Merry Christmas to All

 This was made for my brother in law John

I wanted to buy a pin for the lower right corner

but I forgot and i will purchase in the next

couple of week to add.  Hard to see but

the fabric has fish on it. 

My christmas Cactus.  I truly enjoyed watching

it bloom through the weeks.  So pretty.

How does it know to bloom at christmas ? 

 Some great gifts i received.  This was from

my sister Cheryl.  Can't wait to stitch this one.

 I jumped for joy over this package.  From my

Dad and Kathy.  I am set for the year.

 These were from my Dad and Kathy also.

There is a Santa, it is my Dad.

I never received so many cross stitch items.

Ahhh, the joy of christmas.

This from my best friend Mr. Johnny.

I am a tea lover.  Each piece chosen

just for me.  A truly personal gift that

made me smile.  

I hope everyone enjoys christmas day.

 I am so thankful for all I have.

Thank you Jesus.

Christmas delights - Things to make you smile

 These are bound to make you smile

Some really pretty Gingerbread houses.

I like gingerbread.  Do you?

These were not made by me, but

maybe someday when i get to retire

maybe this is antoher craft i will

get into.   Perishable, have to

really think about that.

 My Christmas stocking.  It's one of the few

things I have from my childhood.  I love it.

My mom had a friend who made one for

me and my two sisters.  The santa has

Angora hair. It is an amazing piece someone

put a lot of talent into. I wish i could thank this

person.  I have no idea who made it.  Chances

are they are in heaven.  I truly like my stocking.

  Yes, the year does give away

my age.  I will be the big '50' on New Year's Day.

Fifty will be fabulous. 

 A couple of people have asked about storage.

For the small patterns i have a small binder with

page protectors and you can flip through the

book to find that special pattern. double sided.

 For larger patterns the same thing but

a bigger binder.  Yes, the whole book

has prairie schooler patterns.

For my DMC I store in Art Bins.  All

#'s are in order and doesn't take up to much

room.  For weeks dye and specialty 

threads I put in Floss bags to protect and

then in an art bin in name order. Easy

and quick access to find what you want.

Everyone has different storage methods.

This works for me. 

Enjoy the Christmas season.

Some Finishes for December

 My second mini cross stitch necklace.

Pansies are one of my many favorite flowers.

This is the second cross stitch necklace I have

made.  I really like how it turned out.  I will

take a break from mini's .  I thought after this

piece I would need the next level of magnifiers,

but i didn't.  The first piece I made is a gift.

I was tempted to keep it but it was made 

with someone special in mind.

I will post later on.   I have been trying to 

expand on my finishes and different pieces

in general for cross stitch. Different ways

of displaying, finishing, etc.  This necklace

fit the bill for something different.  This
one I am keeping for me.  I have given
over 15 cross stitch pieces away this year.

 This was on of my favorite projects of the year.

Simple but bound to make you smile.  Made

for someone who loves the beach and sun.  What

could be better.  This is the second piece I have

framed myself.  I really like how the piece came

out.  Hard to get a really good picture because

it is framed under glass.  I miss the beach. 

 Sunrise in Knoxville, TN

 Sunset in knoxville, TN

And or course a rainbow in knoxville, TN

I have seen some amazing sunrises and

sunsets here with beautiful colors.  I 

hope everyone is enjoying the season of

giving. 

Christmas decorations are out and old friends appear.

 When I put up the cross stitch tree,

you can't help but smile.  So many

pieces over the years.  Its like visiting

old friends. 

 Christmas pillow display

 My two favorite chrismas pictures

of my kids when they were small.

My oldest daughter, Amanda,

bought me back mini Christmas

ornaments a few years back from

her trip over seas.  I purchased a

small table tree to display them.

Some cross stitch finishes and gaitlinburg Nov. 2014

 A freebie snowflake.  Done over one.

I added swarovski crystals.

 Another different finish for Lizze Kate

christmas ornament.

 Gaitlinburg, TN.

November 14, 2014

It was a winter wonderland.  It looked

like all of the trees were painted

and sparkled with the fake white

snow you see at christmas.  There

are no words to describe it and the 

pictures don't do it justice.  Going up

to clingmans dome.  It was clear and

blue skies, at the bottom a winter 

wonderland.  A truly perfect day.

Clingmans dome

Me and Mr. Johnny hiking one of

the trails.

In Memory of Boomer

In Memory of boomer

We got boomer when the kids were small.

We didn't receive her as a puppy, so

Estimating she was about two when we got

her.  She was roughly 19 years old.

Amanda, Chris and & Alyssa grew

up with her.  A full bred Jack Russell,

she was solid muscle. She was fast as

can be and in her younger years she

used to escape all the time.  I can't

remember how many times we picked her

up from the pound.   Each year she

got a stocking at christmas.  You

can see her with a candy cane in one of

the pictures.    I know it was a 

hard day for all the kids to say goodbye.

She entered the gates of heaven in Peace today.

We all love you boomer.

Celebrations and cross stitch

 We had a celebration with Terry McCoy

for finishing "The Cat" that took

4 1/2 years.  Cake, food, cross stitch,

lots of fun.

From the bottom row from the left:

Deb, Sue, Me(Cindy) right in from of the cat,

and Lindsey.

Back row from the left:

Donna, Paige, Barbara, Judy,

Terry, Marie , next to marie terry's

sister and daughter, Darlene, and Karen.

I coupe of people missing from the group.

I framed this piece myself.

I don't do a lot of frames but

I need to start. I really like how

it looks.  The grey wood frame

was on sale for 6.99.

The pattern is by Lizzie Kate

from seasons - Summer.  Love the colors

I have wanted to do this pattern for a long time.

By CCN

Snowmen Trio

They are so cute and enjoyed doing this piece.

Blogger giving me an awful time uploading

pictures,  the fabric on the back matches so well.

I added the silver snowflake charm.

I didn't get to post pictures of my harvest luncheon

which was a great success.  Food, Fun, stitching.

Happy Stitching everyone.

2nd JCS 2014 ornament finish and Mr. Holly Jolly

 The second ornament from the 2014 JCS

ornament isssue is finished.  Faith by

Nikyscreations.  I changed some of the colors.

I added the charm in place of the heart.

 I finished into a pillow and added lace trim.

A simple stitch, but it reminds of a victorian 

piece.   I hope everyone is enjoying the fall

season.  Much cooler here today.  55 degrees.

It will be in the 70s the next couple of weeks.

I will be hosting a harvest lunch on saturday

for the stitching group i belong to.  Pictures

to follow.

 Lizzie Kate - Snow friends.  I call him

Mr. Holly Jolly, he makes everyone smile

when they see him.  Really pretty colors.

Sure to bring a smile during the winter

months.  I added the snowflake charm.

2014 JCS ornament issue - First Finish - Lizzie Kate- With Bling

 I Just got my JCS ornament issue last night.

I am happy there are a bunch of ornies

I want to stitch up.  I really like the 

simplicity of the Lizzie Kate ornament.

I adde some bling.  Mill hill beads on

the wreath and Zwarovski crystals on

the deers neck.  My Deer has some

bling.  As Jean Bice used to say "Sparkle

and Shine".  I changed some of the threads:

Crescent colors : Roasted Chestnut

Sampler Threads:  Buckeye Scarlet,

Dark Chocolate,

Dungaree.

Weeks dye works: Juniper,

Pecan

I wish this issue came out earlier.  

July release would be good.  We

would have more time to stitch.

It's the end of September, Where has

the time gone.