Dear Rudolph

Hi friends! Still frigid here. Our highs are in the single digits mostly and our lows are in the negative numbers. And it is snowing right now.

I have a finish to share with you all. Our friend Shirlee borrowed me the adorable Lizzie Kate pattern, Dear Rudolph. Madeleine commented more than once how cute it is. So I decided as I stitched it, I would make it into an ornament for her. Boy, was she surprised. So was everyone else in the family.  I guess no one thought you could receive a stitched ornament from Mom if it was not in your Christmas stocking. ;)

I stitched this two over two on the recommended lambswool linen. About half the colors are the recommended DMC. The other half are my own substitutions. Since Shirlee had already used the buttons for her finish, I bought tiny Christmas colored buttons from JoAnn for the stocking. I could not find teeny, tiny buttons for Rudolph's nose at JoAnn, Michael's or Hobby Lobby. I gave him a french knot nose and think he looks very good.

I had this great Christmas fabric in my stash. See the ribbon that matches perfectly? That was a gift from Annette two years ago. =)

Madeleine is happy and so am I. Shirlee will be happy when I get this pattern returned to her in the mail!

Still stitching up pink Quaker motifs on chocolate linen by day. I have started a new pattern for night time stitching. Can you guess what this is?

Thank you for your kind words and friendship. A warm welcome to my new followers also.

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

Madeleine's coat and sweater dumped on her bedroom floor after school make for a cozy bed for these two.

The October Snippet

Hi friends! Back in October I shared a tiny snippet with you of a Christmas ornament gift that I finished. Well I can now show you the whole thing. I waited until that Canadian friend received it. Then I waited until she shared her little bean news. Yep! Anne is who I am speaking of. =)

This pattern is titled 'Snowflake'. It is by SamSarah Design Studio. You can find it in the 2011 Just Cross Stitch Christmas Ornament Issue. I stitched this on 32 count straw? linen two over two, using the called for DMC, except I used 3865 for the white to make it just a bit brighter. I like my snow white! ;) I had this backing material in my stash. I had bought this flannel for another SamSarah snowman ornament design I made several years ago. Most of the same DMC colors are used for that one too. So it worked perfectly.

I am happy to report that Anne is thrilled with it. :) And I am just so happy for her, Lee and Little Bean. ♥

Thanksgiving Day was wonderful. Yes!! David did come home. God is good.

Thanksgiving evening we watched God Is Not Dead. Have you seen this movie? What a good movie it is. All five of us think so.

Henry is very much recovered. You would NEVER know he was injured. Yay! God is good.

I was making such good progress on my current catechism book, The Living God vol.2, and then we went to the library. I like to check the new book section. Do you too? Well, I found the last book by Louis Zamperini, called Don't Give Up, Don't Give In:  Lessons From An Extraordinary Life. I say last book, because Louie died in July. Just two days before the book was published. He was 97. I am 60% done with it. What a great book! He was an Olympic athlete and WWII pow.

Still plugging along on Theotokos.

Thank you for your kind words. I appreciate you stopping in. Have a super weekend my friends!

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

Progress

Hi friends! It is a frigid 14º and the ground is covered with an icy snow, but I am thankful. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day. Yes, I thank God every day for blessings, but tomorrow. Tomorrow if this all goes through as planned my brother is coming home. David has had a problem with my mom's husband for many years. If he truly reconciles tomorrow, we will be together again. I am so happy to think of it. I have three younger brothers. We have not ALL been together for almost 10 years now. God is good!

I have had Jacob's Christmas ornament stitched up for over a week now. I just needed to get the finishing done. Now it is complete.

Sorry for the picture quality. It is dreary here without the bright sun. I stitched this on 28ct Navy Jobelan, one over one using DMC 972. I once again used my 365 Alphabets Cross Stitch All Through The Year by Kooler Design Studio.

I have been working diligently on Theotokos. Frogging once in a while with those black scrolls in the border. I am doing up the border first.

