Little By Little ...

Slowly but surely I've managed another blue jewel for RSC 2026.

After a bit of a warm spell, we've turned bitterly cold again for the weekend. My fingers split at the nail due to the cold & dryness so it makes it difficult to do handwork. This upcoming week might lend itself only to prepping a few more jewels but that's OK. I know we'll warm up again.

I did finish Scarlett, my cross stitch project designed by Stacy Nash. I just love her!! She's very helpful and holds my small scissors. *wink*

Scarlett - Front

Back

My Little Helper

Before She Had a Heart

I'm showing her back before I attached the helping heart. I found this linen at my LQS and knew it would be perfect. I LOVE IT!

On a note from the home front: I've been very busy going through Mom's house, sorting what to donate, what to trash, what to put into storage, what to recycle. I have also been setting up the move to a storage unit and making phone calls to cut off her utilities. On top of that, Mom continues to happily go to PT twice a week and make the drive with me to get her weekly hair care. I have less than a month until the closing date of Feb. 13th, which is a Friday. I hope it doesn't live up to its legacy -- Friday the 13th.

Wishing everyone a safe & healthy week! Do check in at So Scrappy to see what amazing Rainbow Scrap projects are being sewn.

I Like Thursday #178

Midway through January already and sharing all things positive again this week. Valentine's Day is less than a month out so I started getting out the decorations. I made this wall hanging in 2014 after buying the fabrics in 2004, I believe, at Primitive Gatherings in Wisconsin before I knew who Primitive Gatherings was!

Lacy Hearts Made by My BFF

Speaking of Valentine's Day, I finished stitching the cross-stitch piece from Primrose Cottage. Lousy picture. It's actually stitched on a beautiful piece of blush-colored Lugana. I will try to get it finished this week or next. Who knows? Maybe I'll even get a better picture taken!

On the homefront, I managed a monumental task this week -- I hand-washed all my hand-knitted socks! The weather earlier had been perfect to get them washed and hung out on the line to dry. I'll not be able to do that again for a while! Our weather has turned frigid once more.

All Folded Up on the Dining Room Table

Here's one last chuckle for you. Little Polly decided that Gracie's big bed in the kitchen was the perfect size for her.

9# Kitty in a Bed for a 70# Dog!

Question for the week from our hostess: Have you ever lived anywhere else? As a "military brat" who ended up marrying a military guy, yes, I have lived in other places. I was born in Tripoli, Libya at Wheelus Air Base. The base was located in Africa on the Mediterranean Sea and at the edge of the Sahara Desert. After Dad finished his ROTC commitment, the family moved back to their roots, New Jersey. Due to the Cuban Missile Crisis, Dad was re-called back into the US Air Force and we moved to Alabama. Before Dad retired from the military, we saw Germany, New Jersey again, and then on to Illinois. After marrying Fred, I lived in Nebraska, Colorado, Hawaii, Florida, and Maryland before returning to Illinois. Sometimes I wonder if I'll live here forever or if there is maybe one more move left in me! Lol! If my story has you curious about others, check out LeeAnna's blog HERE where we are all sharing this prompt.

Have a great week and "Bloom where you're planted!"

A Little Blue Going On

Rainbow Scrap Challenge color for January is blue so I pulled out some blue scraps this week and set to work. Do you remember my inspiration photo from last week?

Grandma's Jewels
Photo from PaperPieces.com

So I grabbed my 1" English Paper Piecing Jewels and set to looking through my blues, concentrating on contrasting fabrics. Prep time came next -- I'm a glue-girl but you do whatever makes you comfortable. I managed to get one star sewn together and have a 2nd one ready to go. Now  I'm ready to watch some football!

I'll be going through the scraps again. I'd like to have at least 6 of these done by the end of the month. I'll be sticking with a plain ole blue palette and saving my dark blues, light blues, and turquoises for if/when our Fearless Leader Angela calls on those in later months.

In health news: I had my DEXA (bone density) scan yesterday. I figured it was a good idea since my "baby" sister had hers recently and was diagnosed osteopenia. Of course, if you're familiar with my blog, you already know my mother has severe osteoporosis. I don't have the report yet but they did measure my height. OMG! I'm shrinking! I am down to 5'2". No wonder I've been using a stool to get things down in my kitchen! I'll be keeping my fingers crossed until I hear back.

