Retrospective ramblings...

So another year comes to a close...and looking back I did accomplish quite a bit but for the entire year I felt as if I wasn't making much progress on anything. If I had to apply a word to 2021 for me I'd chose malaise... "a general feeling of discomfort, illness, or uneasiness whose exact cause is difficult to identify."  I spend waaaaay too much time on the internet... so many many many things interest me... quilting, cross stitch, knitting, crafty stuff, politics, the economy, covid, etc etc etc... hours fly by as I end up down a rabbit hole... I learn a lot but I'm always annoyed with myself that I didn't spend the time more productively and I'd have something tangible to show.  

All year I've wanted to plan a vacation, but I've hesitated because of everything that is happening... and I'm tired of not being optimistic about the future... That said, my son and I ARE going to do another trip to DisneyWorld in 2022...maybe Spring to see the Flower & Garden Festival or the Food & Wine Festival... I try to pick times with lower crowds... and don't think Disney isn't for adults... OMG... the landscaping everywhere is so pretty, and we ate our way through Epcot the last time we went... and had a bunch of wonderful meals at several of the resorts ... and walked my feet off!!

As for this blog... well I had more posts in 2021 than in 2020... and I think that I will continue to post here but probably not more than twice a month. If you want to see what I'm doing check me out on Instagram... carolfun53   ... I posted  almost every day in December (don't get use to that)... a parade of my Christmas quilts... and while I can write more here, my posts on IG are quite chatty too... to be honest, it is easier to post on IG and I get more engagement... but the blog is a repository of sooooo much of what I've done and it is more easily searchable... a sort of diary of my life since 2010... and life has changed a lot since then, hasn't it?

Okay so you didn't come here for my angst, so I'll step away from the ramblings and show you some pretty pictures... caveat:  some of these pictures are not as clear as I would like them to be... don't know what happens between when I send them from my phone to my laptop... I've been working on this post for 2 days... still waiting for the pictures I sent myself on Wednesday, but the pictures I sent this morning already popped up in my inbox... I DO NOT UNDERSTAND this... but for better pics of anything I posted here go check out my Instagram @carolfun53. 

Here's what my house looked like in December... very festive if I say so myself... I didn't get a lot of new cross stitch or new knickknacks but I do love what I have. 

As for crafty stuff my major project was the needlepoint Christmas stocking for my daughter in law, Jenny...

and I think it came out beautiful!... I meant to get a picture of all 3 of their stockings on their mantle but I forgot... 

As for crossstitch I'm going to start with the first piece I finished in 2021...put the last stitches in it in January... took it to the framer right after that... and only got it back this month... a symbol of the frustrations that sum up 2021... when I took it in I picked out this frame, but it was backordered forever, so I returned to the shop and picked out another frame... and it was backordered forever...and  in the end this is the original frame I picked out.

I do LOVE this piece... Heart & Hand by With Thy Needle & Thread.

I dyed the linen and I wish I knew what I did as I love the color... but all my dyeing is done by the seat of my pants. I have great respect for commercial dyers who can replicate a color... it ain't easy.

And I LOVE this piece from With Thy Needle & Thread... A Needleworker's Sampler... 

I painted this linen and replaced the little dog with a spool of thread. I am planning on re-doing the sampler wall in my crafty room... move things closer together so I can get more pieces up. 

And there was the Prairie Schooler Garden Alphabet No. 61... 

I started this during the lockdown in 2020...my plan was to stitch a block a day... didn't happen... took till June 2021 to finish... 

There were a couple of patriotic pieces... Flag Folk by Not Forgotten Farm...

and Hurrah from Pineberry Lane...

I brighten both of these up from the prim colors with linen I painted.

And Twas the Night before Christmas by Prairie Schooler... 

oh I do love Prairie Schooler... a comfort stitch every time!!

As for quilting I looked back and I did about a dozen quilts... not all are totally finished ... there is a stack of quilts (one or two from 2020) waiting for binding.. gonna try to knock some out early 2022. 

For some unknown reason I have been quite productive the last 2 weeks and I've made two throw sized quilts from my vintage Debbie Mumm fabrics... first one I'm calling Mummville as ALL the fabrics are from Debbie...

