Come visit with me as I stitch and craft my way from one Christmas to the next - I like to have Christmas projects close by me all year. I have a particular fondness for Santas and Angels. If you have the time, leave a comment so I know you've visited.

Sunday, January 26, 2014

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!

Friday, January 24, 2014

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!