Wonderful Christmas

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas with loved ones, fabulous food and of course a gift or two.

This Christmas was really special for us because Jake is now at the age where he sees the magic of Christmas. Of course, he was overwhelmed with all his presents and could not open them fast enough. He loved all his presents and will get to appreciate them over the next couple of days.



Jake standing in front of all his presents.


The process of opening his presents

For desert I made mini brownies with a strawberry on top with white chocolate trim.
I went out and got everything I needed for the piping or so I thought. In my haste, I picked up tip covers instead of tips for the piping bag. Needless to say, I ended up using a plastic bag and cut a hole in the corner. Piping was far from perfect but they were delicious anyway.



Jake enjoyed his Santa hat.

Linda

Ornament Finally Finished

Last night I finally finished the ornament I started a couple of weeks ago. I have not had a lot of time to stitch and since last Friday I really have not the desire to stitch.
Along with the rest of the country, I have been heart broken. I never would have imagined someone could commit such a heinous act. A lot of tears have been shed and prayers said for the families of all the victims. Jake is being held closer and cherished even more.

Here is a picture of my completed Princess & Me ornament.


Wishing everyone a Blessed Christmas.
Linda

A Little More Christmas

Oh, this is my favorite time of year. I just love watching the look on Jake's face when he sees all the Christmas decoration. His excitement in making decorations, helping make cookies and his looking forward everyday to doing the Advent tree.
Seeing things through his eyes truly makes you see the magic of the Christmas.

Here are some more pictures of my decorations.


Needlepoint Advent tree. This is not the one Jake adds to everyday.


Might not be needlepoint but such a wonderful holiday arrangement.

I had a wonderful time this weekend at Edwardian Needle. I have been looking forward to this weekend since May when Amy told me she was coming to New York for Tony's early birthday celebration. It was so nice to spend time with Amy. We had a lot of laughs and enjoyed time just stitching together. Tony did a wonderful guide for my canvas as well as everyone else's. Karen was stitching a Debbie Mumm Flying Santa and the stitches Tony did for this canvas are just spectacular.
I will ask her to send me a picture to post for you all to see.

Linda

Progress on Canvas

Today was a fun day in class. I had two master teachers helping me.



Tony and Amy helped me with this flower. Tony with the petals and the middle of the flower which is Stumpwork. A wooden bead is wrapped with thread. Amy suggested we string beads around the wooden beads. I have not yet finished this beading.


What a beautiful flower Pam taught me to make. It is not yet attached to the canvas since it will be one of the last things to do.

Here are some more pictures of Amy and Tony.


A big hug hello.


A total look of shock on Tony's face


Sharing a laugh

More to come.

Linda

Guess Who Was In Class Today

Today I took a canvas embellishment class with Tony Mineri and Tony had a surprise student. It was amazing that just about everyone in the class knew that Amy was coming to surprise Tony and we were able to keep the secret. Tony was really surprised. It was nice spending the day with Amy just stitching.



Day two tomorrow. Hope to take pictures is the class to post.

Linda

It Is Beginning To Look Like Christmas

I have been decorating and cleaning for three days and am finally ready for Santa.
Cannot wait to see Jake's face tomorrow when he sees everything is done.
The highlight of my decorating is taking out my Nativity and setting it up on the mantel. This was the first Home Study from Amy that I did. I am so proud of this project. It introduced me to a totally new world of needlepoint.
We purchased a new tree this year. I wanted a slim line tree and am very happy with it. My goal for this year is get more needlepoint ornaments completed for it.
I am presently working on a Princess and Me ornament called Anticipation. Will post a picture during the week.

The tree

My mantel and coffee table
Will do some close-up pictures so you can really appreciate the Nativity and the few needlepoint ornaments I have.
Hope everyone had a very Happy Thanksgiving.
Please keep Melinda from Living the Good Life blog in your thoughts and prayers.
Her brother passed away suddenly on Friday. I spoke with her today and she is holding up as well as can be expected.
Linda

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of our blog followers! I have been rather non-contributory, with no real excuse other than I have not nearly as much to share as my stitching sister. She is far better than I at both stash enhancement as well as sharing her stitching accomplishments. Since I am attached to the Thanksgiving house, there's not a lot to report between kit completions. So, at long last, I have finished kit 3, just in time for Thanksgiving.

