Week Fifty-Two: Prairie Schooler's "Season's Greetings"

My dream to stitch an ornament a week for the entire 2009 year began almost 52 weeks ago on a cold and sleepless January night. I find that my most creative thoughts often come to me on such nights. Could I really do it? Could I actually be focused enough and patient enough to make it through every single week of the year? Would my aging eyes hold up? Well, I'm so pleased (and maybe "just a bit" proud) to be able to say that I MADE IT!!! And I honestly couldn't have done it without you--my readers, commenters, followers...my friends. I never would have dreamed that this year could have brought so many new friends into my life who share my passion for cross-stitching and encourage, inspire, and make me smile the way you all do!

My fifty-second (and final!) ornament of the year is "Season's Greetings" from the Prairie Schooler's Christmas Samplers II chart. I wanted the ornament to be small enough to fit on the Christmas tree so I stitched it "one-over-one" on 28 ct. summer khaki lugana using DMC threads. I think my favorite thing that I've tried for the first time this year has been the "over one" stitching--I am truly hooked! I also added a gold cord trim and hanger and a gauzy golden ribbon to jazz it up a bit. I'll have to admit that as I put in the last stitch I felt a bit sad--my year is over and I've had such fun...


So, how was your holiday? Christmas Day with young adults is much different than Christmas Day with young children, but it is still special. I actually welcome the peacefulness of the holiday now that my sons are older. We all slept in, ate a very late (after noon!) breakfast including our once-a-year cinnamon rolls whose recipe can be found right here. (We add cream cheese to the frosting to make them even more sinful!) We finally got around to exchanging presents in mid-afternoon. The whole day just had a tranquility to it that I don't remember having when there were little boys in the house tearing open their presents, shrieking with delight, and playing all sorts of noisy video games all day! We played board games and watched movies and just enjoyed each others' company... We are rarely all together at the same time any more, so I savored each minute.

I received a delightful surprise in the mail this past week from Cindy over at Cindy's Stitching. She sent me a lovely stitched Christmas card and the sweetest little Mill Hill bead kit called "Snow Sled." Cindy has been such a loyal supporter of my blog this year and she knew how much I loved to create ornaments so I know she chose this gift especially with me in mind. Thank you so much, Cindy; I love it and can't wait to stitch it and see it hanging on my tree next Christmas! I made her a larger version of my miniature gingerbread boy ornament from last week which you can see pictured on her blog--so glad she likes it!

Well, the next time I post, it will be 2010! So many of you have asked for a photo of all 52 ornaments together so I will gather them up from their various storage places and have a picture for you next week. And for those of you who have watched my journey week by week, I just want to thank you so, so much for your support and comments...As I said before, I couldn't have made it this far without you!

May 2010 bring you much joy... HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!