Progress on Winter Quakers

Life has been busy but still finding time to stitch.  

Since I last shared here much has happened. Eight of us in our family traveled together to Norway to see our (both mine and my husband's) ancestors’ home area. It was an amazing trip! I would happily return there on a regular basis if life allowed that sort of thing to happen.  

We rented two cars and explored the western part of Norway.  What a peaceful, clean country full of lovely people. I have always been drawn to crystal blue lakes next to tall mountains, and that is definitely how it was in Norway. Of course though there are fiords instead of lakes!  

There was an abundance of driving through long tunnels that cut under mountains, oceans, and fiords. What an experience! It was precious time spent with family, which is the best of all.  

Later in the summer we came upon a very flooded home (plumbing) after we were gone a few days. Our home sustained a lot of damage. At this point we are still out of our regular sleeping area, but at least the work is nearing completion. No complaints, just disruption. 

Even with our home upset at hand, I always seem to find cherished stitching time. I recently had a small finish which will be shared later.  I now have less than five WIPs!  I did start a new piece in October which I will show later. 

I have been enjoying time recently working on Winter Quakers from Rosewood Manor.  The thread is all the special Valdani pack for this piece, except where I have used some WDW and DMC. I was running low with certain Valdani threads, but that was easily solved with my "on hand" threads.

On the bottom right motif I changed it a bit from the pattern. Instead of inserting my initial in the middle of the "diamond" motif, I instead stitched a little design in the middle. I hope this coordinates well with the whole motif. 

At this point I just need to stitch part of another motif that is not shown here, two small motifs, a few more birds, and a few dozen (or more?) snowflakes. I actually haven't counted how many are left.  

I am certainly enjoying this piece! I have seen that some people stitch the snowflakes with two threads instead of one. By the time I saw that method, I had already stitched too many snowflakes to go that route.I did like the denser look of the snowflakes, indeed. At this point I can appreciate these lighter looking ones as well. 

Thanks for stopping by today! 

Stitching Along...

I have been busy stitching quite a bit lately.  It's been a great way to start the year, to be sure.

Here is a photo of the Fractal Bookmark. I have worked on it more since I took this photo, so there will be another update soon.

I have also worked on Sarah Braizear 1829.  I managed to finish the hart (deer) and also I started on some one- over- one lettering.  It is such a pleasure to return to this piece! 

I am also working on a 2020 Weather Graph piece using Stitchin' Mommy's weather chart.  I have just finished my 2019 Temperature Quilt, and I'll be posting that one soon.  Here is the Weather Graph that shows January 1- February 1 temperatures. 

Thanks for visiting here today.   We've had a lot of sunny days, and it seemed fitting to place some harvested lemons from our backyard tree into a vase for display.  These roses are the last of the season, to be sure. It's time to cut back those rose bushes soon.  

Progress on Houses HRH & This and That

It has been fiercely busy lately, and it has been far too long since I have posted an update on Houses of Hawk Run Hollow.

I took this photo a few weeks ago.  I have time to stitch about 8-10 hours a month, so progress is slow. I do see though that I have progressed much since this photo was taken, so another update is soon due.  This is my third square thus far.

Here you are:

I do get a lot of enjoyment from stitching from seeing your updates on Instagram and on Flosstube, so please keep them coming! 

My job keeps me very busy, but there have been a lot of great fun things going on lately, too, even if stitching hasn't been one of them.  

We enjoyed a trip back to the midwest earlier this year.  The beauty was truly awe inspiring. 

We were thrilled in January to be able to attend the west coast return premiere of the Main Street Electrical Parade at Disneyland.  What a wonderful time we had! 

The weather this year included a lot more rain than usual, and that meant more snow on the local mountains.  Some photos of some lovely sights we enjoyed in the past few months: 

Thanks for stopping by today, and happy stitching to all!

Coming Soon- A Stitching Update - Houses of Hawk Run Hollow

I haven't posted an update in such a long time.

Life has gotten very busy, and I've had nary a  moment to stitch.  I have been stitching a bit on Houses of Hawk Run Hollow, and an update will come soon.

Thanks to all of you have been asking me what happened to an update.

Sitting and Doing That Long Piece of Needlework

I really like inspirational or witty quotes.  I've been this way since I was a kid, and I used to enjoy looking and reading my parents' book of Familar Quotes when I was quite small.  Fun reading for a somewhat serious sort of  kid, I guess.

