Monday, July 22, 2024

Miss Kirby

Gentle Friends, I skipped last week's post as I had done next to no stitching and nothing much is going on otherwise... we're just enjoying the cool and breezy Summer here by the Bay...now for today's post, I have a snaperoo of Ann....



... Woo Hoo!!!  I had a friend of mine fix my little problem and got the snap to look more like the actual piece of needlework...
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That's about it for today sports fans.  I really need my iced espresso this morning!!!  
Thanks for stopping by do stop again!!

Good Thoughts! Good Words! Good Deeds!
edgar

Monday, July 8, 2024

36 Down, 10 Left

 Gentle Friends, I thought an overall shot was due about now, and here's a snaperoo...


... I went ahead and stitched through the vine to see where, if any, mistakes were made and by some miracle, it matched up!!  So, now it's going back and stitching in the leaves and the rest of the "strawberries."  Those strawberries are stitched in Belle Soie's "Teddy Bear" and I'm trying to mix up the over-dyed browns so that not too many are dark or light, but a nice mix.  The three skeins I have of this silk are each very different dye lots so it is an easy task.
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That's about it for today sports fans.  
Thanks again for stopping by do stop again.  Stay Safe!

Good Thoughts! Good Words! Good Deeds!
edgar

Monday, July 1, 2024

Border Stitching

 Gentle Friends, stitching away on Ann, here's a snaperoo...


...so I've popped off the old Q-Snap for the snap so you can see the border.  I'm almost at the top right turn to come down the right side.  It's usually at this point I start overthinking things and nerves get the best of me... thinking the vine might just not match up... I may just bottom stitch the vine around to see if I'm worrying for nothing... as I am wont to do...  
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That's about it for today sports fans.  Thanks for stopping by do stop again.  Stay Safe!

Good Thoughts! Good Words! Good Deeds!
edgar

Monday, June 24, 2024

A Duck, a Squirrel and Some Birds...

 Gentle Friends, just moving along with Miss Ann... here's a snaperoo...


... another craptastic snap, unironed and not very flat, but you get the idea.  I am enjoying the stitch on this piece and really like this "spot" motif sampler.  Although visually even-ish, there is some wonkiness yet to come... and there is a big house slap-dab in the middle.  It was another super weekend here by the Bay.  Two lovely breezy days in the low 60's, I do love summertime in SF!!
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That's about it for today sports fans.  Thanks for stopping by do stop again.  Stay Safe!

Good Thoughts! Good Words! Good Deeds!
edgar

Thursday, June 20, 2024

The Summer Solstice

 Gentle Friends, it's now Summer and time for a little music...

... a lovely version of Vivaldi's "Summer" from the Croatian Baroque Ensemble."  Enjoy!!!
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Good Thoughts! Good Words! Good Deeds!
edgar

Monday, June 17, 2024

A Vine, A Bird and a Flower

 Gentle Friends, stitching away on Miss Ann with a little progress to show, here's a snaperoo...


... it's nice that the border is sort of regular and even... I keep looking at the bundle of silks on the ring and see that this will be a very "brown" sampler overall.  That's OK, it'll be a fun stitch and a nice piece when completed.
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That's about it for today sports fans.  Thanks for stopping by do stop again.  Stay Safe!

Good Thoughts! Good WQords! Good Deeds!
edgar

Monday, June 10, 2024

Let's Stick to the 1840's

 Gentle Friends, I finished up Miss Sarah Barker 1840 here's an old snaperooo of how she looks...

"Sarah Barker 1840"  from Needlework Press
4/1 - 6/7/24
37ct Cloudburst by Sotema Linen
My Overdyed Floss Conversion:

CC Thunderclouds -to – GA Toasted Barley

GA Moss – to – GA Deep Forest

GA Terra Cotta – to – CC Little Brown House

GA Baked Clay – to – CC Wild Berries

CC Camouflage – to – GA Dried Thyme

CC Perfect Piecrust – to – GA Melon Patch

CC Blackbird – to – CC Black Coffee

CC Queen Bee – to – No Change

CC Eggshell – to – GA Adobe

Although I hit some bumps along the way with a missing section of the chart and a couple of miscounts with the inevitable frogging... I really enjoyed this stitch - and - it felt very Hallowe'en with the pale orange, sagey-green, gold, and black.  Stitching a piece that is a bit wonky and doesn't line up evenly on each side was also fun.
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My new stitch will be a piece I found in the old stash pile, Ann Kirby 1845.   I've made the smallest of starts, and here's a snap...
"Ann Kirby 1845" - Needlework Press
40ct Hogbristle from Fox and Rabbit
Called for Silks
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That's about it for today's sports fans.  Thanks for stopping by do stop again.  Stay Safe!!

