Oldies but Goodies - -

First we have a clock face that my mother embroidered in 1961.  She appliqued on the blue fabric at the top.  The clock quit working and it needs cleaning.  I am scared to soak but I will and then keep soaking it if the colors run.  Meanwhile some new clock works are in order.

Today I also found a quilt I made years ago.  It covered a cedar chest in a window from amny years.  It is old looking and faded.  I plan to wash it and see what happens. 

Early Snow and just a little bit of stitching

I was up early this morning and took the photos.  It was better than an inch of snow on everything!!  The trees were weighted down with the heavy snow.  It looked pretty and now it is all gone.  The weather man is saying that they can get a foot of snow south of us tomorrow.  Oh, No!!  Is it too late to consider the 'big move'?  Meanwhile I worked on the base piece for the little ornament house.  I made two as I believe I have enough fabric to make two houses of each color fabric. 

SNOW!!!! and a VS House

Snow on the back deck

Victoria Sampler House

I stayed home and stitched today.  Yippee!!!  It is snowing.  It has been snowing almost all day long.  I am working on a Victoria Sampler house ornament.  I have the four sides done and will move on to the roof and base tomorrow.  I am looking forward to finishing this one.

Drum Roll Please - Max is Done!!

Just a few moments ago, I put the last of the stitches in Max.  I am over the top happy to say good bye to this guy.  There is a lot of detail to him.  I am sure I will appreciate it some day but for now I am last to put away all his parts and be done with him.

Stash and some Max progress.

STASH!!!  It has been awhile since I had a package arrive.  Just Nan's Christmas Hat Box, LHN's latest ornament, Turkey Lurking by Just Nan, floss for One Nation - and some Christmas green pearl cotton to help with ornaments.

I did some work on Max.  The cat fish now has whiskers and the mounted fist has a hanger.  Progress is slow.  Today I did spend a good portion of the day washing glassware and dishes before they went in the hutch.  It is a good job done.

Busy Sunday

Max gets some more stitching

Last box opened!!

I did spend some time on Max.  Can you even see the green fishing line?  I did get quite a bit done before I was tired of it.  Then I attacked the last box!  There was one more box to empty since the move.  It had family treasures that at one time lived in that hutch.  I had packed the things away years ago and it was stored in the basement.  I had asked that it be repacked before the big move.  They didn't do as I asked.  So I had expected everything to be broken.  Can you believe it?  Not a single thing was broken!!  Now I have to wash it all and find a new home for it.  Maybe another day. 

Autumn Colors and Max

I did a walk around the yard and took some photos.  I love the bright yellow colors that we are seeing now.  I am also happy dancing today because I am now done with Max, single strand black back stitching.  I am hopeful to do the last of the stuff soon.  I am so happy to be seeing one come to an end.

Needle Books

Two Needle Books for me and you.

Inside of one, two pages

Today I had some errands to run. When I came home I remembered that someone - - she who won't be named - - had given me some wool felt items when I first moved here.  Her comment was, "See what you can do with this."  At the time I was very busy unpacking and such.  So today I made these needle books. 

One Crazy Day - -

Today is a very strange day.  Thunder and wind  - - then blowing rain - - five minutes later?  Sunshine!!  We did get a ride in before the rain came.  I forgot to take the camera.  The colors are going away as the leaves are falling.  I did see some very pretty sites as we went along the river today.  This morning I did complete the sorting, organizing and cleaning up the floss box.  I feel good to have that done.  Then I sat down and did the cutting on the three ornaments.  They are all ready for the next phase.  I know that cutting is very scary for a lot of people.  Start small.  So small that if you made a mistake, no big loss.  I also recommend the books that show you how to recover from a mistake in cutting the wrong thread.  It does work and it can be recovered from.

Colors, a new start and a mess.....

Fall Colors out the back door

Fall Colors at the Front Door

Mail Art - the Beginning

This is just a mess.....

I wasn't sure if anyone was still interested in the fall colors.  I am in awe most of the time while we go about our daily errands to see the beautiful colors.  I have also watched showers of leaves coming down.  Fall will be gone before we know it.  I love, love, love being here to see this fall.
Meanwhile I started a new mail art.  I started with a tea towel.  I want to make a pocketed purse out of it when I am done.  The 'theme' is anything type of stitching, not just cross stitch.  So I started with some specialty stitches in the color bands.  This will be under the back flap of the envelope.  I did this much before I decided to start cleaning up my mess.
I have been saving small amounts of floss for years.  It was all in a box.  Well, when I need just a bit of some color, I just dig in and find it.  Well, it has become just a mass of tangled threads.  So I spent some time pulling out 'like threads', putting a small, loose knot in that bunch and then making a new pile.  I hope it works out.  I am less than a quarter of the way through the pile.  ARgh - - it will take some time.

