Speed Bump

Miss Raegan visits her brother post surgery 
and eats HIS snacks.

2023 started with a bit of a bump.   First, my grandson had an emergency appendectomy.  No worries, all is fine, kids are so resilient and CHOP (Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia) was beyond great.  Talk about resilience.  Admitted at 8 pm on a Saturday, scheduled for surgery at 9 am on Sunday and home by 3 pm Sunday.  It was more stressful for the adults than the child.

I attended Camp WannaStitch in OCMD for an annual EGA get together and came home not with purchases, but apparently picked up Covid.   Five years ago I would have thought nothing of it but a bad head cold.  However attendees were notified someone at the event tested positive upon returning.   Since I had what I thought was  head cold,  I tested.   And yes, I have had all my vaccines and boosters.  Thank goodness it seems that Covid is not as serious as it was when it first made the rounds three years ago.  I do have to say that when you don’t feel good that last thing you want to deal with is the difficulty of trying to remove the over-wrap on the cough syrup and then trying to open the child-proof top on it.  I'm not a violent person or one who slams drawers or doors but I could have launched that cough syrup into next week and not thought twice about it.

Even with a week of Covid isolation and no desire to stitch, I feel like I am keeping on track on several fronts so far in 2023.   But let’s not get too excited as we are not very far into the year. 

My first finish for 2023 was this bag I stitched for my sister’s birthday.   The bag is from “It’s Sew Emma” and the pattern is from Shepherds Bush stitched in perle cotton.   My kind of project…..started after lunch one day and done by dinner the next day.  

I have made the most wee amount of progress on The Eternal Flame from Jackie DuPlessis.   It is slow going and tedious due to some dry eye issues.   I am taking it painstaking slow on purpose being careful with this one.  

I am happy with progress on  a new start which was part of January WIPGO 2023.  One WIPCO task was to start the Shaker sampler,  To Emeline from Violets and Verses.   It was from my Shaker Retreat in Enfield last November.  I was breezing along until I hit the over one.   It is not too bad on this linen count though.

My other WIPGO project was also accomplished.   My task for the month was to chart the initials and make progress on  Our Lasting Friendship from Blackbird Designs. I met the challenge so I can also mark this as a success.  I am not stitching the entire sampler but rather I pulled out the center cartouche and have personalized it with the initials of some stitching buddies.  I would have like to have made more progress but other irons were in the fire.   

There are a few days left in January and maybe I can get in a few more stitches....maybe not.

My main focus for January was to complete  my Guild’s year long SAL.   The deadline for completion was to be completed in January and I made it with four days to spare.    I generally kept up until November when I put it aside because, well,  November and December are just too busy to be adding the stress of meeting a deadline to your life.   I’m happy this one is completed which will free up a lot of stitching time.  This is Garden of Stitches by Samplers Not Forgotten.   It is a pretty piece with a bunch of specialty stitchers.  

Thanks for stopping by and keep on stitching.

  

Reading

Reading takes me away.   I can be in Bali while snuggled on the couch in pj’s with a cuppa, or just as easily be in Paris in 1940.  Reading historical fiction makes me appreciate all I have to be grateful for.   To see how far we have progressed albeit I feel sometimes the old ways were better.

I use the Goodreads Ap to keep track of MY personal challenge as well as a place to keep a list of books I have read and want to read.....just like patterns, I've downloaded the same book more than once.    My challenge for 2022 was 26 books.    I didn't want to set the bar too high and feel defeated if I didn't meet the challenge.   Well, I doubled it.    I read, or listened to, 52 books in 2023.    I am not trying to shame others with my number.  It is MY challenge to myself.   I read at mealtime, I listen while stitching; I just have a lot of alone time to fill.  Some do not agree that audio books should count but having to take some long car drives by myself, audio books have become my friends.   Not only when driving, but doing hours of yard work in the spring and summer, I pop those air pods in and I off to the beach in Nantucket, or walking through the pre-revolutionary colonies.

I read almost exclusively off my iPad.   When I got my first Kindle about 10 years ago it took about a minute to get used to that versus a physical book and I have not looked back.   For me, I love the portability of taking the iPad versus a big old book as well as, oops! I finished and viola a quick download of the next book in an instant.  

I think this year was a fluke as for the number so I am bravely setting my 2023 challenge at 36!

My Statistics for 2022

52 books read

18,393 pages

Shortest book - 13 pages (??)

Longest book - 973 pages

Average book length - 353 pages

Most shelved book - Of Mice and Men

Least shelved book - The Jade Dragon

Some of my favorites from 2022

The Girls in the Stilt House by Kelly Mustian

Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah

The Escape by David Baldacci

Night Road by Kristin Hannah

The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi

My Name is Resolute by Nancy Turner

The Blue Bistro by Elin Hilderbrand

Next Year in Havana by Channel Cleeton

Cider House Rules by John Irving  

Mississippi Blood  by Greg Iles

Happy New Year One and All

I trust everyone had a pleasant Holiday Season and welcomed in 2023 with joy and hope.  Not one to go out on New Year’s Eve, I properly ushered in the new year with a new start.  This has been part of ‘my plan’ since the September class so I didn’t get overwhelmed during the crazy busy fall/pre-holiday crush.  This is  Eternal Flame Huswif from a Jackie DuPlessis class.  The silks are so sumptuous!     

