Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from sunny Florida

Happy Winter Solstice!

The first day of winter for me conjures up visions of snow falling gently covering everything in a carpet of white.

When in reality here in Florida its more like this.

But in my heart I hold fast the memories of snowy fields, warm mittens and the sound of children laughing through the snow.

Happy First Day of Winter!

Slow Sunday Stitching December 18th and Monday Link up Party

It has been a very busy week as I pull and pack items for shipping each day to keep all my customers happy. This time of the year is such a busy time for all of us so trying to make time for some much needed stitching time gets a bit creative and nearly impossible.

I did manage to get a start on the last block for Hocuspocusville and I will take a little time today to put in a few more stitches.

block 12 started

I removed the stitch and wash away project from the little goddess mandala project I was working on and you can see how much I chose to leave off from the original piece.

The piece still needs to be pressed and finished but overall I like the look of the simple hand embroidered outline. Below is the original piece where you can see all the moons I decided to leave off.

Yesterday I received a few small packages in the mail, one from my friend K in California who made these sweet little Christmas coasters. She retired from teaching this summer and has enrolled in a few sewing classes.

The other package contained a rainbow of perle embroidery floss for a future project I will be working on.  I don't normally use perle cotton when I hand embroider so it will be interesting to see if I notice any real difference when I am handling the threads.

A perle rainbow

The perle cotton is DMC number 5 which feels thin enough to get through the eye of some of my needles. I will experiment to see if I will work with a single thread or two or more.  I usually use 2 strands when I work with 6 strand embroidery floss, years ago I preferred working with 3.

I will be linking up with Kathy's Quilts for the slow Sunday stitching post. https://kathysquilts.blogspot.ca/2016/12/slow-sunday-stitching_18.html

My last bit of stitching news I have is I am going to join  1 year of stitches 2017 here is a link if you are curious:
http://www.brwnpaperbag.com/1-year-of-stitches-2017/
I like project, blogs and groups that keep me hand stitching, so this hand embroidery project looks to be right in step and a fun way to start off the New Year.

Monday Update:
My progress on block 12 is slow and steady, just the way I like it.  I just now realized I started stitching this on the right to left, after I finish stitching the window I'll move the work over in the hoop.

I'll be joining the linky party at Super Mom No Cape today a place where talented bloggers show what they are working on too come have a look.
  http://www.supermomnocape.com/vintage-embroidery-monday-stitchery-link-party-89/

Another Parking Lot Incident

On Tuesday afternoon while pushing a shopping cart on my way into the store some man in his cart going way to fast hit the cart right out of my hands, I was knocked back about 3 steps but didn't fall and I wasn't hurt. This man gets out of his car and ask if I'm okay saying he didn't see me. I say I'm okay and you were driving too fast to see me, its a parking lot not a race track. Then he finally sees the damage the cart made to the front end of his car, nice big dent smash. He ask what I am going to do, Me I'm going shopping you sir may call the police and make an accident report.. He stood there shaking his head saying he didn't see me. Perhaps next time you should look where you are driving. Lucky me for having the sense to grab a cart from the corral which is something I don't usually do. Luckier for him I didn't beat him senseless with the cart which I wanted to do. If I didn't have the cart to take the hit this would have ended differently.  

Slow Sunday Stitching: The last block for Hocuspocusville Quilt

block 12

Block 12, the last hand embroidery block for the Hocuspocusville Quilt will be started today, I will link up at Kathy's Quilt here:https://kathysquilts.blogspot.ca/2016/12/slow-sunday-stitching-binding.html

I am changing a few things on the Calamoondala I am not adding all those moons so today I will wash the Stitch and Washaway product off.

Food for thought: Is a banana enough to be called breakfast?

'Catching up' seems to be my phrase of the week, I have been trying to finishing up several loose ends before the arrival of the new year. This involves everything from clearing out old magazines to finishing up a craft project and cleaning up the straggly garden.

Yesterday it rain for most of the morning at times coming down so hard my front yard resembled a swamp, but minutes after the downpour passed those large puddles disappeared without a trace mostly thanks to the lack of rain we have had this year and living here in Florida it's not uncommon.

The crazy holiday season is upon us and having the online retail shops keeps me quite busy most of the day but this year I am being more cautious than I have been in previous years, trying to stay on top of my health is a top priority as I have slowly learned that ignoring the issues won't make them go away and most of the time things just get worse.

