Autumn Love Cross Stitch-a-long!

      A few posts ago, I mentioned I had just finished up my last 20 year old cross stitch UFO. So, yes, there are many more kits in my wheelhouse from that era that haven't been opened yet. After seeing all the lovely "new" things on Instagram and Flosstube, I decided to stitch something which is more reflective of my current tastes, instead of where I was twenty years ago!

     Know me, and know I am a Lori Holt fan-- I picked the new "Autumn Love" piece from Fat Quarter Shop. Yes, I did just finish the epic Sandy Orton Autumn Sampler and I don't need another large wall piece-- but I love fall, it looks like a fairly simple (though large) stitch, and I have it in my mind to simplify things by making a smaller bench pillow with part of the pattern. Then, if I am thrilled with it, I may go on to make a couple more pillows, and a larger fabric one with the Autumn Love quilt pattern-- a nice grouping for my fall couch! All Lori's patterns are free on her Bee in My Bonnet blog, and the pieced block for the Autumn Love quilt doesn't require any additional purchase.

    I also love the cute accessories that Fat Quarter Shop has available with this project-- I have a cute project bag, and the floss keeper is so practical to keep yourself organized, and sew fun to look at! Once I finish with these colors, I'm sure I will use these things again for other projects. I then went back after the fact to buy the cute needle minder! I've had my eye on needle minders for a long time-- I don't have one-- and I am someone skeptical it will help me mind my needles, but I just couldn't resist.

     Kimberly Jolly and Lori Holt are doing a stitch-a-long on this from October 1st to November 15th, so that should be fun to watch their progress as well. The Fat Quarter shop stitch-a-longs are usually well represented with fellow stitchers, so it will be fun to have a little community on Instagram to cheer along-- the hash tags are #AutumnLoveCrossStitch and #fqsxstitch.

     I got off my habit of hand stitching for an hour each morning over the course of my recent move-- boy, did it kill my desire to get up in the morning! Now that I have this to look forward to first thing, I am jumping out of bed early. (Sort of.)

     I am using the called for DMC floss, but I switched the recommended cloth to a darker Oatmeal color-- it is Lori's 14ct Aida. The called for background looked too light for me, because I love rich colors for autumn. I'm using the side that looks kind of mottled-- like it is aged-- the other side is solid, so you have a choice. I'm also doing three threads-- most of these newer pieces use two threads on Aida, but I've always loved the full coverage, bead like quality that three strands gives. I laid the floss colors over the cloth just to make sure they would all show up on the darker cloth and they look great!

     The piece is going fairly quickly--  I'm giving myself a head start, and hope to finish my mini bench pillow by Thanksgiving. What attracted me to this pattern is that the quilt block shapes and the borders are patterns that once you have started them, they are really easy to just stitch without constantly referring to a pattern. Also-- no backstitch!

     My favorite part of the design is the lower center block with the crows and vase, so I'm stitching that. When I'm done, I'll probably add a scrappy border of squares all around to make a little bigger. I was also thinking, if you wanted more of a year round pillow, you could easily change the crow to a bluebird and change the flower from sunflower colors to match your own decor. 

    Depending on my whim at the moment,  I might then work on a couple more square pillows like this-- some of those other little blocks are sew cute! 

    Then this is design I would make in fabric for a larger pillow. I just love that this idea is more useful to me than a wall piece, and should take less time for me to complete. I'm sure Lori and Kimberley will love that I made this design my own!

     If you would like to stitch-a-long and have never ordered from the Fat Quarter Shop before-- here is a link for a coupon of $10 off a purchase of $50 or more. 

https://refer.fatquartershop.com/gp6scnt8

I will also get a $10 coupon, but if you enjoy the blog, it's a nice way for you to support San Francisco Stitch Co. as I begin to rev up the company for the fall-- and I SEW appreciate it. I'm hoping to have a free fall stitch along to get us all machine embroidering again...
IT'S TIME!

xox

Carol

     

And that is that!

