Slow Sunday Stitching and Gentle Reminders

It's been a crazy week with everyday chores and visits to doctors, a run to the library to pick up waiting items and house hunting.  The weather was up and down all week with rain, humidity and yesterday sunshine and 92 degrees a little too warm for Spring but this is Florida and some years spring last for a week.  

Spring also brings out the allergies which triggers sneezing, sniffles, itchy eyes and headaches that make me want to just close my eyes till winter.  The older I get since living in Florida each year I seem to have a new allergy trigger. 

Despite all the errand running and sneezing I managed to get some crocheting done, I put in a few rows on my shell stitch afghan which is coming along slowly.

I also put a few stitches in the greenman piece this week, last night before I stopped stitching for the night I embroidered the stitches beneath the eye and started the leaves beside the eye, he is also being slowly stitched, which is one of the reasons I love hand embroidery.

I will be linking my post to Kathy quilts today a wonderful site where bloggers from all over post about what they are slow stitching. Check it out you won't be disappointed, here's the link

https://kathysquilts.blogspot.com/2019/04/slow-sunday-stitching_14.html

Speaking of Slow Sunday Stitching today while reading one of this Sunday's blog post I came across a wonderful post that not only reminded me I am a member of Jenny of Elefantz's The Gentle Art of Domesticity book study group.  http://www.elefantz.com/p/book-study-2019-gentle-art-of.html

but I (glady) suffer from a condition many of us have multiple stitching personality disorder.

You can read about it here:https://eagleswingsquilts.blogspot.com/2019/04/multiple-stitching-personality-disorder.html

Not only that but I also remembered I had joined a SAL for the Grow with Grace project that you can read about here https://allie-oopssweethappylife.blogspot.com/2019/03/block-9-grow-in-grace.html

I realized not only do I suffer multiple stitching disorder, I tend to forget I join SAL, CAL, QAL usually I remember half way through, or the last block was put together.  When there are stitchery pieces involved I tend to do all the hand stitching first.  On occasion I forget I have even signed up for a project.  I even join the Facebook group if available so that posting will show up in my timeline, but one has to check their page to see those, well never mind, I have to send alerts to my calendar or something because the calendar on the wall right here next to my head with all the events and such written there isn't reminder enough. LOL

By the way the book for the The Gentle Art of Domesticity book study group is The Gentle Art of Domesticity by Jane Brocket, believe me it is not an typical how to book. 

This week we are reading pages 96-100 and it's not too late to join, as I mentioned I had forgotten I was a member so I am in catch up mode you can find past weeks post at the link above.  One of the questions this week was in regard to patterns, not the needlework pattern you might think but more the patterns in life your routines, rituals and the like.  

I have several set routines but I am not a rigid as I was when I was raising my son, where a simple knock on the door in the morning would send my day off kilter.  Many of you that have been reading my blog for years know I start each day with a walk in nature, I love the peaceful quiet of early morning when the sun is just rising above the trees, birds are singing and squirrels are scampering about to and fro.  There is a pattern there among the trees, birdsong and rising sun often its where I get much of my creative inspiration, whether for needlework or writing something usually reveals itself to me.

Well my needles are loaded and waiting for me to get in some slow stitching this bright and sunny Sunday.  

When my fingers get to sore to hold the needle I have Sally Goldenbaums newest mystery to pass some time.

along with the newest issue of American Quilter the American Quilters Society publication.  

Have a wonderful day!

Slow Sunday Stitching and Garden Works to send off April.

This is the last Sunday in April I thought I would share my newest hand embroidery piece Entering the Forest Clearing on Beltane Eve.  A fitting piece for the end of April.

Just when I thought the stitching was complete until I noticed there was no ground to stand upon. Using one of those pens that remove stitching lines when pressed with a warm iron I must have 'erased' the ground when I was pressing out lines to make a few changes. So literally I am back to the drawing board. Some day I will learn not to make changes midway through my designs.

The weather here has been lovely dry and cool pleasant enough to get out in the garden and clean things up a bit.  After the winter freezes we had I wasn't sure any of my plants would survive but lucky for me Mother Nature had different plans for some of my plants.

My Canna Lily bloomed last weekend so this week I cleaned away all the dead debris and she will get a larger pot this week.  

