End of Year Wrap Up! Goodbye 2023!

We are at the end of another year. It turns and turns whether we want it to or not. I haven't done much stitching at all, but finishing up Summer Bouquet was a years long goal of mine. I have always loved that sampler and I am so happy I finished it! I'll take it in for finishing soon! I'm not that confident with pinning and framing linen, so I'll probably leave this one to someone else to do. I do hope to continue to work on stitching that I love this next year. It's just been tough lately. 

Here's a pitiful update on All Good Witches by Pineberry Lane. The lighting on these is awful, lol. Oh well. You get the jist!

I did lots of amigurumi projects this year and I was really happy with that! I need to keep using up all this yarn, so I'll be crocheting more this year too. I also started designing here and there again, but haven't officially released anything just yet. Maybe I'll get there soon.

Look at my second gorgeous embroidery from my amazing daughter in law! So beautiful! I'm in awe of her embroidery skills! I am so appreciative of her time and effort in making these things for me. Just awe inspiring.

Our Christmas was so wonderful. The kids came over in the morning and after an incredible opening of gifts in which they got us the most thoughtful and great things, we cooked a big breakfast and we all sat around and enjoyed it at our table. My father in law lives with us now and it was so nice for him to celebrate his second holiday here with us.

Thanksgiving was good. I got to see my nephews for the first time in 2 years. Dynamics change when people get divorced and that is what happened here. I sure miss seeing them, but they are busy boys now with lots to do and two households to do it in. One of them is graduating college soon and they've just grown up while the world was spinning and I have missed out on most of it! Seeing them, and being with my kiddos was the best thing about it. I could honestly do without Thanksgiving though. Not really my favorite holiday or event. Am I weirdo feeling like that? Anyone else who isn't fond of Thanksgiving please chime in, lol!

My sweet little boo boo had to have surgery this past Friday. She's doing OK, and recovering well. But this pup is 17.5 years old! She is s tough little Jack Russell and keeps on trucking. This past year has been tough on her with losing her eyesight and most of her hearing. She still loves to eat and has a good appetite. One of us usually always has to be home with her as she gets stuck in corners and her legs may splay out on the wood floor areas. Poor baby. Sweet little Jenny. She had this same surgery last year, when she was ONLY 16.5 years old, and it was a totally different game. She is just much more delicate this year.

She is officially the last pet we'll have. I just don't have it in me anymore. We've given 7 doggies, 2 kitties, quite a few fish, and two guinea pigs a good life. I'm done! 

Well, I'm tired from caretaking for a little doggie this weekend, and it's NYE, so I'm going to sign off. I hope everyone has a great New Year's Eve and new start to 2024! Take care of yourselves and one another. Be back soon!

Thanksgiving, Pineberry Lane, and a Witchy Primitive Pinkeep

I hope everyone is recovering nicely from turkey and carb overload! Nice to sit down and type for a bit after a couple days on my feet. Thanksgiving was really nice. Small gathering with my father in law and my son and daughter in law. They called in the morning to say how strange it was to wake up on Thanksgiving and not be in our home, hearing all the goings on in the morning, etc. It was equally weird for me not having them here. I miss them so much! But they are just a couple streets over and I'm very thankful for that! 

Got only a tiny bit of work done on Tansy, by Pineberry Lane. When I have another block of time, I should be able to nearly finish it. I absolutely love her designs. 

 I forgot to show some stash I acquired a month or so ago when me and my mom drove up to In Stitches on a spur of the moment one weekend.

I could have gone really overboard, but this was it. Not like I have a shortage of patterns, you know? LOL. 

Well, there's another primitive Halloween finish here! It's from Prims By Denise on Etsy. I saw it and thought maybe, just maybe I could do it. So I carefully followed the instructions and VOILA! I now have an adorable witchy pincushion of my very own!

She could maybe use a couple more pins, but I don't want to overload it. Pretty proud of this one! I'm not a stranger to a sewing machine and I love the one I have. It's an old Singer that my husband got for me at Woolworth's (believe it or not), back in about 1988-89. Knock on wood, it's a workhorse! And it's served me well for all my crafty needs this whole time.

