Mill Hill Santas finished

Just in time to put the ornaments away, I finished two Arctic Circle Santas--Nunavut Santa and Greenland Santa. 

I finished stitching Nunavut after um ... five years, started for Debbie's Crazy Ultimate January Challenge. I also want to correct my previous statement that the sable and pebble beads were in the same pack. The pebble beads were sort of gray-brown and I was using them as if they were two different beads because I can't read instructions. Once I realized my mistake I was too far along, so no sable beads appear in this piece. Oh well.

I finish-finished (um, glued on felt backing and cut out) Greenland Santa which I finished stitching in 2016. You all, there is some sadness in that craft room-cum-home office. A number of unfinished projects of all sorts. Now that I'm hanging out in there regularly (like many, I have been work from home since March 13) I'm feeling more compelled to get stuff done. I'll keep you updated about that vague goal.

Tradition (You should sing that)

 One tradition that I didn't let this year get in the way of was stitching an ornament for my nieces. 

 

These are Snow Buddy and Candy Claus from Satsuma Street. They stitched up quickly. And they are such fun, happy colors. I bought all the patterns for this set, and I might stitch the deer for myself because it is so mid-Century modern. A blue deer! I tell you what will they think of next?

Stitching these put me in the mood to stitch on perforated paper. I picked up Nunavut Santa (which I have been stitching since 2015?). There was less than an hour to do on the stitches. I have started beading and Mill Hill is trying to kill me by putting 02056 (sable) and 03011 (pebble gray) in the same bag. They also put green and black in the same bag, and I tell you the older I get the less funny this is! Maybe I'll have a finish to show you soon because it is embarrassing that I have been stitching on a 51x68 piece for FIVE years!

Lapland Santa

This is Lapland Santa designed by Sandra Cozzolino for Mill Hill, part of the Arctic Circle Santas. I was rooting around on the blog to see that the last time I worked on this was in 2015? Can that be true?

In this session Santa gained two feet but the reindeer lost one. I guess that means I'm not perfect!

I think I am going to put this one and a few of the other smaller pieces on my three-day rotation in December. I have about 37 projects going and I think that may be too many. They aren't seeing the light of day for years at a time! We must put a stop to this madness. I forsee focusing on what I've got going and not many new starts in {gasp!} 2018.

Finish Work

On Friday, I started a bit of cleaning in the craft room. I came across these Mill Hill Santas. I had chosen floss for hangers and felt for backing and it was all in a pile together, but that's as far as I'd gotten. I had a moment debating whether I should put it all away (boo!) or just finish it already. It went on the to-do list.

Last night, after Cookbook Club* and a quick tidy up, I flopped on the couch too tired to tackle her royal PITA, Mary's Stocking. Glue and scissors, somehow, I could handle. Now I have four new ornaments to add to the tree. Clockwise, from top left, Polar Santa - Glacier Santa; Woodland Santa - Frosty Santa; Olde Time Santa - Grandfather Frost (not Mill Hill); and Tropical Santa - Hawaiian Santa. As always, these are fun to stitch and easy to finish.

Looking at these, I realize how haphazardly I approach the sets. (I have all the MH kits, except Renaissance Santas, which just came out.) I've only stitched one Polar Santa, but two Woodland Santas, one Tropical Santa but 5/7 of the Olde Time Santas.** There are 19 Mill Hill sets.  I also have the first Yarn Tree series; some of the early Astor Place series, Bucilla series, and Janlynn series; one offs she did for magazines, and a couple of leaflets featuring her Nutcracker Santas from Imaginating. How does she do it?! (You can find a complete list through 2005 here.) (The Silver Needle has a comprehensive list--all available for sale--of the Mill Hill Santas after 2005.) (That's not clear. If you want a list after 2005, go there, but she has all--since 1998--for sale.)

Anyway, you know what I'll be stitching in my retirement!

*Sheila Lukins USA Cookbook, I made Lemon Zucchini Loaf and the dude made Laurie's Winter Lemon Ice Cream, which Lukins suggested to serve together, and oh.my.awesomesauce!

