Counting issues and a lack of direction on a Slow Sunday...

Hello - hope you all had a good week... mine had some  unexpected events but everything got worked out so far... took care of Elliot several days as my daughter-in-law's family is experiencing medical issues with differing degrees of severity... they are in my thoughts and prayers as they are facing some difficult times.

The weather has been lovely ... sunny, temps in the 60's and 70's... doesn't sound like I have anything to complain about... but I always find something...  we could really use some rain... it sprinkled on Friday ... we need a nice day of gentle rain. Forecast if for maybe some precipitation on Thursday... which  is Halloween... hope it doesn't rain from 6 -8 pm.  Last several years have been crappy weather on Halloween night... cold  or rain or both... yuck... I'm not buying my candy till Wednesday when I have a better handle on the weather. A good night will bring me lots and lots and lots of trick or treaters... my neighborhood is great for it... sidewalks on both sides of the street and houses close together... it is fun to see the little ones in costume and there are always some adults who are quite imaginative with their outfits too. 

As for me... I got  a little crafty stuff done and I'm happy with my Halloween decor, but looking forward to bringing out my Thanksgiving stuff. Hopefully I'll be motivated next weekend. 

So, I finished stitching Harvest Tiny Town and didn't know what I wanted to do next... I'm lacking direction... I wasn't feeling a new start so thought I'd be virtuous and picked up a WIP sampler... as there are plenty of them in my stash. The Noel Sampler by WTN&T  was sitting my by chair and I was happy to work on it... for a while... according to my notes I started this July 1 for Christmas in July stitching ... it was originally one of my "7 for my 70th" extravaganza that went down in flames... well last week I got the BIG house outlined and the little copse of trees and a start on the alphabet... not bad... but, but, but and this is a big BUT... something is off...  

to start  the trees are 2 stitches too close to the house and about 2 stitches lower than the should be ...  they don't line up with the bottom of the house...

I can shorten the tree trunks and I can live with the distance between the trees and the house... however I counted everything below the trees off of the trees which are in the wrong spot... BUT somehow the bottom of the crown that I counted off from the trees,  lines up with the border ... and the letter K is counted off of the crown and is just fine... and the J is lining up with the K but it is two stitches too far down from the house.... ARGGHHH... so I'm okay in one direction but not the other and I'm not sure how to fudge it because there is no way on God's green earth I'm relocating the house, which does line up with the top border... and I vaguely remember that when I got the border done I'm off a stitch down at the bottom...and oh carp... I just counted the house and I can see I made an error on the placement of the windows... there should be 5 stitches between the top and bottom windows ... I only have 4 so the house is one stitch short ... I could fix that by adding a row at the bottom and making the door longer ... but I think I'm still one stitch off ... the more I think about this and the more I try to FIX it the more confused I get... 

Deep breath, deep breath... so I'll add a row to the bottom of the house ... and I'll shorten the trees and then I'll get the letters to line up with the side borders... I think that will get me sort of back on track... but this has  drained me of my mojo for it... and its going back into it's plastic storage bag for the moment.... sigh... 

I moved on and  I picked up another leftover from the "7 for my 70th" ... also from With they Needle & Thread... Every Opening Flower... I think this one is BEAUTIFUL... only worked on it Saturday but did add some leaves to the GIANT pot of flowers in the bottom right corner... 

Now I  should be thinking ahead for what I want to do for Christmas stitching... and it should probably be on the small side... I'm waiting on some new patterns from WTN&T... noticing a trend here?  I'm definitely on a WTN&T kick... oh you can see the 4 new patterns here... scroll down to Featured Products...  perhaps one of the angels would fit into this frame I picked up the other day at Home Goods...

I wandered into the store with the idea that I NEED NOTHING for Christmas... and I strolled out with the bell  picture frame, another gingerbread guy cookie jar, a gingerbread rug for the kitchen and a snowflake rug for the back hallway... telling myself you gotta start early as the good stuff won't be there after Thanksgiving... 

