Week Forty-Eight: Santa Mitten

This chubby little Santa looks like I felt after our Thanksgiving feast--overstuffed! This weeks piece is from the Cricket Collection's "Woolen Mittens" chart and is the second mitten I've stitched this year. Of course, are either of them finished yet? Nope. This week was just too busy with all my baking, eating, traveling, eating, shopping, eating--oh, did I mention eating? Anyway, Santa is feeling quite at home on his 28 ct. black Monaco fabric. I used DMC threads, two tiny black buttons for his eyes, a silver jingle bell on the tip of his hat, and a cherry red button I found in my button jar for his bulging nose.

Last week I promised you some photos of my baking so here are the goodies all laid out on my kitchen table ready for their trip to Ohio on Thanksgiving Day. The pies from back to front are: Chocolate Pecan, Cherry, Pumpkin, and Pecan. What is your favorite? I tend to choose the cherry, just because I think it is "a lot" healthier than the others (wishful thinking, I'm sure). The pecan seems to be the first to disappear every year, though. Also pictured is my cookie tray filled with ten yummy varieties. Just click on the photo for a bigger picture...

In the back row are Chocolate Raspberry Brownies, Christmas Butter Cookies, Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies, and Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter. The middle row has Molasses Krinkles, Snickerdoodles, and Frosted Buttermilk Cookies. And the bottom row features M&M Cookies, Date Balls, and Reese's Cup Cookies. Yes, I love to bake! I'm always amazed at how appreciative my relatives are for these simple contributions to our family get-togethers because, for me, baking is relaxing and a labor of love, not a chore at all. Anyway, by the time we left Ohio Friday night, there were only about 9 cookies and a few pieces of pie remaining--amazing!

Thanks so much for visiting my little corner of the world today. If any of you would like a recipe just email me and I'll gladly share it with you. For those of you who still have to make the return trip back to your hometown after a Thanksgiving away, I wish you "safe home"--a lovely Irish thought Siobhan wished for me in her comments on my blog last week...

Week Twenty-Nine: Snow Mitten

We've had an unusually cool summer so far in western Pennsylvania so this snowman might feel right at home (just kidding--it hasn't been that cold, but today's high temperature was only 67 degrees and that is the coldest mid-July day I ever remember!). I'm not complaining...the older I get the more the heat bothers me. I don't think I'll be one of those older people who retire to Florida. I think the mountains of North Carolina are more my cup of tea--at least in the spring, summer, and fall. I've never been there, but from pictures it looks so peaceful and relaxing.

This little snow mitten, stitched on 18-count hunter green Aida with DMC floss, is from The Cricket Collection's "Woolen Mittens" pattern. I also used black Mill Hill beads for his buttons, mouth, and eyes. In case you're wondering why I tend to stitch so many snowmen, it's because I have a Christmas tree devoted entirely to snowmen that I decorate for the holidays (and sometimes don't take down until February!). It is a small tree--only 4 feet tall and, to be honest, there is not much room left on it for any more snowmen, but I'll find a special place for this chubby, little guy.