Yarn and socks and a little stitching on Slow Sunday Stitching...

Another week sped by... went to dinner and a play (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) on Tuesday... dinner and a great evening of conversation and projects with my quilty lady group on Thursday...ran around all day Friday doing errands: bank, hardware store, Costco, grocery, garden center, Target...  Dan, my handyman, was here all day on Saturday but got lots of things fixed/repaired...and a Chinese dim sum lunch today...  I ate well this week but didn't get a lot of crafty stuff done.

Biggest accomplishment in the crafty realm was finishing this pair of socks...

I used two different self striping Opal yarns alternating every round... LOVE how they turned out...

not knowing what patterns will develop next keeps me knitting and knitting and knitting and knitting...

And since the weather was cooler and I wore hand knit socks every day I looked over my stash of Opal yarns and that lead me to purchase more... certainly NOT because I don't have a very healthy stash of them... because I DO... but because I can't resist the allure of a self striping yarn that washes and wears as well as Opal does. One can NEVER have too much Opal in their stash...that a FACT...LOL... and  it just makes me happy!!! Its not illegal or immoral...we won't talk about inexpensive.

The last 2 years I was able to purchase an Opal Advent calendar...24 mini-skeins of stripe-y fun...this year I couldn't find it anywhere on line and from what I could figure out they didn't do one...insert frowny face... However, I had seen mini skeins for sale on Instagram accounts of some yarn stores in England and  Germany...but again no luck finding them in the US... then I stumbled across an Etsy shop in Lithuania and they had an offering of 28 mini skeins for a price I thought was reasonable and shipping to the US for less than $8 ...so I bought what I think was the last batch they offered...

Aren't they adorable???? Now I did notice that these only weigh 10 grams where the Advent calendar mini's were 15 grams... I'm okay with that as I'll be making scrappy socks with them... like this sock I started  yesterday...

I've already used 4 different yarns in this one and I'm hardly started... they are the knitting equivalent of a scrap quilt.

On the cross stitch front I did stitch more snow...so boring I didn't even take a picture...but I did start a new Fall project... Lizzie Kate's Thankful String...

I dyed  a piece of 28 count evenweave  with Rit Golden Yellow and Tan...

And here's a close up of my meager progress...

I had to change a few of the flosses... I'm using DMC ... it is a quick stitch if I actually picked it up... maybe this afternoon.

Right now I'm sitting out on my enclosed porch with the Dude...

it was grey and rainy when I first came out... turned on my  new little space heater which really warms up the space and now the sun has come out but boy is it windy... it is just whistling around the house... I took down my flag as it was really whipping about ... I'll put it back up after the wind dies down.

Oh I forgot I did work in the yard last week... cleaned up my flower beds a bit and cut down the dahlias as a windy day had broken some of them... this is my final harvest...

I got 6 nice sized bouquets ... I will be planting dahlias again next year... in a more sheltered spot than this year  which should help prevent as much breakage.

Well I'm hoping for a couple of nice weather days this week... I have about 150 daffodil bulbs I want to plant... and I have my fingers crossed for the Trick or Treaters on Wednesday...weather guys are predicting rain  which  would reduce the number of kids we'll get and then I'll have to eat all that leftover candy .... oh nooooooooo.... I bought two giant bags at Costco and I'm trying to keep from opening them... but I probably should eat one or two  Almond Joys or Mounds to be sure they are good. Wouldn't want to give out bad candy, would I?   LOL

I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts ... for the upcoming week, along with my planting plans I have sewing plans too. I finally got around to cleaning up my basement sewing studio... I have been dumping stuff and I needed to get things sorted and put away... spent a couple of hours doing that but oh does it look better and more inviting to sit down and sew... I'd love to make a new Christmas quilt...something lap sized and easy...I have several patterns calling my name and a bunch of new fat quarters... hope your week has some productive crafty time in it...

happy stitching-
carol fun

Snow Removal and Warm Socks on a Slow Stitching Sunday...

I've said it before and I'll say it again (probably a hundred times more) ...Where did the week go???? I always have so many plans of what I want to get done...and the execution of the plans leaves something to be desired. However in my defense this week did have lots of other obligations to attend to... a 4 hour appointment at the eye clinic that had me up at the crack of dawn (ok 7:30 isn't the actual crack of dawn, but it is in my world)...a therapist appointment for my younger son... a 5 hour stint babysitting the plumber at my older son's house...and several days of feeding his cats...and a midnight run to the airport and back... Why is it that all I want out of life is to STAY HOME?? Sorry for shouting ... I think a nap after I post this will be a good thing.

 Mother Nature has decided that since she gave us above average Summer temperatures, she will balance it out with below average Fall temperatures, so in the end everything will be average...sigh...at least today is sunny and the forecast for the next couple of days is sunny too. I need to get out in the yard and do some clean up...we've had a bit of frost and its time to pack in the annuals...maybe tomorrow...

