It's Thanksgiving week here in the U.S.! Have you started thawing those turkeys, baking those pies, chopping those vegetables? This year seems a bit different for us as our three sons will all be at their significant others' families--the oldest in Texas, the youngest in Puerto Rico, and the middle son will be going to his girlfriend's family's big Thanksgiving lunch which is a bit more local. We were invited to go with them, but I've been sick off and on all month so I don't want to take a chance on: 1) me getting sick again or 2) infecting anyone else. So, we'll be staying here and having a simple dinner on our own.
The beginning of November started off so nicely--we drove down to visit our grandsons in Maryland for a few days. The boys are growing by leaps and bounds and were so much fun to be around. Except for one thing, that is--they "nicely" shared their colds with us. Well, not us--just me! My husband remained healthy. But, oh, I was so sick--terrible headache, fever of 101.5, severe body aches, congestion, etc. I think it may actually have been the flu. And just when I'd been feeling better for about a week or so, a different ailment descended upon me--this time it is definitely a cold. Ugh! I'm not often sick and I'd forgotten how awful it is... Luckily, I was still able to stitch and I got a couple of cute autumn themed pieces stitched (and framed!).
Just in time for Thanksgiving comes this oldie, but goodie, called "Be Thankful" by Country Cottage Needleworks. I've had it in my stash forever and thought it would stitch up quickly--boy, was I wrong! There are a lot of white stitches in this piece. Love how well they show up, though, on the 40 ct. woodland brown Newcastle that I used (unfortunately, the color has been discontinued here in the U.S.). I used all of the suggested overdyed and DMC threads except for on the crows and dark lines which I changed to DMC 3371.
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| An older Country Cottage Needleworks chart (from 2012) finally stitched |
Now, I hadn't planned on framing this piece right away, but then I spotted this white frame (ordered from Franken Frames online) which I had purchased for another piece. When I held it up to "Be Thankful" (just intending to check the color of it against the fabric), what do you know--it was a perfect fit! What luck!
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| Love the row of white pumpkins! |
I'm very pleased with the final look and will be so happy to have yet another Thanksgiving piece on display when we host Thanksgiving next year!
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Another fall design that recently caught my eye was this cute "Chubby Squirrel" chart by Jeannette Douglas. Isn't he adorable? He's stitched on 40 ct. vintage country mocha with some of the suggested threads and some of my own substitutions. I debated whether or not to change him one into of the gray squirrels that we see more commonly here in Pennsylvania, but, in the end, I decided the cinnamon color offered more of a fall look. We do have red squirrels here, but they are usually skinny things who are very naughty and mischievous. I ended up using WDW Pecan, CC Straw Hat, and WDW Havana for the squirrel's body. I'm really happy with how the little fellow turned out!
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| "Chubby Squirrel" by Jeannette Douglas Designs |
I had originally planned on finishing this one into a round hanging ornament, but when I found this perfectly colored frame in my stash, I reversed course! I attached a brass acorn charm and bordered the round shape with some cording made from DMC 434. Love how it looks in the frame with the piece of fall-colored flannel in the background. It's a very simple finish, but the frame makes it seem a bit more impressive, don't you think?
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| A thrifted Goodwill frame worked perfectly for this finish |
Here is "Chubby Squirrel" on my kitchen sideboard with my grandmother's carved squirrels in the foreground. I just love those wooden squirrels and so did my grandson. When Mister B last visited, he had the best time making them dance to the sounds of "Hakuna Matata" from the Lion King musical. The squirrel couple may be a bit more chipped after his visit, but that's okay--I treasure memories like that!
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| I treasure this carved wooden squirrel couple that once belonged to my maternal grandmother. |
So, it's on to my last two ornaments for 2025. I have them stitched, but not finished, so I'll share those with you next time. Who else is stitching for Christmas? I still have some gifts to stitch and my ornament for Baby N. But, because we aren't hosting Thanksgiving--I have already made a start on my Christmas decorating in my kitchen and family room and it feels great! Hope to get my tree up and the outdoor porch decorations done next weekend. And then, I get to just relax and stitch (famous last words!).
A few of you asked if I would share some of the Halloween photos from October so I thought you'd enjoy seeing little Woodstock, Snoopy, and the Doghouse (aka Snoopy's mom!). I didn't have a good photo of my son as Charlie Brown so he's not pictured.
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| Six-month-old Baby N made such a cute Woodstock! |
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| Snoopy salutes as he sits on his doghouse (otherwise known as "mom")! |
I asked about Mister B saluting like he was in the above photo and they told me he was trying to imitate Snoopy as the Flying Ace battling the Red Baron. If you're at all familiar with the comic strip or television shows, you'll know exactly what I mean.
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| Snoopy and his army of tiny Woodstocks :) |
