The Magi Carol

Sheep of the fold, fowls of the storm,

In chill the child, chaste in his manger--

The kings are coming to crown a King

And here we are, waiting to welcome

                           them together:

              We wish you joy again--

                   Gale, oak & heather,

              Mistletoe & pine--

                   In any winter weather.

Bearing gold, gifts of myrrh,

Of frankincense--seed of thyme,

Vervain and thorn, horn at the gate--

The Magi move among the snows 

                           together:

               We wish you joy again--

                    Gale, oak & heather,

               Mistletoe & pine--

                    In any winter weather.
 

Reap the heart of the hoar oak

With a scythe of ore, open the gate

Of the golden bough, bend to dream

Before the stable, the stall of fortune

                            all together:

                We wish you joy again--

                     Gale, oak & heather,

                Mistletoe & pine--

                     In any winter weather.

                                       ------Wesli Court

Busy, Busy

I finished my Feather & Fan scarf. I made so many mistakes and probably ripped out 12 inches total, and had to re-knit. I am going to block it now.

We are having a Christmas brunch on Saturday because my daughter (the nurse) works a shift on Christmas.

I have my Mill Hill Button & Bead Santa kit to work on as soon as I block the scarf.

No snow here--only rain.

Others are celebrating Hanukkah, and a friend observed the pagan Yule on the solstice. Whatever your beliefs, I hope you are enjoying the company of family and friends.

Happy stitching!

Daydreams Kit Finished

I finished my Dimensions Daydreams kit "Hummingbird and Wisteria." It is lovely, but I forgot to take a picture of it before I wrapped it up.

Sewing Sets Finished

I finished the sewing sets, added some new needles and boxes of pins, and sent them off by Priority Mail. I forgot to add delivery confirmation. I really wish I would have insured them--at least I'd be paid for my time, if anything goes wrong. All of my packages sent via USPS have gotten to their destinations, so I believe these will also.

This is a matryoshka-themed set, based upon a biscornu freebie by Alexandrina.

and the backs:

The next set is a spring theme from Biscornu #509, by The Floss Box:

and the backs:

I'm ashamed that the motifs on the needle cases are not centered. Yes, I did measure , find the center, and count the threads, but I forgot to allow for the margin of fabric that gets turned under. The next time I will write down my plan on paper. Measure twice, stitch once!

The two "L's" are from charted design books by Dover Publications.

Oh, I learned how to make a humbug!
Happy stitching!

Scissor Cases Finished

Yesterday I finished the two scissor cases  and applied some matching trims. I'm not that happy about them. They are pretty, but next time I will cut out a wider, more V-shaped design.

The scissors were purchased from Anita's Little Stitches. I wanted two different pair that would complement the theme of the sewing accessories.

Now I must make two needle books and  two scissor fobs. The package has to be mailed tomorrow.

I see that I have acquired some new followers. Thank you! As soon as I can get all of my Christmas/birthday projects finished, I will overhaul this blog and put my free charts on their own page. I have some things half-charted to finish as well.

Happy stitching!

Christmas Box for Lynn B.

 Here's the box that I created for Lynn B. in the HOE Christmas Box Exchange 2011:

Chart: an adaptation of Christmas Pattern #17, by The Floss Box

 Stitched with overdyed & DMC floss on 32ct. antique blue(?) linen

I painted a lightweight wooden craft box Christmas red, then brushed Mod Podge on the sides and the bottom. The "snowball" trim was a lucky find of a couple of months back. I then filled it with an assortment of goodies that I thought she might not find in England.
Happy stitching!

A Biscornu Finished

Spring Biscornu #509, by The Floss Box ($1.50 PDF)
stitched with DMC on white Monaco (not sure of count)

This biscornu is finished, and the accompanying scissor case needs to be stitched together along the sides:

The red "L' is a mess--it turned out too narrow because I added a very stiff piece of polyester lining. I will embroider another "L" case, using a smaller (and more recognizable) "L" today. I omitted the stiff stuff in the spring case, so that will be wide enough. I don't like the directions that I used and should have trusted my instincts from the beginning.

Happy stitching!

A Reindeer Ornament

 Christmas Pattern #17, by The Floss Box ($1.75 PDF)

stitched with overdyed and DMC floss on 32ct. antique blue(?) linen

Edgar received the ornament I sent him in the HOE Christmas Ornament Exchange 2011, so I can finally show you a picture of it. Emily's patterns are really cute and fun to stitch. I have a good supply of them still yet to stitch.

Happy stitching!

Scissor Cases WIPs

I embroidered  the fronts of two scissors cases. The left is a fancy "L," from a Dover charted design book. The one on the right is from a biscornu pattern by The Floss Box.

I bought the fusible interfacing to iron on them, as well as some stiffer interfacing.  The scissors that will go inside them are very sharp, so I want the padding to be thick. I have to finish these two sets and mail them.

