That nasty stitching frog has been visiting!

My goodness I have been doing an awful lot of frogging. First I started my grandson's Christmas stocking this week. The center is the little boy's head. I happily stitched away on the first two colors that were just fine. Then I got to the third color. Ugh, the color that was supplied was more brown than a darker flesh color and it looked like the little boy had a dirty nape and jawline. I checked the provided color and it was not even close to the stated DMC 3778 color. So I went to may stash and found the correct color. This looked a little dark also, but I decided to give it a try. Okay, it still looked dark and quite pink, but maybe it would be better once I added the brown hair. Nope, it was impossible to tell the line between the face and the hair. Double Ugh! Now I go back to my bobbin stash and try to find a color that I think will work better. As I am perusing my flosses, I realize that the first face color is not anywhere closs to the DMC 758 that it is supposed to be, it is much closer to DMC 752. Okay, what if I use DMC 758 that is a darker version of 752. Bingo! I removed all the pink stitches and stitched that area for the third time.

Now I had to go to the chart pages and make notes as to what color I thought was being used and what color I now substituted. A whole lot of work for the start of a new project. I am happy with how the boy's face looks now and will continue with the hair. I hope the rest of the colors are true to form. I am afraid to check.

I have a finish! The first Charmed Santa from Mill Hill is finished! This one is for my granddaughter.

Of course, I had to immediately start the one I want to make for my grandson.This is when that frog made another visit. I have stitched the first row three times.

 For some reason accurate counting eluded me.

Finally, I decided to finish the table topper that my mom had hand-pieced several years ago as it has some Fall colors. You may recall that I was hand-quilting it while I was visiting her. It has been sitting unfinished in my sewing area and I had to move it a few times lately. I saw it when I went to work on my daughter's quilt (that didn't happen) and decided to get it finished. First I had to find a fabric to use for binding. Thankfully, Mom had some 2" folded strips of the orange fabric. I think she used it to bind another quilt at some time. There was just enough when I pieced it together to get around the table topper. It is 18" per side.

Guess what, that frog visited again. For some reason, despite refreshing my memory by reading some instructions, I didn't sew the corners correctly to miter them. After I had the whole binding sewn on, I had to use the seam ripper to take out the corners and restitch them. All is well now.

I have decided to call this Celtic Autumn as my mom had made it with a nod to her Irish heritage....the green, white and orange of the flag. She had even added some shamrocks in the corners, but they were too small and she didn't like them. One reason she never finished it.  I quilted the center as a nod to a Celtic knot. I plan to use it as an Autumn table topper, hence the name. 

Let's hope that nasty stitching frog stays away for a while. 

Thanks for stopping by! 

September Slow Stitching

September began with my mother-in-law's 90th birthday on Friday. Hubby and I brought dinner to her home from a favorite Italian restaurant and celebrated with a cake for dessert. 

When we visited our son and his family last week, I brought yarn and a crochet hook and started making a new hat for my mother-in-law. I finished it in time for her birthday.

 I made the same hat for her a few years ago, but she lost it. I know she liked it a lot so I made it again. It is from a long ago Hooked on Crochet magazine.

I've been working on the Mill Hill Charmed Santa. I have finished his face and am now beading the hat.

I am pleased with how quick it is working up now that I let go of trying to get it to be perfect. I think it is looking great. I hope to finish this over the holiday weekend. 

I am joining Kathy for some Slow Sunday Stitching. Pop on over to her site to see what other bloggers are stitching. 

Thanks for stopping by!

A needed break

This past week was spent visiting our son, DIL and grandson in CA. I didn't realize how much I needed to just be away from the usual day to day happenings. We traveled to San Diego on Saturday with Hurricane Hilary in the forecast when we arrived. We took a detour on the way from the airport to a local frame store, The Frame Station, and chose a frame for the birth announcement. The store had sandbags by the door in preparation for the storm.

The bottom left frame was the winner. It should be ready for my son to pick up in 2 weeks. 

 Thankfully the hurricane was just a tropical storm when it hit CA on Sunday and it traveled inland from where we were in Carlsbad. There was only a little bit of wind and around 2.5 inches of rain. We stayed in and enjoyed lots of cuddles with our grandson.

On Monday the weather had cleared and we took a walk by the ocean. For some reason, I didn't take any photos. We saw several California ground squirrels and lots of other people walking....many with their dogs.

