rabbit, rabbit

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 differentiating between the two!

And the other project was one I stumbled across when I did all that organizing last week.  It was a sweet little pumpkin embroidery that Ellie had sketched out (I put it on fabric) and stitched on in 2022, finishing it up late that year.  I was supposed to construct a border and make a throw pillow slipcase with it.  Well, 2023 was a tough year, and 2024 wasn't much better, and so when I found it, I thought maybe it was time.  So cute!

Here's the back . . . 

Ellie was so pleased!  I brought it and her cross stitch pillow to her on the morning of Halloween, so at least she'd get a little use out of them this year before it's time to pull out all things Christmas!

Speaking of Halloween . . . more importantly, October 31 is June's birthday!

She turned THIRTEEN!  She's a beauty!  Three out of my seven grands are teenagers!!! How the heck??

Celeste agrees with me . . .

Starry let me know that she doesn't do costumes.  LOL!

All the sewing this past week made me realize I needed a way to keep a pair of snippers close to my machine, without getting lost in the shuffle.  A quick google search, and a text conversation with my son-in-law, and look what I had, less than four hours later . . .

 

Isn't that great?!  He made me a total of eight.  I used double-sided tape to mount it.  It's the perfect size!  Gotta love 3D printers and those who know how to make them! (Especially since this same thing was available on Etsy for $4 + s/h!)

What else? Oh yeah!  Another project I "found" during my re-org was a Thanksgiving wool project that I started in 2021. I had three of the five tops finished, but I guess lost momentum when I realized I'd not traced the words correctly.  Took care of that!

Mostly I worked on this today as I carefreely watched college football.  I say "carefreely" because Alabama had a bi- week. No stress! I got them re-traced, selected the wool, fused them, cut them out, and put them to fabric . . .

Whoohoo! 

I even had time to do a little stitching!

Speaking of which, Ellie decided to do some embroidered ornaments to sell for our Advent Market at the end of the month.  I told her I'd help, so she handed off the snowmen to me!

Between these and the wool project, I'll have plenty to keep me busy for a Slow Sunday Stitching!  Linking up with Kathy's Quilts.

Before I sign off, I wanted to see if anyone else had seen the Quilt Fusion online seminar happening November 13? 

I decided to go ahead and sign up for it; I'm really excited!!

Temps are dropping, the sun will be setting earlier . . . it's coming up on the most wonderful time of the year . . . 54 more days!!

:)

advent time . . .

Once upon a time there was a blogger who was participating in an online Advent calendar blog hop with Jo at Serendipitous Stitching, but she got her dates mixed up and didn't realize her date was the 20th (instead of the 22nd) until she hopped over to check out today's feature.  

It was me. I'm that blogger. Glad I made the realization before noon (CST)!

This year, Jo, who so graciously hosts this annual hop, has asked participants to share about their Christmas tree traditions!  This is an easy one for me!

Growing up, and even well into adulthood, I always enjoyed a real tree!  I love the trudging out to get it, setting it up, stringing the lights, bringing out the ornaments and enjoying all the memories that they evoked, and then enjoying the tree's grandeur all through the season.  Even though they're work, a live tree just smelled good and made me happy.

Trees of Christmas past.

But when we made the move from the sticks & bricks house to the RV in 2009, we realized there was no bringing a live tree into our living space.  There simply wasn't room. So we purchased a small, artificial tree . . . 

I adore this tree.  We've had it for every year we've been in the RV except one.  But paring down on the tree meant paring down on the ornaments I'd collected over the years, too--though you wouldn't know it, seeing how packed it is! I kept the ones with the most poignant memories (that weren't huge/too big for the tree) and gave my son and daughter their pick from the remainder.  It's fun to visit their homes during the Christmas season and see ornaments I purchased over the years, on their trees! But I know the origin/story/gifter of every single ornament on my RV tree.  It almost makes me a little teary-eyed thinking about it!

I also have a little quilted tree in my mini stand that makes me smile . . .

Ellie saw this one yesterday and decided she'd like to make a Christmas pillow similar to it.  She liked all the beaded 'ornaments' on it!

