An FFO - Raven by Nora Corbett

 Here she is . . .  my first completed Nora Corbett design. . . Raven. Try as I might, I wasn’t able to take a photo which truly captures her beauty. Because of the beading, I chose to have it framed under glass which is causing reflections and streaks in this photo. In person, you are able to see the three colors of beads: red, purple, and bronze in the flowing necklace. The skirt is embellished with swirls of bright red beads. The various shades of deep, rich purples are truly lovely.

This was a somewhat more challenging piece for me to stitch, but I have already picked out another Nora Corbett design. Some of her designs are quite large, but for now I’ll stick with the smaller ones. This one measures 10”x12.” It took about two months to stitch, and I am very pleased with how it turned out. :-)

It’s hard to believe that we have not had a killing frost yet; indeed, this week we will have temperatures in the seventies! Remarkable! This tree form hibiscus may spend the winter in my sewing room. 

Another surprise this morning was this blossom on the tiny rose of sharon which sprouted at the base of my sunporch. There is only about an inch or two of dirt between the porch and a row of bricks. Pretty cool!

Enjoy these awesome autumn days. :-)

Moovin’ Right Along!!!

 Yes, I’m moovin’ right along on my large wool applique piece. There are only three more sections to go!

As you can see in the corner of the watering can segment, I have the barn pinned in place waiting to be stitched. Some people glue all the pieces in place, but I prefer to just use pins though with such a large piece there has been a whole lot of stabbing going on. :-) Pinning wouldn’t be an issue with a more manageable size, but I needed to pin all 250+ pieces in place before stitching to space all the elements out.

This has not been a good foliage season. The colors are muted and frankly disappointing. These three brightly colored leaves are the exceptions; most of my yard is covered with brown, dry leaves. There are, however, still spots of color in my yard; I’ll wait for frost warning before dumping out my hanging plants and pots.

We are anticipating quite a bit of rain this afternoon though right now it is calm and dry. I intend to spend this afternoon in my sewing room in hopes of getting a few things accomplished. . . Fingers crossed. . .

Finally, for Emma fans. . . She went to the groomer on Wednesday and when I picked her up, she was sporting this festive bow tie.

Have a wonderful, creative, fun week and stay safe.

Lunch with Abigail and Happy October

On Saturday, I attended a luncheon program put on by the First Church of Weymouth. This church was established in 1623 and to celebrate its 400th year they have been having a number of events. Saturday’s Lunch with Abigail was a one woman historical play written and performed by Laura Rocklyn. Abigail Adam’s father, the Rev. William Smith had been minister at the First Church for forty-nine years and Abigail Adam’s birthplace is within walking distance of the church. I think everyone in attendance was pleasantly surprised when we were served a delicious meal before the performance. 

Wool applique progress . . . two more sections stitched . . . seven to go . . .

If you think this little sheep and butterfly are cute, wait until you see the cow and chickens. :-)

A hint of the color to come . . . This photo snapped in the back of the CVS parking lot while I was waiting for a tow truck shows some of the leaves are beginning to change. Tow truck? Yes, I had spent Monday running errands and noticed my car didn’t quite seem to have its usual zip. My last stop was CVS where the engine light suddenly came on. Horrors!!!  One day and three hundred and forty dollars later the air flow problem was solved. I had been thinking of heading up to Vermont to do some photography. Just what would I have done if the engine light had come on while I was on some lonely, scenic backroad? Cell phone use may be spotty at best in some areas. I may have to give this some more thought.

On my daily walks with Emma . . . I took this shot of a pretty pokeberry weed the other day. It’s pretty but never touch any part of this plant as it can be as bad as poison ivy. And as tempting as the fruit looks, never ever put any in your mouth unless you are a bird.

Just look at this gorgeous hydrangea display in a neighbor’s front yard down the street. Emma loves everyone she sees on her daily walks and in particular the couple who live in this house. :-)

In other stitching news, I have completed the cross stitching on the piece on which I have been solely working for well over a month. I’m presently adding some beads to complete the piece, and I have decided that I will have it professionally framed. 

In case you don’t know about this beading aid, I thought that I would share it with you. Tacky Bill looks like a cd case. Inside there is a tacky surface where you can sprinkle some of the beads you are using. Can you imagine what it would be like to have all these micro beads rolling all over your table or onto your carpet? Tacky Bill thankfully prevents that.  This product used to be called Tacky Bob; I guess Bob must have retired. :-)

One last important item . . . it is now October and time for me to climb up on my soapbox once again to remind the ladies reading this to have their yearly mammograms. I know things get busy and sometimes things slip by us, but this is too important to let slide. As a two time breast cancer surviver (2007, 2018), I can attest that early detection does indeed save lives. For the people you love and for yourself, please get checked.

Covid numbers in our area are on the rise, so be creative and be safe. 

