Christmas Tree For Sale

 Last night on the news the owner of a Christmas tree farm in this area was lamenting the devastating effect the drought has had on his trees.  They showed a large field of dead saplings. He said it takes eight years to grow a Christmas tree. He also closed his ‘cut your own’ tree section because he didn’t want folks to be disappointed by the straggly nature of those trees. He is still selling fresh, healthy trees which have been brought down from Canada, but of course, as expected the prices have skyrocketed. 

But have no fear, dear reader, as I have just the tree for you!!! While running errands this morning, I spotted this beauty. This festive splendor complete with star can be yours for a mere $50. 

Isn’t it something!!!  I have to admit that I almost laughed out loud when I saw it. But, since taste is subjective, if this is your dream tree, email me and I will let you know where you may purchase it. Hurry as I don’t know how many of these gems they have in stock. It makes Charlie Brown’s tree look good. :-)

Peace out.

Autumn Ramblings

 Most of the leaves have fallen with only a spot of color remaining here and there. The leaves on the mighty oak at the end of my driveway have yet to fall; fingers crossed a final clean up will get done before the first snowstorm. Speaking of snow, I cannot imagine living in Western New York where a record storm has left six feet of snow. Unbelievable. . . 

We have had freezing temperatures but this plant and rose haven’t given up yet. Thanks to my friend Maribeth and my cousin Kristin, my garden is ready for winter. There are four large ceramic pots on my deck which I will deal with next week when we have a brief warm up. I am finally out of my trusty, big, black boot after about five weeks. There was a bit of a set back after the first three weeks which necessitated no weight bearing for two full weeks. That’s when Maribeth and Kristin stepped in to help me out. Emma spent those two weeks at her home away from home with her Auntie Annmarie and Uncle Bruce. I am so blessed to have friends to help me out. So far, things are going well, and my boot is stashed back in the closet. Yeah!!!

When Kristin came to help, I was able to give her this quilt. It’s a  pattern by Marge Tucker Quilts, “Eel Grass and Eddies.” All of the blocks were sewn before the pandemic; I finished it for our recent HRQG quilt show. 

To continue the autumn theme, here are my latest cross stitch FFOs. The first is “Let’s Talk Autumn” by Cathy Habermann of Hands on Design.

The second is “Alphabet Pumpkin,” a design by Judy Whitman of J B W Designs.

 

Well, that’s enough rambling for now. May I wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving!

It’s Been a Minute

Hi Everyone, it’s been a minute since my last post. I have a few things to show that I have accomplished. Here’s Halloween Parade by Misty Purcell of Luminous Fiber Arts. I believe this chart was in the Fall 2022 issue of Punch Needle and Primitive Stitcher. (If that is not correct, I’ll correct it in the next post.)

Teresa Kogut has a wonderful new fabric line with Riley Blake. I couldn’t resist making this small project bag.

Isn’t this fabric fun!!! Teresa is a wonderful artist and designer and I always enjoy her Youtube channel, Teresa Kogut’s Creative Whims. While I had the vinyl out, I also made this Christmas bag from fabric in my stash. Yes, a bag for the cowgirl in all of us. :-)

Work continues on my cousin Miss T’s chicken quilt. I’m using the fused applique method and have used a zigzag around each piece in the block . 

I still have to stitch legs on the chicks and will add button eyes after it is quilted. I used the templates from Bonnie Hunter’s Chicken Salad quilt; I’m using the templates but not following her pattern.

Recommendation: One morning last week on the CBS Morning program, they were talking about a new limited series “from Scratch” on Netflix. Oh my gosh! I cannot recommend this more highly. It is the story of a young American woman who falls in love with a chef from Sicily. The first episode filmed in Florence is beautifully filmed. You will be drawn into this romance which is based on a true story. The casting is simply perfect. I will warn you that as the story continues you will need a box of tissues but please don’t let that deter you; it’s simply too wonderful to miss. 

Let me leave you with a smile sent along by my friend Laurel. 

Miss Emma spent the last week at her home away from home with Auntie Annmarie and Uncle Bruce while I haven’t been allowed to put any weight on my foot. How blessed I am to have friends who will welcome her, and from all reports she happily settles right in. She came home today as I’m seeing my doctor tomorrow who I hope will ease the restrictions. Fingers crossed . . . 

I don’t know where you all live, but in Massachusetts, we are having gorgeous, warm weather. The Farmer’s Almanac predicts a hard winter; let’s hope they are wrong.