Dec 10/17

So, I took a look at this tutorial this morning to finish some ornaments and realized as I was reading through the tutorial that today was the day that I really needed to buy the proper tools to do my crafting. Off I went to brave the mall this close to Christmas to our local craft shop, Atlantic Fabrics, to buy an Olfa cutter and mat and look what I came home with! Finishing the ornaments was a breeze with the right tools. You will get to see the final products once the glue has dried.

The Christmas parcels are piling up in the kitchen so that I can take them to the post office either tomorrow or Tuesday in the hopes that they arrive in time for Christmas. My energy levels are so low that I did not start anything until 1pm today and it took me all day to go to the mall, drop off a few gifts to my neighbours before they all start leaving for Christmas leave, prepare parcels to go to the fella's kids and finish the ornaments. I also had to mop the floors because the puppy is in the early stages of house training and the fella' has been busy doing the list of things that I had for him to do.

Happy stitching!

Dec 9/17

This hockey logo was stitched 1 over 1 on 28 count Monaco, leading me to fully accept that I will need bifocals sometime soon. There were moments where I had to take off my glasses to confirm that I had completed the crossing stitch if I was also trying to watch something on the television at the same time. Much of this soon to be ornament was stitched with my glasses off as I listened to what was on television. At this point, I must say that I am a Montreal Canadiens fan and the only reason that I stitched this logo was as a special request by the fella' for one of his sisters. My fingers did not shrivel up and fall off so that is a good thing!! Hockey rivalry in Canada is our way to vent any aggressions and keeps us one of the most peaceful nations in this world.
(Came back to add that I found this on pinterest)

I hope that tomorrow will be a finishing day as our parcels to the fella's children need to go in the mail on Monday. Today is a day of rest for me as we have a work Christmas party this evening and my cough has been increasingly bothersome again these past couple of days.The fella' is busy playing with the dogs in the back yard and winterizing our yard as the first major winter storm bears down on us this weekend.

Happy stitching!

Nov 29/17

Well, it is back to work tomorrow for me, fingers crossed. Today is the best that I have felt in weeks.

I had felt great on Monday so I started my Christmas stitching for my co-workers. My tradition for many years now has been to give my co-workers a stitched ornament. There are several stitched ornaments in a bag upstairs in the craft room, but finishing may not be happening before Christmas this year. Fortunately, I found these cute little Charlescraft stockings that I bought several years ago while visiting New England where I stop into every Joann's that I can find to check out their sales. I used this pattern from pinterest to do the lettering which looks super cute on these stockings. To finish off the gift, I will add miniature candy canes so that the stockings will have a little gift in them.

Front:

Back:

Happy stitching!

February 19, 2017

This mitten was actually finished on Friday, the 17th. The lateness of the hour of the finish and our busy day yesterday prevented me from posting the picture. Here is the pinterest link. I am not 100% in love with my colour choices as the colours do not pop quite the way I had envisioned it when I was choosing the threads. The colours do work when seen with all of the other mittens which is good since I am planning to do things like hanging them in a tree arrangement on the wall or on a twig tree or displaying them in a bowl on the table.

To give you a peek in my life, yesterday involved a 3 hour shift at work, a trip to Frenchy's (a second hand clothing store chain here) to find some summer clothes for our upcoming trip to the Dominican Republic, going to a snowshoe race to cheer on some friends and attending a games night with some of the women in my neighbourhood. Today, I am about to go take the dog out so she can run and I can snow shoe on the golf course before we go to a potluck supper tonight. Making friends and making a community around me has been a challenge for this 40 something introvert. Joining the transient military lifestyle has taught me some skills in that department and I have been meeting some fantastic people on this first stop.

February 15, 2017

Yet another mitten! I am really loving these little projects as they stitch up so quickly and are so cute. This mitten comes from pinterest and was stitched yesterday as we laid low after digging ourselves out at the end of the storm. There seems to be a new mitten pattern every time I look through the similar pins on pinterest. I am trying to stick with winter and Christmas themed ones for now as I use up this piece of fabric, but there are lots of interesting ones with different themes.

