A Little Late...

It looks like we are well into 2014 and I have been very late in welcoming in the new year.  2013 was a year full of stress and change and new beginnings.  2014, while off to a somewhat rough start, seems to hold the hope of good things ahead and new adventures.

I am also late in posting 3 ornaments that I finally "finished" just in time for Christmas.  I finished stitching all of them around 2008, but, they have long sat in my box of "finishing" and I had just never gotten around to the task of making them complete.  Finished just in time for Christmas!

Santa Claus

By:  Sekas & Co. (free design on back of an old needlework shop newsletter)

Used called for fabric & threads, ceramic train button and small blue beads for eyes

 Snow Bunny

By:  Hobb Nobb (no longer in business - loved their buttons & cute designs)

Stitched on Blue Heatherfield - cannot remember threads used

2004 Christmas Ornament

By:  Blackbird Designs

2004 Just Cross-stitch Christmas Ornament Issue

Stitched over 1 on scrap hand-dyed linen w/called for threads

Projects to work on/finish up this year (we'll see what gets finished):

• Birth Announcement for niece's 2nd daughter (born in Aug 2013, still not finished)
• SAL piece w/Sharon - Prairie Moon's Thine is the Trick and the Treat (very slow on progress here)
• RR piece w/Clare & Lynda - Blackbird's Beneath the Sunlit Sky (got it back, need to finish tiny bit of my stitching)
• Start new RR piece w/Clare & Lynda - Blackbird's Pumpkin Farm
• Alphabet Blocks by Carriage House Samplings - started by a friend and "gifted" to me
• Some random ornaments
• My Winter Olympic Project - Winter Snapperland by Bent Creek
• Nautical Fence by Raise the Roof

Year End Movie Thoughts:

Favorites of 2013:

• Hunger Games:  Catching Fire
• Iron Man 3
• Thor:  The Dark World
• The Hobbit:  The Desolation of Smaug (what great computer animation on the dragon!!!)
• Star Trek Into Darkness
• Now You See Me 
• Saving Mr Banks
• Frozen
• Monsters University
• Planes

Honorable Mentions:

• Safe Haven
• Warm Bodies
• Despicable Me 2
• The Wolverine

Worth Noting:

• The Host - was really surprised I liked this

Disappointments:

• Oz The Great and Powerful - while I somewhat enjoyed this movie, I left the theater with mixed feelings on it and felt ultimately disappointed
• The Lone Ranger - same comments as Oz
• The Incredible Burt Wonderstone - this was beyond a disaster, it was downright awful!

 Movies I am looking forward to in 2014:

• Divergent 
• Captain America:  The Winter Soldier
• The Amazing Spider-Man 2
• X-Men:  Days of Future Past
• The Fault in Our Stars (I'm packing tissues already!)
• How to Train Your Dragon 2
• Guardians of the Galaxy
• The Maze Runner
• Hunger Games:  Mockingjay, Part 1
• The Hobbit:  There and Back Again

A Christmas Exchange!

I did a personal Christmas exchange again this year with Hannah. She also recently welcomed a baby into her household and I sent a little ornament for him as well. I made both ornaments to fit Hannah's woodland theme.

For Hannah
from the Joyeux Noel stocking
JBW Designs Stockings Full of Joy
DMC used:
471
522
3363
838
816
814
Beads: Mill Hill 62012
Stitched on 28 ct Platinum linen
WDW wool used for backing

For Baby

Bent Creek Hare Lines freebie (cannot find link for chart)

Threads Used:
Brown - Wisper W74 Cocoa
White - Alpaca 18 AL51 Ivory
Border - Carrie's Creation Peppermint
Stitched on a scrap of white linen in my stash

I'm trying to finish up a few Christmas ornaments for my family before Christmas. Why does it always take longer than I think it will?

I have also been busy trying to pick out threads for my new RR. I think I finally have it narrowed down, but not 100% yet.

Thank you all for your lovely comments that you leave. It always makes me smile. :-)

Cheryl asked if I would be framing my RR piece I showed in the last post. To tell you the truth, I'm not sure what I am going to do with it. I probably will end up framing it, but am still debating between that and a really nice pillow right now.

Stay warm & happy stitching!

My First Pinkeep!