On Tuesday Hubby and our son got to play golf. When we heard that the hurricane was approaching Hubby was debating whether to bring his golf clubs on the trip. I am so glad he did as they had a good round and gorgeous weather. My daughter in law and I enjoyed a quiet day. I watched Lucas so she could exercise and get some other things done. So much cuteness.

On Wednesday we took a ride to Discovery Lake in nearby San Marcos. 

It was only about a 3/4 mile walk around the lake, but some of the views were very pretty. There is also a 2.8 mile hike, but it wasn't clear whether the trail would be stroller friendly. 

Afterward, the family indulged me with a trip to a local quilt store, Grand Country Quilts. 

It is actually two storefronts on opposite ends of a parking lot. The first was mostly primitive fabrics. It is really a very welcoming shop.

My son thought it was one of the best shops he had ever visited.

I bought two solids for a hand-pieced quilt that I have planned.

The second shop was for more modern quilts and fabrics.

This shop was bright, open and airy. I bought some novelty fabric that I hope to use in I Spy quilts for my grandchildren. I found hens, toucans, bunnies and adorable hedgehogs.

Both shops had well-attended classes in progress when we visited. I plan on returning to this shop whenever I can on my California visits. It is only a short drive from my son's apartment. 

Now that we are back home in NY I've gotten the crafting bug again. I worked on a crocheted hat for my mother-in-law while on the flight from NY to CA. 

I have made this hat for her previously, but she lost it. Her 90th birthday is this coming Friday, so I hope to have it done by then.

I have also been working on the knitted jacket for Lucas. I am currently working on the second front side. 

I am finally enjoying working on the Charmed Santa Faces ornament for one of our grandkids, not sure which one yet. The cross-stitching was just not laying right as far as I was concerned. I guess the trip to CA made me realize that it doesn't have to be perfect. Yesterday I finished the cross-stitching on Santa's face and started adding the beads.

I hope to finish beading the face today. Then I can move on to stitching the hat. That will be my Slow Sunday Stitching for today. 

I am joining Kathy for some Slow Sunday Stitching. Pop on over to her site to see what other bloggers are working on.

Thanks for stopping by!

Stitch Along update

I still haven't really gotten my crafting mojo back. I have spent much of the second half of July and the beginning of August clearing out my mom's house and bringing items to thrift stores. It is done now. The house is for sale and should sell quickly. 

My daughter and granddaughter visited last weekend and took home some of the items that my daughter wanted from my mother's home. There are still a whole lot of boxes in my garage and basement that need to be sorted. Some items will stay with me, some will eventually go to my son and some still need to go to thrift stores. 

Virtually the only craft that I have spent any time with lately is October Morning. That is a good thing as I can post an update this week. This is where it was three weeks ago.

 I have made a decent amount of progress on it since then although it could have been a whole lot more. 

Here is where I am now:

Thank you to Avis at Sewing Beside the Sea for hosting this Stitch Along every three weeks and sending us the needed posting reminders. 

Grab yourself a cup of coffee or tea and take some time to visit the other bloggers below who are part of this stitch-along. There is a wide variety of stitching projects. These talented stitchers are from all over the world, so please allow for the time differences and check back for each post.

Avis, Claire, Gun, Christina, Kathy, Margaret,

Heidi, Jackie, Sunny, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, 

Cathie, Linda, Helen, MaryMargaret, Cindy

Thanks for stopping by! 

 

Not ready for Fall

I may be working on October Morning (you can see the latest update here), but I am not ready for all the advertisements and craft posts for Autumn crafts. Yes, I know that I would have to start now in order to have the craft ready for Fall, but I want to enjoy what is left of Summer.

I haven't been doing much crafting at all. Last weekend, we had new carpeting installed in our living room, dining room and connecting hall. That meant that my kitchen table looked like this.

Soon after this photo was taken, all of my dining room chairs were added to surround this table. You can see that we had to empty the china cabinet and the bar pieces. All of the glassware that was in the china cabinet was in dire need of a good wash. My kitchen counter was covered with cloudy glassware. 

I took a few days to carefully wash and dry each piece of glassware. There were also two bowls, a sugar and creamer set as well as some vases. Hubby cleaned all of the glass shelves and the window panes. My china cabinet sparkles now. 

