Just like that it's July! I'm a Year Older and Some Slow Sunday Stitching.

 It has been a few weeks since my last post on the 1st day of summer.  Things have been quite busy here with the online businesses and lately by the time I have packed up all the orders and taken them to the post office. Along the way I have been fighting a summer cold and flu with a fever and chills that naturally progressed to bronchitis. By the end of the day I am too tired to sit and make a blog post.

On Monday July 1st I celebrated my 69th birthday. My son and daughter in law took me out to lunch on the Saturday before to Hollerbach's in Sanford for a wonderful German meal and live music.  We spent time wandering the Street Market, bookstores and an antique shop and the Hollerbach's Outfitter shop. I secretly bought my DIL a pair of Krampus earrings for the Krampus Night celebration coming in the winter. Her birthday is on July 2nd. We had just finished browsing an art gallery when a severe thunder storm hit, we were offered a place to sit to wait out the storm.  

Our rain storms here in central Florida can be wicked, but we have needed the rain so even though the wind was blowing over signs and chairs everyone was glad to see the rain.

The weather here has been extremely hot and humid with daily temps pushing the high 90's with feels like temps for the last 3 days at 106-110. This week the temps should go back to low to mid 90's but it's Florida and it's hot in the summer months, usually until late October.

Happily enough most days I have been stitching on one project or another.  The Kathy Schmitz Woven Wreath SAL here are the June and July blocks.  

I finished the trifold pouch I made last month and it turned out quite nicely if I may say so myself.

After hand stitching all the pieces onto the base fabric I added a few embellishments and a small pocket inside (photo with the tiny crystals). I used a ceramic heart button and a yellow cord for the closure. The last photo shows the fleece lining.  I used an overcast stitch to finish the edges.  This is my first ever pouch and I learned quite a bit.

We are in week 27 of the K3n.clothtales SAL this week is stitching actual leaves, I haven't stitched my leaves yet and will most likely make fabric leaves because drying leaves here never seems to work with out humidity the leaves tend to get moldy.  Though I may actually use the Japanese Hopa-Zome method aka flower pounding for my leave.  Last week was stitching a hexagon using the quilt as you go technique, somehow I cut my pieces wrong so it's either going to be raw edge or I will recut some fabric. 

I dug up my botanical bundle that we buried at the Spring Equinox and I dug it up on the Summer Solstice.  Not much was left of the flowers and leaves. It went from the initial piece which was wrapped around a stick and tied with a strip of muslin fabric.

To this once it was dug up and washed and dried showing both sides.

I buried another one at the same time and plan to dig it up at the Spring Equinox in 2025.  Oh goodness before the Octagon and Leaf stitching we did Crazy Quilt piece.  I enjoyed doing the crazy quilt block.

I used pretty basic embroidery stitches but I have to say I absolutely loved making the woven roses. 

This week the first prompt for the Roxy's Journal of Stitchery Vol. 6,  Field Notes  was announced which is Title Page.  I have been tossing ideas around in my head and jotting down ideas in my notebook.  The project will follow the seasons beginning with spring and ending with winter.  There will be 3 prompts per season I believe announced every other Wednesday on the YouTube channel

I began the stitching for my Title Page, all the while ideas floating around in my head. Before I knew it I was done with the stitching.  This isn't the complete title page just a snippet that will be added to the page.

I have gone through some of my fabric stash to see what I have but have not really gathered much yet.  I haven't even decided on a size. If you are interested in join this project here is a link to the Youtube channel announcement https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFcv43aljNU 

A few days ago I ordered some of Rachels printed fabric bits from her Etsy shop to use. Not required I just thought I would like to have them.  Here is a link to her shop.

 https://www.etsy.com/listing/1733546746/mixed-roxy-creations-fabric-field-notes?click_key=bd2e9106f19bb79c20e6ad63e24a00033af307e4%3A1733546746&click_sum=bef3d54b&ref=shop_home_active_2&crt=1

Today, while picking up a curtain rod and bird seed at Walmart, I headed to the crafts department and found this lovely text print fabric I may use as the backing or even some background pages for my Field Notes journal.

It's a 2 yard precut of 100 percent cotton.  It's heavier than a quilting cotton, more like cotton duck 

Here is the package information if you are interested in the fabric.

I also picked up 2 packages of needles with obvious large eyes.  I have been trying to find large eye needles without any luck, besides tapestry needles which tend to be a bit blunt.

These look like they will actually pierce fabric easily and with the large eye I can use wool, ribbon and other fibers for some of my stitching.  

My friend sent me a lovely vintage package of Cherrywood fabrics and Fabulous Fibers for my birthday.  I love the earthy colors of the fabrics and will use them for some autumn projects. 

Close up of the fabric colors and the coordinating yard and the fibers which are luscious.  I have similar fibers I bought years ago that I used making goddess/spirit dolls.  I will have to dig them out too.