I would like to check out the Christmas decor at Micheals as I saw a couple of YouTube videos and there was some cute stuff  I want to see in person...perhaps that kind of shopping would help me focus on Christmas stitching... perhaps... but I'm not betting on it ...LOL.. I'm just in a bit of a funk... I know what I should be doing...making some choices and getting prepped for December... but I'm dragging my feet... I tell myself there is plenty of time till Christmas, but the reality is there are 59 days from today...  sigh... I'll think about this later...

Let's look at stuff I have done... as for the Halloween decor... I got 4 little pillows FFO'd  for a dining room table display... and I made a new runner for the table too! These little gals and the pumpkin are from the Teresa Kogut's Happy Halloween book... 

And here they are in the little tray...

I finish these little pillows with a slit up the back, so this time I covered it up with a witch hat!

The table runner is a disappearing 9 Patch done with Sandy Gervais Beggar's Night collection.

I'm very happy with how it all  looks on the table. 

The tray is from Walmart... you can find it here... this is the 3rd one I bought... I've got it in white and blue ... it is the perfect scale for my table and easy to pick up and move when we eat there. 

I've got a couple of small vignettes on the TV cabinet...first is October from Hands on Designs "A Year of Celebrations"... 

on the other end is a mini tier tray with lots of cross stitch... 

Trick or Treat and the pumpkin headed gal and the skeleton cat are snippets from Prairie Schooler No. 188 Trick or Treat  and the Halloween on the bottom is from The Drawn Thread's Little Bits of Halloween.

In the middle section of the TV cabinet  my giant mercury glass pumpkin and two smalls from Pineberry Lane's Fancey Blackett's Little Fancies.  

On the the big display ...

Here a bit closer of the top...

and the bottom...

from the top... Bent Creek's Spooky Row ...

moving down from left to right... Matilda  Hornbuckle  from  Not Forgotten Farms..

 and Prairie Schooler No. 188 Trick or Treat... I think this my favorite Halloween piece!

Next shelf has Boo to You from WTN& T and the little Spooky pillow is from Lizzie Kate... I think it was a freebie but I can't find it now... 

 and on the other side is  and in the truck bed another  small from Pineberry Lane, Three Little Witches.  

Finishing up with another pumpkin headed lady from WTN&T Tricks & Treats...

and  from Notforgotten Farms Halloween Queen...

I  wasn't aware of my obvious affinity for pumpkin headed ladies ...who knew?  LOL

So plans for next week... gotta get my teeth cleaned on Monday and Nick and I are having dinner with friends, Elliott on Tuesday, a dermatology appointment on Wednesday to get some spots on my face zapped, going to a Halloween parade at Elliot's kindergarten on Thursday and hopefully will have lots of trick or  treaters that evening... that's a pretty full week... I want to work in some stitching and some sewing... I've been trying to do a couple of blocks a day at my upstairs machine and I have a Christmas quilt I want to do... lap sized ... one layer cake... easy pattern I've done before... Still trying to motivate myself for more cleaning out and rearranging... gonna take more energy than I have at the moment... such is life... 

Hope you have a good night for Trick or Treat...unfortunately the time change I detest will be next Sunday... a rant will ensue as it always does...  I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts today... have a birthday lunch to attend today and then my plans are to return to my stitching chair on the porch... 

happy stitching-

carol fun  

Getting Halloweenie on a Slow Sunday...

 Hello - as I type this on Saturday afternoon it is a glorious Fall day! Sunny, low 70s and the trees are starting to put on a show... I was afraid with the lack of rain we've had for the past 2 months that we wouldn't have a pretty Fall but I think Mother Nature is gonna come through ... I LOVE all those Fall colors... they have me remembering my home in the 70s... my Mom was fearless with a paintbrush... harvest gold, avocado green, coppertone brown... they all graced our home...and I loved them then and I love them now!

I had high hopes to get a lot of stuff done last week... but then I always have hope I'll get everything done I want to do... and I am delusional...LOL... the week flew by ... there was something going on every day so I'm happy that today and tomorrow are a bit of a break... only plans are for dinner Sunday night at a new restaurant in town... Texas de Brazil... one of those places where the keep coming to your table with meat and they have a fabulous salad bar... my boys definitely get their money's worth and I know I'll waddle away stuffed.

