Merry Christmas

Before I get into details, I wanted to share what a silly duck I am.  You know I am not feeling the love for a needle, short on patience, not to mention crabby, and I wasted a few hours trying to come up with a solution to the second Santa finish. 

 

After all edge trims were rejected, I started working on a different shape.  A stocking finish was nice, but a little too wide, a pear shape worked great but it was too large, so I ended with a bell.  I used a Frixion pen so this will disappear when the iron touches it.  A round ring at the top, lightly padded bell shape backed with a nice fabric, and another padded piece for the back. With the two finished shapes sewn together, the center would be open and I can hang two large jingle bells on ribbon from the inside and hanging out.  Not explaining it clearly - The bell would be like two square hot pads sewn together on three sides (in a bell shape) with the bottom open.  Then the large jingle bells would be attached at the inside top and hang down like a clapper in a real bell.   Wouldn't that be really nice?  Different?  A royal pain in the ass?  Yepper.  Don't even think about it girl.  Stick a chocolate covered pretzel in that mouth and iron that Frixion right out of sight.  Why would I even consider such an involved finish?  But it would be nice.  Maybe just a padded bell shape, top ring, and two bells at the bottom?  Stop it right now.

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So here's your gift.  I will purchase a $30 gift certificate for the winner, shop of their choice.  As long as they will accept purchase of a gift certificate through Paypal, you get to choose.  I use 123Stitch for the majority of my linen, but you may have a local shop you prefer.  If the winner is international, a shop there would save high postage.  So as long as it's OK with the shop, you can pick your favorite.

 

Leave your INITIALS, or LAST NAME in the comments on this post.  I will post the winner Wednesday evening the 14th at 8pm EST.  You will have until Saturday the 17th at 9am to contact me, if not, another name will be drawn.  If your email is available, I will contact you.  So that's it. A small token of my appreciation for your support and friendship, your help and ideas, your purchases of my items, concern for my family, and uplifting comments.  Thank you.

 I'll be back on Wednesday.

 

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Santa's moves

Greetings folks. 

 

 It's snowing, adding 1"-3" this afternoon and much more overnight.  And you know what that means.  So I'll try to keep it short and sweet.

 

 

 

First off, giveaway post will be this evening, and I'm leaning toward the GC.  Many of you are international and don't enter the offers because of the high postage costs, and I appreciate that, but you are always welcome regardless. 

A gift certificate = no shipping = more entries!

 

My mind has been really scary recently, like forgetting to put my cup under the Keurig and searching for that coffee because I knew I brewed a cup.  Yesterday I saw a sampler snippet on Facebook that I found interesting so I wrote the name on my pad to check for a full view later.  Well, later, I wondered who the hell Esther Coggeshall was and sprained my brain trying to remember.  Was I to send her a card?  Did I owe her money?  Was that the lady from Medtronics?  No you dipshit, she's a sampler!!!

 

I searched and searched but could not find the plaid wool originally to be used on Santa's' backside so I sewed a fine wale dark red corduroy.  I didn't stitch the side twigs in this design so centering it was a problem.  His base would have been more to one side, so I added another star on the right side and that evened the side margin.  I added a red velvet hanger with little brass safety pins because I like to have the option of hanging or setting.  The steam 'n smash was pretty brutal on him but I prefer a flatter, harder finish which really helps prevent those corner peaks.  The more the center poufs, the more it pulls the sides in, the more the corners point.  So here he is, the blue I hated, the blue I now love, and he is a great addition to the other Santas.  In fact, I would like a few others with the dark ground.

 

 

 

 

I am glad I added the wrought iron hooks to the interior doors, great place to hang stitchery and so easy to move things around (as I continually do).  So this guy will probably be in a different spot every day.

The other completed Santa isn't sewn yet.  He just looks too bland and needs piping or a stitched border, neither of which thrills me.  But I will decide while the soup is simmering on the stove that is working.

 

Mark will have to take Carole to her appointment tomorrow and hopefully will not go over the ten foot drop at the curve of her luge track driveway.

 

Hope your weekend is going well.

 

Back later tonight.

 

p.s.  I get a few questions in comments but you're all no-reply so I can't answer!

 

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Just hanging

Finally sewed a couple ornaments from last year.  Or longer?

 

Changed the inside door display to the checkered stag.  I don't usually use ribbon/velvet for the hanger but I thought this needed red.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is Tina Woltman's Comet's Feather from 2014, but of course, I changed his body.

 

I don't remember these two, but I think the Yule stag was a free design.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

I hope to also sew the two larger Santas I recently completed. 

