Slow Sunday Stitching

It's Sunday again, and that means it's time to relax with some hand stitching. Please join in by getting your hand stitching and putting in a few more stitches while we visit.

2 bright spots in a dreary week

I'm still on a soup making kick... can't seem to stop it yet. 
Here is the latest batch of 3 veggie soup with the cutest little daffodils that popped up this week. Since the pandemic started other soups I have made include broccoli, carrot, roasted garlic cauliflower, squash, asparagus, chicken noodle, and Thai carrot (made with peanut butter). Next up is potato soup since I've cleared out the fridge and freezer of all the vegetables. 

I'm making good progress on my hand embroidered tea towel. This is from a pattern collection called "Stitcher's Revolution" of iron on designs. This week I finished the rolling pin, all the letters, and the little heart. Today I look forward to unusual stitching that border design.

This really is a "no stress" hand stitching project. I just pick a colour of floss from my carefully organized storage system and start stitching.

I have been enjoying many online concerts during my COVID stitching. Did you catch the One World Together at Home concern last night? It was very inspiring. 

I enjoyed all the artists and the stories presented, and the global effort to put on a show like this. Here is a photo I took of Andrea Bocelli, the amazing pianist Lang Lang, and Celine Dion... they sang "The Prayer" and wow that was beautiful! Lady Gaga and John Legend joined in also... check it out here.

It brought me to tears thinking of all the health care workers who are sacrificing their lives to take care of COVID patients. Included in those brave superheroes is my baby sister, fighting on the front lines of COVID in one of the hardest hit areas in the USA. Here she is getting ready to gown up to get to work, hoping to save lives and also to stay alive herself. This is one of the reasons why I have been staying home for more than a month now while the world tries to get this virus under control. 
Save lives (maybe my sister's!) = STAY HOME!

What are you hand stitching today while we wait out COVID19?

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Slow Sunday Stitching

Welcome to Slow Sunday Stitching! 

At this time of global pandemic, what else can we do but stay home and work on some creative projects?! One of my friends said she was "built for social isolation" and has enough projects to keep her happily busy until it's over... whenever that will be.

I on the other hand, am having a bit of difficulty with it. While I am soooo very thankful that I don't have any loved ones who are sick, and every day that we stay out of hospital is a gift, I really do miss being with family and friends. I am a social butterfly, renewed by the energy, conversation and company of other people, and I am not finding visits by computer to be as helpful as the real thing. 
And yet... still work hard everyday to feel grateful!

I am trying very hard to not make excuses for outings and stay home. Wow it's hard. If you need a reminder, click here and enjoy this little rant by Rick Mercer (one of my favourite Canadian comedians). Thanks for the reminder Rick! Love the analogy of setting your house on fire...and your neighbours' house. It's particularly concerning that we can have the virus, and be asymptomatic, yet still unknowingly spreading it. 

Even though I really feel like I need to walk in the forest or by the river, if we all did that, it would be the perfect way to pick up a little coronavirus. Okay, I'll enjoy a photo of the river instead. Although it's not the same, I will stay home, make some soup, and get out my stitching. I need my loved ones to be alive more than I need anything else.

My obsession with soup making continues this week and for some unknown reason, this activity brings me a sense of comfort. 
I know it's odd, but everyday I want to make a new kind of soup, so I'm going with the flow. I have made broccoli, 
roasted garlic cauliflower, and squash soup so far... 3 separate soups, not all of those flavours in one batch!
Although I usually don't use a recipe, I did try a new one yesterday... thai carrot soup. It's an odd combination of tastes, and definitely not my favourite, but the recipe is here if you want to give it a try. 

Life is Short!

And in between soup making, I finished my embroidered tea towel (for Christmas gift giving). As you can see I made a colour error when I was stitching and didn't realize it until I took the photo. The stitches under the letter 'O' in SHORT are actually the bottom of the bowl (not part of the banner) and should have been stitched with pink thread. Oh well, too late now! I have already moved on to towel #2.

I am using iron-on patterns from a collection called Stitcher's Revolution and thought the saying "Just roll with it" seemed appropriate for a pandemic project! Looks like I got the pattern from Mary Maxim for $4.29.  See how these towels (also from Mary Maxim) have a tab for hanging? I put the embroidery design at the other end of the towel so that when it's hanging to dry, you can still see the design.

I love these iron-on patterns (vs. tracing out the entire design by hand). I measure the centre of the towel, and then put the transfer about 3" above the bottom of the towel. If it's hanging from the stove handle, it will be perfectly centred to enjoy the stitching.

So that's what I am hand stitching as I learn to roll with a different lifestyle. How are you managing with the Corona virus restrictions? 
Link up your blog post below and share your hand stitching progress with us.

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Slow Sunday Stitching

Every Sunday we roll out the welcome mat for like-minded hand stitchers to gather for a party. Thank you for joining us! 

We encourage you to get out your hand stitching project and put in a few stitches. Then make yourself a cup of your favourite beverage and visit other hand stitchers around the world to see what they are working on today.

When we have to stay home and can't gather with family and friends, it's very hard for most people. It has been challenging and also an invitation to settle down, and spend time doing comforting activities. It's all about the comfort these days. 

I have been making homemade vegetable soups for 2 weeks. I don't know why. I wish I liked to bake because I really like to eat baking, but I really enjoy canning and making soup. 

My brother used to make soup from the ingredients in his garden and give bit large jars of it to friends when they were sick. After his death, I inherited his canning jar collection and I kept the label on one of his jars just to remember this small act of kindness and love that was his great delight. I'm not using those huge jars because they are way too big! A batch of soup made from one butternut squash results in the 2 jars on the left. So far my pandemic soups have been squash, broccoli (my favourite), cauliflower, and today's soup is going to be carrot.

tea + hand stitching + soup = comfort

Comfort is the theme of the weekend. As often as you can, do more of what brings you comfort. For me today, that will be drinking tea, listening to music, making soups, and hand stitching. I hope to finish up my embroidered tea towel today.

Let's try to keep ourselves stitched together!

Link up your hand stitching blog post below, and enjoy some comforting visits with our fellow stitchers.

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