Autumn Project Planning!

Hi there!  Yes, I am still here even though my posts have been not so frequent.  Sometimes the days seem to go by so swiftly and then other times I just don't feel I have enough stitching to show and tell.

It seems we have jumped right into Autumn, my favorite season of all!

My office had an employee arts show so I finally pulled my Mary Wigham sampler out of the closet and framed her up.....  She is set loosely in the frame so as to protect her but now I think she will go right up on my wall as is!  It was wonderful to see how creative all of my coworkers are in all sorts of mediums!

So there has been a bit of stitching happening, although wish it was more!  I am suffering from tennis elbow and hoping for relief ASAP!

Over the past couple of months I have been up to some fun things along with planning out some future stitching projects.

Have had some German-style celebrating......

Been to NYC!  Here is a small forest growing right next to the MET!  

Everytime I see the MET it makes me think of the movie Moonstruck!  :)

The NYPL had a very special Frank Sinatra exhibit.  I was so happy to finally get there to see it before it closed down.  There was so many extraordinary things to see...many personal artifacts of Sinatras' from before he was famous to all through his career.  Below is one of his bow ties, letters from fans and photos from Herman Leonard.  

And here is a jukebox chock full of Sinatra!  I could play this all day long!

There have been so many pretty sunflowers this season... these I came upon at the Bridgeport Ferry!

Another favorite thing I do every Labor Day is go to the annual library book sale!  Here are a few of my finds this year.   So many people have recommended JoJo Moyes to me so can't wait to read her book.  Just started The Girl on the Train but too soon to give my thoughts on it yet!  

And my fun time would not be complete without some live music in my world!  And while the Stones are no longer in town, Bernard Fowler, backup singer with the Stones, has been and I have gotten to a few of his shows over the past month.  He puts on a super rockin' show!  

And for my stitching there has been some planning....  Kathy Barrick's Heaven and Nature Sing is soooo very sweet.  There is a facebook SAL set up for Oct 15 and looking forward to starting this one!  I went with linen and threads right from my own stash....

And here is another sneak peek of Lucy!  She is the reproduction sampler I have been working on.. I wish I was further ahead but this tennis elbow problem has caused a real crimp in my stitching time!  

And over at Our Scarlet Letter Years blog we are planning some New Year stitching already!!  Take a peek here!  Remember waaaaaaay back when I had been planning out Ann Grimshaw?  Well now is the time to go full steam ahead for 2016.  There will more incentive with others to stitch along with!!  But, still, I need to pick a color!!!  LOL!  

I hope to get some more stitching done this weekend if my elbow will cooperate!  

Gigi and I wish you a wonderful Columbus Day weekend!  Enjoy all the beautiful colors Mother Nature is bringing us!  Happy Stitching!  xxxxxx

So far so Good!

Helloooooooo Everyone!

January started off in a good way... especially New Year's weekend.  So far I have a few stitches in each of my planned New Year starts!  Yay!

The one that has gotten most of my attention is Scarlet Letter's Jenny Bean....I am having a lot of fun with this one.

Ann Tarbox also got started.  This is the first time I am working on floba fabric and I love it!  

The next two have not gone very far at all, but even a few stitches count :)  Here is Mary Gail and Hannah Pepper.  

       

I love them all so it is hard to decide which one to work on when!  

On the Scarlet Letter Years blog, a new interview was posted up for Melinda of Merry Wind Farm!  I know many of you, while not on the Scarlet Letter Years blog read Melinda's blog and may enjoy checking out her interview here!

Had some fun last weekend... went to my favorite place..... NYC!  

Met some friends at Jazz Standard to see the awesome Lisa Fischer!  She is well known as back up singer for the Rolling Stones and also starred in the movie 20 Feet from Stardom.  This time she was in the spotlight with her band Grand Baton and it was a truly magical evening!  

So that is what I have been up to so far this New Year.  That and trying to stay warm in this polar vortex weather!  lol

Hope you all are staying warm and having lots of stitching time!  xxx  

Merry Christmas!

