The Stitch Up

Organize

I expected to move into January and start 2012 with tons of energy and start kicking things off my "to do" list left and right.  It's not quite working out that way.  I did finish my 2012 calendar tea towel.

I was determined to get this done by the end of January and I had to avoid some distractions in order to wrap it up.

Honestly.  

I have a couple of projects in mind, but I wanted something to stitch tonight while watching tv so I started on a tea towel I'd prepared a couple of months ago.  I had enlarged a J.F. Ingalls pattern and transferred it - I'm hoping it will be a cheery kitchen addition.  

I've been thinking about what I want my word for the year to be.  Last year it was Focus.  This year I've picked the word Organize.  I'm thinking in terms of more than clearing out files and drawers, although I have started some of that.  But also, organizing my thoughts, organizing my priorities, organizing my time.  

Part of organization for me is using diaries, calendars and some cool printables I've found on The Project Girl.  The menu planner is already helping me organize some healthier meals for the Hubby and myself.

The other part is sitting down, making some lists, and figuring out how to organize my life to achieve some long term goals.  I'm hoping that devoting this time to planning and plotting out my course for the year will result in some positive changes across a lot of areas of my life.   I also hope that those changes will be reflected in this blog with some fun posts for 2012.  I'm excited about this year and hope everyone else out there is too!

Goodbye 2011

After our quiet Christmas we went out to visit my parents for some fun and some more relaxation.  Mom and Dad live out in the desert.  It's beautiful and serene, and we always have a nice time when we visit.

We played games, walked in the hills and just enjoyed family for a few days.  I brought along a travel project - a cute 2012 tea towel by Curious Doodles and got quite a bit done between the plane rides and time spent around the kitchen table chatting with Mom.

We got home just in time for New Year's Eve which we spent quietly.  We took advantage of the weirdly warm weather by grilling outside.  

After dinner we snuggled on the couch to talk about the past year and what we hope for the new year.

I will of course have resolutions or plans for 2012, but I've enjoyed just feeling the excitement of the start of a new year and all the hope and possibility that it promises.  Happy New Year to everyone!

Christmas Day

This Christmas weekend has been a perfect blend of fun and relaxation.  The Hubby and I spent a quiet night out at Russia House Christmas Eve.  

The vodka was smooth and the food was delicious.

It was nice to have someone cook and and wait on us considering the holidays usually involve so much of our own cooking and running around.

Christmas day was also quiet.  We opened gifts and then took our time cooking our Christmas meal.

After a delicious meal we took a walk around the neighborhood to enjoy the Christmas lights.  We did a decent job on lights I think:

I especially like our retro Santa:

But the neighbors were pretty impressive:

I also finished my Christmas coaster project:

These were finished so close to Christmas however, that I'm hoping my recipients appreciate having coasters ready to go for next year - since they didn't have any time to enjoy them this year!

My other project was a little enhancement to some handkerchiefs for the husband:

Very manly, totally non-girly embroidery!

I hope everyone's Christmas was wonderful.  I'm looking forward to lots of projects and trips in the New Year!

 

 

Christmas Trips

We've been getting around a bit to different spots around Virginia for Christmas celebrations.  My favorite every year is the Christmas weekend at Middleburg, VA.  Their Christmas parade begins with the Hunt parade: hunting dogs and horse and riders decked out to go chase some foxes.

In addition to the parade they had wagon rides around town.  In past years, I think they've done sleigh rides, but this year has been totally snow free.

These horses were so cute and all dressed up for Christmas.

Middleburg had a craft fair and lots of other activities - the whole town was festive!

Santa apparently likes the Hunt parade as well!

Another week we took a walk in Gulf Branch Nature Center in Arlington, VA.  The Blacksmith Guild of the Potomac was doing a presentation and had made a bunch of bells and candy canes for the holidays.

I loved watching the artisans at work.  They weren't selling anything, which was too bad as I think it would be cool to have an iron candy cane to decorate the house.

I think this last week before Christmas we'll be laying low, finishing the gift wrapping and chugging some egg nog.  I need to finish a few embroidery projects before the big day arrives and I'm cutting it close. Good luck to everyone with their last minute shopping and crafting!

Christmas Shopping

I do most of my Christmas shopping on-line, but I do love to hit up the antique stores around town to look at vintage Christmas decorations and soak up a little old school Holiday flavor.  Our favorite antique store around here is Falls Church Antique Center.  They always have a great selection.

I loved these little choir girl candles.

This store always has great textiles - I have to control myself to keep from buying up big handfuls of vintage embroidered pillowcases and kitchen towels.  I bought a few Christmas themed handkerchiefs.

And then I just drooled over the stacks of other textiles.

This clever sampler also caught my eye:

And I always drool over the huge variety of tea cups and saucers:

 Alas, this time of year I need to concentrate on Christmas gifts for others and I don't know too many people with the same rabid love of vintage embroidered cloths that I have.  But a few things did make it to my Christmas wish list, and window shopping at any time of year is fun!

On to Christmas!

I refuse to think about Christmas before I've celebrated Thanksgiving.  Well, technically I guess that's not true.  I try to start some of my Christmas crafts before Thanksgiving.  But, Christmas songs, Christmas decorations, early run-ins with Santa Claus?  I don't want any part ot those things until after I've stuffed myself with turkey and stuffing.

The Christmas crafts I started are going to be hostess gifts.  I decided to make some coasters with cute Christmas fabric on one side and a little embroidery on the other side.  So far, the unfinished process looks like this:

I'm using embroidery patterns from The Floss Box, Martha Stewart, and the book A Rainbow of Stitches. 

