Ornaments

Where does the time go???
I have a few ornaments to show and not much of anything else...so here they are..Joyful Blessings and Glad tidings. Both are Blue Ribbon designs from the recent JCS Christmas issue and the preview issue. I seem to be a sucker for these over-one designs.

This next one is a Sue Hillis design also from the above mentioned magazines. It is to match the one in my previous post.

And lastly, I have been knitting a sock. I had told my father-in-law ages ago that I would make him a pair of socks for Christmas so I finally go around to starting them. So far so good. As you can see I am down to the heel.
Today I will be heading out in the pouring rain, to pick up Joyce and we will proceed into the city to see "The Sound of Music". Her two daughters and two grand daughters have seen it already and reported that it is excellent so we are looking forward to our day. We'll have lunch out and see the matinee...As good a way as any to spend a rainy windy yucky day.

Happy Thanksgiving

Finally I have some stitching to share wth everyone. Here is Sue Hillis' ornament from the JCS Ornament issue. I am also partway through the companion piece that was in the previous issue. And...here is Jeanette Douglas' Mosaic Muse, the first page of "My Stitching album" As you can see I used my own colours and altered the pattern only at the bottom where I left out my initials and added some medallions instead. There are 10 of us working, sort of together on this album and I think everyone is pretty much enjoying it. It certainly is fun to pick the colours and fabric and go crazy. The stitching was addictive (but then when isn't it?) and I could hardly wait to finish the page complete with beads and sparkles...
The next page should be out within the month and I am looking forward to starting it.

We have a long weekend coming up to celebrate Thanksgiving and of course we are having friends and family in to help celebrate. In spite of the financial crisis which seems to be worldwide now, we have much to be thankful for...if nothing else than to have heard on the news last night that Canada's banking system is the strongest in the world...kind of encouraging I'd say!

It will be fun to have the grandsons here tomorrow and to be surrounded by good friends and loving family members.

Edited to add... for those of you who were interested to know where..the Mother who read to me pattern came from...I will look and try to find the magazine where I found it...I stitched the piece a couple of months ago and the magazine has been put back in the box...but which box? I do know it was a Cross stitch and Needlework mag from a few years ago but I will get the complete information and post it soon, or e-mail it to you , if that was your request.

Flatfolds

Today was a busy day for me...It started with a drive to Tweed....yes Tweed. I had not been in that part of Ontario...north of Belleville...almost at highway 7 for probably years and today it would likley not have been my first choice of places to drive to but the compressor needs fixing NOW and Dan is working and I was free...so off I went driving north to Tweed. It was a beautiful sunny fall day and I must say I thoroughly enjoyed the drive and I enjoyed Ontario's glorious fall colours all the way there and back. The people behind me on the twisty two lane road tended towards impatience but heck I was going the speed limit...and the trees were gorgeous! (I did pull over a couple of times to let them pass)
Once there, I found the repair place with no difficulty and thought I would mosey through town to see the sights...I was almost out of town and thinking I had found the only other place in Ontario (besides Brighton) which does not have a Tim Hortons...but...there it was just north of town near Highway 7... a cup of tea and a bagel later I was on my way home again....


This afternoon I was joined buy a few friends and with Barb's guidance we made flatfolds. It was a hurriedly planned gathering as Kathy had to get hers made since she is leaving very soon for Arizona...we'll miss you Kathy....and Angie too will be going soon to Arizona as well...also she had to get hers in the mail asap for Halloween...can't have those little granddaughters miss out on their witch for Halloween....We'll miss you too Angie...

Below are the flatfolds made by me (Mother who read to me), by Adriana (pansies) and by Barb (Sparky and friend)
Angie's Halloween witch for her grand daughters
Close up of mine...
The gang, Beatrice, Adriana, Kathy, Angie and our teacher Barb, and some of the flatfolds.


