10th YEAR BLOGAVERSARY !

Wow - I almost let a big anniversary go unmentioned !  10 years of blogging  as the Woolwoman!

I could do one of those "YEAR(S)" in review things but frankly I'm not sure I want to recount everything I haven't done or completed.

Since this is primarily a needlework related blog - that is mostly what I blog about.

I also promised I'd pop back here and divulge my  New Years starts and focuses.

The first is a SAL being done by our local EGA chapter duClay.  It is Amy Mitten's new Scottish Sampler.  it is the first sampler in her Around the World sampler series.  We have 20 members participating and we are all so excited.  I hope to start mine tonight.  Some people got theirs in October and I am already seeing finishes on FB.  Amy suggests it can be done in 80 days - hummm - I am hoping for 180 days !

I wanted to include a photo but I forgot to take one this morning on my Iphone and I couldn't grab one off her website.  Go take a look.

The other cool SAL duClay is doing is a Kathy Rees canvas SAL.  I am doing Elements - Earth - A club offered by Tomorrow Heirlooms.  I don't know exactly when I will start this because I am waiting for 10" stretcher bars to mount my canvas.  It's smallish so I know I can finish it in a few months - I hope !

I'm going to close now and wish all my blog friends around the world a very Happy New Year.  I wish you health and happiness and many hours to do your chosen hand work.  Please let me know what you are planning for 2016 - I love hearing from everyone - it's what makes blogging important.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE !

Seasons Greetings to everyone !

We are back from our Christmas vacation in Tenn.   In search of cold weather !

A photo of my DH in front of the condo unit.

To prove we did find some cooler weather !

Love the winter landscape at the condo.  The Smoky mountain range in the background.

Spent a day at Dollywood with my folks.  Yes it was C O L D and I was woefully underdressed for the occasion.  I only wore a sweatshirt and didn't even bring a scarf or shawl, no jacket or hat.  By the time darkness fell - I was ready to go back to the warm condo and do some knitting!

It was a first for us to take a vacation at this time of the year.  We enjoyed it a lot,   the days just flew by.  We had 24 degrees and snow flurries on Friday in and around Cherokee NC.  The temps seemed to rise about 10 degrees every day but still better than the record highs we are still having in NE FL right now.  Seems so un-Christmas like to be wearing summer clothes and have the AC blasting.

I did a little stitching on my No Pole Express but not enough to snap a photo.  I mainly knitted on a shawlette in a special edition Christmas color called Peppermint Stick Forest by Blue Moon Fiber Arts purchased at The Loopy Ewe.  It is easy knitting on a design called Fractal Danger.  I'm sure after Christmas I will lose interest in it and put it away till next December but for now - it's holding my attention. 

Are any of you starting a new project on Christmas Day or New Years Eve/Day?  I am hoping to start my Amy Mitten Scottish sampler SAL with our EGA chapter tomorrow.  However with that said - we do have a lot of cooking (and cleaning up) to do in the meantime.  I hope I have the energy to sink a few stitches tomorrow and help get my dear mom started on hers.

I'm  hoping my NYE start will be the canvas SAL with our EGA chapter.  I am doing a special club piece by Kathy Rees/Needle Delights from Tomorrows Heirlooms.  It's called Elements and the first one is Earth.  LOVE the colors ,  next is Water I think and that will come in January but I am just focusing on the one right now !

Wishing all my friends in blog land a most wonderful Christmas - If I don't make it back here before the new year - I wish you peace, happiness and health in the New Year ! 

TIS THE SEASON !

At the rate December is flying by - I figured I better make a post in a hurry or Christmas would be here and gone !

I am seeing so many wonderful blog posts and FB entries on the groups and from stitching friends showing all their beautiful trees and things finished for holiday delights.

I only have 1 finish to show you today and an "almost finished" piece .

This is a shawl called Big Blue - I got about 1/2 done with it last summer and then put it down as I so typically do with any project.  I decided it needed to be off the WIP list.

It is a gorgeous color of Madeline Tosh Sport yarn called Blue Spectrum - I am not typically a "blue" person but I found this yarn in a shop in GA and they only had 2 skeins of several colors and this was the most appealing of what they had.

