Only two weeks 'til Thanksgiving--can you believe it? I've begun my baking for the feast (always my favorite part of any holiday preparations) and have made five kinds of cookies so far. Still need to make a couple of pies, some pumpkin-cranberry bread, two dozen applesauce mini-muffins, and maybe a pumpkin roll. Way too much food for 17 of us. But, that's okay--is there anything better than Thanksgiving leftovers? YUM! Are you hosting this year? This year, my sons and their families will come here for Thanksgiving and then go to their in-laws for Christmas. I'll sure miss my little grandsons on Christmas morning, but we hope to have either an early or late gift-opening get-together in the not-too-distant future.
Today I have a big (well, for me, anyway!) fall finish to share with you! I just love the holiday/seasonal tiered tray series by Madame Chantilly and bought every single chart when they were first released. I've already stitched the summer one (which you can see here) and recently finished this pretty autumn design. I plan on using the same rustic weathered-looking frame for it that I used for the summer finish.
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| "Celebrate Autumn" is finished! |
"Celebrate Autumn" is stitched on 40 ct. vintage country mocha Newcastle with good, old DMC threads. I did make a few changes to the colors, though. I toned down the red and used DMC 221, changed any white threads to ecru, changed the apple cider to DMC 782, and used DMC 729 for the gold leaves.
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| Such wonderful fall colors! |
Each of the cute motifs is like a mini-finish so there is a sense of accomplishment almost daily. The "Hello Fall" blackboard did take a while, but I truly enjoyed stitching this piece. I'm thinking about stitching the "Celebrate Winter" design in this series next January... We'll see!
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| I truly enjoyed stitching this one! |
I fell behind on my monthly ornaments for the #12in26ornamentstitchalong that I host over on Instagram, but managed to catch up with two cute ornaments for September and October. My September ornament is called "Home For Christmas" by Teresa Kogut and is stitched on 40 ct. raw natural Newcastle linen. The chart can be found in the 2022 Christmas-Winter Punch Needle and Primitive Stitching Magazine. I used all of the suggested DMC colors except I changed the gold to DMC 729. I also changed the spacing on the lettering a bit to make it easier to read.  |
| My September ornament: "Home for Christmas" |
My October ornament was quick and easy--one of the jolly Santas from Prairie Schooler's "A Merry Mini Surprise" (book No. 215). He is stitched on 40 ct. woodland brown Newcastle using DMC threads. I added more snowflakes all around him to shape the ornament into a round. A wee, white pom-pom is attached to his hat. The green leaves are cut from the back of a dried boxwood wreath (no one will ever notice they're missing!) and glued to the ribbon. I also added a trio of artificial berries and a silver jingle bell.
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| My newest mini PS Santa for October |
He joins his little buddies all finished the same way except for one thing... The Offray burgundy gingham ribbon that I used for the others is no longer available since JoAnn's went out of business. Oh, how I miss that store! My sweet friend in Germany, Gabi, sent me a ribbon that is similar so I'll be using that for any others in this series that I stitch. Thank you so much, Gabi!
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| I just love these little PS Santas! |
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| Only two more Christmas ornaments remain to be stitched to meet my one-a-month goal for 2026! |
So, the rest of November will find me stitching my ornaments for the last two months of the year and one for each of my little grandsons. Last year I made the decision to stop exchanging ornaments with other stitchers and it has given me more time to stitch for my family which is so nice! Two of my local friends lost their husbands this year so I'm thinking of stitching them a little something with a cardinal... we shall see! Do you have any gifts being stitched for family or friends?
As everyone knows, when it comes to homeownership, there is a never-ending list of projects--especially for an older home. We had to replace both the furnace and air-conditioning systems this year, get a new driveway installed, cut down multiple old trees, and have portions of the roof fixed. As if that wasn't enough, we discovered a nearly rotted post on our front porch last week!
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| Our front porch looked like a crime scene with the yellow tape draped across the missing railing. |
We had asked a handyman to replace the white outer boards on a couple of the porch columns and this is what he discovered when they removed them from the one post. YIKES! We think it was from carpenter ants and moisture accumulation over the years. Luckily, the rotten wood didn't go up more than 18 inches or so which was a relief. The handyman replaced the entire column for us with pressure treated wood and, hopefully, it will last until we are ready to move from this house.
