A New Year Begins - 2025

 My friend Laurel sent me this adorable Happy New Year greeting. So, how’s 2025 treating you so far?

I saw this posted on the Quilting Gail blog site, and I’m also not bragging but I haven’t bought any fabric this year either!!!  I can’t say the same about wool applique and cross stitch items. If you are looking for a fun, quilty challenge, check out her site to read about the 2025 SAHRR (the 2025 Stay at Home Round Robin. ) Visit the site for full information, but basically you work on your own project following weekly prompts provided by moderators. I did it a few years ago and it was fun, but I’m not sure whether I will do it this year or not. As it is, I already have a number of  nearly finished quilts to complete. 

It’s a tad late for Christmas 2025, but yesterday I fully finished three ornaments. There was a gap between the stitched piece and the top of the sled, so I found the perfect shade of laced edge bias tape in my stash of trims to place around the edge. I may have picked up this package of bias tape on the giveaway back table at one of my guild meetings. The price marked on this vintage trim was 29cents.

The two sleds are Sue Hillis designs  and the penguins are a pattern by Kathy Habermann  of Hands on Designs. Last year I planned to stitch a new Christmas piece each month. That didn’t go so well, but this is a new year, and I’m going to try once again. :-)

I had been looking forward to booting out 2004, but I’m the one who got booted instead. I had exchanged my boot for a lace up ankle support, but unfortunately, my bootless freedom only lasted  about eight days. Thankfully, I was able to spend Christmas with my family; I always enjoy seeing my young cousins and their parents. :-) I have, however, been back in my boot since the day after Christmas. While the boot is incredibly fashion forward, it is really getting old. Hopefully, an MRI which I had on Saturday will shed more light on what is going on and suggest how much longer I will be “booted.” Why, oh, why couldn’t it have been my left foot, not my driving foot. :-(

Have a great week. 

Whale Hello There and Youtube Recommendations

Whale Hello There  . . . Yes, that’s the clever, punny name of this cross stitch piece by designer Cathy Habermann of Hands on Design. It’s from her Polar Plunge series as was the Polar Bear Peek featured in my previous post. Each piece is finished on a board from Chantelle’s 141 Design Company   On the Hands on Design site you will find finishing tutorials, and you will also find tutorials on the 141 Design Company flosstube.

A Note to Quilters: I came across a channel on Youtube yesterday morning that caught my attention. Who wouldn’t be interested as it read, “The Easiest Scrap Quilt Ever!! - the Duckworth Quilt.” It’s something I will put on my list as I hope to ramp up the amount of quilting that I do this year. In my next post,  I intend to do a summary of what I actually managed to accomplish this year in quilting, wool applique, and cross stitch. Where I really slipped was in the number of blog posts that I penned this past year as compared to

previous years. I’ll try to do better in ‘24! (That reminds me I better go predate the year on about ten checks in my checkbook . . . 2024 . . . It will take some getting used to.)

 Youtube Recommendation: As I have mentioned previously, I do watch quite a bit of Youtube, and so I thought I would add a new feature where I recommend things on Youtube worth sharing with you. First up is Garden Answer. Today’s short video featured “Potting Up Houseplants and A Fresh Flower Arrangement.” The first segment set to music shows a selection of English Roses being fashioned into a lovely arrangement which is just the ticket on these rainy, gloomy days we have been having. Her videos are always fun and interesting. I particularly like when the hostess and often her mom and sister go visiting antique shops. Give it a try; you’ll enjoy this channel.

Did you watch the Kennedy Center Honors program the other night? This is one program that I look forward to each year. You may watch previous years simply by googling The Kennedy Center Honors (plus)  a year. For example, search for Kennedy Center Honors 2006 and you may watch the program honoring: Steven Spielberg, Zubin Mehta, Smokey Robinson, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and everyone’s favorite, Dolly Parton. Another way is to search Kennedy Center Honors (plus) say, Paul McCartney, and you will see his segment.

