Seasonal Samplings

Hello everyone! Sorry it has been a while since my last post. I've just been working more than usual and haven't really been "in the mood" to write. Is it just me, or do you have to be in the right frame of mind to compile a post, too? Many of you are so good about posting each week (or even multiple times a week!). Here I am with over two years of blogging and I haven't even reached my 100th post. Sigh...

But, I do have a "year's worth" of stitching that I've done over the past couple of weeks to share with you. Hard to believe? Well, I...

Started with a bit of Spring...

Added a touch of Summer...

Threw in a pinch of Autumn...

Topped it off with a sprinkling of Winter...

And I had stitched a full year of all four seasons!

I honestly can't remember the last time I enjoyed stitching a piece so much! "Seasonal Samplings" by Hillside Samplings is a chart passed on from dear Melissa over at Words and Blooms last year. I don't know what it was about this piece, but it instantly calmed me down as soon as I started stitching. (Well, except for the point when I realized I had mistakenly stitched eyelet stitches for the apples rather than Rhodes stitches and I had to rip every single one out!) What's the most relaxing piece you've ever stitched?
I used 28 ct. natural brown linen for this piece along with the suggested DMC colors, but I changed the rabbit to brown so he would show up better and resemble the little bunnies that visit my yard each summer. The lettering, rabbit, birds, and year are all stitched "over one." And I love the specialty stitches--they just add so much dimension to the piece.

Since I enjoyed Seasonal Samplings so much, chances are one of you will, too, so I'm having a drawing to pass it along. Just leave a comment (on this post only) letting me know that you would like to be included and I'll announce the winner when I post next (which knowing me could be a couple of weeks!). I only ask that, when you are finished stitching it, you pass along the chart yourself and keep the kindness going...

I've been on a lucky streak lately and want to thank two special bloggers for their generous giveaways. First of all I won a very nice $25 gift certificate to 1-2-3 Stitch from the generous Riona at Oubliette. She was having a giveaway to celebrate her 500th post! Can you imagine?!! At this rate, I'll be 100 years old before I reach that milestone. Thank you so much, Riona--I can hardly wait to go shopping and I'll be sure to let you know what goodies I choose...









And from one of the most entertaining bloggers out there, Barbara at Mainely Stitching, I won this quartet of spring-themed charts. Aren't they so cute and, well, spring-like? Most of you are probably familiar with the adventures of Barbara's four kids and the house rooster (yes, rooster!), but if not, please pay her a visit...There is always so much fun going on over there. Thank you so much, Barbara--I need a touch of spring more than you can imagine after this never-ending winter!









A big winter storm caught western Pennsylvania by surprise Monday night. Things were so bad it took my dear husband almost three hours to make the normally 20-minute drive from the city to our house. Cars were abandoned everywhere and driving was treacherous. I can count on two hands the number of days we haven't had snow on the ground since early December--winter just seems endless this year.

But, the next day dawned sunny and, oh, so beautiful. It almost made up for the fact that spring doesn't seem right around the corner any longer! Just the day before this storm hit, I had seen my first robin and a tiny violet poking it's head out of the ground. Maybe next week things will turn around. Please...enough is enough!

Your comments on my last post meant so much to me--I'm glad you enjoyed my little story about the young mother. Thank you all for your visits, your comments, and your friendship. Hopefully, the next time I write the snow will be gone. And to all of my New Zealand blogging friends dealing with that horrible earthquake, please know my thoughts are with you...

Have a wonderful week everyone and take some special time to do what you love most. Bye for now...

Saying Thanks

Hello everyone... Hope each of you is enjoying a good week so far! I'm just counting each of these frigid wintry days as one day closer to spring. It can't come soon enough for me... This sage green Prairie Schooler Santa is my latest finish--my monthly ornament is actually done early for a change! He can be found in Prairie Schooler's "Santa Moon" book and is stitched "over one" on black Monaco using the suggested DMC threads. Would you believe the most difficult part of this was putting together his little bundle of sticks? I used some tiny pieces of branches that had blown down during a recent windy day, glued them together, tied them with raffia, and sewed them onto the finished piece.


