The best laid plans of mice and men...on a Slow Sunday...

Hello... well as the saying goes,

The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry...

and mine certainly did. When I was last here I had started 3 of my planned 7 samplers for my Birthday Extravaganza... oh I had high hopes for this endeavor... but it is not to be.   

My first draft of this post was filled in details of my experience which I have decided you don't need to be bored with... let me see if I can say it more succinctly. 

I had a bad diverticulitis attack. Put me in the hospital for 3 days. It has taken me about a week to bounce back, which is disheartening because in the past (like when I was 20 years younger) I would have recovered in 24 hours. Anyway, as I type this I am feeling sooooooo much better.  I've taken all my antibiotics and I'm following a low fiber, high protein diet for the next week or so. 

 To avoid diverticulitis you are suppose to eat a lot of fiber... but when you have diverticulitis you aren't suppose to eat much fiber... it's a conundrum.

Needless to say I haven't stitched much. I did do a day or so on my 4th choice of sampler. This was a last minute substitution on my part.  This is a modified version of Blackbird Designs Crowns & Shields. I'm going to do about 3/4th of it. 

I'm doing this is a monochromatic color scheme... DMC 829, 830, 831, 832, 833, 834... it is a gold with a green undertone and it matches the linen I dyed wonderfully. I plan to personal the little cartouches with family initials.

And at this point I decided to suspend starting the last 3 samplers I had chosen. They are kitted up and ready to go and I will get back to them.... but right now I'm not feeling like starting any more BIG projects. I need something small ... something I can complete in a timely fashion... and with that in mind I'm playing  with elements of  this... Hello Halloween by Teresa Kogut.

I'm going to do the little witches as separate little pillows...

Each little witch has a different dress and facial expression.

I found this piece of linen in my stash... pale swathes of green, orange and purple... 

originally  I thought I could squeeze 6 witches on the piece, but reworking my calculations said 4 was all I could do... and here is the first one I stitched...

Ain't she cute?  She's a shade under 3 inches tall on 32 ct... let's see if I can  get 4 done by Oct 31... 

Fortunately I had completed my Fall decorating before I got ill... and I'm really happy with the living room displays. I thought I'd just put things out in the same arrangement as last year, and there are some pieces in the same place but other stuff got changed up... 

Here's the wall quilt...

this year I opted for my acorn quilt... this block was a freebie and part of a larger SAL when I made it ... it is no longer free and I have no clue where my pattern is ...  here's a link to the pdf of the pattern.  Each acorn is a different Grunge fabric and the quilting by Delinda (here's her website) is dynamite!

The 2 level tier tray works great for these Fall pieces... the top piece is a Prairie Schooler  and the little guy tucked into the truck bed is  Pineberry Lane... Cats & Jacks.

From the top, the small display includes a white pumpkin mini quilt and Fall String by Lizzie Kate and little pillow finish of  Waiting for Harvest by Blackbird Design.

Middle shelf is my favorite pumpkin basket... this was from Henn Pottery (remember home sales parties?)  I've had this for years... a classic... the fraternal twin Bittersweet September pieces from Blackbird Designs... Autumn by Lizzie Kate fronting a small wooden trug and white pumpkin chart was called Autumn by The Stitcherhood. 

 The large display is looking quite nice ... IMHO... this year I skipped the straw the I usually strewn everywhere and just used fake leaves... cleanup will be a lot easier ... 

At the top I have the Fall Welcome from The Drawn Thread... below one of my favorite Blackbird Design pieces, Feast of Friendship.

The shelf below has Fall Most of All from Calico Confectionery and the Autumn Sampler from Lizzie Kate.

And the next shelf down has two pieces from Barbara Ana Designs... Autumn on the left and Autumn Keeper on the right.

When I post next time I will have moved onto  Halloween... gonna turn a lot of those pumpkins around and show their jack-o-lantern faces and swap out Fall cross stitch for Halloween cross stitch.  I'm enjoying the weather so much right now.... it is those halcyon  days of  mid 70 temperatures with no humidity... got all the windows open and keeping my dollars away from the utility company. They've sucked me dry this summer... and I dread winter as we are forecast to be colder and snowier than the past couple of years. 

I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts... planning on spending the day on the porch, reading blogs, stitching and probably a bit of napping too.  As for sage advice, get plenty of fiber in your diet so you don't spend your 70th birthday sipping ginger ale in the hospital.   

happy stitching-

carol fun