Where to start? I think today’s post will be divided in sections determined by color. Let’s start with green as that happens to be my favorite color.
Yesterday I played with loads of evergreen boughs. Ray trimmed some of the trees in the backyard and he knew I would want some of the cuttings to decorate for the holidays. We are fortunate to have many cedar, spruce and hemlock trees on the property thus a never-ending supply of boughs. I brought them inside and tucked them on the mantle and a number of windowsills. They will dry out and drop needles but I love having them here and there. The fragrance is wonderful.
I also made two swags and hung one on our mailbox and the other from the railing by the steps to our front porch. For a quick minute, I debated wiring lots of them together and hanging them along the entire railing but nah, I wasn’t feeling like such a big project. Finally, I have a large blue pot by the front door and I filled it with boughs that are just ‘planted’ into the dirt. Along with a few artificial berries and pinecones, it looks very festive. I have boughs left over which I will bring to Mom and Dad’s house later today. Mom likes having pine boughs on the windowsills too.
PS – What do you think of those cute gnomes on the windowsill? I made them last year using the tutorial on Sew Can She. Super easy project and pretty darn cute, right??
Moving on to peach – the 2024 Pantone Color of the Year. What is your response to this year’s color? I have to say, I am not a fan. I like their reasoning behind the choice but the color leaves me feeling unenthused.
Pantone explains:
“…. we wanted to turn to a color that could focus on the importance of community and coming together with others. The color we selected to be our Pantone Color of the Year 2024 needed to express our desire to want to be close to those we love and the joy we get when allowing ourselves to tune into who we are and just savor a moment of quiet time alone. It needed to be a color whose warm and welcoming embrace conveyed a message of compassion and empathy. One that was nurturing and whose cozy sensibility brought people together and elicited a feeling of tactility. One that reflected our feeling for days that seemed simpler but at the same time has been rephrased to display a more contemporary ambiance.”
Seems to me, this is asking an awful lot from the color peach but so be it. I am curious to see if ‘peach fuzz’ becomes widely used in design (clothing, fabrics, interior design) this year.
Shall we move on to purple? If asked, I would tell people purple is not one of my favorite colors. I don’t use it a whole lot in quilts and you won’t see too much of it in my closet. However, I recently bought a piece of purple sweatshirt fleece from a thrift store (of course). My plan was to make matching pants for my grand daughters (who LOVE purple). Then last week I decided to use it to try out New Look pattern N6772 for sweat pants for me. I figured if they didn’t fit well it would not be a big (monetary) loss.
Guess what? They fit perfectly. These pants are super comfortable with just the right fit in the hips, waist and thigh. I can say with certainty if I had made this pattern for the first time with a nicer fabric for which I paid full $$, they would not have worked!! It is Murphy’s Law.
But with a $3.00 piece of (very) purple fleece, I obtained a perfect fit. So, I am going to learn to love purple and wear these! (I also plan to test my Murphy’s law theory and buy a piece of fabric in a better color and make another pair.)
As for the pictures of me wearing said purple sweatpants, I took them myself with the timer on my phone. It works for the most part but I won’t be including them in my sweat pants modeling portfolio.
There you have it – some green, peach and a big dose of purple! Hope everyone is having a great day. I am heading over to my mom’s today with those pine boughs and we are planning to make a batch of Cucidati . These figs filled treats are traditional Italian cookies served at Christmas time. I think I have been eating them since I had enough teeth to chew them with! I will take a picture of our batch of cookies and share in the next post.
Love your decorative festive touches. I also do greens outside and occasionally some inside. I don’t usually have free access though I did find some this year. Those gnomes are so cute!! I’ve never heard of those cookies.
Thank you! I feel fortunate to have so many huge evergreen trees on our property. Lots of boughs to decorate with. The gnomes were a lot of fun to make and not difficult at all. As for the cookies, they are Sicilian – My grandma made them and today my Mom, sister and I spent the afternoon baking them. I ate too many! They were so good – especially warm right out of the oven!