Isn't his large, ruddy nose funny-looking? Hope he is just cold and hasn't been imbibing in too much "Christmas cheer!" I wanted a rustic looking finish for this one, so I used the idea suggested by Vonna for the new LHN "Cardinal Winter" ornament--a twig frame. My husband helped me carve the grooves into the twigs so they would fit together more snugly. (As he says, it's our first collaborative cross stitch ornament!) I then glued the twigs together, tied raffia around the corners and used it as the hanger. What do you think?










My mailbox was overflowing with goodies last week... First of all came this glorious rainbow of hand-dyed threads that I had won in a very generous giveaway from Between Crosses With Nina last month. The talented and generous Nina let me choose 25 skeins of her hand-dyed threads as my prize. I waited and waited and waited--so worried that her package had been lost in the mail, but, one month later, it finally arrived. Oh, were they ever worth the wait--they are amazing!


Of course, I wanted to try them out right away, so I stitched up this Lizzie Kate "Be My Valentine" piece over the weekend. This was the second time I've stitched this--I sent the first to my dear parents as a finished card last February. Aren't the colors pure loveliness? For this piece, stitched on 32 ct. dirty linen, I used Nina's "Old Jeans," "Moss," "Eggplant," and "Raspberry" threads along with DMC 3865 for the border. I'm just thrilled with the color variations and how easy it was to work with her threads. Thank you so, so much, Nina--your gift brought some much needed color and cheer into my gray winter days!



I was truly touched to receive a wonderful package from dear Brenda, also. I had admired this Drawn Thread "Sunflower Bellpull" chart on Brenda's lovely blog (if you haven't been over to visit, please do--I promise you you'll be thrilled with her stitching and darling punch needle finishes!) and she offered to send it to me since she was done with it. Well, imagine my surprise when I opened the mailing envelope and found not only the chart, but the linen, the beads, and all of the threads as well! Brenda, your generosity touches my heart...I can't wait to start stitching this (sunflowers are one of my favorite things as most of you know) and you can be sure I will pass on the chart when I am finished. Thank you so very much!



Last, but by no means least, sweet Valerie sent me a belated birthday gift. She was worried that I might have the charts already, but they were all new to me and each and every one is something I would have picked myself. And look at the tiny packet of BBD fabrics--don't you love them?! I'm sure you'll be seeing some of them incorporated into my ornaments in the future. Most of you are probably familiar with Valerie's blog, but if you're not, why not stop in. Although I am just a "bit" older (okay, I'm old enough to be her mother!) we have become email pals and I love reading about her life in San Francisco and the ups and downs of life as a single young woman. So, thank you Valerie, for your wonderful gifts and for your friendship--both are so special...


Since the title of my post is "Saying Thanks," I want to tell you about a very heart-warming "thank you" that I received myself not long ago... As you know, I'm a librarian and am thanked countless times by people whom I've helped. One evening, a while back, I was walking back to the reference desk with an elderly patron and I noticed a young woman waiting there presumably to ask a question. When I finished up with the older woman, she said: "Thank you, you've been so very helpful." And the younger woman piped in: "She always is." I looked at her quizzically and after saying goodbye to the elderly patron, I walked over to her...


"You may not remember me," she began, "but, I was here a while back and you handed me the books that helped me diagnose my son's condition." Shivers ran up my spine and it all came back to me; a rather distraught, scared young mother, with a stack of medical books surrounding her, looking for anything and everything that could possibly help save her young son's life. None of the numerous doctors she had taken him to had been able to diagnose him and she was bound and determined to find out what was wrong with him. I had pulled every pediatric, neurological, and brain-related medical book that I could find and piled them on the table in front of her as she frantically searched for an answer.

"Because of your help, my son will be operated on at The Cleveland Clinic on Friday and I just wanted to thank you," she whispered, and then began to cry. I came out from behind the desk, hugged her and cried myself. How scared she must have been. You see it was a brain operation on a two-year old. This mother had diagnosed a very rare condition using the books in our mid-sized public library! I told her that I had received many, many thank-yous during the 20+ years I've worked as a Reference Librarian, but hers was like the cherry on top of the ice cream sundae.

