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February 23, 2026
How to Make a French Knot Video from Alamosa Quilter

 The French Knot is a basic embroidery stitch that many people struggle to perfect. I recently did a short video on how to make a French Knot.



If the video above does not play for you here is the link to it on my YouTube Channel: French Knot Demo

If you are interested in viewing or purchasing any of the kits I show, you can find all our embroidery items at this link:


I made up one of these adorable kits for a shop sample. I chose the owl kit. Below ...

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November 16, 2025
every little thing . . . from Count it *all* JOY!

I can hardly believe we're already halfway through the month of November.  Where did the first half go?!  Well, actually, I have a pretty good idea . . . I have a lot to show for the last two weeks!

First off, I do enjoy decorating my doorway, so when we moved from October to November, I re-staged my front door accordingly . . .
It makes me smile every time I come home!

Lots of stitching.  Ellie has been working on ornaments for her table at Advent Market next week.  Originally she thought Everley would be able to do half, but Evey is still ...

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November 2, 2025
rabbit, rabbit from Count it *all* JOY!

Trifecta day . . . not only is it the first of the month (hence the rabbit, rabbit), but its the end of daylight savings time!  Hurrah!  I look forward to falling back every year, and in fact, have turned all my clocks back already.  LOL!  That's only two things, but twofecta sounds dumb, so there's that.

It's been a fairly productive week.  I finished out three projects.  Two were the cute little nine-patch cross stitch designs that Ellie and I stitched in tandem . . .
Aren't these cute?  Ellie did such a fabulous job ... I had a really hard time ...

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October 24, 2025
a decluttering story . . . from Count it *all* JOY!

Do you remember when you first started quilting (or any craft, for that matter), and all the tools and gadgets that seemed so necessary were overwhelming in both the scope and the cost of it all? 

I do.

The biggest for me was the rulers and squares.  They make such a difference in cutting pieces accurately!  And while you can get away with a few select sizes, it's just easier to have the range.  It just is.  So over the last twenty years or so, I've been diligent in collecting.  Let's face it; I've never been ...

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September 7, 2025
what a summer . . . from Count it *all* JOY!

Wow.  Time really does fly when you're having fun, huh? Last I posted, I was headed to Hawaii!  I had a lovely two weeks seeing all the sights and experiencing the culture.  Really way too much to share; I'm not sure I've even processed all I saw and did—LOL...I don't think I've had time!
There were a couple of stitching-related things I did want to talk about.  One of our stops was the Polynesian Cultural Center.  They had a whole hut dedicated to the beautiful style of hand applique that is linked to ...

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August 25, 2025
Week 34 of 2025 from Thread Head

Still lots of canning happening, but I did wash another raw fleece -

This isn't a full fleece, I am certain that I spun some of it years ago.
There is 682g after washing (should be left with about half after combing).
I combed, spun, and knitted a little sample, and it is so soft.
My husband recently started wood working in his retirement, so this week we figured out how to work our son's homemade Alaskan mill, and cut up a few boards from an ash tree that had fallen.

Photos from Around -

Molly snacking with one of ...

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August 18, 2025
Week 33 of 2025 from Thread Head

It is that time of the year when everyday involves some kind of harvesting or preserving the bounty of the garden, so not much time for crafting. I did wash a fleece this week so that it would be ready to comb (to remove all the plant bits), dye and drum card this fall/winter.

The fleece is from a local farmer and was destined for the compost. I have had it for years, so it was time to get it cleaned.
After washing there is 2.8kg of fleece. After combing I will probably be left with about half ...

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June 15, 2025
pilgrims, paws, and packing . . . from Count it *all* JOY!

With VBS in full swing this week, I didn’t have much time to stitch . . . but I did finish all my boat pilgrims!
Whoop, whoop! Next stop: sails. But that’ll have to wait because—Aloha!—I’m headed to Hawaii on Tuesday!  And this boat trip doesn't require sails.  <wink>

Back to this past week—I got some fun, happy snail mail . . .
Don't know how I'd missed this Simply Sweet offering from Kathy Schmitz!
Etsy's Pixie Fibers (aka One of the Flock) is clearing out all of her inventory.  Among other things, I got this ...

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May 25, 2025
brevity is not my strong suit . . . from Count it *all* JOY!

This is going to be (relatively) short and sweet . . . I'm still in the wilds of Yellowstone, having a wonderful time with my daughter and her family!

I did manage to work out my next 3-yard quilt before I left. Fabric Cafe has a new pattern book out and it's BIG Block 3-Yard Quilts . . . for those quilts where you love a fabric so much, you want good chunks of it in your quilt!  
I chose this design, "Felicity" . . .
And these three fabrics . . . 
I'm sure you can work out what's going to go where!  I'll plan on ...

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May 18, 2025
floss crossing ahead . . . from Count it *all* JOY!

It's been a very stitch-intensive week!  I probably should've/could've been working on a 3-yard quilt, but I'm heading to Yellowstone this week and didn't want to leave a project in the making.  So instead I headed to my wool stash to kit the patriotic project I shared last week.  But I got distracted when I found this cute patriotic mini-Quaker cross stitch kit I'd ordered last year.  Squirrel!  
So I got busy.  Two days and two audio books later . . .
Yay!  It's pinned up (for now) next to this finish (another patriotic Quaker ...

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April 12, 2025
well, would you look at that . . . from Count it *all* JOY!

Hello.  My name is Inigo Montoya . . . 

