Merry and Bright

Hi, stitching friends!

Grab a cup of joe or hot cocoa and cozy up in a warm blanket. I have so much to show you, starting with some awesome Christmas ornaments from friends.

Arlene from Nanaland blog sent me this adorable ornament – "A right jolly old elf." Isn't it cute? (And I love that...a right jolly old elf. How can you not say that with an English accent?!) I love the way she finished it with the sugared holly and the antique buttons and the coffee/tea-dyed fabric.

Robin in Virginia sent me three lovely ornaments. Joyeux Noel is stitched on country mocha aida and is finished off with the most perfect cording and bow. I love the pattern in the tree, don't you?

The second gift from Robin is this wonderful blanket-stitched felt ornament topped with an antique wood spool. I wish threads still came on wooden spools.

And the third ornament from Robin is this cutie. Have you ever seen anything so clever? I love it!

Carol from Stitching Dreams blog sent me a wonderful surprise. She stitched this nostalgic sleighing scene over one, which honestly just rocks my world. Carol is so good at tiny stitching, and she enjoys it. (I can do it, but it kind of stresses me out, to be honest.) This stitch in blue just makes me happy, and I love that horse. Carol finished it with a wool houndstooth fabric, a lovely ribbon, a delicate snowflake charm, handmade cording and a pretty organza bow.

I hung the ornament on the tree right by the Prairie Schooler Santa that Carol made for me last year. Aren't they lovely? (Carol, you spoil me.)

Conquering My Fears

Do you have any projects that you've stitched and put away in a drawer because you just don't know how to finish them? I don't mean the ones you're not sure what to do with, but the ones that intimidate you?

Years ago (more than five years ago, for sure) I finished stitching a stocking for my husband, Shawn. It was a Dimensions kit called "Here Comes Santa." It came with a flimsy piece of felt for the stocking back. After putting in hundreds of hours of stitching, I was not going to finish it with a piece of felt. You've heard me whine before that I am not confident when it comes to sewing, so I sure didn't feel up to finishing his stocking by myself.

I thought of all the people I know who can sew, and I thought, what if I mail this to her? Would she finish it for me? What if it got lost in the mail? What if she didn't want to do it? Should I just pay somebody to do it? Every time I thought about it, I got so overwhelmed that it was just simpler to put it back in the package and think, maybe next year.

But here's what happened...

My son bought presents for his girlfriend this year and he asked me to show him how to wrap them. I offered to wrap them for him but he said, "I think I should do it myself. I want the gifts to be totally from me, including the wrapping."

That got me thinking. I wanted the stocking to be totally from me, including the finishing. I kicked myself in the behind, hopped online and found some tutorials, and thought, if I take my time and work carefully, I can do this.

Well, guess what? I did! And the stocking even has a lining.... ooooooh! And I did royally mess up. When I turned the stocking right side out, I realized that I sewed the hanger on the front of the stocking instead of the back. Doh! So I turned it inside out again, ripped out the seams that needed to be ripped out, and fixed it. I won't make that mistake again.

Several years ago we received a Christmas card that had the exact same scene on it. Isn't that funny? I saved it in the package with the stocking.

The backing fabric is sparkly and fun. It glistens with tons of silver sparkles (which seem to be impossible to photograph).

I wrapped the stocking up for Shawn as a gift to open Christmas Eve, but I couldn't wait that long. I kept asking him, "Do you want to open your present now?"

"No, I can wait. It's OK."

"Are you sure? Don't you want to open it now?"

"No, that's OK. I want it to be a surprise."

"I think you should open it now....."

I think it was wrapped all of two hours before I convinced him to open it. I was so excited for him to see it, and he absolutely loves it. I've started stitching another stocking for my son, a Dimensions kit called "Santa's List." I've had the kit for years, and now that I know I can finish a stocking, I'm anxious to do another one.

Hopping on the Bandwagon...a Little Late

Several years ago, in 2018, it seemed like everybody was stitching the Farmhouse Christmas series by Little House Needleworks. I was, too. I stitched the first block, the sheep and barn, by itself, but then thought, hmmm... I think I'd rather stitch them all together.

