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.

Down the rabbit hole again

I hope all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family, friends and good food.  I think this was the easiest holiday dinner I even cooked.   I even had time to take a NAP while the turkey was in the oven.   I don't know what I did different than I have done the last 40+ years of holiday dinners but it seemed to be effortless.   I credit the new kitchen layout!

And then the opposite happened.  Ever have one of those days when a simple light bulb change leads to nine other things none of which were on your to-do list?   That was my yesterday.  It started with my husband wanting to change out the light bulbs in the ceiling fans which required the extension (cathedral ceiling) ladder.   That lead to my climbing up to clean the ceiling fans, and the exposed beams across the room.   Which was side tracked by getting the duster I use that was buried under too many things hung on the rack in the laundry room which led to a sort out of the grocery bags and plastic bags and not to mention all the lost bras that I hang on the rack to air dry.  While the ladder was in the house, I decided to wash the windows up in the a-frame peak.   Which lead to washing the other 8 windows and the sliding glass door in that room.  That lead to pulling out furniture from the wall, which lead to wiping baseboards.   Somehow sorting the paperwork on my desk, filing papers, composing some letters for my bother's estate and writing some estate checks came next.   No need to continue, you get the picture of how my day was spent taking care of things that were nice to get accomplished but no where near my to-do list of things I wanted to accomplish.   Just call me side-track Robin.

And remember my pledge to keep my workbench clean and free from being the dumping ground for all things?   Well I have kept my pledge.........but

don't look at the other side of the room where the things have landed.   Ugh!  I see an evening this week taming this mess.

but enough.....












I've got some stitching updates to share.   First, at my last guild meeting (Delaware Valley Historic Sampler Guild - DVHSG) one of the classes was with Janis Note of Notheworthy Needle.    We learned to drill foam pumpkins to later be cross stitched.    Here's my start.   I didn't get all the holes drilled during class......and work on it since has been sidetracked by other things.

At my November EGA meeting we made these neat wool candy canes.    We were lucky enough to have Sue Gonzales of SusanGonzalesDesigns.com  instruct us.   Sue provide the pre-stitched wool that was stitched with a channel where we inserted 18-gauge wire, we then scrunched, twisted, crimped and bent these into the candy cane shape.   These were so super easy.   We each completed three in about a half hour.    Sue has a ton of original, adorable designs and is a pleasure to work with.   If you are lucky enough to be in the Middletown DE area, you may be able to get her to come to your guild or you can stop at her shop.   

Stitching progress has been mediocre.    I have finished three of the smalls for the Betsy Morgan Poineer Girl Etui.    Next up, I will work on the pin cushion that makes up the spine of the book.  I am enjoying these quick finishes and working with the beautiful silks that are part of the project.

I'm off to start the holiday decorations.   Might even treat myself to take-outs so I don't have to stop and cook dinner.

As always, thanks for stopping by and keep on stitching.

Craft-a-lanche

Well guess what boys and girls, I have been it IKEA.   It is always a fun day going to IKEA.     They have things you will not find anywhere else.

I walked their maze of a showroom and found tow or three contenders.  After weighing all the pros and cons,  I decided on two Syvde bookcases.   And then the fun began.   I got halfway through assembling and needed to recruit Mr. W.  because another set of hands was needed.

Funny thing is, I took photos and emailed them to my daughter asking her opinion for which one I should buy.   Everything in our house that is troublesome becomes an 'alanche".   Tupperware-alanche, pan-alanche, and so on.   I emailed her with the subject line - "Ikea-alanche"    Well that darned spell check turned it into some kind of crazy combination of letters which she thought was just the Ikea name for what I sent her.

 

To back up a day, and before I started with assembling the new cabinets, Mr. W. cut down an old ladder that had been laying under the house since we moved it.    Once power washed, we suspended it from the ceiling  and I have stored all my "started" and "yet to be started" quilts.    I just got an adorable baby quilt with mink as the backing at the quilt show that I am anxious to start.   I won't have any problem finding it when I am ready!