Some new stitchery books that have been added to my shelf over the past few weeks.  Something for when my fingers are too sore to stitch.  I bought the The Foolproof Freeform Embroidery by Jennifer Clouston as a birthday gift to myself.  I am amazed at Jennifer Clouston's stitching, what she does with a few simple stitches just amazes me.  This book is a companion book to her Foolproof Flower Embroidery.

Among the Wildflowers by Tilly Rose includes iron on transfers.  I have 2 other books by the author Daydream Journals and Stitched Memories, so adding this to my stitching bookshelf made sense.

I am working on another pouch and just finished adding the last bits of fabric unto the backing. I am using the running stitch throughout the piece to secure all the pieces.  Most of the fabrics are the

same pieces I used for the other pouch. So far I plan this to be a pouch but who knows what it may become. 

 When I got up from my stitching to make some tea Simon moved to where I was sitting which is his spot when I'm not stitching.   We go through this almost everyday.  So I think some rearranging is in order.

On a final note something odd happened after I deconstructed a hard cover book to use for my Field Notes project.  I removed all the pages quite easily and the glue flaked off but barely touched me.  I don't know if I should have worn gloves but about 5 minutes later my hands were burning. I kept washing them but the burning and itching continued.  Finally I put on some O'Keeffe's hand cream and after about an hour my hands felt better.  My hands still feel tender and sore like they were burned.  I have taken apart books before and never hand that happen.  

Update on the K3n SAL I have completed the Hexagon piece, it's quite wonky.  I lost my concentration or something while I was stitching.  

I didn't add any embroidery stitching to the center circle I was just so frustrated by the time I finished it I'm calling it done. I finally have a post to share so I'm linking this post up at Kathy's Quilts hop on over to see what other talented bloggers are stitching.

https://kathysquilts.blogspot.com/2024/07/slow-sunday-stitching.html

Happy Summer Solstice!

 

Wishing you all a happy first day of Summer.

I'm still battling a nasty bout of bronchitis which seems to be lingering longer every year.  This is about all the energy I have right now for a blog post.

Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit! Hello June

 

Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit!”

Saying “Rabbit rabbit rabbit” aloud upon waking on the first day of a new month is an old charm to ensure good fortune throughout the month.

Wow it's the first day of June, did May go by in a flash or what?  Time seems to move faster and faster every year.

May is Flying By, What's Been Going on Here.

 It's just been a crazy month of busy days and being under the weather fighting off a virus or flu that didn't want to let go.  

Then twice this month in stopping myself from falling I hurt my back and knees, how is it when you stop yourself from falling you seem to injure yourself more.  This last save happened Monday when I slipped in the shower, I twisted to grab the windowsill to keep my footing and I felt a snap from left knee to left hip.  I can't begin to tell you how painful it was but today I am moving about much better than I was on Monday.  Last week I was avoiding a fall when I stepped on one of the cats toys and bang the same snap on the same side.  I would let myself fall if I knew I wouldn't break anything.  

So while letting the pain work itself out I did get a few things stitched. Last night I did the May block for the Kathy Schmitz Woven Wreaths SAL, I have changed the stitches to what I am comfortable with.

My pieces for the K3n.clothtales SAL has opened my creativity in so many ways, I am really embracing the slow stitching style, the raw edges and the wonkiness.  This week, 21 is Boro Style which I actually love the big stitches. 

Week 20 had us doing a Desert Island trip where we could only bring 8 items for out project. My piece is quite simple mainly because I was under the weather all week. I only brought 4 items, but a 5th will be another piece of fabric to mount my piece. The items I brought are: 1 piece of fabric, 1 needle, 1 length of 6 strand DMC variegated floss ( I used 2 strands for each spiral), and 1 pair of scissors. The spirals were stitched freehand and the closeup is to show the wonky stitches. 

Week 19 was based on Kintsugi the Japanese art of repairing broken ceramic with gold, here is my take on Kintsugi in stitching. For this piece it's a metaphor for grief it exemplifies the way that healing our broken places allows us to emerge from darkness stronger and more beautiful. Grief joins our broken places with our strong places; it unites our tangled past with our present.

Week 18 was the Pocket or better said Women's pockets,  I won't list all the things I did wrong constructing this piece, but it's a pocket made from an old bed sheet and bits of fabric scraps. It holds a small personal token inside along with a copy of Sharon Owens poem Dangerous Coats. 

 Earlier in the month The little Moon gazing hare is completely stitched.

The Summer Goddess will be put aside for a bit until I decide if I want to add anything more to her once I finish stitching and adding the bird which for it's small size is taking forever to do.

The weather has been a mixed bag of actual Spring days during the early part of the month, very little rain and this week quite hot, summer comes to central Florida early and we will stay hot now through mid October.  Our rainy or wet season starts on the 27th and Hurricane season starts on June 1st. 

The hibiscus continues to bloom these large flowers nearly every day.  The milkweed has rebloomed and those buds are now small yellow flowers the butterflies visit daily.  

The birds continue to visit the feeders and I have been visited by two fat squirrels that love to hang from the feeders.  A racoon stopped by once and trying to shoo it away was comical but I haven't seen it since.  No photos of the critters.