The Sad Tale of Little Jack Trifle

Ahhh.... Poor Little Jack Trifle.

He's a winsome little fellow despite his beleaguered beginnings and melancholy mien.

His story began with Melisa at Pinker n Punkin Quilting & Stitching when she posted this adorable cucurbit's pattern on her blog. (Melisa graciously offers all her patterns free of charge.)

Since I haven't met many pumpkins a pumpkin I haven't loved, I had to stitch him.

 

So, shortly after his debut, stitch him I did.

I had thought I would make him into a "seasonal" insert for the hanging clock I purchased several years ago. (I posted the St. Patrick's Day insert here and the Christmas one here.)

I did not, however, do my math and he ended up far too small even for the small clock insert.

{Stitched on Osnaburg}

 

If possible, poor Jack's countenance seemed to become even more dejected.

To make his failure as a clock insert candidate even more painful, he ended up in my Basket of Shame on the Isle of the Unfinished...where he languished for several years.

Finally, I could no longer stand his sad little face looking up at me every time I went near the Isle of the Unfinished.

Sooo, I finally picked him up with the intention of finishing him into a little scissors fob.

But his sad, sad, eyes kept imploring me...he did not want to be a fob.... He wanted to be a clock insert.

He truly did. 

So, I assured Little Jack Trifle that I would do what I could and proceeded to build him a little basket of stitches which he could sit upon and which would give him a little more height.

He did not seem to mind that I just "winged" the basket part without a pattern. (I suspect his time in exile on the Isle of the Unfinished made him a bit desperate.)

But Little Jack still looked downcast.

I could not understand how he could be so mirthless as I thought the urn-like basket looked good on under him.

Then I saw it.... The last bottom row on the urn/basket was short one "x" on the left side.

Seriously??

Surely this must be the source of poor Jack's distress but correcting it would mean removing both my initials and the year as well as several other stitches given how I had stitched it.

Gah!

But if Lil' Jack ain't happy, well...you know.

So out they came, in went new stitches and my egregious error was corrected.

But it seemed that Jack's countenance had shifted,

ever so slightly, from sadness to apprehension. And could it be outright fright??

I was more than ready to be done with Mr. Trifle at this point but, given his long-suffering patience, I added a few bats to keep him company.

A bit happier? Not much...but I was done.

I decided to fully final-finish him into an insert before I changed my mind again (or completely lost my mind).

It's a simple and easy finish and one I've done dozens of times.  Simple and easy if one doesn't iron the fusible interfacing on the incorrect side.

Really????

😖

(No photos here as I quickly tried to undo the damage before the bond was completely cooled.)

My demeanor was now every bit as sour as Jack's and, just as I was beginning to think that I had, after all these years, finally met a pumpkin I did not love, I thought I saw a little tear in the corner of Jack's eye. 

I don't know if it was a bit of the interfacing left stuck to his face or simply confirmation that I had, indeed, lost my mind, but I knew I had to finish what I started.

So, albeit a bit worse for the wait and wear, Little Jack Trifle finally got his wish of becoming a clock insert.

He's not as crisp and sharp as he was when he started his life but, then again, neither am I.

And it may be just me, but I think he looks like he is doing his best to look the part of the proud little jack-o-lantern he is.

(Just don't anyone tell him that, in a matter of weeks, he will be replaced by a Christmas tree. 😬)

Along the Roads of Nod

 A few sights along the roads of Nod of late:

This poor turkey vulture, a carrion feeder during life, has now become carrion itself.

Some still believe that the sight of turkey vultures is an omen of impending death.

In the U.S., it is illegal to take, kill, or possess turkey vultures, their eggs, and any body parts - including their feathers.

Violations are punishable by fines of up to $100,000 for individuals ($200,000 for organizations) and/or up to one year in prison.

Sight 2:

I have no words for this, but it isn't everyday one sees a car burning on the side of the road - at least not in Nod.  (Thankfully, no one was injured.)

Sight 3:

{Bobcat, a/k/a lynx, a/k/a wildcat, a/k/a I'm-glad-it-wasn't-the-cougar??}

And then there's this:

Yesterday my mailbox was perfectly fine.

Today it obviously isn't.

Seriously??

...Anyway, Happy October my friends.

Let the shenanigans and spooking begin in earnest.

333 Years Ago....

 333 years ago today

...Mary Easty and 7 others were hanged for witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts.

Mary was my grandmother, 7 times removed.

This was the largest number of hangings during the witchcraft panic but, thankfully, it was also the last.

One contemporary recorded some chilling details of this particular day - including how the cart carrying the condemned to Proctor's ledge on Gallow's Hill became mired in the mud on the way to the ledge.

