Vegging Out the Day after Christmas

I spent a lovely Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with family in Watertown. On the way home, I stopped to photograph this wonderful nativity display in front of St. Patrick’s in Watertown Square. It was bitter cold, so I only grabbed a few quick shots. (Interesting note. . . my dad’s paternal grandparents were married at St. Patrick’s on December 25, 1870. From what I have read, it was not unusual to be married on Christmas Day as people in those days would work six days a week. My great-grandparents would have been married in the old church as this church was dedicated in 1906.)

 Cluck! Cluck! Miss T received her chicken quilt on Christmas Eve. Cluck! Cluck!

 Miss T is on the left and Miss L on the right. If you have been following my blog for a number of years, these are the two young cousins who when there was an in-service day/early dismissal at their grammar school would come with their mom for “Ladies Lunch.” After lunch at a restaurant, we would come back to my house usually to do a craft project, go to the playground, or to play games. We did it from the time Miss L was in first grade and  Miss T was in nursery school. What happy, happy memories! 

Note about the quilt: I used templates designed by Lori Holt to create this flock. The fabric was also from a line designed by her for Riley Blake. It was designed for use in her Happiness Quilt which I had purchased a few years ago but which I didn’t make. With the pandemic, I hadn’t felt inclined to make a “happiness” quilt, but I was “happy” to have that fabric to make these chickens. :-) If you are a quilter or a cross stitcher, you should definitely follow her blog, Bee in My Bonnet and view her shows on Youtube. 

Santa brought Emma this pretty jacket for Christmas. Actually, he dropped it off a few days earlier as we have been having some bitter cold weather. B’rrrrrrrr. This new jacket will keep her toasty warm. 

It doesn’t seem possible that my little bundle of fun and energy will turn eleven at the end of this month. How can that be? For that matter, how can all of my seven young cousins suddenly be so grown up??? They now range in age from ten to seventeen. Yikes!

Well, I had planned to work on a few things today, but this post was my sole accomplishment. Maybe I will do better tomorrow . . . :-)

Stay safe.

Cluck! Cluck! Let’s Talk Chickens!!!

 I’m sure that in my previous post when I mentioned that this post would be about chickens you suspected that I now have a chicken coop on my castle estate. You would have been wrong although I do think having a few laying hens would be cool.

No, I am simply working on a quilt for my soon to be fourteen year old cousin, the actress in the family. The last quilt that I made her I think was when she was five. That was a Halloween themed quilt as that is also her birthday. I thought it was time for a new quilt as I had made quilts for four other older cousins when they became teens. So, I asked her what she would like. I was envisioning a modern, colorful batik quilt or perhaps a teen friendly black and white quilt. Nope, she said she would like a chicken quilt. I checked with her a couple of times, and she confirmed that was what she wanted.  (With teens you never can tell if they are serious, but in any event, she is getting a whole flock of colorful chickens! )

I had a chicken pattern in my stash but decided instead to go with one based on Lori Holt’s recent Chicken Salad design. She doesn’t sell patterns, but instead on her blog, Bee in My Bonnet she shows you step-by-step how to make the quilt. The wonderful thing about Lori Holt is that the directions for each of her quilts remain on her blog, so say you bought the templates for one of her quilts, you could always find the directions for it in later years.

I purchased the Chicken Salad templates but not the fabric kit. Before the pandemic, I had purchased her Happiness quilt kit. Then in March of 2020 as you know things began going down hill fast, and I wasn’t motivated or in the right mindset to make a Happiness quilt. So, I decided to use that Lori Holt for Riley Blake Design fabric kit for this quilt. I also added a few pieces from my stash; the tiny red and white print used throughout, a couple of neutral backgrounds, and honestly, who wouldn’t want a navy blue polka dot chicken! Polka dots make me smile.

I had used Lori’s step-by-step interfacing method for her Let’s Bake Quilt, but this time decided to simply do raw edge applique. Here is my Let’s Bake quilt from 2018. It was great fun to make! You may click on it for a more detailed look. The small blocks around the edges are cross stitch on gingham. :-)

This time I decided to make Lori’s design boards. If you go to Youtube and search for Lori Holt Design Boards, you will find her tutorial for making them. You may make them any size. Since I already had a sheet of foam core, I was able to divide it to make six twelve inch square blocks. It’s an easy process. She used a hot glue gun on hers as did I for my first four boards,  but then my finger tips began loudly complaining as you need to fold the fabric over the edges. I found that Aleene’s Tacky Glue worked just as well for the last two.
  

Here I have my pieces of fabric and the traced template on Wonder Under and am heading to the ironing board. In this way, I was able to prepare a stack of separate blocks. Then I was able to cut out each shape and lay out the design for the next step. 