In the meantime, keep on sewing! And don't forget to check in with Angela's RSC quilters to see what they got up to this week!

I Like Thursday #177

Another good week here. I thank you all for the good wishes for my mother and our family. Mom had a follow-up appointment on Monday with NeuroSurgery for her back pain, osteoporosis, and back compression fractures. We met with Megan the nurse practitioner and she ran Mom through several tests. The conclusion? Everything we are currently doing for Mom is working and she is doing very well for a 92.5 year old with severe osteoporosis. While Mom is no longer feeling the bad pain she once was, if she does again we should do what we did before -- heating pad, Tylenol, and easy movement about the house. Above all, she is to continue with her PT as that will help her with balance and keep her muscle strength. Definitely no surgery, no deep muscle massage, no needles therapy, no twisiting, no bending down at the waist. This runs in line with her primary care provider and her Physical Therapist. We are so happy! Oh! And her blood pressure was 132/78, keep in mind she's not on any BP medicine. This doctor assessment was a BIG LIKE for this week! Mom had her own "like" too. She lost that pound that she gained from the last doctor appointment. Hate to tell her but that is not a good thing. Her PCP wants her to put on 10 pounds!!! Funny, he didn't tell me to do that! Lol!

Okay, okay, enough of the health report, even if it is a great like. I'm still enjoying playing with cross-stitch again. When Scarlett was last seen, this was my progress.

I'm happy to say that the stitching has been completed. Monday was Quilt Club at my LQS and I bought a linen for her back. I hope to get her completed this weekend. I really like the way she looks so far.

Speaking of Quilt Club, we had another Mystery Quilt finish shown. Isn't that green background pretty!!??!!

Of course, since Scarlett is finished up, I had to start another one. This one is called Sweetly Sayin' by Primrose Cottage Stitches. If you sign up for their newsletter, they will send you a free cross stitch pattern and a free quilt pattern each month. I liked that deal so I'm in. Here's my progress so far. I'm hoping for a finish before Valentine's Day!

This week I finished reading "Before We Were Yours" by Lisa Wingate. It was an amazing read and I highly recommend it. It's a based-on-true story about the Tennessee Children's Home Society and siblings that were stolen to be sold through the adoption agency.

Read What Goodreads Says About It
HERE

Now I'm reading the 9th in the Cormoron Strike series by Robert Galbraith, aka J. K. Rowling of Harry Potter fame. This one is called "The Hallmarked Man". I hope it's as good as the last book which I might have liked best so far.

Read about it HERE

When my company left after their holiday visit, I was left with several very ripe bananas. I turned them into a dozen banana chocolate chip muffins and a loaf of banana walnut bread. In particular, I searched for recipes using self-rising flour.  Our family grocery shopper accidentally picked up a large bag of self-rising flour so it needs to go! The baked goods are safely frozen in the freezer because we've got enough food laying around here. On second thought, maybe I should sit them out by Mom. She could use a little encouragement to put on a pound or two!

Recipe HERE

Recipe HERE
I Added Walnuts

Our prompt this week from LeeAnna is: "Do you ever sing in the shower?" and, if you do, do you have a favorite song in there? I do sing in the shower. I sound so much better in the shower than out in the open. Hahaha! I don't have a go-to song though, just whatever is in my head at the time. Another place I like to sing is in the car. I really belt out the songs if I'm driving solo -- thank goodness, eh? Hahaha!

Head on over to LeeAnna's blog Not Afraid of Color to see if I'm in the majority of shower singers. Also maybe we'll get an idea for a "shower songlist"!

RSC 2026

Angela is once again hosting the Rainbow Scrap Challenge for 2026. I think you should be able to click the button on the right sidebar and it should take you to her website with the instruction to join in. You want to, right????

The color chosen for January is BLUE. I was thrilled with the choice because my local quilt shop is doing a "Snowflake" challenge for January and I knew what I was going to share. I'd started this quite a while ago and I knew it fit the bill for "Snowflake" and then it also was BLUE! I quilted and bound it last week. Ready to share and then hang for January!

