A New Year... what to work on?

 Happy New Year!

The local fauna have come round to offer their greetings in this new year of 2025... 

That picture was taken one beautiful night last week when the moon was it's fullest.

I have spent time these past few weeks pondering what I would like to focus on now that the holidays are behind us. But first... I had a bit of citrus fruit left from the festive season and they were starting to get old, the skins were toughening up. So I decided to slice what I had and dehydrate them. I'm left with a lovely bunch of rounds to put away until next season when I'll string them together with cranberries and small pine cones to make a garland. There is a grapefruit, a couple oranges, and a lemon.

So, what to work on? Options include quilting: there are two applique tops needing to be quilted. Focusing on the pieced quilt that is started but not done. Something completely new and different. A lot of options.

I've decided that I want to finish the large, 39" x 53" needlepoint that I started a few years ago and ended up setting aside. I really, really want to finish it this year. To that end I've spent the past week and a half picking up where I left off, and will hopefully be able to sustain continued focus on it until every last stitch is taken (there are a bit more than 98,000 stitches in it).

It's currently almost a third done. Once I've stitched the top border (this week and probably beyond) it will definitely be one third finished. I've inserted a red arrow to indicate where I'm up to in stitching:

I've changed my setup for working on this. Because of it's size, it really needs to be on a frame. But frame holders are big, bulky affairs which seem to always be in the way. So, I've suspended the work from the ceiling! I love it. Right in front of the sofa at a height that is comfortable (and adjustable). Two small hooks in the ceiling (which I want to eventually replace anyway) hold everything up. I'm now toying with the idea of employing a few pulleys so I can draw the whole affair up and away! That would be very cool, and I think very doable. This is a perfect setup for this time of year when I'm in the house a whole lot more than I'm out of it. The sofa is front of the fire, so it's all cozy. And I can watch DVDs while working.

And, there is another project soon to be under way. I have wanted to do some Crewel embroidery. I have a wonderful older book on the subject which demonstrates many stitches, and covers topics like designs, colors, etc. My plan is to stitch a series of blocks using the various stitches and then sew the blocks into a quilt. This will let me try out all the different types of stitching and play around with different designs and colors. I've already ordered a bunch of crewel wool from Appleton's in the UK. 

For clarification, "crewel" work refers to wool thread being worked on linen cloth. It does not refer to any specific type of design. There is, though, a popular aesthetic of crewel work called Jacobean which is readily recognized: Oversized leaves, undersized animals, odd color choices. It's very attractive.

Last project of the year?

I have completed the front of this hanging. All that remains is to sew the back on it. It's another Jerome Thomas pattern, one I found in the Winter 2021 issue of Primitive Quilts and Projects magazine.  There was more sewing on this piece than what I initially imagined.

My Christmas Robin hanging:

I modified the pattern slightly by changing the colors and making the bird a European Robin (aka "Christmas Robin"), as can be seen by comparing to the original pattern colors:

Sadly, they stopped printing Primitive Quilts magazine a year or so ago but offered a pdf subscription to replace the print version. Now the pdf subscription is no longer available and they offer a pattern club instead. Rough times for print media, I guess. It was my favorite quilting magazine of all. I'm glad they haven't folded completely!

Primitive Quilts and Projects

Christmas at Fernwood in pictures

It's been a lovely holiday season so far. Put up most of the decor around Thanksgiving, and spent December sewing ornaments and other decorative objects along with making chocolates and other goodies. I had the neighbors over for dinner on Monday. Yesterday saw the tourtiere filling made and I put it together this morning. It's delicious, as always. I must mention that the Christmas cake I made last month is fabulously delicious! Oh, la la, I'll be making this cake again! Recipe here: Christmas Cake .

The dining room tree (don't mind the mess, I was sewing a bunch):

The kitchen tree:

The living room tree:

The Santa collection:

I put the village in one of my bookshelves this year. It saves space and looks theatrical this way. The books that are normally on this shelf are in the cabinet below for the season.

I got a new album:

The Amarylis, right on time for Christmas:

And the Paperwhites, also impeccably timed:

 Happy Holidays and Season's Greetings Everyone!

Done with the 12 Days of Christmas

It may be recalled that last year I worked on a set of ornaments depicting the twelve days of Christmas as set forth in the famous song from the 1780s. I was not able to get them all completed then so I took up the project again a few weeks ago.