Good Thoughts! Good Words! Good Deeds!
edgar

Monday, June 3, 2024

Counting Stitches

Gentle Friends, well, Summer is truly upon us here by the Bay.  The fog has settled over us this morning so thick we can't see across Noe Valley, up to Sutro Tower, or to Downtown SF... our normally lovely view is just grey and quiet this morning and the temps are hovering at 54 at the moment...  I do love this Summer weather !!!  In Clovis, down in the San Joaquin Valley, where Rico's mom lives, they'll be in the upper 80s today and by midweek in the triple digits... NOT my kind of weather.  

All that aside it was a lovely windy weekend and I did get some stitching in... here's a snaperoo of the bottom of Sarah at the moment...


... I've not heard back from NWP, but decided to just forge ahead with stitching by counting the bits that are there and referencing the cover photos of the original sampler and the stitched model.  Since much of the sampler is so repetitive it is much less of a hassle than I thought it would be...  the over one verse and dedication in the empty square are all charted out and should work up quickly so this will probably be a finish sooner rather than later.  

I stopped to think about what would come next on the needle and found in the stash pile a kitted-up exclusive sampler I bought a while back.  I think that might be the ticket!  So, dear stitching friends, when next I post I might have this sucker done, and a new start for Summer.
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That's about it for today sports fans.  Thanks for stopping by do stop again.  Stay Safe!

Good Thoughts! Good Words! Good Deeds!
edgar

Monday, May 27, 2024

Memorial Day

 


"Our obligations to our country never cease but with our lives." 
 John Adams


Sunday, May 26, 2024

A Little Roadblock - or - The Missing Section

 Gentle Friends, here's a snaperoo of almost all of the stitching I can stitch from the chart...


... how can that be you ask... well, I bought the Sarah Barker chart when it was first released.  Not knowing at the time that the chart I had purchased had a duplicated page and the bottom section missing.  Who knew, I never looked and did not realize the problem I was facing until a couple of weeks ago.  So, I did what I thought was the thing to do, I went to the Needlework Press website and sent an email through Contact Us explaining there was a duplicate page and it was missing the bottom section.  So far, it's been crickets and tumbleweeds.  With no response, I turned to FaceBook and found the Needlework Press page... AND found a post from September 2023 talking about the issue with the Sarah Barker chart ...from that post this statement...

 "(It also reminded me that one printing of this chart had duplicate pages. If you happen to have one of those charts, send us a pic and we’ll be happy to replace it."  

I left a message there 5 days ago and again there's only been crickets and tumbleweeds...  It would be nice and easier to stitch if I were to get the missing part for the chart.  Without that section, I'll have to extrapolate and reconstruct from the bits that are there and the photo on the front of the chart the missing section and guess at the floss colors. Which will be kind of a pain... do I really want to do all that work, probably not... I'll probably do what I can and then just toss the incomplete sampler and move on to the next project, which I still need to solidify BUT will get on immediately... checking first to make sure that all the chart sections are there.  I'll also be doing that with every chart going forward.  Since this is the first time I've run into a missing section I guess I'll just treat it as a "live and learn" experience. In the past I've run into VERY bad charting for sure but never missing chart parts...  any other suggestions are welcome.  
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There you go sports fans... all the bitchin' that's fit to print!  
Thanks for stopping by do stop again.  Stay safe!

Good Thoughts! Good Words! Good Deeds!
edgar

Wednesday, May 22, 2024

69 Years Ago

Gentle Friends, today would have been my parents' 69th Wedding Anniversary, and as in years past I'm posting one of my favourite snaps from that day rainy day so long ago...

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Thanks for stopping by do stop again!

Good Thoughts! Good Words! Good Deeds!
edgar


Monday, May 20, 2024

Vine and Flowers

 Gentle friends, now stitching down the left side... here's a snaperoo...