I saw this young mother soon after the operation and was almost scared to ask about the outcome. Thankfully, her son had come through it with flying colors and, with rehab, would live a normal life. A miracle... I recently saw her in the library again with a "Nursing School Entrance Exam" book tucked under her arm. Yes, she's decided to go to back to school to become a nurse--I know she'll be an excellent one...

I told you this story not because I did anything special--I was simply doing my job. But, the fact that this young woman took the time to come back and thank me for my help--now that is special. Try saying "thank you" to others for even simple things--it might just make someone's day. (And you just might feel better, too!)










I'm so appreciative of the friends I've made over my two years of blogging--I hope you all know how special I think you are. The fact that you take the time to leave a comment or send an email means so much to me. Special thanks to my international friends who take the time to translate my posts and leave a comment. I am really touched at the amount of effort that it must take you to do so... Have a wonderful weekend everyone--only 39 days to Spring--yippee!!

Snowy Finishes and Lucky Winners

Good morning everyone! How are you all coping with this brutal winter weather? We haven't been hit nearly as badly as you poor people in the eastern corridor of the U.S., and yet, I'm still more than ready for some warmer weather. I don't ever remember a winter this cold, day after day, do you? Well, in spite of not stitching much this month, I do have a couple of things to share with you. First up is my ornament for January. I'm doing an "Ornament-a-Month" stitch-along with Lois, Valerie, and Staci. It's so nice to have company :)

I couldn't resist this quartet of Santas freebie that I found here at the Floss Box. It was designed by the very talented Emily Wilmarth to be a biscornu, but I made a couple of changes to turn it into a diamond-shaped ornament. I changed the colors to what I call the "Prairie Schooler palette": DMC 221, 520, 729, 3363, and 407 along with white and black and used 32 ct. gray Barnwood linen. I also stitched red and white stripes up each diagonal corner and added snowflakes on either side of the Santas. Using invisible thread, I stitched through the center of the ornament a few times to give it a "tufted" look. Add on some tiny black beads for eyes, a bit of white cording, and some white and sage green ribbon and I have another ornament for my tree!


My second finish is "January" from the Prairie Schooler "Summer & Winter" booklet. This was the piece I had planned on working on in Florida, but I left the chart at home so it took me much longer to finish it than it should have. But, it was worth the wait. I really love how it turned out and with all the deer we have in our yard, it holds special meaning. You can even catch a glimpse of a small pond behind the Canadian Goose off to the right just like we have in our back yard. (The photo in my header is our pond as seen from an upstairs window.)



No, we don't live in a log cabin, but there is one I pass on the way to the grocery store that I have my eye on! I've always thought a cozy cabin in the mountains of North Carolina sounded like a perfect place to live...Anybody else? This is stitched on 32 ct. Flax Belfast linen (which seems to be my fabric of choice these days) using the recommended DMC threads. I am using the same pop-out frame that I've used for the December, November, October, and September pieces that I've already stitched in this series. What a money saver!

The other day we looked out our kitchen window and spotted these two deer standing on top of our frozen pond. They appeared to be drinking from a small hole near the back of the pond that hadn't frozen over yet. I was just hoping and praying that they didn't fall through the ice and get stuck. Yes, it has happened before and the results were not pretty...I'll never forget that poor little deer.






Do any of the rest of you think you spend way too much time online? Well, I discovered just how much I could get done on Monday when our internet was down for the entire day. I accomplished more than I would normally get done in a whole week including making these cookies for my birthday treat at work (when it is our birthday month, we supply the goodies for our monthly meeting.) Can you smell the butter and sugar oozing through your computer screens? Pictured here are pecan pie bars, chocolate raspberry brownie bites, oatmeal raisin cookies and spritz butter cookies. Needless to say, these were gobbled up very quickly by my fellow librarians. I do love to bake and I think my dream job would be to own a combination stitching / bookstore / bakery. "Stitches, Stories, and Sweets"--how does that sound?