Beatrice's pumpkins and witch, Kathy's Boo, Beatrices's Fall is fabulous, Kathy's PS, another one of Beatrice's and Angies's witch. (M-designs)

Below is Narine, one of my loyal customers who happened in on Friday to show me her finished Mairabilia Santa...isn't it great? Narine is an exquisite stitcher who favours Mirabilia and Lavender and Lace designs...she has done many. Also her husband is suffering from cancer so if you could keep both of them in your prayers, I would really appreciate it...we stitchers have to stick together and support one another...and we always seem to! Thanks

Visitors

Look who came to visit us today! They have unfortunate heads and faces, but the feathers were beautiful.
I was in the garden getting some carrots and peppers for my spaghetti sauce and these 4 guests were chirping and clicking behind me. They were amazingly unconcerned about my presence, even when I went back in the house to get my camera and take their pictures. They were not interested in the sunflower seeds I threw down but did seem to enjoy the leaves on my clematis plant on the trellis.

I was hoping Dan would get home to see them before they left and he did...promptly bursting my bubble of belief that they could sense that I was an animal lover and they would come to no harm being here near me. It was unusual behavior for wild turkys I thought, but I just enjoyed the experience of their presence.

Turns out Dan knew their story after having talked with our neighbours George and Gail yesterday. I was out for the day and he talked to everyone on the road I think while walking the dogs yesterday afternoon.

Anyway, it seems that George ran over the nest earlier this summer when he was haying. So he took the eggs home and hatched them in an incubator. I guess farmers have such things on hand. Now the young turkeys are quite at home on the farm and even follow Gail around all over the place from house to barn and where ever all the time, even to the point of annoyance.

No wonder thay were unconcerned about me...they are totally used to humans being nearby.

Oh well, when they were leaving to go back through the woods which separate our houses, I told them they were welcome back anytime and they would be safe and welcome here. They did not reply but maybe they'll be back.

S, s and $

Ever had this happen? I just did a fair bit of counterstitching to compensate for the fact that I just put the colour for "s" when I should have stitched the colour for "$". What a pain! That was in my stained glass landscape.

Stitching on other fronts has been slow also, which explainns the lack of photos in this entry. I had every good intention of taking pictures on Wednesday when the stitchers were here working on their Jeannette Douglas stitching albums...when I forgot to take any, I intended to try for some of the WIPs of some of the Thursday stitchers...I got busy and forgot again...Friday was somewhat chaotic so there are no progress pictures of the Friday stitchers' works either...

I'll write myself a note to take some pics next week.

WIP

Some progress pictures...Stained Glass Landscape Fairies at the Bottom of my garden...
And my current favourite...My Stitching Album by Jeanette Douglas...this my progress on page one...Mosaic Muse.
I have not completed all the rows because a group of us are doing this together at Knowledge and Needles and I just want to be a little ahead so I can warn people of possible trouble spots. Why am I doing it on black? ? ? Ask Beatrice...it is all her doing.
In spite of the 32 count black fabric, I am thoroughly enjoying this project and am already looking forward to the next page! Beatrice and I have chosen our own colours for the project and are planning to do each page in a different colour scheme...Beatrice is doing this particular page in pale greeny colours and it looks great! Others in the group have all wisely chosen much more neutral backgrounds and I will post pictures of their progress as we carry on...

Friday Stitchers

In addition to the Thursday stitchers there is a smaller group who come on Friday to stitch. Here is Katie with her finished Rosewood Manor bullpull.."Claret" done is the softest of DMC torquoise variated threads. This is Fran who has just recently re-discovered the joys of Cross stitch. She is an avid sewer and quilter and had also dabbled in cross stitch but now we are bringing her back into the cross stitch cult...oops, I mean fold.
And here I am looking tired in the dining room with the dogs.
Next blog will feature pictures of my progress on my stained glass landscape and of page one , Mosaic Muse, of Jeanette Douglas's "My stitching album" Once I got past the very small size of the stitches on 32 count fabric and got into a rhythm with the mosaic stitch, I found myself loving this, in spite of the black fabric!