Merry Christmas, stitchy friends! I hope Santa was good to you, and that this Christmas day finds you and your friends and family in good health and even better spirits. I offer the same wishes to all of you who don’t celebrate, along with a wish for a lovely, quiet day. 😉
May your Christmas Eve be merry and bright, not damp and rainy like ours is supposed to be. And to those who don’t celebrate, I hope you have a lovely, quiet Thursday evening.
Hello! Welcome to next stop on Jo’s Online Advent Calendar.
Santa’s Journey Stocking, designed by Dimensions
Above is a picture of the stocking I finished this year for my mom. The design is Santa’s Journey Stocking from Dimensions. And, to be honest, I’ve been working on it off and on for several years. Not a very good daughter, eh? I’m so glad it is finally all done. It will look wonderful hanging by the fireplace on Christmas Eve.
Our Christmas tree
Speaking of Christmas Eve, I am supposed to share our Christmas Eve traditions as part of the blog hop. We don’t go out, or have a big party, or do anything too fancy. Instead, we stay home, eat hor d’oeuvres, watch a movie (which usually turns out to be not too good), and sometimes play a board game or two.
The tradition of hor d’oeuvres for Christmas Eve dinner started way back when I was a kid. My mom spent several days before Christmas getting a huge breakfast and dinner for twelve or more people ready, and she really didn’t want to cook Christmas Eve. Also, we often went out and did quick visits with friends that night. So, to help the evening go smoother, we starting have a small supper of finger food. (As a bonus, the leftovers made great snacks before Christmas dinner the next day.)
We keep up the tradition because, well, it is tradition now. 😉 And it is fun to have little bits of cheese, sausage rolls, crackers, shrimp, and other fun little nibbles that we normal don’t eat much of. It sets the evening apart from the rest of the year.
Thanks so much for stopping by! And, since you are here, why not check out my 2016 Smalls SAL? We would love to have you join in!
Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! Blessed Yule! Happy Holidays and Best Wishes for the New Year!
I think one of the fun things about the holiday season is how much we can accessorize. Unlike most holidays, Christmas/New Years is celebrated pretty much throughout the whole of December and sometimes into January (depending on when you get to see your friends and family). And that is a lot of opportunity for making fun things for yourself.
Gingerbread Love Clutch, designed by Michele Cheong
I made this very cute Gingerbread Love Clutch, designed by Michele Cheong . The pattern is in the Festive 2013 issue of A Needle Pulling Thread, a wonderful Canadian magazine that covers all sorts of crafts. I picked up the kit from Michele at the Creativ Festival, so mine looks pretty close to the model in the magazine. Although I added a little gingerbread charm to the flap for a little bit of personalization instead of using lace like she did.
Gingerbread Love Clutch, designed by Michele Cheong
Although it isn’t really visible on the pictures, each little circle around the motifs is stitched around using pink DMC floss. Because the purse is lined with fleece, these little circles now puff out just a tiny bit. It is a really nice effect, and adds just a little bit of fanciness.
Be sure to come back tomorrow. I’m day 16 of Jo’s Online Advent Calendar, and I will be sharing a holiday project that I finally finished.
More dull weather, so more colourful stitching!
Lady Needle Flutter, designed by Just Nan (wip)
I’ve finished up the stitching on Just Nan’s Lady Needle Flutter. She is stitched on a scrap of purple dyed fabric that I mostly likely got from Laura of Enchanting Lair, and I used all the called for colours expect I switched out the overdyed thread for one that looked better with my fabric.
Lady will have to wait a little while until she is finished into a pin keep. It looks like it will be fiddly work, so I’ll put it off until I have the time to devote to doing a good job.
If you’ve finished one of these pretty little butterflies and you have any tips you can sure, I would love to hear them!
2016 is getting closer and closer, and I am so excited to begin my planning for next year! I rarely follow through with my plans exactly as written, but I do love having some sort of game plan to work with.
When it comes to the Smalls SAL (soon to enter it’s 3rd year, or 4th if you count the Ornament SAL I ran originally), I like to have a pool of designs to pick from every month. One year I decided to stitch one design from each Just Cross Stitch ornament issue, another year I stitched a Dragon Dreams Christmas ornament every month. This year, I gathered together a bunch of little kits and picked the one that inspired me the most each month. For 2016 I’m going to try something a little different.
Stained Glass Ornaments kit, designed by Teresa Wentzler (aka Byzantine Ornaments)
Part 1 of my plan is to stitch all six of Teresa Wentzler’s Byzantine Ornaments (aka Christmas Ornaments, aka Stained Glass Ornaments). They measure about 45×45 stitches, which I think I can manage each month.
Twelve Days of Christmas, designed by Joan Elliott
Part 2 of my plan, for when I finish the ornaments, is to stitch one section of Joan Elliott’s Twelve Days of Christmas as my small for the month. Again, each of these sections is somewhere around 45 stitches square-ish. And, while not a small in and of themselves, they are small, discrete designs separated by boarders, as laid out in the rules to the Smalls SAL.
So, tell me what you think. Am I crazy for trying to stitch six TW ornaments? Do you think the Twevle Days designs shouldn’t count as smalls? What are you plans? Let me know!
Also, if you’d like to going the Smalls SAL in 2016, head over to this page for all the information.
We have been having such terribly dull and damp days around here that I decided to get out some decidedly more cheery stitching.
Lilies Biscornu, from Gingerbread Girl Designs (WIP)
I just finished up one side of the Lilies Biscornu, which is from a class taught by Kathryn Drummond of Gingerbread Girl Designs at this fall’s Creativ Festival. The style of needlework is called Punto Antico, and makes use of satin stitches, whipped stem stitches and other techniques. Kathryn has created some very pretty designs using Punto Antico techniques, including Precious Jewel which I finished about a month ago.
Lilies Biscornu, from Gingerbread Girl Designs (WIP) – close-up of stitching
I chose the lilac colourway, and I wish I knew the name of the Wildflowers thread I’m using because it is just lovely! I also really like the look of the pearls. I may need to add pearls to more of my stitching!
Lilies Scissor Fob Kit, from Gingerbread Girl Designs
At the Creativ Festival, I also picked up the kit for the matching scissor fob. But, believe it or not, I don’t have a pair of scissors to use it with! (I’m not at all a scissor collector like so many of you are.) I’ll have to keep my eyes open for the perfect pair.
There is only one (partly) sunny day in the forecast for the next two weeks, so I’m sure I will have some more cheerful stitching to share soon.
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Also known as Silverlotus & Stitchinglotus
Located just outside of Toronto, Canada.
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