Like Chocolate

Jo from Jo's Country Junction Blog is doing a Stitch-A-Long.  The Black Dog Sampler from The Scarlett House.  Her time frame is to stitch it over the year.  No hurry.  

I began mine on 2 January and finished it on 26 January.  Stitched over 20 days with average of 3 hours stitching each day.  Some days were less and some more.  

It was just like eating chocolate (so hard to control).  When I started stitching, I had a hard time stopping. 

Here I show you how close I was to finishing the outer border.  Look very closely at the left edge, four repeats in.  The bottom row had to be taken out and restitched.  I made more errors when I stitched with the red thread.  Wonder why.  I only removed green stitches once.  Red stitches several times.  

Here is the bottom finished.  I have not taken it off the frame yet.  Wondering if I will put in the name Oakley (the black dog that our youngest has).  This is his sampler.  The color difference in the material is the above picture was taken in day light.  The bottom picture was taken under the lamp as I hadn't taken a picture earlier.

The mittens are finished.  You can see that putting them side by side makes a complete winter scene.  That is a deer on the left, mountains and the northern lights across both mittens.

Palm side.  You can see that the colors were changed as I knit up the mitten.

 

3030 Quilt and I have a hot date Sunday to start stitching again.  No pictures to show as no stitches were again not done this week. 

Linking up to Slow Sunday Stitching at Kathy's Quilts.  Enjoy your day. 

 

Blah

Last weekend we had our Christmas gathering in Maine.  The one we had to miss due to being sick.  It was nice seeing two of our daughters, a son-in-law, two cats and the dog.  They had snow (we did not when we left home) and another storm was coming Sunday night to Monday.  When we woke up on Monday the roads were clear.  It had snowed during Sunday night and snowed Monday after we left for home.  We were heading South to Massachusetts and then West.  Not a bit of snow on the trip home.  (Shout out to son-in-law, he smoked some wonderful chicken wings while we were up there.)   

I was so surprised that I did not do any knitting in the car or in Maine.  I was, am just blah.  Here is the left hand with the thumb almost done.  I was to continue with a two-color pattern, but I did not like it.  Shall make both thumbs the main color of the mitten.

My 3030 Quilt on the frame has not received any attention.  Not one stitch!!  As I said, blah, no umph. 

The Black Dog Sampler has had some stitches put in.  I would say that I am about 2/3 done.  

On Wednesday I met with my Tuna Quilter Buds (Cousin Kathy and friend Betty).  We try to meet once a month but had not seen each other since early November.  We had talked in the past about all working together on a Red and White Quilt.  We had a discussion on it Wednesday.  We all decided that we needed to finish UFOs, WIPs before we began anything new.  So, we gather again in February.  We each have a list of goals for the month that we want to have done.  I need to get into stitching mode.  (We call ourselves Tuna Quilters as our lunch is usually tuna.)

May your week ahead be full of threads.  I sure hope mine is.  Linking to Kathy's Quilts and Slow Sunday Stitching.

 

Moving along

I thought I had taken more pictures than this.  But this is all that I have.

I am pleased to say that the center of my 3030 quilt is done.  The red border around the center has also been finished.  I am so pleased to see that I really am over halfway done.  I have been stitching about 1.5 to 2 hours a day this week.  It feels so good.

A new stitch along project was begun on January 1, 2023.  This is happening over at Jo's Country Junction.  The Black Dog Sampler by The Scarlett House.  I am working on 36 count linen and stitching with Needlepoint Silk.  Jo is doing this stitch along over the year.  It shouldn't take me that long.  Stitching with this silk is enjoyable and I usually only stitch on one project at a time.  (Doesn't mean that the project makes it to completion or framing.  Only that the stitching is done.)

I thought that I had a picture of the mittens.  Only the thumbs need to be finished and the threads run in.  Then I will begin a second pair with a different pattern, snowflakes.  A larger size knitting needle will be used to make them just a bit bigger.  I know that I should be a sample knitter, but it doesn't always happen.  

Enoy your Slow Stitching Sunday.  This will be linked to Kathy's Quilts.

 

The World Laughed

When you make plans, they don't always work out.  

Two weeks ago, I was going to show you another finish.  I was busy making plans for Christmas in Maine and never wrote the Blog entry.  Here is the Queen Bee pincushion from Shepards Bush.

and two scissor fobs

The entire set completed.  I just love this one.

Remember I said I was making plans.  The World laughed.  

