Merry Christmas!

Zzzzzz...

I feel like curling up under the tree, too! Here's wishing you all a Very Merry Christmas!

Family Mailbox: Finish!

First off, welcome new followers~ I think I followed everyone who had a blog linked in their profile section but if I didn't, comment and yell at me! :D

Wow, I managed to finish it with tons of time to spare! Exciting and Amazing! I took possibly too many pictures as I progressed through it, but it's fun to watch a stitch grow.

Here's where I was last time back on November 20th (oh, the shame!):

Needs more mail!

And here is the progress march through time:





French Knots!

More French Knots!

FRENCH KNOTS.

All Stitching: Complete!

Framed and Everything!

That was a long scroll, haha. I was too lazy to make a table to organize the images and blogger's "compose" section was making a royal mess of the arrangement. So, I just coded them straight down.

I apologize for the "rosey175" box in the last two pictures -- I put our names on the mailbox! :) It was quite a fun little stitch and I suppose the post doesn't look too bad now that the piece is complete. I like to do French knots but I think I might need more practice -- the poor wreath looks a little squished, haha. I did wind up having to frog a section of backstitching (compare the first French knot picture with the one right before it) and add in some stitches I apparently forgot!

The kit also came with a little press-for-music circle (what the heck are those things called!) but as this was a thrift store find and from the early '90s... well, the battery doesn't work. I don't know what song it played nor how to (or if it's possible) to replace the battery. So it will just be another little decoration to come out at Christmas time!

Technical Details

  • "Family Mailbox" kit by an unknown manufacturer. If anyone had/has this kit and would be willing to share more info, please let me know!
  • 2 over 1 on 14-count white Aida.
  • Framed size: 5" x 6.5" (12,7cm x 16,5cm)
  • Started: November 16th, 2012, Finished: December 18th, 2012. Unknown hours.

At last but not least, I have a new start that I can't show! It'll be a Christmas present assuming I can get it done. I didn't realize the new project would be such a fiddly little chart to stitch -- so many quarter stitches on very hard to split fabric! But other than that, it's a really interesting design and I have the wonderful conviction that that recipient will just be amazed that such a thing ever existed. :D

Until next time, have super productive fingers! Only a few more days until Christmas~

December TUSAL

I've been busy, then busy and sick, then just busy so I'm behind on the blog reading! Sorry if some of you have been getting comment spam from me lately; I've been trying to catch up! I have more to blog about (awesome winnings, stitchy news, 2012 review, blog hops, etc) but I think I'm gonna have to break it up into little posts to keep my own sanity.

I'll start with the last TUSAL of 2012~ If any of my followers aren't familiar with that, head over to Daffycat's journal and see what's going on~ There's hopefully going to be one next year too, if you're wanting in on the fun. :D

December TUSAL!

I'm still working on Family Mailbox, so that's the latest fluff on the top. It's modeled with the cute little reindeer my mom sewed for me around 25 years ago (really? that long ago?!) His nose is barely hanging on even though it's not quite obvious in the picture. He comes out every Christmas with all the other decorations. :)

Until next post, have more productive fingers than I do, haha!

What's Behind Door #9?

Hello~ I'm sure y'all are here because of Jo's delightful Advent Calendar! I'm day number nine so I had to hurry and dig my Christmas stuff out, haha. I've only been stitching for just over three years so I don't have many choices... But I will give you my favorite so far: a little clothespin angel!

Hi there!

I stitched her from a little kit found in a thrift store and everything was fun until I tried to follow the directions for her lace. Let me tell you: Glue does not work! (!!!) So she got a red backstitch to hold her pretties on. Otherwise she was a delightfully fun stitch and I did save the cutout pattern so maybe I can design more friends to hang out on the tree. :)

As the Advent theme this year is "Stocking, Sack, or Something Else" I will give you a terribly ghetto picture from last year (our stockings aren't up yet this year!).

LOL.

We had moved to a new house (twice!) near Christmas and there was no time or energy or space to put out a Christmas tree! I couldn't have that so I quickly tied up some yarn, tacked it to the wall, and "decorated" it with Christmas cards as they came in. Our stockings were hung by the tree with care in hopes that St. Nicholas would be able to find our forwarding address (he did; thank you, Santa!)! I really liked the yarn tree idea though and I have it up again for this year's cards.

My stocking is the one on the right - my boyfriend's wonderful grandmother decorated it for me when I was in Hawaii for Christmas one year. It has handmade beads and letters and candy canes and I was so happy to receive it! The one on the left is my dear boyfriend's that I made a valiant effort to decorate while he was in Missouri. I didn't have access to the delightful items from my own stocking so I did the best I could with little beads and leftover buttons and Christmas lights. I think now that I'm older and "wiser" I will have to experiment with waste canvas, don't you think? :)

I love meeting new stitchers so thank you for visiting! I hope you enjoyed today! :D

Blog Hop #12 ~ Thank You, Cross-Stitch

Stitching the Night Away Stitching Bloggers Blog Hop

When it comes to the stitching part of your life, what are you most thankful for?

I found myself hesitating on posting for this prompt. I'm thankful for so many things. But. I taught myself how to cross-stitch at a low point in my life. I needed something to occupy my mind and hands. Basically, I needed a distraction from myself.

I'm thankful that stitching has provided an outlet for my creative splurts. I'm thankful I have family and friends that are supportive, encouraging, and interested in my stitching. I'm thankful for the Internet friends who get excited with me over a finish or a new skein of floss or a thrift store find. I'm thankful I have access to the Internet for new ideas and tutorials on old ideas. I'm thankful I have the resources available to fund my hobby. I'm thankful I haven't run into very much negativity when I force myself to stitch in public. I'm thankful for the Sprite Stitch community and the creativity it inspires. I'm thankful for thrift stores and I'm thankful for people who donate to thrift stores. I'm thankful for a boyfriend who likes to see the patterns and results and sometimes says "could you do this?" I'm thankful that my boyfriend and I can enjoy our separate hobbies in the same room. I'm thankful for pattern makers (both human and digital). I'm thankful my cats haven't destroyed any stash or ate any needles. I'm doing something I love and I'm thankful no one can take that from me.

Visit all the blogs in this round of the Stitching the Night Away Stitching Blogger Blog Hop:
Find the instructions on how to participate in this round by clicking here.