Giveaway

Hi friends! We are definitely back to our usual winter weather around here. Rats! I kinda loved the mild weather. ;) We had a high of 17º yesterday. It will not even get that warm today. It is currently -4º with a wind chill of -15º. Our snow will be around for quite some time.

I would like to show you the Christmas ornament  that I made for our friend Annette.

This is stitched on 28ct lambswool linen with DMC and Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe flosses. This freebie can be found HERE.

I'm-a-goin'-cuckoo without stitching my friends! Yes, I have several good books to read from the library. I organized my craft bin. I organized my linen bin. I kitted up four cross stitch projects. Argh! I just wanna stitch.

Well, I did find this pattern that I decided I am just never going to stitch.

I am sorry. This one will be offered to my American friends only. You can blame the darn postage for that!
If you would like to own this pattern, you need to be a follower of mine. Please tell me you want to be included in the giveaway in the comments below. This pattern uses Gloriana Autumn Arbour Silk and DMC. The silk is included. None of the DMC is included. The tiniest stork scissors charm I have ever seen (so adorable) is also included.

I will announce the winner on Monday, January 18th.

Giving poodle haircuts and praying,
Vickie

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to my fellow Orthodox friends!

Here are my orts from 2015. They are sitting atop our non-moving(rather cold here)snow. About 7 inches of it. Those two blades of grass are what the snowblower threw there. I will put these orts out in the Spring for the birds to use in their nest building.

I am still working on my neck and upper back. I am hoping and praying the pain goes away through physical therapy and I won't even need further treatment from an orthopedic doctor. For the first time since I saw the hand and upper extremity orthopedic surgeon months ago, with the exam that brought on this awful neck pain, I felt less pain yesterday and today!! That is progress finally! Merry Christmas indeed!

Reading and praying,
Vickie

♥

Hi friends!

I have begun a new reading list for 2016. I am confident I will not reach my record high of 99 books in one year, like I did last year. The majority of the books read were from the Holy Bible. I do have two books read already this year though. A Sound Among The Trees by Susan Meissner was a very good read. Here is what the book is about: 

A house shrouded in time.
A line of women with a heritage of loss.
As a young bride, Susannah Page was rumored to be a Civil War spy for the North, a traitor to her Virginian roots. Her great-granddaughter Adelaide, the current matriarch of Holly Oak, doesn’t believe that Susannah’s ghost haunts the antebellum mansion looking for a pardon, but rather the house itself bears a grudge toward its tragic past.
When Marielle Bishop marries into the family and is transplanted from the arid west to her husband’s home, it isn’t long before she is led to believe that the house she just settled into brings misfortune to the women who live there.
With Adelaide’s richly peppered superstitions and deep family roots at stake, Marielle must sort out the truth about Susannah Page and Holly Oak— and make peace with the sacrifices she has made for love.

The second book I have read is The Diary of Rywka Lipszyc.  Rywka Lipszyc was a Polish-Jewish teenage girl who wrote a personal diary while in the Łódź Ghetto during the Holocaust in Poland. This is a good book. I must say the first section, The Background, is slow reading. I am extremely interested in all things World War II. My paternal grandfather served in the European Theater during WWII.

I would like to ask for prayer. I am trying not to get down about my neck. It is just that I went in for wrist pain in October. The exam, with all the twisting of my neck, from the orthopedic doctor really wrecked me. I have been in increased pain since. IN MY NECK! Yes, not my wrist. Now my neck is a big problem. I am calling another orthopedic doctor today to make an appointment. He specializes in spines/necks. 

 

I have not stitched in two weeks. And you know what? I am no better for it. I like to read, but I love to stitch.

 

Thanks for listening my friends. I appreciate you.

 

Reading and praying,

Vickie

Happy, Blessed New Year!

Hi friends! I hope this New Year is a true blessing to you! I am hoping for excellent health.

I did it! I read the entire Holy Bible in 2015. I am so very glad I did it. I will do it again, just not this year. Brian and I do read from the Bible together daily as well. I WILL go back and read entire books from it again this year though. If you have never read the Holy Bible, I encourage you to do so. It is God's gift to us!

I would like to share with you a splendid gift I received from our friend Annette. Here is the beautiful card she sent me.

Here is the ornament she gave me all wrapped up still in splendid Annette-style. :)

The pattern  is called A Stitcher's Christmas, from the Purple Thread. I just adore it! Thank you Annette.

I received a surprise! Our friend Maria  sent me and the poodles gifts!

What a lovely Christmas card with European/English Robins! And a sweet ornament made for me by Maria. A few yummy poodles treats and candy canes. Last but not least, 4 sweet angels made by Maria's Little Miss. She made these guardian angels for the poodles, to protect them from harmful coyotes. Aww. THANK YOU SO MUCH LITTLE MISS! We hung one on Winky's cage (Madeleine's parakeet). The other three are hung up as well. I know our little poodles will be safe now! Thank you Maria. What a blessed, happy package I received. You and your daughter warmed our hearts.♥

Thank you my friends for stopping in today. I am so glad you did. I am so blessed to have made so many wonderful, special connections with many, many friends around the world!

Reading and praying,
Vickie

♥

Hi friends! I have been good for one week without stitching. I very much want to stitch, but I very much want to be out of pain in my shoulders and neck. I continue on with home exercises and stretches and pt twice a week.

This is the ornament I made our friend Michelle for Christmas.

I stitched this two over two on 32ct lambswool linen. The little bird pattern is a freebie you can find HERE.

The five of us are off shopping today. We are using our gift cards, and hoping to score great deals.

It is snowing! We finally got our first true snow storm this season.

Reading and baking and praying,
Vickie

Merry Christmas!

Hi friends! Star Wars! Woo hoo! Loved it!

I spotted this idea last week and could not resist. ;)

If  you would like to make your own Wookie Cookies click here. I used the Pillsbury Gingerbread Cookie Dough from the store.

Well we won't have a White Christmas. We will get a little snow soon though.

Have a Blessed Christmas my friends!

I am still being good. Three days without stitching. Don't know if I can make the two weeks without stitching as my physical therapist wants.

Reading and praying,
Vickie

The two boys are my physical therapy assistants.  Every evening when I head to the bedroom to do my stretches and exercises, they come along. ♥

Was The Pain Worth It? Yes, I Think So!

Hi friends! Are you ready?  Here is what you have been waiting for.

I have been wanting to stitch an antique floral pattern on a sweater for years. I saw this post by our friend Terri and told myself to stop putting it off. So I found myself a nice, black sweater on clearance for $9. Then I stitched up all my Christmas gifts. Once that was done, I searched Antique Pattern Library for the perfect floral pattern. This is the pattern I chose.

I used black broadcloth as a backing material. I basted on my broadcloth and waste canvas and away I went! Wow. Stitching on this sweater took a LOOOOONG time.

This was stitched with DMC.

I love it! I need to wear it to physical therapy, so my therapist Leigh can see what caused me all this pain. She told me I better wear this sweater A LOT! ;)

Thank you for your sweet words of encouragement my friends! I am now working on healing the pressure in my neck. I am getting there. I must be good for a while. I did not stitch at all yesterday or today. Let's see how long I can make it. ;)

"Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name!" -Psalm 103:1

Baking and praying,
Vickie