Have a good weekend.

I will return Sunday with the Christmas giveaway.  I wanted to make something.  Berries, journal, ornament, but things have been so .... off..... that it may be a gift certificate which requires no concentration.

 

See 'ya then stitching buds.

 

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Simple

 

Took the baskets off the doors and hung fresh branches tied with upholstery jute webbing, as I've done before. 

 

 I was looking through prior year photos and saw that last year, Bud decided to participate in the display as Nitzy did this year.  

  Repairman was here for hours trying to determine the cause of the weird actions of the range, nothing was making sense and diagnostics showed nothing.  As he was leaving, he wanted to check the back of the stove just for the heck of it.  There it was, black charred wires and melted plastic at the connection.  Could have started a fire and we can't figure out why the breaker wasn't blown since this was happening at least 20 times a day on a 220 line.  So, it will be repaired with new parts for a few hundred.

 

Did a little decorating, simple simple.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Stopped at Walmart for a few things and got my favorite spread for toast.

 

And for the brats, this little guy.  You pull out a little tab to activate and this thing squeaks like a mouse.  Missy is going nuts.  They don't have to squeeze it, it makes the sound with almost every swat.  But I feel bad when I hear it.  The other day, I had to distract two brats from a little mole that they cornered.  It was cold, but I ran outside and coaxed the little guy all the way across the yard into the woods.  Moles are blind and the poor thing was squeaking and running all over.  But he made it!

 

Have a great day.

Thanks for visiting.

 

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Have a heart

Hello people!  How's everyone?  Hopefully well and safe.

 

While browsing Pinterest, I saw a few heart finishes for Christmas and thought .... as Arsenio does .... hmmmmm.  Not a lot of stitching involved and easy to choose the heart size with linen counts, small for ornaments and large ones for knob hangers.  For me, that's a good thing since my stitching desire does not seem to be returning.  I started this blog for encouragement to return to the needle, and if I close it, I will stop stitching.  At this point, it's keeping me going, not ready to throw in the towel yet!

 

You've probably already seen this one online but in case not, you can follow this link and scroll down

http://www.bhg.com/christmas/ornaments/joy-cross-stitch-heart-ornament/

register with Better Homes and Gardens, and have access to the chart and other projects.

 

These others may also have been seen before, but as always, new to me!  I don't care for printed linen but these dots make an adorable heart, so I'll be ordering some along with the checked.  Just throw it on the pile of counts and colors that are sitting, waiting, hoping to be made into something glorious (or grungy).  You can adapt or use any design for a heart as shown in these great pieces.  So if you're tired of the Prairie Schooler tree, how about a heart tree?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 So many more on Pinterest but I should finish the Santa first.  Not an easy stitch since I am winging it.  I played with the photos but never created a chart to follow so ..... he will be a combination of all three choices in the end.  Just working on the outline in half cross so I can easily remove or change as needed. 

 

 

Have a heart!

 

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Old stuff

Hi folks.  December.  I hope January and February go by as quickly as October and November have.  Are you ready for Christmas? 

 

   I peeked outside to see if the grapevine tree was lit and caught a glimpse of something that wasn't there before.  So I backed up and took a closer look.  Could it be that little devil that always gives me a hard time?  Yep.  That's my Nitzy.

 

 

 

 

My brother was going through some old items in his basement and found this American Needlework slipcase of patterns.  It has enormous foldouts of various types of needlework.  I found one for cross stitch and it has a few repro samplers, but the companion book is not included. 

 

I like them but they are too detailed for my waning desire to stitch, and without the book for instructions and details there isn't much I can do anyway. 

 Embroidery, quilting, hooking, lots of really nice super large patterns.  The book can be found somewhere online I'm sure, but I don't want to be bothered, will send it to Goodwill.  A little mildew odor from being stored in the basement too, so they may not take it.
 He also found Kennington embroidered and quilted western shirts with pearl snaps from the 70's!  I think we'll try Ebay for those.

 

 

My procrastination has cost me the sale price on a range I wanted.  Couldn't make up my mind, and I see these "sale" prices all the time and really thought it wouldn't change.  It did.  By a lot.  The burners still work once in a while, but the oven keeps shutting off so we'll manage until we decide on repair cost or replacement.

 

If it wasn't so cold out we could finish the leaves and pick up the branches in the yard from the high winds the other day.  I don't see any warmer temps coming in the forecast.  Being a crabass will never change, but I can be a happy crabass, or a crabby crabass.  Five months to happy.

 

Hope everyone has a nice weekend.

 

Thanks for visiting.

 

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