Well, if you've stayed with me this long, thank you. I do tend to run on and on in some of my posts. I'm sure you're anxious to hear who won my birthday giveaways... I called in a little helper to pick the winners. My little snowman reached in with his long twig-like arms and picked the winner of the "Winter Into Spring" giveaway package.



And what name did my assistant pull out? Why the very lucky Michele B..!! Congratulations, Michele B., you are the winner of the "Winter into Spring" giveaway. Please send me your full name and address and the goodies will be on their way to you next week.






For Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow my snowman decided to ask his little bald-headed buddy to help him choose the lucky name. There were far fewer entries for this one so you each had a better chance of winning.






But, in the end, there could be only one winner and my winter friends picked: Meadows08! Congratulations, Meadows08, you have won the chart for "Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow" and the DMC threads needed to stitch it! Please send me your full name and address and the package will be on its way to you very soon.

"WINTER INTO SPRING" GIVEAWAY WINNER:

Michele B. at "X Marks My Spot"

"CHRISTMAS AT HAWK RUN HOLLOW" GIVEAWAY WINNER:

Meadows08 at "For the Love of Cross Stitch"

Congratulations to both winners and thank you all for participating in my giveaways and for the kind birthday wishes. I really loved hearing the stories behind all of your avatars. Very interesting to read them and I felt that I got to know a bit more about each of you. If you have the time--look back through the comments on my last posting; I think you'll enjoy reading them as much as I did. Well, I hope the coming week is good to you and brings you plenty to smile about. Bye for now...

Come Celebrate With Me!

Good morning, everyone! Yes, it's my birthday and I'm celebrating with two giveaways for my friends and followers. Don't I look positively delighted in this mid-1950s photo which was taken sometime around my first birthday? Even then I loved a great birthday party--especially the cake. I was a pudgy little thing, wasn't I? And thank goodness my hair grew in... This was taken at my parents' first apartment in Buffalo, NY. I was the only child back then; little did I know that my younger brother would be making an appearance later that year. Spoiled? Oh, yes-- especially by my dear father who, my mother says, was so delighted with me that he would wake me up to play when he came home in the middle of the night after completing his shift at the hospital where he was an intern. (Much to my poor mother's dismay who had spent the entire evening trying to get me settled down and asleep!).

Anyway, to celebrate my 56th birthday and my 2nd blogoversary, I have a pair of giveaways to offer my blogging friends.

First up, and I think most of you guessed it from my "hint" a few posts ago) is Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow and all 59 skeins of DMC that you will need to stitch it. (Please note: 1 or 2 skeins (depending on what count fabric you choose) of Needle Necessities Mint Frost are also needed but are not included in my giveaway.) My only stipulation is that you must really want to stitch this. Please don't enter this giveaway just to win the chart or just to win the threads. I want this to go to someone who will actually stitch it and then pass it along in a giveaway of her / his own when you are finished. I was lucky enough to win this from the generous Jolene and I would love to keep the kindness going. You don't have to pass along the DMC, just the chart... So please consider this when entering.


My other giveaway, shown above, is one I'm calling my "Winter into Spring" giveaway since it has items dealing with January, February, and March. For January, I'm including the Waxing Moon "January Sampler" chart which I stitched last year. You can see my finish right here and in my sidebar. It really is one of my very favorite finishes ever. The month of February is represented by a pretty pair of red scissors for Valentine's Day, and March is symbolized by Prairie Schooler's "Daffodils" chart along with all 18 skeins of DMC needed to stitch it. I'm also including five ornament sized (6 inches square) cuts of some of my favorite fabrics including: 28 ct. black Monaco, 32 ct. barnwood linen, 32 ct. sage Jobelan, 28 ct. wood violet Jobelan, and 32 ct. putty Belfast linen.