Our family's favorite Christmas tree story involves a cat.  Gwenevere was full of cattitude.  I'd been holding her in my lap, playing with her, and evidently she got tired of me messing with her.  She escaped from my lap, ran over to the Christmas tree, gave me a look over her shoulder as if to say, "I'll show you," and turned around and BIT a light off the Christmas tree.  I was horrified!  I mean, she could have electrified herself or short circuited the whole house ... or at the very least, cut her mouth! But no, she just ate glass ... kind of like the Grinch ... and sulked under the tree for the rest of the day.

I think we retell that story every year, with more and more hilarity! :)

This season, my stitching has looked very different.  I mentioned in the prior post about the paper ornaments I've been making.  They are hand-stitched down the center.

I think these are so pretty!  The angel is my very favorite.

And I learned how to make these cute little canvas poppers, too . . . 

I taught Ellie to make one yesterday.  They're cute, easy to make, quick to put together, and house a sweet little surprise!

The mouth is just big enough to tuck a Hershey's kiss inside.  Fun!

So there you have it. Just in the (St.) nick of time!  Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check out Jo's page to see all the wonderful participants!

Merry, merry!

:)

the owl and the pussy-cat . . .

The Owl and the Pussy-Cat went to sea
     In a beautiful pea-green boat:
They took some honey, and plenty of

           money
     Wrapped up in a five-pound note.
The Owl looked up to the stars above,
     And sang to a small guitar,
"O lovely Pussy, O Pussy, my love,
     What a beautiful Pussy you are,
          You are,
          You are!
     What a beautiful Pussy you are!"

Pussy said to the Owl, "You elegant fowl,
     How charmingly sweet you sing!
Oh! let us be married; too long we have 

           tarried,
     But what shall we do for a ring?"
They sailed away, for a year and a day,
     To the land where the bong-tree grows;
And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood,
     With a ring at the end of his nose,
          His nose,
          His nose,
     With a ring at the end of his nose.

"Dear Pig, are you willing to sell for one 

          shilling
     Your ring?" Said the Piggy, "I will."
So they took it away, and were married 

          next day
     By the turkey who lives on the hill.
They dined on mince and slices of quince,
     Which they ate with a runcible spoon;

And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand,
     They danced by the light of the moon,
          The moon,
          The moon,
     They danced by the light of the moon.

Edward Lear

So there's the poem. It's a darling, nonsensical poem, full of fanciful imagery and humor!  

Or is it?  So here's the rest of the story . . .

My maiden name is Fowler.  Here is the family crest:

That is an owl at the top ... Sapiens Qui Vigilat:  He is wise who watches.

Subsequently, many of my dad's aunts/uncles (and consequently wives, children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren, and so on ... you get the picture) collect owls.  

This collection belonged to my Great Uncle Bill Fowler.

My mom has a huge collection of beautiful owl pieces.  And I have a great affinity for them; they even regularly show up in my stitching.  

Everett's Owl Quilt; Joc picked the fabrics.

 

Jocelyn does too, and even Ellie, at eight, has a nice collection of them!

The thing is, my mom's mom was also a terrific historian and was very keen on her family's history.  She was a (Mac)Bean, and her family crest was thus . . . 

Yes, that's a cat--although I wouldn't [dare] call it a pussy-cat; at least not to its face!  (Don't touch this cat without a shield, is the translation of the motto!)  Mom has a cute collection of cats, too!

So, owl and pussy-cat, my dad and mom ... it could be the end of a cute correlation.  But wait, there's more!

In the story, the cat (girl) proposes to the owl (boy).  Well 1960 just happened to be a leap year (like this year is)! On February 29th, 1960, a day fondly known as Bachelor's Day, my mom proposed to my dad (as a joke).  She was a little shocked when he accepted! But they were married later that year! (My dad did buy a ring and make a proper proposal!)

And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand,

     They danced by the light of the moon,
          The moon,
          The moon,
     They danced by the light of the moon.

So there's the story behind my love for owls and pussy-cats.  It all makes purrrrfect sense now, right?  And what a fun tale to be able to share with my children, grandchildren and so on!  (And it will one day earn it's rightful place as a quilt or stitchery of its own.)

Even Leia, wearing the owl hat, wants to be a part of the tail tale!

Thanks for indulging me in the telling.  Have a great weekend!

:)

may day, may day . . .