The pattern is Suburbs by Cluck Cluck Sew and you and find it here.  The quilting was done by Delinda at The T-Shirt Quilting company and you can find her here.  She does all the t-shirt memory quilt stuff and great pantos and custom quilting.   I'm able to drop off and pick up from her but she does lots of quilts through mail order. She's a real pleasure to work with. I've been very happy with everything she's done for me this year. 

And this one I'm calling Very Charming Stars... my version of the freebie pattern Charming Stars which you can find here. 

I started with a 6" square vs. 5" charm square and increased the size of my star points to 3.5" cut and used the connector corner technique. Like the previous quilt ALL Debbie Mumm fabrics... some of these are at least 25 years old... pieces from some of her first collections through the ones she did for Joann's ... I do like the older ones better but there weren't as many novelty prints as I thought so I used what I had. TWO entire FREE quilts... and I have a third one cut out... simple 9 patches... and I'm working on the design for a bed quilt for my son using my Debbies too.. 

As I went back through the multitude of pictures on my phone I really enjoyed looking at those of my gardens... aka the 2 front yards of my house. Since I live on the corner I have 2 front yards and no back yard to speak of... which when I moved here I thought would be an issue... but it isn't. I love having everything on display outside and it turns out that my neighbors love it too... here's is the front yard on the Gail Drive side...

and the front yard on the Matson Ave side... 

and some of my dahlias living up to their "dinnerplate" moniker...

and my pyramid of petunias looking pretty!

I have plans for the yard this coming year... I'm having outdoor lighting put in instead of the solar lights that are dependent on the whims of Mother Nature... and I'm having the raised bed where I plant lots of dahlias redone... going to be bricks and pavers... more permanent, as the plastic sides are bowing and coming loose. It will look fabulous, I'm sure!!

I don't do New Year's resolutions... but I do like to think about what I want to do in the upcoming year.  Since in the last 2 weeks I've sewn 2 and worked on another 2 quilts from my stash, well, I'm going to try to work more out of my stash.  I have so many many many pretty fabrics... American Jane, Anna Maria Horner, Tilda, Momo, Bonnie & Camille... just to name a few... and plenty of quilt ideas... oh I'm sure there will be temptation through out the year (I gave into temptation yesterday and ordered this quilt kit... see here ... and the FQ bundle of the collection Christmas Joys by Lindsay Wilkes for Riley Blake... it won't come till June or July... so I can do Christmas in July!)  And I looked ahead to see what Moda has coming down the pike and there is a new Basic Grey Christmas collection, Peppermint Bark,   I MUST have IT!! ...you can see it here on page 62.  And American Jane has a new collection this year, I always get at least a layer cake of her stuff. 

And I have the same plans for cross stitch... so many many many charts I already have.  I want to finish up some pieces I've started, maybe even work on one of the multi- piece Blackbird Designs Loose Feathers series ... I have 2 of those series started... and I'm sure the designers will tempt me with new stuff. Brenda Gervais at With Thy Needle & Thread blows me away... and I have a ton of her charts already. An abundance of riches!!

So I need to keep myself off the computer and spend more time with my needles & threads & fabrics & yarn (and while I haven't shown any pics I've knitted about a dozen pairs of socks this year and one lonely shawl, which needs to be blocked).  

I so hope that 2022 is better for everyone than 2020 and 2021... I know realistically we are off to a rough start... but I'll keep the prayers coming that we turn a corner on all of this very soon. I'm going to contact the nice travel agent I worked with last time to put together a vacation... and I'm hoping for some quilt shows in 2022. I miss walking around and shopping at the vendors... oh, the quilts are nice too, but it is always the vendors first for me...LOL... and I'm going to stitch and sew and knit ... and probably eat more chocolate than I should but a day without chocolate is a day that wasn't worth getting out of bed!

Thank you to all you sweet people who read my ramblings and leave comments... and I know that leaving comments can be tricky at times... I put all the blame on Blogger... I will move into 2022 with  my fingers crossed for brighter days for ALL of us!!

happy stitching-

carol fun