A Weekend with My BFF

Hello Friends!

My best friend from Florida visited over the weekend. We mostly hung out and chatted but did get out and about a little bit.

Our local leatherworks shop was hosting a toy drive Friday night so we dropped off toys and stamped our own leather ornaments.

We spent Saturday afternoon antiquing with my mom and hubby. We got a little silly at the ice cream shop in Maggie Valley.

My hubby suggested we treat my friend to the Candlelight Tour at the Biltmore Estate. This is our third year attending and it never gets old.

The Chihuly blown glass exhibit is on display at the Biltmore until February 2^nd. They have a few pieces scattered across the property, probably as a teaser so visitors purchase tickets to see the large exhibit. We hope to do that before it ends.

This piece was in one of the courtyards in front of the main house.

I literally take hundreds of photos each time we visit the Biltmore. My favorite thing to see at Christmas is the gingerbread house.

Biltmore Gingerbread House Front

Biltmore Gingerbread House Back

Of course, the big tree display in the center of the front lawn is always fun, too!

We were up and out early Sunday morning for coffee at one of our favorite places, Panacea. As I was enjoying my Chai latte, I realized I hadn’t shown you the quilt they have hanging on one of the walls. Each block represents something about the Frog Level district, which is where the coffee shop is located.

Once we returned home, my friend and I started cutting t-shirts.

These will be for my husband’s DAD quilt.  We planned the layout and I prepared the shirts with interfacing.  

I cut one block but then decided to wait on the others until I find sashing and border fabrics. I am short on both by a bit ☹

We went out for Sunday dinner and then enjoyed some downtown Christmas lights.

The weekend passed way too quickly but we all had a great time.

I have some Christmas decorations to show you, so I’ll be back on Friday with those.  My book club meets Thursday night, and guess what?!? I haven’t started the book yet! I’ll do that right after work.

Hope you are having a lovely week…see you soon 😊

 

Witching Hour Wednesday – SAL Progress

Witching Hour by Keslyns
A stitch along by friends of the GaRon Tottenbags Facebook Group.

A few more stitchers have caught up and submitted photos to share for this week’s assignment. We’ve completed letters G, H and I.

Connie S

Katie C

Lisa K

Loretta M

Lynne D

Margaret D

Sandi L

Sheila N

Tara B

Tywanna J

Lastly, Me

Here are links to previous Witching Hour posts:

 

November 1^st

 

November 6^th

 

November 20^th

 

The next assignment is to complete the letters J, K and L, and it is due by 10:00 pm eastern time on Sunday, December 15^th. The next Witching Hour Wednesday – SAL Progress blog post will be December 18^th.

 

Enjoy the remainder of your week. I'll see you back here on Monday for a regular update.

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!