WIP Confession Time

What a wonderful week we have had! Christmas was fantastic and very busy and the past week has just flown by far too quickly. I can't believe this is the last day of 2007!!!

The house has gotten back to normal today, the decorations have all been taken down and stored away for next year, and I have decided to take a cue from a few of the blogs that I have had time to take a peek at and do my own WIP review.

No New Year's resolutions for me this time around, except I have decided that next year is time to finish a few things. Of course I will always need to make room for some new starts, but I'm going to try to keep them on the small side, so they don't end up collecting dust like some of the ones I dug out today.

So here they are, although I do think I have forgotten one or two UFO's that haven't seen the light of day for far too long. Sorry for the not so great pictures, what sunlight we get these days seems very dull......eh, winter!

Sampler Gameboard by Drawn Thread, on 32 ct Willow Green linen. This is such a fun piece to work on, I wondered when I laid out the fabric to take the picture why did I stop working on this one?

Sampler 4 Saisons by Anagram Diffusion, on 32 ct Antique Cream linen. This one is so pretty and I'm using Gloriana silks, a different colour for each season. I love working on the seasons themselves, but the tree really got to me......
Houses of Hawk Run Hollow on 40 ct LL Pearled Barley. Again, I really love working on this, but I have no set goal in mind, so its doubtful the end of 2008 will see this one finished off.

Carriage House Samplings Alphabet Sampler on 40 ct Cream Linen. Now this one I really would like to complete in the next year. I think I should work out a schedule to keep myself on track with this one.
And my poor Chatelaine MysteryX. I think I finally finished up the 3rd month, which was horrific and really put me off track. It took me months to get through it all, so by that point I was so far behind the group, I thought what was the point? I have sneaked a peek at the finished design though and it is stunning. I really need to get back to this one and play again with all those lovely silks.
But what's the new year without a new start?
Long Dog Sampler's Paradigm Lost....scheduled restart on January 2nd, with my brand new fat 1/2 on 40 ct Light Sand linen.
And I have to sneak in my latest obsession with Little House Needleworks. I bought the Home of a Needleworker pattern at the Toronto Creative Festival in the fall and its just begging to start. So I have a lovely piece of 32 ct cream Belfast and some very pretty GAST threads, waiting for the first few stitches tomorrow.
Hubby is calling as we're headed off to an early dinner. Happy New Year everyone!!!

Merry Christmas!

I finally got caught up on all my shopping, the gifts were finally all wrapped, and ready to go under the tree...or nearby as its become quite crowded. Kelly and Chris arrived safely on Saturday evening, and we are all headed out shortly to enjoy Christmas Eve dinner at Carrie and JF's place.

I haven't had a chance to update my blog but I did want to get in my wishes to everyone for a very Merry Christmas!

Spirit of Christmas

I can't believe I forgot to get this picture out and hang it up on the wall! I was thinking something was missing around the house after we had finished decorating and it took me 2 weeks to finally remember. And it was ~ one of my favourite Christmas pieces ~ Spirit of Christmas! So hubby dug him out of hiding for me and now he is hanging on the wall. I feel embarrassed to have left him hidden away for so long because I truly love this Santa. I had him framed with a red suede mat, so it really brings out the gorgeous reds in the Santa.

Only 1 week left until Christmas! I finally started my present wrapping on Sunday but was very uninspired to get much done. We were in the middle of a blizzard which poor hubby spent the better part of the day trying to dig us out from. And I finally came up with the most amazing Christmas gift for him - a snowblower! But he's not impressed. Its as if admitting that he needs a snowblower is a blow to his manhood, admitting that he no longer has the strength or vivre to do his manly duty and dig his family out from under tons of snow. We'll see how far I can get with my cajoling....

Christmas ornament and an almost finish

My package from the SBEBB ornament exchange arrived and wow - I was thrilled to see the lovely little stocking stitched by Donna of Daisy Stitches. I need to find her blog/e-mail so that I can thank her personally for all the wonderful goodies she put into this package. It made opening it up feel like Christmas! She also included a Just Nan chart called 'Tie One On' with the Whimzi frame (first time I have seen one of these in person and they are wonderful) and a Bent Creek chart called 'Sleigh Ride' with the fabric to stitch it on, as well as a package of tea and chocolate and a beautiful handmade card. Thank you Donna! Please leave me a comment so I can trace you back to your blog!!

My PL fabric arrived and I am in love with the colour - no more tea-dying needed here - but I decided to hold off on a fresh start until the New Year. And I am so close to finishing my little Prairie Schooler christmas sampler, I want to keep at it. Its looking like a finish might be in the works for this weekend and then I might try to finish it into a pillow. All that's left is for Santa and his sleigh!
My Christmas cards went out in the mail - yeah, one thing off my list. Packages have yet to be wrapped though. And I'm still wondering what on earth am I going to get hubby for Christmas? I have asked him so many times and he doesn't even know what he wants, other than the usual month long vacation some place warm, which is a little out of our reach at the moment.

Physiotherapy is going for the shoulder....or should I say torture sessions? Because it is unbelievable to me that my shoulder stopped doing all kinds of things without me realizing, and now the therapist is trying to make it go into these positions again. I'm doing stretches at home 4 times a day, to try to maintain some of the gains she makes. But on the upside, it actually is feeling better the rest of the time, not nearly as painful as it was. And stitching is much more comfortable again :-D I better not let hubby know that, or he'll make me start doing all the grocery shopping on my own again!

Have a great weekend!

Christmas Ornament Exchange

Julianne let me know that she received her Christmas ornament for the SBEBB exchange. I stitched the Quaker Reindeer, a design from The Workbasket from the 2006 JCS ornament issue. This was the first thing I had stitched from this issue! I used my 36/40 ct tea-dyed linen so the poor reindeer may be a little too fat or a little too tall, depending on which way the count went. Luckily sweet Julianne is happy with this slightly off reindeer anyways.

I love this time of year with Christmas so quickly approaching....but I also hate it because the days are so short. I mean really, its 4:30 in the afternoon and its so dark that we have to turn all our lights on! And we haven't even hit the winter solstice yet. And should I mention that I'm feeling a little Christmas-stressed? Hubby and I did a lot of our Christmas shopping on the weekend which is great, although our bank account is much much lighter and emptier as a result. And the pile of gifts waiting to be wrapped has increased significantly. Christmas cards are waiting to be written and addressed. And Christmas baking.... well I shudder to even think about it. But I did manage to finish off a couple of ornaments that are also waiting to be packaged up and mailed.

And I almost forgot....my PL fabric arrived...finally!!!!

December is here!

December is here and already speeding along! Hubby and I decorated our house on Sunday, and everything looks very festive and cheery. I love decorating for Christmas. It makes me wish I had done more Xmas stitching!

Still no PL fabric in the mail for me....although I have been diligently checking every day! That is when I can get my mail box open. Winter seems to think its time to arrive and we have been hit with ice storms and snow....brrrr! It seems awfully early to look outside and see so much white, and have to bundle up with boots, scarf, gloves and hat to go out! Of course Nick is loving it as that means money to be made shovelling snow from driveways for him and of course snowboarding season has opened.

Not much stitching to show from me except a Prairie Schooler piece I have been working on a piece of Fiddler's cloth. Its from Christmas Samplers Book 63 and I'm hoping to be able to stitch it before Christmas. Stitching is slow these days as my shoulder has been troubling me a lot. I finally gave in and and saw my doctor and have started seeing a physiotherapist for a 'frozen shoulder'. I'm sure its from work, nah, couldn't be from stitching or quilting at all! But unfortunately I can't stop working .... :-(