There is a new shoot coming up, so glad I kept this one.  I  first spotted this plant at the Silver Springs park a few years ago so I did a little research and sure enough it blooms through late summer dies off and returns in the Spring. Even though it's a perennial I had my doubts after the hard freezes we had and the cover came off twice.

The Mexican Petunias are looking quite healthy now that I cut off all the dead stalks these will be transplanted into the large pot this week.  The Caladiums and the black Elephant Ears are burst out as well.

I pulled out the dead leaves yesterday I'll plant these in a large pot or possibly the ground, here is a stray from a spent leaf I tossed last summer peeking out from behind a few empty pots.

These elephant ear are all from spent leaves I just tossed in a half filled pot, last year while away the planter feel over leaving me a bunch of dead plants upon my return.

Then it wouldn't be Spring without a few new plants to perk things up in the front of my house.

There is Lantana, Pentas, Lavender, and Rosemary, another Lavender and Lantana plant, all will be planted into larger pots this week.  I had every intention of transplanting them yesterday but when I opened the garage the large bag of soil waiting was garden soil and not potting soil and I learned a few years ago there is a big difference when planting in pots.

Butterflies love Pentas and Lantana so I have those just for that purpose, The lavender is for me because I love it one is a culinary type.  This Rosemary was so lush and healthy I just couldn't pass it up.

So this week while the weather is pleasant I will be working in my garden, I don't plant to do much this year while I'm house hunting because truly I don't want to have to pack up a bunch of plants because the last time I moved I lost the majority of them.

Today though with  my allergies in high gear I have plans to sit and get in some slow stitching and hopefully finish the Greenman embroidery and perhaps start new project or two.

There isn't much more stitching to go on him and I'm looking forward to completing him, but first I need to add some ground to my Beltane Forest piece.  I will be linking today at Kathy's Quilts click the link and find out what other bloggers are Slow Stitching today. 

https://kathysquilts.blogspot.ca/2018/04/slow-sunday-stitching_29.html

Bits-n-Bobs and Some Slow Stitching Too.

Some stitching progress on the Greenman has been made though not as much as I had planned. It won't be long till the stitching is complete you can see my needle in the bottom corner I paused to snap the photo.  This is a pattern by Urban Threads.

My own piece is another project I am making for a friend an antlered Goddess as evident in the photo, I have made several changes along the way and I'm sure there are a few other changes to come before she is done. I am posting today here on Kathy's Quilts for slow Sunday stitching  https://kathysquilts.blogspot.ca/2018/04/slow-sunday-resting.html

Bits of cast off fabric, the odd button or two and beads, a few loose charms, thread, yarn with other fibers add a little bit of air dry clay and few wooden clothes pins, mix some of the ingredients to get a few Spirit Dolls.

No scrap is too small to keep, any loose button is tossed into one of my button boxes for another day,  all those orts that on each new moon are lovingly stuffed into my orts jar waiting...sometimes the wait is a long time in coming then all at once those items are gathered and transformed.

Whether I am slow stitching hand embroidery, or hand piecing a quilt square or two (made from old cashmere sweaters) or putting bits and bobs together to create a few spirit dolls.  I love slowing down to do hand work.  Molding air dry or polymer clay feeds my need to get back into a pottery studio, for now it's enough.  

December's First Slow Stitching Sunday

December seems to have arrived while I wasn't looking, after being ill with the flu and viral infection for a few weeks the days tend to run together and before I knew it I was turning the page on my calendar.  I am happy to say I am feeling much better not quite 100% but very close and I'm back to my hand embroidery with a clear head. 

I finished the 3rd house block for the I Love Home series by Jacqueline Steves, so now I need to print off and trace block 4 which is the last block for the project. https://jacquelynnesteves.com/

I have two new embroidery projects  in the works. One project has been printed onto the Pellon Stitch N Washway stabilizer and affixed to the fabric and await stitching. I love using this when I have a piece with a lot of detail like the greenman pattern below, it's much easier to print the pattern onto the product that way I don't miss any of the details, which I have done in the past.

The first project is another Greenman piece, he is being worked on unbleached cotton muslin which I am also using for backing the piece for more stability. I think this is the 6th Greenman I'm doing.

