Monday

Today is the first day of Winter and I went walking in the rain.  It was 41 degrees.  Not bad for December.  My bathrooms are clean.  BFF#2 is stopping by today.  That will be fun.  She was on the Silver Needle cruise so I want to hear all about that.

I got Harmony's skirt done!  Yeah!  I even attached it. I included a photo with my thumb so you can see that in reality, Harmony is not that big.

 What comes next?  Her hair.  Everybody looks better with some nice curls.  I tried redoing one side of her lacy collar with not very good results.  I may just leave what I have done.  Soon I will get to add her lute.  Can I finish her up before the end of the year?  I hope so.  I'm finding that concentrating on one project helps it get done faster.  Next up is the Quaker Bag.
There are a few presents under my Christmas tree.  Fun!
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Looking for Good Things

I spent most of yesterday afternoon looking for Good Things by Birds of a Feather.  I went through five years of my photos.  I went through four shelves of charts.  Then finally I found it.

There is a baby boy on the way.  He won't be here until late April.  His room is going to be nautical style.  Claire is going to have a baby brother!  I could get a start on the birth announcement sampler and just leave a space for his name.  I'm so excited.  That fabric I bought in Minneapolis can be a baby quilt.

So cute!  I have to find a simple sailboat pattern and see what I can come up with.

My goal for today is to get Harmony's skirt done.  Whew.  I think I can do it.

I am knee deep in mess at the Chateau.

Stuff for the neighbors is being made.  Caramel corn is in the oven.  I've licked the remains of the fudge from the pan.
Happy Sunday!
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Goodies

I got some good stuff in the mail.

I saw the scissors fob on someone's blog and thought it was very sweet.  So I ordered it.  It is a complete kit.

I'm not crazy about the colors so I might change them a bit.  It is called Z-Sampler Fob by The Heart's Content.  Of course, I'm tempted to start it but I dare not!
I worked on Harmony's skirt.  It doesn't look like much.  This is what I can get done in a day.

I think I am at least half done.  Maybe it will go faster now.  Hey, a girl can dream.
The Christmas tree got put up!

The star on the top has seen it's last days.  It will have to be replaced.  I got it about 40 years ago.  Good grief, I must be old.  I had to walk at the Y today since there was snow and ice.  I plan to make some goodies later today.  Last load of fudge for the year.
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A Few Flakes

There are a few flakes of snow outside my window right now.  We are forcast to get 1 to 3 inches of the white stuff today.  I can't complain.  This winter has been good for walking so far.

Here is Harmony's skirt.  I'm plugging away on it.  I'm getting better at detached buttonhole with all this practice.

Here is a Jackie kit that was easy and quick to do:

I think it is very cute.  It is meant to be a scissors fob.

I still need to finish up the mittens.

One week from today - Christmas!
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A Finish

I finished up Tweet-Tweet.  It was such an easy stitch.  I added a little gold french knot in the middle of the flowers.

I think it is very sweet.  I have another tiny kit from Jackie that I will show you tomorrow.

I am still working on the striped skirt for Harmony.  It is a bit tedious so I have to distract myself every once in a while and do something else.  I want to cross "mittens"  off my to-do list so I'd better get busy!
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Take A Break

I worked on Harmony's collar yesterday.  I am not really happy with the two pieces I made.  I'm thinking I may try again.

I started her skirt.  I know it will take a while to get this done.

So when I needed a break, I decided to work on this, Tweet-Tweet by Jackie DuPlessis

I've almost got all the stitching done and then I can put it together.
I think it will be cute.

Today is decision day.  Tree or no tree.  We are by ourselves this Christmas.  DH thinks it is a waste of time to put it up.  I have to do it by myself and it is entirely up to me whether to put it up or not.  I'll have to see how I feel after lunch.  I have a small table top tree.  A bunch of the ornaments fell off and I have to put them back on.

I got a great deal on a box of fancy cookies at Macy's.  So good in fact that I bought two!

 One for the mailman and one for us.
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Buttonhole Stitch

I am not very good at detached buttonhole stitch.  But I'm getting better with practice and I'm getting lots of practice.  I did Harmony's sleeve first and it turned out pretty well.

I like it to look even and neat.  The fewer bobbles the better!  I've been trying to follow Amy Mitten's instructions exactly.  Sometimes I just skim the directions thinking, I know how to do this so I don't have to even read this carefully.  Anyway, I was happy with how the sleeve turned out and went on to do two bodice pieces and the other sleeve.  So far, so good.

Next I have to do her lacy collar and cuffs.  Thankfully, they are small so they shouldn't take too long.  The skirt is the biggest piece to stitch but it doesn't look too hard (knock on wood!).  Her arm may look a little funny but she will be holding a lute.

Once I get Harmony's dress done, the rest should be easy, right?
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