So close and yet so far...

I was closing in on a finish on Ornaments ala Round and hit a couple of snags.  First I realized I was low on DMC 367 and after a search through stash, I found none.   Never fear, it has been ordered along with some other have-to-items.   

I had less than three motifs to do last week and stitched, stitched, stitched and somehow I have less done today than I did on last week.   

Frogging, you guessed it.  This is one of those times that I am eating my words.   I told my daughter's when I was teaching them to stitch, you are not really crossing stitching unless you have to rip out sometimes.   I was trying offer soothing works over a mistake.  Pass the salt and pepper!   

Anyway, I was zipping along and kept looking at the 7th of 8 sets of the dreaded branches and something wasn't right.  I kept checking the patterns for stitch placement and it was fine.  It wasn't until I held the piece at a distance and my mistake just jumped off the linen.........I had swapped the placement of the light and the medium greens.  And trust me it made a difference.   It almost made the branch look like a 'negative' image of the one next to it.    I really am the master of my own disaster.  I was at a point last night when I just had to walk away from it! No worries....frogging will be back  in full swing today and I will get it all out and be ready to start anew.  However I do think that for today I am better suited to go outside and pull weeds - that is until I melt into a puddle.  

I did manage to finish Hollyhocks, second in the Summer House Stitche Workes series.    I did change the bee.   It was charted to stitch using Blue Corn but I changed it to DMC 310/Black.  I have heard of the Bluebird of happiness but never a blue bee.

Now if I were smart, I'd finish each of these as I complete the stitching.  

My hummingbirds come to visit each day.   It is so hard to catch a photo of them.   They must see me move towards the door and whoosh, off they fly.

And I caved.   I have been wanting to go to the custard stand all summer.    I finally made it.  Small hot fudge sundae with wet nuts.....so good.

In my region we have been battling heavy rains, high winds and severe thunderstorms the last week or so.   Thankfully most of the damage in the area is only downed trees and typical flooding in low-lying areas.   Some are without electricity but crews are working hard to restore it.  I live in an area where a tornado used to be a once a decade (or longer) event; now they are happening several times right around this time each summer.  Thankfully while still causing damage they are not the strength of what is seen in Tornado Alley in the middle of the country. 

Seems like the rainbow is holding back the dark clouds.

This week I hope to finish Ornaments ala Round as well as the quilt I am working on.   The backing fabric I was waiting on finally arrived.  It is frustrating that the tracking information showed it as "delivery to customer" almost a week before it actually showed up.  I guess that is one way the Post Office tries to show 'speedy deliveries'.

Hopefully the weather will even out, the heatwave will end and I will be able to get back into the yard for longer than an hour or two in the coming weeks.   As for stitching,  I do want/don't want to start anything new.   I have a couple of SAL's starting in the fall and I need to clean up some WIPs and UFOs that I should work on some finishing.  Since I deactivating my Facebook account for a time, I am now 13 weeks behind on the blackwork SAL and the blackwork could be  a good one to concentrate on.  

On a good note, I had a follow-up with the eye doctor and whatever was torn or pulling away is 75% back where it should be.   Still no jumping on a trampoline or a pogo stick for me but good news just the same.

Hoping everyone stays safe and healthy as we continue to battle the pandemic.   Thanks for stopping by and keep on stitching.

Dropping back and punting.....

Boy oh boy.....do I have task in front of me.......and so you say what else is new?  I first need to preface this with being a person that believes everything has it's place and there is a place for everything.   Even my kitchen junk drawer is neat.   That said, there are two places in my house that I allow myself to be an absolute mess.

#1 my bedroom walk-in closet.
I used to blame the state of MY closet on my husband being in bed still in the morning or in bed already at night as the reason my closet looked like Filene's Basement after a sale.   But alas, admitting the problem is half the battle.   I confess now that I am retired and am home all day I realize it has nothing to do with him.   I know no one but me goes in there; no one sees it.  And even though I vow to maintain a visual of the floor it doesn't always happen. Yes, life would be easier if it were picked up but I have other things that are enticing me to not be stuck in a closet.  I really hope to weed out a lot of the work clothes come the fall which will be a big help.

