Giveaways at Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe blog

Nancy at Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe is hosting 2 giveaways.

The first is for one of her Motto Sampler Kits and the second is for an assortment of her beautiful floss.

Here blog is here:

http://victorianmottosamplershoppe.blogspot.com/

A quick finish

I came across this wip (a UFO actually) the other day needing only a little stitching to complete.  Now I remember why I didn't finish it.  The woman's hair was charted with all french knots and I wasn't in the mood to stitch that many.  I picked it up this time thinking I'd sub beads but the ones I have here are too big.  Sooooooo I decided to try just stitching her hair to see if I like it.  I do!  So it's added to the finish column now.  It's called Wee Carolers by Heart in Hand.  I've sung in a choir or sung carols as long as I can remember so this design really appeals to me.

Once I finished this one, I got back to stitching on Shakespeare's Peddler's A Weary World.  I'm really enjoying stitching this sampler.

Our DS comes home today for his Chrismas break so it will start getting a little busier around here.

Christmas Memory

I happened to think of this the other day:  When our youngest DS was in much younger than he is today, he was chosen to play Joseph in our church's Christmas pageant (entitled "The First Leon"--Noel spelled backswards.  I forget the actual story behind the story--I think it was a play about a putting on a children's Christmas pageant-- but it was a cute presentation.  Of course, isn't anything cute that kids this age do?)

Anyway, DS would probably kill me if he knew I was posting this picture but here it is:

As I recall, "Mary" had a little crush on DS which embarassed him immensely.

I look at this picture and it's hard to believe it was so many years ago.  DS is now at least 6'1" and a "sophisticated" HS junior.

An unwelcome visitor at our house, ornaments, and model

The stomach flu has made its rounds at our house.  YUK!  Our son attending college is glad he wasn't around for all the "fun".  We're all on the mend but nobody feels much like eating anything more substantial than soup and jello.  On the plus side, it should be good for avoiding eating too many Christmas treats.

I participated in a small ornament exchange and all the ornaments have been recieved so I can show them now.  First is the one I stitched, a Country Cottage Needleworks design from an older JCS ornament issue:

Here's the ornament I received, a SamSarah design from an older JCS ornament issue.  My friend, Renee, and I are both avid Ohio State fans and she changed some of the colors to scarlet and grey.  Perfect!  She also sent a little purchased OSU snowman ornament (not pictured).

Here's an ornament I stitched for another dear friend.  It's a Prairie Schooler from another older JCS ornament issue (see a theme here?):

Finally, it's such a pleasure to be a model stitcher for both Diane Williams (Little House Needleworks) and her daughter, Nikki Leeman (Country Cottage Needleworks).  Nikki just revealed a recent design for which I stitched the model.  I'm sure it will appeal to many of you.  You can see it on Nikki's blog here:

http://countrycottageneedleworks.blogspot.com/2011/12/in-meadow.html

That's it for this time.  I hope you're all enjoying the holiday season!

Giveawy on this blog:

Nancy at Victoria Motto Sampler Shoppe is having a drawing for some lucious hand dyed floss in Christmas colors.  You can see the details here:

 http://victorianmottosamplershoppe.blogspot.com/2011/12/hand-dyed-floss-give-away-for-christmas.html

Don't faint!

I'm actually updating my blog in a short time from my last entry.

I'm still working on the LHN model.  Hope to finish this weekend. 

I also "finished" 2 ornaments but can't show them until after the recipients recieve them...which will only happen after I take them to the PO to be mailed.  (I'm leaving to do that in a few minutes.)

I CAN show you something, though.  I took a little time off model stitching to start Shakespeare's Peddler "A Weary World", which I'm stitching over 2 with overdyed cottons on Wichelt 32 count lambswool linen.   Not much to show but at least a start.  I'm already enjoying stitching this one.  A sampler....go figure!  :-)

DS was recovering nicely from his minor surgery when he came down with a horrid stomach virus.  He missed 2 days of school, one more than he missed because of his surgery.  He felt well enough to trek to the surgeon's office yesterday afternoon for a wound check.  lol!  2 hours in the car for a 10 minute appointment.  It turned out to be a good thing, though.  He had cabin fever so bad that I think he enjoyed the outing.

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.