Looking Back to Move Forward On this Slow Stitching Sunday

The last day of January, the last slow stitching Sunday for this month and some health news updates.

On Wednesday I finally got the results of my CTA scan I had done in November,  I found out I have 3 clogged abdominal arteries which may be the reason for some of or all of the pain I have been having since March 2020. I have to have a consultation with the Interventional Radiology group to discuss stents to open the arteries or other options. It’s been 9 months since all this abdominal pain started and I still don’t have any real answers, My son gets married in less than a month and I would like to be able to enjoy the day pain free and maybe even eat a piece of wedding cake, but somehow I don't think that is going to happen. 

On Friday the doctor did another Endoscopy mainly because the report from the other doctor was either missing parts or written badly and one of the biopsy results was missing.  So my doctor let me decide now or June when it would be a year since the last one,  I chose now I want answers.  The results so far all my internal organs look good and I don't have Barrett's Esophagus (which the other doctor diagnosed). I am so glad I stopped seeing that doctor.  I will have the results of the biopsies in a short time. Now I'm waiting on the Radiology office to call me to set up an appointment.  

There will be light at the end of all this, from Jan 7th to the 21st I had two full weeks of no pain, no nausea and an actual appetite, it was like being me once again but I didn't let myself over do anything because at the start of all this after the first time in the hospital I had 2 weeks of normal and then it all started over.  I will say over the last 9 months I had a few good days but 2 weeks is the longest, so yes light at the end of the tunnel and at least so far the pain isn't bad enough to send me to the hospital, or it is but I just learned to live with it.

Here is a photo of my new glasses I mentioned in my last post. They are light weight clear blue frames, I picked them up on Tuesday, I love how they fit I wanted clear frames but all the ones I like were sold out so I ordered a second pair with clear frames, I like having backup glasses on hand.  I Purchase them from Lenscrafters.

On the needlework side of things for Slow Stitching today I'm going to put in some hand quilting on the first quilt I ever hand pieced. I began in October 1990, over the years I put off completing it and just work on it every now and then but I decided 2021 is the year to finish it. 

Every other block alternates a heart in the center and a red square center.  The heart piece was actually from patch work yardage I bought for just those heart pieces.  According to my Quilt Journal entry October 1990: The cutting and measuring is time consuming as I am using a ruler to make cardboard templates and scissors to cut my pieces (still my preferred way to cut). I spent 5 days marking the pieces and adding seam allowance and cutting all this entirely by hand.

By Thanksgiving day 1990 I have 12 blocks pieced, then put the quilt aside to do some Christmas crafting, on January 5th I had pieced a total of 15 blocks, and on January 12th 1991 all 35 blocks have been hand pieced and on January 22nd 1991 the quilt top was completed.   

Twenty years have passed since I completed the top and according to my journal entry regarding the backing fabric: Bummer my backing is 5 inches too short and I purchase 1/2 yard more than required according to the pattern book.
However, this turned out to be a road trip to the quilt shop in Allentown NJ, my late friend Sandy and I headed to Allentown to the Quilt Barn at least once a month, so the disappointment didn't last.  I did buy the necessary fabric and basted the quilt which according to the journal was my least favorite part. 

I began the hand quilting on February 2, 1991 I put it in the small standing quilt frame I had purchased at the newly opened Leewards, after two hours 1 square was hand quilted, I had the flu and a raging fever at the time. But hey it's slow stitching.

According to my journal after 6 squares I decided to quilt without the frame and just worked with the quilt on my lap, living in New Jersey at the time in a pre-WWI building (very drafty) it was nice to have the quilt on my lap while I worked.  On March 31st I added a loose binding made from strips of muslin to the quilt because the batting fibers were getting in my eyes and mouth wreaking havoc with my allergies, I have since changed to 100% cotton or wool batting.  Funny this more than anything stands out probably because even today loose fibers irritate my eyes quite a bit.  

Another memorable entry in April of 1991 I attended my first Quilt Show and loved it there were two others in April we attended.  I also put the quilt aside to begin plans to move to Florida in June 1991. There would be no other entry until June 16, 1995, My mother passed in 1991 a few weeks after I arrived and my son and I returned to NJ in December 1991 to tie up her affairs in NJ, I had packed everything in storage in Florida.  We moved back to Florida permanently in May 1994 and on June 16th of 1995 I found a quilt shop in Dade City, the one quilt shop in Ocala at the time, the Quilting Bee,  I would see it everyday on the drive to the hospital when visiting my mother had since closed. 

