Last Few Hours of 2011

As 2011 draws to a close, I have completed my final finish.  The sampler itself was finished long ago.  I just never managed to frame it.  I even had the frame and mats ready to go.  This afternoon, I laced the sampler onto a piece of foam core.  Lacing is a very tedious task and I am ever so glad it is done. 

The day with the least amount of daylight has come and gone.  The shortest day is a good day because after it, the days start getting longer even if we continue to have winter temperatures.  More sunlight is always welcome. 

In Minnesota, 31 December 2011 has 10 minutes more sunlight time than 21 December.  To me, that is wonderful. 

One More Thing

My friend made this Santa and gave him to me.  It is a potholder.  She has a sewing machine that can be programmed to do gorgeous automatic embroidery.  Santa is going to be my kitchen Christmas decoration.  That is where he will stay so everyone can see him. 

Thank-you, Janice, and bless you for your generosity. 

They are done

The final two ornaments are finished and are the last finishes before Christmas.  I actually finished them Thursday but did not make the composite to show you the back together with t he fronts.  I have two things yet to finish next week.

Yesterday we had a little snow.  It fell in large, soft flakes and made it feel like we were inside a snow globe.  When I walked this morning, the snow glistened in the lights.  Perhaps it will last through tomorrow but that is not a certainty.  In Minnesota, we expect to have a white Christmas but there is an occasional year when we do not. 

Also yesterday, we shifted into efficient work mode to clean the house for Christmas dinner tomorrow.  In the morning, I used the long handled duster to be certain there were no cobwebs in the corners.  What I did not realize was that I knocked the thermostat.  Throughout the day, the house temperature gradually fell.  During the night I thought it was colder than it should have been but I was not awake enough to think to check the thermostat.  As I walked this morning, the thought dawned on me.  When I returned home, I checked it and yes, it was low, very low.  We are anticipating that warmth will return to the house this morning.

The extended family is coming tomorrow  Today there is more cleaning to do as well as food preps.

Merry Christmas to All

One Done and Two to Go

Joy is done and I need to make arrangements to give it to its intended owner.  It turned out quite well, I think. 

Goodwill to All still has a lot left.  I hope to have both finished Wednesday but that may be a stretch. 

Working to finish stitching

I have just finished stitching Joy and may even construct the ornament today or tomorrow. 

The design is by Jeanette Douglas and was published in the Just Cross Stitch Ornaments 2010 issue.  Unintentionally, I substituted a darker, richer, reddish color thread for the ribbon.  Quite frankly, I am very pleased with it.  I also substituted Delica beads for Mill Hill beads.  The colors are essentially the same.  The Delicas were handy and I did not have to go into my unheated storeroom, the porch.  At this time of the year, it alternates between being a walk-in refrigerator and a walk-in freezer.  The fabric to the left is the silk that I will use to cover the back. 

Progress is a little slower on Goodwill to All.  It is by Barbara Jackson of Tristan Brooks Designs.  It was published with two co-ordinating designs in the Winter 2002 issue of Sampler & Antique Needlework Quarterly.  I have already stitched the other two designs. 

All three of these little ornaments are intended to be gifts. 

Very Small Finish

Yes, it is a very small finish.  This is the second time I have stitched Patience of Christmas Virtues, Part I.  This is a little gift for one of the members of the service staff of the health club.  She is always helpful to us and is one of the few people I know who will appreciate Patience. 

I need to find a small ornament that I can quickly stitch and finish.  Updates on this new task may be forthcoming. 

Two More Finishes

Do you remember these little designs? 

Vibrant Woodland

 I had finished Vibrant Woodland and just begun Sunset Desert when I received a model to stitch for Just Cross Stitch Magazine. 

Sunset Desert

 

 

Originally, I intended them to go into the top of a small box to be a high school graduation gift for each of two nieces. 

That was a nice idea but the younger of the two graduated from college this past June.  You might say that I really missed the boat on this one. 

