Birds, A Book, and a Santa Star Ornament Finish

 Hi Everyone, Happy Wednesday! 

Early yesterday morning my neighbors called to alert me that there was a hawk in the woods beyond my backyard. They were concerned that I might let Emma out and the hawk might swoop down. The hawk would not be able to carry her off, but it could attack. I went out with her, and indeed, the hawk was watching us. It was a red tail hawk with quite a wingspan. He was back again this morning searching for his breakfast, and he is most welcome to all the tiny critters that he can consume.

When I returned from driving my friend to the grocery store, there were two turkeys in my driveway brazenly staring at me. I telepathically conveyed the message that it was my driveway and that I was indeed going to pull my car in. The message was received and they slowly moved on to the lawn. Well, those were my breakfast and noontime sightings; I wonder what dinnertime will bring???

These roses were from my godchild, her family, and her pets for Thanksgiving. Isn’t the color gorgeous!!!

Book Talk  :  A few weeks ago I read a book which you might find interesting.

The Secret History of Home Economics . . . How Trailblazing Women Harnessed the Power of Home and Changed the Way We Live by Danielle Dreilinger. Isn’t that a mouthful! If you only think about home economics as a required class in middle and high school that may have taught you a bit about sewing, baking, and child care, you have much to discover. The author writes a thorough history of the home economics movement. It is not a dry study but rather it is written with at times a light touch. Reading this, you will discover how women’s lives were enriched and changed by many aspects of the home economics movement. Truth to say, I did not read it straight through but rather a chapter here and there along with other books I was reading. I learned so much from reading this book, and I do recommend it.

Last up, a Teresa Kogut cross stitch design, Santa Star Ornament. The shape was challenging to fully finish, but the wonderful Vonna Pfeiffer, the Twisted Stitcher, offers a video on finishing star ornaments on her blog. I attached the ribbon hanger with a gold star button and added the year. (Helen D. who also offers cross stitching finishing tutorials on Youtube suggests coating the year charms with clear nail polish to prevent them from tarnishing.)

Well, that’s it. Now I’m heading down cellar to begin hauling up Christmas trees and decorations. :-)

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. 

All Hallow’s Eve, Cat-o’-Lantern, and Vanished Days

 It’s another gorgeous day here in New England and though I’d like to be out gallivanting with my camera, I’m being good and staying off my foot. 

What have I accomplished this week since I have had time on my hands? 

First up, here is “All Hallows’ Eve” by Lilas Studio on Etsy. I finished stitching it last weekend. The wooden door on which it is mounted came from the Target Dollar Spot and cost a whole five dollars! I knew when I saw it that it would be perfect for this chart. 

Second, I stitched “Cat-o’-Lantern” by Misty Purcell of Luminous Fiber Arts from the Just Cross Stitch 2020 Special Halloween Issue. I had always planned to stitch this piece, but I had not gotten around to it. This “Hello Pumpkin” crate seemed the perfect place to display it. 

I only stitched a portion of each chart. Though I would like to move on to autumn and Christmas stitching this week, there are two small Halloween pieces I am going to stitch first.

In case you are wondering, I had already hauled up my Halloween decor from the cellar before I was grounded.  Fingers crossed, I’m hoping to be out of my trusty, big black boot in time to bring up my turkeys and pilgrims! :-)

My friend Janice loaned me Vanished Days by Suzanna Kearsley. Having read and enjoyed all of her previous novels, I couldn’t wait to begin reading this even putting aside the book that I had currently been reading. Sad to say, reading this was a tough slog. I forced myself to keep at it as I knew that if I put it down for a day or two, I might not pick it up again. It was at times confusing with so many characters and it was not the most interesting book that the author has written. I didn’t see the plot twist coming, and although it was all pleasantly, albeit implausibly, ended, I’m not recommending it. Having said that, if this author is new to you, please do read The Rose Garden, which is my favorite of her novels. It’s a romantic, time-travel, historical work which I absolutely guarantee you would love; I seldom reread any novels, but I have read The Rose Garden twice!!!

Plans for the week ahead? I have a quilt featuring a flock of fun, colorful chickens to work on for my young cousin Miss T.’s birthday on Halloween. The flock won’t be done by then as I am not going to follow Lori Holt’s “Chicken Salad” pattern; instead of pieced sections around each block, I’ve decided to just make more chickens!!! :-) 

I also intend to put a bit of time into a wool applique piece. (I know what you are thinking. . . why don’t you just concentrate on one project and get it finished before starting another one. That’s a swell idea and perfectly logical, but that is not how I roll ;-).

Have a great week. Stay creative and stay safe as Covid numbers are on the rise and please don’t forget to book your mammogram. 

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 Project Bag and December ‘41

Did I need to make another project bag? No, of course not, but last week after our Crosstown Quilters Guild meeting, I took a quick trip out to The Quilted Crow in Bolton with my friends Laurel and Edith. There I spotted two fat quarters of Teresa Kogut’s new Halloween fabric. Honestly, who could resist this adorable fabric?

 If you are not familiar with Teresa Kogut, she is an artist and punch needle and cross stitch designer and has a wonderful flosstube channel, Teresa Kogut’s Creative Whims. She has a new line of fabric coming out, and heaven help me, I ordered two yards of it from the Fat Quarter Shop last night. (So much for my resolution not to purchase any new fabric.) Even worse, at The Quilted Crow I also picked up some luscious wool in autumnal colors for a project. (So much for my resolution not to start any new projects; I’m absolutely incorrigible.)

Our local library has recently had a number of interesting speakers. Author William Martin talked about his new novel December ‘41. I don’t know how anyone attending that talk could have left without purchasing a copy of this thriller. First of all, he was an excellent speaker. I’m not giving anything away by saying it involves a Nazi assassin seeking to end the life of FDR. The story starts out in Hollywood which was itself very interesting and then takes off on a cross country train ride.  Though I try to avoid cliches, I have to say that this is an absolute page turner!!!!! Spy thrillers are not a genre that I seek out, but I could not recommend this one more highly. 

 I have finished a few more things but I will save those for my next post.

It’s October so before I end this, let me climb up on my soapbox to remind you to be sure to keep up to date on your mammograms. The process may be inconvenient and sometimes uncomfortable but it is nothing compared to having chemo and mastectomies. I know this first hand as a two time breast cancer survivor. Early detection saves lives. Please if you have let this slip during the pandemic, call and make an appointment today.