2023...Ending With a New Start.......

 I'm stopping by with a quick post to end the year. I should be organizing my craft room.....it's in a state of total disarray, but I just don't "feel" like it. So, instead, I started a new project last night. I recently joined the Sampler Guild of the Rockies and they showcase a few "challenge" pieces you can elect to stitch and complete by September 2024. I think there were 6 to choose from and I've had my eye on the one I picked for awhile. It is Live on Little by Plum Street Samplers. I'm doing it on 45 count Legacy linen so it will be on the smaller side. I have not done a lot on the 45/46 count linen but am not finding it too difficult...unless I meet an overly thick...or thin thread. I'm using the called for fibers, a mix of WDW, CC and DMC. I started in the upper right hand corner and this is what I accomplished last night. we're getting ready to watch the Ravens game, so I will work more on it then.

Tomorrow I will be starting a "blessing" sampler that I will work on during the month of January. I had seen the info about this on a FB page ad thought it sounded fun. You pick a piece, not necessarily a sampler, and start it on January 1st. Your aim is to finish by January 31st and blessings will come to you. The only requirement is that it has to have a stitch count of 100 in one direction. I chose to do Amy Mitten's Forgery #17 - Rachel Hallowell.   I'm doing it on a 32 ct. mystery linen with Amy's fibers that came with the chart....my kind of colors!!! 

I forgot to share on of the gifts my friend Lisa gave me....isn't this little guy precious???

I hope you all have a safe and happy New Year, be it celebrating out with friends/family or relaxing at home and watching the ball drop. We are ordering Chinese for dinner and hoping to find a good movie to watch...low key....right up my alley! May you have a happy, healthy and joy filled new year doing what you love with those you love. I'm praying for a peaceful 2024 here and around the world. We need to embrace the Beatles song lyrics and practice "All You Need is Love"!!!

Thanks for stopping by and your "twisted threads" of friendship! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Stasi

A Christmas for the Books.....740-743

 Holiday Greetings! I sincerely hope you all had a wonderful Christmas celebration with your families and friends. Our much anticipated holiday did not turn out quite as planned. Late Saturday into Sunday, Christmas Eve, we, one by one, came down with a stomach "bug"..... 12 out of 13 succumbed...all but my oldest grandson. We had to take my Dad to Urgent Care on Christmas Eve because he felt so bad, but checked out and was sent home. Luckily we were split between two houses and were feeling better by Christmas Day...though not tip top! All the food I made sat in the fridge and we had to throw away 5 dozen oysters...nobody had the stomach to even think about them! LOL  So, we had a very low key Christmas, but managed to enjoy each other and make the best of it. We figured Jax was too young to know what was going on and the older grands understood and were happy they still got presents!!!

Not too many photos, but here are a couple:

Chillin'

Jax hugging the stocking I made him

I got my annual ornaments from the grands and they are hanging on my special tree, which showcases all the ones they have made me over the years.

I am finally able to share some gifts I made for some blogging friends this year. 

For Thy Pins by Bright Needle

And here are some I received:

Aren't these counting pins adorable from Vickie???

And remember the fiasco with the package my Secret Stitcher sent me earlier (two months to arrive via USPS and missing the contents), well my Christmas package was amazing!!! A beautiful project bag with matching ort container, a sweet kit, a needle minder organizer with a few needle minders in it and a needle threader. Love it all!!!

And the icing on the cake was this sweet stitched piece attached to the back of the project bag!!! WOW...am I a lucky girl, or what???

I will end on a happy note....today is my parents 72nd anniversary. Here is my most recent photo of them. We were so blessed to have them spend Christmas with us and make it out relatively unscathed! LOL

After doing about 10 loads of laundry, I am chillin' and stitchin' the next couple days. In case I don't make it back before the end of the year, I'm wishing you a happy, healthy, joyous and stitch filled New Year! Thanks for stopping by and your "twisted threads" of friendship!

