Thanksgiving Comes Again

Hello, my friends! I've been busily working on a surprise finish for you (although my buddies from the weekend stitching getaway already know about this piece). Just in time for turkey day, I'm so pleased to present my finish of Prairie Schooler's Book No. 141: "Thanksgiving Comes Again." I've been working on this one over the past month in between all my little ornaments and smalls. Even though stitching little things brings me the most pleasure, I do love a larger piece now and then...especially when the colors are as gorgeous as these!

This finish is stitched on my favorite 32 ct. flax Belfast linen with the suggested DMC threads. The tiny details in this piece really appealed to me: the steaming apple pie, the pumpkin-filled wheel barrow, the cornstalks left standing in the fields... I truly enjoyed stitching it all--even each of those words! So what are your Thanksgiving plans? Are you all busy gathering your food and supplies for next week's feast? I'll be celebrating Thanksgiving with my parents for the first time in almost 20 years and I so look forward to it. Now that they've moved up north again from Florida, it is much easier to get together for the holidays...My contributions to our feast will include a pumpkin pie, some pumpkin-cranberry bread, and a platter of cookies--all the goodies I love to bake so it's not a chore for me at all!

While wandering through Marshall's the other day, I stumbled upon the perfect frame for this LHN "Season Of Plenty" design that I had stitched a couple of years ago. It had been stuffed into a dark drawer since 2009 so I was thrilled to finally display it this autumn. Since I stitched this one "over one" it needed a tiny frame to show it off and I thought this dark walnut frame was ideal. I recently won another copy of "Season of Plenty" as part of Jane's wonderful giveaway so if any of you would like my second copy, please let me know in your comments. If there is more than one person who would like it, I'll have a drawing to determine the winner of the chart...





I wanted to include one more prize in the giveaway package that Annie won in my last post, so I stitched a black and white pincushion for her and filled it with crushed walnut shells. I'm so glad Annie enjoyed her black, white, and pink goodies--I know she'll put them to good use! (Several of you asked about purchasing a stitching bag like the one I offered in my recent giveaway. So if you would like to purchase one of your own, please email me for details.)


Christmas came early to my house when I received this gorgeous ornament from the talented Daffycat (aka Sharon). I was lucky enough to win her giveaway in honor of her 4th Blogoversary. Just look at this little beauty!! Sharon stitched and finished it so perfectly, that I think she could easily have a second career as a professional finisher... Don't you love the dainty ribbon and bead edging treatment. Even my husband who rarely notices my stitching unless I hold it right in front of his face, saw her ornament sitting on the kitchen counter and said, "Wow--that's finished nicely!" So, you know it must be true. Thank you again, Sharon... It will have a place of honor on my tree this Christmas!

A Blogger Photo Diplay Tip: So, do you dislike the new way Blogger is displaying our photos as much as I do? I really don't like the way my photos look on the black background that the new photo display uses... Well, I did a bit of research (yep, that librarian part of me is always researching things!) and found out that it is simply a matter of a making one click on the settings page of your blog. Here is the "unofficial" Google instruction page:

How To Disable Bloggers Lightbox

It worked for me! Just go to the proper setting and click "yes" or "no" in the box that says "Showcase Images With Lightbox". Easy as can be! I really prefer the photos opening in their own windows with the nice white background...


I probably won't be posting again until after Thanksgiving so I want to wish all of my readers, followers, and friends a wonderful holiday. I know Thanksgiving isn't celebrated world-wide, but I hope we can all find many things in our lives to be thankful for. We all have our stitching and this wonderful blogging/stitching community, right? Why even this plump squirrel has found some juicy berries on the tree by my front porch for which I'm sure he's thankful! Isn't he huge? Obviously, he's been feasting on nuts and berries to hold him over for the coming winter! I shot this photo through the glass window from inside my house and am amazed at how well it turned out. The berries have all been picked clean now, so I know Mr. Squirrel is resting happily after his feast!

Enjoy your Thanksgiving with friends and family and I look forward to visiting all of your blogs very soon to see your holiday stitching, decorating, and food. Don't forget to leave a note in your comment if you would like to win the LHN "Season of Plenty" chart! Bye for now...

Getaway Weekend and Giveaway Winner

Good morning everyone! Oh, what a string of glorious fall days we've had here--the sun, the blue skies, the crisp leaves...It's really too bad it has to end. What a difference a sunny day can make in one's life, don't you agree? And how about that extra hour we gained on Sunday due to the time change? I told my husband I would love it if every Sunday could include an extra hour--I seemed to have so much more time to relax and stitch...