   We said our final goodbyes to 95... the Welcome Mat is now out for someone else! It's the end of a fifteen year happy chapter of my life, and it's going to take a bit of time to unpack all the boxes and also the emotions of the whole move.

     We entered the "Beverly Hillbillies" phase of the move a week ago--- there's the roof of the Madeleine dollhouse, my little pink stool to reach high stuff on shelves, the toaster, my grandma's beehive string holder-- all things I could not bear to part with, and which now don't fit into my downsized home. Well, the toaster will have to fit! 

       I was able to quickly set up shop in our new home... it's not too fancy, but spirits and hopes are high for the new "quiltopia" studio to be constructed over the garage. There is a little peek of my meadow-- I have a meadow now, full of wild flowers! Hopefully, my Girl Boss persona will return and this can be a sewing blog again, instead of a moving blog.

     Before I left, I managed to sneak up to my favorite Michael's store framing people and FFO'd this beauty! You may have seen this on Facebook or Instagram before I went and I really appreciate your comments on which frame you liked best. I went with the rich colors of fall-- the frame is slightly distressed, as I didn't want it to be too fancy for our little log guest cabin-- come on up!

     I am beyond tempted to start the "Summer Sampler" version-- all four seasons were designed by Sandy Orton in the 1990s and are still sold by Kooler Design Studio. We are now in MAINE-- I can certainly rationalize the summer sampler getting me through whatever winter we have to face! Here are all four of them-- hopefully I won't be able to find which box they are in for a few months, as the commitment of time is immense, to say the least!

     I am jumping in on Fat Quarter Shop's #autumnlovecrossstitch-- resistance broke down between loading heavy boxes into my car! This is another huge fall piece by Lori Holt-- it matches exactly a quilt she designed a couple of years ago. I already have my big Autumn piece, so I think I am going to just make little pillows out of a few of my favorite blocks, like I have seen done with some of Lori's stitch card designs. My friend Lainey advised me-- just do a little unpacking, then ALOT of sewing each day-- sounds like great advice! Be sure to check out the stitch-a-long on the Fat Quarter Shop website-- there is a matching project bag, the thread holder below, and a needle minder I still have in my cart, waiting. It just makes the whole journey so organized and happy.

     The October Birth Month Mug Rug came off without a hitch-- only two more to go! Yes, it's time to reawaken San Francisco Stitch-- summer was a good time to let things slide during the move, but I've been thinking of starting a free fall stitch-a-long to rev it up. It has to be super easy, though-- maybe I take the old Autumn Twist designs and convert them to cross stitch? Let me know if you have any fun and EASY thing to machine embroider this fall by commenting below!

Ready for wherever this new path leads... sort of!

xox

Carol

The Last Thing Standing...

      The move is moving forward... doers are getting more done as I am constantly reminded by those Home Depot boxes. We've now reached a tipping point where more stuff is at our destination than it is here. My packing method resembled my quilting method-- no surprise there-- I dibble dabbled here and there, in one room, then the next, never finishing any one thing. I would just wander through each room, skimming off "things we don't need."

     Finally, the "everything must go" realization has taken root, and absolutely everything is going into boxes. There are still a few things I'm holding back and I've quietly wondered, "What will be the last thing standing?" Our bed? Food? A toothbrush? No-- it is definitely going to be my embroidery machine! I kid you not-- the final move will be things I just load into my car before leaving, and the machine fits!

     Running the business, while challenging, is still happening-- I am down to the lowest common denominator in terms of supplies-- machine, thread, minimal fabric, hoops, computer, and a small table, though Mr. SFO has his sights on that! I am not opposed to working on the floor if I have to. Here's a sneak peek at the October Birth Month Mug Rug:

     The Marigolds came straight out of photos from my garden. The Marigold leaf has a beautiful shape and I can't wait to add one in. 

