How time flies!

Wow! I can't believe that tomorrow is the last day of November.  How time flies when your having fun they say!  I will start this post with announcing that the shot I received on the 16th was a success.  It's not a permanent fix but it has given me a lot of relief.  The orthopedic surgeon did say I have a herniated disc.  I will see him on Tuesday to see where we go from here.  I am praying that some adjustments and PT will help me cope with my situation.  So I have been resting and enjoying a bit of stitching since we got back from East Texas.   I finished up the November stitches on the Linen and Threads SAL.  I decided to include the fly. A little wrinkled but completed!

!s

I also made some progress on my spring cross stitch project!  I am feeling more comfortable with my cross stitch with all the practice I have done this year.  When I started stitching in January I felt like I took out as many stitches as I stitched!

  

But my focus this week will be getting my Santa's finished!  I did get the interfacing applied to the Santas and the backing fabric.  Then I sewed the back seam, so now I just need to sew the front and backs together with the hanger .  It shouldn't take too long, then the stuffing will begin.  The addition of the bow and maybe a jingle bell and they  should be  ready to enjoy this Christmas!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. There is always so much to be thankful for!  At our house we enjoyed a lemon meringue pie made with a couple of lemons off our tree. We really enjoyed watching it grow and form fruit.  Of course, enjoying the pie was wonderful too!

Thankful for slow stitching!

 It's been a hectic week here.  The new floors will arrive Monday and take most of the week to install. We are replacing three rooms of carpeting with a wood plank look tile.  We looked at laminates and the new vinyl that all are beautiful but we didn't want to have a transition strip between the tiled kitchen floor and the other rooms. So we opted for the tile wood look planks.  I always am a bit nervous about decisions like this between the time we choose and the time it gets installed. Second guessing can drive you a bit crazy. Better to keep my mind off of it and take a deep breath and enjoy some stitching.  I finished up the fall stitchery and the Linen and Threads SAL for October so I decided to start the spring stitchery.  I know I skipped the winter but I need to dye or order some aida before I can start that one. 

I also spent some time adding interfacing and trimming up my Santas so they can be stitched and stuffed!  I need to pick up more interfacing for the back pieces before the assembling begins and that may not be till next week as the flooring people will have invaded.  I really like seeing them all together and trimmed up!   The different shades of tea/coffee dyed aida and being stitched on a couple different aida cts make me happy too!  Variety is the spice of life as they say!

 Yesterday, the November Linen and Threads Chart were released!  Just one more month and this stitchery will be completed!  However I didn't add initials as I stitched these cause I just didn't know what I wanted to do.  

This month as you can see in the lower right hand corner along with very traditional  motifs there is a fly!  Oh my a little different but yet intriguing  to me.  Wondering how the rest of you stitchers that are working on this feel about the fly?

I'm not sure how I feel yet!  I guess it will all depend on what I want to add in the other open spaces that were initials in the original charts.  I guess I will stitch  everything but the fly and decide once December charts is completed!  Not sure how much I will get done this next week, with the house in floor chaos.  I also have to go see a orthopedic surgeon this week about my lower back. I had a MRI last Wednesday and I have a couple of pinched nerve roots along with some narrowing that has caused my back to ache for too long.  I finally said last week it's time to see my doctor!  It is all a little scary, but I have told myself to just not give it a thought until I hear what the specialist has to say.   So glad I have some stitching lined up to get me thru this!

So many stitches, so little time!

 Well, it didn't take long to complete Santa #12!  I can't believe I have finished the stitching part of my 12 Santa journey!  I have to say I have truly enjoyed stitching everyone of these and I have my eye on a few more that I would like to add to the collection in the future.  I hope to start finishing them, once I complete the October Chart for the Linen and Threads SAL.

I have already started stitching but still have a ways to go!

I also finished my autumn stitchery!  I got busy and mounted it on foam core and it now up so that it can be enjoyed.  I know I will be too busy to get anymore of the seasons stitched this year.  But I have ordered the two I didn't have so they will be there when I am ready.  We are getting some flooring replaced in our front room and living room and going out of town mid November  so that may put a kabosh on my stitching for a while.  So if I can get my Santas finished and keep up with my SAL I will be happy. 

 Then once the floors are done I can think about pulling out the king size quilt top and getting it basted.   I have no idea yet how I will quilt it???????  What do you think????????  Nothing fancy for sure maybe it's a great candidate for some Baptist Fans, time will tell. So looks like there is plenty of slow stitches of one kind of another to keep me busy well into spring!

