Meet Emma

As I mentioned in my last post, my DH was traveling to Barcelona, Spain and Mainz, Germany earlier this month.  He asked if I would like to join him but I declined.

Although I have been to Germany I have never been to Spain so why would I choose to remain at home?

This is why…

MEET EMMA

DH was traveling over "Puppy Pick Up" weekend and I did not want to delay taking Emma home.

On October 31st we visited a local breeder to pick out a new Yorkshire Terrier puppy from a September 14th litter.  We selected this cute little girl  What a face….

October 31st

Emma: 6 weeks ~ 1 lb 4oz

At just 6 weeks she weighted in at 1 lb 4oz ~ so very tiny. We anxiously waited until she turned 3 months to take her home.  Our scheduled "Puppy Pick Up" date was December 5th and as much as my DH longed to be able to change his travel plans he could not.  There was no question about it, I was staying home so that I could finally bring this sweet baby home!

She is very sweet, absolutely adorable, sometimes a wee bit naughty, dearly loved,

and oh so cute

December 6th

Emma: 3 months ~ 1 lb 11 oz

I wish I could say that I knitted that sweaters, I did not.  The breeder sent her home in it.

For some strange reason Emma finds comfort hanging out by my muck boots.  Yes, she sometimes chews on the laces but will sit and sleep next to them.

Our 6-year-old Yorkie, Lily has been very patient with Emma who: nips at her legs, tugs at her ears, and attempts to jump on her back. Fortunately, Lily is able to jump onto furniture to escape the naughty puppy harassment!

Last Friday we took a loooooong road trip, driving 1900 miles without stopping (there were 3 capable drivers), to spend Christmas with my youngest DS in Colorado.  Last summer he took a new job here and we decided that we would spend Christmas with him skiing.  I have never skied outside of the Northeast so I was very excited about this ski trip.

In my next post I will let you know why I'M NOT ABLE TO SKI IN COLORADO ~ Unbelievable!

Wishing you a Merry Christmas

Until next time…

An Abundance Of Holiday Stitching

I just mailed off some stitching/finishing work that I did for a wonderful woman in SC.  She had planned to stitch these for her friends but, like many of us this time of year, fell short on time.  They are such cute little ornaments that are stitched on perforated paper and mounted on adorable miniature sleds. 

Designer: Foxwood Crossings

Design: Snow Country Sleds

There are three designs:

I am confident that her friends will like them!

My personal Christmas ornament exchange arrived from Shirlee H.  I was away for the Thanksgiving holiday and was excited to return and find her package in my mailbox.

Here is what she sent:

2014 Ornament Exchange 

Designer: Nicky's Creations

Design: Faith

From: 2014 JCS Ornament Issue

Isn't it wonderful?  It is nicely stitched and perfectly finished!  Thank you so much Shirlee. Your ornament will look beautiful on my Christmas tree.

Here is what I sent to Shirlee…

2014 Ornament Exchange 

Designer: Blackbird Designs

Design: Floral Gift

From: 2010 JCS Ornament Issue

I managed to stitch a small turkey design and attached it to an Annalee Pilgrim Doll before heading to my cousin's for Thanksgiving.  This, along with the Thanksgiving His and Hers stockings pictured in my previous post, is what I presented to her as hostess gift. 

2014 Thanksgiving gift for Karen

Designer: DMC

Design: Give Thanks Sampler ~ Freebie

Unfortunately, the Thanksgiving Nor'easter prevented my younger son and his GF from spending the holiday with us.  Luckily, we were able to change his flight from Denver to Maryland so that he and his GF would not be alone over the holiday. They did send us pictures of their Thanksgiving together, which was nice but it would have been SO much nicer had they been able to join us. 

I sent his GF a fall table runner, which is pictured below:

And, after receiving these pics of my DS helping set up "C's" tree:

I decided I should stitch her a Christmas table runner, which I mailed today:

I love the whimsical Christmas fabric in the center:

My DH is traveling to Barcelona, Spain and then will head to Germany. He asked if I would like to join him, but I declined.  Wonder why I chose not to take such a trip?  I have a really GOOD reason that I will share with you in my next post ~ hopefully early next week. I am SO excited!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for stopping by...

Until next time ~ 

I Love These Stockings

And I have wanted to stitch them for a long time!

HERS

HIS

2014 Thanksgiving Gift

Designer: Plum Street Samplers

Design: His & Hers Thanksgiving Stocking

Fabric: Wichelt 28ct Lambswool 

Stitched for: Karen C.

They are lined and backed with a harvest fabric …

And accented with these tiny little buttons…

Just another Button Company #9806

Yes, I love these little stockings however, I will NOT be keeping them.  They are a gift for my cousin who will be hosting Thanksgiving again this year.  I often give something away and tell myself that I will stitch it again, but then I don't.  We will see if I find make the time to stitch up a pair of Thanksgiving stockings for myself!

My HOE Autumn Exchange arrived from Brendon.  Here is what he stitched… 

2014 HOE Autumn Exchange

Designer: With Thy Needle Freebie

Stitched by: Brendon K.

This is a freebie design, one that I have saved and wanted to stitch. Thanks to Brendon I can take this one off of my "to do" list.  The design is beautifully stitched on 40 count!!! My eyes hurt thinking about that.  I use to stitch with ease on the higher count fabric but since being diagnosed with Macular Pucker (in both eyes) I struggle with 32 count. UGH, I hate that!  Thanks again, Brendon.