When I returned the model to JCS, I picked up Sunset Desert again and finished it.  Quite frankly, the idea of putting them into the box tops freaked me out.  As it turned out, I had good reason to be freaked out.  No matter how carefully I measured and cut, I had a terrible time getting everything the correct size. 

The end result is that I set both aside for a couple weeks.  Yesterday I thought that I might do a little work on each one.  I put a DVD, a l-o-n-g DVD, Random Passage, into the player.  I lined up all of my tools and supplies on the floor in front of the television and began to work.  It was not that the work went so easily but I just continued to work.  Each box developed its own problems that I had to solve.  I worked all afternoon. 

My list of tasks for yesterday went something like this. 
1.  Make a treat for a Christmas gathering
2.  Do a little finishing on at least one of the boxes
3.  Clean the bathroom

My list of accomplishements
1.  Made the treat
2.  Completely finished both boxes

Tomorrow, I will send the boxes.  How wonderful, both fit into one Amazon.com box. 

This afternoon, I will have to clean the bathroom so I can check that off my list. 

Showing Off Finishes

Before I get into the finishes, I want to show you our dwarf Alberta Spruce in its winter coat.  During the night, we had a little snow; it is not very deep but it is clean and white.  I took this picture before the sun was up.  The sun is up now but we cannot see it with all the clouds in front of it.  It is not cold just cold enough to prevent the snow from melting.  It is starting to look like Christmas time in Minnesota.

On to the finishes.

Do you remember the three pockets in progress?

They are now finished and I hope to send them to their recipients tomorrow.

Front sides, maybe they are the backs - - -

It just seems like the fancy work should be on the front.

The backs showing the linings inside the pocket flaps, the buttons, and the button loops. 

Even the backs are a little fancy.  

The back of the second plain pocket
The first plain pocket has reached its intended recipient who is in the process of decorating it.  

I am not yet certain what I will do with it but it is ready for anything!! 

The front is very plain and unremarkable.   :-D 

Friday and yesterday I forced myself to do this finishing.  Each day when I looked at what I had done, I felt pleased that I had followed through. 

Stitching Done - Must Finish

Hooray, I finished the top for the second box.  Unfortunately, I have lined neither box; I best be getting on with that.  It does feel nice to have finished stitching both box tops. 

The  front and back of an ornament. 

The Best Find

It doesn't look like much does it?  It's just a simple portable cabinet light.  But it really is the best find.  We stopped at Home Depot on the way home from the health club on Black Friday.  Roger needed some wood and a plumbing elbow.  I made a beeline to the house plants. 

On the way, you really had to do some fancy footwork to avoid running into a display of LED lights.  They were packaged, two small flashlights and two headlamps.  I glanced at the packages and quite literally the light went on inside my head. 

Several years ago, I found this rather unremarkable and slightly dull "paperweight" at an estate sale.  One of our sons likes paperweights so I thought that he might make a place for it in his room.  It was priced at only a dollar or two.  The price reflected the fact that it was not too highly desirable. 

Even this picture shows it to better advantage.  We could see a couple large, dark bubbles in it and some kind of bubbly swish and that was about it.  That is until one of our sons decided to shine a flashlight up from the bottom. 

It was not a paperweight.  It was a piece of glass art and very arty glass art at that.  Since that discovery, we have been looking for small uplights or something that would illuminate the inside of the glass.  If worst came to worst, we decided that we could make a little stand with a small flashlight light bulb.  But making this stand seemed like a large, not too easy task so the glass art sat on the desk acting like a paperweight. 

When I saw the LED headlight, I ran to the electrical supplies area at Home Depot and carefully examined everything there.  I came up with the little cabinet light.  It looked about the right diameter so it hopped into my  shopping basket. 

As you can see, the little light is just the right size.  It looks like it was made for the glass. 