  

Aren’t I just so nice to not put pressure or over extended myself…..it’s a new concept that I am trying out as I am my own worst enemy.

Christmas was a good one at our house.  We had the usual with my son, his family and one of his two sisters spending the night and the little ones tumbled down the stairs at 5 a.m.!   Eldest daughter and husband joined us by 9 a.m. and we had all the family, fun and laughter.   This year we did a Pollyanna exchange.  We all agreed none of us need anything; we are all in a position to buy what we want when we want  and aren’t we are all trying to declutter and downsize anyway?  It was different to not have to buy and wrap a ton of presents.  We all still  bought for the babies.  And, of course, I did stockings for everyone.  I had tried to stop a few years ago but ONLY for one year as there were protests and much moaning about no stockings.  

I had fun with five, yes FIVE, different advent exchanges.  Four with friends and one that I signed up for.  It really is 6 if I count the one I failed at.   It was fun each day squeezing and feeling the bags to try to guess the contents.   Some brought laughter and some tugged at the heart but all were wonderful.  The sixth one was the iStitch Advent SAL but I floundered.  First I couldn’t see to stitch on the fabric I chose.  It’s was the fabric, not the eyes. I did a stash dive and found other banding to use.   I had started stitching it horizontally not vertically.  Stitcher's prerogative I thought but the more I saw, the more I was liking the vertical placement I was seeing others do.   I keep saying I was going to turn the banding to the other end to restart and just didn’t get to it.  I was two days behind, then five and then…..  Again to eliminate any unnecessary stress, I  put the piece aside and with the intent to relaunch my efforts December 1, 2023.  But you know what, after seeing the completed SAL, I am not ‘in love’ with the piece.      It did feel good to not have to fret about starting over, catching it up, getting it done, etc.  And it feels good to grant myself permission NOT to have to stitch the piece.  I downloaded all the files in case I change my mind.  We should stitch what we love right?   

The SAL I did complete was from Moonfeathers. It was fun and I did keep up with it.   There was a day or two that I fell behind but it was quick to catch up.   It was a bit fussy to assemble and my first attempt was just not on target.  I decided to frog and try again.    The day-to-day directions were great and the 2021 SAL videos were still on Instagram to view and follow.   It has really put me in the mood to do some embroidery work.

I had some end of December finishes and one FFO completed before Christmas.   I put the last stitches in the Civil War Huswif from Linda Vinson.   Now on the to-do list is fully finishing this.

I stitched up this tree, an EGA project from our December meeting.    I don’t know if I will finish this as a flat fold or as an ornament.   

Lastly, I am super happy with how Christmas Rules turned out.   Better yet, it was FFO’d and on display for this holiday season.

I have joined WIPGO 2023 on FB.  I put more finishing on my chart than stitching but when I thought about it, it is finishing I want to accomplish. Also every year I have so many things I want to get accomplished but never seem to get to them.   I am thinking this monthly assignment from WIPGO will give me permission to stray and work on say the Christmas Ornaments I always say I am going to do each year or to start a wool appliqué piece I put on my list each year; or to  fully finish some of my stitched pieces.  

These are my two.  January WIPGO projects.   First, to chart the initials and do work on the BBD Our Lasting Friendship.       

My second WIPGO for January is a Shaker Sampler from the Shaker Retreat I attended in November.  Another piece with fabulous fibers.  

I am such a Labrador when it comes to what I am stitching on/working on …..you know, Squirrel, and I am off as soon as I see something else and of course I jump in with both feet with absolutely no regard to what I am leaving behind undone!  True story.    I want to do ALL THE THINGS so hopefully this will help me work on ALL the things and at the same time get things done.   We did something similar in EGA a few years ago and I able to get a lot stitched and finished.   My Delaware Guild is also doing a monthly number pull on one of five different projects.   Somehow I hope to be able to dovetail the two WIPGO’s.  I just hope it doesn’t increase my WIP’s/UFOs from 10 to 20!

I plan to return to my Block a Day Quilt in the next couple of weeks.  I put it aside because, again, I was lessening the ‘stress’ of too many projects/too little time.  You know, Jack of All/Master of None type behavior I have that leads to be going off in too many directions and NOTHING getting the attention it deserves, but I digress.  At any rate, I am close to the finish and I am anxious to get this quilted.   Just a dozen more blocks to cut, stitch and add to the mix.  I have the backing fabric and batting already; just need to finish the quilt top.

Coming up in January I have Camp WannaStitch in Ocean City, MD. In February I will be Ocean City for Super Bowl and will get to see the new Salty Yarns location.   At the end of February I will be in Tennessee for a week visiting a stitching friend.  A couple of pending guild retreats pending.  I am driving with a friend to Rhode Island in June while she attends a class.  A Prim Retreat at Hobby House in October and attending the Shaker Retreat again in Enfield NH in November. Since it is only January  WHO knows what else will fill my calendar.  Lots of laughter at each and probably not as much stitching as I think at any I am sure.  

Wishing you all a healthy and happy new year.  May your needles stay sharp, stitches be many, your floss stay untangled and your frogging be at a minimum.  Thanks for stopping by, stay safe and keep on stitching.