#2 is my walk-in craft closet.  
This is where I have boxed up frames, paper mâché boxes, basket making supplies, a dresser full of larger cuts of fabrics, baskets, games, needlework frames, bags of fiberfill, rolls of batting, WIPs, UFO's, bolts of interfacing, a suitcase of my brothers flannel shirts I plan to make a quilt from,  a serger and more.   We are having more solar panels installed in the coming weeks and attic access is needed for the roof inspection. Guess where the attic access is.   You got it, far corner of the craft closet so I am in the middle of an unplanned necessity-created sort out.  Ugh.

I promised myself I would empty a shelf a day in preparation.   It is not that the closet isn't neat, the problem is that there is too much 'stuff' that I 'may' need one day that I have shoved into the closet - out of sight.    I have two shelves emptied and both twin beds in the room are covered.   I vow that I am going to have a critical eye and purge when I put it back but the first step will be to empty the closet.   After the roof inspection is completed, I will have a good old sit and sort.  I will be putting in my AirPods; putting on some tunes or an audio book; setting a 2 hour time limit; and knocking about  a bit at a time.  It is already organized, I just need to purges and I know it is going to get worse before it gets better.

As for stitching, I have made great progress on Ornaments ala Round.  I am enjoying this stitch, I just took a break from it.

I finished three ornaments since picking this back up on Monday of this week and am ready to start on a fourth.  I am in high gear now.  I have ordered the octagonal frame from Brick City Stitch in Ocala, Florida and I expect it in October but that is not giving me pause to get this finished.

I've put a few stitches in on Holly Hocks.   I did have a bit I had to frog.   I was over-zealous with the top border just stitching along and then realized Oops!  There is a break in the top border.  c'est la vie.

My order from Salty Yarns arrived.   I had told Sara to wait until all the backorders were in and send it all at once so I have been looking forward to the mail each day.





































This is Teresa Kogut's Land That I Love sampler.   I asked Sara to substitute the called for linen as I felt it was too dark.   She selected WDW Aspen in 36 count.  I am super happy with her choice.   I am still missing a few of the fancy flosses but I don't plan to start this until October 1st so there is time.

  
I am also waiting on my quilt back fabric.   It was supposed to be delivered on Wednesday and tracking shows is hasn't moved from the regional warehouse since it arrived there Tuesday early morning.   Oh well, I do have the closet to empty upstairs.

I am finding I need to create a retirement routine.   I seem to go down that rabbit hole of something I want to do and remaining singularly focused while neglected other things.  And I always thought I was such a good multi-tasker.   I laugh out loud at myself.

Has anyone seen the "Friend Stitch"  SAL from Heart in Hand on Instagram?   I am curious.   Like a need another project!  Remember NEED and WANT are greatly different.

Not much else happening here.  It continues to be hot hot hot with heat indices forecasted to be over 100 each day.  The grass is growing, flowers are blooming, cucumbers, zucchini,  tomatoes and broccoli are being harvested, masks are being worn, social distancing is still happening, daily swims are happening, and I am trying to watch some FlossTube to catch up on all the ones I subscribe to.

Stay safe, stay healthy, thanks for stopping by and keep on stitching!

Back at it.....

It has heated up here the last week so right about now, this is how we all want to spend the day......up to our necks in cool water.    

I so enjoy the being outside in the yard.   Couple that with I just can't sit and I am always putzing and pulling and pruning.   To the untrained eye there doesn't look like anything needs to be done......but to me, I can always find something I want to transplant, weed, mess with.    A couple hours turns into 3 or 4 and then I am dirty and wiped out and not in the mood to stitch.  This is what caused me to put  Ornaments ala Round aside for about a month.   But now that it is so nasty outside, I am back to stitching every morning and NOT hitting the yard for a few hours of fussing  and putzing.   

