A Little Finish, A Friend, and A Beautiful bird!

I really enjoyed the comments on my last post.  The ornaments that my DD made are at least 25 years old!  I also appreciated the advice you gave me on my last finish.  I did find the perfect frame so it will be framed.  It is not big so I do like the idea of putting it on a table. As many of you know, I am a bit of a finishing coward so framing was fine with me! I was waiting for some linen to arrive to begin my January Word Play, so I stitched this little Santa.  The design is from the JCS Ornament Magazine 2011.  It is a Sue Hillis Design called Lantern Santa.  I did it pretty much as charted but skipped the back stitching.  For some reason my stitches were crowded and I didn't think it would work to try to back stitch much of the design. I used some left over fabric from Caleb's Halloween design.

 Last week I spent a delightful afternoon with my good friend Joan.  She stamps the way many of us cross stitch.  She has a wonderful collection of stamps and paper which she generously shares with me.  She usually invites me for an afternoon of stamping before most holidays. We always have a great afternoon!

 Pictures of her vast collection of stamps!

 See the hearts! We have made Valentines for several years.  My family loves them!

Here are some of the beautiful cards she made for Christmas.

 

My good friend Joan helping me with the stamping.

 

 We woke up to a bit of snow on Friday morning and look what we saw at our feeder.  Beautiful!! According to our bird book it is a Varied Thrush.

My wish is that you are all having a wonderful week-end before Christmas and taking time to enjoy the wonders of this amazing time of year.

A Finish and Some Memories

We have managed to finish a lot of the rushing around things and I hope the same is true for many of you.  This is partly due to the fact that most of our family lives far away and we do need to get things in the mail. I love Amazon, they even wrap for you!! I just finished the project I decided would be my Christmas stitch this year.  I did want something I could use beyond the holidays. 

 Here you have, " Christmas Colors:MD's Sampler " by Shakespeare's Peddler.  The designer indicated this was most likely done by a young girl due to the fact that all things are not quite even.  The sampler is not dated or signed. I took the liberty of making some color changes.  A somewhat aqua was used in the original.  I substituted using golds and GA endive green.

 There is a lot of bright red and green in this sampler.  I used DMC 355 and 356 for the reds. I used the suggested greens except where I used the GA endive.

I love that little basket of fruit.  I can't decide what to do with it now that I have finished.  Should I just frame it or try to make a little wall hanging out of it?  Any  ideas?

 When my DD was little, 4th-5th grade, she did a lot of cross stitch.  These are Christmas gifts she made for us many years ago.  You have seen the Woolpets she now makes.  I am one lucky mother to have such a talented, sweet daughter!

Have a wonderful week!  I hope you are all able to slow down and enjoy the beauty of this season!