A little winter stitching is underway

 It's been quite a while since my last post, time has moved so quickly I feel like I haven't been able to catch my breath.  

After the spinal injections I had in September didn't work as well as we had hoped I decided to deal with the pain while I decided if I wanted another round of injections.  In the meantime I saw a podiatrist to inquire about footwear because I noticed when I put on shoes I feel my hips and legs shift a bit and when I take off my shoes I am sometimes in agony.  I had mentioned this to the orthopedic surgeon and he made an appointment to the podiatrist in the office.  

After seeing the podiatrist I felt a little more confident about putting off the injections for awhile and holding off on the other alterative: surgery.  The doctor gave me a prescription of sorts for custom made insoles for my shoes and also suggest I try some over the counter brands first and gave me a few brands to try. So far I can feel the difference with the inserts in my shoes.  I actually was able to walk over 3 miles my first day of a long walk.  I hadn't planned on that long of a walk but I went right on the trail instead of left and oh my goodness I felt it later in the day, not in pain so much as tired.  

I'm still dealing with the pain in the back and knees and will try the injections again where the doctor will try for a wider area.  If not, another back surgery may be in my future.

I  have some embroidery pieces finished, this one for autumn was from a purchased pattern on Etsy called BeCo Productions:

The Artio Celtic Bear Goddess is for a friend, the pattern is from an Etsy shop called Annetteprs.

I used jump rings for her earrings because metallic thread can sometime be too bulky.  All in all I like the look and my friend loves it.  I forgot to snap the completed piece I made it into a pillow cover.

Also, from Beco productions shop I am currently working on a winter piece.  My fingers ached so much after stitching the poinsettia it would be a full week before I could start on the holly leaves.

Simon has been with me a year as of November 8th, I can't imagine life without him.  He is such a sweet lovable cat. He is loving his winter chalet. 

Yesterday I baked some apple cider muffins for breakfast, not from scratch, Martha White mix, they turned out so good.

Anyway, that's what has been going on in my life.  The online shops keep me busy especially this time of year.  I plan to get in some hand embroidery today and a late morning walk.  

I wish everyone celebrating a safe and Happy Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

I hope everyone celebrating has a safe and Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Halloween!

 

Welcome Autumn

 The fall equinox aka first day of autumn arrives on Saturday, September 23, 2023, at02:50 A.M. EDT in the Northern Hemisphere.

Yes! Autumn had arrived to north central Florida today, this morning at 7:00 a.m. it was a beautiful 60 degrees.

Despite the pain in both knees I managed a very slow walk in the park, even using the can my footsteps are unsteady.  Thursday morning can't get here soon enough, I'm just hoping the injections into the spine is effective.

Later today I plan to bake some bread and make a batch of applesauce, I have had the urge to spend some time in the kitchen which is rare for me lately.

For now though I am gathering the floss colors I need for a new embroidery project, actual for two, one is for Halloween and the other for Christmas.  Both are purchased patterns I will post more about them once I have things sorted.

Have a wonderful first day of Autumn wherever you may be.

Happy Labor Day!

It's the last day of a long weekend here in the U.S. Labor Day, which has come to signify the end of summer.  Today is also my sister Christine's birthday, in August she moved back north to Pennsylvania. She lost her husband of 27 years suddenly a year ago in June, she sort of drifted through the year quite unhappy until she went back to PA for a visit and laid some of his ashes with his parents.  While she was there she felt at home. In May she started looking for a house closer to me, each house we looked at she just broke down and decided to wait, then in July she told me her house sold the day after she listed it and she found a house in PA and was moving in August.  She said while visiting PA it just felt like home, it's where she spent most of her married life with her late husband, it's  where all her friends live.  We have a sister that lives in the same city and the rest of our family are in NJ and NY.  She has been trying to get me to move with her and believe me it's been tempting.  

Hurricane Idalia blew threw quite easily in my area with some rain through the day, we had more rain during July and the two days after the hurricane.  The super blue full moon was visible that evening which surprised me after all the clouds the hurricane brought with it.

I finished the stitching on the hand embroidered autumn equinox piece, I am quite happy with the results.

Then I added the pumpkin and sunflower buttons and chose the backing fabric so I can finish the piece. Now I need to decide whether to frame it in a hoop, a frame or make a wall hanging.  I never know what I want to do with most of the pieces I make until I complete the stitching.

