A Look Back at Thanksgiving and the Iron Bowl

This is a late Thanksgiving post which no one wants to see because we have all moved on to Christmas. I need to mark it for myself if nothing else. Last week went by quickly for me. All good though.

Thanksgiving was spent at the farm as usual and I am only sharing a couple of photos, since most of you have seen the same old set up each year. We had the usual food, fishing, target practice with the guns, etc.

Here are my kids...

Son-in-law Tyler, daughter Lindsay, son Paul Allen, and girlfriend Katie

I loved this one of Lindsay.

I think they must have been on the four wheeler.

The only other one is our great niece Katelyn. I realized I didn't have one of the twins together...sad.

They are growing up so fast and the center of attention as they are the only young ones.

Katelyn fell in love with Gus. She had to come by the night before they went back to Houston to say goodbye to him. 

Gus loved her too. He stayed with her all day outside.

We headed for our place near Auburn Friday. It was a family affair for the Iron Bowl. The kids got our normal season tickets and a friend sold us theirs for Jeff and me.

We had the upper deck. 

This was before it got all filled up.

Of course, with the victory we had to make sure we got to Toomer's Corner. This shot was taken right after the game, so there was a lot more added to the trees.

Now onto Christmas. I put up my tree and that is it. I will be working on Christmas today and tomorrow, and then I will share some pictures with you.

In this age of blogging and social media, one might think I am behind. I remember the days when I didn't put the tree up until around the 10th. It doesn't matter if you wait or not now, the tree has already been cut forever and a day.

Paul Allen came and got the tree I used to put downstairs in the big room and his collection of ornaments. Most were given to him by grandmothers, and then some he picked out each year. He took them to his house and sent me a picture of his tree last night. I knew he couldn't have done it by himself. Turns out Katie helped him with the lights.

I think the best part of the short nights is having Christmas tree lights to brighten up the mood. 

I love all Christmas trees...fancy or simple...colored lights or clear...just all of them.

If you have stuck with me this long, I love this picture of our family taken many moons ago at Auburn.

Where did the time go? I wish this photo was clearer. It was just a Polaroid. I just love that little glimpse of our family and that little navy purse was a Liz Claiborne and seriously was one of my all time favorites. The Auburn bag was the kids' stuff bag.. I do love my purses. You can read about that here and here.

Almost done...

If you have not created your own emoji. You do not know what you are missing😀 There is an app called Bitmoji. Lindsay and I created ourselves. It comes with all kinds of pictures of your emoji with sayings. I love it.

I need to get busy so that I can find time to stitch at night. I am having withdrawals. I hope my next post will have some stitching progress and Christmas photos.

Sandy

Happy Thanksgiving

I am popping in to say Happy Thanksgiving to all. I am headed to the farmhouse soon.

Last year's picture of the farmhouse.

I am about to be busy prepping and cooking for tomorrow. I am expecting a crowd of 16. I love Thanksgiving! The more the merrier.

It may be one of favorite days of the year. Family, good Southern food to indulge in once a year, and a focus on being thankful for all my blessings.

I love all my blogging friends. I have enjoyed getting to know so many of you from all over through this blog. I look forward to more times together.

I will probably be away from the blog for a week since we are headed to the Iron Bowl this weekend and I will come back to getting the Christmas tree up. I am excited about that. I think the Christmas tree is the best thing about winter. The glow of lights make the early evenings a bit better.

Everyone have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Love,
Sandy

A Christmas Cardinal Finish

I finished my Christmas cardinal stitch today.

I didn't go the route I had planned in my head. I am sharing the finished product tonight and my thoughts on why I ended up where I did with it.

This is the front.

It is about 9 inches in diameter.

Sorry for the poor photos. I just finished it a little while ago, and it is dark in the sewing room with a glaring light right above it. I will take better photos when I actually display it. 

*You may notice the hanging piece at the top. I had originally planned to mount it on something. More about that in a minute.

I didn't want to frame it because of the beading. The beading is amazing and in my opinion makes it a really special piece. There are red beads for the berries and white beads on the snowflakes. Again, my photos don't do it any justice.

