The End Of A Good Year!

During the holiday's I was able to get some stitching in. I finished Snow Garden. I am still not happy with it, but it being stretched and mounted. February by PS is also being stretched and mounted. I will show them next week, in their pop in and out frames. I started Daffodils by PS on 32 ct. lambswool with the recommended DMC. I hope that this will be my last finish for 2010. Time will tell.

We had a wonderful Christmas here in MA. Great time with friends, good food and wonderful gifts! Sammi received this soft warm blanket. The little dogs on it look like her, don't you think?

This is a gift I received from Cheryl. The picture does it no justice. I put in the window and the sun makes it sparkle with color. The leaves and berries are all glittered. I love this thing. All the pictures are clickable.
We have had alot of snow here and no one was able to go to work on Monday. Many people were without power (not us, thank heaven). Some of the towns on the ocean had terrible flooding and folks are still not able to go back in their homes. Thankfully, all my friends fared pretty well during the blizzard. I know that I really wanted snow but I have had it and am now done with it!

Many of you are doing the 15 start challenge, not me. I am one of those people that has to do one project at a time. If I put something down, I generally don't ever pick it up again. I do have 3 WIP's that I will try to finish in 2011. I am also going to try to work on projects from my stash. I have so many beautiful charts that have been neglected. Time will tell how well I stick to that. I probably won't be able to post before New Years, so I want to wish every one a safe and happy New Year. Until next time...Happy Stitching! Deborah

Baking and Stitching.

Sammi would like to wish everyone and their pets a very Merry Christmas.

I started this the other day and I must say, that I am not enjoying it. Love the design but the colors are very close in their shades. It was very hard to pick a fabric that will allow all the colors to be seen.

Yesterday I decided to make bread by hand. This is Christmas Stollen. My braiding leaves alot to be desired, but it turned out delicious! It's full of fruit and nuts. I have a bread machine and use it a lot but I really enjoyed the kneading and rising and kneading again. It was very soothing. I will be taking a loaf over to Cheryl's for Christmas Eve. She has a yearly family gathering, which we have been going to for 20 years or so.

This is alittle sampling of the cookies we made on Tuesday. We have sugar cookies, hermits, applesauce cookies, peanut butter kiss cookies and orange brownie bites (which are to die for).

I want to wish everyone a wonderful Christmas full of love and peace. Thank you for reading and commenting on my blog. I have enjoyed reading all of yours and seeing all the extraordinary work that you all do. Peace to all.

Until next time...Happy Stitching. Deborah

It's Been A Pretty Good Week!

Last Thursday night my evening stitching group went out to dinner to celebrate the holidays. We went to an Italian restaurant that none of us had ever been to and we were pleasantly surprised. The food was really good. After dinner, we came back to my house for dessert and to exchange gifts. This is what I put out for the girls. Once we got home, I totally forgot to use the camera. Joanne brought the most delicious coconut cake. I wish I had taken a picture, it was beautiful. I will try to be a better blogger in the future and get more pictures.

I finished February over the weekend. I thought that I would never finish the snow. I will get it stretched and I have a pop it and out frame for all the PS months.

Finally we have a little snow! Here are a couple shots. The first is from the porch and the second is the back of the house. I live in a really wooded area.

This is Sammi taking her daily medication. Don't those ears look huge? But still, she is the cutest!

We did have some water issues this week end. On Saturday about 4:30 I went to use the faucet and there was no water. Now, we in most of New England don't have town water or sewerage. We have wells and septic systems. So having no water means a well issue. Called the well guy and they checked out the well pump and it was working fine (thank heavens) but my holding tank needs to be replaced. Not a huge deal but an inconvenience. We went 24 hours with no water until they could fix it enough until the Tuesday after Christmas. They will then replace the tank. Another day with no water. It could be worse. As always, thanks so much for visiting my blog and leaving your comments. I love them all. Cheryl and I are making Christmas cookies on Wednesday and I will bring my camera to show you our bounty. Until then....Happy Stitching. Deborah

A Day Of Finishing !

I spent the day with Cheryl and we finished all of the ornies that I did a couple of weeks ago. Two will hang on the tree and made cute little pillows out of 2 of them and Peppermint, I made into a pincushion. I love the little row of pom-poms on the snowman pillow. I think that they came out okay. The last one was Mr. Flake. I kinda ran out of creativity by the time we got to him.

I made this a year or so ago. Made it into a pouch holder. Put some phony greens in it and called it a day.