So you may ask if we've only had a bit of frost why did you have to do snow removal???  Well, it wasn't the fluffy stuff Mother Nature will dump on us later, but the stitchy kind of snow that I miscounted....

Here is In Santa Claus Land by With Thy Needle and Thread...

I started this back in January planning to have it finished for this Christmas ...again that issue with the successful execution of my brilliant plans is a bit poor.  And there is still the possibility that it will be finished if I can stitch more snow than  I remove. The left side of the piece was pretty much done when I realized that I was off by 2 stitches and it wasn't going to match up at either the top corner or the bottom corner...grrrrr.....I had to put it in time-out and didn't pick it up again till last night... still a ways to go...

But I did finish stitching Autumn by Barbara Ana Designs...

I am very happy with this piece...that gold linen is so pretty ...and I just can't seem to capture the true color with my phone....the berries were charted in black with the little dimple/stem in white...too stark for me....

I know it is hard to tell from this picture but I stitched them in a deep violet and made the little stem an olive green... in real life it is so pretty against the gold background.... the crappy pictures of late are having me question whether I should get a new phone...but I don't want to spend the money or learn a new phone...

And since stitching was driving me bonkers I switched over to knitting more socks...I've been knitting socks all year long but during the summer I knit them and then forget to take pictures...
Here a a few pairs I do have pictures of...

This pair is the ones currently on my feet...

Four of those little mini skeins from my Opal Advent Calendar for 2017... I added  maroon heels and toes from some stash yarn. I was looking forward to ordering another Advent Calendar this year but all my online searching came up empty. One store I emailed said the company wasn't doing one this year....insert frowny face... however my online sleuthing did come up with an Etsy listing of 28 mini skeins for less than I paid for 24 last year... you can see the listing here but I think she's out of stock now...and for a bit of a rant...did you really think I'd get through a whole post without one??? This yarn is coming from Lithuania ... postage is a mere $7.77... a certain company in a state out west of the Mississippi starting with an "I" charged me $8.50 postage for an order weighing less that this yarn  that took 4 weeks to arrive... my yarn should be here within the week... how does that happen?? Anyway I'm looking forward to the arrival of those little skeins of fun and in the meantime I played with  some I had from last year's Advent Calendar...

I paired one of the mini skeins with some other leftover Opal yarn and got this beauty (at least I think it is a beauty... a mother's love dontcha know...LOL)

I am alternating yarn every round and I have no clue what new pattern will emerge...it is positively mesmerizing... and if that pic isn't big enough here are some closeups...

I like how sometimes I got lucky and lighter portions of both skeins came together... and I love the little contrasting stripes... heels and toes are some unidentifiable stash yarn... I started the second sock last night ... I wound each of the yarns in the reverse of what I knitted before so I should come up with some completely different patterns... not knowing what is going to appear keeps me totally entranced...okay...I may be easily amused but lets not dwell on that... it keeps me off the streets at  night...it's not immoral  or illegal...and keeps me from self medicating with other substances...yarn is GOOD...very very GOOD...and so is thread and linen and fabric...my drugs of choice...LOL...

No dinner to prepare tonight... my son and his wife are on a mini-vacation to Iceland... through the wonders of technology I've gotten lots of text messages and pictures ... it certainly is a beautiful country... the only drawback is that the cheap fare airline they are travelling on departs and arrives at the local airport at around midnight for each way... I agreed to chauffeur them to and from without thinking it through...yes I am up that late every  night but I'm sitting in my cozy chair in my pajamas and warm socks... driving  requires proper footwear and clothing suitable for public display...that eliminates the pajamas with the bunnies... why it didn't occur to me till last night that I could have just paid for their long term parking, I do not know...oh well...


I'll be linking up with Kathy's Quilts today...and then I think a little nap in the sun on the screen porch is in order...just need to get the Dude move over at bit...

happy stitching-
carol fun

Some Halloween Stitching & Some Scary Stuff on Slow Sunday Stitching...

So I finally got all my Halloween decor released from its plastic prison bin and scattered it across the living room... picked up a couple of new pieces this year from Target's Dollar Spot and Hobby Lobby... nothing pricey... a wooden Frankenstein...a sparkly witch's hat...a little tombstone...and an eyeless bat that I gave sight to with googly eyes... I'm such a good person...LOL

On the stitching front I have a bunch of things to show... I really did get into the seasonal stuff this year and have several brand new pieces for Halloween...

This is my display shelf ...lots of Halloween goodies...

Starting at the top is my Bent Creek Spooky Row...

