Santa’s Beard & Quilt Show

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This past week was a busy one so Santa moved slowly through the home stretch. A visit was needed at the local needlepoint shop for advice on stitching his beard.  These are long french knots made with angora fiber. Half-way finished!

Saturday, I took a long drive (175 miles) to view the Grand Rapids AQS Quilt Show.  I enjoy their shows,  however, there seemed to be less quilts entered and on display than previous years which was disappointing discouraging.  Below is an itsy-bitsy show sampling.

Summer beach house with clever accessories.
A shame this quilt did not receive a ribbon nor honorable mention.

Wall hanging

I'd love to have this wall hanging in my sewing room.

Well-deserved ribbon.

Hand Stippling ~ exquisite!

This Sunday I shall slow down, relax from a busy week and stitch with others at Kathy's Slow Stitching Sunday.

Jill

Quilt Shows & Santa’s Home Stretch

Santa is looking forward to a finish this week. There has been lots of stitching on his fur trim and miscellaneous sections. That will leave his beard and cap tassel remaining.  I know how to stitch the beard and look forward to using the soft, lush angora fiber.  However, there is uncertainity on how to make his tassel, I may have to pay a visit my local needlepoint shop for advice.  Oh darn, twist my arm.

This upcoming week, a road trip to the AQS Quilt Show in Grand Rapids is in the works. I love all quilt shows, yet the larger quilt shows display more eye candy. Not to mention temptation offered by the variety of quilt vendors ;-)  Below is only one example of many exquisite quilts from last year. It's worth the 2.5 hour drive.

This past Spring, I attended two inspiring quilt shows. One of my yearly favorites is the Sauder Village Quilt Show (2019) in Ohio. They usually have 300-400 quilts on display in a lovely venue.

Apologies to the makers as her/his names are not visible.

The second Spring show visited was the Chicago International Quilt Show. Admittedly, the show was very large and quite overwhelming. This quilt was beautiful. The maker is from France. I'm on a blue kick and love dishes which is perhaps why it appealed to me.

Thanks for visiting and hope you enjoy seeing more hand needlework

 at Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching.

Jill

Santa's Summer Getaway

Today's Slow Sunday Stitching post is written by Santa himself. 😉

When I learned that Jill was going 'up north' to spend a two days on Lake Huron in Oscoda, Michigan, I asked if I could be her take-along handwork project. "Certainly." was her response as an early September deadline is fast approaching for my finish.  Note to self:  I, Santa, so desire to be on display this Christmas and not be stashed away with other to-be finished projects.

We stayed at lovely inn/bed & breakfast overlooking a pretty green lush garden and the lake.  We relaxed outside on a covered porch and stitched away without the usual at-home distractions that interfere with precious sewing time. (Please continue to scroll down as there are extra blogger spacing.)

More easy and fast background fill-in stitches were completed.  One previously stitched section of snow, on my cap, was troublesome.  In Jill's eagerness to work with 'snow fibers,' she grabbed an off color which was unnoticeable until I was outside.

OMGosh, I had a pale yellow streak in the middle.  We both tried to ignore it, but it was bothersome and a plan was put into place. Being away from home and in a relaxed mood, the decision was made to carefully cut and pull out all the stitches and redo. 

Yikes! I felt like I has having brain surgery.  A seam ripper and tweezers were used.  I needn't worry as Jill was slow, patient and ever-so careful. When all old stitches were removed, we both breathed a sigh of relief and I was spared damage.

While I (Santa) was visiting Lake Huron, I visibly saw the heart-breaking effects of erosion from the high water levels. By the way, the white cottage is for sale. When the  family visited the same location last year, this bluff was a beautiful sloping sandy beach that extended 50 yards out.  It's shocking. Note to self: In December attempt to grant a Christmas gift wish to return the beach.





While joining Kathy and her Sunday Slow Stitchers, I proudly display my fresh all white re-stitched snow on the cap and furry work on hat trim.

Thanks for reading and please remember that the holidays will be here before we know it. 😉

Love, Santa

Christmas Stitching in August

Quick post which is better than no post. 😉 August is the last full month of summer. There are still lots of summertime things to enjoy. This past week an afternoon was spent on a Lake Huron beach which is a 45 minute drive from my house.  The color of the water was a gorgeous Caribbean blue.

Summer stitching has continued on the blue needlepoint Santa. The majority of his face was completed other than eyebrows which will be stitched with an angora fiber. As angora is a fuzzy fiber, it is best to do at the end so fibers are not picked up with other colors.

While joining Kathy at Slow Sunday Stitching, some more background work will be completed.

Have a good week,

Jill