Merry Christmas

I can't believe it's Christmas already. Looking back, I also can't believe this is my eighth year blogging about Christmas. So many of you have followed me for such a long time. Thanks for all of your support and for coming along for the ride!

It wouldn't seem like Christmas to me without a little snow.

Puppy loves snow as much as I do . . .

Every Christmas my cross stitch calls. Usually too late . . . But there's always hope. We'll be doing a Christmas in July challenge next year to help some of us get a head start on our Christmas projects for 2017. 

I miss this guy at Christmas . . .

Who says a Christmas quilt can't have a little blue in it??

Driving around looking at lights in 2009 (not my house) . . .

Not my reindeer!

Our house. God bless the man who, despite the weather, has never missed a year putting up Christmas lights for me . . .

Merry Christmas! Have a lovely time with your families and friends and a wonderful holiday season after. 'Tis the season of Joy. My Christmas Words of Wisdom this year: Remember that peace begins at home, among family. Tell someone you love him or her, even if they're being disagreeable or Grinchy. Refuse to get pulled into their negativity. Sit down and listen more. Create peace through your interactions with others close to you. Then, send it out into the world. Be a light.

*   *   *

I'll be back with a brand new small quilt challenge on January 1. I hope you'll enjoy doing lots of other fun projects with me in 2017. Dear Jane group members - I'll be back there too, working on my blocks and hoping we can inspire each other to keep going on our quilts.

Another Giveaway Winner

Thanks for participating in my latest Christmas book giveaway. So many great comments, again. The winner of the Martingale Season's Greetings book is - Michelle T 

Congratulations, Michelle.  Please send me your mailing address and I will forward it to Martingale so they can send you your free book. (My e-mail is in my profile near the top of this blog on the right side.)

Another Christmas Patchwork Giveaway

I love Christmas project books. And now you have another chance to win a book from Martingale filled with all sorts of cute holiday projects. This one is Season's Greetings by Anni Downs of Hatched and Patched. It's a sweet little book filled with cozy patchwork, applique and embroidery with a delightful whimsical style.

Aren't these projects cute? I really love the colors and scrappy fabrics Anni uses in her projects. 

I have a lot of fun making things for Christmas presents and I know some of you do too. Many of the projects in this book are simple and quick so they're perfect for gift giving. Too late for this year perhaps but there's always next. Projects include an Advent calendar, table top tree skirt, gift bags and a 12 days of Christmas stitchery. 

To enter your name for a chance to win this book, just leave me a comment telling me about an unusual Christmas gift you received. Include your name and a way for me to reach you by e-mail. Good luck! The winner will be announced on Wednesday, Dec 21.

Giveaway Winner

Thank you all for leaving such lovely comments!  As I read through them I got a little teary at times.  Christmas memories can do that - they bring out the sentimental in me even more than usual. I'm sure some of you felt the same while you were writing them. I read some of the comments out loud to my husband and his remark was how lucky I am to have such sweet followers. I know I say this every time I hold a giveaway but, honestly, I wish I could give a book to each and every one of you. 

The winner of Gail Pan's Christmas Patchwork Loves Embroidery book is -  Candee Abraham 

Candee, please send me your mailing address. I will let Martingale know and they'll send you your book. Merry Christmas!

Thanks again to all of you for entering. If you didn't win, remember - you can still buy the book and make some cute little embroidered items for next Christmas. Gail has so many cute patterns.

Good news: Martingale is being very generous and letting me hold ANOTHER Christmas book giveaway. Come back to the blog on Sunday and I'll announce which book you can win next week.

*   *   *

I thought you'd enjoy seeing my little embroidered birdie from the book. I finished it yesterday while I was on the couch - resting, icing and elevating my sprained knee. Oh no!

I'll put some cute, scrappy borders on my little birdie soon but machine sewing is not going to be easy for awhile. It drives me crazy to have to sit on the couch and sew when I still have soooo much to get done to prepare for Christmas. But perhaps it's a blessing in disguise and just what I need to remind myself to slow down and not get too stressed out. I'm hoping it's just a sprain from shoveling snow, then walking the feisty-little-excited-dog-who-pulls-me-like-a-reindeer-pulling-Santa's-sled-on-Christmas-Eve and also too much shopping last week and that it will clear up soon. It's always something, isn't it? 

If you buy the e-book here from Martingale, all you do is download it to your computer, then select and print out the pages as you want to work on them. Very easy. This little tree is going to be next.

If you're looking for something else that's quick to make there's also my little Redwork Christmas pattern booklet from a few years ago that includes some cute mini embroidery patterns - 

Have a good rest of the weekend!  Don't forget to visit tomorrow when I'll show you another cute Christmas book for yet another giveaway.

Christmas Book Giveaway

Hand stitching is really popular these days. I especially love to do a little bit of embroidery or cross stitching around Christmas. For years, it's been a great way for me to relax whenever I start to feel a little of that holiday stress. Stitching something sweet and simple sure is calming and good for the soul.

Guess what? Because of all of your support and enthusiasm for my new Small & Scrappy book - I'm hosting a terrific Christmas giveaway this week through the generosity of my publisher. Martingale recently published a great book by Gail Pan - Christmas Patchwork Loves Embroidery - that has a ton of cute projects that combine quilting and embroidery with a Christmas theme. This book is just what you need! Gail's patterns include simple stitches with a whimsical touch. Sure to inspire you to make something for yourself or someone special for the holidays.

You may remember that Gail is also the author of the popular book Patchwork Loves Embroidery, also full of pretty projects that are simple and quick.

She creates her projects using basic embroidery techniques, so they're perfect for beginners. But fun for advanced stitchers too.

I had so much fun browsing through this book and looking at the beautiful photos. Now I'm really inspired to make something cute and special for Christmas. I still have time, right? We're expecting some more snow and dropping temperatures in the coming week so after I do some Christmas shopping tomorrow I'm going to sit down and make myself a cup of tea and cozy up under a quilt and do a little Christmas stitching.

Here are a couple of projects from the book -

Okay, so here's the deal - please read these instructions carefully to find out exactly what you have to do to win a copy of the book - 

• Post a comment on my blog telling me about one of your special Christmas memories. Could be something that made your Christmas special as a child, could be something that made you smile as an adult. Make sure you leave your name and a way for me to contact you if you win (e-mail address). Some of you have not done this in the past when I've had a giveaway and it's a shame I had to skip over your name if you did not follow the instructions and there was no way I was able to contact you.

Take your time and leave me a comment - ONE comment only -  and your name will be entered into the drawing to win a copy of this sweet  book. Comments will close on Friday night and I will announce the winner on Saturday morning. Again, please leave your name and e-mail so I have a way of contacting you. Good luck! 

Make sure you go to Martingale's website or Facebook page to check out all of their latest book releases as well as the ones coming up next year. There are some wonderfully creative books coming out. 

Wait, I have one more Christmas present for you - There will be another giveaway for ANOTHER Christmas book after I announce the winner of this giveaway, so make sure you come back next week to get another chance to win a different Christmas book. Best news: Next year is also going to be full of giveaways (including one for my new book) so you will still have a chance to win something.

Happy Christmas Stitching!

Christmas Trees

It's beginning to look a little like Christmas around here.

Tough decision.

Someone's doing the hard work and someone else is having fun . . .

The free pattern for this little tree block (from December 2014) can be found in my small groups under Files.