Here is my "almost" finished tree #1 from the Fanciful Forest club I was doing with The Needlepointer in WA.  Yes the club is over and this is just the first tree but I have lofty goals for more trees in 2016.  Yes its time to start agonizing over those Christmas Day and New Years Day new starts if you are of that school of people who does that type of thing every year.  Next post I'll show you a few things I have planned for those starts.

Have to show you my best friends in the world - my folks.  This was taken recently at brunch at the Club Continental - one of our favorite places to be during the Christmas season.  This lovely estate home turned private club has been mentioned on my blog before.  It is a great wedding venue and special occasion place for my folks and my DH and I.  Go out to their website and read the very interesting history of this lovely estate.

Last year we had Valentines Day dinner in front of this gorgeous fireplace with a roaring fire inside.  I don't think we are going to have anything this year but a fan or AC blasting.  It continues to be record highs here in the deep south.  I hear there might be a tiny cool front coming soon.

Showing how abnormally hot it is here - this was a recent photo of my DH sitting on an outside patio overlooking the water at a favorite seafood restaurant. 

 

Well friends these are a few of my favorite things -  what are a few of your favorite things?

 

I enjoy hearing your comments and I hope you are having a most marvelous holiday time and enjoy all the sounds and sounds of the seasons.

THANKFUL !

Happy upcoming Thanksgiving to all my US blog friends !  I updated my blog face which I should have done at the beginning of November instead of the end - oh well - I never seem to be on time for anything.

The bird in my blog header is a distelfink not a turkey - but he looks enough like a turkey that he can pose as one this year.

I wanted to show you a few finishes - yep FINISHES ! and for my knitting friends - a shot of the only thing I have been knitting lately.  This is Solace by a Finnish designer Janino - you can find the pattern on Ravelry.  It is knit with two yarns I have never knit with before Rowan Fine Tweed is the barley color and Shibui Pebble is the dark green.  They are lovely together even though the Pebble is quite fine - I would say a very light fingering.  In Janino's pattern - she recommends using a fingering and a lace weight together to make a light wrap.  it is a fun and easy pattern.

This is a darling ornament that my mom stitched from the 2013 JCS Christmas issue.  *I* did the finishing.  I am quite proud of it even though it's not up to a "Faye" quality finish - it was still rewarding to accomplish since I am definitely NOT a finisher. 

This is the back of the ornament.  I put the little bell on his hat and a bigger bell on the back.  The cording is twisted bakers twine which I found at Joann's.  It wasn't exactly what I wanted but it worked out OK.

The big news flash is that I finished my Autumn House.  It's off to the framers in hopes that it will be ready in 2 weeks to display at our EGA chapters Christmas luncheon and annual exhibit of finishes for 2015.  I can't say how proud I am of this piece.  Too bad you can't see much detail.  Maybe when I get it back from the framer I will inundate you with more photos.  I'm sure I can hear a HALLELIUAH !  she's done!  so you don't have to see any more photos of this WIP.  It is a Melissa Shirley design and the thread choices and stitch choices were all my own.  I worked on this piece for years but there were often many months that went by when it went completely untouched.  There was also a period of about 6 mos where I waited for more of the antique black used in the sky.  Ended up ordering from a different shop and got it in a week.  You never know what the hold up is with certain things that never come in. 

One last finish - this is one of those Shepherds Bush pre-made bags.  This one is Busy Bee and so adorable.  It was fun to do and I enjoyed it immensely.

I might have another finish for 2015 - just not sure if I can focus and get something finished or not.  I have about 10 Christmas/snowmen/winter things I'd like to start and I am trying to focus on Gather a Harvest by Hands on Design but that is fall and in my book fall is over when Thanksgiving is over so we'll take bets on how long I can focus on that one.

 

I am wishing for every one of you who celebrate Thanksgiving to really think about what the holidays mean here in the US. Take a moment to be "thankful"  for what is important to you and your families and friends.  How much we have here, the safety we've taken for granted for so many years, how fast you can lose all that and be in fear every day of your life.  My heart goes out to all our friends in France and Belgium and around the world where peace is no longer visible in their lives.

God bless the USA and our military all around the world, be with them during this Thanksgiving and holiday season.  Enjoy and don't forget to spend a few quiet moments with your needles and hooks this holiday if you can. 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN !

