Stemmed...

 

Sometimes life - or end of life - gets in the way of less important things. I managed to get the stem attached to my Autumn Strawberry, but that's about all I accomplished in the studio. I regret that I didn't get daylight photographs taken, so I'll do that this morning and then I can get this listed in my Etsy shop.

 

My sister's funeral is tomorrow. My two remaining sisters - Di and Jan - will be here today so we can put together photo boards for the visitation. There was also a request from Lyn's daughters that the aunties make our family recipe for hot cocoa mix to serve along with coffee and water. Di is making some lovely hibiscus-flavored water, as well as another that I've managed to forget. Lemons and something else, I think. So, after we've completed the photo boards, we'll move downstairs to the kitchen and mix up a big batch of hot cocoa mix.

One of my ex-brothers-in-law (there are, unfortunately, more than a couple among my siblings) works in graphic and digital design. He agreed to remove and replace a background from an image of Lyn that the girls wanted enlarged. After we arranged that and got the revised image, I ordered a 16" x 20" print to be made to place next to her urn in the church. I'm going to pick it up later today, after Di and Jan drive back to town to be with our nieces.

It's likely to be a busy and emotional few days. Prayers would be appreciated as we formally say goodbye - for now - to my sister. Thanks so much.

Welcome, December.

 

It Only Needs A Stem...

Once I've made the twist stem for the top, it will be officially finished, but I just had to share it with you now. It's a tiny bit bigger than my other strawberries, but I love it just the same.

I'll list is up to my Etsy shop this afternoon. Wouldn't it make a lovely gift for a special someone? Wooly Bear, acorn, luscious fall colors. Who could possibly want for more? I'm in love!

More Autumn Flowers...

 

I think all I need to do to finish my embroidery is to add the silk ribbon flourishes on the left side of my strawberry. I'm calling the floral section "complete". It's possible to overwork a piece, and I want to avoid that.

 

Notice the little critter I added to this one? A wooly bear! Based on the width of its center section, this wooly says it's going to be a mild winter. That's hard to believe since today it was in the 20s and started blowing as the sun set. It's not even December yet, and I'm crying "uncle!". At this rate, I'm going to get a lot of needle dancing done this winter!

Here's an angled view of the embroidery, so you can see how I added a little more dimension to this piece. I added dried hydrangeas to the rusty orange flowers, the fuzzy yellow blossoms, and my wooly bear is truly wooly - thanks to the turkey stitch I used. I'm going to be adding more wooly bears in the future. I loved doing this one!

I'm going to get my hair trimmed this morning at Wendi's, and then I'll be home to complete my work on the this so I can assemble it into a strawberry. I can't wait to show you the finished piece. I'll share the completed goldwork frog scissors fob, too! I'd better go so I can get to my appointment on time. Results of this piece and the frog tomorrow. See you then.

Do A Little Dance...

 

Make a little frog... (Are you humming Casey and the Sunshine Band, "Get Down Tonight" yet? Sorry. I couldn't resist.)

I still have to turn the wee frog into a scissors fob, which I'll do today. Most of Sunday was spent baking. I made white chocolate chip scones for breakfast, and mixed up a batch of brownie mix to have on hand. I took all the dry ingredients used to make brownies and made a huge batch. When I want to make a batch of brownies in the future, I just scoop a measure of the mix and add the wet ingredients to pop into the oven. (I didn't bake brownies today, though.) Then I baked bread. When everything was cleaned up and dinner was in the oven, I sat down to stitch a bit.

I managed to add quite a bit to my Autumn Strawberry project, but I have a lot more to add, to create a lush fall floral design. This is shaping up nicely, though, in my humble opinion.

Handsome has a dermatology procedure today (my fair-skinned Swede), so I'll be taking along my needlework to keep me occupied while I wait. I'll share my progress when I see you again on Wednesday. Tag will be here tomorrow. What are you up to this week?

Shipping Today...

 

I created a new Bryn Wallet in the Nature Girl Series - Deer and Rabbit - over the weekend. Well, actually, I made it yesterday. I have one in the shop in natural cork like this, but my client wanted navy. So, navy she'll have.

Rather than attach my usual Brynwood badges to the wallets as I do on my handbags, I like to machine embroider my "Brynwood"  onto the back of each wallet. That way, nothing is sticking out on the back to catch on things inside a handbag.

I chose a lovely grey/blue canvas fabric for the interior lining, with the credit card pockets a nice, sturdy cork fabric. This one is sold and is in the mail this morning...but I do have one left with the same flap, but natural cork for the body. You can find it in my Etsy shop HERE.

I'll be getting back to my Goldwork Frogs and Autumn Strawberry Sachet this week. As I'll take each stitch, I count all my blessings this Thanksgiving Week. Are you going to be with friends or family on "turkey day"? Are you traveling? I'll tell you my plans, if you tell me yours.

Dancing After Dark...

 

I went to see my girlfriend (and hairdresser), Wendi yesterday and went back to my sassy short hair. No muss. No fuss, and Handsome loves it short like this, so I'm good all around. When I got home, I headed straight to my studio to work on the frogs. I stopped shortly before dinner, and then went back to this project after we finished our after-dinner chores.

So, you know me. I don't just sit around most nights. I've been working on a new strawberry sachet. This one shall be an Autumn Strawberry, stitched in all the colors of the leaves outside. Even though we got all that snow for Halloween, there are still a lot of trees clinging to their fall finery, and I hadn't done a piece to celebrate those colors yet. I decided it was time.

That means, I'm frogging around during the day and needle dancing after dark. Just perfect if you ask me. I'll be doing more of this until the winners' frogs are ready to mail out, because I have canning projects waiting for me next week.

I hadn't said anything yet, but Handsome was originally planning to leave for Florida mid-November after my ten week post-op appointment with my surgeon. Instead, he said he doesn't want to be away from me for six months, so he's going to wait until after the first of January - just like last year. Four months apart is long enough for both of us, so I'm extra happy he'll be here with us through the holidays and our anniversary. He'll be playing with four different music organizations while he's there, and they wanted him for the whole season, but that would mean he's sitting on his hands when everyone shuts down for the rest of the month, and with holiday air travel being so erratic (and the fact that I loathe flying anymore), we wouldn't opt for either one of us to fly to the other. 

 

His change of plans means he'll be here to help me with all the lifting required for my canning projects now. I still have thirty to forty pounds of potatoes, some apples, mushrooms and all those frozen tomatoes to process. The tomatoes can hold off until later as they're already frozen, but the potatoes and apples can't wait. I still have to go to the mushroom farm to get those, so I'm good there until later, too.

 

Anyway, I'll be back to working on the frogs today. All the outlining is finished on the four I already have hooped, so I get to start the really fun part next...the sparkly bits. I'll share a photo update tomorrow.  Gosh it's already Friday, and I still have loads to do. Where does the time go? 

Oh, and speaking of time...Don't forget to set your clocks back an hour when you go to bed Saturday night! It's that time of year again, but just to be sure, I'll remind you again tomorrow.