Pre-Christmas New York City Trip and a Win!

A great big thank you to Kristi of 30 Pounds of Apples. I won her 2014 calendar. You can get one too. Just pop on over to her site.

 

Just before Christmas we made a trip into NYC as a family. We went to Discovery Times Square to enjoy The Art of the Brick. Both of my children loved Legos when they were little so we thought this would be a great exhibit to see.

All of these works are by Nathan Sawaya. Here I am at the exhibit.

Do you recognize this masterpiece?

 



 

Aren't these gorgeous?

 

This was made with clear colored bricks.

The following two pieces were somewhat difficult to perceive in person, but were east to see through the camera lens.

 

 

Just imagine how difficult this was to make and how many Legos it took.

 

 

We also made a stop at the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree...

and St. Patrick's Cathedral.

 

We ended the day with a late lunch at Cock & Bull British Pub & Eatery.

All in all a rainy but great day in NYC at Christmastime.

 

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.

Christmas Card

Today I am sharing with you the Christmas card that I sent last year.

 

That's right, last year I took one of my cross-stitch designs and had the photo made into a card. I cobbled together a few holiday wishes for the interior saying and I made sure to note that this was designed and stitched by me on the back of the card.

I had planned to put one of my other Christmas angel designs on a card this year but never got around to it. There is always next year.

 

Merry Christmas to all of you.

 

 

Thanks for stopping by.

A Win and a Yarn Along

I won! Well, I won the second prize of a giveaway but ....I won! You can see the great prize sent to me by Gerry of Foodness Gracious. Check out the great food he cooks up.

 I am joining Ginny's Yarn Along. What are you knitting/crocheting? What are you reading? Check out what others are up to on her site.

 

Once again there is not much crafting to show you as most of what I am currently working on is for Christmas or is being left by the wayside in favor or holiday decorating, shopping, baking, wrapping and card writing. Whew, I'm exhausted just writing about it.

I can show you the beautifully soft yarn I am knitting right now. You can get a glimpse of the project in between the skeins.

I am still reading The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher. I am thouroughly enjoying this novel. I will probably still be reading if next week as reading time is limited.

The house is decorated outside and finally inside!

 

These Santas were gifts. The four small ones were bought at a local craft fair. I would go each year with my mom and she would buy one for me as a Christmas gift. Sadly, that vendor is no longer in business. They are beautifully handcrafted and no two were ever alike.  

I love candles of all types at Christmas time. How many of you have the essential ceramic Christmas tree? My mom has a large two-piece one.  

 

For many years, my family would give me buildings and accessories for my New England village.

The skaters below I "borrowed" from my mom many years ago. A couple of them are new but the others are quite old.

As you can see it is quite extensive. If I ever get rid of the piece of furniture on which I arrange it, I don't know where it will be displayed. Although it is quite an undertaking, I do enjoy placing all the buildings and figures. I did realize that I have something of a control issue with the village though when my husband offered to help me and I really didn't let him.

 

 Thanks for stopping by!

Christmas Crochet

I hope everyone had a happy and healthy Thanksgiving. My children were home and we celebrated the holiday with our small extended family.

 

Now it is time to turn my attention to decorating my home for Christmas. Here is a poor picture of just about half of the boxes of decorations...... I have way too many. These are what are stored in our garage. The rest are in our basement.

 

I love celebrating Christmas during the entire month of December. The first decoration to go up is my Advent calendar.

 

It is magnetic and the little ornaments get placed on the tree. When my children were growing up one child would get to place the even days and one the odd.....prevented arguments. Now my husband and I get to place the ornaments.

 

Since I am still knitting my first sleeve, I thought I would share with you some of the crocheted decorations I have.

This crocheted angel was made by my husband's grandmother many years ago. It is heavily starched and quite intricate. It is lovingly wrapped in tissue and stored each year. You can't help but appreciate hand-made gifts.

 

I made this crocheted Christmas tree and snowman many years ago. Are you seeing a trend here, many of my decorations have been around awhile.

 

I am joining Ginny's Yarn Along. What are you knitting/crocheting? What are you reading? Stop by her blog to see what everyone else is up to.

 

I have started reading The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher. This book was recommended by several of my fellow bloggers and I am glad  that I made note of it. It is the kind of book that transports you to another place, time and family. Each character is complex and interesting. I am only a few chapters in and I can't wait to keep reading.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 



Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope all of you are able to be with family and/or friends on this special day. A day to be thankful for the blessings of family, friends, health and prosperity. Although my favorite holiday is Christmas, I think Thanksgiving is a universal holiday that should be more greatly appreciated. Please don't shop on this holiday. Enjoy and appreciate the gathering of your family. Take the time to be thankful.

I have finally returned to knitting my Barn Jacket. The right front is finally finished. I cast on the first sleeve. I finally feel like I am more than halfway done. I can't wait to finish it and wear it.

I'm joining Ginny's Yarn Along. What are you knitting/crocheting? What are you reading?

