What I did not accomplish over my Christmas vacation

New Year's Day. Excellent day for resolutions, best made plans & all that.

January 3. Better day for more well thought out resolutions.

So, I thought, I have this nice 4 day weekend. I am just going to sit down & finish some of those completed projects in my stash. I have quite a few Mittens & Socks from Fireside Stitchery's club. And then there were the three 5" x 5" canvases to make into pillows. I had all the materials, the trims, the time, the patience. My darling daughter helped me make the cording for the ornaments. So exciting. Linda & I anticipated my posts of all those lovely completed items.

I did all my cutting on New Year's Eve afternoon. Took a few hours, but my grandmother taught me to cut everything at the same time if you can. Cutting makes such a mess, may as well clean that up just the one time. Then I sat down & sewed together an ornament. I was reminded what a pain it is to turn that tiny ornament, so carefully stitched, right side out, but I got it done. Put on the cording, and hung the ornament on my tree. Wow! Ok, this will be fun. New Year's Day I sewed together the rest of the ornaments. Haven't done the detail work on those yet, so they are halfway done. There are 11 more to trim.

The plan was to sew all day Friday, & do all three pillows. Did not happen. So last night I sewed together maybe 20% of the first pillow. I decided that starting to miter corners at 10 pm wasn't a good idea. I got up today with the best of intentions. At 3:30 the revised resolution was put into effect.

The revised resolution is: I will not be finishing pillows anywhere in my future. I can envision more ornaments...but no more pillows. My pillow, which was at the 90% point when I took it apart, looked....homemade. I was not happy. My stitching looked so good. My pillow looked so amateurish that I was embarrassed. That is the end of that.

In retrospect, what I accomplished over my vacation was to figure out that I don't like sewing pillows so much. I did accomplish something...one thing off of my "to do" list. Now those pillows are being moved to the "bring in for finishing" list.

D

Happy New Year

I want to wish you all a very Happy and Healthy New Year. I hope that this year you find extra time in each day to do a little stitching.

I am not as good as Denise in posting but my resolution for this year is to post at least once a week if not more.

This year is the year of the clubs. I have signed up for four. I just could not choose so I signed up for all four.

Club number one is Kelly Clark's Sophisticated Socks through Needle Nook of La Jolla. Club number two is The Doors through Ridgewood Needlepoint. Club number three is Ruth Schmuff's The Flakes through Bedecked and Beadazzled. Club number four is All that Glitters by A Collection of Designs through Needle House.

I am going to be very busy this year with all my clubs and will keep you informed on my progress. Wish me luck in keeping up with them.

Linda

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! Since it is still Christmas weekend, we really aren't late in sending out good wished. After all, I am still receiving Christmas cards. Of course, Linda has half her decorations put away already. I barely have all of mine out yet.....;)

Here's a photo of Linda & I with a terrific frame weight that Linda ordered for me. Can you read what it says? We had a lovely Christmas dinner celebration with our families last weekend. Excellent fun!

Happy New Year to all as well!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We wish all our friends a lovely, peaceful, happy, healthy Thanksgiving holiday! I will be spending time with my cousins at their home in upstate New York, and I am anticipating lots of laughter and relaxation. I have to admit that I don't think there will be much stitching, though!

I regularly reflect on the many people I am thankful for in my life, recognizing those who are no longer here, and thankful for those who have contributed to who I am today. I hope all of you take this opportunity to do the same. Happy weekend!

D

What I've Been Doing

Hi! Sorry there's been so little activity lately, but it has been a little crazy since we came back from Italy. Here's a photo of the completed Christmas stockings. I am so pleased with the way they came out! And, you may ask, why is Ashley's pointing left, while the others pointing right? Ashley is left handed!

You might also note our new kitten, Mia, in the bottom of the photo. Both she, & her sister, Cara, are very intimately involved in my stitching. They are both Tonkinese kittens which we picked up from a breeder just over 2 weeks ago, after our beloved Dominique died (she was a Tonk too). I think Cara, Mia & I have effectuated a compromise yesterday which involves me relocating on a different part of the couch so they can lay in the corner of the couch. This also involves me moving my light, but at least I can stitch without both of them on top of me!

A New Site for Needlepointers

Janet Perry, of Nuts about Needlepoint fame, has a new web site for needlepointers called All About Needlepoint. It already shows quite a bit of promise, and is especially helpful (at least now) for those newest to needlepoint. Check it out!

http://www.aboutneedlepoint.com/index.html

I'm back!

I am back from my sojourn in Italy. We had a wonderful time, attended my cousin's wedding in Rome which was set in a romantic castle built in the 1200's. That is one of the so special things about Italy--castles from the Medieval times are not all that unusual.

Then we went to Ponza, where I have a small house which has been in my family for over 140 years. Here's a photo from one spot on the island.

D