Anyway I have recently started reading Mansfield Park by Jane Austen.   I  have also been listening to this novel in Audiobook form while I am doing chores around the house, etc.  I'm primarily doing this as a challenge to myself as I find it hard to listen and pay attention, and I want to get better at it. It's becoming easier for me as time goes on, thankfully.

I heard a needlework quote from the novel today that made me laugh out loud.  I am sorry to say I don't recall reading it in the book. That's not surprising as I do all my book reading very late at night, so I was probably half asleep when I read it.  I decided to make a visual of the quotation and share it . Here's your humor for the day.

This sounds good to me, except for the 'no beauty' part.  Also, I don't think I need to be nicely dressed to sit and do needlework.

On a sidenote, the lovely fabric shown behind the quotation and the threads are from my latest project by Blackbird designs.  More on that another day.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Beautiful Stitched Pieces at the County Fair

We are thrilled that cool air has finally  hit our area.  At least for a short while, anyway.  This weekend it is supposed to be up to the 90 degree mark again.  I have always disliked the heat, and I am forever shocked to hear that some folks love it hot.

Just shy of a few weeks ago we went to the county fair.  It was a miserably HOT day, and I am amazed that I actually went on such a day.  We joined our grandchildren, our daughter, and her husband for this festive occasion.  The kids LOVED the rides. It's nice that they're now old enough to do a few little rides. For dinner we passed on fair food, and ate in air-conditioned comfort at a restaurant that has locations all around the southern California area. It was delicious, and delightful to enjoy our meal in cool comfort.

One of the things I love the most about the fair is seeing folks' lovely handmade works. I marvel at the workmanship, and creativity.  As I walked in that building, I remarked to my husband that it would be amazing to know the amount of hours of work spent by the people who created all the pieces in the building. The building includes needlework, sewed clothing, costumes, quilts, photography, scrapbook items, to name just a few of the items in the building. We took some photos of some of the pieces we saw that day.  Sadly, I do not know who stitched them except for one of the pieces.  I don't even know which ones actually won ribbons, except for the ones where one can see the ribbon, of course.  They're all winners in my book.  I am not sure of the names of a lot of these pieces, and if you do know the design names please leave a comment and let me know.  I would really appreciate it! For some reason, the fair description does not include the designer's name, nor pattern name.

 Thanks to all who stitched these pieces. Here are a few of them that we saw that day:

First of all, this is Theresa Wentzler's Peaceable Kingdom.  It is a beauty! With all the blended threads a Wentzler piece contains, you can imagine this took a long time to stitch.  This one has a third place ribbon on it.

 Here is a beautiful piece, and thanks to Ohsewcrafty leaving a comment I now know the name of this one. It is called Pleasures of Winter and it's a Dimensions Gold kit. 

This piece won a second place ribbon, it seems. Lovely, but at first I had no idea on the name of the designer or pattern.  Thanks to Ohsewcrafty's comment, I can now say it is also a Dimensions Gold kit. It is called Twilight Bridge.

How impressive! I wonder what pattern this might be? Edited: Thanks to OhSewCrafty I can now tell you that this is one of Debbie Patrick's patterns. It's the Beringer Winery in Napa.  Thanks, OhSewCrafty.

A bit of blackwork on this one, I see. How lovely!

Here is Peace Angel by Lavender and Lace.  The face was done in over one stitches. It was quite large, and very impressive to behold.

This is Lavender and Lace's Summer Angel.  Gorgeous, isn't it?

This is Butternut Road's Catching the Wind.  (Same designer as the Lavender and Lace designer, the oh-so-talented late Marilyn Leavitt-Imblum)

For those of you who like to play the game Loteria, there were some clever patterns from the game that were stitched up so festively.  This one had a great presentation along with the stitched pattern:

This was so beautiful.  I was struck by the wonderful quilts hanging above the dock.  Does anyone know the name of this pattern?

This piece won "Best Of show" in its division.  Simply beautiful! I do not know this pattern's name, either. I do see the stitcher's name on this piece. Excellently done, Ms. Nunn!

I  had to take a photo of this costume that was featured in the same general area as the needlework.  Isn't it amazing?

These photos are of displays found in the House and Garden building.  The theme was "Mardi Gras" this year. I adore the rich colors and designs.

I love the bright, garish colors of the fair.  I think it's a throwback to childhood, when our great aunt and uncle used to bring us here, along with our parents. It was simply enchanting then to see all the colors of the fair. 

