All Hallow’s Eve, Cat-o’-Lantern, and Vanished Days

 It’s another gorgeous day here in New England and though I’d like to be out gallivanting with my camera, I’m being good and staying off my foot. 

What have I accomplished this week since I have had time on my hands? 

First up, here is “All Hallows’ Eve” by Lilas Studio on Etsy. I finished stitching it last weekend. The wooden door on which it is mounted came from the Target Dollar Spot and cost a whole five dollars! I knew when I saw it that it would be perfect for this chart. 

Second, I stitched “Cat-o’-Lantern” by Misty Purcell of Luminous Fiber Arts from the Just Cross Stitch 2020 Special Halloween Issue. I had always planned to stitch this piece, but I had not gotten around to it. This “Hello Pumpkin” crate seemed the perfect place to display it. 

I only stitched a portion of each chart. Though I would like to move on to autumn and Christmas stitching this week, there are two small Halloween pieces I am going to stitch first.

In case you are wondering, I had already hauled up my Halloween decor from the cellar before I was grounded.  Fingers crossed, I’m hoping to be out of my trusty, big black boot in time to bring up my turkeys and pilgrims! :-)

My friend Janice loaned me Vanished Days by Suzanna Kearsley. Having read and enjoyed all of her previous novels, I couldn’t wait to begin reading this even putting aside the book that I had currently been reading. Sad to say, reading this was a tough slog. I forced myself to keep at it as I knew that if I put it down for a day or two, I might not pick it up again. It was at times confusing with so many characters and it was not the most interesting book that the author has written. I didn’t see the plot twist coming, and although it was all pleasantly, albeit implausibly, ended, I’m not recommending it. Having said that, if this author is new to you, please do read The Rose Garden, which is my favorite of her novels. It’s a romantic, time-travel, historical work which I absolutely guarantee you would love; I seldom reread any novels, but I have read The Rose Garden twice!!!

Plans for the week ahead? I have a quilt featuring a flock of fun, colorful chickens to work on for my young cousin Miss T.’s birthday on Halloween. The flock won’t be done by then as I am not going to follow Lori Holt’s “Chicken Salad” pattern; instead of pieced sections around each block, I’ve decided to just make more chickens!!! :-) 

I also intend to put a bit of time into a wool applique piece. (I know what you are thinking. . . why don’t you just concentrate on one project and get it finished before starting another one. That’s a swell idea and perfectly logical, but that is not how I roll ;-).

Have a great week. Stay creative and stay safe as Covid numbers are on the rise and please don’t forget to book your mammogram. 

Two Cross Stitch FFOs and I’m Grounded

It’s a perfect day here in New England. The sky is blue, the temperature warm, and my maple tree is giving a hint of the color to come. I should be at my guild meeting this morning, and I had planned to head up north with my camera next week in search of autumn’s glory, but unfortunately, I’m grounded. :-(

I have a diabetic related foot condition called Charcot foot. I have been wearing my trusty big, black boot for the past three weeks, but on Friday my doctor said that was not enough. He wants me to stay off my foot for a month! My doctor does not pull any punches and since the consequences of not following his directives could be dire, you can bet that I’m going to be good. One of my mottos is “It is what it is; deal with it.” At least I have a lot of stitching and quilting and a stack of books to keep me busy. Let’s see how much I get accomplished in a month. :-)

Miss Emma has only had two walks in the last three weeks, but those two bootless walks were not smart on my part. Fortunately, chasing squirrels in our big backyard gives her plenty of exercise. 

I’m glad my appointment was on Friday because I got to do two fun things before being grounded. On Wednesday evening, I saw my quilting friends and on Thursday, I attended a picnic at Webb State Park in North Weymouth. (I didn’t do the walking part.) Carol, second from the right, is our ‘social director’ who 

arranges for us from time to time to get together. All these lovely women had long careers teaching in the Weymouth Public Schools. Speaking of teaching, let me show you the new Maria Weston Chapman Middle School which opened in September.  It may appear huge (you are only seeing about two thirds of it), but 1,400 sixth, seventh, and eighth graders will be in the building. Trust me, you need a really big building to contain all that energy!!! Since I retired from the old Chapman building, I would love to see the inside of the new one.

 On Friday after my appointment, my friend Emma’s Auntie Laurel” came to do some quilting. Emma was over the moon excited to see her as it has been a long time since Laurel has been able to come. Then my cousin Linda stopped in for a visit. She had been speaking at an in service program at a school on the Cape. Linda is a Speech Language Pathologist and has authored two books on Declarative Language. Emma was thrilled to see her, too!

Since Linda had stopped by, I decided to give her her Christmas present early.

Another quilt which was in the recent Herring Run Quilt Guild show is for my other cousin when next I see her.

On to the stitching . . . First up, “Candy Corn Broom,” a pattern by Needle Bling Designs. 

Second is a section from “Welcome Pumpkin” by Stitching with the Housewives.

The piece has a washer on the back and the barn a magnet, so pieces may be easily switched out. The barn backing board was from 141 Design Company on Etsy. I’m going to attach some kind of wreath to the peak of the barn. You may recall this photo of my summer version which was also a section from a Stitching with the Housewives pattern.

I have another finished piece that I will share in my next post.

Stay safe and creative and keep smiling and do take a lovely walk around the block for me. :-) :-) :-)

A Project Bag and December ‘41

Did I need to make another project bag? No, of course not, but last week after our Crosstown Quilters Guild meeting, I took a quick trip out to The Quilted Crow in Bolton with my friends Laurel and Edith. There I spotted two fat quarters of Teresa Kogut’s new Halloween fabric. Honestly, who could resist this adorable fabric?

 If you are not familiar with Teresa Kogut, she is an artist and punch needle and cross stitch designer and has a wonderful flosstube channel, Teresa Kogut’s Creative Whims. She has a new line of fabric coming out, and heaven help me, I ordered two yards of it from the Fat Quarter Shop last night. (So much for my resolution not to purchase any new fabric.) Even worse, at The Quilted Crow I also picked up some luscious wool in autumnal colors for a project. (So much for my resolution not to start any new projects; I’m absolutely incorrigible.)

Our local library has recently had a number of interesting speakers. Author William Martin talked about his new novel December ‘41. I don’t know how anyone attending that talk could have left without purchasing a copy of this thriller. First of all, he was an excellent speaker. I’m not giving anything away by saying it involves a Nazi assassin seeking to end the life of FDR. The story starts out in Hollywood which was itself very interesting and then takes off on a cross country train ride.  Though I try to avoid cliches, I have to say that this is an absolute page turner!!!!! Spy thrillers are not a genre that I seek out, but I could not recommend this one more highly. 

 I have finished a few more things but I will save those for my next post.

It’s October so before I end this, let me climb up on my soapbox to remind you to be sure to keep up to date on your mammograms. The process may be inconvenient and sometimes uncomfortable but it is nothing compared to having chemo and mastectomies. I know this first hand as a two time breast cancer survivor. Early detection saves lives. Please if you have let this slip during the pandemic, call and make an appointment today.