Some Stitching and Some Food.

I hope that you all had a great Christmas! After being pretty busy the last couple of weeks, it was a pleasure to have a quite day. We had a nice breakfast, opened the gifts and had a relaxing dinner later in the day. I got in a lot of stitching in the last 2 days. What a pleasure. On Christmas Eve we went to Cheryl's for the evening. The food was wonderful. I was a bad blogger and took no pictures, except for the 2 things that I brought.

I know that the picture isn't very good but the popcorn was delicious and really addictive. I am obsessed with this stuff. You pop 3 bags of low butter popcorn (pop secret homestyle is good), melt a 12 oz. bag of white chocolate chips and mix together and add a 5 oz bag of craisins. So good and I don't usually like white chocolate. Joanne served my Thursday night stitching group this and we just ate and chatted. No real stitching was done.

I made these little Santa hats. How cute are they? Saw them on " The Chew" and had to make them. They are just brownies (cut with a round cutter), strawberries and whipped cream. Kinda festive.

I am currently working on A Good Marriage by LK. It's for a dear friend and her husband who have a big anniversary coming up.They have a wonderful relationship and I believe that they live these rules everyday.

I will be putting that piece aside for a few days so that I can start the February cottage. I am not sure about the colors. The pinks are really bright. We will see how they look. Thanks for stopping by and leaving the best comments. They mean so much. Until next time.....Happy Stitching! Deborah

From My House to Yours

I wish everyone a blessed and joyful Christmas. Until next time...Happy Stitching! Deborah

Doing the Big Happy Dance!

I hadn't planned on getting the seasonal sampler framed before Christmas but I just had too! I am so happy with this piece. The sampler turned out beautifully and I love the frame.

You can click on any of the photos for a larger view. With the frame this piece ends up being about 32" long. Sorry about all the pics. I just couldn't get it in one good pic. I joined Vonna's SAL of the CCN Cottages.

I am using 36 ct. vintage meadow rue linen and the suggested fibers. I will be doing the whole year on this piece of fabric. So far, so good. Today Cheryl and I did our Christmas cookie marathon.

Here is a sampling of our bounty. We made wedding cookies, frosted sugar cookies, coconut thumbprints, the chocolate crinkles appear not to have made the picture, butterscotch oatmeal cookies and chocolate walnut fudge. YUMMY! I have kept you all long enough, so until next time.....Happy Stitching! Deborah

Christmas is Almost Here!

It was a busy week here but some of the business involved stitching. First up is Warm Winter Woolens by LHN I used 32 ct exampler linen and the suggested fibers. I framed it today. I have had the candle screen in my stash for years. It was good to put it to use. I also finished January Word Play by WTN. I love these designs. I used 36 ct mystery f

fabric and the called for fibers. Hopefully it will be put together before January. I had a small luncheon with a couple of my stitchy friends. This is the table setting and the small flower arrangements that I gave to them.

I picked up Winter Alphabet from the framers last week. I had the frame made into a pop it in and out frame. It came out pretty good.

Here is a closeup of the frame.

This has been the weirdest time that i have ever had trying to post. What the heck is with blogger? Before I close, I want to wish Nataly and Ellen a very Happy Hanukkah. Thanks for visiting and leaving the greatest comments. Until next time (hopefullyI will be back before Christmas)....Happy Stitching! Deborah

Wonderful Time of the Year!

It was a busy week here but i did get some stitching in. I hope to finish Four Seasons Band Sampler this year. It's in the home stretch. I just need to finish the bottom of it. I need to add stars and snow flakes to the winter portion and do the personalization above the numbers. This is a beautiful sampler that the Just Cross Stitch magazine did in 4 parts. It is about 27" long and about 7" wide. Below is the whole thing layed out. Sorry about the wrinkles. I don't like to iron the pieces until they are finished. You can click on any of the pics for a larger view.

