329 Days Until Christmas

Here is my first finish of 2025. Yes, I finished this wool applique table topper for Christmas 2025!!! I enjoy making seasonal mats on which to display this lovely little tree made by the Simon Pearce glass factory in Vermont. It was a gift one year from my godchild’s family. The wool applique design was by Buttermilk Basin, and I purchased the kit from Shabby Fabrics. The name of the piece is “Christmas Treats Mat.”

I had started that piece in December, but things got too busy to finish it. It will be tucked away with my other Christmas things until next year, and my tree will be displayed on my wool, mittens topper. It, too, was a Buttermilk Basin design, and I also bought this kit from Shabby Fabrics a year or two ago. 

When I put my Valentine pieces out the other day, I wasn’t happy with how “Just My Type” had been finished a few years ago, so I took it apart. I purchased a 12” unfinished wood square piece at Hobby Lobby, and I discovered just the right shade of paint in my stash. “Just My Type” was a pattern from the Fat Quarter Shop.

Once again I plan to stitch one new Christmas ornament each month. That was also my plan last year. Please don’t ask how that turned out. :-)

I did, however, finish one for this month which I’ll show in an upcoming post. 

Stay calm and keep warm. 

Brrrrr . . . It’s Been Cold Outside

 After not having much snow this winter, this is what it looked like during the sweet light of early Monday morning. It was beautiful, and the very nicest kind of snow to shovel, light and fluffy. We only received about five inches which is little more than a nuisance for us. 

It has been a little over two weeks since my last post. Why so long? Well, I didn’t have any work to show. I’m in the middle of a couple of projects, but nothing is finished. I could write about Donald Trump having been sworn as our forty-seventh President, but I won’t. This blog is “A Positive Outlook,” and I don’t have one when I think about the next four years. So, no politics here. Wait . . I changed my mind. Just one thing . . I encourage you to read and follow Letters from an American by Heather Cox Richardson. Her posts each day offer clear, insightful analysis of what is happening in our government. Her post of January 22 is particularly worrisome, make that downright frightening! I have added a link to her site under “Blogs That I Follow” which can be found in the right hand column of my blog. If you follow my posts by email notice, simply click on the title in the email and it will bring you to my full page. Oh, and thanks for reading my posts.:-)

On a brighter note, after five and a half months, I have been out of my boot for a couple of weeks. Yeah!!!

Yesterday morning I headed to The Quilted Crow in Bolton with my friend Edith. My plan is to stitch strictly from stash this year, but I had two store credits that would have expired soon, so off I went. There I was able to pick up a few pieces of wool for an upcoming project. 

That’s it for now. Stay calm and have a good week. 

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. 

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! 

Christmas Lights, a Lovely Evening, and Excessive Packing Material

 Wednesday was a remarkably warm day for these parts, and I took the opportunity to drive around at dusk checking out the lights. This was the scene at the Cohasset Common. When it eventually turns colder, this small pond will be filled with skaters.

I drove to a few of my favorite spots, but alas, there wasn’t much to photograph. 

Last night my quilting buddies and I went out for a holiday dinner. We were trying to remember just how long we have been friends. We all originally went weekly to the Quilters Compass quilt shop in Quincy. Sadly, the quilt store eventually closed, but we didn’t see any reason to stop meeting. We take turns hosting. In the beginning, we met weekly, but now it is usually every two to three weeks depending on our schedules. So how long has this been going on? I knew I had joined the weekly gathering at the store after making my first quilt. When I returned home last night, I checked the quilt’s label, and it was 2004!!! 

Excessive Packing Material . . . get a look at this large box stuffed with paper and yards and yards of bubble wrap. What pray tell was inside? Well, Joann’s had recently had an online sale, and inside the box were three Christmas mugs and one gingerbread themed nutcracker. I swear; each mug was individually wrapped in at least two yards of bubble wrap. There was no danger of any breakage of items in this box.  In case you are curious, here is the nutcracker along with one of the mugs. 

