early November morning

Hello Stitchy Friends.

It is early morning hours here on a cold Friday in mid-November.  The sun isn't even up yet.  However, I woke up early and since I couldn't go back to sleep, I finished my current book.  The Bone Bed by Patricia Cornwell.  It just occurred to me I don't often talk about what I'm reading on my blog.  Maybe, it's because I talk and write about books so much at work....  I write a newspaper column every other week for our small local newspaper, and then talk about books so much in work related ways as well. 

I have always worked in a library, even in high school.  I did work for a local optometrist while I was in high school, but other than that, it's all been about the library.  I do love my job.  It's scary when you think back how many years I've been working.  Guess these early morning hours are making me reflect. 

Well, nevertheless, I did enjoy Cornwell's newest book.  She is getting better again.  She had a rough spell in the middle of this series where I didn't think the books were as good as they should have been. 

Now, it's on to the next book on my shelf waiting to be read.  I always have a book in progress as well as a stitching project or two.  I haven't decided what I will read next.  If you are a reader, and haven't found goodreads.com yet, I encourage you to check it out.  A great website to interact with fellow friends, and if nothing else, to keep track of what you are reading, and what you've read.  Several of my online stitching blog friends are also friends on goodreads, which I think is very cool.

I have been slogging away on this Cricket, Rest and Be Thankful piece.  I am getting close to the finish line.  I don't want to abandon it now since it is so close to being done.  But I do seriously need to do some more ornament stitching for our exchange in our stitching group and for some other small gifts. 

I don't like it that the photo I just uploaded is sideways.  But you can see that I've made quite a bit of progress...  Not too much left.  The row of checkerboard border at the top and then I think just the birds in the sky and backstitching. 

Well, it's time to put the coffee on, then head to the shower and work.  I have a meeting this morning in a town about 40 miles away.  So, I best get going.

It's hard to believe Thanksgiving is less than a week away!

Hope you are all finding time to stitch!
 

Election Day

Hello fellow Stitchy Friends!

Just wanted to say hello on Election Day.  We have done our civic duty and voted.  It was our daughter's first time to vote, and she was pretty excited.  I have to say, I've been proud of her for doing her research on the election and voting with some knowledge of the issues.

The best part of Election Day, besides the pride in doing your duty, is that the political ads will finally be over!

I am working at the library until 8 tonight, but after work, I am looking forward to watching some election returns with our daughter, and possibly doing some stitching....  :)

 

November already?

Hello Stitching Friends

Well Halloween has come and gone. We only had about five trick or treaters. I resisted buying any candy until the afternoon hours of Halloween. Then I selected some candy I knew I wasn't particularly fond of. So it was all good. I indulged in one chocolate tootsie pop sucker. So, I didn't sabotage my week with weight watchers.

I have been on vacation this week, I've been working on cleaning out our big walk in closet. Holly has been very helpful with sorting my clothes especially. She has even been rather tactful, which if you saw the 'vintage' clothes that came out of my closet, you'd be amazed at her restraint! It was good to see them bagged up and gone. I'm still struggling with sorting some of the other accumulations of crap...

I'm embarrassed to admit I found a collection of 'artwork' that the kids brought home from elementary school. They have been out f elementary school many years. I plan on bringing it downstairs to the kitchen table and let them take a look at it before it heads to the garbage can.

Have you ever watched those episodes of Hoarders on television? Whenever I've seen one of those I have the strong urge to clean. But, I digress. You aren't interested in reading more about cleaning...on to the stitching.

I tend to be a one project at a time stitcher with a few exceptions. While sorting through some stitchy stuff a couple of weeks ago I unearthed something I had started a few years ago and then abandoned.

Since I had been stitching mostly small things of late I decided to pull it out and work on it for the rest of the evening. Well, that was probably 2 weeks ago, and I'm still plugging away on it. I'm rather ambivalent about it. I realize I'm not 'in love' with it, but I don't hate it either.




Sorry for the sideways picture. It is a Cricket design. When I picked it up two weeks ago, the words at bottom were stitched and the door to the house as well as a small area to the left of the door. So I have made a lot of progress.




This is what the completed design looks like. So, I don't have a huge amount left to finish. It would be a nice fall thanksgiving design to have done. And actually as I type this I am telling myself to stick with it and finish it. What do you think?

I have some other things recently purchased that are calling my name...




This is probably my favorite new chart. I haven't ever stitched one by this designer.




It is almost getting too late in the season to get excited about stitching this design. But I have the other three seasons stitched in this series. And actually, two of the three are framed, which is pretty darn good for me...




Then I was looking at Christmas charts the other day, and have been thinking of tis one. I have it all kitted up, ready to go.




Then lastly, this is a cute recent Little House Needleworks chart I picked up earlier this summer. Again, it's all kitted up, and ready to go.

Well, enough about projects in the wings... I know I will never lack for something to stitch...

I do want to stitch and finish a few more ornaments this month. I haven't decided what I want to stitch for our ornament exchange yet in our stitchers group. But then the Christmas party isn't until December 10. It would be nice not to be gluing an ornament together the night before though... So, choices need to be made and stitched!

Nancy, at Victorian Motto sampler Shoppe is going to be having a wonderful giveaway in December. You need to take a look and sign up! ( I'm sorry I haven't figured out how to do a hyper link on my iPad.)