The accusers (i.e., the "afflicted") cried out that it was "the devil himself" who hindered its progress.

The writer also noted that, when Mary Easty stood upon the ladder of the gallows and faced the crowd prior her hanging, her words were "as serious, religious, distinct, and affectionate as could well be expressed, drawing tears from the eyes of almost all present."

Happy autumnal equinox my friends.

Marshmallows, Mermaids and Moonlight

 

{When your cappuccino matches your mug....}

 

I took a quick trip up to the lake over the holiday weekend to sort a few things and soak in a few last rays of the summer sun.

The weather was distractingly amazing.

{Heron on the sandbar} 

Unfortunately, I know I cannot store enough of that energy for the winter ahead.

We have already had frost and there are frost warnings in effect for tonight again.

Back home, I am trying to "sort a few things" as well, but with little-to-no success.  

Many of you, I know, are "sorting" in your own ways - downsizing, purging, minimalizing - as I well should be.

The "need" becomes more apparent with each day that passes, and, at times, the motivation increases as well, but I'm not quite there yet.

If you hadn't figured it out by now, things come slowly to me.

And, most often, I do what I should not do and put myself more than a few steps back.

I have too many collections and I have mostly done well at not adding to them. But every now and again I give in to a weakness.

I can't tell you when I last added to my marshmallow tin collection - other than last week when I added this one.

Nope...I don't like marshmallows particularly - but I do love these old funky tins.

This one will likely end up in the back row - once I wrangle the ladder inside.

(You're right - one probably won't see it back there - but I'm about the only "one" who even knows there's a collection of marshmallow tins up there.)

But back to sorting!

For me that involves tying up loose ends and taking care of things that have lingered about too long.

Like my mermaids. 

I stitched these many years ago - when we first purchased the lake house I believe. (There's not a reason I can conceive of why I would choose to stitch mermaids if I did not have a home near water. And, no - that was NOT the reason we purchased the lake house.)

Anyway - they are finally framed.

First up - The Mermaid of Salem Bay (pattern by The Primitive Hare).

This is stitched on 30 ct "Pirate Linen" also by The Primitive Hare (2 over 2 with a gazillion quarter/half/three-quarter stitches and backstitching and beading). 

I had a meltdown when I ran out of the overdyed floss called "Mountain Mist" and could find none remotely close to what I had started her with as the dye lots had changed dramatically.

Marly (Samplers and Santas) came through with many skeins of not only Mountain Mist, but other colors she thought would work.

She was right.

Marly is always right when it comes to color.

I'm not typically a bead person, but the beads made this design.

And what's better than 1 mermaid?

Two, of course.

This is, obviously, another Primitive Hare design.

This one is called Oceanarium and is stitched two over two on 30 ct. "Ancient Stones" linen, also by The Primitive Hare.

Again, lots of quirky stitches, backstitching and beading.

I should have done a video so you could see how the beads twinkle - but I didn't.

If these make it to being hung on a wall, it will be at the lake house.

They don't quite "fit" here in Nod.

And, lastly, moonlight.

Last night was a full "blood" moon - and a total lunar eclipse no less.

While the eclipse wasn't visible to us here in the states, the moon still put on a spectacular show.

 

...and now back to sorting.

😒

Short on Words...

{Wisteria on the cornzebo}

...so I've been of late.

Other than identifying descriptions, this post will, likewise, be short on words...but long on photos.

Some photos are over a month old - my apologies. It seems this summer came and went without telling me it was even here.

{A fuchsia with the largest blooms I've ever seen}

{Coneflowers...a/k/a echinacea}

{Roses and wisteria on cornzebo}

{Thistle...yes, intentionally grown}

{Butterfly on coneflower...Sedum in the background}

{Coneflowers and foxglove "digitalis"...A bumper crop of both this year}

{Black-eyed Susans...a/k/a rudbeckia}

{The first hibiscus of the season}

{Foxglove}

{My back stoop}

{Million bells (calibrachoa)}

{False sunflower (heliopsis)}

{Morning glories...they've taken over my old twig patio bench and repurposed it as a trellis}

{Butterfly on hydrangea}

{More hibiscus}

{More million bells and more foxglove}

{Patio planter with volunteer petunias and baby's breath/gypsophila}

{False sunflower and bee}

{Balancing crow whirligig}

This past week I was also in charge of keeping the "hooker-down-the-lane"'s garden alive.

The trust of some people.

{The lane down which the hooker-down-the-lane lives}

{A glimpse of the hooker's garden}

{A second glimpse 😉)

So pretty it hurts.

There you have it. 

The 'happier' side of my past month (or so).

I'll be back when I find my words.

{Sunset in Nod}