Merry Christmas!

Whether you celebrate Christmas with your loved ones or mourn the absence of someone dear, these words are for us all.

"For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will on his shoulders,
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."
Is. 9:6

"As you celebrate the wonder of My birth in Bethlehem, celebrate also your rebirth into eternal life. This everlasting gift was the sole purpose of My entering your sin-stained world. Receive My gift with awe and humility. Take time to explore the vast dimensions of My Love. Allow thankfulness to flow freely from your heart in response to My glorious gift. Let My Peace rule in your heart, and be thankful."

-Sarah Young from Jesus Calling.

It's my devout hope that your Christmas season this year will be blessed beyond measure; any hurt or pain comforted, and that you have His peace.
God bless you all. Merry Christmas!!

Good News at Christmas Time

Yay! Surgeon doesn't want to replace DH's shoulder until all possibilities are exhausted. The first surgeon irrigated the area; some patients get relief with this. Also gave DH some alternatives to try first. He will eventually need the replacement done, but it could buy him a few years. So good news for us! Thanks so much for your prayers, comments, and well wishes. They were all truly appreciated.

In light of the season, I've seen some beautiful decorations, trees, nativities, etc. I thought I'd share a few of my own.

Truly my favorite room at Christmas. I love everything about the tree. Each year it grows to accommodate the increasing mass of ornaments. However, this is the last year for many of these. My children will all be married by next Christmas and I'm giving them most of their ornaments for their own trees. However, I retain the right to a few of them. :)

I crack up every time I see this. I love this plate, but do you notice the incongruity? Doesn't everyone have a machete hanging in their kitchen?? (Gift from DS from HS mission trip)

These candles on the top and the little sparkly church and house below on the right are very special to me. They're from my childhood and before, so I guess in some eyes they would be ancient LOL. My soon-to-be new SIL gave me the Dickens house last year; it has a lacemaker and he knew how much I loved needlework. Think we'll keep him...

And as always, nativities are my passion. I have many in various forms, but I love all of them.

This particular one a dear friend stitched for me years ago. Many hours of hard labor here. We have to be somewhat careful where we put it. Zoe (demon cat) knocked off the little lamb, and Indiana ate him. So we're trying to preserve the rest!

BTW, in case you noticed the threadbare condition (chewed on, I should say) of Montana's "couch", Indiana "made it his own" first. This is our dining room that was originally used as a den. Now it's an extra room that I'll turn back into a dining room when I don't have to worry about said "puppy" chewing it all. Hence the lovely sofa....LOL (See last post)
While not in the pictures here, I have gates in front of some these items to keep Montana away from temptation....

And I leave you with one final picture. "Santa" (my brother) surprised us with a gift under the tree on Christmas Day a couple of years ago. What house is complete without a Harley Santa? Is he ugly or what?!, but DH thinks he's hilarious...sigh.

Hope you all have a wondrous Christmas season!

Unexpected Turn of Events and Stitching Fun

Thank you all so much for the many well wishes, thoughts, and prayers for DH's surgery. Surgeon went in...and took pictures only - too much damage. DH is now a candidate for either partial or total shoulder replacement. This was a shock and DH is pretty bummed about it. So the 14th is D-Day with the doctors to decide what and when.

This past weekend was the Tarheel Stitcher's Christmas gathering. I've visited once before, but I'm mostly new to the group.

Here everyone is oohing and aahing over donations. Since DH was doing well, I went for a few hours and it was a blast. Linda was a most gracious and generous hostess - pretty darn funny, too. She'd received donations from Weeks, Silkweaver, GA Sampler, Victorian Motto, Emli's, Valdani's, Glendon Place, and 123stitch.

Sara, Cylvia, Juanita, Faye.....

Heather, Mariann, and Linda.....

Melanie, Judy, Jan, Lynda.....

Linda, the fearless hostess (yes, there were three Linda's) and Heather...

Sara, from our Friendship RR and me...

Faye and me, whom I'd met earlier at a retreat along with Karen SC - we're all blogging buddies.

Everyone had a great time talking, stitching, and eating; we all came home with some awesome goodies, too...
Victorian Motto sent these super cool threads that were created for the group...

named Blue Devil, Demon Deacon, Wolfpack, and Carolina - love it!
Elizabeth of Elizabeth's Designs gave us a special chart and Sara was the lucky winner of a gift certificate to 123 stitch.

