Another New Page

I spent most of today working on a new page which, should you find yourself with nothing better to do, you can access from my sidebar   : )   Just click on Stitching Finishes 2014   : )

This Week's Stitching Finishes

After not stitching for several weeks due to a nasty experience which made it impossible for me to even pick up a needle, I'm once again happily finding enjoyment in this humble pastime   : )   This week's finishes are from two "kits" (chart & fabric).

Design:  Dear Rudolph

Designer:  Lizzie*Kate

Fabric:  32 ct Lambswool linen

Floss:  DMC

Design:  A Little Christmas

Designer:  Lizzie*Kate

Fabric:  Unidentified

Floss:  DMC

Most of you reading this know that I'm not a big Lizzie*Kate fan.  Now before you start leaving me hateful comments, let me explain.  I think she's a marvelous designer.  Truly gifted.  I especially like her Christian themes which have shown up in recent years.  It's just that her designs are a bit too "cutesy" for me most of the time.  

I'm not much of a pastels person, so after pulling floss & beginning to stitch A Little Christmas, I was a bit concerned & thought "Oh dear, I'm not going to like this at all."  However, I am very pleased with it!  In case you missed it, it's one of those Christian themed designs I mentioned   : )

Needless to say, both scans of the finishes leave a bit to be desired, but you get the idea.

Last night I started another kit (a full kit this time) ... Noel House by Chessie & Me.  Here's a scan of the design from the Silver Needle's website.  I plan to finish mine as ... what else? ... an ornament   : )   I see satin stitches in the photo, & the chart directions include a graph on how to make a Smyrna cross.  I'm already planning to replace those "fiddly" stitches when the time comes, but who knows.  Maybe I'll feel a bit "fiddly" when I reach those points   : )  

First Finish of 2015

My first finish of 2015.  Please forgive the un-straightness & wrinkles.  I simply finished stitching it & slapped it on the scanner   : )

Design:  Joy & Peace

Designer:  LHN

Fabric:  Straw linen

Floss:  DMC

New Pages Available for a Look-See

In my post on December 30, I indicated that I would be creating several new pages here on my blog where I would have all my finishes, goodies given, & goodies received in one place.  That's the idea anyway    : )   I've made a good start though. At the top of my sidebar you will see a section titled Pages.  I tried listing them under the header but some of my page titles are too long ... lol!  The new pages I have listed now are Christmas Exchanges & Gifts from Me to Others - 2014, & Christmas Exchanges & Gifts from Others to Me - 2014, along with my Wish List.  I am now going to start working on a page for the other stitched items I finished in 2014, & I will start a Finishes 2015 page as well so I can add to that as each finish is accomplished.

Happy New Year!

Christmas 2014

I am tempted to say that once again Christmas has come & gone too quickly, but that wouldn't really be correct since today is only the 6th day of Christmas.  Many people start taking down their trees & decorations the day after Christmas. A very sad thing to do in my book, but if you bought a real tree to decorate on Thanksgiving weekend, you probably don't want it hanging around the house too long after the blessed day   : )

It was another quiet Christmas here in The Devil's Playground.  After our traditional breakfast of homemade orange rolls ...

... we snapped a few photos & then opened our gifts.  

Yes, once again we we lit the fireplace DVD.  Just imagine our joy if we had a real fireplace!!! 

Some of my happiest times leading up to Christmas were opening & displaying our Christmas cards.  I had asked in a blog post at the beginning of the month if anyone wanted to exchange cards with me.  I received lovely cards from all over the world!  I'm looking forward to another blog Christmas card exchange next year!

What was my very favorite thing about Christmas this year?  It was when John & I visited our wonderful son the weekend before Christmas. We hadn't seen him in a long, long time.  Now that he's living closer to us, we will get to see him more often   : )

Matt & a friend have entered into a business venture ... breeding Lllwellin setters & Weimaraners. I'm not really much of a dog person.  Don't get me wrong ... I like dogs.  I just prefer cats.  Well, don't tell Sophie, but I fell in love with Weimaraners.  This is me & Chloe.  Do I look happy much?  Lol!  I had never heard of Weimaraners before Matt became involved with them.  They are the sweetest, most docile dogs I have ever seen. Right up our alley   : )   If I'm remembering this correctly (Matt will correct me if I'm wrong), Chloe is 6 weeks old in this photo & she's weighing in at 26 pounds.  I really, really, really wanted to bring one of these puppies home, but Sophie would not have been a happy feline if I had done so.  This coming year I'm going to try to sell her on the idea.  Wish me luck   : )  

I am going to be adding two new pages to my sidebar ... Christmas Exchanges & Gifts from Me to Others - 2014, & Christmas Exchanges & Gifts from Others to Me - 2014.  I also plan to make a page with the remainder of my 2014 stitching & even go back to gather all my stitching projects per year together on their own pages.  Nothing I enjoy more than making work for myself ... lol!  This, however, seemed to be the best way to go about things ... keeping them all on their own page rather than a little here, a little there in various blog posts.  I'll do a post as each page is created.  