Well, it is late and I am worn out after having to stay an extra 1.5 hours at work today to finish up everything. The joys of snow storm after snow storm this week.....people were out in droves on the one nice day we are expecting this week! The latest snow storm should be starting any minute now so I kind of don't expect to go to work at the pharmacy tomorrow morning as I have a most awesome boss who lets us take "snow days". Happy stitching!

February 14, 2017

Happy Valentine's Day, or as it is known here this year, Happy Dig Out Day. We received 55.9cm of snow over the last 36 hours. Our picnic table in the backyard had been mostly uncovered before the storm and now one can barely see the table top. 

The drifting was fierce as can be seen by the snowdrift art that formed by our fence. Behind the fence in the trees, the lawn is visible in some parts. The whiteouts were so bad yesterday that at times we could not see the fence behind our house. Our driveway was hip deep in snow where our neighbours across the street had empty driveways. I think we need to apply to move across the street as this is not the first time this has happened!! We cleared the driveway last night with the help of our neighbours and their snowblower, hoping against hope that the continuing high winds would not cause it to drift back in too badly overnight.

I stayed indoors all day and stitched while the wind howled and the snow piled up. This mitten is, of course, from pinterest. The photos that I had seen online were done in red which is going to be the next variation I try once I round up enough red thread. The blue has turned out quite nicely though.

 

Now, we are just waiting on word as to whether my fella' has to go to work today before we go clear out the driveway and the mini-mountain left by the plough at the end of the driveway. Happy stitching!

February 12, 2017

This mitten was started yesterday as we hunkered down at home for the evening. The design comes from pinterest with a loose following of the colour key, using threads from my scrap thread bag. I love the colours and may play with some other colour combinations in a variation or two.

Winter was late arriving to the East Coast of Canada, but it has arrived with a vengeance with snow and cold. We had a snowstorm early Friday morning and we are expecting a blizzard any moment with anticipated snowfall of anywhere up to 50cm over the next 24 hours. The temperature was -14C when I left for work yesterday morning. I went snowshoeing this morning with the dog to get her well exercised before we hibernate again for a day or so. One of the cool things about living by an airbase is seeing all of the planes. The crews were getting in their flying time today, a normally quiet day here, in ahead of the storm so there were several planes taking off and landing as we walked the base golf course. Maggie is so used to the planes that she does not even wake from her naps while my friend's dogs were stopping to look every time a plane went over.

Tomorrow will be a day of stitching, shovelling and eating storm chips! Happy stitching every one.

February 11, 2017

Oops! It has been a few days since I have posted a stitching picture. I finished this mitten yesterday while we were both hanging out at home thanks to a Nor'Easter that roared through Thursday night into Friday morning. I started yet another mitten pattern yesterday evening, photo to be posted when my fingers warm up enough. The dog and I were out on the golf course this afternoon, on a walk that included my boot breaking through some ice to get covered in mud and a phone call home to get help to round up the dog because my hip was wrenched during the mud incident. Fun times in -14C weather. On the upside, my snow shoes came in handy today in the new snow!

We are forecast for another snow storm tomorrow night so Monday will be interesting. Monday is one of my days off and I must admit that I quite enjoy having the house to myself on my days off. I can putter around without tripping over someone asking me why I am doing this, that or whatever. Winter has arrived!

February 6, 2017

I finished the backstitching for the piece on the left and started the piece on the right this evening. I may have to do some jiggering of the design for the latest one as I changed a part of the pattern but did not center the design properly. The stitching is going to be dangerously close to the edge of the fabric on the right side. I think that my final adjustment will work out just fine although I am shaking my head at my lack of planning when I most certainly know better. Mitten number six comes from this pinterest pin.

The dog and I had a wonderful stroll on the golf course today. The wind was wicked, but the beautiful sunshine and seeing my dog enjoy her run made it worthwhile. Maggie loves to run and sniff and run some more. I love watching her ears go back as she runs full tilt in the fields. Wearing her out helps to control her "Lab sillies" as I call them where she runs around the house like a maniac and there is no listening to any commands from the humans. She is a high energy dog in between naps!