There are so many wonderful Etsy designers out there with primitive patterns and cross stitch and all kinds of other things. Getting on my tablet in the evening before I go to sleep and just perusing....that's my habit and I don't wanna kick it. It relaxes me just dreaming about all the things and planning out what I want to do next.

Time to get Christmas planning. Another year coming to an end. The end of the year just goes so quickly! There's barely any time between Halloween and New Year's it seems. 

Take care and get lots of stitching and crafting time in between doing all that holiday shopping!

Until next time,

Wow, where did the Fall go??!

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!

I used a combination of a couple different patterns on Etsy. These are SO fun to make and though I hate weaving in ends, I've tried to make it a meditative practice, so thereby possibly enjoying it more. SPOILER ALERT: I don't.

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,

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,

Christmastide update, Stash and Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. Hard for me to believe that Christmas is next week. I've tried really hard not to stress. It's not working real well. Well, I dyed another piece of fabric because I wasn't pleased with how little the snowflakes were showing up. I changed the color to regular DMC white instead of the cream color that the pattern called for. I think it looks better.

OK, there is NO pink in the middle of the fabric above. I have no idea why phone camera photos show up like that. It's very annoying!

This is a much prettier gray color. I'm definitely continuing on with this piece.

Some stash that has come in recently from one of my facebook groups. I really gotta get a handle on this, lol. I think I bought Prairie Flowers twice recently. Wouldn't be the first time!

I just LOVE all these patterns so much. I don't think I'll live long enough to stitch them all, but whatever.

Thanksgiving was good. It was nice to have my home filled with family and friends. We all had a good time and everything turned out perfectly, if I do say so myself. My husband helps with a good deal and considers himself the sous chef. I can't argue with that.

I pulled out some of the vintage Pyrex my husband bought me last Christmas. Oh how I love that set. I look forward to collecting more as time goes on.
Have a great day and thanks for popping in. Until next time,

Pineberry Lane Christmastide progress and photo wall update

I changed over to aida. Story of my life these days. I liked the linen, but wondered how in the world I was gonna count up and over that many. Oy. Not sure I'm liking it all that much, but I'm going to continue a bit more and see how it goes.

The dye left little blots of dark color around in a few random places, but it makes it look old, so that's ok! I love the snowflakes-so pretty.

I ordered prints (I had too many to choose from) and we finally got the photo wall up. I'm pleased. I really hated that big blank wall for the past couple years. This was just what needed to be there!

The next couple of days will be spent trying to figure out what is left for me to get for Thanksgiving dinner and hopefully be able to get it! I've been reading about brining the turkey. Anyone have any advice on that matter? It seems to come out fine just the way I cook it, but apparently soaking it in brine for a day and then letting it rest for 30 mins to an hour after cooking is THE thing to do. I don't ever remember my gran doing that, or my mom for that matter.

Gimme your best turkey hints, if you got 'em!

May you all have a wonderful holiday with your families and those you love. Hang on to them. And tell them. We never know what life will bring us at any time. So if you are healthy and have those you love around you, then you definitely have things to be thankful for. I know I do.

Until next time,

New Pineberry Lane Start and Anniversary

Looks likeNovember is well underway and Thanksgiving will be here before you know it, right? UGH. Why do the holidays have to fly by?

This year, I have committed to slowing down, buying less for Christmas, and enjoying the holidays instead of stressing the holidays. Who is with me? I want to bake, leisurely drive around to look at pretty lights, do some holiday crafting, and baking, and read. I'm hosting Thanksgiving and Christmas and I just need to remove the stress of buying.

Part of that is going to be continuing to stitch and crochet! My new start is Pineberry Lane's Christmastide! I love the name, and I love the colors. I picked up a piece of Zweigart white linen in 32 count at Hobby Lobby today and brought it home and dyed it. I didn't want it quite as dark as the Rook that the designer used, but it's still in the same family, just a bit lighter. It's showing a bit more brown that it is here--it is a gray.

I saw a stitcher with another blog do one of the reindeer in red and I thought it was SO adorable. I might have to copy that idea! I just wanted something wintery and Christmasy to work on while the weather is cold and the holidays are looming. This really does the trick for me!

