Christmas Banners Stitch-a-Long, part 7

Hi everybody! How can it have been three weeks?!?! Last time I had finished the critter embroidery and was set to start on the sequins. And there are a LOT of sequins. But here's where I was last time: 

I started the sequins on the bow on the top of the piece, followed by the letters, but realized I would be happier getting the rest of the "interior" sequins done before doing all the ones around the edge. So here's where I am now: 

I still have some green sequins on the tree as well as some "sparkle" embroidery on the tree to do, and then some red sequins on Santa's suit. But I did all the white sequins! When I look at the "before" and "after" photos they don't look very different, sadly, but in person there's some pretty good bling going on already. 

I wish I could get more of the sparkle effect, but here's a closeup of the lettering: 

For next time I hope to have the sequins added about halfway around the perimeter. I'm hoping I get into a groove and it doesn't take quite so long! 

The other stitchers in this stitch-a-long are always working on amazingly beautiful and diverse projects. Go check out their blogs and get inspired! Avis, Claire, Gun, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Jackie, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, Cathie, Linda, Mary Margaret, Cindy, and a warm (belated!) welcome back to Helen!

Halloween Ornaments Project, June 2024

Well this is embarrassing. This is the first time in almost two years that I haven't completed the project I set out to do!

Having made two of the ornaments from this booklet (the ghost and the skeleton, of course) in May, I decided to make two more.  

But somehow I ran out of time and didn't complete them. The stitching is done, but I haven't actually "made them up". Here's the most shameful part: the hardest part about completing them will be getting to where I stored the felt I use on the back! 

Next month -- besides finishing these two ornaments! -- I plan on stitching another piece from the 2023 Halloween special issue. (Seriously, I look forward to the new edition each year.)

I didn't bring the issue with me, but here's a shot of the cover and I've circled the project I want to do -- it's called Midnight Meeting. 

You may recognize other projects I've done! (And now I'm thinking about that cute 3D witch's hat in the foreground...

I'll be back on July 13 to share my finished ornaments and my next project pick.

The Independence Series ... and Winterthur

 In my quest to run a half marathon in all 50 states, there have been some strange trips. I had originally thought about a 2-week trip to the mid-Atlantic states and New England to pick up 5 of my final 6 states -- but that required a lot of time off and just didn't make sense. 

I found a 2-state weekend in September that would allow me to complete Vermont and Maine, so I focused in on Delaware, Maryland, and New Jersey -- which I could run on a Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday. The first two states were so close together that I could even stay at the same hotel. I flew out on Monday, worked from the hotel on Tuesday (because it would have been grim to fly in the night before, frankly), then raced starting on Wednesday. 

I had some time after the Wednesday race to visit Winterthur and its exquisite decorative arts collections. I took the tram to the house. The gardens weren't particularly in bloom, but it was lush and green. I loved that it was all DESIGNED to look NATURAL. 

Then I went into the house and admired both the architecture and the exhibits. 

what's that on the right??

IT'S A KNIFE HOLDER

gorgeous embroidered necklace

After touring the collections, I moseyed around the grounds a bit. My favorite was this swimming pool and "seahorse": 

I enjoyed this very strange trip -- a great mix of running, sightseeing, and meandering. The only downside was that Wil couldn't join me for it. But he will be joining me for the shorter trip to New England in September!

June 3 - fly to Philadelphia, drive to Elkton, MD

June 4 - working in Elkton, MD

June 5 - Independence Series day 1, Bear, DE, plus Winterthur

June 6 - Independence Series day 2, Elkton, MD

June 6-7 - Gettysburg

June 8 - Independence Series day 4, Sussex, NJ

June 9 - Kentuck Knob and Fallingwater

Fallingwater, Finally

I have wanted to visit Fallingwater for decades and feared I would never have the excuse to be in rural Pennsylvania. But when I realized that -- given several hours of driving after running my third half marathon in four days -- I could visit it and fly home from Pittsburgh, well, I could think of little else. 

One of the challenges of visiting Fallingwater is that it's rural and there aren't really many places to stay nearby. I found a cute old motel in the town of Ohiopyle and stayed there one night before visiting Kentuck Knob and then Fallingwater the next day. 

Ohiopyle was adorable, and crazy busy with thousands of people all wanting to get on the river or the bike trails on a hot day in early summer. I grabbed takeout and sat on the balcony of my motel and just relaxed in the sun. 

