November Goal Christmas A-Z

When October ended, this is where the T block was.  I'm not sure if you can see those tiny applique pins through the top layer of the tree.  There are 4 of them and the long needle I use to stitch should be just above.  On the weekend I went to a 3 day silent retreat at Loyal House in Guelph.  (Wonderful experience).  One afternoon, I decided to do a bit of stitching in the lounge.  I sat in one of the big wing chairs near the fireplace.  I counted 4 little pins and started to stitch.  Part way around, I dropped one of the pins, stood up and there it was on the seat cushion.  No Problem.  When I was stitching the top layer of the tree on -- just before the star, I dropped the long needle for stitching.  I stood up and no needle on the seat cushion.  It took what seemed like ages but was probably 15 or 20 minutes to find it and involved crawling on my hands and knees a few times and shaking the seat custhion.  It eventually turned up on the floor under the chair where I'm sure I had already checked a few times.  Since it was a silent retreat, no screams of frustration during the search but I did consider leaving a note and going in search of a magnet.  Next time, a magnet is going in my stitching bag!  As I was stitching the star on, I notice the pin that was holding it in place had disappeared.  Fortunately, it was sitting nicely on the seat cushion again.  After that, no more applique.  I did some knitting the next day instead.  I'm knitting dish clothes and if I drop one of those needles, they are easy to find.

At Monday's sewing group yesterday, I got all the little balls added to the tree.  They are 11/32 circles from my circle template.  Those get done without freezer paper.  I trace the circle onto the front side of the fabric, cut the circles out with a scant seam allowance and needle turn using my thumb nail to help hold the circle in place and show the arc where I need to stitch.

The templates for U, V and XYZ are traced.  XYZ is a single block.  When I first got to the Monday sewing group, I cut out the templates and ironed them to fabric for U is for Unmentionables.  I got a good start on the block.

V is for Vixen and XYZ is for ZZZZZZZ's (mouse sleeping) are the other two I'd like to get appliqued this month.  If I could also get W is for Wreath done, that would be perfect but I'm not sure if time will permit to do all the leaves and berries in that block.  So T,U,V,XYZ is my goal and W is a nice to have.  That would leave embroidery and lettering for next month which would be perfect.  This project is progressing nicely.

Linking up with Patty's One Monthly Goal