I have been spending many hours at my mother's house going through countless items. I am taking many photos and sending them to my children to see what they want me to keep for them. There are collectibles, linens, games, puzzles and Christmas items that bring back memories. This is just a portion of the keep pile. It has grown since this photo was taken. The desk is the only piece of major furniture that I am keeping. I have loved this desk since the day that my mom bought it. 

I still have to collect my mom's photo albums. There are many of them. She carefully organized and labeled each photo. They start with photos from the early 1900s. There may even be a couple of photos from the 1800s. I forget now.

I have made a few trips to a local thrift store with clothes, accesories, linens and dishes. Her blankets went to a local animal shelter once they were washed. 

Here are a couple of neat items that I found in her house. These two photos are of a 78rpm picture record that I found.

Below is an afghan that my mother knitted several years ago. I don't think she ever used it. It is beautiful.

My children remember playing these games and want me to keep them. They are headed to my house! 

My mother made the pillow top and I finished it into a pillow some years ago. I found it wrapped in plastic on a closet shelf. It now resides in my bedroom.

Her house will be up for sale at the end of next week, so my work will soon be done. We have a local furniture store/mover coming in to take all the furniture. 

Hubby and I took a break on Wednesday and drove to the east end of Long Island for a lunch and a stop at a farmstand. Lunch was at the Red Rooster Bistro.

It is a kitschy little restaurant inside.

Hubby had the tomato and burrata appetizer and I had their Beet Salad with chicken added. 

We stopped at Northville Farms on our way home. We picked up a melon, some vegetables and a bag of North Fork Potato Chips. Yum! 

 I have added a very few rows of knitting on my baby jacket. I have made the buttonholes and am working on the armhole of one of the front pieces.

 Thankfully I am knitting a size that will be good for next year. 

I am joining Kathy for some Slow Sunday Stitching. Pop on over to her site to see what other bloggers are working on.

Thanks for stopping by!

Second July Stitch Along Update

 Three weeks seems to have flown by. So much has happened this month. October Morning is just about the only craft I have spent any time working on lately.

This is where it was three weeks ago.

This is where it is now.

You can see that I have filled in the trees on the right side.

Thank you to Avis at Sewing Beside the Sea for hosting this Stitch Along every three weeks and sending us the needed posting reminders. 

Grab yourself a cup of coffee or tea and take some time to visit the other bloggers below who are part of this stitch-along. There is a wide variety of stitching projects. These talented stitchers are from all over the world, so please allow for the time differences and check back for each post.

Avis, Claire, Gun, Christina, Kathy, Margaret,

Heidi, Jackie, Sunny, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, 

Cathie, Linda, Helen, MaryMargaret, Cindy

Thanks for stopping by! 

Another finish!

I have been working steadily to finish my granddaughter's stocking. I did it! 

I even lined it. I was worried that some of the threads that were stretching from sequin to sequin might break when items are put in the stocking. I figured a lining would prevent that from happening.

Next I plan on starting a Mill Hill beaded ornament for each grandchild. I am starting with Joyful Santa.

I have sorted the floss and although it is recommended to separate the different beads I have decided that the colors are different enough that I really don't have too. 

I have been working on the baby jacket a little bit also.

The holes you see are the buttonholes not mistakes. This is an easy knit as it is garter stitch which is knit every row. 

I have been reading again also. I just finished Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks. I like most of his books, but this book I loved. 

I still have several more of the Nicholas Sparks books to read that are at my mom's house. I plan to bring this one back to her house to be sold or donated and collect those books that I have yet to read. 

I am now reading Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs.

I just started it so I have no opinion of it as yet, but I did like her book "Friday Night Knitting Club" so I am expecting a good read. 

Hubby and I have been sorting and cleaning out at my mom's house some mornings and then enjoying a dip in our pool in the afternoon. Mom had 7 garbage bags full of clothes to be donated. Wow! Most were Alfred Dunner, Lands End and LLBean. Anything that was stained or had a hole was discarded. I have already collected the rest of her quilting supplies. She had a few collections: Norman Rockwell plates, ceramic birds and china cup, saucer and dessert plate sets. Of course I have some items stored in her basement that now have to make their way back to my house. Bit by bit it will all get done. 

I am joining Kathy for some Slow Sunday Stitching. Pop on over to her site to see what other bloggers are stitching. I will be starting to work on that Santa.

Thanks for stopping by!