So I am trying to get adequate sleep which sometimes comes in the guise of an afternoon nap if I haven't had a restful nights sleep.  Eating is another issue, not eating right that isn't a problem, just eating a normal meal when I should is what I have trouble with.  The problem is I'm not a hungry person, I can get up take my morning medications and go usually till about two o'clock before I feel hunger.

Taking Metformin I'm supposed to take it with a meal so I find myself forcing myself to eat something when I'm not hungry which then makes me feel miserable and full.  So today I thought to myself why not take it in the afternoon? I mean the doctor didn't say take it in the morning, and since I swallow all those other pills in the morning why not?  Well not really a good idea because I'm supposed to be eating at least 3 meals through the day, so this week I have been getting creative with my morning meal. Ugh!

It's an ongoing process and even a bit of a struggle,  I can eat a banana and be full for hours, but is a banana a meal.

Same goes for a bowl of oatmeal, sprinkle in a few raisins I'm set for a two mile walk and whatever else I do through the day until dinner.

  I have even resorted to buying frozen pancakes that I can heat up in the microwave and I will drop some yogurt on them or fresh fruit or a few drops of honey.

So amidst the daily chores, packing items to ship, I'm pouring over my heart health and reversing diabetes books trying to find a breakfast that won't make me feel I've gorged on a banquet.

Happy St. Nicholas Day!

Slow Sunday Stitching on National Pins and Needles Day

I finished block 11 of the Hocuspocusville quilt last night, this has to be the fastest finish of all the blocks I hand embroidered so far.
I will link today at https://kathysquilts.blogspot.ca/2016/11/happy-national-pins-and-needles-day.html

block 11 complete

Before I begin the last block for Hocuspocusville I am starting on a new project which gives me a break from all the black floss.

This is the first Calamoondala I will be working on, the photo shows the pattern printed on Stitch and Wash Away product ready to be centered on the fabric.

This is the second piece which is ready to be stitched, I love both templates and just not sure which one I like better for the project.

Information for the project can be found here: http://www.brigidsgrove.com/creative-spirit-circle-membership-page/

Today is National Pins and Needles day

Here is a bit of Trivia:
National Pins and Needles day is a special day which remembers the 1937 play Pins and Needles, a Broadway play, which debuted 11/27/37, this blockbuster pro labor play debuted at the Labor theater

and was presented by the International Ladies Garment Workers Union. The play would go on to perform 1108 times.

Happy Thanksgiving

Stitching away through November

The month of November is speeding right along and here we are starting the week of Thanksgiving, where does the time go?
My progress on block 11 of Hocuspocusville Quilt is coming along though I did take a much need break to let my fingers heal, the cool weather dries the skin which makes the skin split on my fingers.

block 11

I have been having one of those weeks where I feel restless in my creative endeavors so I thought I would change things up along with the change in weather, which has been quite cool this week.  So along with my hand embroidery projects I've pulled out a crochet project, in March 2015 I started this shawl and somewhere along my stitching I wasn't paying attention and worked several rows in the wrong direction so I unraveled the entire shawl and started over this week so far I am on track.

in progress shawl

The yarn is silk and very soft causing it to slip off the hook easily if I work the stitches too quickly so I am trying to work a slower manageable pace, so far so good.
While researching crochet patterns the other day  I stumbled onto Lion Brand yarns website and found the Shawl in a Ball yarns which I just loved on sight.  So I ordered 2 skeins of the Metallic blends which are not currently available in the area shops here.

Colorway is Om Opal

I just love the way the metallic threads run through the yarn, you may need to click the photo to see the colors of the metallic threads. I can't wait to get started on a project, it's a 61% cotton 34% acrylic and 5% other blend.  After it arrived I ordered a few other colorways.

Another project I have in mind to work on involves using some of these 10" squares from the Island Batiks Seashore colorway collection.

There are 21 colors in the package with a total of 42 squares,  for the project I have in mind the 10 inch squares are the perfect size so for once instead of purchasing fat quarters or yardage I bought the layer cake packet.