Wait, that's not right.  This isn't Princess Bride.  It's me . . .daNeesey, from Count it all JOY!  (Which has been a real challenge over the last three years. But I digress.)

So lemme try this again.  

Hey, this is Denise.  I'm a crafter of an eclectic mix of stitchery crafts (think wool applique, quilting, needlework, cross stitch, crochet, etc.), a Neesey (my grandma name is Neesey), a cat mom (that's new!), an apartment dweller (also new), a violinist wannabe (practice, practice, practice), a widow (which is still so sad and ...

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March 4, 2025
Hopi Wilderness Sweater from Monas Creativity


Yarn: Lettlopi from Iceland

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October 14, 2024
Crimson Tweed is Done, Done, DONE! from Alamosa Quilter

 As most Sue Spargo projects are, this one took quite a while. I've been working on this for about four years. The hand quilting alone took a little over two years, but I really only got to work on it on Thursdays during the hand sewing group at my shop.

I included lots of close up shots of the finished quilt below. 

Crimson Tweed Finished

Crimson Tweed Detail 1

Crimson Tweed Detail 2

Crimson Tweed Detail 3

Crimson Tweed Detail 4

Crimson Tweed Detail 5

Crimson Tweed Detail 6

Crimson Tweed Detail 7

Crimson Tweed Detail 8

The pattern is called Crimson Tweed by Sue Spargo. The pattern book is discontinued and I have already sold my personal copy of the pattern to a customer who wanted it. An internet search might turn up ...

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September 23, 2024
Crimson Tweed Update from Alamosa Quilter

 On Thursday of last week I put the final seed stitch, which is how I hand quilted this, in my version of Crimson Tweed.

Crimson Tweed, quilting completed

I've been working on this for quite some time! I started quilting it in October of 2022. I worked on it most Thursday afternoons at my shop during our Hand Sewing Group. Sometimes store sewing took precedent and I had to get it done instead of working on my Crimson Tweed, but I tried to not let store sewing get in the way very often.

The last step is binding, a label and a hanging ...

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April 10, 2024
Needle Felting Adventure from Becca's Crazy Projects

As a crafter, have you ever gotten an idea and been unable to let go of it? No matter how hard you tried? Well, this needle felting adventure is one of those ideas. I don't know why, but I had the idea to make some wool dryer balls. Can I buy wool dryer balls? Absolutely (link at the bottom of the post). But where is the fun in that?
Because I wanted to make dryer balls, I grabbed a box of roving. I estimated I could make several with this box.
I wanted some colors so I added in ...

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October 31, 2023
hop hop hoppin . . . from Count it *all* JOY!

Hello!! Welcome to my contribution to the Hallowe'en Trick or Treat Mystery Phrase Hop, hosted by Jo at Serendipitous Stitching!  I'll scare...errrr....share some spooky stitching with you, along with a letter, and a link to the next blog!  You collect all the letters and guess the mystery phrase!!  Doesn't that sound like fun?

Fall has definitely found its way to the camp . . . 
I love the changing leaves!  We have such a variety of trees, we get all kinds of color when the season arrives!
I love to decorate seasonally, and this is my favorite time ...

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October 23, 2023
Autumn Jubilee Wool Stitch Along Finish from From My Carolina Home

Time to finish our wool stitch along project. I hope you had time to get your bases done with the apple appliques and buttons. Today we finish it off with a bit of embroidery and some seed beads. When we left off, we were here.

Get out your floss and beads, finding some green to match your leaves, along with red and gold seed beads. If you don’t have seed beads, you can do french knots with the appropriate color floss for a similar look.

Place the piece on a countertop. Center a Mason jar ring on the wool ...

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September 17, 2023
stash report September 17, 2023 from Making A Lather

I attended a quilt show in Lafayette last week and bought some flannel for donation quilts at 2.00 per yard. I was thinking of the trip around the world quilt I made earlier this year. I didn't take any quilt pictures. oh well



 stash report September 17, 2023

fabric added: 7 1/2 yards 

fabric added year to date: 130 1/2 yards 

fabric used: 24 yards  -irish chain is finished




fabric used year to date: 390 yards 

259 1/2 yards used more than bought

I sewed 5 days last week. 


The rug pattern is called Christmas ...

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September 10, 2023
stash report September 10, 2023 from Making A Lather

 We traveled to Pendleton Indiana for a lovely quilt show. It was held in the county historical museum. Behind the beautiful quilts, was all the historical museum pieces which was an interesting bonus. I did add a few fabric pieces to my stash from their fabric sales. haha











 stash report September 10, 2023

fabric added: 0 yards 

fabric added year to date: 123 yards 

fabric used: 27 yards  -rectangle wrangle is finished




fabric used year to date: 373 1/2 yards 

245 1/2 yards used more than bought

I sewed 3 days last week. 


The rug pattern is called ...

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September 3, 2023
stash report September 3, 2023 from Making A Lather

At our open sew last week, there was some fabric brought in from other quilters for the free table. I snagged these pieces.

top 2 are flannel

 stash report September 3, 2023

fabric added: 3 1/2 yards 

fabric added year to date: 123 yards 

fabric used: 3 yards 

fabric used year to date: 346 1/2 yards 

219 1/2 yards used more than bought

I sewed 3 days last week. 


The rug pattern is called Christmas in new England by Old tattered flag. It is meant to be a tree skirt, but I am changing it to just ...

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