The final picture shows how the light lights up the glass.  You must keep a couple things in mind.  I am taking a picture of light and while we have a nice camera, it is not a professional camera and I do not have the lighting to make a really spectacular picture.  The color of the light came out yellow.  I PhotoShopped the picture to make it whiter.  The picture is not as sharp and clear as real life.  The large bubbles are a little dim and the swish of tiny bubbles is not quite as sharp.  I think you can get a general idea of what the glass looks like. 

One Pocket Done

I thought you might like to see that I have completed one of the two pockets. 

As I speak, uhhhmmmm, uhm, uhm, as I write???  No, as I key this message, it is in the post and on its way to its intended owner who will then, I think, decorate it and give it to its ultimate owner.  Now, how is that for a journey? 

Our Thanksgiving was the usual, for us, just the four of us.  The green beans turned out wonderful and I will serve them for the extended family Christmas dinner.  The wild rice pilaf needs to be tweaked so I will not serve it, maybe another year.  It is so very good to be able to try out new things in a situation where nothing is riding on the outcome. 

Our snow was gone except for the odd pile or two on Thanksgiving day.  There is still just a little left.  It rained this morning and may snow tonight.  All in all, our temperatures have been unseasonably warm.  Depending upon where you live, you might not think they are unseasonably warm, but we sure do. 

We did little shopping on Black Friday.  If you are not US residents, you might not know the significance of the name Black Friday.  In the US, the day after Thanksgiving is traditionally a big shopping day.  I do not know how much of it is customer driven and how much is retailer driven but it is a big shopping day, so much so, that some claim it is the day the retailers' books shift from red ink to black ink. 

We shopped at one of the home improvement stores on the way home from the health club.  We went in for a length of lumber and a plumbing elbow.  I checked out the house plant section because I wanted a little wintergreen plant I had seen.  Then I had an idea for which I needed a small spotlight which I found.  I need to try to take pictures of it to show this to you because I simply cannot describe it.  At the checkout counter, we found out that their holiday promotional was a nice poinsettia for 1.00 USD.  All of that popped into our shopping basket, a grand total of not very much. 

Thanksgiving Blessings to All

Sometimes it is difficult to remember to be thankful for all of our blessings.  Food takes such a central position in Thanksgiving that it tends to overshadow everything else.  I guess that I willingly fall into that trap. 

Yesterday afternoon I made almond krokant for the salad and toasted almonds for the green beans.  This morning I made the cranberry sauce and simmered dried cranberries in a bit of the liquid from the sauce for the green beans.  Earlier this week I roasted some of the pumpkins we grew and prepared pumpkin purée.  Today it went into a pumpkin pie.  The turkey is in the oven.  Really and truly, I can hardly wait to eat. 

I have been working on a couple fabric pockets. 
I cut the fabric and am ready to begin stitching the pockets together. 

A Day of Experiences

Snow was predicted for today with an accumulation of 1-3 inches by evening.  This is the first accumulation snowfall of the year.  It will not last because next week the temperature will climb to at least 40° F.  This is quite late for a first snowfall. 

At the moment, the sky is very heavily overcast.  This morning at 4:50 or so a.m., the sky was not overcast.  If it had been, I would not have been able to see the most spectacular Leonid meteor.  Most meteors show just a faint streak of light.  This one was phenomenal.   I have never seen such a spectacular meteor and expect to not see one again. 

It is just past the peak of the Leonid Meteor Shower but that did not prevent this one from showing up.
The Perseid Meteor Shower  in August usually puts on a good show too. 

Last but not least, this afternoon, we discovered a red squirrel in the attic.  It looked like it wanted to find a way out.  We have set out a live trap bated with peanut butter.  If the squirrel will go into the trap, we will take it outside and let it go.  I wonder if this is one of the eight Drain Pipe Boys of the summer.  I also wonder how it got inside.  We really need to block that passage. 

Work Resumes: The Pockets

Do you remember when I posted these pictures? 