Stasi

Grands Update............

 For those of you who have followed me for awhile and know the back story about my grands, here is a photo update since I just got school photos.

And our newest love bug.....

For newer followers of my blog, three of the five are adopted...two from Sierra Leone and one from the US. The two from Africa just had their 6 year anniversary of arriving in the US. It was along, frustrating process....over three years to get them here, but we're so happy they are part of our family and are thriving. The youngest was also a long  wait. After years of fertility treatments and then working with an adoption agency, that little bundle of joy came into our lives very unexpectedly, out of the clear blue. He is a joy and will definitely be making this a special Christmas. We are very blessed!!!

Thanks for stopping by and your "twisted threads" of friendship! Merry Christmas!!!

Stasi

We're Getting Closer.....

 Greetings!!! I wasn't sure I'd have time to do another post, but I have a little window of opportunity right now. The girl grands are on their way over to spend the night and drive with hubby to pick up my parents tomorrow morning. I was surprised they wanted to go as he plans to leave at 0'dark thirty!!! I'm sure they will sleep in the car. Tomorrow I'll be doing all the grocery shopping for the holiday meals. Cookies are baked and stored, gifts wrapped and house prepared. 

I have managed to get some stitching done in the evenings where I didn't pass out. I just have the nun stitch to finish around the edge........A Young Lady's Workbox by Merry Cox. All that's left to stitch is a needle page. 

I forgot to show you these antique doorknobs I found last Saturday. I plan to use as a base for some Liz Matthews trees. 

That's it for today. If I don't make it back before Christmas, I wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas, full of good times, good food and good company. 

Thanks for stopping by and your "twisted threads" of friendship!

Stasi

The Final Countdown.......738-739

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 It's 6 days until Christmas and preparations are in full gear! Two kinds of cookies on the agenda today.....one down (Saltine Cracker English Toffee)..... one to go (Pecan Tassies). I happened to have the ingredient for these on hand....grocery store tomorrow for more supplies.

I wanted to share some recent gifts I received , some for my birthday and some for Christmas. My friend Lisa and I had a little stitchy get together yesterday. She gifted me this for my birthday:

A sweet needlebook from Fern Ridge, pair of fall scissors and a packet of Bohin needles

Front and back of needlebook (check out all these cute tiny bees)

Inside of needlebook

And this for Christmas:

A sweet little shaker basket with the scissors and fob in it...and a locket for the 'queen bee'

Yes, that stitched piece is mounted in a walnut shell

Some stump work berries

I am in awe of the stitching and finishing on these gifts....such detail...and LOVE them all. Thanks my friend!

Next, are two gifts I received from followers of my blog. Carol sent me the PS Santa, stitched over one on black fabric with a package of green pop-pom trim. I am thrilled to have one of  Carol's "signature" Santas! Marilyn made me this adorable ice skater, which brings back many fond memories of my childhood skating at Memorial stadium and on the canals/river near my Aunt and Uncle. Of course, I did not look near as cute as this sweet girl!!!

I can now share some of my stitched gifts, since they have been received. I sent Carol an ornament that screamed her name....literally!!! It's bt Mani di Donna, worked on 40 ct. Sandstone with DMC.

Sorry so dark...

This is the finished teeny stocking I made for Lisa.....Shaker Stocking w. Lamb by Bright Needle with Anchor, DMC and Needle Necessities fibers.

I made some itty, bitty cording and played with adding a bow or charm but, in the end, I liked the "shaker" simplicity.

More of my gifts will follow, but I need to wait until they are all received and opened...don't want to spoil it for anyone.

We will be having a special little guy for Christmas and I bought him this:

I wish I had been aware of this when my other grands were toddlers..it's so cute!!!

Hope you have things under control for the holidays---take time to enjoy!!! Thanks for stopping by and your "twisted threads" of friendship!

Stasi

Stasi

Tea for One......

