Slow Stitching - May 2025 - Week 4

K3N Cloth Tales Comfort Coverlet 2025 Slow Stitching project - May- Week 4.

I finished my Books square in the coverlet slow stitching project.   

I added the tiny fabric book that hold my favorite authors.  You can find the details in this post.

I added more vine along the top of the book case from the blue pot. 

I added texture stitching - tiny seed stitching around the book to hold together the tea dyed top fabric to the foundation layer. 

I chose neutral tones used in the piece itself. 

I love it!

Slow Stitching - May 2025 - Week 3

K3N Cloth Tales Comfort Coverlet 2025 Slow Stitching project - March - Week 3.

I continue to add elements to my books square. 

I have added standing books to the top shelf of the bookcase with a variety of colors. Again, the stitch is the outline stitch with 2 strands of thread.

Then, a set of books laying on the second shelf featuring nice colored covers.

I added a red vase with flowers on the bottom shelf. 

Slow Stitching - May 2025 - Week 2

K3N Cloth Tales Comfort Coverlet 2025 Slow Stitching project - May - Week 2.

I continued with my books theme this week. 

Added green leaves with vines in single thread to the vine along the left hand edge. I used a variety of green colored thread. 

I added a book to the top shelf featuring a green edge, gold oval and green star in the center. It's cover facing out.

Then, a clock to the middle shelf in gold thread with black hands. 

Then, glasses to the bottom one.  I need those to read. Very important.

The embroidery is all done with the outline stitch. 

Slow Stitching - May 2025 - Week 1

K3N Cloth Tales Comfort Coverlet 2025 Slow Stitching project - May - Week 1.

I chose books for my May coverlet square.  I read a lot. I generally get my books from the Thrift Store, library book sales or the little Free Libraries in my area.

I started with a bookcase in brown thread.  I added a plant pot in blue on top with a green vine travelling along the left hand side of the square. 

I added a Little Free Library structure in the bottom left and corner in blue with bright books inside.  I added grass near the base of the library.

The stitch used is the outline stitch. 

Sylvia's Simple Shots

I finished this book this week.  It was a quick read and I could not put it down.

The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods.  

There are 2 story lines. The first is Opaline Carlisle/Grey who runs away to Ireland to avoid an arranged marriage in the 1920's and becomes a book seller in Dublin. It was very interesting to have Sylvia Beach who owned Shakespeare and Company in Paris in that time period appear in this story.  I read a book about her in this post.

The other is Martha and Henry in modern times with cell phones.  Martha is also running away from an abusive husband.  Henry is doing research for his thesis. Some of the abuse Martha suffered was quite uncomfortable to read about.

Henry starts in one direction but changes the focus of his thesis by the end of the book.

There is a fantastical aspect to the story where the premise is that books find the people who need to read them in the 1920 story.  In the house in Dublin, things are not all as they appear. 

Great read

A Train in Winter by Caroline Moorehead.

I started this book a couple of times but could not finish it.  I generally love World War II stories but this book had too much historical information in it.

A lot of detail about the players in WWII in France and the resistance movement.

Sylvia's Books Read

 A Year by the Sea - Thoughts of an Unfinished Woman by Joan Anderson.   Finished this book March 03 24.

A book about the author's journey to redefining and discovery herself following the departure of her children into adulthood.

Her husband gets a new job and expects her to follow him as she has before.  She chose to retreat to their family cottage on Cape Cod.

She enjoys her surroundings and gradually discovered her life was full of possibilities.  

Out of that magical, difficult, transformative year came this book. A record of her experiences in a year by the sea.

A good read.

The House Where Angels Dwell by Henry K. Ripplinger is book 6 of the Angelic Letters Series. Finished on Mar 21 24.

After decades apart, Henry and Jenny are finally married and living on Henry’s acreage situated on a hillside overlooking a beautiful panoramic valley. They couldn’t be happier. While Henry is finding fulfillment painting landscapes in his studio, Jenny is leading Bible studies as they relate to marriage and family with small groups of ladies in the city.

The only thing that could make Jenny happier would be to bear Henry a child. Although her age and the fact her body was ravaged by cancer is working against her, Jenny prays with Father Engelmann for another miracle in her life. Will God answer Jenny’s heartfelt wish and prayer?

Ever since Father Engelmann was miraculously healed from his near death experience, life at the care home was never the same. He is felt called to withdraw from the on-going hustle and bustle of the city to the prayer house beside the pond in the valley on Henry’s acreage. In the quietness and serenity of the small chapel in the prayer house, Father continues to offer up his prayers and Mass offerings for his flock.

Let it Shine by Josephine Cox was finished on March 30, 2024.  

