Christmas Embroideries, 3 Ingredient Fruit Cake, Knitting Too

Hello all and thank you for stopping by so close to Christmas Day. 

It's been busy. I've set up things that light up...the wreath, two small trees, several candles. I've been shopping and wrapping gifts with the usual seasonal feelings of panic about getting it all right. 

I've been keeping the feeders full and watched this little tableau one morning.

The three of them were calmly eating together after one of the squirrels had climbed up and jumped on the pan feeder, conveniently tipping the seeds down for them. 

I baked a fruit cake. I've been seeing so many videos of folks making the 3 ingredient fruit cake, I had to give it a try. Tony is a fruit cake lover so I figured it would have to be pretty bad for him not to eat it. Luckily, it is tasty despite my using the barest of ingredients. Mine included the dried fruit on hand which was mostly raisins, currants, cranberries and dates. You soak your fruit overnight in a chosen liquid. I chose black tea. Then you mix it with self rising flour and bake it. I should have baked it longer but I was eager to try it. I thought it was fine and the fruit cake lover loved it.

Yes, this is truly just the three ingredients of fruit, flour and liquid unlike some recipes that claim that but actually require more when you read the fine print.

I will be making this again and using real fruit cake fruit like the glace cherries and also a different liquid maybe Baileys or juice to heighten the flavour. HERE is the link to just one of the sites that features this recipe. 

I finished my little Merry Moose embroidery. Such a fun little stitch.

And I took four of the little orphan Christmas embroideries and sewed a little mat. I have lots of this pretty Christmas fabric left over from a past project. 

And I had a matching fabric in the darker green that worked out well for the trim and back.

I've been thinking lots about possible RSC projects for the new year. There are two patterns I keep going back to and I'll share those soon. Perhaps I'll work on both just to have some variety with this particular challenge. Meanwhile this year's quilt is still at the flimsy stage. I have to take out all the papers/cardboards but just before that decide on the edging pieces if I want it to be straight on the sides.

So it requires a little decision making which I'm not in the mindset for just now.  

I've also been knitting on my afghan to be and enjoying that for a change.

Perhaps you've seen this....the wonderful Barbara Brackman shared a quilt pattern for those who may be thinking of sewing an authentic period quilt to celebrate the 250 anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. You can check out the information here... a beautiful Anniversary Quilt Pattern.

I think I have everything ready. Our gift exchange is tonight and then everyone back here again for the dinner tomorrow. It's so nice to still have a younger boy in the family who is still so excited about Christmas. 

If celebrating, I hope your Christmas is wonderful and you all get to enjoy some holiday time. 

Christmas Quilting, Baking and Colours

I've made the list and in my case, I've had to check it not twice but three times. I've been wrapping and making note of what's for who, etc. I'm trying not to do what Mom always did and that was to find presents tucked away in a drawer somewhere the next July. Does that happen to you?

I worked really hard to get this Peppermint Trees quilt top to this stage with all the trees appliqued and outlined in blanket stitch. The trunks are not stitched down yet. I had to take it outside to photograph; it's too dark these days inside. So here it is on the front veranda in the snowy light.  HERE is the link to Helen's Etsy shop and the pdf download of her pattern if you'd like to check it out.

The little garden girl on a swing was a gift to me from Robbie. 

I've made it longer to suit a spot over the long stairwell. And my plan is to sandwich this and ready it for quilting as soon as I can. In the original design, Helen used straight lines around the trees in each block which looked great and is so doable for me so I will try to do the same. 

And I've also been hand stitching more quilting lines on Christmas Presents too. Some of these fabrics are so pretty and have splash of gold too. 

I'm halfway down the quilt, rolling it as I go which is not ideal but semi working for me. I do love the hand quilting part but the wraggling of something this size is difficult.  This experience is making me wonder if you should look into getting a quilting frame. 

I'm using DMC perle 8 in a variagated mint green to stitch the quilting lines.

 

I've been enjoying a Youtube channel called Rowsells Everyday Off Grid in NL. I especially love Diane's baking videos. In this one below, she made two favourite cookies/squares/slice -whatever you call them in your part of the world. I like her enthusiastic and down to earth attitude. I wonder what you think of her kitchen; it looks so eclectic and I really like it. 