Progress

 It's been busy here! We had a new fence put in on the east side of our yard so we spent Tuesday spraying it and the west side so now they are all coherent and ready for the weather.   I have spent a little more time outdoors getting my  daily 10,000 steps.  You have have to take advantage of the gorgeous fall weather here in Texas. Fall is a bit like spring in some places after being cooped up in the AC it is so nice to be able to do things outside again.  Stitching is coming along on the final Santa!  He's all about birds!  I really need to mount my fall stitchery before the season ends, so that will be a priority this week. October seems to be moving along too quickly.  But there's plenty of time to stitch so hopefully I will get my October SAL charts stitched before the month ends.

Yesterday, we needed a change of pace, so we drove up to Turner Falls in Oklahoma.  It's really a beautiful area especially now that the temps are enjoyable.  

We don't get the gorgeous fall colors here like the northern states but the area was gorgeous and the weather was perfect!  

Few stitches, a lot of relaxation!

 It was a fun week in East Texas!  I always look forward to quality time with family!   The weather was really nice, good food and good times, you can't ask for more than that!  There is a lot of wildlife in this area and since the community is gated, I think they feel very safe.  We came across groups of deer and they didn't even budge from the side of the road.  One morning we saw three red fox heading for the culvert which they must use.  My daughter in laws sister lives in this area and one night we had a lot of fun in the new game room they had built last year.  The photo is of my son and daughter in law behind the karaoke mic! 

 

Friday, I decided to finish up my pillow!  

I didn't really spend much time stitching while out of town, but I was able to get Santa's boots stitched one afternoon as some were out in the Razor and others napped!  I did get more stitching done last night but he isn't finished yet!  Hopefully, today I will finish up the spools in his pack and start on his quilt!  Once those are done the finishing stitches won't take very long!

 

I keep on stitching!

 It's been a great week here, each day I made a little more progress on my Quilter Santa #2.   He is as much fun to stitch the second time around.

Time was also spent in the sewing room.  First I had to clean off the cutting table, not sure how it gets so cluttered, well I do know, but it is impossible for me to work until things are put away.  I discovered I don't have enough fabric to finish this pillow cover but I did get the first round of fabric added!  We are heading out tomorrow to a cabin by the lake in east Texas for about four days so this project will just have to wait for a bit.

The Linen and Threads chart for September posted, so that will need some attention next.  I guess I will bring Santa and the September chart along, not sure if I will find some time for stitching as it is a family weekend.  But it might be nice to sit by the lake and stitch while the guys go out in the side by side. 

Stitching Away!

  It's been a very hot week here!  Friday was 105 with the humidity at about 40 percent!  I needed to get some ribbon to turn Santa# 11 into a finished ornament, so I headed out and on the way home I got stuck in some road construction.  As I was sitting and waiting for our turn to pass thru the one lane road my check engine light came on and my eyesight system turned off!  UGH!    You know that aweful feeling in your tummy when things go wrong.  Well, I was only about a mile from home so I continued home and my husband and I got out the manual.   Well, our car has about three or four manuals and so it took a while but we figured out what the problem might be.  I guess the eyesight system only works with a certain temperature range and it had just gotten too HOT!  So after about 15 minutes in the garage we went back out and everything was back to normal. WHOOo HOO!  So I sat down with a cool drink and started Santa#11 take two.  I haven't gotten very far but he is coming along.

 Saturday my husband joined my son for a day of mudding in his Razor!  So what a lovely time for me to spend some time in  the sewing room.  I found a tutorial by Vonna Pfeiffer ,the twisted stitcher, that seemed pretty easy.  I really don't have much experience with finishing cross stitch projects and hope to explore that subject more this next year. This is a simple pillow ornament, however I changed the hanger and sewed it into the seam of the pillow instead of hand sewing it on afterwards.   I am happy with the turnout and hope my online quilting friend will like it too!  Now to get it off in the mail this week.

I am hoping to make some progress today on Santa #11 take two, as the new chart for the Linen and  Threads SAL 2020 chart will come out for September.  I also need to find time to get back in the sewing room and turn my Kathy Schmitz embroidery into a pillow.  I picked out some fabrics from my stash now I need to make sure I have enough of each fabric and get it sewn up!

Santa #11 is complete, but...............................

I felt pretty good about the sewing I did this week.   First off I actually went in to my sewing room and stitched up a little pillow.  The front of the pillow is a quilt block that my online quilting friend Lynne so graciously sent me.  There's a little story behind me getting this block.  I pretty much begged for several years for Lynne to send her beautiful Starburst quilt to my house.  Well, no matter how much I tried, I failed but earlier this summer she let me know that she had come across an extra block she had made and she was willing to send it to me!!!!!!  How sweet is that!  I told her it would make a cute little pillow for  great grandpa's rocking chair that I have and she even sent enough fabric to make the backing.  What a wonderful surprise for sure!

Lynne's Starburst Quilt!

My finished pillow!

