december 24

Merry Christmas to all my blog readers! I am always finding inspiration from other's blogs and it means so much to me to read everyone's comments here. Please continue to visit! I hope you will all have a very happy holiday season, and that the new year will bring you peace, good health and much happiness.

hugs and happy stitching....lynda

the card in the photo was handmade by Donna, a stitching friend. She always makes wonderful cards each year. Thanks Donna!

december 21

We have been in the deep freeze around here since last Sunday and I am really done in by it all! Coming from upstate New York, I should be used to this...but we haven't seen snow like this in Portland in years and I just don't like it! I can't drive in it so I've been back to commuting on bus and train...which is fine...except that I have to be up at 3 am to make the train and by the time I get home at 5 or so I am truly tired! I haven't even had any energy to stitch all week. My daughter is supposed to be flying in from Boston on Christmas night and I just hope it clears enough by then so that she can get in safely.
So enough whining! I did finally manage to stitch up my second ornament for Vonna's seasonal challenge last night. Here are the two ornies I stitched for the challenge. The little reindeer is a freebie from Sharon at Daffycat Designs. And the other is a design from Stacy Nash Primitives..."Silent Holy Night".
I also pulled out "Three Things" this afternoon and am going to see how much I can get done on this one before the end of the year.
The other photo is a picture of the little gifts I opened this week from the CCS group Advent exchange.
Hope everyone is staying warm!

december 16

Since it snowed all day on Sunday we stayed inside and decorated the tree. I stayed in my pj's all day...can't even remember the last time I did that! Here are a few pictures. I collect Santas as you can see...last year someone told me they looked scary, but I like them all together like that anyway. There are a few cube-its included that I made also.
The second picture is our tree. We decided several years ago to go with an artifical tree after years and years of having real ones. It took a long time but we finally found one we liked and haven't been sorry. It has lights already strung and always looks nice. Plus my hubby doesn't have to vacuum up needles for the next six months! Our ornies are pretty eclectic. Some are from when the children were little, some from places we've visited, some are gifts. The star on the top is probably at least 40 years old. Hubby's dad brought it home and it has graced the family tree ever since. It just wouldn't be the same without that star.
The last photo is my little ornie tree with all the stitched ornies...some have been from exchanges and some are ones I have stitched myself. It's hard to see all of them but they are all very special to me.

december 15

W

Another week has gone by and we are that much closer to Christmas and I still have tons of stuff to do. And on top of everything, we are in the midst of a cold streak with snow and ice...something that is really quite rare for this area. When we want to see snow, we get in the car and drive up to Mt. Hood. This snowing in the valley stuff is just not right!
Anyway, here is a photo of my second week's little gifties from my Advent partner.
I also finished my bit for the Quaker Friendship Round Robin and sent it off today. I am excited about working on this project.

december 13

It's getting colder and very blustery. We're supposed to have snow in the valley tomorrow so I'm getting all bundled up now! Our fireplace (gas) is out and won't be fixed for another week, so there will be lots of cozy blankets and hot tea going around here!
Our tree is up and I hope to get it decorated sometime today. I finally got all my cards written and sent yesterday so that made me feel like I had accomplished something! We also did a little bit of Christmas shopping for Asher. He's really too little to understand this year, but it was fun for us anyway!
I finally got around to starting my bit for the Quaker Style Friendship Sampler RR. It has to be mailed this week so I want to have it finished before the weekend is over. I am stitching mine on a pewter jobelan with Carrie's Threads in Black Cherry. It will be fun to see the same design stitched six different ways.
I'm also working on a couple of ornies but I'll wait to show a photo until they are all finished.

exchanges

This month's STO monthly block theme was Santas and I received this adorable Santa from Petra. She even added a string of lights! I made it into a cube to add to my Santa display this year.
I also received my PS ornie exchange from Mar. This is the adorable holiday bell ornie that she stitched for me. Mar also included some wonderful goodies, including 2 of her Heartstruck designs. I have had these on my wish list for ages and I am so happy that she sent them to me.
Thanks so much Petra and Mar!
I also included a photo of the ornie that I sent to Mar.

december 10

Here is the reason I have been away from the computer all week...our grandson was staying with us while his mom was away. So all my time was spent playing with him and looking at him and marveling at what a little angel he is! Mommy came home last night and I miss him already!
I was able to finish "Quaker Christmas" before Asher arrived on Sunday which was a real treat. This photo is not very good. The lighting is awful and the fabric looks stained but hopefully I will get a better photo once it is framed! It is stitched on a beige linen using Carrie's Threads. I started stitching this with a SAL group around the first of the year and have been working on it off and on since then. Thanks to the Let's Stitch group I have really been motivated to finish it by the holidays. It is kind of large but a real pleasure to stitch for anyone who may be thinking of giving it a go!

december 7

I signed up for the Advent exchange at the CCS yahoo group this year. It is a fun exchange where each person sends 25 small gifts to their partner, one to open each day throughout Advent. These can be numbered or not. Here is a photo of the first seven of my little gifts. My partner is Liz from Gibraltar and I hope she is having as much fun with her little surprises as I am with mine!

december 2

stitching goals and an update....
November goals:
continue stitching on Quaker Christmas - DONE!
continue stitching on Three Things - no
ornie for JCS SAL - DONE!
ornie for PS exchange - DONE!
fair & square squares for Christmas round - DONE!
fair & square squares for round 10 - DONE!
monthly challenge: needlebook - DONE!

December goals:
finish Quaker Christmas
continue stitching (& hopefully finish!) Three Things
2 holiday ornies for Vonna's seasonal challenge
Quaker Friendship Round Robin - my bit on my piece

The picture shows my progress on Quaker Christmas so far.

ornie exchanges

I recently received two wonderful ornies in exchanges. The first was from an exchange on the San-Man message board. Louise stitched this adorable snowman for me. It is by Helga Mandl Designs and was featured in last month's Gift of Stitching magazine. The second ornie was for an exchange with the Stitching Buddies group. This design is from Midnight Stitching and it was an exclusive design given to participants at the Stitcher's Timeout retreat in September. I didn't have a chance to go in person (Flat Lynda went instead!) and I loved this design from the minute I saw it. I was so thrilled that Lavon chose to stitch it for me.
Both of these ornies will look great on the tree this year and for many years to come. Thanks again!