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The first one she makes, the Five Star cookie/ bar, is very popular in Newfoundland and is so easy to make. Perhaps there is another name for this particular treat in other places. It uses Aero bars for the topping.

LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color's prompt this week was do we like the colours red and green. They certainly are the traditional Christmas duo aren't they. Yes, I like them, especially the vintage kind of shades. And here is a welcome red I love to spot. The male Cardinal visited one of the feeders while the female stayed on the ground below. I wonder are they the same pair I'm spying all the time.

Winter chores have kicked in- shovelling snow, throwing deicer on the front steps- we had four large bags delivered, and my favourite chore, refilling the feeders. And I'm off to walk the dogs now, another favourite activity here at the wooden house. And Petey senses when that time is. He's a dog that looks you in the eye with such pleading stares. Who could resist this? 

Hope this time of year on the very cusp of Christmas is going well for all of you and you don't feel rushed. That it is "the most marvelous time of year" for you. 

Happily sharing this post with Alycia Quilts, The Inquiring Quilter, Days Filled With Joy and Creations Art Quilts.

 

Christmas and RSC Project Stitching

The lone rabbit is still hanging around. I glanced out the kitchen window and ears caught my eye amongst the old vegetation.

 And here's a closeup when he went under the bush and just sat there for such a long time I gave up and left. I had been curious to see what you would eat there.

 This is an Eastern Cottontail and he will stay mostly brown/grey all winter. I wish he would move on into the forest but there are so many places to provide sheltar for him here; I understand why he wants to stay. Lately I've seen his tracks going under this backyard shed. 

I'm rereading this book, Alice Munro's The Love of a Good Woman. It's wonderful. 

It was written in 1998 which was still a time when dish sets and china cabinets were prized possessions. I can't tell you how many beautiful china sets I see in thrift stores, all selling for a song these days. If you ever feel the need for such, do check out a thrift store. I'm loving the book and have no recollection of the stories at all which makes me question my memory. A.S. Byatt wrote the introduction for this book and that too is beautifully written. 

I've been working on the large Christmas table runner from this book...someone asked to see it. Tending the Garden from Blackbird Designs. I like every project in this book which seldom happens.

I have the second appliqued block finished. I didn't put in as many vines as in the pattern and added more flowers. I also picked a few brighter reds. I really enjoyed stitching this block. What is it about baskets that we love?

I wonder has this happened to any of you real quilters. I'm sewing along, so very happy to have taken the time to match up and pin the block seams, thinking that this machine sewing is such a breeze I really should do more of it. I get to the end of that very long seam and realize this.

It would have been one of the best/straightest seams of my life too. UGH

I've stitched by hand (where you know when you've run out of thread) more of the Peppermint Trees. My plan is to work solely on that project this weekend to get it moved along. 

And I'm down to just 8 more EPP Starry Hexagon blocks to sew onto this piece. I'm relieved to see it is not overwhelmingly blues, being that I had so many blue fabrics to choose from. Would love to have this all sewn by the new year too. 

King Arthur's flour has published their Rise & Shine: 20 Holiday Breakfasts Sure to Impress recipes. HERE is the link. I would be using some of these for dinner too.

I'll end with Ned falling asleep still holding his bone. The two of them had had a big play with it and he'd tuckered himself right out. Any second now we are going to hear a loud clunk!

I still have Christmas shopping to do. What about you? 

So happy to share this post with linky parties at Kathy's Quilts, Small Quilts and Doll Quilts, Songbird Designs and Quilting is More Fun Than Housework.

Thrifted Fun, Two Christmas Slow Stitching Projects

The world's oldest known bird, an Albatross named Wisdom, has returned to her southern nesting site for the 2025- 2026 breeding season. She is 75 years old at least now; this is an older video below. She had the same mate for 60 years but she is back this year with a new one. What a wonder!

And did you see there was a little fuss about the Pantone Color of the Year for 2026? It is Cloud White and some are calling it a cop out. White is a huge player in the quilting world that's for sure so maybe it's time to give it some praise. 

