Slow Sunday Stitching on a Full Moon

I am looking forward to the first Full Moon for 2019 since I can remember I have always been drawn to the moon, the tides of the ocean and every now and then I like to toss back my head and give a howl.

Tonight is not one of those howling nights instead I plan to do some slow stitching. Last night I finished the tambourine player on my dance and drum piece.

 I have two of the drumming dancers stitched so the plan is tonight while the full moon rises in the

sky I will be embroidering the last drummer for this piece. The piece is worked on 100% cotton white on white floral print fabric using DMC 6 strand floss and metallic floss, Weeks in Oak for the Drum and tambourine. I was trying for the expression of joy on the faces and those pesky black lines will disappear after washing off the stitch and wash product. I am linking my post over at Kathy's Quilts here: https://kathysquilts.blogspot.com/2019/01/hand-quilting.html

And at Super Mom no Cape https://www.supermomnocape.com/happy-winter-snowmen-embroidery-pattern/#comment-16765

A November Walk in the Park and some Slow Sunday Stitching

Well the clocks have all be turned back an hour, even on my car, morning came with clouds and the promise of rain today so I plan to spend most of the day stitching my newest projects.

Yesterday was a beautiful Fall day with cool crisp air and plenty of sunshine, my walk through Jervy Gantt park revealed a little bit of Autumn for us here in Florida.

Some of our leaves do change color though not enough stay on the trees when they do, the Sycamore tree's leaves turn brown and fall from the trees fast, some are just beginning to brown before falling.

These leaves are scattered on my lawn from late October through most of November, mostly from the house across the street, and the tree in my backyard.  I just leave them there to be absorbed back into the earth though I do rake them every now and again pushing them under the shrubs for mulch.

More leaves on the walking path for me just seeing these few leaves lets me know Fall is here among all the green.  I have lived in Florida since 1994, the constant green made me home sick for years until I finally started to notice the subtle changes, it was about 8 years in when I finally did notice the small changes like the green was less vibrant on the trees, and some trees turned yellow or orange but the leaves didn't fall from the trees.

My first 2 home in Florida were apartments the first with a wooded area with large oak trees behind our buildings like the one in the photo above.  It wasn't until I moved into my current house that I really saw the change to Autumn.  Still not a big change but enough to know the season has changed.

The crows and squirrels were quite active along my walk with these few characters chasing each other from post to post.
I walked around the pond and I swear the fish were following me all around the pond.

It is such a peaceful place to walk I often lose all track of time just watching the ripples on the water

some days I will take a few minutes and sit on one of the benches and take in all the sounds around me, basking in the quiet calm solitude of the place.  I usually sit on the stone bench near the pond

Yesterday however there was a strong odor coming off the pond so I didn't linger too long just long enough to snap the photos.

The last photo I took yesterday was of the pine cone above and then this little squirrel on the side of the tree.
On the stitching front I am working on a new project and made good progress earlier in the week. Spirit Bear is being stitched on brushed cotton twill, I wanted to try a heavier fabric and have a yard on hand, so far I like stitching on the fabric and have no issues. So far I'm using DMC floss I plan to add some beads here and there, at some point I'm going to try  some of the new sparkle floss (Etoile) but not sure yet. It measures about 8x10 inches with a lot of small details which should take me some time to stitch. When my fingers get sore I can pick up my crochet.

On my other new project I did use a bit of the Etoile floss on the dancing woman piece as well as some DMC Coloris and Light Effects.

I'm going to link up to Kathy's Quilts today for some Slow Sunday Stitching click the link and have a look to see what other talented bloggers are slow stitching today  https://kathysquilts.blogspot.com/2018/11/slow-sunday-stitching.html
And on Monday at Super Mom NO Cape https://www.supermomnocape.com/

Sunday Slow Stitching, What's up for October

This is the last Slow Stitch Sunday for September, is it me or did this month go by in the blink of an eye? It sure seems that way to me. 

I finished the hand embroidery on the Green-woman #2 piece, held my breath while I rinsed out the stitch and wash product hoping the over dyed floss wouldn't run, pressed it lightly so I could snap a nice photo.  

I am going to finish her either in a frame or hoop not sure yet which so I will shop around for a frame to my liking. I used mostly Weeks Dye Works and a few Gentle Arts floss in colors named after herbs and other vegetation, DMC floss for the flowers and the pine cones and the eyes are done in Weeks Amber. She is stitched on 100% cotton muslin.  I'll link my post to Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching here:https://kathysquilts.blogspot.com/2018/09/slow-sunday-stitching_30.html

I do love checking out the other bloggers that link to the site each Sunday there are so many creative people crafting some lovely quilts, embroidery, a bit of crochet and knitting too.  

I will also be linking up at Supermom No Cape here https://www.supermomnocape.com/gratitude-embroidery-pattern/

This week has been eventful my car went back to my mechanic who once again address the oil leak problem, he didn't do the initial work but was able to de-grease the leaky mess that was left and he tightened the gasket that was supposed to be done at the other shop I had the car at.  I also needed a new tire that's the fourth tire I replaced so I sent a copy of my receipts to the place I bought the original 4 tires requesting a refund for defective tires they sold me.   Then Friday afternoon as I was leaving the car wash I noticed the rear window was down a little bit, you guessed it another regulator will need to be replaced so I will drop the car off this week for that to be done. it seems the heat of the Florida sun melts the glue that holds the window on the track my son has had to have all of his windows redone.    

