Happy Dance - Gingerbread House Snow Globe

 

Started: 11/23/2020

Finished: 1/29/2023

Total Stitching Time: 8 hours 30 minutes

This is the Gingerbread House Snow Globe from Durene Jones' Christmas Snow Globes Chart, the final one of this series.

It was started as part of  Christmasitis 2020 where we did a new start everyday for both November and December.

It's stitched mostly as charted with the called for floss on 14-count white Aida, but there are a couple of areas stitched with the wrong color.  Since they didn't detract from the design, I didn't fix them,  I did leave off the words on the base of the snow globe, because of the type of backstitching--I learned my lesson on the Christmas Tree.

I have some Gingerbread material in my stash, so it will be made into a pillow ornament and given to the Ronald McDonald House.

Next up: Sugar Plum Fairy #6

Happy Dance - Sugar Plum Fairy #6

 

Started: Date Unknown

Finished: 1/29/2023

Stitching Time This Month: 57 minutes

This is one of a set of eight Sugar Plum Fairy tags from the cover kit that came with Cross Stitch Crazy #222 and was designed by Lucie Heaton.

It's stitched as charted with the provided floss on 14-count sparkly white Aida which was also provided in the kit, 

I'm planning to stitch all eight and send them to Canada Stitches Work Group to be made into a quilt for the Ronald McDonald House in Red Deer.

Next up: Witzy and Bauble

Happy Dance - Mr. & Mrs. Santa Snow Globe

 

Started: 11/22/2020

Finished: 1/27/2023

Total Stitching Time: 10 hours 39 minutes

This is the Mr. & Mrs. Santa Snow Globe from Durene Jones' Christmas Snow Globes Chart.

It was started as part of  Christmasitis 2020 where we did a new start everyday for both November and December.

It's stitched as charted with the called for floss on 14-count white Aida,  I did leave off the words on the base of the snow globe, because of the type of backstitching--I learned my lesson on the Christmas Tree.  I also had problems with the snow globe itself, so in the end, I just "free-handed" it

I found some Santa material in my stash, so it will be made into a pillow ornament and given to the Ronald McDonald House.

Next up: Gingerbread House Snow Globe (Durene Jones)

Smalls SAL - January, 2023

The Smalls SAL happens on the last Friday of the month and is hosted by Mary of Mary's Thread. This SAL is for posting any projects that we consider small in size.  You can click on the link to see more information and other Smalls Posts for this month.

So far, everything I've stitched this year qualifies as a small so here is my stitching for the month. BTW, I consider anything where H * W <= 5,000 to be a small; anything where H * W <= 2,500 is considered tiny.

My Smalls for this month include:

Christmas Tree Snow Globe - Durene Jones

Wreath Kitten - Design Works Christmas Kittens Kit

Present Kitten - Design Works Christmas Kittens Kit

Ornament Kitten - Design Works Christmas Kittens Kit

Mr. & Mrs Santa Snow Globe - Durene Jones

Lights Kitten - Design Works Christmas Kittens Kit

Jolly Jumper - Cross Stitcher Magazine #323

Happy Dance - Christmas Tree Snow Globe

 

Started: 11/25/2020

Finished: 1/23/2023

Total Stitching Time: 9 hours and 10 minutes

This is the Christmas Tree from Durene Jones' Christmas Snow Globes Chart.

It was started as part of  Christmasitis 2020 where we did a new start everyday for both November and December.

It's stitched as charted with the called for floss on 14-count white Aida,   The only change I made was to leave off the words on the bottom of the snow globe.  After spending 20 minutes stitching "TIS THE SEAS", I was not happy with both the H and the A, and the third S was a mess, so I spent another 20 minutes frogging the words and decided to call it done.

I haven't decided how to finish it yet, but it will be made into an ornament.  and will be going to Ronald McDonald's House next Christmas.

Next up: Mr. & Mrs. Santa Snow Globe (Durene Jones)

Happy Dance - Present Kitten

Started: 11/29/2020

Finished: 1/21/2023

Total Stitching Time: 18 hours and 27 minutes

The Present Kitten is the last of the six kittens in the Christmas Kittens Kit from Design Works that I'm working on this month and was designed by Marianne Savage.  There is one more kitten that I'll be stitching next month since it hasn't been started yet.

It's stitched mostly as charted with the provided floss on 14-count white plastic canvas which was also provided.  The only exception is that I mistakenly did the stitches on the red stripes in black when they should have been done in white.   I also ran out of several colors and had to dig into my stash to replace them. 

I plan on adding a felt backing and a hanger made of  beads to make an ornament.  This is another  ornament that will go into the box for Ronald McDonald's House next Christmas.

Next up: Christmas Tree Snow Globe (Durene Jones)

Bunco Night

 The third Tuesday of every month, my daughter, granddaughter and I play Bunco with a group of ladies from our church.  Bunco is a dice game that's very easy to play, but can get very loud whenever someone gets Bunco or Baby Bunco.  If you're not familiar with the game, check it out here.