A bunch of the stitched pillows on the mud room bench. I still love the pom-poms. 2 of those pillows are about 25 years old. Done on Aida.

I have 2 fireplaces. This is the one in the kitchen. We bought this house 10 years ago. The kitchen was very Colonial and they had a wood stove attached to this fireplace. The kitchen was very old fashioned for us, so we had it redone. I really wanted an island ( which is where the oranges are sitting ) so we got rid of the stove because if we used it or the fireplace we will melt the island. Not a good idea. The fireplace is fun to decorate for the seasons or holidays. It does give the kitchen a homey feel. You can enlarge any of the photo's for a closer look.

Thanks for visiting. I love the comments and appreciate all of them. Until next time....Happy Stitching. Deborah

A Little Stitching and A little Christmas

It's raining here. we have had about 2 1/2 inches. As much as I want snow, I am glad that all we had is rain. We would have had about 2-3 feet of the white stuff. I know that many of you in the mid-west are getting buried in snow. I hope all of you are safe and warm. It's been a busy week-end but I did manage to get a little stitching done. This is February by PS using 32 ct lambswool jobelan and DMC.

. This is the family room with our new Christmas tree. Much smaller and streamlined. I love it. I have a collection Of Byers Choice Carolers. I have decorated both of my mantles with them and afew other places around the house. Sorry that I left the TV on, I just noticed it.

A little closer shot of the tree. I don't have that many stitched ornaments on it. Next year I have a pencil type tree that will hold the stitched ornaments.

I read on Donna's blog (Needleworker not in paradise) that Ginny Thompson passed away. I had the honor of meeting her and her husband, Ken on 3 occasions in the 80's. . They held a wonderful business seminar in Pawley's Island. I learned alot and they gave me the know how and the courage to open my first store. I will always be grateful to them both. They also had retreats that I attended. Ken is the man that taught me how to stitch on linen. He was a wonderful teacher. The world of cross stitch will miss them both. Until next time.... Happy Stitching. Deborah

North Wind

The weather is very cold but no snow. I am so envious of all of you that have some. I love snow and can't wait! The title of the post is North Wind, which is another LHN design that I finished this week. The picture is further down. This is another LHN design that I did awhile back. It is currently residing in my family room.

I left a comment awhile back on Sharon Cresent's blog and she decided to draw a name and send alittle something. I was the lucky winner and is was so much more than a little something. 10 skiens of Belle Soie, lovely sheep pins and my favorite needles by Bohin. Everyone that knows me, knows that Cresent Colours and Belle Soie are my favorite fibers. Sharon, thanks for the wonderful gifts!

s I had this stretched and popped it into the frame that Iam using for all of the anniversary series. This one was in honor of my step-dads mom, who I adored. She was a great woman.

Finished my last ornie. I haven't done the finishing on any of them yet. Hopefully I will find the time next week. I have been busy doing all the stuff I have let go for awhile. You can only ignore it for so long.

Yes it's another LHN design. North Wind. I just loved the robin and the barn so had to stitch it. I haven't decided how I will finish it yet. Any ideas? I used 32 ct Tundra by LSL and Cresent Color fibers. It was a fun stitch.

Thanks for all the kind comments. I love them all. Sammi really loves it when she gets a mention. Until next time...Happy Stitching. Deborah

A Few More Ornaments And Some Other Stuff...

Sammi gets very moody if I don't post a picture of her every so often, so I dug into the archives and found this one. She actually looks perky.

Picked up this little gem on Wednesday. This was great quick stitch. I like how it turned out. You can click on any of the pictures for a closer look.

Alittle close up.

Close up of the frame. I like the two toned brown. I have used this molding before.

I finished a couple more ornaments.

All of them are the monthly ornaments by LHN. Everything I am showing you today is LHN. I need to mix it up alittle, don't you think? I hope to find some time next week for the finishing of these ornaments. First, I need to go to Joann Fabrics for some trim. I know that All is Calm will be a little pillow and Peppermint Twist will be a pincushion. The rest will probably be regular ornies. I will show them after they are finished.

I finished this last month and popped it into my frame. Like Myra, I left a light on in a second floor window. I like to think that it is me up late reading my kindle, which I do frequently.

All of the monthly designs reside on this shelf in the kitchen. All of the designs go into this frame. I pop them in and out every month. I change up the other things that I put on the shelf for the holiday or season.