 

When I got this back from the framer I felt there was too much background showing and I thought about taking it out of the frame... instead I just "priscillafied" it and that helped a lot... the neon green Rit dye is really neon-y... in real life it almost glows... in front I have a sparkly broom I picked up at Target's Dollar Spot  (it was $3)  and I stuck in some miniature witches legs I got at Michaels...and I've used several sparkly spiders...not fond of spiders unless they are covered in sparkly stuff...

Moving down  I have my Prairie Schooler Trick or Treat that I stitched last year...and on the shelf below that I have Trick or Treat from With Thy Needle and Thread...

I used a frame I picked up at Target... it consists of a canvas covered insert that can be popped in and out of the wooden frame... I painted the frame black... it is about 10 inches square and can be found in their crafts aisle for about $8... added a bow of wired ribbon and a sparkly spider...

On the third shelf I have Matilda Hornbuckle from Not Forgotten Farms...stitched on sight blinding 40 ct... not doing that again...

I changed out the ribbon bow and added a button but that's all the "priscillafying" I thought this piece needed...that frame does it all... I'd like to do another piece that is just "fall-ish" to go into this frame but it is going to have to be smaller  stitch count so I don't have to stitch on 40 count ... that tiny count was not fun.

Over on the little yellow cabinet I have 2 more new Halloween finishes, both Lizzie Kate designs..

I'm very happy with how the Lizzie Kate Halloween ABC's turned out...

Just perched that sparkly spider up top ... I think that painted linen is enough...

And this little piece was a freebie...

I picked that frame up from Hobby Lobby... loved that it was already distressed in just the right colors... you can find that chart by asking to join the Facebook group Pumpkin Seed Stitchers.  You can find this and other freebies in the Files section.

I still have 2 smalls I need to sew into little pillows...don't think I'm going to stitch anymore Halloween this season even though I have several other charts ready to go...Oh I forgot to mention that the day after my rant I got an email saying my charts were on their way... the package arrived on Thursday of that week... it was missing one of the two charts I had ordered...arghhh...it took another couple of days for the 2nd chart to finally get here... the whole transaction too over 4 weeks to complete and my credit card was charged within minutes of my placing the order... not doing business there again.

Along with all the cross stitch I've  put out decor from previous  years...  the centerpiece on my dining room table...

I found the little card that says "spooky" and the picture of Edgar Allan Poe  in a pack of scrapbooking ephemera... I think Tim Holtz's stuff...

And my Gourdy Guys wreath...

A couple needed to be reglued but they survived nicely in the giant plastic wreath box I picked up last year after Christmas at Joanns. 

Now for some scary stuff... do you know how many days there are till Christmas???? 71 days!!! and if one would like their Christmas stitching done by say December 1, a person would have a mere 46 days to complete the projects they've been thinking about since LAST CHRISTMAS!!!.... insert emoji of person running around with their hair on fire!  I have 3 significantly sized pieces  I'd like to do and a couple of smalls... probably not realistic to believe they all can be finished in time. I started one Lizzie Kate Christmas ABC back during StitchMaynia... I got one letter and one word completed... I started Silver Creek Samplings "My Christmas List" last week... it is 101 X 287... you can see it  here ... I LOVE this... I dyed some line for it... I stitched the first two lines... I don't like it on the color linen I dyed..not at all ...need to start over... dye some more linen  and go from there... and there is  Barbara Ana's Christmas Joy you can see it here...it  is kitted and ready to go.  Now I do have WTN&T's  In Santa Claus Land started... Santa is done...Rudolph is done... lots of snowbanks to complete...hope I don't go snowblind...

To add to my Christmas angst I've already watched a couple of YouTube videos of Christmas decor  shopping. Now Hobby Lobby has had their stuff out since June...Big Lots, Dollar Tree, Kohl', Home Depot and Lowe's also have stuff out... I ventured to Walmart today and they had some but not all their stuff out at the location I went to but the whole store was topsy-turvy as they are "updating" ... I saw a couple of cute items but could see from the empty hooks with printed plans taped to them that there is more to come. 

I need to slow down and enjoy the season at hand before I go racing headlong into Christmas... that's what I'm telling myself as I stitch snow... hang head in shame....

Now to my weekly rant on weather...you thought I forgot didn't you??? ha- ha...Well I've come to the conclusion that Mother Nature is not detail oriented .... last weekend it was hot and humid... I wished for a bit of cooler weather...this weekend she gave us cooler but it is rainy, gray and COLD not cool... my furnace kicked on this morning... what happened to those lovely sunny dry warm Fall days we were suppose to get??? The forecast for the week is more of what we have today... all I can say is it will be good weather to stay inside and stitch ...but somewhere I have to find the time to plant those hundred or more daffodil bulbs I bought... darn you Costco...those big bags with the great prices are irresistible...and several have jumped into my cart in the last month... and there is the garden clean-up that needs to be done too... I'll be waiting for better weather... lets hope it materializes.

