Pink and Sparkly

Hi friends! I forgot to share this little finish with you. It is a freebie from our friend Palkó. I stitched this one over one on 25ct white evenweave using the sparkly, pink Madeira floss I received from June. ♥

Here are my December pieces on display. This picture is awful. Sorry. It was snowy and overcast and I had lights on, but the picture still is blurry. I think you kind of get the idea.

I finished reading book number two in the Maisie Dobbs series a while ago. I truly enjoyed it very much. 
 Birds of a Feather (The Second Maisie Dobbs Mystery)
Jacqueline Winspear’s marvelous debut, Maisie Dobbs, won her fans from around the world and raised her intuitive, intelligent, and resourceful heroine to the ranks of literature’s favorite sleuths. Birds of a Feather, its follow-up, finds psychologist and private investigator Maisie Dobbs on another dangerously intriguing adventure in London “between the wars.” It is the spring of 1930, and Maisie has been hired to find a runaway heiress. But what seems a simple case at the outset soon becomes increasingly complicated when three of the heiress’s old friends are found dead. Is there a connection between the woman’s mysterious disappearance and the murders? Who would want to kill three seemingly respectable young women? As Maisie investigates, she discovers that the answers lie in the unforgettable agony of the Great War.

 I have almost completed the Christmas ornament for my young Ukrainian friend. It is filled with specialty stitches. I did not realize how long this would take me! Oh well. It is going to be a very nice gift. Then on to Brian's Christmas ornament.

I hope you have a beautiful weekend my friends! I would like to wish you a Blessed, Happy New Year! Thank you for stopping by.

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

Robin Redbreast

Hi friends! I would like to share with you the Christmas ornament I made for our friend June.

This is a free chart you can find HERE. I stitched this two over two with DMC on pale blue(hard to see with my picture) 28ct linen. I searched my fabric stash and found the perfect fabric to back this little flat ornament. I cut the square shape and folded it just so, with mitered corners, around to the front of another cardboard square. I finished it with a piece of baker's twine as the hanger. This is how the back looks.

Madeleine did paint Murphy's portrait also. All three poodles are done. :) They are each 2"x2".

Did you notice how she even gave poor 'ol Murphy his blue eyes? Well, he does have bluish eyes. He does not have cataracts, just old dog eyes.

I am stitching up a Christmas ornament for a church friend. Yes, you read that right. Our Orthodox Christmas is January 7th. I have time. :)

Thank you for your encouragement and support my friends. I always look forward to comments left by you. Thank you. ♥ Have a wonderful week!

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

O Holy Night

Hi friends! Today is my day to take part in the 2016 Online Advent Calendar. Click HERE to go to Jo's blog to view the Advent Calendar that is updated daily. You can view the entire 24 days with a link to each post.

Here is my finish to share with you. It is the angel ornament I have created for my mom this year. I will be gifting it to her on Christmas morning.

This pattern is a freebie you can find HERE My mom's favorite color is blue. That is how I chose my floss colors. DMC 799 & 800 I stitched this one over one on 28ct white Meran linen. The ornament is backed with a pale blue crepe and trimmed with white satin ribbon.

For this blog post Jo has also asked if we have a special decoration that we must have on display every year. We have several things that are special to our family that always come out at Christmas, but number one is the Nativity. Brian and I bought the stable and the Holy Family, and just a few other figures for our first Christmas. It was our Christmas gift to each other, that first year as husband and wife. The next year at Christmas we bought just a few more. My three brothers bought the rest you see over the next couple years. I stopped them after the bag piper!!! ;) No dislike for bagpipers, but I was worried how outlandish this might get!!

We also have an outdoor Nativity. I spied a small tabletop version of this in a publication decades ago. I knew I would like a large version cut out of wood for the front of our home. My FIL and I worked on creating this together. My husband touches up the black paint occasionally, but here it is many years later.

Thank you for stopping by today. Have a Merry, Blessed Christmas everyone!

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow

Hi friends! It is really cold here and we have PLENTY of snow!

I want to share with you my lovely Christmas gifts I received from our friend June.

Does she know me or what? A beautiful, pink ornament! I l♥ve it June! AND she also included this gorgeous pink, sparkly floss. Aren't the deer on the card precious? I have that little card on display in the cubby shelf. :)

Madeleine asked me what I want for Christmas. I told her she does not have to get me a thing. Could she just please finish painting Miss Mabel's portrait? And so she did. Hooray! Isn't it wonderful? I love it!

Now that I have these two rascals side by side in the cubby shelf, you know what I need don't you? Yes, a portrait of Murphy. I am hoping Madeleine gets inspired during her long Winter Break to paint his portrait also. ;)

All five of us, and my BIL, went to see Rogue One this weekend! WOW! It was awesome. I am NOT going to give anything away. I will say this Star Wars is very, very different from any other one. Go see it!