And what would fair photos be without a photo of one of the fried food fair stands?  I've never tried any of this deep fried sweet stuff at the fair.  I guess they must be tasty, looking at the constant lines in front of them. 

After spending about 7 hours at the fair, we happily left for our home in the neighboring county.  Until next year, farewell fun fair.

Holidays...

The holiday season has been busy and full of happiness, laughter, and tears. We lost our 17 year old cat this month, and also our mom's 12 year old dog that also lives with us. Sad, sad, sad. Our pets are part of our family.  More on that another day...

I've gotten a little stitching done, more on that later too.  I hope you have a wonderful 2015 and a great celebration soon!

Too Busy

I spent 14 years at home raising my children.  I loved it! They were truly the most rewarding years of my life, and the most relaxing. Were there hard days? Yes. Were there financial sacrifices? Yes. We had very little materially. On the other hand,  I got to structure my day and time.   Our house was comfortably clean, dinners were planned and prepared, and almost each day I stitched a bit at some point in the waking hours.

When our kids were in high school, I went back to school for graduate education and thus began the start of my 'second' career.  I've been at my chosen career now for 15 years, or 19  years if one counts the time spent doing part time work in my field.  It hasn't gotten easier, it's gotten more complicated and exhausting.  This year has been particularly difficult.

I miss my SAHM days.  My career is rewarding, but it is extremely demanding. No time to stitch lately.

With that being said, today I am sharing some photos of an autumn day. I love fall with its rich colors and crispness in the air.  These photos were taken at Disneyland a year or so ago:

The Train Station--Upon Arriving Through the Main Gate

Charming Lampposts on Main Street, USA

The Haunted Mansion- decorated in "Nightmare Before Christmas" style

Another View of the Haunted Mansion

Main Street Decked Out in Fall Colors

Thanks for stopping by today! 

Fall ---Embroidery at the Fair

I wish I had been stitching lately. Sadly, I think I have stitched only one hour in the past month. My job has taken a turn and that change means hours more work for me at home daily.  It is just the way it is.

We did go to the neighboring county's fair a few weeks ago.  Unfortunately, there aren't many crafts featured in this county fair anymore. There are millions of people living in the county, but very few enter crafts in the fair. I don't think people craft too much at all out here! I did manage to snap a photo of one entry. It's an embroidered elephant, and I thought it was charming and beautiful. I am sorry I do not know the embroiderer's name.

Another fun photo from the fair is featured below. No, we didn't eat this food but I love the bright colors of these types of fair stands.

Since it's finally feeling like fall around here, yesterday I placed a few fall decorations around the house.  No photos to share of that, my efforts were rather scant.

I hope you get some stitching in today.  It's back to work for my job now.

Thanks for stopping by! 

Eight Years Ago...

This post is a bit self-indulgent. I don't do a 'blogversary' post each year. I don't even like talking about personal 'stuff' on here. But here goes....

I can't believe I started this blog eight years ago today.  Where has time gone?

So much has happened in our lives here. My father and father-in-law have both passed away in these eight years, we've taken on the care of my elderly mother who now lives with us, our daughter married and became a teacher, two grandchildren were born to our now SAHM daughter, our son graduated from college and has a rewarding career in his chosen field, we moved to a different home and city thirty some miles away from where we'd lived 23 years, my husband switched jobs, and I earned my master's degree.  There are many more changes, of course, in our lives but those are some of the major ones.  We are so grateful for all the blessings in our life.

Thanks for reading the blog. Not many leave comments, but I do appreciate them so much.  I can see there are page views, so I know folks are reading even if they're not talkin', and that's fine too. :)

I'm still stitching, but not near as much as I would like to be doing. My job teaching elementary school keeps me very busy, as do other responsibilities in my life. I dream of projects, just the same--and I do find time here and there to pick up my needle. I know that someday when I retire I will have more time to pursue it.  I miss my SAHM days at times, as I loved the freedom to create.  I am fortunate that in my job I am allowed to be creative, and it is something I enjoy immensely.

The old blog used to be here, but then it got hacked. I moved it here several years ago, and in the process I lost a lot of organization in the 'old' blog.  It was so frustrating to go to that older blog three years ago and find out I actually couldn't even get to it. It was completely hacked!  I was finally able to get there and send a reference to this one, but that's it.

So Happy Blogversary, and Happy Stitching!