** Yarn Tree has several sets of the Olde Time Santas. Only the first series involved Sandra Cozzolino, even though she mostly designed the others (coughrippedoffcough) So they're the only ones I have. Except for the Santa Riding a Chicken from the second series. Because Santa. Riding a chicken!

Some Things You May Not Have Seen

The last six weeks or so saw me holed up and churning out secret crafts. So glad to be able to share.

First, I finally finished one of my mother's Christmas gifts, a brag book, yesterday. I had hoped to make the twisted cord several days ago, but do you know there are no directions for making three color twisted cord on the internets when you need them? I may remedy that in 2015. 

At the end of November, I was crafting my butt off to get the 12 Days of Christmas gifts prepared for Beth. You may have seen some of them on her blog. Or maybe you're averse to clicking away from my blog. Or lazy. Or busy. I'm going to do a little recap here in case you missed it. (Be forewarned, I didn't take pictures of everything. I was busy!) This ornament was made by applying heat to crayons in a glass ball. Easy-peasy, and I used the crayons left over from craft day with my niece. Fortunately there were lots of blues which is Beth's favorite color. Having a heat gun and a device with which to hold the glass ornament while you heat it are key.

You've seen the "tinsel spider ornament" before in one of my March Craft Madness posts. But this time I chose colors Beth would like. I also wrote up the story because, let's face it, none of us have ever heard the legend of the tinsel spiders.

The glittered dino was something I saw on Pinterest and loved and wanted to try. I found a dinosaur for dirt cheap. (Since I had put a lot of money into the necklace below, I needed the savings somewhere!) It turns out that this can be interpreted as a Firefly reference. Yay! I used decoupage medium to "glue" the glitter to the dinosaur, which I think has held it on better than regular glue. I don't know, maybe I'm sniffing Mod-Podge fumes. I want some of these guys for myself now.

I made a stack of cards. There were birthday cards and thank you notes as well. I made these on such a gray day. They cheered me up then, so I think they can't fail to cheer up someone about whom you are thinking.

I also made this necklace. Beth had admired the one I had made in boot camp (that I gave to my cousin for Christmas), so I did one for her too. The agate slice is a deep blue and I paired it with sodalite, which has nice meaning for writers and people who suffer from digestive disorders. (Like astrology, gems have a sort of catch-all, helps-with-everything-depending-on-how-you-read-it thing going on, but let's just focus on the relevant.) I sunk a lot of the budget here but I don't think that was a bad thing.

I also knit a basketweave cowl (L40005) from the Lion Brand website, finished the Dr. Who ornament, and made a magnetic bookmark. But I didn't take any photos of those. You really do have to go to Beth's blog to see the rest. This all kept me delightfully busy at the end of November and beginning of December. So glad to be able to share the secret projects with you now!

I Made It: Jolly!

This weekend I made caramelized bourbon peach ice cream, baked potato soup, and Russian eggplant dip (for cookbook club). And I could have shared any of those. (The eggplant dip doesn't photograph well...) Happily, I made it up to the craft room and finished Jolly by Miss Crescent's Crowne (JCS Ornament Issue).

I stitched this ornament in September 2012. I'm actually kind of pleased that it only took me two years to finish. (Seriously, wait until we get to the bottom of that FUFY pile!)

I'm not going to lie, sewing with that pompom trim was a bitch. I wish I had a walking foot, but I did make do with a zipper foot. Still some of the pompoms got caught on the wrong side of the project. I did all the things I was supposed to do (like baste the trim) and well, sometimes done is good. Yes, the ornament is displayed on the backing fabric. Bright enough for you?

I'm really pleased with people showing their stash (show yours!) and more generally with the positive comments from the changes I've made to the blog thus far. I really feel energized for crafting, but maybe that's just the change in the weather?

Love Your Superhero

Thank you for your comments. I am falling behind on following your blogs and on responding to your comments, but trust me you are keeping me out of the pit of despair.

