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...