Happy Thanksgiving...

Happy happy Thanksgiving!!!  Hope you have the day ahead of you that you WANT...we are eating at my older son's and daughter-in-law's home at 3pm... such a trek for me... 2 whole blocks!!! I could walk but I have a ton of stuff to haul over there so I will load up my car and drive the 32.5 seconds to get  there.

I want to thank all of you who keep wandering in to read about what is going on in my world... not really exciting stuff, but I am very grateful for my quiet little life and for all of you!!!  Along with cooking and eating I hope to have some time today to stitch a bit... and maybe knit a bit... I still have some Christmas stitching I want to do and yesterday I got an idea for how to approach the socks I want to make with my Opal sock yarn Advent calendar...only 6 more days and I can open my first little door...yippee.... I need to cast on and knit two cuffs... good thing I have plenty of needles...that's another thing to be thankful for!

Blessings are many

when you look

within your heart!

happy stitching...

carol fun

Fly away Funky Bird and Elfus Interruptus...

EDITED to add photo of elf/santa which makes the paragraph where I ramble on about them a bit more coherent... sorry... and if you ever notice I forgot a pic please feel free to let me know... I need all the help I can get!!!



Well there's been a little activity in the cross stitch department... and I'm in the mood for some holiday stitching so here's where things stand today... oh please excuse all the wrinklyness... I just walked my 10,000 steps for the day and my feet hurt and I'm too lazy to go downstairs and iron these...

First off... almost finished... Funky Bird by Barbara Ana...

 all I have left to do is the beak and the rear end/tail. Remember how I dithered over one ply or two and went with two because I wanted good coverage ??? Well, it became a moot point when I decided to go with DMC 3046 instead of DMC 3371 for filling in the body.  DMC 3371 is just sooooooo dark... and while the polka dots would have stood out I was afraid the stars would disappear. Now DMC 3046 is close in color to the linen but since it is outlined in DMC 501 it worked out fine.  I think I can finish this tonight while I watch my PBS shows... The Durrells in Corfu and Indian Summers.

Last year I ran hot and cold over Indian Summers... this season I love it... but tonight is the last episode and I'm not sure if the series will return. There have been some stunning plot twists and right now none of the main characters are happy... perhaps they can eke out one happy ending tonight.

And last week I was pulling out some holiday charts to show to a friend and it got me in the mood too. I re-discovered this conundrum... Christmas Joy by Barbara Ana Designs... and the elf problem. Well first I'm not sure if he's an elf or Santa but I'm going to Santa at this moment. I started him on larger count darker linen on the left.... don't know why I stopped. Started a new version on smaller count lighter linen on the right... like the elf ...wasn't sure the snowflake border will show up enough. Both are in a state of interruptus... last time these saw the light of day I thought of doing the elf as an ornament... and I'm leaning that way again with the idea of doing the entire sampler on a piece of blue or turquoise linen... that would make the snowflake border pop... I see an order of linen in the near future for me... like when I get finished with this post...LOL!!!

Dinner is in the crockpot... stroganoff beef... kids are coming at 6pm and it will be DARK... remember when I said I was okay with the time change? I LIED... and you knew it... I hate it being dark so darn early... I know you people who are up with the birds like that it is lighter  earlier but I am a night owl... if I ever saw sunrise it would be because I hadn't gone to bed yet... and those kinds of nights are definitely in my past... LOL... oh well...along with the time change Mother Nature slammed the door on the glorious Fall weather and the cold has arrived.  I am so happy I put my Christmas lights up on Friday... I look like a genius... okay, not quite... but I'm quite pleased with myself.  I will put out an inflatable or two... I have a little gingerbread man but I'd really love a GIGANTIC inflatable for my side yard. A couple of years ago I saw this awesome ENORMOUS reindeer at Walmart... it was $100... and I didn't get it... I have since seen it online on ebay and it is going for 2 to 3 to 4 times that price... darn... I always say it isn't the things you buy that you regret it is the stuff that got away and I certainly regret this one getting away.

I'm going to link up with Kathy's Quilts today for Slow Stitching Sunday and on Monday I'll link up with Super Mom - No Cape.  I know it will be a busy week for a lot of us... I think I have everything I need and won't have to go back to the grocery store before Thursday... but I'm probably delusional and I'll be there at least once in the next few days.

Hope you have a great week...
happy stitching...

carol fun

Sockiness Shenanigans While Showing Superior Self-Control....

