Needle Dancing The Cha Cha...

Pre-Frogged Original Colors

Two steps forward, one step back...cha cha cha. I spent most of Sunday afternoon stitching out the colors on the neck that you see here. Then I photographed it and decided the colors were too brown and dark for the male bluebird. You know what that meant. Ripit. Ripit. Ripit. Sigh

Post-Frog Final Colors

I chose new colors and started again. It still needs tweaking, because I want that darker band to be wider. I'll take out the lighter colors below and rework that area today. I do love the new colors much more, though, so I will stay with those.

I think the program is to photograph my piece as I'm working on it each session to evaluate placement, etc. The picture shows more than I can see as I work, I guess. Some things just jump out at me in the picture that I never seem to notice until I've worked past it. Then, it's more involved to go back and carefully remove the threads I want to change. Lesson learned.

I'll share photos from Craft Day (last Saturday) with you tomorrow. We had a great time, and I really enjoyed the project! 

I'm off to get my morning cuppa, and then back to the needlework frame. Let's see just how much I accomplish today.

Sunday Scripture...

2 Timothy 1:7

 

Handsome Went Boating...

Mike and Joann are going home tomorrow. They're not going straight back to Florida because they're making a side trip to see friends along the way. They've already confirmed that their east coast (Florida) home is completely safe following the hurricane.

Their antique boat finally got back from the place where it's stored and maintained...just in time for them to take it out on the water before they leave. We were both invited to join them, along with another couple, but my home and work commitments prevented me from going along. I wasn't going to let Handsome miss it, though, so he went and spent the day on the water with our dear friends.

Here's Michael at the wheel, as he was coming around to pick up his passengers. I guessed that his vintage craft was a wooden boat, but it's probably just as well I wasn't along, as I would have whined the entire time. I adore wooden boats, and this one is a real beauty. We can see why our friends are so in love with it.

Handsome has had a rough couple of months, so I'm content knowing that he spent the day on the water, worry-free and happy with friends. I'll definitely go along next time they offer us a boat ride. I mean, really. Isn't it just beautiful - and what better way to spend a sunny day?

Stitch, Frog, Stitch...

I admit, it doesn't look like much yet. I stitched the baby birds beaks, frogged what I'd stitched, and then stitched some more. The same for the bluebird's head. Getting the eyes and beaks right is very important to me. When I stopped for the day (losing daylight), this was all I'd accomplished, and I still have some tweaking to do.

The beak is not the finished look. This will be the padding for the actual stitching so it has some dimension. The babies' beaks still need a little bit of work, too, which I'll perfect using my lighted magnifier.

For the bluebird's head, I'm first stitching in the darker of the colors. I'll go back and add lighter colors for contrast. You'll see that I'm using only one strand of thread. This is all Anchor floss. Using one thread will make it easier to get more detail. The eye is almost finished, but I have a little more to do there, too.

I'll be doing more stitching on the beaks, eyes and heads today. I have to go to work tonight, but should be able to get a little more finished by the time I have to leave. I'm also planning to stitch all weekend, so I should have quite a bit more done by Monday.

Sending prayers for strength and safety for all our Florida friends in the wake of Hurricane Helene. I hope everyone will be okay in the wake of this devastating storm.

September Classmate Gathering...

l-r: back-John, Jeff, Donna, Ken, Mary, Deb B. front-Cal, Al, Bruce Missing: Dick and Mike S.

Another great meal shared with old friends. Two of our classmates left before we took our photo. We always take one right before we part ways, and they took off before the rest of us. We'll remind the newcomers at the beginning of dinner to hang around at the end next time.

I sat next to Deb and Mary, and we agreed that we really love these monthly dinners. Old friendships rekindled as we planned for the reunion, and then tended each month since as we share a meal together. We all look forward to these dinners. Not everyone can attend every month, but that's okay, too. It gives us new things to discuss the next time they join us. We sure have fun, though, and there is always much-needed laughter...and more than a little story-telling.

Bruce is a huge fan of my cinnamon rolls, so he always orders some before our dinner nights. Yesterday was no exception, so, because I want them to be fresh, I got up very early yesterday to "make the donuts". I made a double batch of dough, which yielded four trays of four large rolls. I took an extra tray, which was grabbed almost before I could finish offering it. I guess I should make more next time!

Actually, our next gathering will be on October 30th, so I'm thinking I'll plan ahead and make frosted sugar cookies in the shape of a pumpkins, black cats, or ghosts. (I'll need to get new cookies cutters, because I don't have those shapes.) I'd also have to start the weekend before so I have plenty to frost the day of our dinner. Could be fun!

Handsome doesn't have any appointments today, so my plan is to spend the day needle dancing. We'll see how far I get on my birds. Either way, it will be fun to just sit and stitch for a bit.

September Musings...