I will be linking up https://kathysquilts.blogspot.ca/2016/11/slow-sunday-stitching.html at Kathy's Quilts today for some Slow Sunday Stitching.
On Monday I will be joining the linky party over at Super Mom No Cape's blog here: http://www.supermomnocape.com/vintage-embroidery-monday-stitchery-link-party-85/

Why don't you hop on over and check out what other talented bloggers are stitching this week.

Veteran's Day

Clocks back and Stitching slowly on Sunday

Even after leaving a few post it notes around the house I still forgot to set the clocks back last night so this morning at 8:15 I set to work getting the correct time on all my clocks, note to self: get rid of some of those clocks.  The best thing about forgetting is now I can live that hour over again.

I started on block 11 for the Hocuspocusville quilt last night, not much progress when you look at it but it took a while to get the big tire on the bicycle done.

This block doesn't have that much to stitch so I think I will be done much quicker than some of the other blocks.  I'll be linking my post over at Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching click on the link to see what other bloggers are slow stitching today:  https://kathysquilts.blogspot.ca/2016/11/slow-stitching-sunday-lighting.html
On Monday I will link up here at Super Mom No Cape.
http://www.supermomnocape.com/vintage-embroidery-monday-stitchery-link-party-83/

My friend Yvonne sent me this cut little crocheted tea cup she made, my photo doesn't do it justice, the yarn is a lovely lavender trimmed with white and sits on a crocheted saucer.

I am going to stick a small plastic cup or cupcake liner inside to make it sturdy, I do that when I make the quilted tea cups, that way I can fill it will potpourri or small trinkets.

This week I  made my way over to the library to renew my library card and check out a few books.

I didn't make it to the local quilt show this weekend, It wasn't that I was sick or anything I can't really put my finger on it except to say I just wasn't in the mood to go and I didn't feel like driving over. I will just have to catch the 2018 show.

Block 10 is complete

The hand Embroidery for block 10 is complete, only two more blocks to do. I just may have these embroidered by the new year.

block 10 done

I am joining the linky party over at Supermom No Cape today here is the click so you can check out what other talented bloggers are doing today and if you are into vintage embroidery patterns check out the cutest little angel today.
http://www.supermomnocape.com/2016/10/31/vintage-embroidery-monday-stitchery-link-party-82/

I should be starting block 11 in a day or two after my fingers rest, yesterday the eye of the needle kept poking into my finger till it bled so it needs to heal a small hazard to hand stitching without a thimble and dry hands more so this time of year.

A fun filled October and slow stitches on a Sunday

WOW! This month has just flown by and much has gone on this October, early in the month my doctor added a few new medications for my blood pressure and not high cholesterol and something to keep my blood sugar in check, since my A1C was 6.5 but the fasting glucose a whooping 139 I am back on the Metformin at this point I am now considered diabetic, its only for a few weeks to see how things go but in all honesty I think I should have stayed on the medication 2 years ago when the other doctor first prescribed it even though all the numbers were normal.  My echocardiogram came out normal my heart is pumping at 60% normal is 50-75%.

On a good note yesterday I spent the afternoon with my sister and great niece at The Pickin Patch farm in Dunnellon http://www.dunnellonpumpkinpatch.com/  It was my first visit and we had a great time picking out pumpkins and sunflowers, walking through the corn maze and taking a hayride before heading home.

sunflowers

my pumpkin

The sunflowers are bright and cheerful in a clear pitcher and the pumpkin is just the right size for display.  When the pumpkin begins to wither I am going to cut it open fill it with potting soil and see if I can get it to grow, I think I will try my h and at planting sunflowers this year,

T and Me

The weekend before we visited a local church carnival and had a good time, my little niece is fearless and wanted to try every ride, unfortunately she is too short to ride most of the bigger rides even with an adult but there were quite a few rides just right for her short stature and the big smile on her face and the giggles rumbling out told me she had a great time.

Carousel Fun

I am posting my last Slow Sunday Stitching post for October and  linking up over at Kathy's Quilts
https://kathysquilts.blogspot.ca/2016/10/slow-stitching-sunday.html
I have one corner of block 10 for Hocuspocusville Quilt, I will be working on finishing this block today and then on to block 11.

Block number 10 is moving along

My progress so far on block 10 for the Hocuspocusville quilt. This block is moving along quite nicely, after the photo was taken I was still working on it and the roof is completely done.