So many things I would have done differently on these, like using the blue paint I bought and making a Superman ornie! (I had a brain freeze when I was making the strawberries and started using red paint everywhere.) Like buying glass instead of acrylic (apparently it's too much to ask to have the glass ones available when it's not Christmas). And, I thought of an awesome thing to do for my Minecraft crazy nephews after I had poured red and gray paint into the balls. (Green paint. Black vinyl squares!) But that's not what I did. I did this: Superhero ornaments

Silent Auction, version 2013

You may have thought I talked myself out about the silent auction, but that was last year's silent auction. There's a whole new year of silent auction for me to talk about! But I won't. So much. Just a little, okay? A while back the cross-stitch ladies thought that maybe they could make a set of ornaments, each person making one or two to complete a set to hang on the Christmas tree. I found a cute nativity in a book and bought some vinyl aida for us to stitch on. (I wanted perforated plastic, but I went with what I found.) When I brought it in one Friday, only one other cross-stitcher was in attendance. So I pitched the plan. And she bit...and then she stitched all of the ornaments herself. All.of.the.ornaments.

All they need is some felt and glue and they're ready to hang!

By contrast, another attendee brings me two pieces of stitching she found in a thrift store, and tells me I can finish them for the tree. Oh really? Can I? She was a little put out that I wasn't excited by this transaction. You don't say.

My Name is Anna, and I'm a Hoarder

When the ladies at Strawberry Sampler called to let me know my thread was in, I hightailed it right over. And, as you can see, a couple of other things hopped into my basket. I love these Sandra Cozzolino ornaments. I collect them. (And sometimes I even stitch them.) I love these colonial Santas. I think they're her best in years. I may have to have the dude take me down to Colonial Williamsburg* to stitch them. It only seems right.

When I said I collect them, I'm not lying. Someday I'll catch up. In about 35 years when I retire.





* I once read about how Williamsburg was completely reconstructed and is a fiction. It broke my twelve year old heart. But I'd still like to go back with the dude to show him our paltry, Disneyfied history.

Christmas in July Continues

Last week, I had Black Snowman as my focus piece. Here's where I started with him. I can't believe I haven't shown him since January! Yikes. Especially since even limited stitching on him has resulted in great strides. I did the idiot stitching per Edgar. (Unlike him, I did not save it for air travel. Oh well.)

This week, I worked on my ornament (sneak peek below*). And I pulled my Three Kings Tall Guys back out. I did the tiniest bit on it today at old lady stitching. I don't have much to report. Summer vacations have our numbers way down. There are fewer stories. Today we were talking about date nut bread in a can. (If you miss it, Vermont Country Store has it under their own label.) And other crazy foods of our youth.

My mom used to make this thing called Texas hash (which has about as much to do with Texas as her Chinese pot pie had to do with China or pot pie). The hash is just rice, tomato sauce, onions, peppers, and browned ground beef. (Maybe a can of mushrooms.) You know, I found both these things online. Today, they were making me feel like my mother was a freak! "Chinese pot pie!" they cringed. What do they know? Someone actually admitted they'd never had Chinese food until they got married! (Someone who lived just outside Philly, not the middle of nowhere.) Now I'm thinking that my mother's cooking was perhaps unsophisticated but it certainly wasn't freakish. You could tell the nemesis was dying to interject but didn't. Hm. Perhaps interesting in its own right.

*Only as much as I've already shown on Facebook.

Cuties

You may remember last November ("Try to remember that time in November..." I know, it's September, the much more romantic month, and all the other words are wrong too) when my college roommate's college-age daughter* joined us for dinner and a movie. Yesterday, she joined me for a day of crafting.** This time it's spring break and her athletic schedule (lacrosse) has her stuck on campus. I didn't know what the hell we were going to do, so I got out Betz White's Warm Fuzzies...okay that sounds so dirty...I got out Betz White's book Warm Fuzzies, marked a few patterns and let Claire choose. 

Cupcakes! Except we couldn't find the cute scraps in 5x10" pieces, so we made minis. 

