HAPPY WEEKEND, DEARIES!

 

I LOVE FALL MOST OF ALL

 

I'm Spinstering for the next two weeks, so that means stitching all the things and watching all the things. Last night I played with Emily Call's "Thankful, Grateful, Blessed" while watching Brideshead Revisited, a documentary about Elizabeth Taylor, and Stitcherista on the YouTubes.

Today has dawned sunny and hot, and I am definitely staying inside to cool confines of CS2 with much more of the same.

What's new with you, Dearies? 

 

GOOD MORNING FROM NOTRE DAME

Rich is ushering today, so I am dropping him off and then spending the day...enjoying.

I forget how pretty my school is sometimes...even the stadium. I guess that means I should come over more often and walk a bit and look around.

Guess who finished her Guild Tree? I think this is Freida's Fancy Stitching, but I don't have the chart here with me in the car (duh), so I'll give you the deets later, OK Dearies?

(The bird is my addition. The chart calls for a star stitched in Kreinik, but I thought the bird would make it...Spinster Special 🤭).

Happy Friday! If you're taking kids or grandkids off to college this weekend...God bless and keep you! And...if you have kids or grandkids or neighbors or friends here at Notre Dame that need a local portly spinster alumna to help out every now and then, please get in touch!

Ciao for now!

 

HEY SPINSTER STITCHER! WHAT'S WITH ALL THIS FREAKIN' BLISS?

 

If you've been reading this silly little blog for any length of time, you know a LOT about Yours Truly. Probably more than you want to know, but no amount of eyeball scrubbing or brain de-programming will allow you to un-know it.

For more years than I care to remember, I have flitted about from thing to thing or gadget to gadget or group to group or web page to web page like the proverbial 300-pound hummingbird in search of Stitchy Peace, Planner Peace, Book Peace, Food Peace....or any other kind of Peace that will quell my impulse to over-think and over-worry the joy right out of everything.

I'm not quite there yet in the Stitchy Peace department (and not even remotely in the same universe of the others), but one thing I know for sure is that kitting up a project with pretty things, useful tools, and a ton of coordinated crap makes me insanely happy!

Mrs Parkman at Hands Across The Sea Samplers just posted a FlossTube video about this very thing, and what struck me about it was the sense of happiness I felt listening to her describe her ritual for kitting up her next project. Her "pretties" and gear are in a different stratosphere than mine, to be sure, but I completely related to her joy while displaying, describing, and using her beautiful tools and treasures.

So from now on I'm going to pay particular attention to the assembling of my little kits, and take a minute to enjoy the things in them. I have been the recipient of so many beautiful bits and bobs that I use every day, and I love sending a little prayer and happy vibe out into the world to the people that sent them.

Last night's Guild meeting was wonderful, but (as usual) I am pretty sure I sucked the oxygen out of the room again. I'm really trying to get better at not doing that, but I get so excited to be around my GL's that I forget how to act.

Must remedy that.

Cheers to Wednesday! What's giving you oxygen today? Come tell me all about it!

ENOUGH WITH THE COWS ALREADY!

OK, Dearies, we're moving on from the silly cows. 

This is the August project for my Library/Bank Guild. I sat down with it after dinner last night and had the tree stitched before I knew it. It's hard to see in my craptastic photo, but this is all stitched in bargello on 18ct canvas with Watercolours and DMC #5 perle cotton. The evening group meets tonight, so I will be able to sit with my GL's and (maybe) have another fee nee?

I'm going to start a project today, I hope. I want to go through my finished pieces (all collected in a big box under my bed) and sort them into the year in which they were completed. Then, I want to grab one of the umpteen journals that I have, and jot some details about them as a sort of catalogue.

Short and sweet today, but it is a lovely Tuesday here in Hoosierville, and I'm feeling almost slightly tempted to go outside.

Yeah...that'll pass.

What's new with you? Come tell me all about it!

THE OFFENDING IMAGE

I guess I'm more dense than even I am willing to admit, Dearies. This is the image that I posted that caused all of the consternation of several Betties that scolded me via email.

Can somebody explain it to me?

DAISY CHAIN FEE NEE

 Daisy Chain

Carolyn Manning Designs

28ct Lugana from Colour & Cotton in Peony

DMC threads all per the chart

(showing both front and back because I'm feeling all extra for completing a full-coverage piece)

CAN'T A SPINSTER POST A PICTURE OF A COW DRINKING COFFEE WITHOUT DRAMA?

