YouTube Stitching Stars, Flicker Blocks, Slow Stitching

 It is happening, the lengthening of the days I mean. It is already noticeable but of course, we are still under banks of snow and will be for several more months. March can be our snowiest month here so I won't be seeing buttercups any time soon. But still, the tiny steady slivers of extra light each day add up. 

And I finally managed a photo to show why this fellow is called an Eastern Cottontail. Isn't it cute! I called all rabbits "bunny rabbits" growing up. Did you?

Slow stitching- I should say really slow stitching has me at this point now on What Remains is Love. This photo shows the true colour of this linen and it suits the floss colours very well. That's my butterfly mug, a gift from grandson,Jack, who I'm so happy to say is doing really well these days. 

Thank you to those who mentioned to me this block below is called the Flicker block. I will call them that from now on. So here are my latest Flicker blocks using up green scraps too and my eye is drawn to more flowery fabrics... thinking of blossoms I guess. 

These work well with an assembly line kind of thing in the sewing room.  In reality, I'm using up just scraps, but inexplicably, the bin is still just as full. I have never heard anyone say And that was the very last of my scraps. :)

I watched this episode of Red Velvet Quilts on Youtube yesterday. This was a flosstube video but Carrie is a very talented stitcher and shares her quilting too. If I haven't already mentioned, you should check out her episode where she shares her quilting kits. It's a great way to see what's available from many sites.

 Carrie showed her fancy tea warming cup/thermos thingy and I thought that's neat so I looked it up on Amazon. It is a great idea but comes with a hefty price tag. I guess it would make a good gift sometime. That made me think of my old grandparents who, in my younger years, had a wood stove in the kitchen that they used for both heating and cooking. It had a shelf above with a door you lifted and where you could put food to keep warm. It also had a water tank on one end so you could always have warm water. And you could also place your teapot and cup there to keep your tea warm. It was connected to a brick chimney that went through a bedroom above the kitchen and into the roof so upstairs got one very cosy bedroom too. All this for the price of your own labour cutting wood. How far we've come from those days ( like me checking out a $139 tea warmer) and, as the old timers would say, are we any better off???

And that made me think about how I've always wanted to stitch the famous Dear Jane quilt. Whenever I think of sadly bedridden Jane, I picture her in an upstairs bedroom in a house like that of my grandparents. The Dear Jane book does not seem to be widely available, not even in a library. I really don't understand that, what with the runaway popularity of that project throughout the years and even today. 

Lots of stitchers have shared their Dear Jane journey on YouTube and in fact, a number are doing so just now. Jaynes' Stitches is one who is stitching the blocks using various methods and sharing tutorials.

I just thought I wonder what that smell is. I'd completely forgotten I'm making chicken soup and put the carcass in the crock pot which is doing its thing. Oh my. What can I say. Luckily some days I still seem to be sharper than others. 

I do hope you are staying alert, minding your stoves and keeping your stitchy fingers flying.

So happy to share this post with wonderful linky parties...The Inquiring Quilter,  Creations Quilts Art and Alycia Quilts. Thank you all for hosting!

Stitchy Gifts, Kits, Links, Quarter Dresdens

 I'm feeling a little drowsy this morning sitting here by the fire. I've just mopped the whole upstairs because we've had a lot of activity here. It's been a trying week because our furnace quit working and what a time to choose to do that during these very cold days in February. I'm thankful to have Brad who helped me with getting wood up from the back basement door for our fireplace...that is quite a trek. The little heaters we also used were okay but it was really nice to be able to keep a fire burning.

 We've had to go in and out for appointments too which has all kept the dogs and me off kilter. But thankfully, in the end, we just went four days without a furnace. I didn't realize putting in a new furnace would take so long. The two guys were here for five hours which drove the dogs mad- they wanted to be with them! Of course, they had to remove the old 21 year old furnace first which took up some of the time. Thankfully the new system is working fine so far, and, fingers crossed this episode is now history.  

I'd found this book below and want to read it. It's a book where writers who knit or try to share their stories about knitting. I always knew Barbara Kingsolver did but I didn't know Sue Grafton did. Turns out there are a lot of writers who knit and more that would love to. Here is the Amazon link if you'd like to read more about it. It would make a great gift. 

