Lots of Christmas ornaments!!

I have a few Christmas ornaments to share.... cannot believe how long it has been since I have posted. So much going on, I wish I had more time to stitch.

I sent this "Christmas Ornament" to Brendon for the HoE Christmas Ornament Exchange... not Christmasy? I know. But, Brendon loves the Giants and I know that... I sucked it up as a Red Sox fan and stitched this for him. I thought of adding a little holly or something, but my eyes were so buggy as I was between prescriptions at the time, and thought... this is good! Hey, I have NE Patriots ornaments that just say NE Patriots on my tree... typical US sports fan stuff...lol. Anyhow, I know he loves it!

This is the beauty I received from Kathy K. for the same exchange... love, love, love it! Cannot get enough BRD ornaments on my tree!! Thank you so much Kathy, so beautifully stitched and finished.

Now... on to ornaments I have been blessed to receive this year :-) This sweet little German angel is stitched by my beloved Marie P. So very, very sweet!

And dearest Andrea added this stunning addition for our tree!

While sweet, sweet Katrina sent me this cutie...

And the ever so kind and thoughtful Margaret sent me this sweet thing - a Barbara Ana freebie from a FB group, and she tweeked the colors thusly... awesome!

So, I stitched a few gifts... this is for Brenda, one of my oldest and dearest pals... my hand tremors are often very bad (neurologist says there is no diagnosis, so not sure what is up)... best pick I could get with the tremors acting up so badly and could not go outside for a better pic due to snow... Holly Jolly Ornament Heart in Hand 40 ct Vintage Country Mocha Linen, GAST and WDW Floss

For Katrina... Peace Dove Ornament JBW Designs in 2014 JCS Christmas Ornament Issue 32 ct Antique White Belfast Linen, Stranded by the Sea Floss in Majestic Angelfish

For Karen K. ... Rejoice Ornament Lizzie Kate - Flora McSample 2012 36 ct Fawn Lakeside Linens, WDW Floss

For Andrea... Christmas Alphabet Ornament Heart in Hand - FB Freebie 32 ct Driftwood Linen, GAST and WDW Floss

For Margaret... Believe Ornament Lizzie Kate - Flora McSample 2012 36 ct Fawn Lakeside Linens, WDW Floss Unfortunately, my tremors did not allow me to get even a relatively decent pic of the ornament I stitched for Marie P. I will wait until she posts a pic and grab hers...

Stitcher's Choice Ornament from Jayne

Received this CCN ornament from Jayne for the HoE Stitcher's Choice Christmas Ornament Exchange a few days ago.  The colors are lovely and she did a really beautiful job with it.  It is up on the tree and am enjoying it a great deal. Thank you Jayne, Happy Holidays!

Great Mail Day!

It was snowing pretty heavily this morning, then it morphed into flurries, slush and next... ice.... heard the roads were bad, so why bother going into the office? As an extra treat, the mailman brought me a bundle of gifts today... and shortly DH will put the lights on the tree and my baskets of cross stitched ornaments will finally be hung... look, new ones arrived today just in time for that!

First up is a super adorable ornament from Ariane for the HoE Stitcher's Choice Ornament Exchange. Love it! Thank you so much Ariane. Such a pleasure to have you join our group so recently.

My dear, dear friend Karen also sent a package which contained this really cute CHS ornament which she says is a belated bday gift... and she sent me the full alphabet chart too, something I have coveted for the longest! See - she is a dear, dear friend. Wow!

And... she stitched this ornament for my tree this year... Karen does know I like my coffee....lol. I can now take this off of my "to stitch" list...thank you Karen, love them both, and you, so very much!

Halloween Exchange and Gifts for Friends

I received this really cute Prairie Schooler Halloween Tree ornament earlier this week from
Becky. This was HoE's first Halloween Tree Ornament Exchange that will be running six times a year. I just love how Becky finished this with blanket stitch!!

Earlier today I finally received the good news from Katrina that the Christmas ornament I sent to her back on (I checked my receipt last night) November 1, finally arrived safe and sound in New Zealand! Whew!!!!
St. Nicholas Ornament Prairie Schooler 36 ct Sand Edinburgh Linen, DMC Floss

And, great news from Andrea yesterday... she received an ornament I had stitched for her as well... hers arrived much quicker. Just waiting on one more overseas ornament to muddle its way through the holiday postal system now.
Holiday Spirit Ornament Samplerbird Stitchery Unknown Linen from Stash, CC Jelly Roll Floss and Mill Hill Beads  

I am so very close now to finishing Santa's Village.  I had to take a day off to rip out a misplaced cafe table and some other parts...grrr.... truly want to get on it tonight, but still have three more ornaments to stitch. Therefore, going to take the responsible route, listen to my AudioNotch recordings for 90 mins (they are a therapy program for my tinnitus - must say I see some slight improvement and it is still early days), visit with Mike (DH) and start one of those three ornaments tonight.  Perhaps there will be a good movie to watch too.