Christmastime is here!  Happiness and cheer!

Another busy month has passed, and yes, I have some bits of stitching to show this time.  It has been ornaments for a few weeks now, gifts for friends and family...

These are the Peace Pin Buttons I changed into ornaments featured in a JCS Ornament issue...

And a sweet bunny with a holiday wish....

And a peppermint holiday treat too!

I still have one more to go!!  Will show you next time!

As you can see, I stitch my ornaments on perforated paper partly because I love working on the paper and partly because I am very challenged when it comes to finishing!  lol!  

One of my New Year's resolutions is going to be to trying to finish an ornament the way I see all you in the blog world do so lovely with linen and trim and stuffing :)

Everyplace I go holiday is in the air.  I had a day out with my Long Island friend and we visited some of our favorite places here in Connecticut.  

Shakespeare's Garden was done up in wreaths and Christmas trees, it felt like a winter wonderland!

I could not resist snapping this pic with the scissors and twine....

After some shopping, we headed to Pawling NY to Daryl's House for an early dinner... and were lucky to hear some of the sound check for the performer slated that evening, Kasim Sultan. 

A toast to the holidays.....a Peekskill Brewery Eastern Standard IPA.  Grapefruit-y!

After the sound check the lights were dimmed and it was so beautiful with all the holiday decorations. 

I did get a bit of new stash :)  

A couple for the New Year SAL... Jenny Bean and Mary Gail plus a few extras, of course!

Even Gigi has gotten dressed up for the holidays!  

I have been watching many of the holiday classic movies the last few weeks... White Christmas, Holiday Inn, Elf!, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation and more... Do you have a favorite?  

I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas filled with happiness, joy, and love!  xxxx

Fast Forward to Thanksgiving!

Hi Everyone!  Lately my posts seem to be further and further apart.  I think that is how it goes this time of year as we are busier and busier with the upcoming holidays.

Seems like yesterday Autumn was in full swing!

At the end of October I turned another year older... and received these pretty posies!

On Halloween, I went to the grand opening of Daryl's House, a new club in Pawling NY for a Hall & Oates concert.  What a blast!  Here is a peek into the place.  So rustic, I love it!!  And amazingly enough there were no Halloween costumes except for one couple dressed appropriately as Hall & Oates!  Can't wait to go back to the restaurant too!  If you are in the area it is a great venue to see a show.... Daryl's House.

A week later I went to NYC for the day.  I just love NYC!!  I was lucky to have a beautiful sunny 65 degree day!  In November!  So I spent some time in Union Square Park....

But the main reason for my trip was for a book signing at Barnes & Noble.   What a FAB building!!  Love it!  

The main event was the Jimmy Page book stamping!  What a treat to meet him and shake his hand!  One of the best nights ever!  

A week later I was back in NYC again!  This time to BB Kings Club to see blues man Buddy Guy!  Here he is with young guitar phenom Quinn Sullivan.  It was a super jammin' show!  

And, yes, there is some stitch-y stuff too!  I recently saw Aztec Gold by Queenstown Sampler Designs on a facebook posting so I picked that up with Harriot Redfearn as well.  Can it really be time to start thinking about New Year projects?!

There is also a Scarlet Letter SAL in the works for 2015 too!  We have voting going on right now thru Sunday November 30th.  We will be making a selection from the following samplers... most all of these are primarily cross stitch with some having a sprinkling of specialty stitches.  If you want to join in the vote you can do so at the Our Scarlet Letter Years facebook group, or on the Our Scarlet Letter Years blog.  The more the merrier!  So hard to choose just one!  

And, that brings us to today.... and our first snow of the season!  So beautiful!!

So while it seems I have been coming and going, and coming and going, lol...   I have not had much time for stitching in the last few weeks but I have been working on Christmas ornaments.... still have more to go!  So I will have more to show you next time!

Wishing you a Peaceful and Happy Thanksgiving with friends and family!  xxxx