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it's beginning to look a lot like . . . from Count it *all* JOY!

By this point in the year, I'm usually running around like a chicken with my head cut off ... with no relief in sight! But if there's been *any* silver lining from covid, then I would have to say it's the relief of a lot of the hustle and bustle that usually hits this time of year. Our social commitments, which typically fill our December calendar (and wear me out), have been cut to a fraction of what they normally are. I'm thankful. Am I alone in my thinking on this?

We did enjoy a healthy, happy ...

added by Denise :) 3 years, 4 months ago. under advent , crochet , grandgirls , photo , snow , thanksgiving

random bits . . . from Count it *all* JOY!

Can I tell you something? Since I changed my comments to 'comment moderation, always' I sometimes forget to publish them to my blog. Am I the only one?!? Please tell me I'm not! LOL!

My son sent me this photo on Monday evening . . .

Frightening, no? The tallest building (the Mazda Building) is where his company's suite of offices is. He's been working remotely since March, so he's not there. But they did have a group that was working onsite, and they were evacuated. I'm so glad they moved to Murrieta; before they made the move ...

added by Denise :) 3 years, 6 months ago. under baking , camp , christmas , family , mushroom , photo , random , tea , yarn

halloween hoppin day three . . . from Count it *all* JOY!

It's the last day *and* my day, YAY!

When I first read the criteria of this hop — I’m going to make this really simple this year, I’d love to see a project with “Purple” in it, but seriously I’ll be happy also if it doesn’t …What’s Halloween tho without a bit of purple? You are free to make something new, or show a past project you’ve created — I knew this was a hop for ME! Anyone that knows me, knows I love purple! All you have to do is look at a few ...

added by Denise :) 3 years, 6 months ago. under bats , blog hop , candy corn , giveaway , halloween , halloween hoppin blog hop , photo , pumpkins , purple

halloween hoppin day two . . . from Count it *all* JOY!

Tuesday, October 20

Songbird Designs

Elizabeth Coughlin Designs

Slice of Pi Quilts

Just Let Me Quilt

Appliqués Quilts and More

Scrapdash

Another great round up of blogs to hop through today! Be sure to stop back by tomorrow, because it's *my* day--hooray!!

:)

added by Denise :) 3 years, 6 months ago. under halloween hoppin blog hop , photo

time out . . . from Count it *all* JOY!

Hey, hey! What a glorious, long weekend for me! Our big meeting was Tuesday, and then the office was closed through Monday! The weather's been just glorious for a five-day weekend!

Tuesday evening, Evey came home with me and had a sleepover. We had lots of fun exploring, watching movies, and making cookies!!

She was very serious about her sprinkling duties!

While Evey and I were checking out the turtle sanctuary, I noticed a couple of water lily buds. Sure enough, when I came out on Thursday to look, we had one in full bloom . . .

Isn't it beautiful ...

added by Denise :) 3 years, 6 months ago. under baking , camp , crochet , embroidery , granddaughter , halloween hoppin blog hop , photo , pumpkins , slow stitching , stitchery , wool felt

halloween hoppin day one . . . from Count it *all* JOY!

Monday, October 19

Samelia's Mum

Just Because Quilts

MooseStashQuilting

Musing From the Grove

Ms P Designs USA

Morning Glory Designs

What a great round up; be sure to visit all these great blogs—Happy Hoppin!

:)

added by Denise :) 3 years, 6 months ago. under halloween hoppin blog hop , photo

birthday weekend . . . from Count it *all* JOY!

It was a pretty crazy week at work, getting ready for our big annual meeting next week. But that didn't stop me from getting some evening stitch time in . . .

Work progresses on this sweet little "Give Thanks" stitchery. It's nice to have something relaxing to look forward to at the end of the day!

I came home to some sweet snail mail happies this week, too. This was a win from Life in Pieces as she celebrated her 13th blogiversary!

Isn't that fun?!? I love the stiletto! ♥

And this was an Instagram win from Kathy Schmitz!

I ...

added by Denise :) 3 years, 6 months ago. under birthday , candy corn , crochet , embroidery , granddaughters , photo , pumpkins , slow stitching

stitchin' along . . . from Count it *all* JOY!

One more stitchery finished . . .