Looks like a Snowflake!

I'm planning on pulling out some blue scraps for a new English Paper Piecing project. I was inspired by this photo from Paper Pieces. You can order the kit at their website but I knew I already had enough papers to start and I want to use my own fabrics. I think it'll make a great RSC project!

Grandmother's Jewels Kit Available Here

I'm not sure how big I'll end up making it. I'm never too sure exactly how big the "blocks" will be when EPPing. We'll just have to see!

Th-th-that's all from here in chilly IL. Next week we'll see the sun again and warm back up towards the 60s! Happy New Year, my friends!

I Like Thurs #176 Happy New Year! 🎉

Let's start this year off right -- a post for another I Like Thursday! I like a new year, a fresh start, a new quilt maybe? I like a new UFO List for 2026 and I would like to actually accomplish half my list of unfinished projects. What do you think? Can I do it??? Time will tell. *wink*

We had such a nice Christmas. I'll share a few pictures with you.

Brody, Our Drummer Boy

Cymbals Crashing

Delighted!

Jacob Watching Polar Express

Enjoying Grammy's Lap Watching
Paw Patrol

Grampa Sharing a Chirstmas Tradition

White Chocolate Covered Oreos
for the WIN!!

Peaceful Morning Walk with Gracie

Wishing you all a peaceful, joyful, healthy 2026! Cheers!

For more I Like Thursdays to inspire you for an uplifting new year, visit LeeAnna's blog HERE where more of us share happiness.

Between Christmas and New Year's Day

We've been busy around here -- shock! shock! My son and his family arrived Sunday (21st). With two boys, aged 3 & 6, it's been fun and very active. We had our Christmas turkey dinner the day they arrived and exchanged gifts on Tuesday morning. Jacob (3) got a couple of styrofoam (?) airplanes which gave us great joy throwing them about in the backyard. The weather was perfect -- sunny, 60s with a light breeze. That fun ended when we discovered the neighbor's rocks and we could throw them into the pond out back! Why do boys always NEED to throw things into water??!! Lol! Anyway the family packed it up on Wednesday (24th) and headed to the other grandparent's house. We'll see the group again tomorrow, the 28th, before they head back to Maryland on the 30th.

In the meantime, we've got a family funeral to attend today. Hubby's great-niece's 17-year-old son passed away from an epileptic seizure recently. We'll drive on down today to express condolences. So sad and especially so during to the holidays.

So have you been enjoying the month of December? We started the month with extremely cold temperatures which flipped last week with unbelievably mild temperatures. We're about to get cold-snapped this upcoming week so I hope to get behind my sewing machine a bit. I've got Christmas gifts to finish sewing! ACK!!! And a couple of flannel blankets to put a crocheted edging around. Sounds like a good project for watching all the upcoming football games!

As I'm sure you've noticed, there hasn't been a lot of time for sewing or blogging for me recently. There's lots to  do with doctor appointments and things to get straightened out for selling Mom's house. However, I have made sure that I've gotten in a little handwork most everyday. That's the beauty of cross-stitch & embroidery -- pick it up and go! Time's up? Shove it aside. Hahaha!

Here's my cross-stitch project -- Scarlett. I took a picture last week of where I was. Today I discovered I never even shared it. DOH! So here's my progress in four steps for your enjoyment -- whatever!

November 8th

November 20th

December 19th

Today, December 27

She's definitely coming along, slowly but surely. I feel like I'm in the final stretch anyway.

Since I also mentioned embroidery, during Mom's weekly standing Friday hair appointments and bi-weekly PT appointments, I've been working on Primitive Gatherings Snowman Gatherings panel. You really can't see it but the top half is done and I've only got from about the waist on down. I hope to piece the outer borders this winter/spring. I've got the pattern and the layer cake for it.

That's about it from here. Take some time to enjoy the stillness of Winter here in the Northern Hemisphere or enjoy swimming & boating if you live in the Southern Hemisphere. Wishing eveyone a moment of reflection as we approach 2026.