Thanks for stopping by my little piece of the world. I love the comments and will try to get better at answering some of the questions. I appreciate them all.

I would like to wish two wonderful women from my Wednesday stitching group, Nataly and Ellen a Happy Hanukkah! Until next time...Happy Stitching. Deborah

Christmas Is Coming!

Thanksgiving is over and put away for another year. I hope that you all had a great day full of love and good food. We had a lovely relaxing day. Dinner was really good, if I do say so myself. I made cornbread dressing for the first time and we loved it. I will be making it all the time. After dinner and the clean-up, I was able to do some stitching and finished watching the Pats win. It was a good day all around. Over the week-end we started to put up the Christmas decorations. I made the table runner last year. This is the cutest little tree and of course something stitched. Holly and Berries by LHN. The house inside and outside was finished today. I tried to upload some decoration photos but blogger wouldn't let me. I will try again on my next post.

I finished the latest BBD design, Moonlight Visitor. I used 28ct. Maple Sugar linen by LSL. I changed all but 2 of the colors. I used all CC. I will have it stretched for my pop it in and out frame.

I started afew of the monthly ornaments by LHN. I was inspired to do these because of all the beautiful finishes that I have seen on all of your blogs. I am sorry about the lousy pictures. I am using 32 ct Summer Khaki for all three of them and the suggested DMC fibers. This one is my fav. I love the bear.

Today was cyber Monday and I really got some great deals! I finished the Christmas shopping except for a few stocking stuffers. I am not someone who enjoys the shopping hoards on Black Friday and the rest of that week end, so this was perfect for me.

Thanks for visiting my blog and leaving great comments. They mean a lot to me and I appreciate the fact that you take the time to do so. Until next time Happy Stitching. Deborah

Cooking and Some Stitching

Sammi, Joanne and I would like to wish everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving full of love , family, good food and being thankful for all that we have! The baking is well underway with apple and pear pies and cranberry bread. The corn bread is made and is drying out for the stuffing. The vegetables are chopped and ready for tomorrow. The linens are ironed and the table is set. Things are looking good here.

I was one of the winners in a giveaway that Veronica had. She made 5 wonderful scissor fobs that she gave away. I won the red, white and blue one, which I promptly put on my Americana scissors. I love it. Thanks again Veronica!

Here is the Snow White design framed. Simple white frame with a stand up thing on the back so I can put in on the bookshelf. A very simple but lovely design.

Here is the winter Band Sampler finished. It's getting stretched and I have a wonderful two tone brown frame that I will put it in.

I started the latest BBD design from the Anniversary series. I didn't have one of the flosses so that started me on my journey of changing all of the colors. I did keep 2 of the original colors. The fabric is 28 ct. Maple Sugar by LSL. I like it a lot, so far.

Happy Thanksgiving and hopefully alittle stitching! Deborah

Another Busy Week and Some Stitching!

I won a great Thanksgiving giveaway from Nan. Included is a lovely towel, some Thanksgiving paper for the computer, A Thanksgiving pattern by LK, a skein of really nice floss from Carries creations and the best little pillow ever! Below is a close up of the front and back of the pillow. It's wonderfully tiny and I am going to attach some ribbon and make it into a scissor fob. Thanks Nan, I love everything.

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On Tuesday Cheryl and I made 2 batches of cranberry chutney. The recipe makes 4 cups. It's really yummy.

After we made the chutney, we put together this little darling. I think it turned out well. I got the ribbon at Hobby Lobby. It's an old HSE pattern.

I finished Snow White by LHN and am having it framed in a white frame. This was a really quick stitch and I really love the blue fabric by LSL.

I picked up Dust of Snow by PSS from the framer. The picture really doesn't do the design justice. It's really beautiful. If you click on the pictures they will enlarge for a better view.

A little close up of the girl and the trees.

Again the close of the frame doesn't show the beauty of the frame. It's silver with a darker gray over it and the inset has alittle gold.

This is my current WIP. It's another LHN called Winter Band Sampler. It's a change for LHN and I am loving it. Sorry for the bad picture. I just took the hoop off and took a shot.

It has been a busy week. Getting ready for the holiday, planning the menu and doing the shopping. I also went Christmas shopping and am almost finished. YEAH! Of course, I still have to wrap. Not my favorite thing to do.
I am over whelmed by the generosity of all my blogging friends. I love the comments and the emails. Until next time Happy Stitching! Deborah