LK Ornament from Mylene :-)

Let me tell you, I am just loving this LK Christmas Ornament from Mylene for the HoE LK Christmas Ornament Exchange - this sweet little thing was waiting for me when I got home yesterday. Adore it, will treasure it always! Thank you Mylene :-)

Beautiful Exchange and very sad news to share

Today I received this really lovely ornament from Joke for the HoE XMas Birds Christmas Ornament Exchange.  I really love it.  This is Winter Song by Primrose Needleworks from the JCS 2011 Christmas Ornament Issue.  I had it on my "to do" list, but am thrilled to remove it now that I have this perfect one from Joke.  I am going to love displaying this every year - thank you again Joke :-)

And the sad news....  here is my Gig.  Gig was born on February 28, 2001 and is a Cream Exotic Persian.  I took this photo of him last Tuesday while we were waiting for his vet to come in and talk to me.  I was bored and did not realize at the time how important this photo would be to me.  He and I were waiting because he had spent the previous night at the emergency vet, having seen his regular vet the evening before.  Gig had developed  a limp and I took him in for a wellness check.  What we learned was that he had an enlarged heart and pulmonary edema.  He was sent to the emergency vet for overnight stabilization - lasix (a diuretic to draw the fluid away from his heart) and oxygen to stabilize his breathing.  I picked him up in the AM and was sent back to our regular vet, which was when I took this photo. She shared with me that his bloodwork was excellent, and he needed an ultrasound the next day.  That did not go well.  Gig never showed as having a heart murmur, so none of the vets in the practice ever picked up that he had heart disease.  But he did - and it was fairly advanced.  The worst of it was that he showed evidence in his left atrium of blood thickening and was at risk of throwing a clot.  He came home from his ultrasound on Wednesday and deteriorated rapidly.  He suddenly just could not walk.  His right hind leg would buckle under him.  You see, I had taken him to an emergency vet 3-4 weeks ago after we saw him open mouth breathing very heavily at bedtime one night.  I immediately got dressed and had Mike put him in his carrier.  We discovered that while panting, he had wet our bed.  That vet had no clue what was wrong as he had stabilized by the time I got there and his heart sounded normal.  Well, that was a fateful night for Gig.  He had thrown a clot right then and there - so much for risk, the damage was already done.

Yesterday I drove him to his vet and he was euthanized.  It had to be done.  He was miserable and not ambulatory.  I spent four days syringe feeding him food and water.  The meds he had to take were tough on him.  He gave up.  He had no chance.  We spent Sunday saying goodbye to him.  I stayed with him while he passed.  He passed with grace and was so beautiful in his death.  He simply lay peacefully, his eyes dilated and my vet whispered "I love you Gig" and then "He's gone now."  Many kisses later, I left.  Tears came later, I know he is at peace now.  He will come home by way of ashes in a week or two.  We are very sad here.  This was very sudden.  I really miss my little boy who always slept tucked up against my hip in our bed.  I miss his deep throaty voice. I just plain old miss him.

Valentine Exchange from Edgar

I received this super pretty pinkeep from Edgar a couple of days ago. It was for the HoE Valentine Exchange. I finally had a chance to get a photo of it today, and I just love it. It now sits in my hutch and is so pretty amid my china.... thank you so much Edgar! What a treat to receive from you - thank you also for the lovely goodies, you do know my taste!

Santa Ornament from Becky

I received this adorable ornament yesterday from Becky for the HoE Santa Ornament Round... isn't he the cutest???? Becky says he is from an older Heartstrings leaflet. I just cannot wait to hang him on my tree this Christmas, and he is a happy addition to my lovely hand stitched ornament collection. Thank you so much Becky!

Stitcher's Choice Ornament from Roberta

I just received this really cute ornament from Roberta for the HoE Stitcher's Choice Christmas Ornament Exchange - it is such a cutie. I have always liked this design - now I can scratch it off of my "to stitch" list - such a treasure, thank you Roberta! And a pic of at least one side of our massive tree this year... don't see your ornament on it? If you stitched one for me at any time, it sure is there! I always love putting up my tree and ogling all the beautiful work my friends have done for me!!!

HoE Lizzie Kate Christmas Ornament Received

I just received my Lizzie Kate Christmas Ornament for the HoE Exchange. Jen (sorry, cannot find her blog link!) stitched this cute design for me - thanks Jen!!

Mine is on its way but has quite a long travel ahead of it... hope to be able to post it here soon :-)

Currently Stitching: Houses of Hawk Run Hollow

Snowman Ornament from Ellen

I have received my HoE Snowman Round ornament from Ellen L in Singapore... and isn't it a beauty? It is one of SamSarah's designs from a recent JCS Christmas Ornament Issue - one I had hope to stitch one day, and now I do not have to :-) It is happily sitting in one of my Christmas ornament baskets in my curio and I can admire it even before Christmas comes. Yet another gorgeous treasure for my tree - Christmas ornament exchange swaps are my favorite!!

Thank you again, so very much, Ellen. I truly do love it!

Currently Stitching: Christmas Ornaments (still struggling with severe migraines and tinnitus, which affect my vision, so my going is slow)

Stitch Red Exchange from Faye

I received this really pretty pincushion from Faye earlier this week for the HoE Stitch Red Exchange. I had a chance to finally take a photo this afternoon. She stitched La-D-Da's design from the latest Christmas Ornament Issue, and then added her own really pretty homemade pins, plus a skein of overdyed floss. What a treat, and it already looks great in my curio cabinet. Thank you so much Faye!

Currently Stitching: HoE Stitch Red Exchange (down to doing the finishing now), Winter at Beacon House, a Christmas ornament

Ornaments... and a Fall Exchange...

I have been a little busy lately (finally) stitching again... I managed to get a small little group of Christmas ornaments done...

Woodland Christmas Reindeer Ornament
Heart in Hand
28 ct Light Mocha Cashel Linen, GAST Floss

French Country Star Ornament
JBW Designs
Just Cross Stitch 2010 Christmas Ornament Issue
28 ct Potato Annabelle, DMC Floss, stitched one over one

Peppermint Paul Ornament
Helga Mandl Designs
The Gift of Stitching Magazine, November 2008
32 ct Olive Green Belfast Linen, DMC Floss

Also... I am a bit late in posting this.... I received this reall pretty bourse from Marie W. for the HoE Fall Exchange. She says it is her first... hard to believe, it is so perfect! Thanks again, Marie...

For Janet B., I stitched...

Small Seasons Autumn Fob
The Drawn Thread
Cannot recall fabric and fibers....

OK... off to stitch more ornaments!