The Fates are stitched on this last day of January

 Winter has arrived here in Florida, the last few days our evening temps have drop to 28 degrees with a hard frost beginning in the wee hours of the morning.  We had a few cold days last week and the week before, though always warming right before the rain comes.  If the cold were to linger with the rain we would have had snow.  It will begin to warm up as the days move into February and before we know it Spring will be here, I'm sure though another few days of frigid cold will visit us before the end of February.

I have finished the hand embroidery on the Moriae aka the 3 Fates piece.  The piece turned out quite nicely and I am happy I decided to use the 3 pink floss colors. 

I stitched the piece on 100% cotton with a subtle tone on tone paisley print, I have used the fabric on other pieces over the years and it will be the fabric I use for my next Greenman piece which I will begin this week. I don't know what it is exactly about this fabric I find so appealing but when I first saw it a few years ago in a quilt shop I just knew I wanted to do hand embroidery on it.  It's actually 108" wide, I believe made for backing a quilt.  I'm linking my post to Kathy's Quilts here is the link so you can see what other talented bloggers are stitching https://kathysquilts.blogspot.com/2022/01/slow-sunday-stitching_0130277298.html

Another Sunday of Slow Stitching

 Brrrr! The weather has turned cold here in north central Florida, we have had 2 consecutive nights of freeze warnings and another one tonight as temps drop to 29 degrees.  It's 45 outside right now and it feels like its freezing, a great day to be inside stitching.

I have the clothing on the 3rd figure done and just started on the body parts on the first figure. When I

moved my hoop I automatically went back to the first figure instead of beginning the body parts of the figure I just stitched. The third figure is stitched in DMC 601 which is the darkest of the 3 pink shades I'm using for this piece.  I'm using DMC 436 for the flesh pieces.

I have 2 other projects ready to begin once I pull out the fabric I want to use and a piece I've had in a Q-Snap frame I started last year I really need to get back to stitching. 

I am linking my post to Kathy's Quilts today, click the link to see what Kathy and other talented bloggers are stitching.

 https://kathysquilts.blogspot.com/2022/01/slow-sunday stitching_0558537504.html

Catching Up on Sunday and Some Slow Stitching and a Bit of Reading

The rain we have had most of the night has stopped for awhile though we are expected to get more rain throughout the day.  The wind has died down quite a bit so hopefully my trash cans will stay upright and in place, along with my potted plants which I just moved behind my patio wall.  We need the rain so I will just keep checking the trashcans and chair throughout the day.

This year I plan to make a few changes in my life, nothing major and mostly relating to my general well being.  After being sick from March 2020 and most of 2021 I know a few changes are necessary to keep going forward with my recovery which is slow but improving.  The heart and clogged arteries are my main focus and I want to improve my chances of avoiding any other heart surgeries, before the next problem arises.

I'm back on my daily walks, however, instead of logging the miles I am logging the time I spend walking.  Everything I have read and research over the last few months state an average of 20 minutes a day of exercise is recommended which honestly feels like nothing, when I was doing my 2 miles a day I was done in 20 minutes, often less. So this year my goal is walking 1 hour each day.  So far I am walking the 1 hour 3 to 4 days a week and shorter walks on the other days 20-30 minutes. By February I plan to be walking 1 hour daily.

Another thing I want to do this year is eat avocado it's one of the few fruits (yes, technically they're a fruit, not a veggie) that contain healthy unsaturated fats. These fats help lower undesirable LDL cholesterol when eaten in place of saturated fat. It provides nearly 20 different nutrients, many of which are considered heart-healthy, including unsaturated fat, fiber, vitamin K, vitamin E, and potassium.  

Potassium is one of those things I need to up my intake on because of the diuretics I take for my blood pressure, over the last few months I have been getting leg cramps in the thighs those dreaded charley horse muscle spasms most of us get in our calves have moved to my thigh muscles.

It may seem like a silly thing to want to do but I want to add new and different foods to my diet this year and avocado is one of  them, my daughter in law uses them in her smoothies etc. We were discussing healthy food options and different foods and I mentioned white grapefruit, which is nearly impossible to find here in Florida, the next day I stopped at Aldi for a few things; to my pleasant surprise I found white grapefruit. They are sold in bags of 2 so I bought 2 packs.  

When I lived back in NJ it was available in every supermarket and red and pink were a rare find.  Then I moved to Florida it was impossible to find, though every now and then the now closed Food Lion and  Albertson's would have it.  I once found it at a flea market fruit and veg stand.  And then nothing for years except ordering it mail order. I came across these articles in regard to white grapefruit:

https://citrusindustry.net/2019/11/06/reintroducing-white-grapefruit-u-s-market/

https://citrusindustry.net/2021/11/11/img-citrus-launches-yellos-grapefruit/

I am over the moon with my find, I will probably buy a few more packs later in the week so I can eat it daily for breakfast. It tasted just like I remembered. 

