Feeling blah on a Slow Sunday...

 Hello all... surprised that I'm back again this week?  Me too... I'm blaming it on the weather... and other things... but I'm feeling blah... not a lot of motivation... and lots of whining about aches and pains... gosh getting old is no fun at all...so  the weather hasn't been bad... temperatures warmed into the 40's and 50's but haven't seen the sun in days and days and days and that is the  forecast for almost all next week. It reminds me of the 3 years I spent in Modesto CA... the winters weren't cold, just gray and foggy and down right depressing. I remember a news story saying the suicide rate went up alarmingly during this time... duh???  Didn't need a medical degree to figure that out.  I'm taking comfort in the fact that there is no snow but I'd sure like a nice sunny day... meanwhile,  allow me to try to let go of the negativity and show some pretty stuff.

Here is my big display unit...

Up top I have a sled full of Jim Shore snowmen and snow ladies... I love how he incorporates quilt patterns into his designs... the cross stitch in the middle is from WTN&T and is called Boughs of Holly...

 I did this one years ago, before I was dyeing my own linen and my choice back then was green... below is another WTN&T... this one is called All Bundled Up and it is stitched on my Apple Green dyed linen...

the cardinal wreath needlepoint piece is one I made for my Grandma... who's been gone over 30 years... gosh I still miss her... I was her first born grandchild and in her I eyes I could do no wrong... she lived longer than both of my parents who were gone before they were 50, so she was a huge influence in my life. Taught me to crochet and instilled in my a life long love of any crafts you could do with a needle/hook/thread/yarn... excuse the trip down memory lane but it's been that kinda week as it would have been my brother's 68th birthday and he's been gone almost 6 years ago... sorry...

Below more Jim Shore snow people and a little train with a Prairie Schooler snowman passenger. 

In looking over my displays I realize I have a ton of snowmen (that's a understatement...LOL) ... lots of cookie jars and I'm loving the silver trees and pinecones... I picked the pinecones up at Dollar Tree back in Novemenber...  perhaps a few more snowman cross stitch pieces could be added to the mix... I think they could!! 

So with that thought I stitched up this little piece from Prairie Schooler No. 143 Button up...

This is just a tad over 2" square... I'm thinking of doing a couple of these as they could be tucked in here and there.

And I finally finished stitching Pinker n Punkin Quilting's, A Cold Winter Day - Aunt Dot's Saltbox...

now it took longer than the 30 minutes I anticipated to finish this up... but I'm very happy with it!  Want to FFO it as a small pillow.

Speaking of FFO ing I framed ABC Bonhomme de Neighe from TraLaLa.... instead of stitching the snowflakes I glued on some cute plastic ones I found at Christmas time at Hobby Lobby... they are kinda sparkly and frosted...

This is my standard 32 ct linen. I think I used Evening Blue for this one. As for the flosses I used my conversion to DMC  which I can't find at the moment... sorry. 

In thinking about other snowmen I'd like to stitch I hope I can get this one from WTN&T...

it was offered as a kit and is sold out and currently her shop isn't open for orders. Fingers crossed it shows up as a new chart at the Needlework Market in March. 

Remember when I said I wasn't going to get sucked into the tiny 9 patch challenge I saw on  IG.?.. also remember last week when I said I reserved the right to change my mind?  Well I changed my mind...

these are a dozen little  9 patches done in Tilda fabrics and low volumes... I started with 1.5" squares... the goal is 10 blocks a week... and I think they are up to the 3rd week... so I'm behind but its okay... not sure what I'm going to do with them but one of my goals for 2024 was to do something with the stash of Tilda fabrics I've collected... here's a look at my storage bin from several angles...

Please ignore the sea of poly fiberfill  fluff... Elliott still enjoys playing in it and since he'll be back in 2 days I don't feel like cleaning it up again... 