Here Comes the Sun

 Yes, indeed, this afternoon while walking with Emma, I saw the sun shyly peeking out of the clouds. Awesome!!! We have had a miserable stretch of cool, rainy, drizzly weather, but the meteorologists promise at least a few days of sunny weather this week. :-)

So, what have I been working on? I made this project bag for a friend’s birthday. I had bought this fabric at a quilt shop that was closing on the Cape. This photo doesn’t do justice to the vibrancy of the fabric. I love it, and fortunately, I have enough fabric to maybe make a few more project bags including one for me! Note the cute old fashioned sewing machine zipper pull that I purchased in the notions section at Hobby Lobby. (My original plan had been to make a summer pocketbook out of this fabric, and I still might put it away in my stash to do that next spring.)

I’m making steady progress on my large wool applique piece. If I consider this table runner as twelve separate little scenes, I have seven more sections to stitch. I’ll post two more completed sections in my next post. 

I have been very disciplined trying to work on this project for one hour a day. While stitching, I watch episodes of my new favorite flosstube on Youtube, “Running with Scissors with Jane and Julie.” These two cross stitching friends are just plain funny. I actually laugh out loud while watching them. Even if you are not a cross stitcher, you would definitely enjoy these ladies. Their projects including hardanger are not the type of stitching that I enjoy, but I absolutely do enjoy watching Jane and Julie. (Hardanger is a lace-like form of embroidery not for the faint of heart.)

They have various sections on each episode including “Delightful Deliveries” where they show their cross stitch purchases which leads me to share a “Delightful Delivery” that arrived at my door the other day.

This is a set of size 8 perle cotton. Aren’t these colors luscious! I already have a similar set in bright colors. I now have enough perle cotton to last me with my wool applique projects until I’m at least ninety-three. If I run out then, I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. :-()

The third item under my needle is a lovely cross stitch piece which I have also been stitching on each day. When the stitching is completed, I will be adding beads. This is something new for me, but I am excited with this project so far. I have been working on it for over a month and hope to maybe get it finished this week.

At today’s meeting of the Crosstown Quilters Guild we had an excellent speaker, Barb Vedder. You can see her work on Instagram, and you can check out her blog, Fun with Barb. If your guild is looking for a dynamic speaker with a trunk show or someone to offer a workshop, consider her.

Fungus Among Us . . . Just how rainy has it been? There are mushrooms sprouting everywhere.

Stay creative and stay safe.

TB 12 Comes Home, Garden Notes, and a Possible Santa Sighting

Patriots Nation is abuzz!!! Tom Brady has come home. At today’s first game of the season, the greatest quarterback of all time will be honored at half time at Gillette Stadium, and I cannot wait to watch it. For twenty years he brought joy to the hearts of Patriot fans far and near along with six Super Bowl titles. He went on to bring a Super Bowl title to the Buccaneers in 2020. One of the statistics that I find most remarkable is that he is the only quarterback ever to win a Super Bowl in three separate decades.

School started here this past week and though I truly loved teaching, I’m also truly enjoying this endless summer known as retirement. Students and teachers must have been sweltering in classrooms with the 90 degree temperatures and high humidity we have been having. . . definitely not a fun way to start the new school year.

Yesterday I attended a meeting of the Herring Run Quilt Guild, and it was as if we were sitting in a sauna. There were, however, some pretty cool quilts shown!

Garden Notes:

There is so much to do before ending this gardening season, but with the rain and the heat I haven’t accomplished much. (This summer is now in the record books as being one of the wettest summers in this area ever.) I am looking ahead to next year.

I have never really liked red salvia. A neighbor gave me an extra flat of salvia and thinking that it might attract hummingbirds, I planted it in the wine barrel in the center of my hostas. I’m a convert. They have grown about two feet tall and have made quite an impressive display.

Orange is one of my least favorite colors, but I have to admit this hibiscus is gorgeous.

Final garden note . . . never toss old galvanized gardening cans that begin to leak or that have holes on the bottom as they make lovely planters. (On second thought, do toss old rusty, leaky watering cans . . . toss them my way, and I will give them a good home. :-)

For Emma fans . . . here she is after a trip to the groomers on Wednesday.

Finally, let me tell you about a possible Santa sighting and you be the judge. I was picking up a few craft items that I needed on Friday at our local Hobby Lobby. Then I decided to take a look at the autumn/ Thanksgiving seasonal decorations. The whole time I was browsing the aisles I kept repeating my mantra. . . “you don’t need any more decorations,” and it worked, I didn’t pick up any. Next came the forest of Christmas trees on display. Okay . . . here is where it gets interesting. I was in one of the main aisles and happened to glance down one of the side aisles displaying Christmas decorations . . . when whom should I spot but Santa or at least it might have been Santa . . . you be the judge. At the end of the aisle in the decoration section was an older gentleman wearing a bright red scally cap and a matching red polo shirt and, yes, he had a full white beard!!!!!! Truth to say, he was fairly trim, but that might not mean anything as Mrs. Clause probably doesn’t start her holiday baking until November. So, could it really have been Santa? I don’t know, but if he is around this early, I’m not taking any chances. I’m going to be a very, very, very good girl from now until Christmas! 