Close up, morning light.

*Every time I write that phrase, I sprout six grey hairs.
**But first I made her help me bring in the groceries. Then we walked the dog. Because I wanted to help make her feel at home. Also, if you are new to the house, you have to walk the dog. She has issues. This helps.

Folding Paper

There's a whole website of crafts people find on pinterest and fail to replicate called Pinterest Fail. I don't find it all that funny but BuzzFeed pulled a few of them and no matter how many times I show this to people, I crack up especially at #9 and #17.

I know a couple of my projects from last year merited inclusion in the fail category. Probably more than this one does because it is not horrible; it's just not perfect. And it's made from folding paper. How hard can that be? Video directions here.*

I'm most disappointed in that gap at the bottom. It was just frustrating not to be able to get it all to line up. I think if I did this again, I'd use regular paper. I used light cardstock because it was the only two sided print that I had. It made it hard to get the folds just right (see also the white petals at two o'clock.)

*Be prepared to be frustrated by the slow video. Most of her videos have a few hundred views. This one has 5000--slows things down a bit.

Ornament SAL Report

At last! I've finished my first ornament for the Silver Lotus's Ornament Stitchalong.

I worked on it with my old ladies at the library yesterday, but when I got home from the library, I had to start prepping for our first stamping night. My rep has thrown up her hands at the behavior (messy, thieving) of some people at her stamp classes, so she has stopped doing that and gone back to the model of the PMS (Pizza, Music, and Stamping) party; this means she provides us a place to stamp and some supplies, but she doesn't design any cards. Because I know myself, I knew I had to go in with a plan. Preferably over-prepared. So I had four cards from Pinterest and some of the supplies ready to go. And I completed two of the four (seven cards total), but the group used another one of my ideas.

This morning while we watched Newcastle United beat (!) Chelsea, I completed the stitching on my ornament at long last.

Bent Creek

Starry Wreath

Just Cross Stitch Ornament issue

I also went through my JCS ornament issues, and chose a bunch of ornaments for the next few months. With any luck I'll be able to finish them on time!

Santa, Day 14

Speaking of my blog-reading aunt, she read that I didn't have an ornament from New Hampshire. She went on a mission to find me one because she is just awesome like that! It was harder than she expected until she remembered the League of NH Craftsmen shop. The League has an awesome fair up at Sunapee in the summer with hundreds of exhibitors, and every one juried into the league. Perusing their website, I just found out there is an annual ornament. Now I have a mission!

Anyway, this is the one she found for me. It is made by a woman who lives in rural New Hampshire, but who is a theatrical costume designer from St. Petersburg, Russia. It's awesome!

DIY: I spent the last hour trying to find a DIY Russian Santa. Well, Ded Moroz (Grandfather Frost)--they don't really have Santa. But I gave up at last. Here's something for you to paint.

Last Thing I'll Say about the Auction

Auction auction auction...I've been eating, sleeping, breathing, living this thing. (It will not be officially over until the last of the cash changes hands and the thank you notes are written, but I digress.) I thought you might like to see how the tree came out since I teased you with the ornaments the ladies had knitted.

Here's how the tree looked the night of the auction.  Last year, it was stuck in a corner--where the only electrical outlet was located--and only two of us who frequent Tea and Stitch bid on it. This year it had pride of place and got lots of action--even from people who don't know the ladies who made the ornaments. Still, it was won by the library director. It made about $40 more than last year as well. (Overall we made about $500 more dollars than last year.)

This is how I chose to finish the Lizzie*Kate ornament. I used Vonna's tutorial and went with three layers of felt because that green doesn't really match--which someone at Tea and Stitch pointed out. (Nice.)

Oh, and you can just get a peek of the knitted garland. It's stretched tight--a guy put the tree together--but I wasn't messing with it once he finished. Not my management style.

I made four of these button ornaments. I used about 700 pins in these suckers and loads of buttons. I spent way more on these than I should have...but people loved them. These would be a great gift for a sewing--or stitching, quilting, crafty--friend. You can make them while you watch tv.