Anyway those little rolls came from Serendipity Woods and are called Bit by Bit Stash Builders... each piece is 9.5" x 10"... I've treated myself to 2 bundles of these in the past year ... and done several FQ bundles too... and up till now haven't made a single thing with them...sheesh... and to add insult to injury I'm anxiously awaiting the release this Thursday of the new Tilda collection called Jubilee... it looks so cute and colorful!

Check out this quilt... it's called Birthday Party... the pattern will be available for free on the Tilda website but I was so smitten I ordered it as a kit from Keepsake Quilting. 

Not sure I'll made it as big as the kit but I'd like a throw sized quilt... 

I revisited by Momo Dorothy Quilt...

and my first pass at calculating where I'm at, had me thinking  I had cut more 2.5" squares than I needed... was feeling quite happy with the situation... couple of hours passed and I looked at the diagram I had sketched up and realized my math was totally off... sheesh... right now I have enough squares cut to complete 78 of the 2 x 4 units... I need 112 units... so I still need to cut  squares for 34 units, right?  Yeah I think I have it right now... I have done the math on this 3 different times and got different answers, but I checked it again... and 34 is the number.  I'm thinking I may cut the squares and put this one aside for a bit. I'm thinking if I want something new for Spring I should get going on it. I saw Delinda the other week and right now she has about a 2 week turnaround, which is fast... maybe I can take advantage of that... we shall see, we shall see. 

Got a couple of appointments this week... dentist, doctor... should get some goodies in the mail which will be nice... ordered some OOP cross stitch charts from Kitten Stitcher and some fabric off of Etsy... that should be a bright spot... also I've been watching videos on YouTube from the Road to California Quilt Show... found a couple that show the quilts and some that show stuff at the vendors... just search on YouTube... almost as good as going to a show.  Since covid there haven't been many if any shows in my area... years ago I did go to Paducah several times... anymore not sure I want to drive that far (6 hours one way) or walk that much... my left knee is still giving me problems... so watching videos is nice. 

Hope you have a good week... gonna stitch on some Prairie Schooler today ... comfort stitching... and look at blogs and videos... I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts, always good stuff there!

happy stitching-

carol fun 

I reserve the right to change my mind on a Slow Sunday...

 Hello ... well we got our first real snowfall on Friday...about 2 inches... and if the weather forecast holds it will be history by Monday or Tuesday... frigid cold the last couple of days... single digits... from Monday on, highs in the 40s and even low 50's... and some rain... I will take it!!!

Last week things got jumbled up... my son had the flu over his 3 day weekend so no birthday celebration...hoping to do it today.  I ended up at the ortho urgent care last weekend... my left knee which has had many steroid shots and was doing fine (I thought) decided  it no longer wished to be load bearing... darn that hurts... got another steriod shot and have an appointment to move onto the gel shot this week. Right now it feels pretty good and I hope the gel shot will be long lasting... fingers crossed... there is knee replacement surgery in my future but I'm going to put it off as long as I can.

To celebrate the first snow of the season I thought I'd share some more snowman decor...this is a small display in the kitchen ... not easy to get a good pic because it always seems that it is either too dark or too bright.

Out in the living room I have this tier table... picked it up at a  junk store and painted it yellow... these little guys are my collection of small snowmen, primarily from  the Hallmark store.

I remember back in the 90's we had this great gift shop/card shop/Hallmark store in the little strip mall by my house. I got the cutest stuff there to decorate with... it eventually closed up and now is the location of a local "adult" book store... ewwwww... TMI...sorry

Here's the small display shelf....

Up top  is one of my favorite snowman cookie jars, a gift from my younger son and  Lizzie Kate's Winter Alphabet... I've stitched all 4 of these seasonal alphabets and I LOVE all of them!

Lots of snow related knickknacks... I like this little stand up sled for a display piece... don't remember where I got it... 

Below I have a WTN&T snowman that is one of the Holiday Hoopla series, the Welcome Winter by The Drawn Thread and the little guy is Alfred from Heart in Hand.... I stitched him because he's cute and my Dad's middle name was Alfred.

