It's finally finished! My fabric concertina book, Best and Worst of Times is done. The workshop with Mandy Pattullo through TextileArtist.org was held in July 2020. Considering the amount of stitching in the book, a year and a quarter is not that long! lol

Fabric Concertina Book

The book is the story of the last two years. It goes from being full of fear to eventually finding joy. It's also bilingual (English and French) except for the title and end pages.

The front page is written in chain stitch on one of my first hand-dyed gray fabrics ...

Everything took longer than expected yesterday, and so it was pretty much a no sewing day. I'll make up for it today by giving myself an NBS day (Nothing But Sewing.) When I say it was "pretty much" no sewing, it's because I had time in the morning to take the first stitches on the newest Heartland Barns block.

Everything took longer than expected yesterday, and so it was pretty much a no sewing day. I'll make up for it today by giving myself an NBS day (Nothing But Sewing.) When I say it was "pretty much" no sewing, it's because I had time in the morning to take the first stitches on the newest Heartland Barns block.

Good turkey morning, my friends! It might just be my favorite day of the year, mainly because I get to see my kiddos. Erik and Mae are hosting dinner this year, and so we'll be meeting them and Matthew at their place later this afternoon. As you might guess, I spent the day in the kitchen yesterday. The only thing picture worthy was this Bourbon Pumpkin Tart with Walnut Streusel. I can't remember the issue of Fine Cooking where I saw it published the first time, but it's been a standby for many, many years.

Good turkey morning, my friends! It might just be my favorite day of the year, mainly because I get to see my kiddos. Erik and Mae are hosting dinner this year, and so we'll be meeting them and Matthew at their place later this afternoon. As you might guess, I spent the day in the kitchen yesterday. The only thing picture worthy was this Bourbon Pumpkin Tart with Walnut Streusel. I can't remember the issue of Fine Cooking where I saw it published the first time, but it's been a standby for many, many years.

Slow stitching is something I enjoy doing either early morning or in the evenings in front of the tv. It is an enjoyable way to start or finish my day. I've been stitching little and not so little Christmas designs for a couple of Decembers. SLOW indeed! One of these Decembers I'll have enough to create an actual project with them. 

The large ones, which are Baltimore Album inspired, were created by Carrie Nelson for her 2020 Moda Fabrics free Holiday SAL. You can find 14 of the blocks here.

We had to make a run into town yesterday. Someone of the male gender inadvertently used a check from a closed checking account to pay our property taxes. In a panic, we drove to the county courthouse to set things right. As long as we were out, we stopped off at the post office to pick up some flat-rate boxes for mailing, and then went to pick up a few items at the grocery store. Yes, you read that right...the grocery store. Two days before Thanksgiving, we set foot inside an actual grocery store.

We had to make a run into town yesterday. Someone of the male gender inadvertently used a check from a closed checking account to pay our property taxes. In a panic, we drove to the county courthouse to set things right. As long as we were out, we stopped off at the post office to pick up some flat-rate boxes for mailing, and then went to pick up a few items at the grocery store. Yes, you read that right...the grocery store. Two days before Thanksgiving, we set foot inside an actual grocery store.

contemporary embroidery posted a photo:

karenannruane.typepad.com/karen_ruane/2021/11/edges-and-a...

embroidered edges, embroidered adornments,

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After writing yesterday's post, I spent some time with my slow-stitching piece. Now I've moved my hoop again. I'm nearing a finish on this, and it will probably be finished before the week is over.

The lightest beige-brown at the top is just slightly variegated, and it was a good choice for the lightest parts of my piece. The one ...

After writing yesterday's post, I spent some time with my slow-stitching piece. Now I've moved my hoop again. I'm nearing a finish on this, and it will probably be finished before the week is over.

The lightest beige-brown at the top is just slightly variegated, and it was a good choice for the lightest parts of my piece. The one ...

contemporary embroidery posted a photo:

karenannruane.typepad.com/karen_ruane/2021/11/paper-and-r...

embroidered paper

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 I have accomplished a lot this week, but not not much of it was in the sewing room!  I did do some mending, made a quilt back for a comfort quilt, and sewed a hanging sleeve on a gift.  I delivered 113 placemats to Meals on Wheels organizers on behalf of the Oxford Quilter's Guild and volunteered at the local Christmas Hamper program for a day (this is a weekly event until Christmas).  Today, I cleaned out some of our gardens --cut back dead perennials and filled several brown bags with garden debris and leaves.  Last Sunday, my husband ...

November has been a very busy time here. The weather has made sure we are very busy in the garden. The plants are enjoying the Spring rain and sunshine, and the weeds are flourishing!!! Lots of strawberries have been picked and turned into jam. And I think the grass grows behind us as soon as we mow.

The other part of being busy is that our state has opened up after lock down and we are able to catch up with family and friends. Masks are off outside and most venues are now open. So we started with family visits ...

Today, we released Collection #59 to our Club members! Don’t you just love our In the Garden butterfly dragonfly and flowers quilt? I’m so pleased with how it came out- I think it’s just gorgeous! (Members of The Art of Home Club get brand new patterns and projects on the 20th of every month.)

We did this project as a “sew along” and learned hand applique! Members also received embroidery patterns- these blocks can be done with hand applique, machine applique, or hand embroidery! I combined techniques for my blocks, using hand applique for the flower, butterfly ...