February 2026

First of February found me flying to Chattanooga to visit my friend Diane.   Pat and I were joining her to go to the Knoxville EGA Retreat in Carson Springs, TN.  The best laid plans…..somewhere about 32,000 feet in the air over Virginia an email was sent to attendees that the retreat was being canceled.    The retreat location was snowed under, food trucks could not make it to the place which was at that time only accessible by 4 wheelers.   Not to worry, although disappointed we were overjoyed to just stay at Diane’s house for the week.     Always a great time with our friend Diane.  

While at Diane’s she helped us make fancy notebooks for retreat gifts.    

We also got to go to Diane’s weekly stitch-in.    

It is always a good time when the “Jersey Girls” come to stitch with them.                                                It is the cutest store.  Her machines have names like “Dolly” and “Cher”

So cute how she has decorated with what looks to be silhouettes from old patterns with tulle and buttons.  

I took my French Alphabet as my dedicated stitching piece for my time in Tennessee.   I hope to be able to finish enough each month to get this piece done by the end of the FB Leap Year Challenge!   I almost completed a whole pattern page when I was there.  

Raegan turned 6 earlier this month.   OMGosh.  Where has the time gone?   Mom and Dad took her skiiing.  She was a little apprehensive about.   But not once she got there - she loved it.  Soon she will be swooping down the hills along side her brother.

We spend a Sunday making her a couple of 100 Days of School shirts using paint and thumbprints.   Making memories with her and her brother every chance I get.   

I trudged along with American Sampler.   Ugh.  Some days I have to use that little thumb print sized lens on the magnifier.   Slow going but I am not throwing in the towel.   I am doing this piece on 28 over one.  I love the look of 28/1 but my vision does not.   I plan to make this my focus until the next WIPGO numbers are called on the 25th.   The WIPGO numbers give ‘permission’ to stitch on something different and often end with a finish.    If I get tired out before new WIPGO numbers, it will be back to the French Alphabet.  Forward progress all around.

Believe it or not, I am itching to get outside in the yard.   Plans and grand project ideas are swirling around my head.  It is a while off still as we still have a good amount of snow cover because our temps have not been above freezing. 

Thanks for stopping by and keep on stitching!

Sometimes there is no answer....

Why, why, why do I never seem to run out of things to do?  Do I take on more than I should?   Do I not know how to say no even to myself?  Why do I see things to do where other's don't?  Do I invent things to do? (yes I do!!)    And the piesta le resistance, why does the grass seed always sprout better in the flower bed versus the bare spots?  

But enough.   No need to waste time on solving the mysteries of my personal universe.  Let’s see what I have gotten done.   For Coming to America I was blown off course and seem to be tangled in the Sargasso Sea.    I wish I had asked the question as to why the little pilgrim was standing outside of the boat on the waves.   Of course I charged ahead and stitching the boat to have him standing behind the rail.  Only then did I find out why he is outside the boat.  He represents John Howland who fell overboard during a storm but was pulled back aboard and rescued.   Now that I know the story, I can’t leave him behind the ship's rail.  Why did I not think to ask the significance of his position?    Maybe fair winds will sail my ship out of the tangles of the pending frogging.

I did finish Ornaments ala Round.  I will post a picture once I have it framed.  

I made progress on Raegan’s stocking.  I am saving the hair for last since it consists of french knots and a detached braid.  I don't want to smash the stitches as I roll it on the scroll bars.   I am more than half way done.   I need to shop my buttons, beads and charms to find some good ones to attach.

I picked up my EGA project, a Terri Bey Lotus Box.  I worked on it one weekend in June and put it down while I waited for #8 perle cotton.  The perle cotton arrived but I didn’t pick the project up.   Now I need to get busy.  The pattern was intimidating but I am pleasantly surprised how easy it is to follow the well-written instructions.  We have a zoom meeting in October to learn how to assemble it.  I understand assembly will be similar to putting together a biscournu.

I did finish a complete sort out of my craft room.  I had to remove everything from the walk-in closet so the inspectors could access the attic hatchway to check out the roof structure to make sure it could support the new solar panels.     I did end up with a couple of boxes I hope to send off for eBay sales.  

