At last - my first Christmas ornament for 2014

also my first cross stitch 'finish for 2014.  In all the years I have been stitching (25+), this is my slowest ever start.  It just won"t do!

This ornament is for a young friend whom I have always nicknamed 'Pussy'.  I have stitched a ornament for her every Christmas for the past 18 years, and this year I decided to feature a cat (inspired by my cat, Ruby).  The cat design is loosely based on one of the cats in BH&G's cat sampler from an issue in the late 1990s - possibly 1996.

Front

 Back

I do have another three ornaments stitched (for three young sisters who love a little bling on their ornaments) but I need to add some beads (which are at present still in the bead shop) before I finish them up.  They are adapted from the 'Peace' ornament design in the 2012 BH&G Christmas issue. Despite appearances to the contrary, they are all the same size (7.5 cm or 3" wide).

I hope to get to the bead shop soon!

I have just (rather belatedly - but that seems to be my pattern for this year) joined Measi's WIPOCALYPSE for 2014.  Fortunately she didn't specify a cut-off date for sign-ups this year, which is very heplful for slow-coaches like me. Measi's question for February is about stitching styles.  I am a boring old OOAT (one project at a time) stitcher - always have been, and always will be.  I know my limitations - I'm a tad obsessive about finishing a project once I start it.  Rotations are not for me!  The closest I came to a rotation was when I was stitching my HAED Jolly Old Fellow (2009 - 2012).  I compromised by stitching solely on JOF for several months each year, then packed it away and stitched my way through the other projects on my list - one at a time.  I do admire people who can handle rotations.  I wish I could.

Secret Stitching Sweetheart

I am so pleased I took part in the Secret Stitching Sweetheart organised by Jo . Just look at this delightful picture that was sent to me:

I'm off now to check out all the other lovely pics.

Some progress at last ...

I have just assembled the two crocheted heart shaped lavender sachets that have been waiting in my work basket for the past week.  And now I am just about to put in my first cross stitches of 2014.  I'm starting with some little stitched Christmas ornament designs that were in a BH&G Christmas issue in 2012 (if my memory serves me correctly).

Here are the sachets:

Time is moving on ...

Here we are, one month of 2014 now done and dusted - and I have not yet placed a cross stitch in fabric. Never heard of! What's more, I hadn't even drawn up my 2014 stitching list.   At least that is now done. Once again, it's mostly Christmas ornaments on my list - hardly a surprise!  My fingers are getting itchy - I found myself looking through Christmas designs considering what I might stitch this year.  Now, if I can just move it up one notch things might get moving - well, I can hope!  Maybe I'll go up now and sort out some charts and kit them up ...

Here's the latest pic of Miss Maddie, asleep in her new birthday basket, a gift from her much loved Auntie Kellie.

Reminiscing again ...

I decided to show some more of my 2013 Christmas decor.  I know Christmas is over, and my house is now returned to its non-Christmas state, but I do so enjoy my Christmas things ...

These are my favourite pics (in no particular order):

 In 2013 I displayed my cross-stitched ornaments on the door between the lounge-room and study.

Here are my salt and pepper shakers - on the kitchen windowsill

A corner of my lounge-room

and a close-up of my Santa Tree

Perhaps my true favourites - my vintage Santa collection

My Santa pen collection

And here is a pic of me with Madalyn (please excuse the bra strap)

OK - that's it - no more Christmas pics till the end of this year - I promise!

Happy New Year - belated, but better late than never - I guess!

Well, here we are - the clock is ticking down the minutes and shortly it will be one month since Christmas Day 2013.  I can hardly believe it!  I seem to have been chasing my tail for the past few months - I'm hoping things settle down soon.  The good news is that my little Madalyn is still with us and seems to be holding her own.  She's on quite a lot of medication, and it's obviously doing its job. She's recently taken to climbing the nine steps from the lounge-room up to the kitchen level - which she hasn't been able to manage for several years - and she is still enjoying her food and demanding treats periodically.  I'm very hopeful that we will be celebrating her 15th birthday together in March.  Here is Miss Maddie enjoying the sun in her Auntie Kellie's garden:

I didn't get around to showing my Christmas house, so I'm going to put in a couple of pics of my Angel room (aka the dining room) now.

I decided to start 2014 with some crochet projects.  I used to do a lot of crochet work when I was younger, but it's more than 25 years since I last picked up a crochet hook.  Here's my first 'finish'.  It's a lavender sachet for my sister - a birthday gift.  

The designer is Anne Halliday, and the pattern (or recipe as my granny would have said) is in LA's Leaflet 2064 - Sweetheart Sachets to Crochet.  I have crocheted two other designs from the same leaflet, but not yet assembled them.  They are destined to be birthday gifts for a friend.  Here they are (front on top, back below on each pic):

I think I may make a few more before I put my crochet hook away - I have really enjoyed crocheting again. I  haven't even started thinking about cross stitch projects for this year - most unusual!

Another two ornaments finished

Christmas ornaments for two young neighbours.  The angel is a Pat Waters design, and the Santa chart came from an old issue of BH&G's Christmas Ideas magazine.

That leaves just one more ornament to stitch for this year.