I finished a large book on St. Seraphim last week. I am now close to finishing a catechism book. You can see the titles in my sidebar.

To my American friends a very Blessed Thanksgiving to you! To ALL of you a very blessed weekend! I am so glad to "know" you. Thank you for being you! Thank you for stopping by.

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

P.S. Henry is recovering so very well. You would NEVER know he had a problem! Thank you for all of your well wishes and prayers. God is good!

Matroyshkas And Stuff

Hi friends! I am stitching a sweet little matroyshka. This is a different pattern than the one I made last year. Remember her?
 
 Well, it was hard for me to do, because I love this little doll, but I gave her to a friend from church for her birthday. My friend is Ukrainian and she collects matroyshkas. I knew she did not have one like this. ;) She likes her very much and I know this little doll has a good home. =) I will make myself another. Yep! Just not right now. ;) Here is the one I am going to make up in the same way.

This precious little doll is a freebie you can find right HERE.

I decided to stitch up a back for this doll, instead of using fabric. The little doll up top, I used coordinating fabric for the back.  Stitching a back is taking a long time! Ugh!

I do have a finish this week. This is Emerson's Christmas ornament this year.

Not the most exciting stitching. Especially using  only DMC 311. I did it all in half cross stitch because it is stitched over one on 45ct linen. I had to, to make it fit the silver 2-inch frame.  I used an alphabet, I modified a little, that I found in my 365 Alphabets by Kooler Design Studio. Madeleine and Emerson's ornaments are done! Now I have begun Jacob's.

I listened to Ted Dekker's new book on CD from the library. FABULOUS! If you have never read a book by Ted before, go read this one! He is my favorite author. "He is known for adrenaline-laced plots with incredible confrontations between good and evil."  This is "a sweeping epic set in the harsh deserts of Arabia and ancient Palestine. A war that rages between kingdoms on the earth and in the heart. The harrowing journey of the woman at the center of it all. Step back in time to the year of our Lord...".

Yes, I am still going to share with you about this book. Two of my favorite snippets.
"Yeshua's(Jesus') Way is surrendering what we think we know about the Father so we can truly know Him. It is the great reversal of all that we think will give us significance and meaning in this life so we can live with more peace and power than we have yet imagined."
"Clarity came to me like the clearing of dark clouds. In Him! Not by believing the truth about Him, but by surrendering to Him and trusting in Him, I would have no need to protect myself from this or any storm. Would it then matter what happened to me, if my life was submitted to him?"

Jacob thanks all of you who have wished him a Happy Birthday! =) It was! This is the cake I made him. He requested marble cake. I found a new recipe for fudge frosting. It was perfect. It was NOT overly sweet. I cannot stand overly sweet frosting on my cakes.

Stitching and  praying,
Vickie

Winky

Hi friends! Nice warm days here with cool nights. The leaves are turning and beginning to fall.

I finally finished up the Winky ornament for Madeleine's Christmas stocking this year.

He is stitched one over one, using DMC, on 28ct pale blue sponged evenweave. The fabric has a very nice sky effect, but I had one heck of a time making it show up in pictures for you.

I used the perfect color blue ribbon Jacquie sent me a few months ago in the finishing. :) I had a pretty piece of felt I bought from JoAnn last year. I did not know what I needed it for, but now I do. It looks great on the back.

This pattern was a freebie you can find right HERE. I did change the shades of blue to match Winky better. Here is a picture of Madeleine's parakeet, Winky, for you.

I left a comment for Tricia this week on her last post. I told her the LK piece she stitched up was sweet. :) Then she asked me if I wanted it! Oh yes! And it came today. With an adorable, sweet card Tricia made, AND an additional chart for me too! Thanks again Tricia. :) I have pulled the threads for the Thankful String already.

Yesterday, I took time away from stitching and got a bit organized. Brian bought me this lovely antique sewing stand last month.

