine even if you don't, but if you want the swirls to be evenly spaced, like they are intended to be from the photo, then just bump it over two.

 Thanksgiving night, I got the itch to start a new crochet project. I've been starting some and not finishing them, which isn't my style really, but here's a new start! It's the Journey Blanket Scarf, from Ravelry. It's a super fun stitch too.

Please forgive the little doggie hairs. Everything I stitch or crochet seems to have doggie hair in it. That's just my life, lol. And it has been my life for nearly 30 years now! 

I'll leave you with a pretty pic of a walk my mom and I took at the park yesterday. It was just beautiful. It's been so mild here in VA. I think it's going to be over 70 here tomorrow. So strange. But with this pandemic, it makes things like eating outside so much nicer. And I am enjoying getting out comfortably this late in the season.

I truly do have so much to be thankful for. But this year has really stretched me to my limits. The numbers of people infected with Covid and the deaths in this country are truly outrageous. It seems I'm always in a state of shock that the best that America can do is to be the worst in the world. It is shameful. 

Please take care of yourselves and each other out there. Do what is required to keep you and your family safe. You do not want this disease. You do not want a family member to get it either. It's devastating.

OK enough of that. Keep on stitching and crafting and do whatever makes you happy in life! Enjoy the sunshine and warmth if you have it, and appreciate the beauty of the cold and snow if that is what you are having now as well. Be back next time hopefully with that cute cauldron finished, if I have enough time to work on it!

Until then,

Autumn in flux

 Well, what a couple of weeks it has been. Not enough good going on. And not much actual stitching!

I am REALLY trying to finish my Pineberry Lane Oct. 31 into a little ditty bag to hang over a doorknob or something. But I'm having a tough time sewing the binding around the edge at the top. Here is a bit of an idea of what I'm working with currently.

The opening is too small to fit in my sewing machine, so I have to do it by hand. UGH! I don't get a lot of enjoyment out of hand sewing, but I really want this done, so I'll either sew it or glue it, lol. The Pineberry Lane instructions were for just a square pocket, but I liked the look of a curved bag, so there you are. Wish me luck on this one. 

I started joining my puff daisy flowers. I'm going to make this into a mat for my dresser top. The joining is going great, but I'm not looking forward to weaving in all those ends!

They are SO pretty! I have a bit more progress on these since I took the pic a couple days ago, but I'm being lazy and not taking another.

We took some time to go buy mums at a local nursery, and there are so many beautiful late season and in season flowers still available. I want to get my perennial garden underway by next year. We have to do a couple things in our backyard, and then we will get going on it.

 

 

That might be the only thing I miss about my previous home-my perennial gardens. But when I get this one done, I won't miss it anymore!

Vote early if you can. My son and I went to vote last Friday as soon as it opened, and we were the only ones there (we live in a pretty rural area though). Feels good to get it over and done with. 

Stay safe everyone. Be good to eachother. Take in the Autumn.Until next time,

Know Thyself Update and Stash

This has been a fun project so far. It's not my usual type of project, but it's so pretty and interesting.

It is stitching up pretty quick. Work was a bit busier this week so not much stitching time, but I did get some in.

On Saturday, I drove up to In Stitches and dropped off my Notforgotten Farm's The Giving Sisters for framing. It might take up to 8 weeks, but I'm excited to get it back. I need to get to the point of being able to pin or lace linen. I'm pretty comfortable doing aida, but not linen. I've never been disappointed with their framing though. 

 

Traffic on I95 south was horrific, so I decided to take Rt.1 and gee, wouldn't ya know, it took me right to Carlos O'Kelly's!

 

 

The only thing missing was my mom sitting across from me. When I go pick up my framing, I'll make her go!

A bit of recently acquired stash now. I'm sure I won't live long enough to stitch all the stuff I have, but I'm going to try. I really am.

I have always loved Mosey 'n Me. The passing of Frank Bialec, Judy's husband, has made me even more nostalgic for their work. A good many, if not all, their Santa's look just like Frank. What a good soul he was. So talented in many ways, and putting positive things out there into the universe. He will be missed.

Hopefully everyone is doing well. I've been feeling pretty low these days. Wish I could spring up out of this mental slump. I don't like it. So I'm just going to keep stitching away. It helps so much!

One day this past week, I saw this out my front door. I'll take it for what it's worth!

Enjoy your week! Chin up and we can make it through. Until next time,