A Little Christmas

Being a teacher, I only have time to get most of my stuff done on school breaks.  So at the end of Thanksgiving break, we attempted to find all the Christmas decorations in our remaining boxes that haven't been unpacked yet.  

We currently have three trees.  The 7 1/2-foot tree we rescued off the curb.  It had been pre-lit but the lights didn't work but the tree was solid so I cut off the lights and replaced them with LED lights.

The 6 1/2-foot tree is a Balsam Fir.  We got a good deal on one last year and it is well worth the price.  The quality is phenomenal!  Also, even with all the fluffing and assembly, there were only three needles on the floor.  It doesn't shed fake needles like any other artificial I have ever owned.

I like C3 LED bulbs. 
So much better than mini lights

I put the plush nativity scene under the tree.  

(The wisemen are still traveling)

And here they are decorated.

I would like to highlight one ornament which I made for Adele.  I designed it myself and entered it into the Just Cross Stitch ornament contest a few years ago.  It didn't win.  

I feel robbed.

I'll let you make your own opinion
of its worthiness.
It says "Season's Beamings"

The house that we bought actually has a fireplace.  We have not lived in a house with a fireplace for 11 years.  Not that a fireplace is really essential in south Texas.  But, we decorated it.

The village is a la Dollar Tree.
I'm making a plastic canvas one.
Maybe it will be ready next Christmas.

The Comeback!

 Hello, my friends,

I have no idea who will see this since I'm not sure my current follower count.  The last few years have seen a lot of changes. 

My husband lost his job during the COVID shutdown and that caused us to have to uproot our family and move 460 miles to south Texas (because Texas is one of the few states where you can move 400 miles and not leave the state!).  We had two weeks to pack our house and put it on the market.  I had to leave all the friends I had made in the 3+ years I had been with my school district and 10 years that we had lived in Sanger.

We ended up renting for two years before finally buying another house.  We broke even on the sale of our previous house so it was a lot of saving and the market was crazy (6.75% interest, guys!).  But I've settled into a small school district again and the girls are doing well in their life skills classroom.

But with moves and new houses come painting and unpacking and that hasn't left a lot of time for stitching.  But I think things will change here shortly.  So maybe I can carve out a little time for blogging again.

Behind the String: An Ornament for Dad

I blogged about my dad back in 2012.  He died when I was 21.  Even though I was technically an adult at the time, it was still difficult.  He missed both college graduations, my wedding and both kids.

A few years ago, I made an ornament to memorialize my friend who had committed suicide and I wanted to do something similar. 

I just never could find the right pattern.  Then I realized I was looking for the wrong kind of pattern.

My father was born with a hole in his heart.  Today, this is easily fixable, but in 1949, it was a major issue.  He had surgery to fix it when he was 13 but his life expectancy was a mystery.  The originally said 25.  Then they said 40.  He died at 56 so he doubled his original estimate.

Because of his experience, he collected heart memorabilia.  Especially heart stamps.  Lots of heart stamps. 

So, I decided, his memorial ornament should have a heart also.  I quickly found one.

 "Christmas Love" by Lizzie*Kate

I put his name and dates on the back.  Found an appropriate font.

Now, 12 years after his passing, he is finally a part of my Christmas tree.  And that's the story behind the string

Some Ornament Stitching and Reading

I decided to stitch some ornaments over break.  All are from the 2018 JCS Ornament issue

First up was one for the ornament box for Adèle.

Let it Snow, Man!
Cross Stitch Sanctuary
28 st navy blue evenweave
DMC

Next was a bird one.

Winter Bird's Home
The Little Stitcher
32 st petit point linen
DMC

Last was a Joy ornament because I couldn't resist.

Joy Ornament
Turquoise Graphics and Design
28 st natural linen
DMC

Obviously, they all still need finishing.  I also want to do a memorial ornament for my Dad.  I may also do a few ornaments for the grandkids.

While I stitched, I listened to some Audible.  I may be Audicted.  I like that I can read while doing other things.

I finished Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson.  I've been listening to the series this fall.  This installment was 55 hours long, so it took awhile.  I can't wait until the next book, but there is not a release date yet.

Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

55 hours later, I have finished this book, wishing there was a release date for the next book.

The king and Dahlinar have hatched a daring plan to take back their city. A team of soldiers and Radiants travel to the city to open the Oathgate. However, conditions in the city are horrible and executing the plan will be extremely difficult.

Meanwhile, Dahlinar is working on forging alliances with the other kingdoms. It is not an easy task as his reputation as a general causes the others to fear it is a ploy to take over their lands.

Everything leads up to a desperate battle for survival at the end of the book.

View all my reviews

Currently, I am listening to Radium Girls, a non-fiction about the dial painters in the 1920s who sustained Radium poisoning and died awful deaths.  

Catching Up Part 2: Some Ornaments

When I got laid off back in 2012, I started making ornaments for my daughters for each year.  There's more info on the Ornament Box Project page.  I updated my albums with the most recent ones.

I've made some more as well not related to that project.

I made these for my math class!

My finishing is not nearly as good as Carol's.  (Check out the Stitch Stitching Dreams blog).  I have improved with time.  It maybe it's just desperation. :)

Catching Up Part 1: The Largest Piece Ever!

When I was subbing, I ran across a teacher who was cross stitching an Afghan.  She had crocheted the blanket and was cross stitching on it but she had made a mistake.  So like many of us, she put it aside (because sometimes you have no time for frogging!).

She gave it to me and asked to see what I could do.  I found the mistake, frogged what needed to be frogged and set to work.  It took about 2 months of work.  We were in the process of packing to move so that cut into stitching time obviously.

This is the result:

The feet were done, the rest was me.

It was an awesome opportunity.  First, to help her out.  Second, to do something new.

Hello Blogosphere!

I have been away for awhile.  I've still been posting my work on Instagram. 

A lot has happened.  We bought a house at the end of 2016.  I took a long term substitute job in 2017 which turned into a paraprofessional job.  This fall, I got hired for my first ever teaching job!  I now teach 8th grade math. 

This has drastically cut into my stitching time.

And also blogging time.

So, I'm going to do a few catch up posts of some of the work that I have done.  Stay tuned!