Happy New Year!

I finished stitching The Prairie Schooler's Home for Christmas before Christmas.  I'm hoping to figure out a way to share a frame (change out the stitching) with it, Harvest Time, and a spring/summer PS about the same size to change out for the different seasons.  We'll see how that goes.

We had a nice Christmas with 2 (out of 4) of our "children" here, talked to our son on the phone, and visited with our daughter's family via Facetime (at the same time as her in-laws in Scotland were on Facetime) to watch the grandchildren opening their gifts.  Isn't technology amazing?!

We're bucking our normal New Year's Eve tradition (staying home and watching the East Coast New Year arrive before going to bed) by going with friends a NYE party at our city's Civic Center.  There will be a band, dancing, good company, and refreshments.  I don't know if we can stand the excitement; we've both already talked about the need to take a nap this afternoon so we can stay up late tonight.

We've already started taking down the Christmas decorations.  This is earlier than I've ever done it (I usually wait until after the new year to start.) but since we're having our floors replaced next week (!) and need to do some prep for that, we thought it best to get an early start.

I'm currently stitching an oldie but goodie, Primitive Snowman by Ewe and Eye and Friends and also started a Little House Needleworks sampler repro, Melicent Turner, for a Sampler Sunday SAL on the LHN/CCN Facebook group.  I'd been wanting to start "Mellie" for some time so this was the push I needed to get started.  I chose to stitch her with the suggested overdyed cottons instead of springing for the silks as I was tempted.  After I finish Mellie, I may restart LHN's Elizabeth Hancock in a higher count fabric....WITH silks.  Woo Hoo!

I have ambitious stitching plans for 2020.  I often make plans and do some of it but also change my mind as the year goes by.  I'm in another SAL with some friends in which we'll each stitch one of the Carriage House Samplings Hawk Run designs.  I'd been collection silks for Autumn at HRH so that will be my Jan. 1 start.  There's also a SAL of Brenda Keyes' Red House sampler.  It's another one I'd planned to start so, by golly, I'll start that one too.  I'd planned to stitch Bent Creek stockings for our daughter and son-in-law that co-ordinate with the stockings I stitched the grandkids and then my oldest son asked if I could stitch stockings for him and his girlfriend.  Add in some Christmas ornaments, seasonal projects, some model stitching, and it looks to be a busy stitching year.  I'll never be bored let alone understand the meaning of that word.

Happy New Year and as always....

Happy Stitching!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Greetings!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving in Pittsburgh with my husband's family.  All our kids came along with our 2 grandchildren and also our oldest son's girlfriend.  We had a great time, ate a lot, laughed a lot, and then all made it back to our home destinations with no problems.

Now I'm concentrated on preparing for Christmas.  We'll stay home this year and our 2 youngest children will join us.  I'm getting a late start on decorating because we're replacing our floors in January and had a guy come measure this week.  I'm starting to get excited because we finally decided on what flooring to use, the color, and have nailed down (pardon the pun) the contract.  We even have a tentative date on which to start. 

I also pulled some ornaments out to send to our 2 oldest kids.  I'd collected (either bought or made) ornaments for each of the kids over the years and our oldest asked for some of hers (she's the one who's given us our 2 grandchildren) and our son's girlfriend asked if I'd send some of his to them.  It took longer than I thought it would to go through them and choose a nice assortment that fit in the box.  I had an idea when I was in Hobby Lobby earlier this week that it would be nice to put them in a Christmas box so they can use the same box in which to store them.  They're safely in the mail now and I hope they enjoy using (and storing) them.

On the stitching front, I finished stitching Cat's Meow (Drawn Thread) for my son's girlfriend.  I took the picture before pressing it and the piece is now at the framer.

I also put together a couple of Foxwood Crossings Sled ornaments for this year's ornament and tucked them in the ornament boxes I just sent out.  I'll make 3 more of these this year.  2 are stitched and it won't take long to stitch the last one.  I love how quick and easy they stitch up and taping them onto those little sleds is my kind of finishing.  Quick and easy!

I'm still plugging along on Home for Christmas by Prairie Schooler.  I'm really enjoying this one!

Break's over!  Time to get back to decorating.

Happy stitching!