Enjoy the season . . . no stress allowed. 🧑🏻‍🎄

Countdown to Christmas - December 18th

Hi Everyone! It has been awhile since my last post.  Time seems to be rushing by.  I have been busy stitching and celebrating. Last week I attended a holiday luncheon at my friend Kathy’s home along with a dozen friends.  Her home was beautifully decorated. She has a stunning, large artificial tree filled with ornaments that was gorgeous. 

“Jesus Is the Reason” above is a chart from Teresa Kogut as is the Santa below it. I love them both, but these star shape ornaments were a bear to finish. You place wrong sides together and then machine stitch an outline around the design before attempting to turn it right sides out. I think it would be easier if the pieces had been stitched on linen, but I stitch on Aida which can be stiffer. Because of that, it is difficult to get the points fully pushed out. I have a star shaped patriotic piece to stitch also by Teresa Kogut, and I will be sure to use a softer piece of fabric to stitch that piece. Though it was time consuming and ‘fiddly’ to finish, I think the result was worth it.

“The Magic of Winter” was a kit from Cardinal Hill Stitchers. The kit came with the pattern, fabric, floss, trim, and sled which had to be painted. I substituted DMC etoile floss for stitching the ornaments and in person it adds a bit of sparkle to the tree. For me, this was not a quick stitch, but it sure is cute! 

While in my boot, I didn’t expect to have many decorations up as lugging boxes up from the cellar would not have been smart, but then my godchild Kristin came for a visit the Monday after Thanksgiving. She had the day off from work and came to see what I would like to have done. She brought up this small tree which I placed on the porch and upon which I hung a few of my favorite ornaments. 

She also brought up my nativity set. It had belonged to my aunts, and it is older than I am. As a child, I would help my aunts decorate for Christmas, and I was allowed to arrange all of the figures. My favorite piece was the camel. :-) They displayed the set on top of their TV. In those days, TVs were housed in large wooden cabinets. This year I gathered my paints and very fine point brushes and touched up all the worn spots. 

Thanks to Kristin, my White House ornaments also made it out of the cellar.

It’s not quite the over the top decorating that I usually do, but the place looks quite festive. 🧑🏻‍🎄

Here’s the best news: after four and a half months, I am out of the my boot and I am back driving!!! Yeah!!! Not being able to drive was the hardest part of my torn Achilles tendon experience. Fortunately, I am blessed to have wonderful neighbors and friends who helped out.

That’s all for today. I have more to show, so I promise it won’t be long to my next post.

Enjoy the season, relax, and try not to stress about getting everything done. 🧑🏻‍🎄

December 1 - Christmas Countdown

It’s hard to believe that it is now December. If you are in the United States, I hope that you all had a lovely Thanksgiving Day. 

I purchased this 7.5 foot pencil tree on sale from Michael’s online as I wasn’t sure that I would be able to bring up my Christmas tree from the cellar. This tree arrived on my doorstep earlier this week, and it was simple to bring in and set up. Yes, I’ll miss hauling up all of my favorite ornaments and other decorations, but this year I will display only my cross stitched ornaments on this narrow tree. 

Last January, I decided to stitch one Christmas ornament each month as many cross stitchers do. It was a swell idea and I was gung ho, but my enthusiasm waned by April. Also, note to self: if by chance I do stitch one Christmas piece each month in 2025, I absolutely have to fully finish the piece and not let them pile up. (In cross stitch terms, we finish stitching a piece, but then we ‘fully finish’ the piece by then making it into an ornament or other type of presentation. Yesterday I spent three hours and only ‘fully finished’ these two ornaments while three others are nearly done.

My favorite this year is “Tall Treat” by the The Blue Flower; it makes me smile.

 

Here’s “Santa’s Pals” from stitching with the Housewives on Etsy.

Have a lovely, creative, no stress week. :-)