I also made four of these scrappy ornaments. You might recognize the balls from this wedding ornament project. It's the same principle but you use scrapbooking paper (or scraps) in the ball. I used about five whole sheets of 12x12 paper in these four ornaments. That dark burgundy dotted paper really overwhelmed the scheme so I used a lot less of it.

You may be wondering what happened to the other two ornaments I stitched up. Let's just say that all that eating, sleeping, breathing, living the auction got in the way. I have quite a head start on next year's tree.

This tree was put together with lots of contributions. I couldn't have done it without my Tea and Stitch ladies. They're the best!

I Wrote 2000 Posts and All I Got Was...

I’ve been away. First it was the silent auction. The day after that my parents showed up. They stay with my sister but they seem to occupy my life when they hit the border of Pennsylvania. It was nice. We celebrated my birthday with a trip to Teikoku. I took them to Han Dynasty, the best Szechuan restaurant in Philly; they raved about it the rest of the week. My mother and I went shopping at King of Prussia. We didn’t do too much else. On Saturday, we went shopping with my sister—looking for furniture for her house. Blah blah blah. I kept thinking about posting because I know it’s been a while, but it was my 2000 post! It had to be a good one. 

Since last week, when I went to see my internist, I have been wearing a giant splint on my right ring finger. When I told the dude, “I have to see the orthopedic hand surgeon," he responded, "again?" We must not blame him; can there be another response? That little injury I reported a month ago, from my beautiful puppy? Left ring finger avulsion with swan neck deformity. (That's broken with ligament damage to you and me.) The good news is no surgery. But it has compounded the obstacles to posting lately. I’ve figured out how to work around the problem of typing ess, double u and ex.

So here it is ladies and gentlemen, my 2000^th post ….the 2012 Just Cross-stitch Ornament review. You have been waiting patiently for a long time. Open your magazines. Let's compare notes.

This year’s magazine opens with the snowflake and snowman ornaments. I like the SamSarah and Amy Bruecken ornaments, but I love the Cherry Wood Design Studio snowman. It’s really all in the construction, but it’s different. (That said, I found something similar in a card making magazine I was perusing recently.) People will be pleased to learn that some ornaments have their photos on the same pages as the design this year. Not all. In fact, there’s not a lot I can say about the layout. It’s still not great.

The next section has animals. And I can’t believe I’m still complaining about the stupid moose puns. Christmas moose is not a thing, and you shouldn’t make a pun with it. “Merry Moose Wishes for Christmas.” Seriously? That just rolls off the tongue. I like Dragon Dreams’ ornament and I may have to stitch it for my dad the Golden Dragon (my niece Lala is one too). People will like Charlotte’s Web’s deer in a landscape. Twisted Oaks Quaker Mouse will appeal to the stitchers of things Quaker. Blackberry Lane’s  Emperor penguin is well-shaded and in that sense artistic, but it kind of looks like we’re watching the penguin give birth. (Don’t worry, like most birds, they hatch.) So it is and it isn’t. Jemini’s bird is not as crazy as some years. So, yes, I love that one less.

Since some people think Christmas is about Jebus, they will include crosses in the ornament issue. Rosewood Manor’s is a needlebook. I like Keslyn’s. I’ve never heard of the designer, but it’s really neat with a purple and green crescent stitch framing the central motif. Tempting Tangle’s ornament is called “Star of the Magi”—each point on the star kind of looks like a magi, but that can’t be because there are four points and only three magi (all those years in Catholic school, and I can count!). Casey Buonaugurio’s doesn’t feature food, amazingly enough. (But she will fill you up with her pineapple cheese ball.) Fern Ridge’s isn’t a cross; it’s a purple and pink tree. “Christmas can come in many colors too.” Is that a thing? Because you know I have nothing against non-Christmas colors. I’ll decorate with pink and green or turquoise and lime but I didn’t know we needed a slogan. Charland has a painful poem about her visit to Christkindlmarkt. Writing poetry is kind of like designing needlework. In needlework it’s not just the design but also the color. And in poetry it’s not just the rhyme, it’s the rhythm. And in this case, rhythm is way more important than rhyme. Next time you write a poem, remember that.