The quilt shop in Dade City was nearly a two hour drive which was fine with me, the shop in Allentown NJ my friend and I used to go to was a long a drive too.  In the time I went back to NJ, I had made several 9 patch baby quilts and taught my son Nick how to hand piece starting with 6 inch squares.  In 1996 I attended my first quilt show in 5 years, in 1997 I began a Joann's Quilt block of the Month, and in August 1998 there are 2 quilt shops in the county, so no long drives to Dade City.  Over the years the quilt shops in Ocala have closed, with new ones opening and then closing as well.  There is one quilt shop on the other side of town which I attended several classes including hand embroidery class in 2015 that reignited my love of hand embroidery, sadly those classes ended when the instructor moved away. My first quilt journal has no entries after August 1998, when I moved back to NJ for 2 years I didn't record anything even though I made a few baby quilts and wall hangings, there are brief mentions of them in the journal. I began keeping a stitchery journal so I record my projects in one volume when the mood strikes me.  Mostly I keep a running list of embroidery floss colors for project patterns I have, and the start and finish dates of my hand embroidery projects.  So today I will enter my first entry into the quilt journal since 1998.

I am linking my post today to Kathy's Quilts for the Slow Sunday Stitching, the link is here take a look there are so many wonderful bloggers stitching up some lovely projects and maybe with a story to share as well. https://kathysquilts.blogspot.com/2021/01/slow-sunday-stitching_31.html

Before I go just a heads up to anyone interested The San Francisco School of Needlework and Design is having another Stitch at Home Challenge, 

Info can be found here https://sfneedleworkanddesign.org/rules-and-entry-form/

I signed up last night and ideas are swirling in my head, I also have the final touches on the February goddess for my Goddess a Month project and more embroidery has been done on the Brigid's Cross.

Happy Stitching Everyone and thank you for visiting my blog.

September a Slow Stitching Sunday, Some Crochet and a Few Things to Read

September is National Sewing Month how are you celebrating?  I am working on the early planning for a new project for the next San Francisco School of Needlework and Design's Stitch at Home Challenge which has the Theme of Make Do & Mend for more information please click the link   https://www.sfneedleworkanddesign.org/rules-and-entry-form/

Sadly enough my entry for the last challenge didn't make it to San Francisco, it was returned to me the package damage and the frame broken, lucky for me the embroidered piece was undamaged so much for paying for priority shipping, I can tell you that package was not handled with care.  It's unfortunate that our postal service seems to get worse with every passing year.

My Greenwoman #2 piece is progressing slowly but than that's what slow stitching is all about isn't it.

I will be linking up to Kathy's Quilt blog today for Slow Sunday Stitching so click the link and have a look.
https://kathysquilts.blogspot.com/2018/09/slow-sunday-stitching-photo-challenge.html
Also Kathy has a new photo challenge of where we like to do our stitching when the weather is good.  For me my favorite place for slow stitching in good weather is always at the beach.

hoop and sun rise

my chair and essentials

My last trip began at sunrise with a nice long walk along the water's edge picking up shells and stones and just enjoying the sounds of the beach, gulls and sea birds calling, the ebb and flow of the water and the breeze blowing through my hair before sitting down to stitch a little beach motif.

Issue number 99 of Inspirations magazine finally arrived, it was due in July but somehow was lost in the mail, after contact via email the issue arrived a few weeks later.

There are some lovely projects in this issue I would like to give one or two a try, like the little bag on the cover.  My subscription runs out with the next issue (I won't be renewing) which should be arriving soon, it would be nice not to have to request a replacement copy out of the 3 issues I received so far only one was mailed to me on time, I find this quite frustrating and to be honest while the projects are lovely most are not something I would make myself and since it's an Australian publication the shops and events listings are pretty much useless to me.  But it is a lovely magazine if you love embroidery.  I'm going to use the free pumpkin pattern from Supermom No Cape and get a start on autumn stitching.  Click the link and have a look at what other bloggers are stitching.
https://www.supermomnocape.com/pumpkin-banner-embroidery-pattern/
The Shell stitch afghan I am crocheting is coming along there is 14 inches in length so far using just one cake of the Mandala yarn.

When I first saw this wishing well colorway I thought it looked beachy and decided to make this up in the shell stitch. I am planning to combine it with the colorway on the left.