It seems so long ago that I cannot remember when it was. 
I used the fabrics shown in the picture to the right to make the pockets. 
I was ready to finish the pockets when I was sent a project that took priority.  I could not find the time to finish the pockets. 

I will resume the construction.  The pockets are almost finished and have been like this for a little more than a month.  The band on the brown pocket needed some serious remedial work.  When I began to cut it, I unfortunately started to cut it on the intended fold line.    :-(   
After thinking it over, I finished cutting it on both fold lines and stitched ribbon over the cut edges.  It seems to me like a fairly good save. 

Next on the list is two plain, undecorated pockets. 

One will be the red pin dot with the green holiday print to line it.  The second one is Chocolate  -  Chocolate  -  Chocolate.  The pink stripe will be the outside.  I only wish that I could have gotten green stripe but pink is better than nothing. 

Gift Time

Catherine and I were paired in the Blackbird Designs Exchange.  I thoroughly enjoyed stitching for my partner, Catherine.  She also lives in Minnesota and we decided to meet about half way between our homes to have lunch and exchange our gifts.  First of all, Catherine discovered that we have a mutual friend.  Next we discovered that our paths actually crossed in the mid 1990's. 

Catherine attended all of the Spirit of Cross Stitch events in Des Moines, Iowa.  A friend of mine and I attended two of the events, in 1993 and 1994.  A needlework shop in St.Paul sponsored a bus to the event and made arrangements with a motel in Des Moines for accommodations during the event.  We all went to Des Moines on the bus together. 

When we met, Catherine and I did not recognize each other but then I think we did not expect to.  It was just a nice time to get to know a new friend. 

I expect that you want to know what Catherine and I gave each other. 

This is the box that I made for Catherine.  I stitched Woodland Berries and lined the inside of the lid with it.  I painted, distressed, and waxed the box; I have shown you pictures of the work on the box.  You can go back into previous posts to see them.  I also included some gifts that I put into the box, none of which are shown in the picture.  For the picture, I just popped some of my stitching and sewing things into the box to add a little visual interest. 

Here is the lovely sewing book that Catherine made for me.  You can see how nice it goes with my old plate and the old fashioned print fabric.  I have it on a table where I can see it while I stitch.  It makes my heart sing. 

The send date for the exchange is 15 November.  We are all done; we both have our gift and it isn't even 15 November yet.  We are congratulating ourselves for successfully completing the exchange. 

Stitching Continues

This is Vibrant Woodland from Amaryllis Artworks.  I finished it a couple weeks ago and am trying to find the time to mount it in a box.  It is for one of my nieces. 

I have begun a second design from Amaryllis Artworks for her sister.  I am trying very hard to finish the boxes before the end of the year.  They were intended to be high school graduation gifts.  But - - - The younger one graduated from college this summer. 

My life has just become a little more complicated and I have a little less free time.  Friday I received a new model from Just Cross Stitch.  I need to return it finished by the end of the first week in November so they have enough time to have it framed.  Eek, that is almost as much work as it sounds like.  One good thing is that it seems to be stitching up quite easily.  I am not certain when or even if I can ever show it to you.   

Do you want to see the last design I stitched for JCS?  Sampler of Psalms Part I came out in the November/December issue.  I stitched all of it with the exception of two floral motifs, the cross, and one group of 5 small Algerian eyes, all of which are in the spot sampler section.  When I got the first part of the chart, the design was not yet completed.  I love the way they framed it. 

Fall has come to MN.  Our warm temperatures have turned into more normal ones for October.  We have had some desperately needed rain.  It was a little brisk this morning as we drove to the health club.  The sky was still dark when we came back home.  Wispy clouds scudded in front of the moon.  It looks fairly clear right now as the sun shines through the trees.  Here are my six little pumpkins; we hope they will ripen.  We also hope the squirrels will not eat them.  Unfortunately, I will bring the most solidly colored pumpkin into the house.  A squirrel has bitten into it.  I can only hope that we can keep it on the porch long enough for it to fully ripen.  They are heirloom Small Sugar pumpkins and are supposed to be extremely tasty.  I only hope they make good pies. 

