More finishes and back from the Framers

November seemed successful to me.

Finished my tessellated heart which has been a WIP for way too long, I continuously wonder why I do that to myself!  A top is almost finished and then it sits there, aka: percolates as I wonder how I'll finish it.  With this I decided to just meander it while I did my asthma treatments in the sewing room.  Surprisingly, it didn't take long. Then I did the next step....and then the next.

While making the piping I inadvertently sewed one strip of grunge red fabric right side out and then the other needed strip was sewn with the wrong side out.  Calling it a happy accident because I ripped out the correctly sewn one and did 2 wrong so I could get the look I was looking for.  Click oon the picture to get a closer look of the piping.  It's barely visible here.

Finished with label.  Hand sewn while in Boston waiting for another last minute biopsy needed 2 days before Thanksgiving.

Another wool finish is a class I took while at my quilt retreat last month.  It's totally finished and just in time to put away.    My son and husband think it looks more like a  llama than a deer but what do those hunters know anyway!?  LOL

She's setting around here at this step.

The Secret Santa SAL a Mystery QAL sponsored through Temecula Quilt Company, I truly love small detailed items.  Finished step one in a  relative timely manner  but then was derailed as we had an unexpected trip to Boston for another biopsy needed to double check a couple of elevated numbers.

Even then, Tufts is great to work with.  The  phone call came on Monday morning, the 19th and being just before our Thanksgiving, I quickly asked, "how about tomorrow for the needed heart biopsy" as I didn't need to worry wonder and knew DH didn't need the added stress either.  Luckily they had an opening and we left within the hour to get to Boston.  That's finishing laundry, booking a hotel, vacuuming the floors - uh-humm... okay pushing roomba's button then packing.  Oh and calling his chiropractor to change his appointment as we had to leave immediately.  Luckily there too, they cancelled his appointment that was suppose to be in half an hour and said whenever we got there, they'd work him him immediately.

Would you believe the chiropractor even tried to find last minute lodging for us too?  He is such a great person!  DH told him I already procured lodging and I was returning the cans at the redemption center and currently at the bank for $$ while he was there.  Sometimes things just fall into perspective with many blessings and a little luck.
While waiting on Biopsy day, my daughter  sent me a text and said she'd bring 2 pies and supply quite a few of the side dishes to help out for our dinner.  Sounded great to my ears!  (And they were delicious too. )

Since her Birthday was on the Holiday we celebrated with those pies, cake, Austrian tea cake and ice cream after a full Thanksgiving feast.  Played games, vegged in front of the TV and just hung out.

Thankfully we rec'd word the night before Thanksgiving his Biopsy was ZERO!   Yeah!!
Much to be grateful for.

Also back from the Framers was this:


I absolutely love the finish Michael's store offered locally.  
The mat, frame and workmanship was perfect for what I had visualized.


Nancy's Needle "Autumn Medley" in the called for threads and canvas.  The only personal-ization I did was in the diamond  squares, (the smallest squares showing in the top and bottom rows).  

love, Love LOVE  it!   smiles and giggling!

TTFN,
Jane

That is #3  Totally finished UFOs and a new kitted  project in November!   Yippee!

November Ends

Where is the time going?  My world seems to speed up continuously and that seems impossible but each day is a blur.   The sunsets around here continue to be spectacular!  It's amazing to witness it like this at this time of year.

Some of The GRANDS:  PGS#3, PGS#2, PGD#1
2015 Thansgiving at Meme and Popi's

The Thanksgiving Holiday was wonderful.  Family that could make it did and most of all the grandchildren were around the table.  That makes my heart sing!
While preparing the feast, I received a call from lil' Miss PGD#1.  She wanted to come down could I pick her up?  Sure, I responded so I picked her up and she helped out quite a bit.  Her brother was also invited to come since I had  seen an appetizer dish I thought they'd like to create for our feast but due to some of his behavior errs was told by his Mom that now he'd have to wait until Mom and Dad came down. His loud thoughts were "that's fine by me"  I'll be glad when he gets through this stage and he'll be 7 soon.  

So this is what she did with just a little help from her brother.  Cute isn't it!

She also made the gravy for the feast and the lil' guy helped to set the table.  We had a very enjoyable day and spent some nice quality time together.  Eating, visiting, football toss, football watching, clean up and then some board games.  All in all so much to be grateful for.

Photo of the Grands taken at PGS#1 Birthday celebration at the end of October
PGS#3, PGS#1, PGD#1
He enjoyed meeting his youngest cousin for the first time and re-visiting with his older cousin.

The day after Thanksgiving, we spent it with the eldest grandson, PGS#1 and brought all of the dinner's leftovers to share a Thanksgiving Holiday with him.   Since he just arrived at this place, he's still in the observation mode so can't he can't leave the premises at his present step.  All the counselors are impressed with him and are repeatedly telling us that the individual on all the medical reports is not the same person they are seeing.  We can only hope he continues to do his best.  

Dear daughter celebrated her !! Birthday just before Thanksgiving, so we got together for that too.  The grands blew up about 150 balloons for the celebration.  The elder one, PGD#1 has learned how to make balloon animals so they used their Dad's compressor to blow them up when Mom was gone for the day.  That's one way to keep the young ones busy so Dad can continue to work on their new deck -  Brilliant!

PGS#3- age 6 still

During the party the youngest one, PGS#3 age 6 decided to static cling some balloons to the walls.  With just two of them sticking on his head, decided it was a strong enough hold to actually glue him to the wall too so he fly paper pressed himself against the wall saying, I'm stuck!  Oh where and how does he come up with the things he does, makes us all happy and scratching our heads wondering.  LOL      

Please disregard the blurriness of the photo, that's my fault with trying to capture these real life moments quickly.

