Pretty colours against the snow. From my kitchen window, I enjoy spying Blue Jays in amongst the snowy branches.
LeeAnna at
Not Afraid of Color's promt this week is real or fake Christmas trees? I am not putting up a tree this year, real or fake, even though we are hosting the Christmas Day dinner. I've never liked the tree and would like to get a new one. Meanwhile I have my little ceramic tree in the living area. I was happy to see these trees become popular again.
I went out shopping and to lunch on Wednesday. It was a perfect weather day with sun which has been scarce this month. It felt good to get a few presents crossed off my list and I enjoyed the fish and chip lunch at the popular restaurant, the Scottish Glen. It is especially popular with seniors and they were there in droves that sunny day.
I've machine stitched two of the large corner blocks for the Christmas Patchwork Diamond quilt. The third is on the machine and I have the fourth laid out ready to go. The fabric is Andover's Laundry Basket Noel and is very beautiful to work with.
I'm eager to start including the snow white colours of these fat quarters I bought ages ago for another project and were never used. Back then, I thought white would be used in every quilt. These have faint designs on them.
I found these whites too white for whatever that old project was but will maybe now provide the perfect contrast for this Christmas-y stitching. Who knew there were "shades" of white! And in slow stitching, I mentioned continuing to work on my Rosewood Manor's cross stitched Autumn Quakers piece. I've decided to keep the momentum going on this project till Christmas. Almost at the bottom now on the left side. The beauty of stitching Quaker samplers is that each motif finishes fairly quickly and you get a feeling of satisfaction about that.
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| Stitching on 28 ct Vintage Country Mocha Cashel Linen |
I was going to include this in the last post about simple things to look forward to. I have switched our summer duvet for our real Auckland Wool duvet that I use for winter. It is so cosy and warm and importantly not too heavy. I've also made the switch to toasty flannel sheets. On cold, snowy and blowy winter nights, is there anything more wonderful than a warm, comfortable bed to sleep in. Something everyone deserves for sure.
And on that sleepy note, I promised to tell you if the medication I got from the doc is helping me sleep. So far, I've been cutting each pill into quarters. Most nights I take a quarter and it definitely makes me drowsy no matter how "alive" my brain feels. I sleep soundly till about 4:30 or 5 then I'm awake. but it gets me past the dreaded 3 am. This is still a tad too early so I read for some time, and occasionally fall back to sleep but more often I stay in bed till 6 ish and get up and start my day.
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21 comments :
Your Duvet, Auckland is several hours north of us here in NZ, it is filled with wool from Australia, then the other words say Vancouver, truly international. Here, I use a down duvet in winter, the Hungarian down is probably the dearest, so not sure where our down comes from.Love the cross stitch and the tree, that is SO lovely, no pine needles to collect afterwards.
I made a number of those ceramic trees years ago but for some reason didn't keep one and now I wish I had. We have always had an artificial tree (and now we live in an apartment we're not allowed to have real ones anyway). This year we got tired of our old one that shed all over the place and got rid of it in favour of a nice new one from Canadian Tire. The old one was too big for our space and this one fits perfectly. Best of all, no 'needles' to shed!!
Glad that the medication is helping even though you wish you could extend the effects for at least a couple of hours longer. Perhaps taking a half might do that for you? I take half of mine and most nights it helps...unless the RC is snoring up a storm in which case no pill would help!!
Wonderful photo of the blue jay.
I love a cozy warm bed too. After years of flannel sheets, I discovered Artic sheets for winter rather like a thinner type of fleece. I love them so much that I purchased two pair for home, and another two pair for the caravan bed.
Now the weather is warmer we are back using summer cotton/poly sheets again.
omgosh the dreaded 3AM waking... and now that the loud car boy is back from college he parks under our bedroom and wakes me all hours of the day and night. Neighbors. ick.
your sewing is so pretty and fresh. My mother owned a ceramics shop and I made countless ceramic trees over the years for people... so many! I only have one small one, all white but after so many moves, it's missing the star and one bulb. Where to get replacements?
you have beautiful nature around you J.
LeeAnna
I try to stay in bed until at least 4 but am happiest if closer to 5. After making the coffee, feeding the dog & cat, doing Wordle & Connections, I then have about an hour of stitching time before taking the dog for a walk at 6:30. This is such a ritual, anything other than this would probably ruin my day! Hahaha! I've been enjoying seeing the blue jays too. Also the cardinals seem to have donned their reddest feathers lately around here. Have a good sleep tonight!