They are all finished now. The last one to be sewn is the leaping lord, although in my book he's not the twelfth day figure, he's tenth. (The order of the gifts have undergone considerable re-ordering over the years and there are several different versions.) Also finished this year is the dancing lady (day nine).

These were really fun to sew and were an excellent exercise in patience and small stitching. The figures are only about 5 to 6 inches tall. As always, picking out colors was most fun.

The patterns were purchased from Larissa Holland of mmmcrafts. I deviated from the printed instructions by omitting the use of Stick n' Stitch stabilizer. Instead, I embroidered freehand. I also used the barest amount of glue only when absolutely necessary, opting to sew whenever possible.

Although most of these were posted last year, I'm going to show all twelve, now that they are a competed set.

A Partridge in a Pear Tree

Two Turle Doves

Three French Hens

Four Colly Birds

Five Golden Rings

Six Geese a Laying

Seven Swans a Swimming

Eight Maids a Milking

Nine Ladies Dancing

Ten Lords a Leaping

Eleven Pipers Piping

Twelve Drummers Drumming

The Curved Needle

Now that the 1870s Howe sewing machine is running well enough to be functional, albeit it needs more cosmetic restoration, I'm working on the Wheeler & Wilson No. 1 sewing machine from the 1870s. It is older than the Howe and probably dates to 1872. It is unusual in that it does not take a straight needle, it's needle is bent into a curve! Also setting this machine apart is the fact that it does not sew fabric from front to back but from left to right. That part takes a certain getting used to. It's a whole new ball game, but quite nice!

Wheeler & Wilson is the company that made my No. 8 which I've shown before:

There is still a lot of work to do on the No. 1. The bed is in rough shape and needs lots of TLC. I'll be working on it a little bit at a time. The bobbin is also in really bad shape, it was very badly rusted. I've managed to get rid of the rust but it is quite pitted. It works, though, and that's the important bit because they are not easy to obtain. The cabinet also needs some work.

In this very short video, I'm showing it sewing a short length. There is still some troubleshooting to be done for the bobbin and the way it sits in the bobbin case. It needs to float correctly or else the upper thread will not flow around it causing a failure to make a stitch. If it's seated too tightly the thread will get stuck between the bobbin and the clamp. But I'm heartened to be getting any stitches at all, so there's confidence it will end up running smoothly over time.

In this very short video, the 2 small drawers that reside in the cabinet are removed so I can clean them. The No. 1 getting it's feet again after who knows how many decades:

It's been a busy month! And it's going by quickly, but coming up will be a few posts about my Christmas decor and baking. Also on the docket will be updates on my projects.

Movie Night

 A short film (12 minutes) showcasing the Elias Howe sewing machine, circa 1870s. Best viewed full screen.

A Christmas Angel

I finished the angel and she's pretty. I used gold metallic thread and a bit of red metallic thread for a touch of bling. She is after all, an angel. (The metallics don't show up well in the picture.)

I found another of this designer's (Jerome Thomas) patterns in the Winter 2021 issue of Primitive Quilts and Projects magazine and have decided to make that one as well.

* * * * *

Some will say it is too early, but I took my Christmas trees out of the closet this week. They are not decorated and won't be until next week, but I wanted to get them set up so I can decorate whenever the spirit moves me.

There are three trees, one in the kitchen, dining room, and living room. I usually get a real tree for the living room but due to rising costs decided to buy an artificial one this year. I like that artificial trees come in 'slim' designs. The one I bought is only 3 feet wide. I used to have an artificial in NYC and when I moved here, made sure the tree was loaded up on the truck. A few years ago I went down stairs to get the box containing the tree and much to my surprise and chagrin, the box was empty! Whether the tree was taken while in NY or was taken during the move, I know not. (I had it stored in the basement of my apartment building, a shared space.) It is a mystery!

Our weather here has been cool but mild for this time of year. We are having a string of days with highs in the low 40s and lows in the upper 30s. That makes it hard to provide heat because the stove does not do so well if the outside temp is over 40. I lit the stove tonight but did not do so last night. It's fine by me, it means I'm not going through wood at the moment; and it's less work.

I bought a hot water bottle a few weeks ago. It's the best purchase I've made in a long time. I fill it with hot water before going to bed and place it where my feet will lie. No more cold feet while waiting for the sheets to warm up! They are a big deal in England, an acquaintance recently related that the latest thing over there are long, skinny hot water bottles which one can cozy up to. Cool. (Or shall we say 'hot'!). I love simple solutions.