bodner067

And here we are on the final day of November! Can you believe it? I don't know where the hours go, to be honest, and often wonder how I managed to get everything done before I retired. I know I made better use of my time and that is going to be one of my goals for next year. Since I last visited you, I've been busy trying to finish up my monthly ornaments and doing some gift stitching / finishing. This is definitely the time of year when I wish I could get by on four or five hours of sleep in order to get everything accomplished that I'd like to! But, no--I need at least seven hours to function at all. How about you?  With the busy, busy fall that I've had driving back and forth to New York to help out my mom, I turned to comfort stitching in the form of my beloved Prairie Schooler Santas. For October, I finished this beautiful blue guy from Book No. 58 "Old Saint Nick." He is stitched on 40 ct. natural Newcastle with the suggested threads. The chart showed ...

Why, hello there!  Happy Thanksgiving week to all of my readers here in the U.S . Are you ready for your feast? We are going to be in Ohio for our family's get together this year so I only have to provide a couple of pies, an appetizer, and a tray of cookies--all things I love to make! What does your holiday entail this year? Are you hosting? Going all out with a traditional turkey dinner? Or maybe keeping things simpler this year? I do enjoy the feeling of family that Thanksgiving brings. Compared to Christmas time, there is not as much decorating, no gifts to buy, no hustle and bustle--it's just so nice to simply sit down together to share a fine meal and give thanks.  In keeping with the spirit of Thanksgiving I have a couple of seasonal stitching finishes to share with you today. This first finish, called "The Lord's Blessing" by Imaginating, was a long time coming. Here's a little story for you that goes way back to the late 1990s. While shopping at a l...

Happy last day of October--or Happy Halloween if you prefer! How are my blogging friends today? I can hardly believe we are rounding the corner to the final two months of  2018, can you? October has been one tough month around here--I won't sugarcoat it. I just have to hope and pray that November is kinder... My stitching retreat, two weeks ago, was such fun: stitching , eating, stitching , snacking, stitching , sleeping, stitching ... Unfortunately, I had to leave a day early as my niece's baby shower fell on that last day. But, it was still nice to be there for even the short time I had with four long-time stitching friends. We don't have formal exchanges these days like we used to--if someone wants to bring something, that's fine. No one keeps track! I had some extra time to stitch while my mom was in the hospital so I made four little snowflake ornaments--one for each of my friends. Believe me, by the final one, I think I had the chart memorized. It is actually on...

A frosty good morning to all! We dipped down near the freezing mark this morning in western Pennsylvania after an unseasonably warm October. I am so not ready for the upcoming winter cold, are you? The older I get, the more I seem to hate the snow and ice and layers of clothes I have to heap on to just to keep the chill off. But, unless I move south, I guess I'm stuck with all of this, aren't I?  So, how has your month been going so far? I've been doing some stitching, but not a lot and only have a couple of smaller finishes to share with you today. Most of you will recognize "J Is For Jack-O-Lantern" from Prairie Schooler's J-K-L book #105. I stitched just the bottom portion of it for a cute, quick addition to my Halloween pillows. My go-to fabric of 40 ct. country mocha Newcastle linen and the suggested DMC threads were used in this latest finish. That black cat is kind of crazy looking, isn't he? But, you long-time readers know what a fan I am of bl...