SV is Finished!

Put in the last stitch last night.  It is a dark, rainy autumn morning and I must be off to work very, very soon...  so this is the beset I could get to share right now....  when it is framed, will hope to get a better photo that will show the snowflakes better.

Santa's Village Update

At last, a new update on Santa's Village.  I opted not to post when I finished Gingerbread Emporium as I just started stitching along into Elves' Workshop that same night...  I finished up through part 11 as the Red Sox were winning the World Series last night ;-)  Only one more part to go!!  Am ready for this one to end so that I can put some serious time back into And They Sinned...

Hope you are all well.  Cold and rainy here today....Happy Halloween!!!

Santa's Sleighworks

It took me absolutely forever and a day to stitch the ninth installment of Santa's Village, known as Santa's Sleighworks.  Anything that could get in my way, pretty much did.  We went to Montreal for a bit, and I chose not to bring this along (need my lamp, after all, and well... I was there to sightsee, eat and drink... and walk a whole lot!)...  then I stitched the red part of the sleigh only to see I started one stitch too low and had to riiiiip that out and re-do it.... but alas, here it is. Whew!  The next installment is already ordered and hopefully will be here soon.

In the meantime, stitching away on bits of And They Sinned, and also getting going on my Christmas Ornament gifts!

Hope all is well with all of you.... back to work tomorrow after a week's holiday!

Candy Cane Cottage... Distractions.... Friendship Exchange

At last, Candy Cane Cottage.  This one seemed to take me forever, even though it is a small cottage.  I feel myself dragging a little bit with this project, and need to get myself back on track.  I know that the main factor really is that my medical condition that was discovered 2 years and 4 months ago at this point, just is not truly improving.  My doctor did make what he calls a "radical" treatment change last week, but in all honesty, I feel no radical change (although today is not so terribly bad)...  my 50th bday is in two days and I told him I just wanted to wake up on that day and not have to think or worry about how I feel or what I have to deal with.... he grimaced and offered no hope of that... so, onward and keeping positive thoughts for myself, working towards acceptance.

And here is a general idea of how Santa's Village is looking now....  8 down, 4 to go!  The next is on its way to me now, so maybe I will get a start on it during this week off that I have.

Other than dealing with my pain and medical issue, I have had another serious distraction... my Kindle Fire HD just calls out to me every.single.day.  I have some awesome reads loaded up and deciding between reading and stitching, or just focusing on self care and good sitting position (neither stitching nor reading afford me that) so that I feel better are real daily challenges for  me :-)

Oh, and I learned earlier this week that Linda O. has received the HoE Friendship Exchange I stitched for her...

A Friend Pinkeep Prairie Schooler 32 ct Vintage Country Cream Belfast Linen, DMC Floss    

Christmas Tree Farm

This weekend brought the finish of House 7 of Santa's Village...

Christmas Tree Farm

And now here it is Houses 1 through 7, on my Q-Snap, therefore a bit wonky... Heard the next one will be here very shortly... lovin' this project! This particular house did seem to take me much longer than the others though. Not entirely sure I liked this one as much as the others.

Reindeer Stables

Happy Sunday dear blogging friends! Last night, during another of DH's Game of Thrones marathons, I was able to finish out Reindeer Stables. I picked this chart up at Celebration of Needlework in Nashua, NH earlier this month... now when I look at this block, I will remember that fun event. This house took a little longer than usual to stitch.... it appears the next block has a big house too... And here it is on the big Q-Snap.... really loving how this is coming out. It really is a fun stitch. And, for some spring cheer... I picked up these beautiful Bachelors Buttons for my rock garden yesterday... just LOVE the color combo!!

Santa's Stocking Store

Last night I was able to put the final stitches into Santa's Stocking Store, part 5 of CCN's Santa's Village... want to thank my friend Karen for inviting me to SAL with her, this has really gotten me back into stitching again and ignoring the medical issues that have prevented me from stitching for about two years now... good therapy. Here is part 5 all on its own. I am stitching my french knots as I go along, but since I am using 40 ct am not using the buttons. So glad the charts come with alternatives for us to stitch if you are using fabrics higher than 32 ct... love the floral border above the door instead of the holly button anyhow. And here is parts 1-5 all together. Now that it is very spring-y here in New England, it feels weirder stitching snowflakes against a the color of winter sky... and with luck the rest of the sampler will be stitched in better weather! Cannot wait to finish and hang this one for this Christmas. I have made progress on ATS as well, but no picture taken yet... Thank you to my new (and old) blogging friends who have said such kind words!

Mrs. Claus' Cookie Shop

I finished up Part 4 of Santa's Village this afternoon... just in time, have Part 5 ready to go and hope to start it this week while I am on vacation.

Mrs. Claus' Cookie Shop Part 4 of Santa's Village by Country Cottage Needleworks

Santa's Village Parts 1-4 Lakeside Linens 40 ct Misty Rain Linen, DMC, WDW, GAST and CC - called for floss Pardon the wonky upper edge, it is in my QSnap in the photo

And... I started And They Sinned last month. I am stitching it with the called for threads on 35-36 ct Sandstone Linen.... I am posting this primarily so that I can go back when I am finishing and be able to recall when I started it. This sampler calls for month/year of start be stitched in the personalization near the end... Note to self: Started 03-13

Santa's Village 1-3

Tonight I finished the first three parts of CCN's Santa's Village.  I always say this, but I really mean it...  I need to learn how to take better photos.  This is the best in a series of four tries...  dark at one end, overexposed at the other...  And since it is dark out and I do not have a light box, this photo was simply taken on my kitchen table.  The snowflakes do show up quite nicely on this Misty Rain linen (Lakeside Linens, 40 ct)...  I couldn't resist the linen because this is the color or our winter sky here in New England... so anyhow, looking forward to Part 4 now - that's not here yet, so off to stitch on something else tonight!

Santa's Village Update

Finished Part 2, Poinsettia Place, on Santa's Village - so rare these days to make steady progress on something other than a small...  now on to Part 3, North Pole Post Office...

Santa's Village Update & Ornament from Karen

I received this pretty Prairie Schooler Christmas Ornament from my dear friend Karen earlier this month. As it had to travel here from Australia, it did not make it in time to actually hang on my tree this past Christmas, but I so look forward to hanging it this year. Another beauty from Karen, thank you sooooo much. Will treasure it forever.

And speaking of Karen, I have more (blurry) progress to show of my CCN Santa's Village SAL that I am doing with her... I made it through part 1 by Jan 31, so I felt that was good progress for me, and now I am on to Poinsettia Place.

Santa's Village

I feel a bit like "Little Miss Pokey" with my stitching - other than ornaments - but a dear friend has been motivating me and we are doing the CCN Santa's Village together. I chose a 40 ct Lakeside Linen in some rain shade... gotta find that tag... and have been plodding along at my snail pace since the first of the month... voila, a tiny bit to show :-)