All Wrapped Up!

 Hi friends! I hope you all had a Blessed Christmas? My longtime followers will remember that Brian and I are Orthodox Christians and as such, we celebrate Christmas on January 7th. We do also celebrate on the 25th with the rest of our families though. Twice the worship of our Lord! We had a wonderful time with our families on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Very frigid temperatures here though. It is barely starting to warm up. We will take it!

I did get a chance to bake cookies and make treats in the last few weeks. I baked 'Grinch Cookies'. The recipe is from Katrina's Kitchen This is an old family, favorite that is delicious and cute and a simple recipe too!

I baked these while listening to Christmas music during the ❄️snowstorm. 🌟Wookie Cookies🌟

This is a family favorite. This year's wookies are not my best.😳The ones you see here are the "good looking guys"!! Some of the others are rather obese, or their "fur" did not bake in. Oh well. Never claimed to be a professional folks. I just make these with love for my menfolk mainly.🤎

I call these Bear Claws. 

I think you can see why. I saw them in a catalog many years ago for a lot of 💰and said forget that! I can make these myself for way less! A Nilla wafer cookie, a smooshed caramel, place the cashews, melt and drizzle the chocolate and let it harden! YUM! I had not made them for a few years, and my BIL asked me for them this year. 😊😉Yep! They make very nice gifts! I made them for all my guys.

🎁I received this lovely Christmas card from our friend Georgia💗Thank you so much my dear friend for this pretty pattern!

✨My Christmas Ornament for Father Rade based on "Faith" from Nikyscreations. ✨

 Niky's angel ornament can be found in JCS Christmas Ornament 2014 issue. When I came across it last year, it instantly reminded me of the icon on the ceiling of our cathedral, before the altar. So I used all my own colors in DMC, changed the angels a little bit and removed the heart and word faith and put Jesus in the center. I also added IC XC, which means Jesus Christ in Greek. Unfortunately the cloudy day here does not allow you to see the lovely marbling in the 32ct Silkweaver Belfast linen in French Vanilla Swirl.

I just finished the December monthly piece today. I did not get a picture of it yet though. I am going to work on a lingering sampler until the end of the year. What are you working on right now?

I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. John 10:14-15

Well that gets you caught up on what I am doing. I am so glad you stop by to find out what I am up to! Stitching pals are the best.

I hope you have a great finish to this year. Stay warm! Stay healthy!

Stitching and praying,

Vickie

Blessed

 Hi friends! I have received many gifts from friends.

 Our friend June sent  a sweet bunny stitched card, a pattern for a bookmark and a bookmark she made, and a little pattern for a poodle! Thank you again June!

Our friend Donna made me a beautiful card, which I failed to get a picture of, and she also made me this sweet Christmas ornament!

I received this beautiful ornament from our friend Robin 

This is hanging on our tree with the other beautiful PINK ornaments gifted to me from you in years past Robin. Thank you!💕 And oh my goodness Robin really spoiled me with GORGEOUS PINK flosses! Love, love, love them! Thank you so much!

🎁I received this pretty Christmas card from our friend Martina 💗

Thank you my dear friend! I will be using your stitching, making it into something to display in my "Pink Winter Wonderland".

🎁I received this lovely Christmas card from our friend Carol 💗

Thank you so much my dear friend! I will be using your stitching(and that precious bow), making it into something to display in my "Pink Winter Wonderland".

🎁I received this beautiful ornament from our friend Stasi 💚 

Thank you my dear friend! It is hanging on our tree. And the pink variegated flosses are so pretty!💗

🎁I received this gorgeous Christmas card from our friend Manuela 🌟

Thank you so much my dear friend!🌟 I love this nativity so very much. I knew right away I wanted to display this scene in my cubby shelf.💖💚 I love the way it looks here!🥰

🐩💖💚Christmas Elf Henry💚💖🐩He was not very thrilled with this tiny elf outfit I found at the Dollar Tree. 

It was the last dog outfit in the entire store! When I looked at the pictures Madeleine took of us, I laughed so hard I had tears from the last one!😂 

I think Henry is wondering why a thirteen year old poodle has to be dressed up as an elf??

🐩💖🐩💖🐩💖🐩💖🐩💖🐩

I am stitching on the December monthly chart still. I am not very far honestly, with all of the shopping and wrapping and decorating. 

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”  John 8:12

Thank you for stopping by today my friends! I am so very glad you did! Your comments brighten my day. I am glad we have shared friendship over these many years. 

Don't drive yourself crazy this week! I have cookies to bake, but I want to get that chart stitched up too! Only so much time! Take care now.

