August Flew By

And I feel like not much accomplished on my overall to-do list.  That would be my other than stitching list.    Admittedly, some of the items on this particular list just get forwarded to the next month more than a few times.  I’ve been hibernating in the house, out of the heat,  staying out of my pool-less yard.  While I have not been stitching up a storm, I’ve managed a small squall of finishes.

We were well into the the second week of August before I finished up my July WIPGO but finish I did.  Betsy Morgan’s Pioneer School Girl - ta-da!   Super happy to call it a finish.  This pattern is available in Betsy’s Willing Hands Book.

I loved this piece since the first time I saw it.   I took this as a class at Salty Yarns several years ago, or BC - Before Covid.   I finished all the stitching during Covid.   I put this on my WIPGO board and finishing came up as my July assignment; if not, it would still be in the box o’ finishing.

My other July WIPGO was to work on a WIP and I was able to make more progress on Cornwall Cottage.   I am ready to put this one aside for awhile.   I am thrilled with my progress but tired of working on a big piece.  In truth, I’m itching to start a new sampler!   I know!  How dare I!!   My goal is to have Cornwall Cottage stitched, framed and in the County Fair next August.  It will definitely be part of my 2024 WIPGO board.

For August, my WIPGO assignments were to fully finish two stitched projects and to stitch and finish an Erica Michael’s Strawberry.  I stayed with my sister for a week following knee replacement surgery.   Between being in surgical waiting and then back at her house 6 days, I got the stitching done.

I stitched Erica Michaels - My Needle Berry.   Once home, I fully finished it.

 

Before going to her house, I prepped several projects for finishing.  I picked out coordinating fabric, cut mat board, ironed on interfacing, etc.   What is it that we take a sh#@-ton of projects when we go away thinking  we are going to finish them all? At any rate, it was EZ PZ to keep rolling with finishing when I came home for the weekend. 

I fully finished this pillow.   It is Goodbye Fall from Plum Street.  I used the called for 36 count fabric and flosses.

I also fully finished Olga’s Tart from Plum Street.  I used a fabric remnant and floss from stash.  The fabric is 36 count R & R American Chestnut.  Since I have been working on 32 count with 2 over 2, I unintentionally did 2 over 2 here!  And naturally, it doesn’t fit any of the tart pans I have.   I need to go to JoAnn’s or Michael’s to visit the Wilton section to get a tart pan the right size.   I saw a set of 6 on Amazon but I don’t know that I want 6 tart pans!  I need to make some more twisted cord and add a bow or hanger to the top….or not.

Last but not least, I finished this Christmas ornament from my EGA’s Christmas in July.  

I started making pin cushions as exchange gifts at some upcoming retreats/classes.   Full credit goes to Cathy Haberman of Hands On Design.   She talked about making the pin cushions on one of her Flosstube videos.  See her blog for instructions.  

With my sister napping quite a bit, I was able cut 60, seam and press all of them.   So far, I have 10 totally assembled.  Some are made from a cross stitch pattern fabric and as many as possible were cut from a consignment store cross stitched table cloth that was $10.   I hated cutting apart someone’s work, but the table cloth was stained and I rationalized 48 people will be able to have a piece of someone’s stitching.

I feel like August is a blur.   Between being at my sister’s for a week, regular babysitting and some extra babysitting, things around my house and yard have suffered.  Hopefully cooler weather in September and October and I will get my yard back in shape and tidied up for fall.   

Coming up in September, I’ve got a dilly of roadtrip a planned.   All I’ll say is involves a trip to the top of the St. Louis Arch and adding a new state or two to  my list of states visited.  More on that in my September recap.

Stuff, lots of stuff

where to start.....middle of a polar vortex here in the northeast and we've been using space heaters all week....we have heat but it has been intermittent......circuit board fried on the heater.....new one installed yesterday and all is warm and toasty now.

I  have only picked up one book since last May, Need to Know.   It was excellent.   I am now reading Where the Crawdads Sing.    Only about 75 pages in but I can't wait to pick it back up to see what comes next.   My sign of a good book.

Speaking of books, I just purchased the Antique American Needlework Tools from Amazon.   It is a beautiful book filled with tons of color photos.

Mid-January I went to Camp WannaStitch in OCMD for a great weekend.  We sat with our friends from Rose and Thistle Guild of Williamsburg.  It is always fun to reconnect with them.   I got to ring the bell as I finished my Halloween Quaker.   Since MLK weekend I have managed to take steps to fully finish it.  I need to get more black Chinese braid.

....unless I want to walk on the wild side with the purple.  One step at a time.

I started a new sampler from Summer House Stitche Workes, called Karoline Beringer.   Beth Seal of Summer House was lucky enough to find and buy the original and then chart it.     It is a small sampler and I am almost half-way done.    Love when a project zooms along like that.   I made some substitutions using colors I had on hand......no need to add to my stash with a dozen more WDW threads.

Stitched and finished this Cherry Tart pin cushion.  It was an EGA meeting project from our January Meeting.  EZ-PZ.  At the meeting we watched three quick videos that gave us great hints for the wool appliqué.

Also, stitched up this week, this Valentine’s  humbug.  My first humbug.  Another EZ-PZ except for stitch-stitch-change-color-stitch-stitch-change color part.  It has me wanting to pull out a humbug that was a Christmas in July a few years ago that I never completed.

My sister gave me a great daily planner that I am enjoying using.... silly it is just a planner.   But alas, I am list maker.  I get so much more accomplished if everything is written down in one place.... I review it each morning at breakfast, making my notes for things I need to accomplish that day or week, grocery lists, phone calls to make, etc.  It has biweekly quilting skill builders included.   I have done the first skill builder.