Another week blew right past me... but it has been a week of glorious weather. As I type this I have the windows open enjoying what is probably the last beautiful weather of 2016. Today it is 75 degrees ... tomorrow the high will barely reach 40 and there may be snow flurries... shorts today... a parka tomorrow... ahh... typical Ohio weather. Not much I can do about it ...other than complain... and I do that A LOT...LOL!!

I've made the most of the week... on Wednesday I planted 190 bulbs... 100 daffodils...60 Japanese irises... 15 allium... and 15 tulips which I put in a pot instead of the ground.  My plan is to let the pot sit outside this winter and when they start to bloom in the Spring I'll let them sit out during the day, but I'll drag the pot into the garage at night and hopefully avoid having them be a midnight snack for the deer. Hope springs eternal in every gardener's heart...

Today I cleaned out my window boxes of deceased mums and frosted sweet potato vine. I chucked the ferns on the front porch and put the porch furniture in the garage. Then I put out my Christmas lights....LOL... I'm not going to plug them in yet... I'll wait till next Friday for that. But I figured it would be a much more enjoyable task today than when it is 30 and sleeting.  I am very proud of myself ... I feel like I got the jump on Mother Nature... and somehow I'm sure she'll get me back!

There has been some activity on the knitting front... some sockiness shenanigans... first I finished  one of my Sunday Swing socks....you can find the free pattern here.

I'm happy with this sock... the Regia Colormania yarn is very pretty. I've already cast on its mate and it is sitting right next to me now waiting for some attention.

And the Zitron Trekking XXL 415 sock is just a toe away from being complete...

It is turning out BE-YOUUU-TI- FUL.... so happy happy happy I remembered I owned this yarn. I will finish the toe tonight and cast on its mate too. I added some dusty purple heels and toes so that I have a nice bit of this yarn leftover. I know I'm going to want to use it in other Frankensocks in the future.

And somehow this lovely skein of Madelinetosh appeared in my home...

the colorway is called Night Hawk and I love the bits of purple and teal and pops of lime green. My friend Cathy... who is also my personal yarn shopper... she works in a great LYS called Lambikins Hideaway in Hamilton Ohio... brought it with her to dinner last night. She said it had just arrived at the shop yesterday... well I was immediately smitten and asked if I could buy it... she graciously let me pay her for it, even though she had selected it for herself. She said the shop had 9 other skeins and she would get another for her... isn't she sweet?  I'm envisioning this as a shawl... or a scarf... need to peruse Ravelry and find some inspiration... and ask Cathy what plans she had for it... she always knits the most gorgeous stuff.

And drum roll please... this is the biggest sockiness shenanigans where I have shown SUPERIOR self control... an Opal Sock yarn Advent Box!!!!

this box is a 1 foot cube stuffed with 24 mini skeins of Opal sockiness goodness... each skein is 15 grams and I should be able make 4 pairs of Frankensocks from  it... I have had this box in my house for almost 2 weeks and I have not opened one single door... SUPERIOR self-control... something I am NOT known for... LOL!   I became aware of this delightful box last December when it was too late to obtain one. I was on the prowl for it starting this summer and found an Etsy shop in the UK that was selling them. I know I visited her Etsy shop at least a dozen times before I convinced myself that I was worth the box and the shipping... and I am glad I did!  I can't wait to open the first door on December 1 ... TWELVE more days... the suspense is killing me.

Last night I showed the box to my friends and they decided that they wanted to peek inside and see the yarn. I left the room and they opened the top of the box...the suspense was mounting... only to find out that the way this box is assembled you can't see a darn thing by just opening the top... each day is enclosed in a cardboard partition... we all laughed and laughed because we figure we weren't the first ones who thought we could sneak a peek.  If you have time check out this Instagram tag... #opaladventcalendar   and you can see all the ways people have used the yarn from the Advent Box.

The days are certainly speeding by... next week is Thanksgiving... and then in a blink of an eye it will be Christmas..aaaaayyyyy... I have a little shopping done and a couple of hand made gifts completed... or close to complete. Last year I got my tree up and all my decorations out early. I'm going to try and do that again.

Hope you have a great weekend... don't know what the plans are yet for dinner on Sunday... I'm thinking if my son and daughter in law come over I'll make beef stroganoff in the crock pot... some comfort food that sticks to your ribs... LOL... listen to me... I make it sound like it will be Artic cold... oh well ... I shall survive!

happy knitting -
carol fun

Something I didn't think I'd ever say....