That's about it for today sports fans.  Thanks for stopping by do stop again.  Stay Safe!

Good Thoughts! Good Words! Good Deeds!
edgar

Monday, May 13, 2024

Stitchin' Letters

 Gentle Friends, stitching away in the centre section... here's a snperoo...

...I've gotten the letters and separating bars stitched.  The lower section is all over one so I'll save that for later.  I am wondering about that last wonky letter after what I'm thinking is "Y"...  I stitched it as charted but now I'm rethinking whether to go back and stitch something a bit more conventional or not, I'll probably just leave it and be lazy and do nothing...the path of least resistance is often the path I trod!!
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That's about it for today sports fans.  Thanks for stopping by do stop again.  Stay Safe!!

Good Thoughts! Good Words! Good deeds!
edgar

Sunday, May 12, 2024

A Happy Mother's Day

 Gentle Friends, three miniatures ...

... my Mother, Grandmother and Great-Grandmother...
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Have a wonderful Day!!!
edgar


Monday, May 6, 2024

A Quick Post

 Gentle Friends, I forgot to post last night so it'll be short and sweet this morning... here's a snaperoo...

...stitching on the centre section and getting all the lettering out of the way...
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That's about it for today sports fans.  Thanks again for stopping by, do stop again.  Stay Safe!

Good Thoughts! Good Words! Good Deeds!
edgar

Monday, April 29, 2024

Sampler Stitchin'

 Gentle Friends, still stitching away on Sarah... here's a snaperoo...

... I think I'll move through the centre section for a while...
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That's about it for today sports fans.  Thanks for stopping by do stop again.  Stay Safe!

Good Thoughts! Good Words! Good Deeds!
edgar

Monday, April 22, 2024

Another Rabbit Hole......

 Gentle Friends, here's a snaperoo of Sarah...


... I'd be further along if it weren't for my phone.  My phone you say!  Specifically one little ole APP... the TikTok!  I usually watch a few and then put the phone down, but lately, I've found myself watching them one right after another... and then a couple of hours have slipped by...  no fake news feed and opinions, I'll get my news from other, far more reliable sources, thank you very much.  But, the customer service, hospice nurse, servers stories... and of course the dancing chihuahuas and chickens... I have a shallow humour threshold and will laugh at damn near anything that strikes me funny!!  

I need to be far more strict with myself and stop wasting time...  
and then I ask myself, where's that phone!
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That's about it for today as I reveal my weakness... thanks for stopping by do stop again.  Stay Safe!!

Good Thoughts! Good Words! Good Deeds!
edgar

Monday, April 15, 2024

A Damp Weekend

 Gentle Friends, still stitching away on Sarah, and here's a snaperoo...

... I like all the little bits of "wonky" that are part of this sampler... and with all the black stitching, it has a real Hallowe'en feeling that I am also enjoying... we've had some rain and overcast days that are nice and bleak...  my favorite!
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That's about it for today sports fans.  Thanks for stopping by do stop again.  Stay Safe!

Good Thoughts! Good Words! Good Deeds!
edgar

Monday, April 8, 2024

Stitch Frog Stitch Frog

 Gentle Friends, here's a snap of where I left off on Sarah Barker...

and here are the changes so far... I've gone back on the upper three flowers frogged the "Little House Brown" colour out and replaced it with "Adobe" and like it much better... also, I first stitched with "Ye Olde Gold" the centres of the bigger flowers, which made them way too green so I frogged them out and then found a nice light yellow "Queen Bee" for the centres...once again ... happy with the change.
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That's about all that's for today sports fans.  Thanks for stopping by do stop again.  Stay Safe!!

Good Thoughts! Good Words! Good Edds!
edgar

Monday, April 1, 2024

Flowers for Spring

Gentle Friends, I had to make a major adjustment to my new start... I had to return to the stash and find another sampler to stitch.  Here is a snap of what I am working on now...