So, how do you enter? It's very simple. I want these giveaways to be for my followers--the people who visit my blog and take the time to read my posts, look at my photos, and sometimes even comment. Please do not post it on your blog--I would like the giveaways to go to someone who normally visits me here, not someone who just stops in to win a prize. To make it a bit more interesting for all of us, I'd love to hear the story behind your avatar or little icon. If you use a photo of yourself, tell me about it--was it taken at a favorite spot, does it bring back a wonderful memory; why did you choose it? If you use a flower or animal or piece of stitchery or some other representation--how did you happen to pick that? And if you don't have an icon, well, I'd love to hear what you would pick to "represent you" if you had to...Incidentally, Sharon (aka Daffycat) had a very interesting post about why you should have a photo or icon attached to your account. You might want to read about it here.

Here's the story behind mine--the little girl holding the mistletoe over the black cat hoping for a Christmas kiss. I picked this in early 2009 when I first began blogging mainly because of the black cat. Most of you know I adore black cats, having owned and loved my own dear Shadow for over 14 years. Although I am no longer a girl like the one pictured here, I am quite petite--only a little over 5' 1" tall--so I suppose in my mind that girl on my icon is me when I was much, much younger (however, having grown up in the '60s, and '70s my hair was never curly, but always long and straight and parted in the middle--wasn't everybody's?)! I also chose this because it was originally a portion of a vintage postcard which is another of my interests.

So, tell me your story...that's all it takes to be entered into my giveaway. Please make sure to tell me which giveaway you are entering and make sure you include your email address if it isn't connected with your profile. You may enter both giveaways, but can only win one... I'll close the contest on Friday, January 28th at midnight and will announce the winners sometime that weekend. Good luck to all!

I want to thank two special friends for their birthday gifts. First of all, sweet Myra made this darling little covered box for me. It looks like she hand-dyed her own fabric, covered the top of the box with a crocheted doily and topped it with her perfectly stitched "springy" design (she thought we could both use a touch of spring and, oh, is she right!). She also include a piece of the wonderful alphabet /lettering fabric that she had made my pouch out of for my Christmas gift and a little notebook to use as a stitching journal. Thank you, my friend; your gifts made me feel very special!

And special thanks to dear Cindy who sent me a much-appreciated gift certificate to 123 Stitch --can't wait to pick out something new. My oldest son also gave me a gift certificate for the same site for Christmas so I'll really enjoy my spending spree. Thank you so much, Cindy--your thoughtful gift certainly made my day! I'll be sure to let you know what I select...

Thank you for all of your kind comments on my last post--I try to answer each of you who have questions, but sometimes your account isn't attached to an email. Please feel free to email me personally with any questions and I'll be glad to answer... And thanks for the "get well" wishes--I ended up getting the flu and having to call in sick at work for the first time in 15 years! Yes, I was that sick, but I'm almost back to normal now so my new year is off to a good start after all. I hope you all have a wonderful week with lots of time for whatever makes you happiest. Bye now...

Finishes and Florida

Hello everyone! Gosh, it is already January 9th and this is only my first post of the new year... I am just in awe watching many of you work on your 15-day challenge projects--you're not making it any easier to achieve my goal of "stitching from stash" this year, that's for sure. I wanted to share with you some of my final Christmas ornaments from 2010 that I sent to friends across the country...

This Prairie Schooler from the "Santas & Snowmen" chart made it's way to Myra in North Carolina. Myra liked it so much she decided to purchase the chart and stitch the other designs for herself:

This quartet of snowmen found a new home with Cindy in New York. This is a freebie which you can find right here. I'm sorry, but I don't know the designer--if anyone can help me out, I'd appreciate it (Edited on 1/10/11: thanks to Gabi from Germany who shared the designer's name with me! This design can be found on Les Chroniques de Frimousse.)