ILCS had a "Sock it to Me" exchange. I was thrilled with mine from Nancy Cricket Tucket. She individually wrapped each item - what fun to open them all!
My Christmas exchange recipient, Carol, has finally received her package from me. I really do wonder about the mail sometimes...

Stitched a pinkeep from 2007 JCS Ornament issue. I used Colonial Knots instead of beads - little did I realize there were more than 200???) Also, sewed a little scissor fob and corded a needle threader, and included some other goodies.
Finished a heart for Marian's Friendship RR. She's stitching it in the original colors. Only two more to go...



Now, take a few moments, relax, pick up your stitching, and enjoy a bit of pleasure during this Christmas season, or take a nap.....

And no, he is NOT supposed to be on the couch in there, but he looks so peaceful, doesn't he? Indiana didn't get on the couch until he was 8 years old. Don't understand it. Wait, DS, what did you say? Mystery solved -when Montana was 5 months old, DH would take a nap here and let Montana get up there with him. Funny the things you find out from your children...BUSTED!! :)

Exchanges

Recently I participated in a lovely Christmas exchange. To say that I was thrilled with Roberta's package is an understatement. It's as if she read my mind and gave me exactly what I wanted. The box was filled with fun tissue with three delightful-looking packages inside. What could they be?


First was a Bavarian Art Wax Christmas ornament. Ornaments are my most favorite Christmas item and I'm always on the lookout for unusual new ones - which is why the tree keeps getting larger and larger...


Next was this beautifully lined Whitman tin set with awesome gold scissors and French needles. Isn't it wonderful?


And lastly, she included a lovely tin filled with German chocolate. Can't get much better than that...


I was really excited with all these lovely goodies. Much appreciation to Roberta!

My exchange has been sent, but not received, so I'll post pictures of that once it reaches its destination.

My DH is scheduled for shoulder surgery tomorrow morning. Recovery is supposed to be a beast, so I'd appreciate any prayers for him. I'm taking my needlework while I wait, so maybe I can get some stitching done.

Everyone take care. :)

Gentlemen, Start Your Engines.....

...It's That Time of Year.

And so it begins - the first hustle and bustle of the holidays and all that comes with it. So often, Thanksgiving comes and goes in a rush as the wild dash for shopping starts after the unbelievable eating sprees (and we love it!)

This year is no exception; in a few days the family will roll in and we'll take off on the obligatory food frenzy and dash through the malls, having a blast. If you had told me a few years ago that I'd venture outside on Black Friday, I'd have asked you what planet you were from. However, it has become a family tradition including my two SIL's, DD's, and nieces. The fun and bonding we share is actually worth it. :)

I don't want to leave out the important part of Thanksgiving, though....giving thanks to God for his faithful provision, as the Pilgrims once did. My prayer is that I will remain thankful for the joy (and sorrow) I've had, regardless of what the future holds. Let me be a better person tomorrow than I am today, in His eyes.


So I invite you to join me and reflect during this Thanksgiving time; maybe to not only give thanks, but to aspire to be....

Kind....to strangers and loved ones alike, especially in this hectic time
Hard-working....let the days not be wasted
Honest.....let our words and dealings be true
Principled...may we be known as straight-shooters
Loving......may we show love to our neighbors as ourselves
Hopeful......that we can start afresh today, let the past be past, and leave it in God's hands
Thankful....for the small miracles in life, along with the big


Do you have someone in your life that was an example to you? I will be forever thankful for my parents, who were all of the above and more. What a legacy to leave behind. I'm also grateful for my faith, family, and friends -seen and unseen.
I count you all as such a blessing - your willingness to bring laughter, tears, smiles, appreciation, and a glimpse of your life into mine and others. Thanks for sharing your time.

Please feel free to share your own story - I'd love to hear about it. God bless you all and I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Carolyn

Stitching Time

Started off the week with finishing up some of the Friendship RR's.
First is Simone's....


Second is Ann's....


Then Zentangle pt. 9 was finished....


Worked on Secret Garden 3 - right now it's confetti, confetti, confetti....I'm not so pleased with the coverage, but using two threads over one was just so bulky.