It's been a very busy Spring! I looked up and realized if I didn't post something here, May would go by (along with the bottom two-thirds of April) without a word from me. Heaven forbid!!  ;)

Our guild strives to be active in community-oriented events.  One of those events is Panoply, an annual arts festival held in downtown Huntsville's Big Spring Park.

This year at our booth, we went interactive! We had hexies prepped and ready to baste to engage passersby!  

Over the course of Saturday and Sunday, over 200 people, adults and kids alike, basted up a hexie!

We'll whip the hexies together (after allowing members of our guild to participate) and it will become the #HEXIEquiltthatHSVbuilt! Go Team Hexie!

I also found a new-to-me LQS -- Hook & Bobin.  Cute little place ... this fabric *immediately* caught my eyes . . .

Isn't it marvelous??!!  Cat-finity!  Tah-dah! At this point I have absolutely no idea what I'll do with it, but I don't mind waiting until it speaks to me. Sometime in the summer of 2011, I fell head-over-heals in love with Moda's "Dragonfly Summer" line.  Bought yardage in several of the fabrics and a layer cake.  Once again I had absolutely NO idea what I was going to do with it all.  In fact, it's still sitting in my stash, nearly eight years later!  But it finally did speak to me . . .

This will be a picnic quilt -- 80" X 90" -- for Joc and her family. Whew! It's a very simple design, but I think it works for a big utility quilt.  Anyway, maybe I'll have something figured out for the cat fabric by 2025?

The older two local grandgirls had their end of the year ballet recitals!  They both did so well!

This was Evey's first year and she was the epitome of grace!  Edith wanted in on the picture, of course.  She's already gung-ho to start ballet and dances with her older sisters every chance she can!  

Joc and her crew were at the beach for Mother's Day, so we celebrated this past Friday.  Jocelyn set a lovely table and prepared a feast for our "Ladies' Lunch"!

Delectable, non?!  Everything was so pretty and tasted so yummy!  It was a fun treat. After lunch, they spoiled me with presents!

A little bit of something representing all my favorite things!  A book on tea that doubles as a tea diary, a pretty owl spoon rest, two wooden trivets that look like they were EPP'd, and Kathy Schmitz's book, Stitches from the Garden.  I have the other two books -- Stitches from the Yuletide and Stitches from the Harvest, so it feels nice to "complete" my set!  In fact, I think Joc has gifted me with all of them!

I'll leave with a photo of the girls and me . . .

They're growing so fast . . . and more beautiful with each day!

Linking up to sarah did it! and the HeLP post!

:)

feline memories . . .

Sarah, over at sarah did it!, dedicated her post-Thanksgiving Feline Friday post to "all the cats I've loved before."  I've loved a few!

Starting with my very first cat . . . 

Batman. I got him as a kitten from my grandma's house; I must have been around nine.  I adored him and he was so handsome. My first B&W!

We had cats in and out of the house growing up ... family cats. But the next cat the came along that was all mine was Pooka.  I hope to add a photo of Pooka later . . . he was a darling pure-bred Persian. Only he had no voice. His meow was a tiny little whisper, which meant I got him for free (and without papers). He was an all white kitty (with a tiny patch of black hairs on his forehead) ... and Pooka was quite the appropriate name for him!  Ever watch Jimmy Stewart's Harvey?

Then, along came Gwenevere.  She was a barn rescue and my second B&W! She was full of cattitude and had BIG personality!

Lots of stories I could share about this sassy cat.  She lived into her late teens and in spite of her sassiness was such a sweet companion. I still miss her very much.

Gwenevere made the move from Maryland to Alabama with me.  Once here, I decided she needed a companion and Todd gifted me with Merlin for my second birthday in Alabama . . . 

Merlin was a rescue, too.  And such a funny little boy.  He wanted to love on Gwenevere, but it took her a LONG time to warm up to him.  He went to live with James when we made the full time move to the RV, and lived to the ripe old age of seventeen.  I miss him, too ... he was a real lovey-dovey cat. This sweet boy was all black ... with the exception of a tiny white patch of fur on his chest (just opposite of Pooka).

So there's my tribute! Isn't it funny that my four favorites have all been black and/or white?! There've been other cats in my life . . . but these four held my heart!  What felines have held yours?

:)