And while I'm complaining about the weather I am glad that the car show afternoon last week was hot, that was better than if it had been this weekend.  Here's the banner that was made to remember my brother...

This was hanging where two of his former cars were parked... a Graham-Paige and Plymouth  Barracuda... both cars have been purchased by friends of his so we know they will be loved... they presented the "Funi Memorial Trophy " to a little Crosley car which you can see here... it is just the kind of car my brother would have loved.  My brother was called Funi by all his buddies ... it is pronounced foo-knee... a shortening of our Italian last name... the car show organizers were the sponsors of award and say it will be given out every year. My brother loved this particular car show and volunteered to help out every year...one of the things he  would do on his own  was to buy a gazillion doughnuts on the Sunday morning of the car show and drive around the fairgrounds giving out them out... a friend of his picked up the task and did it in my brother's memory this year.  I'm glad I could be there last week even in the 90 degree heat and I'll be there every year from here on... it was such a lovely tribute to my brother even though it made us miss him so much... there is a hole in my heart for him.

Ok-- onto the linky part... I'll be linking up with Kathy's Quilts today... busy week ahead... eye appointment at the crack of dawn for me ...ugh...younger son has therapy appointment... taking my older son and his wife to the airport late one evening... they're going to Iceland for a couple of days...got a great deal on airline tickets...and I said I'd feed their cats and be there to let the plumber in to fix the shower faucet while they are gone...so we'll see how much stitching or yard work I get accomplished.

happy stitching-
carol fun 

Funky Trees on a Slow Stitching Sunday...

So the last time I was here I was sure Fall had arrived.... I was wrong... while the calendar says it started on September 22, Mother Nature has her own schedule... and it is hot again... upper 80's yesterday, today and tomorrow... don't know when I'll get to break out my wool socks and shawls... sniffle...boo hoo...

Well I'm ignoring the thermometer and stitching up Fall anyway... I have something old that I "priscillafied" ... something new that I "priscillafied"...and something I can't wait to finish to get "priscillafied"....

First... this is an old piece I did ... and I thought it was a Bent Creek row but I can't find it anywhere...so I don't know who designed it...

I added the ribbon and some Fall berries and hung it in my back hall way ....

Sorry for the bad lighting ...

Then I "priscillafied" my latest Barbara Ana Design Autumn Sampler...

I LOVE how this one turned out... the board I mounted it on came from Hobby Lobby and was suppose to be hung horizontally... I removed the hanging wire and filled in the holes and it was the perfect proportions for this funky tree...

I picked up the plaid wired ribbon at Michaels... I really like wired ribbon for these finishes...

and the little lady in the polka dot dress makes me smile...

As soon as I finished this piece I jumped into the Barbara Ana Design I meant to purchase when I mistakenly downloaded Autumn Sampler... this  one is just called Autumn and this is how far I've gotten...

so close... the linen is  a wonderful shade of gold... I'm making a few changes... I left off the word "autumn" at the bottom of the design ...and I ditched the witch and the black cats... I want a Fall look without any Halloween overtones... I've used the called for flosses except for the moon and stars (using DMC 712) and the berries I've made a yummy shade of purple (DMC 154)... they were charted in DMC 3371... black brown...yuck... I need to decide what color to make the little dimple ... I'm thinking an olive-y green... and I love the multi-stem look of this funky tree...

In fact I love that multi-stem look so much I bought a new maple tree for my yard that has that funky form...

I swear it didn't look that big at the garden center... and it now that it's planted it doesn't look that big anymore... but it will grow to 15 to 20 feet tall...

It has already started to turn in the week it has been planted... I'm so happy with that yellow color...you know it's my favorite!!  If you enlarge the pic you can see my bird feeders tucked back in the corner ... I think the birds will love this tree as a perch before dive bombing the feeders. The yard is looking good right now... the grass is very green ...we've had lots of rain ...and the mums are very colorful... I LOVE Fall color!!!

So I'm spending today at a local car show... The Pumpkin Run... this was my late brother's favorite car show... you can read about it here...two of his cars, which were purchased by his buddies, are displayed in the show... and today a trophy will be awarded in my brother's name and memory for the best "orphan" car. My brother dearly loved those cars which were only produced for a short time... and which are now "orphans"... the weather is going to great for a car show... dry but a tad on the warm side for me... I'm sure I'll be looking for shade and cool drink but it will be fun and a bit sad... I was speaking with my niece last  night and she was a bit discombobulated...she realized she's never been to this show without her Dad who took care of her admission and always brought food and drinks...there will be some bittersweet moments I'm sure.

I'll be linking up with Kathy's Quilts before I go and I hope that next  I'll  have a bunch of new Halloween things to show... I'm working on getting them "framed" and "priscillafied"...

Hope you have a good week and I hope Mother Nature brings cooler weather for me...

happy stitching-
carol fun