And lastly, Mom's travel sampler is showing some progress...


Hope you all have a great weekend!

Verification and Other Sundry Items

Word Verification - to verify or not to verify; that is the question. Nancy M recently posted about this and the comments were very interesting. I agree with her view; I dislike WV. Now please don't inundate me with outraged or defensive replies; I'm not saying there's no need for WV. This is totally self-centered here - it takes me forever to reply to blogs when I have to fill in WV or worse yet, it pops up after I've posted and moved on, only to lose the comment.

I know that some of you have been hit with spammers. I originally had my WV turned on and when a friend questioned why - I thought I was supposed to. I turned it off then and never looked back. Could be famous last words, but C'est la vie. It doesn't stop me from commenting on a blog, just takes longer. I comment because I want to, so I'll continue going through WV. But I'm interested in what others think, and if a by-product is that someone's WV is turned off, all the better! -BEG-

On to stitching, I have Zentangle pt. 8 done.


I also would like to post another new design I found. I promise that Jan has nothing to do with her pics on my posts; I just love her designs. Here's the latest from Tree of Life Samplings.


I think this one is my new favorites...and yes, I'm ordering it as we speak. LOL

One last thing - I read one of the sweetest posts around; it has a giveaway, but that's not why I'm posting it here. It brought tears to my eyes; check it out - Jolene's blog. If you take the time to read the comments too, you'll be doubly blessed. :)

Stitching Jubilee

The Stitching Jubilee in Lancaster, PA, was an absolute blast last week! Kathy and I made it Wed. evening. It was a dream poring through PTP's fabrics and spending time at Gitta's. Then off to all that we could get to - spent much time with HDF fibers the first day. There was a Mosh pit of threads that were tangled, which Kathy dubbed the Floss pit..LOL. Whatever you could stuff in a small bag was yours for $4.00. Deal of the century - I must have at least 30 threads or more in one bag, though they have to be untangled.

This is the Believe fabric painting class with Catherine Jordan. It was fabulous - we learned how to paint these beautiful landscapes (with little or no artistic ability, I might add) and then stitch the trees, etc.

My progress so far... haven't stitched too much on it yet; specialty stitches go a little slower. The paints are permanent, washable, and so soft. You can't tell the fabric has paint on it; but one restriction is the paints can't be ironed.

I also took Make it-Take it classes and hung out half a day at the Brenda Kocher Designs booth. They were all so sweet and helpful.
Deb from Half Moon Handwerks taught several designs and needle/shuttle tatting/bobbin lacing.

Mary Bluge from A. Fox Original taught Swedish Huck-Weaving, which is really cool and very fast. Since my SIL is Swedish, I hope to do a little for him. Deb also has all the Threadworx, which is where I spent a lot of time. And if you like unusual and beautiful needlepoint and specialty stitches, check out Brenda's site - gorgeous.

Mary's Huckweaving....I only have the first line, so I'll show mine later.
I could go on and on about all of the booths. The hosts/hostesses were all truly so welcoming and flexible.
Suffice to say that I went into the mart all three days and found plenty to see and do--and buy. :)
Both Kathy and I bought this kit for Pat Hartman's Secret Garden, as we had to leave before the class began. Isn't it lovely?

I met several people in my online groups/blogs and some new friends, too.

Friday evening I spent a little while with Nancy M. and her friends. Such a fun group of girls! We went to eat at an authentic Amish restaurant and I viewed all their masterpieces. And they really had some beautiful needlework! Here is Nancy with her Tuscany Town Mandala framed. Stunning, isn't it?

and Nancy and me...
Then back to the stitching lounge to talk, laugh, and stitch.

My partner-in-crime, Kathy...

Kathy, me, and my LMD of 2muchXS, Anita...

Kathy, Anita, Judy, Debbie, and Teresa...

I also met Queen Vikki, but don't have a picture yet (hint, hint, Vikki...LOL)
Seeing as it poured rain the entire three days we were there and longer, it was good we spent our time inside. I hate rain -yes, I know we need it- and love sun, so it was a pleasant way to spend three gloomy days! Until next year...

Zentangle has an update - now through pt. 7.

Hope to finish this one pretty soon.
All in all, a fabulous time and hope to repeat it next year!