Take care Bernie.
Oh and I can’t say I am a fan of peach or purple. Small doses only. Love that you made pants that fit perfectly! This time — I get the Murphy’s Law thing. Happens all the time with buttonholes!
Oh, my. I got to the Pantone talk about peach and i fell asleep. Woke up not knowing why i opened it🤭. Then I scrolled up and remembered your email . Embarrassing! Your pants look great ! I saved the cookie recipe to try, never heard of them before. love your green boughs!
Pamela: Well it sounds like you got a bit of a nap! That is so funny. Let me know if you make the cookies. They are unusual and so yummy. My mom, sister and I had fun baking them together this afternoon!
So impressive!! I used to sew my own clothing but never liked anything in the end!! Good for you on the purple pants and next year, you could start a new tradition where everyone gets a wacky pair for Christmas!! Thanks for sharing and love to hear how you’re doing. In case I don’t get to you later in the month, Merry Christmas!!
Merry Christmas Elana. When I was younger I sewed many of my clothes. Over the last couple of years I started to again and have had some trying times getting the right fit. I have been reading more and learning a bit here thus having more success. Take care and enjoy the holiday season!
Dear Bernie! Where to start… the text for this colour… mhhhh, may be this foto of peach drive the thoughts into a wrong direction. A darker peach is super. Will send you a picture where I took peach fabrics and blue! Not so bad you may think.
Purple and green… I see that I always go back to these favorites. And purple is „the“ colour of next spring and now, with all the palette of cream. The pants are super. My mom is a real sewer… she learned that, but sewing clothes is not yet my show. But you did perfect and so nice pictures of you!
Here the tree branches are exxtremly expensive this year, I need some to cover some plants. May be the sellers of christmas trees have some leftovers for less money.
I love this typical letter box!!! So nice with the decoration. I think the sweets are typical for Sizilia, very south of Italy! The sweets in Spain and Italy in the winter month are…. Uhhhh, new pants needed… with much calories but so tasty. Love to hear you are fine!!! Happy ongoing December Bernie!!
Hi Eva: Thank you so much for the compliments on the pants. They were quite simple to sew. Getting something to fit well is often difficult for me. I am happy with these.
I don’t understand how the branches are so expensive for you. I suppose these trees don’t grow in your area. That is a shame. I wish I could share some of mine with you!
The cuccidati cookies are definitely Sicilian (this is where my mother’s family is from). You are correct – so many calories and really delicious!!
Take care Eva. Thank you for writing.
You did a great job on the pants . . . and I agree with the Murphy’s law thing! I spent a couple weekends helping my daughter make Christmas cookies and one of them was cuccidati. She makes cookies in very large batches, like 300 or more cookies per batch. She makes and sells cookie trays so she needs A LOT. Her cuccidati are absolutely delicious. I’m sure yours will be too!
That is so interesting about the cuccidati Kathleen. I don’t know anyone (outside of our family) who makes these cookies. I love them. They turned out really good today. We had a fun time baking together.
Your evergreens are lovely! I am never impressed with Pantone’s colors, and I’m even less impressed with their preachy reasons. OK, ’nuff said about that – lol! Your sweatpants are perfection! – and with pockets It’s hard to see, but did you do the banded hems? You are so adventurous with your pattern making. I’m looking forward to seeing your cookie photos. If they taste as good as that photo looks, I’d love them (as long as you use dates and not raisins – lol!) Are your Mom and Dad enjoying life in Washington?
Hi – I did use a banded hem to finish the legs. That is actually a super easy way to finish off jogging type pants. We used a mix of dates, figs and raisins for the cookies. All of the dried fruits are ground up and make such a delicious filling. I bet you would like them! Mom and Dad seem to be settling in now that Dad is feeling good again. It makes me so happy. 🙂
the pants look like they turned out perfectly. I love the pine boughs and the gnomes. I have not heard of that cookie
Your evergreens are so lovely. I have yet to get any in for the season…and we travel this week for a few nights and over Christmas, so I am not sure it will happen. Peach Fuzz is not on my list of favorite colors of the year, but maybe with some other colors, I would like it. You rock those purple sweats! Good luck with the better fabric version.
