Beautiful Christmas gifts from my friends :-)

My tree and my home are far more beautiful thanks to my lovely friends.  Such beautiful gifts, I shall cherish them forever.  Thank you all so much 🎅❤🤶

 From Andrea...

 From Christina...

 From Marie...

 From Katrina...

 From Karen...

From Margaret...  Christmas Blessings and Happy New Year 2018 to all 💖

A bit of stitching

Hello!! I am happy to be here and committed to better blogging habits. I hope all are well, as I share with you some recent cross stitch and crochet.

Last night I finished Evergreen Lane on my Anniversaries of the Heart Sampler.  I am really excited that this sampler is nearing it's conclusion.  It has been a very fun stitch, but I am anxious to frame and hang it soon.  This block is dedicated to my parents' wedding,  Sadly, there was more frogging of over one stitches than I had expected :-(

I finished crocheting a blanket earlier this week.  This is The Garden Route Blanket, a free hexagon pattern on Ravelry.  I call it "my girlie blanket."  I used Stylecraft Special DK in Fondant, Sherbet, Spring Green, Apricot, Aspen, Lavender and Empire.  The hexagons are bordered and joined with Parchment.  Now for the tedious part... I still have to block it.

I broke down and joined the FB craze, and am making a Temperature Blanket for 2017.  I decided to use Geometric Lace by Cypress Textiles.  I found a pastel palette on Pinterest using Stylecraft Special DK.  My temp ranges are a little bit broad, as I did not want to get as fiddly and precise as I see some crocheters are being.  From coldest temps to warmest my blanket uses White, Parma Violet, Cloud Blue, Duck Egg, Cream, Soft Peach, Apricot and Pale Rose.  I have King Cole Top Value DK in a gray for additional corner blocks  and the border/edging.  Each hexagon takes mere minutes each day.  I think I can get this done...Am up to date so far!  Every day involves asking Alexa for the temps :-)

I was blessed once again this past Christmas to receive some truly beautiful ornaments from dear friends.  Katrina, Andrea, Karen and Marie sent these lovelies that were so gorgeous on the tree.  My fave time of year!  Thank you so much my friends, I will cherish these forever.

I also have one last ornament to share.  This is Snowflake Reindeer by Daffycat.  I stitched this for sweet Andrea on R&R Reproductions 30 ct French Vanilla linen with CC and DMC floss.  I love Daffycat's  delicate reindeer designs.

And more of our little Amelia!!  Here is my very perky, expressive and interactive little girl at 5 weeks!!

And at six weeks, just out of her first tubby!  Her grandma helped and is cuddling her here.  I have been told that she loved it :-)

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...

Beautiful Ornaments from Friends

Over the past couple of days, I have been the very, very lucky recipient of these beautiful ornaments from two more of my friends. Marie, Margaret and I exchange every year, and have for quite some time... this year's offerings for me are:

This JBW cat designs from Margaret. How cute is this? Margaret comes up every year for Celebration of Needlework and visits with me. She has been to my home and has seen my brood of kitties... this one sure looks like she had my Angus in mind. And the finishing is so perfect, as always. Another ornament to treasure, thank you Margaret... for the ornament and your neverending friendship.

And... from beloved Marie, this lovely winter scene. I need to figure out what pattern this one is... I know I have seen it, but where and by who? LOL It's a real beauty. Along with some fun goodies, Marie has sent me yet another treasure. Thank you too, Marie, not just for these gifts, but for your enduring friendship as well.

I truly am blessed.  Holiday Wishes to you all!

Pretty Needleroll Ornament from Katrina

Received this beautiful LK needleroll ornament from my dear friend Katrina last night. I love it, and have caught myself admiring it several times now...lol. It says Rejoice along the right side, and capturing a decent picture of that was difficult... a sweet treat for my tree that I will cherish forever! Thank you, dear friend!

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!

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.

Birthday Gift and Love and Joy

I received a lovely birthday gift from dear Marie earlier this week.  I cannot really find words for this and it has taken me a few days to figure out what to say....  my birthday just doesn't really happen.  Mike gives me little gifts and lets me do whatever I want on my birthday and the days around it - already he has gifted me with a Pandora gift card and a Kindle gift card...  a box awaits me on the kitchen counter for tomorrow.  My family does nothing really for my birthday.  So, this stunning little treat made me tearful.  I was remembered by someone other than my husband.  I know, that is kind of pathetic.  I used to stitch for everyone whose blogs I read. Then I fell so ill and fell by the wayside... but Marie remembered me... she is such a doll and a dear friend... and how pretty is this??

I meant to put the front of the needlebook up first, but Blogger's revisions still confuse me since I do not blog often any longer... she says this is a Merrily Beams design called Trifles... thank you again Marie, you are very special to me and I already treasure this...