Greenman from Urban Threads

This Greenman pattern is another from Urban Threads, I have quite of few of their patterns this one can be found here: http://www.urbanthreads.com/products.aspx?productid=UTH1590 

I was out and about a few days ago dropping off a bag of donations at one of my favorite thrift shops and decided to browse for a few minutes, I'm so glad I did I stumbled upon a great find I nearly missed 50 packages of Mill Hill beads and 6 charms, all sealed packets for $5.00.

I thought how serendipitous since I signed up to take part in the 2018 Crazy Quilt Journal Project, I'm sure some of my embellishing will include some beads.  Registration is open until December 31 here is the link if you are interested in taking part and signing up:   https://crazyquiltjournalproject2018.blogspot.com/p/crazy-quilt-journal-project-2018.html

The thrift shop where I found the beads is the same shop I found spools and spools of velvet ribbons and all kinds of lace trim a year or so ago.  I wonder if there is a crazy quilter in the vicinity.  I am linking my post today over at Kathy's Quilts come over and have a look at what other bloggers are slow stitching today https://kathysquilts.blogspot.ca/2017/12/slow-sunday-stitching.html

A future project coming up will involve embroidering these blocks by Darlene Zimmerman for Robert Kaufman's Windowsill Garden collection, there are eight blocks and I decided to do both the colors and the redwork blocks.

in colors

all red

I like to have something at hand for when I get tired of working the same project or the tedious use of one color which will happen when I begin stitching the Greenman. 

Spring Forward

Yes this year I remembered to turn the clocks ahead one hour!  It was quite simple to remember since I was still up at 2:00 a.m. and in a snap it was an hour later.  It was one of those nights where my brain was just buzzing along with my needle and thread.

I left off my stitching on the Greenman about a week ago as other things needed to be done and there were days I just wasn't in the mood to stitch, here is where I was yesterday before I began to stitch.

bottom corner started

And here is where I finished last night (actually in the wee hours of 1:45 a.m.)  I will be putting the final embroidery stitches later today. 

the final stitches

I didn't make it to the wire wrap class yesterday I was puttering around the garden and lost track of time, Its over a 90 minute drive and I didn't want to rush to get there so I'll try to take the class the next time around.
I will be linking my post over at Kathy's Quilts today joining other bloggers for some Slow Sunday Stitching here's the link:https://kathysquilts.blogspot.com/2017/03/spring-forward.html

I'll also join Super Mom No Cape at http://www.supermomnocape.com/vintage-embroidery-monday-stitchery-link-party-101/
 Click on the links and have a look at what other talented bloggers are working on.

Greenman Embroidery, Crocheting and Roses too!

 February is flying by in a rush today is Saturday the 18th, one step out the front door and I know the air holds a chill 46 the daytime temps are expected to be low 70's,  ah winter in Florida. It's been a busy month on the 6th I celebrated with my son's for his 36th birthday, gee when did he get so old?

very Floridian Cake

On the 15th  my great niece Tessa turned 4 years old, she was happily surprised with a total bedroom makeover in top to bottom Minnie Mouse, her absolute favorite Disney character.

We had another day with gusty winds that toppled over the trash can and a few plants though luckily no real damage, odd a few weeks ago we had tornado strength winds and nothing toppled over, life is a mystery.

Early in the morning on the day before Valentine's Day my rose buds all began to open the next day

Valentine's Day morning I was given the gift of some beautiful blooms, they put on such a lovely show.

The hand embroidery on the Greenman is slowly progressing I need to raid my supplies for some new needles I've noticed the one's I'm currently using have grown a bit dull making it harder to poke the needle through the stitch and wash product I printed my pattern on.

Just off the crochet hook is a swiffer cover for my aunt who recently posted a photo of one and inquired if I could make one.  So I bought some Peaches and Creme cotton yarn and an "H" hook and began to stitch.

The end result came out quite nicely if I say so myself, I changed the stitch from the original pattern, I used the single crochet stitch. I'm not thrilled with the yarn at all I am going to have to wash it

before I  send it  because the dye was all over my hands while I was crocheting, I've never had that happen before though I know other people have experienced it.  I'll be making another one for my sister later today. I may wash and dry the yarn before I start the next one.  Here is a link to the pattern
http://onceuponbaby.blogspot.com/2012/04/crochet-swiffer-cover-pattern-and.html

Update February 19th:  stitching update on the Greenman hand embroidery, I will say I like the

sketch much more then the stitched piece, I sure hope I feel differently when I complete the embroidery.  I'm linking up to Kathy's Quilts today for some Slow Sunday Stitching, here's the link:
 https://kathysquilts.blogspot.ca/2017/02/slow-sunday-stitching_19.html

Slow Sunday Stitching and Some Beads

This is my first Sunday stitching post for February and my first Slow Sunday Stitching since the eighth of January.  I posted other post with some stitching updates but for one reason or another the post were not on a Sunday.

