Stitching Post

Happy Groundhog Day. Bring on spring!!! I am more than ready now. 

Here is the stitching for last month.

 My first share is one I stitched for the most part in 2020. I put it aside but pulled it out in January and put the final stitches in and fully finished it very simply. The Irish blessing has always been a favorite although it is only a partial piece of the blessing. 

Here is the link for the freebie pattern.

I also did another St. Patrick's Day stitch. This one was found on Etsy. I had every intention of finishing it in the egg shape, until I went into work on it and out came a circle pillow with a ruffle. I loved the finish on the pattern, but I love my little round pillow too.

As you can see the little egg finish is adorable. I changed a ton of the colors on this. The actual color called for on the shamrocks was not a bright green but more of a gold. I stitched one and then said no to that...

For Christmas, I found a basket that I thought might work for some small stitches. I sent the link to Jeff for my Christmas present. I am on the fence on whether I love it or not. I love the basket and could certainly find many uses for it, but we will see if I like it for small stitches. I currently have it in the sewing room because I am in a simple mood sparked by after Christmas clean. I actually think I will leave it in there. That is my room and full of all things Sandy, so I think it will be fun for me. 

I did realize I don't have enough stitches for every season but that is ok. Gives me some room to stitch. Currently it is filled with a couple of Valentine's and the St. Patrick's Day Lucky Duck above. I need to play around with it a bit more.

I have been stitching on my two large projects in January. One of them has gone to time out though. I had planned to do a page a month of the larger projects, but Let Freedom Ring is going to be in timeout until March. 

You would think those little green vine things would not be so hard, but they are just crazy. They cross over pages and are just enough different that I have had to rip out multiple times. I finally taped the pages together but decided I needed a break before going back to it. I have to redo parts of both and just can't deal with it.

Next up is my progress on the heron. I am actually much further along than this, but this was my last picture, so I will share some more progress later.

I am planning to take my flowers that I finished last year to be framed this month.

I also stitched a Prairie Schooler Santa in January, I haven't fully finished it yet because I want to do one more similar and then decide on a finish for them. I have an idea in mind.

This one was supposed to hold a basket of apples, but since I have a lemon tree in my front yard and they are usually harvested around Christmas, Santa got a basket of lemons. I want to do the yellow gold one next and then formulate my plan for them.

For someone who did NOT stitch everyday in January, it looks like I did a lot. 

That is a wrap for January stitching.

I probably have one more little post in me for this week to finish up some January goings on.

Hello

 Hello February.

January, you were way better to me than I expected.

I am back and wondered if I would do a play by play of January, but decided no on that. Instead, I  will do  an overview of the month. Those that read along for stitching will have to wait until tomorrow for a stitching post. Today will be a synopsis of day to day life in January.

I embraced a lot of simplicity in January. I unplugged enough to stay informed but maintain a sense of sanity and to achieve my goals of renewing my mind. I made a very long list at the end of December of things I would do in the house since January is usually cold. The past few years of retirement have taught me it is a great month to get household organizing and cleaning done. I found some new things to listen to while I worked. I found a wonderful podcast that was actually newsy but I did enjoy it. I know ---hard to believe right. Oh and I  listened to so many good messages too. Sometimes I just listened to quiet! In fact, a lot of the time.

I stayed busy with my household chores in the morning and took the afternoons to work on my list. I organized pictures, cleaned out closets, thought about meals to cook, read, and towards the end I had made it to the chore on the list I didn't want to do....touch up paint some baseboards. I plowed through that in the end though and felt like I had achieved a good bit. 

Of course, there is always more. I have made an outdoor list to work on when the weather is cooperative.

I feel refreshed as much as one can feel in this world today. I feel my 60. Ugh!. 60 is the age marker that I felt I had at 40. I felt 40 and I feel 60. I am learning I can't do as much as I want. I am noticing wrinkles and all sorts of age markers. That is what it is and I will learn to live with it just as I did at 40. I can tell you I have been my reflective self on the quiet days. That is who I am ---probably an overthinker. I have thought about clothes, being influenced, what I really like and what I don't.

I hope to share some of those things along the way. 

I am going to be honest --- some of this time was thinking about this blog in today's climate. I had a long talk with God, a long talk with Hubby, and a long talk with myself. I have come to the conclusion that it has provided more benefits than problems. Often I worry or  fret too much I suppose. I will continue until the Lord tells me to stop.

Now, let's document some life over here. One of my favorite things about January is the ducks coming to the bayou. They were moving all around one morning. I tried to capture them. Not the best photographer, but if you have the sound on you can hear them.

I got a new "grandma name." There is the cutest video out there about choosing a grandma name. Lindsay shared it with me when Tucker was born and I figured I was cool with Grammie. Truth be told, I like just good ole fashioned "Grandma!" My mother has that one and Lindsay decided I should be Grammie. Tucker has decided otherwise. He emphatically -as much as a 2 and 1/2 year old can decided that  I am "Mimi." 

I have accepted it as he corrects everyone who tries anything different. It fits well and so from now on you will hear me referred to as Mimi when talking about grandkids. I honestly think just about anything would work for me.

Mimi is about to have another grandson. Lindsay and Tyler are blessing us with another grandson in late July. You may remember me being a bit seemingly more panicked than maybe I should have when Lindsay had Covid, but she got a positive pregnancy test and a positive Covid result on the same day. All seems to be good so we are praying and waiting on a new boy to arrive.

A June wedding is on the docket for Paul Allen and Katie. I should say they will be wed minus a big wedding. I am really good with that. Her sister did take some sweet pictures of them right after Christmas. I think they are just precious.

Here are a few...

Lemony turned 12 in January. She is plugging along. That is very old for a large Golden Retriever.

If you can't tell, she is laying out on her back. Totally relaxed.  

Don't want to leave Gus out of the mix.

Mother has had her first vaccine dose and will be getting her second tomorrow. I hope it won't be long before they lower the age requirement. I will say - I think it has gone smoothly. It is taking a while, but usually about a week after things are announced at the state level we hear local news that things are ready to go.

I will close for now and share more in the coming days. I hope to do a stitching only post tomorrow. It may arrive later in the day.

I hate to have to regulate comments, but it helps with two items. One is I see them. They don't come to my email without and then sometimes still some have to be checked for in the design part of the blog. The other is spam. Good grief...what is up with that? It comes and goes.

I have more to share, but will try not to make such a long post. I will spread it out over time.

Mimi (Sandy)