Oops cut off the right side...  the little guy is Alfred from Heart in Hand.... I stitched him because he's cute and my Dad's middle name was Alfred.Now I love that snowman head snowglobe... got it at the gift shop at Cracker Barrel a couple of years ago... pretty to watch but it makes a gurgling  whirring sound that gets on my nerves after a while... 

below I have my collection of snowmen heads... just their heads... which continues my collection theme of Santa heads and bunny heads... just picked up a new small bunny head the other day at Micheals...and the collections grow...LOL

I did go out in the cold and do a bit of shopping...mostly because I'm teased by shopping youtube videos... I love Auntie Coo Coo... she went to Hobby Lobby last week and I saw some cute stuff on her video but not in my store yet... and since Michaels is around the corner and I had a "reward" I popped in there... picked up a nice sized wooden yellow tulip, the aforementioned bunny head and these adorable cabbages... insert squeal!!

I LOVE them and I think they will be so cute to add to my Spring display when it is decked out in bunnies...

I know some people have commented that it seems early for the stores to do Easter stuff, but Easter is early this year... Ash Wednesday is February 14... bummer of a coincidence.

As for cross stitching, here's where I am on the Prairie Schooler Christmas ABCs... the end is in sight!

And I spent some time thinking about what I want to work on next (after getting that Pinker n Punkin house done... sheesh ... it will only take about 30 minutes more)... I got out the charts for the WTN&T Summer Schoolhouse series and I'm going to have to do some finagling to make it work for me. Every version I've seen of it done in one long piece is slightly different. They all start with the first chart and that one isn't altered but all the rest of them are... which is fine... but I want to start from the end of the alphabet and work my way over to the first chart. I stitch in hand and if I start on the right then I'm only wadding up the unstitched part of my linen as I go along.  I'm not going to totally rechart the pieces. My current plan of attack will be to guesstimate how many stitches this will be ... then add a bunch more too that and cut the linen big... I found a piece in my stash that is almost a yard in length so I can whack it and either dye or paint it. 

However another shiny object came into my world... do you subscribe to Teresa Kogut's Patreon?  I just found out about it a couple of months ago. Depending on the level of subscription you get exclusive charts every month. Well I was signed up for level 3 but she showed a chart on a video that was level 4 and then there is a SAL too that was exclusive to level 4 and the next thing you know I upgraded... and I'm happy about it.... here's a link to a post Judy  at Patchworks Times did about the Teresa Kogut Patreon and it explains it very well.  I went and picked up the flosses for the SAL... it is going to be over 2 years so I don't know if I'll get started right now but I did download the charts and printed them out... just in case. And I just realized (I'm not too sharp lately) that Judy has been getting me into lots of trouble... the Blessing sampler, the Summer Schoolhouse Leap Year SAL, Teresa Kogut... yep this is all her fault...LOL!!

And then I spied a basket of projects I have already started... and I looked through them... and I still want to stitch most of them.... soooooo I think when I finish the PS Christmas ABC's I'm going to devote some time to stuff I've already started... unless something else shiny comes along... then I reserve the right to change my mind...again and again and again and again and again... LOL

Oh I got my Teresa Kogut Remember Me Sampler back from the framer and I'm very pleased... brace yourself lot of pictures!!

this frame is PERFECT!!  it picks up the greens and the flecks of coppery peach and I like the rustic style... this baby is BIG ... 17 " x 19.5"... not sure where I'm going to hang it... I need to redo my sampler wall in the green room...

start over and hang stuff into the left corner and get things closer... and a have another small wall in the living room that could also be re-configured... quite a bit of space to work with here...

but in both cases I think I want to have a couple more samplers before I do that as it will have to get out my drill to hang anything... 

So I again reserve the right to change my mind...LOL

Well I'm looking forward to the warm up this week... I know it will just give false hope about Winter waning but I'll take it... we still have a long way to go before I can be buying petunias!

Not too much on my calendar for the next week or so... I like that... I'm definitely in a stay parked in my stitching chair mood and I have plenty of things to stitch.

