phew...

Hello, I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! With the big day here and gone, I finally have a few spare moments to post. I am still kind of in the midst of the stitching blahs, but I did manage to accomplish a few things, Christmas-related and otherwise.

I whipped up a couple of these scottie dogs for the kids' stockings (from the most recent JCS issue) and managed to put Chester into tote form for my DD.

My sewing skills are still a little shaky but she seems to like him.

Kiddies got a Wii for Christmas so I have had more time than usual to stitch, but I have had a hard time deciding what I want to work on...I have emptied my basket of stash and examined patterns one by one more times than I can count these past few weeks, but much of it is unappealing right now, don't know why...I have been on a bit of a primitive stitching kick lately, starting with this cutie from Stacy Nash, Liberty Sewing Pouch, one of my few finishes. I did this with the recommended DMC on a grayish Silkweaver evenweave and am very pleased how it turned out.

I also started Lanaster County from Notforgotten Farm on a very pretty 40-count brown linen from R&R. I had planned to make this for my parents (who live in Lanaster County) for Christmas but it didn't quite work out. I am hoping that the 300+ days til next Christmas will give me enough time to finish it but the way I flit from one project to another, who knows.

Other than that I put a few stitches (very few) into Rest and Be Thankful, on which I am showing off one of my favorite presents, Dovos which the kiddies insist on borrowing....

Speaking of the kiddies, I thought I would show some of the things they made me for Christmas. They are a creative lot! DD found a book called "Stray Sock Sewing" or something like that, and has been on a roll lately creating these little animals.

I hope everyone has a wonderful new year. Thank you for all comments, they keep me inspired!

your very contagious stitching slump

One of my favorite things to do lately has been to read other people's blogs, which is usually inspiring, but lately folks been posting mostly about their lack of stitching mojo, and this has now infested the Pumpkin Patch. Consequently, although I have turned out a few more ornaments, I haven't had much desire to work on anything else. Instead, I started digging in my large basket of stitched but unfinished items and have actually begun finishing them (I know, unique concept).

These houses are from an old cross stitch magazine (Cross Stitch and Country Crafts, I think) and since this is about the fifth year they have been sitting in my basket I decided to drag them out and do something with them; I found weighted papier mache house shapes at Michaels and after some very minimal backstitching (which I hate) they will be shipped off to my mom for Christmas.

This snowman is I think just about as old as the houses and has been sitting around so long I forgot who the designer is--I want to say Diane Arthurs but I'm not sure. I made him into a (very long) pillow with vintage lace from an old pillowcase that my cat managed to destroy.

And as much as I love BBD, I think I am about to give up on Bittersweet Moon. I did put some more stitches into it but all the colors seem off to me--the house looks green instead of blue, the alphabet has the charming color of dried blood, and the tree is red instead of the brown in the photo of the model, and I just don't feel like frogging it all and switching out the colors. Am I wrong to want what I stitch to look like the model? After all, I liked the way the model looked, that's why I bought the thing in the first place!

That's about it for this week. I'm hoping my mojo returns after Christmas, or soon at any rate; although my desire to stitch has deserted me, my need to acquire new patterns has not...

Julius says, remember to relax and enjoythe holidays!

finally finished something

I'm back from another absence from blogworld due to computer unavailability (otherwise known as Thanksgiving break). I'll keep my complaining to a minimum and get to the finishes:

Currants, Coxcomb and Rose, done with recommended threads on a sparkly Silkweaver solo. I really like the way this turned out, it looks Christmas-y to me!

And here is proof that UFO Tuesday really works, Chester, one of The Goode Huswife cats, done with recommneded threads on white aida (yuk) in all his unironed glory. Modified the border a bit to make it more narrow since I hate working on borders. I did work on him on days other than Tuesday since I wanted him to be a Christmas gift for DD. I plan to incorporate him into a tote/bookbag instead of framing him, since one of my birthday gifts to myself was to have this repaired.

My old Brother machine had been sitting in a closet for years and I really missed having a working sewing machine. The man at the repair shop said that someone had apparently dropped a quarter into one of the openings on the machine which caused it to jam. Thanks kids!

I used to be a quilter and maybe I will pick up that hobby again too, but right now I'm a little rusty so I'm going to start off with small stuff.

Other than that I have been working on some Christmas smalls

Penny Angel by Primitive Needle from the Just Cross Stitch Christmas issue. This was also my first effort to make a fabric-covered box--directions are on the Blackbird Designs blog. Barb and Alma make everything look easy. It was not easy and it caused me to chuck my spray adhesive out the window. It looks OK from a distance though.

I'm also trying to finish ornies for kiddies' teachers:

This was a Debbie Draper freebie. One down, three to go.

My next UFO Tuesday effort will be a Shepard's Bush stocking which I began last Christmas.

That's all the news that's fit to report. I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving and survives the Christmas shopping frenzy. Thank you for all comments!