Standouts among the trees include Prairie Schooler (which matches their recent Christmas release), Country Cottage Needleworks and Acorn House’s Mistletoe. Do I really have nothing cleverly snarky to say about the rest? My notes are crap.

Here comes Santa! Heartstrings’ reindeer Santa is cute. As usual, I love Mosey n’ Me’s Franknsanta (that’s my new name for Santas that look like Frank). But where is he? He doesn’t appear in the photo with Judy, and that worries me. I don’t love Imaginating’s ornament but there’s a sweet story about her design partner. I like Primitive Hare’s “I Believe in Santa” as you know my Christmas is all about the Santa. But you’ve got to read her story about Jesus and the Christmas donkey. Wait…what? (Why am I thinking about Shrek right now?) 

I don’t think I can explain why there are so many ornaments that feature houses but we’ve reached that section. I think I might stitch Cherished Stitches, Little by Little, Plum Street and Little House Needlework’s ornies. The prim fans will love Niky’s Creation. These are mostly all good, but mostly very similar to ones we’ve seen before.

I’ve labeled the next section “soft rose” which must mean all the ornaments in this section are of a certain colorway. I don’t love La-D-Da’s stocking. I think it’s the wrong shape for the color and design. She’s designed a Turkish genie’s stocking and made the colors soft and the decoration colonial. A stocking with this shape should have crazy colors. Moss Creek’s ornament looks quick and easy. I shall reserve my judgment; I’d need to see it made up to see what I think. I’m not in love with Blackbird’s design which is shocking. Gentle Pursuit’s stocking says “Believe and Receive” which I somehow read as Believe and Relieve…and all I could think of was heartburn. Lo How a Rose fans will find a companion ornament in this section by Jane Timmers of Fancy Work, who writes about a Christmas tradition of a stitching group. Everyone chooses and kits an ornament from the issue and shares with the group, and they have an ornament stitching GTG. Now don’t you wish we were friends IRL?

My next note cracks me up. Over three lines in my notebook paper I wrote:

 Wiseman on p. 79. 

And it’s true. How many times do I have to say it? Wise Men is TWO words. WTF?  It’s not even one word in the Bible…I checked.

Red and green, the traditional Christmas colors some designers railed against, is the final group of ornaments. Sampler Girl has a Jane Austen Ornament. Fresh Threads has gone totally stale with their ornament which looks exactly like the last two. I mean, there’s design consistency and there’s boring. Lizzie*Kate is back, y’all, back from the abyss of her “I don’t give a shit” ornaments. This one harmonizes nicely with patterns she recently released. Raise the Roof channels the chipmunks with their “Please Christmas Don’t be Late” ornament. Who’s going to stitch candy ribbon when you can make them from ribbons, like this? Still Stitching with Susan wins the lame ass ornament of the magazine. But she may redeem herself with a recipe for crab dip. My last little note says “cute plaid ornament and coconut pound cake” which seems to be all I can muster to say about DebBee’s Designs.

Because they keep sending them, I’ll comment on the recipes. Every year someone sends a duplicate recipe. This year there are two hot artichoke dips—Dames of the Needle and Summer House Stitche Workes. Charlotte’s Web sends curried cream of pea soup which sounds horrible. Who’s going to try it and report back? Turquoise graphics sends a recipe for a Mediterranean Salad wrap; I don’t know what I was planning to say about this, but I’ve singled it out for some reason. I’m going to give Glendon Place’s “Holiday potatoes” a pass because there’s a 3:2 ration of potatoes to fattening dairy products. I’m not giving them to every veggie recipe though. Even though Workbasket’s Frosted Cauliflower is loaded with dairy…it’s still cauliflower, and I’m still not making my guests eat it! Also not going to inflict cabbage noodles nor sauerkraut caraway no matter how well it goes with pork or fowl.

