Less drama means more craftyness on a Slow Sunday...

 Hello - well last week was for the most part, better than the 2 weeks previous... Monday had a rough start... took family member to 2 medical appointments... now said family member needs to take the meds prescribed and eat... something they weren't doing before... as of now they seem to be following the doctor's orders and on Wednesday appeared improved... hope this continues...

As there was less drama and trauma this week I actually had a couple of afternoons to indulge in crafty stuff... which made me happy!  I'm still in a patriotic groove where cross stitch is concerned...

I finished Heart in Hand Liberty House... a petite patriotic sampler...Fat

and I stitched up this little flag... it measures 2" high by 3" wide... 

it is on a piece of 18 ct Aida I found in my stash... I like the color but oh it was so soft... I don't like soft fabrics for stitching... anyway I think it turned out  well... as you can tell I like doing smyrna crosses... which is a good thing as there are 247 Smyrna crosses in this little piece!

Then on Wednesday I turned my attention to another patriotic chart that I love...Prairie Schooler No. 8  American Primitive... this was a unicorn chart for me for many years... the copyright is 1985... which means it is the same age as my older son... 41 years old... sheesh... where does the time go??  I stitched the Double Eagle Sampler from this chart back in '24. 

And I always planned to stitch all the other pieces from this chart... so I dyed up some linen with Evening Blue Rit dye and grabbed my favorite patriotic DMC flosses and got to work... here's how far I am on Uncle Sam...

I outlined his hair and jacket so now I can stitch and watch the Olympics at the same time... after he's down I want to do Lady Liberty and then the donkey and the elephant... I love how timeless Prairie Schooler designs are... and how comforting they are to stitch.

Friday I worked out early with Anna, came home and ate lunch and went down to my sewing room... haven't done that in eons... I wanted to sew up the first block in the FQS's Sewcialites 3 QAL... you can read all about it here... the plan is to release one block every Friday from now till the middle of August. You can make the blocks 3" or 6" or 9"... I'm doing the 9" size ... and I'm going to make it scrappy with Lori Holt fabrics... here's my first block...

I haven't made an Ohio Star block in a long long long time... but I think it came out pretty good... and it will be fun to use a lot of different fabrics in this quilt. I have a sizeable stash of Lori Holt fabrics so I'll have lots of variety. I like using a lot of her more "novelty" prints... in this block I fussy cut the little typewriters in the center and paired them with the little yellow tulip print... yellow tulips are my favorite flower... unfortunately they are also a favorite snack of the deer in my neighborhood so I don't grow them... I just like to sew with them and buy them at the grocery store... LOL

Well the Sewcialites block went together fairly quickly and I looked around my messy sewing studio and decided I should work on a project that was already started... and had been hanging around for quite a while... I started this in 2020... the pattern is Fresh As a Daisy... you can find it here... and then it languished in a plastic bin when it briefly saw the light of day in 2024 only to return to hibernation... and then re-emerged again about this time last year... and now I'm calling it done! When I started this I planned on making it big enough to fit my full size bed... my plans have been downsized and now it is going to be a lovely throw size quilt...

I really like those setting triangles being a different fabric... it makes a nice frame for the blocks IMHO... here's a couple of close up of the blocks... 

some daisies are monochromatic and some are scrappy ... there are so many American Jane fabrics that I love! I found fabric for a border on this site, American Jane, which is run by Sandy Klop's husband. They have a lot of inventory of older collections Sandy designed... I hope to get these blocks sewn together this weekend... cause next week is gonna be busy, busy, BUSY...

I have  at least one appointment to attend to every day next week... some days have multiple things going on... I'm tired just thinking about it... last week had some lovely weather... but it was a faux Spring... and I knew it...we all knew it... things changed yesterday and while there were 50's on Friday, as of Sunday we are back to typical winter weather... temps in the 30's... but there is hope on the horizon that by the end of the week we will see 50 again... the first day of Spring isn't till March 20...got a couple of weeks to go... I popped into Costco last week and one location did have a small rack of dahlias... but they were pretty picked over... I was only able to find 3 varieties I wanted. The lady at the front desk said more are coming and she was correct... this is what greeted me at Costco on Saturday...

four GIANT racks of flora and fauna goodness... there were elephant ears, caladiums,  begonias, astilbe, peonies, calla lilies, cannas,  asiatic lilies and my favorite DAHLIAS!!! I got there about noon and I will be that these were just put out that morning... oh I had so much fun... Nick looked all over the racks and I think we got 2 bags of every variety of dahlias that they put out...and some elephant ears and cannas... 26 bags in total... Nick called my cart the Mother Lode...LOL

I am so HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY!! I know I have to wait till mid to late May to plant them but they are now sitting on the shelves in my garage, waiting more patiently than me, for their time to shine!

I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts today... need to go grocery shopping and hit the pharmacy for the family member ... and then I hope by the time I get back home I won't be worn out so maybe I can sew or stitch a bit... hope your week is just how you like it!!

happy stitching-

carol fun 

Some patriotic puttering on a Slow Sunday...

