Fare Thee Well 2011...

Hi there sweet friends and a mighty sweet welcome to a couple new followers too!  Hope everyone is easing out of their Christmas Feast *stretchy pants* and now resting comfortably, as I am ~ LOL!

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Yesterday I started pondering over linens, floss, trims and projects for 2012.  My brain became positively numb with stitchy overload, anyone else get like that?  The best thing for me was to stop over-thinking every miniscule aspect of my 2012 projects.  I paused and decided 'twas better to get organized to help me make informed decisions about supplies.

 

These stragglers needed to be corraled...

Lo and behold, I've stashed more linen than thought!  I know this isn't a lot of linen for some of you, but for me it's certainly a delightful and plentiful discovery!  Most pieces had been folded, but I was growing concerned about the color on the hand dyed pieces starting to fade on the fold lines.  Sadly it can happen but I think I'm good with that so far.  So I measured/labeled each and secured with twine.  At first glance you may think this a bit fussy-mussy, but we spend dear dollars on hand dyed linens.  My goal is to keep them well stored without suffering any damage.  Rolling them will prevent that. 

Getting there...

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Anyone maybe remember this pic from November? 

Wasn't sure where these colors were gonna take me...

In the end it all came together as a sweet RAOK for our very own Ma Teakettle and her clan!  It's been received, and I joked with Ma that if this wasn't a good fit for her tree, she could always use it as a door stop ~ LOL!

Tree Ornie

Motif ~ designer unknown

Zweigart 32 ct ~ Dirty

Floss ~ DMC 822 ~ 2 over 2

Stitch Count ~ 37 x 50

Bottom Band ~ kinda looked like folky snowflakes

Fill ~ Bamboo fiber

Started 11/21/11 ~ Finished 12/15/11

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As for 2012, may you enjoy many blissful stitches.  My sincere and sweet gratitude to all who read along here in 2011.  If you happened to comment along the way, your kinship is truly heartfelt and I thank you:)

Tootles, Sue

Do You Know What Your STATUS Is?

Hi there sweet friends, thank you kindly for your joyous Christmas wishes and good cheer, the warmth of fellow stitchers is some of the best found on the planet!

A friend suggested I make a postie about ~ No Reply ~ status, my friend is very wise and realizes we're all at different skill levels on these here dern computer contraptions:)

This postie is only for those interested, if you're not... please move along!  I mean really, why would one want ~ No Reply ~ status?  Isn't the best part of blogging the communicating and learning?  When one takes time to leave a comment asking this or that, and ~ No Reply ~ is discovered, how can we get back to the commenter?   

Remember last week when PeggyLee/Kentucky Sampler tipped me off that my very own setting defaulted to ~ No Reply ~ status?  It wasn't always like that, something went wonky with Blogger to change the default.  Like I giggled to my wise friend... I've n.e.v.e.r. been a ~ No Reply ~ kind of gal, even as a wee toddler.  Just ask my looooong suffering parents, my very tolerant brothers, or my thoroughly exhausted Mr. Sweet, they'll testify and in a NY minute:)

Here's how you can fix or verify your ~ No Reply ~ status: 

*** Go to your dashboard, dashboard, DASHBOARD, stay there, DO NOT select your blog!

*** Look to the far left where it says *EDIT PROFILE*, click once.

*** In the *PRIVACY* setting, place a check mark next to *Show my email address*.

*** Look again to verify you have a check mark there:)

*** Scroll to bottom of page and click *Save Profile*.

*** You're done and have set your default to ~ Reply ~. 

*** Now pat yourself on the back, or throw one back from the Hersheys Syrup bottle, we won't tell!

 

If you found this postie helpful, feel free to leave a comment... if you dare;)

Enjoy your night, sleep tight, don't crawl into bed with your needle stuck in your jammies!

Tootles, Sue

For You...

Any U.S. Downton Abbey Fans?

Christmas Day Special ~ Masterpiece Theater's British drama set in 1912, continuing Season 1, check your local PBS for air time.  I do believe it'll be an evening broadcast. 

A tease from the DailyMail/UK HERE.  

Huh?  What in the heck is that whacky Sweet Sue talkin about this time?

Get familiar HERE.

 

Don't thank me... you did all the work again this Christmas didn't you?

 

Steep your tea, feet up, stitch, enjoy!

Then add the DVD series to your Amazon wish list.  Why?  Because, well... will anyone really leave you alone long enough to stitch and enjoy the broadcast?   You'll be lucky to get a few sips in before your tea gets cold.

Who says an American born prim stitcher in NY can't enjoy really good Brit drama:)

Gentle Reminder:  Season 2 starts January 8, 2012, see you there!

Tootles, Sue

Blogger Settings...

I've been leaving comments here and there, if you've tried to respond to me and gotten ~No Reply~, my apologies.

Seems Blogger has been playing with my settings cause PeggyLee told me all of a sudden she couldn't reply.

Thx for letting me know PeggyLee!  Issue is now fixed.

Have a great day during this holiday week sweet friends!

Back to cleaning the oven, grrrrrrrrr ~ yes, it's self clean, but still ~ grrrrrrrr.

Shouldn't there be a hard and fast rule that a sip or two of Cream Sherry is mandatory when cleaning the oven?!!!

Visions of Snowflakes...

Hi there Sweet Friends!

Thanks for stopping by during the hustle and bustle of the wonderful holidays.  Whether you're laid back, freakin' out like the lady in the Target commercial, or somewhere in between ~ I do hope you enjoy this special time in your own special way! 

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Looking forward to 2012 I've decided the new BBD Christmas design will be in my lineup.
I'm not a *challenge* stitcher, but I do so enjoy following all your beautiful accomplishments.
My sincere congrats to each of you who are pleased with their 2011 challenge results!

How about you, what sweet projects are in your 2012?  Do tell!   

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So my mind wandered off to remembering yummy Moravian Christmas cookies, how they're different shapes, then snowflakes came to mind.

I know ~ my brain, stitching, pastries ~ they all work in unison ~ it's ok, I'm fine with it:)

For this project, my vision was a subtle prim Christmas design, one that didn't scream Christmas, with maybe a touch of elegance.  

Now... if I can only get my assembly down to a quick 20 minutes ~ yeah  right ~ like that's ever gonna happen LOL!

Snowflake ornie

freebie motif

Zweigart Cashel 28 ct ~ Antique Almond

Floss ~ DMC Ecru ~ 2 over 2

Stitch Count 33 x 33

Bottom band/backing ~ show towel cotton 

Fill ~ bamboo fiber

Started  12/14/11 ~ Finished 12/16/11

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 This project provided me with some *Firsts*...

... stitching on Cashel ~ quite nice.

 

... adding trim (very narrow piece of white jute at seam) ~ YES YES YES to more trims.  Warm thanks to sweet Carol over at Stitching Dreams for her *glue* encouragement.

 ... railroaded every stitch, in effort to cajole my floss to lay more flat.

... adding a fabric band to a finish ~ nice 'lil extra special touch.  

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That's it for now sweet friends, I've a couple more ornies to assemble.
Please enjoy your weekend:)

Tootles, Sue