The nasturtium are still looking cheerful.  As soon as we have a killing frost, we will take them out.  I think we will leave the sunflower stalks until the spring.  They will provide the winter birds with a place to perch.  They are the hazy background plants behind the nasturtiums.   :-) 

While the pictures uploaded, I washed and cut a grapefruit.  As I did so, I had an opportunity to check the backyard.  Right out there in the grass below the row of pumpkins was a squirrel.  I wonder if it realized that I had taken the prime pumpkin away. 

I hope the raccoons are staying away.  News reports indicate that some raccoons in the general area have canine distemper.  Some have been found just south of us. 

At last, I have been able to wrap up several odds and ends.  You know how it is, don't you?  It's some little thing that you need.  You know where you put it or have been keeping it but it just isn't there when you want it.  I had several of those things going on at the same time.  It was aggravating and frustrating.  Gradually during the past week or so, I found each one.  It felt so good to know that I had them and that I wasn't loosing my mind. 

During this time, I have been working on several projects but did not manage to take pictures of them.  I took a lot of pictures today and have a couple more left.  I hope I can remember to take them tomorrow. 

Here is the little box.  Not only have I distressed the bottom but I waxed the top and bottom with a light brown wax.  Is it instant patina or what?  You do know what patina is don't you?  It's high class, expensive grunge.  I still want to make a lining for the inside of the bottom and top.  I did not wax them for that reason. 

While I was prowling through things looking for missing and or mislaid things, I found a box with the leftovers of a couple Christmas projects.  Using only what was in the box and nothing else except the hot glue gun and some hot glue, I made these three ornament thingies.  I plan to give them to the Holiday bazaar at church.  I benefit by getting a box out of the house and hopefully the bazaar will benefit but I am not certain how successful that will be.  If you can remember last year I covered a set of three boxes with fabric.  No one wanted them. 

I have been busy with several small projects.  Maybe I will stretch this out and tell you about  them day by day. 

I have taken the hinges off the box, partly so I can paint it; partly because I want prettier ones; but mostly because I will turn the direction the lid opens. 

This is the first paint coat. 

The second coat of paint is on both the bottom and the top.  I have begun the next step on the top, sanding away on the top to create instant distress. 

Our weather has been fabulous for October.  The temperatures have been in the low to high 70's.   We might make the mistake of saying this is indian summer but we still have not had a killing frost.  We are preparing the gardens for winter and have begun taking out some of the plants and cutting back others.  We are leaving some of the annual flowers and plan to remove them after the first killing frost.  That little bit of color is extremely cheerful. 

We are supposed to have more normal temperatures beginning tomorrow plus a little rain.  I best not complain about the rain because we are behind on it. 

My friend passed on yesterday morning. 
Right now I am preparing a banner for a baptism this coming Sunday.  She stitched the banner except for the name and date, 
I have some, I am not certain they can be called cute but they are interesting, things that I want to show you.  I think I will begin doing that tomorrow. 
Our temperature is still warm.  The day is a good one to hang laundry outside.  There is a little wind with the warmer than usual temperature. 

I have a little update for you.  The four ornaments have been accepted as a donation to a charity Holiday auction.  They may not bring in big bucks but every little bit helps.

The last post, a rant, and this one are not characteristic of me.  My only excuse is that what has been going on in my life is hardly ordinary. 

A couple days ago, I visited a dear friend who is 90.  She is in hospice; she, my son, and I have struggled to come to terms with it.  The last time I visited, she sent me home with her stitching portfolio, project bags, and the last things that she had to stitch. 

In 2006, I made a small etui for her.  I embellished it with freshwater pearls.  When I gave it to her, I told her that if it wore out, she should remove the pearls.  When I took her things home with me, I knew that somewhere in the packets I would find the etui.  I did and her scissors too.  That made both my son and me tear up a little. 