Happy stitching!

February 5, 2017

Apparently, I am not the only person who is fascinated by orts. I came across this blog and post today while I was blog surfing. The idea of the TUSAL (totally useless stitch a long) made me giggle because every stitcher creates orts and every stitcher can participate in a TUSAL. Here is my contribution to the TUSAL as of 5 minutes ago, a little mason jar that has served me well for many years. I stash orts, fabric ends and various stitching detritus in there, including a piece of popcorn this time!

There has been some stitching today in between ice skating on a local pond and now I am on my way out to let our dog run free on the golf course. What a lovely Sunday!

Mitten number five has been mostly completed today. The backstitching is the only hing left to do and will have to wait until tomorrow as my fingers are starting to hurt. Of course, this pattern comes from pinterest. The ort jar is about to be emptied and the scrap thread back is getting lighter as each piece is stitched. Win-win in my books!

February 1, 2017

Does any one else find the first day of the month impossible? I think that I wrote January on every thing I dated today at work before remembering that we are now in February. 

I managed to wear out Maggie, and by extension me, yesterday. Doesn't she look adorable when she is passed out on the couch between my fella' and me. Her head was resting on my leg when I took this photo last night.

No stitching was accomplished yesterday as the day was full of continuing education, walks with the dog and curling. I had a harrowing drive home after work in a snow storm which added a half hour to my commute. The road conditions were quite slippery so it was a great relief to chill out and make some headway on the fourth mitten of my series. I would stay up late to finish this piece from pinterest, but I need to be up early tomorrow to run an errand before work. Happy stitching!

January 30, 2017

This mitten was finished today, my day off, and I moved onto a mitten that is essentially a study in blues. I misjudged one of the colours and its lack of contrast to some of the other colours I had chosen so there has just been some ripping out of stitches and stitching the area again in a different blue. More on that tomorrow. Happy stitching!

January 29, 2017

I had hoped to finish stitching this mitten today on what has been a most lazy Sunday. Some of my fingers are starting to hurt so it is time to put down the needle and thread. The pattern is from pinterest and is the third in my series of six. There are two things that I love about these mittens: they are adorable to stitch and they are using up so much of my scrap thread collection. Operation De-clutter continues on all levels in this house.

While I was in the spare room getting dressed today, I dragged out this tote of frames that I had purchased shortly after we moved into this house. A handful of the frames did get used for some projects that I had done for my fella's kids, but I did not use up near as many as I had thought would get used. There are easily 20-25 frames in that tote so I pulled out a few that I could see me using, gave a few to a friend who has recently rebuilt her home after a fire and the remainder are listed on a local yard sale site. The tote is just taking up room on my shelving and perhaps someone else will have a more immediate need for them.

January 27, 2017

Thanks to a bug of some sort, the stitching has been slow going this week. I have been feeling crappy on a low grade scale for the past week, dragging my butt home at the end of the day and having little or no energy to stitch. Trying to focus or concentrate has been next to impossible so the stitching has suffered. This mitten has taken me 3 evenings to get this far and yet, still incomplete! The pattern can be found here on pinterest. Here is hoping that my immune system will clear this bug by tomorrow so that I can enjoy the weekend. Happy stitching!

January 24, 2017

My next series of six ornaments is mittens. I saw some beautifully stitched and finished mitten ornaments on a tree in a local doctors' office and have been mulling them over in the back of my mind as I stitch away. This pattern is from pinterest. I am using 14 count Aida cloth (brand long forgotten) because I hate this stuff and want to use it up with mitten patterns where the fabric will not show. Maybe "hate" may be a bit strong of an emotion to be expressed towards a fabric although I really dislike the finished look of projects done on 14 count Aida. Personal preference, I suppose. This pattern took a few evenings as I have been fighting off a virus of some sort with some vague, yet annoying, symptoms and we were invited out this evening for dinner at a friends' home. 

For the finishing, I am considering ironing interfacing onto the back, cutting out a mitten shape in felt and attaching the two pieces together. You know, for whenever I get around to doing the finishing work. Happy stitching!