Happy Friday to one and all.  I am enjoying the beautiful sun shine here in the deep south where we've had NO/ZERO/NADDA/ZIPPO fall weather.  We've been in the 80's all month long with a few wet and gray, drizzly days sprinkled in there.  Most people would love this weather but I long for cooler weather - 20 degrees cooler would be great with me.  Oh well - I guess we will get there but the 10 day forecast was more of the same.

Before the month is gone - I wanted to show you some of the fall and Halloween decorating around my humble abode.

Here is that cute piece I bought in South Ga. earlier this month.  Isn't he fun ! He is made from a propane tank (see previous post)  We'll put a candle inside tomorrow night to greet our little ghouls at the door.

 

 He sits at the edge of our front garden walkway smiling at all who dare to enter.

 Here is my pumpkin and gourd display this year.  It is in a small child's wheelbarrow a dear friend gave me this summer.  She said "promise me you'll do a pumpkin arrangement in it"  - so here dear Faye is your pumpkin arrangement.

 Speaking of gifts and dear friends - look at the FAB-ulous pumpkin that my DF Becky made for me.
It is so creative and so cool.  I love the real dried pumpkin stem and the way she glammed it up a bit with a few beads and a felted tendril.  You can never imagine how lovely this piece is unless you could see it in person.  It looks great on the pewter tray with my pottery pumpkins from the Old Mill Pottery in Tenn.

Here is my evil looking button eyed cat by Scarlet House.  It is shown for lighting purposes along with my Old Salem box from Liberty Hill.  Faye from Carolina Stitcher did the lovely finishing on it.

Here is the back of the pin pillow which is filled with walnut shells I presume.  Creative finishing as usual by Faye.

Here's where the cat is living currently.  The coloring in this photo is much more accurate than the other two.  Plus there's a good shot of the pottery pumpkins.

Makes a nice little vignette with my Scarecrow in the Pumpkin Patch hooked rug. 

Where's the stitching, knitting, hooking progress you say???  Well - I certainly don't have much to show for the month.  I did finish that pina ghoulada ornament but haven't completed the "finishing" yet.  I did find a suitable backing material last weekend and a rick rack trim so I am making baby steps towards getting that done.

Here is tree #1 in the Fanciful Forest club I was doing with the Needleponter which is in Washington State.  I have enjoyed this one but I changed the stitch on the tree to my own choosing.  I am setting up basketweave in the background using Floche ( my first time) and then I will do Dotted Swiss background.  Mary Corbet did a whole blog post yesterday on Floche by DMC. 

  So I am learning some new things with this club.  This club is an exclusive by Pippin Studios in Canada.  The Needleponter is their US distributor.  They have some great special collaboration pieces exclusive to their shop by Pippin .

Finally - a beautiful double mum in two colors given to me by my dear husband.  I love looking at it every day by my back door. 

 

Hopefully next post I will have some knitting and hooking to show.  Maybe some stitching too.

 

Here's hoping you plan to have a wonderful Halloween even if its only to watch a spooky movie or two and eat some of your favorite candy and take a few happy stitches.

 

 

 

OK IT'S OCTOBER

On a recent jaunt thru south central Georgia - I found a wonderful prim shop called Alice & Jay.

On my way to Auburn on a business trip I spotted all these great Halloween things sitting out on the highway in a little tiny town called Sasser.  I thought to myself - now on the way back I must stop and check these out.  The shop was FULL of prim furniture and all sorts of things they make on site in their metal shop.  They also have another location down near Thomasville Ga.

 

Here is the cute witches that caught my eye.  They are made from old discarded propane tanks.  How clever !  I couldn't decide what I wanted, decisions decisions.

This is not a great photo but I ended up getting the jack-o-lantern with the hat.  I'll have to show the one I got before October is over.  I need to finish some decorating at home and get some photos.

I said I wasn't going to show my Autumn House again until it was finished.   However I am so elated that I finished that hateful black bargello sky that I thought I should show a photo.  All I have left is the borders and I really need to move on with finishing this up.  It's on my EGA Chapter challenge list and I want it done !  If I finished it up this weekend (HA!)  I could actually just sit it out and use it this month and then get it framed in November.  Good idea, get it done !

