I'm not a Halloween Junkie

I don't really get into Halloween. It probably started when Bess, our cocker spaniel was young...many many years ago. Bells made her nuts. "Wheel of Fortune" could only be watched with the sound muted. Doorbells brought on barking insanity, so we got in the habit of turning off the lights and acting like we weren't home.

Anyway, I don't stitch for many holidays, except Christmas. And since orange is my least favorite color of all time, the chance of me stitching a Halloween design is about as likely as pizza becoming a health food. However, I did stitch this cute little autum design for my friend, Laura, because I know how much she likes warm colors and this season. It's stitched with Needle Necessities (one strand) on some 40 count linen (color unknown). It was fun and pre-Christmas panic.

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More ornaments

I'm visiting my mom this weekend and don't spend nearly as much time on the computer as I do at home, so this is a quickie. Just thought I'd show you a few more of the ornaments I stitched to give away this year.


This snowflake design is done, appropriately, in icy blue. However, I think it would be just as stunning in other color schemes. I'm considering an emerald green, a purple, and maybe a pink version.





I love this cute little snowman with the bird and mouse. One of the kids will probably get this one.





And this primitive reindeer design just kinda spoke to me.

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I am Soooooooooooo Boring

I can't figure out what to blog about.

1) This is supposed to be a stitching blog, but I can't post any pics of what I'm stitching due to reasons stated several times before.
2) Lester, the Wonder Pug, sleeps all the time. And even if he was doing something cute my camera battery is recharging now and I live in the dark ages so my cell phone is JUST a cell phone...no camera.
3) I thought about showing you some of my new Etsy stuff, but if you can't see the Etsy mini off on the right side of the blog you have bigger problems than I do. (Shameless plug - I make some mighty fine stitching accessories, so check out my Etsy shop, if you haven't already.)
4) I have no children, cute or otherwise, to talk about.
5) DH is banging away on the computer upstairs working on something I don't even care about.
6) I havent' taken any more ornament pictures...dead battery, duh.
7) I have no giveaway to advertise today.
8) I have no new recipe to share, although I do have enough Amish Friendship bread in my freezer to feed all of my followers.
9) I don't have any beautiful flowers in my yard to show you.
10) The beach is covered in sand and water, pretty much like every day. So just imagine that one.
11) I don't even have a funny joke to tell you.
12) And I'm still trying to figure out the meaning of life.

So, after over 30 years of left-brained, serial, anal retentive, one-project-at-a-time stitching this blog is going to drive me to become someone with multiple WIPs! Oh, the shame of it all. My stitching values gone to hell to keep you coming back.

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The Christmas Panic

That's what my husband calls it when I start getting twitchy in June. You see, I've been stitching ornaments for my family plus ? for over twenty years...make that thirty years. Suffice it to say that when I look at the early ones I can see growth in my stitching skills. Not to mention my finishing skills, which are still not expert.

I also try to stitch a larger framed piece for my three sisters at least every other year. In the off years I just take one off my walls that each sister has admired. My mom gets a sampler every year. I stitched a Santa for my dad every year for 16 years and they cover the living room walls 365 days a year. He loved those Santas and used to come into my shop and peruse the Christmas charts trying to figure out which one I was going to stitch for him next.

Anyway, the ornament thing has become a tradition and I've been threatened with familial excommunication when I've mentioned that I might not get them done. So I try to get about half of them done in the weeks after Christmas when I'm still in the mood, but the pressure is off. So, you may ask, "how many ornaments do you stitch?". Well, just for family, I'm committed to stitch fifteen. (Fortunately for me, my family is not very prolific! lol) And by "committed" I mean I want to stitch them. After that I have eight friends that I stitch ornaments for every year. After that, the number varies between five and ten. So that makes 28-33 ornaments a year.

The point of telling you all this is that I have put "Shores of Hawk Run Hollow" down for a nap to stitch a birthday gift for a friend who reads my blog. Since I can't show you pics of that piece I've decided to share this years ornaments with you...a few at a time. Most of these are not yet finished. I usually do that in an assembly line manner when they are all stitched or when the mailing deadline gets close, whichever comes first. You guess which. (Excuse my grammar.)

Some of these are freebies I've collected over the years. Some you will recognize from charts and previous JCS ornament issues. Some will even be repeated in various color schemes, rarely do I repeat the design exactly. Sometimes there is a theme, mostly not.

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Amazing Giveaway!

Check out this amazing stitching giveaway at Annettesacre!

You will not believe how generous she is.

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Habitat for Humanity sampler

Several years ago our local EGA chapter starting stitching a "Home Sweet Habitat" sampler for new Habitat for Humanity homeowners. Unfortunately, due to attrition and other factors, our chapter decided to disband. We just didn't have enough members to support the bureaucracy and required paperwork. But we still stitch together as often as we can and we decided to try to continue this outreach effort for Habitat.

So this weekend I've been stitching one of these samplers for a homeowner whose name slipped through the cracks. Now I just have to frame it and deliver it. It's a simple design , but I've seen how much they are appreciated. The Habitat staff tell us they are always hung in a place of prominence. It humbles me to realize how something so simple can mean so much.

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Block 5 is done

Well, I finally finished block 5 last night and I actually remembered to do the backstitch steps and window panes. Haven't decided which block to do next and in fact, I may put it down for a nap while I do some smalls for Christmas.

The white areas don't show up well in the photos, but they show up well enough in person that I have not yet decided if I'll outline them. If I do, I'll use a very pale gray.

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