Hubby voted for framing. I was so determined to do something different. I really do like this frame. It  does not have glass and if I am being totally honest this frame is more my real and true style.

So back to what I came up with. I first mounted it on sticky board. This is how I do this. I put the stitch on the sticky side and then use miniature clothes pins to hold it down until it dries. I have had the clothes pins forever, and they are perfect for this task.

It turns out those pieces sticking up (puckers) were perfect for later when I was putting the ruffle on.

For the ruffle, I folded a piece in half and pressed, then gathered on the machine.

I used straight pins to stick it in place to work with the ruffle. Those pins went neatly in the puckers. I was then able to adjust it.

Now, back to some of my struggles. I purchased two fabrics; one a brighter red gingham which is the shade of red I really like and the second a homespun more muted red gingham. 

The muted one didn't photograph well at all, because trust me it was the better choice.

I made the first ruffle out of the bright red and just had it pinned on. I wasn't satisfied. Hubby walked in and said it was the wrong color. It was cute, but it was just the wrong hue and it worked against the stitching. The brighter gingham actually took away from the birds, especially the female.

I made the new ruffle, and then I was just stumped. I liked the ruffle. I just didn't know where to go from there. I walked away from it and thought about it all week. I have had a busy week hence, no posts.

Y'all nothing seemed right. I have pondered it all week. I love the stitch, but what was I going to do with it and where was I going to display it. I have run through a million ideas.

This is where I went back to the framing thinking I should have gone with that. I think the problem is that I am inspired by what we used to call country, now it is farmhouse, but I don't have that kind of house. I really love that look and had it many years ago. I think this piece plastered on a piece of wood would look great at the farmhouse, but that isn't where I want it. I want it here in a home which is a bit less country and more traditional, and I am happy with that style in the present time.

As you can see, I am an analyzer. Probably, I over analyze. 

With all that said, I ended up just backing it with a hanger. I am not sure where it will end up hanging ---I am thinking in my kitchen. We will see after Thanksgiving when I get my Christmas decorating started.

I actually took all my Thanksgiving down today, since I am having Thanksgiving at the farmhouse. I thought I could use a breather for a few days before I put up Christmas.

Here is the front and back...

I will hopefully not be away all week this next one. Mom had a dental procedure this week. She is quite a trooper, but hasn't felt all that well. I have spent some time with her. Hopefully, by the beginning of this week she will be back to herself. She has dressing to make and I am watching again this year. I need to learn. Hers is the best ever. 

Speaking of Mother, she made me a Christmas afghan. I can't wait to add it in somewhere this year.

That is all for me tonight. 

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting. Psalms 118:1

A Fun Weekend

Our family of Auburn fans had a great weekend. Jeff and I headed up early Friday to Auburn. Paul Allen stayed home with the dogs. Lindsay and Tyler came up late Friday evening.

This weekend was one of our biggest games of the year. Auburn vs Georgia. Auburn is close to the Georgia state line so there are so many Auburn grads from Georgia as well as families that have both Auburn and Georgia grads. It has always been one of my two favorite games. In a way it is my favorite rivalry because for me the Alabama game is just a little too intense and the Georgia games seems a bit more just like a rival game should be. For those outside the Deep South, you probably think we are nuts about our football here in the South. I would say yes, we are.

Jeff and I met our good friends who we have been friends with forever. They now live in north Alabama but have a place in Auburn, so we were able to visit with them Friday. We went to an equestrian match and then out to eat and then just visited. We got out to our cabin just before Lindsay and Tyler got there.

Tyler feels about the Georgia game the way I do about the Alabama game. When you have family members to rub it in 364 days of the year which happens you feel the intensity a bit more. Tyler's mom and all her sisters plus his twin brother all went to Georgia. However, his dad is a Georgia Tech grad and Tyler grew up a Tech fan. It wasn't until his senior year that he chose to come to Auburn. I am so glad he did, because he is a perfect match for Lindsay. His dad was pulling hard for Auburn on Saturday evening:)

Auburn came out on top this time and it was an exciting game.

