SO--IS IT STILL SUNDAY???

 I'm late, I'm late--but I made it--late or not!!!

I am late cause when I got up this morning--I decided I had made one of my blue blocks too large--so had to redo it this afternoon and it has some applique in it-so that took some time !!!

I realized yesterday that I had not done anything with the 'blues' so far this month--as the color of the month--so had to put my thinking 'cap' on and do some looking and planning and I came up with '2' projects for this year-(well actually I think there is more than '2'--but all we got done so far is '2'!!!!

This is the first one--

I still need to sew the strips together--but first I need to do a bit more to the middle one--top and bottom--or-- I am thinking about doing a bit more--we will see--this block is 9" square when finished--you know me and hearts--I first did a 12" square--but decided the hearts where just too long--

these will not go to waste--I will use them in something???

And the second block for another quilt in this years color of the month is this one--

Can you guess what this quilt is going to be about????

And I am doing Joy's Winter stitch along and I am happy to say I am actually caught up on this one til this Friday when the 3rd step comes out--

I am using the thread line called Wildflowers--and the candles are done in 2 shades of purple!!

I also got the 2 counted cross stitch projects finished off--

and here is an embroidery piece that I don't believe I have showed yet--finished this back end of December--I think???

 
And--thankfully--I am feeling alot better (but then we just started 'Oak' season here in Florida for the next 2-3 months--and Oak and I don't get along--so time will tell????

So this past week I did some cooking and baking--

These are Lemon cupcakes (made from a mix) Anne in NY used to make these all the time and share them with me--it's been 3 1/2 years since I had one--yummmm!!!!

And I am back to spring cleaning (or maybe it's late Fall cleaning!!)

And this poor cabinet got cleaned off and that drawer--well--lets just say the last time I tried to find something in it--it was impossible--I ended up with one bag of stuff that went down on the free table--I still need to decorate the top of it--by putting some of my tea cup and saucers back up there--but first my next job is to redo all my quilts???

Well that's all for this week--blog friends--hope all is going well in your world this week--keep those needles 'flyin'

Hugs, di

OH MY--WHAT A MONTH --

 So far--first to let you know--they discovered I do not have pneumonia--my lungs are clear--they are now, just saying, it's just allergies!!!!??? 

But all I know is--I still do not feel well --but it's time to get back on the saddle and get busy with getting back to my normal routines!

I did get some sewing done this week--

These are the extra 4 blocks on the Valentine panel--I have them with batting and backing and the then stitched them and turned them--am now in the progress of hand quilting on them--am on the last block now--the L O V E block--

And here is the "4" I picked for my wall hanging--it is layered and I have gotten it basted for hand quilting-

And you can see I have added some appliqued hearts to it--

I also got a little counted crossstitch, project all stitched this week--

now I need to finish it off--

and I am also working on this crewel embroidery that my friend Anne sent me for Christmas--

one of my favorite flowers--Pansies!!

And last evening I did finish the knitting on another baby sweater-and today when a repair man --drove me out of my apartment cause of some really smelly paint stuff he used--I went outside and got the next 2 skeins of yarn rolled into balls to start another sweater this evening!!!

I am way behind in everything it seems--never even got my snowmen out this year to decorate for January--but am thinking ahead to Valentines day-- and red and pink colors--and I have got to decide on what I am going to do for my 'color of the month' project for this year--my blues are 'yellin' at me to do something with them!!! and then there is getting this years Crabapple Hill embroidery stitchery for February traced out and colored in by the 1st!!

SO WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN UP TO?????

SENDING GOOD WISHES AND HUGS, YOUR WAY--DI

I ENDED WITH A SURPRISE

 It seems I have started out 2023 in the 'ill' category!!!  I know this sounds 'silly' but this is my 4th New Years here and the 3rd one I have been sick on New Year's day-(I don't believe I was ill 2022!!) But this time I can't seem to get better and then learned on Thursday it's cause I have pneumonia--What??? not me--where and how did this happen???