My sister in New York is now the proud owner of this little Brittercup kitty ornament. I stitched it in memory of her dear black cat, Cinders. She has always been very appreciative of my hand-stitched ornaments and I love making them for her:


I actually stitched two of these Prairie Schooler snowflakes (from PS Book No. 23: "A Prairie Year II.") One traveled across the state of Pennsylvania to my dear friend Mary and the other made its way all the way to California to a new blogging friend Julianne. I like this one so much, I'm planning on stitching it a third time just for myself:

And Shari in Indiana was such a good girl this Christmas, that she received this Told In A Garden angel ornament. With her son serving in the military, I thought it would hold special meaning for her. This is a free design which I've added to my "Favorite Freebies" list in my sidebar along with the snowmen design pictured above:
I really loved stitching and surprising a few of my friends with these and hope to send out even more surprise ornaments next Christmas for additional blogging buddies...I think I'm going to secretly stitch ornaments all year and hide them away until December rolls around!

Are any of you familiar with this book? Well, last Tuesday, when I flew down to Florida to visit my parents, my day could easily have rivaled Alexander's "terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day." I am not a great flyer--flying only once a year doesn't make it any more comfortable for me. But to calm my nerves, I took along a small project to stitch while waiting for the plane. I pulled out the fabric and the threads and the scissors (airplane approved) and my needle and--oh no, my pattern was not there! Ugh--I had left it at home beside my stitching chair. The stitching withdrawal symptoms began immediately...


Once on the plane I was delighted to find myself seated across the aisle from a girl who sneezed non-stop for the 2½ hour plane ride. I kid you not--the entire trip. I've never seen anything like it! Her mother, seated next to me, filled up an entire large white plastic bag with her used tissues. Can you say "ewww?!!"

After we landed, my son and I immediately went to the car rental counter to pay for our reserved car. I gave them my license and credit card, signed the paperwork, and away we walked to pick up the car. Well, when we got to the car pickup location, they had no record of me ever having rented the car! What? I just signed the papers five minutes earlier! For 30 minutes, we stood waiting and waiting while several employees walked back and forth trying to solve the problem. "Are you sure it wasn't rented under a different name?" "Are you positive it was this car rental company you used?" Sigh...finally, they figured out the problem and offered to upgrade the car. We told them it wasn't necessary, but they insisted. Now, an upgrade to some people would have been exciting; to the two of us who know nothing about cars...well, it was meaningless. They told us to pick a car and my son simply pointed to the first car he saw.

Well, let's just say this car, classified as a "sports" sedan had a lot more power than this middle-aged mini-van driver is used to! You know what's coming, right? Flashing lights appeared in my rear-view mirror--the Florida State Police had decided to set up a speed trap for all of us unsuspecting tourists. $134 later I pulled back onto the highway and continued my drive to my parents' condo with tear-streaked cheeks. It wasn't just the ticket, I was just so tired, and the entire day had been less than ideal. (Well, to be honest, I also thought about how much stash I could have bought with that ticket money!).

After we arrived in Daytona Beach, unpacked the car, and rode the elevator to the 14th floor, I spied my parents waiting outside their front door. Mom immediately sensed that it had been a long, hard day and when she wrapped her loving arms around me suddenly everything was right with the world. There is nothing like a hug from mom to erase all your worries is there?

The weather wasn't sunny and warm like I had hoped for, but we did get one nice day. Oh, and I brought home a "lovely" souvenir from my trip; Saturday morning I woke up with a cold--yes, I had caught Miss Sneezy's cold from the plane trip down--my first cold in three years. Sigh...



Thank you all for visiting me today--I really loved reading your comments about my Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow finish last time. Isn't it wonderful how we all support each other in this little stitching world? I appreciate each and every one of you more than you know... And remember to stop by next week for my annual birthday / blogoverary giveaway post! Bye now...

Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow Is...

FINISHED!! Could you hear my cries of joy all over the eastern U.S.? With one day to spare, I finally put the last stitch into this mammoth piece earlier today. I can't believe that after spending much of my 2010 stitching time on this piece, it is finally complete... Ahhh--I feel like I can breathe again!



The 11th block really stretched my patience to its limits and there were days that I honestly didn't think I would finish before year's end. (As you can see, I put the date "2011" on the ship rather than stitching the charted date of 1802.) In spite of the stress that this block caused, it is actually one of my favorites. Overall, though, I would have to say that the block with the Christmas tree farm is the one I like the best. How about you?