There are some similar colors so I'll give it a try and if I don't like it I can unravel and just keep using the wishing well that I started with.
I started reading Samhain Secrets yesterday, I had pre-ordered it from Amazon and it came 2 weeks earlier than expected, its the 4th book in the series and I pre-ordered the next book due for release March 2019, I will link my post here https://www.gsheller.com/2018/09/yarn-along-september.html

for the September Yarn Along, click the link to see what other bloggers are reading and making with yarn.
Well before I sign off to get some stitching done I will leave you with a few more photo beach photos

hag stone and sunrise

sand dollar and sunrise

Have a Safe and Happy Labor Day Weekend

A Slow Sunday with all types of Stitching

July days in Florida are not for the faint of heart, with the humidity rising along with the temps it makes for some sticky days.  I am in the second week of a summer bug, the fever returns every few days though not 102 like it was for 3 days running, the cough is nearly gone but the nausea lingers daily, the one good thing is I'm making progress on my stitching though some days I just felt so miserable I just laid around and slept for hours.

Friday was a full on rainy day and I was feeling well enough to sit up most of the day so I made lots of progress on the granny square afghan I am crocheting for Tessa.

I like working with this Mandala yarn, the way the color changes saves me the time of changing colors and weaving in all those loose ends. The changes aren't always perfect but I like just letting the work flow, one of the groups I'm in some crocheters will cut off sections of the yarn to have a more even flow, I suppose that's a great idea for symmetry but to me it's a lot of extra work.

Yesterday I decided to unravel (frog) the a few rows of crochet I had completed on the Ruana I'm making, the stitches didn't look quite right to me, not realizing I wasn't seeing too clearly while I'm under the weather.

After looking at the pile of unraveled yarn I had second thoughts (after frogging 519 stitches) ugh! So I re-crocheted all those rows and then worked 2 more rows.  Do you ever do something like that, look at something not sure if you are happy with how it looks so you undo all your work only to realize it was fine?   I do it more often than I care to admit.

I'm nearly done stitching the Stitch at Home Challenge piece,  I think to finish it I will use a hoop as a frame so I can hang it.

If all goes well and hopefully feeling better I plan to have it completed this week or early next week which will give me plenty of time to make the August 15th deadline.  My fingers are holding out fairly well with all the stitching and crochet, but the right side of my neck gets so stiff I can barely move it.  Well if it isn't one thing it's another, we do suffer for our Art don't we?

I will link up to Kathy's Quilts today for Slow Sunday Stitching, hop on over to see what Kathy and other talented bloggers are working on:  https://kathysquilts.blogspot.com/2018/07/slow-sunday-stitching_22.html

I'm feeling a bit weary so let me post this, make a cup of tea and try to get some stitching done today.

The ORT report for July's New Moon

Today is the new moon which is also time for the TUSAL ort report, now if you aren't familiar with what a TUSAL is jump on over to the link here to read what it's all about and perhaps join in the fun https://itsdaffycat.blogspot.com/2018/01/a-totally-useless-stitch-long.html

In a nut shell TUSAL stands for Totally Useless Stitch a Long but to me it's so much more than that, it is sharing with other bloggers what we are stitching and showing off our orts.  If you aren't familiar with the term orts its those little snippets of thread, floss, ribbon yarn etc. from the project you are currently working on.  Here are mine for July so far.

July New Moon Orts

There are a variety of snippets this month so far, I have been working on hand embroidery, some crocheting and even stitched up few Barbie doll dresses for my great niece Tessa.

All the green orts are from the Green Woman piece I recently finished stitching, the purple and pink shades of yarn are from the granny square afghan I am crocheting.

The blue metallic ribbon is from the piece I am making for the Stitch at home Challenge hosted by the San Francisco School of Needlework and Design.

Kreinik Threads provided a Bag o' Bits to each participant for this challenge and each of us has to use some of the threads in our design. As soon as I saw the blue metallic ribbon knew exactly what I wanted.

I didn't have too much trouble threading it through my needle and it stitched easily through the fabric and the stabilizer with no fraying and I plan to work with it again in the future.

Earlier in the week I came down with a summer bug, fever, sore throat, cough and now a tight congested chest which feels like bronchitis again so my stitching is slow going for the most part I am getting as must rest and sleep as I can so I can shake this bug fast. 

We had a brief but very drenching rain this afternoon so I don't need to water the plants

Well that's it for now I need a cup of tea and a place to rest my head for a bit.

Rainy days and other things

Wow! Can you believe Memorial day is here?  Where does the time go? So often I ask this question yet I still wonder, then I take the time to look around me and see what has been accomplished in those days.
Some of the time I'm tending the plants in my garden or pulling weeds and clearing debris, watering and repotting, it all takes time and as I grow older and move a little slower the time doesn't stop and wait for me to catch up, it keeps moving.

