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!

Merry Christmas

The decorations are complete, the gifts are bought (need to be wrapped), and the cookies are baked.  I have just a few more odds and ends and we'll be ready for the big day.  Tuesday will be pie day, I think.  (Cranberry Blueberry and Lemon Meringue)


                                                               Sugar cut-out cookies

 DH's Almond Biscotti

Date Nut Pinwheels

Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies

No Bake Cookies (Peanut Butter, Chocolate, Oatmeal)

Peanut Butter Blossoms

DH's Rustic Nut Bars

Spritz

Do you think we baked enough?  

I also managed to finish the kids' ornaments for this year thanks to Foxwood Crossings' little sleds and the designs that go with them.  I got a late start but they worked up quickly.  Taping them on the sleds with a little Stitchery Tape is a finishing technique I can handle.  (New Year's Resolution:  learn some finishing techniques and "finish" some of the many ornaments I've stitched.)  I also stitched a gingerbread house ornament but everyone on the planet seems to be out of the sleds.  I hear that the manufacturer says they'll be available again in the spring.

These little "sled guys" are addicting.  I also have a leaflet of snowmen for these sleds so I'll probably do some of those for next year's snowman tree. 

We're "down" a few kids for this Christmas.  Our DS who lives in Denmark was here in October and he'll be back in the States for DD's wedding next year. Our DD and her finace' are traveling in Asia.  (Hong Kong, Viet Nam, Cambodia).  Here's a picture they sent from Hong Kong:

Merry Christmas!

Happy Stitching!

Busy, busy, busy!!

I'm way behind on reading blogs and posting...such a busy time of the year.

Some things that I've been "up to":

--Singing in a local church's production of The Messiah (If THAT doesn't put you in the Christmas spirit, I don't know what will!).  If you have the time and are interested, you can see it on You Tube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jubwH-RMk_I

--Singing in my church choir's Christmas cantata

--A trip to San Antonio (I went along with DH on his business trip.)  I've been there many times but never this close to Christmas.  The lights along the Riverwalk were beautiful!

--Model stitching....I put the finishing touches on 2 of them this month.  One has been sent and received, I need to send the other, hopefully in the next day or two.

Just last night I picked up one of my wips, the PS Woodland Santa.  I hope I can finish him this week and then get back to CCN's Silent Night.

--Preparing for Christmas.  I'm way behind on this "project" and need to catch up.  One of our college boys is home and the other will be here in a day or 2.

Since I can't show you the models, I thought I'd post pics of some of my previous Christmas stitching projects.

...and in the spirit of The Messiah.................

That's probably enough for one post.

In case I don't make it back in time.....Merry Christmas!

Happy stitching!

On to the Christmas season

We enjoyed our Thanksgiving and now it's on to Christmas.  It took me a while playing with the image (and remembering how to post it to the blog header as well as changing the blog background) but I'm pleased to have posted a pic of my Christmas Village by The Prairie Schooler, on of my favorite things I've stitched.

I'm not much of a shopper.  I enjoy giving gifts but the hardest part for me it figuring out what people want or need;  mailing out complicates the matter too.  I wasn't brave enough to go shopping during the Black Friday weekend.  Besides I read or heard somewhere that it's questionable whether you really save any money that way.  That's my story now and I'm sticking to it.

DS is doing much better in his recovery from his surgery.  When he started complaining about being bored, I figured he'd turned the corner.  Our most recent dilemma was arguing over whether or not he should stick to his lifting restrictions upon his return to school today;  his backpack was twice his lifting weight limit.  Finally he agreed to do it my way, i.e. following doctor's orders.  I think he was actually happy to return to school today.

Yesterday I drove to a stitching buddy's house for a gtg with her and some other stitchers.  I love spending time with this group of women.  I couldn't take the model I'm stitching (top secret) so I started "Weary World" by Shakespeare's Peddler.  That one has been "haunting" me since it's release.  I finally broke down and ordered it and the threads and stitched a bit on it yesterday at the gtg.  It's an old fashioned looking sampler--right up my alley--and I'm already enjoying it.  I doubt that I'll finish it this year but will enjoy stitching it, especially after I finish the model and can devote more time to it.

It cooled down here significantly and today is an offical soup weather day.  I think I'll boil up the turkey carcass and make some turkey soup for dinner tonight.  It's always a plus when I've figured out the menu this early in the day.

In case I don't make it back before Christmas,

Merry Christmas, everyone!

I'm still behind (my tradition, I guess) on preparations. Our adult children will be home with us this Christmas for which we are so looking forward. The weather has been crazy, going back and forth between summer and fall (I'm from OH so the fact that it's not cold makes it hard to feel like it's almost Christmas.) To add to all the "fun", our 20 yo DS is having his wisdom teeth extracted Dec. 22. We're grateful they could work him in so as not to impact (pardon the pun) his going back to college in Jan.

On the stitching front, I've made progress on HIH Wee Carolers. I'm getting close to having to do a lot of either colonial or French knots for the hair on one of the women and I've put it down for a while and started LK's Be Naughty.

I've been reading online about the "crazy" stitching challenges for next year. I'm not officially signing up but have started a list of potential projects for 2011. So many projects, so little time!

I wish a blessed holiday season and a very happy new year for all of you.

It's been a while........

Same story...busy with band. The show is coming along nicely. I'm always amazed at what these kids can accomplish with all their and the directors' hard work.

I feel like this week has been a cheater week for my stitching. I had some almost finished wips that I finished up this week: sewed a button on Trilogy's Friendship, finished some leaves, tendrils, and lettering on a CEC piece from the Gentle Harvest leaflet, did some French knots and straight stitches on CCN's Season of Love Ornament, and finished the bat's ear and face, some spiders, and over one lettering on a piece from Hillside Samplings called "Come in for a Bite". For having so little stitching time, it sure feels good to have some finishes.

We have the weekend off (no football game) so I'm looking forward to getting some catching up done around home and also more quality stitching time. Everyone have a great weekend!