The 12th block stitched up very quickly and, after much debate, I decided to add my own name and the current year. The general consensus among my stitching friends seemed to be that, since this isn't a true reproduction sampler, but one from the wonderfully creative imagination of Kathy Barrick, it is fine to substitute the actual stitcher's name. I changed the body color of the little spirit/angel/cherub to a peachier shade (DMC 950) since the charted color just didn't show up on my flax-colored Belfast linen.

I really want to thank you all for following along on this project with me throughout 2010--your support and encouragement helped more than you know. Now, I need some advice...I've never taken a piece to be framed and wonder how you handle a large piece like this. Do you press it at home and roll it up to take it in to the framer? Are there any questions, requests, etc. I should ask about? Glass or no glass? I'm not using a mat... Honestly, any advice you can offer would help me so much. I am a total novice at professional framing having always done smaller pieces myself...

Well, I guess you would like to see the entire piece? May I present my finished Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow...


Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow
Fabric: 32 ct. Flax Belfast Linen
DMC threads
Started January 1, 2010 ~ Finished December 30, 2010
Now, I have a conundrum--what do I stitch next? I'm actually going to have to "think" about that in 2011, aren't I? I've been going through my stash and have narrowed my first start for the new year down to a few pieces that have really been calling my name, but I still have to make a final decision. I've decided that 2011 will be a "Stitching From Stash" year. I have so many beautiful charts that just keep getting set aside in order to stitch newly purchased charts, don't you? So, I decided to work on bringing some of "my old friends" to life in 2011.

The other thing I know for sure is that I will continue my "ornament a month" stitching in the coming year and I'm so excited that a few of my online stitching friends will be joining in on the fun. I am truly appreciative of everyone's comments on my last post about the ornaments and my Christmas tree--thank you, thank you! I'll have to admit, I spent a fair amount of time standing in front of my tree this past week just admiring the little beauties. They really make me smile and I almost hate to put them away for another year... Here is a photo collage of our Christmas morning:

Christmas Morning 2010



I want to thank my friend, Cathey (aka Pumpkin) for sending me a cute addition to my collection of ornament charts. She surprised me with this chart from Milady's Needle called "Up On the House Top" along with a beautiful Christmas card (featuring her own amazing photography) last week. I love it, my friend, and you know that ornament charts are a perfect gift for me. Thank you so much, Cathey. My oldest son has been working up in Canada lately and he always says how nice and thoughtful the Canadian residents are--I told him I already knew that from my Canadian blogging friends like Cathey!







And from Gracie, I won a very special giveaway. She was generously giving away three of the DMC "Stitch Pink" Needlework Accessory Kits and I was lucky enough to win one. Not only did she include the kit (which contains the prettiest pink scissors, pink bobbins, and a pink needle threader), she also gifted me with some pretty pink ribbon fabric, pink variegated floss, pink "love" mints, and a tiny silver charm for breast cancer awareness. Thank you so much, Gracie. These gifts will all come in very handy when I make another ornament for The Pumpkin Patch & Co. Breast Fund next year. Cathey organized a group of 17 of us to stitch ornaments that were auctioned off in November to raise funds for breast cancer research. Our little group ended up raising $875! Just think how much money we could raise if more of us donated an ornament. Cathey/Pumpkin will be continuing the group next year so keep checking her blog if you would like to contribute an ornament for this wonderful cause in 2011...

I'm going to be taking a bit of a blogging break for a while. My youngest son and I are headed down to sunny and warm (please let it be sunny and warm, please let it be sunny and warm!) Florida to visit my parents next week. I should be back around mid-January with my annual birthday/2nd blogoversary giveaway for my followers. What will be included in the giveaway? Well, something you've seen featured in this post for one--hint, hint!



I truly love vintage postcards and the sentiment on this one is perfect for the approaching new year. 2011 is like a blank slate for us. As Edith Lovejoy Pierce said: "We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day." I hope your new year is blessed with good health, much happiness, and everything that brings you smiles...

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!