Sunshine and Blooms and More Holiday Events

Happy Friday, Everyone!

Do you have big plans for the weekend?

 

We are supposed to have a rainy weekend so I’m hoping to fully finish some cross stitch projects and bind some quilts.

 

Before continuing my overview of our holiday events, I want to show you a piece I finished stitching.

 

It is called Sunshine and Blooms by Teresa Kogut.  

I changed mine a little by omitting the words at the bottom and moving the flowers up a bit. It is stitched on 36 count linen, Grandma's Slip by XJude Design. I used the called-for flosses.

 

This was an exclusive chart offered at last year’s Stitching in the Wild retreat hosted by GaRon Stitchery. I wrote about the retreat here.

 

I heard Teresa is going to make this chart available to everyone but she is going to put the alphabet at the bottom instead of the words “Sunshine and Blooms.”

 

I want to frame this one at some point.

 

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Now back to the holiday events….I haven’t shared the gazillion photos I took (you're welcome!), but you’ll still get the idea.

 

Our little town makes a BIG deal out of Christmas. It begins with the tree lighting in front of City Hall.

They have a children’s choir. City employees offer cookies and hot cocoa. Sometimes you can even spot Santa wandering around handing out candy canes.

Of course there is a parade…

Mom all bundled up waiting for the start...

The Big Guy ends the long line of amazing floats!

Then mid-December they once again close off Main Street for a Smoky Mountain Christmas. The stores stay open late and offer special holiday treats.

 

There are horse and buggy rides.

Even Grinch made an appearance.

These were all very fun times and to have my mom with us made it so special.

 

Until next week, I hope you have a blessed weekend and do something you enjoy.

 

Tree Farm and Olga’s Autumn Stocking

 Picking up where I left off in my March 6^th post…

It has been a long-standing tradition in my family to get our Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving.  When we lived in Florida it usually meant a trip to the tree sale at a church or corner where the trees were trucked in from the north.

 

The last two years we have gone to a tree farm.  This was my mom’s first trip.

 

Boyd Mountain Christmas Tree Farm has been a working farm for over 100 years.  It wasn’t always just Christmas trees. They used to grow tobacco, potatoes, corn and cattle.  You can read more about the farm’s history here.

Even though family members still live in the big houses, they rent out the renovated cabins on the property.

 

What is a tree farm without some silly family photos of our own?

In stitching news….

 

I joined my friend Ronny’s stocking stitch-along.  It began on December 1, 2023 and the goal is to stitch at least 300 stitches per week on a stocking of your choice. (Easy enough!)

 

I selected Olga’s Autumn Stocking by Plum Street Sampler.

Here is my progress.  I’ve stitched 4,546 stitches so far.  I’m currently 46 stitches ahead 😊

 

I'm stitching this on 36 count linen in the color Winter Brew by R&R Reproductions, using the called for over-dyed floss.

I have more stitching to share tomorrow… I hope your week is going well so far!

 

March 2024 Already!

Hello friends and happy 2024. I hope this year has been good to you so far.

I didn’t intend to be away from blogland for so long. We had a very busy ending to 2023 and beginning of the new year.

 

When we last visited, I mentioned we were heading back to Florida the following week to celebrate my mom’s 80^th birthday.  She had asked that we keep it a family only event. My sister and her husband came from Texas and my kids (young adults) were there and that is all Mom expected. She was surprised when my cousins came from across the state to help her celebrate.

 

She was also surprised by the quilt I made her.

A lot has happened since her October birthday. She sold her house in Florida and we moved her to North Carolina on Thanksgiving day.  We already had several holiday events planned since she was coming to our house for the month of December anyway.  I’ll share more about those in the coming days.

 

She moved into her own place in late January. We’ve been busy getting her settled. I love that she is only 6 miles away!

 

As for me, hubby and I made yet another trip to Florida last week for medical appointments. I’m looking forward to the day I am not making those trips.

 

I’m off to enjoy a cup of coffee and attempt to catch up with my favorite bloggers.

 

Enjoy your day!

Pop-up Retreat, Cross Stitch, Felt and Sewcialites 2

Hello and happy Friday, dear friends.

I promised a recap of last Saturday’s pop-up retreat.  First, I should explain…

Anabella’s is a cross stitch store on Etsy as well as a brick and mortar here, in Waynesville, NC. They host cross stitch retreats all over the USA. Big name designers are featured and they always sell out.

They have recently joined the world of virtual retreats, which are typically hosted on some platform like Zoom or EventHub.

Last Saturday, Anabella’s hosted their Autumn Pop-Up Retreat using the EventHub platform.  They featured some wonderful designers but due to technical difficulties, I didn’t get to interact with all of them. It was suggested to use a laptop or desktop for best results, and they even offered a Zoom dry run so that participants could troubleshoot their devices before the actual retreat.  I won’t go into all the boring nits but it just didn’t work smoothly.

