Time-outs Work for Grown-ups too

They sure do work well for little ones as well as for myself when it comes to a project I am frustrated with.   I think I  have gotten myself straightened out.....or possibly I am continuing to fool myself.   The later is the more likely.

This is the corrected flower pot that had given me the fit.

Land That I Love is my early morning piece.   Most days I am getting about an hour in before I  start to tackle the dishes or laundry or whatever the day may hold.   Remember when I posted about making a dilly or 10 mistakes?   Well my mistake was even worse/better than originally thought.   Seems the only error was in the current flower I was stitching and not earlier on in the pattern as I had thought.  Said nemesis is pictured above.   Frog-frog-frog that flower, its stem and leaves and I am back on track.    I think putting this piece in time-out gave me a chance to chill out and re-evaluate with fresh eyes.   And oh yes, no more believing I can count or stitch in the evenings when having a glass of Pinot.  

I cleaned my craft room and guest room and I feel so much better for it.   My craft room and my craft table, in particular,  is well-known as my catch-all.  I never quite know why I am out of sorts or without motivation, and then I walk in there......it is like some horror movie fabric-and-floss monster, invisible to the untrained eye, creeping down the steps like the blob and invading my Qi.    And we all know what happens when you go into your craft room.....yes, all kinds of discoveries and things to touch and imagine with and divert your attention....and finding of things you don't even remember buying.....you can lose a weekend.   I was good and only spent an afternoon.   As well as putting everything in its place, I boxed up some charts I am taking to our first in-person in a year EGA meeting to see if anyone wants any.   

I've been spending time helping my sister who is still struggling with the loss of her husband last fall.  I've helped her plant flowers, driven her to some appointments,  as well as I assembled an Ikea-like credenza for her.  I know of all the things I can give her my time is the most valuable and it is nice to just be silly together.  Next up, we are going to meet weekly to work on our hexagon quilts together.  I dug that project out of its hidey hole and brushed the cobwebs off of it.  I may decide to continue in a totally different direction.   I was originally making flowers that I planned to edge with a neutral background but after one day of working with my sister on it, I think I might just go with just a total random placement as she is doing.   Jury is still out.   The random placement would be a complete no brainer.   Whichever way I choose to proceed, I think I have found a project I can work on in the evenings.  I think we only need about 600 of these 2 1/2 in hexagons to make a quilt.   Great scrap buster.  

 

I did cross that monumental threshold and signed up for Social Security and Medicare.  The years of worrying will SS still be there when I need it because eligibility seemed so far into the future have vanished.  The online application on the website was easy to complete and in less than 24 hours I was notified  my application is being processed.  Now all I have to do is wait for that first check to be deposited.

The yard is done, yes completely done, with the exception of my Back 40 project.   I don't know if I will clear anymore or not.  It just might stay as it is but then again I may get the 'itch' to play in the dirt.

The strawberries are being harvested, lettuce is growing as well as the spinach and other veggies.  I only need to spend about 30 minutes a day tending everything and the rest of the time is pool or deck time.....that is if I am staying home that day.  On the pool front, the weather has been TOO COLD (in the 50's just ten days ago) to get that water warm enough for me. I need to convince Mr. Wonderful that it is his idea to get a solar cover for the pool for the grand babies.  (he-he)

For stitching I have been concentrating on three pieces.   Land That I Love as I stated above.  Ye Old Crow Sampler from Heart In Hand  is a quick piece to pick up and carry with me just in case stitching time should magically be available.    I take it to babysitting and have put in nary a stitch while there.     Delusional, that's what I am.

Winter Rose Manor is my stitching-group piece.  I only stitch on this on Thursdays.   After my needlework group meets, I stitch ahead to outline a big chuck of the house so the following week I can just do the fill in.   I'm all ready for tomorrow for a section of the house and the two empty windows.  It helps me avoid frogging mistakes made while chattering away. Once I get the house done I am not sure how I will proceed.

Babysitting continues to be a joy.   We have taken on kids exercising on You Tube.   I've got to say that Will's jumping jacks look a little spastic but then again so must mine.  And I cheat and situate myself out of sight and don't do the burpees.   I mean, are you kidding me?  

I treated myself to a project bag from Dot Dot Goose.  I included the little floss keeper book.   I have really taken to liking these little needle books not so much for my fancy floss but for the other five strands of DMC when working with one on 36 count.  This is now my new home for Land That I Love. 