If you make any kind of pieced blocks, these boards are invaluable. You may purchases Lori Holt design boards, but they a bit expensive if you want to have more than one or two. Following her tutorial, they are super simple to make. (My fingertips wanted me to remind you to use the tacky glue.)

Lori Holt is a quilting and cross stitch goddess and so giving with all her tips, designs, and tutorials. Be sure to check out her blog, Bee in My Bonnet and her quilting and cross stitch episodes on Youtube.

Now, after posting this I’m going back to continue stitching the chickens’ beaks, legs and feet. I’m using a tiny zigzag stitch, and it takes a l-o-n-g time. Lori had suggested that you work on one color at a time for all twelve blocks so you would not be constantly changing thread colors. That’s why I am up to my eyeballs in yellow!!!

Cluck! Cluck! That’s all for now. Cluck! Cluck! Have a great weekend.

A Few Cross Stitch Project Bags

 I have been on a project bag making kick this past week. Here’s one made from Lori Holt’s colorful fabric. I have made quite a few vinyl front project bags using the instructions from  MyModa Fabric. If interested, go to the site and search for “vinyl pouch.” Those instructions talk about sewing a variety of 2.5 squares together, but I choose to use solid fat quarters. In case you are wondering, the heavy weight vinyl that I use is purchased from Joanne’s, and it is the one with the green print paper backing. 

Project bags are easy to make requiring only fabric, a zipper, and the vinyl. “Why do you have so many?”non-cross stitchers might ask; lovers of cross stitching and flosstube will just smile as they know you may never have too many project bags. Project bags are addictive to make, and besides, they are fun. 

I have only purchased one project bag, a bee themed one. That was when I first started watching an episode of Stitch Roadies on Youtube a few years ago, and I ordered one like Anna had. She is a world class enabler!!! :-)   I always watched her  Quilt Roadies on Youtube, and then in addition I started watching her Stitch Roadies flosstube as well. Back on March 26, 2020, I posted that while I enjoyed seeing her projects, I was 99.999999 percent sure that I would not take up cross stitching. Well, you all know how that has turned out. It has been a slippery slope ever since. ;-)

When I purchased the kit for Brenda Gervais’ Coming to America, I also purchased a panel from which I created this bag. It’s part of my Field of Dreams, “If I prep it, I will stitch it plan.” I now have the floss, fabric, and pattern in this new project bag. Hopefully, I will start it soon, so I might have it finished by November.

Binoculars were not invented until the early 1800s and not in popular use until the 1880s. Does this anachronistic detail bother me? Not in the slightest, this charm makes a cute zipper pull. :-)

The third bag has a farm theme as barns and farm animals are always super popular cross stitch charts.

Here is the back without vinyl so you may see the fabric better.

The final bag uses Mary Poppins fabric. Honestly, who doesn’t like Mary Poppins, and yes, I do have a Mary Poppins chart to stitch purchased from The Little Stitcher shop on Etsy. 

For some reason the front zipper side appears yellowish, but both background prints are white.

I made the macrame zipper pulls after watching Lori Holt’s daughter Cassidy show how to make them on Lori’s “Crochet Flowers and Zipper Pulls” flosstube episode on Youtube. I had the chunky yarn left over from an earlier Lori Holt project, the Let’s Bake quilt which I finished in 2018.

Will this be the end of my project bag making? Probably not . . . I have ideas for a few more, but I have too many other things to work on in March.

Have a great week. Feel free to skip what is under the break lines. Oh, one more thing . . . we had a record high temperature of 69 degrees on Wednesday and then those pesky raw apprentices in the weather clerk’s office brought us seven inches of snow on Friday. Life in New England :-) It’s melting today and spring is right around the corner.

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The whole world is watching in horror as Putin’s forces are invading Ukraine. How could this possibly be happening in the year 2022? Prayers for the valiant citizens of Ukraine fighting to maintain their independence and attempting to force out Russian troops. Putin’s actions have been universally condemned.

Covid numbers have finally begun to take a turn for the better, and mask mandates and covid restrictions have eased. The statistics, however, are staggering. 

Covid Deaths

World - 6 million. . .      United States - Closing in on one million. . . Massachusetts - 23,370

Health experts agree that the true death toll is far higher worldwide then has been reported.

Please be cautious and stay safe.

FFOs Patriotic Cross Stitch Pieces

I’ve been stitching patriotic pieces since May, and I haven’t even made a dent in my collection of patriotic patterns. ;-). Two of the small pillows are part of Lori Holt’s “Stitchy Stars” pattern. The pattern calls for stitching seven of the designs into a long narrow piece. I chose to only stitch two so far and put them on my tiered tray. Maybe I will add a few more next year. “Old Glory” was a freebie pattern from Pinker ‘n Punkin. “Land of the Free” is a pattern by Priscilla Blain of the Stitching Housewives on Etsy. Their patterns are positively irresistible! 

