Happy New Year!

I finished stitching The Prairie Schooler's Home for Christmas before Christmas.  I'm hoping to figure out a way to share a frame (change out the stitching) with it, Harvest Time, and a spring/summer PS about the same size to change out for the different seasons.  We'll see how that goes.

We had a nice Christmas with 2 (out of 4) of our "children" here, talked to our son on the phone, and visited with our daughter's family via Facetime (at the same time as her in-laws in Scotland were on Facetime) to watch the grandchildren opening their gifts.  Isn't technology amazing?!

We're bucking our normal New Year's Eve tradition (staying home and watching the East Coast New Year arrive before going to bed) by going with friends a NYE party at our city's Civic Center.  There will be a band, dancing, good company, and refreshments.  I don't know if we can stand the excitement; we've both already talked about the need to take a nap this afternoon so we can stay up late tonight.

We've already started taking down the Christmas decorations.  This is earlier than I've ever done it (I usually wait until after the new year to start.) but since we're having our floors replaced next week (!) and need to do some prep for that, we thought it best to get an early start.

I'm currently stitching an oldie but goodie, Primitive Snowman by Ewe and Eye and Friends and also started a Little House Needleworks sampler repro, Melicent Turner, for a Sampler Sunday SAL on the LHN/CCN Facebook group.  I'd been wanting to start "Mellie" for some time so this was the push I needed to get started.  I chose to stitch her with the suggested overdyed cottons instead of springing for the silks as I was tempted.  After I finish Mellie, I may restart LHN's Elizabeth Hancock in a higher count fabric....WITH silks.  Woo Hoo!

I have ambitious stitching plans for 2020.  I often make plans and do some of it but also change my mind as the year goes by.  I'm in another SAL with some friends in which we'll each stitch one of the Carriage House Samplings Hawk Run designs.  I'd been collection silks for Autumn at HRH so that will be my Jan. 1 start.  There's also a SAL of Brenda Keyes' Red House sampler.  It's another one I'd planned to start so, by golly, I'll start that one too.  I'd planned to stitch Bent Creek stockings for our daughter and son-in-law that co-ordinate with the stockings I stitched the grandkids and then my oldest son asked if I could stitch stockings for him and his girlfriend.  Add in some Christmas ornaments, seasonal projects, some model stitching, and it looks to be a busy stitching year.  I'll never be bored let alone understand the meaning of that word.

Happy New Year and as always....

Happy Stitching!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Greetings!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving in Pittsburgh with my husband's family.  All our kids came along with our 2 grandchildren and also our oldest son's girlfriend.  We had a great time, ate a lot, laughed a lot, and then all made it back to our home destinations with no problems.

Now I'm concentrated on preparing for Christmas.  We'll stay home this year and our 2 youngest children will join us.  I'm getting a late start on decorating because we're replacing our floors in January and had a guy come measure this week.  I'm starting to get excited because we finally decided on what flooring to use, the color, and have nailed down (pardon the pun) the contract.  We even have a tentative date on which to start. 

I also pulled some ornaments out to send to our 2 oldest kids.  I'd collected (either bought or made) ornaments for each of the kids over the years and our oldest asked for some of hers (she's the one who's given us our 2 grandchildren) and our son's girlfriend asked if I'd send some of his to them.  It took longer than I thought it would to go through them and choose a nice assortment that fit in the box.  I had an idea when I was in Hobby Lobby earlier this week that it would be nice to put them in a Christmas box so they can use the same box in which to store them.  They're safely in the mail now and I hope they enjoy using (and storing) them.

On the stitching front, I finished stitching Cat's Meow (Drawn Thread) for my son's girlfriend.  I took the picture before pressing it and the piece is now at the framer.

I also put together a couple of Foxwood Crossings Sled ornaments for this year's ornament and tucked them in the ornament boxes I just sent out.  I'll make 3 more of these this year.  2 are stitched and it won't take long to stitch the last one.  I love how quick and easy they stitch up and taping them onto those little sleds is my kind of finishing.  Quick and easy!

