One short of a dozen...

Prairie Schooler oval Santas, that is! I guess I'd better hurry up and stitch one more so I'll have an even dozen. Hello, everyone... hope your month of June is off to a great start. This is the month my family has been counting down to for over a year--the month of my youngest son's wedding! It's amazing all the thought, preparation, and planning (not to mention money!) that goes into a wedding and then it's over in a flash. But, I know that their big day will be so memorable for the young couple--we can't wait to celebrate them and toast to their future!

I was bound and determined to catch up with the #12in26ornamentstitchalong that I host over on Instagram and I've done it! Two easy to stitch, easy to finish PS Santas helped me accomplish my goal. They've now joined their nine brothers who warmly welcomed them into the clan. Aren't they delightful? The gold-robed Santa and the one to his right in the red are my newest ornaments for May and June. 

Eleven jolly gentlemen for my tree

Of course, right after taking the group photo, I noticed something was missing! Can you spot my error? Yes, that new red-robed Santa has no buttons on his coat. Poor guy--without being able to button up his robe, it might get a bit chilly out there as he makes his rounds delivering toys to all the good little boys and girls in December. I thought about taking the easy way out and just gluing on a couple of beads, but I took a deep breath, threaded my needle, and managed to stitch the buttons even after it was fully finished. Not easy to do and not my best looking stitches, but that's okay :)  May's ornament is from PS Book No. 62 called "Kris Kringle." I used the suggested DMC colors and added tiny stems to the pears. The chart said that is supposed to be a partridge resting with the pears in the basket, but to me, it looks more like a quail with that feathery thing coming out from its head. 

A new PS Santa carrying a basket of pears

For June, a new color joins the blues, greens, and reds... Yes, my first gold-robed Santa and I love him! This one is from PS Book No. 43 "Father Christmas" and is stitched on the same 40 ct. raw natural Newcastle that I used for the rest of them. I used the suggested DMC colors except I changed the ecru to white so it would show up better on his beard and also changed the green to DMC 520. Both Santa's eyes and the berries on the wreath are done with Smyrna stitches to make them look rounder. I usually top the ornament with a small gingham bow, but had no ribbon in a gold color that would coordinate so I tore some fabric and used that instead. 

My ornament for June brings my first gold-robed Santa

So, do you have a favorite? I think mine are the two green ones with the goose and the birds. But, honestly, you can't go wrong with any Prairie Schooler Santa, can you?

I try to have my patriotic pieces out and on display for Memorial Day through July, but this year, I'm running a bit behind. I did manage to at least get them out of their storage drawer, but that's about it. Oh well...

My patriotic smalls: out of the storage drawer now, but still not on display

A very un-springlike May... So many of you are sharing photos of your lovely spring flowers, but I can't do that here. You see, our May was dreadful--cool and rainy and everything is running behind. Our peonies are just beginning to bloom, but that's about it! It's finally warming up to the low 70s this week, but our furnace is still coming on in the mornings due to the nights dipping down into the low 50s--crazy for June! And all of my friends in Europe were roasting have been roasting from their unprecedented heat wave! 

Here a tick, there a tick... everywhere a tick tick! What does seem to be here in abundance this spring are the horrible ticks that spread Lyme Disease! My poor husband has found three embedded in his arms in just the past couple weeks. It's honestly getting so bad here in Pennsylvania that I'm afraid to even walk on the grass. This excellent article, written by a professor at Penn State, mentions that Pennsylvania reports the highest number of Lyme Disease cases in the entire country (30% of the reported cases!). My husband got one of his from simply leaning over to pick a bit of lettuce from our garden. I so hope they can come up with a solution soon because this is a serious problem here for both humans and pets. There are currently vaccines in clinical trials, so I'm hopeful that we won't be dealing with them forever. Are Lyme ticks bad in your area?  

One of the teeny ticks, not much bigger than a pin-head, that we pulled from my husband's arm.

Here is a helpful fact sheet from the Pennsylvania Medical Society for anyone concerned about ticks that cause Lyme Disease:  

 

If you have a tick that you would like to have sent in for testing, here is a helpful link for you at TickCheck. My husband has one of the evil little fellows that burrowed into his arm on the way to be tested right now! 

I'm sorry to be going on and on about ticks and Lyme Disease on a cross-stitch blog, but it is very concerning for many of us. My youngest son calls it "Pennsylvania's natural disaster" because we're pretty isolated from the normal disasters such as flooding, wildfires, tornadoes, hurricanes, etc. But, those tiny little ticks have made us all fearful!  If Lyme Disease is not caught and treated early on, the results can be debilitating.

Zzzzz.... My sleep has been even more out of whack than usual as I lie awake night after night and make lists in my head of all that needs to be done for the wedding. I saw this cartoon online and it is so me! I usually fall asleep just fine, but wake around 2 or 3AM and can't get back to sleep no matter what I do. Does anyone have any solutions? How about any of you--are sleeping problems part of your nighttime routine, too?

Me at 3 AM--wide awake while my husband sleeps soundly right next to me!

And so, a new month begins. For me, it will be one of fun family times and new beginnings and adventures. I'll be taking a little blog break, but promise to come back. I'd miss all of you very much if I didn't. I so appreciate each and every comment and email more than you know. Until next time... happy stitching! Bye for now...