"Sarah Barker 1840" from Needlework Press
37ct Cloudburst by Sotema Linen
My Overdyed Floss Conversion 

So, long story short... the linen I had wanted to use and actually began stitching the PS piece on was about just shy of an inch or so....short on the top and bottom.  I knew it going in as I had done all the measurements...and...had used shortish linen to stitch on before but on far smaller projects.  Those tight quarters I thought I could make work...how wrong I was.   As I got going my Q-snaps were having issues with the short linen, a little slidey.  I knew this was a big piece and just did not want to fight with the linen for months on end so I frogged out what I had stitched, ironed the linen put it back into stash and resigned myself to going over the Bay Bridge to Alameda and visiting Needle in a Haystack, my LNS. It has been a long time since I've made a trip and now I have an excuse and a need for a massive piece of linen!!
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That's about it for today sports fans.  Thanks for stopping by do stop again.  
Stay Safe!!

Good Thoughts! Good Words! Good Deeds!
edgar

Sunday, March 31, 2024

Happy Easter!!!

 Gentle Friends, just a quick post to wish everyone a Happy Easter!!

edgar


Sunday, March 24, 2024

“In every end, there is also a beginning.”

 Gentle Friends, I finished the sampler last night and here's a snaperooo...

Village Square Sampler from Samplers Remembered  
1/8 - 3/24   40-count BoF Barn Owl
My Conversion from the charted DMC to various Overdyed Flosses
I also recharted the lower right section for the date and to reflect my stitching

I've got everything lined up for the next project which I'll show next week.
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Thanks for stopping by do stop again.  Stay Safe!

Good Thouyghts! Good Words! Good Deeds!
edgar

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

It's Spring!!

Gentle Friends, a lovely variation of Vivaldis's first movement of Spring.... 

bright and cheerful........

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The year moves on......
edgar

Monday, March 18, 2024

Flowers and Fruit

 Gentle Friends, I wrapped up the centre square stitching... here's a snaperooo...


... I thought about straightening up the baskets and making them more evenly spaced, but figured that since this was originally stitched by an 8-year-old I'll just leave that bit of wonky alone...  as I've said before I can live with some wonky!!  

I've also decided what I'll stitch next...I figured it out this week from a finish on one of the stitching pages I follow on Facebook (the birthplace of conspiracies and lies btw...)... all I'll say at the moment is that it's from Prairie Schooler.  Over the years I've collected most of the PS charts that were released and still get the annual Santa card.  I've even stitched quite a few PS pieces, mostly smalls for gifts over the years, but never tackled a bigger piece, and I figure I ain't gettin' any younger !!  I'm also pulling out a WIP I had forgotten about and working on that simultaneously, so I'll actually be in a 2 piece stitch rotation... we'll see how long that lasts... but for now, I aim to finish up this sampler!
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That's about all for today sports fans.  Thanks for stopping by do stop again.  Stay Safe!

Good Thoughts! Good Words!@ Good Deeds!
edgar

Monday, March 11, 2024

"Feed me Seymour"

 Gentle Friends, stitching away on the central block of the sampler, and here's a snaperoo...

...now that I've posted this picture I can see that the color is way off and the linen looks splotchy... what a crap snap!!  Well, just see the progress and not the odd color...  as I stitched along on the leaves and stems all I could think of was a song from the 1986 film "Little  Shop of Horrors"... and a great little film with some outstanding performances!!  If you've seen the film you get the reference if not give the film a look, I'm sure you'll enjoy it as much as I have over the years.
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That's about it for today sports fans.  Thanks for stopping by do stop again.  Stay Safe!

Good Thoughts! Good Words! Good Deeds!
edgar

Monday, March 4, 2024

A Little Village

Gentle Friends, now that I've gotten the "Village" part of the sampler out of the way it's on to the giant flower.... here's a snaperoo...


... it's a pretty craptastic photo but you get the idea.  I was just too lazy to pop it all the way out of the old Q-snap...that enormous urn holds a gigantic flowering plant that is next on the agenda... let's see how much of that sucker I get done by next week...
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There has been lots of rain here by the Bay the last few days...it is nice to just be inside stitching, and watching the rain fall....that's about it for today sports fans.  Thanks for stopping by do stop again.  Stay Safe!!

Good Thoughts! Good Words! Good deeds!
edgar

Thursday, February 29, 2024

Some Opera and a bit of Drag!!!

 Gentle friends, in honor of Giacomo Rossini's birthday today, let's look a something fun...