I am in the homestretch.  23 our of 32 ornaments done.  I want to get this done but I strayed to the yard and some smaller  quicker stitches.  I sat in every other chair in the house and  stayed away from stitching chair because in my mind I felt I would feel quilty not working on Ornaments.  So the break is over and I am back at it and determined not to put is aside until I am done.     I finished the blue and gold ornament yesterday and started the purple and chartreuse  one this morning.    I really love this piece but it is not one that travels well or I can take outside to work on.  Since I have ordered Theresa Kogut's Land That I Love I have more incentive to get this one completed.  

For when I absolutely feel the need to stitch outside, I am working on Holly Hocks, number two the Ladies Garden Journal Series.  

I sewed up a bunch of four inch squares using the remnants from the quilt top I finished last week.   I am still waiting for the backing fabric to arrive and hope to somehow incorporate these squares on the back.   Can't wait until it gets here,  I make my quilt sandwich and I am up to putting the binding on.   The binding is my favorite part of the process except for maybe that first wash and dry when it comes out all wrinkled up!

I made a funny discovery.   Why is it after everything is said and done and you are filing  that document you just distributed to untold numbers  that the big old typo jumps glaringly off the screen?   Same way with cross stitch I guess.   I finished this earlier in the year; laced and mounted on the Hobby Lobby box.  What do I see the other day when I reach over the box to draw the blinds up........

OMG,  what a goober.    I dotted the "T" and not the "i".    I am debating about correcting it.  I had wanted to put this in the County Fair - which was canceled this year - but it is so me to make that goofy of a mistake I am tempted to leave it.   It will become a conversation piece it some sort of way.  

Being on semi-lock down doesn't mean you can't eat good!    Mr. W. and I scored some King Crab legs and salmon at Costco on Friday.    Add some Jersey corn and garden fresh cucumber salad and I cooked us up a feast on Saturday.   There was so much we ate two nights on it.

We all are still trudging along through this pandemic but getting by.   Unfortunately fall events are starting to be canceled.   Overall, it is not bothering me as much as some others.   I have a ton of things I can do.   I behave, don't go out willy-nilly and where my mask when I have to go to the grocery store.  On a good note, I love that I am getting 3 months to a tank of gas.   Wahoo!   

 

Thanks for stopping by.   Stay safe, stay cool and keep on stitching.

A Finish and a New Start

Good news/bad news.    I made some delicious zucchini bread.  Bad news I ate the whole loaf myself.   Not in one day mind you.   And the zucchini keeps on growing!




Wahoo!     I fully finished 4th of July by The Humble Stitcher.  Just made a quick and easy little pillow which I sewed twine around the edges.   I did use the walnut spray stain.    I could have kept spraying but it is kind of like when you do you hair or make-up and think just one more touch-up and then you wish you hadn't.  The use of twine was not my idea.   I wish I could remember who posted it on Instagram .... thank you for your idea of the twine around the edge.

I started work on Holly Hock, the second in the set of  the Summer House Ladies Garden Journal Series.   The same colors are used throughout the series which helps to tie them together.  I am trying to keep current with these especially since I have two SAL's coming in the fall!!!!

I found a new place to sit and stitch.....under our new SunSetter awning.  It's great except when the AC comes on.    On a good note, the AC has been running less now that we open the awning over the slide glass door.  It is really helping keep the heat out of that room.

I finished a quilt top.  I have more intersections spot on than ever before.   I guess I am getting better at this.   I want to do something with the leftover scraps to incorporate them in the back and hope to get some squares made before the fabric for the  backing arrives.   I am hoping the online color is a good representation of the true color.    Well if not, I'm going to make it work!  I can always tea stain it if necessary.
































































How is it possible for me to get so much accomplished this week you ask......I have lost the battle with the heat/humidity/yard work and have been staying inside.   No more yard work until this heatwave passes.