 I also took some time this afternoon, as I am off for the week, to finish off an ornament that I actually stitched a good 3-5 months ago... wow, it has been forever since I did a pillow finish like this :-) Of course, I had to run outside and hang it one of my Christmas catci that are "summering" on the back porch... just seemed like the thing to do...

Love and Joy Ornament JBW Designs JCS 2011 Christmas Ornament Issue 32 ct Antique White Belfast Linen, WDW Floss Stitched one over one Enjoy your week, everyone!!

Lovely Christmas Ornaments From Dear Friends

Over the past two days, I have received some real blessings from two very dear friends... Yesterday I received this lovely surprise from Marie, and I just adore it - the sparkly trim is stunning and really stands out on my tree... Marie has become such a sweet and caring friend during this very difficult year for me (news on that will be at the bottom of this post)- I really want to thank Marie for her kindness, love and support... and for this gorgeous ornament!



Caroline
Miss Crescent's Crowne
2009 Just Cross Stitch Ornament Issue

Today I received a box that was an utter embarassment of riches from my dear, dear friend Margaret. She sent me so many treats - and even a treat for Mike (I put it in his stocking but he knows it is from you!)... I was so overwhelmed I only took a photo of this gorgeous ornament that now adorns my tree...

I believe Margaret wrote that this one is called Poinsettia Wishes by Stitches by Cheri. So beautifully stitched and finished.... the chenille trim is a great idea (she even sent me some for a future ornament or two).... and so much more.... yet another friend who stood by me during this year of weird health problems and utter exhaustion - I love you both so much!

And finally, I realized I never posted this little ornament I stitched for our tree a week or two ago..

White Christmas Ornament
The Stitcherhood
The Gift of Stitching Magazine, November 2011
32 ct White Belfast Linen, Atalie Fil a Broder in Passion
Stitched one-over-one

OK - my health update. Many of my former friends/readers are gone since I have been in too much pain to blog or stitch consistently. I miss them terribly, but am grateful to those of you who visit at times and bring me cheer - thank you! Here is the scoop - I have tinnitus. Really awful, severe, debilitating tinnitus in my left ear. I have been to every kind of doctor I could think of or was referred to since this started in March... No relief. Over time, other symptoms became equally awful, painful and debilitating. Severe migraine headaches with aura, poor vision, unbelievable neck and shoulder pain with very limited range of motion when turning my head... tingling in my fingers and toes.... and often, my femoral nerve on my left side shoots awful, sharp pains into my groin. Oh, and vertigo! Awful vertigo.

OK, my focus has been to 1) stay focused and keep working - our livelihoods depended on me to do this despite often feeling I could not do it - resulting in extreme fatigue (but not missing any work, and I am really proud of myself for getting through that), and 2) to find out just what is going on with me and get it fixed. I cannot tell you how many times I thought I had an aneurysm building - though my CT scan was clear - my dad died of a cardiac aneurysm, so of course, that is the first thing to jump into my mimd!

I figured out relatively recently that this is somehow related to my mouth/jaw... TMJ type stuff. I put myself on a "pablum diet" (soft foods, as little chewing as possible), wear my nightguard as much as I can (like, right after dinner until I get up in the AM), and sleep flat on my back, no turning of my head in either direction. These things help a lot - but... some nights I guess I am restless and wake up with a screaming ear. If it is screaming when I wake up, there is no relief AT ALL until the next morning - quieter days now follow the really loud days, but there are no guarantees.

I do believe I am now on the right path. Last Wednesday, I had a consult with a neuromuscular dentist. How may of you knew there was such a thing?? I had to google for a long time and make sure to combine all of my symptoms to finally get to this specialist. It turns out, I have a misaligned bite. I failed the muscle reaction tests he gave me. He told me my situation is chronic, but he can help. On January 18, 2012 I hope to begin my path towards health. He will relax my facial and neck muscles (somehow this involves a tens unit), find my correct bite for me and build me orthotics to wear until my bite is corrected. At that point, I can expect alleviation or cessation of my tinnitus and neck pain. Every time I chew, talk, breathe, my misaligned bite is throwing my atlas and axis (C-1 and C-2) vertebrae out of whack. I have been seeing a chiropractor who does his best to realign them, but those adjustments do not stay put.... I chew, talk or breathe again and pop - out they go. Can you even imagine this?? I have a leaning forward posture as a result. My neuromuscular system is all beat up. But... I am going to get this fixed. I truly am..... I cannot begin to tell you what the financial cost of this 9 month journey has been for me.... I just hope that at the one year anniversary in March, I will be close to whole, healthy and relatively sane again.

If that does happen, I hope to be back here with a vengeance - LOL

Merry Christmas dear friends.... and Prosperous New Year!!

Gingher Ella 4" Scissors Available... plus ornaments galore!