At first I was thinking I was going to make it into a pillow, but my measurements on my fabric were way off. The fabric, some cheap, rustic packaged thing I bought at Joanns, claimed to be 32 count, but it wasn't. When I finished stitching the border, it came to within 3/4" of the edge of the fabric! I had allotted 2" extra all around. Jean Farish, in her YouTube videos, stresses the importance of checking your fabric count by putting in a few stitches, then measuring them, before cutting the fabric (just to make sure your fabric is the size you expect). She is right.

So, plan B. Instead of making a pillow (which would require sewing and stuffing with lots and lots of fiberfill...ewww..... ugh), I decided to frame it. I wanted a barnwood frame but couldn't find one on Franken Frames, so I went with this rustic dark brown one. I love it!

Welcome Christmas

I stitched "Welcome Christmas" by The Drawn Thread on 32-count lambswool linen. I started out using the called-for colors but by the time I finished the W and half of the E in the called-for green, I decided I just didn't love them. It looked like an awful lot of green, and the ribbon and the bird seemed off, too. So I swapped them out for some Colour & Cotton threads I had on hand and chose my favorite blue and a bright, vivid red. I struggled with doubt and second-guessing my choices. Would it look good? Are these the right colors? (Do you do that when you decide to change things? Or is it just me?)

When I finished it, I fell in love. I'm glad I went with my instincts. For finishing, I chose an ornate frame from Franken Frames, an antique silver/gold. It's quite small, just about 4" tall, and it fits perfectly on top of the cabinet in our entryway with old photos of my son with Santa.

Here are some close-ups of the stitching and beading.

Those stockings were a bear! They are stitched over one (on 32-count linen). Lots of trouble, but oh, so worth it. The pattern comes with alternate stockings if you don't want to stitch them over one.

Goodbye (and Good Riddance) 2020

2020 has been a hard year, hasn't it? For me, it started at the end of December 2019 with a difficult surgery, with more surgery in May, lots and lots of radiation, physical therapy and trying to walk without a walker, crutches or cane. I sometimes waddle more than I walk, but I'm making progress.

Your friendship – your emails and cards and packages and prayers and good thoughts – have lifted my spirits. Thank you!

We have all struggled in some way or another this year, but I believe in the mantra "rough seas make good sailors." Think of the things you'll never take for granted again, think of the new skills you've learned (like Zoom!), think of how the people we've lost have touched our lives, think of how much more you will cherish the people you love. 2021 is right around the corner, and things will get better.

My mom gave me the best advice years ago, so I'll share it with you: When you have a good day, enjoy it. When you have a bad day, hunker down and wait for a good one.

Wishing you lots of good days this holiday season and in 2021!

Escape from the Hotel California

Hi, stitching friends!

I hope 2020 begins better than 2019 ended. I had surgery Friday to have a rod put in my femur, and the surgeon broke my femur during surgery. If you’re anything like me, you’d rather not have details of why or how this happened, so I will spare you.

After three nights in the hospital, the physical therapist said I was not ready to go home. But the surgeon thought I should go home, so we compromised. Insurance said they’d pay for physical therapy rehab, so they loaded me into a van and hauled me to a place we now affectionately refer to as “The Hotel California.”

Back at the hospital, I had been told I would be in this place for a day or two, and my expectation was that I would learn skills like how to get up the step into my house, how to shower and dress myself, how to move easier with the walker. The Hotel California had other plans for me, though.

Remember these lyrics?

Last thing I remember, I was
Running for the door
I had to find the passage back to the place I was before
'Relax' said the night man,
'We are programmed to receive.
You can check out any time you like,
But you can never leave!'

When the intake nurse finished asking me if I still had my own teeth, who the president is, what year it is, and so on, they told me about the in-house hair salon and the weekly activities I could participate in. I said, “I’m just here for a day or two to learn some basic skills. I’m not staying long.” 

She chuckled. “You’ll be here at least a week or two, maybe longer.”

By the time she left the room, that inner voice we all have was screaming, “RUN!!!”

I looked at Shawn, said, “I do NOT want to be here. This is NOT what I signed up for.” So he went and found somebody and told them we were leaving. It was after 9:00 p.m. We hauled my disabled hiney into the car and drove straight home. It was a comedy of errors trying to figure out how to get up the step into the house with my walker, but we managed.

