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Monday, December 12, 2016

Monday miscellany

I think fall may be my most favorite season, truth be told.  I love the fall colors and have several deciduous trees in our California yard.  It's not Maine colors but it's acceptable nonetheless.  This is one of Japanese Maple trees in my front yard.



As you know, we were just in Paris and before we took off, the sun was just rising behind the control tower and I snapped a picture from inside the plane.  I thought it was pretty dramatic.

I did a little sewing last night, after our grandkids went back home and sewed down the half moons on my Mountmellick project.  I decided to try a buttonhole stitch on my Janome and I'm fairly happy with the results.
It is obviously not perfect but I think it looks pretty close to hand done so I'm happy with it.  Don't you love the background fabric I picked?  Did I tell you that I had chosen something else and tried to tea dye it?  Sadly it came out all mottled so it's being used as strips in the quilt of valor!

I came upon this in a gift store this afternoon and had to take a picture.  It's a Hanukkah Christmas tree ornament.  To me, that's an oxymoron.  But then I thought that maybe it's for a family with mixed parents, one being Jewish and the other not...kind of a compromise, I guess.  Both holidays almost coincide perfectly this year--Hanukkah starts on the 24th!  We will be lighting our menorah at our cabin in Oregon this year, surrounded by my son, their baby and his wife and her German family visiting from Dresden!  What a special time!


6 comments:

  1. I love Japanese maples. They are so pretty in the Fall!
    That is a very striking sunrise.
    I don't have a blanket stitch on any of my machines (they are all pretty basic). It is the only decorative stitch I wish I had so that I could do things like this occasionally.
    That is a pretty funny idea for a "Christmas Tree Ornament", but I'm guessing your idea may well be where it would fit.
    Sounds like you will have a great holiday!

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  2. I have a Japanese maple just outside my "office" window ... LOVE it in the fall when it is ablaze. There are so many varieties and each one is more beautiful than the next. Your holiday celebrations sound like they will be fun ... glad you'll have family together ... enjoy! Linda

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  3. Dramatic sunrise is right. Wow. Great shot. Love the moon crescent. The more you work with a particular stitch, the more comfortable you'll be with it. That will translate on your work. But for a first try, I think you did a very good job. And yes, that background fabric got me drooling. Sorry to hear about the tea dye experience. ;^)

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  4. Yes, I do love that background fabric and good for you for trying a new stitch. I think it looks great! The ornament is a bit of an oxymoron, but having very good friends of mixed faith, I can thoroughly understand it. Happy Hanukkah to you and your family. Have a wonderful time at the cabin!

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  5. That looks like a Marsha McCloskey background. I like it a lot!

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  6. The Mountmellick quilt pattern is a beauty. I look forward to seeing your finished quilt. I was tempted to purchase the pattern but didn't.

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