We're already half-way through the final full week in September. My, how time flies. I had so many plans for this month, but someone had other ideas. Even so, I shall not lament. Rather, I'll embrace my circumstances and do my best.

I'll be working on my bluebirds for a bit today, but Handsome has an appointment this morning, and our monthly classmate dinner is this afternoon. I'll share a photo of our gathering tomorrow, and promise an update of my bluebirds on Friday.

The days are beginning to get "crisp". My favorite time of year is right around the corner. Soon, I'll be stitching in my favorite sweaters, and before we know it, I'll be working on Christmas projects. 

Life is good, and I'm one Lucky Girl.

Saturday With Friends...

Saturday last was a lovely day. Our dear friends (and Tag, Bella, Carly and most of the Liljegren dogs' trainer at one time or another) - Mike Sommers and his wife, Joann - were here for a visit from Florida. Handsome's family has been friends with theirs for decades, and I've been blessed to be included for nearly the past 45.

So, when they came north for a couple weeks to spend time with their family, they included us as they usually do. We had a delicious lunch with them, followed by dessert back at their condo on the lake. 

Mike is an only male among four sisters, and like in my family, he also lost a sister within the past few years. His remaining sisters and their spouses, plus a cousin and godson (and his wife) filled out the group. All the ladies made desserts, as did I. 

I bought more of those delicious McIntosh apples from the farmer who brings them into work. I peeled and chopped a half dozen, put them into a sauté pan with brown sugar, white sugar, a little lemon juice, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, and a wee bit of flour and cooked it down into a lovely filling. Then, I rolled out sheets of puff pastry (Pepperidge Farm), cut it into segments and filled those with the apple mixture. I topped that with a second sheet and crimped the edges (sort of like bougie pop tarts), and baked them. When they cooled off, I drizzled them with icing that was a mixture of powdered sugar, cream and vanilla. They were a big hit, and really simple to make.

"Mrs. Mike" has had her share of serious health concerns over the past few years, and we're all fortunate that she's still with us. Of course, they've been concerned about Handsome, too, so we were grateful that we could all be together for the day.

Before we all departed, many photographs were taken. Mike with his sisters; their entire family; and of course, this one of the four of us. I really love it, and it was a fine way to commemorate our visit. We're hoping to be able to see them at least one more time before they leave to go back to Florida. There really is nothing like spending time with dear, old friends.

Grape Jam...

It took most of the day on Sunday, but I ended up with these beautiful jars of homemade Concord grape jam by dinnertime. Plus, there is still about six pounds of grapes to make juice.

The process for grape jam is labor intense. First you have to squeeze the pulp out of the skins (2 at a time for me), reserving the skins in another bowl. Eight pounds of grapes is a lot of squeezing! Once that's done, the grape pulp is heated until it's tender. Then all of that is put through a chinois to remove the seeds and solids.

While that cooking is going on, the skins are run through a food processor to chop them up. Then they're placed into another pot with about a 1/4 cup of water an cooked down for twenty minutes. After the skins are cooked down, they're added to the pulp, along with sugar, and cooked down until the mixture reaches 220º F. By the time that process is complete, it will be necessary to mop the floor, clean the stovetop, and any adjacent countertops, because the process of boiling down the jam results in what resembles Mt. Vesuvius erupting.

Handsome was my taste-tester while the cooking was going on, and when I'd finished putting all the jam into jars, he made toast to support the last of the jam left in the cooking pot. He immediately declared the jam a winning recipe!

By bedtime, all the jars had sealed and cooled. I'd labeled them, and carefully placed them into the "jelly/jam section" of the pantry...with quite the feeling of accomplishment. I'll process the rest of the grapes in the next day or two.

This week is going to be busy. Handsome has appointments (remember, I'm the chauffeur); I work on Tuesday and Friday evening; this week is our monthly classmate dinner (and one of the guys would like two trays of cinnamon rolls again. Isn't that cute?); I need to make bread; and Saturday is Craft Day in Portage. I know I'll get good sleep when I can.

So, tell me. How is your week looking?

Sunday Scripture...

Mathew 5:8

 

Concord Grapes...

Facebook Marketplace again for the win! I made grape jam when we first moved into the farmhouse, but my two sources dried up and I've been unable to find more (locally) ever since. I've been searching online for Concord grapes, but all I could find were at least an hour away...until Thursday night. It turns out there was a prolific grape arbor in the backyard of a family within twenty minutes of the farmhouse!

I asked for fifteen pounds, which was waiting for us when we arrived. Handsome and I had a conversation with a lovely young woman who said she had much more than she would ever use for the grape juice she cans. She also said she'd hang onto my name for future years.

