Happy New Year

I want to wish all of you a Happy New Year. 

It's time to take down the tree (oh yes, I hate the clutter). I don't like to say that I'm glad to take down the tree, I'm not a scrooge but I need it to be simple. The older I get the more organized I need to be. 

I have a couple of pictures to share with you from Christmas, it is a pic of Bailey and Toby.

I really wish all Christmas gifts could be so cheap,  just a box for the cats and they are in paradise. I hear the stories of how in the old days all they had was a box to play with and they were so happy,  maybe it is true.

I have been rally busy with the "Serenity Harbor Sampler"; and all orders for shops went out today and so tomorrow by 10:00am the online charts should be in email boxes for the people that have signed up with me. 

Be safe tonight if you go out. We just ordered our Chinese food to be picked up and will be staying home this evening, no big parties for us, just relaxing by the TV.  Hope to find something good to watch. 

Talk to yo next year!

donna

Christmas Time Decoration Share

Good evening, I am posting a picture of my Nativity. It is the same one I have had for years and I still enjoy putting up the pieces and adding the lights. I don't even think they make the yearly additions any more but that's ok because it would be huge if I had collected them every year. Have a peaceful night and I am off to watch a YouTube channel, we got rid of cable months ago and I don't miss it, this way I am in more control of what I watch and my time :)

donna

Psalm 34:14

Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.

Wool Popcorn Garland Tutorial

Good day everyone, We have finally finished decorating the tree :) and now more cleaning!
I baked a huge bunch of cookies the other day and boy did the house smell good, wish I could have shared it with you, I could even smell the cookies on me when I went to the grocery store.

I wanted to share this tutorial with you that I have been sharing with the Wool/Feather Tree classes. 

A lady at one of the first classes that I taught shared this with us and I am passing it on.

I took my cream colored felted(Washed) wool, sprayed it with my left over morning coffee (in a spray bottle)and let it dry. I wanted it to look like real popcorn with a bit of tan for the seeds. Then I cut it into a long strip 6 inches wide by whatever length you have, took my rotary cutter and cut it into 1/2 inch(or a little smaller)wide strips.
I then took my red wool and rotary cut the strips into 1/4 inch wide strips. Take the strips and cut into 2 inch long pieces.
Using a ball of perle cotton and threading it onto a very long doll needle I then started using a gather or running stitch down the long center of a coffee dyed strip of wool.

 Then take a red strip of wool and roll it up like a jelly roll and insert your needle through the side center. (See Photo).

 Keep adding the wool by alternating the cream wool along with the red.

 For some of the the cream pieces I cut them in half to make it look more like a real strip of popcorn(varying the sizes). * I kept pushing the wool down the ball of perle cotton because I was not sure how long I wanted to make the garland, so by keeping it on the ball this let me keep going in my garland length.

This is a great size for the 12 inch Wool/Feather Trees, and if you want to make them for a larger tree just make the width of the strips larger.

Hope you enjoy and have time to make some garland.

Directions can be purchased here for the trees

New Fabric from Fabric Flair for the Serenity Harbor Sampler

Just a quick post that Fabric Flair is in the process of making a special fabric for the "Serenity Harbor Sampler"
It is a light grey that will be mottled (if that was the right word) :) As soon as I receive the sample I will post a picture for you. It will be called "Serenity Harbor Grey", you can order it in Aida, linen, or  an even-weave. You will have to order from a shop because they are only wholesale. Don't worry if you do not have your fabric by Jan 3rd because the first months design is part of the sun, along with flowers, so you will be able to catch up quickly if your fabric is late :). I also received the Antique Sage which is close to DMC 3047, this is beautiful too. The Antique White was to light for the sky area of the design, so my choice is between the Antique Sage and the "Serenity Harbor Grey", Still time to decide :)

I have been trying to decorate for Christmas (Notice the word trying). My family has been sick so it was up to me to take care of the tree. I usually have a fake tree because the last time we had a real tree it was such a mess to get it from point A to the outside and into the trash (Huge trail of pine needles) and I was left to clean so I said never again!!  But when those sad eyes are looking at you and they just want a real tree (they love the smell) I had to give in. So I was on a quest for a tree stand, 3 shops and no luck :( but the fourth was a charm. I asked the kind gentle man to tie  that tree on the roof of my car and I was on my way home. With much needed help we got the tree in the stand, straight and watered. Then I figured I would try to add the lights (but I didn't check to see if they still worked first) and you guessed it, I strung them onto the tree, plugged them in and no luck, so I took the lights out and into the garbage. Early today I was on my way again to shop for lights and YEAH they are  in the tree. We will decorate it tomorrow and maybe I can share some photos. That was a long story, have a good night

Contact folders are back :) CRAZY

I came back to turn the computer off for the night and figured I would check again and they are back .....

this is crazy but I am HAPPY.

Have a good night

My Aol acct has lost my contact list :(

I just went to my AOL email account only to find I have no more contacts, so I will use another acct. If you receive an email from me on AOL with an attachment please be careful, not sure what has happened. I was sending the PDF with the Sampler info from AOL and that should be fine; it is just from today forward.
And I have added another Blog for the Serenity Harbor Sampler. We reached the limit of 100 authors so I had to make "Serenity Harbor Sampler Continued". There are still invites open on the first blog and I have those counted in the 100, so if you could please accept the invite by Dec 20th that would be wonderful because I need to cancel out any invites that are still open by that date.
Have a good night and I am off to type email address to another acct :)
donna

a photo share from Suzanne

From Suzanne, Just beautiful

I do not have any photos to share at the moment, I was teaching this weekend and busy organizing the Sampler project that I have not stitched but I do have a photo to share with you from Suzanne. She finished the free stitch a long I had this summer. She is the first one to share this design, so thank you Suzanne. In her email to me she shared how she persevered through a few obstacles and learned new stitches to finish it,

 just Beautiful :)

If you have signed up for the "Serenity Harbor Sampler" check out the blog; I have sent out all invites to the participants and if you have not received one please email me and I can send you another. The only people that have not received one(a blogger invite) are the people that have signed up with a shop, 

those will go out soon, :)

Have a good night

donna

Luke 18:27,  "But He said, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.”

Still here :)

Sorry I have not posted in a couple of weeks. We had a very busy Thanksgiving. Hubby decided to have it as an open house and it is hard to plan when you do not know how many people will be here. We had a great time.

 I didn't realize how I had fallen behind in house work, it felt like I was doing spring cleaning for a few days before everyone came over. 

We had a bonfire outside for Meagan and her friends and it had just snowed the day before so they made a snowman. It was fun to see her friends over; it was open house for her too and they are all around 21 years old :) 

Mom spent the the week with us, I always feel like I can not go up to the office to work on the computer because I don't want to leave her alone so I did some punch needle as we watched so many movies, I have more stitching to catch up on. 

Almost finished the angel from the previous post, the blocks are decoupaged and distressed, dowels are painted, and I am just working on the star for the top. 

I am off to answer emails and sorry if I have not answered your email yet, I am on the way :)

donna

today's weather

  Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.