I love your evergreen branches here and there, Bernie! How lovely that you can go right out in your yard and cut them – that fresh smell is the best. I don’t usually have much of an opinion on the color of the year, but it’s always interesting to see what quilters do with it, if they choose to make a project in that color. Your purple sweatpants are great! Love how well they fit.
Having so many trees is a treat Diann. They don’t drop tons of leaves so aren’t too difficult to have around either.
I am looking forward to the challenge quilts that will be made with the Pantone color – even tho I don’t like the color. Maybe someone’s project will change my mind???
Oh, I can just imagine how wonderful the boughs smell; have fun delivering some to your mom! I am not a fan of peach fuzz (and yes, that is asking an awful lot from a color!). I’m more drawn to the Kona cotton color the year (Julep), but even it is a bit too pastel for my normal taste. And while purple might not be your favorite color, those purple pants do look good on you. I bet they are soft and comfortable!
Yvonne, I agree with you on Kona’s color choice; better than Pantone’s but just barely. Both are too pastel.
Loving the sweatpants but I need to make another pair. I don’t even have shirts that work with them. But having a pattern that fits is such a treat!!
Those sweatpants are PERFECT! I agree with you about your view on Murphy’s Law! The evergreen boughs and gnome display is festive and perfect for the season!
Merry Christmas Terry. Thank you for the note – Have a wonderful holiday week. 🙂
http://3six5snap.wordpress.com/2023/12/12/11-12-23/
This link should open to my daily blog. Guess what colour showed up for sunset!!
Bernie – I didn’t know about this platform. I love the idea and your devotion to sharing. It is really beautiful.
Oh, all those boughs! I can smell them, and you used them so beautifully! Of course, I love the gnomes (they are so cute)! I feel the same about the peach, and the idea of peach fuzz in fashion made me chuckle. Those purple sweats look great on you, and you are right, there is a Murphy’s law about that kind of thing. Just tell the next yardage that you got it cheap, and maybe you can sneak around that Murphy’s Law – LOL. Fun post, Bernie!
Thank you Wendy. Just getting back to my computer after many busy days. I thought of you when I made the gnomes. They were super fun to make. I hope you are doing well and enjoying the season!
I just wrote a whole blog post with my (extended) thoughts about PANTONE’s Peach Fuzz for 2024… ;-). And YES your sweat pants are a perfect and very flattering fit! Not too snug, but not too pouffy either. I say try to find a fabric in a color that’s more “you” that has a similar weight and amount of stretch to the purple. Heck, if it was me, I’d want to make several pairs if I landed on a pattern that yielded such a flattering muslin.
Thank you Rebecca. I do plan to make another pair. I love the fit but the color – not so much.
Hope you get to have your boys home for the holidays! Merry Christmas.
Bernie, I may have to make that cookie recipe, probably after Christmas so I won’t have to share with people who might not appreciate them. Sounds fabulous!
I may also have to make the pants, too. I have some nice knit fabric that’s been aging on my shelf for a suitable period. Thanks for sharing that pattern, too!
Hope you try the recipe. Another good thing about cuccidati is it lasts forever. You can freeze them too. Yum.
Have a great holiday Jay!
Well, I love green and purple, but peach does not do it for me at all. Is it orange? Is it pink? It can’t decide! I love the sweatpants. They look great. Do you have enough fabric for matching pants for the girls? It would be fun for you all to match!
I think the problem with peach is it is boring. Anyway – it isn’t going to be used by me even if Pantone loves it.
I had to use every bit of the purple fleece. I even had to do a weird patch job on the inner leg to make it work. So the girls and I won’t match. Good idea though. You must be on break by now? Are your grades turned in? Breathe deeply and enjoy the holiday break! Are you going to Wisconsin for Christmas?