I was really pleased with this simple stitchery! I finished it out like I've done several in the recent past. I put it in a bamboo hoop, backed it with felt, and trimmed the rim out. I took this one to work to enjoy!

Speaking of enjoying things at work, my special order of chai tea, by Samovar, finally arrived! I enjoyed a nice cuppa Thursday afternoon, along with a shortbread cookie! ♥

SEC football season started up today ... hip, hip, hooray! Our church is having a Tailgate Party outside tomorrow after services.

Todd made his ...

added by Denise :) 3 years, 7 months ago. under autumn , baking , embroidery , football , photo , pumpkin , slow stitching , stitchery , tea

pumpkins and acorns . . . from Count it *all* JOY!

So far, so good! I headed out Thursday, along with some of the other Essential staff wives, for a retreat/conference in Dallas, Georgia; Cultivate 2020.

It was a LOT of fun! I love road trips in and of themselves, but this retreat was really intended to pamper and encourage the participants and a great job was done of it!

I mean, wow! Our lunch Friday was served in high—tea time—style! Each of us got our own tiered tray, that then went home with us. We went home with a ton of swag, including the gorgeous (and yummy ...

added by Denise :) 3 years, 7 months ago. under acorns , cookies , embroidery , photo , pumpkin , retreat , slow stitching , stitchery , swag , tea

splashing into autumn . . . from Count it *all* JOY!

Hey hey! Just checking in before we head into the weekend. We enjoyed a lovely, beautiful day on the lake on Monday. The weather couldn't have been more cooperative. We're at that time of the year where sometimes the water, at 85 degrees, is warmer than the air temp!

That means we spend LOTS of time in the water (because it's too cold to come out)! The girls had a blast splashing and swimming. Edith even decided it was her day to jump off the boat into the water, multiple times. She was a champ! But we ...

added by Denise :) 3 years, 7 months ago. under anniversary , birthday , boat , christmas , epp , fall , family , granddaughters , handwork , photo , potc , pumpkin

sloooooow stitching . . . from Count it *all* JOY!

Slow stitching is appropriate. It feels like it took me *forever* to finish this piece, but finished it is!

I had to take some "staging" pics, too . . .

Heh. So I'm a stitcher, not a photographer. I think one of the reasons I took so much time is that this really was a new style of stitching for me. I'm still not sure if I'd choose to do it again. I like the dimensional aspect of it — but it's all big stitches with six strands of floss ... no delicate stitching for detail. Though I do love the ...

added by Denise :) 3 years, 7 months ago. under diamond template , embroidery , epp , fabric , labor day , mystery bom , photo , pumpkin , slow stitching , stitchery

increasing my fiber . . . from Count it *all* JOY!

Over the weekend I was very thready. I sorted through all the floss I've accumulated (some from the estate sale) . . . it was a huge hodge podge in multiple containers (or not):

A mess. And even after I'd sorted most of it out, I still had this unsightly tangle to deal with . . .

And I actually did tackle and tame it!

Now I just need to purchase more floss cards so I can wrap it (and it can stay relatively tidy).

I also picked up (when I ordered it online and it was sent to my po box and I ...

added by Denise :) 3 years, 8 months ago. under autumn , embroidery , eq , floss , granddaughter , needlework , photo , sprinkles , stitchery , t blocks , variegated , wildflowers , winner

retirement prep . . . from Count it *all* JOY!

Mind you ... I'm still farther away than I care to be from that actual date, but still, I'm all about advance preparation. In this case, it's about stocking up now, so when I retire and my indiscretionary funds are limited, I still have plenty of fabric, notions, and patterns to create to my heart's content.

I made great strides towards that end this past weekend. I visited (well, I had an appointment for) a quilter's estate sale. And this quilter was very prolific, had a wide range of tastes, and was a most excellent ...

added by Denise :) 3 years, 8 months ago. under embroidery , photo , raccoons , retirement , stitchery , technology

starting july off right . . . from Count it *all* JOY!

We enjoyed a terrific long Independence Day weekend! On Thursday, we had 'staff enrichment', which means we went to lunch together at a nice restaurant and then went home afterwards. Hip, hip! On Friday, Todd and I did our usual boating trip where he fished and I mostly read. I never get tired of the scenery!

