Happy Thanksgiving Day 2023

 The Tom Turkey float just rolled down the street signaling the start of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Soon I’ll be heading over the river and through the woods to my cousin Brian’s home for dinner, but before I go, I wanted to wish you all a very happy day.

And remember . . . 

A Visit to the New England Quilt Museum

This has not been one of our best foliage years, but yesterday morning after church I happened to drive by Legion Field and did a double take. The entire parking lot is ringed with these gorgeous red maples. I’m afraid they have been planted a bit too close together, but it creates quite an impact. 

Today, my friend Edith and I attended a “Meet the Teachers” event at the New England Quilt Museum in Lowell, Massachusetts. We collected brochures and cards from each teacher and learned about lectures and programs that each offered to guilds. 

I asked the museum director if I might share a few photos of quilts that caught my eye. She readily agreed and also asked me to encourage my readers to do come visit the museum in person. :-)

Aren’t they wonderful!!!

My wool applique piece is nearly done as I only have to sew on the backing layer. I will share the completed piece in my next post.
 

My Oldest Quilt Project FINISHED!!!

 Well, it is finally done!!! I had received a gift of fat quarters used in this quilt from friends way back in 2007!!! They had gone on a quilt shop hop, but I was not able to accompany them as at that time I was undergoing chemo treatments during my first adventure with breast cancer. Perhaps I had associated the fabric with that challenging period, but in any event, I never did anything with the fat quarter bundle. Maybe seven or eight years ago, I start making these blocks. There was no pattern. I simply had fun slashing and inserting strips. When the blocks were completed, they again sat there for a few more years. Finally, I decided to put them together, and I am glad that I did. Sixteen years . . . it makes me wonder, dear readers . . . what is your oldest work in progress???

The sad thing is I have a number of  quilts that need to be completed. I’d like to say that I will finish one every month, but even I don’t believe that will happen. I do know that no fabric, cross stitch, or wool will enter this house until I make a significant dent in what I already have. True confession: I recently ordered two wool applique patterns and more than a few cross stitch patterns, but honestly, that’s it!!! Really and  truly. . . 

You are looking at the last two sections of my wool applique table runner project. I’m not sure why, but the chicken wagon and barn each seemed to take a long time to stitch. This weekend I will work on adding the backing. 

Since my last post, I did attend an Amy Grant concert at Plymouth Memorial Hall, and she was absolute lovely. The only down spot came near the end of the concert when the woman in front of me decided to stand up. Mind you, she had had a perfectly clear view of the stage, but once she popped up, my view was completely blocked. Now, if you know me, you know I am a pretty mild person, but I found myself getting more and more aggravated. I wanted to ask her politely to please sit down, but I could not bring myself to do so as she appeared to be in seventh heaven, having the time of her life. Concert etiquette seems to be getting worse and worse. With the price of tickets these days, you would at least like to be able to see the performer. How would you have handled this situation?

Well, that’s all for now as I will be heading out shortly to attend a play at my youngest cousin’s school. It is his first time acting. Gee, I sure hope nobody blocks my view tonight!

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.