My bladder is my personal trainer. The need to “go” is a strong motivator. In the hospital, the distance between the bed and bathroom was very short. At home, the distance between the living room and my bathroom is a marathon in comparison. Walking with a walker while putting less than 25% of my weight on one leg is a workout! I’m feeling stronger every day, and my husband has been absolutely amazing. My mom has been burning up the miles traveling to be with me, and she has cooked for us, cleaned up and shared her knowledge of post-surgical physical therapy with me. (She has had both hips and knees replaced, so she is a pro.) My son has been a great gofer for us since he has his driver’s license now. And I have been so blessed with lots of emails, calls, texts and visits from dear family and friends.

My Favorite Christmas Gifts

With my current mobility status, I am not able to get photos right now to show you, but I have to brag on my friends Carol and RJ. They sent me the most beautiful, perfect stitched ornaments. I showed my son, and his reaction was, “Holy sh**, Mom. Wow.” For a 17-year-old, that’s pretty high praise. I’ll show you as soon as I am able.

And my favorite gift I gave was to my sweet husband. He loves hoodies and he loved this one. I asked him to make a “grumpy old man” face for the photo. Love it!

Until next time, friends, I hope 2020 brings you lots of love, plenty of reasons to smile and laugh, and peace and good health. And, as always, lots of time to stitch!

A Blue Christmas

Hi, stitching friends!

Here we are, Christmas Eve Eve, and I am writing this with a heavy heart. We came home from our awesome, amazing, wonderful-beyond-belief vacation on the Oregon Coast, and I had routine scans Monday morning once we were back home.

Good news and bad news. The good news is that my cancer is still in the bone. That's REALLY good news. The bad news is that it has progressed. The last few days have been a flurry of doctor appointments and planning. I'm having surgery Friday to have a titanium rod inserted in my femur to stabilize it and keep it from breaking. After that, we'll be looking at several weeks of radiation to various parts of my body to kill the cancer and reduce pain.

After that, I don't know. Lots of fighting with insurance, probably. Maybe more chemo. One day at a time.

So. Much. Fun.

We've decided it's wise to stay close to home this next year, so we cancelled our 2020 Ireland/Scotland trip. But we are not sad. Shawn and I can have fun anywhere, doing just about anything together. Grocery shopping can be an adventure.

And, I'm so thankful that I have cross stitch as a hobby. I can't count the number of life challenges that stitching has helped me through. It keeps me centered. And I will have plenty of excuses to stay off my feet in the near future.

I would appreciate your prayers, though. Pray for strength, pray for healing, pray for wisdom and skill in my doctors.

In the meantime, we will have a wonderful Christmas. My mom is here with us, and with any luck, a family friend will be able to join us as well.

"Blue Christmas House," freebie from Live to Stitch

Blue Christmas House Freebie

My Christmas gift to you is a little ornament I designed called "Blue Christmas House." The design is based on a painting by Charles Wysocki called "Cape Cod Christmas." Click here for a PDF of "Blue Christmas House."

I owe the New England charm to Mr. Wysocki, though. I just adore his work. Here is the original painting:

I made some changes to make the ornament my own, but the spirit of the house is there. I hope you enjoy it!

Sweet Seventeen

My son turned 17 last week! I can hardly believe it. He is growing up to be such a kind, thoughtful young man, and I couldn't be prouder.

I asked him what kind of cake he would like for his birthday, and he said red velvet cheesecake. I made a red velvet cheesecake cake, and wow.... let me tell you, it was amaaaaaazing. See that picture above? That's MY cake! It turned out better than I expected, and my son was so thrilled. I have not been eating sugar since August, but I made an exception and had a piece of this. It was worth the calories. Click here for the recipe.

With that, I'll sign off for now. It may be a while before I post again, as life is about to get a lot more complicated for me. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and an amazing 2020!

Tillamook

The ocean view tonight from the back patio

Hi, stitching friends!

The storm seems to be passing, but the water and wind are still wild tonight. We hibernated yesterday and watched the waves crash on the rocks, and I worked on writing Christmas cards. After dark, we turned off the lights and snuck out in our bathrobes to skinny dip in the hot tub! Nobody needs to see that! That’s one huge benefit of visiting in the off-season. The condos on both sides of us are vacant. (Thank goodness.)

