2013 Wrap-Up

  It's hard to believe it's the end of the year.  My grandmother always said time really flew by as you got older and as a kid I thought she was full of hooey.  How could that be possible? Now, as I am much older myself, I see just what she meant and am amazed with how quickly each day passes.
  I had a few things I wanted to share before we zoom into the new year.  I received a beautiful sampler from my friend Tommye for my birthday.  I apologize for the lack of ironing but I have had too many things on my to-do list today to even think about getting out an iron!  And besides, the post office did this, they should iron it!!

  I am also lucky enough to be on her recipient list for the ornament craziness she gets up to each year.  She gave me this one, which I LOVE!!

She loves this one too and already has it kitted to stitch for herself in the coming year.
  I showed you the sampler I stitched as my exchange gift in my weekly group and now I can also show you the one I received.  Let me just preface this by saying that I am the youngest one in my weekly group and I am no spring chicken!!  This cute little ornament was stitched by a lady in her 70's and it is OVER ONE!!

It is just darling and I plan to leave it out all year!! (Not really too big of a stretch since I leave my Christmas snow globe collection out all year too!)
  I gave my husband 272 Words for Christmas and I wanted to share the framed piece with you as well.

  I think the frame is perfect for it and really gives this sampler an old fashioned feel.

  I didn't have much time to stitch over the holiday.  With both of my boys in and out, the engagement (My younger son proposed to his girlfriend during the holiday!) and a concerted effort on my part to be more in the moment, I really didn't have much alone time to stitch.  I did manage to make a little more progress on my current WIP and this is where it is right now.

I had hoped to have this finished before the end of year but it was not meant to be.  However, it should be my first finish of the new year!!
  Well, that's about it for now.   I have big plans for the coming year but I will save them to share with you next post. Until then, I wish you all a Happy New Year and I  look forward to seeing you all next time.

Last IHSW Report of the Year

  I think I finally have the Christmas prep done.  I wrapped the last presents this afternoon and although you can't see the floor around it, my large cat still manages to squeeze himself under the tree!  He is so funny!  As soon as the tree skirt goes down, his favorite place is under the tree!!
   Even though I spent most of the weekend baking and wrapping, I  managed to get some stitching into the mix too.  I have been tired in the evening when I sat down to stitch so in an effort to keep up my stitching mojo I started something new.  It's just a small sampler that I purchased recently and it is a perfect stitch for this time of year.

Jarden Prive
Christmas

  I saw this on one of the Facebook needlework groups and had to stitch it.  So Cute!!  I am stitching it on 36 ct. Lakeside Pecan Butter with the called for DMC.  I should be able to get some serious stitching time in after Christmas so I expect this to be finished before the end of the year.  We'll see!

  I want to thank you all for reading and leaving comments on my blog this year.  You have made my entry into blogging so much fun!!  Hope you all have a wonderful holiday and wishing everyone peace in the new year.  Merry Christmas!  Laura

It's my birthday so we have a winner!

   I'm still not ready.  I've been running around like my hair's on fire trying to get it all done. I am a one holiday at a time kind of girl, enjoying each as it comes, and don't start thinking about the next until the last is over.  Usually that works out okay but when there are only 3 weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas things can get a little hairy!!!
   I think I am going to push off the birthday celebration until after Christmas. It's not my first time at this rodeo. Since it is so close to Christmas, my birthday has always been kind of lost in the shuffle and no one has plans for after Christmas.  December 26th is wide open!!  My son isn't happy about this arrangement but I'm going to need today to do Christmas prep.  I still have wrapping to finish and I need to make the Neiman Marcus cookies so I can go pick up my husband's gift!!
  True story:  I got the recipe for the Neiman Marcus cookies (the original, not the one on the website now) at a cookie exchange while we were stationed overseas.  I have been making them every year at Christmas since then and because they make so many (about 11 dozen) I give them as gifts to friends and family.  My LNS owner loves them!!
     A couple of weeks ago I stopped by after picking up 272 Words from the framer to see if I could leave it there until closer to Christmas.  It is my husband's gift after all and I don't think it could have been in the house without him peeking! She asked me about the cookies then. I really can't go back in there without those cookies!!  I need to make them today (and they take just about all day) so I can pick up that sampler for my husband!!!
    Thursday we had the gathering of my weekly stitch group for our Christmas exchange.  I stitched today's giveaway piece for my friend and now I can show mine.  Such a lovely piece and so much fun to stitch!

