Snowman for Hire and Kitchen Front

“Snowman for Hire” is my first completed wool applique piece for 2024. When I saw this pattern by Primitive Gatherings, I knew that I would have to stitch it. The pattern was meant to be a table runner with the snowman scene on each end, but I chose to make a wallhanging instead.

 All of the wool came from my stash. The snowman is two layers thick to avoid shadowing from the black background underneath. It also made for a ‘puffier’ snowman. 

The embellishments used enhance the piece. The pattern called for making wool cardinals, but I found these cardinal buttons on Etsy. It turns out that there are lots of folks making/selling cardinal buttons, but these from PiecefulDesigns were just what I was looking for.

The pattern also called for a zillion colonial knots to create a snow effect. Well, I don’t mind stitching french knots and colonial knots, but I decided again to search Etsy for snowflakes. Though I already had some snowflake buttons on hand, the scale wasn’t right. Luckily, I found just the perfect teenie snowflakes at BritchesNBowsShop on Etsy. If you click on the photo, you will see just how perfect these snowflakes are. I used a dab of fabric glue to adhere each one.

Are you a fan of cooking contest on TV? If so, you might enjoy The Cooking Front by Jennifer Ryan. This novel is set in England during WWII, and the premise is that a radio program on the BBC is holding a cooking contest to inspire housewives dealing with the hardships of food rationing. The winner of the contest would become the program’s first female co-host. The recipes created by each of the contestants are included at the end of each chapter though I’m pretty sure they are not recipes you will be serving to your family and friends . . . especially the one with whale meat as the main ingredient. (Yes, you read that right. At the height of the food shortages, desperate housewives were encouraged to use many things which we might find appalling.) 

Halfway through the book, I wasn’t sure that I would be recommending this novel, but it built gradually and I ultimately found it a pleasant, informative read. 

To learn about rationing in our country, go to nps.gov and search for “Food Rationing on the Homefront.” While rationing in our country ended by 1945, rationing in Great Britain didn’t end until 1954.

That’s all for now. Keep warm.

“Counting on Ewe” and Books in Bloom

 The old piano doesn’t get played often, but it makes a swell place to display pieces such as Counting on Ewe from The Woolen Needle. I had purchased this fun pattern a few years back and finally got around to stitching it. I find wool applique to be as relaxing as cross stitch, and I have my next project, a large one,  already picked out.  

Temperatures today returned to normal after two days of a a bitter arctic blast. We have not had a cold spell like this for many years. As folks around here might say, it was wicked, wicked cold. Fortunately, I have a super warm, knee length LL Bean coat that I have not had to wear for a few years. Each time I briefly took Emma out, we were well bundled up. She had to go out twice Friday evening, and let me tell you, it was brutal.  

The Weymouth Garden Club held its annual Books in Bloom exhibit at the Tufts Library on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Mindful of the impending weather, I visited the exhibit on Thursday afternoon. It was so lovely to see the book-themed displays throughout the library that I thought that I would share a few photos that I took. 

The displays in the children’s section were equally enchanting.

I couldn’t include all of the displays, but kudos to the talented gardeners who created these wonderful pieces.

Let me share one more treasure on permanent display in the library.

 Ten years old . . . 

Well, that’s all for now. Keep stitching, keep smiling, and have a great week. Remember: spring is right around the corner. :-) 

Wool Applique, a Cross Stitch FFO, and Miss Emma, Too!!!

 

I saw this wool applique kit on two floss tube episodes, and even though I have a number of pieces that I have yet to finish, I ordered “Festive Fall Simply Square” from Buttermilk Basin. [Warning : Do not visit the Buttermilk Basin website lest you fall down the wool applique rabbit hole. The site is packed with irresistible kits.]  Anyway, back to this piece. It was smaller than I imagined it would be, but it was quick to stitch and it looks cute on the top of my tiered tray. It comes with a little stand on which I will be able to display other tiny  pieces.

Continuing the wool applique theme for a moment. The kits and projects from Buttermlk Basin are   simple to stitch, and as I already suggested, way too cute. They come with clear instructions, and there are  a number of tutorials on Youtube which woulds show you how to get started. Anyone would find the kits from Buttermilk Basin and other wool applique shops enjoyable and satisfying to stitch. They are a world apart, however, from the designs and projects created by Sue Spargo which call for a variety of specialty stitches and a wide range of threads/yarns. I enjoy both types of wool applique, but the Sue Spargo version calls for far more time and effort, and I might add cost.

I had purchased the kit with beautiful wool, threads, and embellishments for Sue Spargo’s Squash Squad last August, but only completed four of the nine blocks. I am determined to work on that project and get it completed.

Speaking of completed pieces, here is the “September Cottage” from Country Cottage Needleworks. I usually display the monthly cottages on a metal easel, but not this time. I had purchased this red blackboard with apple last year at Michaels figuring it would eventually come in handy to display a piece of cross stitch and so it has. :-) I love how it turned out! In my next post, I will show you another FFO cross stitch piece of pumpkin picking cuteness that I also FFO’d today.

Now, it wouldn’t be a blog post from me lately without an obligatory bee photo so here is one taken yesterday.

Finally, my sweet Emma went to the groomers on Tuesday. I couldn’t decide which photo to post, so here are all three. :-()

Enjoy the rest of the weekend. As a New England Patriots Buccaneers fan, I’ll have another Sunday of back to back games to watch which means plenty of time for stitching. Brady, Gronk, and the Buccaneers are playing the New England Patriots in Foxboro next Sunday and that should prove to be really something!!!

Stay safe and have a great week.

Do Ewe Enjoy Wool Applique?