Quite simply, my workbench becomes a dumping ground for all things that need to be put somewhere.  I don't care for what they say about creative people not being tidy.   OMGosh, just the opposite for me.   I tend to get overwhelmed when things are not in their place.    I hate looking for things.   Like-things should be together.   Right?   First stop being IKEA for the bookcases, and the second, third, fourth and fifth steps were to have a grand sort out.    End result, I feel like I can tackle anything in this room now and with the quick stash of scissors from little hands, I can accommodate Mr. William visits.

As with any organization project, it gets worst before it gets better.  Ribbons and trims and fat quarters everywhere.

More IKEA purchases to put together.

It took the better part of two days but I got everything sorted and stowed in an orderly fashion.   I when through all my cross stitch patterns with a critical eye and was honest about whether I would ever really stitch them.   I have a nice pile ready to box up and send off for eBay sales.    I even entered all my patterns by name and designer into the X-Stitch ap.  That took the bulk of the second day's work but worth it since more than once I have bought a pattern I already have.   Must mean I really liked it.  

My workbench is actually a kitchen island i got from IKEA many years ago.   I love it.   (And the same one can be seen in Frank Reagan's kitchen on Blue Bloods!)

Tablets and post-its and pens and pencils are ready to be grabbed when needed.

All my trims for finishing are now in one place....not here, there and everywhere.

 I sorted my fat quarters by color and each color was folded and stored in a different plastic (Ikea) container.

The rest of the house may be upside down in the midst of bathroom renos but I'm a happy camper.  Let's hope I can keep the top of my craft island from collecting stuff.

Tomorrow's assignment for my stay-cation, since we are expecting a cooler day that today,  is  stowing the summer furniture, bringing in the hanging plants for the winter, and turning over the vegetable garden then out to dinner with the girls!

The Good Old Switcheroo!

In more ways then one.      I am like a child that will do anything to get out of doing what I have on my list to do.   Take today.... I should have typed up minutes and financial reports, I should have started work on the final report on my non-profit grant, I should have done some yard work.....but what did I  do,  I played around in my crafting room.

Before we got started, Heather gave Buddy a little one-on-one time.  Buddy really was much happier than he appears as he let Heather give him some loving this morning before we headed upstairs.   We are really enjoying him.   He is very social and friendly.   He just loves having a fuss made over him.







So this is the end result of one room.  Not only did I rearrange, I switched the furniture from one room to the other.   What was I thinking?

This was my craft room just this morning.   I am happy with the way it turned out.   Hopefully Mr. W. and I will be getting a new bed soon and our old bed will come up here  and mean no more air mattress for holiday and weekend visitors.

Now the other and much bigger room.    This is my view when I come up the stairs to the hall.    Just one look in here and I can already feel the creativity starting.  You can't distinguish what is on the Expedit but I know what awaits me.

Everything I need to be creative, all sorted and labeled.  (which it already was,  we just slid it into place and dusted it.)

(New lampshade on my list!)

New fabbies waiting to be used.

Random spools waiting to be put away.

It was no small feat to get my island from one bedroom to the other.   We took off the top and the caps on the legs.  At one point, had this puppy wedged in the hallway and door in mid-air.  A little pushing and a bit of woodwork scraped and Heather and I got it in there.   She thought it was quite funny that I was 'trapped' in the bedroom and felt no need to be quick about helping me remedy the situation.  This resulted in her need to post yet another dingbat thing I have done to all her twitter friends.   Apparently my escapades and my fracturing of the English language with my non-words have made me an urban legend with her friends.

My rulers and scissors all within reach.

It was so great this afternoon to lay out some fabrics and trims for some smalls and a wall hanging I am working on.  

 Moved my shelf from one room to the other.  My trims and 

ribbons are all handy when I need them.

 It's amazing what a girl with tools can do when she puts her mind to it.

 I did manage to get a few fall decorations up between last weekend and this.   Three tubs of more pumpkins and Halloween stuff sit waiting for me spend the evening with them.  This is a new smaller tree I picked up on a trip to Lancaster.  