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| Rotten to the core! We were very surprised to find that pressure-treated lumber was not used to build this porch column--no wonder it rotted so badly! |
And now, it's back to my Italy travelogue from our trip in June... So far we've attended my youngest son's wedding (this post), gone to Montecarlo (this post), and visited Pisa and Lucca (this post). Today, I'll take you to our favorite spot on our Italy post-wedding adventure... Cinque Terre
What a breathtakingly beautiful part of Italy! Cinque Terre (meaning Five Lands) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is famous for it's five charming fishing villages perched on steep cliffs along the Ligurian Sea. Filled with lovely pastel colored homes overlooking blue, blue water, each town offers something special. We took a private tour with a local guide which I highly recommend rather than trying to navigate the area on your own. We traveled by van to Cinque Terre from Lucca and then traveled by boat from the southernmost town, Riomaggiore to the northernmost, Monterosso al Mare. The map below gives you a better idea of this part of Italy.
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| Cinque Terre |
Riomaggiore was the first stop on our day-long visit in Cinque Terre. It is known for it's sweeping views and unforgettable sunsets.
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| I know we all gasped out loud when we caught our first glimpse of Riomaggiore from the road above... simply stunning! |
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| Notice the vertical terraced vineyards carved into the mountainside. |
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| Sweet little scenes like this dotted the town |
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| So many steps connect the steep streets and back alleys of Riomaggiore |
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| Now that's what I call a feat of engineering---house after house built on these steep cliffs. And what a view they must have! |
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| Relaxing by the Ligurian Sea |
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| An unforgettable view! |
After spending time in Riomaggiore, we boarded a small boat and traveled past the tiny towns of Manarola and Corniglia on the Ligurian Sea.
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| Boarding the boat that would take us north to Vernazza. |
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| Riomaggiore as seen from the boat on the Ligurian Sea |
Our first glimpse of our next stop, Vernazza, was so interesting... Apparently the most common way for bulky goods to be delivered to this remote town is by helicopter. Because of it's location, many roads are so narrow that supplies for the vineyard industry, building items, etc. must be delivered by air. Multiple helicopters hummed overhead as they delivered their bundles.
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| One of the many helicopters delivering goods to the houses perched high up on the cliffs. |
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| The harbor scene in Vernazza was so charming |
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| The church of Santa Margherita d'Antiochia sitting along the harbor in Vernazza was built in the 1300's. |
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| Every day of our post-wedding trip was filled with the most perfect weather! |
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| My husband, me, and my brother-in-law (in back) enjoying the beautiful weather in Vernazza. |
Our final stop of the day was Monterosso al Mare... Here, we had time to explore the little town and enjoy a leisurely lunch (pasta, of course!). This is the largest and flattest of the five towns and offers the only true beach. It is considered more of an "upscale" area with several resorts and highly rated restaurants.
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| The beautiful beach in Monterosso al Mare--just look at those amazing shades of blue in the water! |
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| The Ligurian Sea lies beyond this rusty gate filled with locks from couples who have visited over the years. |
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| Would you dare walk along that narrow rocky path along the cliff? Not me! |
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| Such lovely scenery wherever you looked |
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| I loved this shot of my middle son and his girlfriend as they relaxed on the rocks along the beach. |
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| Relaxing over lunch in Monterosso al Mare before we headed back to our rental villa. |
It was a truly wonderful day and we all agreed we would go back to Cinque Terre in a heartbeat. Our next stop in my Italy itinerary will be to see the sights in a couple of the other small hilltop towns of Tuscany--hope you'll join me!
I hope you've enjoyed your visit today--thank you for reading and a special thank you to those of you who take the time to leave a comment... I appreciate each and every one, I hope you know that. Until next time, I wish all of my stitching friends in the U.S. a lovely Thanksgiving Day with friends and family. If you are traveling, be safe. And if you are hosting--try not to sweat the small stuff. In the end, no one cares if the potatoes are lumpy or the turkey is a bit dry. The important thing is just being together as we count our blessings! Bye for now...