     I have my set of January-September still with me, but alas, the quilt blocks have fallen by the wayside. I will make this quilt over a long, lustrous, and snowy Maine winter.

     In the "things we don't need pile," I did move away ALL of my cross stitch which was a big mistake. Without even ten minutes of hand stitching in the morning, I just don't feel like getting up right now. So the last time we took a run to Maine, I snuck up to the attic where all my sewing supplies are (I didn't want Mr. SFO to see I was moving stuff BACK to Massachusetts) and pulled out this:

    

 Then, just for fun, I looked up the photo of where this was when I pulled it out of a 20 year old box, four years ago:

     So, you can see, I finished the killer border-- the reason why I put this away in the first place. But I still have to cut and pull the threads out of the big window (this is a terrifying process) and then stitch the Christmas tree which is on its own layer behind the window. Clever, huh? I loved that about this piece.

    This is about the last of my vintage cross stitch UFOs-- can you believe it-- but there were only 4 or 5 of them, from an era when I did not have the disposable income or the disposable time to collect dozens. So, I still like this piece, and beyond that, I still have a few vintage unopened kits, but I'm feeling that the next one I work on I'd like to be newer, something more reflective of where I am now. I found these two gorgeous pieces from Owl Forest Stitchery--

Blueberries (for Maine):

     ...or look at this Turtle one. My son loves turtles, and I do have a woodsy cabin by a pond so this would be PERFECT. Thankfully, no expenditure has yet been made-- I have months of unpacking ahead of me before I would even consider it. (haha)

     I swiped these two photos from the Owl Forest website which I believe is called HandworkByJulia on Etsy. Check it out!

     Have you been following my Gypsy Trails kids on YouTube? They are hiking the Appalachian Trail. They are 1800 miles in from Georgia to New Hampshire now!  So last Saturday, I thought the hike had come to an end when my daughter called, extremely upset, to say how much her feet hurt, she couldn't even walk, and that she needed to get off the trail, skip the White Mountains, and rejoin the boys up in Maine.

    I had to do a gut check-- I'm all or nothing girl-- should advise her to continue, or just let her give up on the dream? I am so proud of myself to say, I immediately told her we would come and get her, she had made a tremendous achievement, there was no reason to suffer through the next week, risk a bigger injury, etc. etc. I further noted to myself that in years hence, when I mentioned my daughter hiked the Appalachian Trail, I was not going to qualify it with "EXCEPT THE WHITE MOUNTAINS." There is truly nothing left for this wonder woman to prove! All this gut checking was needless-- I'm happy to say that they rested for the next day, and then she felt better and was able to continue on! So going from a really bad day, she then had the best day of her life and took incredible photographs like this:

Its hard to even comprehend seeing this in person-- that furthest mountain in the clouds is VERY FAR away, just to imagine the scale. I know you Rockies people might scoff at our Mount Washington which is a mere 6,288 feet, but some of the highest winds and extreme conditions on the planet occur here.

And best of all, there's a metaphor! I love a metaphor, although my daughter hates them! You could be having a terrible, terrible time in life, unable to move forward-- just get through the hours as best you can. There's a chance the next sunrise may be the best day of your entire life!

    For me, it's back to packing now. Let me just thank you for being out there and caring about my little corner here and allowing me heal myself in a tough time but writing these words.

xox

Carol

     

Just Roll With It!

      The saga of the move and my mom's health continues. I'm feeling a bit "under the bus." To continue the metaphor, the bus has now turned the corner, but I may or may not be still under it!

     I watch Lori Holt's YouTube channel, and she cross stitched a design that says, "The bee sucks honey out of the bitterest flower." It really resonated with me in the sense of trying to remain positive in harsh circumstances, but even more so when she shared that things in life weren't going great for her for awhile, and that's why she stitched it. So if all is not perfect in the hive, if the Queen Bee Lori Holt can have a winter season, so can you and I, my friend! If there is one thing I have learned-- spring will return after the snow.

