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. 

Oil Diffusers - Travel Case - Set 1

Blue Bird of Happiness - This diffuser features a bluebird sitting on a branch applique with stitched flower in the upper left corner. The back is a light blue denim with a blue felt drop, a loop and hanger. 

Blanket stitched all the way around to kept both layers together.  All fits in a clear plastic travel case.

Embrace Life - This diffuser features layered felt flowers with a dark center which would work well for a spot to place the essential oil.  The flowers were appliqued to green felt using running stitch and long stitches. The leaf was stitched in place first with the flowers overlapping it.  The back on this one is light mustard linen fabric with a brown drop, green loop and a hanger.

Again, blanket stitch all the way around. All fits in a clear plastic travel case.

Be Happy - A happy face is always fun and uplifting. I used a white felt background for good contrast. I cut the yellow circle then used a hole lunch to create the eyes then filled them with black felt circles. These were stitched in place. The smile was stitched in stem stitch then a satin stitch on the outer edge.  That took a long time.  I used a piece of quilting cotton in coordination colors for the back.  The edge of the cotton is folded over before stitching to provide a finished edge. The back has a yellow loop and felt drop and a hanger.

Blanket stitched all the way around the perimeter with yellow embroidery cotton. All fits in a clear plastic travel case.

Wine O'Clock - I  hope that I have conveyed the message clearly enough with the clock in a wine glass. I chose a bright red felt for the background then cut a white circle for the clock. Black French Knots do for the numbers and then I stitched the hands.  I then stitched the wine glass in grey thread to represent glass but maybe black would have been better.   The back is a grey fabric to coordinate with the grey on the front.  A black loop,a red felt drop and a hanger on the back. 

Again, blanket stitched all the way around with red thread. All fits in a clear plastic travel case.

For overall information you can check  Oil Diffusers - Hand Stitched Original Designs with Travel Case.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

I brought these beautiful flowers home this week.  They are a sympathy bouquet with pink roses, freesia and lilies on the passing of our dear Mom on Sunday, January 22nd. Some of her girls were with during her final hours and she passed peacefully.

These flowers were given to my sister but she could not keep them due to lilies and the cats. 

I am blessed to receive them and enjoy them - it is a gorgeous arrangement.

I am glad Mom is now with Dad and no longer in pain.

I received this Anniversary Clock when things were cleared from Mom's room at the Lodge. We were blessed to have many hands to make light work of moving furniture, clothes, appliances, sewing machine and entertainment center.  She had been in the hospital since Dec 11th so we had some warning that she would not be returning to the Lodge.

I don't know the story of the clock and on my last visit with her she was not responsive so I did not get a chance to ask about it.  It must have been precious as she took it to the lodge with her.  Maybe Dad gave it to her for one of their over 60 wedding anniversaries.  I hope someone in the family will have the history.

It has been around for a long time I think.   It is battery operated and it chugging away keeping time on my shelf now.

I dropped some stuff at the ReUse Center this week and did pick up a few things.

There were some small glass ornaments - The Nutcracker on the left and mercury glass acorns on the right.

There was a good amount of the yellow pear fabric which came home with me.  Not sure what it may become - maybe a towel hanger for the oven door.

The Best Detective Stories of the Year - 1972 edited by Allen J. Hubin. 

There were several good stories in this collection.  They were short enough to finish in a half hour before going to bed.

Bizarre story about trying to photograph heaven as beings are being killed to achieve this goal.  Another about how man in a  large transport truck terrorizes a guy in a car on a lonely stretch of road. One story documents a number of financial deals which ends up with someone being hoodwink of lots of money in the end.  A turn of words makes the difference. 

Maybe it was not the best reading just before bed.

We are headed back into the cooler for the next few days.

I managed to get groceries and run a few errands before that arrived.

O is for Outlaw by Sue Grafton was another great book in the Kinsey Millhome series. 

This central figure in this one is her ex-husband Mickey Magruder who now lays in a hospital bed in very bad shape. 

She learns that the circumstances under which she decided to end her marriage to Mickey may not be quite what they seemed.  Now, she must investigate the situation to clear up if and what she misunderstood.  Time is precious as Mickey is not long for this world.

Mickey was a cop and lost the job he loved and took a downward spiral - let's say not always on this side of the law.

It was interesting to see Kinsey have to look at her life and maybe see things and do things differently.   She usually is so sure of herself and generally a straight shooter.  A great read.

Recent Photos

A large maple leaf with beautiful color in yellow and reds.

I have to say that I think it is too soon to see leaves on the ground.

We had a very wet summer with lots of cloud and overcast weather so it did not feel hot enough.













I finished another Maeve Binchy book this week.  The first part of the book was quite slow but then it picked and ended really well. I love her books and Ireland as the background. Several young people were the main characters during 3 periods of their lives.

I received this Cup Cozy from a friend who was away on vacation in August.

I love the color and the purpose.  I was hoping that the button was functional but then was reminded that it was meant for take out cups of tea or coffee.

I have placed it on my Bodin double walled glass.












I spent a day with my sister in Camrose. We did the 8 venues of the Art Walk.  The quilt in the top left corner was amazing.Loved the pottery mugs at the Art Gallery were really nice.
We brought a picnic lunch and ate at Mirror Lake.
We saw a lot of great art, visited several thrift shops, book store, and a couple museums.  She prefers to have experiences rather than physical gifts so this was her Christmas gift from me.

