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Hi Friends! It is currently terribly frigid here. We got 8 inches of snow over the weekend too.

🐑Hello Winter🐦 by Plumstreet Samplers. This is NOT my stitching, just my finishing.

I followed Vonna's drum tutorial.

This beautiful stitching was done by my friend Lisa from our cross stitch club.

🐑🐦🐑🐦🐑🐦🐑🐦🐑🐦🐑 Our Lasting Friendship by Blackbird Designs.

This is my friend Barb's sampler. Eight of us in our local cross stitch group are doing a round robin with this pattern. Isn't it pretty? I have my stitching complete until we meet up in February. 🤎💚🤎💚 👑Emma Fisher 1859👑by Heartstring Samplery.

This the progress I have made. 😊 I am stitching this lovely kit,a gift from my friend Anne on Instagram, on 40ct New Castle Champagne linen. As much as I am truly loving this, I set this sampler aside to stitch a few Valentine smalls. I love my smalls, and Valentine's Day is my ALL TIME FAVORITE HOLIDAY TO STITCH FOR, AS THERE IS SO MUCH PINK!! 💗💗💗 👑✝️👑✝️👑

 💕love you too💕A complimentary design by Hands on Design.

Thank you Cathy! As you can see, I replaced the birds for 🐩🐩. The color of the linen is not showing up well, but it is Zweigart 28ct Cashel Bo Peep Pink (it was a snowy, gloomy day). I stitched two over one with the called for colors and my poodles are stitched with GA Lambswool. Everything is from my stash. 💗🐩💗 💝With Love💝by Judy Whitman.

This pattern was a gift from my friend Colette. It is SO pretty!

I stitched this one over one with Colour & Cotton Rosebud (thank you Robin!) on 32ct Zweigart Angel Blush Belfast Linen. Oh what a pretty combination! Love it! I may never perfect sewing hearts. 🥴 I do keep trying!! The spool is from my collection and the beautiful vintage crocheted pink/white lace is also. I have a pink fabric collection of almost 400 different pinks, so I do not need to go shopping for pink fabric for finishing.😄

I have another small Valentine finish that needs to be made into a pillow, but not today. I am not feeling it today. Today I will stitch more Valentines! 🥰 💘🌹💘

This COVID induced asthma is a challenge in the frigid winter. I must wear a mask when going outside and must truly limit how long I go outside. My lungs hurt very, very bad from cold air and it take days to recover. So it is best not to venture out in the cold.

 

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28 

I hope you are all doing well my friends. I thank you for stopping by to see what I am up to.

Stitching and praying, 

Vickie

Lots To Share

 Hi friends! I would love to get you caught up on what I have been up to. Let's start with this, a very appropriate stitch for January. 💖Auld Lang Syne💖from By The Chimney With Care by Blackbird Designs 

Woo hoo! I am so SO GLAD to have this done! I want to do these little stockings as my monthlies this year, but I am putting the samplers first as my priority. Since I met my monthly goal and got all the sampler work done, this little cutie got done. It is not perfect, but I am hoping they get more perfect each month. I followed the stocking finishing instructions of Carol Mundle. If you would like these instructions email me. I will email them to you.  It is fully lined and backed with a dark red flannel. I stitched it with the DMC alternatives of 3799 and 221. This is one over two on 36ct cream linen. I did change it up a bit, by making my top band red and the flower red also.

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Don't recognize this? 

Well, yes, it is a BBD sampler! Yes I did take out the charted dogs and put in my own 🐩🐩🐩🐩 This is Our Lasting Friendship and our local group, The Cross Stitcherhood, is doing a round robin with this pattern. Most of us ladies in our group are stitching this together. I passed this off to Margo at our belated Christmas party yesterday. I am stitching this with almost every called for floss on tea-dyed (by me) 40ct linen. I received Barb's sampler this time. I have one month, until our next meetup and swap, to stitch the upper left corner of this sampler.

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🎄Cross Stitcherhood Christmas Party yesterday. Gift exchange. 😊

RoseAnn

Beth

Colette

Linda

Margo

Kathy

Linda

Tammy

Lisa

Kathy

💗Love & Joy💗by Heartstring Samplery. 

This was gifted to me by Margo. Isn't this flat fold fantastic?! 🤩  And the pink floss overload!

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🕊️Peace🕊️by Blackbird Designs.

 I gifted this to my friend Barb. 💕I am very happy she likes it.

This pattern can be found in the 2013 issue of JCS Ornament Issue. I stitched this two over two on a mystery piece of 30ct linen with some of the called for DMC and CC Toasted Marshmallow.

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I am now stitching a small Valentine piece. Almost done! Then I will begin Barb's sampler I believe.

I hope you enjoyed today's post. I usually do not have such long posts. I hope I did not lose you! 🙃 I know you may not know my stitching club friends personally, but I thought you you would like to see what we made each other. 