Next week a stitching pal and I are heading to Virginia Beach.   Ye ha!    I can't wait.   The main reason is to spend time with our dear stitching buddies from Camp WannaStitch which was not held this year.   These four ladies are gems.  About five years ago we needed a table to sit at and they had two empty chairs.   We became fast friends and have sat with them every year since.  And of course, when in Virginia Beach we will do what all other stitchers do and visit Dying to Stitch.  

My daughters and I are forming our plans for our annual July 4th Sew-a-thon get together.   Seems it will be shorter than in the past but it will be wonderful just the same.  Nevertheless, I am tossing a couple of projects around in my head for what I might concentrate on.  A red-white-and-blue quilt top could be the forerunner.  I've got some make ahead menu ideas in mind to make it easier and maximize our crafting time.  

Thanks for stopping by, happy stitching ahead for everyone, stay safe and stay healthy.

Just Itsy Bitsy Progress to share

I have so little progress to show after a week of little stitching.  I have been spreading two or three hours each day with a close friend who has a lot on her plate right now and when I get home I am just not in the mood to sit and stitch.   Couple that with the stitching fairy (my eldest) dropped off tons of crafts supplies on my front porch.     I just recently proclaimed in a zoom meeting that all the stuff visible in my craft room was not purchased by me!   How prophetic that was.   

Long story short, the aunt of a friend of my daughter's was a crafter and had passed away last summer.   Her family is cleaning out her home and no one else in the family was a crafter (for shame!) and they didn’t know what to do with it.   I told my daughter my guild liqudiates unwanted stash on eBay and uses the proceeds for room rental,  supplies and projects, etc.   I thought that was the end of it.  Nope.   They didn’t want to be bothered.  It’s really easy I said, here’s the number and here’s the website, just drop it off and they sell it for you on eBay and split the profit with you.     Next thing I know the family thought it would be best to donate to an organization that would appreciate it and use the money generated for sales to help other stitchers.  .....so that is how I came upon tubs and tubs and tubs of floss and patterns and towels and transfers and......

No judgement from me.  I need to get a Thank You note to them now and again when we receive our "check" for the sales.  

Initially I thought I’d sort the DMC by number in zip lock bags.   My friend Pat pulled me back from edge on that one.  And I thought maybe I will enhance my stash by pulling the numbers I don't have......nope, not really worth my time to spend hours for $0.59 floss.   Easy estimate, 3,000 skeins of new DMC floss!  If we were meeting right now, I would take this treasure trove to a meeting for everyone to check it out but I doubt we will be meeting until the fall so off to eBay sales.      Although I have not spent my time stitching, my time was spent craft related. 

I finished the flower basket on Land That I Love.

But wait.....one little #712/cream stitch missed there near the handle.   Geez, what was I thinking when I ended the stitching one stitch short?

As for HOD Year of Celebration.......why is that small items seem to take so long.   I did stitch all the snow in icicles from WDW but didn’t like the look so out the stitches came.   At the rate I am stitching this tiny chart it will be next year before I get it done.   I think I need to dedicate some serious stitching time this coming weekend.

I'll get there....one day and one stitch at a time.

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

Red, White and Blue Binge

As was documented on my last wordless Wednesday I went down the rabbit hole.  I pulled out my stash of patterns and perused and oh’d and ah’d and lost a couple of hours  while contemplating all the potential.   I first pulled out all the patterns I wanted to complete.  Thanks to a friend, Linda W., I used her tip to take that stack and divide it into A, B and C preference piles.  This allowed me to narrow down my project list to a manageable amount.   I chose UFOs, smaller projects, larger projects and came up with what I felt was a manageable final selection.   (I laugh at myself)  Since I finished the year with a flurry of Christmas ornaments, I think when I need a quick finish fix, I will dive into the cross stitch magazines Christmas editions for an ornament or two.  I plan to do a lot of stitching from stash this year but I  know something will come along that I will have-to-have or start. (Again, I laugh at myself as I already have a list for shopping  online at Salty Yarns' Super Bowl Sale.)  As for my selections, each has been kitted, bagged, labeled and is it in my stitching basket that is kept by my stitching chair.   

On New Years Day I started A Flag of Stars by Bent Creek.   It is finished and I have ordered a 6x6 Mill Hill frame to mount it.   It will join my other patriotic pieces in my upstairs bath.

This is how far I was when I picked this up again.