Christmas is Coming

I seem to be spending a lot of time working on the outside edges of hardanger ornaments.  This one is ready for cutting, decorations and finishing.

 I worked on this one the other day.  It is also ready for the dreaded cutting.

This one is still 'in progress'.  I really do need to return to Max. 

Two Finishes!! Happy Dancing

Since I posted yesterday, I was able to start and complete this scarf. It is made with super chunky and ultra soft yarn. I finished it last night. I just love it.
Then today I was working in my room doing hardanger stuff. When I had a thought. I wonder if I can get the binding on the quilt I started so many, many years ago. I found the parts, I put it together and dinner was late because I took the time to do the hand stitching and COMPLETE IT! I do have to say a special thank you to Sandy Felt. She helped me start this quilt so long ago in St. Louis. I finally have it done Sandy - - thanks to you.

Progress - at last!!

This is a photo of our new home. It was taken from the driveway. The trees behind the house are looking great.
I am making great progress on Max. Today I have stitched 11 strands of black back stitching. I am guessing that I am 75% done with black. There are many other colors and some french knots.
Here is another photo of the color surrounding our house.

Rainy day and a finish -

First the colors. I hope everyone is liking the day to day photos as the colors change. It will end soon. Wind is predicted and when that happens, we believe all the leaves will fall and this bit of colors will end. Here is the back yard this afternoon.
Here is the front yard. I love the explosion of color.
Meanwhile back at the work table. I finished this little piece. It will be some dark green (?) fabric behind the cut work and a felt backing. This will be an ornament for Christmas.

Slowly we creep to fall colors

Front Door this afternoon. The driveway down below is covered with leaves. Will all the leaves get great color before they fall off the trees?
I did work on this silk stitching. The is the complete side one of the house. The two parts need back stitching but I plan to do that out line stitch when all the parts are stitched.
Back yard. I love the red colors that are showing up. Today was a travel day to see family. When will I get to stay home?????

I did find a needle - -

Front Door. Color continues to explode around here. Many leaves are falling. At times it looks like a shower of leaves coming down on the driveway.
The back yard has more red colors today. I love looking out every morning to see what has changed.
I started a hardanger Christmas heart ornament. I need to do some cutting, add a bit of red and a charm along with the bars and dove's eye stitches. I think I made some progress today. My other stitching is buried under two days of mail. As of tonight, I have found my charts so I could return to my usual stitching tomorrow. It is exciting to see the colors and I don't want to miss them. However - - I need to stitch!!

Stitching? I hardly remember - -

The colors are here!! We traveled again today. All Day!! This was taken near the Million Dollar Beach in down town Lake George.
This was taken from the top of Prospect Mountain. That is Lake George. The little buildings on the right side of the photo is the village of Lake George.
This is my back yard this morning. The reds are finally showing up.
I am thinking this might have been taken at Prospect also. We then took off for Vermont and the Vermont Country store. It was a fun trip but the color over there is past peak. It was prettier here in New York. There is still terrible signs of the devastation from Hurricane Irene. Tomorrow we are expecting rain tomorrow so the travels will be coming to an end and perhaps I can finally sit still and stitch. Stay Tuned - -

Another busy day -

I did do a bit of back stitching on Max. I am now all the way across the top with black back stitching. Black is used a lot for this process. I will go back and add the other colors after I get this part done.
We have a new family member. I named him Schroon. He is a black bear with character. I purchased him at a little store in Schroon Lake. He is very soft and likes to cuddle. I took this picture outside the store as we were preparing to leave.
This is the sun just hitting the trees in the back yard this morning. We are getting some color!!!!
We went for a long drive today in search of color. We saw some amazing vistas. The photos just don't convey the beauty we saw. I plan to keep trying.

No Stitching Today

I was busy cleaning and getting ready for a dinner with my son and his girlfriend. We set up the fire area for a fire tonight but it didn't happen. Prayers are good right now for a family member of hers. Meanwhile we enjoyed the bright sun shine and there is just a touch of color showing up. This looking down the driveway. The trees are yellow with the bright sun and it is just a wash of brightness.