I'm glad the weekend is over... I know who says that?  Well if you'd been barking like a seal and feeling like a truck ran over you, you would say that. I was looking forward to the weekend all week (I know who doesn't ? ... I'm full of obvious observations today... I think it is the cold medicine talking). But on Friday afternoon I started to feel puny and it continued all weekend. I think I overdosed myself on Saturday... that was the worse day... Sunday I felt a bit better... good enough to do dinner, carry out from Carraba's. Today I started out slow but I'm getting there. My voice is still gone, but I always lose my voice when I get sick... and I could do without the cough  but at least I don't feel like a truck is parked on my chest.

On the bright side I do have some sewing stuff to share... stuff obviously NOT completed this weekend... but stuff that finally got photographed. First a new table runner for my dining room table...

It measures about 65" long and drapes down the sides of the table.

I did my best to not duplicate a single square... they are all Sandy Gervais prints from different  Fall collections...and the background is my FAVORITE Basic Grey Grunge... Yellow Chiffon... I have about 5 yds of this stashed in my basement as they don't seem to be making this colorway anymore...boo hoo... I know I've used it in about 5 different quilted pieces and I never get tired of it! I quilted it in a variegated Sulky thread in a swoopy random fashion.

I also love that pumpkin bowl in the center of the table...

I don't know if you can make it out, but it says Thankful... perfect for this season!

And because starting a new project always makes me happy, I want to show you my newest adventure...

These are 6" finished blocks from Tula Pink's City Sampler 100 Modern Quilting Blocks... you can see the book here.

Now this book has been around since 2013 so I'm late to the party... there have been a couple of QAL with groups working together on these blocks and I stumbled across one on Instagram which you can check out here. I've been intrigued but could not come up with a fabric/color plan for the blocks. If you are going to make 100 blocks you'd better have a plan. I didn't want to do brights with blacks and whites... and I didn't want to do Kaffe's... and I didn't want to do anything sweet ... and then it hit me Momo... I LOVE MOMO... and I have a nice stash of several collections of Momo... and it was off to the races.

I've started posting my blocks on Instagram here... you can check back every day or so and see what I've done. Now I didn't start at the beginning... I mean really, anyone can start at the beginning. Since I'm late I started with Block No. 77, and what I have so far is Blocks 77, 78, 79, 80 and 81... I have Blocks 82, 83, 85 and 86 cut out...I think I'm going to skip 84. I only plan on doing 70 blocks as that is all I need for a double bed sized quilt... at least that is all I think I need. And the great part about deciding at the start that I only need 70 instead of 100 blocks is I already feel a sense of accomplishment... I know that makes NO sense at all but it makes me feel good so I'm going with it.

Here are close ups of two blocks I like a lot...

Block 78

I inked the little face on the flower...

Block 81

This one puts me in the mind of looking out a window and that is the view from my front window most evenings... they don't call it Deer Park for nothing...LOL

I'm having great fun with these blocks. Lots of opportunities to fussy cut images and so far it has taken me longer to select fabrics and cut the pieces than it takes to sew them together. Makes it nice to sit down for a couple of minutes and knock out a block. Stay tuned ... I'll have more to show...

Well I hope you had a nice weekend and will have a nice week. This one is a little less busy than last week and that is good... more time to sew!

happy stitching-
carol fun

Garden chores and bird watching...

It is a glorious day... sun is shining and the temperature is mid- 60's... is this November??? In Ohio??? I am certainly enjoying it but I'm getting a little nervous about how long it will last and how much time do I have left to clean out my garden and plant Spring bulbs. Last week I had some hyacinths planted around the base of my trees, mulch was added and it was topped off by some new to me,   Cool Wave pansies... you can read about them here.  I think they will come back in the Spring... wouldn't that be nice?  Anyway with the forecast of continued nice weather they should be pretty  for a while.

And speaking of pansies look at this little patch of volunteer pansies...

I did not plant these... I've never planted pansies in the ground before last week... I did have some pansies in pots about a year ago, but I pitched them in the garbage when they were bloomed out... I have no idea how these arrived here but I sure do like them. Such pretty yellow faces!!

As for gardening chores the pyramid of petunias has been put out to pasture....

I took the pyramid apart and hosed it off... emptied all the pots and washed them out... I emptied out the planters on the front porch too. Everything was pretty spent. I got to thinking that I planted up all these pots in May... that was SIX months ago... wow... it seems like it was a long time ago and yet it seems like yesterday too!   I still have perennials and annuals that are blooming... some coneflowers... some lantana... the marigolds and the rose bushes... are still blooming. It is hard for me to pull up plants that are still blooming... so I'll give them another couple of weeks.