Jeff and Tyler played golf Sunday morning early before we all headed home.

Paul Allen kept us posted on the dogs and Katie helped out some.

I will share a stitching finish this week sometime, but here are some photos of the weekend.

At the cabin before we left to go into town for the game.

A closeup.

Celebrating at Toomer's Corner.

BACK HOME...

Hallie (Lindsay's dog), Gus, and Lemony all enjoying eggs. They get far too much to eat when he is here.

Lemony never gets in that chair. Apparently she was done with Gus and seeking help from Katie.

This morning--- a picture of Jeff and Gus. I forgot to get Gus's 5 month old photo last week, so this will have to be it.

See y'all later in the week with a little cross stitch update.

Sandy

Cardinals Christmas Stitch Completed

I have to share my finish today. I am so excited with it. I finished the Silent Night Cardinals by Stoney Creek Collection this morning. I was so close last night, but just had to stop.

This morning I put on the last of the beads.

I started this last year before Christmas and didn't finish. In fact, I was sure I had made a mistake and got a little frustrated. I just had to put it away. For some reason, I delayed getting it back out all year even when I was doing Christmas stitching in July. I think I may have made a small mistake in the male cardinal, but I was able to pull it all together.

I stitched it on 28 count smokey pearl Cashel linen with all DMC colors but one. In fact, it was charted with DMC colors and didn't have the specialty colors attached to it except one. The branches had The Gentle Arts Walnut for them.

The snowflakes and star have a special stitch mixed with DMC.  I was apprehensive about using it since I hate metallic threads, but this one was great. It is called Glissengloss rainbow blending thread. I go it from 123 Stitch. It was much easier to work with than metallic DMC.

The other thing I loved was the beading. I thought that might be hard to do, but it was quite easy other than the beads roll around...now, it is time to clean up all the ones that fell on the floor. They were also purchased from 123 Stitch. They are glass seed beads.

Of course it is not perfect. I really goofed that star, but overall I am in love with it. I don't plan to frame it because of the beads. I am going to have to plan the finish now.

I had all done except the snowflakes and star on Friday evening. I knew I would not be able to find the special blending thread or beads here in town, so I put in an order to 123 Stitch around 5:00. The order arrived Monday in the mail. That is on par with Amazon. I love that place. I love to buy local when I can, but there is no local here, so 123 Stitch for the win!!!

Bring on Thanksgiving and then Christmas. I am most grateful that I pulled my cross stitching back out after so many years. I have fallen in love with it all over.

I love cardinals. I have a pair that hangs out near my sewing room window. I love watching them.

Stay tuned for the finish.

Sandy

A Little Stitching and More

I am struggling with believing it is already November and that Thanksgiving is right around the corner. I am quite sure the person who decided to make the illustration of a  clock with wings way back when was over 50. I know it is traveling much faster these days.


I am starting to plan my Thanksgiving. I added a few things to my shopping list this week to take to the farmhouse this weekend. I have to be very organized to pull off a meal like that away from home.

It is also time to Christmas shop too. When my kids were younger they were much easier to shop for. Now, they just want big ticket items and Hubby is still a person who wants them to open lots of things. I am trying to get my mind wrapped around that as well.

I worked real hard this week on my schedule. I am working on using those small chunks of time. I put together a list of cleaning tasks that I can tackle when I have small amounts of time between seeing about others in my family. It has worked this week...now, can I get it going on a long term basis.

Mama is still puny. Better, but puny. I took her to Target yesterday but had to get her home right away. She was spent. She didn't eat much last night either. She can't afford to not eat.

I have stitched a bit this week. I pulled out my Christmas cardinals this week. I couldn't finish it for last Christmas and had just put it back. I was worried I wouldn't be motivated to finish it, but I actually tackled a good bit of this week.

I still have a ways to go. Border and lots of beading.

I am still working on the dogs for my son. I got the duck started this week.

I loved this picture of Lemony and Gus that I was able to capture on the driveway. I had been doing laundry and had the door open. I wanted to get closer, but I was afraid Gus would move.

Doing just what my big sister does. ---Gus

Have a great weekend,

Sandy