Lucky me, I had the opportunity to stitch for Becky K. and sent her this for the Autumn Exchange…

2014 HOE Autumn Exchange 

Designer: Tiny Modernist

Design: Autumn Freebie

Stitched for: Becky K.

Much of my time has been spent Christmas stitching. I pulled out my HAED WIP, haven't looked at it in weeks, and when viewing it I am not sure that I like it. This is my second attempt at stitching this.  The first time I used a hoop and the stitches did not look uniform so I reordered the 25 count Lugana and began again.  Well, I am using a large PVC frame and STILL some of the sky stitches do not look uniform.  Ugh,what is wrong???  Any HAED stitchers out there?

HAED: A Moment To Cherish

We had our first snowfall today with only a dusting but boy is it cold. Not sure I am up for this winter, they say it will be quite cold!

Thanks for stopping by ~

Until next time…

Autumn ~ My Favorite Time Of The Year

Thanks to those who participated in the HOE Halloween Ornament Exchanges my Halloween Tree has improved.  So many wonderful ornaments are now nicely displayed...

I keep this small tree up all year so that I can enjoy a little bit of Halloween everyday. Thanks to each one of you who stitched for me in one of the Halloween exchanges ~ you helped to make my tree look amazing. 

I get to add this beauty to the tree...

Lily sent me this wonderful HOE Halloween Exchange ornament.  What a great design and so beautifully stitched and finished.  I love the colored wire hair and tiny little button at the tip of the witch hat...too cute! Thank you again, Lily.

Keeping in the theme of "witchy" I recently finished this design:

Designer: La D Da

Design: Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead

I found the perfect frame. It looks a bit spooky.

My DS asked if I could make a fall table runner for his GF so I stitched this:  

He did not give me much notice so I decided to make a simple quilted table runner using two pieces of fabric. The center is from Moda's Fall Harvest line.  I like it because it looks like cornucopias.

This is my favorite time of year.  I love all things fall ~ the colors, the climate, the food.  One of my favorite vegetables is butternut squash and I have been cooking quite a bit of it.  This is what's cooking at my house:

Such a super easy, delicious side dish!

Butternut Squash Apple Cranberry Bake

1 Large Butternut Squash, peeled and cut into 1" pieces

2 Large cooking apples, peeled and cut into 1/2" thick slices

1/2 Cup fresh or frozen cranberries

1/2 Cup brown sugar

1/4 Cup butter

1 Tbsp flour

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp mace or nutmeg

Preheat oven 350 degrees. Slice and peel squash and apples.  Place squash in ungreased 7 x 11" baking dish. Place apples on top and then add cranberries.  Mix flour, salt, brown sugar, mace or nutmeg, and sprinkle on top.  Dot with butter. Bake 50-60 minutes until tender.

Yield: 8 Servings

And here is what's hanging around at my house:

These little Halloween Byers Choice Kindles are adorable and can "hang out" just about anywhere!

Thanks for stopping by and 

Until next time remember...

"Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting, 

and autumn a mosaic of them all."

Stanley Horowitz

A Day Of Remembrance

On a beautiful September day my DS and I visited the National 911 Memorial Museum, which opened to the public on May 21st.  We made the 70 foot descent from sunny daylight into the dimly lit underground remembrance of a day that one can never forget; a visual and auditory unsettling journey into the horror of 911. The descent brought with it the reality of unimaginable loss and deep sadness. There are hundreds of visitors, yet silence surrounds you as submerge yourself in over 10,000 artifacts, 23,000 still images, and 500 hours of film and video. 

36' Steel Column

The last column removed 

North Tower Steel Pillars: Impact Zone

Where the plane hit floors 96-99

Ladder Company 3 fire truck

Destroyed when the north tower collapsed

Vesey Street Survivors' Staircase

An escape route out of the WTC

20' section of the North Tower's Radio/TV Antenna

911 Memorial Quilt
AA Flight 11 and United Flight 175: Twin Towers

AA Flight 77: The Pentagon

U nited Flight 93: Shanksville, PA

A fire fighter from Engine 9 - Chinatown, NY 

The Dragon Fighters lost John P. Bergin 

How sad it was to listen to the last voicemail of a victim.

How difficult viewing a pair of blood stained shoes, the content of victims' wallets, the mask of a burn victim, a name plate from a desk, damaged eyeglasses, American Airline slippers, a fire helmet broken into pieces, the wall of faces: 2,983 portraits of those who died.  

How agonizing to watch a video of the planes on impact, the twin towers collapsing, the terrorist timeline, and by far the most disturbing ~ people jumping...something that brought me to tears and caused me to exit that exhibit quickly. 

It was an overwhelming experience; one that I knew would bring sadness and tears.  A day shared with hundreds of other visitors each one walking the sacred grounds in quite respect, honoring those lost, those who survived, and those who responded. 

Inside the museum one feels frozen in the year 2001. Exiting the museum, viewing the towering 1 World Trade building (Freedom Tower) and the twin Memorial pools, gives one a sense of the resilience, strength, and recovery. 

In the year 2111 not a soul will be alive who witnessed or remember the horror of that day. The National 911 Memorial Museum will forever connect people to this tragedy and ensures that we never forget. 

Thanks for stopping by and

Until next time remember...

We will never forget.  We shall keep this day, the events and the tears in our memory and our hearts and take them with us as we carry on.