Geeze, Louise.

I apologize, Dearies.

I posted what I thought was a cute picture of a cow drinking coffee, but apparently I didn't really LOOK at the picture of the cow drinking coffee.

If anybody was offended, I really do offer you my sincerest "I'm so sorry".

WEEKEND SPINSTER BLISS

 

WHERE'S KATHERINE GRAHAM WHEN YOU NEED HER?

 

Well, I knew it would happen eventually, but I am no longer able to receive a printed newspaper delivered to my door each day. And to add insult to this terrible "we're going to drag you out of your 1954 lifestyle by your hair" thing, I am no longer able to receive the New York Times Sunday edition delivered to my door either.

"Read it online", they say. "It will only cost you $1 a week".

Sorry, Gens Z, Y, ABC or whomever now runs my entire life...I want a newspaper. Real. Live. Printed. Paper. And I want it to be delivered at about 7am by a freckle-faced kid on a bicycle who will toss it up the stairs so that it lands with a satisfying THUMP on my H(heart)ME doormat that I scored at the Targets for seven dollars.

I want to remove said paper from the plastic bag that I will save for potty trips outside (even though Stewey has been dead for eight years) and take it to the kitchen table, where I will devour every word of it with my PopTart and 40oz cup of steaming damn good with Truvia and a splash of half and half, and then I want to find my special click-y pen that writes in the perfect shade of electric blue, and I want to do the Celebrity Crypto-quip, the Jumble, and the Sudoko while simultaneously reading Rich's horoscope to him and checking out what Snoopy is up to.

I want to page through Sunday circulars and clip coupons and recipes and learn about chili suppers and fish fries taking place at the VFW, and see pictures of high school kids doing amazing and wonderful things. I want to read the weather report for the week, roll my eyes over some crazy letter to the editor, and then I want to read the obituaries so that I can complain that they aren't HALF as good as they were when I was writing them, and then I'll close the damn thing and put it in the big basket of other newspapers that I've read and it will stay there until the pile threatens to topple over and I find a clear bag to stuff them into for the recycling pick up.

As for the Sunday Times...well, that was my box of chocolates for the week. I would read a section or two each day, saving the Book Review section for Saturdays so I could pour over it with the same enthusiasm I used to give Speed Racer and Rocky and Bullwinkle, and every year I promised myself that this would be the year that I read my way through the best-seller's list, one week at a time. I read the tiny love stories and the little quips about life in New York, and when I turned the page to the Vows section I held my breath a little to see if the featured couple was somebody I knew. (It never was).

I realize that the world changes and life moves on differently now, but tapping an iPad and swiping right or left or up or down just doesn't hold the same appeal as holding that physical paper in your hand, just like an e-book is never going to give me a page-turning fix.

Read it online?

Nope.

Now if you'll excuse me, it's time to fluff the bouffant and get dinner on the table. Thank you for letting me vent, Dearies. I hope your weekend is wonderful and that your needle flies and your paper thumps and all of the things that make you happy happen exactly when you want them to! Come tell me all about it!

ON TO THE BORDER!

 

Daisy Chain

Carolyn Manning Designs

Hello, Dearies! I am still in my robe at almost 1:00 in the afternoon, and I make not one single apology for that fact.  I am contemplating another cup of damn good, and I'm looking forward to an afternoon full of stitchy time and something good on the TeeVee. 

What are you up to today?

 

BLOSSOM TIME FEE NEE

Blossom Time

Needle Delights Originals

(This was a class taught at an EGA Great Lakes Region Seminar) 

18ct mono canvas

Threads, beads, and stitches all per the chart

Oh, Dearies! I had so much fun playing with this piece! I was supposed to take this as a class in the Spring at "Zen In The Glen", but I missed it and had to go to Indy instead. 🙁 I started this and stitched it exclusively at Donaldson, and ended up enjoying it all day today.

They're hard to see in my craptastic photos, but I actually made all of the beaded flowers! Thanks to excellent directions and about nine hours of dedicated stitchy time, I was able to put them together with relative ease, and I just love how they look on this!

There are three other companion pieces representing the other three seasons, so stay tuned for more fun as soon as I can get my paws on the kits for them!

But now it's time for me to find a pillow. I wish you good sleeps and happy dreams! See you tomorrow!

 

RECOVERY DAY

After a good long sleep, several big hot cups of damn good, a sensible breakfast/lunch, and a splosh in the pool, I'm showered and in pajamas and ready to settle in with some more Blossom Time. 