... most of us growing up were introduced to opera this way... so let's hear it for old Bugs Bunny!!

edgar


Monday, February 26, 2024

Two Fruit Trees

 Gentle Friends, just moving along with Mary Allen, here's an update snaperoo...


... and a conundrum I was faced with this week... the tree on the right has multi-colored fruits... the lower three hanging ones were marked with a symbol that was not included on the chart floss-color key... how odd I thought, as I had never run up against missing color that was included on the chart but not in the key... so I had to go back, to the not very clear photograph and figure something out.  I ended up just pulling the lightest red as it seemed closest to the picture. Since this is really my conversion of over-dyed floss from the charted DMC I feel fine with adjusting as I stitch along.  I wonder how often this happens???.....using a symbol on the chart and forgetting to add it to the color key.  
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That's about it for today sports fans.  Thanks for stopping by do stop again.  Stay Safe!

Good Thoughts! Good Words! Good Deeds!
edgar

Monday, February 19, 2024

The Village Square Border

Gentle Friends, I finished up the border for the central square and a bit on the right... here's a snap...

... there's a tree/bush that goes in the urn on the right and another on the left.  Then I can make a start on the village in the center. 
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That's about it for today sports fans.  Thanks again for stopping by do stop again.  Stay Safe!

Good Thoughts! Good Words! Good Deeds!
edgar

Monday, February 12, 2024

Stitchin' on Mary Allen 1818

Gentle Friends, so, you might have noticed I've tweaked my name a bit...  I've been posting on this old Blog since 2007 and thought it just might be time for a change... and now here's a snaperooo of where things stand on VSS...

The mistake I saw last week at Posting I fixed ... I know how it happened... I was stitching away not paying attention and stitching the upper-right triangle for the center square the blue color and not the nutmeg color it should have been.   Throughout this piece, there are counting mistakes and uneven spacing that I'm going along with, for the most part.  I'll adjust things as I stitch if it's making me too crazy, but Mary was only 8 years old when she stitched this piece and did a good job of things.  I also never just stitch things as charted anyway, I stitch for pleasure and if something is going to drive me over the edge then I need to fix and adjust as I go along... Stitching should be relaxing!!!
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Looking into the future for my next stitch I started going through the old stash pile and found I have soooo many things!  Lots of things I've already stitched that are really stacking up and things I know I'll never stitch.  This leads me to think I need to do a stash unloading.  I'm on a Facebook book group where I could unload quite a bit... I also sell on eBay so I know how that works.  Here's a question for everyone, when you finish stitching a piece what do you do with the chart if you know you'll not stitch it again? 
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That's about it for today sports fans.  Thanks for stopping by do stop again.  Stay Safe!!

Good Thoughts! Good Words! Good Deeds!
edgar

Monday, February 5, 2024

A Little Stitchin'

 Gentle Friends, stitching away on VSS... here's a snaperoo...


... and do you see my mistake???  I only noticed it once I put the picture on the Post...  I'll need to frog that sucker out and re-stitch, but it's only a small bit so not too much trouble.
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That's about it for today sports fans.  Thanks for stopping by do stop again.  We've been having some rainy weather lately and more to come so... Stay safe and warm!!

Good Thoughts! Good Words! Good Deeds!
edgar

Monday, January 29, 2024

A Little Stitchin'

 Gentle Friends, stitching away on VSS with some progress...  here's a snaperoo...


... there are only little bits of over one where Mary ran out of room with her uneven spacing of the words... so it's not too much trouble and I think adds to the charm of this repro sampler...
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That's about it for today sports fans.  Thanks, for stopping by do stop again.  Stay Safe!!

Good Thoughts! Good Words! Good Deeds!
edgar

Monday, January 22, 2024

A Little Vine Stitchin'

Gentle Friends, as I am wont to do when I stitch a sampler, laying to rest thoughts of the border not meeting up, I stitched around the main encircling vine... it met up just fine, woohoo!!!   Here's a snaperoo...


...sorry about all the wrinkles and odd shadows.  It's been a wet and cold weekend here by the Bay, so we stayed in for the most part only venturing out for early Mass yesterday.  Hope everyone is staying warm and safe.  Thanks for stopping by do stop again!

Good Thoughts! Good Words! GHood Deeds!
edgar

Thursday, January 18, 2024

A Little Something Different

 Gentle Friends, do you remember the 12" singles from the Disco era... I do and had this Lipps Inc Classic... Funky Town... here's a fun version of that super tune......  enjoy!!