Stitching and praying,

Vickie

💗✨Pink Winter Wonderland✨💗

 Hi friends! Well goodness, I have gotten behind on this here blog. Let me get you caught up first with my corner shelf for December.❄️🦌

🎅Merry Christmas Freebie by Teresa Kogut ⭐

This did not turn out exactly how I envisioned it.🥴 Brian bought me a cute, little pink poinsettia last year, which was in this adorable snowman planter. Well the poinsettia is no longer with us, but I saved the snowman. I thought I could stitch something for the top. 

I decided on Teresa's free Christmas pattern. I did not stitch the entire thing. I picked and chose what I wanted and in order to make it fit in this little space I had to stitch it over one on this 36ct white/natural Edinburgh linen. 

It is actually a little pillow filled with sawdust. I tried filling it with fiberfill first and using thread in a wide circle to kind of drawstring it in. It did not look good at all. I took that apart and sewed this up. It is balancing on top. No one, including Cally, touches my stitching, so it will be fine.

⛄🦌⛄🦌⛄🦌⛄🦌⛄🦌⛄

⭐Peace on Earth by Pine Mountain Designs👶🏽 

This is from my dear friend Maggee. I love it and needed it for the cubby shelf. I was gifted it done in the pillow form, from the kit, all done up by dear  Shirlee years ago. That one is on my corner shelf. It is so good, I needed two of this❣️

I stitched this two over one on 25ct mystery linen with most of the called for DMC.

⭐💖⭐💖⭐💖⭐💖⭐💖⭐

And here is my💗✨Pink Winter Wonderland✨💗

Madeleine and I painted the bottle brush trees pink last year. On the left is the smaller of the two denim trees I made earlier this year from Emerson's worn out wrangler jeans.

🎄🦌🎄🦌🎄🦌🎄🦌🎄🦌🎄

I just finished stitching an ornament for our parish priest. I am not doing a second one for Father Seraphim who is also a monk. He has stated a few times in our Bible study, when the topic somehow comes up, that monks have renounced personal property in their vows. He has probably mentioned it to help people and himself! with having to deal with gifts from parishioners. He knows they mean well, but..... So we are going to give him yummy treats to eat for a gift instead! 😁

I am now working on the December monthly piece. 

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”  John 13:34-35

The Christmas tree is up and decorated. Maybe I will actually get a picture!

I hope and pray you are healthy my friends. I thank you for stopping by. Thank you for leaving me a comment. I do so enjoy reading them. 

Stitching and praying,

Vickie

13 years old today!(READ DOWN TO THE BOTTOM)

 Hi friends! I did finish this before the end of November. 😉

🦃November's Chrysanthemum🍁by Cottage Garden Samplings. I stitched this one over two on 40ct lambswool linen with DMC and VMSS. 

I am making flat finishes out of all twelve months and mounting them with a magnet to this finishing piece I got from Hobby Lobby. One more month to go!!😁

🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁

🎄❄️December Cubby Shelf Display❄️🎄Almost all of these are stitched over one.

I am now stitching up a tiny Christmas piece. As in, over one on 36 count.

How are you doing on Christmas preparations? I only have my cross stitch decorations out. I have just barely begun addressing the Christmas cards and have not made any Christmas cookies yet. That is where I am at. 

Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.  Galatians 6:2

I hope you have a wonderful, warm weekend my friends! Thank you for stopping by!

Stitching and praying,

Vickie

Today is little Henry's 13th Birthday!

Giving Thanks

 Hi friends! I have a Thanksgiving stitch I just finished that I would like to share with you. 🦃Giving Thanks Table Mat by Blackbird Designs 🦃

This pattern was borrowed to me by my friend Beth from my stitch group. The pattern is bigger than this. It is a little more of a sampler. I adjusted it, as I wanted to only stitch the beautiful vine and that big gorgeous turkey! Problem is, I am bad at figuring things like that out. Ugh. This is why my borders are so tight on this piece! I started stitching on the bottom and got to the top and almost had a heart attack! When I was done, I had a quarter inch left from the top feather to the edge of the fabric. I have never done that before! Not like that!! But I pulled it off. It may not look like it in the pictures, but in real life you can see it all just fine. I really wanted to use this piece of linen and it just worked.

This pattern is found in the 2004 Keepsakes Calendar, and yes, it is November's pattern. I used some of the called for DMC, and I switched some, 'cause I am like that! I stitched this one over two on 36ct Toasted Coconut Tree of Life Samplings linen gifted to me by my dear friend Peggy. Thank you so much Beth, Peg and BBD!