With the forecast next week to be in the upper 60's I should have time to get more daffodils in the ground. I bought another 100 bulbs... damn you Costco... those big bags of bulbs are irresistible... and I bought 60 Japanese iris bulbs... and some tulips. I am not putting the tulips in the yard... I'm going to plant them in pots that I can bring into the garage at night when Spring comes and hopefully keep the deer from dining on them. I'd like to think I'm smarter than the deer but that is probably delusional thinking on my part.

As with any gardener, I'm already dreaming about what I can plant next year... I know what I want to duplicate from this year... marigolds and petunias... and I know I'll be tempted by pretty perennials too. I'd love to plant more trees but I think I've run out of yard... so sad... but I have high hopes for the 5 I have planted.

As for the bird watching ... this is what I've spotted.. a dotty breasted sap sucker... at least that's what I'm calling him...

This is by Barbara Ana Design and is called Funky Bird... a very apropos title dontcha think?  LOL
Go read the copy for this piece here...  it is great! I LOVE the look of this guy and I was happy that he was stitched just in DMC... since my last two forays with hand dyed flosses I needed something without the surprise dynamic of, " why does my skein not look like the picture???"

But with that said I've had some little hiccups with this piece. I started by stitching the alphabet ... I'm using a 36 count Edinburgh linen called Sand... the pattern calls for a 36 count linen so I thought I'm good there.  I had the top two lines of the alphabet done and it just didn't look like the picture... grrrrr... mine was much darker.... Oh carp... I didn't read the  teeny tiny print that said one ply of floss over two threads. Sooooo I picked it out and restitched it ... looks more like the picture.

And then I got to the bird... there is A LOT of DMC 3371... dark chocolate brown ... and I just don't like the skimpy coverage of one ply over two threads with solid areas of stitching. What to do...what to do???  Do I go back and re-stitch the alphabet in two ply???  NOPE... I'm leaving the letters one ply and I'm doing the bird in two ply.  I realize it is not going to have that vintage-y look in the picture but I don't think I'd be happy with the linen showing through ... we shall have to see if I still am happy when I get the body stitched... there is always something, isn't there??

Time changed last night...I shall forgo my normal rant as the Fall back isn't as hard as the Spring forward... and I haven't experienced the pitch dark by 5pm yet.... okay for old time's sake... JUST LEAVE THE TIME ALONE!!!!  Boy I'm getting to be a cranky old lady...LOL!

Kids are coming for dinner tonight... got something new at Costco ... chicken breasts stuffed with mozzarella cheese... looks tasty but doesn't feel like real cooking. I will make some pasta to go with them and some dessert.  I wonder if I could  just offer them the left over Halloween candy. We gave out a ton but there is still a bowl in the kitchen... I've eaten all the carmel-y ones ... and there may be a York peppermint patty or two left... I don't need to eat any more... need to hide it from me!

It's going to be a busy busy week... got something going every single day... hope to find time to sew and knit and cross stitch a bit...hope you find time to do something fun too!

happy stitching-
carol fun

PS:  I'm linking up with Kathy's Quilts today for Slow Stitching Sunday and on Monday with Super Mom - No Cape... go check them out!

Lots of sockiness... I know it is a made up word... but I like it...

So we just finished out Socktober, I mean October and that gave me lots of knitting time for socks... although that is pretty true of every month... but lets not dwell on that, since I LOVE LOVE LOVE to knit socks!!   Let's begin a show of sockiness  with a finished pair of socks...

another pair of Frankensocks which I tried to bend toward the purple range.  Lots of bits and bobs of Opal and Regia and assorted other sock yarns that I have no ball band for. There is also some sparkly bits  which you can see if you make the picture bigger. I don't know why I bought that sparkly skein and I don't think I want a pair of  entirely sparkly socks but little pieces of it here and there are a nice distraction...oooooohhhh something shiny!!!

And then there are the unfinished socks....I know I said that from now on I was only going to do Frankensocks... but it was a lie... I really like doing the Frankensocks but somehow I needed a change... a palate cleanser... so I cast on this sock...

It is a bit hard to see the pattern but it is there... it is called Sunday Swing and it is a free pattern which you can see here.  The yarn is Regia Colormania and it has been in my stash for a while. I've got 2 other colorways too.

Here's another picture where it is on my leg  and you can see how the pattern swings back and forth...