These grapes are beautiful, tasty, and will be the basis of multiple jars of grape goodness that I'll can up this weekend. If you've never had fresh grape jam, you don't know what you're missing. It in no way resembles the factory-produced jam you find on the grocery shelves. This is fresh, and the grape flavor almost punches you in the face! (The whole house smells like a Welch's factory, too!) Handsome loves jams and jellies, and he's been talking about me making jam ever since we got them home. I'll share photos of the finished jars on Monday.

Gosh, I love my (our) life here in the farmhouse. Here's wishing all of you a wonderful, restful weekend.

Adding Padding...

I added padding to "flesh out" my birds yesterday. I selected the areas I want to stand out from my ground fabric to give dimension to each bird. 

The baby bird in the background doesn't have padding because I want it to stay behind the other two. I added blue felt to the adult bird so that when I begin embroidering those areas, that area is the color thread I'll be using. Plus, it adds a separate dimension for the head and wing.  I'll explain the bird in flight below.

First I sewed most of the felt fabric shape down to the ground fabric, but I left an opening for the stuffing. I pushed the stuffing into the shape using an orange stick (like those used as cuticle sticks for manicures. The ones I have are about six inches long and the perfect size for most applications.

Many who add dimension in this way to their needlework, use fiberfill, however I prefer organic wool (here), or organic cotton batt. I like the texture and natural fibers over synthetic.

Once the shape is padded to my liking, I sew the last part of the shape down and that element is ready to begin the embroidery.

I padded the main body of the bird in flight, but also the head, as this will help with the illusion that the bird is flying toward the onlooker. I also didn't fully pad the lower body so it will recede as I add the threads during embroidering.

Now that this step is completed, I'll be able to begin the actual stitching. I think I'll begin with the baby birds. This is going to be fun!

Explaining Tracing...

MA asked a question on my post yesterday, so I thought I'd answer here in case anyone else was curious. She wondered how I transferred the detail onto my fabric as I go about tracing. I'm hoping that the two photo sets I'm offering here will help visualize my explanation.

As I'm planning to cover the bodies with felt to pad them, most of the detail would be covered before I even begin to do the embroidery. So, on the left of each of these sets of photos, you can see the detail I drew onto my paper under the fabric. The lightbox brightens the image so that I can see what I need to trace.

On the left of the photo set, you can see how little of the detail I actually transferred. I use a very sharp point (.05) drawing pen to transfer the lines. It's okay that it's permanent, because my padding and/or threads will cover all the lines in the finished piece.

You can see the same in this set of the bird in flight. The body will also be padded here, but not the wings, so I drew more detail into the wings for later reference.

Before I begin the actual embroidery, I'll draw in a few more reference lines with my brown pen, but I'll also have my reference photos off to the side of my work. I'll look at them from time to time to make sure my needlework makes them even more realistic.

I hope that answered your question, MA, and helped everyone else visualize my process at this point. I'll share my padding process tomorrow, as I'm going to be working on it again today. See you then!

Let The Tracing Commence...

I traced around my bird drawing with a darker marker so I'd be able to see my lines once I set up my fabric. I'm still going to move my flying bird up and toward the right. If I want to keep the images tight - as I have on the previous two wall hangings - I'll need to reduce the stitching area. Once I have the babies and adult situated, then I can choose exactly what the placement for that flyer will be.

You'll notice I've got my musical background fabric out and ready to go. I'm really glad I purchased more than a few yards when I saw it. Thankfully, it means I'll have plenty of fabric for my bird series embroideries.

  

 

In case you have questions about my light source, here's what I purchased prior to my cardinal piece, and it's served me well already. HERE'S a non-affiliate link to the USB connected mini lightbox. (Click on the bold "Here's" to see more). It's actually on sale right now, so you could snag it for less than $15, and it's really a little workhorse. It connects by USB to your computer or a small backup battery (that's what I use), so you need not fret over spent batteries.

I'll be back tomorrow with it hooped and ready to stitch. For now, it's off to the clinic so Handsome can get his PT workout in for the next couple days. Getting closer by the day!

First Drawing...

I've been busy working on my concept for my next wall quilt hanging with the bluebirds. This is my first drawing, with the basic idea. It won't be my last, though. I want to move the bird in flight up and to the right, and the post and rail will change somewhat, as well. 

I began by taking copies of the images I wanted to use and sized them for the area I'll be working on with the music fabric that is the same on all this series. Then I laid them out and did the tracing/drawing. Once that's complete, I go back to my other two embroideries and reevaluate the placement. This is when I decide if I'm happy with the placement, or if I need to adjust so the series works together.

I'll do the adjusting, and redraw the piece, and then transfer it to my fabric. Once I've done that, I'll hoop it and begin the process of building the images. 

You'll see my rendering transferred to the fabric next. I'm working today, so I'll probably get back to this on Wednesday. I'm excited to get going on this one, so I'll get back to it as soon as I'm able. You'll see it again before you know it!

Hickory Hill Farm Girls...