Stitcherhood’s buckeye recipe is not on page 106; try page 108. Also look for it alphabetized under “The.” Ugh. Total pet peeve. This is why we don’t let computers do our alphabetization…unless we input “Stitcherhood, The.” I’m not a huge fan of hardanger but thank god for Roz Watnemo who knows holiday desserts should have scant amounts of fruit and loads of fat! She’s given us Fresh Fancy Fruit Salad with peach pie filling. The Shepherd’s Bush ladies send a candied popcorn recipe, which I cannot make because I don’t know what “soft Christmas candy” is. Oatmeal cookies: There are two kinds of people in this world, those who use add chocolate chips and those who make oatmeal cookies the wrong way.* Jeannette Douglas is a good woman.

I love the idea of the Christmas morning breakfast cookie sent in by Sue Hillis. But the execution? Puhlease it’s a cookie not a “health bar.” Thea Dueck gets crap from me every year because year after year her recipes are too healthful. This year—fried cheese. Yay, Thea! Now that’s the Christmas spirit!

Now rush out and stitch some ornaments (let me know and I’ll make a collection again) and try the recipes. I need some reports on how they taste.

*Recently I heard a shocking tale of someone who made them with raisins AND chocolate chips. All I can say is that is a sin. Just when you think you’re biting into chocolate, squish, it’s a raisin.

Day Five: Newlywed Ornaments

Sure you could make ornaments out of newlyweds, but the law so frowns on that. Instead, I made ornaments for the newlyweds! I did try to get to these by Christmas, but I couldn't find the damn invitation (just the one to the reception in Maine). I broke down and asked my sister for another last week in preparation for my month o' craftin'. She didn't even ask why. She only used about a third of the number she was forced to buy, so she probably figures I could make confetti out of it and she'd still be ahead. So I did...make confetti out of it.

I first saw these ornaments on Sweet Pea Stitches just before Christmas, December 12th in fact, so I am not going to beat myself up (any more) for not getting these done by December 25th!

I didn't follow directions or anything. I mean, you cut up paper and you put into a fillable ornament. It's not rocket surgery or brain science! I did have to figure out how to work with the formal invitation. It was two types of cardstock glued together, I started wrapping it around a pencil and the blue card would buckle away from the cream card. I would separate the two at the buckle and reglue at the end, snipping away the excess blue.

The gold ribbon was on the original card, thus the unworkable length. I added the red ribbon to the stateside reception ornament because it needed something. Et voila! the first anniversary present complete (two months early!).

Three years ago, I did this meme. I had planned to put up--and blog about a second tree but I skipped it because my house was torn apart shortly before Christmas so we could put new counters in. Last year we were in Florida, and I only put up one tree (and only under duress). The year before we flew to England just after Christmas and stayed for two weeks so we didn't decorate. Anyway, here we are and plan to stay this holiday season. So we've got the handmade tree up. I thought you might like to see it.


How many angel ornaments do you have hanging on your tree? About eight, including a half dozen of these angels my mother made (or maybe commissioned). (Not the best photo, but her wings are blue velvet.)

How many star ornaments do you have? Two: star-shaped dog, star-shaped Santa.

Do you have a theme tree, and if so, what is it? This tree is mostly Santas but I do allow any handmade ornament on it. 

How many Santa ornaments? A lot!

How many ornaments were handmade by you or your children? About 50, by me. But God forbid I take a photo of one. (Look at yesterday's post!)

Are there any food ornaments on your tree? Does Santa riding a chicken count?

Are there any ornaments that betray your origins, i.e. where you're from? I do have a few souvenir ornaments on the tree, but none are from NH: A steel drum from Grenada, a die cut metal ornament from Multonomah Falls a trip for my 30th birthday, and a sand dollar from a trip we took to St. Thomas for Maggie's 80th birthday. I guess this one from Kennepunkport is the closest. Plus it's a knitting lobster, what's not to love?

