End of the Year Reflection

    Wow!  Another year is coming to a close and it is a time for reflection.  It has been a year.  It has primarily been good but it certainly had its ups and downs...sometimes at the same time.

  One of the mixed news was the fact I was told I was diabetic.  It was mixed news since, well, nobody wants to hear that.  the good news is that they discovered it in time and my treatments seem to be working.  This was discovered when I went to the doctors for that wound on my foot.  That is also good news since it brought up other things.  I do not go to the wound doctor any longer.  I do have neuropathy on that side but it is something that I will just learn to deal with.  Overall my health is getting under control and that is what is important.  Thank goodness for friends who overrode my objections and fears of going to doctors.  I don't think they read this blog so I can say that.  I was going to ask for a ride to the doctors but they beat me to it by 24 hours.  Overall their support, as well as my other close friends (you know who you are) got me through it.

   My eyesight is doing ok but I can tell my vision isn't as good as it was a year ago.  The eye doctor, when I last saw him, said I didn't need to see him again unless I started to have problems that the cheap magnifier glasses couldn't help with.  The operations that I had were working.  I am still wearing the Dollar Tree magnifiers and they are helping enough for now.   

  I had a lot of friends and extended family tell me their health wasn't the best.  So 2024 was a year with a lot of people having to deal with different issues.  It is my prayer that everybody does better in 2025 and I hope they know that I am here to listen to them.  It doesn't matter that I really can't do anything about your situations, but know that I am a phone call, FB messenger, or email away if you need somebody to just listen to you for whatever reason.

  On the cooking front, I have tried some new recipes and mostly they have been good.  Dan continue to be my guinea pig and I was totally happy with his non verbal critique of our Christmas dinner.  It only took him 4 days to eat everything, leftovers and his Christmas present of New Years goodies, so that I a success I think.  That reminds me I have to ask him if he likes goat cheese.  For part of his birthday and/or Christmas present I was thinking of stuffed dates wrapped in bacon.  If I don't use goat cheese I think I could use some of the whipped cream cheese blends.

  On the crafting front, I am pleased to say that I did finish a couple of projects.  I am close to finishing a couple more.  I did finish stitching all the blocks for the dragon wall hanging.  I have attached a pix of the blocks.  Now I need to think about the rows that will go between the dragons.  That material will be hard to determine since it will be the rows that I will put the words on.  Plenty of time to figure that out.

   Goldie, the gold/yellow dragon at the bottom might end up being put on the back as sort of a label.  If not that she might end up on the island of Misfits.  We'll see.  By the way, that is not the final order of the dragons.  I want to switch up a couple so that their eyes are looking in the right direction.  

   I worked on the Candlewicking and made good progress.  My hands hurt after I stitch on that so it is set aside for a little bit.  I do have a couple of new projects that I might do.  I know that I will be doing more blackwork so I need to figure that in.  I want to finish two or three UFOs in 2025.  That might just be the tops but it might also be totally completed.  We shall see.

   I would also like to finish up a Kumihimo project.  I need to get jewelry pliers but I wonder if needle nose would work.  I need them to do the closures.  I also would like to learn how to do the flat braids.  One step at a time.

   That's the quick recap.  How about you?  Are you planning on anything for 2025?  Did you finish what you wanted to in 2024 or at least did you feel good about working on things?  I figure life is too short to stress over if you finished a project or not.  Do what you can and when you can...that's it.  Take joy in the fact that you CAN still do crafts vs. you HAE to do crafts.  The main thing is...

   Enjoy life for as long as you can and never give up.  Never let the nay-sayers the opportunity to say they told you so.  Instead, prove them wrong and have the grace to just smile knowing that they had it wrong and THAT will bug them.  If you don't react, you aren't playing into their hands and you are taking away their power.  I know how great you are.  

Recovery day!

