New Start

Life is getting back to normal - sort of. It's an unspoken rule of thumb that after a crisis you wait on edge to see if something else is going to happen. Hopefully, the storm has passed with no other casualties.

I have made a list of everyone's favorite holiday sweets to make up. Cheese cookies, pecan balls and cream cheese bread. A few other yummies might get requested but for now, this sounds like enough to me and I will be doing good to these made!

My stitching is coming right along at a good pace. I am hoping to stay on schedule and have it finished up before the New Year. A few colors/shades have been changed to appeal more to my personal preference. I have been enjoying stitching this piece and have picked it up each day to work on since starting. That's a good sign!

The Christmas Bird Count is right around the corner. I always enjoy doing this. Put on a coat, venture outside and join me for it!

Thanks for stopping by!

Some Thanks and Some Stitching

I hope everyone who celebrated the holiday had a nice Thanksgiving. Ours was quite and different this year. I usually spend two days preparing all the food for the big meal but not this year. After a family crisis earlier in the week, my cooking mode was in low gear so we fixed something simple and had a quite time and best of all, no dishes to clean up. I think everyone really did miss that big meal though and I even told DH that I missed fixing it up but he laughed and said "don't worry. We'll let you fix it for Christmas!" lol. Bless his heart. As I sat stitching that night, I thought of all the things I was thankful for.

Did anyone hit the stores the day after Thanksgiving? I always stay away from the crowds on this day and keep in safety of my home. We did have to venture out to get a couple of small items but I guess all the wild crowds were gone by then because it was really no worse than a regular weekend errand run. Whew!
I took a stitching break after my last finish. I used the time to go through my stash and revise my 2011 stitching list. I like what I have on the list but doubt seriously all of them will get their turn at the needle but I will definitely be happy with the ones I do get completed. Most are already in my stash and only several will need to be ordered.

I felt like making my upcoming work something with a holiday theme. I pulled several kitted up designs then saw what I wanted to do. It really doesn't look Christmasy but the verse on it is part of my very favorite Christmas carol so that works for me. In case you are wondering, I have pulled A Weary World Rejoices by Shakespeare Peddler. This one was actually in my 2011 pile but having one less on my list is just fine by me! I may change a couple of the lighter colors to a darker version of the same shade so they will show up better on the fabric I am going to use. Once I get far enough along to show some progress, I will take a picture to share with everyone! I am setting my sights on having this one finished by the end of December so here's hoping I can stay on schedule!

Now it's time to start pulling out some of the Christmas decorations. It seems like I drag out less and less each year which is fine because less is more seems to fit like a glove these days. And with the holidays comes more busy days so if I don't seem to be around as much please know that I am reading your blogs on the sly because I can't bear to be apart from my dear stitching friends for too long!

Thanks so much for stopping by. I always enjoy your visits and comments. Until next time may you have simple days and an uncluttered heart.

Finished!

Yea! I finished up The Sparrow and am thrilled with how it turned out considering this piece has been through the wringer with spills, rinsing out and mistakes on my part (I had to make a few adjustments here and there to avoid days of frogging). Excuse the wrinkles but those don't effect my joy right now! As you can tell, I figured out how and where to put my Dad's initials along with the years of his birth and death. This is such a meaningful piece to me for so many reasons and all bringing back memories of some sort about my Dad. After a short break where I focus on some neglected housework I will turn my attention to my last stitch of the year.

I have a terrible problem that whenever anyone walks through our house every picture on the walls goes bonkers and they all end up hanging haywire like an earthquake had struck so while we were out doing our usual errands I picked up some new double sided sticky stuff to hold them in position that won't hurt the walls (or frames). I haven't used it yet but when I do I'll let you know how it works. I was told at the store that they have to constantly restock it because it sells so good and so fast.

I do have some sad news. The sampler, Good Things by Notforgotten Farm fell off the wall and the frame broke. Now I have to go out and look for a new frame. I hope I can find another one either just like the old frame or maybe one I like even more! *fingers crossed*

Remember to leave a comment on the previous post to be entered in my current giveaway! Thanks so much for stopping by. Your visits and comments always make my day!