As for what I did do... well I got the Halloween decor out... Nick was a big help ... I can not do it without him... my first dilemma was how to arrange the 2 x 4 Halloween quilt on the couch... here it is on all it's glory...

There are 90 different Halloween fabrics in this quilt and if I say so myself... and I DO... I think I did a great job getting an ombre effect... 

Here are some of my favorite blocks...

Now I posted this on IG with a poll as to which way was liked better ... 

Showing the bright side...

Showing the dark side...

and the vote was 75% bright to 25% dark... and I do like the bright side a lot... but then my friend Laurey has another suggestion... why not drape the quilt over the entire couch... and I like this a lot! Now the dark side faces my stitching chair and the bright side is over the back ... and yes the blocks are upside down on the back which does bother my crafty OCD but if you just concentrate on the colors it looks really good!

Here's how it looks right now... and yes there are too many pillows... gonna rectify that...

I'm gonna live with this for a couple of days...

I got the spider quilt up on the wall... I love the big googly eyes...

and it looks like he's checking out the pumpkin and the witches hats mini quilt.

Here's the tier tray... the cross stitch at the top is a Lizzie Kate piece and I think I might be able to squeeze in another small... gotta get some stuff FFO'd.

Across the room is the small shelf display... and if I say so myself and I do... I think the Halloween colored linen I painted really makes the stitching sparkle!

On the top from left to right... some great ceramic pieces and a little Lizzie Kate tombstone... stitched this during covid which I fervently wished would die in 2020...

On the right I have Lizzie Kate ABC's Halloween... don't remember where I got the "EEK" sign but I love it with the eyeball salt & pepper shakers... a tip... salt & pepper shakers make great small additions to displays... I found a lot of cute ones at Cracker Barrel for $1 a piece however the eyeballs came from somewhere else...anyhow...

Below on the left side a Creepy Crawly Alphabet by Emily Call ... I "framed" this in a clock piece where I ditched the clock face and inserted the stitching... and the small framed piece is on the orange linen I think is Lizzie Kate.. on the bottom shelf .. the witch is a snippet from Prairie Schooler and the bat is from Heart in Hand Halloween Parade... (the only place I could find this was on eBay... perhaps OOP) in the center I did a homage to Edgar Allen Poe... got a raven and Nevermore is from Lizzie Kate and some flickering candles)... 

On the right side... big pumpkin basket from Henn Pottery (remember home parties? Longaberger and Henn Pottery were big in my neighborhood) ... and below a grouping of Frankies... aka Frankensteins... the cross stitch is from the Heart in Hand Halloween Parade chart and I think the only thing I've bought this year for Halloween, those Mr. & Mrs. Frankenstein salt & pepper shakers ...you can find them here. 

Of course I had to get out my Gourdy Guys wreath... and yes it took quite a few hours for this one and it always makes me smile...

And my largest Halloween cross stitch piece... Lizzie Kate Boo Club... this was released as separate cards ... I think there might have been 12 but this was all I could fit on the linen I painted as I miscounted how long it should be... it's plenty big enough and wouldn't have fit here if it was any longer... 

I'll have more Halloween decor next week... stay tuned!

As for stitching, I got a little done... I finished Turkey Creek Manor by Pinker n Punkin...

going to FFO this as a little pillow with some chenille trim.

And I stumbled upon this little piece that was almost complete... January from Prairie Schooler No. 13 A Prairie Year... I have plans to stitch all 12 of these. I'm using a 16 ct Aida in Wren... like the color, don't like how soft it is... gonna spray starch each one before  I stitch them... jumped ahead and put some stitches in the turkey for November.

And since I got my Halloween stuff out I'm in the mood for more Halloween ... was perusing 123 Stitch and found these 3 Halloween Prairie Schoolers I did not have... so  I've added them to my growing Prairie Schooler collection...so many Prairie Schoolers to love!

The only thing I used my sewing machine for was hemming some pants for Nick, but the most important sewing I did this week was re-attaching the pink pompom on this squishmallow for Elliott... he was very grateful that I could fix this lovey!

