Happy New Year!

I have managed to sneak in two more finishes before the end of the year.

I finished Reindeer Yule right after Christmas. You may remember I posted this when I first began it back in November, referring to it as looking like a cow with mange...

I am happy to show it here looking more like what it was meant to be... LOL! I changed a couple of threads, trading out the called for DMC on the reindeer body and star to Maple Syrup and Whiskey.

Reindeer Yule

Ewe and Eye and Friends

Unknown fabric

recommended DMC with 2 WDW substitutions

I also finished Cappuccino. This one is sort of a finish, I guess. I plan to add the add the other two thread packs beside this one on the same piece of fabric. But for now, I am counting it as a finish. :)

Cappuccino thread pack

Little House Needleworks

Belle Soie silk in thread pack

28 ct. unknown fabric

I think I counted 22 finishes this year. Among those were a couple of BAPS, several smalls, and quite a few medium sized designs. All in all, I am pretty happy with what I accomplished. I didn't whittle my enormous WIP pile down much, but that is okay. I don't stress over WIPs and new starts... It is all about fun! I plan to make an album with a link in my sidebar eventually of what I stitched this year. I have been enjoying seeing the mosaics and slideshows on several blogs today of the stitching completed this year. There are so many talented and inspiring stitchers out there!! I have learned so much through reading blogs, and made so many "friends" through blogging. I appreciate each and every one of you who take the time to read my drivel and those of you that take time to comment. I read every single comment, and appreciate each and every one.

Do any of you start a new piece on New Years Day? I am not sure if I will or not this year. I have been stitching on Paradise Lost the last couple of days, and I may just stick with that or maybe start block 2 on CaHRH.

I am a little melancholy to see 2009 end. It has been a good year for my family and me. I am not quite ready to bid it farewell. And with the start of 2010 comes the inevitable end of my winter break, and I am not quite ready to go back to work either. LOL!

I usually make New Years Resolutions... then feel terribly guilty when I break them less than a week after Jan. 1. So this year...no resolutions. There are definitely things I would like to accomplish floating around in my head, but the minute I commit pen to paper seems to be the kiss of death for whatever goal I had in mind. So no written resolutions anyway. :)

I wish all of you and your families peace and blessings in the new year. Have a good one!

Kellie

Merry Christmas!

I put the final stitches in JB at 2:06 a.m. this morning. I was determined to get her finished. I told DH at 11:30 p.m. that I would stay up until 3:00 a.m. if that is what it took. It very nearly did. I was determined to have this finished by Christmas and knew that I would not have a lot of time today or tomorrow to stitch.

Jenny Bean's Christmas Sampler

Shakespeare's Peddler

40 ct. LL Navy Bean linen

recommended GAST threads

We celebrated Christmas with my parents, brother, and SIL over the weekend. We had such a good time. Stash pictures coming soon. :)

I won a giveaway from Belinda at Samplings from a Blue Ribbon Girl recently. I received this lovely package in the mail yesterday. It was like opening a Christmas present!

Aren't they beautiful? The workmanship is exquisite! And she included the sweetest card. I love all of them, Belinda! Thank you so much!!

My parents are coming down tonight to spend the night with us. I am thrilled! We are meeting for dinner and shopping, and then plan to go to the Christmas Eve service at our church at 11 p.m. (one of my favorite traditions). Tonight, Santa will come, and I am sure that Jake will be up at the crack of dawn ready to open all that he finds under the tree. Afterwards, Mom and I will fix breakfast and we will just enjoy the day. Tomorrow night we will go to Michael's parents to celebrate with them and BIL, SIL, and kiddos. Good times. I am very blessed.

I hope all of you have a very Merry Christmas!

Kellie

A little Christmas music...

Enjoy!!!

My favorite Christmas song sung by Danny Gokey....love his voice and his version of this. :)

Hope to have a finish of Jenny Bean to post later tonight or tomorrow.

JB, Jake, books

I have been working almost exclusively on Jenny Bean’s Christmas Sampler the last several weeks. However, I don’t feel like I have made tremendous progress on it. Things are so busy already in our household. My stitching has had to take a backseat. My goal is to have JB finished by Christmas, and then to start block 2 on CaHRH. That is the goal anyway…it may be a little too lofty considering all that is going on between now and then.

In non-stitching news, our son Jake got baptized on Sunday. That was a HUGE event for us. J We are so proud of him and so pleased that he has made this most important of decisions so early in his life. That makes this Christmas even more special than usual for our family.

Let's talk books for a second.... I am reading/listening to "Dragonfly in Amber" by Diana Gabaldon at the moment. I am determined to re-read the entire Outlander series before reading the latest "Echo in the Bone." I am finding that I have forgotten a lot from the last time that I read them. I have a couple of Audible credits burning a hole in my pocket. Those of you that like to listen and stitch...recommend some of your favorites to me. I always enjoy seeing what other people are reading and what their favorite books are. :)

I haven’t been commenting as much on blogs lately as I usually do. I just haven’t had time, and I apologize to those of you that I normally comment on. I have been trying to keep up with reading and looking at your work as much as possible. I am hoping that after the holidays that I will have more time to update this blog as well as comment on yours. J I am constantly inspired by the amazing work that I see on your blogs and it motivates me to stitch all the more.

Have a great weekend ahead!

Kellie

Check out this giveaway...

The Teakettle Corner (which is a "new-to-me" blog) is having a fabulous giveaway. Check out her original post on Dec. 3 to get the details.

I have been working on Jenny Bean's Christmas Sampler. It has been so overcast/cloudy/rainy here that I have yet to get a picture. I am hoping to post an update this weekend.

Chrismas@HRH Block 1 finished

Most of my stitching time (what little I have had) has been devoted to stitching Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow. I finally finished block 1 last night. Now I am debating whether to start block 2 or go back to Jenny Bean's Christmas Sampler. Jenny Bean is calling pretty loudly. :)

Look at what my mom surprised me with today! I have always loved this nativity that she and Dad display at their house. She came down today and brought this with her. She said she doesn't really have a good place to display it and she has never loved it as much as I have. I am thrilled!!! The pictures don't really do it justice.

Jake and I finished decorating the tree last night. We have had the tree up since Thanksgiving, just had a hard time finding time to put the ornaments on it. I am hoping to have a few more cross stitched ornaments for my tree as I have joined Vonna's LHN ornament SAL. My first ornament arrived in the mail a few days ago. I am going to try really hard to stitch and finish these each month. Wish me luck!