I finished reading The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton. I loved this book and I will definitely be reading more books by this author. This is an intriguing story that weaves through several generations of women. There is mystery, family intrigue and self-discovery all wrapped up in one fascinating story. I am not sure what I will read next. I won't have much time in the next week as my family will be visiting.
 

Thanks for stopping by!



Not So Much Yarn Along

For the past week my house has been in the middle of being painted. We have spent our days trying to find a place to park ourselves. Now I have to finish putting the knick-knacks back in place, hang the curtains back up and figure out what I want to hang back up on the walls and where. Not everything will be returning to its former place. I don't know whether the last will be done before Thanksgiving.

 

I finished two Christmas gifts. I just had to get on with the finishing and then they were done in no time. Not much crafting has been going on as I put most of it away to avoid getting paint on anything.

 

I did begin a small craft project with some yarn from my stash.

The colors above are dark grey, dark teal and black. I couldn't get a picture that did them justice.

 I am almost finished, but this too will be a small Christmas gift that I can't currently share.

There will certainly be plenty of photos to share in January.

 

I'm joining Ginny's Yarn Along. What are you knitting or crocheting? What are you reading? Stop by her site to see what others are crafting and reading.

 

My reading hasn't changed: The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton.

I am truly enjoying this fascinating story. I just can't seem to sit and read when I know there is a lot of crafting and Christmas shopping awaiting me.

 

Thanks for stopping by.



Quilted Yarn Along

 

Although I am crocheting like crazy every day, I can't share any pictures at this time. I am hoping to finish my current project this week and then get back to my sweater.

I can share some pictures sent to me by my quilter of my almost finished quilt.

Here it is before any quilting was done:

 

The quilting is just what I chose and is so beautiful.

 

 

 

 

 

And finally:

Ooooh,  I can't wait to bind it.

 

I am joining Ginny's Yarn Along. What are you knitting/crocheting? What are you reading? Pop on over to her site to see what others are crafting and reading. I'm still reading The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton. Totally enjoying this book.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

 



Harvest of Quilts

Saturday, I went to the Evening Star Quilters' Harvest of Quilts Show here on Long Island with my mom. I am sharing with you some of the beautiful quilts their guild members entered.

 

I love the gradations in color on this star.

The quilt below won first prize overall.

 

 

 

Beautiful applique below.

 

 

I am always a sucker for a log cabin quilt. The first quilt I made was a queen-size barn-raising log cabin that I hand quilted. What was I thinking?

 

 

 

I love redwork.

 

Sorry for the wonky photo but there was not enough back-up room to photograph this one head-on. I love the black, white and pink combo.

 

 

 

The umbrellas in the quilt below remind me of an antique quilt my mom has. It is an entire quilt of umbrellas.

 

 

This whole quilt is called "Amazing Silk" and won first prize for whole cloth quilts.

 

 

 

The two quilts above were pieced and quilted by Galyna Sokolova-Miller. You can find her web-site here. She is the quilter who will be quilting my Flying Geese quilt.

 

 

I just dropped it off to be quilted. I can't wait until I get this back and on my bed. Of course I will have to bind it first, but I never seem to mind doing that. Any suggestions for a name for this quilt?

 

Thank you for stopping by?

 

Frogging Yarn Along

 

So here I am knitting away on the right front of my sweater when I realize that about 15 rows back there appears to be a hole. My knitting is correct but there is a loose spot and it is bothering me. It was on the front, so I knew I had to frog all those rows. I still have a decent amount of the right side done as you can see below.

 

I will continue it soon, but first I need to put it aside awhile and go back to my secret crocheting. I am using the yarns below that I shared last week. The denim color yarn works up a little larger than I want so after crocheting about ten rows, it too was frogged. I switched to a smaller hook and although it is still wider than I would like I can't go to any smaller hook as the yarn is too thick for it. I will make do and I think it will work out.

 

I was really excited to work with the brighter colored yarn. I was told it would stripe up nicely and I loved the colors.....or so I thought. Well, the yarn doesn't stripe, it chunks. Also, there is a muddy golden color mixed in with the bright colors that just doesn't work well. 
 

You can guess that this piece will most probably also be frogged eventually. I will try to use this yarn for something else. Thankfully, I can make the denim color yarn work for the gift I am planning.

What are you knitting/crocheting? What are you reading? 

Normally I would be joining Ginny's Yarn Along, but her baby boy, Sebastian was born yesterday. Pop on over to her site to see her beautiful new addition. 
 

 

I have finished reading The Knitting Circle by Ann Hood. I enjoyed it very much but you have to be in the mood for a mostly somber read. Next up is The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton. This is my first book by this author and so far I am finding her writing style quite engaging and the story very interesting.

 

 

Look what bloomed in my garden this week!
 

 

I don't remember planting this lily and November is a really odd time of year for this flower to be showing itself here on Long Island. A bright spot in my day after all the frogging this week.
 

Thanks for stopping by!