Another Blooming Roots Finish - Poinsettia Place

 I finally finished “Poinsettia Place,” the December stitch for the monthly Blooming Roots series by Priscilla Blain of Stitching with the Housewives. I love how it turned out, but boy, it took a long time to stitch. I had stitched on it steadily since November. Though I have received the January chart and floss, I have decided to wait to stitch that one; I’ll just enjoy this one for another month. 

Meanwhile I have been stitching some Christmas pieces and may continue to do so well into January. :-)

While writing this post, I had one eye on The Kennedy Centers Honors on CBS, and I thought that I would mention that you can watch all the previous Kennedy Center Honors shows on Youtube. 

This may be my last post before Christmas so may I wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas! 

Bittersweet Boulevard

 This morning I finished fully finishing November’s “Bittersweet Boulevard” by designer Priscilla Blain of Stitching with the Housewives on Etsy. While I really do enjoy stitching this series, it takes me a long time to stitch the two parts. I had started stitching it in the middle of October, and it took me probably three weeks to stitch!!! As soon as I received the December chart, I began stitching it, and at least I have the street sign section stitched. The house and sign for December are done in shades of pink, and it will be very pretty once it is done. I’m also trying to get a few Christmas cross stitch ornaments done as well.

At yesterday’s Crosstown Quilters Guild meeting, I turned in four Christmas stockings. Guild members make stockings which are donated to DCF (Department of Children and Families.) Unfortunately, I forgot to take a photo of them. I also finished the top of a quilt from designer Ricky Tims. The pattern is “Gaelic Blessings” a double Irish chain with variations with a Celtic cross in the center. [Update: I put “Gaelic Blessing” into the ‘Search This Blog’ feature, and it showed that in a March 4, 2017 post I showed a photo of all the fabric all cut and carefully labeled to work on at a guild retreat. Seven years . . . that’s not too bad. ;-) ].

I have been on a kick to complete projects. Imagine my surprise to find all the completed blocks just waiting patiently in its project box. The pattern was from 2016, and I believe I started it as soon as it came out. I remember having been super excited to start it, but somewhere along the line I drifted away from working on it. I am happy to say that the top is now done, and I have an idea which I think will be pretty cool for the back. I just need to spend some quality time at my sewing machine working on that. :-)

At yesterday’s meeting, I picked up a baby quilt from one of our members, Maureen Anderson, who longarmed it for me. I love how it turned out, and I will post a photo as soon as I have finished the binding.

As you can see, I have been trying to stay very busy since last week’s election. It’s been difficult to even fake a positive outlook. For my sanity, I have stopped watching news programs on CNN & MSNBC which I had previously watched far too much. I thought I might continue watching “The Last Word” with Lawrence O’Donnell, but last night I decided to give that up as well.  I will continue to read Heather Cox Richardson’s , “Letters from an American” each day. There is a link to her column under “Blogs That I Enjoy” in the column on the right side of my blog. (Note: If you get an email notification when I write a new post, you are probably not seeing my whole page. Click on my blog title, and that will take you to my full page.)

I will not comment on the election; we have all seen and read enough about that from both sides, but I will say to those who reelected our forty-fifth President . . . Be careful what you wished for . . . 

Candy Corn and This & That

 

Early Happy Halloween!!! I finished this Candy Corn cross stitch piece last week. The display piece is from Paisleys and Polka Dots. It had been purchased, painted, and assembled last year, but I had not stitched the candy corn piece until last week. The Candy Corn chart came from Stitching with the Housewives.

Speaking of candy corn, are you a fan of this seasonal sweet? I have always loved it, but it is a huge no- no for diabetics. I tried buying a bag and limiting myself to just a few pieces a day, but you can guess how that went. I finally had to toss the last half of the bag into the trash. . . I have absolutely no willpower. :-( Why, oh, why couldn’t candy corn be a healthy vegetable???

Cross Stitchers . . . La-D-Da has a cute Halloween cross stitch chart under its Freebie section. It’s too late to stitch this year, but I downloaded the chart for next year.

Stitchers . . .  If you enjoy any type of stitching, check out Christen’s Creations website. There is much to explore there including “Tips, Tricks, the Basics” and “Free to You.”

Reading Recommendation . . . I highly recommend the latest book by Doris Kearns Goodwin. An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s is a fascinating look at that turbulent decade. Now I want to read her book about one of the key figures of that decade, Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream.

Finally, Election Day is only a few short days from now, and I think everyone can appreciate this meme.

Lord help us all.

Another FFO - Pumpkin Blossom Place

 

I have never signed up for a monthly cross stitch project before, but I couldn’t resist “Blooming Roots” by Stitching with the Housewives through the Fat Quarter Shop. Here is “Pumpkin Blossom Place” for October, the first in the series.  Each month will feature a home and a separate street sign. The chart comes along with Classic Colorworks floss. The orange and yellow background fabric came from my stash. I love how this turned out. :-)

Each month will be displayed on this wood piece purchased from Paisleys and Polka Dots. As I have noted previously, all the multiple pieces arrive unfinished. You must paint the individual  pieces and then glue them all together. Magnets are then hot glued to the display piece and washers to the back of the stitched pieces so it can be switched out each month.

