Stats, Holiday Planning, Unexpected Guests and More

Hello Friends!

I neglected to share October’s cross stitch progress during November, so I’ll include it here.

I stitched 6,540 stitches on three projects:

-        Give Thanks

-        Well Rounded Autumn Quilt

-        Started Witching Hour

Clicking the names above will take you to the October post regarding that project.

On the sewing front, I finished the blocks for the Scrappiness Is Happiness quilt. And I finished sewing the top together in November.

Also in November, I stitched 4,700 stitches on three projects:

-        Ann Harper 1839 (no picture yet)

-        Witching Hour – come back tomorrow, Dec. 4^th for an update on this project

-        Started stitching Cocoa Quilt (no picture yet)

Much of my crafting came to a halt the week before Thanksgiving because I started getting ready for Christmas.

Each year I put together a folder of checklists for the holiday season. They include November and December calendars, menus, ingredients for each dish and shopping list for items needed, gift list, gift receipts, etc.

With my folder organized, I then wrote my holiday cards and got them ready to be mailed during the first week of December. I do not send nearly as many cards as I used to. Do you write and mail holiday cards?

I may have enjoyed a nice slice of pound cake with caramel frosting while I worked on the cards.

I mentioned in a previous post we are expecting house guests every weekend in December, except for one. The plan was to spend Thanksgiving week doing a deep clean of the house, get the tree and have all Christmas decorating finished by the Saturday night after Thanksgiving.

As I was cleaning on Thanksgiving morning, my daughter called to say she received a notification that three packages were delivered to my house, and I need to check the front door. I wondered who would deliver on Thanksgiving Day. Well, I opened the door to find my daughter, her boyfriend and their dog standing there. They had driven all night from Orlando to surprise me. Apparently, they had been planning this with my husband and mom for quite some time. We spent the weekend celebrating my birthday as well as the Thanksgiving holiday.

The only task that was successfully completed was visiting the tree farm on Friday and getting the tree. Now, mind you, it is still standing naked in the living room…but, at least we got it.

This was my daughter’s first time visiting Boyd Mountain Christmas Tree Farm.

These were the cutest trees. Ours was a bit larger.

We paid for the tree inside of a large tent. The tent contained several tables with various items for purchase. I love that each table was covered in a quilt.

Mom, Myself and My Daughter

Since the real tree needed to sit a couple of days for the limbs to open, I managed to start decorating one small fake pencil tree in our bedroom.

We woke up to some frigid temperatures on Saturday morning.

It was also 17 degrees Fahrenheit when the kids young adults left to return to Florida Sunday morning.

We had the best weekend and I look forward to their return at Christmas.

You may remember I was supposed to run the Turkey Trot 5K on Thanksgiving morning. Well, as predicted, it was cold and still damp from an early morning rain. I decided to stay home!

Our next guest arrives this Friday. My best friend from Florida is coming for the weekend. I'm spending this week cleaning again and decorating. Not sure how far I'll get but I'll share photos when everything is done.

Please come back tomorrow for Witching Hour Wednesday. The stitchers have some fun progress to share.

I hope this wasn't too long. And, I hope those who celebrated had a great Thanksgiving holiday.

Last Post for November...already?

Hi Friends!

Remember these guys?

Well, they’ve decided to put on clothes.

We’ve had some chilly temperatures, even a dusting of snow and are headed into the teens for lows this weekend. I was supposed to run the Turkey Trot 5K on Thanksgiving morning at Lake Junaluska, but we are forecast to have rain and a high in the low 50s (Fahrenheit). It isn’t likely that I’ll be able to handle that kind of weather.

Speaking of Lake J, they are starting to decorate for Christmas.

The Rose Walk

One of the houses overlooking the lake

The House Next Door

The Gazebo

The Chapel

Painted Rocks placed on the wall

More painted rocks

The Bell

I made another buttermilk pie Friday night.

My birthday is tomorrow. It’s a big one…ends in a “0”, so I made my very favorite cake last night. I first shared Miss Lou’s Pound Cake 10 years ago on my blog. I find that hard to believe. If you are interested in learning why this is my favorite cake, visit this post. You’ll also find the recipe there.

This was my first time trying a caramel frosting made from scratch.

I think it would be less ugly and more like Miss Lou’s if I used the regular tube pan and not the fancy Nordic Ware pan. I’ll try that at Christmas.

It was ugly but it tasted soooo good!

I’ve done very little sewing and stitching this week. Instead, I’ve spent my evenings after work deep cleaning the house. I put away all the fall décor and I will begin decorating for Christmas a few days early. I don’t usually start until the day after Thanksgiving, but Thanksgiving is so late this year. We still won’t go to the tree farm until Friday. That was a compromise with my hubby.

On the sewing front, I have all the units made for the Primrose blocks.

I wanted to have the Flea Market quilt finished by the end of the year, but it isn’t looking like that will happen. It's ok, I am doing what I enjoy. That is the point, right?

I’ll be back next Monday with October and November stitching stats, as well as a holiday recap. I wish you all in the USA the very best and blessed Thanksgiving holiday.

Hugs!

Witching Hour Wednesday – SAL Progress

***Edited to add Gary's progress photo***

It is time for an update on the Witching Hour stitch-along. If you’ve missed it, here are links to the previous posts.

November 1st

November 6th 

Assignment #3 is in the books. The stitchers completed the letters D, E and F.

Lisa K

Sandi L

Connie S

Lynne D

Tara B

Katie C

Sheila N

Tywanna J

Maria H

My dear friend Michele has decided to join, but like me, she is not participating in the drawings. Here is her progress.

Michele S

Gary H

And lastly, this is my piece.

Jeanna G

This has been so much fun for me to see the different fabrics and threads selected.

The next three letters are due to be completed by December 1^st. I’ll share everyone’s progress from that assignment on the next Witching Hour Wednesday, which will be December 4^th.

 

I hope you enjoy these progress updates.  I’ll be back on Monday with a regular post.

Oh, and Blogger still hasn’t fixed it’s NoReply-Comment issue. So, I will respond to your comment if we’ve communicated before. If you are commenting for the first time, please leave your email address so that I can properly thank you 😊

 

See you Monday!

The Next Quilt UFO

Veteran’s Day 2024!

I’m very grateful for those who have chosen, and those who continue to choose, to serve our country in the armed forces. THANK YOU and many thanks to your family for this selfless act. 

I am working on finishing – at least to a flimsy stage – the quilts in my UFO pile.  Next up is Flea Market by Lori Holt.  This is the last of the three quilts I was working on when we moved last year.

I had finished the center block

Finished churn dash blocks

Finished basket blocks

And now I’m working on the Primrose blocks.

Oh, how I would LOVE to have this one finished by the end of this year.

 

I learned over the weekend that we have visitors every weekend in December, except one. I’ll spend a bit of time this morning reviewing the calendar, making plans and lists. We are heading into the busiest time of the year, and I couldn’t be more excited!

For now, I'll enjoy these visitors.

Wild Turkeys

What are you up to this week? Have you started planning for the holidays? I feel like I’m late this year.

 

Enjoy your day and I’ll see soon 😊