Hope you have a good week ahead... l'll link up with Kathy's Quilts today and check out what is going on over there!

happy stitching-

carol fun

PS: as in post script, not Prairie Schooler...  this is the 3rd Sunday in January  in a row I've posted... and counting back it is 7 Sundays in a row...  unbelievable!!  Don't know what's gotten into me but I'll keep it up as long as I can... and pat myself on the back every chance I get...LOL

Chilling on a Slow Sunday...

Hello - well that was another busy week... lots of running around and taking care of Elliott... first he was a bit under the weather with  classic gastrointestinal issues... and then he shared it with his parents... who didn't bounce back as quickly... I watched him a couple of days and afterwards wiped down everything with Lysol and Clorox wipes whilst dosing myself with multi-vitamins and extra C and D... I do not want this bug. Trying not to overreact and just chill... not always easy... 

While he was here I did get a little more done on the Momo Dorothy quilt... 

sewing 2" finished squares together is possible if he's engaged in playing and watching videos. Getting a TV for my sewing room was a very very good investment...LOL

Here's a couple of close up of the fabrics... lots of directional ones and so far I've got them all right side up which makes my OCD happy!

And a bit of playing with the fluff kept him occupied...

I'm enjoying the easy sewing of squares and picking out 2 fabrics that "go together"... my goal is not to duplicate any pairing and to keep the same fabric from "touching"... so far so good... I had a thought the other day that I might start a little 9 patch project that I saw on IG... people making really little blocks... some finishing 1.5"... contemplated doing some but a more manageable 3" finished... and then a brief moment of lucidity took hold and I convinced myself I did NOT need to engage in this... IG is so seductive...  I need to keep working on this one as the fabrics are strewn all over my cutting table.  I also had a thought that this COULD be a smaller quilt... but then I noted that I've already cut up all the big squares so I might as well continue on this path... just gonna chill with it...

On the cross stitch front I put in about 10 more stitches on Pinkernpunkin - A Cold Winter's Day...sheesh... this project is so chill, it is cold... 

all I need  is to finish adding all the snow and  snowflakes... and I could have it done except I was distracted by another shiny object...

I was reading The Patchwork Times blog and Judy was talking about a Blessings sampler... the context was you start a sampler on January 1, it should be at least 100 stitches in one dimension and you finish it by January 31. Oh... I like the sound of that... and I could certainly use as many blessings as I can get . Well I didn't read this till Jan. 3 but I figured I go for it... I knew what I wanted to stitch and I had the linen already dyed and the flosses purchased.... my choice is Prairie Schooler No. 64 Christmas Alphabet. 

I decided to go with the floss conversion used by Lori Holt which you can find here... it is a bit brighter than the charted colors and I think it look good my Apple Green  by Rit linen. It is hard to capture this color but think a light DMC 470...

Now I did change the greens... the outline of the blocks is DMC 470 and the darker green is DMC 3345.  I thought this would be a good choice of project because I could easily gauge how far along I am ... and so far so good.  I took this pic on Jan 11 and was up to date at that point. There are 27 blocks... and 31 days in January which leaves a couple of days for catch up. Fingers crossed this should be completed on or maybe even before January 31.

And reading The Patchwork Times lead me down another path. Judy was talking about a Leap Year project which would start on Leap Year Day... and she was considering doing  Summer Schoolhouse - Lessons in Abcedarian from With Thy Needle & Thread... it is a 4 part series.  Well I have all the charts and the flosses... I bought them when they first came out but I never started them because they were to be done 1 over 1 on 28 count... I don't like doing over one no matter what the count... and after these charts had been out for a while I saw version where the 4 charts were done as one long band sampler... now configuration I like very very much... and Judy was planning on doing it this way... sooo I dug out my charts and I'm going to mock up this configuration... you can see it here... I'll be doing it on 32 ct and it will be pretty long... right now I think it will be 31" long... and while this is no where on my list of samplers I want to do in 2024, now I WANT to do this one!!