—————             —————-             —————          ————         —————

It’s October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, so it’s time for me to climb up on my soapbox to remind you to get your mammogram. No excuses accepted. Early detection saves lives. 

Goodbye 2022 . . . Hello 2023

Well, today is the last day of 2022, and I have three last cross stitch pieces to show. Jingle Bell Cafe and Bakery is a chart by Priscilla Blain of Stitching with the Housewives on Etsy. I did not stitch the bottom row of the chart so this piece would fit on this canister from Hobby Lobby. I had started stitching it the week before Thanksgiving, and it took close to a full month to finish it.

There are two vintage cookie cutters on top along with a small rolling pin. The good thing about display pieces like this is that you can then store away stitched pieces inside. 

“Holiday Spirit” was a complimentary chart by Robin Shappell of Samplerbird Stitchery. The words are stitched in a pretty green, and I have ordered some chenille trim to put around the edges. I also plan to add trim around this vintage Santa from “The Prairie Schooler Kris Kringle - Book No. 62.” I stitched two of these Santas this year, and there are six more in the set to stitch. 

These Santa ornaments go well with one of my all-time favorite quilts. “Old World Santas/ Classic Santas” by Sue Garmin. That quilt was a joy to make. According to the label on the back, this was finished in 2010. I love it. 

I had planned to put away the outdoor decorations this morning, but rain prevented that chore. The inside decorations won’t get packed away until after the Epiphany, January 6th. Why rush when the house looks so festive?

I keep finding new places to display my work. :-)

This year I started decorating early, so I could whittle down and pass on some treasures. It worked well as I only added two items this year. One was the small Santa baker on my kitchen counter and this cute little piece.

I had brought a good size box of Christmas items to the thrift shop, and as I entered, I kept thinking . . . don’t look around . . . don’t buy anything. That didn’t work as I did purchase this sweet piece, but it was half priced and only cost $4.00!  :-)

May the year ahead bring us all health, happiness, and peace.

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 Bit of This and a Bit of That

This afternoon I fully finished “Gertrude’s Garden” for my spring/Easter themed tiered tray. Don’t you love Gertrude’s bonnet? Priscilla Blain of Stitching with the Housewives always design charts that make me smile. 

Did you know that today is National Pet Day? (As far as Emma is concerned, every day is National Pet Day.) Anyway, let me share something that happened Saturday morning. You know the Bounty commercials where folks are sitting around a table and a glass filled with liquid spills and runs across the table; everyone in the scene then lets out a long collective,”No -o-o-o-o-o! Well, the other day just as I was letting Emma out I spotted a large turkey in the yard. My “Emma, no-o-o-o-o-o-o” did nothing to slow her as she flew down the stairs and across the yard. There is nothing like a charging, barking schnauzer to motivate flight, and with a mighty flapping of wings the turkey soared to a branch near the top of a very tall tree.

From his perch way, way up in the woods, I’d have to say the turkey did not appear to be perturbed in the slightest.

Continuing the pet theme, here is my Sunday stitch piece “Temperature - Walk with Me” from Stitchin’ Mommy on Etsy. On Sundays, I stitch the temperatures for the past week, and I’m thrilled to say I am still on track and totally up to date.

There will be a number of motifs; please don’t tell Emma that I stitched the squirrel. ;-)

On Friday, I brought an old clock to be repaired to a shop in Whitman not far from Peaceful Meadows. The sky was amazing, so I pulled in there to take this photo. Faithful readers of my blog have seen similar images posted here. Though I prefer the real cows that they used to have in the meadow, these two do make me smile. 

Did I then stroll over to the window to get something sweet, cold, and delicious? H’mm, what do you think. . . 

Well, I could ramble on longer, but I have a bit of quilting to do before our next guild meeting.

Stay safe. Covid numbers are beginning to tick back up. Follow this timely advice.

You wouldn’t think they would need to print signs such as this, but common sense is not nearly as common as it used to be. :-)

Have a good week and don’t forget to give your pet an extra treat and hug today.

Ice Is Not Nice and Winter Wonderland FFO

 

Last Saturday, we received two feet of snow during the blizzard; today it’s ice. It started with rain late yesterday which turned to sleet this morning and by this afternoon, ICE. (Personally, I prefer two feet of snow to three inches of frozen solid slush.) On the newscast, they reported that there have been over two hundred accidents on the roads today. I'm staying put! 

This FFO is “Winter Wonderland” by Priscilla Blain of Stitching with the Housewives. Her whimsical patterns are available on Etsy or at your local needlework shop if you are lucky enough to have one.

I did not stitch the large snowman, the two smallest snowmen, or the sled at the bottom; I just added more snowflakes. :-)

My original plan was to hang small sleds from the hooks, but since this display hangs by the backdoor, Emma’s jackets now hang there instead. 

Well, I’m heading out to see if I can remove some of the mess before tonight’s deep freeze.