We drove north to Tillamook today to visit the cheese factory and get ice cream. They have a fun self-guided tour and free samples.

Shawn took five turns going back for free samples. The man loves cheese!

Yours truly!

Shawn loves to get ice cream at Tillamook. Last year they had a limited-edition flavor with maple syrup and bits of pancake in it, so he was looking forward to some of that. They didn’t have it this year, so he got FIVE big scoops of birthday cake ice cream AND a big scoop of praline pecan. I envy that man’s metabolism! I got ONE scoop of white chocolate raspberry.

Hey! Who ate all my ice cream? You did! You ate all your ice cream!

On our way “home,” we stopped at a post office in little Hebo, Oregon (population 231) to mail our Christmas cards and a Christmas package to my dad and his wife. They are hard to buy for, but I found some socks for them at the novelty sock store in Depoe Bay. Here’s what I sent them:

Socks for my dad and his wife, Marcia

He will think her socks are funny, and she will think his socks are hilarious. Perfect!

Until next time, friends, I hope this finds you happy, healthy and finding lots of time to stitch!

It's Cheesy Christmas Movie Time!

Hi, stitching friends!

The Hallmark Channel and other movie channels have started their Christmas-movie marathons. I can't help it. I love a good, cheesy, romantic Christmas movie.

I loved this post from the Lizzie*Kate blog last year. Linda wrote "Even though the plots are predictable and repetitive, even though every woman has the same hairstyle (soft waves!), even though everyone looks model-perfect all the time, even though it is ALWAYS gently snowing (never blowing), even though someone has always lost their "Christmas spirit" and even though there are a huge number of obscure PRINCES wandering around the US looking for mates...I find these irresistible."

Yes!

(Oh, and by the way, Linda offers a super cute Lizzie*Kate freebie in the same post.)

Cheesy Christmas Movie Bingo

Lizzie*Kate's blog entry inspired me to create "Cheesy Christmas Movie Bingo" last year. My husband and I had so much fun playing! Our cards were handwritten, but I decided to make some "official" bingo cards to share with you. There are 12 different bingo cards in all, so grab the family or a friend and have some fun.

Click here to download or print a high-res PDF file of the bingo cards, or click here to download or print a smaller PDF file of the bingo cards. (They are the same cards.)

Until next time, friends, be warm and safe and I hope you have lots of time to stitch!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, stitching friends!

My husband and I have a New Year's Eve dinner date with his sister and her new boyfriend (woot! woot!) in a little over an hour, so let's see if I can get this post done before I have to go change clothes and get ready.

Ready... set....GO!

"Snow in Love"
by Little House Needleworks
Stitched on 28-count coffee/tea-dyed linen with called for threads

Yes, yes, Christmas is over, but I'm still finishing ornaments! I stitched "Snow in Love" by Little House Needleworks while my husband and I were on vacation in Oregon earlier this month. I finished it today as a wedding gift for his former high-school band teacher. What do you get someone you haven't seen in more than 25 years, who already has everything she needs household-wise? Something handmade and personal, of course! She is a crafty girl herself, so I know she will love this. A cute "Made with Love" charm (a gift from RJ and Mary) tops it off.

The back is a Christmas print fabric from Moda fabrics.

By the way, I recently treated myself to a tracing table. It's a flat LED tablet that plugs in via USB. I don't like the dot pattern on it, so I lay a piece of plain white paper over top to diffuse that. It's awesome for centering stitched pieces on foam core, sticky board, or whatever you need to center them on when finishing. Sure beats trying to hold it up to a window and keep it centered! And it was not expensive - less than $15 on Amazon.

"Winston the Snowman"
by The Trilogy
Stitched on coffee/tea-dyed mystery linen from my stash with called-for threads

Next up is "Winston the Snowman" by The Trilogy. I didn't have the triangle buttons called for in the pattern, so I substituted some Algerian eyelets instead. He is a dapper snowman, indeed! I mounted the ornament on foam core, added a fabric-covered piece of chipboard to the back, and glued lacy trim around the outside. I topped it with a gold hanger and a rusty star.

