Happy New Year!

 Hi friends! Happy New Year! I hope and pray this is a much better year for us all.

I totally forgot to share the gifts that our friend Donna sent me! 

Thank you once again Donna!

And here is the latest finish I have to share.

⛄❄️December freebie by romyfrees.blogspot.com⛄❄️ I swapped the December and January designs for each other, as Brian and I are Eastern Orthodox, and celebrate Christmas on January 7th. I also chose to use icy blue for the border. I stitched this two over two on 28ct using DMC.

I read two more books than last year. 🙄 I will aim for 100 again in 2021 and see if I can do it. My top 5 favorites from this list📚 in no particular order are: My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier The Orphan Collector by Ellen Marie Wiseman Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman The Light Between Oceans by ML Stedman

I am now working on the final finishing for my SAL piece.

“The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.” —Psalm 23:1-3

Stay safe! Stay warm! (It's frigid here!🥶)

Stitching and praying,

Vickie

Winner

Hi friends! Today I drew the winner of the Lizzie Kate Quick-it Sampling Christmas chart. I will share the winner's name in just a moment, but first....

 I held back one lovely Christmas card made for me to share with you on today's post.

This was a gift from our friend June Isn't the card perfectly pink for me?! I love it! A pink snowlady!! Now that is a first! Thank you June!

And the winner of the LK chart is: 

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas. This has been a most strange, difficult year, hasn't it friends? We celebrated with our children. Brian and I are Eastern Orthodox, and therefore will be celebrating Christmas on January 7th. We did go to Jacob and Kristen's apartment and exchange gifts outside. And the high was 20 degrees! We did the same procedure outside at my Mom's. Better safe than sorry.

I started a SAL with several friends from my stitching group yesterday. One of the ladies, Chris, sent us all the floss and linen to begin on Christmas together. Here is the pattern we are stitching.

“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” 1Corinthians 2:9

Stitching and praying,

Vickie

💖🎁💖

 Hi friends! Here is the latest stitching I completed.💖🦌💖

This is a free pattern from chez-mamigoz.com

I stitched this over one on 32ct raw Belfast linen with DMC number 816. I mounted this on a Bolthouse bottlecap to get it raised up a bit higher. It is a REALLY tight fit!!

It now sits on the shelf next to the precious 🦌 🎄💖 in the little white frame. Madeleine stitched and framed that for me for a Christmas present. It was a total surprise when she was just 10 years old.🥰

🎄🎁💗 I am quite happy to say I received this lovely English paper pieced hexagon Christmas tree 🎄 ornament from our friend our friend Carol 

Do you see the teeny, tiny stitches? And the PINK, FUSSY CUT PERFECTION?! 🤩 Love it! Carol informs me this is the first one she has ever made. Carol my friend, job well done! You made me so very happy, you literally brought tears to my eyes. Thank you again dear friend!🌟

💖🎁💚 This gorgeous ornament is a Christmas present from our friend Stasi She stitched with metallics for me!🤩 And that needleminder up top, is so spot on for me this year Stasi, SERIOUSLY!! 😂😂 I laughed so hard when I saw it! Love it! Thank you once again Stasi. 😘

💖🎁💖 This beautiful Christmas card and sweet, lovely fabric is a Christmas gift 🌟from our friend Martina Thank you once again my dear friend❣️

I am currently doing a SAL with a few of my friends from my stitch group here in Wisconsin. We organized it through Instagram, not in person. Wisconsin is still way too high with the COVID infections yet unfortunately.

For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 1Timothy 6:7

Be safe my friends! We are NOT gathering with our families. Yes, we would like to, no we are NOT. So hard, but we want to be safe and LIVE! Merry, Blessed Christmas!

Stitching and praying,

Vickie

Advent Calendar Blog Hop

 Hi friends! Welcome to the 19th day of the Advent Blog Hop. So glad you stopped in. If you are not familiar with this, you can check out all 18 prior days of the Hop, over here at Serendipitous Stitching. Jo will be updating the entries daily. You can see how everyone celebrates, and enjoy some seasonal stitching and discover what everyone's favorite Christmas reading material is.

Every year I stitch my Mom a Christmas ornament. I usually do an angel. Every once in a while I do a cat.

🐱💖💚Mine! by Brittercup Designs Stitched two over two with DMC on 35ct Lambswool Linen

Here is our own Cally cat messing with the tree skirt?, I mean sitting pretty under the tree.

As for Christmas reading, I know I have many fellow Jan Karon fans out there! I did not discover until very recently that there is a book, this book:

It is a sweet, short book. And if you are like me, you have to read it, because you want to read EVERYTHING BY JAN KARON!! She is THAT GOOD!

My Christmas wish for you is that you are filled with the real joy of what this time of year is all about. My hope is that you recognize your need of a Savior. Let’s celebrate that God sent His Son to save us from our sins! Advent is the preparation for the arrival of the Messiah in the birth of the Christ Child.