The coming week doesn't look to bad......let's see what the planner looks like at the end of the week.

The skill builders for quilt blocks are featured every other week.   I am a couple of skill builders behinds but hope to catch up.    

Here's the first week.  Quick and Easy four-patch.  Before I started the second one, I decided to pull all my blue and yellow fat quarters out so at the end of the skill building at least I will have something cohesive.

More quiltie stuff......I purchased three sets of the same jelly roll from Missouri Quilts.   I issued my daughter’s a quilting challenge.   We get together every July for a five day  stitch-a-thon.  So my challenged to them is find a quilt pattern to use for the jelly roll.  It will be fun to see the different outcomes we have.  I have my pattern picked and hope to start soon.

My daughter's and I are also starting a 12-Days of Christmas SAL.    Yikes!    It is scaring me!   Lots of embroidery.  I hope to spend the afternoon with Heather next Saturday and we can get started.  I am thinking safety in numbers.

Which brings me to the need to have a grand sort out of the craft room.  The holidays with gifts and wrapping and pushing furniture here and there to accommodate everyone takes it toll on my craft room.   Fabric has been pulled for projects.    New stash added.   I have so many fabric scraps from myself and from friends that I think I need to take a vacation day to tame the bags and piles.

This also needs to be done with my stitching bag.   It is so full of stuff that I 'might' need that it gets heavy.   I need to re-evaluate and make sure it is filled only with what I really need.  Somehow it seems no matter what I am toting along there is always that one thing I don't have.   Just an afternoon spent putzing and sorting I feel like I got a lot accomplished but there is more to do.  I could have been lost for a full weekend in my craft room but it felt good to make a dent in 'taming' the mess.

 I managed to sort my fat quarters in color ways.

 Believe it or not, I need another large tote.  And this is ONLY the fat quarters.    Larger yardage is stored in the chest of drawers in the closet.   OMGosh....too much stuff.

Under the bed they went and the bed is all cleared off for Mr. William who will be visited later this month.

So of course I got derailed when I was mucking about in my craft room.......after I finished the humbug, I pulled out this name tag I made several years ago.   I made the braided cord, ran the gathering thread and mounted the front and back with batting.  I am all prepped for the final stitching to assemble and attaching the cording. This is my first attempt at stump work.   Love these EGA projects that give you a taste of a technique

And I FOUND these!    These are from a class I taught several years ago and then
couldn't find them. I knew I stitched them as samples for the class and just thought I lost them when I packed up after class.     Double wow....room cleaned and what was lost is found.

Well I know there is more to do....never made it as far as either walk-in closet where there is more stuff is stored!  ....but I am off to watch an episode of Mrs. Maisel while I work on some finishing.

Thanks for stopping by and keep on stitching.

Happy Holidays

Well I am finally able to stop to squeeze in a blog post.  On top of the normal heavy workload I have been covering for a girl out for surgery and an extended leave, I am training two people and have had the supervisory responsibilities expand to eight.    It has been exhausting with non-stop 10 hour days.   The most stress comes from the back-log of my work that is accumulating.  Add that to the holiday stress of shopping and decorating and house parties.  Although I am tapped out I have been able keep up with the bare minimum at home but I can tell you thoughts of delaying retirement are waning.   I am tapped out.   But after leaving work on Friday, I am now off until after the first of the year.......a well deserved rest which I plan to make the most of.    But enough......

I finally finished the last of the decorating yesterday morning and then started with wrapping.   My saving grace is that I won't see my son and his family until the 29th.   

As for decorations, I didn't put up as much as I have in the past and what I did  put out, I changed up a bit.  Take this corner of my kitchen......I put my snowman baker in a a red ceramic pie plate, added greens and a little wrapped package. I like it better than just plopping him down.  Got some ideas from staging from watching Priscilla! 

I added a metal cardinal for my brother to the top of my package display on the front steps.

My living room shelf is filled with holiday stitching and bits of greens and holiday things.

Not a original idea.   I copied how designer Patty Yergey of Samplers Revisited displays her samplers in office.

A table top of Santa's

I love my Lefton ware.  The relish is under the creamer and sugar is new this year.   A gift from a friend.  I need to get back into some consignment shopping and see if I can score some new pieces.

Another Priscilla idea.   I put this miniature tree on a cake stand, using a gingham trimmed tea towel and added smaller wrapped packages.

 A setting of Byer's Dolls

All kinds of bits and bobs added to the shelves of my china closet.

 A second setting of Byer's Dolls.

My hoosier in the kitchen.

My kitchen Christmas Tree and the wooden angel from my brother's house.

 Greens and sparkling things on top of the Hoosier.

 My mantle display.  Of all the places for Buddy to decide to lay.....

 He doesn't look too happy that I woke him up.....well I'm not happy he keeps knocking over the blocks.

And now for stitching.   One thing that has helped me stay sane through the overtime is carving out 20 minutes or so at lunch each day to stitch.    Usually when I have this bouts of overtime, I get angry and snap when I can't do the things I want to.   Stealing a few minutes each day at lunch time it helping me stay sane.   Stitching really is therapy.

 Above, is one of the block party series from Hands On Design....this one is called Mend.

 I love Kathy's designs and this was a really quick stitch start to finish.

My current work is progress is another Hands On Design piece.    A limited edition collection of smalls and the box as part of a exclusive set from Hands On Design and Elegant Stitch.

 I fell in love with the colors which are not showing as nicely with this cell phone photo.   It is an easy, fast stitch and my EGA monthly challenge piece.  No guarantees I will be finished by next meeting by here's hoping!

Well thanks for stopping by and indulging my Christmas Tour.    Merry Christmas to all and a bright and shiny new year to each and everyone.