Some productivity on a Slow Sunday Stitching...

Hello ... so last week turned out to be lots busier than I had anticipated... but it was also waaaay more productive than I would ever have believed... you know those projects that have been sitting around for months and months and months... and it isn't a small project but not too big... and you brood about it and think about starting but you just can't get going... well  I actually tackled and completed one of those projects and I've almost broke my arm patting myself on the back... 

So what was the project... organizing and completing an entire collection of DMC floss... 500 different colors of floss... OMG...I can hardly believe it... I had a pretty good stash already but I did need some colors and that entailed trips to Joanns (picked over) Micheals (nice inventory but someone put every single skein in the numbered slot backwards... you had to pull the skein entirely out to be certain it was the right number) and finally Hobby Lobby for the win... a dear friend pointed out to me Hobby Lobby usually has the best inventory because they never put floss on sale... I hadn't thought of that and if I had gone there first I probably wouldn't have had to go to the other places... oh well... 

Here's what I did... I put each skein in a snack size Ziploc bag along with an index card... I wrote the number of the skein on the card and on the flap of the Ziploc bag...

Then I placed each bagged skein into a Snapware stacking storage container...

I had a couple of these Snapware containers already..I had purchased them at Joanns a while ago and got them on sale... but I still needed one more so I picked it up on Amazon...you can see it here... I'm pretty sure this  more than I paid at Joanns but when I was there looking for floss their plastic storage aisle was bare... and somewhere there is an extra lid in my house... but I don't need it for this arrangement... it will show up someday ... Ta Dah!!!

All 500 skeins organized and labeled and I put a strip of pretty scrapbook paper in the front of each box to make it look tidy... I really like that idea and I'm going to do it to some other storage drawers in that same room...

And here is the overdyed box...

And those Snapware boxes are a perfect fit for the IKEA Billy bookcase I have  in this room... now all the months I've been putting this job off, I thought it would take me 3 or 4 hours to do this... WRONG... it took about 10 hours over a 3 day time span... but it was totally worth it!!!  It made me feel so good to have it done and it has given me some motivation to tackle some other projects... next week I hope to do a thorough cleaning and straightening up of this craft room... this is a small bedroom in which I have a nice size desk, a sewing table with one of my two Juki sewing machines set up on, a 40 drawer bank of scrapbook paper bins, and an 8 cube IKEA Kallax storage unit that holds my cross stitch charts and linens... quite a bit of stuff in 110 sq. ft.....everything in this room is dusty... I use to have the Dude's litter box in here and even though it was  covered box and I used low dust litter things got dusty... I want to wipe everything down and do a bit of straightening up and re-organizing and sprucing up ... I got a new rug for the room and I LOVE it... and I'm hoping that cleaning this room will motivate me to do other rooms of the house... but one room at a time. 

And along with tackling that project I did a bit of cross stitching ... I've been keeping track and I've stitched every day in January... I didn't make any concerted effort to do it... it just happened... and  I hope to keep it up... I stitched 2 more small Prairie Schooler snowmen on 32 ct opalescent linen I dyed.. I love how sparkly the fabric looks... kinda like snow...

That sparkly silver trim is something I picked up I think at Joanns at Christmas...  I twisted it as I tacked it down across the base of the one snowman and on the outer edge of the other piece...

And I framed the other PS Snowman I did earlier this month and here is how I've displayed these guys...

And here's a close up of the Prairie Schooler  snowman from  No. 151...

I found this little frame in my stash... had a marked down sticker of $1.99 and it was the perfect shade of dark blue... the snowflakes are plastic buttons... I cut the shanks off the back and hot melt glued them on. 

Another little display in my TV cabinet...

I stitched that Winter piece from Prairie Schooler a looong time ago and the long pillow is Lizzie Kate Snowy String... those are always a fun stitch... and it was when I got to decorating this spot that I wished I had a few more bottle brush trees... even though it seems like I have a forest of them... but a few more won't hurt... I'll be on the hunt next Christmas.