This is a crummy photo and don't ask me why I was so taken with the ornament from the recent JCS magazine.  It is called Pina Ghoulada - fun !  I just love that eyeball button you put in the bottom of the glass and the little spider dangling from the straw.  I was simply amazed that my buddy Cathy at Inspired Needle had this color linen in stock along with the linen needed another ornament I loved in that same issue, the one with the witch button from Italy.  I have barely started that one and I hope to try and do the finishing myself since all the finishers I work with have closed off their services till 2016 because of the load of holiday requests.

 

Not much else new in my world - I have been knitting but just working on that same Sailing shawlette I showed in the prior post.  I'm itching to start something more fallish in color.  I paid a visit to a great yarn shop in Savannah this week and picked up some beautiful Shibui Pebble which I had never seen in person  for a new shawl I've had my eye on.  Maybe next time I come to visit - It will be started. 

 

Hope you all will stop by and tell me what you've been doing to get ready for fall or what's in your WIP basket.  Enjoy all the sights and sounds of Autumn. 

SAY IT ISN'T SO !!!!!!

Is it really time for the first Pumpkin Spice Latte frenzy of the season at Starbucks !

 Sad thing is mine had to be "iced" because it's still in the mid 90's here in the deep south. Never mind all the blah blah about the zillion calories and the fact that nothing in it is real flavoring.  I just don't care - give me my PSL and iced is just fine thank you !

In an effort to post more to my blog - I wanted to show you my finished distelfink.  I posted this on FB also and I got some inquiries about the pattern which is a Lori Brechlin folk art piece reproduced with her permission by Kris Miller of Spruce Ridge Rug Studios in Michigan.  It is hooked on linen with a 6 cut.  I am so pleased with how my bird came out.  I added some detail to his wing because it was too plain and boring.  The dots were drawn in but I think adding some colors from the tail feathers brought him to life. His body is really a great color in person, a cool plaid.  It was a rainy Labor Day weekend in the deep south so it was fun to sit and hook and watch a movie I've seen a dozen times.

This is my progress so far on my "Sailing KAL"  - the White Gum DK yarn is hand dyed by Meg the designer of Atelier in Australia.  I ordered the yarn off her Etsy site and there will be more in my future.  It is just lovely to work with just slides off the needles like butter.

I'm sure I've shown this pillow before - it is one of the Mirabilia Mermaids stitched by my dad.  It made a nice accompaniment to my "come sail away" shawl.  My DH is eyeballing this shawl - he said is that a woman's shawl???  I said well almost everything can be unisex these days, hummm - Maybe I should have said Oh yes and it's for *ME* !

 

I have started at least 4 stitching projects in the past 9 days.  I feel like I was let out of jail when I was released from my camp loopy knitting obligation the end of August.  I have started the Little House Needlework SAL on FB with Vonna's group.  I ordered Acorn Hill an older pattern and got some beautiful vintage Lentil linen to stitch with Belle Soie silks.  yummy!  I started a cute Halloween ornament Pina Ghoulada from the JCS mag and ordered the supplies for 2 more in that same issue.  I found more I liked in there than in the Halloween JCS.  I started the BBD Away we Ride - another Halloween-ish design.  A new SB piece that just came out.  I have been on a buying frenzy and it has GOT to stop !

 

Have any of you been under the influence of "fall feelings" lately?  Have you been finishing up fall things or starting new ones?  I'd love to hear what you've been up to.  Thanks for visiting and commenting on my blog,  it's always great to hear from you !

SUDDENLY SEPTEMBER !

Tried my best to make this post yesterday while it was still August.  I was actually ready to bid farewell to August.  I had some fun in August with a vacation to the Smoky mountains in Tenn. and my mom's birthday to celebrate and a partial rug hooking workshop.  I'll highlight some of the fun in photos for you.

This is Peace and Plenty - A Not Forgotten Farm design.  I had started it years ago and lost some of the wool when we moved.  I also found out the bird was a distelfink not a turkey and my whole color plan fell apart.  It was rolled up and put in the wool cupboard for years.  I really got a nice boost from Carrie Martin at a recent rug workshop.  I rehooked all the tail feathers, started the bird body and hooked the sunflower which I like very much.  The squirrel, urn and Plenty was hooked in a prior workshop.  I will now be able to happily continue on with it.  I got a lot done in 1 day, I was leaving to go on vacation so I missed 2/3 of the workshop.