What's the oldest ornament on your tree? I think it's either this angel or this one, both vintage finds from an antiquer friend.

What ornament do you have that is the least likely to be hanging on someone else's tree? have I mentioned the chicken? Not very many of these are likely to be on other people's trees. Easier to say which ones aren't unique--like the soccer ball Santa we're using as a tree topper! (Photo, above--check out the stardog.)

And finally, do you have any new ornaments this year? I did manage to finish a few this year, but not stitch any. Not sure that counts.

Ornaments

I'm sorry I haven't been around much. I am up to my eyeballs. I'm getting lots of freelance work, and even though I have a metric ton to do around the house in preparation for the holidays, I can't say no to paid work. 


Missy over at Eat Stitch Love wants to know:


How many STITCHED ornaments do you hang on your tree?
About fifty--I've stitched a lot of Sandra Cozzolino's santa ornaments (she designs the beaded Mill Hill trios, but she was making them before Mill Hill picked her up). I stitched a  set of six Mill Hill Santa heads as well and a dozen or so from the JCS Ornament issues.


How many ornaments do you stitch a year?
Sometimes more...sometimes less. I didn't stitch any this year, though I did briefly consider doing a bride's tree set for my sister. Then I lay down and the feeling passed. For a while I was having a hard time coming up with a present for her, and I kind of wish I had. But I found something tres chic.

How many do you give as gifts?
Again, this is something I only do sometimes, usually for my nieces. I once stitched one for my uncle, and he thought it was store bought! But then he figured it would have been hard to find a Santa with a lobster (Prairie Schooler).


Do you participate in ornament exchanges?
No. I did do Fair and Square for a while and I made those into ornaments, but I've never done a dedicated ornament exchange.


These answers make it seem like I should have a bare tree! But I never seem to...

Advent Calendar

Season's Greetings!

Today, I am participating in Jo's Advent Calendar {Serendipitous Stitching}. Of course if you came over from her blog, you knew that, so welcome!

I've made a little collage of Christmas ornaments past that I don't believe I've featured on my blog. Most were stitched in the late 90s/early aughts. The Christmas orchid is Lilac Studio from the JCS Ornament Issue 1998; the bird is in JCSO 2000, but I took it as a class with Catherine Theron; Fa La La is by Twisted Threads in JCSO 2000; and the green hearts is a Sue Stokes ornament that came from a class at Celebration in New Hampshire probably in the same time period.

Sharing Tradition
A lot of people sit down to a traditional Christmas dinner with roast meat and a couple of courses, linen napkins, and the whole nine yards. We used to do this at my father's parents on Christmas day. We'd have an overcooked roast beef, and my grandmother would be run off her feet getting everything together. As grandchildren married, it became more and more difficult for all of us to sit down together on Christmas day for our overcooked beef. At first we picked another day we could all come--December 22nd or 26th or something like that. Eventually things became too difficult for my grandparents to handle alone (my grandfather was in charge of the beef). So we started rotating houses: one aunt's one year, another's the next. The third year, my third aunt didn't want to host, but it was my mother's turn to host her family on Christmas Eve and there was no way she was turning around and hosting the following day. So we started going to a restaurant. A few years later, we just stopped pretending we liked each other and stopped getting together for Christmas. It was a great relief.

But...what was my nuclear family going to do on Christmas day? What would our tradition be? Roast beef cooked properly? Every other year host a Christmas Eve feast and then make a roast the next day? My mother decided that Christmas should be fun and relaxing for her too. So several years ago, my mother set out three elements for our celebration, and they continue to this day.

1. No one gets out of their pajamas. (The churchgoers go on Christmas Eve).
2. We order in Chinese. (The food fetchers usually throw on an overcoat and shoes to disguise their wardrobes.)
3. We play games. Ever year, my mother buys each "kid" a game (when the boys joined the family, they started getting games too) and we spend the day playing. (If someone gets a DVD we may watch that as well.)

It's low-key, and it suits us well.

Many of our Jewish friends have been doing it for decades; they call it "December 25th."