I really have no earthly idea what day it is or what we're having for dinner or whether or not I have anything on a list of stuff to do someplace, but I am happily oblivious and not looking to disrupt the quiet that has filled my tiny little brain....at least not for the moment.

How are you? 

SPINSTER'S LOG...DONALDSON...ADIEU

Much like the Closing Ceremonies at the Olympics, there comes a time when we must bid Fare thee well to our beloved Donaldson.

But first...some housekeeping.

Donaldson...Lindenwood...Ancilla...Plymouth. What the heck are you blathering about, Spinster? I've looked high and low for this Donaldson thing, but have no earthly idea where you are. Has the Mothership finally come to take you home? Are you actually sitting in your apartment in your underpants making up a room full of imaginary friends?

Well.

The Donaldson Sit and Stitch Retreat takes place every year at the Lindenwood Conference and Retreat Center on the campus of Ancilla College (now known as Marian University/ Ancilla Campus) in a tiny little place called Donaldson, Indina, which is just about four and a half feet away from Plymouth, Indiana.

It's in the middle of Hoosierville, surrounded by farms and cows and just down the road from the WalMarts and whatnot, and this place is just...magic. It's calm and peaceful and quiet and lovely and all the things your brain needs once a year to just shut up and let you get back to center.

For me, this has been a very different Donaldson.  I learned a lot about things, but more about myself. I learned that it's OK to be a little quiet and not suck the oxygen out of the room and to just...observe...listen...watch. I also learned that Show and Tell (in which stitchers exhibit their finished pieces for us to enjoy) doesn't have to be intimidating....it can actually be INSPIRING.

I learned that being in the company of kind and talented and smart and funny and accomplished people is good for the soul. It makes me want to know better, and do better, and be better. Not to belabor this Olympic thing to death, but I am coming away from this weekend (actually Friday through Tuesday) wanting to practice and strive and try to up my game so that I can come back next year on the next level.

(Because let's face it, Dearies. This group plays VARSITY.)

I have an hour to go, so methinks I will enjoy some final stitching before JB picks me up. I confess that I am probably a little more tired than I should be, but it's a good tired, and I can sleep when I get home, right?

Happy, happy Tuesday to one and all. I hope you have enjoyed coming along with me these last few days. Come tell me all about what's new and exciting and blowing your skirt up in your neck of the woods!

 

SPINSTER'S LOG...DONALDSON...DAY THREE

Showering here at the Lindenwood Conference Center at Donaldson is one of those things that most assuredly qualifies you for the US Olympic Contortionist and Yoga team.

To train, you first have to find someone you know that owns a Ford Focus.

Or a Dodge Neon from the 1985 era.

Then, you gather all of your bits (in my case, quite wobbly bits), and you climb into the glove compartment and attend to your daily ablutions.

😳

It took me a visit or two, but I think I finally figured out how to get a lovely cleansing time while attending to the morning housekeeping as well. I squirt my shower gel onto the walls of said tiny space and then kind of shimmy myself around a few times until adequately slathered, and then I attempt to rinse enough water onto myself so as not to cause tiny bubbles emerging for the rest of the day.

I've been told that the actual shower surrounds come from the RV industry in Elkhart, and that they were installed into what used to be small closets in these rooms, so it further confirms that my Olympic Team training plan is a good one.

I just didn't realize RV's had glove compartments.

I'll leave you with a few scenes from the day. I have been happily stitching along on Blossom Time exclusively, despite toting fifteen other projects in my big new bag. Isn't that the way it goes, though?

Donaldson isn't just a stitching retreat. We also have quilters and beaders and artists of all stripes among us. We also have a group of friends who are members of the Quilts of Valor effort. Are you familiar with it? If not...go take a Google at it. It truly is an amazing organization, and we got to see first-hand what incredible work they're doing.

And finally, my favorite shot of the day. Brilliant, beautiful, funny, kind, generous women gathered around learning something new:

My goodness, how I love this thing of ours!

Cheers, Dearies! One more day of fun to go! What's on your agenda for the day?

SPINSTER'S LOG...DONALDSON...DAY TWO

I only have one rule at Donaldson.

As soon as my bleary eyes open, I send a text to Miss Charlene to announce that I am, in fact, still alive. This rule became necessary when it was discovered that I have a propensity for sleeping in and missing breakfast (which is promptly served at 8:15, thankyouverymuch).