I'm still plugging along on Home for Christmas by Prairie Schooler.  I'm really enjoying this one!

Break's over!  Time to get back to decorating.

Happy stitching!

Camp Gottastitch, Alone in the Garden, PS Santas, Shingles Shot

Last weekend I attended Camp Gottastitch in beautiful Berlin, OH in the heart of Amish Country.  It was a treat to get to see the fall foliage in OH since we don't get that much of it here in SE Texas.

The retreat was great to get to stitch with friends and enjoy being fed.  lol!  The Amish cinnamon rolls the hotel provided us each morning were a special treat.  Yum!

I mostly worked on La D Da's Alone in the Garden which had been languishing in my stash unstitched for quite some time.  I was able to finish it on Friday which was almost sad because I enjoyed stitching it so much.  I used the called-for silks, a special treat, and used some dyed champagne fabric by Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe.

My friend, Vonna, did a Fiber Talk with Gary Parr while we were there and several of us "appeared" with what we were stitching.  Fun!

Friday I decided to go find some Prairie Schooler Santas I'd stitched.  I'd forgotten about the round robin I did years ago with 5 other stitchers...and some others I had tucked away with them.  It was a pleasant surprise to find them!  My plan back then was to make the RR ones into a wall hanging...which I still should do.  Some of the little ones need some more stitching to finish those and would make great ornaments.

I think my next cross stitch project will be a Prairie Schooler Chistmas design similar in size to the fall piece I just stitched.


DH and I had our second "date" to finish getting our shingles shots series yesterday.  Both of us have sore arms, achy muscles, fatigue, and headaches.  We also both had a low grade fever overnight.  I keep telling myself that these symptoms are far more tolerable than actually getting shingles.  (Our sweet neighbor had shingles recently and even had some in her eye.  It was scary for a while because she lost some vision but she's doing much better now.)

Happy stitching!

Harvest Time, Sports

I give you....Harvest Time by the Prairie Schooler.  I really enjoyed stitching this one.  Love those colors!!!

I haven't figured out what to stitch next but some wips need some attention.

It was a big sports weekend for us this past weekend.  We attended the University of Texas vs. Kansas game in Austin.  The score was closer than it should have been so it was an exciting game.

At the same time, Houston Astros were playing what turned out to be their last play-off game and we kept looking up the score while watching the football game.  We listened to the last couple of innings in the car after the football game.  Astos are going to the World Series again!!

Also, my Ohio State Buckeyes handily won their game Friday night.

Happy stitching!

Back Home from Another Trip

We spent almost 2 weeks as Grandma and Grandpa's Day Care as our daughter transitioned back to work after the birth of our new grandson.  The 3 yo went to her day care (and her many friends) during the days and we played with her a lot in the evenings and weekends.  The time flew by and we enjoyed every minute...although we were exhausted much of the time.  (It's a good thing we have our children when we're young and more energetic.)

On the way back home we stopped in the Denver area to visit with our son and his girl friend.  Almost as an afterthought, we decided to spend Saturday at Rocky Mountain National Park.  We had a perfect day for visiting the park and really enjoyed ourselves.  We all felt the altitude when we were at >12,000 feet!  (Especially DH and I who live at 22 feet above sea level.)

Colorado is so beautiful!  We heard from our son that they had a big drop in temperature and their first snowfall of the season yesterday.

I had no stitching time while I was gone and have been enjoying getting back to my Prairie Schooler Harvest Time.

I'm thinking of starting La-D-Da's "Alone in the Garden" soon as well as getting back to the Lucy Redd sampler.

Happy stitching!

Model Finished, Lucy Redd, PS Harvest Time

The model I've been working on is finished and has arrived "home".  Happy Dance!

It's been very hot here still and lately rainy (Trop Storm Imelda) so I've had some extra stitching time.