I pulled out Land That I Love by Theresa Kogut.   It is almost  a new start.  I only worked on it only one weekend when my friends and I started it as a SAL in October.   I try to put in an hour each morning and then again each afternoon.   I am using the called for colors except for the fabric.  I chose 36 count Aspen instead of the called for Tin Roof.   Ok, here’s to progress on another patriotic stitch.

Not a ton of progress

New to me are these magnets.   I like them a lot better than the oversized clothes pin type I was using.   Amazon!

My changes so far to the pattern, are using a smyrna cross in the center of the white flower.

I am also using a smyrna cross for the letters in the alphabet.   The pattern calls for the letters USA to be stitched in a different red.   I instead I am stitching my initials in the different shade of red.  

I started HOD Year of Celebration.   I didn’t get far.   My ’plan’....(and again, I laugh at myself)....is to stitch on smaller pieces  during the weekend and save the bigger projects during the week.  

Here too, I am using the smyrna cross in the center of the snowflakes.  Pulling from stash I selected  WDW icicle for the snow.

As for Wordless Wednesday, I hate to say some weeks it is hard to come up with something that I think can be posted without words but still be relatable.  Instead of being carefree, some weeks it is work. I decided I am only going to post a Wordless Wednesday when the spirit moves me.....since we are again in semi lock down due to Covid, there is only so much of my house and projects that I can find to excite me so to speak.  

Thanks for stopping by.  Stay safe, stay healthy, wear your mask and keep on stitching. 

Like a tennis match

I am back from my weekend in OCMD.   It was great.   We all followed the rules - sanitizing, keeping our distance, wearing masks.   The long weekend was just what I needed after a summer of yard work.  

I made great progress on Coming to America.  There are many others way ahead of me but I am sailing at my own speed.  

Two birds left and I will be finished with the section with the ship.  I may stitch down the side and stitch the placement of other bands....and I may not.

I also had a new start.   I have a self-created rule......a new start at any Lankford visit.   This start has been planned since early summer.   My group of Jersey Girls and I are all stitching Theresa Kogut’s Land That I Love.    I didn’t get a whole lot stitched but I did make a start.   I am stitching on 35-count Aspen.   We each have different linens but are all using the called for threads.   It is always neat to see the different looks you get of the same pattern.   

For anyone stitching this, don't worry, I know the "A" was supposed to be blue.    I am not making the U, the S and the A in blue but rather I am stitching my initials in the blue.    I am doing a twist with doing the letters stitching as smyrna cross rather than just a plain old cross.  That's about as far as I will go with changing what the designer has charted.

I think I am a convert!   This is the second piece I have stitched on anything over 32 count.   Coming to America being the first.   I have always been fearful of using 40-count but it may be in my future.  I really like the look of things on 40-count but have always feared I wouldn’t be able to manage it.   I have a nice big piece of 40-count Navy Bean in my stash that is now calling me.  

For my stash, since I have been doing mail order all summer, I did not buy a lot.     I bought Heartstrings Samplery Berry Bowl Sampler.  I have liked this since I first saw this on The Attic's flosstube.   I choose one piece of doubloon rather then two pieces of linen that need to be joined.   I have done the fabric joining in the past but couldn’t find a suitable combination for my taste.   And, it’s 36 count!   

I also bought Harvest Time from Lila’s Studio.   I just fell in love with her plaid skirt.  I think I may have even have owned one like it back in the day.   I have plenty of Halloween stitching but I need more fall themed stitches.    I am sure I can stitch this using fabric and floss from stash.

For history making events, I was out on the boardwalk at 9:15 Saturday night to see the launch of the rocket ship from Wallops Island heading to the International Space Station.  It was very cool to see, not so easy to photograph with a phone.    I found these on FB and they pretty much show my view.

This one is using a little more photographer savy time-lapse finesse.  Thank you Ken Fullerton!

I am volleying back to the Salty Yarns and the Lankford again on Thursday.  I am attending Jamboree.  These classes were booked in March.  We have been on the edge of our seats all summer hoping Jamboree would not be canceled.  Some are attending via Zoom so the class sizes are much smaller.  And again all the Covid safety rules will be followed.   One of the classes is with Fern Ridge.   As you know they are famous for their peyote beading.......yikes!   I’ve never done peyote beading so I hope my table mates have patience with me.  Fortunately this is all part of my new mantra......move out of your comfort zone.   This class is spot on for that!

Thanks for stopping by, stay kind, stay safe and keep in 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!