A Stitcher's Work - Cross stitching and ponderings: 1/1/12

About the blog

Welcome to my blog. The main focus of this blog is to share my explorations into handmade goods, mostly of the needlework kind. My interests are varied and include reading fantasy and urban paranormal romance, cross stitching and keeping hamsters. I must inform you that all of the pics and text on this blog are copyright protected unless otherwise stated and are not to be used in any other written or pictorial form without written permission from me. I give credit to the creator of the chart or the publication that published them in the caption. If you feel I have infringed on a copyright, please contact me ASAP. Whew..OK, now on to the fun...Thank you and Welcome.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

A UFO finished and Taking the decorations down

Hello friends! I have joined a Challenge which is to work on UFOs on Tuesdays. Well, below is a before and after pic of my first finish of the year. It was a very small area that needed finishing but I have had these mats for years and just couldn't get to them. Now that they are done, I feel mighty good about myself!

Here is picture of finished mats, pressed and ready for business!

Below is pic of unfinished mats...what a chore to finish but they are done.

This picture is another of my UFOs, a freebie from Jane Greenoff..I will be a very happy camper when this is done!

Well, then, tomorrow is January 6th and the official end of the Christmas season. I am sorry to see it go. I shall drag out the task of taking the decorations down and it will likely take at least 3 or 4 days! (I could do it in 1 hour but won't!). The Holly and Mistletoe Wreaths on the door shall stay on much longer, usually until the end of February. I have a lamp that burns scented wax and I love the scents of winter, and those will keep burning as well. We are enjoying a cooling of temperatures here in Miami which means the leather jackets are out as well as my flower scarf, which I rarely get to use...see pic below.

I shan't ramble on any longer! Have a lovely stitching time!

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Miccosukee Indian Village

We decided to visit the Miccosukee Indian Village for the first time, today. It was a lovely way to spend the afternoon. We ran into some relatives that we hadn't seen in a few months so it was a nice treat. The Miccosukee Indian Village hosted the 37th Annual Indian Arts Festival for 7 days, today being the last day. Native American peoples from North and Central America visited to display traditional arts and contemporary musicians and artists shared their passion. I found it to be a modest event, not as an extravaganza as the Indian Pow Wows hosted by the Hard Rock Casino (owned and operated by the Miccosukee) but the kids had a great time (me too). Below are a few pics of our day. Hope you enjoy them.

Sioux dancing regalia - these costumes were first created for the popular shows that Americans and Indians put on in the wild west, made popular by the likes of Bill Hickok. Not truly traditional but very much part of the showmanship of Native American performance now.