Kate at the Last Homely House still interests me and it's the perfect kind of show to have on while knitting. I don't have to follow any instructions or such and the tv room was also the perfect spot this week as I could keep it warm in there with a small heater. Isn't the winter sun on these colours pretty.  

I've also been working on my Quarter Dresdens project. Now I have more of the working parts kitted up all ready to stitch together so I feel better about it. I'm still using mail flyers, the flimsy ones, for template material and an old cookie tin to keep them in. 

I've decided to use more colour in the scrappy EPP blades; I know white is the colour of the year and all but so many in white got boring to me.

I'm using dark greens, the RSC February colour, for these backgrounds and one is looking lighter here than it really is and other darker. Sigh

Beth gave me three embroidery kits for Christmas. The Puffin is Newfoundland's provincial bird so it makes sense I finally embroider one. It's from Hook, Line and Tinker whose link is HERE if you'd like to check out their other cute designs.

I get so many Chickadees at my feeders and love them. I wanted it to be Canada's national bird but it lost out to the Canada Jay, formerly the Gray Jay. This is a sweet little kit from Nest Embirdery. Their link is HERE where there is a gorgeous bumblebee I'd also like to stitch.

And as well, this kit by Wendy Williams that I'd mentioned to her quite a while ago that I liked. Now I don't have to order it. I've admired this one for a long time and you can check it and others equally beautiful at Flying Fish Kits.

Stitchy gifts are the best, aren't they!

I'm feeling a bit tired but a good tired, if you know what I mean. The kind you feel when you've moved your body. We've decided to treat ourselves to a lunch out at one of the very old restaurants in a nearby town. They make good pork souvlaki there and that's what I always have. They make their own dressing for the Greek salad, something else I'm fond of. Would this appeal to you? 

Happy Valentine's Day to you all too!

Delighted to share this post with Kathy's Quilts and Quilting is More Fun Than Housework.

Deep in Winter Wonderings

I was up early and out the door to refill the bird feeders. I've added a third this winter as it's turning into an especially cold one. Wind chill then was -35C ( up from the -39C low overnight) and wind in strong gusts made it most uncomfortable. That cold makes it such a relief to be out of it and back into the warmth of the house. But there are drifts over the front steps so I'll be back out there soon to shovel which will warm me up. 

I always feel lucky to get a glimpse of an owl and to get a photo even more so. But my odds are a little higher this winter as I've sighted one around the feeders twice now. However, these photos were taken from quite a distance down by our pond where I play ball with the dogs. I was so fortunate this distant "blob" turned out to be a bird rather than a clump of leaves which has happened sometimes. I'm thinking it's the same one that is sometimes nearer the house.

I'm cautious with owls because they always show they see me and I know what their talons look like. They watch me with those big eyes and move their head when I move. Though I must say this drowsy one seemed more intent on soaking up the sun's warmth than caring about me. This is a Barred Owl as identified by the bars on his feathers.

What a beautifully feathered fellow!

No winter lasts forever and thoughts of warmer days ahead are in my mind as I look through the Veseys Seeds online catalogue. In particular, since I've had good luck with Geraniums, I'm checking out a couple different varieties to plant this spring. Some of you mentioned Zinnias to me so I'm going to give those a go too. I also want to plant more Japanese Anemone bushes around the property. It's a huge favourite with the bees, blooms well into the fall and is so pretty too.

 I'm still appliquing more of the tiny baskets in blues and did finish one in February's dark green RSC colour. They are not exactly a quick stitch but I'm enjoying working on them, nonetheless.

In this photo below I'm ready to go shopping with Beth and was attempting to show you the scarf I knit years ago in 2014 and still love to wear every winter. I didn't realize that between the phone and the wooden bar in the mirror you wouldn't really see it, duh. I also wish I'd closed that closet door. And when I call our house the wooden house- it really is. The floors, walls and ceilings are all beautiful wood. 

 The scarf has jewel tones in reds/pinks and having colour up around my face is a good thing these days. It is a one line pattern and you can check it out at my post there. It was passed on by Stephanie on her Yarn Harlot blog years ago. 