🦃🧡🦃🧡🦃🧡🦃🧡🦃🧡🦃

🧡💛🤎November Mini Sampler by From the Heart Needle Art by Wendy. 🤎💛🧡

This sweet mini sampler was a gift I received a few days ago from Donna She thought of me and my cubby when she saw it. 🥰 Well thank you Donna! I dropped everything and stitched it right up. It is perfect! I stitched this with all DMC, some of the called for and some of my own choosing. All one over two on 40ct to make it fit in the cubby.

I would like to now offer this pattern to one of my stitching friends. If you would like this pattern, please be a sidebar follower of this blog. Leave a comment on this post stating you would like this pattern. This giveaway is open to all of my friends anywhere. I will draw the name of the winner on Thursday, December 1st.

🧡💛🤎🧡💛🤎🧡💛🤎

I am now stitching my November's Chrysanthemums. These monthly samplers take about two weeks to stitch up.

My breathing is so very, very much better my friends. I do not feel back to where I was before I had the Methacholine Challenge Test on November 2nd, but very close. My breathing improved dramatically over the course of one week due to Saint Nectarios. Brian and I had told our parish priest what had happened to me and how I was suffering.. We had asked him to anoint me with holy oil. He did on Sunday November 13th and prayed over me. He then gave me this icon of Saint Nectarios and holy oil from Saint Nectarios' vigil lamp. Father told me to use it twice a day under my nose and upon my lips. He also gave me this prayer rope. That is what this bracelet is called in the Orthodox church. A very good, straight forward explanation of the prayer rope (better than I can do) is here: prayer rope 

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations. Psalm 100: 4-5

I hope all my American friends have a Blessed Thanksgiving! We are headed to my in-laws this year. I am making my Strawberries and Creme Jello I have made for decades now and sweet potatoes too. We will all gather at Mom's tomorrow to draw names for gifts. That is how we do it on my side of the family. 

If you are traveling, be safe my friends! I hope you are not stressed out if you are hosting. I can only imagine! I only "hosted" once! It was just four of us. That was during COVID. Otherwise we have always alternated years between our parents homes. 

Until next time, you take care, and thank you for stopping by. I appreciate every single one of you!

Stitching and praying,

Vickie

Stitchy Wonderfulness

 Hi friends!  It has turned bitterly cold here. We have light flurries of snow often also.

One of my dear, sweet friends in my stitch group, RoseAnn gifted me a super surprise box full of stitchy goodness this last week. Take a look!

I finished stitching a piece for Thanksgiving. And now am working on my November monthly piece.

📚Friends! This is my favorite book of the year❣️ Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim make up the Thursday Murder Club. What a bunch of characters they are!😂 They are senior citizens who live in a posh retirement village and enjoy figuring out real-life murder cases. These are characters you grow to love. Start with the first book in the series. There are three books now. I got the first book for my Auntie Kathy (remember her?🥰) and she is reading it now. She said at first that she really did not like it. She told me murder mysteries are not her thing. Then she said she got to page 27?, and she said she is enjoying it now. 😊😉I asked her if she likes the characters? She said, Yes! Very much. So friends, go get these books if you want a mystery that is also fun!

P.S. He is a British author. Interesting fact for my British friends.

I am feeling some improvement with my breathing my friends. I am using my increased dose of the Q-var inhaler twice daily and the levalbuterol before I shower in the morning, otherwise my breathing is bad. I also use that before I get on the treadmill. Yes! I have braved it, and gotten back to using the treadmill at a slow speed and for only 15 minutes at a time. I cannot do three times a day like I used to. 😔 I do once a day, and on "good" days I can do twice a day. I hope and pray I am going to get better and better. I want to! I want to breathe well again!

Friends, I have a prayer request. Do you remember our friend Julie? Well now that she has given the okay to share with everyone, I want to share part of her email she sent out to friends. What an example Julie is for all of us!

I saw my oncologist today to get the results of my latest scan. The news is not good. The cancer is growing and I have several large size tumors in my right lung. One of which is blocking off an airway. This makes sense as I’ve been struggling to breathe for awhile now. The cancer has also spread to my liver, kidney and lymph nodes. There is no more available treatment that would not make a difference so that’s not an option anyway. I didn’t like how the treatments were making me feel even sicker so wouldn’t have chosen that road anyway. 

From here, I will be in palliative care and then hospice. I’m not ready for hospice right now as I am still able to do things for myself. I’ll know when I am ready. 

I pray that my remaining days will always, always point to the Lord and that I would be a light for Him. “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain”. Philippians 1:21. That is my truth. Jesus is everything to me here on earth but I know I am going to gain so much when I pass from this earth and am welcomed into the loving arms of Jesus. 

“Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”  Galatians 6:2

Thank you for stopping by today friends. I am very glad you did. Your comments brighten my day. The stitching community is like no other, wouldn't you say?🥰 Have a wonderful week!

Stitching and praying,

Vickie