LeeAnna, Not Afraid of Color's prompt this week is how do we handle stress especially this time of year.  I don't do nearly the work I used to for Christmas like writing and mailing Christmas cards and buying, wrapping and mailing many boxes of gifts to relatives and friends. We always lived in remote places far from everyone we knew so it all had to get in the mail by a certain date too. My mind boggles when I think of it all. How did I do it with working full time too. And, of course, all the Christmas baking that had to get done too. And I know many women who were all handling the very same load, of course. But you know, it always all got done. Nowadays, for me, Christmas is a breeze in comparison. How about you? 

But when I feel stressed in general, it's a walk in the fresh air that definitely helps. There is always something that will catch my eye and often I'll want to take a photo so that takes my mind off whatever I've been stewing about. Inside the house, my hand stitching is my go to relief. I've noticed that cross stitching, in partiuclar, which requires the counting and close attention, makes me forget whatever was bugging or upsetting me. I highly recommend stitching/knitting/crocheting to help you get out of your head and into your hands, as Kate at The Last Homely House always says. 

 I pulled out a little Christmas Stitchery called Merry Moose. It's a PDF download at StitchDoodlesDesign on Etsy. We have a lot of moose in Newfoundland to the point they are a hazard driving on the main highway through the province. But they are fun to stitch.

Here's a better photo. I had fun with those winter twiggy trees too and I have to redo one moose's nose; it's too pointy. There are colourful tiny birds to add to this too.

And more appliqued trees and these have a delicious name- Peppermint. At least to me perppermint is tasty; is it to you? They are very easy to applique though the hand embroidery outlining is slowing the process but I've finished too many like it to stop now.

I've been enoying the search for odd pieces of fun fabric just large enough to make a tree.

 Here are my thrifted items that thrilled me. There were three bags of what I could tell was quilting fabric there and I picked up the blues bag. After seeing what I have here, I wish I had picked up the yellows too and in fact, yellow is a colour I need more of in my stash, not blues. Could kick myself.  But these blues are not like any in my stash so that's a plus at least. I didn't measure but there are several yards of some of these. The bag was very heavy.

And these scraps...

And these different fabrics as well, all good quality. I had fun sorting all this.

So do you think I did good for $6.99? Yes, I should have picked up all three of the bags. Sigh

I've always wanted a copy of Kathy Doughty and Sarah Fielke's book Material Obsession. Now I have one! $4.99

And there was a shelf of these Australian Homespun magazines; all were pristine, never opened. I chose three celebrating the seasons. $1.97 each

I always think about the like minded owner when I find stitching items like this at a thrift store. And I'm thinking the scraps, book and these magazines all came from the same person's stash or at least, the book and magazines did as they're both Australian. What do you think?

I think I scared some of you last post by telling you how cold it is here so early in the winter season. Thank you all for your concern. Yes, winters here certainly are remarkably cold and coming from St. John's in Newfoundland to here I wasn't used to such winter frigid temperatures. There, it is cool and brief summers and mild winters because of the ocean providing a classic maritime climate. Here in the center of Ontario, far from any ocean, it is just like Labrador west winter weather which I do remember well. The key is to dress for it. And we have all the gear - lots of warm hats, mittens and boots so it is bundle up time if going outdoors. I'm one of the weird ones who enjoys this kind of cold, fresh air and find it invigorating. And certainly prefer it to summer's heat and humidity. (It's the ice storms, tornado warnings and freezing rain here that I really hate.) For the record it was -24 C with the wind chill when I got up this morning; make no mistake, winter is in full swing here in the Ottawa Valley. 

 I bundled up to put out the garbage and made two trips up the laneway and back with my gorilla cart. I came into the house, into warmth and it felt so good to have worked my body a little in the cold air. Then for a cup of hot Red Rose tea. 

 I thank you for staying with me on my journey in blogland. Hope you are able to keep cool or, like me, stay warm where ever you are in this great world of ours. 

So happy to share this post with linky parties at The Inquiring Quilter, Quilting and Learning, Alycia Quilts, Creations Quilts Art, Days Filled With Joy, Life in Pieces and Melva Loves Scraps.Thank you all for hosting!!

