Y'all. IT SNOWED. This is one of the most bonkers things I have ever seen in my life and I am over the moon! Really, I can't tell you how excited and happy we have been! For those who don't know what all the fuss is about, we're stationed on the Gulf Coast and we just experienced an historic winter storm that dumped snow along the coast from Texas to Florida. It's just unbelievable, in the most delightful way. Here's a look at what it's been like here over the past 24 hours.
It begins...
A gorgeous winter evening
Happy Stitching!
When I was a very young stitcher almost 40 years ago, I loved to buy lots and lots of charts. Over the years, my tastes have become more selective and for a long time now I've been buying far fewer charts but more fabric and goodies. One of my favorite goodies is counting pins. As you can see, I have a little collection, some purchased, some homemade. Some were on the cards they came on when I bought them, some were in a small tin. I decided to make a counting pin book.
I already had everything I needed in my sewing room, including the floss bags and binder cover. I get those from Hobby Lobby (I'm sure they're available elsewhere) and keep them on hand because that's what I use to store my hand dyed threads. It just hadn't occurred to me to use them for my counting pins. The only other things I used were cardstock and felt.
For a lot of stitchers, maybe most, January is the month with a flurry of new projects. It has become a tradition to begin a new piece on New Year's Day. There are many SALs and monthly series that kick off in January. I don't know if it's still going, but one had stitchers starting a new project every day in January (that one gives me anxiety so we won't dwell on it, but to each their own). I'm not much of a SAL stitcher, but I do almost always have a New Year's Day start, and I do love a good monthly series, but I'm picky about those and like to see all the months before starting one. The point is, it seems a lot of stitchers like to hit the ground running in January.
Me? Not so much. My approach to January is pretty leisurely, stitching-wise and otherwise. While everyone else is signing up for the gym and eating lettuce and starting 30 new projects, I'm over here burrowing deep down into my winter hibernation, even here in this warm climate. It has always seemed unnatural to me to plunge into furious activity in the middle of winter. I do that in the spring. But in January, I hibernate.
So I've been playing in my stash and stitching aliens and making cocoa.
Wait. What?
Mooo.
French Vanilla Cocoa Mix
My favorite week of the year! For many years, my annual, just-for-me tradition has been to spend the week between Christmas and New Year's Day in my sewing room, playing in my stash and planning my projects for the coming year. It's the perfect week for me. The busyness leading up to Christmas has passed and there is the feeling of a pause, taking a breath before the new year begins. The house is clean and decorated, the cooking is done, the snacks are laid in. What better time to indulge in all things stitchy?
I haven't been able to have a proper Stitchy Planning Week for several years, so I'm very much looking forward to this one. I putter in my sewing room, tidying where needed. I go through my stash, and usually clean it out a bit. I plan my projects, and make lists (I love lists) of ideas and supplies needed. Most importantly, I look forward. I wrote about this aspect of stitching a long time ago and I find I understand its value even more ten years later. It is absolutely vital to have something just for you that pulls you forward. Even with everything I've been through since I wrote that, and especially in the last few years, I never lost my love of stitching.
Or--let's be honest--my love of shopping for stitchy goodies. And right up at the top of my list is fabric. I love fabric. I have a lot of fabric. I always need more fabric. Here is a plug for some beautiful fabric and the nice ladies who dye it:
In early December we made a trip to Texas (bonus baby pics coming up!), and while we were there I got to visit a new-to-me fabric dyer, Under the Sea Fabrics. Actually, we all went: Mr. Wonderful, my mom, and my aunt. Before I get to the fabric, I must praise the ladies there for making our visit so enjoyable. I always visit a new LNS with some trepidation, as it seems most stitchers have a "LNS horror story", including me. The very worst shopping experience I have ever had was in a LNS. So here I was, with my husband and two elderly relatives in tow.
They could not have been more kind. They were warm and welcoming, made sure my mom and aunt were looked after, and even supplied Mr. Wonderful with his favorite coffee, so I could concentrate on my fabric shopping. It was wonderful, and my mom and aunt (who don't get out much) were still talking about it the next day. If you're anywhere near San Antonio, TX and you love fabric, it's worth the trip.
Now the fabric! I had a hard time making up my mind, but I decided to choose colors that were different from anything I already had.
Gorgeous fabrics. You can't really go wrong with anything you choose. And they have tons of opalescents, if you love those. I think the last two are my favorites, but they're all beautiful.
I've got a little cooking and baking to do for New Year's Eve/Day, but once that's done I plan to retreat into my sewing room and who knows what I'll get up to. Stay tuned and find out!
Bonus Baby Pics! Trip to Texas: 2022 & 2024 (They were so tiny! *sniffle*)