When a person throws a Bunco, Bonnie the Bunco Bear is thrown to her and she gets her picture taken.  She can keep the bear until the next person calls Bunco which could be awhile or just a couple of minutes.

My granddaughter, Kyleigh

Me

 

 At the end of the evening, there are three winners and a loser.  This time I had the most wins and my daughter, Janice had the most losses.  The other two won most buncos and most baby buncos.  I've come close before, but this is the first time I've actually won a prize.

Happy Dance - Wreath Kitten

 

                                                               

 Started: 11/27/2020

Finished: 1/16/2023

Total Stitching Time: 14 hours and 55 minutes

The Wreath Kitten is another one of six kittens in the Christmas Kittens Kit from Design Works and was designed by Marianne Savage.

It was started, as were the other kittens from this kit, as part of the Christmasitis SAL in November/December 2020.

It's stitched as charted with the provided floss on 14-count white plastic canvas from my stash, since it required a restart, because I found an error that couldn't be fixed without a LOT of frogging.

I plan on adding a felt backing and a hanger, probably made of  beads to make an ornament.  This is another  ornament that will go into the box for Ronald McDonald's House next Christmas.

Next up: Present Kitten

Gifted Gorgeousness - January, 2023

 Welcome to this edition of Gifted Gorgeousness.  

On the 15th of each month, we're supposed to post about any items we've received as a gift and/or items that we're making as a gift for someone else.  To learn more about this SAL and see what others have posted, go to Jo's Blog.

Most of my stitching is done for others so I usually have plenty to post about, but this time I actually can post about something I received.  My daughter and her family gave me a kit as a Christmas present this year.  This is Snowman with Cardinal by Mill Hill.

Over the past month, I also stitched six Christmas ornaments, all of which will be going to the Ronald McDonald House in Orange County later this year.

Mickey Mouse

Minnie Mouse

Jolly Jumper

Lights Kitten

 

Ornament Kitten

Ceramic Tree

Happy Dance - Ornament Kitten

 

                                                                  Started: 11/30/2020

Finished: 1/10/2023

Total Stitching Time: 12 hours and 9 minutes

Ornament Kitten is another one of six kittens in the Christmas Kittens Kit from Design Works.  It was designed by Marianne Savage.

It's stitched as charted with the provided floss on 14-count white plastic canvas which was also provided.

I plan on adding a felt backing and a hanger made of  beads to make an ornament.  This is another  ornament that will go into the box for Ronald McDonald's House next Christmas.

Next up: Wreath Kitten

Fully Finished Gallery SAL - January, 2023

 

It's time again for the Fully Finished Gallery SAL which was created by Rachel at Ten Hour Stitcher to encourage us to fully finish our projects instead of just storing them in a drawer or box rarely to be seen again.  Click on the link to see more details and what other stitchers have posted.  

I only managed to fully finish two ornaments this month and they'll both be going to the Ronald McDonald House in Orange, CA.

First up this month is Mickey Mouse, which I finished into a small pillow ornament. This is the first time I've used a fabric backing that's not the same as the front.  It was definitely a learning experience, but I'll definitely do it again.  The hanger is a length of gold cord.

 The second is the Jolly Jumper which came with the materials to finish it into a pin.  I used the blue felt that came with the kit as a backing and added a hanger of white beads.

Happy Dance - Lights Kitten

 

Started: 11/29/2020

Finished: 1/7/2023

Total Stitching Time: 14 hours and 18 minutes

Lights Kitten is one of six kittens in the Christmas Kittens Kit from Design Works.  It was designed by Marianne Savage.

It's stitched as charted with the provided floss on 14-count white plastic canvas which was also provided.

I plan on adding a felt backing and a hanger made of  beads to make an ornament.  This is another  ornament that will go into the box for Ronald McDonald's House next Christmas.

Next up: Ornament Kitten

Happy Dance - Jolly Jumper

 I know I haven't been around much this past year, but 2022 was rough with health issues, extended travel (this part was good) and a death in the family.  Also, I've been having trouble accessing blogspot.com so haven't been able to read blogs much.  Has anyone else had this problem?

However, it's now 2023 and I've decided it's time to get back to blogging, in hopes that it will be a better year.  So, here's my first happy dance of the year.

Started: 12/25/2022

Finished: 1/4/2023

Total Stitching Time: 9 hours and 38 minutes

Jolly Jumper was the free cover kit with Cross Stitcher Magazine #323 and was designed by Susan Penny.

It's mostly stitched as charted with the provided floss on 14-count vinyl Aida, which was also provided, but I did make several changes.  1) I didn't stitch the squares separating the arms from the body of the sweater.  2) I also didn't stitch the white backstitching separating the penguin's arms from his body. 3) I misplaced the beads included in the kit, so I left them off.  (I found them this morning when I stepped on them with bare feet.)

The kit came with felt backing and a pin back.  I plan on using the backing, but will add a hanger of white beads to make an ornament.  This is the first ornament to go into the box for Ronald McDonald's House next Christmas.

Next up: Lights Kitten