There are 16 new floss colors available from DMC as individual skeins that were once offered as a set in 2013.  They came in the mail last week.

The colors are numbered 3880 through 3895, I think I might have the set so now I'll have two of each which is fine with me.  Sometime in October DMC will be releasing a new floss with a sparkle I'm hoping it will handle better then the light effects.  

I just love these New Age Muslin fat quarters 26 colors in the stack, I love using muslin when I do

hand embroidery, with 26 colors to choose from it could take me forever to plan a project, I'm sure not all of it will be used for embroidery I see potential autumn projects just begging to be made, something with a pumpkin or two.  These came through Craftsy's sale last week arriving in 2 days.

October is just a few hours away and I have a few projects I plan to get started on this week. I need to get the afghan I'm crocheting for my sister done this week so I can start on this long vest pattern I purchased from  Etsy   https://www.etsy.com/transaction/1492612640

I have a few embroidery designs ready to trace onto fabric today so I can start stitching them, there are a few patterns in the new Kathy Schmitz book I think will look nice done on some of the new muslin fabrics above. 

In between stitching and crochet I have been reading to give my hands a rest they have been very achy this week. I finished reading Grandma Greenwood Takes a Walk  by Ben Montgomery which I enjoyed thoroughly.

I just started On the Beaten Path by by Robert Alden Rubin and so far it has my attention which is a good thing.

I have through hiked the Appalachian Trail alone several times in my life the first time at age 20 and reading other accounts of walking the trail brings back those memories as if it were only yesterday, I have been tossing about the idea of doing it one final time maybe when I'm 65. 

I finished reading The Bookshop of Yesterdays and while I liked the story I did not like the main character, has that ever happened to you?

 I'm nearly through reading The Library at the Edge of the World by Felicity Hayes McCoy I'm

enjoying it very much which I had my doubts because a friend recommended it and usually the books she suggest just don't hold my attention after the third chapter in the 30 years we have known one another we have rarely ever read the same books.

I have decided starting in October to change my walking routine up a bit and go for a few longer walks perhaps a few day hikes, my usual walks in the park are nice but I need a change of scenery so I plan to find a few new places.

I'll leave you with a lovely bit of sunshine to brighten your day.

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 new month begins with a birthday, a good read and a yarn a long.

Here we are starting a whole new month, summer is well underway here in Florida with lots of hot humid days and thunderstorms rolling through just about every afternoon.

On the 1st of July I celebrated my 63rd birthday, enjoyed a lovely day with my son and some birthday cake in the afternoon.

The day before my sister and great niece Tessa came for a visit, Tessa made me a sweet birthday card and bookmark.

I am using my new bookmark to keep my page in this week's read Hardcore Twenty-Four another fun Stephanie Plum novel by Janet Evanovich, I really enjoy her Plum novels they make me laugh out loud and always bring back memories of my home life back in NJ.

We spent a few hours at Silver Springs State Park, took the 30 minute glass bottom boat ride which Tessa just loved.

fish seen through the glass bottom boat

I finished stitching the Green Woman hand embroidery piece last week, now I am trying to decide whether to frame her or make her a wall hanging or pillow cover.

In the meantime I am crocheting a continuous granny square afghan for Tessa using Lion Brand Mandala yarn in Wood Nymph colorway. It's odd for me to be crocheting an afghan, usually the summer months in Florida are too hot to have a large project on my lap even with air conditioning yet I have been itching to crochet and so far the heat isn't bothering me. 

growing granny square

When Tessa saw the afghan she rubbed it on her face claiming it was so squishy and soft it was like fluffy clouds.  She says she loves pink and purple so I told her it was a good thing I was making it for her.

So yesterday I spent 45 minutes at the DMV to renew my driver's license and to my surprise the birth certificate I have had for 63 years is no longer acceptable and I will have to send for a new copy. Which I just finished doing, hoping it is processed quickly but I have the ugh moment of ordering a new birth certificate from NY.  In the meantime, I have an exception letter so I can drive using the new license for the next 60 days and if I don't have the new certificate by then I just bring in proof that I sent for the birth certificate and I can get an extension.  I'm fairly confident I'll receive it in time since the place I ordered was actually an outsourced company, which take up to 3 weeks to process and I paid $17.00 for UPS express shipping rather than the US Mail.   Our local DMV office is quite helpful, the employees are friendly and I always have a pleasant experience. Oh and the eye test was a breeze.

For my birthday one of my friends sent me some lovely Shawl in a Ball yarn in the Prism colorway

I love this blend of cotton and acrylic yarn and I love the colors. I'm not sure what I'm going to make yet though I was thinking of trying the Virus Shawl pattern, I've watched much of the YouTube video and think I will use it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOQ6GBjTjO8

I am linking today at Super Mom No Cape https://www.supermomnocape.com/embroidered-felt-christmas-baubles/
And also here for Yarn Along http://www.gsheller.com/2018/07/yarn-along-july.html