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Tuesday, December 17, 2019

The sum total...

...of my sewing since my last post at the end of November is shown below.
This is Small Quilt #6 in the Circa 1880 club. You can see from the pattern picture on the left that I have toyed with the value placement again. I thought having a dark background on the stars made the little uneven 9-patch blocks stand  out more. I am also thinking about using a cheddar for the inner border and maybe a red print outer border, with a green binding. We will see how that all plays out as it progresses.

Had another opportunity to get over the mountain again with my friend yesterday. We enjoyed a visit to Village Dry Goods, where (among other things) I snatched up this cute little "Postcard Project" by Jen Kingwell. I look forward to having time one day to actually try it.

For all you cross-stitch lovers out there, after our visit to Village Dry Goods, we proceeded south a few more minutes and arrived at Shepherd's Bush. This is a cross-stitcher's heaven! Every nook and cranny is filled with things to delight!






 
Teri cheerfully waited on us, and gave me permission to take photos and share them with you. You could lose yourself for hours in here!
I used to do a LOT of cross-stitch in my younger days and I have to say that I was sorely tempted to buy a little kit or two, but I talked myself out of it. Who am I kidding? I am not getting anything done on projects as it is--why add to the pile? But there were some really cute ones that I carried around for a while before coming down off of the ledge. :)
If you are looking for anything cross-stitch related you can go to their website and give their number a call. They do not take orders online, but are happy to do so over the phone. (No affiliation, just sharing info on a fantastic resource.)

You may be wondering about my drawing. I did finally draw a name for my birthday giveaway about a week ago. The winner was notified, the package was sent, and has already been received. Grace at citymousequilter blog was the winner of the drawing. I also drew a couple of other names to receive a bag of my herbal soap. Debbie at stitchintherapy blog and Gale (no blog--but soon moving to my neck of the woods, sort of) were selected. Congrats, ladies! I hope you enjoy your squishies in the mail.

It is a very busy time of year, and I hope in the bustle of it all you can find time to relax and enjoy the sights, scents, and sounds of the season. And if your celebration is about the birth of Christ, maybe you can make time to view this beautifully made 18 minute video of that blessed event. I especially love the reaction of one of the wisemen near the end.


If all goes well, my little quilt at the beginning of this post will  be completed in time to link up with Wendy at the end of the month for her monthly mini post. And maybe then I will share more of what the holidays look like around my place this year. For now, I am off to spend my day with my Mom.

Until next time,
Janet O.

24 comments:

  1. janet....your retail jaunts are sooo tempting! i love the jen kingwell...and the cross-stitch place...oh my! thankfully i have no such shop near me...LOL!

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  2. Nice to get away with a Quilty friend to shop. I have been to Shepherd's Bush in Ogden, right? I bought a Book there. Fun mini! Good luck playing in the days after Christmas.

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  3. Wow, I would say that is quite an accomplishment in such a busy month. Of all the little mini quilts in the Circa 1880 project, I like December best. I hope to get one done - maybe next December! Thanks for the inspiration!

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  4. Your mini looks great. I like the darker backgrounds for the stars. I've tried to find Shepherd Bush before but was unsuccessful. It would be so tempting to start a cross stitch project. I loved cross stitch when I was doing it regularly years ago. But, I've got so many quilting projects ahead of me so I can make a dent in my stash. (Which I added to just last week)

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  5. Always love your mini's Janet. Gosh that cross stitch shop looked SOooo divine. I would've been rather tempted in there too I think. Congratulations to the winners of your giveaway & for those ladies that received your herbal soaps I can certainly say that it is the most gorgeous soap EVER! Hope you have a lovely festive season too Janet & all the best for the coming year ahead. May we find lots of creative time xxx

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  6. Lots of lovely Cross-stitch to marvel and sigh over. Congrats to the winners and to you, too, for squeezing in some time to stitch ans make soap. I am praying for you and your precious mother right now; particularly at Christmastime. Sending hugs to you~

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  7. Thanks so much for sharing the link about Jesus' birth; it touched my heart with the emotions that Mary and Joseph showed. Though I'm of a different faith, I must say it was a beautiful video, well worth the 18 minutes to watch. Wish I could say I've accomplished just half as much quilting as you have this month, but I can't! ---"Love"

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  8. I really admire stitchery too and am quite proud of your resistance to their call. I have some unfinished and unstarted ones at home. Your star quilt looks lovely. I look forward to seeing it done as your monthly mini project.

