Another Thanksgiving in the Books...Moving on to Christmas

This year's Thanksgiving was strange this year due to COVID precautions.  Our Austin boys got tested before visiting and although it wasn't totally without risk, we felt that their visit was worth the little increased risk we took.  (They're all working from home and not going out much (wearing masks when they DO go out.)  We also did a Zoom visit with the relatives we would have seen on Thanksgiving which was strange but better than nothing.  I was so distracted setting up for the Zoom that I forgot to take pictures.  One of the boys took one of the table before I put out the food.  We even used paper plates for the first time for Thanksgiving instead of the good china, our nod to trying to make it a little safer.  I must admit that I didn't miss hand washing the china but I did miss getting to use it.  Hopefully next year!

I finished the Theresa Kogut's Give Thanks Turkey but didn't finish it in time to FFO it.  (Maybe next year!)

I blame it on COVID but I was very late choosing an ornament to stitch for the family ornaments (total of 5!).  Then I saw someone stitching A Very COVID Santa (from BeverlyStreetShop on etsy) and knew I'd found the one!  I'm not celebrating COVID by stitching it but it will indeed be something to remember in future holidays when we finally get back to normal (whatever normal will look like).  I popped the first one temporarily in an embroidery hoop to see what it will look like FFO'd that way.

I mailed off the rest of the stockings (designed by Bent Creek) I made for our daughter's family and they received them yesterday.  Our poor granddaughter (4) forgot that I'd made hers a couple of years ago and was a little sad that there wasn't one for her in the box (although I sent her some treats in the same box).  All was well when I explained that I stitched hers FIRST and wanted her brother and parents to have their stockings too.  I stitched them and they were beautifully FFO'd by my friend Vonna Pfeiffer aka The Twisted Stitcher.

The boys left us yesterday and a cold front arrived bringing rain that will probably go on all day.  I'm looking forward to putting away the Thanksgiving decorations, maybe putting out a few Christmas ones and then being a couch potato today while watching football and stitching.

Happy stitching!

Sampler September and New Toy

 I was almost sorry to finish Ann Pegg so started another sampler....then another.  Well, it IS Sampler September after all!

First to answer a question....I stitched Ann Pegg one strand over 2 (using called-for floss) on Flax Edinburgh 36 count linen.  I just started using this linen and really like it.

The first new sampler start is Red House Sampler by Brenda Keyes of The Sampler Company.  This one has been sitting kitted with floss in my stash for several years now and it's time has come.  I was thinking of changing the red but, in the end, just stayed with the called-for DMC flosses.

For my repro Sampler for Sampler September, I chose another one that's been in my stash for a while...JM Gardner by With Thy Needle and Thread.  I just worked on this one for a couple of days and already love it.

Alas!  The samplers will be playing second fiddle for a while because I'm model stitching again.  I'm enjoying model stitching as always though.

Happy mail:  Vonna Pfeiffer did her magic on Louis' stocking and it arrived last week.  They know I've been working on a stocking for Baby Callum but didn't know that I've stitched stockings for mom and dad too.  I'll send the three of them a little before Christmas so they can hang them up with our granddaughter's stocking that I made a few years ago.  That is, IF I can wait that long. 

My son and his GF hinted about stockings for them so theirs will be next.  I was having trouble deciding what style stockings to make so talked to them about it.  They will be Scandinavian-looking with white floss on red fabric.  I found one pattern I liked and then thought about how to make the other similar but not the same.  I decided to look for similar pattern repeats and plot it on the stocking size/outline of the design I have.  I think that should work out.

I've been thinking about getting a stand up paddleboard to use on our lake for some time but never found exactly what I wanted (that didn't involve borrowing a truck to go pick one up) and wondered if spending the money was a wise idea.  Then I got to thinking about how our traveling this summer is on hold because of COVID restrictions/precautions and thought I should really be enjoying the lake more.  Recently our neighbors' son (who lives across the lake) paddled over and I asked him about his board that looked like what I wanted.  Amazon!!  There was a little snafu with the delivery (Amazon customer service was superb!) and my board arrived on Monday.  I've been out on the "maiden journey" but haven't had the time to use it again.  I look forward to going for a paddle this evening.

Happy stitching (and paddling)!

It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas...

This may be my year of the stocking.  I'm working through stockings for our daughter's family to hang on their mantel.  One is totally FFO'd, another is with the finisher, and I just finished stitching buttons on the third one.  They're all from the same (older) Bent Creek series.

I only have the last progress photo I took for this one as I finished the stitching and handed it to Vonna at stitch camp.

Here's the one I finished up yesterday:

I think I'll do a snowman one for our son-in-law.  Stay tuned.

Finishing these this years was one of my stitching goals until, shortly after Christmas when our oldest son asked if I "could do something" about stockings for him and his GF.  I'm still trying to decide what to stitch for them.

Merry Christmas!  ;-)

Happy stitching!