On Friday all my potted plants had to be  moved to make room for supplies and equipment that will be used to stucco my house.

Then mid way through the weekend the rains came from sub-tropical storm Alberto visiting us this weekend.  That can't be good for the grass. Sigh!  The groaning of the cement mixer all day Saturday made the day seem extra long, why wasn't the time flying by then.  The headache I woke with in the morning stayed with me most of the day.  The sun stuck around most of the day as well and by 8:30 Saturday evening the workmen left for the day. 

Sunday morning started off with some rain and clouds then gave way to sunshine and the return of the workman.  The cement mixer didn't drone on all day but the work did and right outside the window where I was stitching away.

And stitching I did until the Aine piece was completely stitched

The next time I work a Sashiko piece I will be sure to use sashiko thread, while the perle cotton that came with the kit did the job I found some of the stitches look thicker in places which could be because of the twist. 

I do like the finished piece and plan to finish it as a pillow.  I learned a few things along the way, the first is not every thing I stitched needs a backing fabric so I should make a few test stitches first.  The fabric had felt thin to me so I backed it with a thin cotton chambray which made stitching at times difficult when pulling the needle through when my stitching progressed.

I love the Celtic knot design which is probably why I continued to stitch it long after I should have tossed it onto the discard pile.
My next in between project will be this pillowcase sundress kit I picked up a few weeks ago.  I thought it would cute for Tessa.

Pillowcase dress 

There were two different motifs to choose from the floral one here and one with kittens.  I like to having a piece or two to stitch between larger projects or when I have no idea what I want to do next. Pre-stamped kits come in handy for that purpose too. 

Everything is included in the kit for the embroidery: floss, stamped fabric and needles, a clearance sale bargain for $1.75. 
I will link up to Kathy's Quilts here:https://kathysquilts.blogspot.ca/2018/05/slow-sunday-stitching_27.html
I need to put the final touches on my design for the next stitch at home challenge click the link for more info  http://www.sfneedleworkanddesign.org/rules-and-entry-form/

New Moon again and time for the Totally Useless Stitch A Long

Well yesterday was the New Moon so I am a day late but I can still post my orts for the TUSAL aka:Totally Useless Stitch A Long over at Its daffy cats blog:   https://itsdaffycat.blogspot.com/2018/05/totally-useless-update-wait.html

My photo looks a bit washed out must be either the lighting or photographer error.  The orts were from the Greenman and the Antlered Goddess pieces I recently finished hand embroidering.

Green Man pattern Urban Threads

Entering the Forest on Beltane Eve my design

The few white threads are from the Sashiko style piece I have been slowly working on the kit is from Scarlett Rose Celtic and is called Aine.

On Monday the package of Kreinik threads came in the mail, these are for the newest stitch at home challenge which you are required to use in you piece and are supplied by SFSNAD.

Lots of lovely colors in this bag o' bits which now has me rethinking my entire idea for the challenge. I guess its a good thing I sketched several different ideas, however, now I'm thinking of creating a design around the colors of threads I'd use. Here is a link for the challenge:
 http://www.sfneedleworkanddesign.org/rules-and-entry-form/

Slow Stitching bits and Some Sunshine.

Another cold snap made it's way here to north central Florida we were at a balmy 29 degrees at nine o'clock this morning.  Winter in Florida does keep me on my toes and this week has surely pushed my buttons so I'm glad to be starting a brand new week.

On Thursday I had several appointments in the morning,  I was heading out for my appointment on the other side of town and instead of wiping the condensation off my windows with a towel as I normally do I decided to just roll the windows down so I didn't waste time. Well you know Murphy's Law tends to catch us when we least expect it the my passenger side window decided at that moment not to go back up. The rain came in the early afternoon lucky for me I had plastic over the open window and drove it to the repair shop.

It's fair to say my stress levels are up along with my blood pressure, though I did explain to the doctor what my morning was like, so this month I will once again be monitoring my blood pressure as she was quick to point out my last few visit my numbers were elevated. I'm attempting to get in as much stitching as I can, I spent some time yesterday preparing a few pieces of cloth with small random designs to have ready.