I bought this 90+ year old Westclox Big Ben De Luxe 2 Alarm clock at one of the thrift stores.

It was released in 1928 at a retail cost of $3.75. It has a beautiful crackle finish in an Old Rose color and gold.  

It does not work and rattles when picked up. It looks really good and will work really well as a photography prop. 

I photographed it in front of my reclaimed wood photography background.

The background is wood I saved from the landfill. I managed to get all the nails and screws out of the pieces.  I scrubbed all the dust and dirt off the pieces without losing the patina.  I have about 12 pieces that I can set up as I want - nice flexible system.

Flickr Macro Monday challenge this week was - Pasta.  Check out my photo stream to see what image I submitted.

Joining Mosaic Monday #43 hosted by Angie at Letting Go of the Bay Leaf.

Thorough My Lens #206 hosted by Mersad.

One Thousand Gifts - Between Sessions

There is Between Session work in the One Thousand Gift bible study.

It prompted us to start out our Gift List with 20 gifts, identify 3 moments in our life which changed our lives, and choose 5 Eucharisteo Mentors. It suggested sending a card or email Thanking them for their example.

I designed these new Nifty Notes, printed some and will bring them to class for participants to use in communicating with their mentors.

I have a couple of cards prepared to send off to ladies which have been a calm and steady influence in my lif.


The clock I designed this week.  I chose a vintage clock image to which I added a deep tree back image and a horizontal blur image.

The floral still life is one I designed in January.  Check it out here.  

Share Your Cup #197

These are the Gerber Daisies I gave my Mom for Mother's Day.  We had a good weekend with a good visit with one of my sisters and her kids. 


I usually give her tulips but they were not very nice this year.  I chose these Gerber Daisies instead.  With Mom clearing things out she only had a large vase in which these flowers look a little lost.  I'm sure she will enjoy them. 

This is a grape hyacinth blooming in one of the plots at the Community Garden.  There were very nice tulips there. 

This is a vintage clock which was in our house as we grew up.  It has a few chips on the roof and the birds have lost their rhinestone eyes.  It has some great color with a red roof and white side boards. It's a nice size. 

I've started making Chocolate Bran Muffins again.  I need a healthy snack that can replace some of the sweet things I've been eating.

This was a plant at the community garden.  It has this central whitish cluster.  I'm not sure if it will become flowers.  Maybe.


Linking with Sharing Your Cup #197 hosted by Carol at Art and Sand.

Craft Room - Clock - Paper Crafting Improvement

Here's the other find at the Thrift Store.  I've been looking for one for quite a while.  I've chosen black for my craft room and the clock I had was ivory. It's been following me around for decades but it was classic round with good size numbers. Classics last forever!  I digress.
This one was large and the numbers easy to see.  I did have to make some adjustments to it. The hands were not solid which made it harder to see them. So I just cut narrow stripes of black card stock, applied adhesive to both ends and applied them to the back of the hand.  Now I have 2 solid clock hands which make the clock are really easy to read. I'm a happy crafter!

Challenge - Retro Clock

I printed the retro clock image on vellum with the greeting.  This clock has only the 4 quadrant numbers visible and just lines for the other numbers.  The angular hands are in keeping with the design.
I cut the vellum with my Creative Memories oval cutter then I cut the large black oval frame by using a step larger for the first cut then the same size as the vellum oval for the second cut creating the narrow frame.  I mounted these on a bright green card which I thinks keeps with the retro vibe.  The vellum is held in place with a tiny black brad in the center of the clock and vellum adhesive behind the greeting.

Card Challenge - Clock

Still another card for the CST Home Page Card Challenge.  It was to include a clock on the card.  I found some images of clock faces on line and printed them on vellum along with a greeting.
The clock face is vintage and the hands are just about the same size so a little harder to read the time.
This is a black card with script background designer paper.  The colors worked but the greeting gets lost in the background.  I punched the corners with my corner rounder. I added some definition to the hands from the back side of the vellum with a fine black marker to help with the readability of the time. Again a tiny black brad in the centre of the clock and some vellum adhesive behind the greeting.

Challenge - Pink Clock

Here's another card for the Home Card challenge at CST which is a card with a clock on it. I printed them on vellum.
This clock has the circle separated into wedges of color for each number. The hands of the clock are black and quite dainty. It has red second hand.
For this card I chose a dark brown card with a red tone to it.  I mounted a piece of salmon colored polka dot designer paper leaving a large border.  I then cut the vellum to smaller than the DP so it would leave a border as well.  I put a tiny black brad in the center of the clock and some vellum adhesive under the greeting.

Challenge - Card with clock

The Home Card challenge at CST is a card with a clock on it.  I searched the web for some pretty clock faces and selected four. I placed them on a quarter sheet and added a greeting and printed them on vellum.

The one on the left here has roman numerals and some hints of blue on the background.  I selected a turquoise card and added a warm yellow green designer paper with a pattern that was not too busy.  I cut the designer paper to leave a good border of the blue and then trimmed the vellum to be smaller than the DP. I placed a tiny black brad in the center of the clock and some vellum adhesive under the greeting and the top of the clock.