And I finally got some decent pictures of my kitchen shelf display...

Lots of snowman made from food items, and my Hallmark kitchen snowman who has measuring cups for a hat and wooden spoons for arms... here's a couple of close ups...

And new curtains for my kitchen windows is another project I've been putting off... I have the fabric and I can use the old curtains that I made 7 years ago as a pattern for the new set but the spirit hasn't moved me yet... I want to line the new ones as these have gotten very sun faded... I love how sunny my little house is!

So plans for today include brunch with my older son and family ... maybe a little sewing room straightening up.... it is quite messy at the moment... need to box up a couple of projects that I've lots interest in... maybe start cleaning the craft room... or maybe just sit in my comfy chair and cross stitch... I like the last option best... LOL

Next week does have a couple of plans penciled in... dinner with some friends and a movie with my younger son... and my regular babysitting on Tuesday... and I need to get my car in for an oil change... I want to schedule it on a decent day so they will wash it too... I hope you have something good happening in your  upcoming week... I'm feeling a bit more upbeat... I think accomplishing the DMC job helped... and I've heard a little good news here and there about the covid  and the vaccine situation... fingers crossed... I want to plan a vacation before 2021 is over ...

So I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts today...and spend some time seeing what everyone else is up to... 

happy stitching-

carol fun 

Dreary and a bit weary on a Slow Sunday Stitching...

 Hello - well the weather is certainly dreary today.... cold, gray and a bit of flurries... not the kind of day that infuses me with energy... and along with that, the unsettled feeling  about what the  future will bring has made me quite weary... sorry to be a downer... 

I'm having trouble focusing on just one project ...and I find myself working on projects that aren't really vital at the moment and ignoring projects I really should attend to... big sigh...I've bounced here and there and back to next to here... I do  have my snowmen decor out and it is nice to look at... I'll show some pics further down...

I did finish something... this pair of scrappy socks...

mindless knitting ... I've got 3 shawls in various stages sitting in bags next to my comfy chair... perhaps I'll work on one of them next...

As for sewing... well I haven't gone down in my studio for 2 weeks... there a several projects which only need a hour or two and several other projects I'd like to start... perhaps something will call to me this week... 

On the cross stitch front I've done 2 little pieces... this snowman head from one of those little cards Prairie Schooler put out...

used called for DMC on 32ct opalescent linen I dyed... he's only 2" tall...

And this little angel... she's from the new chart Love Notes by With Thy Needle & Thread..

changed some of the threads because I couldn't find the called for DMC in my messy craft room and stitched her cheeks in Scotch Stitch ( just a satin stitch on the diagonal)... again 32 ct linen I dyed... this is just a tiny scrap but then she's tiny too... only about 2" tall...I may do a small tier tray display for Valentine's Day... 

Here's a pic of the pattern... I may stitch another one of the designs... I just took the little angel from the Love Stamp chart... 

I got my pattern at Kittenstitcher.com but it looks like it is out of stock at the moment... I'm sure she'll get more in. 

And last Sunday I went looking for  a chart in my stash... I don't even remember which one now... but I came upon this chart and this linen and this thread and well I had to put some stitches in...

It is soooo hard to capture the color of this piece... think Jakey Brown from Classic Colorworks... I'm pretty sure I used Rit Wine dye... the thread is Gentle Arts Vintage Lace... a rosy, pinky shade... this is so much fun to stitch on... the holes are easy to see, the thread glides through, the pattern is easy to follow... and it is 28ct... I haven't stitches on 28 ct for eons...  it has been very hard to put this down...

The pattern is Quaker Samplings from With My Needle by Ellen Chester... now I've had this a loooong time...  the copyright date is 2006, so it has been maturing for  a while.. glad I released it from its plastic bin...

And I worked on the needlepoint stocking... not going to show a picture because even after 6 hours I don't feel like I made a lot of progress... a bunch of ornaments were completed but they take a lot of time... each one has a minimum of 3 different threads... so lots of threading and re-threading... part of me says just concentrate on one project... but I am not listening to that little voice... at least not right now...