My hair is so white and as I've said, I don't mind it at all. Both daughters have been urging me to stop cutting my hair so short and grow it out a little, so I'm doing that despite how wispy it is. The Moroccanoil Texture Spray is helping with that. HERE is the Amazon link if you'd like to check it out for your locks. 

Tony's ear syringing didn't work so we are back to the ear clinic tomorrow for a second try and he's also unhappy with his new glasses so we are going back to Costco to see what they can do about that too. Poor fellow. 

We've been enjoying the Olympics Figure Skating very much. Are you watching? 

Hope your February is going well and your stitching fingers are flying. 

I'm happy to join these linky parties...Alycia Quilts, Creations Quilts Art and Quilting Patchwork Applique.

Free Patterns, Applique 0f All Sorts

 Below is Ned on a trail we only get to walk on in the winter so it is a little bit special to be there.This is the wetland area that is usually under a couple feet of water. I imagine all the peepers, frogs, toads and other critters that are snoozing below our feet when I tramp along there. 

It's going to be all snow photos these days. We are having a pretty normal winter here in our corner of southeast Ontario. The colder days reminding of my Labrador winters. The crunch of the snow under my boots this morning brought to mind my northern memories of Baffin Island and Labrador City, two places where summers are brief and winters long. Around now in Pangnirtung, Baffin Island, we would be celebrating the return of the sun. It was always back by Valentine's Day and so welcomed. Days of darkness then spun on into days of continual daylight which I found harder to cope with than the dark. This weather phenomenon made it impossible for some southerners to live there and many left after their first year...some even before. Being told about something is one thing, living it is entirely different. What adventures!  

I've finished with blues, the RSC January colour, with this little gathering of appliqued quarter Dresdens. 

As a possible final arrangement, I think I like the half sunrise look the best. What do you think?

I've pulled out a few dark greens to work with next. I don't have many greens and since I'm still on my fabric diet, won't be purchasing any more. So I'll make do.This fabric with little hearts is the last of this one. 

And I've been steadily working on my Snow people for this project. I've decided mine are not just men.

Here they are and I just had to add more embellishments than in the pattern. This is relaxing and fun stitching.

I've been saving more links to free patterns so it's time to share a few more with you. 

At All People Quilt, you will find a true bounty of free quilt patterns. That link will take you to their bank of quilt patterns that feaure embroidery. They've kept the stitching designs simple with projects that would work up quickly. I love this I Love You redwork pillow. Of course, you could change out that message for something else meaningful to suit too. 

Another site with a huge bank of free patterns is Riley Blake Designs. They have this Happy Hen block that I love. It features Lori Holt's Farmer's Daughter fabric line which is enormously popular. There is so much more to find there so if you have the time and the notion, do visit. 

Lori is running a brand new SAL called Farm Fresh Sew Along. Her tutorials are so good too and I love all her tips and hints. She's a lady who's all kitted out with all the stitchy doodads too. 

Moda is another giant in the quilting industry and HERE is where they offer their free patterns. I chose this one to share wtih you as I saw a lot of folks sew it and loved it. It's called Baked Alaska which is so pretty in solid soft colours.

LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color's prompt was to do with exchanging Valentines in school. Yes, we exchanged valentines back in my day too. All the way back then, we had to buy large books and cut out each valentine; they weren't fancy. We each decorated a tissue box too to hold our valentines. Some would have a shoe box. It was a given that we gave a valentine to everyone in the class. Did you?

On the agenda today is going to the clinic in our nearest town so Tony can get an ear syrnged. Yes, always exciting happenings here! But we are going to pick up takeout for supper so that saves me a bit of bother so it's all good. 

I hope February is turning out to be a wonderful month for you whatever the weather or the news (oh how I fear for our country, the Royal Family, etc.) you are coping with. Take care out there.

On a happier note, so glad there are linky parties for us to share like these ...The Inquiring Quilter , Days Filled With Joy, From Bolt to Beauty, Alycia Quilts and Quilt Schmilt. Thank you all for hosting!

 

Slow Stitching, Patchwork Testing, Puzzles Too

 This is a painting by William Kurelek called "Balsam Avenue After Heavy Snowfall", 1972.  This area of Toronto just had a huge snowfall so I imagine the present day residents doing just this. Shovelling snow is certainly something all Canadians are very familiar with. Do you like the way William used pops of colour here in what otherwise would be a drab background?