I finished the stitching on my mixed media self portrait for the San Francisco School of Needlework & Design Stitch at Home Challenge, along with the hand embroidery I  used crayon tint and beads.

self portrait

I have also been drafting a pattern for the next challenge  here's the link if you are interested:   https://snadviewfromwindowchallenge.tumblr.com

I began to add some stitches to the January crazy quilt block, pulled a few out and put it aside for a bit.  I feel stuck at this moment and I find myself rethinking the block.

a few stitches in

One of the small random bits I worked on yesterday while the winds blew about the leaves and the temps outside dropped lower and lower.

a bit of sunshine

I will be linking up over at Kathy's Quilts today for Slow Stitching Sunday check out the link to see what other talented bloggers are slow stitching this week.
https://kathysquilts.blogspot.ca/2018/01/slow-sunday-stitching.html

I am once again taking part in the Facebook Group 1 Year of Stitches here is the group link if it's of interest to you. It's an all hand embroidery group with a new admin with most of the members from 2017 continuing on this year and many new members   https://www.facebook.com/groups/1294313713974098/

There is also a Facebook Group A Year in Stitches which has also continued on for 2018, it's also an all hand embroidery group with many of us continuing on this year.   https://www.facebook.com/groups/ayearinstitches/

Rambles in August and Some Slow Stitching

Those dog days of summer are upon us when the heat of summer sets in what seems to be forever. The humidity so thick it feels like you could move it with your hands, if only.  Living here in north central Florida for 23 years certainly has some challenges, but in the long run I've endured the summers, learned to adapt and eventually thrive.

Gardening was a challenge in the beginning, I learned the hard way you can't plant the way I did it up north because the rainy season hits and all is lost.  Trust me I didn't learn that my first or second year I was here, but I did learn and for the most part my garden did thrive. What I did learn for me is to not plant a vegetable garden anytime after the first week of March or all will be doomed, now that's just for me there may be many gardeners whose vegetable gardens thrive in the summer, but for me after too many losses I just don't plant veggies in the summer. That's okay though we have several nice Farmers Markets in the area so I can get my fresh produce from them and help support locally grown foods. Flowers for the most part do well a I have learned to buy native and tropical plants which has made a big difference, but even in the heat and humidity and torrential downpours the flowers begin to droop from the heat.3

Friday evening after some heavy rainstorms the Oak tree in front of my house lost one of his beautiful branches falling to the ground without making a sound.  Lucky for me it was a branch on the front of the tree and didn't come crashing down on my car.

My son moved his car the he and I dragged it onto the front lawn area where it fell, part if it was on the neighbors mail box, it doesn't look all the big but it took the two of us to drag it the few feet past my mailbox there in the photo.

What amazes me is that something so large fell silently to the ground, I don't even recall any wind blowing up with the rainstorm.  After the rain I always go out and walk the property to check for damage.  One of my small potted plants was on its side so I righted it surprised it fell over, I didn't here any wind, then my son says look at the end of the driveway and there it was this huge pile of green just sitting there. I shake my head wondering at nature's way, a few months ago we had tornado warnings with 65 mph winds and not one branch fell from the tree, just a few small twigs, Friday we had barely a breeze and there in my yard sits a downed tree branch, mother nature sure is fickle.  The branch will be cut up later in the week.

I haven't done much more on my crochet project this week but I did manage to put in three more rows.

The Summer of Love piece will be finished in a few days and then off it goes in the mail for the exhibition.

I have a new project in the works last night I put in quite a few stitches. This project will be put aside until the Summer of Love is done.

I did take a day for myself on Friday to accompany my sister and niece Tessa shopping for back to school clothes, school starts back on Thursday, August 10th, she will be attending Pre-K this year, my time does fly.  We had a nice girls day out, found everything Tessa needs until winter and made it home before the rains came.

I will linking my post today at Kathy's Quilts https://kathysquilts.blogspot.com/2017/08/slow-sunday-stitching.html   stop on over and see what other talented bloggers are slow stitching today.

UPDATE August 7th

I did manage to put in quite a few more stitches yesterday finishing the roots of the tree and moving onto the tree top and the bright silvery full moon.

 I decided to use a slippery rayon satin floss to give her a bit of a glow, the floss is DMC S712 Mother of Pearl which is very fitting for the moon don't you think?  This is a 6 strand floss  I separated it using 3 strands.  Its quite a slippery thread so it took me a few minutes to get the needle threaded but once threaded its stitched up like a dream.  I've had the satin floss for a few years I'm not sure if its still available at local shops but you can pick some up on Amazon and Ebay.  I will link up today at Supermom No Cape here:  http://www.supermomnocape.com/vintage-embroidery-monday-stitchery-link-party-122/
Stop on over and have a look at what other bloggers are hand embroidering today and maybe you will be inspired to link up your project too.