All my fat quarters are again sorted by color/type as best possible.

These wire locker baskets I found at an estate sale work perfecting to storing finishing supplies and small frames on the closet shelf.  

The main thing taking my time has been the yard project.   The bricks lining my paths were  found while clearing.   The pavers where I placed the park bench are left-over from my daughter's patio.  The flagstone, some is from my yard and some was found while clearing.  Since technically this is past my property line I don’t need to go overboard investing a ton in landscaping dollars.  A ton of time seems to be a different story.

I have done as much as I plan to this fall.....famous last words.   On the right side of the brick path I planted over 100 daffodil and iris bulbs, three mums and periwinkle ground cover.   The cool thing is the bulbs were found from other gardens around my yard and my daughter's gardens and were originally from my father's garden.   Is that possible they could be 40 years old and still viable?  I think planting bulbs is my favorite planting......I love the anticipation of them coming up when you are in the doldrums of winter.     The periwinkle is from existing gardens and also was originally from my father's flower beds.  I bought the mums for a great fall pop of color.

To complete the right hand side, from where have finished to back to the three line, I plan to clear, plant some ferns, more periwinkle and a favorite, some bleeding hearts next spring.  I've never had a good shady area I could plant them; now I do.  Then this side will be done which will be about 1/4 of the area.   I will gradually work towards the left, adding shrubs and low maintenance paintings.  Again, this is going to be a several-summer-endeavor.  This time last year, this was nothing but a 75 foot fallen oak blocking the entire overgrowth of vines and briars.  Good thing I really really really enjoy yard work.  

So that's all I've got.   Thanks for stopping by.   Stay safe, healthy and keep on stitching.

Returning to a project....

is the pits........

For the last several years my daughters and I have gathered for 5 days for a stitching/sewing palooza around the 4th of July.   Due to the Corona Virus as with so many things we needed to adapt.   Amy didn't want to come down from Boston and we don't blame her.  Heather and Miki had been here for the weekend earlier in the month for his mother's funeral and since me, Mr. W., Heather and Miki have only associated with family, we felt it safe to get together for a modified sew-a-thon.

For the 4th of July, we had some great ribs, salads, deviled eggs, beans and desserts spending the time between swimming and sewing and then watching fireworks from the front porch.

Let me clarify  the sewing part of our sew-a-thon.    Seems we both did a lot of trimming as is evidenced by the large bowl of trimmed pieces.  And I admit, I contributed more than her.


Heather started work on a new quilt.   (I think this makes #5 during quarantine)    She has such a great eye for colors.  She made all her half square triangles, sub cut and made her final block.

Here's the one she just completed for her father in law using her mother in laws t-shirts.

My first project was to complete a tinted linen piece I wanted to turn into a pillow.  It is good to get this FFO.    A pillow form I have from a Pine Mountain pillow is a little small for this one and I may have to just outright stuff it.   For now, I'm thinking it will only be out 4 weeks  each holiday season  and I may be able to deal with the 'lack' of stuffing.

Really happy with the backing fabric I was able to use.   It does match the truck color perfectly even though is doesn't appear to here.

Once the pillow was done, I pulled out a quilt top I started last year.   This is where the trouble started.  No matter what notes I would have left in the container when I stored this, they would have been nonsensical when revisited.    I started to trim each block to a nice 6 inch square.   About halfway through I came across a block only measuring 6 by 5 3/4.   OK, just one I can make it work.   Rip out the seams and restitch with a scant 1/4 seam allowance.   Then there was another and another so I decided to started trimming and retrimming to 5 3/4 by 5  3/4.   So much time spent and no sewing even done.   I still marvel at how this happens when you spend so much time being precise while cutting and stitching.    Oh well......sew it goes.

Some cut and some still needing to be cut.   Maybe sometime today I will be ready to sew!

 I made a bit of progress on 4th of July by the Humble Stitcher (on Etsy).

And I'll leave you with a couple Pics of the Day that I received from my daughter in law.  Looks like Reagan liked (wearing) the carrots daddy gave her.

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