Merry Christmas to You

Time again slipped through my hands and here it is Christmas night.

I had such good intentions but, as Augusten Burroughs said, "I, myself, am made entirely of flaws, stitched together with good intentions."

So, in lieu of the posts I intended to do this month, you get this one.

Just a few random photos around the house this holiday season.

{The entry way cupboard}

{A close-up of one of the old Kentucky Bourbon pulp papier mache snowmen snowpeeps that hang out on the entryway cupboard above}

{"Jailhouse" cabinet in the dining room}

{My (humble compared to Lauren's) collection of saltglaze Santas - sorry for the poor photo; it is very difficult to photograph them where they are displayed}

{The saltglaze Santas hang out on the butter churn behind my kitchen sink}

★★★★★★★

My wish for you this Christmas is for peace - peace within your heart and within your soul as that is where I firmly believe all peace truly must first begin.

I hope your Christmas was filled with unending joy that will last not just a day but a season.

Merry, Merry, Christmas my friends.

Lauren Made Me Do It

 

Merrie October

October is, by far, my most favorite month of all...albeit a very bittersweet pleasure.

The fall leaves dance their last dance, the autumn winds conspire, shadows linger a bit longer than they should and magic comes a bit easier.

It is a month-long celebratory preparation culminating in one of the best days of the year.

{"Oct 31" by Blackbird Designs}

Nothing that has come before it, nor anything that comes after it, is ever quite as good as October.

I finally picked up my hook and started working on "Jack's Crow" by Winter Cottage Studio.

Yes, Lauren, I agree....Loops should be like little soldiers one by each...but just remember: Not all soldiers are the same height. 🤣

Lauren (Rugs and Pugs) and Saundra (Saundra of Woodland Junction) hooked this little mat last year...or the year before??? ...Whichever, I nonetheless am late to the party.

And remember I said I'm over the mermaid thing?  Well, I lied.  (Get used to it, I'm an attorney.)  

I stitched this last year (or the year before??) but never fully finished it.  I kept looking for the right frame or right something on which to mount it and never found one.  So I decided to make it a practice piece for a flat-fold finish.

It is difficult to see/photograph, but it is finished somewhat like a book which you pull apart to stand.

(The above photo was taken before I decided to make some cording and add it around the edges.)

(Backside of piece folded...again, before cording was added.) (And no, I am NOT a purple girl...it just went well with the linen....and it was intended for the lake house.)

For many reasons (aren't there always "many reasons" in my world??), I will not be decorating for my beloved Halloween this year.  (Ok...I did pull a few things in easy reach out.)  So, I decided that I will share with you a photo of some of my "Halloween Pasts" each post I do this month.  (Yes, my intention is more than one post this month unlike prior months.) 

This is my collection of vintage pulp/papier mache Jack-o-Lanterns....probably one of most favorite things:

I also thought I would start sharing what I happen to be reading at the time of a posting since it is an addictive escape for me.  I likely won't always remember and I know it won't be something everyone cares a rat's gray hair about, but I have learned, over the years, there are many of you who are fellow book addicts.

This is currently what I am engrossed in:

Just as I prefer hooking/stitching/punching "in season," I also prefer reading "in season" as well....although I confess that I do not limit my intake of books regarding the Salem witch trials to the fall.  Given my connection, I devour whatever I can get - both fiction and non-fiction - whenever I can get it.

Hmmm....perhaps I will share with you "A Witch's Reading List" sometime...

Until next time, be well, be safe...and enjoy this month of magic.

I Like To Do What Most Hookers Don't.....

Cathy from Acorn Hollow likes them "big," Lauren from Rugs and Pugs enjoys (and often pursues) "quickies" and dear Mummy Dearest (a/k/a Saundra) of Woodland Junction's penchant is clearly for "older" ones.

To each their own, I suppose, and while I have experienced, at some point, some of the pleasures of the above preferences, my predilection is, as in most aspects of my life, of a more peculiar bend:  I like to do what other hookers do not like to do.

I like to bind rugs.

(What were you thinking I was going to say???)

Most hookers (including those above-named wonted hookers) dread binding their rugs.  I, however, find it relaxing, mindless and effortless...the part where I don't really have to do any work.  

While I have not yet brought the Beast forth from his dark hiding place or otherwise engaged in full-blown hooking activities, I did finally bind my "Guilford Runner" that I had finished hooking some time ago.

There are some amazing old paisleys used in the red and gold portions that do not show in the above photo, but think that you can see in the photo below:

 

This design (by Edyth O'Niell) was what I first chose to hook after having taken a long hiatus from hooking.  I should have thought more clearly in both my choice and technique while doing it.  The pattern is clearly very symmetrical in design and was not drawn as symmetrically as it should have been (at least according to the dictates of my OCD).  It, therefore, required many "adjustments," most usually in the form of reverse hooking.

In the end, however, I was "satisfied" enough to even consider doing the same one again sometime - something I never, ever, do. (I am usually a "once and done" kind of hooker.)  There are so many tempting color combinations and it just might be better the second time around.

I'll have to "circle back" on that.

And since I had no more rugs to bind am fickle, I finally also finished "Salem Village," a design by Lori Brechlin of Notforgotten Farm.  I am ashamed to admit this took me over 4 years to finish. And it is not "finished" finished...it still needs to be framed...or something.

 I guess sometimes I like it slow too.

I have not decided what's next.  I have a few things started, but none is really getting me terribly excited.  At the risk of once again not finishing something I have started, I may pick up something entirely new.

But, not tonight because I have a headache.

 Yes, my internet woes are continuing.

  I will not bore you with all the technicalities but, basically, my "system" is dropping connectivity somewhere between my devices and the satellite. Still trying to figure out if it is a router issue, a modem issue, or something else altogether.  The bottom line is it's not fixed and I am operating now on "borrowed time."  Hence, why I have a headache.

(Where I go when "she" has a headache.  Smart kitteh....)

Signing off for now while I am still connected.  Hope you are all well and happy. Happier than me will do.