As for decorating here are a couple of pictures... first that new for me white shelf unit...

I LOVE all the bits and pieces here, but I'd like to add some cross stitch to this display.. perhaps the 2 PS Santas I've stitched... gotta get them FFO'd...

Now the Snowman cookie jar is one my younger son found for me in a flea market type store... it is gorgeous an I think the largest one I have... I love all the little animals form the bird on his shoulder to the squirrel on his side... on the bottom is says Tracy Porter  "Jolly Ol' Snowy"  exclusively for Target 2003... I found another one online... asking waaaay more than what Nick paid... 

on the other end is a sign I purchased from Walmart at Christmas... it is suppose to be outdoor stake kinda sign... I loved the style of the snowman... kinda vintage 50's... and the snowman head snow globe came from the gift shop at Cracker Barrel in 2019... gosh I miss going there... always found cute decor pieces... 

below I made a little ice skating rink with a mirror from Hobby Lobby and those little Russ Berrie Snowmen... I think these originally came from Hallmark, but I might be wrong... I  bought them on ebay ... I was surprised that they were primarily yellow... you know I LOVE YELLOW so that was a bonus... I was just looking for skating figurines and was surprised to find skating snowmen... I thought I paid too much for them... I got 9 figures... but after looking around on the web I think I did okay... there are several people selling just one or two of these little guys for half I what I paid for the lot... 

The bottom shelves...

I need to take pictures of the rest of my displays but every time I think to do it the light isn't good... either too bright or too dark... maybe this week I'll get the motivation to coincide with good lighting... maybe...

So no big plans for the week except to get my hair cut and colored... calling for a measurable snowfall ...we really haven't had anything but flurries so far this season which has been fine with me... I just wish we had more sunny days... I can take the cold but I HATE the gray days... not making me feel energetic.. so I think I'll sit here in my comfy chair and maybe take a nap and then when I wake up I'll grab something to stitch... already had breakfast with the family... so the rest of the day is quiet... maybe binge watch some youtube stuff... and read a some blogs over on Kathy's Quilts after I link up there... always interesting...

Hope you have a good week ahead...

happy stitching-

carol fun 

Not thinking too deeply on a Slow Sunday Stitching...

 Hello - another week has passed and as the Chinese saying goes "may you live in interesting times" ... ummm... maybe I'd prefer less interesting at this moment... did you know that this is an English translation of a Chinese curse?  Makes more sense that way, doesn't it?

Anyway, I've been hunkered down  ... got all the Christmas stuff put away... was proud of myself for organizing it more this year, deer in one box, Santas is another box, pink stuff all together, rather than my usual tactic of cramming things willy-nilly into my beloved plastic bins (and if you've been reading this blog for any length of time you know I LOVE plastic bins... and there is no need to think about that too deeply).  Wrapped the Christmas tree back up in the big plastic bag and returned it to the storage room under the steps... feels good to have that done...and after a brief respite from that mess, I dragged out the snowmen... and made an even bigger mess...OMG... I have sooooooooo many snowmen... lots and lots of beady little eyes watching me... and that's another thing I don't want to think about too deeply...LOL... I had a hard time getting into setting up my displays... I know to start with the biggest items, in this case the 7 cookie jars and the 3 large pieces of snowman cross stitch... I try not to put things in the same place every year, but some things will only fit in one place... and this year I had the extra display space of that new white shelf unit in the living room...I'm happy with how it is looking but I'm going to wait to show it to you till next week as I'm waiting on an impulse ebay purchase... more snowmen... I know you are shocked... LOL... but they looked so cute and I wasn't even searching for snowmen, I was looking for ice skaters... I want an ice skating pond scene... I bought a round mirror at HL... and what do you know,  I found ice skating SNOWMEN... OMG... they are a retired set of little figurines that came from Hallmark, as I understand... and do you miss Hallmark stores with nice gift and decor departments?  There use to be a great one in a strip mall that was on my way to pick up my kids from school... I would stop in almost every week and I have some wonderful pieces that I bought there... sorry another tangent... 