On Saturday, we hit the lake again, this time with the Merkel crew.

We spent the day swimming and splashing (and eating), and then we headed towards the shoreline at dark to watch fireworks. It was fabulous!

All the big shows had coronacancelled, but ...

added by Denise :) 3 years, 9 months ago. under 4th of july , boat , family , granddaughters , mystery quilt , photo , quilt , roadtrip

interesting times . . . from Count it *all* JOY!

Has anyone else struggled with what day it is?! LOL! I stayed home sick on Tuesday and the boss shut us down for the remainder of the week, so I worked from home. The days start to run together after a while!

It's been a busy and fairly productive week, though. I have enjoyed some super domestic time ... I made bread and have done a lot of cooking (which I don't typically do during the week). One of our favorite meals ...

added by Denise :) 4 years, 1 month ago. under baking , blackwork , camp macoba , national quilting day , nature , neesey's nook , photo , quilting , slow stitching , turtles

more utility (love) stitching . . . from Count it *all* JOY!

Yes, I do have to qualify that utility stitching for my grands is definitely *love* stitching! Ellie's 8-year-old "blankie" needed some attention. Seriously, I should have taken a before pic! I reconstructed it for her, making it a quilt, of sorts . . .

Hopefully it will get her through (to adulthood)! :) It made her so very happy to get it back, my heart was happy too.

I am struggling with allergies again. I'm sniffling and sneezing and coughing ... the very thing people do NOT want to be around right now! So I'm self-quarantining. Add the fact that I'm ...

added by Denise :) 4 years, 1 month ago. under blackwork , finish , grandson , love stitching , photo , pumpkin , sal , utility sewing , wool

all the hearts . . . from Count it *all* JOY!

Finally got myself over to Hobby Lobby (I had a gift card) to pick out a frame for my Snow Sampler. Bonus -- all the frames were 50% off! So this is the one I picked out . . .

Isn't it sweet?! Joc has a silver and blue snowman that's so cute and would look perfect in this vignette. But for now, I'm pleased with my jar of melted snowman, my snowman book, and the little blue and white heart, which help me feel like at least we're transitioning. LOL!

I got a few more hearts free handed to ...

added by Denise :) 4 years, 2 months ago. under camp , camp tv , embroidery , free hand , handwork , hearts , love sampler , photo , slow stitching , snow sampler , stitchery

a flimsy and some whimsey . . . from Count it *all* JOY!

Is anyone else struggling with spammers (one in particular) of late? I hate putting my comments on moderation, but I'm so tired of the spam, I had to go there for the time being. On a happier note, this is post 1,400! Not that it means anything to anyone but me (and I've been blogging since 2003, which averages to 82 posts a year?!) ... perseverance! LOL!

I finished my class flimsy . . .

I'm so in love with this. The top finished out at a respectable 60" square. It'll make a nice lap quilt. I'm going ...

added by Denise :) 4 years, 2 months ago. under embroidery , flimsy , photo , stitchery , tea

always changing . . . from Count it *all* JOY!

Not a whole lot going on to show here today. I managed to change up the design of my class quilt (again) . . .

Here's my EQ layout. It's a respectable 60" by 60" now, so I think I'm done changing things! I added the four corner blocks (which are just a tad different) and increased the width of the sashing and borders.

The blocks (laid out here in the order I planned to stitch them together) are now sashed and ready to have the borders stitched on. I'd like to have that done before class on Tuesday ...

added by Denise :) 4 years, 2 months ago. under class , embroidery , guild , heart , photo , quilt , slow stitching , tea party

weekend goings . . . from Count it *all* JOY!

Todd and I got on the road yesterday afternoon and headed to Tuscaloosa for a missions conference. We stayed overnight at the Bama B&B!

It's a really pretty place and I'll share more about that later.

I finished up granddaughter Olivia's patchwork doll quilt . . .

Just a simple finish. It's sweet! I'll get this out in the mail to her on Monday.

I also finished block 20 of my Grandmother's Choice BOM.

I had trouble with the points on this one. I may (*may*) go back and fiddle with it. I also may not ...

added by Denise :) 4 years, 3 months ago. under b&b , bom , doll quilt , embroidery , granddaughter , grandmother's choice , heart , missions , photo , slow stitching , stitchery

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