So plans for next week... Elliott on Tuesday and birthday lunch celebration with the quilty ladies on Wednesday... which should leave plenty of time for some stitching and sewing and some tidying up that is sorely needed... we shall see how that pans out... 

I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts today...will spend some time checking out the postings there... 

I hope you are having some nice Fall weather where your are... as Anne Shirley of Green Gables said "I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers."

happy stitching-

carol fun 

Stuff I got into and other tangents on a Slow Sunday...

 Hello ... well the weather has been lovely here in SW Ohio... sunny, no humidity and temps in the upper 70's with a lovely breeze most days... cool nights so I've shut off the AC and opened all the windows... take that Duke Energy!!  Anytime I can deny them a penny it makes me happy!

The week started out making the blood pressure rise but things got better as the days passed. Remember I was annoyed that the waterworks company would only give me a window of 8 am to 4 pm?  So I was up with the chickens on Monday in case I got a an early call... and I waited and I waited and I waited and I waited some  more... and 4pm came and went with NO call and no repairman.  

On Tuesday morning I got up and after a cup of tea and my morning puzzles I was just about to call the waterworks company when my phone rang... a number I didn't recognize but I picked up (oh on Monday I picked up on several calls I didn't know thinking it might be the repairman... it wasn't ... but I was pestered to change my car insurance, I lied and said I didn't have a car... and someone wanted to buy my house, it ain't for sale... and there was a political robo call... grrrr)... ok back to the call on Tuesday morning... lo and behold it was the waterworks repairman... but it wasn't a "I'll be there in 20 minutes", no he was parked right outside my house. I informed him he was a day late and he told me he had just gotten the work order that morning.  He asked if he could come in and that the repair would take about 5 minutes. So, I'm still in my PJs but at this point I do not care... I let him in and it did only take about 5 minutes.  After he left I tried to leave a complaint with the waterworks company with little success. After being on hold for 15 minutes I left a voice message but no one has responded. I left a bad review online but I doubt it will get any more attention than the about 100 complaints that were already there. Bureaucracy at it's finest!!

So the rest of the week was an improvement... I spent a ton of time socializing... breakfast out with one group, dinner with another couple and another dinner with another couple... very enjoyable. On Friday I got my car detailed ... it looks so good and smells good.  My gift to me twice a year...

And speaking of gifts, well I've been quite generous to me this week. Along with the car detailing I broke down and purchase another sewing machine... another Juki like the one I have downstairs in my sewing room... now up to a couple of months ago I had a Juki upstairs in my craft room but it quit working... and while I do not need 2 Juki's, I WANTED another machine... and if you know me, you know what I want, I usually get.  My sainted Grandma pointed this out to me in my  early 30's when there was a house I wanted to buy but my spouse wasn't as keen on the idea... 24 hours later I got the house... I LOVED that house... it was a Tudor built in 1927... it was the grandest house I've ever owned... you can look at some pictures here from the last time it was for sale... the kitchen was completely remodeled from when I lived there... it's nice but when I lived there it had this beautiful hand painted tile that was original to the home... anyway, excuse the tangent... there are a couple here today... I'm happy with the new machine and it will let me sew a block or two here and there. I considered buying a Featherweight and a dear friend let me borrow one she has... but after I week I knew it was a cute little machine but not for me and the Juki is about the same price as what a Featherweight is going for these days.

As for sewing I got all the 4 patches sewn together for the Sandy Gervais Fall 4 patch...

now to get the rows sewn together.

And on the cross stitch scene I finished Harvest Tiny Town... I still need to add the buttons and the little charm and I know how I'm going to finish it... but that won't be till I get out the Thanksgiving decorations.

Since I finished something I started something new... another one of those adorable houses from Melisa at Pinker n Punkin Quilting.... this one is Turkey Creek Manor... here's pic of Melisa's version... and you can find all the details here in this post...