I've got a ton of cute Christmas fabric.  Not all of it will be made up for coasters.  To be honest, I'm not sure how I'll use it.  I went a little crazy in the fabric stores but I guarantee I'll figure something out.

I fell in love with this Alexander Henry fabric.  I'm thinking it might look cute as a Christmas apron.

At the very least I could put a frame around this and enjoy it that way!  

Now that I'm ready for Christmas it's full steam ahead.  I hope there will be plenty of time to finish these Christmas crafts and others.  Merry Christmas all!

Fall Fun

We've been continuing to enjoy Fall, the best season in the mid-atlantic.  We took a trip to Occoquan, which is a quaint town on the Occoquan river.

We meandered around the downtown area a bit.

We ended up at a cute tea shop (my choice obviously!) called the Pink Bicycle.  It was charming and the owner made delicious scones and sandwiches.

It was a relaxing way to spend the day. 

I also FINALLY finished the third square in my Spanish Quilt Project.  Ta da!:

It involved a lot of little stitches, but it was so fun to do.

I've also gotten a jump start on some Christmas crafts.  I'll start posting some of those projects after Thanksgiving.  Until then, I hope everyone eats their fill of turkey and mashed potatoes and has a great Thanksgiving!

Virginia Booze Adventure

It's Fall in Virginia which is always a perfect time for a drive out to the country.  And as long as we're headed out to the country, why not hit up a winery and a distillery?  With the rolling green hills and the leaves changing color, it's my favorite time of year here.

We hit up Willowcroft Farm Vineyards first.

It's in a very pretty location and they have a good selection of wines.  After trying a few we set up a little picnic to enjoy the view.  It was brisk, but that crisp, Fall air is what we've been craving for months, so we enjoyed it.

After our impromptu wine and cheese party, we hit the road to check out a local whisky distillery.  This is something Virginia does right!  We tried Catoctin Creek Distilling Company.

The name comes from a local creek that the company uses in their distilling process.  It's a small business and one of the owners was there during the tour and tasting.  Apparently in addition to whisky they make brandy and their pear brandy sells out immediately.  I'm keeping an eye out for the next time they have it in stock.

After all that drinking we were ready to eat so we went to downtown Purcellville.  On the way I snapped a few pics of the barns and farms we drove by.

I love the worn exteriors among all that green.

Downtown Purcellville is small and charming with a couple of good restaurants and some cute shops.  

We ate at Magnolia's at the Mill and had a great lunch.  Everything was good and the interior is warm and rustic.  The building was built in 1905 and served for years as a flour mill.

Even with all that relaxing and eating and drinking, I got some stitching done on the drive.  Pics of finished projects are on the way!

Last Trip of the Summer

At the end of the summer the hubby and I took a trip out to Cali to visit friends and enjoy the last of the lazy summer weather.  We stayed in Palm Springs at The Parker which is a very cool hotel.  It's pretty hot in Palm Springs at the height of summer but it's relaxing and there are plenty of pools and shady spots to beat the heat.  

The Parker is decorated in a very 70s chic style.  Every room is hip and I felt like I added cool points just by staying there.

This made me think that I could probably work a suit of armor somewhere into our house.  Maybe in the kitchen.

Our room was as cool as the rest of the hotel and the bed had an adorable needlepoint pillow.  Crafty and chic:

The hotel had a great restaurant with possibly the most delicious huevos rancheros I've ever eaten:

yummy crepes as well

The garden and pool area had all kinds of little spots hidden behind hedges and buildings that provided privacy and quiet.

If giant chess is too taxing of an option - there's always croquet!

Despite how awesome the hotel was we did get out and about to visit friends.  We did a little sight seeing on the way:

The Palm Springs Visitor's Center on the way out of town.  One of the beautiful midcentury buildings in Palm Springs.  

I love the desert landscape of the area and seeing all of the windmills always feels like home.

As I grew up not too far from Palm Springs, I took the hubby on a tour of some local hot spots.  First up, the dinosaurs at Cabazon.

The inside of the brontosaurus is a little gift shop.  In case you want some dinosaur memorabilia.

Next to the dinosaurs is the old school diner that's been there for decades.

Not too far down the road is Hadley's Fruit Orchard which was always a must stop when we were kids.  They sell nuts and dried fruit but they are famous (relatively) for their date shakes which are delicious!

The big event on this trip though was getting to spend some time with my girlfriends.  Teresa and her family hosted a beautiful lunch in her backyard and we had a fantastic time.

Teresa is a master gardener and her back yard is a gorgeous spot to spend a summer evening.

It was so nice to spend time with the ladies again.  We managed to fit in a pedicure date, some shopping and lots of talking.  We do our best with facebook and email, but having the chance to spend time together, face to face is really precious.  

 

A Quick Quilt

Last year some friends and I went to Oregon to visit our girlfriend Lianne.  We wanted to see her new home and life in Oregon and celebrate the fact that she and her husband were expecting their first child.

While we were there we had a small baby shower and did one of my favorite shower activities.  Everyone decorated a quilt square with a message to the baby and I collected them together to make a baby quilt.  I finally put everything together and mailed it out to the new mom and baby (Aaron) last week. 

Everyone did a great job on their squares.  I played around with the squares a little to find a nice mix before pinning them together. 

We used blue for the personalized messages as we knew in advance that Lianne was going to have a boy.

I found some yellow gingham to set off the blue squares and a really cute farm animal print for the back as Lianne grew up on a farm and I had a feeling Aaron would have a few farm themed baby things around. 

The quilt came together pretty quickly as it was small and I just did some "stitching in the ditch".  

The final product is cute and I hope for years to come it will bring sweet dreams to Aaron and remind him and his parents how much we love them.