She is one of my favorite authors.

Ada Williams believed that money and power would bring her happiness.  But now, she is all alone with a greedy and bitter son Peter who is just waiting for her to die.

A few miles away the Bolton family may be poor but the love they share, the friendship of neighbours, means they can overcome almost any adversity.

The twists and turns in this to discover the connection of these families so far apart.

Great read.

The Longings of Wayward Girls by Karen Brown.

This book is presented in different timelines but not very linear which I understand is done to dramatic effect.

A story about teenage girls and the angst of wanting to belong, being a clique, excluding others your social circle, being interested in boys and sometimes being mean.

I did finish the book but it was not a great read for me.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

The first Sunday of Advent. The season of waiting, preparing, anticipating.

This is my Advent Wreath set up with purple glass beads below the 4 candles with white under the candle in the center which is lit on Christmas Day.

I love glass and this is a sparkly wreath that helps me to have a happy heart while I wait.

 

The first candle is represents hope. The promise of the coming of Jesus through the many years before He arrived.

So many people waited, hoped for the light to come to the world.

Fervently anticipated the coming of the one who would bring salvation to the world.

This is my go to book for the Advent Season.  It is written by a Canadian author Ann Voskamp who is well known for her books.

As I read for the first few days of Advent here are some of the points that stand out.

He begs us to spend the the attention of Advent on 

     the little,  

            the least, 

                   the lonely,

                         the lost.

Do you fit into the adjectives?

             Do you have someone close who does?

                          Do you see someone in your daily life who does?

Pay attention to those who have been placed in your sphere of awareness and influence.

You alone were formed by a huddle of hearts: Lets make human beings.

The Three Persons of the Trinity - Father God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit gathered close together to imagine you and me.

And God in three persons, uncontainable affection, knelt down and kissed warm life into you with the breath of His love.

Amazing to me which fills me with gratitude of my life despite the uncontrollable circumstances that living on this earth brings with it. 

Lakeside Cottage by Susan Wiggs is a book I finished recently.

The main character Kate Livingstone return's to her family's lakeside cottage, a place of simple living and happy times. She hopes that her shy son Aaron will blossom here with the quiet life at the lake. No TV, no internet, warm weather and plenty of fresh water in this remote part of the Northwest.

The neighbor JD has escape to the remote place to find peace from the media frenzy following his actions preventing a terrible tragedy in Washington, DC.  He wants his life back where he can work, play and enjoy life without cameras, reporters and curious strangers.

Callie is a teenager who has been in the foster system for too long an wants out.  She is "adopted" for the summer by Kate who gives her a glimpse into life with a family. with Aaron a younger brother, Kate a substitute mom and JD as a father figure she grows into her teenage years supported, loved and respected. 

Of course, they all have been living in an idyllic world which healed wounds then the end of the summer brings reality but they are all able to handle it better.

My wheat bag sprung a leak.  It's not surprising as I have touched most winter days for years. 

When I have sore muscles, aches and pains, the heat brings comfort and healing.  

Sometimes I just need a bit of warmth to fall asleep.

It had been repaired many times and now the inside bag just needed to be replaced.  It had to be 100% cotton but I found a white pillow case that would do the job.  The thread has to be 100% cotton as well. The seam in the middle was a change I made during one of my repairs but I decide to keep it.

It is back in service!

I decided recently that I needed a scrap bowl on  my kitchen counter as I prepared my meals.  With the garbage under the sink I was always opening and closing the cupboard door and it was a hassle.

This way all scraps go into the bowl then I can empty it into the garbage pail once.

I like the idea.

For now I have relegated one of my medium bowls to this use.  We shall see if something else comes along which would work better either color wise or size wise.

Another good idea.

The Shoemaker's Wife by Adriana Trigiani is another book I wrapped up last week.

This was a great book.  Not the boy meets girl, fall in love and a happy ending type of simple romance stories.

This story is starts in the Italian Alps at the turn of the twentieth century when Enza (girl) and Ciro (boy) meet in her tiny village on the occasion of her youngest sisters funeral. Ciro was hired to dig the grave. They have an immediate connection but life gets in the way.

There are trips to America for both of them before they meet again. He comes to America to apprentice as a shoemaker. He learns his trade well, innovates ways to increase the income of the business but sees no benefit as his mentor's wife pockets the profits. He goes to war and meets his future business partner.

Meanwhile, on the mountain things become difficult for Enza's family and she convinces her father to travel to America so they can earn good money to build a house on the small piece of land they own.  She works as a seamstress in a factory in Hoboken for a while, then she meets a girl Laura at the factory who will be her best friend for ever.  After a scary incident at the factory they decide to take the leap to New York to find better jobs and better accommodations. Just in time they are invited to join the team at the Metropolitan Opera House.  They do well. 