On the 22 December, my Most Handsome came down with COVID.  Then me two days later.  We did not make it to Maine.  (I am so glad that we have had our vaccines.  I cannot imagine what it would have been like without them.)  

There was a loss of energy (among other fine stuff you don't need to hear about).  Sitting in the chair in front of the fire was about all we did.  But I cannot just sit.  I needed to think of something easy for me to do.  Knitting works.  I have been doing it forever and it doesn't take much energy.  

Over Thanksgiving our youngest was looking in my yarn stash and found this Woodland Winter Mittens kit from Knit Picks.  I have had this for a long time, and she requested a set of the mittens.  

Right hand and left palm

Left and right hand

I knit them at the same time.  When I am done, I am done.  I don't like going back and starting the second mitten (or sock).

Today is the first day that I have sat at my 3030 Quilt in two weeks (or more).  It felt so good.  The best part was finishing half of the top of the center block.  That was celebration!!! 

 

I just have the right side to do tomorrow, and the center is DONE.  I am so excited.  I wanted to have more done by now but....

Thread meditation is wonderful.  The cats come in and curl up on the lower shelves of the plant stand.  Blankets are there for them to lie on and they can watch Kitty TV (the bird feeders).

2022 will be leaving us in a few hours.  May your 2023 be a healthy and happy year for everyone. 

Linking up with Slow Sunday Stitching at Kathy's Quilts. 

Finishes

I have some finishes to share.  Last week I showed you the Silent Night Scalloped Table Topper from a Shabby Fabrics kit.  Today I can share with you two more that I have finished.  The one on the left is from the kit.  The one on the right is my choice of materials.

They were stitched in grey and I used fabric for the scallops that I picked up at my local quilt shop.  Again, the background are pieces that were from a Quilt Shop Hop years ago.  I have one more to make.  The pattern needs to be copied onto the fabric and then stitched.  That is a goal for this week.

Remember when I showed you back in June, a kit by Shepard's Bush?  All parts are now complete.  The bag, the pincushion and the scissor fobs.  They were all stitched at the same time.  I just never finished the putting together.  It took about 90 minutes to complete both fobs.  

Now it will be easier to find my scissors.  I have several pairs of this little scissor.  They are always going somewhere that I don't remember being.  I need to make fobs for all my little scissors.

My Slow Stitching today will be the 3030 Quilt.  No interesting football until 4:30 today.  Enjoy your threads.

Linking with Slow Sunday Stitching at Kathy's Quilts.
 

Two of Five

It is 0545 on Sunday as I write this.  The cats woke me up at 0430 for breakfast but I closed the door on them.  They sat on the other side of the door and cried until I got out of bed an hour later.  They were just fed.  It is dark outside.  The wind is blowing.  Now that they have been fed, they have left me.

Here are the first two of five Silent Night Scalloped Table Toppers from Shabby Fabrics.  (I am not advertising, just giving credit where it is due.)  Her Thanksgiving topper and this one I really liked.  I sent for the pattern and kits.  Two can be made from the kit.  One has already been given away to my best lunch bud.  The other is mine.

The backing is from fat quarters that I had received on our local Shop-Hop over the years.  This is a good way to use up what I don't know what to do with.

There are three more to make.  Their material is from my stash and a trip to the quilt store.  Two have their embroidery stitching done, one needs to have the words drawn out on the material.  It will take me about eight hours to stitch the last one.  

The scallops are all cut for the three and will be sewn today.  Then I will put them together and you should see them next week.   

3030 Quilt has had another turn this week and is almost ready to turn again.  But I have been remiss in taking pictures.  It has been a dark and rainy week.  I need to be better at taking pictures.

Enjoy your slow stitching this day.  May your weather be nicer than ours is at the moment.  Linking to Slow Sunday Stitching at Kathy's Quilts. 
 

Finally, a Turn of the Frame

We have not been home much the last two weeks.  Family gatherings.  I am so pleased that I was able to turn the quilt frame for my 3030 Quilt today.  That means that I am just pass halfway.  What is more exciting is that the center block is more than halfway.  

I still like the rays in the center, but it is taking a bit of time.  Which seems to take forever when you aren't home.  We will stay put for a bit now.  Hope to turn again soon.

I have been stitching for two hours each day and wishing I could stitch longer.  This is where I will be after the Patriot's game tomorrow.  Enjoy your day.

Linking to Slow Sunday Stitching at Kathy's Quilts.