"The Bitter Flower Sampler" by Birds of a Feather

     Things are definitely moving in a more positive direction-- our house is now "contingent!" Let the nostalgia begin-- let's say goodbye to the fairy forest, the "magic drawer" in the kitchen that opens on its own whim, the doorpost with my kid's heights penciled in... I have been so very blessed to call this beautiful home my own for 15 years, but have high hopes the new nest will be as blessed and happy.

    I've discovered a joy of moving, as if such a thing is possible! I found an old friend... in a box, deep, deep under the cellar stairs, covered in sawdust, and walled in with fully packed out shelving on both sides. Over the course of the move to SFO and back fifteen years ago, I lost a quilt pattern that I absolutely loved. I remembered keeping it in a folder in my desk back in New Jersey, then it just vanished between San Fran and Boston. I had made two blocks-- a mariner's star  and a 54-40 or fight. It was a star pattern, and I'd hoped to make it in red and green, like Christmas stars. Many an hour was devoted to looking for it through boxes in the cellar; my life just seemed like it would not be complete without making this quilt. After assuming it had been thrown out, I would search Ebay over the years-- "vintage star quilt pattern," " Christmas quilt," "Star quilt pattern 1990," to no avail. I finally gave up and made my two blocks into table runners. After all this time passed, I really didn't even remember what it looked like, but still, the longing was there!

    And just like that, it reappeared in a folder, exactly as I had remembered!

    So this was a bit of a shocker! I guess my tastes have moved on... I do still like the stars, but the triangle setting is just way too heavy. Not only that, it comes with page after folded, yellowed page to create templates, one a time! I guess I have outgrown my old friend, as much as it makes me sad to say that. As a side note, now that I know the name of the pattern-- it's on eBay every other day--haha!

    Out of nostalgia, I have to say I am still tempted to at least make those blocks and maybe just change the setting-- or, maybe I'll just stick it back in a folder and move it to a box under the stairs in our new home. Some day, someone should make it, that's for sure.

    I do love a star block and I've been seeing this book everywhere:

     Fat Quarter Shop is doing a stitch-a-long in 2023 and it's just so fresh and modern compared to my old, yellowed pattern. Isn't it fabulous!

    But I still have the Dessert Sampler to stitch up:

Plus a Moda Cookie Tin kit-- see, it is Christmas stars-- do you notice a similar thread throughout my life!

     I'm currently experiencing a new round of optimism that makes me feel like I can do them all... could 2023 be the year of STAR QUILTS-- heck, yeah!

     I'm not just dreaming about sewing these days-- I've also had a few moments in the lull between "Contingent" and "Sold" to do a little sewing. I did insist that the stager leave me at least a corner for mental health's sake:

     This is very much pathetic after the great SEWVANA, but I'm learning to live with less and appreciate all that I have to look forward to. I'm about ten weeks behind on "A Ribbon Runs Through It," and most of the supplies are already moved. But the shipments are still coming here, so I jumped back in on the sashings. They are particularly mindless and just what I need right now.

     That represents quite a few hours of work and only one-fourth of what is needed. I have never made a quilt with this many pieces before, but I'm quite determined to finish it. This part is why it's called A Ribbon Runs Through It!

     I have kept up with the Birth Month Mug Rugs-- part of me was sorry I committed to a subscription on this, but the other half is grateful I had something to occupy my thoughts beyond THE MOVE.

     Next year, I'd love to do a cross stitch BOM-- maybe bowl fillers? AND a regular embroidery design of the month program. I've always had it in my head to do a series called FABLE with various folktale animals and I have a picture in my mind of frogs dancing under the moon to kick start it. The new house has a gorgeous meadow that is going to be filled with inspiration-- I can't wait to explore every inch.