So to make a short story --short--I sure haven't gotten much done so far this year--

I did get this cross stitching finished --but now need to the finishing on it--

and I am working on a new counted cross stitch piece!!

And I did get this piece embroidered--

And I have gotten another baby sweater knitted and nearly have another one at the end--

But I just haven't felt well enough to do much of anything--!!

Now --do you remember this little booklet???

I have written in nearly every day since 2018--

I have used it to record how many days and hours I have done some kind of stitching with needle and thread--and I used up the last page on Dec 31, 2022--

 here is summary-

2018-- 259 hours was recorded--but lots of '0' days I also moved back to New York from Florida and ended up with the really bad case of Shingles that lasted for months--

2019--637 hours--and 19 days of "0" stitching--but remember I also moved back to Florida--

2020--1508 hours and only 2 '0' days

2021--1650 hours and just 5 '0' days

2022--1719 hours and just 3 '0' days!!!

and we won't even talk about the first 15 days of 2023!!!!

I do miss this little notebook--it was a part of me for along time each morning recording the days before, time of stitching--

Well--I do hear of alot of folks all over are ill with one thing or another so far this year--

SO MY HOPE AND PRAYER FOR EVERYONE IS TO GET BETTER AND HEALTHY --WE NEED TO KEEP THOSE NEEDLES 'FLYIN'!!!

HUGS, DI 

  

GUESS WHAT-WE GOT A WHOLE NEW YEAR NOW--

 TO make plans and set goals and go places and do things--!!!

Or to just get caught up from 2022 projects cause I have been slow in getting up a post for the end of the year--so here goes for now--

Finishes I got done in 2022--

I got the center embroidery block finished for Joy's stitch along--

and now 2 blocks are embroidered in this years series--think there is 5 of them--but not sure I will do all 5, I still have last years blocks to sew together and there was 12 in that one!!

and I am real happy to say that I got this Christmas baking scene completely hand quilted and the binding on it--just in time to pack it away til next year--

I also got his truck one all hand quilted--

that is as far as the truck piece goes--I have decided I do not like that border--so will pack it away until next year and then decide what to do!!!!  At least it sounds like a plan!!!!

and I did get these counted cross stitchings all finished--the top 2 will go in my winter decor--but the bottom two little ones will get packed away--they are both fresh of the needles cross stitches!

And some baby sweaters have gotten knitted--

Now to show you a package of cookies I got for Christmas--

Did I like them???  Well--they are different--and I do like them--but they are not what I would call a chocolate chip cookie!!!!!!

and some fabric that I got for Christmas--

I really like that butterfly piece on the top--though there is some neat fabrics in this pile--

OK now on to 2023--

Look what my first project will be this year--

I got this cause I just love that speckled doggie-but I also loved the rest of the blocks!!!

Then probably my next new project will be with this set--

Yep pink--and roses--a double win!!!

WEll--that's all blog readers--Oh I have put away some of my Christmas decoration today--but my tree is decorated--maybe tomorrow or the next day or the day after that!!!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OF YOU AND MAY IT BE A GREAT YEAR OF FUN AND LAUGHTER AND MAYBE A SOME SEWING!!!

BLESSINGS, DI

JUST A COUPLE MORE DAYS NOW--

 and it will be time to be a 'givin and a gettin'--all good and lovely gifts is the hope--and great time spent with family and friends!!!

But in the meantime--some of us are still stitching and knitting--and hopefully doing some baking and gift wrapping!!!!