Definitely fake trees in this house.....I have a collection; the smallest is only a few inches tall and largest about 15-18 inches. Not all the trees are put out every year, they are rotated around. Your Blue Jay is so pretty, we have enjoyed seeing them on our visit to Canada.
What a lovely and Christmasy quilt.
I so wish we had Blue Jays here, but we don't so I make do with Woodpeckers, the two Mourning Doves that stay all winter, lots of Sparrows, some Flickers and the occasional Chickadee. Every once in awhile I get to see Cedar Waxwings as well.
God bless.
Good luck with sleep!
I hear you about the tree!
My mom made one of those ceramic trees. Loved that. Pretty Christmas fabrics in your squares. I read that as a "wood filled" duvet. LOL Wool makes a lot more sense! I'm glad you're sleeping better.
I love a real Christmas tree but it's way too messy with 2 cats. My artificial tree is fine. I love your cross stitch project. That seems like a much larger project then my Christmas ornaments. I love your Christmas fabrics. So pretty!
No tree here either though there are lights and a few other decorations here and there. We have plenty of bluejays but no cardinals, they usually show up in January when there's more snow. Your patchwork diamond quilt is going to be wonderful, there's something about simple squares piece work that is very timeless and appealing.
You get the loveliest bird photos, Jocelyn! Blue Jays are prettybirds, aren't they? I love your ceramic tree - I would enjoy having one of those. The Christmas Patcgwork Diamond blocks are fun - all those little squares! Glad the sleep medication is working for you, and the wool duvet, too. Yes, a warm bed is something I'm very thankful for.
I like a Xmas tree but I prefer fake so I don't need to water it. I hope your sleep is good I have to take a pill to sleep, wish I didn't but otherwise I don't sleep more than an hour or so
I have two ceramic trees. One was my mother’s and one was my grandmother’s. They have come back a a more popular decoration again recently. Those patchwork blocks sure are pretty! I am also a lover of flannel sheets in cold weather. Glad to hear the pills are helping you to sleep a bit better.
The snowy blue jay photo is so sweet. You are going well with your cross stitch. The colours are so pretty. Yes, the variations in white fabrics are surprising. We love our flannie sheets in winter and woollen doom as are the best.
That blue jay is spectacular! We aren't putting up a tree either Jocelyn, as we sold ours during the summer. I've been eyeing the tall thin ones, as we might put one up next year. We have filled our living/dining room with too much furniture, and the layout just doesn't have enough space for a tree without moving things around. I do love our little ceramic tree, and I see quite a variety of them at Hobby Lobby. LOVE that Laundry Basket fabric on your scrappy blocks! That fish and chips place sounds yummy. Glad your medication is doing some good. Those early morning wakes are just too much!
American Quakers is a lovely piece! More of my friends are decorating with the ceramic trees (old ones they had or inherited) and it brings back memories every time I see one. Love your wee squares for the Christmas quilt! Most of all, I'm so happy the doctor gave you something that helps you sleep. Wishing you a wonderful holiday!
Wool filled duvet sounds comfy! I still get "hot" when I sleep. I search for all cotton sheets, I think they breathe better, but have difficult finding them. I ordered some bamboo sheets with the promise that they slept cool! Wrong! They have polyester in them and they are warm. Good if you are Mr. Busy with cold feet and neuropathy. Not so good for me.
Glad your medication has helped you stay asleep. Sleep is so important!
Wow, ceramic trees make a come back! We have one I painted about 30 years ago and I still get it out every year. The last few years we've gone artificial.There's usually only the 2 of us who see it as we travel to our daughter's out West most years now. Your patchwork quilt will be bright and cheerful!
Wow, your photo of the Blue Jay is gorgeous, what a pretty little bird, lovely colors. Beautiful blocks for the corners of the Christmas quilt, the tone-on-tone white fabrics are going to shine into them!
Thank you for sharing!
Your Christmas Diamond Patch quilt looks wonderful. I love doing those tiny squares but it does wear you out. I hope you give yourself lots of patience while you keep that project going. I caught my eye looking at your books in your blog panel. What's the most recent book you've read? I finished a book today that I can't stop thinking about. It's a fantasy, which isn't my usual genre. It's called The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. After 100 pages or so, I couldn't put it down. Now to get back to sewing, quilting and making a mess with threads. I wish you and your family a Merry Christmas.
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