Stay warm. Stay safe. Stay creative. Spring is right around the corner. :-)

Greetings from My Castle

It’s Monday, two days after Christmas 2021, and I spent this morning fully finishing three cross stitch ornaments for my new cross stitch tree. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!

This little tree was a total impulse buy at Lowes earlier in the month. I am not an impulse buyer, but this tree had caught my eye. Ho Ho Ho is a pattern by Priscilla Blain of Stitching with the Housewives on Etsy. Isn’t Santa adorable in his red long johns! ***

Joy was a complimentary design from Misty Pursel from Luminous Fiber Arts, and this sweet little design with Mrs. Claus, Christmas in the Kitchen: Candy Canes, was a pattern that I had purchased last year but which I did not get stitched until last week. This pattern was also from Misty Pursel. 

 

These last three tiny pieces were stitched during my needlepoint phase. I was delighted to see that one was dated . . . ‘88. :-)

Recommendation: If you have Amazon Prime, definitely watch Being the Riccardos; it’s wonderful!!! Nicole Kidman gives a marvelous performance as Lucille Ball. The film deals with the sometimes stormy relationship of the couple, the filming of “I Love Lucy,” and a political crisis which threatens the program.    

Please do watch it; it is really well done.

Stay safe everyone.

*** Yes, I was curious, so I googled to see why they are called “long johns.” There was a famous boxer named John L. Sullivan who wore this attire into the boxing ring. People started calling them John L’s, and eventually they became long jones. Now you know. :-)

Two Thanksgiving Cross Stitch FFOs and a Bit of This and That

I’ve added this Gobble Gobble pillow to this year’s Thanksgiving display. Here, too, are the vintage Gurley candles mentioned in a previous post. I used a scrap of upholstery fabric and a couple of fun buttons on the back.

This afternoon I ‘finally finished’ this second piece. Both cross stitch patterns were by Priscilla Blain of Stitching with the Housewives. This was the bottom section of a larger pattern, Gather. The pumpkin picture frame was from Hobby Lobby.

Speaking of cross stitch, a new needlework store has opened in North Attleboro, MA. Yippee!!! Pam of the always enjoyable flosstube, “Stitching in the Land of Good Enough” and her husband recently opened Stitch New England. Here is Pam in front of a wall of floss. This cross stitch shop is only thirty-five minutes from Weymouth, so my wallet could be in big trouble. :- ()

On a visit on Saturday, I purchased some floss and three patterns featuring Christmas ornaments. While shopping at Lowe’s the other evening, I had bought on impulse a small Christmas tree solely to display my cross stitch ornaments.  Let’s hope I get more then a few completed in time. ;-)

My plan had been to continue to stitch autumn themed pieces for the rest of November, but that plan didn’t last; it’s full on now to Christmas stitching!!!

Could this be the last perfect rose of summer? 

Finally, for Emma fans . . . Cuteness alert!!!  Here she is sporting a new jacket. It is lightweight, perfect for our daily walks. I just couldn’t resist when I spotted it while picking up her food at the pet store.

I wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving.

Stay safe.

Pumpkin Picking Weather

 

Today’s weather was about as perfect as an autumn day could be. . . a perfect pumpkin picking day. That’s the name of this cross stitch pattern by Priscilla Blain of Stitching with the Housewives. I have a link to Priscilla’s blog in the right column where I list some of the blogs that I enjoy. My intention is to stitch a Halloween ornament to hang on each hook. 

I had been stitching on the September cottage seen in my previous post and this pumpkin piece for the last five or six weeks. I do stitch each night and for me, cross stitching is a slow but satisfying process. 

If only the weather had cooperated yesterday morning when members of the Crosstown Quilters Guild gathered in the parking lot of the Pond Plain Improvement Association for a socially distant, outdoor gathering. It was not a regular meeting, but many ladies showed projects they had worked on since the last time we gathered in March of 2019. There were some beautiful quilts! Unfortunately, about twenty-five minutes in, thunder rumbled and the darkening skies gave way to steady rain. Oh, well, the get together was very short, but it was worth it to see familiar, friendly,  albeit masked faces. :-) Hopefully, the weather will cooperate the next time we gather.

Funny, true story . . . I am still being very, very Covid careful, but I am continuing my weekly flute lessons. Sometimes we have had lessons in my teacher’s two car garage with the doors wide open. The ceilings are high, and you would not believe how amazing the acoustics are; it’s as if we are in a concert hall! The other day was gorgeous, and so we had the lesson on her deck. Here’s the funny part. At least one bird was chirping along happily throughout my entire lesson. . . No kidding!!! He, she, or they didn’t even seem to mind when I missed a note or blew a clinker or had to repeat a section  ;-). My friend and flute teacher Donna says the birds chirp and sing along whenever she plays her flute out on her deck.Who knew that birds like Bach and Mozart? I practice inside my house, but I’m going to start practicing on my sunporch to see if the birds at my neighbor’s feeder enjoy Bach, as well. On that note, I will wrap this up ;-).

Please stay safe.