Wishing all of our fellow stitchers a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday surrounded by love & appreciation for each other. With best wishes,
Denise

Finishing and Stash Enhancement

Today I picked up Jake's Christmas ornament from Stitch by Stitch in Larchmont.
I am thrilled with the way it came out. Jake is going to love it


Front of Ornament


Side view


Back of ornament. I always engrave on the back of Jake's ornaments

While I was in the store I noticed this Stumpwork Sampler by Kelly Clark. It came with the Stumpwork Notebook. I have been wanting it and since I had a coupon from the store I purchased it. Oh, what a wonderful Notebook it is. Everything is so well diagramed and the instructions are very clear. This is truly a learning piece. I am looking forward to this Stumpwork journey.



Canvas and Notebook


Index of Stumpwork Techniques

I wanted to post a picture of a page from the notebook since they are so well done but felt I could not since it is copyrighted. This is such a wonderful Notebook. I am going to experience so many new techniques and learn so much. I usually do not recommend things but I do recommend this Sampler and Notebook.

Linda

"friends" Completed

Tonight I finished stitching my "friends" canvas. This canvas would not have been possible without the help of two wonderful friends. I cannot thank them enough for making my dream come true. Every time a stitch was put into this canvas I thought of all the wonderful friends I have and how lucky I am.

I wanted a special remembrance for my big birthday this year and this is it. Every time I look at my "friends" I will remember all my wonderful friends and family and the wonderful spa/birthday weekend celebration we had. Thank you to everyone for making "friends" such a special and meaningful canvas.




Linda

Stash Enhancement

Last week I received two wonderful Keep Calm ornaments from Peacock Alley.
I just love the Keep Calm canvases. They look like they are fun and quick to stitch.

This one will definitely be made into an ornament. I think I will bead the sleigh and look for a fun thread for the letters.

Just love this one. I will do the scissor in all beads and stitch the letters. I might make this into a stand-up to put on a shelf in my sewing room.
Got to get back to my "friends" canvas. I have the day off and really want to finish it this week.
Linda

Back To Stitching

Well I am finally able to stitch. Jen finally got power back and they have all moved back home. It is so nice to have my nest back.

I have been working on my "friends" canvas and hope to get it finished this week.
I will not send it off for finishing until after Christmas. I do not want it sitting around at the finisher in a pile of other canvases. It is much safer sitting at home.
I will post a picture as soon as it is finished.

Last Sunday I had such a great time in my canvas embellishment class with Tony.
He did a wonderful stitch guide for this small Mindy piece.
Look at the magnet in the corner. When I made it, I did not realize that it matched my canvas.



Overview of canvas minus the buttons that go in the middle of the flower.


Cream bottom border. Oh, what a fabulous job Tony did. He graphed out the perfect pattern to fit the area perfectly. Black beads will be put in the black areas and red beads on the top and bottom areas of each V.




The top stripe area. Wonderful stitches and threads for this area.



Some stripes in the middle area.

Hope to return to this piece soon. Would love to have it finished before the New Year.

Linda

Looking Forward To Sunday

This week started off with Sandy and house guests that will staying for at least another week. Jen has no power and her and Jake moved in with us. I have my daily routine and do no function well when it is disrupted. Needless to say my routine is non existent. No stitching is getting done with all the turmoil going on.
Love having them here but I would like some stitching time.

Sunday I am taking a canvas embellishment class with Tony Mineri at Stitch by Stitch in Larchmont. I am so looking forward to stitching and enjoying some peace and quiet.

Here is a picture of a really cute canvas that I saw on Facebook. It is sneak peak of a Sandra Gilmore canvas for the February trade show. I love it.


Keep all the people who lives have really been turned upside down by the devastating destruction caused my Sandy in your prayers. It is hard to believe the loss that Sandy has caused. It certainly helps you appreciate how lucky you are when you see all this devastation.
Linda

Happy Halloween

Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Halloween. Halloween has been cancelled in our area due to Sandy. We are all safe and sound. I have suffered no real damage or loss of power. Some have not been as lucky and they are all in my prayers.
The destruction that Sandy caused is totally unbelievable. Our beaches and shores have been totally destroyed.