Happy Stitching!

Hummingbird WIP

I'm about 2/3 done on this Dimensions Daydreams kit. The coordinating mat is very beautiful. It is a Lena Liu design.

Today I am embroidering and assembling two scissors cases that will be part of three-piece sets (fob, biscornu, scissor case). They are stitched on white Monaco.

I'm making as many things as possible for family and friends because having cancer made me realize I want to leave them all with something beautiful from me. I was told if the cancer does not come back within three years, then it won't. I still have to be very careful and wear sunblock every time I go out. I got sunburned in the car in the afternoon last week, after only a 10-minute drive to the store!

Happy stitching!

Made Pecan Turtles

I made pecan turtle candies for my son and wish I would have watched the video online first. My caramel is hard because I didn't know to thin it with cream (or water).  Oh, well, they are still edible.The caramel part will just be chewy, like regular caramels.

I have to finish my Dimensions Hummingbird Grace because it's for a Xmas gift. I found a clear plastic easel stand for it at Walmart today. It comes complete with a glass frame but needs to sit on an easel stand, not hang on the wall.

Fantastic Kindle Touch

My son and I gave my granddaughter (12 1/2) a Kindle Touch for Christmas. We let her open it yesterday because she has had some difficult with her academics this year and this is so that she will read more and improve her spelling and vocabulary. Due to mom's work schedules and our distance from the public library, she hasn't been able to borrow books from the library very often. She hasn't read much outside of school for over a year.

We purchased a Kindle Store gift card to go with it, so she picked out about six books and we downloaded them to the computer (don't have WiFi). She is really enjoying this (much lighterweight) version of the Kindle, and was happy to find the dictionary. Plus, she can download music to it as soon as I get a program to convert her files to MP3s.

This Kindle Touch shows you exactly how much space is left on the memory, as well as how much battery life is left.

I put on two free books--Kidnapped & Little Women, and will download many more this evening. I'm happy because she has something that can be accessed, even if she has only 20 minutes of free time. She can't use the excuse "I have nothing to do!"

Started Another Scarf

I started a quick scarf in Fleece Artist 2/6 Merino,, Blackberry color. It's being knit in (please don't laugh) the Feather & Fan stitch. Why?

I have so much to get done and this is a fast stitch. Since the yarn is variegated, the simple pattern won't be noticed by the recipient, who is not a knitter. Oh, and when this yarn is washed, it becomes nice and soft. All of the stiffness from the spinning process disappears, leaving it with a cozy feel for the neck of the wearer.

I've finished about two inches and will take a pic later, when the sun is up.

The Dahlia Shawl WIP

The Dahlia Shawl

"Shadow" Merino Laceweight , by Knitpicks

"Summer Blooms" color

I finished the body yesterday and am on the second row of the border. This one will have to get blocked on a sheet!

Xmas/Birthday Presents for Others

Here are some of the handcrafted items I've been working on. Some are for Christmas presents, and some are for a post-Christmas birthday.

The Gambit Scarf, from Sock Yarn One-Skein Wonders

Fleece Artist 2/6 Merino in Victoria

A view of the it being blocked. I don't have those nice blocking pins of a board, so it's improvise, improvise!
Finished:

There was too much light on this pic.

Next here are some unblocked mitts:

Spring Garden Shorties, from Sock Yarn One-Skein Wonders

Panda Superwash (bamboo, wool, nylon) by Crystal Palace

Lake Trail color

 These are so soft! I'm going to knit myself a pair in a different color.

Been Busy Creating

Where have I been, you are wondering? I spent much time hunting through CDs of all my old pics in an attempt to find the missing picture files from the early days of my blog. I just realized that there is a whole stack of CDs in a container here on the computer desk, under a pile of other things. I won't have time to go through them until after Christmas. I have several projects in the works.

"Merry Christmas," by All Through The Night

Victorian Motto Sampler Thread on 32ct. linen

This is what I stitched originally for my HOE Christmas Box Exchange partner, but had to abandon it because I couldn't find a suitable box for it.

Michaels used to have really nice, heavy, unfinished, chipboard boxes to decorate. I got one trip up there to the store and the quality of the boxes was poor. I had to stitch a smaller design to fit onto a lightweight wooden box that I painted red. I glossed the sides & bottom with Mod Podge. I can't post pics until it gets to it's destination.

Christmas Box Received

This is the wonderful box that I received from Lucy H. in the HOE Christmas Box Exchange. She transformed a shoebox with this design from By The Bay Needleart.

 This is a photo of the contents: a bag of assorted teas & coffee; "Santa Paws" chart by Twisted Threads; a 7"X9" piece of linen; two fat quarters; a framing hoop; DMC tapestry needles #26; a pkg. of snowman buttons; a book about Christmas; and a handmade needlecase that looks like a Christmas ball ornament when unfolded. See below:

I will treasure this beautifully finished box. Thanks so much, Lucy!