My list of what I wanted completed is falling way short too of everything on it with the exception of my counted cross stitch- Bent Creek's, The Red Thread.  Sorry that I've erroneously been giving credit to Lizzie Kate for this design.  My bad!    Check out all the months- they are now complete:

I've surpassed my goal for this and it's just the end of November.  Yippee!!!  

All that remains now is the ribbon surround on the sides and top with the phrase to stitch along the bottom. That is slated for 2016 but who knows how far I can continue with it this this year.

 Some other bit's I'm grateful for are the Washington Hawthorne tree in the side yard.  It's always so gorgeous at this time of year with all the berries left on the branches for many weeks.  Then it seems like a flock of birds fly in overnight and devour them all in a day.  Since it's wintertime, I'm never sure when that happens, but I am hoping to find out when this year.

BTW- This shot does not do it justice.

Another thank that I enjoy is the natural thermometers outside the bedroom window.  Each morning when I lift the shades, I can note the cold.  Depending on the curl of the leaves and droop of the rhododendron's leaf clumps, you can instantly see how cold it is.  Notice the tightness and droop?  It's in the twenties this am.  Not that it gives it in numbers, only cold, Really Cold and SEVERLY COLD.  LOL  You can barely notice but the rotted timbers are slowly be replaced with landscape blocks.  So much more to do on that yet.

before

Another thank I have is the side deck is completed!  Yippee!!  That only took 14 months!  My BIL came over to help DH finish it and brought his tools with him.  It's beautiful and gorgeous.  The only problem is with that Trek decking being weathered for a whole year it's dirty and needs some scrubbing but right now it is way too cold to attempt that.  It will have to wait until the Spring.

DH and Siamak (my dear BIL)  taken the Saturday before Thanksgiving
and it was bitter cold while they were working!

THANKS Honey and SIA!!!!

DH installed the post solar lights this week.

They just softly cascade down each post,

(I'll try to capture a photo of them when they are lit.  

Edited this on 12/7/15 the day before the littlest grandchild turns 7.)

You can see the tiny lights just under the post caps despite the camera flash, we're all so satisfied.  8 )

Wishing you all the best at this time of year,
Jane

Saw an idea of another embroidery piece that would be sweet to stitch at some point.......

Happy Thanksgiving and November's recap

Hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving celebrations with family and friends. 

I am thankful for all the blessings we have in our lives.  My gratitudes are typically expressed each morning upon waking and when I retire when the day is done.   So I try to live each day with gratitude in my heart.  Some other be phrases to use and I think are appropriate is:

be focused,
be unique,
be nice,
be on time! (a personal pet peeve of mine),
be true to yourself and to others,
be persistent,
be  loyal,
be your best,
and most of all........ BE CREATIVE!

This bouquet of flowers lasted over 2 weeks.  My DH gave them to me for my uh hum...th  Birthday on the 10th.  He surprised me with having them on the dining room table when I returned home on the 9th from my guild meeting in Glens Falls.  The roses didn't last as long and were shabby after the first week, but the rest lasted quite a while and I thought of the photo Mom took of her bouquet and thought this would be a terrific bookmark for moi and a reminder of that love when I read each night.  ;)







The November's goals I had were to:

1- Quilt Wee Wander Baby Blanket ( no intention declared for this yet, just to have it done and on hand.) I'm attributing this project as my ALYOF project with Melissa and H20 girl at Fiber of all sorts.  FINISHED!!! including a blank label to attach when I know where it's going.   Used a minkee plush fabric on the back with a variegated thread.  Photos below......
2- Quilt the Horse quilt PGD#1 made for the boy in Nicaragua. Also, I need to cut the binding so she can learn the binding making technique at one of our upcoming sewing sessions.    It's layered but not stitched a bit yet.  This will be moved to December's ALYOF project.
3- Quilt and Bind the Community Project quilt for WFQG.  Nada-zip, this will stay on my list for December
4- Make two stuffed animal quilts for CVQG.  Check!  Photos shared here.....
5- Do something for myself, this will be my wild card.   Check!  Made a table runner with leaves scattered on the center panel for that sofa table.  A nice easy finish.
6- Help PGD#1 finish her pillow she started with the cupcake kids. Almost done and it is too cute. She's planning on giving this to her Mom for her Birthday on the 22nd. Will be done this week! I'll post and share photos after the finish.   Check! 
7- Mend the vinyl on my Brother in Law's snap on weather protector for his backhoe. Hopefully right after I get off this computer. Edited 11/4- Attempted without success, but now I can cross this one off my list.  Check!
8- For Slow stitching Sundays I want need to start another cross stitch project. Maybe another small one like the recent finish, a Shepherds Bush Christmas fob.  Started a Lizzie Kate winter alphabet.  Planning on getting one square stitched each week -minimum! shown below...



Plush minkee used on backing.
Had an issue of that "fringing" effect so
had to rip out and redo with a thin bat between.
 




My favorite part of the panel ......
 

For next month's challenge....
It's laying on top of the sewing area to quilt in
December for the ALYOF challenge!
 

Started on November  13, 2014
using the threads called for.

So all in all, I'm content and feeling inspired to continue more.  Don't get me wrong I still have numerous UFOs pigs and plenty to get done on my lists, but if I can just keep all of these balls in the air and now focus on some exercise each day to boot and I'll be feeling mighty grand. 


Enjoy your blessings,
Jane





 

Full of Gratitude and

From our crew to yours,

We are wishing you a very

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

 

If you are the source of this photo,

please let me know so I may give you proper credit.