2016 Parade Of Ornaments!

Happy First Day of Winter, my stitching friends! As we inch ever closer to Christmas morning (is it really happening in just four days?!), I couldn't let this week go by without my annual Parade of Ornaments... This is the seventh year of doing my "Ornament a Month" stitching and I like to do one post at the end of each year devoted to the twelve little "newbies" on  my tree. If any of you are new readers and would enjoy looking at past years, simply click on the year and you'll find my finishes from 2010-2015:  2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015. I like to display my ornaments from the current year on a garland on my front stair bannister. It's hard to get a decent picture as it is in a hallway with limited natural light, but I promise to give you close-ups at the end.

So, are you ready? Cue the music and let the 2016 parade begin... Look at all of those chubby grinning snowmen marching down the stairs! How can you resist smiling back at them? It was a fun year (and I sure used up a lot of DMC white thread!!). You can see my cherry colored dining room in the background--love it at this time of year! But, it is awfully dark due to the covered front porch just outside so I'm thinking of painting it a different color. As usual, though, I'll probably be "thinking" about it for the next ten years before I actually do anything!

2016 Monthly Ornament Finishes

Would you like a closer look?

January ~ April 2016

May ~ August 2016

September ~ December 2016

As always, I love to hear what is your favorite (or favorites!).  I'll give you a closer look so you can make your decision... And if you want more information on fabrics or fibers that I used, just click on the name of the ornament below the photo--it will take you right to the post describing each finish.

JANUARY

Homespun Elegance "Sampler Snowman"

FEBRUARY

Notforgotten Farm "Parson Brown"

MARCH

Casa Mia "Joyeux Noel" freebie

APRIL

The Drawn Thread "The Joys Of Christmas"

MAY

Prairie Schooler Book No. 202 "Evergreen"

JUNE

Country Cottage Needleworks "Snowmen"

JULY

Grandma Kringles "Winter's Frost"

AUGUST

Prairie Schooler Book No. 157 "Holly Days"

SEPTEMBER

The Little Stitcher "Blue Snowman"

OCTOBER

Country Cottage Needleworks "Snowmen Trio"

NOVEMBER

Heart In Hand "Winter Bird

DECEMBER

All Through the Night "Stockingful"

So, what do you think--did any one of the chubby white fellows just call out to you, "Pick me! Pick me!"? Like any mother, I shouldn't play favorites, but I would say the two tiny Country Cottage Needlework pieces (June and October) are mine. The sheer tininess of them--stitched over one--is so sweet. I do love the December finish, too, as it is a bit different. It is awfully large for one of my ornaments, though, but it will still look nice hanging on the lower branches (or even on a cupboard knob or door handle). 

Now, many of you have asked to see a photo of my tree and I'm happy to oblige. We got a new star this year and, although, it doesn't photograph well, it is just so soft and pretty at night... Anyway, here is my 2016 tree with an accumulation of nine years of ornament stitching. People often tell me I've inspired them to stitch an ornament a month--that makes me so happy! It is such a joy to see them all on display in December and remember the stories behind them. I chose to stitch many of them because they remind me of people, places, or events that have been important in my life...

A tree filled with lots of love and tiny little x's!

You might like to see a few close-ups--inch after inch of stitchy Christmas joy! Not much room left for future ornaments, is there? At this stage in our lives, we won't be getting a larger tree, though, so I'll just have to get creative. Eventually, when we truly downsize, I have visions of my sons and their future wives (hopefully!) sitting in a circle and taking turns selecting ornaments to take home to adorn their trees. My middle son already told me he wants all of the bird-themed ones--ha ha!!

GIVEAWAY  WINNER! I was amazed at how many of you entered the giveaway for the Little House Needleworks "Be Merry" chart on my last post... I simply picked a name from the hat and the winner is:

Jennifer from "Quilting Mom's Blog"

Jennifer--congratulations! Please send me your address and I'll get this right out to you...

