A Good Ending to a Great Year!

A few weeks ago, we gathered at my friend Jayne's house for a Christmas stitching party. Jayne went all out with a wonderful buffet dinner for all of us; each one of us attending brought a dessert. Do you think we needed about 10 desserts? The meal was scrumptious and the company was excellent. I enjoyed a wonderful, relaxing evening of stitching, something I normally do not get to do. Part of the thrill of the night was a chance to participate in an ornament exchange. It was not a requirement to stitch an ornament but I set that as my goal. The picture below is the ornament I stitched and assembled.



We each selected a wrapped ornament, after having confirmed it wasn't the one we brought. I selected my package and then one by one, we opened them. I received a wonderful mitten stitched by Nancy. It is the cutest thing! To top it off, Nancy tucked 4 skeins of floss inside the mitten. Look what cute names she chose: Weeks Santa Claus and Holly. Gentle Art Sugarplum and Mistletoe! How very clever! Here is the ornament that Nancy stitched and finished.



Lastly, over the Christmas holiday, I was able to finish stitching the English Sampler Bookmark. It was adapted by Betsy Evans of Charter Oak Designs using three motifs from her 1832 English Sampler. Betsy came to our local EGA meeting last year and gave a lecture on historical samplers and motifs. This design also fits into a Petite Easel Back Clock by Olde Colonial Designs. I haven't decided yet whether I will finish it as a bookmark, frame it or mount it into the Petite clock.



I'd like to wish all of you a healthy and fulfilling 2011! Thank you for taking the time out of your day to stop and visit at my blog. May you stitch with joy in the coming new year!

Cathy