Let's see--what did get worked on this past week--

I did get this months Bird block finished in applique--

I waited all year to do a block with Cardinals in it--my cardinals are done in wool--

I got a couple embroidery pieces finished--

a mitten block--that really has no idea what it wants to become???

and one snowman block done in all blue, and a second one started for this set--

looks like alot of stitching to be done on this one--

and--

and this one by Joy--am having problems with what color to stitch the dashes in--this gold or a red????

and a baby sweater was finished yesterday--

Now for an 'odd-funny--what' kind of story--

remember I live in a Senior apartment building--and this year when we signed up for the free Thanksgiving dinner from the Salvation Army--they also asked us to sign up for a gift bags--well--usually when someone/organization does this they bring them to our doors or give a time for us to go downstairs and pick them up--but it seems they just showed up last week down in the lobby and handed out a few to some that walked though the lobby--and I mean  a 'few' and left--So our social worker got in touch in with them and they said they didn't give gifts to seniors!!!!  Yesterday they scheduled a time to come and sing carols and do a devotion--so I went down--4 people from the Salvation showed up--2 were young girls--but it was a nice time--and then 2 other ladies popped in with gift bags for those of us who were there--

this was the bag I got--now here is the really really interesting part--and that is what was in the bag--can anyone guess????

There was this quilt in the bag--

a very large quilt--that had been long armed quilted even--nice tag on the back-

and here is the back of it--do you see those dragonflies--you know how I love dragonflies--

Out of 30 other women in that dinning room-I get the quilt--I already have so many quilts--yet--I do feel that I got this one for a reason--can't really explain it--but the feeling is there--just don't know what the feeling is all about???????

here is the other things that were in the bag-

the mugs are very heavy and not me--so will be re-donating them along with the dog days color book--I will keep the dot to dot book--that looks like it might be fun and interesting!!

And once they gave out these gift bags they were out the door like they were on 'fire'--so alot of tenants here still did not get a gift bag--hum???????  We also had a big box downstairs for over a month that we collected can goods  for them and we filled it  a couple times for them--so they got alot of canned good and food stuff from us--maybe too much so they decided we didn't need or deserve a gift basket--I am not complaining--just wondering why they did what they did and the way they did it???????

Ok time to go wrap some gifts for the staff members for here and time for some ice cream--the 'chili' I had for lunch from downstairs needs something, so I can stop 'tasting' it all afternoon!!!

Please remember to take time to enjoy everything and everyone around you this week--stitching can wait until after Christmas if need be--

Blessings and hugs to all--di

A DAY LATE--BUT--

I guess one day late--is better than 2 days late--right????(lol)

I spent most of last week collecting gifts for 4  boxes that I needed to mail out--and I spent all day Sunday writing out Christmas cards in the morning and then all afternoon wrapping gifts and getting them boxed up and ready to take to the post office-- Which I was a good girl and did get them over there first thing this morning--yea!!! (oh on a side note here--those 4 packages cost me $77.00 to mail--ouch!!)

One of the projects last week was finishing up these, mostly, counted cross stitching projects--

Two of these ended up being gifts--

and this one-

was also a gift for my sister June--

and I also got the cake board wrapped in fabric finishes, on the backs of these 3 for me--

The first one was a gift about 4-5 years ago from a blog friend--I did the embroidered one of the tree lot and then this last one of the Cranberry lodge!!!

And I took some photos of where I am at with some hand work projects--

Last night I did get the 'gifts' block finished so I am all caught up on these one til Joy gives us the next block--

And I am working on these two embroidery pieces here and there!!! And I this afternoon I did get this month's bird block finished --photo next post!!

And in knitting I worked on making some soap bags for gifts--

These all got sent out today in the gift boxes!!!

And here is how I have displayed my Christmas pillows--

This is a little padded stool that Frannie gave me when I moved in here --so I just opened the lid and put some of my cross stitch pillows in it--some of these were gifts, some I made--

And here is how I have the rest of them displayed--again some were gifts --but I did make alot of them myself, too!!!

And all I can say is--I don't think I will be bored for the next 12 days to Christmas--lots of events and things I want to do --like bake some Christmas cookies--and as our weather here is suppose to get -really cold after  Thursday--like the day time temps will only be low 60's--that's like 30-40 degree temps for us Floridians--it will be good baking weather--so let's get the oven heat'n up!!!!!

Take care--be safe and don't forget to rest and put those feet up and watch some Christmas movies!!!

Hugs, di