Cloudy Sunday Skies and Slow Stitching

A few days ago my youngest sister posted on Facebook she was in the hospital with blood clots in her heart and lungs and an aneurysm in her heart, complications of the blood thinners her doctor put her on for a blood clot in her leg a few days prior.  Oh and she recently had a heart attack that she didn't know she had. ( I'm familiar with that one myself).
She is currently in ICU and wreaking havoc with her IV pulled out twice while she was trying to get comfortable, twice her husband hit the emergency call button in error and she is ticked off because she can't have salt or caffeine ugh yeah you are a heart patient yesterday she ranted because they didn't give her ketchup.  At least she is keeping her sense of humor about her while she endures endless testing and blood transfusions and I used to think I was a difficult patient.  I am but that's another story for another day.  So while I am posting today on a positive note with plans made everything can change in a flash.

On the stitching front after more tweaking than I care to admit I have finally begun the stitching on the Summer of Love Stitch at Home Challenge, here is a little peek at my progress:

a good start

The progress on the Zenbroidery Peace Symbol is progressing nicely despite my apprehension of the fabric stiffness I really enjoy stitching with it. I am using mostly variegated embroidery floss:

stitching along

A little over a week ago I purchased some lovely hand dyed threads/floss from an Etsy shop, the colors are just beautiful and the threads reminded me so much of the seaside I just had to have them.

Beach Colors

The assorted threads are from a sampler packet the colors just spoke to me whispering sandy beaches, tide pools and sea shells:

And the single blue just says ocean to me so I will be drafting a few designs over the next few weeks.

Here is a link to the Etsy shop. https://www.etsy.com/shop/colourcomplements  I will be visiting it again soon to buy more since one can never have too much embroidery floss or fibers.

In a few weeks I will be heading to down to the gulf coast of Florida for some rest and relaxation on Sanibel Island for a much needed vacation. So yesterday I headed out to Barnes and Noble to pick up a book or two, I had one book in mind that I wanted to get and I'd see what else caught my attention, I had my membership card and two 20% off coupons in purse, I just love a bargain.  So I browsed and found the book I planned to buy thinking it would make a good beach read:

I found a few other books my guilty pleasure three cozy mysteries to crack open when my fingers are too sore or stiff to stitch. 

Then I headed over to the crafts section to see what was on the shelves in the embroidery category, not much two books I already had and a copy of Embroidered Mandalas which wasn't in very good shape, some of the pages were bent and wrinkled, some felt loose too beat up to buy so I passed on it but did jot down the title.  I headed for the checkout with my books, handed the clerk my member card and to my disappointment didn't have my coupons with me, I had grabbed two JoAnn's coupons and stuffed them in my bag.  I did save ten percent and I have my beach read and a few others so all is good.

When I arrived home there sitting on my side table are the coupons, all was not lost, I went to Barnes and Noble website and ordered the embroidered mandalas book, which online was 30% off, I had my 20% off coupon and membership gives me free shipping.  Oh I do love a bargain,

The Mandalas book has 25 iron on designs to use in spiral bound book so I can easily iron the design onto my fabric.  I don't know about you but when I trace patterns with intricate designs I always miss something or my hand goes awry and the older I get the worse my tracing is.  Here is a link for the book. https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/embroidered-mandalas-lark-crafts/1124986242?ean=9781454710417

I'll need to prepare my stitchery projects to bring along with me on vacation though I may just start a new project or two to work while I'm away.   

This sweet little piece on a hexie I may trace and work on vacation is from the new issue of American Quilter magazine arrived with my Yoga journal I haven't had the time to read them so I'll pack and take along with me.

The cover on the AQ reminded me one day I want to make a Mariners Compass quilt may be this is the year.  I am linking up at Kathy's Quilts today for Slow Sunday Stitching here is a link why don't you hop on over and take a look at what other bloggers are slowly stitching today:

https://kathysquilts.blogspot.ca/2017/06/slow-sunday-stitching_18.html

MONDAY JUNE 19th UPDATE on Summer of Love:
My stitching was certainly slow yesterday but I did get further on with the Summer of Love challenge piece.

The vines are complete and several of the leaf sections are done. Today I will be working to finish the remainder of the leaves then move unto the peace symbol. I'm linking my post over at Super Mom No Cape: http://www.supermomnocape.com/vintage-embroidery-monday-and-stitchery-link-party-115/
Where other bloggers are working on hand embroidery projects stop on over and have a look.