For all who missed out on getting the JoAnn's Exclusive Gingher Ella 4" scissors when they first came out early in the autumn, no worries! Mike has been able to get a sizeable supply from his wholesaler - we had an over $300 postage charge at the post office today, primarily from shipping these out to you.... BUT.... we have more! Scroll down to my last entry to see how pretty they are, and to find the link and coupon code to get you your pair! Thanks :-)

Now onto my own stitching news... so much to share today... over the past couple of weeks, I have been blessed to receive some stunning ornaments from dear friends... and here they are:

This adorable green fluffy heart came to me from dear Staci - it is the cuddliest ornament I have ever had on my tree, and I adore it. I wish I had a better photo, but I was pretty much squatting in front of my tree to get this shot... thank you Staci :-)
And this stunner is from my dear, dear Celebrations friend Margaret. Margaret sends me the prettiest, most delicate ornaments every year... and she was not to be outdone again this year! She stitched for me Frosted Berlingot by Nancy Pederson in the December 2010 issue of The Gift of Stitching Magazine... see, another delicate beauty! I sooooo look forward to her ornament gifts every year! Thank you Margaret!
And, last but far, far from least, today I received my HoE Christmas Ornament Exchange from Hazel. Poor Hazel mailed this out to me ages and ages ago, and the postal service deigned to finally deliver it to my home today. No worries - the tree is still up, and it is still the holiday season here :-) Oh, it was so worth the wait! I had to take a kind of sideways photo of it, as it is facing my stairwell, and I had to slip the camera between the railings of the stairway to get a shot... so it looks wonky, but the ornament is NOT wonky - LOL. What a beauty - a CHS ornament on 40 ct linen, stitched by a dear friend.... another heirloom for me! Thank you so much Hazel!

And, this brings me to a little pile of ornaments I have been busily stitching for my own tree... there are more to come this week, but for now, I can share:

Snowman's Quaker Christmas
Midnight Stitching
R&R Reproductions 32 ct Creek Bed Brown Linen, GAST and DMC Floss

2010 Stamp Ornament
Jeannette Douglas Designs
Just Cross Stitch Magazine 2010 Christmas Ornament Issue
32 ct Platinum Belfast Linen, DMC Floss, Mill Hill Beads

2010 Stocking Ornament
Jeannette Douglas Designs
The Gift of Stitching Magazine, November 2010
32 ct Natural Light Linen, Crescent Colours Floss, Mill Hill Beads
I changed every fiber and bead in this one to match the red and green beads I had in my stash ;-)

\
Christmas & Reindeer 2010 Ornament
Rosewood Manor
Chart Available HERE
40 ct Natural Brown Linen, DMC Floss

And, so that is pretty lengthy update for now, right?? Got our first significant snow overnight... less than forecasted, and DH got right out there this morning and cleared the way for us.... but it is sooo cold and windy out there, I am going to grab one of my books, curl up and read... maybe stitch later while we watch a movie or the hockey game :-)




Currently Stitching: Christmas Ornaments

Halloween Treats

I received this adorable exchange from Lisette for the HoE Halloween Exchange - she stitched up a goodie bag for me using a design by Helga Mandl. I love it! I am working on a good way to display it now. She also sent me an October breast cancer awareness bracelet, as well as a bag of Halloween licorice treats - those are half eaten now, and just did not make it into the photo ;-) Thanks Lisette, great exchange!
And, today I received a Halloween surprise from my dear friend Margaret - she stitched up the sweetest little Halloween biscornu - the back has spiders on it :-) She wrote in her card that is an unknown online freebie - I wonder if I have this one stored somewhere, as it is just too cute! She also sent fantastic fabrics, MH beads, and God love her - M&M's! What a treat! Oh, and look at the homemade card too! And... that great ribbon she wrapped it all in for me.... what a dear friend I have, thank you so much!! {{{HUGS}}}



Currently Stitching: Family Reunion Sampler, a gift, starting HoE Fall Exchange

A second Christmas!

Christmas came yesterday for the second time around for me. I received the most amazing, HUGE, box of gifts from Karen - they had been jammed up in the post. The box was chock full of treats from The Host by Stephenie Meyer, to Just Nan charts, a Sweetheart Tree Kit, a Cat's Whiskers Designs chart.... to these three amazing stitched items! The sweet SB ornament is in my ornament basket waiting to be hung in December... the needleroll takes pride of place in another basket... and wow, look! I cannot recall its name, but she stitched Just Nan's bee with its own little roll in it... all are sooo perfect! Thank you so much Karen! Karen is such a dear friend. I will cherish all of these forever.
Now I am off to drink this.... a large cup of Van Houtte's Spicy Mayan Chocolate coffee (K cup) - I can't wait!

Oh, I did make a little more progress on Gingerbread Garden Sampler, and have a Christmas ornament close to finished.... so I will share some of my own stitching again soon ;-)

Currently Stitching: Gingerbread Garden Sampler, and a Christmas ornament