So where was I??  Oh yeah, my snowmen bins sat open with stuff piled on the chairs and the sofa and the floor for a couple of days till motivation arrived ... when I finally got my butt in gear it took several  hours but I got everything settled in... by my count I have 8 display areas in my little home... and yes I probably have jumped the shark... but that's another thing we aren't going to think too deeply about...oh I do LOVE my snowmen and I like that in putting up these displays, I will not touch them for 7 or 8 weeks... by March I can't stand them anymore and will be chomping at the bit to get my Spring stuff out... and I just checked ... Easter is April 4... already looking forward to it...

I will show a couple of pictures  of snowman decor today and then I'll have some for next week... in the meantime I'll share my crafty endeavors of the past 7 days...

Got a sock done...

nice and scrappy... I was going for a green sock with a bit of purple but it got more purple-y as it went along. and yes for some reason in this pic the purple is reading black... ugh... I had planned on grey heels but when I got to that point there wasn't any gray going on, so I used some purple yarn, which probably accounts for it reading as a purple sock... hmmm...another thing I don't want to think too deeply about... looking forward to the 2nd sock as I don't know how it will look... I divided up little 10 -15 gram balls of Opal sock yarn and you can never be sure that the colors will repeat when you divide them... my favorite parts are the little dotty parts... another hmmm... dotty... polka dots... I believe this is where thinking gets me in trouble... another tangent... when my youngest son was in high school he had this terrific guidance counselor... my son, being autistic, had many many challenges to deal with and this man was always helpful to the extreme... after our first meeting, I remarked how supportive he was being and he told me that he was thrilled to help a parent that gave a damn about their kid... he dealt with too many parents who just didn't...anyway, he let my son eat lunch in his quiet little office every day instead of having to deal with the 3 ring circus that was the cafeteria... we would talk on a regular basis about what could be done to help my son navigate high school, and a lot of our conversations would start with my saying "I think..." and he would tell me..."there you go thinking again, that will only get you into trouble"... and he was right a lot of the time... so that could be the basis for my not thinking too deeply about stuff... which is causing me to think deeply about not thinking deeply ... and now I'm going to take a deep breath and let it go.....

 Moving on... I did a bit of cross stitching... from Prairie Schooler No. 151 called Santas & Snowmen...

32 ct opalescent linen dyed with Rit dye... I think Evening blue... I love that the sparkly bits stay sparkly even if you dye the linen...

And this freebie from Liz Matthews by way of Country Sampler in Spring Green WI... if you subscribe to their email you can get it...

I just did this small part of the chart... 36 ct linen and I used the Sulky 12 wt thread 4014... it is one of the Blendables... I wanted to play with this... I did try it on 32 ct and didn't like the coverage... this is better, but I want to try it on 40 ct too... 

And I stitched a bit more on WTN&T Heart & Hand ... I'm not enjoying the over one legs on those sheep... most of mine look to be a bit crippled... poor sheep...

Excuse the wrinkles... I want to get this done and get back to the WTN&T Needleworker's Sampler... and I stitched a measly one more ornament on the Christmas stocking... will try to try and give it a bit more attention this coming week... no progress on the Christmas quilt I showed last week... I did sew 2 new toppers for my shelf units... the one in the living room and the one on the porch... only got one quilted... again... tune in next week and hopefully they will be completed... 

So I've been having bad thoughts about deep cleaning my house... I try to push them out of my mind by sitting down and stitching... and I'm wondering how much it  would cost to have someone come in and deep clean the bath room and the kitchen... hmmm... my son and DIL had someone come in and take care of their 3 bathrooms... need to look into that... my house isn't filthy... I do tidy up a bit each day ... okay a bit each week... but since I've been spending more time inside I see things I didn't see before... baseboards, some cobwebs, dusty fan blade... need to push these dirty thoughts out of my head...again, something I shouldn't think too deeply about... am I right?  I expect to see your heads nodding up and down ...up and down...