I think little Teddy really likes it and I like the way it turned out!  I also finished the crossstitch on Santa #11!  He's the Quilting Santa and I am very happy with this finish!  And since Lynne was so gracious, I thought a nice way to thank her is to send Quilter Santa to her house.  I will try to remember to snap a shot of him finished before he goes on his trip.   Anyways, that means I need to stitch #11 again so that I have one for my collection! 

I also started the August Kathy Schmitz embroidery and decided to use black thread. I am using some presentia pearl cotton I think it's size 16 that I had used on a big stitch project.  I am surprised how quickly the embroidery goes!

I was able to go out and get some new thread colors to use on my Little House Needleworks fall chart!  I can't wait to get started on it, but first I need to decided on the fabric I want to use!  Decisions need to be made soon if that is going to happen!

Finished Strawberry!

 It seems I always have good intentions when it comes to stitching!  Somehow, especially since my husband has retired, they don't seem to happen.  I do make sure I get in my exercise and in the summer we swim at least five days of the week and all that takes time!  With covid, we are eating more meals at home and Tom does fix almost as many meals as I do so I really shouldn't complain, still I don't seem to find much time to stitch.  I did finish my embroidered strawberry this week. It was fun to stitch and it's the first time I embroidered with batting on the back of the fabric.  It gives this strawberry a quilted effect.  I filled it with ground walnut shells and am very pleased with my first attempt at making one!

I also started on Santa #11.  He's a quilter Santa!!!!!  How fun is that!  I have a long ways to go but I am really looking forward to how he finishes!

I traced a Kathy Schmitz design that came out in August  I am not sure if I want to do all black like on the strawberry or go with a colorful design.  I think I am leaning toward the black!

The august motifs for the Linen and Threads SAL is completed and I am looking forward to what September will bring.  I love the addition of a few more birds!

10 down 2 to go

 I finished up woodland Santa and he is waiting with the others to be made into an pillow ornament!  I really like this one with the raccoon, squirrel and rabbit and all the birds!  Two more charts to stitch and I will have 12 Santa's completed!  

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Then I started working on Linen and Threads 2020SAL.   I was glad to see a few more birds are in this chart!  This one shouldn't take very long, but I spent most of yesterday unpicking the stitches from the day before.  You know, that darn one stitch off!!!!!!  But I am back on track and hope to finish up this chart today!

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I went on line to look at more prairie schooler Santas and I saw a couple of charts from  Little House Needlworks that I decided to order instead!  One is the Summer ABC's and the other Fall ABC's.  Hopefully I can get the fall one stitched up and ready to hang for this fall.

I also need to pull out my lightbox and trace a few Kathy Schmitz patterns and work on embroidering them.  If I can get the tracing done I know they wouldn't take long to do, but somehow my days get away from me.  

Santa Progress

I haven't shared my progress in a while, so I thought I would share today!  I finished up Santa number 9 over a week ago.  He's a caroling Santa who looks like he really enjoys singing.  

Then I moved right on to Santa number 10.  He's a woodland Santa enjoying nature and the animals seems to love him as much as kids do.   I have made a lot of progress on him also.

I have two more Santas to complete before I start finishing them into the final product.  I have some fabric I have had for years that I think will work really great as the back of the Santas.  I will have to see how much I have to see if it is enough for all twelve.  I haven't ordered any more charts yet, but I can see that happening as I get near finishing the twelve up!  Its been such a beautiful summer here in North Texas.  We have received some rain in late July which doesn't happen very often and with it came some cool north breezes that have us in the lower 90s.  It was 69 degrees yesterday morning which is really unreal for this time of year.  I think we only had one or two days of above 100 so far this summer.  Hopefully we can continue that trend thru August.   I took some pics of our Meyer lemon tree we purchased late last winter. It was really quite pathetic looking when we found it.  It was stuck in the far corner of a green house.  We brought it home and potted it up and kept it inside until the last frost date.  It was blooming profusely, but was also losing leaves and soon looked like a Charlie Brown Christmas tree.  But, we didn't give up, and our patience will produce 5 lemons this year.  Finally in July, I saw new leave sprouts come shooting out and now I feel more confident that it is happy in it's pot.  The plan is to winter it over in the garage that faces south and we will open the door on our  sunny freezing days which here in Texas is most of the time. 

 I also have been entertaining myself with growing some herbs and lettuce hydroponically indoors this year.  It's a fun project and its so nice to have fresh herbs to use in our kitchen.  I am so thankful for my stitching and my gardening projects as they help me keep my sanity as we navigate thru living in this pandemic. 

Santa # 9 in the hoop

I started Santa# 9 this week, it's been moving along quite nicely.  I did have to unpick a few stitches.  But now I am back on track to add a few more slow stitches today!

This is what our weather forcast looks like for this week so staying inside and stitching sounds like the best way to deal with this heat wave.