I've worked a bit on Lucy Redd (Homespun Elegance) and, after seeing another stitcher's finish of PS Harvest Time, was inspired to start that one.

In the meantime, I've been tempted to start La-D-Da's Alone in the Garden and will splurge stitch it in silks (that are on order).

Happy stitching!

Lucy Redd, Summer Baking

I'm on the home stretch of a large model (WOO HOO!) which I, of course, can't show.  I'm in the "fiddly bits" stage so I'm really looking forward to finishing and sending it off to the designer.  It's a beautiful design.

Meanwhile, during the weekends, I've been spending some time with Lucy Redd (Homespun Elegance).  I can actually see myself being on the home stretch of this one when I can spend more time with her.

I'm already itching to start another sampler...perhaps after I finish the model (and a Christmas stocking) I can put a new sampler in my rotation.


It's hotter than Hades here now.  Despite that DH has been baking.  I can't complain because he turned out a yummy peach gallette.  (Why is it that everything that tastes good is so not good for you?!)

He also made a Corn, Tomato, and Basil Tart.  (Funny thing...the recipe title includes basil but the herb used in the recipe is rosemary...no basil.)  The crust on this thing was exquisite!

I'm so excited that college football has started.  Even with the temperature so high here, it makes me feel a little bit like fall.  GO BUCKS!!!

Happy stitching!

Lucy Redd Sampler, Berries, and BLT

It's been really hot here in Texas.  (Go figure!  Hot in August in Texas!)

I've been spending a lot of time indoors stitching on both a model and giving my Lucy Redd sampler a little love.  It seems like I've been working on this sampler forever between stitching models and other projects but I'm thinking that I might actually finish it....someday.

We've found great deals on strawberries and blueberries lately.  DH has been making variations of strawberry sorbet:

I got into the strawberry "act" too and made some strawberry freezer jam like my mom used to make.

I braved the heat and made some blueberry muffins to take to our sons in Austin, DH asked me where ours were.  Sigh...  I made some more this am.  Making the sorbet and freezer jam was definitely a better idea than turning the oven on in this heat!

Lastly, someone on one of my FB foodie groups recently posted a tomato sandwich.  Apparently somebody rudely commented something along the lines that a "lowly tomato sandwich" wasn't good enough to post on that group.  It was immediately pointed out something like "If you don't have anything good to say, then don't say anything."  (That group is supposed to be a positive place on FB.)  In support, others started posting tomato sandwiches and then we decided that yesterday was official tomato sandwich day on the group.  Here's my "contribution"...an open faced BLT with cheese using 7 grain bread, mayo, romaine lettuce, cheddar cheese, applewood-smoked bacon, and some beautiful tomato slices.  It was delicious if I do say so myself!

Happy stitching (and eating)!

It's Been A While...

Aside from logging in books I've read to my book page, I haven't done an update in a while.

It's been busy...model stitching, travel, etc.

I, of course, can't show the model I'm currently working on but I can show a model that has been released.  It's "My Country" by Country Cottage Needleworks.  It's a sweet design and I really enjoyed stitching it.

As for personal stitching, I stitched a cute freebie by Hands on Designs called To The Beach.

I'm working on a stocking for our new grandson by Bent Creek called Santa's Train Stocking.

I've also been doing a good bit of traveling:

April/May we visited our daughter's family in the San Francisco Bay area for the birth of our grandson.  I was there about a month helping out with him and our 3 year old granddaughter.  Of course, our little grandson is the cutest ever baby boy and he has the best big sister!  We keep in touch almost daily via Facetime which is a great thing for distant grandparents.  I'll probably go out again for about a week when DD transitions back to work.



Next, we visited our son in CO.  He moved there last fall and we've been there once already but he wanted us to meet his girlfriend.  What a beautiful area and we almost instantly fell in love with his girlfriend.  Speaking of falling, I had a hiking boot dysfunction and tripped and fell on a hike.  I broke my arm again (the same one as last year but at a different location) but it was a much less severe break.  (I've decided there's an unfulfilled niche in the travel book industry...urgent care and doctor info.  Unfortunately I've done "research" in that area in the last couple of years.  Hopefully I don't do any more research.)