   I had my husband draw a name from the comments on my last post and the winner is Cathy B!!  Send me an email Cathy with your fabric count selection and mailing address and I will get this right out to you!!  I really enjoyed stitching it and I think you  will too!

 Well, I need to get to work if I am going to be ready for Christmas.  Wishing all of you a wonderful holiday and peace in the new year.

Happy Blogoversary to Me!

    My how time flies! Hard to believe it has been a whole year since I dipped my toe in the blogosphere and in December no less.  I must have been nuts!!  Did I need one more thing to do in December??!!  Probably not, but it has been fun.

      In honor of my first blogoversary and that magical mark of 50 followers I thought I'd have a giveaway.  Since it is December I thought something in a Christmas theme was called for. So I would like to offer you this:

And to make it even more fun, I am going to kit it.  The pattern calls for 40 ct. linen but I will give you your choice of count.  The thread is Gentle Art Sampler Thread Grecian Gold but the dye lot at my LNS was way too green so I am going to substitute a lovely Gloriana silk in antique gold.

   No need to jump through hoops, just leave a comment on this post.  That's it.  I will draw the winner on the 21st, which just happens to be my birthday.  What could be more fun than that??!!

Gettin' in the Mood

   Crazy busy started early!  My older son was home the week before Thanksgiving.  As a commercial truck driver he gets home when the schedule allows so him being here for an actual holiday is kind of hit or miss.  My younger son and his girlfriend got here on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, which was the day his brother left, so they were like ships in the night.  Probably passed each other on the highway but didn't see each other this time.  We are hoping to work something out for Christmas!
   We did manage to get the tree up over the weekend but had a lighting issue that  turned into a 'science project', as my husband likes to say, so I still haven't decorated it yet.  I got some of the other decorating done but that isn't totally finished either. I did go out on Black Friday, the first time in years, but it was to help my younger son with something special so I did no shopping either.  Hmm...kind of sensing a trend here.
    I have been so busy since my last post (though now I'm not sure what I have been doing!!)  I don't think I've had more than a few hours of stitching time.  And those that know me will attest to fact that that is highly unusual! There have even been a couple of times when I have gone DAYS without putting in a single stitch and that almost never happens!!!  Maybe that's why nothing else seems to be finished either.  I did manage to finish the stitching on the ornament I have been carrying around to my stitch groups.

It's a Little House ornament from a while ago.  I have a whole box of these I am trying to get done but so far, this is the only one I have stitched this year.  I usually stitch ornament the entire month of July.  You know, Christmas in July and all of that.  But this year I worked on other things and just didn't get to it.
  After I finished the above, I  started a Christmas sampler to carry around to stitch groups.  I have no deadline for this one and I am frequently still working on Christmas after the first of the year so I'll just work on it until its finished.  You probably remember this Blackbird design from last year.

This is where I am with it now, about half way, and it is small enough that it shouldn't take too much time to finish.

Stitched on 35 ct. WDW cocoa
with the suggested threads

    December, of course, can't be counted on at all for stitching time.  If you don't have whatever it is finished by Thanksgiving, you are pretty much out of luck.  Which is why, although I am not panicking just yet, I am starting to hyperventilate just a bit about my gift for our group exchange.  I ordered this from the Attic when it first came out, about umpteen years ago.  It's a Linda Vinson piece and I think it is just gorgeous! And since it was started (barely) I thought I would finish it for my friend and knock out another UFO, the whole 2 birds, one stone thing.

The linen is beautiful and it is stitched with Belle Soie which you manipulate to get the color in the right places.  It has been challenging because of this but the effect is lovely!!  I only have one 'outside the house' obligation over the next 2 weeks so I hope to get lots of stitching time to finish this.  I would hate to have to give this to her unfinished and immediately take it back!
  Well, that's about all for now from the Burg.  I did some gussying up of the old blog today, hope you like it.  Trying to get more in the holiday spirit. My head is spinning a little from the fast turnaround from Thanksgiving.  Guess what I really need to do is break out the Christmas music, that always helps!
  Thanks to all of you who leave a comment or just come by to see what I have been doing.  I have a confluence of events occurring soon, blog anniversary, birthday, nearly 50 followers, etc. Might just be time for a giveaway!!??