Our decorations will stay on display for another week at least ... the tree longer.  I think it was nearing the end of January last year when I finally took it down.  I'm in no rush for Christmas to be over.

At the grocery store on Christmas Eve Eve I discovered jars of tulip plantings & had to bring one home.  I didn't think to take a photo until today so they aren't as nice looking as they were a day or two ago, but still much enjoyed by both of us.  

I will leave you with this photo of our newest acquisition for our home.  I never include wise men in a nativity display for several reasons, but John talked me into it this year because they were "cute" & "fit in" with the set.  Next year I'll leave them out, but this year I let him have his way   : )  

Remember to keep Christ not only in Christmas, but in every day of the year.

Advent Calendar Blog Hop - Day 24

I was gifted by both Jo & Sharon with Day 24 of the Advent Calendar Blog Hop this year.  Thank you both again sweet friends ... a gift I will always treasure   : )

Jo has asked each of us participating in the Hop to share a bit of our Christmas stitching.  The ornament I'm sharing below is not something I've stitched, but it is one of my very favorite ornaments which I received in an exchange with Lisa last year ... O Night Divine, a design by The Sampler Girl which appeared in the 2013 Just Cross Stitch Ornaments issue.  Tonight is indeed a very special & holy night ... the night that Christians all over the world celebrate the birth of our dear Savior.

I suppose I should share a bit of stitching I've done myself as well ... lol!  There is a lot to choose from, but I've picked these three designs I stitched for my own tree over the past two years, & they were finished to the utmost perfection by my friend Myra.    

Good Tidings to You

The Sampler Girl

Peace on Earth

The Primitive Hare

His Gift

My Big Toe Designs

In addition to a bit of Christmas stitching, Jo wants each of us to tell about the best Christmas present we've ever received.  Well, like most of the other ladies it is difficult for me to decide which one present to tell you about, but for the purpose of an interesting story, it's got to be my 1914 Singer treadle sewing machine.  When I was in junior high school (1965-66), I had a friend, Anna Marie, who was given her grandmother's old treadle sewing machine.  I thought this sewing machine was the coolest thing I had ever seen, & throughout the coming years I always remembered it & always hoped to have one of my own one day.  Flash forward to the late 1980s.  My husband's job made it necessary for him to do a lot of traveling throughout the state of Tennessee where we lived at that time, & during one of these excursions he went into an antique store & spied a Singer treadle sewing machine.  He immediately asked the store owner if he could pay for the machine that day & pick it up before Christmas.  The owner said yes.  John left early Christmas Eve morning to make the 2-hour drive to the antique store to pick up the sewing machine & bring it back home.  We knew some rain & storms were possible, but little did either of us know that a tornado was going to occur!  It came close to the route where he was driving & he experienced quite a downpour with high winds accompanying it, but thankfully neither he nor our vehicle were in any way hurt or damaged.  Others that day were not as fortunate.  Anyway, John made it to the antique store & he & the owner carried the treadle out to our Toyota Corolla only to discover that it was going to take a small miracle to fit it into the back seat!  After some lengthy negotiating, they were able to wedge it in there & then John made the drive back home.  He was unable to remove it from the back seat himself, so rather than me finding it waiting for me next to the tree on Christmas morning, he had me come out to the car when he arrived home to help him pry it from the back seat & carry it in.  I have enjoyed sewing on this treadle machine ever since. It always mystifies people who have the fancy Berninas, Husqvarnas, & other high end machines when I tell them that I prefer sewing on a treadle. I think of the woman or women who owned that machine before me.  What were they sewing? What were their thoughts as they pumped the treadle up & down?  Did they ever for a moment think that a woman 75+ years in the future was going to be loving their machine as much as they had?  It takes me back to a simpler time.  I like that.

Thank you for visiting my blog today.  I wish you & your family a most happy & blessed Christmas!