We have an extreme cold warning this morning. It is just -23C but there is a wind making it feel like -34C. Be assured I wear all the gear for our walks so I'm quite comfortable and so far I've been able to stick to the 30 minutes of fresh air morning and afternoon. Tramping about makes me feel so good and, of course, the dogs love their runabout.   

Speaking of which, I have three dogs for the weekend. We are looking after Abby, Ned and Petey's mother. Her family is off to a hockey tournament in North York which puts them about a 35 minute drive from Balsam Avenue. They are very busy but it's fun busy which is great.

 

 Meanwhile, our busy is completely different but we are managing the ups and downs. Tony's CT scan got postponed because of weather so that is now next week. Thank you all for the very good wishes about that. I'll keep you posted. But while speaking of these things I must mention our stitching friend, Coni, who is the Spinster Stitcher. I've been following her since she began her blog in 2008, through the loss of her much loved little dog, Stewy, and her kidney transplant journey. She is very ill again just now with a perforated colon. She now has a colostomy so her journey towards good health continues. 

I've been busy stitching. I finished the house on What Remains is Love and have the large central flower almost finished. I chose a slightly brighter red than the called for to make it stand out. I also turned the house into a one story just like the house I grew up in. I had to unstitch the middle of the leaves. I thought the colour looked too light against the outline colour; I'll look in my floss collection to find a colour that blends better. 

I'm enjoying that crossword book and though rated medium,some of the clues stump me. I go back and forth between despairing because I can't remember something I think I should know to feeling awesome because I did remember something. Do you do crosswords? This corresponds with LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color's prompt for this week. As you all know, I also love jigsaws too and will be getting one out soon. Meanwhile, I find it relaxing to do an online free Jigsaw almost daily from Jigidi. I'm working my way through the Winter section favouring puzzles that feature birds or cosy houses in woods. I also do 7 Little Words and enjoy that challenge very much. 

Back to Cross Stitching, Alice at Rabbit Girl Crafts has links to  9 Free Winter cross stitch patterns to download plus she offers her own free patterns too. 

I mentioned I was alarmed about my scraps. Thank you, S, for sending me a photo of this easy unnamed patchwork block to use up scraps without a whole lot of measuring and cutting. She seems to know me well :). I am testing it out and like how many old scraps this can use. Is that a good enough reason to make a quilt??? This is one of those stitch and flip blocks and I haven't been able to find the name. If you know it, please tell me. So I started with blues for the last of the January RSC. Now that I have them all together like this, I'm seeing butterflies.

I was given several stitching kits for Christmas. I must share those next time. Today I'm working on  Snowmen and making more fans for the Dresden Quarter Blocks. I never have to cast about for something to do here and I love it all. Hobbies are tried and true remedies for worry.

Hope you are similarly happily busy with all the things you love.

So happy to share this post with Small Quilts and Doll Quilts, Quilting Patchwork Applique, Sum of Their Stories and Quilting is More Fun Than Housework.

Wooden House Wintry Wanderings

It seems to be all about the weather here in the winter months. Saturday,when I went out with the dogs, the temperature was this with a wind chill of -34C. 

But the sun was shining and I could feel its warmth on my face. That was so nice while on the pond throwing the ball for the dogs. Then it warmed up and here in winter, that means the snow comes. We have a few more centimeters on the ground and it's still snowing. The school buses are not running this morning so another snow day for most kids. Here is my backyard winter wonderland taken through the window just now.

Yesterday's weather was a good excuse to stay cosy all day in my fleece top and polar bear fleece bottoms. 

Enough about the weather, on to more important things like stitching. 

When I'm watching YouTube, sometimes a video suggestion will pop up and I'm so glad this one did. That was how I found out about Becky Goldsmith's tiny baskets. I remember when some folks were stitching these in a project called A Tisket A Tasket and that would have been many years ago. I decided to give them a try mainly because I need to use up more small scraps. The pattern is free. I just love stitching these tiny baskets. And Becky's video featuring the tutorial is just wonderful. 

I learned something brand new to me. And that is you can wet fabric to get it to turn/fold a little like at the top of the handles. That actually works. What a great scrappy project and I'll be matching up with the colour for the monthly RSC colour while I stitch more of them. They are 3 inches and while they stitch up quickly, they are a bit fiddly.