My daughter has been without power so they have moved in with us. Needless to say my life is upside down. Thought I would get a lot of stitching accomplished since she has not had work for three days now (just about every school district has been closed since Monday) but that has not happened. I am going to need a vacation after this.

Some pictures of Jake in his Jake the Neverland Pirate costume.


Jake and his friend


Jake waiting for the parade to start

Linda

Daredevil Jake

Here are a few pictures of Jake on a zip line. He really is not afraid of anything.



Getting ready


Swinging


Getting off

He is one adventurous little guy.

Linda

Winter Blossom

What a fun weekend we had at Amy's! It was fun meeting new friends and spending the weekend stitching on my wonderful canvas. I love this series by Labors of Love. I ordered the Autumn one before I left. Amy did a fabulous stitch guide for my girl. I am always amazed how she is able to pick the perfect stitch and thread for an area.

Karen and I had wonderful time visiting with both Amy and Jill and were very sad to leave.

Winter Blossom has not been touched since I came home and I really hope to be able to pick her up soon.




Overview


Her wonderful face with two eyebrows.


The beautiful pansy


Starting the small blue flowers.

My time for stitching is going to be limited since Nana Day Care will be starting at 7 in the morning.

Linda

Needlepoint Friends Are The Best

This past weekend Karen and I got to spend sometime with some friends we met in California who live in Memphis. We had a blast with them. Jan owns a needlepoint shop in Memphis called Stitches. It is a great shop that sells both needlepoint and cross stitch. Linda is one of Jan's customers and they are very good friends.
We meet Linda and Jan for dinner and drinks at Flemings a very nice restaurant not far from Jan's store. We had a wonderful dinner, great conversation and lots of laughs. We are all going to The Needle Works in April for a class. After dinner Linda invited us back to her home for desert. What a beautiful home Linda has. She was all decorated for Halloween and it was just magnificent. Linda has a wonderful talent for decorating.
To our surprise and delight Linda had beautiful gift bags for us filled with fabulous scissor fobs and wonderful magnets.
Here are pictures of my wonderful gifts.

As you can see, I am already using two of them. Aren't they fabulous?

Here are the fun magnets Linda made for Karen and me.
I cannot thank Jan and Linda enough for their hospitality and Linda for my wonderful gifts. I will think of her every time I use them.
Linda

Wonderful Weekend

What a wonderful time Karen and I had this weekend. It is hard to believe that tomorrow is our last day. The time went by way too quickly. We meet some new friends, had lots of laughs, great food and relaxing days stitching. I am going to be sorry to leave tomorrow.

Here are some pictures of my Winter Girl from Labors of Love. I stitched for two days but did not accomplish that much.


Overview of canvas


Her face which still needs eyebrows and some outline stitches.


The beginning of stitching the pansy - still have three steps to do.

Well I am going to turn in. Hope I sleep tonight.
Linda

Ready to Go

Bags are packed and I am ready to go. Will blog from Memphis.


I really did try not to overpack.
Linda

Beading

On the roofline. Is done. That's all I'll say about it.

Jake In A Box

Just thought I would share pictures of Jake in a huge box that came today.
No it was not filled with needlepoint, it was coffee and tea from Keurig.




Peeking out of box.


Posing for picture.

Next week at this time we will be in Memphis. So looking forward to this trip.
Linda

Progress on Thanksgiving House

Side two of Kit two is done moving onto the back of the House.


Getting ready for Amy's next week. Looking forward to a relaxing weekend with friends and stitching.

Linda

Fun Day

I had a wonderful day today. The class with SharonG was fantastic. We worked on the Stitcher's ornament. Sharon did the canvas in four color ways - traditional red and green, pink and green, wine and rust and brown.


This is my canvas in the traditional red and green. I also purchased the pink and green in the square 5 by 5 shape.




Here is a picture in the wine color.


Here is the pink and green square.

I am going to make my round ornament into a stand-up. This is such a beautiful piece. The majority of the ornament is beaded and looks just like a glass Christmas ornament. Hope to get back to stitching this soon.

Off to work on the House.

Linda