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  9. What a delightful jaunt you were on. I'd have been tempted with a stichery kit or two as well. This is a hard time of the year to keep up on anything. You've got a good start on your stars. Enjoy the moment.

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  10. Very lovely little project in progress. So many things conspire to eat up our precious quilting time in December. Still hoping to be able to give my son his little Japanese inspired quilt on Christmas day, still needs lots more hand quilting and binding. Christmas blessings to you and your family!

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  11. I tried cross stitching a few years ago and my eyes are not as they used to be!
    Love your little quilt and think a dash of cheddar will look great!

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  12. What amazing Cross stitch! I always love your scenic header photo's. Happy Cherry Christmas hugs flying over from me in New Zealand to YOU!! xxxx

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  13. Oh my! I would LOVE to go to Shepherd's Bush! They always have such a nice selection of stuff!

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  14. Thanks again....so enjoying the scents! Enjoy your time with Mom.

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  15. I am a cross stitch pattern “collector” lol. I keep telling myself I’m going to start one of those projects soon. I haven’t done cross stitch in years either! Love your little quilt!

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  16. Congrats to the winners. The cross stitch looks so fun--did a lot in my younger years but now it's always quilting, second is knitting. I guess cross stitch might be third. I don't know. I never get there. LOL Love the tiny blocks!

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  17. What a sweet shop; I'd have been happy to just gaze for hours at her sample pieces!!! I love the center cheddar star in your mini. It sounds like what you're planning for the borders will accentuate it very nicely! The video story of the birth of Christ was wonderful; very well done and touching! I am doing an Advent Bible study, and one day it was talking about the thoughts of Mary and Joseph as they made the trek to Bethlehem. How terribly hard it would have been on Mary. And how well they would have known the story of Rachel making that same trek hundreds of years before, and how she'd died giving birth to Benjamin. It just makes me more in awe and wonder at her faith and want that for my own life! I hope you got to enjoy some sweet, lovely time with your mom! Hugs!! :)

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  18. Some times, some seasons just don't allow us much time to be involved in creative endeavors. With all you've got on your plate I'm impressed that you've accomplished so much! I love how you gave the stars a dark background. It changes the whole feel of the quilt.
    I loved the wise man's reaction in the film, too. It was so touching. What a tender version of the Nativity. It's been fun reading how the creators of the film came to some of the decisions they did.

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  19. I love what you are doing with the 1880 little quilt. It's perfect. And stars done, whether with a dark background or light, are always going to be a huge hit!
    Hope you are enjoying the holiday season and that your mom is doing better every day!
    Looks like a fun shopping day!!
    xxxx

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  20. you latest mini is wonderful with those little stars on the black background.
    That cross stitching shop looks amazing! I have done the same thing, get enticed, walk around planning to get it then have that moment of "no". Unfortunately I didn't say no recently and I have kit upstairs just waiting to made and no time.
    I'm of to watch the video
    Congrats to all the lucky winners!

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  21. Oh, man, I am sooooo jealous as Shepard's Bush is one of my very favorite shops on the planet!! Thanks so much for all the wonderful pictures!! That template looks like fun!! Is it really for making post cards that you can send through the mail? Did that years ago and it is a lot of fun to get a quilted post card!! I just came in from the mail box and there is a fun squishy in there for me from you!! I'm going to go open it now!! Love you lots and may you have a wonderful Christmas with your family!!

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  22. Visiting Shepherd's Bush is on my bucket list--it is a needleworkers slice of heaven. From your photos I could be in there for hours! Am hoping to get lots of stitching done during the holidays.

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  23. Love the little Jen Kingwell project. Ahhh cross stitch - I have never done one, but am sorely tempted sometimes. And the video - I do love this depiction of the Nativity, thanks for sharing! Merry Christmas!

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  24. You write such interesting posts and thanks for the photos too. Shepherd's Bush is one of my favourites for cross stitch; I am envious you got to visit there but maybe it would broken the bank for me! Jen Kingwell does such interesting designing...always something to tempt us. Hope 2020 will be a marvellous year for you and yours!

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