I'm using the DMC floss instead of The Gentle Art ones, mostly because I am impatient and didn't want to wait for them to ship! And if I could stomach the weekend traffic, I'd go the 1+ hours drive to my nearest cross stitch shop, but not on this Veteran's Day weekend. No way!

We celebrated our THIRTY THIRD wedding anniversary yesterday! I cannot believe it's been so many years. You know, I really am living the life I wished for early on in my life. We just enjoy our daily lives. Nothing super special, just relaxed pace of life most of the time and our home is filled with love. What more could a person want? We've been fortunate, for the most part, and I'm grateful to go through life with someone who takes care of us like my husband does. He also takes care of his parents and my mom and sets a great example for our son. Again, what more could a person want?

Wherever you are, from wherever you are reading this, I hope your weekend is wonderful! All the important men in my life (except my hubby!), have been veterans.

See you soon with some progress on this and maybe a finished pocket on the Oct 31 in the previous post! We'll see how adventurous I get this week and how busy work is!

Until next time,

So close! December Musings and other stuff.

I hope everyone is having a nice end of Fall and early Winter. Here, on this day, we have a LOT of snow coming down right now and it's beautiful.

  As of right now, around 5:30pm, it's really dangerous on the roads and there are many accidents on both major roads and all the back roads near us. My husband has gone out to fetch my son's girlfriend (bless him!), and bring her home safely. I wanted her to come home much earlier, but she had something to take care of and got on the road as soon as she could, but it's just too bad out. Really pretty snow to look at and watch from inside, but deathly dangerous to be out in it!

Thanksgiving was nice with friends and family around again. Menu was much like last year and everything came out great. I just cannot believe Christmas is upon us again. Love these kids right here.

I'm beginning not to enjoy it like I used to. Lots of reasons for that, and I think I need a separate blog to discuss those things.  Heck, maybe two additional blogs, lol.  Be on the lookout...........
Nearly done with The Giving Sisters. I'm getting tired of looking at it with all the snow and cold going on around me. Used the pin stitch to do the single stitching above the cauldron.  So many ways to fudge around with a stitch out there all by itself.  Easy to lose count too!

 SO CLOSE to being done! I want this off my bars before Christmas, and I want to stitch something wintry!

Also been working on some crochet stars. So relaxing and fun and it puts me a bit more of a festive mood working with all white yarn and some pretty snowflake stars. I'm going to turn them into a banner or string of them to put up somewhere for the whole winter season.

Well, I'll stop for now. Time to get dinner (pot roast) out of the oven and hope my husband and my girl make it home safe and sound. I hate not having everyone safely inside these four walls. I hope you and yours are tucked away, enjoying the evening and being festive!

Thanksgiving Memories and Crafty Stuff

We hosted our first Thanksgiving in our new home this year. I realized after everyone left that I hadn't taken one photo of any of us.  I did take a couple snaps of the food. Yikes. Like I said, it's been on of those years, and I'm off balance in so many ways.

It was wonderful having people to the house and we had such a nice time and a huge over abundance of food.  I truly am thankful for so many things, but there have been great losses as well, and I'm trying hard not to let them overshadow what I DO have and what I AM thankful for!

So, first some food.

Line up everybody!

Turkey was perfection

Home Made Mac-n-Cheese

Pineapple Fluff Salad

Sweet Potato Casserole, Mashed Potatoes, Deviled Eggs

We were all so stuffed!  That's the whole point I guess, right?   It all turned out great and we had nice conversation around the table (put both leaves in!). Just loved it. I was still full the next day.

One thing I'm always thankful for is my mother teaching me various crafts and always indulging my interest in them from the time I was just a little girl. Keeping your hands busy crafting means you you are less able to throttle people. That's probably why I always have something to do.  This is a sweet little cowl I made one night recently while trying to de-stress!

 

My mom and I went to The 29th Annual Fall Fiber Festival in Montpelier Station VA back in early October. It was fun, a bit warmer than we expected, but overall, just a lovely time. Petting lots of yarn has become a favorite pastime for us.  And the animals were a bonus! Love me a good llama.

My little Jenny has transitioned well to our new home. She brings me lots of comfort and happiness. Don't know what I'd do without her.

I leave you with one of my favorite quotes about handwork and a couple projects I'm working on.

Be good to one another and happy stitching!