I do have a chart to give away. I stitched this last month. So the charm is not included.

This giveaway is open to everyone. All you have to do is be a sidebar follower of this blog, and leave a comment on this post stating you want the chart. I will draw the name of the winner on Saturday, December 26th.

“Suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men’”  Luke 2:13-14

Stitching and praying,

Vickie

❄️💗❄️

 Hi friends! Here is my latest finish.

✨December Square Dance by Heart in Hand✨ stitched two over two with DMC on 32ct mystery evenweave. I changed just a few of the ornament colors to reflect to actual antique glass ornaments on our tree. 💕

And here is my 🎄❄️December Corner Shelf❄️🎄

❄️💗❄️This is the very first Christmas card I received this year, and I forgot to show it off!

This is from our friend Manuela She knows me well! Such a beautiful PINK snowflake! Thank you once again Manuela!😘

Look at this totally adorable, sweet surprise I received in the mail from our friend Gracie

Isn't she a hoot?! Her name is Camilla! I just adore her. Her little feet dangle and they sparkle on the bottoms! Thank you my friend! 

Our friend Robin made this sweet PINK ornament for me! And she also gifted me the 18ct pink davos fabric. 

I have stitched an ornament for my Mom. I need to do the finishing on it.

Jacob will go back to work this week. Kristen continues to feel sunburned all over her skin and her spine still feels bruised. She still does not have her sense of taste or smell. Thank you so much for caring and for praying my friends.

“Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” —Matthew 6:34

Take good care my friends! I hope you all have a good week ahead!

Stitching and praying,

Vickie

😾Cally Kitty😾

 Hi friends! Let me share what Brian, Emerson, and Madeleine found in their stockings yesterday morning.

⭐"Grumpy Kitty"⭐ a free pattern from Brookes Nolan you can find RIGHT HERE ❄️Which is now Cally Kitty❄️ I knew this pattern would work perfectly for me to change into Cally, just a lot of work! 

I stitched this two over two on lovely sparkly mottled blue and white 32ct linen using DMC, mostly my own color choices for obvious reasons. I am happy to say everyone had a very good laugh. 😂 Well, not Cally. 😾

I baked Pumpkin Yeast Bread this weekend.

 The little one I took to the newlyweds when we took their St. Nick stocking to them. We left these items on the front porch of their apartment and waved to Jacob through their apartment window. When we went to our car and I rolled down my window, he came out to the porch and got the stocking. He saw the ornament I made them, and smiled so big. He said it was perfect and thank you.🥰  Jacob has improved. Kristen unfortunately has gotten COVID now. Jacob says she has it worse than he did. He said she was writhing in pain. 😢And Kristen has final exams this week. Yes, she is working and attending University. I hope professors are compassionate during this pandemic?

The winner of the Lizzie Kate Thank chart is:

Linda!

This is the second book I have read by this author. I really liked this book. It was a book about Alzheimer's disease, however the main characters are young, 38 and 41. And they fall in love. Very interesting. 

Anna Forster is only thirty-eight years old, but her mind is slowly slipping away from her. Armed only with her keen wit and sharp-eyed determination, she knows that her family is doing what they believe to be best when they take her to Rosalind House, an assisted living facility. But Anna has a secret: she does not plan on staying. She also knows there’s just one another resident who is her age, Luke. What she does not expect is the love that blossoms between her and Luke even as she resists her new life. As her disease steals more and more of her memory, Anna fights to hold on to what she knows, including her relationship with Luke. Eve Bennett, suddenly thrust into the role of single mother to her bright and vivacious seven-year-old daughter, finds herself putting her culinary training to use at Rosalind house. When she meets Anna and Luke, she is moved by the bond the pair has forged. But when a tragic incident leads Anna’s and Luke’s families to separate them, Eve finds herself questioning what she is willing to risk to help them. Eve has her own secrets, and her own desperate circumstances that raise the stakes even higher. With huge heart, humor, and a compassionate understanding of human nature, Sally Hepworth delivers a page-turning novel about the power of love to grow and endure even when faced with the most devastating of obstacles. You won’t forget The Things We Keep.

I have begun stitching a December monthly. I am behind. I usually have my monthlies done and on display for the correct month, but December is ALWAYS a problem for me. The ornament stitching is to blame. I hope to get caught up. At least with most of the monthlies! ARGH! Does this happen to anyone else in December?! I do very well with my stitching plans all YEAR, and THEN DECEMBER HAPPENS!🤯😵 Can't even say I will be stitching today. I have to do my Christmas cards first.

“Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.” —Psalm 34:8

I hope you stay safe and healthy in your part of the world my friend. I hope you have a good week.

Stitching and praying,

Vickie