     Ahh, another Christmas under the belt.  That belt certainly needed expanding after eating.  How come every year I try to cut back on how much I make and I still make too much.  So what did I make?  The final meal ended up:

   Pork roast cooked over a bed of onions

   Parsnips

   Mashed potatoes and gravy

   Green beans with bacon bits in it

   Pumpkin Pie parfaits

     Dan took home ALL the leftovers from the table (a little bit of everything) so it was a good thing that I hadn't put out all of the pork.  LOL.  I think it was my best so far.  He also took home his Christmas present which was:

    Homemade egg nog mix

   Homemade hot cocoa mix

   Miniature marshmallows

   Various candy bars (of his favorite kinds)

  His favorite dip (chili dip)

   Chips

   That should last him until New Years.  That is what I thought.  I found out that he had already broken into the Oreos and they are gone.  He did eat some of his left over pork and mashed potatoes the other night also so I know it was not ALL eaten in one night.

   Today I finished doing all the dishes and laundry so that was enough work for me.  LOL.  that meant I brought out all the projects that I want to work on at the beginning of 2025.  I am trying to figure out how many new projects (or project how many I will collect) and which projects I totally NEED to finish.  So that meant today I cleaned up the sewing room/bedroom and and pulled the projects on my ironing board to keep in sight.  That is when I discovered my hexies.  By the time I separated them out I have two different stacks.  One stack is for regular hexies and the other is for Quilt As You Go hexies.  There is one project that I have that is technically not a hexie but rectangle but I am so used to saying hexies.  It would be more accurate if I say English Paper Piecing (EPP).  So I am working on the rectangles.  I did separate all the pieces and I wasn't happy with the how the rectangles felt.  So instead I disassembled what I had done, which was only around 5 EPP pieces) and am trying something else.  Tomorrow/today I will sew some of the new methods EPP pieces and see if I like that better.  Basically I am putting fusils on the top and bottom of the piece.  It feel better.  I'll know more after I attach some of those rectangles together.  

   Another project that I will be working on is the last dragon.  That will be a copper dragon.  I couldn't find my original dragon pix I had found so I had to pick out a different one. That is ok.  This one should be cute.  

   That's about it for this update.  I will write later in the week to report on how the EPP worked out.  I need to figure out how wide I want to make this project.  It will take forever to do but that is ok.  It is all about the learning process isn't it?

   Have a great day my friends.

Merry Christmas

    I thought I'd send out this post now since I will be busy until after Christmas.  I just wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas and hope you have a wonderful New Year.  Are you traveling for the holidays?  Are you staying in?  Are you stitching anything.

     I am cooking for Dan and I and tonight I just finished bagging up his Christmas present of goodies.  Some of the goodies I have to wait until tomorrow to make.  He will be here on Tuesday.  After that I will do dishes and pull out things to work on.  I will do a post after I figure out what to work on.

     In the meantime, I hope everybody stays safe and has a wonderful Christmas.   

What to work on Next

    I finished the owl and it will be sent off to my friend Susan as soon as I get my stamps.  I had forgotten to get some for the season so I put in an order for some to be delivered.  THEN I will get this sent off to her.  

   I also received a nice pair of slippers for an early Christmas present.  They are so warm!  I love them.  The cats also got an early Christmas present in the form of a big bag of cat food shipped to them.  LOL

   I also received a book for Christmas.  My friend Connie knows how I like Jacques Pepin.  The book is a memoir with a few recipes included.  It is called The Apprentice - My life in the Kitchen.  So far it is interesting and I found a couple of recopies that I will make.  It brought back memories of his cooking show and his Facebook posts.

   Now it is time to get started on some more redwork blocks.  I'm not sure which one to start on first so please take a minute and vote on which one I should do first.   Just leave a comment on what you think I should do first.  :)

  So what do you think.  A-B-C- or D.  Obviously some designs will take longer than others but let me know what you think.

Surviving Black Friday

 Hi everybody.  

    I hope you are surviving black Friday.  I don't expect to go out, except to feed the cats tonight.  The low tonight is expected to be around 27.  So I will stay inside and order a couple of things online.  Such exciting things like a 4 inch wooden embroidery  hoop.  What can I say.  When you need it you need it.  This is what I need it for.

   I will have to order some 4" hoops to put the ornament in.  I have plenty of 3" hoops but need to look into some more patterns that will fit in 3" hoops.  I have a couple already done that should fit in 4".  THEN I get to practice finishing.

    I have finished another dragon but can't remember if I shared it or not, so here it is.

    I have also finished another redwork block.  The last one before putting trimming the blocks.  

   As always I now have Nora up on the wall and she has settled nicely into her guard spot.