My hand embroidery piece is progressing, I am working on the second figure of the piece and using DMC 602 floss. It's a slightly darker shade of pink than the first figure, originally I had planned to use a blue on the 2nd figure and purple for the 3rd, but the more I looked at the colors together I liked the shades of pink rather than the multiple colors, the third figure will be stitched in DMC 601.

The piece is of  The Moriae, or the Greek Fates “spinners of fate” controlling the lives of humans in pieces of thread. Clotho spun the thread, Lachesis handled it, and Atropos cut the thread at the end of one's life.  I thought a fitting piece for this hand embroiderer.  I am linking my post to Kathy's Quilts here is the link https://kathysquilts.blogspot.com/2022/01/slow-sunday-stitching_01120247794.html

My friend sent me 10 more Love Embroidery magazines, this is the one I am reading through today.

This issue came with a felt swan kit, for subscribers in the UK each issue comes with a gift insert, for subscribers in the USA we only receive the magazine, which is fine with me there are some fun patterns in each issue.

Well let me post this and go pick up that chair outside that the wind blew over again. Then I think it's time for tea and a bit of reading before stitching.

Nine Days into the Month and I'm Stitching Slowly

 Nine days into January and here in Florida the weather has been quite nice so far, a few chilly temps in the evening in the mid forties and mostly sunny days after the dense morning fog passes.

I have been slowly stitching the piece I began on January 1st. I have a few other designs I need to transfer to fabric once I chose the fabric I want to use for each project.  Here is a look at my progress so far.

She is the first of three figures in this design, I am using an older 100% cotton fabric that I love it has a paisley design in the palest natural tone, if I am not mistaken it was 108" fabric sold as quilt backing. I've use the fabric for several pieces and just love the look of the design when stitched. So far I am using DMC floss 603.  I don't often use so much pink but for this it just felt right.

A friend of mine in the UK recently sent me a few issues of Love Embroidery magazine, oh my I was in thread heaven when I opened the package. So many patterns and only two hands to work with.

I was quite happy to find out I could subscribe to this magazine through a US vendor, the magazine includes patterns for projects in each issue and if you are lucky enough to be in the UK you will get the little extras included.  My friend sent me those along with the magazines.  Her eyesight isn't what it used to be so she isn't doing as much needlework, she still knits and crochets and I swear she can do that with her eyes closed and produce a perfect garment.

For today I am linking up with Kathy's Quilts here:https://kathysquilts.blogspot.com/2022/01/slow-sunday-stitching.html

Oh here is a photo of my 2021 orts, the ball next to the orts jar now empty and ready to fill in 2022, lots of lovely colors. The balls of orts under the jar are the orts from 2019 and 2020.

I am once again taking part in TUSAL the Totally Useless Stitch Along where stitcher's post photos of there orts on the New Moon of each month.  I'm in the Facebook Group again this year, I didn't keep up in 2020 or 2021 due to illness so it's good to start again this new year.  My little calendar page for the new moon dates.

New Year, New Ideas, and New Stitching Projects

 Yesterday morning the first thing I did was hang up my wall calendar for 2022, there is something exciting about opening a new calendar, seeing all those blanks squares and wonder which date will be filled in first, what event or appointment will fill that first space.  

My datebook will list all the same appointments as well as little notes I tend to jot down through the year; this sits on my desk between my computer monitor and printer.

You would be amazed at all the little notes, ideas and thoughts I squeeze on the daily spaces.  I have been using a We'Moon datebook for many, many years, it is filled with women's art, prose and poetry and this year I may submit a piece of my own work for a future datebook.

I spent time yesterday sorting out a few colors of floss for the first hand embroidery project of the year, pulling out the years orts from the jar so I can start fresh, updating my craft journal and making a list of some Weeks Dye Works floss for another project I will be working on this month.

In the photo above is my empty orts jar, the first 3 DMC floss colors and my project journal where I record materials and tools used, date I started and completed a project and sometimes a rough sketch. 

Last night after all the necessary chores were done I pulled out my embroidery hoop, fabric, floss and needles to start the hand stitching of my first hand embroidery project for 2022.

I am linking my post to Kathy's Quilts for my first 2022 Slow Sunday Stitching here is the link to see what other talented people are slow stitching, https://kathysquilts.blogspot.com/2022/01/happy-new-year.html