Last Thursday night, my evening stitching group went out to dinner for our Christmas celebration. We had some really wonderful Italian food. After dinner we went back to Jeanne's home for the dessert and the gift portion of the evening. We draw names and Mary ( her blog is yetanotherxcrazyblog ) drew my name. This beautiful flower frog is what I got. How great is that! Green is one of my favorite colors. She made the pin cushion that is in side. She used 2 different seasonal fabrics. Below is a better picture of the pin cushion. Isn't it great when your friends feed your addictions?!

As if that beautiful frog wasn't enough, she also gave me this beautiful scarf. It is wide and very long. The picture does it no justice. The colors are gorgeous and there is some gold shiny threads running through it. She thought that it would look good with one of my coats but I can envision it on my table as a table runner. Thanks, Mary! I just love my gifts.
What would a party be without the food. Joanne went and got 2 different kinds of cupcakes from our favorite cupcake bakery. Jeanne made the cookies. It was all so delicious.
Jeanne's home was decorated beautifully and I just loved her Christmas village. This is only part of the village. So gorgeous. This week is going to busy. I am having some stitchy friends over for lunch and stitching this week. Going to both of my stitching groups and Saturday night I am having friends over for dinner and gift exchange. It's going to busy and so much fun. I hope that your holiday season is full of fun, friends and family, great food and gatherings. Thanks for visiting and leaving the best comments. I love them. Until next time..... Happy Stitching! Deborah

Winter, So Far Only in My Stitching

We have had the weirdest weather! It has been in the 60's and low 70's for weeks. It's getting close to Christmas and I want cold and maybe some snow. So far, the closest to snow and cold is stitching it. I finished LK Winter Alphabet over the week end. I am going to have an in and out frame made in case I do the others. I do love the fall one.
I also did DT's January. I used a scrap of 32 ct. pearl gray and I used the called for NPI's. I do love me some silks.
On Saturday, I drove up to New Hampshire to Yankee Cross Stitch to take a class from Donna of By the Bay fame. She is a lovely person and we had a great time. We made this cute tree. It is made out of wool, a dowel and wire. Darn easy to put together. The only thing I would change is the really bright green floral tape we used to rap the truck of the tree. I am going to get some darker green tape and go over the bright green. Then I will love the little tree. I must say that the base is really nice. Red and has a nice design in the medal. You can click on any of the pictures for a larger view.
I have collected some Santa's over the years and I thought that I would share one of my collection at the end of each post this month. What I noticed, while taking their pics is that they are all woodsy kinda of Santa's. This one I got in Canada a number of years ago when Cheryl and I brought her Mother back home.
This is my small tree in the kitchen. I bought it at the Christmas Tree Shop for around 10 bucks. A great buy. I have my cross stitch ornies on it. I really need to do more. Hopefully for next season. Wow! I need to thank everyone for the wonderful comments on my last post. They mean a lot to me. Until next time....Happy Stitching! Deborah

Framing and Finishing.

First, I want to tell Nancy from Lovely in Chocolate fame that she is going to be receiving Take Joy in the mail. I did draw her name on Monday but I wasn't able to blog about it. Life has been very busy. I did pick up 2 pieces from the framer. This is the 12 days of Christmas by LHN. I am very happy with how it came out. With that said, I do wish the frame I picked was wider. The picture below is a close up of the frame. The picture isn't the best but you can click on any of them for a better view.
I do love the gold on the inside and the two tone brown, just want it wider.
This is Christmas Tea by PPS. This piece is much nicer IRL. Below is a close up of this frame and I really like it.
It is a silver frame with a dark blue edge. The frame isn't pink like the picture but I was wearing a red sweatshirt so maybe...
December Word Play finished and hanging up. I really do love these designs. They are quick and easy and just so cute.
I put this together today. These are the best boxes. I have a thing for boxes. Sorry about the glare from the glass on the table top. Note to self, don't take pictures on the kitchen table.
Still working on Winter Alphabet from LK. It's a fun stitch and the white does show up in person. That's it for tonight! Thanks for stopping by and leaving the best comments. They make my day. Until next time......Happy Stitching! Deborah

A Lot of Stitching and Tusal.