 Hello - well the last week wasn't as dramatic and traumatic as the previous one... but it had had its moments.  A lot of my physical and mental energy has been channelled to help the family member in need... and it is frustrating... said family member expresses that they don't want to be a burden... but in the current situation they are a burden and a worry... and at the moment my son and I don't see a way to change things and said family member is unwilling to change things ... but we know they will change... and we are just waiting with a knot in our stomach.... sigh...

Well at least the weather has improved... we are having a "faux" Spring... sunny days with temps in the 50's and even 60's... I will enjoy them as I know it will only last about a week and then Winter will return from wherever it was... it ain't done with us yet.

Needless to say from my reading my first paragraph you have surmised that I haven't done a lot of crafty stuff this week... I did finish that final band on the Erica Michaels God Bless America...

this is as big as it is going to get. Not sure if I put buttons in each of those open motifs... I think I have a gold star button that I'd like to put in the middle and that may be how I complete it... gotta find the button...

And I could have picked back up Primrose Cottage American Sampler... but I didn't ... instead I whacked off the linen that was at the bottom of God Bless America and I started this sampler.... Liberty House by Heart in Hand...

now this was a small kit ... there are some cute little triangular buttons to put in that space under q and r and above the w...

 I ditched the linen that was in the kit and substituted DMC for the called for flosses.... I like it on the blue linen better than the beige that was included. This little kit has been aging and maturing in my stash for a looooooong time... the inventory sticker on the kit is dated May of 2002... I purchased it at Twisted Threads in Maderia/Cincinnati Ohio and that shop has been out of business for a looooong time... it was and still is my favorite cross stitch shop... was so  sad to see it close.  Anyway just have to fill in the windows and the flag and add those little triangular buttons and it is done.

I've gotten a bunch of emails this week showing the new stuff coming out at the Needlework Market the beginning of March... lots of wonderful patriotic pieces and samplers that I like... so far I've got a list with charts from Teresa Kogut, Theresa Venette/Kitten Stitcher and Brenda Gervais/With Thy Needle and Thread... and I've been reminding myself that I don't have to purchase all of them right away... they will be available for quite a while... but it certainly is fun to get them as soon as they are released... patience is not a virtue I possess a lot of ... 

Did you have a nice Valentine's Day?  With the happenings of the last 2 weeks I did not get out my Valentine's decorations... just wasn't feeling it... but I did get a lovely Valentine card from Elliott... he calls me Grandma Carol...

and some lovely flowers from my boys...

and I treated myself to a box of that toffee that I got at Christmas from a friend... it was delicious!!

As for next week... 2 doctor appointments for the family member... and an appointment for me to get my teeth cleaned... and hopefully I can work in 2 sessions with Anna... good for my physical and mental health. 

I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts today... I hope your week is a good one!

happy stitching-

carol fun 

Some whining on a Slow Sunday...

Hello- well this is going to be short on craftyness and long on whining... just so you know. 

It has been a heck of a week... it started last Sunday afternoon when a family member (who I have a very complicated relationship with) suffered a medical emergency that came exceedingly close to being a fatality. They were taken to the hospital by the EMTs and stayed a couple of days... but not nearly long enough in my humble opinion. They were sent home with a new medical device which is supposed to  help the situation but in fact is causing an immense amount of frustration and anxiety.  And while I am no doctor, nor did I stay in a Holiday Inn Express anytime recently, I feel the pharmaceutical regime they were sent home with isn't adequate. I would bet big bucks that when I take this family member back to their primary on the 16th there will be a significant change in the dosages. 

Add to this it snowed twice this week... the first event had every school in the area closing ... and the snow turned out to be a big nothing burger...not the 3 to 5 inches that was predicted but only about an inch of the white stuff and it melted on contact with the road.  Elliott did enjoy his snow day ... he told his mother that it was okay because he taught himself at home... and he did ... he spent the day playing with his numberblocks and watching videos which explained negative numbers and prime numbers... remember... he's 6... the other day I watched videos with him for funnsies that talked about fractions.... my head hurt... LOL... and the he came home from school last week  mad at his teacher. We assumed he had been disciplined for some improper behavior but his beef was his teacher wouldn't teach him more about negative numbers... I don't think that math level appears anywhere in the state mandated first grade curriculum. 

The second snow was not nice... and I ended up out in it trying to take the aforementioned family member to a doctors appointment. It took me twice as long to get to their house than normal and the doctor's office was another 20 minutes away if it was a good day... as it wasn't critical to do this office visits, I decided the appointment could be rescheduled.  I haven't had to drive in weather like that for a long long long time... but I quickly remembered how much I dislike driving in that kind of weather. 

Needless to say the entire week has left me physically and emotionally exhausted. Oh and did I mention that my favorite heating pad, the one that wraps around your neck and shoulders that would have been immensely helpful dealing with all the knotted muscles in my neck die?  And I can't find an identical one anywhere on the web?   That was the topper to my week... sigh... and sigh again. 

So,  I only picked up my needle once or twice and the extent of what I got stitched are the two little bands under the words "Land that I Love"... this is God Bless America by Erica Michaels...