 The little tea room near me just reopened recently. The owner had to close down the beginning of the year to have a kidney transplant. She is doing wonderfully and back to making us tea lovers happy! She also had to relocate, as the shopping center she was in was bought out by a developer. But she persevered and is actually closer to where I live. 

During Covid she offered a "tea to go" and I enjoyed doing that a few times. She still offers a "tea to go", so I treated myself today for my birthday, since she is closed on Mondays. The shop is called Tea with Kip and she is a lovely upbeat human being.  Formal teas in the tea room shop are reservation only, but a shop opened right next door that sells scones, cookies, sandwiches, tea, etc. There you can eat in or get carry out; it is called Teaberries. Delicious goodies abound at each! 

Here is how my tea in a box looked:

I wish you could all join me for tea some day.

Thanks for stopping by and your "twisted threads" of friendship!

Stasi

They Say it's Your Birthday; Well it's My Birthday Too, Yea ............

 

I couldn't resist the Beatle song reference.......yes, today is my birthday. I am starting my 72nd spin around the sun and find it so hard to believe!!!  I am not going to say much more than that about it, time is a-wasting!!! Except......I  woke up to a light dusting of snow last night and Rich whispered in my ear that it was for my birthday.

We had my birthday dinner at my daughters last night and her family gave me an advent calendar of teas, a "tea" shirt and a year of home made scones...4 each month for  year delivered to my door. I really can't wait for this to begin...I love scones!!!

I received some lovely gifts from my friend, Robin, and wanted to share them. I feel so spoiled!!! She stitched the sweet bee and had it made into a needle book...love, love, love!!! The other goodies will all be put to good use Robin! Thanks so much for thinking of me..it is much appreciated.

And, I couldn't wait to open the Christmas gift, and it is hanging proudly on my tree.

Thanks again, Robin!

I also received two unexpected holiday gifts from Guilds I belong to. The first is from the Western Reserve Sampler Guild...... a thread catcher highlighting the state of OH. This will be a lovely  remembrance of my 15 years living in OH.

Then I received this from the Sampler Guild of the Rockies:

I will be enjoying these Christmas Eve and Christmas morning as the tea bags denote. 

Even though I can't attend these Guilds in person, it's a new way to reach out to other stitchers and feel part of the larger needlework community. I am so thankful the zoom meetings have continued after Covid.

On a disappointing note, I've been participating in a "secret stitcher" exchange with the DVHSG. We're supposed to send something to our secret person 4-5 times a year and reveal ourselves next September. I received the above envelope in the mail 2 months after it was posted. It had been opened and whatever was inside was removed and just the card was left. I felt terrible I hadn't acknowledged my person on FB, which we are asked to do, and hoped they didn't think I was ungrateful. What is up with the USPS these days????

Rich is taking me to the movies this afternoon, then out for dinner...a very quiet low key celebration....just the way I like it. 

Thanks for stopping by and your "twisted threads" of friendship!

Stasi

A Visit to Liberty Hill Needleworks........732-737

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 I said I'd be back with photos from the new needlework shop in Williamsburg, so here I finally am! First let me say how nice and welcoming the owner and worker bees are. Second, you would never know they were a brand new...just opening shop...they are well stocked with charts, fabric, fibers and accessories. It is bright and cheery with lots of models and cute displays. Here you go with the photos...in no particular order:

Every customer received a little gift......

Folding scissors and a needle minder

.......and I made some purchases...new to me fabric, some Nurge hoops, embroidered ornaments for the grands for 2024 and a sweet sampler featuring the Governors Palace in Williamsburg.

So excited to have a "not so local" needlework shop a  75 minute drive way. Plan to visit if you are in the area for some "stitching happiness"!!!

And...ta da...I FFO'd the grands 2023 ornaments...Polar Plunge series from Hands on Design...I even did one for me.

Thanks for stopping by and your "twisted threads" of friendship. Hope you have a great week as we head into the very hectic holiday season.

Stasi