“Land of the Free” was stitched on 14 count blackboard aida. I used sparkly etoile floss for the fireworks which do not sparkle here, but they do in person.

“Liberty and Love” from Primrose Cottages was added to my trench bowl. Behind it on the right is a teenie quilt which should be draped over a mini wooden quilt rack. I had tucked the rack away in a “safe place” to make room for my trench bowl, and you guessed it . . . I had been looking for it for a week. It hadn’t been tucked away after all; I spotted it this morning in plain sight on the bottom shelf of my bookcase! Good Grief!

 I have another stitched piece that I haven’t framed yet, but it. will be done by my next post.

Handy Dandy Hummingbird Feeder Ant Trap . . .  Though my hummingbird feeder has a good size ant cup, I was still getting ants. So, I checked online to find a solution and came across many different ant traps. From all those ideas, I put together this simple gizmo which cost absolutely nothing but works great! I think the photo makes it clear, but if not, here is what I did.  Start with a plastic tonic, pop, or soda bottle. :-) Use an awl and poke a hole in the cap. Use an exact-o knife to cut a three to four inch section on the cap end. Once you have made the initial cut you may use scissors to cut the soft plastic. Cut a piece of wire about eight inches from a wire coat hanger. Thread the wire through the cap and bend one end into a small hook and the other end into a larger hook. Before screwing on the cap, fill the cap with E6000 glue. (E6000 glue is my go-to fix-it helper.) Let the glue dry/cure over night and then just fill it with water. . . no more ants.

Following by email . . . If you read other blogs, I am sure that you know that Feedburner is going away this month. Feedburner is the ‘service’ that sends some of you an email when I have a new post. I’ve been looking into Follow.it and Bloglovin, but frankly I do not know which one to chose. So, I am going to suggest that if you enjoy my ramblings, please just bookmark my blog and check in once or twice a week too see if I have put up any new posts. (I am seeing ads on some of the blogs I read, and these blogs never had ads before.)

Okay, that’s it. Stay safe and stay cool.

Catching Up and Some Small Cross Stitch and Wool Applique Finishes

Hi Everyone! Happy tulip time! I have been having computer issues which I hope to have resolved soon. Today I am going to show some recently completed small cross stitch and wool applique pieces.  

Quilters have nothing on cross stitchers when it comes to being enablers. :-) I kept seeing over and over adorable Easter-themed cross stitch pieces on floss tube. Many of those pieces were from Brenda Gervais's book, Jelly Bean Jubilee.  It didn't take long before I was ordering my own copy.

I was able to get one pillow completed for Easter and will start earlier next year to stitch up a few more of the seven charts in this book.

The next piece, "When I Think of April,"  is a chart by Paola Pizzi of Puntini Puntini, and it is available on Etsy. The chart called for stitching a rabbit, some carrots, and three Easter eggs along the bottom, but it was mainly the flower filled watering can which appealed to me.

 For Wool Appliques Wednesday last week, I worked on "Be Strong and Bloom" from the book, Bowl Me Over - A Bounty of Tiny Pillows to Enjoy Every Day by Debbie Busby. When I make most of my pillows, I follow Lori Holt's process. You may find her instructions on her Youtube channel.  I cover the slit in the back with a piece of wool and add a charm, a button or two, and a year charm.

Last week, I made a momentary slip and forgot to check before opening the porch door for Emma. Oh! No! There was a turkey strutting around the backyard. A wild flapping of wings and a barking schnauzer caused quite a commotion. The turkey did not appear to be perturbed by the unwelcoming welcoming committee. Turkeys may not be able to fly far, but they sure can fly high!!!

I do not mind one visiting turkey just as long as we don't have a huge flock as we did last year prowling the neighborhood.

Well, my computer has only crashed about ten times while I have been trying to write this, so I'm going to quit here and get it posted. Have a wonderful weekend. Happy Spring! Happy Mother's Day! Happy Stitching!

Llama, Llamas, Llamas

I hope you had a lovely Easter if you were able to celebrate with your family. This sweet little lop eared bunny and plant were a gift from my godchild and her family and her pets. :-)

 My sewing machine was pleasantly surprised to have gotten a workout lately. I wanted to make an oversized project bag to accommodate my large 11x17 Q Snap frame.  

 

 

I also made a matching grime guard and a bitty board. What is a bitty board you ask? Well, it is a tiny version of a design board. Still confused? Wondering how they are used? Then head on over to Lori Holt's Youtube episode where she explains how to use them and how to make them. Quilters please take note: the designs boards are geared to you, so definitely check them out.

 

 

 

I enjoy making project bags and finding fittings to make cute zipper pulls.  This little llama charm was perfect for this project bag.