January 22, 2017

This little tree was finished yesterday afternoon before friends descended on our house for a potluck last night. This one is the last of my tree series and now I will move on to stitching either mittens or bulbs. I am not yet inspired to do the finishing work for all of these pieces that I have been stitching, but that will have to start soon to make a dent in my craft supplies as part of my de-cluttering efforts. The potluck is part of my continuing efforts to meet our neighbours and to spend time with the friends we have made here. Our community is so transient that we have had three neighbours in the house beside us in the two years that we have lived here! We invite people in every couple of months to enjoy some good food (last night, we served up a huge pot of chili) and to hang out with some lovely people. The chili pot was almost empty and we fell into bed some time after midnight after the last guests left. All in all, a good night.

January 20, 2017

Here is tonight's stitching. I am stitching the tree in the middle with the bulbs from my dear friend pinterest. I had been feeling all wonky today at work and that feeling continued into this evening. My system is probably trying to ward off a virus or something, making my bones feel achy and a mild exhaustion making it difficult for me to get out of my own way. The brain fog resulted in a few curses and some ripping out of stitches when things did not meet up properly.

Well, the dog is staring at me from across the coffee and I am not eating anything so she must need to be let out. Happy stitching!

January 19, 2017

This picture shows the efforts of the past two evenings. Here is the pinterest link for the pattern. I started the pattern on Tuesday evening in that time between coming home from curling and dropping into bed. I walked the dog, went ice skating and went curling on Tuesday so I was worn out from all of the activity! A headache from new glasses did not allow much stitching last night as I was exhausted from my head killing me all afternoon at work. Work is enough of a headache on its own, let alone new glasses pinching my nose and ears! I hope to complete the piece this evening while I catch up on some tv shows, all curled up and cozy on the couch!



And a few hours later, this appears in my hands:

Christmas tree five of six.

January 16, 2017

Here is the fourth tree in my set of six. Of course, the pattern comes from pinterest. The pattern had what looks to be back stitched pine needles all over it which did not appeal to me so I skipped that part. I probably should start some finish work soon so that I can make more of a dent in my stash and make that one area of our house more manageable. The unspoken part of that last sentence is "to pack". I do not want to put the cart before the horse because orders can and do change without rhyme or reason. Decluttering is good for the mind and soul, looming move or no.

I joined a facebook group called All About Smalls to get some inspiration to keep stitching and to see what other people are stitching. They have finishing challenges going on so I may even join in to get some feedback on my work. There is a little dream in the back of my head that may never come to fruition but I would love be a vendor some day. More likely, I will stick to my day job and continue making ornaments as gifts for people.

January 15, 2017

We had an exciting day here. I was out for a walk on the trails this morning with our dog Maggie and a friend who had her four dogs with us. Maggie tends  to range and rove through the woods, checking in with me every 5-10 minutes before running off to sniff before the next check-in. Well, something must have been a really amazing smell because Maggie did not come back and I could not hear her in the woods along the path when I backtracked to find her. My fella' came running to the trail and we set off to look for her. Friends, a co-worker and a complete stranger helped us walk the trails until the co-worker spotted her, digging a hole by a shrub. Funnily enough, his dog's name is Maggie as well so he had a chuckle about how he did double duty by calling out his dog's name. He said Maggie looked a little scared when he called out to her, but she ran up to him and stuck to him like glue until he found my fella'. I was so relieved to get the text that she had been found because my greatest fear was that she was hurt somewhere in the woods and finding her would not have been easy. She was worn out from her adventures and has spent the day in a deep sleep on her couch.

The set of Christmas trees grew by one this evening. Yet another pinterest find. I started out using some threads from my odds and ends bag:

that has accumulated over the years from kits that I have done. Sadly, I greatly underestimated how much thread I was going to need to complete the project so then I had to spend some time trying to match the colour on my colour chart and going through my stash to find the 1 skein of DMC 319 in my possession to finish this project. For a short while, I thought that DMC 890 was the match, but realized after a few stitches that I had misjudged the colour. Here is the final result: