DIY Stitch Journal

For a few years now I've been noticing slow-stitch supply vendors on Etsy offering blank stitch journals made out of batted muslin, felt or felted wool. I was tempted a few times to buy one so I could journal by embroidery, but they seemed so simple that I thought I could make one of my own.

Fast forward to this spring, and the rapid deterioration on my one working hand due to arthritis has stolen the time I usually procrastinate about such ideas. I decided to invest in a book that would teach me about stitch journals and how to make them, which resulted in my purchase of Journal with Thread by Jessie Chorley.

This is a very neat book, chock full of advice and ideas for hand stitchers like me. Here you can see the indepth explanations and sample pics of two different embroidery stitches.

The author gives you step by step instructions on how to sew your own 8" X 8" stitch journal, and plenty of ideas on how to fill the pages with embroidery and appliques. Her sample is about the four seasons, but you can choose what you want to journal about in your own book.

The back of the book is filled with iron-on transfers so you can follow along with her stitching ideas, too. I think it will really help me as I make my own stitch journal. Highly recommend this book as an excellent guide if you'd like to do the same.

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T-minus Day

This was our little Thanksgiving dinner last year, when it was just the three of us. Time keeps whittling down my favorite holiday; this year it will be just me and my guy, and we likely won't even have a turkey.* That will be a first in 35 years. I feel about Thanksgiving the way other people do about Christmas, and while it's a lot of work it's my favorite holiday. Of all the Thanksgivings I've had in the past sixty years, only three were truly terrible: one when I was a kid that I don't talk about (#1 most miserable); the time I roasted two turkeys together and hosted fifteen people whom I cooked for and served with zero help (the largest and #2 most miserable); and the one I spent in basic training (the #3 most miserable.) I have no pictures of any of those, thank heavens. In addition to doing all the cooking I'm the one who takes all the pictures, washes all the dishes and puts away all the leftovers. I suppose no one else cares because to them it...

Holiday Prep

For Thanksgiving this year we've invited some guests from Oliver's mom's side of the family, so I have to start prepping now to get the house in shape for the big day. The first major thing is having the carpets cleaned, which we've scheduled for next week. This weekend I'll be cleaning out four rooms to get them ready for that. I started with my front dining room, which I use as my sewing room. It was kind of a mess already, so it felt good to get everything cleared out. We'll be having ten people at dinner plus two babies, so this will give me a chance to figure out how to arrange two tables in this space. I think this will be my last time hosting a big Thanksgiving gathering. Mike has started his family with a lovely girl who has a huge, close-knit family of her own, while Katherine will likely be off at grad school out of state for the next several years. I'm also not getting any younger. My guy and I will always celebrate Thanksgiving, but ...

Fell Off the Wagon

I did cut up that plastic dollar tote to make into something stronger, but got caught up with work and set it aside. Then last night some hand-dyed silk and pretty threads called my name, and, well . . . Felt SO good to do some handwork, except my neck began hurting about an hour into it. I tried changing the way I sit and work, but it's pretty obvious that the doc is right.

Valerean

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