Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Stitching Goals and Gifts Sent and Received

Can you believe that we are already ten days into the new year?  This year, for the first time I have decided to set some (hopefully obtainable!) stitching goals for myself.  The first goal being to stitch more Christmas ornaments - at least one a month.  Here is my ornament for January:


It is a 'Treasure Christmas Pincushion' by MTV Designs and was featured in the November 2008 issue of The Gift of Stitching Magazine.


It is stitched on 28 count evenweave fabric in DMC stranded cotton and House of Embroidery threads and trimmed with gold seed beads.  What a fun stitch!


Some of my other stitching goals include finishing at least a few blocks on my Shores of Hawk Run Hollow start and to completely finish the huge Historic Countries Sampler from The Gift of Stitching Magazine.  I am also going to try to restrict my amount of new starts until a few WIPs are done.  That being said - there are some new starts in the pipeline, but I will tell you more next time!

I sent out a few gifts to some blogging friends over the Holiday season and am happy to report that all gifts were received in good order.  This little package went to Edit - I love the little Winter Wonderland cushion and might even make one for myself  this year!


This package went to Annie - I am definitely enjoying pincushion finishes at the moment!


This gift went to Babs, along with an extra scissors fob for her mom.  I was lucky enough to receive some of the lovely Belgian Lace that her mom makes in a giveaway some time ago.


Here is a close up of the hand made gift goodies:


I also sent a gift to Lee in Brazil:


Here is a closeup of some of the contents of the package.  Lee collects thimbles and I found this cute little fellow in a local antique store - perfect for a Christmas package!  I made the fob, biscornu and scissors/needle book for her - all in pink!


I was also lucky enough to receive a lovely Christmas package from Edit.  I absolutely love the fabrics and can't wait to use them for some finishings!   I also love the ornament - it was on my 'to do' list and now I have one.  Thank you for the great gift Edit!


That is it for now!

Until next time - Happy Stitching!

Michelle

17 comments:

Annie said...

This stitcher sure loves her gifts. You have really been a busy beaver. All the gift packages look great!

And your latest ornament is beautiful. Starting the year keep your New Year's Resolution is a good thing!

Lonneke said...

What a great packages. (I like the little crow the most, he is a cutie!) They are all very lovely.
Like your new Christmas ornament too.
Good luck with your goals!

Erna said...

Hi Michelle, a lovely finish and what a lovely presents, the girls must have been so pleased...
Hugs
Erna

Patty C. said...

Wonderful goodies !!! Everything looks so well done & I love the variety of colors & finishes -

Carol said...

I'll bet you made a lot of your fellow stitchers very happy with your beautiful gifts, Michelle!!

Looking forward to following your ornament a month finishes :)

Lee Albrecht said...

Michelle, todos os presentes são maravilhosos! Mas, o mais importante e a amizade que nasceu através do Bordado. O Bordado une as pessoas e elas nunca se sentem sozinhas... Eu amo todos os seus presentes!
tenha uma linda semana! um lindo mês! um lindo Ano!

Michelle said...

Wow what wonderful packages - thank you for sharing them with us Michelle. We are heading out to Cape Town in February 2013 again can't wait x

Tatkis said...

Great goals - good luck to you!
And all the presents are lovely!

hugs,
Tatyana

Anonymous said...

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Francien said...

Hey Michelle...what a great packages....and i just love the little crow one...that looks lovely!! I bet the girls are so lucky to get one of your stunning gifts....greetings Francien.

Dani - tkdchick said...

Oh my goodness! What amazing gifts!!! What a talented stitcher and finisher you are!

Tami said...

Cute gifts you have prepared, I invite you to my blog.

Edit said...

Your January ornament is really beautiful, just like all the gifts you have sent. Thank you so much for mine, and I am so happy you liked what I sent.

Marmalady said...

Hello Michelle
Lovely to see such talent here in South Africa. I am already one of your fans. You have a very nice blog.
Kind regards, from Limpopo
Petra

cucki said...

hello dear, its me cucki from south africa too :)
i love reading your blog so much..so happy to found another lovely friend from the homeland..i am living in johburg :)
beautiful stitching and lovely gifts..both sent and received..
hugs for you cucki xx

Tatkis said...

Wow! All the finishes are SO CUTE! I love the bird so much, and the organizer for Lee is adorable!

Hugs,
Tatyana

Bonnie said...

Have the chart for the black crow have not done it as of yet. Sure like how you done yours. Hope I can find that site again as they had so many more nice ones on there. Managed to get the crow ones at least before I lost the site.
Keep Stitching
Bonnie