It has been a very cozy and enjoyable holiday time so far. After hosting the girlies here I had most of my Christmas stuff done so took it easy most of last week. I did finish stitching another one of the Christmas Pears from the Jingle Ball.
I'm using the called-for white silk floss but I don't like the way it gets fuzzy. I think the pears would have worked nicely with my newly-discovered DMC Étoile Blanc - white with a bit of a sparkle. I've started the last pear and will have a good chunk of the Aztec Red fabric left as I stitched all the pieces pretty close together. I only need a centimetre or so between each one for finishing.
In crochet news, I am working on the 27th octagon (out of 30( on my 2nd Persian Tiles blanket in the Eastern Jewels colourway. Here are the first 26 and a few of the granny squares. I'm itching to start sewing them together.
This is what I work on when I'm watching TV. I do bury and trim the ends on the backs of the pieces when I need a break from crocheting. I have a total of 20 granny squares to do plus the half squares and corner squares. I know I'll have enough yarn because I got all of that out of the last kit of 100g balls and I ordered extra - enough to complete the border.
I had the urge to stitch something easy and quick so I stitched one of the charts I received in my Pastime Pieces Advent box. This year the 24 days were divided into 4 seasons. The stitching on the Winter zipper bag is chronicled here.
I modified the pattern for this summer piece a little bit both to eliminate some stuff and to correct a counting error I had made. The Aida fabric came with it and all the required threads. I still need to add the little charm that came with the little kit.
I only had one strand of the Parchment thread used for the face of the clock left. I wasn't sure I was going to have enough and thank goodness I hadn't made any mistakes that I had to frog and waste floss. The last few rows of the clock face I was thinking what DMC I could use if the Parchment from my own stash wouldn't match. I did the simple pillow finish but after seeing a couple of finishes on Periwinkle Stitcher's latest Flosstube episode, I may try something different than just a corded finish.
I don't remember where I saw this but I found a free StitchALong (SAL) from Historische Stickmuster. It's in 4 parts and could be something I work on in 2026. I have downloaded all 4 parts.
I have admired this designer's work for a long time. There is a lot about this piece that I really love: the Quaker motifs, snowflakes, European-stye buildings, Santa with his sleigh and reindeer.
It's 194 x 181 so would be about 10" x 9" on 40 count fabric over 2. It calls for Soie d'Alger threads and a DMC conversion is also given. There is a LOT of stitching in this piece but I could poke away at it and possibly have it done for next Christmas.
Trying to decide what start I'll do on New Years. I've had The Light of Winter kitted up thread-wise for a while. I just need to decide on the fabric. Hopefully something in my stash will match my Winter Rose Manor companion piece. I have a bunch of other charts kitted up as well and others I need to decide on.
I forgot to mention our December meeting of the Trillium Embroidery Guild. We had excellent participation in our ornament exchange. We joined two long tables so we could pass the wrapped ornaments 'left', 'right', and 'across' as MaryK read the script.
Marilyn and Cathy also proudly wore their poinsettia pins they learned how to make at our guild stitch day earlier this month. Marilyn used a white border on hers and Cathy's was black like mine.
While I had some stitchers over last week I pulled out the Christmas charts I'd like to do and made a separate pile of other charts I'd like to do. They're now bundled in my 2026 Book of Days that I bought at Kimat Designs last Friday.
While there, I saw this chart and couldn't resist. It had a donkey!
I would probably modify the chart as chickens aren't really my 'thing'. I'll have to do some thinking on that.
Speaking of donkeys, at long last 'All is Calm' from Plum Street Samplers is now available to the general public.
I saw it online when it was an exclusive retreat chart and actually charted it from a photo. Then stitched the bottom half of it.
It's a blustery, blizzardy day out there and I've been invited out for dinner. My host doesn't live very far from me (5km) but I just looked outside and it's almost white-out conditions. Not safe to be out driving. We have rescheduled for tomorrow night. We should be dug out by then.
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