I did take the time out to hand embroider the 12 small blocks for the Christmas Tree Skirt for the class I am taking at the local quilt shop which reminds me the second class meets on Wednesday afternoon so I need to cut the fabric and batting pieces for the Hexagon blocks.

I am linking up with the linky party at Supermom No Cape where other talented bloggers are posting what they are working on this week. http://www.supermomnocape.com/2016/10/17/vintage-embroidery-monday-stitchery-link-party-80/

Slow Stitching on a Sunny Sunday

There is nothing like the sunshine after a storm, and today we have bright blue skies and plenty of sunshine.  Hurricane Matthew blew through here on Friday and while the storm was wrecking havoc on the coastline here in Ocala we were very lucky.

I managed to run a few morning errands before the worst of the winds came blowing through and by dinner time it was clear enough to take my daily walk at a local park with a blustery breeze and light drizzle it was invigorating.

I was able to finish the last 6 hexie hand embroidery pieces for the Christmas Tree Skirt while the rain was pelting the windows.

Here is a close up of some of the blocks I put my own spin on I added spirals to the center of the stars
and stars to the gift box. In the above photo the first gift box is also my own while the 3rd one is done in the book as is the last star hexie block, though I used less lazy daisy stitches.

Here is a look at all 12 hexie blocks with the hand embroidery completed, the lines around the motifs are guidelines for the needle turn applique.

After the hexie blocks were done I picked up block 10 of the Hocuspocusville Quilt stitching the items on the clothesline,  I can not believe how long it took to stitch the articles on the clothesline but they are all so cute. I plan to finish stitching the tree today.

I will be linking up over at Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching click on the link to view what other bloggers are working on today.
https://kathysquilts.blogspot.ca/2016/10/slow-sunday-stitching.html

Hurricane Matthew is bringing the wind and rain

https://plus.google.com/103395616228597251466/posts/HZnjeU85ndy

The video taking off my front house, I figure we will lose a few more bunches of mistletoe off the tree and a few more twigs, I moved a few this morning.

The rain isn't too bad here the wind is picking up by the hour so I went to the post office to drop off packages to keep my customers happy and picked up the new Wonder Woman stamps, today is the first day release.

And while I was at the post office I grabbed some Jack-o-lantern stamps too!  I just love them.

If you are in the path of Hurricane Matthew stay safe and stay dry.

First Slow Sunday Stitching for October

A new month has begun and the first slow Sunday stitching for October is upon us.  New projects have pushed older projects back a little bit but not totally forgotten.  I love October the weather here in my area of Florida begins to change just enough to take notice.  The mornings are cooler which makes pulling weeds and other outdoor tasks much more enjoyable so I spend more time in the morning outside.  Nightfall comes earlier each evening which makes more time to settle down with needle in hand to stitch the night away.

We have the stirrings of hurricane Matthew in the air which means sticky, humid days with lots of rain which in turn keeps me off the road and happily stitching away on one project or another and reading when the fingers are too sore to pull the needle through one more stitch.

Here is my progress so far on the hand embroidered hexie blocks for the Christmas tree skirt class I'm taking. These are the six word piecesI have embroidered so far.

six words done

I'm midway through the other six hexie blocks and I am putting a personal touch to them by changing the motifs a little. The original design in Gail Pan's book Christmas Patchwork Loves Embroidery is a lovely pattern. Here are the blocks from the book we are to make 3 stars and 3 gift blocks I plan to change the little designs on the gift and star blocks.

I just want to pesonalize the blocks maybe add a few beads or metallic thread, I have a few ideas and I always did march to a different drummer.  I will be linking up today at Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching
https://kathysquilts.blogspot.ca/2016/10/slow-sunday-stitching-link-up.html

As I mentioned early in my post some older projects have been pushed aside, but not forgotten, the hand emboridery on block 10 is coming along in fact I had to pull my needle aside to snap this photo

block 10

I will work on this later in the afternoon, by the way this is the block that made me decide to buy the pattern to make the Hocuspocusville Quilt.  While searching patterns by Crab Applehill studios this one block came up the most when viewing images. I just loved the clothesline, the steaming cauldron, the cat and all those items hanging on the line to dry.  It was such a whimsical block I had to have it. I will link up Monday at Supermom No Cape
http://www.supermomnocape.com/2016/10/03/vintage-embroidery-monday-stitchery-link-party-78/