I find that hour of the day completely uncivilized for anything but a roll-over and a conclusion of sleeping, so I am free to lounge and loaf about at will, provided I let Charlene know that I am accounted for and not out causing havoc.

After my "I'm alive" announcement, I made my way to the stitching room for the day's fun.

My project of choice for the day was Blossom Time from Kathy Reese...Needle Delights Originals. This was a class that I was supposed to take back in April, but alas, I had to have kidney time down in Indy instead. 

I spent the majority of the day establishing borders and staying away from the snack table.

Our evening fun was a "get to know you" game in which we shared something interesting about ourselves.

Dearies...I am, as usual, utterly gobsmacked. These women are so utterly amazingly fabulous that I go back to my little room/compartment every might and feel better and smarter for just having been around them. They are moms and grandmas and aunts and sisters and daughters, to be sure, but they are also teachers and nurses and chemists and bankers and lawyers and business owners and creators, and philanthropists and...

But the fun part is learning that they also fly hot air balloons and are National Jigsaw Puzzle champions and are travelers to all parts of the globe and are retired weapons experts and media specialists and music teachers and ice skaters, synchronized swimmers, and collegiate basketball players.

You know how they do flashbacks in movies, and a character tells their story and a younger version of that character appears with the older voice narrating? Well, I swear that as each of the ladies stood and introduced themselves and told that interesting fact about themselves, I could "see" them at nine, or twenty- six, or thirty, or fifty...seeing them outside of their life as a stitcher/quilter/beader, etc.

I know, I know. I'm waxing poetic. 

But I love this place.

Before I go, a quick tour of my room/compartment:

Oh....and where I ended with my Blossom Time before bed last night:

Happy Sunday!

What's making you wax poetic today?

IN WHICH I GO TO DONALDSON AND JOIN A REBEL STITCHING GANG 😳

See these lovely ladies? They don't look like trouble, but I can assure you, that if left alone with them for any length of time, they will enlist you in all kinds of shenanagins.

Day One here at Donaldson doesn't include meals, so we gathered for a pot-luck lunch of air-fryer pizzas. Miss Charlene and I toted our respective air fryers along, and we were cooking our little hearts out when we apparently blew a fuse in the outlet we were using.

So I did what any rational human person would do. I perched my 400 degree hot as the surface of the sun air fryer atop a plastic trash can with ridiculously flammable plastic bin liner for good measure and air-fried my little heart out.

(Note the handy fire blanket within proximity.)

I decided to up my gear game this year, so did some amazon-ing before hand to grab a few things for my stitchy spot:

So aside from trying to burn a building down, sweating buckets in the Hoosierville icky stickies, and playing Martha Stewart decorates a conference center table, it was a wildly successful first day I think.

I received a request from Betty (another Betty...not the bad Betty...a good Betty) to show my room/compartment. I'll do that later, since it's already going on 10:15 and I am still in my room/compartment enjoying a post-shower cool down!

Cheers, Dearies! What fun are you having today? Come tell me all about it!
 

OFF TO DONALDSON WE GO!

It's that time again, Dearies! Tomorrow morning, JB will drive me to Ancilla College's Lindenwood Retreat Center for the annual Donaldson Retreat.

My stitchy bags are packed, of course. Raise your hand if you always pack your stitchy bags first, your food/beverage bags second, and your clothes third. 

I have a rolling bag full of my stitchy gear and a huge tote bag full of stitchy projects. It took me the entire morning to futz around with them, but I think I finally settled on a nice selection of cross stitch and counted canvas pieces to keep me occupied. I also included a SueSpargo kit, since I decided to try to learn something new this time, and wool felt appliqué seemed just about perfect.

My food and beverage bag is simple. Cold brew and creamer, bananas and PopTarts (since I usually miss breakfast), the air fryer (for a little pot-luck lunch that four of us do tomorrow), dessert for the pot-luck, and my contribution to the snack table. 

Guess what I'm taking?

Normally, I try to find the most decadent, wonderful, salty, sweet, fattening, crazy-good thing I can find, and then I spend four days trying to stay away from it and all of the other incredible goodies the ladies provide.

This year...a new leaf for me. 

Apples!

I have two big bags of lovely apples from the Costco that I'm going to offer as an alternative snack option, and if I manage to eat them instead of the other things laid before me, we're going to celebrate the win with a little dance.

One last dinner to prepare tonight, and then it's off to bed early so I can be fresh as a daisy for the shenanagins to come!

Happy Thursday!