Ornaments, Past and Present

Hello friends,

I thought to post a few pics of ornaments. My sister, who is a very talented stitcher, made the teacups. You might be able to see the tiny pewter charms in the shape of tea bags that she attached just under the bows on the tea cup ornaments. Just precious!

This is the lovely ornament that I received from my exchange partner, Dianne, in Canada. It's done in a lovely variegated teal floss and its very unique...I love it. Thank you, Dianne.

I received this one and the following two from my exchange partner Kate. She couldn't decide which one to send so she sent three. They are just too cute. The purple one above has sparkly thread in the star and around the lettering. Thank you so much for these, Kate!

These two little stocking will feel right at home amongst my other stockings!

This one is done over one, so this it is very small and cute. =)

You can see the little tea bag in this one.

This is the one from TGOS that I am doing over Aida. The words are supposed to be done over one. Its been quite a challenge but its turning out OK.

Isn't he cute? This one is from the Cross Stitch and Needlework magazine, a few years ago. It's done on a pale blue fabric.

My sister made this one, too.

A freebie from somewhere? Using DMC variegated in a deep red/burgundy.

This one is from the 80's.

From the 90's.

Well, that's my little trip thru the years in ornaments. Ornaments are a great way of seeing the evolution of style over the years.  I like to think that my daughters will pass these on to their daughters. How many years does your ornament collection span?

Christmas Ornament just finished

Greetings to my stitchy friends out there! I finished a Christmas Ornament from the November issue of The Gift of Stitching emagzine. I have also posted pics of a few WIPs and another finished Christmas Ornament. I will likely spend the next few weeks stitching ornaments and cards so these WIPs are just going to have wait!

This is the little one from Michael's craft store.

This is the one from TGOS - Gingerbread Christmas. I made a few substitutions. Just too cute!

This one is from Little House Needleworks - Brave Hearts. I've substituted with Vicky's Hand-dyed Fibers. Stitched on Aida 14 count, Flax, I think.

This is one I started in October intending to have finished it my Thanksgiving, but I am nowhere near completion.Chart is by Lettie Eckberg of The Needle's Notion, published in Oct. 2007 The Cross Stitcher magazine. See below for progress.

I have substituted with Vicky's Hand-dyed Fibers which makes for a much more subtle effect.

Anyway, that's it for now. Hoping to have a few more ornaments completed in another week! Wishing all a wonderful stitching time.

Christina G

Thanksgiving Day

I always prefer a bit of a funky menu at the Thanksgiving meal. This is primarily so because growing up in a Cuban-American household, we would have roast port, black beans and rice and the ever ubiquitous boiled cassava. As children of immigrants, we were definitely thankful for the opportunities, even if the gratefulness was a bit marred by resentment of the prejudice and rejection we faced constantly. Still, we knew that here, in the United States, we could at least have "a go" at real success. Our school mates were children of immigrants, too. They were, amongst others, Polish, Peruvian, Irish, Russian, Pakistani, Italian, Vietnamese, Ecuadorian, Korean, and Egyptian. When Thanksgiving Day came around, their tables were invariably filled with foods reminiscent of their own motherlands but always included some "American" dish. At our house it would be a pumpkin pie.

These days, my Thanksgiving table is more traditionally "American". We have string bean casserole and dinner rolls and of course, a gigantic over-cooked turkey. My mother-in-law brings the most fabulous sweet potato concoction with marshmallows and brown sugar ever made. My kids enjoy the American ubiquitous food....  macaroni and cheese. And now, instead of a token "American" food, we have a token Cuban food, something I know my Father would have enjoyed,  such as sweet plantains or turron.

No matter how our Thanksgiving menus may have evolved, however, there are somethings that haven't changed; that is, the love, humility and hope that is felt by all sitting around the table, on the wonderfully American Thanksgiving Day.

Farewell, little hamsters...sniff, sniff

A local pet shop was willing to take the baby hamsters out of my hair. I gave up the Dad, (heart break), but my daughters wanted to keep the girls. So I gave up Daddy, two brothers and a sister and kept Mommy and 2 sisters. The shop proprietor was happy to get the hamsters for free and I was happy they would find a good home. One of the workers fell in love with He-man and so he was going to take it home to his girlfriend, who is a hamster lover as well. I also got 20% off of the purchases made that day, so all in all, a very good deal.

Hopefully, none of the female hamsters are pregnant. The pet shop proprietor told me they could get pregnant by day 45. Yikes!

Update

Hello to all, 
I was eventually able to get to the post office to ship the magazines to the winners. Elaine, from Ireland and Mary Joan from the UK will hopefully receive their magazines over the next few weeks.

I have finished both ornaments for the exchanges that I am participating in, one is for the Friendly Stitchers yahoo group and the other for The Gift of Stitching yahoo group. I want to keep the ornaments for myself, but won't. I think they turned out beautifully, but I am biased! I've already started another two ornaments for myself.

This is just a little cheapo ornament I bought at a Michael's craft shop. I enjoy making these little ones because they are great for filling up the empty spots on a tree and are a quick finish. Each of my daughters is  also making one.

This one started out for an exchange but it is just too big. The pattern is by Praiseworthy Stitches and published in the 2011 Just Cross Stitch Christmas Ornament Issue. I am deleting the front horse...just because. The fabric is one of my own hand-dyed "experiments" and I think it looks nice. How shall I finish it?

Hamster Juveniles

Hi there, here are a few pics of the pups, pretty much all grown up. Now to decide whether to keep all or just some of one sex.

Just look at that profile...the result of good breeding.

They just love romaine lettuce and carrots.

No comment!

And here is Dad chewing on a carrot. He's gotten quite plump.

I had purchased a type of corral (pictured above) that would hold them in but allow them some room to roam around...Problem is that they managed to climb the fencing and at one point, I had 4 loose hamsters running about the house. It was fun chasing after them and trying to corner them all. They were successfully captured and the stupid corral returned for a full refund. I think that I will have to invest in more habitats and connecting tubing in order to give the little critters some semblance of a quality life...wait, did I just say "invest in more habitats and connecting tubing"? Oh no, its happening...must resist, must fight..it..must..

Pinwheel Ponders: Three Sided Ornament Tutorial

Pinwheel Ponders: Three Sided Ornament Tutorial

There are some lovely finishing ideas on this blog, as well as clear tutorials. I just discovered this and thought, gee, too bad I didn't find this earlier so I wanted to share with you all.

Hugs - Christina