Ornament stitching has been my priority over the past two weeks and the first finish I have to share with you is this darling rabbit from the 2011 Just Cross Stitch Ornament Issue. "Good Tidings to You," designed by The Sampler Girl, just popped out at me the minute I looked through the magazine and I knew it would be the first thing I stitched. I changed the color of red to DMC 221 since I didn't have the recommended overdyed, but other than that, I used the suggested threads. I stitched him "over one" on 28 ct. tea-dyed monaco since I like my ornaments on the small side. (But you all knew that didn't you?!)



For this finish, I used the burgundy gingham fabric to accent the front and to back the ornament, trimmed it with a bit of lace and added a brown bow and hanger. The bow really isn't as brown as is shown in my photo--it actually is a great match for the bunny's fur color. Most of you know, I've been stitching an ornament each month so this finish is Mr. October...



My November ornament finish is this pair of smiling snowmen that I found in the 2010 Just Cross Stitch Ornament Issue. "Oh Joy" is designed by Val's Stuff and I just couldn't resist the little bald-headed duo! I did make some color changes and ended up using DMC 221, 520, 844, 301, and B5200 on 28 ct. sage jobelan.


Another tiny finish (yep--it's another over one stitching!) that just makes me smile. I backed the ornament in the green gingham fabric shown in the photo and added a red and green checked hanger and bow. I'm really into these tiny bows at the moment, aren't I? Hope you're not getting tired of them!!



My final ornament is a birthday gift for my dear blogging friend Mary. I fell in love with this "Noel Ornament Stamp" (by Jeannette Douglas in the 2011 JCS Ornament Issue) when my friend, Pam, showed us her finish on her blog recently. Don't you love the tiny chickadee?


Although most of this one is stitched "over one" which I generally enjoy doing--that stylized "E" in "Noel" just about drove me crazy. It's stitched on 32 ct. Confederate Gray linen using the suggested DMC and Sampler Threads. I omitted the date and finished it up with some purple beads, purple cording and, what else, a tiny bow!! Mary was very happy with her birthday gift and I was so pleased with the final result that I think I'll end up stitching it again just for myself...

GETAWAY STITCHING WEEKEND: Two weeks ago, four stitching friends and I headed up to Erie, PA for our annual Bed & Breakfast getaway weekend. Let me tell you, it was such a relaxing and delightful three days. The breakfasts were outstanding and the company even better. This year, we decided to kit up little ornaments from the 2011 JCS Ornament Issue for each other. I really enjoyed doing this and below are my kits of "Good Tidings to You" all ready to be packaged up.

I took a photo of my finish and applied it to gift bags, stuffed in some gingham tissue paper, and there you have it--five little gifts for five special stitching friends. (Four of us stitchers, plus the innkeeper who stitches as well and so patiently tolerates our scattered threads and stitching lamps!)

And I didn't come home empty-handed either... Just look at the gifts that Lee and Linda made for each of us! Lee created this lovely fall themed pincushion complete with a cluster of grapes charm and some grape colored pins. And Linda and her husband designed this lovely grape colored mug for us to commemorate our weekend. Why all the "grapiness?" Well, the name of the B&B is the "Grape Arbor Bed and Breakfast" so there you have it. Thank you so much Lee and Linda--I'll think fondly of our weekend each time I look at your gifts.

But wait...there's more! As I mentioned, each stitcher kitted up her own ornament for us so I came home with four soon-to-be stitched ornament kits... Amazingly not one of us selected the same design and it was such fun to see what appealed to each person. Thank you all for your kits and for such a memorable weekend. I'm already looking forward to next year!

GIVEAWAY WINNER: So, I imagine you're all wondering just who won my 500+ follower giveaway? Well, I won't keep you in suspense any longer... I let the random number generator pick for me and up came #12... Guess who left the 12th comment on the giveaway post? Why none other than the very lucky...

ANNIE!!

Congratulations, Annie--please email me with your mailing address and your prizes will be on their way to you. Thank you all for entering...I loved reading about your blog names and how they came to be. I honestly wish I had a gift for each of you...

I also want to offer a warm welcome to my new followers...I've tried to get around to your blogs to say hello, too, but still have a few to get to... Anyway, I'm glad you're here and that you find my little part of the blogosphere interesting enough to follow. (And for Sherry who asked for details on my November header--the handsome turkey is from Prairie Schooler's Fall & Winter (No. 90) chart.)

Well, that's it for today's post! Thank you all for stopping in and saying "hello!" Each time I see a new comment on one of my posts, it feels a bit like I'm opening a little present--I truly appreciate each and every one... Enjoy your week! Bye for now...