The first Kennedy Center Honorees in 1978 were: Fred Astaire, Marian Anderson,  Richard Rodgers, Arthur Rubinstein, and George Balanchine. Youtube provides a time capsule for viewing these ceremonies honoring the best in the world of entertainment. 

Let me leave this here with the wish that 2024 is a hopeful, peaceful, blessed one for us all.

Two More Cross Stitch Ornaments

On this the eve of Christmas Eve, I thought that I would show you two more ornaments fully finished today and added to my cross stitch tree.  This sweetie is “Skate with Mrs. Claus” from Stitching with the Housewives - Round About Series. Priscilla Blain’s designs are always fun to stitch. (Priscilla and her daughter Chelsea have a shop on Etsy where you may see all of their designs, and they are, of course, available at your local needlework shop if you are lucky enough to have one.) 

Another favorite designer is Cathy Habermann of Hands on Design. This chart is part of her Polar Plunge series and is called Polar Bear Peek. I’m currently stitching another design in the series. This piece is finished on an ornament backing board from 141Design Company. Both “Hands on Design” and “Stitching with the Housewives” have very fun, entertaining flosstubes on Youtube.

At this point, I would have liked to show you a third ornament which was stitched about this same time last year. The finishing of that piece would have been a bit more challenging, so I put it away in a safe place until I had more time. Okay . . . I know . . .  you are a step ahead of me . . .  Yup, I have absolutely no idea where that safe place is with my unfinished piece. ;-(  When and if it turns up, I’ll finish it and tuck it in my ornament box.  That’s the trouble with safe places; they always seem perfectly reasonable and safe when you first tuck items away. :-)

Moving on . . .

 If you enjoy online projects, you may want to check out SAHRR 2024. You will find all the information “Announcing the SAHRR2024” at Quilting Gail. SAHRR stands for Stay at Home Round Robin. I participated last year and plan to do so again this year. This was my 2023 project which I made into a wheelchair quilt for a veteran.

You may make a project of any type or size and how you interpret the steps and what you do is all up to you . . . definitely my type of project. 

Earlier this month, I dropped off a box of items at a local thrift shop. Entering I kept repeating, don’t look, don’t buy anything, don’t bring anything home.  It didn’t work as this charming Pfalsgraff little house is now sitting on my dining room table. So, from our house to your house, Emma and I wish you all the happiest of holidays.

Sunday Smorgasbord

Grab a cold drink as this catch up post could be a long one. These photos are from one of my dinner plate size blooming hibiscus plants. I have three such plants of various shades in my large garden.

Yes, I simply love all types of hibiscus!!! They make such an impact. Here’s a regular size flower from my deck. Note the ruffled petals. I usually don’t bring in plants to overwinter them, but this one is so pretty that I may have to in this case.

 On Wednesday evening, I went with friends to see Lyle Lovett and his Large Band at Plymouth Memorial Hall. What a show!!! 

They came onstage at 8:10 and left the stage at 11:15, three solid hours, no intermission. The Large Band consists of twelve truly impressive musicians and three singers. Two members of the horn section are professors, one from Georgia Tech and the other from a University in Texas. They spend each summer vacation traveling with the Large Band. Lyle features each musician at least once or twice and tells a bit about each one, whom they have played with, and where they met. It seems that most of these musicians have played with Lyle on his tours for years and years. From June 1 to August 31, they play fifty-six shows across the country. 

If they are ever in your neck of the woods, make it a point to see them.

I stitched this piece “Beach Please” by Kathy Habermann of Hands on Design last month. I modified the size of the piece and left off the words. I mounted it on this small blackboard easel with a narrow shelf on which I placed small shells and beach glass.

Wool Applique Alert!!! If you enjoy wool applique, do check out the Pumpkin Village Mystery Stitch - A-Long. You can get information at The Woolen Needle. Each Monday from July 31 - October 29, you may download a free block pattern. Each shop will offer kits and corresponding threads for sale. I should be able to complete this project from my own healthy wool stash. Warning! Wool applique may become highly addictive . . . great fun but highly addictive!!!  