The fabric on the back goes nicely with the rusty star, don't you think?

I hope your holiday celebrations were awesome! One of my favorite presents under the tree was this "pocket locket" from my wonderful stitching friend, RJ, from Stitching Friends Forever. Look at those tiny stitches! Thank you, RJ!

We enjoyed having my mom stay with us over Christmas. My husband and I played lots of three-handed pinochle with her, and my son joined us for cards when we agreed to play Texas Hold 'Em. We ate lots of good food and watched movies.

I wish you all lots of time to stitch, safe travels, good health and good memories-in-the making in 2019. See you next year....

Woohoo! It looks like I'm going to be on time for dinner after all.

Birthdays, Beaches and a Box... Oh, My!

Hi, stitching friends!

I hope this finds all of you snuggled in and all done (or mostly done!) with your December preparations. This time of year can be hectic for any of us, but this week is a particularly busy one at our house. My niece turned 27 on Monday, one of my best friends, Amber, turned one year older than me today (haha - she's only one month older than me, really), my son, Thomas, turns 16 tomorrow, and my mom will celebrate her 80th birthday on Thursday. What is it with all of these December birthdays?

This is my son, Thomas, almost 16 years ago. I think he could have given the Gerber baby a run for his money with those blue eyes.

We still tire each other out, 16 years later.

Here is my mom, on the right, with her little sister, Pat. I just love her little dress and shoes and that smile. Happy Birthday, Mom!

Shawn and I spent the first week of December in Depoe Bay, Oregon. We had a wonderful time doing a whole lot of nothing together (the BEST vacation). We stayed in a lovely condo right on the water and passed the week recharging our batteries. We watched the waves in front of the fire and watched Hallmark Christmas movies. We shopped and ate at Nana's Irish Pub and a Chinese restaurant we had driven past for years. We walked beaches and explored.

Back at the condo in Depoe Bay, we saw a whale on our second day! Every day we were there, the waves crashed onto the rocks right outside our door (the spray in the photo above is about 50 feet in the air). Sometimes the waves were so violent that they would send a gust of air toward the condo that would rattle the windows. We would both *gasp* and look at each other wide-eyed.

We drove down to the docks in Newport, and Shawn pointed out this sign. It was on both bathroom doors. I love it.

Down on the docks, the sea lions gathered to rest and soak up the sun. These are just a few of them. There were around 40 to 50 altogether, and they barked non-stop! I just love their sweet faces. They look like dogs to me.

On our way back to Portland we stopped in Corvallis, where I got to spend as much time as I wanted at Starlight Stitchery. A real treat for me since Boise does not have an LNS. It's a great shop because the new owners are very sweet and they carry a lot of out-of-print patterns. It was fun to dig through and find things I had never seen online before. I could spend hours more there and still not see everything. If there's something rare you're looking for, give them a call. They just might have it. (Their name above links to their website.)

❦ ❦ ❦

Yesterday was a Happy Mail day. This arrived from my amazing blogging friends, RJ and Mary over at Stitching Friends Forever. (Click on the blog name and it will take you to their blog.)

Eeeeeee! (That's me barely containing my excitement.)

I won their big giveaway a little while ago, and you can imagine my delight and surprise when I got to unpack this wonderful, generous gift. Inside....

Look at this beautiful tool caddy/pincushion stitched and finished by RJ! Click on the picture to open up a full-size version. I wish I could show you this in person. The stitching is so perfect and so tiny. The finishing is absolutely beautiful, and I love it. This will be by my side from now on as I stitch. Aren't the wings on the bee amazing and lifelike? And the goodies inside... You have no idea how thrilled I am.

A gorgeous assortment of finishing fabrics....

Buttons and charms...

Three beautiful patterns (not showing the third because it would be showing the actual pattern itself).

A very cute journal and card set...

RJ and Mary, thank you again for your thoughtfulness and generosity!

I have been stitching a lot lately but I don't have any FFO projects to show you, so I'll leave you with one of my favorite Christmas finishes. It's from way back in 2011. I have the chart somewhere, but I don't recall off the top of my head what it is, so if you'd really like to know, leave it in your comment and I'll find it and tell you.

I love the warmth in Santa's eyes.

Have a lovely week, friends! See you soon!