   That is about it for my progress report.  I did see this picture the other day and thought I might try to do something similar sometime.  No pattern, just the picture.  That might be a 2025 goal?  Who knows.

   I will end here with sharing a couple of  memes that I thought were cute.  Enjoy!

Happy Thanksgiving

 

Happy Thanksgiving and...Another Oner Bites the Dust

    In the words of the Queen song...

Another one bites the dust

Another one bites the dust

And another one gone, and another one gone

Another one bites the dust (yeah)

   But what bit the dust?  Needles.  While I was stitching at my table, I managed to drop a needles on the floor.  Then, around 5 minutes later, ANOTHER one fell.  That is TWO needles that bit the dust, otherwise called my living room floor, that I couldn't find!  Sigh.  Sigh.   Yes I did two sighs since it was two needles.  They were both blunt needles so now I need to get some more blunt tip needles.  Still have enough sharps but my blunts are dwindling fast.

   I was working on my blackwork when I dropped them.  I would show you the progress pix but next week I get the last two sections so I will get them stitched and then show you the finished piece.  By this time next year, I might have enough blackwork to put into a four patch quilted wall hanging.  I told Dan yesterday that I want to get in 2025 another rod to go over the couch so I can hang up one more wall hanging.

   Yesterday was Dan's and my Thanksgiving since he will be going out of state on the day after Thanksgiving to visit friends.  Yesterday was his birthday so we just combined the two events into one.  I just gave him some fruitcake, he loves fruitcake, since I have been cooking and giving him dishes for his birthday fort the last two weeks.  I couldn't have him over on his birthday and not give him something.  LOL.  I wonder if he will take it with him on Friday when he leaves and has to drive between 4 and 6 hours.  It is supposed to be cold so he will probably stay at a hotel for a couple of nights so he isn't camping outside.  There is one that he usually stays at that is pretty good, is within 20 minutes of where his friends live, and he gets a military discount.

   I hope to have the Family redwork block finished by the weekend.  I will post a pix when I get it finished.  In the meantime, I hope everybody has a great Thanksgiving.

    Hugs to all and my holiday meme today is:

A couple of finishes

 Yes you read that right.  I finally managed to get back into the stitching mode and had a couple of small finishes today.  So, of course, I wanted to share with you.

   The first finish was for my December block Exchange.  I started it with one design but didn't like how it was coming along so it is set aside and I went back to a favorite of mine...the Noel redwork block.    I don't think I ever get tired of doing the Noel bock.  

   The next thing that I finished was another Words of Wisdom block.  This time it was the Integrity block.  I only have one more block left before I need to figure out how I want to put it all together.

Did I show you my latest progress on my blackwork?  Here it is.  I'm getting into the home stretch and I can't wait.  

   I just noticed that I haven't posted a couple of other pix that I don't think I have posted.  This is sort of hard to see but it is my pix of me trying my hand a Kumihimo braiding.  I have to get some end caps before I can finish it  but it is a start.  Wish me luck.  I will need to get the end caps as I mentioned but I also need to get some jewelry pliers to close the end caps etc.  Slow progress but I think I like it.

This next picture is some of my redwork from years past.  I will reduce it  to 9 blocks so that I have a more realistic chance of finishing it.

This picture is my block from my October partner.  I love how it looks.  :)

  That is it for this trip.  I hope to be able to post more often but with the holidays...no promises.  :)  If I don't post before Thanksgiving, please enjoy it with your family and friends.

Updates on Projects - 10.26.24

      Let me see on what I have to report on.  You might have already seen some of this stuff but I'll mention it anyway.

     First up I found out that we can vote early so Dan picked me up and we went to vote.  He needed to go to the county seat anyway to renew his driver's license so we sort of made a day of it.  He managed to get his license renewed and the person gave directions on how to get to the place to vote.  We found it without any problems and then spotted the decorations on this vehicle that was parked outside of the voting place.

It was good to know that the skeleton wasn't from somebody who was waiting to vote.  LOL

We did get to vote though and then he took me to a favorite restaurant and we had homemade pie  :)  A good reward.

. 

   Next up is Amethyst, the purple dragon.  The next dragon will be a teal one but I have to find the right floss for that before I start working on it.