Well, lets circle back around to some decor, shall we? And I'm going to start downstairs in my sewing studio... I now have 2 places to decorate there and I like it...makes the space even more cheery...IMHO

This is that little yellow cabinet that use to be in the living room... I hung an Debbie Mumm quilt I made years and years ago... this snowman cookie jar was a present from my youngest son who found it at a flea market... he was so proud of himself for finding a gift he knew I'd love... just a touch of cross stitch... this is entitled  Star Shaped Snowman by Teresa Kogut ... you can see it here. 

And this small display has my Lizzie Kate Winter Alphabet  and that sparkly snowman head I got a year or so ago at Michaels on markdown... I like the retro look..

I found that as I put out my decor I wish I had a bit more winter stitching...and believe it or not (and I do) I could use a few more bottle brush type trees... I have what seems like a small forest of them but I kept thinking I wish I had another one here or there... this year I didn't buy a single bottle brush tree (okay maybe I did buy a pink one and some white ones, but no green ones) cause I thought I had enough...next year I'll pick up a few more... I use them for Christmas and for Winter so they see a lot of use... and they make me happy!   

So I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts today... and I'll say my prayers and keep my fingers crossed that the coming weeks aren't as eventful as the last one... between politics and the pandemic and the almost continual gray skies here in SW Ohio I had a hard time keeping a positive attitude ... I did find that fudge helped my mental state, but did nothing for my expanding waistline... but I can only deal with one thing at a time. Hope things are well with all of you... 

happy stitching-

carol fun 

Looking a bit backwards and forward on a Slow Stitching Sunday...

Happy New Year... I wish you all the best in 2021... Soooooo... how did you spend the first day of this year?  I was able to do all the  things I wanted to do... I do NOT do resolutions... I do engage in all the activities I enjoy on January 1 as a harbinger of what I want to do the rest of the year... 

Right after midnight, cause I'm always up that late... I cast on a new pair of scrappy socks... 

something easy and mindless because while I am a night owl I recognize my limitations at that hour...

Then I slept late... oh that is glorious... I love sleeping in... and the older I get the less often that happens ... then I picked up the new Christmas stocking project I have this year for my DIL and did about 1.5 ornaments... I did the turquoise one an part of of the multi-color one to its upper left...

it is a very pretty stocking ... by my count (and this is a ballpark count) there are:

                    16 candles 

                    22 big ornaments

                    46 ball ornaments

                    60 little gold balls... I think it is part of a garland but don't think I'll be stitching the detail

My plan is to do a little every day ... hope I can stick with that... right now it is at that stage where the canvas is stiff and you have to wrestle with it... ugh... I'm happier when it gets more malleable but that takes time.

Then I went downstairs into my sewing studio.. I made a small bag that's a gift so I can't show it yet... and I worked on that Christmas quilt I showed last week... here's how it looks now...

yep... I unsewed what I had an came up with this layout... a 15 patch block alternated with a plain rectangle and the a 9 patch for sashing ... the plan is for 10 blocks across and 9 down... that would make it about 66" wide and 70" long... think I'll add a border only on the top and bottom... and I should be able to have this one done pretty soon and have a Christmas quilt pre-made for this Christmas... 

After that I went out and picked up a carryout order for dinner... I LOVE eating out... I can cook, I'm just tired of cooking and for 2 people it is easier a lot of times to eat out... we can still eat inside in Ohio but I try to be careful... so I'm doing more carryout and less inside dining... that said the Mediterranean salad with chicken kabobs from Taziiki's is excellent... and so is their whipped feta  with honey appetizer ... 

After dinner I settled in and started a new cross stitch sampler... and no I didn't get the one I was working on finished so there is no issue with dating it 2021 (I hope that this year is one I won't regret remembering...)