Carly (left) and WMBBD Bella (right)

While I continue to pull together my ideas for the Summer Serenade - Bluebirds piece, there were more than a few moments that were just spent enjoying the outdoors with Handsome and the ladies. I'm just sharing photographs of our girls with you today, so I can work on a few things to show you tomorrow.

WMBBD Liljegren's Suncoast Bella

Liljegren's Suncoast Carly

Hickory Hill Farm's Claudette

Hickory Hill Farm's Crystal

Sunday Scripture...

Ephesians 3:16-17

 

I've Decided On The Next Big Project...

Bluebirds!

This photo is of the very first step of my process. I have a huge notebook, filled to the brim with nature images - inspiration for future projects. My next seasonal quilt will be the bluebirds. I pulled examples of the poses, subjects and colors I'll need for this piece, and will proceed from this starting point. 

First, I'll size the basic images I want to use to be comparable to the two quilts I've already completed...Song of Spring - Robins and Winter Song - Cardinals. This one will be called Summer Serenade - Bluebirds. Once I've chosen the poses and corrected for size, I'll work on the composition and lay it out on my musical notes background fabric. I intend to share the major steps in this process with you as I do them, but I'm sharing the first steps now.

At this point, I've chosen my colorways and will spend the next few hours just winding threads onto bobbins so they're easier to pull and strand when the stitching begins. It's really grunt work, but also very zen to just sit winding thread.

You will see other projects I start and complete while I also work on this, but this will be a long-term, fall/winter project until it's finished.

*** While most images I use are actual wildlife photos, I was so smitten with the mother feeding her babies by Marjolean Bastien that it ended up in my binder. Of course, I'll change some things, but I wanted to recognize the artist for that artwork.

When I get to working on the next phase, I'll take photos to share. As I said, winding bobbins is next on my agenda. Time to make a cuppa, turn on some good music, put up my feet, and get to it.

Happy Weekend!

 

Ellie Loves It!...

Ellie's mama shot a video of her opening her gift today, so you know I just had to share. She was so tickled! I would have shared the video, but her little sister and brother are bouncing around in the background, so I decided to capture some still images to give you an idea of how she liked it.

Once she (quickly) realized what it was, a huge (missing one front tooth) grin appeared on her face. She immediately put it on as a crossbody, and then inspected it further. She opened the zipper and had to show her mama the paw print lining.

You've got to know that I was grinning from ear to ear the entire time I watched the video...and my glee has lasted for hours since then.

This last photograph is sweet Ellie looking at the camera to thank her Aunt Donna for the gift. I'm grinning all over again as I write this.

Her mama, Brianna, told me that Ellie had a date yesterday evening to go to a ball game with her daddy. She asked her mother if she could take her purse with her, and was told she could. The update after they left was that her mom was going to have to "break her heart" tomorrow to tell her she couldn't take it to school with her. sniffle

In Ellie's card, I told her that I had designed and sewn the purse just for her, and that there isn't another one like it in the world. Her mom told me she was feeling extra special knowing that. I've made gifts for Ethan's family before, and as always, I really enjoy gifting them because all of them appreciate the time and effort that went into their creation.

I told Brianna that I know their second child loves kitties. I'm already working on that design in my head, and will make that purse soon, so the next gift won't be late...I mean...extended.

Saturday Sky...

This is how the sky looked as I was on my way to work on Saturday. The sun was obscured, but its light still radiated through the clouds. It was like the Heavens were sending a message.

All is well, even when you may not see it.

I try very hard not to push myself anymore, but there's so much I still want to accomplish. So much I still want to do. What's next?

I'd like to start my bluebird wall hanging...or perhaps continue the hard task of the continued studio purge...or get a head start on the pieces I need to make for the November vendor and craft show?  I still haven't tidied up my Etsy shop, and then there's always laundry. Do you see my dilemma?

So, I'll look at this photograph and remind myself that I'm listening. All is well. Handsome is healing and we're here together. I take a deep breath and wait for the next message. It's when I'm most quiet that I hear just what I need. I just have to remember to be patient.

 

Never Forget...

9/11 Honor and Remember

 

Stronger Every Day...

We had a lovely weekend with Handsome's brother last weekend. In fact, so much so that I never even got a photograph of the two of them together! (Bad blogger!)

Handsome gets stronger everyday, and he continues with physical therapy and needed doctor visits. From all accounts, the brain is absorbing the residual from the bleed that was causing the issues. Now that the supply has been cut off, we're hoping that the two area that were causing the problem will just disappear over time. His doctor is happy with his progress, too, which is wonderful.

I'll be at work today, but Handsome assures me he'll take it easy. He'll likely read the latest book he's been enjoying, and except for letting the dogs out a few times, he'll just rest while I'm away.

I'm going to make a pot of coffee and get ready for work. I hope you have a great week.