Special Shares, Peppermint Trees, Quilting "Christmas Presents", Raisin Tea Buns

I read that the last full moon of the year, called the Cold Moon, is tonight and it is going to be very special by how high in the sky it will rise. Such a height won't be seen again till 2043. It's dark here now at 5 o'clock. Yesterday I took this photo of the back yard bathed in moonlight at that time. Unfortunately, the clouds kept sailing past hiding the moon. Sometimes, clouds add much beautiful moodiness to a December winter sky but my photo didn't capture that sadly. 

To celebrate December 2025, I stitched a few trees. I was going to say Christmas trees but these do not look like your typical Christmas trees. Last year, I saw Helen Philips had made a quilt she called Peppermint Trees in pinks and greens. I loved it and found the PDF download for the pattern at her Etsy Shop. These are appliqued with my usual hand stitched blanket stitch border. In an attempt to have this at least a flimsy for Christmas, I'm sewing the blocks together as I go. Here is the first four combo. This is also a super way to use up those slightly larger scraps too.

One of the reasons I'm really happy to be staying with Helen's pink choice is because I bought a few yards of this pink fabric way back and it isn't the best material. It is just a tiny bit flimsy but will be perfect for a wall quilt. Yes, those were the days when I hadn't learned enough about fabric and couldn't resist a good deal either. Still can't resist a good deal. 

Meanwhile, my hand quilting on Christmas Presents has been a torturous experience so far. Now that's a strong word but I am finding the handling of such a large project very challenging. I've tried it on a table, in a big hoop and now in my floor stand hoop. I can't seem to get comfortable with the stitching no matter how I've set it up. I've read that the floor hoop takes getting used to but I did quilt something else using it and I don't remember having this dilema. 

And figuring out how exactly to quilt it has also been a challenge. I looked at a lot of online similar quilts to see how they were quilted. Many of those hand quilting laid outline stitches around each box and ribbon. Others used machine quilting with a loopy pattern all throughout which was pretty. So far, I've drawn a loopy doodle to use in the white ribbon parts which might be a softening kind of effect to all the straight lines in this quilt. Then maybe I'll do outline stitching for the rest of the block.

Maybe I'm just not settled down enough to work on this particular slow stitching now but I'm determined to make some headway with it. I'm happy as long as I can do that. 

Shares Too Good To Miss

I love this site, the Embroiderers Guild of America. The stitching is magnificent. And they have a lovely selection of free patterns you can download too. HERE is the link.

And this site is one I've returned to countless times over the years for instructions, patterns and ideas to stitch. I'm so happy to share again the Needle 'n Thread Network. Our friend, Mary Corbett, a lifelong embroiderer, has a wonderful page of free embroidery patterns which she keeps adding to. It is quite extensive. Also, she offers many tutorials and links. 

I made raisin tea buns as my baked treat this week. I always add the raisins for Tony. They are great with a little jam and a cup of tea, of course. Good on a cold winter day, one with a blowing snow warning. Here is Rock Recipies recipe for  Newfoundland Raisin Tea Buns.

I love my Morris thermos. What a beautiful shade of blue! But there are also shades of green, orange, tan and cream put together the way only Morris could. These would work well in a quilt, don't you think? It is also useful as I can fill it with tea and take it to the sewing room. Then it stays warm even if forgotten for a while which always happens.

Talking about food made me wonder how many of you know about Mrs. Brown's Kitchen. HERE is the Instagram link where I noticed that among her million followers is Kathy Schmitz which made me smile. Heather is a Newfoundlander who has been successful enough to have a cookbook published. She has a straight forward attitude, uses pretty simple ingredients, and has a way about her that makes me smile. 

I spent time at a thrift store recently and bought a couple of items and I'll share those next post. Something quilty and interesting came home with me. Doesn't it always!

I'm just off now to walk the dogs and will bundle up. It's -10C here in the Ottawa Valley with a brisk wind making it feel like -19C. So how's this lead up to Christmas going for you? All good I hope. Happy Shopping and Stitching too!

So wonderful to have linky parties to share this post with....Sew Can Do, Kathy's Quilts,  Quilting Patchwork Applique, Days Filled With Joy, Quilting is More Fun Than Housework, Songbird Designs, Small Quilts and Doll Quilts and Alycia Quilts. Thank you all for hosting!