My friends Cathy, Marilyn, and I recently went to lunch to celebrate our birthdays; Cathy and I are July babies and Marilyn’s birthday is this month. We have been friends since we were little girls and no, I’m not saying how many years that has been. :-()

Finally, I thought you might get a kick out of this photo.

These turkeys had thought it would be pleasant to take a stroll in my backyard. Emma took exception to this and set off barking and charging. With a whole lot of squawking and flapping of wings, the turkeys flew up into the tree instead. :-)

Okay, that’s all for now, have a wonderful week.

But wait! There’s more!!! When I write a post, I usually let it sit for at least an hour or so in hopes that when I come back to proofread it again, I will magically spot any silly errors. (Proofreading is tough. I can read and reread something and then much later spot a misplaced modifier, a wrong verb tense, or heaven forbid a punctuation error.  Worst of all, I sometimes leave out a word. 🥴) Anyway, all the time my post has been sitting here, I could not get the word “squawk”  off my mind. What kind of word is it? Where did it come from? Now, in the one in ten million chance that you, too, might also be wondering about this word, let me show you what I found on Etymonline - Online Etymology Dictionary.

Why did it become slang in the US around 1945? Another site referenced the “squawking” of the radios in the planes flown during the second World War. There you have it. I don’t know about you, but I feel better knowing how this word came about. :-)

 Bye! (For real, this time . . . )

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!

Life Is Just . . .

 I knew that I would want to stitch this cheerful piece from the moment that I saw it. Life Is Just is a design from Cathy Habermann of Hands on Designs. Her patterns are always fun and delightful. The tiny dangling cherry charm was included with the pattern, and I copied the way she finished hers. 

Today is our fourteenth day with a temperature of 90+ degrees. Things will improve possibly as early as Wednesday. The meteorologist said that the past three weeks have been the hottest three weeks in local weather history. . . not  a record that we appreciate setting. If only we would receive some meaningful rain as my gardens are toast at this point. I’m just trying to keep my pots and hanging pots going, but when you see the photos of the raging wildfires in California and the devastating flooding in Missouri and Kentucky, you won’t hear me complain about our weather conditions.

On a happier note, yesterday afternoon I attended a terrific performance of The Music Man. My young cousin Miss T. loves being a member of The Arlington Children’s Theatre. All of the cast clearly enjoy performing. The high school student who portrayed Marian the Librarian had a beyond amazing voice. She could walk onto a Broadway stage tomorrow with her incredible voice and range. It was a wonderful way to spend the afternoon. 

I was able to meet my friend Laurel for an early lunch at Mia Ragazza on Wednesday. Though the temperature was in the nineties, we sat under an umbrella and the heat at that point wasn’t too bad.

Recommendation!!! The other day Gayle King mention that she has been enjoying The Lincoln Lawyer, a new series on Netflix, so on Friday night I decided to check it out. Well, I’m not one who usually binge watches anything, but I watched four episodes that night!!! I had to force myself from starting the fifth episode. I guarantee that you will like this legal thriller. It has been so popular that Netflix has already ordered ten episodes for next season. Try it; you won’t be disappointed!

Finally, in defense of weeds. . . here is one of the prettiest weeds in my garden. Just look at that blue color and delicate form.  I looked it up and it is a Common Dayflower weed. Surely that must just be a matter of perspective referring to it as a weed as its tiny blossoms are down right lovely. :-) 

Follow up from last post:  Checking my email, I found a message from Bookbub indicating that the out of print biography of Bella da Costa Green, An Illuminated Life by HeidiArdizzone, is now available for both Kindle and Nook for a limited time period. The price is only $2.99. How amazing is that!!! [For those who did not see my previous post, Bella da Costa Green was the remarkable women chosen by J.P.  Morgan to curate his library. The fiction piece is The Personal Librarian.] I had a feeling that with the huge success of this book, the nonfiction, out of print biography might become available.

Stay cool. Stay safe. Have a good week.