I have to be careful not to get obsessed with stitching them. 

I have the Blackbird Designs Christmas Tablecloth almost finished. The three pieces are joined but I have some minor stitching I want to do like add more embroidery to the leaves on the right side, for instance. Then I'm going to retire it for this year with the hope and plan of quilting it next fall in time for Christmas.

LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color's prompt last week was about using planners/calendars. I always have a yearly calendar type book to write in and note appointments, etc. Here is last year's and my newest one that I bought at a thrift store. Yes, it was totally baffling to me why a 2026 book would be there. It was obviously brand new with the Winner's tag on it and one of those finds that makes me think they are there just waiting for only me to come along. 

We've added The Pitt to our nighttime viewing and are enjoying getting to know the characters. I can see why it won two Golden Globes. Any of you watching?

My week is filling up with appointments including another CT scan for Tony.  I am very thankful this can be done at a local hostpital so we don't have to drive into Ottawa especially with all this weather. Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to write a comment on my posts. We both read them and take encouragement from them. 

Very happy to share this post with linky parties like the Inquiring Quilter who just celebrated the 9th anniversary of hosting. Congratulations, Jennifer! Also sharing with  Sum of Their Stories, Creations Quilts Art, Alycia Quilts, Kathy's Quilts and Melva Loves Scraps.

                                 

Six or So Stitchy Projects

 Here is my kitchen window very peaceful winter view as it will look pretty much now until April. The light is from the big garage and you can see the snow curtain we have from the snow sliding down the roof. 

My bigger bunny is still here. Though he spends time under the feeders, he also munches on the left over garden growth which I purposely leave till spring to clean out. What exactly he is finding to eat there, I'm not sure. 

 He'd better be careful though as a Barred Owl flew low over my head one morning as I walked to the garage. He'd been eyeing the feeders. I was disappointed I hadn't spotted him from the window to get a photo. 

Lately I've been knitting in the evenings in front of the tv. My afghan is this long now. 

Using this stitch combo means it looks the same on the back as the front and it's good for an afghan to be reversable. I'm planning to crochet an edging around it when I get it to a certain length. The wool is from a special project by the Yorkshire Spinners. One pound is donated to the Breast Cancer Society for each ball sold. I'm alarmed by the numbers of young women being diagnosed with this awful disease. 

I've stitched more quarter Dresden blocks using blues for backgrounds. These are so enjoyable to hand stitch and work up very quickly. 

And there are several possible ways to join them. I have plenty of time to give that a good think.

Today I'm devoting my sewing room time to finishing the Christmas Tablecloth. I'm very close and I'd love to have it off the plate for now. Here is a photo of the right side still being organized. As usual I have a couple orphan blocks that I used in it too. 

  I have plans to try another patchwork block that could work with the RSC, one that doesn't involve hand stitching. My scraps are alarming me again and I need a project that could use just them. I have one in mind that I'll share next time. 

 I wound up enjoying the hand quilting on the Christmas Presents quilt in the end. I laid it out on the kitchen island to check if I'd missed a spot. 

 I haven't bound it yet but I'm pleased to have the quilting on it all done. I have a number of very old projects that I'd love to get to the finish line so I'm going to layer up another flimsie to have all ready in my rotation to hand quilt. 

I like the idea of the Daily Devotional Stitching project. Choosing a small item to stitch by hand certainly is right up my alley. The point is to use the stitching process as an intentional meditation or a prayer. Being such a loner and living with a partner who is not talkative- never was, not even in the best of times, I spend a lot of time in my own head as it were. But I can always be more intentional about those ramblings, that's for sure. You can read more here at  Sibyl's Journal.

I'm just in from my morning walkabout with the dogs. It is invigorating and being able to use more of the trails with them being flattened by the snowmobile is wonderful. It's all good here at the Wooden House these first few weeks of the brand new year. I hope you all are finding it the same.

 P.S. I will speak to LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color's prompt about calendar usage in the next post. 

So very happy to have linky parties to join...The Inquiring Quilter, Kathy's Quilts, Quilting is More Fun Than Housework, So Scrappy, Songbird Designs, Small Quilts and Doll Quilts and Days Filled With Joy.