I have finally put together my first pinkeep. I decided to start with something small. I really like the way it turned out. So, I will probably do some more in the future. :-)

Design: Littles - Bunny
Designer: Bent Creek
Fabric: 28 ct. ivory linen

Threads: WDW & GAST. Made my bunny darker than what pattern called for and changed the yellow background to a different yellow. I also used black petite beads for the eyes.


My second piece is my first piece for my Bride's Tree SAL. The theme for the first month is House - shelter/protection. So, I chose this:

Design: Christmas Eve
Designer: Brightneedle
Book: Small Samplings
Fabric: A 28 ct. blueish/grey with a hint of green scrap I had. Stitched over one.
Threads: WDW & DMC
The pattern called for petite yellowish gold beads along trim of house. But, when I put the beads on they looked huge and gaudy. So, I removed them and liked it much better.

Not much other stitching going on right now. Been very busy with work. Hopefully more soon.

Happy New Year!

Design: Happy New Year

Designer: Lizzie Kate

Threads: Recommended GAST & WDW (except used GAST Blue Jay for Presidential Blue)

Fabric: note sure...a lavender color that has a smokey grey tint to it. 28 ct

Please excuse the wrinkles, but here is my first finish of 2008! Can't believe that the holidays have flown by and 2008 is here already. Our Christmas was nice and quiet. My son turned 13 on New Year's Eve and we will celebrate our 18th wedding anniversary tomorrow! So, alot of celebrating going on here! :-)

I actually seem to have gotten a little bit of my stitching mojo back over the Christmas break. I finished up 3 ornaments (see below), stitched the above Lizzie Kate, started another small Lizzie Kate and signed up for The Bride's Tree SAL. I've never done a SAL before and am looking forward to it.

Here are my ornaments:

Left: for my best friend, Lori

Design: Dearest Friend

Designer: Brightneedle - from the booklet "Small Samplings"

Threads: DMC

Fabric: 28 ct Cream linen

Middle: for my friend Cindy, who is currently going through treatments for Breast Cancer

Design: Breast Cancer Christmas Tree

Designer: freebie from Stitch Pink website

Threads: Tree - Thread Gatherer Silk 'n Colors Green Leaves, Lt

Ribbons - DMC metallic 5288

Hearts - GAST Tea Rose

Did not do 3 dots together from pattern, but put on Mill Hill Petite Crstal Beads (40161) instead

Fabric: 28 ct. Baby Lotion linen (stitched over 1)

Right: for my hubby

Design: French Country V - Reindeer

Designer: JBW

Threads: Thread Gatherer Silk 'n Colors Green Leaves, Lt

Fabric: 28 ct Opalescent Linen (stitched over 1)

2008 Stitching Goals:

1. Finish Train!
2. Finish numerous WIPs
3. Do all ornaments for SAL
4. Do all the 12 Day of Christmas ornaments from Erica Michaels (wanted to do for son this Christmas)
5. Stitch Dragon Dreams' ornament from the 2007 Just Cross-Stitch Ornament issue for son
6. Start either "Christmas Wishes" by Mirabilia or "The Toy Gatherer" by Shepherd's Bush
7. Do several Sekas ornaments (Santas or Snowmen)

2007 Movie Favorites:

Here are my top 10 movie favorites for 2007. In no particular order!

• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• Miss Potter
• PS I Love You
• National Treasure: Book of Secrets
• Spider Man 3
• Dan in Real Life
• Meet the Robinsons (animated)
• Enchanted
• Ratatouille (animated)
• Music and Lyrics

If I could add another 2 to the list, they would be:

• I am Legend (though quite scary!)
• Fred Clause

Other movies I really enjoyed, some surprisingly:

• Transformers
• Alvin & the Chipmunks
• Surf's Up
• The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep
• The Astronaut Farmer
• The Seeker: The Dark is Rising
• Firehouse Dog

Biggest disappointments of the year:

• Shrek 3
• Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World's End

I may have mentioned other movies throughout the year, both negatively or positively, but they didn't stand out enough for me to really mention here.

2008 Anticipated Movies:

• WALL-E
• Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
• Indian Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• Star Trek

Here is my final finish for 2007:

Design: Santa

Designer: Henzeit

Threads: GAST Cranberry & Pine

Fabric: No idea...taupe colored, approx. 16 ct evenweave

Finished as a pillow. Not bad, for my first ever pillow!