Thanks for stopping by.......
Stay well, stay safe, and keep on stitching.

And then I slept until 8am

Stitchy wise I completed Sweet William from Summer House Stitche Works before I went to visit my grand babies.   Time to start the next one, I think it is Hollyhocks.

After much discussion and knowing I had not been anywhere and they had not been anywhere except for my son going to work, I headed to State College and boy did I have a nice time.   I got the biggest hug from Willy.   He just wouldn’t let go.  Melted my heart.   He was my shadow the entire four days.  As Heather and I were driving away, I understand he told his mom that she was the meanest mom in the world because she wouldn't let Willy come home with me.

This is kind of how I spent most of my first day there.   If I was anywhere, Willy was right there with me.

We played games, both board and video, did puzzles, read stories, took hikes, laughed and snuggled.  Mario’s Dance Party was a hoot and unfortunately both my daughter and daughter-in-law  thought it appropriate to video Damma dancing.   I’m sure we will have side splitting laughs on holidays when they replay it.  My little, not-so-little, grand daughter...weighing in at 20 lbs., has to be the happiest little baby.  She lights up when you talk to her with a big smile that gets only bigger if her daddy comes into sight.  Good meals, good times, great memories made.  I loved hearing those little bare feet of William's running down the hall in the morning to jump in bed with Damma......which is why I slept in on my first night back home!  

Out for a nature walk on a local trail, we saw some pretty sights.  I think it was Musser's Gap Trail.

A chipmunk, or rather a Chee-Pump, sat on a log with us when Damma needed a break from the incline!

Little boys have boundless energy!

All the pretty flowers gave Damma a lot for playing I-Spy will William as we climbed the trail.

 I have made no progress on Ornaments ala Round.   I am outside from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. putzing, deadheading flowers, reading in the shade on the deck, eating breakfast, lunch and dinner on the deck, swimming (so thankful in this heat that I am a mere dozen steps from the house to the pool!)  Ornaments ala Round  is really not a good one with take outside.   I have done it but I don't do too well.  Too many moving parts between floss and beads and kreinik and patterns and a big old giant q-snap.  And since my usually stitching time on this has been substituted with me being outdoors, I am lagging behind.    I am sure I will be the last of the three of us to get this completed.  Yes, the self imposed deadline of 7/23 has been pushed off to ....maybe 9/23!

And even though I should be starting Hollyhocks as the next in the  series, I started this little patriotic pattern from The Humble Stitcher.   My buddies all ordered and are waiting for United We Stand by Blackbird Designs.   I resisted.   I've already done more than my fair share of supporting the needlework industry these last 4 months.   I saw this completed by Stasi of Bee-Mused and Bee-Stitching and really liked it.   It works well for stitching on the deck and is an instant download from Etsy.  I am not sure how I will finish it.   Toying with using a mattress style finish.

 Stitching this on 32 Ct. Confederate Gray linen with DMC from stash.

Yard work continues in an abbreviated format.   I sit on the ground, tug at a vine, if it offers resistance, I cut it.   I have a million and one little pieces of sticker vine and ivy but I am making progress.  It has been so humid, that I can only manage about an hour and a half before taking a break.  I've managed another 8 by 25 foot section.   Having fun  scouring the internet for shade loving, non-invasive ground cover and plants.   Oh boy!  

I'll let Mr. W. pry out those cinder blocks and bricks.

My vegetable garden is producing.  Also harvested radishes and zucchini and tomatoes already.  No cucumbers yet.

The hydrangea is beautiful and even more in bloom today then when I took this photo last week.

It is about six foot tall and apparently I should be pruning it.   Not now but I am sure an internet search will tell me how and when.

And the last bit of nature on this trip around the yard, I spotted 7 little frogs on my pond this morning.  The largest of the leaves is 4 to 5 inches across so you can see they are little guys.

Thanks for stopping by,  Stay safe and keep on stitching!