Have a fun week and be good just in case. . . 

Three Cross Stitch FFOs and Wool Applique, Too!

 There is a great deal to be said for having to stay off your foot for a week. I accomplished quite a bit including finishing this pillow for my bee display. “A Bee C” is a design by Lindsey Weight of Primrose Cottage on Etsy.

I do not think that I posted photos of these pieces in previous posts. The first is “Bee Sweet”  by Annie Beez Folk Art on Etsy.

Below is “Citrus Summer” from the Fat Quarter Shop. The Fat Quarter Shop is an online quilting and cross stitch shop. Kimberly Jolly, the owner,  hosts a quilting program and on Wednesdays a cross stitch program on Youtube. If you enjoy quilting or cross stitching, be sure to check out the Fat Quarter Shop website. 

This past week also afforded me the time to work on a wool applique table runner from Shabby Fabrics. I had purchased the kit during the pandemic, but when I saw how many pieces (269)  I would have to trace, cut out, place, and stitch, I put it away for another time. Wool applique kits are expensive, so a month or so ago, I decided to get on with it. I traced, fused, and cut out all the pieces. To keep things straight, I put the pieces in forty-one separate baggies. Yes, the kit came with forty-one various shades of wool.

The runner will finish at about eighteen by thirty-eight inches. It took a few days this week to assemble this ‘jigsaw.’ I had fused various segments together and then began pinning them to the background. Truth to say, I had been muttering and sputtering about the whole thing and even considered tossing the project. I am, however, not one to give up easily and as it began to take shape, I was hooked! “Americana,” the wool applique kit, depicts a colorful village scene with a barn, a church, animals, etc. Because of its size this will not be a lap project. In fact, it’s a good thing that I have no formal banquets planned here at the castle for the next month or two as this piece will remain on my dining room table until it is completely stitched. 

Though I had purchased the accompanying 12wt Sulky thread pack, I plan to use No. 8 perle cotton on the larger pieces. If I am going to do all this stitching, I sure want it to show!!!

My plan is to spend a minimum of thirty minutes daily on this piece and will post a photo of each section as it is completed. Wish me luck!

Today the news came of the passing of two TV legends. Bob Barker, the host of “The Price is Right,” passed at the age of ninety-nine. Carol Duvall while perhaps not as famous as Bob Barker was the queen of crafting in the early days of HGTV. She was delightful and her shows were always filled with fun, creative craft ideas.  Carol Duvall was ninety-seven.

Have a creative, fun week.

A Busy Week and a Scary Morning

This lovely curcuma graces my sunporch. I love the sculptural elements of this plant. To learn more about curcuma plants you may visit Costa Farms. 

So, what has been keeping me busy lately? The Company Theater in Norwell had a world premiere of a contemporary rock opera.

Since  my cousin Miss L. chose ‘Joan of Arc’ as her confirmation name and since her sister Miss T. is involved in theater, I invited them along with their parents to see this production. The music was wonderful and each person in the cast had a wonderful voice. The staging of the play was masterful and the story was well told. If I had any criticism, it would be that the first act needed to be shorter; a few judicious cuts would help move things along.

I met retired teacher friends for lunch on Tuesday, and friends came to dinner on Wednesday and other friends on Thursday. . . a busy fun week. I’ll keep that in mind this week as an issue will keep me off my foot for at least a week. Yes, I am grounded once again. Gosh darn it! I was supposed to join family at a WooSox game at Polar Park in Worcester this afternoon and I had plans on Monday and Tuesday. Oh, well, it is what it is . . . If I follow my doctor’s orders, I hope to be back out galavanting the following week. :-() Meanwhile I should be able to make some progress on the 269 piece wool applique project spread out on my dining room table. 

So, about that scary morning . . . on Thursday evening meteorologists were predicting some heavy rain storms moving in around 5:00 am Friday. When I got up before 8:00, there was still no rain. Things changed after 9:00 as the meteorologists began breaking into the morning shows to report a tornado watch in Connecticut. Things went downhill at that point. The tornado alerts kept coming and to my shock where I live was in the target zone. At 9:45, my cell phone began blasting an alarm saying to take shelter in the basement which Emma and I immediately did. My cousin Kristin kept texting me updates. At one point, she asked if I was near two particular streets as the tornado was on that path. I live on a long street and the streets she mentioned are at either ends of my street. YIKES!!! Fortunately, there was absolutely no damage in my area. The tornado did, however, touch down and do some damage in another section of Weymouth. We have not had a tornado in this area in seventy years. It was scary.  I’d just as soon just deal with our Nor’easters and blizzards.

The weather this summer across our country has been beyond crazy. Have a stress free, calm week and wherever you live I hope your weather is calm and pleasant.