Slow Sunday Stitching - December 18, 2021

After a very warm December to date, the temps have finally dropped to below freezing here in Kansas.  With the unseasonable warmth, thunderstorms and straight line winds earlier this week, that's good.  We did loose our electric power here in my city, but it was back on within five hours for most neighborhoods.  My son works for our local water department and they are still running many of the pumps on backup generators at this point as the electric company prioritized households.   Unlike our poor neighbors to the east who were devastated by tornadoes from the other side of this weather system, things should be back to normal soon.   If you can, consider donating to the recovery efforts.     

Since I work for a utility company, it's been busy this week due to all the terrible weather, and like last winter, that leads to not a lot of crafting time,  I'll be busy in and around the holidays anyway, because my monthly workflow doesn't extend deadlines due to the time that the office will be closed, so I have to work extra to be able to take a day off.  I'm on salary, but it never seems to be a 'slack' time to make that time up LOL.   Retirement is still eleven months off.......  Not down to counting weeks or days yet.  Trying to run right up to the tape!

My family went out to see the lights around town the day before the storm hit.  This one is a drive through display in the camping area at the lake.  It's a fund raiser for our local sheltered workshop and advocacy service.  The mix of traditional and neon lights and fun special effects is always interesting to see.  We also hit up two of the houses that do the 'light and music' displays.  Again, they are in support of charities - the rescue mission and the local military family services outreach for one and the local food pantry for the other.  My son would love to get to the point where he could do one for USMC Toys for Tots.   Our zoo also does a wonderful walk through display, and my neighborhood (especially the big Victorian houses a couple of blocks over) have lots of houses that are beautifully lit for the season; we have tiny pocket parks in traffic circles over there and they are lit with painted plywood displays that rotate through several themes year to year - "A Christmas Carol" this year.

Driving around to see all the pretty lights with Mannheim Steamroller and other Christmas music playing is one of my favorite things this time of year. 

There was enough crafting time that I feel like I can link up with Slow Sunday Stitching though.   I did get another one of the connecting blocks done for "Patchwork of the Crosses" by Lucy Boston.  Number 9 of 12 for the center of the table topper.  Number 10 is already cut out.

Nine inches on the sock yarn blanket while watching some Floss Tube and attending a mandatory zoom meeting.  I'm not going to love having to do those in person next year where I won't be able to turn off my camera and knit (sad face).  More work on Bob's stocking - under the gun on that now.  He may be getting it without the embroidery and then I'll take it back after the holiday to finish it!

And lastly - since I finished Moon Garden, I concentrated a bit on the other Blackbird Designs piece, "Autumn Silhouette".   I think this one will make a good project bag if I can find the right quilting cotton to coordinate.   There's quite a bit of extra linen in the kit, so I could probably get some matching smalls out of it.   I ordered a couple of extra skeins of the floss to be able to accommodate the extra stitching if I decide to do the smalls.   I'll do the alphabet in the new dye lot.   It's Weeks Dye Works "Swamp Water" and that one changes a LOT from batch to batch.  The kit floss is almost black, but the Fat Quarter Shop website (where I ordered it) shows the same color as a greenish brown.  Hopefully it will look OK.

The linen is very grey in this photo, it really has an orange undertone

 On Saturday this coming week, I wish a Merry Christmas to all who celebrate.  And for everyone, I wish you Peace and Safety in this and every season.