The month of December has been moving along pretty fast around here! All of our normal activities, combined with those of the holidays, have not left any spare time for stitching lately.
This weekend we headed to my parent's home for my mom's annual Christmas Ornament dinner. Every year, she gives the grandchildren a new ornament to hang on the tree. There is always a lot of food and much laughter, with the day passing too quickly. Here are the kids toasting with their sparkling grape juice!
After dinner, my youngest went outside to help out his pappy by starting to stack wood, while the others played a game of football.
It was getting dark, but he did stack quite a bit of the wood by the time he was done.
I did find a frame for the Peace piece from the other week. I gave this to my mom yesterday as and early present.
Later in the evening, we had a laugh when she picked up the ornament issues of JCS that had this piece on the cover. It was so different than mine! Theirs was stitched on blue, but that wasn't all! I forgot to add the snowflakes falling all around. Oops! Luckily, mom loved it just the way it was.
I have been very spoiled lately by some of my fellow stitchers. First up is Teresa from Teresa's Heartfelt Stitches. Teresa had quite the journey traveling to and from, and attending the retreat at the Shaker Village in New Hampshire way back in October. She was kind enough to share some of the goodies from her travels with myself and one other stitcher in a surprise giveaway. I was amazed at all that she sent me!
And, she told me that anything I could not use, I was free to pass on to another stitcher. There are a couple of patterns that I probably won't stitch, but have some people in mind for them!
Thank you Teresa for your kindness, I truly was shocked when I saw all that was in your box!
Next up are some fall patterns from Gaby of Einschies kreatives Chaos. They are so cute, and I hope to stitch them in time to display next fall!
And isn't that card she sent great! I love the looks on their faces. This is now part of a group of cards that I display yearly. Thanks again Gaby!
Finally, June, from Butterfly Wings sent me a sweet Christmas surprise. A packet of monthly bookmarks - perfect as we recently started a neighborhood monthly book club! A fantastic smelling soap made in Devon. Don't you wish that you could share good smells through your computer screen? And a beautiful card depicting a scene from the Moors. When I saw this, I knew I needed to find a frame and place it with a picture similar in style that a friend brought back from Ireland for me last year. When I find a frame, I'll show you a picture of the two together. Thanks again June for thinking of me!
I do have one other group of fabulous goodies to share from the Stitched with Love Christmas Exchange, as soon as everyone receives their packages, we'll be able to reveal. I can't wait to confirm who my secret Santa was - I was truly spoiled!
Thanks again to each and every one of you, Teresa, Gaby, and June for your generosity!
And thanks to everyone else for stopping by - I hope December is allowing you some stitching time!
