So... much... rain!

Hello, everybody! We've reached the end of January and I couldn't be happier. Rain and gloomy skies have shrouded the month in darkness far too often over the past 31 days. On the rare occasion the sun does peek through the clouds, boy, does my energy level skyrocket and my mood improve. For all of you who live in climates with abundant sunshine--I hope you appreciate each and every day. Will February be any different? Probably not, but at least it's a bit shorter than January... Thank goodness we have this wonderful hobby of making thousands of tiny x's in fabric to help us through the long winters in these northern climates!

Those of you on Instagram  may know that I began a monthly ornament stitch along (SAL) back in 2021. It's proven to be very popular and I've met some great new stitching friends through it. If you'd care to join in on the fun, just use the #12in24ornamentstitchalong when you post a new ornament on Instagram and I'll be sure to see it. And if you'd like to follow my account on IG, you can click here and hit the follow button. 

So, would you like to see my very first ornament of 2024? As soon as I saw this design, I instantly knew I wanted to stitch it on black! This is called "Christmas Card" and is by Crocette a Gogò. I also knew I wanted it to be on the small side so I stitched it "over one" on 25 ct. black Lugana. Most of the suggested threads were used, although I did change the lettering to black.

Christmas Card by Crocette a Gogò

It's just such a happy ornament with that pair of cardinals, the red and white poinsettias, and the tiny Christmas trees and berries. I love it! I wanted to show you a close-up of the topper I added to the gingham bow. I simply cut little leaves (from the back) of one of my dried boxwood wreaths, glued them on to the ribbon individually (using Aleene's Original Tacky Glue), and then glued on the red and white beads. I am not a hot glue gun lover--I find it dries too quickly and leaves a mess. The Aleene's glue allows me more time to adjust the placement of tiny things like the beads and simply leaves a cleaner look, in my opinion.

It's the little details that make ornament finishing really special!

My next finish was a long time coming! Honestly, I have no idea when I actually stitched this, but I'm guessing it was at least 20 years ago because it is stitched on Aida and I haven't used Aida in many, many years. This is one of a series of cute cat designs by Calico Crossroads and is called "Meooow.com." I found it buried in a drawer of old "unfinished finishes" and decided it would be a perfect birthday gift for my middle son who has a black cat (well, his cat, Spike, does have some white on his tummy and paws) and whose job involves a great deal of computer work. My son loved the old-fashioned computer  and that mischievous cat trying to capture the mouse. And look at the calendar in the upper right--there's even a lounging black cat pictured on it! Such a charming little piece... I framed it in a Dollar Store frame--not a perfect fit, but definitely fine for a fun little piece like this! (There is a shadow on the upper part of the frame making it look a little off-center, but in real life, it looks much better).

A long overdue finish of "Meooow.com" by Calico Crossroads

I've also been working on a couple of larger Christmas pieces as I decided I wanted some bigger things to display at Christmas time in addition to all of my ornaments. Hope to have those ready to show you next month! A small Valentine's day piece will be in the mix, too--I try to stitch at least one new one each year.

I know I've mentioned many times how much I appreciate the kind emails and comments that I receive each time I post. Every now and then I also receive gifts from sweet friends who surprise me totally out of the blue. One of these gifts arrived earlier this month from my Instagram friend Theresa B. (tbornsewterry on Instagram) who wanted to thank me for my blog and the inspiration she's received from it. Oh, my! I was speechless as I opened her package which contained two lovely ornament charts, two packs of needles, and eight beautiful overdyed threads--all in Christmas colors. I am still shaking my head in wonder at this gift--it truly touched my heart. Thank you so very much, Theresa!

Surprise gifts from Theresa B.

And from another Instagram friend, Claire, came a very special package filled with the most lovely wool felt in all shades of the rainbow! Claire (blackberryhill1 on Instagram) makes  gorgeous wool strawberries each month and I knew she would be the person to ask about felt for a new endeavor I'm taking on. She not only gave me great advice, but offered to send me some of her wool felt scraps to use! So very generous and kind... Another gift that truly touched my heart. Thank you so very much, Claire!

A beautiful lot of wool felt from Claire B.

A new endeavor... So, why was I inquiring about felt? Well, last December, I became thoroughly enchanted by the darling felt Advent calendar creations on Instagram by "What a Curly Life." You can see them right here on her website, too--and they're free to download (just click on PDF patterns and tutorials)! On Instagram, she also offered video tutorials for each one, too, which will be so helpful. I plan to make this little penguin first. So far, I've only cut out the pieces. I hope to make all of the animals to give to my grandson next Christmas to hang on his tree. He adores animals so I think they'll be a big hit, if I can manage the sewing of them :) Wish me luck!

A little penguin ready to be sewn together!

With any luck, my penguin will look as cute as this little guy created by Anabella at "What a Curly Life"! Thank you, so very much for your darling patterns, Anabella!

I also won a giveaway! Shelly over at "An Arizona Stitcher" was having a giveaway for the chart below called "A Christmas Sampler." It was one I had never seen so I threw my name into the hat and was the lucky winner! I do plan on having a giveaway for this chart after I've stitched it, so please keep an eye out for it. Thank you so very much, Shelly!

I was the lucky winner of this cute sampler last month!

Birthdays--for me and my blog! Well, I'm proud to say that this little blog of mine, "Stitching Dreams," celebrated its 15th birthday on January 24th. Can you believe it? I sure can't... What started out as a simple way to document my stitching has turned into a true feeling of belonging in the most wonderful online community! I had no idea, when I began blogging that cold January day back in 2009 that it would lead to the amazing friendships, exchanges, inspiration, and fun that I've experienced over the past fifteen years. Thank you all for visiting me all these years. You've touched my heart in countless ways and I truly appreciate each and every one of you!

And my own birthday on the 16th, although extremely quiet this year, was quite nice. It was so very cold that day that I didn't even want to leave the house, so my husband picked up a wonderful dinner from a local restaurant along with some tasty cupcakes and we had a simple birthday celebration--just the two of us. After dinner, my husband surprised me with a little "Zoom" party with all of the kids in attendance. That was fun and a good way to have all of us together across the miles. 

I want to thank some sweet blogging friends for their kind birthday gifts and cards...

Such a cute stitched snowman card from Gabi in Germany! Thank you so much, Gabi!

Vickie at "A Stitcher's Story" made the prettiest set of beaded pins for me. I know they'll look great on summery finishes! Thank you so much, Vickie!

Robin in Virginia included a sweet set of cross-stitch themed stickers in her card. Thank you so much, Robin!

And from June over at "Butterfly Wings" came a lovely stitched card in my favorite color, some flower buttons and summery beach charts, a notebook adorned with birds, and a little pouch from her home in Devon, England. Thank you so much, June!

So, January comes to an end... And with that, I'll be changing out the corner cupboard in my kitchen to February's red and pink and white. Another year is flying by already, isn't it? Hope each of you has a wonderful month ahead. As always, thank you for visiting and taking the time to say "hello!" I owe a few of you emails and I'll do my best to get back to you this week. As always, if you have a question for me, please be sure to leave your email in your comment so I can respond! Bye for now...

My January corner cupboard all ready for its February makeover!