A Few Framed Finishes--Finally!

Greetings, dear friends! Here it is already December 5th--only 20 days until Christmas!  I have not even begun my shopping or my cards and am way behind on my decorating and stitching gifts. I blame it on hostessing Thanksgiving this year and then leaving for New York to visit my parents a few days later. So, needless to say, many of my stitching gifts will be more like New Year's or Valentine's Day gifts this year. I do apologize...just too much going on in my life right now! Anyway, I have some big things to show you today, but first of all I want to welcome all of my new followers--I'm just in awe that the number has passed 900!! I'm honored that so many of you find my little blog entertaining enough to follow--thank you so very much...

Can you believe I actually had three pieces framed? Oh, I know, most of you who began following me this year will find it hard to believe I've stitched anything big enough to be framed since you're used to seeing my little pillow finishes this year! But, yes, a few larger pieces have been lurking in my drawer of unfinished-finishes for far too long and I'm thrilled to have them out and adorning the walls of my home.

Many of you will remember that I stitched "Christmas At Hawk Run Hollow" back in 2010... I finished a block a month and wound up with quite a sampler, if I do say so myself. Doesn't it look Christmasy on the cherry red walls of my dining room? (I've blurred out my last name in two of the blocks if you're wondering what the smudged portions of the sampler are!)

 

Christmas At Hawk Run Hollow--finally framed!

I took a few closeups of the frame for you below. I love the burl wood finish and the rustic look of it... Wanted to keep it quite simple due to all that is going on in the sampler and I'm very pleased with the result. 

This next piece is one I stitched in 2011 when I received it as a RAK from my sweet friend, Brenda. Do you remember "Sunflower Bellpull" by The Drawn Thread? If you'd like to read more about it you can click here. I think this remains one of my all-time favorite stitched pieces. And just look at the frame! The framer came up with the two-toned idea and it just made the whole piece pop! I would never have thought of using two colors like that, but don't they look perfect with the colors in the sampler?

Sunflower Bellpull framed

This is displayed in my sunroom which is mostly yellow with touches of green and it looks perfect in that space. It is just one of those pieces that makes me smile each and every time I pass by it and brings a touch of summer sunshine to my house even on the coldest winter day.  Here are a few close-ups for you... (Again, I've smudged out my name for privacy reasons).

The third piece that made it to the framer was my only "big" finish for this entire year...Yes, everything else I stitched over the past twelve months has been ornament sized! So, I'm very happy to have at least one larger piece to show for 2012! You can read about "Nature's Alphabet" by Elizabeth's Designs right here and see some close-ups of it as well, if you're interested.

Nature's Alphabet framed

I loved the golden brown shade of the wood which picked up the gold border on each little square so nicely. Nature's Alphabet is hopping around from room to room right now...Just can't figure out where I like it the best. Right now it is in my front hallway, but that could change tomorrow! The burl wood is so pretty, don't you think?

I'm looking forward to getting more of my old finishes framed in 2013. I'm really not sure why I've put it off for so long!

I was lucky enough to win an amazing giveaway from the generous Marly last week.  Just look at this stunning selection of silk thread she was offering--over 60 skeins of every shade of the rainbow! I have never stitched with silks before and am so looking forward to it after hearing many of you rave about how wonderful they are... Is there anything special I need to know about stitching with silks versus cotton threads? If you haven't been to Marly's blog, Samplers and Santas, you'll have to check it out. She is a very talented designer in her own right and her pear freebies are the best! Thanks so much, Marly--your generosity is so very much appreciated!

And just look at these goodies that traveled all the way from Malaysia! My blogging friend, Vinniey sent me so many sunflower themed gifts--a cute "Welcome" hanger, some pretty sunflower fabric, and pretty golden yellow trim. Oh, and just look at all those yummy chocolates she included. (I'll have to confess, two of the boxes are already empty! The strawberry filled chocolates were particularly delicious!) Vinniey is a new and very talented designer who creates all those cute charts at Cottage Garden Samplings--please stop in and say "hello!" I'm actually stitching one of her designs right now to put on my Christmas tree! Thank you so much for the surprises, Vinniey--you really spoiled me!!

I've received a few other presents from England, France, Spain, and here in the U.S. which I'm saving to open a bit closer to Christmas. You've all been so very kind to think of me at this time of year--I really look forward to opening your packages!

Well, are you wondering about the skunk that I mentioned in my last post? Do you think we caught him? First let me share these photos of our Thanksgiving... I did my usual pie and cookie baking, arranged a few vases of flowers, set the long, long table in the sunroom, served the dinner, and was thoroughly exhausted by the end of the evening. Spending all those hours standing on hardwood floors really did a number on our feet. My husband and I were never so happy to get off our aching feet and go to bed as we were that night... Anyway, it was a very successful and stress-free day since I ended up buying my gravy at Whole Foods! Thanks for all of your tips on gravy making, though--I do plan on learning how to make good gravy at some point!

 

Images of Thanksgiving 2012

So, back to the skunk. Well, the answer is.... YES!! We caught him! It wasn't until a week after Thanksgiving that Mr. Skunk decided to make his appearance again, but this time he walked right into our trap. I was up visiting my parents at the time and so missed the opportunity to get a picture of him. Unfortunately, when the "critter control" expert came to pick him up, he let loose and sprayed his skunky stench! My husband said it was so bad that night that he could hardly sleep... Guess that is one experience I'm glad to have missed. I sure hope Mr. Skunk didn't have a Mrs. Skunk or any little skunklets running around... We're keeping the traps out just in case...

In closing, I do have a favor to ask of you, my stitching friends... Tomorrow, my oldest son is having a six-hour surgery on his jaw and will then return home to recuperate with us for the rest of the year. Any prayers, good thoughts, positive vibes--whatever--would be most appreciated. I guess a mother never stops worrying about her "kids" no matter how old they are, does she? Thanks so much for your wonderful and supportive comments--they mean the world to me and I feel truly lucky to belong to this very special and caring stitching/blogging community!  Bye for now...