Thank you--one and all!

And suddenly, here we are on this very last day of the year 2016! It seems as if I only blinked and twelve months have passed... Thankfully, 2016 was a wonderful year for my family and I can look back with mainly smiles. Oh, every year has its share of sadness and loss; its disappointments and its "I wish I could do that over" moments, but I can't complain...  Each of you who reads Stitching Dreams, whether you know it or not, has been a big part of my life this past year.  Through your sweet comments, your specially stitched gifts, or your emails simply thanking me for my blog, you've made me feel special and I truly appreciate each one of my stitching friends! 

I haven't been stitching much since before Christmas, but I wanted to share with you today the wonderful  gifts I was blessed with from stitching buddies around the world.  I'll share them in the order I received them...

From June in England came a cheery ornament with the cutest pompom trim, some fabric, ribbons, a PS mini-chart, and some chocolates.

Christmas gifts from June

From Lois in Northern Ireland came a lovely PS Strawberry ornament, some ribbons, mints, post-it notes, a new Christmas chart, and a sweet drawstring bag.

Christmas gifts from Lois

From Cindy in Tennessee came a darling Friendship ornament, a beautiful project roll made by Faye, a sweet gingerbread man, a snowman ornament and some pretty guest towels.

Christmas gifts from Cindy

From Myra in North Carolina came two beautifully sewn pillowcases, a bobbin nest to corral my ever-increasing number of bobbins, some pretty fabric squares and the cutest cross-stitched themed coasters!

Christmas gifts from Myra

From Gabi in Germany came not one, but, two sweet ornaments on two of my favorite subjects: cardinals and cheery snowmen.

Christmas gifts from Gabi

From Robin in Virginia came a darling snowman ornament to add to my collection, a whimsical rabbit pillow in my favorite colors of blue and yellow, and two Moda charm packs to aid in my future finishing endeavors.

Christmas gifts from Robin

From Nathalie in France came a pretty striped wool scarf, some DMC  floss, a Christmas decoration and hearts, and some tasty white chocolate.

Christmas gifts from Nathalie

From Lynda in England came a sweet "Welcome Christmas" ornament with the cutest button/charms, some fabrics, a multitude of cotton threads, some lip balm and the cutest box of shortbread biscuits.

Christmas gifts from Lynda

What did I do to deserve such spoiling? Thank you all so much! I still shake my head in awe that I've "met" so many special stitchers through my blog. I feel truly blessed to have made such caring friends...

So, what lies ahead in 2017? I am not one to make stitching plans as I have to be in the right mood to stitch different things. I admire those of you who meticulously plan ahead and have lists and kitted-up projects that would last you for years. I have trouble juggling more than one project at a time for some reason; if I leave a project, I just can't muster up the interest in it when I try to return to it... That being said, I do hope to finish the With Thy Needle and Thread "Birds Of a Feather" sampler that I've had on the back burner for way too long.

So, my friends, I do hope 2017 brings you much good health and happiness. I so love the peacefulness of January and even enjoy the cold and snowy weather as it offers me more time to sit and stitch or read. It will be interesting to see what this year brings, but I'm so glad that I have you blogging friends to help inspire me, teach me, and enable me! Thank you all... bye for now! 

Happy New Year! Welcome 2017!