   That brings me to my blackwork.  I am now starting on the final row of blocks which means that I can also start on the final border.  That is why it looks so jagged.  LOL

I am also working on another blackwork called Relax in Olive Green.  As you can see from this picture, I am not doing it in Olive Green.

I will start on my other blackwork project that a friend gave me but it uses the same blocks that my first picture uses so I am waiting, after three restarts, for the finish of that.  Then I will switch my method of quilting the other pattern called Geometrica.  Then I will not start from the center, where I get mixed up a lot, I will start from one of the corners.  Hopefully that will work better.

  

   I will also do some blackwork or cross stitch projects for Christmas.  Probably ornaments but I have to put them together?  Yuck.  Of course I might just send the finished stitched piece and let my crafting friends figure out how they want to finish it.  Is that bad of me?  Maybe.  Who knows.

   That is enough for an update for now.  I am working on other things but not enough to update you on them yet.  I hope everybody has a great day!

PS:  Isn't that a cute cake?  I couldn't resist sharing it.

Blackwork Update - 10.5.24

   Happy weekend everybody!

   I hope you are enjoying your weekend.  It has been warm here in Arkansas and the cats have been enjoying the outdoors after the yard got cut.  

   I don't blame them  The area where you see brown spots is not as large as it appears in the picture.  Dan's yard guy(kid) brought over weed killer and with what he had leftover after spraying that little(?) between the neighbor's fence and my house he used around the tree and sidewalk and water meter.  Now the weeds are dead there and it is easier for the kid who sometimes stops by to mow

   That wasn't all that I got done.   I managed to finish the quilt block for the exchange which will be malted out on Monday but perhaps more importantly, I got caught up on the blackwork.

This was important since now I can start working on the right side border.  I probably won't get to that this week since I already have a lot to do, but soon I will be doing the final row on the center section as well as on the border.  :)

   That's about it for now.  I just wanted to share.  I hope everybody has a wonderful weekend,

 

The layout for the red hexies

 Hi everybody.

   This is quick since I'm behind on a lot of things but I did snap a quick pix of the red hexies that I'm working on,  I have them all basted and soon, maybe tomorrow, I'll start to sew them into their individual flowers.  I have a lot to do yet on various projects.  Oh heck!  I just noticed I have another hexie that I haven't basted.  Well I guess that loner will have to be put on another post.  Here is what I have basted down so far,.

ignore the green leaves sticking out

They will soon be added to the growing supply on my design wall.

  That is it for now.  I'll put up another post later in the week for now I have to pretend that I'm busy quilting.  LOL.

Another block finished and prepping for hexies!

      Hi everybody!

     I managed to finish another Words to Live By block and picked out fabric for some more hexies.  Want to see what I picked out?

  First up is the finished block.  :)

I can't believe that I only have a couple more blocks to go before  start to think about putting it all together!  I still have plenty to do so I won't be idle.  LOL.

     One of the other projects involve hexies.  I have various pix of hexie patterns that have inspired me but currently I am working on hexie flower  I am thinking of doing a hexie border or row between some other blocks,  Who knows what I will end up doing.  Some of the pix that I have saved for inspiration and ideas are?  Well I couldn't find my pictures so that will have to be another post,  Here are some pictures that I have found for other projects.  Might not make them but they do inspire me.

    Did I tell you that I am hand stitching my Arbor leaves together?  It will be completely hand sewn.  I might need therapy after doing this.  LOL  So far I have four of the columns stitched.  After that I will attach the brown column which are to represent a tree trunk?  Who knows what this table runner, or possible wall hanging, well end up looking like.

     I did cut and marked more fabric so that after giving my fingers a break, I can get back to basting up some more hexies.  I decided to work on some purples which I HAVE to have in it since my friend Susan loves purples.  What other colors should I look for in fabric?  Let me know.

   That's about it for this post.  I hope you all have a great day!

There be dragons!

      Well to be more precise there are some dragons at least.  I finished Blackie so I thought I would just put up a picture of all dragon blocks I have done so far.  Since I am posting this after midnight I guess that makes it I'm posting this early on Wednesday.  LOL.

     So here are my finished dragon blocks.  I have around 3 more left and the next one up is the lavender one.  That will be a bit later though since I need to work on another Words of Wisdom block next.