Need Help.....and More to Share

Greetings! Ah, so good to be back at my blog again - missed you gals!

HELP - I had the nicest comment by Home School Mom......and I'd love to get in contact with her, but there's no option to send an email. Homeschoolmom......if you read this (or if anyone out there reading this knows how to reach her), please email me privately so we can connect. I'd love to share Tudor Tuesdays and other stitching adventures with you!

OK - now on to more to share -

I received several lovely, lovely gifts in the mail these past weeks and want to thank my friends for thinking of me.

Montse (no blog) sent me a lovely card and a hand stitched Christmas ornament. THANK YOU! It's so sweet! I've never seen such a tiny gingerbread man cookie cutter. It graced our home this Christmas.

Pilar, such a wonderful friend from Spain, sent me these GLORIOUS scissors! Thank you! They've already been put to use.

And last, but certainly not least, Charlene of Paraclete Designs sent me a calendar called "A Needlework Enthusiast's 2017 Book of Days" and a kit from Just Nan called "Glorious Wings".
I've never ever seen the calendar before. It's a vehicle to record my thoughts, musings and needlework projects. I'm excited to start and hope, someday, my daughter will find it and treasure my needlework journeys. Thank you, Charlene!

For those of you who have been reading my blog for awhile....you know I get off on different toots (aka, projects/challenges) and I've been experimenting with sculpting in polymer clay. Well, meet "Snowboy".

The little star is also made out of polymer clay. He was a labor of love.

5 inch Polymer Clay ornament

Speaking of "Labor of Love".......here's Santa - more about Santa's Saga later - most likely next week, as I'm finishing his costume....

Wishing you a lovely weekend and a New Year that sparkles.

It's Been Awhile....

I can't believe how the time has flown these past weeks. I just checked my posts and see it's been 20 days since my last post. I'm still behind trying to keep up with everyone's blogs and happenings....hope to get back to that soon. Anyway, here's what I've been up to:

RAK #61 delivered safe and sound to Dzintra:

Pillow from a freebie design I printed off years ago....

Sorry I can't find the designer to share with you all....

Some extra goodies...

Here's what DH made for our sweet 2 year old GD:

Hummingbird Cradle - 20"L x 10"W

I made ornaments for step-grandchildren:

Hattie Hedge Hog and Scotty Squirrel (I changed Sophie to "Scotty" since it's for a boy ;0))

Freebies from Brookes Books

I participated in Cheryll's Santa Sack Swap and received this fabulous treasure trove of goodies from Sarah from Sarah Did It!.

A tin of Earl Grey tea (my FAVE), gorgeous, gorgeous tatted lace and a tatted Christmas stocking...a magnet with a view of Sarah's backyard, a sweet zippered bag, mug rug for my teacup. and a fabric box. The box held lots of chocolates.....ummmmmm.....they seem to have disappeared..... <G>

Thank you, Sarah! Everything is purr-fectly perfect (Sarah kind of likes cats).....Love, LOVE the tatting - that's something I cannot do, though I've tried many times. I'm certain I will make a doll that needs the tatted lace to embellish her clothes.

Part of the fun of the Santa Sack Swap is reading your partner's blog to discover what they like - I forgot to take pictures of what I sent to Sarah, so these are from her blog. 

Can you tell Sarah is fond of cats??

Oh dear - the time has gotten away from me - I need to run into town to get a few things before it turns unbelievably windy and cold. I've got more to share.....tomorrow!

Advent Calendar Blog Hop 2016

Greetings and good morning! I have the pleasure of taking part in Jo "who can't think of a clever nickname's" Advent Calendar Blog Hop - check out the entire Advent Calendar at Jo's Serendipitous Stitching to see what other stitchers have shared.

OK - Jo gave me the following question:

"Decorations - do you have a favourite decoration you must have on display every year, maybe an heirloom, one the children made or something with a special story behind it?"

I guess my answer would have to be our Christmas stockings. Christmas just isn't Christmas without "hanging the stockings on the chimney with care." 

There are a lot of memories wrapped up in each and every one of them. I used to travel - a LOT - for work. Whenever I'd travel, I'd search out needlepoint shops and purchase something unusual or that spoke to my heart. These stockings have been all over the USA.

 The ones on the left are mine and my DH.....the ones on the right are DD's and the puppies. (Can't forget those puppies)!

My stocking was purchased in a sweet little shop outside of Dallas. DH was attending a conference, so I took some vacation time and tagged along. He patiently drove me to several NPSs - it was in one of those I fell in love with the angel stocking. 

DH is an outdoorsman and he can identify just about any bird and its song. We love seeing the cardinals feeding at our bird feeders in the winter time - so when I saw the cardinal stocking (Atlanta), I knew I had to stitch it for him.

The stocking with the star was spotted in my own neighborhood. It seemed to reach out to me and was perfect for my little girl (who is now 33......this one's been around for a long time <G>).

And - of course - the puppies - we've almost always had dogs. When their time came to cross over Rainbow's Bridge, it was heartbreaking for me to put their stockings away that had their names on them. So, when I spotted this paw print canvas in Phoenix, it was the answer - one for all.

I'm looking forward to seeing all the stitchers and their posts - sharing their Christmas memories. Thank you, Jo, for hosting this wonderful Blog Hop.

More to Share

RAK Number 60 arrived at Sarah's doorstep:

Needlepoint and leather box

The needlepoint design is my logo - the Claddagh....I thought it fitting to send something depicting my logo and mantra as the magic number SIXTY. Little did I realize, I sent an extra.....#61 is yet to be delivered.....but it has a long way to go from Iowa, USA. I accidentally deleted the picture of the extra goodies I sent to Sarah, but pop over to her blog here and take a peek.

I wanted to mention - I forgot to post RAK #50. It went to Jaimie at Cricket-bug Corner:

 Porcelain Napkin Rings - Painted in European Style 

Extras.....

I must admit, I've been on a sabbatical of sorts from stitching. I will be finishing three Christmas ornaments for the DGS, DStepGS, and DStepGD in the next week or so. Seems my Stitching Mojo needs a break. I've still been busy creating, I'll share the results soon. Until then.....Happy Stitching!