    Finally, my Gypsy hikers have now walked from Georgia to New Hampshire. You would think there's nothing else to prove, but still they insist on continuing all the way to upper Maine. They are close enough now for us to drive two or three hours on the weekend and pull them off trail for a shower and a decent meal. We visited Norwich, Vermont this weekend.

     When they drove away from the house in late March, I had a light spirit and was so happy for their adventure, laughing and joking as we filmed the Goodbye Scene. I was looking forward to having the house to myself for a bit, not realizing the tough months ahead.

     Now that months have gone by, and I realize how attached I am to these two dear people, I cried like a baby when we dropped them back on the trail, even though it is likely we'll see them again in just two short weeks. This spring and summer, a "winter" for me, has definitely been a time of accepting some hard truths, forgiving myself for being fragile, and learning to love whatever comes next, whatever it is.

xoxo

Carol

    

ME, The First Person that ever had to MOVE...

My friend’s neighbor has a daughter who just got engaged-- my friend commented how it’s the only thing the neighbor can now talk or think about. My friend commented, “It’s like no one ever planned a wedding before!” So here I am, in the middle of a move, GUILTY-- yes, it’s like no one ever moved before. I frequently like to warn people when my blog posts will be insufferable-- like the sign before Hades, “Abandon hope, all ye who enter here!” I know I can count on you, my quilt-y friends, to read on if I leave trail of bread crumbs, so I’ll also be sharing four quilt-y packages I just received interspersed with the rant. 

So nothing has gone well with the move. Take some advice-- spend part of your summer finishing up any projects around the house you may have started. Go through the rooms and get rid of any unwanted furniture. Clean the junk out of your cellar, your garage, your attic. Dust, for heaven’s sake! For the past eight weeks, Mr. SFO and I have been working, working, working through fifteen years of benign neglect from early morning to late night. You could say, this is what happens to a house when you have been sewing for 24/7 for the past few years. Mr. SFO and I have called this clean up effort “slave camp,” and we’re currently on about Day 81.

My jobs initially rotated between packing and painting. I’ve now moved into loading 26 ft. Penske trucks, dusting off the HVAC equipment. Scrubbing a rust stain off the cellar floor. Sanding greasy handprints off the garage walls. Learning how to use enough pillows on the beds to make the house look like a hotel. Only buying WHITE towels. Scheduling real estate agents, stagers, photographers, furnace cleaning, landscaping. Making phone calls.

While buying moving boxes at Home Depot, the checkout person quipped, “Coming or going?,” to which Mr. SFO cleverly answered-- “It’s usually both isn’t it?” I teased you that San Francisco Stitch Co. is heading WEST again-- yes, it is Western Maine-- a beautiful home on a lake, where Mr. SFO and I will retire, spend summer with our yet to be grandkids, write our memoirs, and of course, SEW. I will only leave this beautiful home and land for groceries, or quilt shows.

But the next piece of the puzzle is to sell this big ol’ family house. We’re, oh, so close to listing it. Today the photographer comes. It’s a seller’s market, and we’re really hoping to be out of here ASAP. The average market time is five days-- fingers crossed. In the meantime, does anybody out there really live like this?

In the meantime, I have been very sorry for myself. It’s like being at the gym for twelve hours a day-- I do think I am stronger after all the work! So in spite of the fact I have to pack and move whatever comes into the house, I did order a few quilty things from Fat Quarter Shop and from eBay over the last couple of weeks. Of course, they all had to arrive on the same day, right in front of Mr. SFO as we were loading the truck. I grabbed them from the mailbox, threw them into a magazine holder that was sitting on the garage floor waiting to be loaded without missing a beat. Mr. SFO said nothing and kept working along. Will he later say-- “What was in those three boxes that came yesterday?” Maybe. We’ll see what happens.

So here are Door Numbers 1, 2, and 3.

