Happy New Year!

It's officially New Year's Eve and I have one question: Where did the year go? You can read more of my thoughts at my other blog, Holding Faith.

Some of my crafting hopes include:

~ doing something with my bag of finished cross stitches (frames, pillows, etc.);

~ sewing together Sarah's smocked nightgown ASAP;

~ reducing the number of UFOs in my sewing basket (these are projects I truly want to do!)

~ completing some of the other projects that have been relegated to a drawer in the sewing room;

~ finishing the crocheted shawl I started this fall;

~ doing a lot more cross stitch;

~ wallpapering the powder room and painting the master bath and bedroom.

I'm not going to obsess about any of these as I know from experience that it doesn't help! We'll just see how the days unfold and what I can accomplish.

Cross Stitch Start

Sarah and I went shopping this afternoon, and I got the three colors of DMC floss that I needed, so I started Woodland Sampling tonight. I've chosen 18 count Fiddler's Cloth to stitch it on. I had hoped to stitch it on 16 count fabric, but I had only one piece which wasn't quite big enough. I think the design will look quite nice nonetheless.

Sarah gave me these scissors for Christmas, as I had asked for a pair of decorative embroidery scissors. I used them for the first time tonight and they are wonderful!

If anyone is interested in buying cross stitch charts with no shipping charges (through December 31), visit Mary Kathryn at eHandcrafts. She also has a fabulous blog, The Happy Stitcher, and turns out completed projects so quickly that I'm certain she cross stitches in her sleep! Would that I could do the same.

Last of the Christmas Gifts! (Hooray!!!)

The gifts for my husband's family are ready for wrapping! Since the get together at my in-laws' isn't until Tuesday, I have "plenty" of time, right?

Here is the tote bag for my mother-in-law. I especially like the "I Love Knitting" embroidery; you probably can't see the detail in the picture, but the heart has varying texture, which adds to the interest.
And the skirt for our niece - it's actually two layers of fabric, with the outer one being sheer and the inner a light pink lining. It was rather a pain to work with, but I (think) I am pleased with the results. Because I don't have Mary Kate's waist size, I stitched a piece of buttonhole elastic to a piece of regular elastic (about 10" and 13" respectively), sewed a button to the back waistband, and left the end with the buttonhole elastic protruding from the opening in the back so she can adjust the elastic as needed.

And finally, here is the ornament I finished right before Christmas. The picture is very light - if you go here you can see a better picture of the fabric I chose. I stitched this with DMC floss on 28 count evenweave.

Christmas Gifts & New Projects

Finally I can post pictures of several other Christmas gifts I made.


This is the tote bag I embroidered for my mom. (I got the bag for a great price from Nancy's Notions earlier in the fall.) Mom was thrilled to finally have a dedicated music bag.

I purchased a second bag for my mother-in-law; hers has pink handles. The embroidery on that one was just completed on Thursday afternoon, so I'll try to get a picture of it on Friday.





These towels I embroidered for a friend. (The top one is actually upside down.) The designs on the top one (gold) and the blue bow were from Martha Pullen's Internet Embroidery Club. The
"sewing bird" I think I got for free somewhere. It's one of my favorite designs.

NEW PROJECTS

I've decided that this will be my next cross stitch design. It is "Woodland Sampling" by Little House Needleworks.

Also on the agenda -

~ Make skirt for niece (Friday & Saturday)

~ Sew together the mystery smocking item

~ Finish the shawl I started in early November

I don't want to make my list too long; I find I get discouraged and don't accomplish anything if I do.

Merry Christmas!

"So, The Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold! The virgin will conceive and will bring forth a son; and she shall call His name Immanuel." (Isaiah 7:14)

"For a Child is born; to us a Son is given; and the government is on His shoulder; and His name is called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9:6)

"And it happened in those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus for all the habitable world to be registered. This registration first occurred under the governing of Syria by Cyrenius. And all went to be registered, each to his own city. And Joseph also went from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because of his being of the house and family of David, to be registered with Mary, the one having been betrothed to him as wife, she being pregnant. And it happened as they were there, the days were fulfilled for her to bear. And she bore her son, the First-born. And she wrapped Him and laid Him in the manger, because there was no place for them in the inn." (Luke 2: 1 - 7)

Jesus Christ, is what Christmas is all about. Do you know Him? If you do not, or you are not sure, please click here to find out how this can be your best Christmas ever!

"Thank God for his gift that is too wonderful for words!" (II Corinthians 9:15)

More on Freestanding Lace

Deby at Apples of Gold wants to know more about the Freestanding Lace ornaments from my previous post. These are done with my embroidery machine and are stitched on a stabilizer that dissolves when placed in water. You use the same thread in both the needle and the bobbin (as opposed to using a lightweight bobbin thread when one is stitching an embroidery design on a garment or towel) so that there isn't any difference between the front and back. Once stitched, you trim as much of the stabilizer away from the outside edges of the design, then immerse it in water and voila! A beautiful piece of machine embroidered lace.

You can see some other designs here.

Today's tip: When dissolving water-soluble stabilizer, make sure to use warm water so the stabilizer will dissolve much more quickly and completely.

Free-Standing Lace Ornaments

These are some of the free-standing lace ornaments that I've stitched for gifts this year. The top one is part of the December 2007 designs from the Martha Pullen Internet Embroidery Club, while the other two were purchased from Embroidery Library. They are part of the "Christmas Lace Ornaments" pack, from which I purchased several individual designs. These are amazing - they are digitized in such a way as to create the exact same design on the underside and topside. Absolutely gorgeous.