Let me share this poem from Ogden Nash. . . 

The Llama

 

The one -l lama, 

He's a priest;

The two-l llama,

He's a beast.

And I will bet 

A silk pajama

There isn't any

Three-l lllama.

 

I remember pointing out to my English teacher back in high school that we do indeed have 3-alarmers when we have serious fires. (Note to those not from this neck of the words. We sometimes drop our "Rs" when we speak; we also sometimes put them in when they should not be there. :-)

A llama tip . . . Kimberly Jolly of The Fat Quarter Shop in a recent floss tube talked about taking her children who were on spring vacation to a ranch with all kinds of animals including llamas. While feeding the llamas, the guide warned Kimberly and her children that whenever a llama puts his/her ears straight back, get out of there quickly as the llama is about to put his/her head back and spit!!! That's your tip for the day; file it away in your memory bank. :-)

Readers have asked what weight vinyl I use in my bags. I use vinyl with the green printing sheets from Joanns. Their vinyl comes in various weights, but I find this the best weight for my bags.

Here's Emma after her Thursday trip to the groomer. 

St. Colettas School is just down the road from the groomer’s shop, so I stopped in there to see their new shops and to learn when they would again be accepting clothing items and other items for their thrift shop. The new shops are boutique-like, and I found two items. This small gold frame will be perfect for a cross stitch piece.

I also picked up this tiny Campbell Kids item which I will use for a sewing kit. I couldn't help thinking of my mom who said when she was little, folks would say she looked like the Campbell Soup girl.

Oh, one more thing, WHOOPIE, I received my second vaccine shot this morning!!!!!!!

Have a wonderful week. Stay safe and stay creative.

Decking the Halls

 Hi Everyone! Here are the two small cross stitch pillows which I mentioned in my last post. I followed a tutorial by Lori Holt on Youtube on how to make cross stitch pieces into small pillows.

Can you see the pair of dear little deer at the base of the lamp? I came across them while going through things in my cellar. I can remember them from when I was little, and I thought I would put them out for awhile. :-)

 The charts for these pieces were found in this magazine.

As you can see by the spelling of "favourites," this is a British magazine that I picked up at Joann's. You will also be able to see on the left side of the cover page that these little pieces were designed to be part of an advent piece; I decided to just stitch a few of these as pillows for my red two-tiered tray. I hope to get a few more stitched before Christmas, and if not this year, next year.

I spent the day inside decking my halls. The front yard has been done since the weekend after Thanksgiving. This sled belonged to my dad's family, and it would be about a hundred years old or so. It spent years in the corner of the cellar, but for the last fifteen years or so, I have added it to my outside decorations.

 This tree was made by my neighbor; his has white lights while I chose colored lights.These photos were taken just as the lights were coming on. You may notice that the postman had left a package on my front steps. Yeah!!! I'll show you what was inside of it in my next post. It made me smile. :-) 

I had bought a wreath from my favorite cub scout, and it came with a simple red bow.  I have always loved decorating wreaths, and here is the result this year. On a shelf in my garage I have two bags full of bows, pine cones, and assorted baubles. Some of the painted pine cones on this wreath have been around for years. 

I coordinate the decorations with those that I put on the sled.

This small village is on a table in my sunporch. Three of the houses were purchased at a thrift store after Christmas for a ridiculously low price. I have absolutely no plans or desire to add to it, but I think it looks cute here. 

 Now,  do I have a recommendation for you!!!!! Last night I watched on Netflix, The Christmas Chronicle  with Kurt Russell in the role of Santa Claus. I had heard about this movie last year, but I didn't bother watching it as I thought it was more geared to children. Boy, was I wrong. It is geared to anyone from nine to ninety-nine. (It might not be good for really little ones.) It was FUN!!! I highly recommend it to all, and I am looking forward to watching The Christmas Chronicle 2 with Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn. If you want to smile and increase your Christmas spirit, definitely check out The Christmas Chronicles.

Final thing . . . if you are a cross stitcher, designer Brenda Gervais has a free Christmas chart, "Merry and Minty," on her Facebook page. (I am not on Facebook, but anyone can access the chart here.)  The first part was posted Monday and part two was posted today. Yes, I have started it though I already have a stack of projects calling my name; I suffer from  FOMO ( fear of missing out.) :-)  :-)  :-)

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 Devastating statistics for December 9, 2020

From tonight's CNN headlines: 

The United States reported a record-high number of new Covid-19 deaths on Wednesday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University (JHU).

So far on Wednesday, 2,939 new Covid-19 deaths were reported, according to the university. The US is currently averaging 2,230 new deaths per day, according to the data.

The US has reported 289,188 total coronavirus-related deaths since the start of the pandemic, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Stay safe everyone.