After struggling through a sleepless night, I decided to go see my friend this afternoon.  My son accompanied me.  When we entered her room, we discovered that she is no longer lucid.  We greeted her and talked to her but I am fairly certain she did not know that we were there.  Her brother was keeping vigil at her side.  We talked a little.  We all hope and pray that she will not linger. 

When we returned home, I found that I was able to incorporate her stitching stash into mine.  I will always think of her when I see her scissors and etui. 

I had such good intentions for yesterday.
1.  Clean the bathroom
2.  Declutter my work table
3.  Paint my little box
4.  Organize and maybe stitch on the baptismal banners
5.  Stitch on a little project for one of my nieces

Such good intentions but that is not the way the day went. 
We found a sale on kitchen appliances so we went to check out the refrigerators.  The findings were not very good.  We knew that if the refrigerator had the same exterior dimensions as our present one, the capacity inside will be less.  It is just a given with the current energy efficiency standards. 

What we found out was not what we had expected.  Given the size of our family, the refrigerators that will fit into the space that is in our kitchen are now much too small inside.  There were a couple that we could manage to use based on their capacity but it turned out they would not work in our space even through they would "fit."  There is not enough clearance with the cabinets directly across for the refrigerator door to open. 

The three guys wanted to try the one with french doors and a bottom roll out freezer.  I am all in favor of bottom freezers, especially roll out ones.  What they guys did not realize and did not want to understand is that the doors will hold significantly less than the door of our current refrigerator and that we depend upon the door for storage of small things like condiments.  None of the three options that might be big enough inside has a meat drawer.  It is a "deli drawer".  It is high enough to hold yogurt containers, lunch meat packages, and cheese.  We could not put a chicken or roast in it. 

Because of issues with clearance for the door/s we think we could not remove the vegetable bins and deli draw to clean the refrigerator. 

The long and short of it all is that if we get a new refrigerator, we will first have to do some major remodeling in the kitchen.  At the very least, we would have to pull all the cabinets from one wall; make a place for the refrigerator where the wall oven and some cabinets are now.  Then make a place for the wall oven where the refrigerator is now and then try to add back as much of the cabinets as possible.  We would probably have to have some cabinets made because the sizes will not be standard. 

If we have to do that much, I think we would be ahead to completely remodel the kitchen.  Right now we are telling the refrigerator that it has to hold out for several more years.  As a preliminary step Dan, who does a lot of the food prep, and I need to sit down to determine what we think works in the kitchen and what we think does not work. 

This is very misleading because Roger still needs to finish the basement bathroom before he can finish the basement which he has to do before he can tear out the upstairs bathrooms to resolve a water problem which is imperative.  I really do not know how much of this we can feasibly do. 

So what did I accomplish yesterday? 
1.  I painted another coat on my little box. 
2.  I stitched a little on my project for one of my nieces.  Maybe I ought to take a picture of it so you can see it. 

Yes, the ornaments are completely finished with cording around them and extending for the hangers. 

Front and back of each of the four are now assembled.  The next step is to cut pearl cotton to make cording for the outside edge and hanger. 

I need strands of pearl cotton 60 inches long to make the cording.  I am not certain how many strands for each cord- three, maybe four.  To me, this seems like a lot of work; so much so, that it has become a major road block in my progress.  My progress has come to a screeching halt.  I want to regain my forward momentum. 

This little set of ornaments is ready to finish.  I have one mounted front and back and stitched together.  Just three more to go. 

Just a couple hummingbird sightings this week.  It looks like they may have left for the winter.  Their departure is supposed to be triggered by the length of the day.  We all know that in the northern hemisphere it is getting shorter. 

In the morning when I walk, the sun is not up yet when I get to the health club to clean up.  It is not even up when I put my gym bag back in the car.  This morning it was just barely light as we drove back home.