So where have I been ....

Some of you have been wondering where I've been... I've gotten a couple of emails and even a lovely card from Di (QUILTINGISBLISSFUL)checking up on me... thanks for your concern... as for where I've been... I HAVE BEEN NO WHERE... unless you call being in a funk somewhere... that place, I have been to... I'm still stitching and sewing and knitting and gardening but there is a underlying feeling of frustration and anger that I can not shake... I have treated myself to some retail therapy lately... THANK YOU Hobby Lobby... your fully stocked shelves of holiday goodies has brighten a day or too... and the Dollar Spot at Target has teased me with a couple of cute Christmas trinkets.. hope there is more to come... and some online shopping... got several new charts and a quilt kit...I'm really really really trying to treat my condition... and isn't that a great excuse for spending money??? Almost as good as my personal mantra that "I'm helping the economy"...

Well you didn't come by just to hear me whine so I'll show some pretty pictures... I know Halloween was yesterday but here is a look at my displays...

The shelf unit...

A new arrangement of cross stitched pieces I did previously... that big house plate on the 2nd shelf was a marked down purchase after Halloween last year... I grouped all the pumpkin headed gals together... started stitching a new one but didn't get it done... next year... oh and I did this little Prairie Schooler piece...

I changed the date to 2020 because I can't think of a year I'd like more to be dead and gone...

The quilts... Halloween Swoon on the back of the couch...

The spider quilt... I glued googly eyes on...

The tier tray...

New items added this year are the bug eyed Frank and Bat... they are from Heart in Hand Halloween Parade...

 and that Haunted House Rae Dunn piece... a birthday gift from my super shopper friend Stephanie...

If you want to see  more pictures check out my Instagram here and here and here...

I feel like I just got all this stuff out and later today or tomorrow I'll be putting it back into the plastic bins and getting out my Thanksgiving stuff because before the month is over I'll be getting out the Christmas stuff... how does time go so slow and so  fast all at the same time???

And speaking of Thanksgiving I did a little turkey stitching... 

This guy I started last year and got finished... he's Prairie Schooler...

And this guy is a freebie but I don't remember from where and my print out has no identifying marks...

And last night I got out this Pineberry Lane chart called Gather... it is from the Quaint Country Ladies Club at Dyeing to Stitch... 

Except I'm not using the linen they sent... this is something I painted a while ago... 

and I'm not using all the flosses it called for ... I've already changed the scissors and the basket and there will be more changes to come... some are because it is suppose to be stitched on 36 ct and I assume one ply over two threads... but I'm doing 32 ct and 2 ply over two threads so I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have enough of several of the flosses they sent... so I'll sub in my choices...oh the blob on the left is going to be the lady... 

And I never use to think of myself as a stitcher who was a serial starter but it appears that I am... this week alone I've worked on 4 different charts... this one Heart & Hand Sampler from With Thy Needle & Thread has been one I've wanted to stitch for a long long time...  I dyed some 32 ct linen with Rit Teal dye ... it is deeper in color than this picture is showing...

And a trip to Joanns had me lusting for this Christmas wreath...I thought about making it but if I can get it for 50% off...which I think will happen this week... the wreath would be $30... and I know I'd end up with more than $30 in the materials alone... so I NEED to buy this...anyway...

this got me to thinking about a pink and aqua Christmas display out on the sunroom porch... I have a piece or two that I've stitched in those colors and I remembered I had started the Lizzie Kate Christmas ABCs...

so I dug it out and got another line done... there are 8 lines so I still have 5 to go... excuse the wrinkles...

This is 36 ct and I'm using 2 ply over 2 threads and it is very nice coverage... this piece of linen is not a real tight weave so I'm not having any problems with the thicker thread... and I have a recollection of another sampler done on a pink and turquoise linen in my stash... which leads me to another idea... right now my charts are sorted alphabetically by designer's name... I think I might go through all my charts ...and that is quite a few... about 3  boxes 13" square... no wait 4 boxes (I should hang my head in shame but I won't...LOL)... and pull out the seasonal charts... Christmas, Halloween, Easter, Fall, Snowmen, Chickens...yes Chickens are seasonal and yet year round at my house... anyway I think this might be a good idea for when I want to do something seasonal but can't recall exactly what I have... and it should make for an enjoyable afternoon perusing my stash... maybe I can do that this week... 

And as for the week I'm not seeing much on my calendar... I haven't been babysitting for a couple of weeks as my daughter-in-law's sister has been staying with them and she's been watching Elliott...however I have seen him every week which is always fun... I went to watch him "Trick or Treat"... he was dressed as a tree ...think green sweater, brown corduroy pants, green hat with some faux ivy garland wrapped around him and some faux leaves on the hat... it was adorable but he had no idea why we tied him up in fake leaves... he liked grabbing the candy and watching the other kids...too bad they won't let him have any candy yet... luckily his Grandma's give him ice cream and cookies when they babysit... it is our job to spoil him, right???

Those who've read this blog over the years know that this is the day for my semi-annual rant about Daylight Saving Time... and you know I DETEST it!!   While this change does give you an "extra" hour of sleep (the damn hour they took away in the Spring)  it does nothing for my body clock... I wonder if anyone has done a study and looked at whether people who live in areas where they don't change the clocks twice a year, live longer??  This has to take a toll on everyone's body... one that I don't think is necessary at all.  I know I've signed petitions to have it halted but nothing ever happens... which leads me to wonder (and yes my mind wonders and wanders a lot) who is making money off of the time change?  Years ago I assumed it was the makers of batteries and smoke detectors but now days the come with batteries that last for years ... so who benefits?  If you know please let me know... it won't make me happier about the time change but I'll have one less thing to wonder about...LOL

I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts today... need to see what everyone else has been up to ...and check back here tomorrow... I have some quilt stuff to show... I made a new quilt for my younger son and I got 2 Christmas quilts back from Quilting by David and there is a quilt top on my design wall... and I'll let you in on my plans to change the furniture in my sewing studio... I've been to IKEA waaay too many times in  since they re-opened..

Hope things are going well in your little world... I don't know how people in places like  Michigan and Pennsylvania and California are putting up with the lockdown restrictions... in Ohio we've gotten back retail stores and dining inside but not attending the theater (I miss going to see stage plays) or concerts or sporting events ... and I'm concerned that we may see a lockdown again... which doesn't help my funk... saying my prayers every day for a return to the life we had back in before this all started... 

happy stitching-

carol fun