Half-way There!

Hi everyone! Well, I finally reached the half-way point on Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow--Block 6 is finished!! Although this was a block of almost solid stitching, I think it is my favorite one so far. I never got bored with it because there were so many little motifs scattered about to keep things fresh. Don't you love the bonfire and that rustic log cabin perched on the hillside. But, just what is that creature lurking on top of the bridge with his fiery yellow eye? I think he's supposed to be a reindeer, but, he looks pretty ominous to me!

I also like this block so much because it kind of reminds me of my family (not that I can skate--heavens, no--I am hopeless on the ice!). But, when I was growing up, there were three girls and a boy in my family--exactly the same make up as the group of skaters and the tiny sleigh driver featured here. There's me on the right, the oldest of the bunch, probably yelling at my little brother to stop goofing off and making a mental note to tell my mom (when we got home) that he wasn't wearing his mittens! I'm afraid I'm a typical first-born child: organized, conscientious, and too much of a perfectionist. I'd love to be able to relax and not always have to be on time for things, or maybe break the rules now and then, but it's just not in my nature. We were talking about birth order at a family picnic over the weekend and I've been reading a lot about it since then. Two interesting sites I've come across that discuss common birth order traits are: here and here. How about you? Do you have the traits that are most common for your birth order? My guess is that because cross stitching is such an orderly craft with exact counting and stitching, that there are many first-borns who share the love of it...



I had the best time stitching LHN's "Stars and Stripes" as a surprise for one of my first blogging friends, Myra! I was even more excited when I read on her blog that she came home to find it waiting in her mailbox after a particularly hard week at work and that it really lifted her spirits. Isn't it amazing how a kind word or simple gift from a friend can have that effect? I hope to send more of these little gifts out to my blogging friends in the future--it was such fun!



"Stars and Stripes" was stitched on 16 ct. natural Heatherfield fabric with DMC and WDW threads. I did change the outer border color to be the same as the wording rather than the charted brown color. To finish it off into this little pin pillow, I backed it with some burgundy and red checked fabric, added a frayed bow of the same material, a tiny heart button, and trimmed it with some blue cording. I'm so glad you like it, Myra--I truly enjoyed making it for you :)

22 years ago today, my youngest son was born! We were living in the D.C. area at the time--right where he is living this summer and having the experience of a lifetime: interning at the Department of Justice. The week he was born, the weather was almost as unbearably hot as we've had this past week. And yes, in many ways he is a typical youngest child--funny, charming, and outgoing and maybe, just maybe--a "teeny" bit spoiled, but he has made us so proud and I want to wish him the happiest of birthdays! We miss him very much and can't wait to see him in a few weeks...

I was so excited to see comments from so many new readers last week! Thank you all so much for taking the time to say hello. I was able to visit many of your blogs and I loved adding new ones to the ever-growing list of stitching blogs that I follow. I hope you all have a most relaxing and stitch-filled weekend in a nice, cool spot...