As for some winter decor, I am enjoying my snowmen. We haven't had any accumulating snow yet and I'm perfectly fine with that...however the temperatures are definitely chilly, actually a bit more than chilly... down right COLD...  highs this week at most 20 degrees and the nights are single digits... brrrrr... didn't see a single day forecast for over a week where we get above freezing...  I shutter to think what my gas bill will be next month... the older I get the more I want warm weather over cold weather... I'll complain about the electric bill and my water bill in July but  I'm just not a fan of cold weather anymore... except where indoor non-melting snowmen are concerned.... then I LOVE snowmen!!  Quite the dichotomy isn't it???

Anyway,  here's are some of the small vignettes around my house ... to start, the  dining table display...

and yes this bears a striking resemblance  to my Christmas table display... but there are slight differences... first the tray is the same style from Walmart but this time it is blue... the white trees were a hold over but the Prairie Schooler Santas have been replaced with snowman... also Prairie Schooler... and I'm liking the pompom snowballs. The table runner is some vintage Debbie Mumm and I believe Debbie Mumm and Prairie Schooler are a match made in heaven!!

On the living room wall I have my Mummville quilt... every house is a different combination of door and house color... and HOA nightmare... the pattern is Suburbs by Cluck Cluck Sew...

these fabrics are all at least 20 to 25 years old... and I still love them. Debbie Mumm was my first designer crush... I posted this on IG a year or so ago and Debbie Mumm  left me a sweet comment... I was gobsmacked... and pleased as punch. Delinda of The T-Shirt Quilt Company did the quilting and I think that windy panto is perfect. 

The tier tray has Snowy Day from Prairie Schooler No. 177  called January... and all the little snowmen are Debbie Mumm items as is that snowman cookie jar sitting atop a stack of Debbie Mumm quilts...

and there are more Debbie Mumm quilts in my laundry cart I keep in the corner of the living room...

and the TV cabinet has a nice display... Prairie Schooler Winter from the chart Prairie Seasons No. 50... and below the appropriately named Star Shaped Snowman by Teresa Kogut and another snowman from Prairie Schooler. 

On my door I have Stu Snowman, another Teresa Kogut design...notice to the right of his smiling face the letters  STU... coincidence?  I don't think so... LOL... I mounted him on a wooden sled I painted... did this one years ago and still love him. 

And the phone niche in the hallway... the cross stitch is from the book Snow Ball by With Thy Needle & Thread... the cute snowmen  and teapot is a Johanna Parker ... and the pastel bottle brush trees ( you may have to zoom in to see them) were picked up at Dollar Tree last week... pale pink, mint green and turquoise... they are part of their Easter decor ... I may have to go back and get more... love them! ... and on the phone book shelf is a Lizzie Kate Snowy String. 

I 'll have more winter decor for the next time I post... I still want to FFO a couple of items to add to the displays. 

Next week is chock full of stuff to do... brunch on Monday to celebrate my oldest son's 39th birthday... what the heck???  How did he get so old? Oh yeah, I got old too... Tuesday I spend with Elliott... Wednesday I have lunch scheduled with my quilty lady friends and Wednesday is my son's actual birthday and we are doing dinner that night... so far nothing on Thursday and I'd like to keep it that way...and Friday I have a medical appointment... what happened to the leisurely retired life I thought I had? 

Hopefully all of these engagements will still leave me stitching time... I really want to keep the Blessings project on track... I want a blessed 2024 for all of us... filled with happiness and good health!!

I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts today... oh and I'm patting myself on the back ... 2 weeks into '24 and 2 posts... I probably can't keep up this breakneck pace (ROFLMAO) but I'll try... hope you have a great week.. I watch the weather forecasts for the US and see lots of white stuff falling all over the place... I'm already longing for Spring... 

one last thing... I've had several people tell me they can't seem to leave a comment, and I don't know how to fix that ...but if you want to drop me a comment feel free to send an email to cfunliu@aol.com... 

happy stitching-

carol fun