... OMG ... I'm sooo old!!  Gotta get a rubber chicken for my dotage for sure!!!
Have a great!
edgar



Wednesday, January 17, 2024

A Little Snow

Gentle Friends, one of my favorite carols is ..."In the Bleak Midwinter"...here's a lovely version from the BBC show "Ghosts"...enjoy...


... I really like both versions of this show... the original BBC and the American... so clever.... if you've not had the chance give it a go.  Still stitching away on VSS... update shot on Monday...
Have a super Weekend!!
edgar

Monday, January 15, 2024

A Little Stitchin'

 Gentle Friends, stitching away on VSS, and here's a snaperoo...


...as you can plainly see I was just too lazy to pop this sucker out of the Q-snap.  As I stitch along I find there are some glitches and anomalies charted from the original sampler that Mary stitched ... some of them I can live with and others I can't... so onward and upward...
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That's about it for today sports fans.  Thanks for stopping by do stop again.  Stay Safe!

Good Thoughts! Good Words! Good Deeds!
edgar

Monday, January 8, 2024

A Little Stitchin' and a Little Christmas

Gentle Friends, for some reason I've just not gotten the rhythm of this stitch and it's been some slow going... here's a snaperoo...


...I'm not sure why... I like the floss colors, I like the linen... I like the chart (it's very clear)... but ya'know when you get in that zone and it's all poke pull poke pull... that's just not happened with this piece... yet.  I think it's all about when I made the start of this piece.  Right in the middle of all the goings on around Christmas and the Holidays and now with it all wrapping up... this past weekend we (the Bell Choir) played at the Ephiphany Services yesterday morning for both the 8am & 10am Masses.  Things will start to get back to normal sooner than later and it'll all be fine.

 Since I'm still dwelling on Christmas, here's a shot from our Christmas dinner with friends...

...and remembering how I was out of commission and hot off the operating table last Christmas there was no Birthday/Christmas Cake for 2022, Rico can bake bread but cake is not his in his wheelhouse.  This year I stepped up to the plate, and here's a snap of the cake...

... if you've been following along on this here Blog for a while, "yule" remember one of my oldest Christmas traditions since I was a toddler back in Mississippi is to have for dessert on Christmas Day, a birthday cake for baby Jesus, reminding us all the reason for the season and making it a little less Santa Claus, but I digress... so through the years as we grew up and celebrated Christmas, my mom made all kinds of cakes.  Since her passing, I've kept up this tradition and have been making the Christmas/Birthday cakes... this year I made an Italian Cream Cake, what is Italian about this cake is far beyond my knowledge but I jazzed it up a bit with a filling between each layer of key lime curd. That little addition elevated this buttercream, pecan, and coconut concoction quite a bit and gave it a super citrus bite!! 
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That's about it for today sports fans.  Thanks for stopping by do stop again.  Stay Safe!

Good Thoughts! Good Words! Good Deeds!
edgar

Monday, January 1, 2024

A Little Start and a Happy New Year!!

 Gentle Friends, I got a small start on a new sampler, and here's a snap...

"Village Square Sampler - Mary Allen - 1818" - from Samplers Remembered
40ct BOF "Barn owl"
My Conversion from the charted DMC to various Overdyed Flosses

Although I had some big stitching plans for the Christmas break... those fell to the wayside with lots of other things - what those things were for the most part I couldn't tell you but we were so busy, busy, busy.... This new sampler is a largish piece so you'll be seeing it for quite a while.  I first saw it completed a few years ago on another blog and just fell for it immediately and instantly acquired the chart.  Since I've been pulling my last few projects from stash this was certainly going to be top of the pile...I may switch out some of the floss choices I made as I stitch along depending on how the colors hit me  - there are a couple of questionable choices hanging on the old floss ring...
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Here's hoping for a really Happy New Year for everyone!!


  That's about it for today sports fans.  Thanks for stopping by do stop again.  Stay Safe!

Good Thoughts! Good Words! GoodDeeds!
edgar

Miss Kirby

Gentle Friends, I skipped last week's post as I had done next to no stitching and nothing much is going on otherwise... we're just e...