I've knit this pattern before and it is easy... one patterned row you have to count ... one knit row you don't have to count... and back and forth, back and forth.  I know you are surprised.... it isn't a plain vanilla sock... I'm surprised too!  

And then there is more sockiness with this sock that just jumped onto a pair of empty needles... honestly... it wasn't my fault... it was Socktober magic...

I was searching cruising wasting time on Ravelry and saw this BE-YOOOO-TI- FUL yarn. Zitron Trekking XL 415.  A wonderful wash of color that reminds me of a tub of rainbow sherbet... lots of things remind me of food...do you have this problem too ??  Anyway as I was wiping the drool off my laptop it hit me that "YOU OWN THIS YARN CAROL"... OMG... I DO!!!  It has been maturing in a plastic bin in the basement for quite a while, so I freed it and in appreciation it jumped onto the empty pair of 2.75mm circular needles that were minding their own business next to my comfy chair. In my world sock yarn does have a life of its own... it is a crazy little world but they know me there and all is good...LOL

Now these are plain vanilla socks but really not so plain... I love how the colors are pooling but there is also a clear delineation of 2 different color swaths... above is one side of the sock...

and here is the other side... isn't that cool??? Kinda psychedelic. The colors changes are definitely keeping my interest and this is a great car knitting sock... a sock that will primarily be knit while I'm waiting in the car for my son, or in a drive through window line or wherever I find myself with time to kill and I'm stuck in the car.   It is a good thing that I knit because otherwise I'd probably hurt people. I think I show remarkable restraint at times, as I am armed with  sharp pointy things and I don't poke people's eyes out... although I do have those thoughts??? Its not bad unless I act upon it .... right???

So Socktober was a productive... overall I finished 2 pairs of socks and started 2 more pairs... my needles are never empty.

Hope you have a nice weekend ahead... the unseasonably warm weather has given way to seasonably cooler temperatures so I'm wearing long pants and  socks and I'm quite comfy and happy!

happy knitting -
carol fun

Pumpkin palooza....

Sooooo.... it has been two weeks since I darkened this doorstep and you would think that I would  be back with lots of stuff to show that I made during that time.... but you would be wrong... sorry!  The days just fly by and while I have been crafty some of the stuff I made I can't show...shhh... Christmas gift... and other stuff I did I forgot to take a picture before I gave it away.... hang head in shame. I made 16 wonderful (at least I think they were wonderful)  Halloween cards...each one different...and I made colorful envelopes for each one. As I was making them I kept thinking I should take a picture when they were all done... and I remembered that I wanted to do that as I was sealing the last card....arghhh!!!!   Take my word on it... they were cute!!

Now my place is still packed with pumpkins... I LOVE FALL!!!  The trees are turning colors but the temperatures are still like summer... unseasonably warm here...80 degrees today and if it gets to 81 it will break a record high for this day in Cincinnati. I'm not complaining... I have the windows open and there is a lovely breeze. I'm just a bit of a cynic and I figure we will pay for this nice weather in January.

To start my parade of pumpkins... my pumpkin palooza... here is one thing I made that I have to show for all my time ....

one pumpkin block using the pattern Pumpkin Seeds from The Pattern Basket...you can see it here!  This block makes a great quilt but all I had time for was one pumpkin. The fabrics are all from Sandy Gervais' Fall collections and that deep purple was in my stash. I LOVE the white pumpkins, don't you?

And for more pumpkin-y goodness here is the display I put on my dining room table...

I made that table runner a while ago and put together the display in the center with stuff I had around the house... the crow was a gift from a friend. If you make the pic bigger you can see the little flashcard ... it says "spooky"... I had that in my paper stash. I wanted a tray for the center and remembered this Fiesta ware platter... it matches the binding on this runner nicely.

I also went hog wild decorating the doors on my house...

This toothy guy is on the door to my garage...

And I picked up this wreath at Target... more white pumpkins!!!!

I also did a little display in the back stairs hallway...what else????

more pumpkins!!! A plethora of pumpkins... oh I love alliteration...LOL!

I tell myself that I am selective in the pumpkins I bring into the house, but that's really just a story... I lie to myself where some things are concerned.  My son was counting the other day and had a tally of about 40 pumpkins in the house.... what can I say ... I LOVE PUMPKINS!!!

Did you have a nice Halloween?  We had a horde of kids... I estimate 175 to 200 or so... gave out almost 400 pieces of candy... but a good time was had by all. Now to move onto Thanksgiving preparations and Christmas gift making... I know the time will fly by again.

Hope you are having a good week!

happy stitching-
carol fun