Last weekend instead of schlepping my machine, fabric, tools, etc., on our getaway to the Bayside Resort in Yarmouth, I simple brought some wool applique pieces on which to work. Wool applique is fun and relaxing for me, and I was totally happy to just stitch away on this project which did, believe it or not, take most of the weekend.

I had downloaded this pattern during the "Wooly Block Adventure 2019, " but I checked and it is  available on the Country Ramble website where you may purchase a kit or the pattern. Warning: there are some really, really cute patterns/kits on that website. :-)

I have completed the first block of the Sue Spargo BOM. By agreement, no one is allowed to post images on social media, but let me just say it is cute. . . with lots of stitching detail.

Normally, I put SoftFuse on the back of my wool applique individual pieces, but I am following Sue's method of appliquing the pieces down with wool thread before adding the embellishing stitches. I am, however,  still putting SF101 on the back of each background piece which gives the piece a bit more heft with which to work.

One last wool applique tip . . . Stacey West of Buttermilk Basin has a free Mystery BOM "Home Sweet Home 2020" on her website which is definitely worth checking out. :-).




Now, may I please ask you a favor???
Today is launch day for my cousin Linda's second book, Declarative Language Handbook: Using a Thoughtful Language Style to Help Kids with Social Learning Challenges Feel Competent, Connected and Understood." She is speech pathologist and RDI consultant.  Here is how you may help. Please consider downloading a free e-book on your kindle until March 11th by clicking HERE. The more downloads this book gets, the better it will be.

If you a parent, teacher, or grandparent who might find this book of interest, you may also purchase the paperback format for $9.99 HERE.

As Linda wrote in her email, "I am extremely grateful to be able to share my work and passion with others. . . We can show the world there is a better way when it comes to communicating with some of our most vulnerable and misunderstood kids."


Enjoy the gorgeous weather this weekend and don't forget to turn your clocks ahead tonight. Let's all Spring Forward!!!

Saturday Smorgasbord

Today's post will be a true smorgasbord. First, here's my most recent completed wool applique mat. It was a wool kit,  "Winter Sheep All Around," from Shabby Fabrics, and I just fell in love with their adorable little faces and hats. :-)

I've actually been doing a lot of wool applique prep work this week as I have two upcoming quilt retreats. I've decided that I am going to leave my machine at home and spend both weekends hand stitching. There are three wool applique pieces all prepped and tucked into one of my project bags. Prepping each piece is surprisingly time consuming. Different folks prep their pieces differently. I put SF101, a Pellon product, on the back of the background piece for a bit of stability. I also use Soft Fuse on the individual pieces. Some people choose to staple the pieces to the background, some choose to pin them on with tiny applique pins, but I have found that Soft Fuse works best for me.

Besides the three pieces now prepped, I may also work on the first block of a Sue Spargo BOM . It is agreed when you sign up for the BOM that you will not post any images on social media, so you will not be seeing any of that work. I can, however, show you this organizer closure tab that I stitched this week. Just look at all of this glorious Eleganza thread, and this is only part of it!

I enjoy hand stitching while watching TV at night, and all of these prepped pieces should keep me busy at night and on any upcoming retreats. If not, I have a sashiko piece to work on, and a Yoko Saito applique piece that I would like to complete.

I'm also going to try and do some more stitched tea bag art. It has been quite a while since I have worked on any of those tiny pieces. You may see some example from last April HERE. Today I also prepped a small pile of tea bags. Instead of inserting muslin into each little piece, I decided to put SF101 on the back of each bag. Pure genius on my part! It will provide needed stability for stitching and close up the slit where I removed the tea. Will this work? I think so . . . fingers crossed . . . but only time will tell. My plan is to try and stitch one tea bag per day. What will I  do with them? Good question . . . I have an idea . . . but again only time will tell. :-)

Did I get the borders on the quilt I mentioned in my previous post? Well, no, I get easily distracted, but I hope to do that this week.

Finally, while reading some blogs earlier today, I came across a wonderful site that I know you will find interesting.  It is Elm Street Quilts Tutorials where you will find a wonderful selection of tutorials; definitely a site worth bookmarking!

Have a creative, fun, wonderful week!

Wool Applique - Schoolhouses and Apples

When I saw this September wool applique kit offered by Shabby Fabrics, I knew that I would have to purchase it. Schoolhouses and apples . . . how could I resist?  :-)

Wool applique is one of my favorite forms of hand stitching because it is so relaxing and easy to do. 

Have you given wool applique a try? If not, you definitely should, but I warn you it may very well become addictive. There are many ways to prep your wool applique, and Youtube offers many how to videos. I use the method shown in these first two videos from Anna at the Woolie Mammoth - Quilt Roadies blog.

Wool Prep - Part 1

Wool Prep - Part 2

Black Mountain Needleworks has a very good article "Working with Wool" which discusses the difference between felted wool and wool felt. They sound like the same thing, but they are different.

Felting Wool for Applique Tutorial

My advice would be to start with a small kit that includes the pattern, wool, and floss or thread. The pattern will no doubt include a stitching guide. The piece above is primarily done with a simple blanket stitch. The piece I am currently working on will allow me to include a larger variety of stitches. 

If you find that you enjoy wool applique and you would like to explore incorporating other stitches, I would suggest Sue Spargo's book, Creative Stitching, which includes step by step instructions and illustrations for seventy stitches. It is a very good reference text. One further suggestion would be to be sure to get the 2017 edition as it is spiral-bound which makes it easier to use. 

National School Picture Day . . . 

Who knew that there was even such a day? On a number of TV programs this morning hosts were showing their school photos, and so, just for fun I decided to show one of mine.

Yes, this curly, red headed moppet was me in fourth grade. That's your smile for the day.