Create and Decorate

I spotted this magazine on a recent trip to JoAnn Fabric & Crafts.  I'd never seen it before, but after thumbing through it, I decided to purchase it.  This is the January/February 2012 issue.  Inside are a variety of projects from painting to punchneedle to stitching (cross stitch, sewing, quilting) and some mixed media.  I took a few pictures, but I'll apologize for them in advance.  I took them at night while trying to hold the magazine steady, so the pictures aren't very good.  Hopefully you can get the idea!

Heart Pillow

Make-do-Patchwork Pincushions

(I found a glass piece on a recent trip to the Salvation Army thrift store to use for one of these.)

Winged Hearts

(I'll make these without the wings, 'cause they're just not my thing.)

Cross Stitch Heart

You can learn more about the magazine at their website.  While there, you can see a few more pictures from the current issue, browse their online projects, and sign up for their newsletter.  

I'd like to make the Winged Hearts before Valentine's Day.  We will have to see if that comes to be.

Oh Joy!

Another ornament, this time by Val's Stuff.  This one isn't so Christmassy that I can't leave it out all winter . . . if I get it finished!  The design is from the 2010 JCS Christmas Ornament issue.  It took me an entire evening to stitch the snowman face, and I ended up with a terribly painful shoulder.  (In July, I started having pain in it, which varies in intensity.  Since I've had this same type of pain before, I'm sure it's "just" fibromyalgia, especially since I haven't injured it.)

My mom is having surgery for two ruptured disks on Wednesday, so maybe I'll get some stitching done when I go over to help my dad care for her (or give him a chance to get out of the house for a while).  I'm going to schedule one more post for the end of the week, so I'll see you then!

A Bit of Stitching

There has been a bit of stitching since my last post.  I stitched a gift, but you won't be seeing that for a long while.  And I still have one more gift to stitch, so I'm not sure what I'll be showing you while I'm working on that one.

My plan is to continue stitching ornaments throughout the year; we'll see how that goes.  For now, though, I have almost completed Frosty in the Firs by Blue Ribbon Designs.  It's from the 2011 JCS Christmas Ornaments issue.  Although the snowman shows up well in the photograph, in real life, it doesn't, so I've been trying to find a floss color to outline him.  I tried a white, but it didn't work, so I have pulled a light grey, but haven't had an opportunity to try it yet.  I'll keep you posted!

First Finish of 2012

This one has taken me a while to post because I've been playing with the pictures in My Memories software, which I won in a giveaway.

Deer in a Forest

Niky's Creations

from the 2011 JCS Ornament Issue

I stitched this on 18 count white Aida (the instructions called for 36 count linen) with DMC floss, and might finish it as an oval as I framed it in the above photo.

I'm hard (?) at work on another ornament, after which I have some gifts I need to stitch. 

Birthday Card

My father was a Christmas baby.  I remembered at the last minute that I needed to make him a card, and since I didn't have much time, I made a simple card.

I used my Bic Mark-It permanent markers to color the image.  A little coloring, a little layering, and a little ribbon, and the result is a quick, masculine card.