About a week after our return home from CO, I flew to HI to help my sister and BIL with entertaining, etc. their kids during part of the summer break from school.  (Both my sister and brother live on Oahu.)  I was there almost 5 weeks so consider that trip as my "living" in HI for a month.  Seeing as my trip is different than most tourists (i.e. driving the kids back and forth to the pool and their summer classes, taking them to get haircuts,  running errands to Target and Safeway, cooking, taking the car to the garage, letting the bug guy in the house, entertaining the kids), it definitely qualifies as living there.

Of course I had a lot of fun while there too spending time at the beach, swimming in the pool, paddle boarding, hiking, sailing on my brother's boat, etc.  My arm improved greatly during the trip so I went from wearing a sling to using it more and more as time went on.  (The orthopedic doc I saw here before I left told me to use it as tolerated so that's what I did.)  It was also great to be able to spend so much time with my HI family.  I am happy to report that I spent my time in HI unscathed.

My BIL is an amateur stargazer and one of my favorite things we did was to drive to the parking lot/observation area of a blowhole near "Eternity Beach" with Makapuu Lighthouse's light visible in the distance.  We set up his telescope, watched the sunset, and tried to see heavenly bodies through the telescope.  It was too cloudy to see much in the sky but we enjoyed being at the deserted area at this time of the day/night.  The waves were very high and it was fun listening to them and watching the blowhole.  The moon was full and we enjoyed watching the light reflected on the ocean as the clouds moved along.

I'd love to (be able to afford) living in HI and found a nice house near the beach.  It's listed for $3.5 million but exactly what I'd be looking for.  Dream on!!!!

Happy Stitching!

Lucy Redd Progress

Most of my stitching time is devoted to a model but I sneak in some stitches on Lucy Redd (Homespun Elegance) from time to time.  I started Lucy in 2017, put her away for a while, and then pulled her out again late in 2018.  I'm enjoying working on her better now (than when I first started her) for some reason.  She's stitched over 2 on 36 ct. Wichelt lambswool linen and I'm using one thread (DMC as called for by the designer).  I'm looking forward to working on the buildings.

I also stitched a small Valentine's Day project (even finished it on Feb. 14)...HIH Collectors' Heart 2005.

Happy stitching!

Our Christmas, Lucy Redd and New Model

Happy New Year!

We had a wonderful Christmas with all 4 of our kids (5 counting our SIL) and our granddaughter here in our house for Christmas.  They all came and went different days so we had someone here from a few days before Christmas to Jan 2 for the last bunch to leave.

I had a good excuse to "cook big" a few times not to mention all the baking.  Besides the hundreds of cookies, I must have baked 6-7 pies.  I usually don't bake lemon meringue for Christmas but when I realized DH and the kids weren't kidding when they asked where the LM pie was, I baked one that they devoured in record time and then baked another to replace that one.  I've learned my lesson to always have a LM pie around when they're here. 

It was so fun!  Our kids live all over so we were enjoying it not knowing when this opportunity will arise again.  We even got a chance to have our granddaughter to ourselves while DD and DSIL spent a few days in Austin by themselves.



As much fun as we had, it's also nice to get back to (our version of) normal too.  Christmas decorations are all packed away and  I'm back to stitching, working on Lucy Redd sampler (Homespun Elegance)....

...and I started another model.  (I had just sent out a model I completed before the holidays too.)

My arm is still recovering (I've developed some shoulder weakness, pain (aching), and slight decrease in range of motion from it being used less when my wrist was out of commission.  I'm working on it.) but, every once in a while, I think of how much better and more functional I am than when I started this journey.  I also remember, during the worst of it, how I wondered if I'd ever be able to stitch as much as I did before the injury.  I'm thankful to be doing this well and hope to be doing even better as time goes on.

Happy stitching!