I hope this year is off to a good start for you my friends. I continue to struggle with my daily breathing. Ever since I took that dreaded methacholine challenge test on November 2nd, and had such a terrible "allergic" reaction, I have never been the same. I fear my lungs ARE permanently damaged. 😔 Every, single day my chest is tight and I am short of breath for hours after my morning shower despite opening the bathroom window and running a fan and taking a cooler, faster shower. I switched to a different pulmonologist. The doctor I was with, well I just was not satisfied. I told the nurse my issues. She told me I would just have to put my name on the waiting list and wait for a cancellation. The doctor said he would see me again in four months time. The new pulmonologist has put me on an allergy/asthma pill, a nasal spray and a stronger inhaler. I have only just begun the new inhaler. It is too soon to tell.

Have I mentioned Cally is now a problem for me? Yes. I was allergic to cats as a girl. As in hives. After the methacholine test, my breathing is affected by it. Brian bought an air purifier for our apartment. Madeleine bathes her every other week and brushes her every other day. Brian removed the towel from "her chair" at the table, so she now no longer can or will jump up and spend hours across from me at the table. Brian works at his laptop at home at the table. We sit together. I stitch he works. So she now spends most of her time in Madeleine's room. This helps a lot. What would help me a LOT more is getting rid of her, but those two do not want to do that. If these new meds do not work with this new pulmonologist, yes, she will be leaving our apartment.

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.  Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.  For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.  Colossians 3:1-4

Thank you for sticking around dear friends. It means a lot to me. 💕

Stitching and praying,

Vickie

Evergreen Lane

 Hi friends! 💚💖Evergreen Lane💖💚

by Blackbird Designs. WOO HOO! I completed one of the six samplers I have on my list for this year to finish!!

This sampler block is in honor of my THREE BROTHERS. Here is a picture of most of us gathered on the day after Thanksgiving.

Michael, Jonathan, Auntie Kathy, Mom, Jacob and Kristen, Me, Emerson, Brian and Madeleine

Here is a picture from a few years ago of just my brothers and I.

Since this is all over one, it was a challenge to fit them and their birth years in there, but by golly, I did it! I really changed the colors of the flowers on this sampler. Wasn't too sure about it, but Brian and Madeleine said it was very pretty and to leave it, so it stays.

I am stitching Anniversaries of the Heart by Blackbird Designs all on one piece of 25ct cream Dublin linen, which requires some modifications along the way. It is stitched with mostly DMC, and some VMSS. I have made MANY color changes to make mine look more like the pattern covers. I have quite a few posts about this sampler on my blog with stories about what each one means to me. Also there are family pictures on those posts to go with "their" samplers. If you are interested, just put AotH in the search bar up on the very top left of this page. That will take you to those entries.💗 

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I am now stitching the inner and outer borders of The Friendship Sampler from BBD.

A new year and I have so many new stitching plans! And not just the samplers. Time. Time. We need more hours in our days to get all the patterns stitched right?

My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.  1John 3:18

Thank you for stopping by today my friends. Your comments brighten my day. I hope and pray you are healthy and well. I hope you have a nice weekend!

Stitching and praying,

Vickie

Julie

 Hi friends! Well I will share how 2022 ended for me first. I finished ⛄December's Holly⛄ by Cottage Garden Samplings.

 I stitched this one over two on 40ct lambswool linen with DMC. I pinked it up! It was a blue house and a snowman with a blue hat and scarf. I now have a lovely pink house and a snowgirl. 😁 Can I just say, all that holly was NOT FUN to stitch? It went on and on. Ugh. Well, it is done now. Whew. And I am done! Yippee! ALL 12 MONTHS!

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💜✝️💜🙏🏻Our Dear Julie. Oh friends, our dear, sweet friend Julie has gone to be with the Lord. Her battle with uterine cancer is over.

Julie was a HUGE CHRISTIAN INFLUENCE on anyone and everyone she met in person or on the internet. Julie and I were friends for 10 years! We met through blogging. Our favorite color is pink and be both LOVE POODLES AND OWN THEM!

Please pray for Julie's two sons as they grieve the loss of their mother. Their father passed on only two years ago.

Julie was such an excellent example for us all of truly following the Lord and letting others know about Him.

I finally achieved my goal of reading 100 books in a year, and actually surpassed it by 2 books. 🎉

My main focus is going to be samplers this year. Very different for me, that is for sure!

I have three sampler blocks to go on AotH.

Our local cross stitch group, The Cross Stitcherhood, is doing a round robin with Our Lasting Friendship.😊 In January we need to stitch the outer and inner borders.

The Pink Sparrow Sampler. Um, PINK?💗 YES! My sweet friend Lisa gave me this pattern and I have it kitted up and ready to go!

Emma Fisher was a gift to me from my IG friend Anne. 💗

I have a wonderful start on her, but need to get back to her and get her finished this year. 

I will need lots of support from YOU this year dear friends! I am very much a smalls stitcher. I will still be stitching my Christmas ornament gifts sometime during the year still.

So that's the plan Stan!

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Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. Colossians 3:2

I hope and pray we all have a Blessed New Year filled with good health.

Stitching and praying,

Vickie