I hope that everyone in the US had a great Thanksgiving full of family, friends, love and wonderful food. I know that I did. Now that the house is cleaned up and the turkey soup is made, I can now concentrate on some more stitching. I finished December Word Play last week. I just love these designs. I used a 36 ct. mystery fabric and the called for fibers. Hopefully, I can get it sewed up this coming week.
This is Winter Wind sampler from the Jan./Feb. 2011 issue of Just Cross Stitch magazine. I used 36 ct. quicksilver linen and the called for CC fibers. You can click on any of the pic's for a larger view. It is prettier in person.
In between cooking and baking this week. I finished Take Joy by SB. I will be putting it in the box that they show on the cover of the kit. These little designs are so quick and fun to do. I would like to pass this design on. It would make a great ornament. I have some of the floss left. It may not be enough to do the design but you can use it to help pick your own colors. So just leave a comment on this post. If I have more than one person who wants the design, I will draw a name on Monday night.
This is my latest start, Winter Alphabet by LK. I am using 32 ct oatmeal or flax linen and the called for fibers. The white shows up much better in person. Because I refused to leave my home today to shop ( I am not that crazy) I managed to get quite a bit done. It's a happy stitch. Every square that you finish gives you that feeling of accomplishment.
Here is my Tusal for the month. They are very packed down. Next year I need to find a different jar. Thanks for all the lovely comments on my last post. I sure do appreciate them all. Enough the rest of the week end. Until next time.... Happy Stitching! Deborah

A Week Full of RAK's & Stitching!

First up is a very cute needle book that I received Thursday in the mail from Myra. You all know her from gr8dame's Place. Her sewing skills are excellent. She makes the cutest things. I don't know how she remembered that I love pink. Below is a picture of the inside, which had a skein of variegated floss and 2 pink floss winders. The card was so pretty. Thanks so much Myra!

A couple of weeks ago I went to the new Hobby Lobby in NH. It really is a day trip from where I live. I went specifically for this box so I could do all the wonderful little Halloween pillows from BBD. They didn't have any boxes the day I went. I came home with some floss but no box. i was so disappointed. This past weekend my friend, Nataly, went and look what she brought home for me. Yeah! You have no idea how excited I was when she gave me this gift at stitching group on Wednesday. Thanks, again Nataly.
Thursday night at my other stitching group, Joanne gave me this beautiful shawl that she knitted. The color is more rusty than orange. It's over 60 inches long and has a pocket on both ends. It is perfect. I was told that it is a prayer shawl and it is given to you when you have a lose. Whatever the reason, I love it. I can't thank Myra, Nataly and Joanne enough for the kindness that they shown me. Stitchy friends are the best.
On to my stitching, I finished Christmas Tea and off to the framer it went. It was a joy to stitch.
This is winter Wind sampler by PSS from the JC magazine. I love the whimsy of this piece. It is done on 32 ct quicksilver linen using the called for CC floss. The fabric has a really nice lavender undertone to it. I probably won't be able to blog before Thanksgiving, so I want everyone to have a blessed day with family and friends. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and I have a lot to be thankful for. Until next time....Happy Stitching! Deborah

Finally, Some Stitching!

It's been awhile since I posted some stitching, so here we go. First up is Autumn Pinkeep by Helga Mandl from the Gift of Stitching magazine. I used ant. ivory 32 ct linen and lavender honey SNC silk.
I trimmed the little pinkeep in some rust colored chenille. Very cute.
Next up is the 12 Days of Christmas by LNH. I loved this design the first time I saw it and couldn't wait to stitch it. I need to finish the musical notes and then it goes off to the framer. I don't do that many Christmas designs because I usually don't like the colors but this one didn't scream red and green. Below is a close up of the bottom.

I am working on Christmas Tea by PSS. This is one that can stay up all winter. Below is a pic of what the design will look like when finished. I used a blue fabric instead of the called for fabric, which I didn't have. I am using the called for Belle Soie silks.
Before I close, I want to thank everyone for the wonderful comments, e-mails and the cards that I received regarding Sammi's passing. They touched my heart. She was a great dog. Hope the rest of your weekend is fabulous. Until next time.....Happy Stitching! Deborah