I want to add the wider band that has the buttons to the bottom... you can see that tiny start on the right hand side. 

Well the sun is shining today even though it is bitterly cold... we haven't gotten about freezing in over a week. However there is a forecast of mid -forties for Tuesday... oh I hope that's right... the snow has turned to concrete and the piles I see in parking lots aren't going to melt till April the way things are going. 

I'm going to help said family member with some grocery shopping today and then try to relax a bit... have plans to meet friends for dinner on Monday evening. Don't want to skip my workouts with Anna on Monday or Wednesday... so far there is nothing else on my calendar for the week but I'm sure something will come up. 

I did go and read a bunch of blogs this week as that was all I was mentally capable of... saw several people working on Blackbird Designs and I'm getting a hankering to pick back up one of my many many Blackbird Designs WIPs ... that maybe the change of pace I need.

I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts with my puny productivity today ... there's always inspiration there which makes me smile... I hope your week ahead is without drama... calm, peaceful, serene... taking deep breaths now...

happy stitching-

carol fun 

Snow issues and stitching on a Slow Sunday...

 Hello - well we are surviving the snowmaggedon... well as humans we are ... as garden chickens maybe not so much...LOL... 

We got about 10 inches....Dan and his crew came Monday afternoon and cleared my driveway and the sidewalks... I didn't leave the house till Tuesday ... my day to pick up Elliott from school and hang out with him ... his school district closed for only one day... lots of other districts were closed for 3 or more days... my son only got one day off of work but he and Elliott thoroughly enjoyed the time off.

I had big plans for piles of productivity... they did not materialize... there is something about the presence of snow that makes me sleepy ... and crave carbs... so I did a prodigious amount of napping broken only by the need to seek out brownies and cheese danishes...sigh

There were plumbing issues on Tues/Wed... my kitchen faucet is on an outside wall and as I've mentioned before there is no insulation in the walls of my 1953 home... just brick over cinder block... had I realized the implications of this when I was renovating the house 11 years ago I would have had the contractor install insulation in the kitchen walls... but that ship has sailed... so I've been keeping the water dripping and that has kept the water running... BUT... the water in the drain froze and the sink would not drain... arghh... called my favorite plumber but they were swamped with work so they referred me to another local plumber... the plumber who had cleared this same drain of gunk 2 years ago... (and this is one of the reasons I talk about everyday stuff on this blog... I was able to go back and figure out that it was 2 years ago I had a problem with this same drain)... anyway by the time the plumber got here on Wednesday the drain had thawed... he told me to run more than a drip and to keep the water hot... (my water heater is turned up on high so that's not an issue)... so far everything is running and draining... so along with the astronomical gas bill I'll be getting next month,  my water bill will be hefty too... but I figure that is better than dealing with frozen pipes. 

oh sorry I wandered off there... as for crafty productivity I concentrated on cross stitching as it is easier to doze off with a needle in one's hand versus falling asleep at one's sewing machine... I contemplated starting something new but that would have required me to extract my butt from my comfy stitching chair and find some linen and flosses... instead I picked back up a couple of patriotic pieces I started last year... and I FINISHED one!!!

This is American Sampler House by Annie Beez....

now I made the house yellow instead of the white it was charted in ... and I left off the border on the right hand side as I wasn't going to have enough fabric on that side .... an error in counting made at the very beginning... I have a frame coming from Amazon tomorrow that I think will be perfect for this piece.

After completing that project I turned my attention to American Sampler by Primrose Cottage... 

that house took a while to fill in... I'll do the windows in a bit but I really want to move down and start some of the alphabet... 

I circled back to the 2026 Blessing sampler... Alpha-bits by Wild-Heart Designs and settled on doing the hearts below the O in simple cross stitch... the heart shaped buttons I had were too big, as were the heart shaped beads I ordered....I'm good with this ... now to get my butt in gear and get this to the framer... 

Here's how I decorated the little telephone nook in the hallway... some stitchery from WTN&T Snowball booklet... knickknacks from Johanna Parker ... and the Snowy String from Lizzie Kate.

On one hand it seems like January has been 1000 days long ...on the other hand it has blown by and February is here... I want to get out my Valentine's day stuff ... there isn't a lot but it looks pretty on the TV cabinet.. a task for today... I'll get Nick to bring up what I need. 

Forecast for the next 10 days only has one day getting above freezing... brrrrr... not a lot on my calendar which is fine with me... I was going to get another of the PRP, plasma rich/stem cell shots in my left knee... but, and here's where my dithering about life on this blog helped me out again, I read what I wrote when I got the shot before... they had a devil of a time even getting my blood (I'm a hard stick) and for over a week after the shot my knee hurt worse than before and you can't use NSAIDs  for 6 weeks afterwards... Tylenol doesn't cut it for me... I need ibuprofen or naproxen...and right now I've got the pain under control with them...I'll just tough it out this way until I can get my knee replaced which right now I'm planning on doing in July.

I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts today... I hope that wherever you are the weather is to your liking... I have had my fill of snow and freezing temperatures but I doubt my feelings have any effect on Mother Nature... 

happy stitching-

carol fun