I'll be back after Christmas to show you some of the lovely gifts that I've received from fellow stitchers--kindness abounds in our community. As I've thought--and said--many times, if only stitchers ruled the world...

I want to thank all of you for your sweet comments--they are like little gifts to me throughout the year. They really are! When you take the time to write a blog, you never really know how many are reading unless they take the time to comment. I've received such lovely emails from people telling me I've inspired them to get back into stitching or try a new type of finish and I truly appreciate those. I feel very blessed to have "met" so many kind people through my stitching. Thank you--each and every one of you! Bye for now...

And they say that it's Christmas...

...but it's in the 60s here in western Pennsylvania! Good morning, my stitching friends! Is it warm where you are, too? In all my 60 years, I never remember a December like this--it is supposed to be in the 60's here (more like May weather for us) throughout the Christmas weekend. I hate to say I miss the snow, but (I miss the snow!). The mild weather has been great in terms of getting around to shop, decorating the outside of houses (in fact, I swear more houses than ever have put up outside decorations this year), and getting back and forth to work easily. But, without the cold, ice, and those pretty white things that fall from the sky, it just doesn't feel Christmasy. As my son said, "This is what Christmas in northern Florida must feel like every year!" 

Anyway, the cards are sent, the groceries are purchased, the few presents we bought (our main gift was the Argentina trip from last month) are wrapped and under the tree, and the tree is up. Yes, the tree--the one I stitch for all year. Would you like to see?

2015 "Stitching Dreams" Christmas Tree

I can't tell you how much I smile when I see each little ornament perched on the tree.

I am truly running out of space! I wonder how many hours of work have gone into creating these little ornaments?

This year, I set aside a special portion for the Prairie Schooler ornaments that I have stitched. Unfortunately, the six PS Santas that I did this year, never got finished so they aren't hanging with their friends.

Can you see the top of my Santa doll that has been in my family since I was a little girl sitting under the tree? My brother and I always argued over whose it was, but I ended up with him somehow.

Ah, here is the jolly fellow himself, just resting up until his big night... Very 1950s, wouldn't you say (and if truth be told, just a bit creepy looking in the face). I'm sure he once had a black belt and other accessories, but this is all that is left of an almost 60 year old, well-loved Christmas tradition.

The tree at night is so pretty, but hard to get good photos of. Here is one with the lights in my sunroom on:

And here is a final shot with the lights off...

2015 Cross-stitch filled Christmas tree

I've loved seeing photos of your trees and your new ornaments this month--thank you all for sharing! Some of you who don't have blogs have even emailed me photos, too, which I always enjoy seeing. Thank you, thank you to each of you for your kind comments on my "Parade of Ornaments" post last week. It was such fun seeing which ornament you liked the most. At this point in the voting, it appears that the July ornament (the Prairie Schooler one with the little boy carrying his Christmas tree home) is favored by most.  Anyway, it was interesting to see how varied the responses were. I think poor Miss May (the LHN angel) was the only one who failed to receive a single vote. Poor thing--I can hear her weeping in the other room as I write this!

Well, this is short and sweet today as I have a ton of things to attend to--mainly in the kitchen. What are you preparing for your holiday dinners? We have manicotti for our Christmas Eve dinner so I want to prepare that ahead of time along with some homemade bread. And we'll be having our traditional Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow with turkey and all the trimmings since we missed out on it when we were traveling in Argentina in November. My youngest son, I'm so happy and relieved to report, flew in late last night from Argentina (after a one day stop to check on his apartment in Washington, DC) and is now tucked into his small childhood bed upstairs. That sounds funny, but it is so nice as a mother to know he is home safely! My other two sons will arrive today and I'll be putting all of them to work in the kitchen--they are becoming quite the chefs!

I'll be back soon to share with you the wonderful Christmas gifts from my stitching friends--I was very spoiled! Bye for now...