Then the next morning I was up early and headed to Kentuck Knob, a smaller, lesser-known FLW house in the area. I couldn't really imagine living in Fallingwater (okay, I could), but I could easily imagine living at Kentuck Knob. KK is a fine example of his Usonian style, built in 1954-56 for I.N. and Bernardine Hagan.

I took the first possible tour in the morning. It's a small, but gorgeous house that really highlights the Wright's "compress and release" design style. Small doors, narrow hallways, and suddenly big rooms. As such, there were no photographs permitted inside. But I did take some from the front:

And the two balconies: 

This image shows how the tiny dining room was extended out over the patio so that they had room for more than 2 people to dine at a time. 

The kitchen was very small, but had a double-height ceiling and a skylight. This photo comes from the Kentuck Knob website: 

After the house tour I walked back to the visitor center so I could see the artwork. Highlights for me were obviously the Andy Goldsworthy pieces: 

Floodstones Cairn, 1991 - 2003

Room, 1992

Room, 1992

Room, 1992

After making too many purchases at the gift shop, I drove on to Fallingwater. 

I checked in for my tour (a bit early) and then went to see the "Iconic View". Sometimes when you see something in real life it doesn't live up to the photos. But Fallingwater did. 

Built for the Kaufmann family who loved the waterfalls on their land, they expected a more conventional placement of the house -- facing the waterfalls. But Wright designed the house to sit on top of the waterfalls in a stacked grouping of cantilevered "trays". 

My photos will never do justice to the design, but here are some of my favorite details: 

The way the stones are grouped and stacked:

This staircase down to the water that can be slid open and closed:

This view to one of the many terraces, more glass than wall: 

The big fireplace and various nooks in the main living room:

The way the house was built around the rock:

This adorable natural spring pool up by the "guest quarters":

I wish I could have taken pictures of the upstairs rooms -- they get smaller and smaller but each had its own terrace. Such a perfect house! I especially loved the son's room which was essentially a greenhouse. Glorious. 

I would have loved to take one of the really in-depth tours, but was still thrilled to be able to see the house at all.

FLW "signature" tile at Kentuck Knob

Christmas Banners Stitch-a-Long, part 6

Hi everybody -- I'm writing this early and pre-scheduling it because I'll be traveling on the day of this check in. But here's where I was last time, having just appliquéd all the animals: 

This left me feeling somehow stressed about doing the embroidery on the animals -- I've never been particularly good at free-form work. (Even in such small bits!) 

But I decided that I just needed to make a start -- which, of course, is always the thing to do. So here's where I am now: 

No, I'm not sure why I cut off the top of the banner in the picture. :). But I have embroidered all the details on the critters!

Obligatory raccoon close-up: 

When I'm back from my trip I will start on the sequins. You can see from the close-up that there are a LOT of sequins on this piece. But I'm hoping to have at least the ones on Santa, his bag, and the tree done. 

The other stitchers in this stitch-a-long are always working on amazingly beautiful and diverse projects. Go check out their blogs and get inspired! Avis, Claire, Gun, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Jackie, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, Cathie, Linda, Mary Margaret, and Cindy.

Independence Half Marathon Series day 4: Sussex, New Jersey

After a lovely day off in Gettysburg it was time to pick up state 47, New Jersey. This time I got the full Mainly Marathons experience -- heard the course talk, 

...celebrated some achievements... 

... and got the day's news. I'm sorry to report that the tater tot scramble was not vegetarian, because I would have snarfed a lot of that down. 

This was another mellow race for me -- just 6 laps on a nicely paved course through the woods. The day was glorious, and the shade meant it was never too hot. Bliss!

Got to chat with Wanda again; someone asked her if she was going to be at the NY race the next day, and she replied, "What else am I gonna be doing?" #retirementgoals

Here she is ringing the Loony bell: 

Back and forth, back and forth I went, stopping for a snack and a hello to the volunteers each time: 

And then, suddenly, I was done!

I got a little cleaned up (I had checked out of my room before the race) and went up to the monument at the High Point of New Jersey: 

There's a lovely view from up there of Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey. 

And a lot of wind, too.

I left and drove and drove across Pennsylvania to a little town called Ohiopyle ... really a staging spot for my Frank Lloyd Wright house tours the next day. But that night I sat on my balcony and updated my jacket because I had just run state 47!

Independence Half Marathon Series, Day 4: Sussex, New Jersey

3:24:21

State 47!