Hope this finds all of you happily stitching away, on something you love.

Happy Halloween!

Hello, Stitching Friends!

Just doing a quick post to wish all of you a Happy Halloween!

We have been enjoying some vacation time.  We took a quick trip to visit our family in Minnesota, but we are back home now.  Mike went back to work today, but I still have this week off.  I am hoping to get some small things done at home...  We will have to see if that happens or not.  I would like to do some closet cleaning...

I have been doing some stitching, I will take the time to get a picture of the WIP and share it with you later this week.  It was an old  wip that I discovered when doing some organizing...  So, since it was seasonal, thought I would spend some time working on it.  I have made some real progress, so guess I will stick with it for awhile... ha! 

Hope all of you that were in the storm's path are faring ok.  Take care friends.

 

Autumn days...

Hello stitching friends!

I always have the best intentions to post more frequently...but everything else gets in the way. I have been stitching tho! I also recently caught up on reading blogs, at least as of yesterday....

I have enjoyed doing some smaller stitching projects. I tend to have a larger project underway instead of doing small ones.

But I have loved working on these two ornaments this week.




I really liked doing this new ornament from Little House Needleworks. I may have to do it again for a gift. I haven't decided if I will finish it as a small pillow ornament or do a flat finish.




This is my current project. It's also by Little House Needleworks. From an ornament magazine from a previous year. My friend Jane was kind enough to lend me her issue. I also really like the sparkly linen I'm using. I bought a remnant piece of it from a stitching store I visited a couple of weeks ago with my niece, Barb. She had discovered a stitching store in Elkader, Iowa, called Backstitch. So we took a road trip to check it out. The variegated green floss was something I had in my stash, that I thought worked well for this.




This s another smallish project I completed recently. I found the chart in an old cross stitch magazine. The chart was designed by Kathy Barrick. I changed it up some. I charted my Great-Great Grandmothers name and inserted it along with the year of her birth in Sweden. She was an emigrant to a small town called Bishop Hill very near where we live. I have always been intrigued by these hardy emigrants in my family tree. Some of them traveled on foot from Chicago to Bishop Hill (about 150 miles)! Pretty hardy pioneer stock... I do think I am going to stitch a small crown in the open area above Elizabeth's name.




I have been busy putting up some halloween decorations over the weekend. i recently got Trick or Treat sewed into a long skinny pillow thanks to the help of my sister. The cute Halloween runner on the coffee table is also more evidence of my sister's sewing talent.




This is a corner of our living room...Jolly Jack was sewed into a long skinny pillow with my sisters help also...

Mike and I have some vacation time scheduled to start at the end of this work week. We are both counting down the days.... It will be great to have some time off!!

I hope all of you are enjoying these beautiful Autumn colors. I think this is my favorite season.




This is a favorite Fall book of mine. I've been busy reading also. I just started the new J.K. Rowling book Casual Vacancy. I hope it will be good.

Happy Stitching Everyone!

Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Happy Fall Everyone!  I think this is one of my favorite seasons!  Hope you are all finding lots of time for stitching.  I have been busy working on some small pieces.  I hope to have pictures to share soon.  I am so glad the weather is behaving more like Fall. 

Framed finishes and balloons....

Hello Stitching Friends!

It's been awhile since my last post, but things have been busy around here...  First off, I went to my LNS and picked up some framing I had done.  I'm pretty pleased with the results!

This one I did some time ago, it's Library by Little House Needleworks.  I am glad to finally get it framed.

Next up, is my BAP of this year, finished and believe it or not, framed in the same year! That is an accomplishment for me.  I am very happy with the way it turned out.  Holly helped me hang it when I brought it home on Saturday.  We took down some pieces I had hanging on this wall and made a new arrangement with these three.  Shores of Hawks Run Hollow, then Long May it Wave by Carriage House Designs as well.  And last Simple Joy Simple Life by Little House Needlework.

Then, these two small ones, I finally decided to frame. I had stitched them up years ago, and they were hanging out in my drawer of finished but unframed stitching when I decided it was time.  I hung them up in the kitchen under the upper cabinets.  They are by Bent Creek I believe. 

This is the piece I posted a progress picture of in my last post.  It's the Halloween Prairie Schooler pattern from this year's batch of new releases.  I am thinking I want to finish this as a flat fold.  I have some other Fall pieces I want to finish as flat folds as well.  Now, just to make the time to sit and do that....

I am currently working on Autumn by Little House Needleworks.  I should have it finished in a few days.  But, I already have the frame for that one...  So, that is a good thing.

Mike and I went to a hot air balloon festival this past Saturday.  It was a first for both of us.  It was a gorgeous day.  Finally, some beautiful Fall temperatures arrived.  So, I will share a couple of pictures.  The balloons were so pretty.  It was on the campus of Western Illinois University in Macomb.

It was a beautiful day and evening for this event.  At dusk, all the participating balloons were on the field in front of us, and the balloonists would light up their balloons with their burners.  Such a pretty sight.  There was also a live band playing, so it was a fun afternoon and evening. 

I better wrap this post up.  I am hosting Stitcher's Night at our house tonight.  I still have to put the kitchen back together, and do some finish work on our dessert for tonight.  We're eating healthy tonight, I'm serving angelfood cake with fresh strawberries.

Happy Stitching everyone!