Merry Christmas to each of you--

may your day be filled with the love 

and laughter of friends and family! 

O Christmas Tree

Only two more days 'til Christmas--are you ready? I'm feeling quite relaxed--finally. All the presents are wrapped, the baking done, and the cards sent. The tree is up and decorated and by tomorrow evening I'll have all three of my sons home and asleep in their childhood beds. As silly as that may sound, nothing gives me greater pleasure than having my family of five here under one roof for the holidays. Our Christmases are very relaxing--we just stay put and "nest." We light a cozy fire in the fireplace, play board games, watch favorite movies, eat way too many sugary sweets, and simply enjoy each other's company. This year, the guys are competing in a $10.00 challenge; they're each limited to buying a present for each other that costs $10 or less. I can't wait to see what they've come up with! I suggested that one year we should all do a "handmade gift" challenge. Do you think I might win that one? 

My tree of stitched ornaments is the largest of three in my home and, if Pinterest is any indication, it seems to be quite well-known around the world. I'll have to admit, the first time I saw photos of my tree on Pinterest and other websites, I was a bit taken aback, but I've gotten used to it and I'm so glad that many of you have been inspired to stitch ornaments for your very own cross stitch filled tree. To give you further encouragement that some day, you, too, can have a tree filled with your very own stitched ornaments, 90% of these were stitched with the past six years. I think there are close to 100 ornaments that I've stitched on the tree and probably another 25 or so from my stitching friends.

2014 Christmas Tree

I've moved the dozen ornaments that I stitched this year from my stair garland to my tree and I just love seeing them all together with their "older relatives."  Here are a few close-ups for you (you should be able to click on them for a closer look):

My oldest son took this night shot for me when he was over for dinner on Sunday. I can't wait to sit by the tree on Christmas morning (or, most likely, early afternoon, as my adult sons tend to be late sleepers!), opening our presents as I gaze at the tree.  I have to admit, I feel so proud when I look at the dozens of carefully stitched and finished little beauties.

A most special ornament... My other two trees are a medium sized 5-foot tall snowman tree in the kitchen (which you can see in this post) and a small 3-foot tree in my family room that sits above our TV cabinet. Since we don't plan on purchasing another tree (my husband insists that we should be getting rid of "stuff," not adding to the things stored in our two attics and basement!) and this big tree is almost filled up, I limit the new ornaments that I put on my tree to ones that are stitched. I haven't bought a new ornament for myself in years, but this year I made an exception... One of my husband's coworkers passed along this poem that she thought might ease the pain after the loss of my father--especially at Christmas time. It was written back in 1989 by John Wm. Mooney, Jr. and, although it made me cry (a lot!), it gave me hope that my dad is carrying on and would want his family to, as well...

Merry Christmas From Heaven poem

If you've lost a loved one, I'm sure you have a few tears in your eyes after reading this, too, don't you? Well, last week, I was shopping in a local Hallmark card shop and, lo and behold, I came upon the exact same poem along with a special ornament that came with it in a little gift box! I stood there in the aisle of the store, just doing my best to stop the tears welling up in my eyes and immediately decided to purchase it for my tree. I put a copy of the photo of my dad holding me as a baby in it for now, but may try to find a clearer photo at some point. It is now hanging on my tree in a place of honor right up front.

Miss  you, Dad...

I've received so many lovely gifts from stitching friends all over the world, but I haven't had time to photograph them yet, so I'll share them with you in my next post. As always I want to thank you for your great comments--they really make me proud to be a part of such a supportive group of stitchers! I am behind on answering some of the comments you left and questions you asked on my "Parade of Ornaments" post, and some can't be answered because you haven't included your email address and you are a no-reply blogger. Please, if you have a question that I haven't replied to, ask it again, but make sure to include your email so I can reply... 

Enjoy the rest of this very special holiday season, my friends! Bye for now...

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From my home, to yours... 

 

I wish each of you a very Merry Christmas!

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