We were sent a box ahead of time to open during the retreat.  Items were wrapped in tissue paper…

A Bundle of Goodies

A Bingo Card

Patterns, floss, needle minder, sticker

The event began at 11:00 am EDT and ended at 6:00 pm. You were free to come and go as you wished. When there wasn't a presentation to view or game to play, we were in "rooms" where we stitched and chatted with others. I met some nice cross stitchers from all over the US and Canada.  That was the BEST part.

 

I pulled a WIP from last year to work on during the retreat…

Cinnamon Stars by Plum Street Sampler. I’m stitching this on 32 count evenweave “Ruth” by Fortnight Fabrics. And I’m using the called-for flosses.

 

Then I finally found some buttons I thought may work for the felt project I told you about last week. This is one of Carole’s projects for Autumn Jubilee.

I wasn’t sure of the button color so I haven't sewn them on the felt yet. I posted this photo in the Friends of From My Carolina Home facebook group to get everyone’s opinions. Folks were supportive and I knew it would be ok when Carole commented they would go with the embellishments she will reveal next week. How intriguing!

 

And to end the week…

I finished putting the Sewcialites2 blocks into a simple layout.

I’ve selected some grunge fabric from my stash for the binding.

 

Hubby and I took our walk around Lake Junaluska Thursday morning and I took a ton of photos.  Fall is truly in the air. I will share a few here…

We are attending Waynesville's annual apple festival this weekend and then we’ll be getting ready for another trip to Florida next week.  Mom’s 80^th birthday celebration is set for October 28^th so I’ll be busy once I get there.

 

Hope you all have a great weekend!

 

Fall, Finishes and Felt

Happy Friday, Friends! 

We are having some beautiful fall days with sunshine and cool temps here in the mountains.  Last weekend our lows dipped into the 30s and our highs reached the 50s. I was inspired to make chili and buttermilk cornbread on Sunday.

It was delish!

 

I’m happy to report the weather has warmed up a bit this week with 60- and 70-degree Fahrenheit days. I’m not quite ready for really COLD weather just yet.

 

I finished stitching the remaining two pillows from this pattern…

You saw the first one last week

Here is the second

And the third

I used left over 14 count aida from another cross stitch project…which, for the life of me I can’t remember which one.

I think the fabric is about done, don’t you?

 

I selected a Moda BasicGrey Grunge for the backing.

Auditioned some Lady Dot trim.

And came up with this…

Front

Back

These were supposed to be in a dough bowl and sitting on the Hoosier cabinet, but I kind of like them propped against Flossi the Featherweight, at least for now.

 

Remember I told you I was going to participate in Carole’s Autumn Jubilee? And I wasn’t going to make her wool penny rug, but sew a kit I already had?

Well, I was disappointed to find out that not all the wool was included in my kit. I believe this was a mistake.  I figured I didn’t have time to order any wool so I would just get some felt from Michaels.  Then I decided if I’m going to get felt from Michaels then I may as well get the felt for Carole's project.  I know there is a big difference between Michael’s felt and real wool, but felt will work just fine for my purposes.

 

The Autumn Jubilee penny rug is adorned with apples.

It will eventually have buttons and other embellishments, but we do not have the instructions for those just yet. We had two weeks to cut it out, add the apples and buttons to the base. I still have to locate my larger buttons and see if I have anything that will work.

 

I’m participating in a Pop-Up cross stitch retreat this Saturday. I’ll share more about it next week. I’m also hoping to finish assembling the Sewcialites 2 quilt top.

 

That has pretty much been my last week and a half and my weekend plans.

 

What is on your agenda for the weekend? Anything creative?

 

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a great day!

Change of Plans, SAF and Autumn Jubilee

Happy Monday, Friends.

I’m writing this a bit late on Monday morning and here is why.

We were supposed to be in south Florida this morning for my husband’s knee replacement. His primary care doctor decided (fairly late in the game) that she wants to do additional testing before clearing him for the procedure. He has postponed the surgery until early January.

We took my Mom back to her home in Florida on Saturday because she has appointments there this week. We then returned to North Carolina yesterday. Can you say whirlwind?!?!

Two 12-hour days of travel allowed me to produce a SAF. What is a SAF? It is a Start And Finish.

This chart was one from the stack I shared here. I was able to stitch this in the car while hubby was driving because it is on 14-count aida.

Autumn on the Square by ScissorTail Designs. I used the called-for DMC floss and think the colors are just perfect!

Well, now that we are going to be home for a few weeks, I decided to join Carole at My Carolina Home for her annual Autumn Jubilee. I won’t participate in ALL of the projects but I’ve decided to try some. I’ve added the button to my sidebar if you are interested in learning more about Carole’s event. There are wonderful prizes offered by some amazing sponsors so I encourage you to check it out.

Today’s project is wool applique’. I do not have the colors needed for Carole’s penny but I do have another Fall kit I can use.  So, check back for that progress.

Hope you had a nice weekend and your week ahead is even better 😊