First post of 2012

I did have one last finish in 2011.  My Quaker Stocking.

Quaker Stocking by CHS

40ct Meadow Rue

NPI fibers plus one rogue green AVAS

I'm glad to have it done.  I'm rather Quaker-ed out stitching wise.

I picked up my And They Sinned after being inspired by Nicola of Stitching by a Cornish Sea.   I was horrified to discover that I was still in the midst of that darned cloud.  lol!  But I managed to finish it, plus the motifs in the cloud as well.

I've decided though, that it's going to take a bit of effort for me to get through the next part of the piece above the tree.  Too busy for me!  lol!  My favorite parts of this piece are farther down.

Our New Years Day always means that it's time to make Chinese dumplings from scratch.  It's a New Year's tradition that goes way back to when I was a little girl.  It's a lot of work, making the skins from scratch, the meat mixture from scratch, and then sitting down to make the dumplings!  But it's also a lot of fun and a great time for the family to sit and talk while our hands are busy making something yummy for our tummies.  :D   

This is the end result.

Yum!!!

So I'm revealing a secret today.  All those pics of the boy child and Mia sleeping together you've seen over the many posts I've made have been on my bed, not his.  Want to see his bed?  You will see why I tend not to take pics of his bed.  lol!

See how well he makes up his bed?  lol!  And yes, he keeps various items on his bed too.  That thing in the foreground is a guitar/bass guitar holder, in case you're wondering.  Mia has been enjoying these lazy Christmas break days with her boy child sleeping in.  :D

I didn't take a single stitch yesterday on New Year's Day.  I hope that's not a bad sign for 2012!  I was thinking about starting a new piece for the day, especially since I plan to take part in BeckySC's 2012 BAP challenge.  But I decided I really need to at least try to finish Sarah Elizabeth Brooke before starting another BAP.  So the challenge will have to wait for now.

One final little thing.  Rose Bowl Parade not on New Year's Day??  Ugh!  And what's with this horrid opening ceremony thing, all commercial and singing and disgusting?  What happened to the plain, simple parade as it was in the old days?  Bleagh!  Ok, I'll settle for a Macy's Thanksgiving Parade with these singing, dancing type pieces.  But please don't make my Rose Bowl Parade like that!  Thank goodness they've started limiting that stuff just to the opening.  Sorry.  I've just been watching the parade since I was little and I miss how it used to be.  (And I was quite surprised to find that I had to wait till today to watch it!)  I even got to go to the parade once for real when I was in elementary school or junior high.  It was fun!  In case you're wondering, they don't do the Rose Bowl on Sundays.  Scares the horses.  :D

Thanks as always for stopping by and saying hi.  It's so wonderful to be able to chat with my blogging friends!  I will leave you with another pic of the boy child and Mia.  Mia was cuddling inside the torn bag, before I took this picture.

Have a great week!  And here's wishing everyone a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2012 with lots of stitching!

Year in review 2011, another stocking, and a gift

It seems weird to think 2011 is almost over and that the next time I will post to this blog will be in 2012.  Of course that means I have to show what I've stitched this year.  If you squint hard, you'll probably be able to see all the pieces in this pic.  My sidebar has a list of them if you want to know names.  (I've not shown all of SDW, but just two different parts of it.)

It's been a fun year of stitching!  Now I just need more funds for framing.  lol!

After finishing my Noah stocking, I realized I have 3 stockings all ready and waiting to be finished.  But wait, there are 4 members in my family!  So of course I had to start a last CHS stocking.  The only one I had kitted up was the Quaker Stocking, so that's the one I started.

I'm using 40ct Meadow Rue (one of the last pieces I had from the old days when the color was nice) along with the called for NPI.  I did throw in a bit of green though.  Couldn't resist.

 It's obviously not done yet.  I love Quakers, but I've gotten rather sick of stitching them.  So this one is a bit of a struggle to get through.  I did want to stitch a Quaker stocking though.  The father type and I used to attend Quaker meeting once upon a time.  And the girl child attended a Quaker summer camp as well.  Somehow Quakers have been a part of our lives, and having a stocking to commemorate that is rather nice.

I got another wonderful surprise in the mail the other day from Faye of Carolina Stitcher.  I was so surprised and touched!

It's a wallet Faye made herself.  Look at the gorgeous fabric!  And I love the button and the pretty zip pull charm!  Thank you so much, Faye!  I will use and treasure this!

Our little Mia does love to get into things.  She fell in love with some packing material from a box and just had to play hide and seek in it.  Can you see her?

I think she felt nice and safe inside all that stuff.  lol!  She's been a bit on the grumpy side since the girl child got home.  I do wish she would accept the girl child and not be a little meanie.

Thanks as always for stopping by and saying hi.  I hope everyone who celebrates Christmas had a good one.  I know we did!

 I wish everyone a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2012.  Enjoy the last days of 2011!