Hello all, Mary Ellen here.

I hope you all are planning to take some time for yourself over this holiday weekend. Is anyone taking part in the Black Friday frenzy? I do my best to stay away from the stores over this weekend. I’ll be going home to visit my mom and siblings. This is the first Thanksgiving in about 5 years that both of my nieces will be home for the meal, so I am looking forward to that. On Friday I am going with my brother to meet a family of Amish quilters. My brother lived in Wyoming county for a while and met the family through his volunteering with the EMTs. The ladies of this family are beginning a hand quilting business and have invited me to come have a look at their work, and give them some input as an “English” (non-Amish) city quilter. How could I resist this chance?! Hoping for some Amish baked goods too while I’m there. I’ve been to several Amish farms, but have never gone inside the house. I am very curious. Will give a report next week.

I came across this blog hop from Aurifil threads while keeping an eye on Pat Sloan’s doings. She is a rep for Aurifil along with all her other ventures. If you enjoy stitchery, I think you’ll enjoy these free patterns. I did my last redwork project with Auriful 12 wt. thread, instead of embroidery floss. I would highly recommend it. One strand of 12 wt thread is equivalent to 2 strands of embroider floss (got that info from DMC and Auriful both).  Here’s the link to the stitchery hop-all Christmas or winter ornaments. We’re behind a bit, but it all is archived.

Happy holidays to you and yours. Wishes for safe travel for all of those away from home. Back next week!