Tis A Gift...... (530-533)

Happy New Year to all--hope everyone had wonderful holidays with your loved ones and are refreshed and ready for a new year and new decade!!! Can you believe it's 2020??? Seems like we were just celebrating the new millennium and we're already 20 years in!!! I hope 2020 brings good health, much happiness and an abundance of down time to stitch! 

Our Christmas was very nice and low key. We brought my parents down from Baltimore for 5 days to spend with us and my daughter's family, then drove them back and spent a few days visiting my siblings and some family. We spent New Year's Eve with my brother and his wife but that ended with my hubby getting a stomach bug and a quick retreat home. So far, so good for me and I have my fingers crossed!!!

My hubby and I didn't really exchange many presents; he got me a new CD player and I got him the latest season of Game of Thrones on DVD. We don't really need anything, so why spend just to  spend? But, I did receive a number of lovely gifts from my blogging friends. I am the proud recipient of five wonderful ornaments....a BIG thank you to Carol, Robin, Vickie , Meg and RJ! These all found a special spot on my tree and will be treasured always!

L to R....ornaments from Carol, Robin and Vickie

L to R... ornaments from Meg and RJ

 Aren't they all just the sweetest??? Meg designed her ornament based on a Charles Wysocki print and you can read about it on her blog Live to Stitch. She is a beautiful soul who is going through a rough patch right now, so if you visit her site, please leave her a supportive comment.

Another stitched birthday gift I received was from my friend, Sally. It's one of Erica Michael's strawberries and I LOVE it!!! Thanks, Sal, from the bottom of my heart! I know it was a lot of over one stitching and I so appreciate it!

My daughter gave me a Rowenta travel iron, so now I won't have to run up and down the stairs so much. Maybe I better re-think that...the exercise does me good!!!

But perhaps my most cherished gift was given to me by my 9 year old granddaughter, Cora...a Harry Potter key chain! She is a very thoughtful child and bought this because she knows how much I love HP!!!

Now, on to some gifts I made for friends, which were few and far between this year due to those darn needlepoint ornaments for the Grands! :) These are being added officially to my Stroll.

I made this box for my friend who went to Yellowstone with us. I may have mentioned the "spider" incident in my blog post about the trip, but she literally landed in my lap  after spotting a spider in the car. I thought it was perfect for her...Nothing to Fear by My Big Toe Designs.....stitched on 32 count Vintage linen with called for fibers...I think.

Next, I did a couple ornaments on the Tokens and Trifles perforated paper.

Bristol Ornaments 2019 by Dutch Treat Designs (freebie)

Nice by Tricia Wilson Nguyen (freebie)

I also did a little paper ornament for me:

Quaker Stocking by Wendy White (freebie)

 I finished the stitching on Sweater Weather by October House Fiber Arts. I have an idea brewing to finish this so stay tuned.... I stitched it on 20 count natural linen, over two. I wanted to use Rainbow Gallery Tweedie (had a bunch in my stash) to make it look "wooly".

Last but not least,  I pulled out a very old WIP from the mid 90's as my first stitch for 2020. It is Home Sweet Homes by Homespun Elegance. It's stitched on 18 count Home Sweet Home fabric with two strands of the called for DMC. I bought this at a time when I hoped to one day to live in a log cabin home....that's not going to happen, but I still love the design.

I am looking forward to a year of enjoyable stitching....working on whatever moves me at the moment. I need to get cracking on some finishing, put my craft room back in order and work on some languishing class projects. 

I hope all your 2020 resolutions/plans come to fruition, but if not...enjoy the journey! Thanks for stopping by and your "twisted threads" of friendship!

Stasi