Originally I was going to have her holding the sunflower which I thought looked pretty good.

Then I placed the pumpkin in her hands and it just spoke to me, I posted the 2 photos on my Facebook page, the results were about the same.

I think I mentioned in an earlier post the pattern is actually a purchased coloring page that I changed the motif in the center from an apple to the goddess figure. The Etsy shop is Owl and Moon Art. I wonder if I should have placed an apple button in her hands.  I plan to stitched the original page sometime soon.   I am linking my post to Kathy's Quilts here https://kathysquilts.blogspot.com/2023/09/slow-sunday-stitching-1-finish-and-2.html  I may have missed Slow Sunday Stitching by a day but the linky party is still available for a few hours.  

On Thursday, the 7th I am scheduled for an injection into my spine for pain relief, I have been waiting for 6 weeks and believe me I have been counting the hours.  I wonder if  I chose back surgery would I be halfway through recovery by now?  I'm just hoping the injection works, the pain radiates to my legs, especially my knees so walking has become very difficult for me.  Most days I haven't taken my daily morning walks and some days I can barely lift my right foot to put on a pair of shorts.  My GP prescribed a pain killer which makes me sick to my stomach and quite drugged feeling so most days I wait until the pain is unbearable to take one, some days a half pill.  I try not to take anything on the weekends so I can get some reading and stitching in and run errands etc. with a clear head.  Yesterday I drove to the facility where I am having the injection so I know the exact route and I can plan my travel time, my appointment is at 3 p.m.

Have a Safe and Happy Labor Day!

Welcome September!

 Happy September time to share some pretties! Wishing you all a wonderful month and cooler weather. It's been a very hot summer here. Have a great weekend everyone!

The hand embroidery on the Autumn Equinox is complete, the piece has been washed and lightly ironed, later today I will add a few button embellishments and chose a fabric to finish the piece, I have a few autumn prints pieces I am considering.

 

Slow Sunday Stitching with Autumn in Mind

 The weather has just been so miserable and dealing with the pain and waiting for the injection into the spine next month has left me weak and tired.  I haven't had the energy to take my daily walk mainly because I am so unsteady with my footing I don't want to fall.

Yesterday I started a new hand embroidery piece for the Autumn Equinox, I am using DMC Coloris 4511 for the maple leaves and 4510 for the oak leaves. I started out just outlining the leaves then decided to use the satin stitch to show the color changes. So I went back and filled in the outlined leaf. This is a coloring page I purchased and tweaked by adding a goddess in the center.

The two Coloris colorways I'm using are very similar, the green in the 4510 is lighter and there is no brown.

I used a split stitch for the stems and the main veins on the leaves, I like how the leaves turned out but I also liked the outlined leaf I guess because much of my work is done in outlines I just wanted something a little different.  

The actual coloring page was purchased on Etsy Owl and Moon Art the the center motif is a large apple which looks wonderful but I wanted a goddess in the center.

I am also signed up for the Woolie Friends Pumpkin Patch SAL on Facebook it started on July 31st and I just made it in time for the first Free block. Every Monday for 12 weeks a new block pattern is posted and is free to download for a week, if you join and missed the free pattern they are offered for sale at each vendors shop.  

The third block pattern is available tomorrow and today is the last day to get block 2 for free.   

I loved the 1st block so much I purchased the kit from Calico Patch Designs the photo below is the designers finished block.  

https://www.calicopatchdesigns.com/

Here is the schedule for all of the blocks and vendors.

What I love most is you don't have to use wool or purchase a kit, many people are using fabric for the blocks and many are pulling wool from their stash and the creative tweaks people put into their blocks are so different. My block kit is due tomorrow though I am sure it won't arrive until Tuesday or Wednesday since it's in Jacksonville and anything in Jacksonville seems to get stuck there for several days.

In the meantime I am going to continue stitching my Autumn piece all the while dreaming of cooler days in November when autumn usually arrives here in central Florida.  I am linking my post over at Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching, head on over to see all the lovely things other bloggers are slow stitching this week.

https://kathysquilts.blogspot.com/2023/08/slow-sunday-stitching_01808149954.html