The first is the July Sew Sampler Subscription-- I had thought to cancel it right now, but so far I haven’t. This month the feature fabric is Camille Roskelley’s Nantucket Summer. Camille of Bonnie and Camille-- I had always thought their color scheme of navy blue, red, yellow and other brights was just perfect. So Bonnie retired, and this is Camille’s first solo collection. It’s pretty, but just not totally “me.” For one thing, there’s only blues and greens-- I like a collection with more range. Second, it doesn’t look like Nantucket to me at all-- I live just a bay away from Nantucket and have been there many times, so I believe I’m allowed to have an opinion on this. They are famous for hydrangeas, grayed out shingles, and a specific color called Nantucket Red that is used for shorts, baseball caps, etc. etc. Also, wicker baskets. 

(Photo snipped from Fat Quarter Shop website)

If you read the Sew Sampler Swap page, no one is really loving the pattern this month, either-- it looks to me like flying seagulls, but is called Sailaway, and is supposed to be tulips? Hello-- Nantucket is famous for the DAFFODIL FESTIVAL each spring.

I still really love getting these boxes, even though some may not be quite up my alley. You can easily just go on the Sew Sampler Swap Facebook group and just buy ones you like-- many of these July boxes are already for sale. Do be prepared to get verbally jostled amongst the huddled masses-- the opinions on these boxes are STRONG, and then you get the pushback from people who leap to defend the Fat Quarter Shop, then commenting has to be shut down!! The same thing every month. It’s a guilty pleasure and I have to admit I enjoy the spectacle each month, but never, ever do I leap into the fray and take a side! I love all my fellow quilters, feisty as we are.

Door number two. This I picked up on eBay. You should regularly search MODA QUILT KIT and QUILT BLOCK OF THE MONTH to see all the kits you wanted to buy but knew you wouldn’t make, and now you can get cheaper from someone who bought and did not make it, and you can still not make it yourself! Got that?

One year I took a break from the Sew Sampler Box and switched to Fig Trees "Little Box of Figs"-- it only came out quarterly, so I figured it would be a savings as well. So instead of spending $25 a month on Sew Sampler, I spent $75 every quarter. Hee-hee, sometimes my math is not great. 

Just like the Sew Sampler subscription, I wasn’t totally in love with everything I got for the year- in fact, I only made one of them for the year. I then switched back to Sew Sampler, but I still kind of watch the Fig Tree reveals-- some of the projects I really love-- this one was from last year. I was going to buy the pattern, but I snagged the whole “Little Box of Figs” on eBay. I hope I can make this in time for Christmas-- it looks fairly simple. I am really enjoying projecting myself forward in time, to when the move is OVER. The box also contained this little kitchen towel project I'd love to make.

On to Door #3!! About four years ago, Moda released it’s own subscription-- the Frivols kits. Each month, they featured a collection in a cute tin with a pattern and a couple of other goodies. I went on eBay a couple years later and made a hobby out of slowly collecting all 12 at a discount. To date, I’ve made five of them. The others, I’m not in love with-- this is a continuing theme with these subscription programs-- but #2 I am obsessed in love with! It’s the Minick and Simpson kit-- red, white and blue, and the pattern is glorious. I already made this, but unfortunately threw out the pattern, and I’d love to make a bigger quilt with my M&S Bella fat quarters I have. So I just couldn’t resist picking up another one when I saw it for $25. Unlike some of the other Frivols kits, you did not have to buy extra fabric to complete this top.

So those are three guilty pleasures-- a fourth, my Ribbon Runs Through It BOM came the next day. In spite of the whole house being turned upside down, I made sure I left myself this corner:

It hasn’t seen much action, but just to have the option is such a pressure release valve. I project too far into the future-- when will all those sewing supplies be unboxed in my new sewtopia? It seems like a that day will never come. Here is are my leftover supplies, hidden like a kid’s candy stash under a bed.

Feeling hopeful today I will survive this season of change. Thanks for reading... I know your heart is with me, even though you've never had to move before--ha, ha!

xox

Carol