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