Last Few Hours of 2011

As 2011 draws to a close, I have completed my final finish.  The sampler itself was finished long ago.  I just never managed to frame it.  I even had the frame and mats ready to go.  This afternoon, I laced the sampler onto a piece of foam core.  Lacing is a very tedious task and I am ever so glad it is done. 

The day with the least amount of daylight has come and gone.  The shortest day is a good day because after it, the days start getting longer even if we continue to have winter temperatures.  More sunlight is always welcome. 

In Minnesota, 31 December 2011 has 10 minutes more sunlight time than 21 December.  To me, that is wonderful. 

One More Thing

My friend made this Santa and gave him to me.  It is a potholder.  She has a sewing machine that can be programmed to do gorgeous automatic embroidery.  Santa is going to be my kitchen Christmas decoration.  That is where he will stay so everyone can see him. 

Thank-you, Janice, and bless you for your generosity. 

They are done

The final two ornaments are finished and are the last finishes before Christmas.  I actually finished them Thursday but did not make the composite to show you the back together with t he fronts.  I have two things yet to finish next week.

Yesterday we had a little snow.  It fell in large, soft flakes and made it feel like we were inside a snow globe.  When I walked this morning, the snow glistened in the lights.  Perhaps it will last through tomorrow but that is not a certainty.  In Minnesota, we expect to have a white Christmas but there is an occasional year when we do not. 

Also yesterday, we shifted into efficient work mode to clean the house for Christmas dinner tomorrow.  In the morning, I used the long handled duster to be certain there were no cobwebs in the corners.  What I did not realize was that I knocked the thermostat.  Throughout the day, the house temperature gradually fell.  During the night I thought it was colder than it should have been but I was not awake enough to think to check the thermostat.  As I walked this morning, the thought dawned on me.  When I returned home, I checked it and yes, it was low, very low.  We are anticipating that warmth will return to the house this morning.

The extended family is coming tomorrow  Today there is more cleaning to do as well as food preps.

Merry Christmas to All

One Done and Two to Go

Joy is done and I need to make arrangements to give it to its intended owner.  It turned out quite well, I think. 

Goodwill to All still has a lot left.  I hope to have both finished Wednesday but that may be a stretch. 

Working to finish stitching

I have just finished stitching Joy and may even construct the ornament today or tomorrow. 

The design is by Jeanette Douglas and was published in the Just Cross Stitch Ornaments 2010 issue.  Unintentionally, I substituted a darker, richer, reddish color thread for the ribbon.  Quite frankly, I am very pleased with it.  I also substituted Delica beads for Mill Hill beads.  The colors are essentially the same.  The Delicas were handy and I did not have to go into my unheated storeroom, the porch.  At this time of the year, it alternates between being a walk-in refrigerator and a walk-in freezer.  The fabric to the left is the silk that I will use to cover the back. 

Progress is a little slower on Goodwill to All.  It is by Barbara Jackson of Tristan Brooks Designs.  It was published with two co-ordinating designs in the Winter 2002 issue of Sampler & Antique Needlework Quarterly.  I have already stitched the other two designs. 

All three of these little ornaments are intended to be gifts. 

Very Small Finish

Yes, it is a very small finish.  This is the second time I have stitched Patience of Christmas Virtues, Part I.  This is a little gift for one of the members of the service staff of the health club.  She is always helpful to us and is one of the few people I know who will appreciate Patience. 

I need to find a small ornament that I can quickly stitch and finish.  Updates on this new task may be forthcoming. 

Two More Finishes

Do you remember these little designs? 

Vibrant Woodland

 I had finished Vibrant Woodland and just begun Sunset Desert when I received a model to stitch for Just Cross Stitch Magazine. 

Sunset Desert

 

 

Originally, I intended them to go into the top of a small box to be a high school graduation gift for each of two nieces. 

That was a nice idea but the younger of the two graduated from college this past June.  You might say that I really missed the boat on this one. 

When I returned the model to JCS, I picked up Sunset Desert again and finished it.  Quite frankly, the idea of putting them into the box tops freaked me out.  As it turned out, I had good reason to be freaked out.  No matter how carefully I measured and cut, I had a terrible time getting everything the correct size. 

The end result is that I set both aside for a couple weeks.  Yesterday I thought that I might do a little work on each one.  I put a DVD, a l-o-n-g DVD, Random Passage, into the player.  I lined up all of my tools and supplies on the floor in front of the television and began to work.  It was not that the work went so easily but I just continued to work.  Each box developed its own problems that I had to solve.  I worked all afternoon. 

My list of tasks for yesterday went something like this. 
1.  Make a treat for a Christmas gathering
2.  Do a little finishing on at least one of the boxes
3.  Clean the bathroom

My list of accomplishements
1.  Made the treat
2.  Completely finished both boxes

Tomorrow, I will send the boxes.  How wonderful, both fit into one Amazon.com box. 

This afternoon, I will have to clean the bathroom so I can check that off my list. 

Showing Off Finishes

Before I get into the finishes, I want to show you our dwarf Alberta Spruce in its winter coat.  During the night, we had a little snow; it is not very deep but it is clean and white.  I took this picture before the sun was up.  The sun is up now but we cannot see it with all the clouds in front of it.  It is not cold just cold enough to prevent the snow from melting.  It is starting to look like Christmas time in Minnesota.

On to the finishes.

Do you remember the three pockets in progress?

They are now finished and I hope to send them to their recipients tomorrow.

Front sides, maybe they are the backs - - -

It just seems like the fancy work should be on the front.

The backs showing the linings inside the pocket flaps, the buttons, and the button loops. 

Even the backs are a little fancy.  

The back of the second plain pocket
The first plain pocket has reached its intended recipient who is in the process of decorating it.  

I am not yet certain what I will do with it but it is ready for anything!! 

The front is very plain and unremarkable.   :-D 

Friday and yesterday I forced myself to do this finishing.  Each day when I looked at what I had done, I felt pleased that I had followed through. 

Stitching Done - Must Finish

Hooray, I finished the top for the second box.  Unfortunately, I have lined neither box; I best be getting on with that.  It does feel nice to have finished stitching both box tops. 

The  front and back of an ornament.