 I like little 'pops' of decorations like this mesh leave hanging on the top of the ladder back chair.

 I filled the scale with orange Christmas balls.    

I like the sparkle!

And finally, some stitching to share.    I am pleased with the progress I have make on Grace Mason.   I've turned the corner.    I feel I should take this on retreat with me next weekend but it is on such a large scroll frame I can't decide. 

 I think when I complete this section all the way to the right, I will be 1/4 of the way done!  

There are seven of us doing this.   Barb brought her completed and framed piece

 to stitching group this week and I am really motivated to kept stitching on this.  

I should try to get a photo of all of us with our finished and framed samplers when we 

are all done.   I think that would be pretty cool.   But at my speed and tendency to go 

astray, that could be awhile!

All Assembled

IKEA -  ahhhhhh!    Except I forgot that shopping with Mr. W. is  ~~ straight to what you want ~~ straight to the check out ~~ straight home and no dauddling.   But alas, all is good.   I didn't get the kitchen island I had in mind because I think Mr. W. was having sticker shock.  I settled on a smaller one that is absolutely perfect.   It is kind of like that Christmas tree that expands exponetionally the second you bring it through the door.   Had I gotten the intended island, there would be no room to work around it.   And since I am always about multipurposing and thinking of how to re-use each peice I buy if I ever move, the smaller island AND the Expedit were the perfect choice.

I still need to sort and stack and pack some things in the nifty boxes from IKEA.   Please don't mind the paint cans......seems I got distracted when I painted last year and never finished the trim.   A must do on the 'to-do' list in the near future. 

These open shelves are directly behind my chair when I am at the sewing machine and I have stacked my current (machine) sewing projects along with my mending.   Funny thing about the mending - some of the things have been in the pile so long they no longer are in style nor do they fit.   Cut that task in half with a quick sort. 

I worked at my new island workstation last night finishing up the first half of my hokey-pokey quilt top.  I sorted the sections of the fat quarter left from the first half and rearranged for the start of the second half which is cut and sewn at mirror image angles to the first half.   It was a joy to work at the counter height and not be bending over a rickety table. 

So much into the room finally coming to the vision of my mind's eye, I sewed the swag curtains that have been on the drawing board for a couple of years.   Tthe best part, they didn't cost me a cent.   The fabric is something I got when clearing out my mom's house after she passed away (in 1993!!!)  My mother had a sense of style and class about her and I saved the fabric knowing I wanted to do something with it.  The photo doesn't show you the real quality of the fabric.  It's a Waverly screen print.    I made and lined the swags but in typical Robin Fashion - I quickly hung them up without the proper rod or rod height.   When the weather warms, I plan to take down the rod, spray it with some flat black spray paint and remount is an inch or so lower and an inch or two outside the window frame.   Personally, I could live without curtains on my windows.   I love letting the outside in.   This window over my sewing machine is a north window so I don't get the blistering sun in it and since I live in a small town, I really don't care of people riding down the main street see me upstrairs sewing the night away!   I have enough fabric left to make a couple of chair cushions and some pillows that will help pull everything together.

How lucky can a girl get!

Yeah, the weekend and NOTHING scheduled!  I can't believe it.   No where to go, nothing that has to be done.   No schedule.   This could be classified as heavenly.......and then it got better.   Mr. W. was chatting about what our plans were for tomorrow and I just kind of snuck in there....."we could always take a ride to IKEA"......Mr. W. immediately said......"I've been thinking about going there."    He even wants to go early enough to shop and eat there.   Now this can only mean it was be 75 degrees out (the opposite of seeing snow in summer).   First, Mr. W. doesn't go out to eat; second Mr. W. doesn't voluntarily drive into the big city.    Now somehow I have to convince him we need to take his truck because I have have my eye on an Expedit and a kitchen island that I just have to have in my craft room!     Hopefully there will be some film at 11 tomorrow night showing the assemblage of items from a day trip to IKEA.   Love that store!  Those Swedish are so clever.