Around the House: Into December

The weather has been so mild for the beginning of December with several rainy and foggy days. Even though the temperatures have been around 5 Celsius and a bit warmer I always feel colder on these days, probably the damp weather getting into my old bones.

December 2022 in the garden at craftygardener.ca
December 8, 2022

I’ve made green pea soup to keep me warm and my version of goulash for comfort food (recipe coming soon). If you are looking for a delicious soup recipe, be sure to check my ‘soup’er recipes.

making green pea soup at craftygardener.ca

More decorating has been happening and not a lot of stitching. This damp weather causes my arthritis to hurt more so I can only crochet and stitch for limited amounts of time. I’ve also doing doing Christmas shopping and wrapping gifts.

the snowflake tree at craftygardener.ca

The snowflake tree in the front hall has been completed. There are big and small plastic canvas snowflakes and wooden snowflakes on it. This tree usually stays up till the end of January for some winter decorating.

making felt embroidered snowflakes at craftygardener.

I did stitch a few more felt snowflakes and for now have some of them displayed on a lamp shade till I find the perfect place for them.

embroidered snowflakes at craftygardener.ca

On my last update I showed the start of another project using a piece of old blue tablecloth, a big hoop and white embroidery thread. I have made a start on the first snowflake be stitching a circle of tracing paper with the pattern onto the material. When finished the paper will be carefully pulled away to reveal the snowflake.

embroidered snowflakes at craftygardener.ca

I’ve gathered up all the sparkly white, silver and gold threads after completing the first snowflake in plain white. The paper is just about ready to pull away and reveal the snowflake.

I plan to make different patterns and sizes of snowflakes to cover the material for a winter display. The challenge here was finding a sturdy enough needle with a big enough hole to thread all 6 strands of floss through. It also had to have a sharp enough point to get through the paper and the thicker material.

Making snowflakes:

The Christmas Beaver by Mike Martin

The Canadian author of my favourite series, Sgt Windflower, has a new children’s book for Christmas. What a delightful story about how a beaver helps rescue a child and how gift giving affects him. Thanks Mike for a wonderful story.

Joyeux Noel from craftygardener.ca

Our two oldest grandchildren have been in French immersion since grade 4 (now grades 8 and 10) and they made us this sign several years ago. I love getting it out and displaying it each year.

I get lots of inspiration from other stitchers at Slow Sunday Stitching and appreciate all the visits and comments from there. Visit them and gather some inspiration for yourself.

14 Responses

  1. Linda

    Yes I think the cold weather is affecting me more this winter as well it’s no fun getting older haha. I love your snowflake tree it looks so pretty and I can’t wait to see how your sewing turns out. Have a great weekend. x

    • Crafty Gardener

      I’m slowly working at the embroidery on the blue cloth, got the paper pulled away from one of the snowflakes. We had snow on Sunday, so glad that I got the snowflake tree up. Happy stitching.

  2. Debbie- Dabble

    Linda,
    I do enjoy seeing your stitchery…You are so talented….The snowflake tree is quite charming!! Thanks for sharing and thanks so much for taking the time to stop by during this busy time of the year…
    Hugs,
    Deb

  3. Patricia in New Mexico

    Yes, I am feeling the chilly temps in my bones this year as well. I am washing dishes by hand more often as the warm water seems to help with the pain and swelling.
    Your décor is lovely! Those snowflakes really pop – very pretty! What a great idea you have to stitch on the blue tablecloth! Your pattern is so detailed and beautiful!

  4. CathieJ

    We are just getting our first batch of really cold weather. I can feel it in my joints. I really like your header photo. I think I want to make a cork tree that is similar to the middle tall wooden tree you have on display. Your snowflakes are very pretty. I am looking forward to seeing how they all look on that pretty blue tablecloth fabric. I am sure that it is somewhat difficult to stitch on.

    • Crafty Gardener

      The big tree in the center was purchased after a visit to British Columbia, it reminded us of all the driftwoood that was on the beaches there. Slow stitching on the tablecloth but worth it in the end. I finally got the paper pulled away to reveal one of the snowflakes. Have a lovely day.

  5. Gail

    I like to decorate with snowflakes too. They can stay up into February, then I am done with snow, inside and out! Where do you live…I am in southwestern Ontario. No snow here yet.

    • Crafty Gardener

      Hi Gail, I live right on the border of central and eastern Ontario. Our closest communities are Tuckers Corners and Foxboro but many don’t know the location of those, so I’d say close to Belleville and Quinte West. We had a fair bit of snow yesterday so the morning today was spent clearing the decks, paths and driveway. A friend who lives in closer to Chatham said they didn’t have any snow.

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