An Exchange, Some Gifts, & Shoulder Pads - Very Picture Heavy

Good morning!  I know you've heard this about a million times lately, but can you believe it's almost Christmas?  I've been a bit behind this year despite the good intentions I had in January to not find myself in this fix. In the new year I will have these intentions once again, & they will be realized   : )

Yesterday I received my exchange package from Lisa.  I must say that I am overwhelmed!  We exchanged a list of ornaments we'd each like to receive, & her choice of ornament from my list was one of my very favorites ... O Holy Night by The Sampler Girl which appears in this year's JCS Christmas Ornaments magazine!  She also very thoughtfully sent me a beautiful project bag she made with the perfect choice of fabric (blue birds & strawberries), a Celestial Seasonings tea sampler, a vintage primer (I have a collection of these), & a really cool vintage teabag strainer!  I had never seen these before.  You would think these things would be more than enough, wouldn't you ... but Lisa tells me there is one more thing that will be coming my way! Thank you again, Lisa, for a wonderful exchange!

Next I have some gifts to share with you. This first one is from Vickie, aka the poodle princess   : )   She sent me a package of Peeps snowmen, some of her wonderful counting pins, & a beautifully stitched pen. She stitched the inserted design over 1 on 40 count!  

Chris sent me this very pretty pottery dish ornament & a little bar of Red Clay Soap, both made in her home state of North Carolina   : )

From Annette I received a lovely assortment of buttons & embellishments, some Cosmos floss skeins, a very cute notepad, & a beautiful needle book which she made herself!  Her workmanship is awe-inspiring!  I neglected to take a photo of the back of the needle book which I will try to remedy at a later time.  She really outdid herself with this! I have never had, but have always wanted, a needle book, & now I have a perfect one that I will use every year at Christmastime : )

These next gifts are from Myra.  A much needed gingerbread flavored Chap Stick, a little sewing themed notepad, a box of tea all the way from Taiwan (when her sister's coworker travels to Taiwan, he brings this tea back with him!), & one of her beautifully stitched sewing birds & floss catchers   : ) 

Gracie made this beautiful tatted & beaded ornament for me   : )

Last, but not least, is this wonderful array of stitching goodies from Kevin.  Three lovely kits which are just perfect for me (he kitted one of them himself!), a chart with a reindeer theme, a floss sorter, & some Carrie's Creation floss   : )

I will now show you some of the gifts I have sent which have been received.

Designer:  Prairie Schooler

Old World Santas II, Book 88

Floss:  Recommended DMC

Fabric:  I forget

Stitched for Carol

Finished by Myra

Designer:  Lynn's Prints

Design:  Outside My Window

(JCS Christmas Ornaments 2005 issue)

Fabric:  32 ct evenweave

Floss:  Recommended DMC

Stitched for Myra

Designer:  Country Rustic Primitives

Design:  Noel Pinkeep

Fabric:  Osnaburg

Floss:  DMC

Stitched for Calamity Jr (no blog) & Chris

Finished by me

Designer:  Country Rustic Primitives

Design:  Joy Pinkeep

Fabric:  Osnaburg

Floss:  DMC

Stitched for Dawn, Marly, & Jen

Finished by me

Designer:  Pine Mountain Designs

Design:  Up on the Housetop

Fabric:  28 ct blue Aida

Floss:  DMC

Stitched for Ruthie,

my best friend from high school.

(Ruthie hasn't received this yet, but she's not an online person so I can share it now.)

I think I will give you a break & show the most recent ornament finishes Myra did for my own tree in another day's post   : )

I now have a question.  I have some pullover Christmas sweaters I bought years ago but have never worn.  When I saw my heart surgeon for my 3-month followup on Tuesday (the surgery appears to have been successful & we are going to wean me off my heart medication & see how I do without it), I thought I'd finally wear one.  When I took them down off the shelf, I was dismayed to find they all had shoulder pads.  Me & shoulder pads don't mix because I have extremely broad shoulders.  I don't know what possessed me to buy these sweaters, but here they are.  Would I damage their shape in any way by removing the shoulder pads?  I'm guessing that my own broad shoulders will fill in any "gap" left by removing the shoulder pads, but I'd like to be sure.  

My baking is done with the exception of the traditional Christmas morning orange rolls.  I didn't do much baking this year.  I made M&M cookies, chocolate chip cookies, & brownies ... all which have been sent to Matt with the exception of one of each of the cookies.  I also made another pan of brownies & some pineapple drop cookies for John.  Yesterday I finished up with a few loaves of Christmas cake, one for me & John & the rest for the people at the local post office.    

Remember the reason for the season & the gift of peace which He has given us.