If you recall earlier this year, I showed you how I store my DMC. In that small sewing basket from Woolworths. I just layer cardboard and stack them up in numerical order. Well, I can't part with it. And the system works. BUT I have no more room for DMC. I had gone on to continue stacking my floss in this box.
 
Well, I just didn't think BIG enough with that! HA! I will find another use for that lovely $3.00 box from Goodwill. I made my cardboard layers yesterday and stacked them up in the sewing stand. The Woolworth's sewing basket holds the lowest numbers of DMC through the 900's. The sewing stand begins with the 3000's of the DMC and goes on up. Lots of room left. ;)

I finished reading Good Call by Jase Robertson. What an excellent book. I read it in two days. :) So very much more than I was expecting. I have an increased respect for Jase.

I also read Water Walker by Ted Dekker in two days. :) Yeah, I have been reading a lot lately. This was also an excellent book. If you know Ted, then you know he writes some wild fiction. I just couldn't stop reading it. I have never read a book by Ted that I did not like. The man has GINORMOUS talent!

Off to pet a poodle or two now. tee hee! Have a fabulous weekend my friends. Thank you for stopping by.

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

Mabel Christmas Ornament

Hi friends! Happy Mother's Day to you moms out there. :) I spent the afternoon with my mom yesterday. We got the whole family together for cake and happy times. Today we head to the in-laws for a BBQ.

Here are the first flowers to appear in my garden.

I have begun planting pots and urns with annuals. They are still waiting in the garage. Not all that warm yet at night.

I had this freebie for a few years. I am sorry, I do not have the link. After Miss Mabel's latest episode of back pain, I realized I did not want to put off stitching this any longer.

Totally adorable right?! Looks so much like our girl. :) I stitched this on 32ct white linen, two over two. I chose my own DMC colors.

I found this sweet fabric for the back in my stash. I used bordeaux velvet ribbon for the trim.

Mabel is off all meds and is doing alright. She is a tiny bit slower than she was before. Much more reserved in play than hyper Henry! ;) We have decided to lift her down out of the house and our one porch step every time now. Why risk flaring up her back pain again.(She has not used the stairs or jumped on/off furniture for a long time.) She is smart and will wait for us to lift her up and down. :) She is definitely the smartest dog we have ever owned. Henry is smart too. Kinda. Well... He is adorable, sweet and oh so loving.

Started stitching on yet another small. :)

I hope your day is a beautiful one my friends! Thanks for stopping by. I appreciate you!

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

Gifties

Hi friends! Hope all is well with you? It is VERY cold and very white here.  I did finish my Mary's Sampler last week. I have been searching for a 5x5 frame for weeks. =( Cannot find one suitable. I will keep searching.

One over two on 40ct Sandstone linen

I received this lovely package from Annette quite a while ago.

I finally opened it last night. Just look at the lovely pattern with flosses Annette got me. I have never had a pattern by Ellen Chester. So nice! And that adorable, little needlebook. Oh my! Such attention to detail. Fantastic! Thank you Annette. I love my gifts. ♥

 

I also received these gifts from June.

I have been so very fortunate enough to receive one of these sweet bookmark calenders from June before. Love them! Thank you June!

Here is another gift that I received from Chris. I had admired this pattern on her blog many times. She gifted me not only with the pattern, but also the linen. Thanks Chris!

Take a look at the surprises I received from sweet Maggee.

Wonderful linen and pink fabrics that I am absolutely going to use up! I am loving the sweet card she sent. See the precious pup looking in on Jesus too? =)

Not ready for Christmas yet. Working on it still. I decided to make things a little simpler this year. We used our 4 foot white Christmas tree this year as our primary tree. I told the kids to put just their dog ornaments on it. That's it! A Dog Christmas Tree. Why not? Easy, simple and fun. =)

All of the above have been made by me in previous years. This one below was stitched by Madeleine about 4 years ago. It was finished by me.

That's it for today friends. I am off to finish two more gifts. Gotta bake cookies soon. =)

Stitching and praying,
Vickie