December Gifted Gorgeousness

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood today.  A bit chilly, but the sun is shining and the sky is an incredible brilliant blue.  I think this may be the calm before the storm!  LOL  We are expecting a big storm later tonight and tomorrow.  I'll be off to get a few more groceries in a bit but wanted to get this update out of the way!

So...what is Gifted Gorgeousness you ask?  Well..... If you take a little trip over to Jo's blog... Serendipitous Stitching... you will see for yourself.  You can read the rules (and sign up) here.  If you want to see what the rest of us are stitching...you can take a look at her main blog page here.  Basically we showcase the stitching that pertains to gifting.  It can be a gift of fabric, floss or pattern, and it can be something we have been gifted, or are gifting others.  So...let's see...where do I begin?

My husband is my biggest cheerleader.  He doesn't hesitate when someone comes to our house, to point out all the things I've stitched...haha.  Sometimes it's a little embarrassing.  But he also supports my habit by buying lots of patterns and floss and fabric for special occasions such as Christmas, Birthday, Anniversary, it's a Tuesday and I need cheering up...well you get the idea.  haha  I'm wondering what I'll be getting for Christmas, he's been very secretive this year!  Anyway, I digress...  He has given me subscriptions to magazines over the years, especially Just Cross Stitch, so anything I stitch from there I consider a GG item.  

So...I will probably forget some stuff...LOL  But here goes.  For Mouse, I usually send her both her Christmas gift and her Birthday gift in the same package.  For some bizarre reason I didn't take a picture of her package this year.  My brain is like Swiss cheese these days.  But...the things I stitched for her I did take pictures of.  First up is her Christmas ornament which came from the December 2020 Just Cross Stitch Magazine and is called Snowman's Treat by Caitlin Baerg.  When we chat online she always offers me a virtual cup of tea (which we refer to as cuppa).  I just thought I would send her a frost one....LOL!  It was sent with love, Mouse!

For her Birthday, I sent this ... A Shepherd's Pie (in a tart pan...how appropriate I thought!  LOL) by Plum Street Samplers.  This was new at Market Day this year, and I've been planning her gift since then!  I recently started making these tarts, they are so quick and easy to finish, I don't know why I was so worried before...but isn't that usually the way?

I also stitched this Shepherd's Bush ornament for her, called Joy To Ewe.  I had a little trouble with this guy...haha...because I stitched it too small then couldn't find a Santa hat to fit....so I used felt, and fuzzy thread...and a bell that was probably a bit too big.  I liked it anyway, and I guess she did too.  In case you can't tell, she likes sheep!  LOL!!

I've been stitching these monthly charts designed by Little House Needleworks.  I think they were first published in 2010 in chart packs with the called for hand dyed threads.  Talking to Mouse one day I told her I had these, and was thinking of stitching them up next year and making a calendar.  She has a flip book, so I'm sending them to her (hopefully before the month begins) so she can put them in her book and display them at the appropriate month.  I sent her January already, and have February stitched and ready to send her.  Now to stitch them for me!!  LOL  

I have started writing to a new Pen Pal since September.  She lives in Texas and I have really enjoyed getting to know her.  For Christmas this year, I stitched this little Quaker Snowman by Midnight Stitching.  I have stitched this twice before and always have given them away.  I love this pattern, I think it's so cute, one of these days I'm going to stitch one for me!!

I stitched this little Noel Sampler from the 2012 JCS Ornament issue, I'm sorry I don't remember the designer's name.  I love  it, and now I'm wondering how I should finish it, but that's for another day.

I made these two little ornaments to give as gifts...one to my Dr.  who I visited last week.  She is from India....and has been my Dr. through thick and thin for the past 18 years.  She saw me through all the cancer stuff, and the fall out from all that.  She truly listens, gives great advice on who to see for further care.  She has taken care of DH, my son, and now is taking care of our DIL.  She even saw my Mom once when she was visiting.  Since I saw her so close to Christmas (and I asked first if she celebrated Christmas because I suspect she is Hindu) and brought her this ornament.  She said she didn't celebrate the religious part of the holiday, but does set up a tree...so I gave her these mittens to hang on her tree.  I thought she was going to cry...and I really think she would have hugged me if it weren't for COVID.  It's nice to show those who are a big part of our lives (whether they know it or now) that we appreciate them.  This is Warm Hands Warm Hearts from the 2017 JCS Ornament issue.

I made this one for my hairdresser.  She has been cutting my hair for 25 years....minus the three years I was in Germany.  I have been her friend through her divorce, and she has been mine through cancer treatment.  She cut my hair off when it began to fall out during chemo, and cried the whole time.  She gave our son his first haircut.  So...I saw her last week and gave her this ornament.  It's fun to leave a little something of yourself for others to remember you by...isn't it?  This is Heart of Christmas from the 2018 JCS Ornament issue.

Next up is Birds and Blackwork Flowers.  This was a SAL this year by Leslie Teare and I have so enjoyed stitching each one!  I have an idea, and hopefully I've left enough hints for DH to pick up on...but if not maybe I can find it again after Christmas.  If I get it, I'll show pictures then how I want to finish these off and display them.  Till then, I'll just show you the last in the series that I have completed...

I started this next one as a gift.  I don't think that person looks at my blog but just in case I won't say who it's for or give the name of the pattern.  I've had more trouble with this silly thing than I can even begin to tell you...but if all goes well I'll be able to give it to them for Christmas.  Wish me luck!!!

This next bell-pull I finished up last night.  I made the 12 Days of Christmas ornaments last year, fully finished them this year, and then had the idea that to display them I would put them on a burlap ribbon type thing and make a bell-pull.  I can always pull them off and do something different next year, they are only on there with safety pins.  The whole finishing cost for the bell pull was less than $5.00 as I found the burlap on sale and the hanger was only $1.99!  I call that Serendipitous...don't you?

These 12 Days of Ornaments I stitched this year, and fully finished them this year, I bought the garland after Christmas last year, fully intending to use it to display these this year.  This was a $20.00 garland on sale for 75% off!  Another $5.00 finishing idea!  Crazy thing is I went to find another garland like this one this year, and every store I went to was almost completely wiped out of Christmas decor.  This was last Friday...the 11th of December.  I'm so shocked I can't begin to tell you!  I guess everyone decided to decorate early this year or companies were not able to create many decorations due to the pandemic.  Either way, I was a little disappointed.  Hence, the bell-pull idea.  As my Mother used to say...sometimes I use my head for something other than a hat rack.  LOL!!

I'm going to post this here, just for fun...it's my Advent calendar that I have been using every year since I finished it off.  These were free patterns from Ellen Mayer Stroh (I hope I spelled that right).  Her freebies have been taken down since I finished these.  So sad...she had some really lovely ones!!  But...I usually post them one a day on Facebook as a countdown to Christmas.  I leave you with the picture from today...the 15th day...and I wish you all a blessed Advent season as we all prepare to celebrate our Lord's birth.  Happy Stitching!