I LOVE that turkey on top of the house... the other day I looked out my front window and there was a HUGE hawk sitting on the roof of the house across the street... 

anyway here is my start... I changed the color of the house to make it a bit more on the yellow side (DMC 783 for this house )  and that has been my theme with these... this makes the 5th house I've stitched and I need one more to meet my goal of #pnpsixho)uses2024sal on IG... depending on how quickly I get this one done I might do another Thanksgiving themed one or a Christmas/ Winter one... there are plenty to chose from as Melisa is so talented and generous with her creations.

So last Sunday I decide to get out my bin of Opal sock yarn... and there is a LOT of it...

and as I pawed through the bin I decided there was a better way of organizing this stash... and it involved re-arranging a bunch of sock yarn I had on the first floor (we aren't going to talk about the other stash of yarn in the basement...NO we are NOT)...  I gathered all the solids together and didn't realize I had duplicates because they were in 2 different baskets...

and I'm tired of dragging the bin out of the closet... sooooooo I cleaned out the baskets in the living room bench and put all the Opal in there...

and I like this a lot... it is a better use of the baskets  and makes all the Opal more accessible... however I started this organzation project at 10 pm  and it took me about 2 hours to deal with the Opal and several other stashes of yarn. I found 3 or 4 shawls I've started with some lovely alpaca... need to work on them in the near future.

In the meantime I started two new socks... because starting is so much FUN! The first project is going to be the mate to this sock which I've looked at lots of time and admired but couldn't for the life of me remember which 2 Opal sock yarns I used. However, in sorting and rearranging I found 2 balls of yarn that turned out to be the ones I need for the 2nd sock...

And I like to have a "car sock" project... one I primarily knit on when I'm either waiting in the car or when I'm at lunch with friends... I found this yarn which has been in my stash for a long long long time... I'm pretty sure it is an Opal and I can't decide if it is a hand dyed or not...it came as 2 separate loosely wound cakes... I suppose it would result in 2 socks that are pretty identical in the end... either way it is knitting up really cool!!

It gives me aurora borealis vibes... and the other night we got a bit of a view of the aurora borealis here in Ohio... very very cool!

And I pulled out several skeins that I want to use for upcoming projects... I'm liking these kinda brown/beige skeins... I found some old Opal on eBay that is brown that would be great heels for a pair with these ...

And I'm in the mood for a scrappy purple sock...lots here to chose from...

On another tangent I picked up these two Christmas themed magazines the other day and I have really enjoyed reading them...

now magazines are certainly pricey these days, aren't they?  I'm a child of the 50's and I have always LOVED LOVED LOVED magazines and catalogs and luckily so did my Mom... I remember getting Woman's Day and Family Circle at the grocery store...and in the mail there was Redbook and McCalls... and as I got older I loved Seventeen  magazine, particularly the September issue which was always HUGE... and catalogs from Sears, JC Penneys, Spiegels, Montgomery Wards.  

In my 30's when I got into quilting and cross stitch there was Quilter's Newsletter Magazine and several others with names I can't remember but they all had something to do with "quilting and quilter"... and for cross stitch  Cross Stitch and Country Crafts was my favorite!!  Nowadays I don't have a subscription to a single magazine... I do pick up one now and again at the grocery  but most of the time I page through them and there isn't enough of interest to have me buy them... sigh... I realize that the internet has pretty much killed magazines... there is so much you can see just by googling... but there is still something special about the smell of the ink and the feel of turning pages... 

Okay... I think I'm all out of tangents ... for the moment... LOL... plans for next week include getting out my Halloween stuff. Nick brought up the bin with the knickknacks and a laundry basket of cross stitch pieces. I have Elliott for more time on Tuesday as he's on Fall break... I think we'll assemble a big Lego... and I have an hair appointment ... I really need  trim and my roots touched up... but there should be some quality time to sew and knit and stitch... yeah!!

I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts and Quilting is More Fun than Housework... today is another lovely weather day, but starting tomorrow they are forecasting a 20 degree drop... a high of only 58 on Monday... works for me... gonna break out a turtleneck and wear some wool socks!! 

Hope your week ahead is happy and productive and perhaps has a tangent to two to go off on... 

happy stitching-

carol fun