This is Needleworker's Sampler by With Thy Needle & Thread... 32 ct fabric I painted with Rit dye, using the called for flosses so far... I'm really liking this one ... an easy stitch... that border is really wonky... you have to pay attention and count each hill and valley but if you made a mistake it would be easy to fudge... 

I did make progress on Heart & Hand... 

very close to being done... ran out of Mulberry for the berries but found another skein in another project... it is good to have stash, isn't it?

And I also did some online shopping... picked out a couple of things at KittenStitcher as I got a gift card for a Christmas present... she's not open till tomorrow but my cart is ready to go, so when she turns her payments back on I can order....

And I bought some dahlia tubers and some flower seeds... already thinking of next Spring and Summer... I know you should wish your life away... and Lord knows how much life I have left... I hope a lot, but my family history is not encouraging... my parents both died in their late 40's/early 50s'... my only sibling was early 60's ... I hope I take after my Grandmother's who both lived into their 80s... but lets drop that topic and think about dinner plate dahlias and cosmos and zinnias and I've been looking at cannas and caladiums...  I have high hopes for all the daffodils and alliums I planted... last Spring they were such a welcome sight... even my neighbors commented on how it brightened their spirits... hey yellow is  HAPPY HAPPY color!!

Sooooo it was a great day for me... I could repeat it over and over and over again for the next 365 with no issues... however I know other obligations will arise... such is life....

And I did a little looking back on 2020... I do try to keep track of how many quilting/stitching/sewing/knitting projects I do... however this year I somehow lost the list with the knitting on it, but I don't think there was a lot.. some socks and couple of shawls... but I did do 18 quilts...now at least half of those were already in the works before 2020, but done is done... and I've decided the 3 that are still waiting to be bound won't be counted in 2021... I'm moving on... As for cross stitch I did 24 pieces...most smaller... and some that were finished in 2020 were also started in previous years... I've gotten more cross stitch done in the past but the needlepoint stocking took up a LOT of time... by my notes I started it in late January and finished in late September... now there was a month or two that I didn't touch it at all, but stockings are definitely a long term project... 

I shall endeavor to keep better track of what I finish this year... I've got some forms prepped and ready to go!! I have lots of things I want to do and I know I won't get them all done but I will be happy with whatever does get finished... I have some quilt blocks that I'd like to get sewn into tops... much smaller tops than I had planned when I started the blocks, but finished is better than languishing in the plastic bins, right???... and for cross stitch I have a couple of samplers calling my name and I think I should stick with small pieces where seasonal stuff is concerned... my displays are pretty full and it is getting hard to wedge in larger seasonal pieces... and I have wall space for samplers... so that's a win... and I found a couple of UFO samplers... maybe I could finish one of them... hope springs eternal... as for knitting it will again be socks and shawls... easy stuff... and the stocking needs to be completed by the end of September... that will be the 6th one I've done in my lifetime, and I consider it quite the achievement... if I had known 35 years ago what I know now, I would never have selected 24" long stockings on 16 count...sheesh.. why didn't I just do nice cuffs... so much less stitching, but they are beautiful and my kids do appreciate them... they'll be my legacy... 

So I hope that 2021 brings you lots of time to engage in all  the crafty projects that you love to do... it is NOT a resolution but it I shall try to try and stay off of the internet a bit more... I get sucked into political blogs and crafty stuff and Instagram... OMG... I LOVE and HATE Instagram... I find so much cool stuff on IG but it takes up so much time... I can scroll mindlessly for hours... not productive...  so I shall re-affirm by mantra to always try to try... but I never define exactly what  it is that I'm trying... keep it vague and no one can pin anything on you... LOL... kinda like "experts" who keep changing their tune and moving the goalposts ... and you know what I mean...

I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts today... she always has a wonderful collection of blogs to peruse ... Wishing you a happy and healthy 2021... may we put 2020 in the rear view mirror as quickly as possible... 

happy stitching-

carol fun