Gnomes

I love gnomes.  I love in the hoop embroidery designs.  I love these.

Merry Catmas

The cats of the household.  Pippin. Strider and Rufio. Xena. Rosie. Crosby.  My Furballs.  

That Christmas Spirit

I have been busily sewing and quilting, embroidering and knitting, trying to get gifts finished and ready for mailing and wrapping.  Planning the Christmas eve dinner, putting finishing touches on things, I love this time, I truly do.  A couple of minor surgeries on my leg (2 more to go) have taken some wind out of my sails, but the breeze has picked up, and I am back on track!

Lovely Deb at Seeking Lavender Lane has a drawing regularly to share her Favorite Things with her readers.  I was lucky enough to win December's box, and it was indeed filled with goodies.  They will make my decor better and prettier and softer..... thank you Deb!

The quilts are my latest, but some aren't yet done....they will get there, there's plenty of time!  

I can't put one up yet, the recipient visits occasionally.  I will post more as I can.  I would rather create right now than post!  I am sure you can relate....

That Time of Year

It is time for the Gnomes and the colors are bright!  I have some more subdued ones waiting to be made, but these just happened.....

Holiday Faire

Another medieval event! Two in a month is extraordinary!  I spent a fair amount of time watching the rapier fighting.  They had lightning rounds, where the round can't be more than 30 seconds, and definitely the fighters fought differently.  There was an all out scramble to score and lots of wild thrusts and parries.  It was fun to watch, fast paced and exciting.

I also spent time with old friends, and met some new ones.  I tasted what may have been the most vinegary pickled veggies I have ever had!

And, of course, the shopping!  I commissioned a cup for my sister, she loves the one I got a year ago from Eadric The Potter,(thatpotteryguy on fb and Etsy).  I love pretty nearly everything he makes.   I also got my son (who might read this blog) a commission, though not from
Eadric, and John made it while I shopped around!  That is service! A few view pins and I was done shopping.  Not, however, done wanting!  There was much to see, cloth, fiber, furniture and jewelry.  Food, boxes, sundries and tapestries.   If it is medieval, or plausible, it was there.

I am back among the living, feeling good and busy as can be getting ready for the holidays.  My son comes to visit for Thanksgiving, and my daughter for Christmas.  I am lucky enough to have my sister here full time, and there are parties and concerts beginning to fill my schedule.  Making gifts, teaching classes and planning projects are in full swing.  I think i may need a day off for rest soon!

I Need Cozy!

Coziness is definitely the theme of the day.... I have been sick for a couple days, and am feeling in need of a roaring fire and a cup of tea with a good book.  Unfortunately, I have no fireplace, the tea is certainly possible, but reading, watching tv and sewing are right out because my eyes hurt!  Perhaps knitting a simple cowl or shawl, something I can do without looking at it.  Sigh.  How inconvenient.

Medievaling

Today I got to go to a medieval event for my kingdom, Crown Tourney.  This is where the next King and Queen are chosen, by feat of arms on the battlefield.  They serve as Prince and Princess for 6 months, a sort of training period, and then step up to replace the reigning monarchs.  There was good fighting today, and the victor threw some perfectly lovely shots in the semi-final and final round.  It was a victory well won.

I sat and sewed for the vast majority of the day, occasionally walking the site and seeing old friends, making new ones.  I have another event in two weeks.... one of my favorites, the Holiday Faire.  A great place to buy gifts and procure needed bits and bobs for the coming year.  My favorite merchants are always there, Gryffon Furniture, Eadrik the Potter, and others too.

I am grateful for the weather, grateful for friends new and old, and grateful that traffic was only moderately horrible!
Back to sewing and making Christmas presents and cleaning tomorrow.

Second Beauty Quilt

I like the colors of this one, and the fact that every bit of it is from my stash, and most of it from my scrap box.  I have so much fabric, I really need to complete stuff with what I have, not buy more.  It is so hard to work in a place with the coolest, newest, most colorful collections, and not just buy everything I see.  But I am trying to get rid of stuff that I don't need, and use up stuff I have, so here is one installment.