This is my Old Glory finish - It was a SAL on FB with the LHN group.  It was the patriotic SAL which bled over into the summer SAL.  Just no time for stitching this summer because all my spare time was taken up with Camp Loopy knitting challenges.

Here is my beautiful perch on the balcony at the condo in Tenn.  This is where I put the last stitches in Old Glory.

Gorgeous view of the Smoky mountain range  - Wish I was there now.  We actually didn't sit on the balcony much.  It rained a lot but at least it was a break from the oppressive heat and humidity we've had in NE FL this year.

Here is my dear ones at the Apple Barn.  See the beautiful apple tree and barn in the background.  Always have to pay a visit to this place and pick up some jellies, jams and apple BBQ sauce. oh and fried apple hand pies. 

This wool pincushion was a "taste of " wool applique project in our duClay EGA chapter .

It was led by my DF Katie and each pin cushion was completely different.  Almost all 16 people left that day with a completed pincushion.  DF Becky made the beautiful beaded pins for each chapter member to adorn their pincushion.  We have some great gals in our group, so giving and so willing to share.

I have a love/hate relationship with this project.  This is an early photo of my Camp Loopy project for August.  This is the beauty that killed me and kept me from finishing my 3rd Camp Loopy in  a row.  My other friends all finished theirs and August just didn't go my way.  This was a beautiful well written pattern by Laura Aylor called Woods in Winter.  You might not can see too well but the whole border has a row of staggered leaves.  It is a 37 row repeat and every single row is different.  I had to use highlighter tape and still mark every row.  I did not mess up but it became apparent after vacation I was in danger of not finishing but I kept pressing myself to stay on task.  some nights a row or two was all I could muster and this past week, there were several nights no progress was made at all.  The outcome was eminent - I was not going to finish this year.  I was very disappointed but I have decided what is past is past and I'm ready for some fun fall stitching and hooking.  I'm going to give this project a rest for a while and pick up my Sailing KAL - I'll show a photo next time of the gorgeous bright blue yarn I purchased from the designer down under.

Here's my dearest buddy after having lunch one day on vacation.

He wanted to stop by a stream on the way home but it was too slippery and too steep for him to get down in the water.

 

I hope to come back more often, I see more and more people not posting to their blogs any more. I enjoy mine and I enjoy yours too.  Thanks as always for visiting and commenting.  Hope you have a simply marvelous September !

SAILING THRU SUMMER

Again - I am struggling to make a post on the last day of the month.  July is gone and I can't say I'm sorry to see it go.  My MIL passed away several weeks ago and my DH has been taking the loss pretty hard.  To make matters worse - on the day of her funeral - my 50 year old co-worker had a heart attack.  Thankfully he was able to get treatment and surgery and is recovering well and came back to work this week.  In the interim - I have been trying to keep his work afloat as well as my own.  It has not been the easiest time I've ever had but so much to be thankful for and I am thankful !

On to what little bit of fun I've had in July.  Most of my needlework endeavors have centered around getting my project for Camp Loopy 2 completed.  I did complete with a week to spare. 

This is Nangou - I used 4 different colors of Shibui Staccato fingering weight yarn.  I have used this yarn before and I enjoyed both the pattern and the yarn.  The challenge this month was a minimum of 600 yards and mine should be a little over 600 yards.


 my next challenge for Camp Loopy 3 is this Mrs Crosby Hat Box - lovely Sport weight yarn.  I am doing a design called the Woods in Winter by Laura Aylor - the challenge for August is the hardest - for me anyway - it is a minimum of 800 yards in your project.  Every year I have trouble meeting this challenge but having pretty yarn helps.  I hope this pattern wont be too difficult - I usually go with a very easy pattern for the last challenge.

There's been a little needlepoint here and there but certainly not much time for that.  Here is a my first club piece in the series called Fanciful forest by Pippin Studios.  It is an exclusive for the Needlepointer shop out in Washington state.   I fell in love with the simplicity of Pippin designs after I saw several of them on shop blogs after the big winter needlepoint market.  As usual I am very behind and I have 4 trees stacked up but this first one is enjoyable and easy to pick up and put down and right now - it is all the brain power I can devote to np.