When Ciro returns from World War I he finds Enza waiting outside a church on her wedding day.  He speaks to her and pleads his case, fortunately for him, he has always had her heart and she says yes.

They move to Minnesota to set up a shoe making business with his army buddy Luigi.  The set up 2 shops a few miles apart.  Life moves on, children are born, Christmases are celebrated, wonderful summers are enjoyed. Visits from Laura and Enza's father take place.

Life changes again, some return to Italy, some stay in Minnesota, children graduate from college and then a big trip is planned to visit the house house in Italy which was built by the hard earned money Enza and her father sent home for years.

A truly wonderful story and it read very easily.  I was up late into the night a couple of times.

I finally bought an audio player so that I can play my music while watching my exercise video on the TV.

It plays CDs and music on USB which is great. It also will record from the CD to the USB.  I spent a morning a few days ago organizing all my CDs into categories and boxes.  They have all been labeled so it will be easy to find what I want.

I decided to buy a USB stick which will be dedicated to music on this machine.  My exercise music for 30 minute, 40 minute and 60 minute routines has been copied to the USB.  I am working on my favorite Christmas music at the moment. 

Sylvia's Simple Shots

My aunt and I took a walk along the river with our cameras recently.

It was very nice temperature wise and the sun was shining.  A great time.

As you can see, though the river is frozen but we still have no snow.

Love the fall grasses in the foreground with the reflection of the sun on the river.

Gorgeous blue skies which are typical for Alberta.

We heard geese which I was surprised were still here despite the frozen water.  Who knows what they are thinking!

I joined another aunt for a visit to the Art Gallery.  The weather was still nice and I was tasked with driving us downtown and finding parking.  That went well.  It was really weird to be out and about.

First time, I used my vaccination record to visit a non essential place of business in 20 months.

There were 2 exhibitions I was interested which both featured colorful art.  Mostly abstract as well.

The blue and pink piece was about the how color can be dispatched to for social control.  The pink color which is used in institutional settings was studied in 1978 and was found to make inmates violent.  The barn is a piece about our abandoned farm buildings.  Love the abstracts.

Our first snow arrived on Sunday Nov 14th.  

It continued to come down for a few days in varying degrees.

I had to go out on Wednesday and the roads were like slushy soup as they had not been ploughed yet.  Yuck!

I had several places to stop and it was a bit harried but I managed to keep the car and myself intact.

I made roasted vegetables yesterday.  I used the large roaster so I could keep them to one layer.

Yams, red onions, brussel sprouts, rutabaga, turnip, garlic and carrots.  A bit of olive oil and seasonings.

I added fresh oregano in the last bit of its time in the oven.

They were yummy.

That means its time to head for groceries as I am completely out of veggies in the fridge.

An Irish Cottage by Patrick Taylor is the book I finished this week.

Love this author and his stories of a medical practice in rural Ireland in the 1960's.  

In this book the Donnelly's looks their cottage to fire and the community rallies to find the family a temporary place to live.   Then further efforts are made to rebuild the burned out cottage.

The civil unrest with north and south regions plays a part which I don't really understand well.  

Another theme is women's reproductive rights in the 60's where one women is not wanting another child and another woman desperately wants one and is having difficulty conceiving.

The doctors and their house keeper and neighbours provide wonderful stories!

The Perfect Christmas - Debbie Macomber revolves around a young woman who wants to be in a relationship.

She finally decides to hire a matchmaker for $30,000 to find the perfect match for her by Christmas.

The matchmaker gives her several tasks to prepare for her first date with John, her perfect match.  She stands outside a mall ringing bells to raise funds for a charity, dressing up as an elf with Santa at the mall, and prepare Christmas dinner for her neighbors in the apartment building.

Each of these provide opportunities to learn things about herself and ensures visits from the matchmaker to monitor her progress.

In the end, she finds the man of her dreams but it was not exactly as the matchmaker had planned.

It was okay for a light read.

Card - Library Tea Break

Another card for the Coffee Loving Cardmaker Spring and Summer Blog Hop.
 

I printed the Tea and Book graphic on white card stock.  I trimmed it to 3.75x5.00 inches.

I chose a blue purple card base in the A2 size in the portrait orientation.

I chose a piece of warm caramel card stock to accent the main element.  I placed 2 pieces  - one in the top left and one in the bottom right corner leaving a small border. They were adhered with double sided tape.

The tea cup layer was adhered to the card front with 3D foam tape leaving a small border.

I added a photo corner punchie in the top right hand corner made from the same warm caramel card stock.

I spattered the front with a bit of denim blue watercolor.