First One Done

This is a design by Sweet Pea Machine Embroidery Designs, The Beauty Block.  It commemorates the eclipses of 2017,  memorable events, all!  For the solar eclipse, I was in an area with 94% coverage, and the sky certainly dimmed, but rather like a dusky evening.  The instructors at the Janome Institute I attended had eclipse glasses they lent us, so we all got to see pretty darn well.  There were several lunar eclipses as well, one was a blood moon, and spectacular in its own right.   With my sweet husband's and my service in the Navy, blue and gold was an obvious choice.... I do believe I like this!  I am working on a more colorful sample of this pattern that will be a wall hanging... and probably more as well.  These designs are well digitized and stitch out beautifully on my Janome 500E, I doubt not that there will be lots more to come.

Down the Street

In my very own neighborhood there is a wonderful place, not quite hidden from view, that I finally got to see up close.  I give you........Hobbiton!

For some reason the pictures of The Green Dragon aren't printing..... but that just gives me another post tomorrow!  Can you see Gandalf's mark on the door?

Newest Sample

I haven't put the binding on yet, but it is almost there.  I am working on a second one of this pattern with a black, grey, blue and gold theme to celebrate the eclipse of 2017.... almost at the end of the last square, my machine threw itself out of timing!  So, it is into the shop and wait until Friday to get it back.  Sigh.

Sharing is Good!

I'm going to share some of my favourite blogs and then ask that the owners of those blogs pass it on.
So it goes like this, I share the blogs and write why I like them, then the blog owners (if they wish) share a link to my blog and choose some of their own blog friends to nominate. Have I explained that right?

The first blog is Into The Wild Wood and Wild Woman Walking.  Yep, two for one, both by Yarrow, whom I have known online for a way long time!  I love her blogging about her ponies and dogs and the beautiful countryside of Wales and now France.  It was Yarrow who began this little project!

Next is Weaver of Grass.  I have read her blog for a long time, and followed her adventures in the Dales with interest.  Big changes ahead, and all my best.  

Camp Runamuck is next, a weaving (mostly) blog that is a wonderful source of inspiration.  

Boulderneigh is a blog of life on a fiber farm in beautiful Oregon.  Her photos make my morning sing!  

I have known Donna at My Gentle Threads for the longest time!  Gosh, almost 30 years!  Every cup of tea and every time I clip rosemary I think of her!  Visit her blog for a calming, centering read on lovely things of spirit and art.  

May your day be blessed and filled with life.  

The Sewing Supervisor

The beginning of my next embroidered quilt, the Beauty by @sweet-pea-embroidery-designs

Fluffy Fluffy Fluffy

Monday Beauty

Monkshood.

Walking

Since my brief stay in the hospital I am trying to walk more often.  It is hard to drag myself out of bed early, especially as the days grow shorter, but the cool mornings are devine and after I get started, I enjoy the walks.

Whopping Big Quilt!

I made this for a friend and his wife, and it is absolutely the largest I have made so far.  I love the fact that I can make it from the choosing of the fabric to the design and construction, and on to the quilting.  I am so lucky to have access to a longer machine and a mentor who is wonderful.  A definate challenge, the half square triangles had a life all their own, but still and all, I like it.

The Wonders of the Maryland Sheep and Wool Show

Silent Sunday.

Christ the Lord is risen today

Linen, Lovely Linen

These are some of the embroideries I am doing on some pale sage linen that I will combine with blue and green and maybe tan linen to make a quilt.  There will be flowers and insects, and I can hardly wait to start putting it together.  Still about 20 squares to embroider.  I love figuring out where to put each part of the embroideries....there are five elements to most of the blocks, though the bugs only have 2-3 for most.  It looks very old fashioned.  Until you look up close!  Then you see the steampunk sort of look.  I think I will love it!