This is a combo shot.  It is a photo of my LHN Old Glory piece.  It was a LHN FB SAL with Vonna's group but I missed the deadline of 7/4 for completing.  So .....   There is still Labor Day and if I don't get too itchy for fall stuff before then - I will keep trying to finish this piece.  Problem is  - I don't allow myself much stitching time at all when I am supposed to be dedicating all my free time to Camp Loopy projects.

Oh and that beautiful blue yarn just winged it's way to my mailbox last night from the land down under.  Atelier in Australia is the hand dyer of this lovely yarn.  MORE BLUE - what is the world coming to.  I am working on another of Meg's designs called Big Blue and it is lovely blue yarn too.  This beautiful yarn is for a KAL that just started in July on another of Meg's designs I fell in love with called Sailing. Hence the blog title - and the name of my new project "Come Sail Away" one of my favorite STYX songs.  Meg also dyes yarn and this is White Gum DK - I discovered/remembered when I got this yarn and saw the needle size recommended that apparently in some countries - DK = our worsted or maybe a light worsted if there is such a thing.  Anyway - I couldn't wait to cast on and give it a try and start the Sailing KAL.  It is lovely yarn and an interesting pattern which I am enjoying so far.

 

Not much to report in the rug hooking world - I am still working a little on my bunny runner and my patriotic Uncle Sam hat canvas.  I am looking forward to a rug hooking workshop in 2 weeks with Carrie Martin - A national teacher from Louisiana.  I will be revisiting a Not Forgotten Farm pattern called Peace and Plenty.  I need to rework the distelfink on the pattern and this is a good time to do that. 

 

Hope you are all "sailing thru summer" in grand style.  Doing whatever makes you happy whether it's vacationing in your favorite spot, staycationing at home, I hope you have time to pick up a needle or two and make some happiness in your hands.

LAST HOURS OF JUNE

Once again - I'm shocked that so much time has elapsed between blog posts.  I didn't want to let June go by without documenting a few things on my needlework journey.  Of course there is more stitching that was done.  My poor LHN Old Glory which was a FB SAL with the Little House Needlework group almost bit the dust.  I discovered a pretty serious error that required pulling out the whole bottom half of the piece.  So I just put on my big girl panties and ripped it all out and I'm back on track now.  Maybe I'll pop in with a patriotic post this weekend and show you my progress.

We had our annual trip to St Augustine Beach.  I had an "almost Vonna" encounter.  We were SOOO close to each other.  She even told me where they were having lunch in St Augustine but we were at the beach and they were in town.  Oh well - maybe one day we'll meet down in my neck of the woods.

Here is a cloudy after rain photo of our view of the pool and beach.

Here is my perch on the balcony where I tried to do some stitching and knitting.  It was WAY too hot.  Even for this Florida girl - The np piece is by Ruth Schmuff - a class I took at the Black Sheep.  So cute and such a fun summer piece.

Here is the first Camp Loopy finish.  It is Melodia - a shawl - it needs to be blocked so the eyelets open up and the edging might behave better too.  I had to get a photo done and put up on The Loopy Ewe.  I've been doing a lot of work travel so I was happy to finish this a week ahead of the deadline which is today.  I've done Camp Loopy for several years now with a group of friends called the Bee Eyes.  So far we are all on track - YEAH!!!!!!!!! 

This luscious selection is for Camp Loopy 2 which starts TOMORROW or maybe at midnight should I still be up.  It is usually so exciting I need to get a few stitches on the needle at midnight.

Last but not least is my patriotic rug by Polly Minick of Minick & Simpson fame.  This is from one of Polly's books, sorry I can't remember which and I just call it the Uncle Sam hat.  It is a good rug to work on at guild meetings because there is SO much mindless background to be done.  I don't mind backgrounds - they are necessary and they can certainly make or break you rug in my opinion.  So careful attention to the background is something I have learned from several teachers one of which is Polly.  I love Polly's style.

 

Well friends - I hope summer is treating you well and I hope all of you in the US are looking forward to a great 4th of July celebration.  Hope you find some time with your needle and hook.

LET FREEDOM  RING !!!!!!!!