Week Forty-Eight: Santa Mitten

This chubby little Santa looks like I felt after our Thanksgiving feast--overstuffed! This weeks piece is from the Cricket Collection's "Woolen Mittens" chart and is the second mitten I've stitched this year. Of course, are either of them finished yet? Nope. This week was just too busy with all my baking, eating, traveling, eating, shopping, eating--oh, did I mention eating? Anyway, Santa is feeling quite at home on his 28 ct. black Monaco fabric. I used DMC threads, two tiny black buttons for his eyes, a silver jingle bell on the tip of his hat, and a cherry red button I found in my button jar for his bulging nose.

Last week I promised you some photos of my baking so here are the goodies all laid out on my kitchen table ready for their trip to Ohio on Thanksgiving Day. The pies from back to front are: Chocolate Pecan, Cherry, Pumpkin, and Pecan. What is your favorite? I tend to choose the cherry, just because I think it is "a lot" healthier than the others (wishful thinking, I'm sure). The pecan seems to be the first to disappear every year, though. Also pictured is my cookie tray filled with ten yummy varieties. Just click on the photo for a bigger picture...

In the back row are Chocolate Raspberry Brownies, Christmas Butter Cookies, Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies, and Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter. The middle row has Molasses Krinkles, Snickerdoodles, and Frosted Buttermilk Cookies. And the bottom row features M&M Cookies, Date Balls, and Reese's Cup Cookies. Yes, I love to bake! I'm always amazed at how appreciative my relatives are for these simple contributions to our family get-togethers because, for me, baking is relaxing and a labor of love, not a chore at all. Anyway, by the time we left Ohio Friday night, there were only about 9 cookies and a few pieces of pie remaining--amazing!

Thanks so much for visiting my little corner of the world today. If any of you would like a recipe just email me and I'll gladly share it with you. For those of you who still have to make the return trip back to your hometown after a Thanksgiving away, I wish you "safe home"--a lovely Irish thought Siobhan wished for me in her comments on my blog last week...

Week Forty-Seven: Happy Gobble, Gobble Day

Only five days until Thanksgiving...have you all bought your turkeys yet? We'll be heading to Ohio for our feast this year so I escaped the pre-Thanksgiving grocery store madness. I "only" have to make three pies, 10 types of cookies for my cookie tray, and the strawberry-pretzel "salad" (well--if you know what I'm talking about, it is more of a dessert, but, hey, it does have strawberries in it so it is a wee bit healthy)! I'll try to post a photo of my desserts next week. Luckily I love to bake, so those are fun assignments for our Thanksgiving dinner. There should be close to 30 of us this year--whew!

The Trilogy's "Happy Gobble Gobble Day" is my finish for this week. I made a major mistake and stitched the top of the turkey using what should have been the color for his bottom half so I ended up ripping his entire upper body apart. That is why I don't ordinarily stitch in the evening--I just make too many silly errors... Anyway, the comical little gobbler looks quite cute now all stitched up on his 32 ct. Country French latte linen. I used WDW, Gentle Arts, and DMC threads and miniature brown buttons for accents. I think he would look nice as a flat-fold, if I can get my nerve up to try and make one!

My hands were literally shaking when I opened my giveaway GRAND PRIZE from Jolene at Dip Diddly Designs. Can you believe this wonderful gift?! Not only did Jolene send the beautiful "Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow" chart, but she included ALL of the DMC floss needed to stitch it. I love this chart so much and almost bought it for myself just last month. If you click on the photo you may be able to see each individual block more clearly. Do you see my name in the upper right block. (Yes, I was named Carol because I was supposed to have been born on Christmas, but much to my mother's dismay, her first-born arrived three weeks late!) I will definitely be passing along the chart in a giveaway of my own when I finish stitching this spectacular piece. Jolene--your generosity is so very inspiring in this holiday season and I thank you from the bottom of my heart...

I am thankful for so many, many things during this Thanksgiving season--my wonderful family, my health, my job that I love, my warm home, and plentiful food. This year, though, I have something new to add to my list...I am thankful for the many cross stitching friends I have made over the past 10 months since I started my blog. You are such a supportive, inspiring group of women and I truly mean that. It is wonderful to have found a community of stitchers who share my interests and my passion for stitching... So, thank you for being you!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE...

Week Forty-Six: Little House Needleworks "Season of Plenty"

Hi everyone! Hope you all had an enjoyable and relaxing week. I stitched another Little House Needleworks piece over the past few days. "Season of Plenty" was stitched over one on 28 ct. cream Lugana using DMC threads. I had to change the color of the floss for the months and use a darker shade because the suggested color just didn't show up on my fabric. It was the first time I had ever stitched on Lugana, but I really enjoyed it. Do you have a favorite fabric? I will stitch on just about anything as long as it compliments the colors of the design. I'm still not sure how I'll finish this one....maybe a pretty pinkeep? I just love these seasonal stitchings--there is something very comforting about them. They invariably feature a house in the design and I sure love my time at home. The older I get the more I enjoy puttering around the house. Does anyone else feel that way?

Do you remember that tiny carved Halloween gourd from my Week Forty-Four post? Well, the grinning fellow has taken on a slightly different appearance--all of his green coloring has disappeared! After drying for a few weeks, he now looks like this. His wizened, shriveled appearance bears a strong resemblance (at least for my family members) to a certain character that often appears at Christmas time. No, no... not Santa! But, imagine him with a little red and white Santa hat, white collared red shirt, and a green face. Is the picture getting any clearer? How about... Dr. Seuss' character...THE GRINCH! What do you think?

Thank you all for taking the time to visit me each week--I love reading your comments and visiting your blogs, too!

Week Forty-Five: Prairie Schooler November Turkey

Happy November everyone! For this week's piece, I stitched the Prairie Schooler "November" turkey from the PS Book No. 90 titled Spring & Fall. DMC fibers were used on 32-ct. flax Belfast linen to create this handsome fellow. There was a lot of brown in this piece and you all know how much I dislike stitching with shades of brown, but it was well worth the effort...


As you can see, I framed the turkey using the same frame that I showed you for the September Squirrel from my Week Thirty-Six posting. I simply leave the back open and just pop in a different piece each month. It is a huge money saver...So far, I've stitched four out of the twelve monthly ornaments: May, September, October, and December. Only eight to go...


Have any of you ever seen a plump, handsome turkey like the one I stitched? I mean, really, where are all the good looking turkeys hiding? All I ever see around here are the poor, pathetic looking creatures like the one pictured here! They travel in groups and think nothing of totally stopping traffic while they take their time to cross the road. Oh, by the way, did you know that a group of turkeys is called a "rafter?" Just a bit of librarian trivia I learned at work one day! You wouldn't believe some of the questions people ask us...


Look what I won in Ranae's giveaway... the lovely Frederick and Frederika from Carriage House Samplings. Ranae, from Stitch by Stitch, had a giveaway because she had reached 100 followers on her blog (I sure have a long way to go to get to that number!) and my name was drawn. She also included some DMC threads and a lovely pair of red Victorian embroidery scissors. I was so excited to find the package waiting in my mailbox for me at the end of a long day at work. Thank you so very much for your generosity, Ranae; everything is truly beautiful...

Hope each of you has an enjoyable weekend. It is supposed to be a gorgeous one, weather-wise, here in western Pennsylvania--it will be nice to get outside and enjoy the sunshine for a change. Thanks for all of your wonderful comments and emails. I do appreciate each one so very much! Until next week...