I don't know about you but there are days when I just don't feel like posting to my blog, or I'm busy or I just don't want to sit at the computer, which for me is more often then I like to admit and some days I find myself with nothing to say.

Today's post will be linked at Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching  https://kathysquilts.blogspot.ca/2017/02/slow-sunday-stitching.html 
And on Monday at http://www.supermomnocape.com/vintage-embroidery-monday-stitchery-link-party-96/

My Brigid's Cross hand embroidery was finished just in time for Brigid's Day which was Thursday 

Brigid's Cross

the photo shows the piece after it was removed from the hoop it has since been pressed and finished.

I have started the hand embroidery on a new greenman project, I think this is the fifth greenman so 

greenman

 far or maybe the sixth.  I have also started on the winter goddess though progress is slow going I like how the few leaves turned out, I always had trouble with the satin stitch but these look okay 

On the last day of January I attended a wire wrapping jewelry class and had a great time, I have done lots of beaded jewelry over the years but wire wrapping was something I tried a few times and it didn't work out to my satisfaction, I think in part because I wanted to wrap some stones I have and I just couldn't get the wire to stay put or the wrap to be tight enough.  Cue up me at the local bead shop hunting for my supplies and having a chat and finding out if I had used half round or even square wire my results would have been different. Ha who knew? obviously not me!  There are lessons every where and I learned one that day, when you don't know simply ask.  All those jewelry making books and magazines I had read over the years, all of them at one time or other mentioned half round, square wire knew what they were talking about. (don't even get me started on half hard or soft wire).

For the first class we made earrings, I used silver wire and pink bicone crystal beads I was thinking

Spring time, I think they turned out nice, they look sort of Victorian in style, I even made the ear wires, I may remake the ear wires smaller. Oh and I did realign the spirals after the photo was cropped I noticed they were off. I don't wear long dangling earrings but I know the perfect person who does so I am going to gift these to her.  Here is a close up the loop on the bottom allows for

a dangling bead to be hung there most of us in the class opted not to add the dangle, I did make them so I will let my friend decide once she sees them.  There are four other wire wrap classes coming up in he next few months I'm not sure if I'm going to take them all, I do know I plan to take the class on March 21 we will be wrapping a cabochon to make a pendant.

There is also a beaded jewelry class coming up on the 22nd of February I have to check my calendar before I sign up.

All the supplies are included in the beaded bracelet class which makes it so much easier not to have to hunt through the beading supplies or shop which can lead me to add so many more extras then I really need.

I added a new rose bush to my garden, it's a bi-color rose in lovely pink shades. I resisted buying 

more of the rose bushes for now because I really have to clean up the garden before I add any more plants.

The Greenman is finished now onto the Celtic knots

I put the last stitches into the Greenman #2 piece today overall I am happy with the piece so now its

on to the four Celtic knots in the corners, then a little break from green embroidery thread for a while

and a new project.

April TUSAL Orts Report

Wow another New Moon which means its time for me to post my Orts for the April TUSAL, what is a TUSAL=Totally Useless Stitch A Long what more information follow the like to Daffycat's site and you can find out what its all about and join too if you would like.
http://itsdaffycat.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-totally-useless-stitch-long-2015.html

Orts Jar

orts

The Orts for this  month come mainly from the Greenman #2 hand embroidery piece.  Yesterday I was able to put in some quality stitching time.

The top half of the Greenman's leaves are completely stitched and today I plan to start on the bottom half.  The photo doesn't do justice to the piece it is quite stunning up close.

More ort threads to be sorted for longer pieces I will still use the others will be tossed in my Orts jar

which I need to tamp down which I will do when this piece is completed. The lone blue yarn piece

is from the shawl I am crocheting which I work on when my fingers are too sore to hold onto the needle.

The shawl has reached thirty four inches in width and still growing, I am pleased with the results and I like the simple pattern stitch.

Well that's all for this month's TUSAL. I am off to an Arts and Crafts festival.
Happy Stitching