I am still stitching up my mom's angel ornament. I will share that with you next time. :)

Have a wonderful week my friends! I am going to bake some Christmas cookies! I am thinking Wookie Cookies. ;) Remember the gingerbread Wookie Cookies I made last year? HERE
If I had more time and less HEADACHE I would figure out how to make K-2S0 cookies. He is my new favorite character. And Jyn! She is super!

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

Mental With Poodle Joy

Hi friends! Hi friends! Hi friends! I am all jazzed up! Why? Because my headache went away? NO! Because I had a big Coca Cola? No! Because I have had a desire for a poodle wreath to decorate our front door. Yep! Don't you all? tee hee!

I was thinking and thinking and thinking and BINGO!  The idea came! And once it came, there was NO going back! And it cost me not a thing!! That is right. I used supplies I had on hand. So here it is, my poodle wreath. Ta da!

I know right?! Woo hoo! I immediately pictured a white pine wreath with black felt poodles with red scarves and a big red bow!! Yes!

I have this collection of poodle pictures and templates. I mean, don't we all? ;) I went through my stash and knew this guy was the one for the wreath. I had the white felt on hand. I embroidered little noses and eyes with DMC 310.  Each poodle has a front and back. There is a tiny bit of stuffing in each poodle. I glued the edges together and finished the poodle off with a little red satin ribbon bow. ♥

This pine wreath is about 18 years old! The big plaid bow is even recycled. I don't throw out usable craft items. ;)  I had the gold ribbon to hang the wreath from the door also.

The last step was to hot glue my two poodles in place. All done. I love that it cost me not a thing. And I love that it is one of a kind. ♥

That is it for today friends. Now I really should write out those Christmas cards!!

 I spotted this on ebay.
 
Even if we did have the money for fun and wild things right now, Brian said, "Um, no." Aww, c'mon. Wouldn't the front yard filled with, oh about 2 dozen of these girls be TOTALLY AWESOME?!? Why is Brian saying I might have a poodle problem? ;)

Stitching and praying, (and smiling real BIG)
Vickie

♥

Hi friends! Brian got me a small gift from Hobby Lobby the other day to cheer me up. Boy did this ever make me smile, despite the horrid headache.

Who does not love a Miss Mabel ornament with bling?!

I stopped the project I was working on. It is not cross stitch, but sewing. I plan to do it some other time, just not now. It is not going to get done for this Christmas with the other things that need to get done. With my head hurting so very much 24/7, I can only push myself so much. Definitely not the way I used to be able to zip around and get many things done.

So..... I started my mom's Christmas angel ornament. Hardly any progress there to show you.

I finished listening to another audio book. I borrowed this book from our library's audiobook collection available through OverDrive. Joni: An Unforgettable Story is a book I have wanted to read for years. I decided to finally listen to it! Glad I did. I learned valuable life lessons from it.

The award-winning story of a young woman who triumphed over devastating odds to touch countless lives the world over with the healing message of Christ. Includes photos and illustrations by Joni.

In a split second on a hot July afternoon, a diving accident transformed the life of Joni Eareckson Tada forever. She went from being an active young woman to facing every day in a wheelchair. In this unforgettable autobiography, Joni reveals each step of her struggle to accept her disability and discover the meaning of her life. The hard-earned truths she discovers and the special ways God reveals his love are testimonies to faith’s triumph over hardship and suffering.

The new 25th Anniversary edition of this award-winning story--which has more than 3,000,000 copies in print in over 40 languages--will introduce a new generation of readers to the incredible greatness of God’s power and mercy at work in those who fully give their hearts and lives to him.

Joni has written an afterword in which she describes the events that have occurred in her life since the book’s publication in 1976, including her marriage to Ken Tada and the expansion of her worldwide ministry to families affected by disability.

Joni is now available for the first time in an unabridged audio version read by the author.

I hope you have a lovely weekend my friends. I hope you are not getting frazzled.

Stitching and praying,
Vickie

A Joyful Year

Hi friends! I was chosen by our friend Michelle to receive a gift for being a friend and a follower of her blog. Michelle is now closing her blog. These are the gifts Michelle made me. Something stitched, knitted and crocheted.

Thank you Michelle. I love what you created. Perfect for ME! ♥

Our friend Kaye told me last week that she would love to see all 12 of my Joyful World finishes together in one post. I told her that is a great  idea! So here we go!!











Whew! And now... our friend Irmeli has asked me to name my three favorites! I think they are: May, November and December. ;)

That is all for today friends. I have some secret finishing to do. Then off to the post office. :) Then on to another three secret projects!

We got our first snow of the season. Not all that much, just a few inches, but it is so pretty.

Yes, I still have the nasty headache. No let up at all. November was nice with the occasional day of no headache. Cannot figure out why. I sure liked it though. I am trying not to lose hope and confidence in doctors, but.... it sure does seem that no one knows how to help me. :(

Have a good week my friends!

Stitching and praying,
Vickie