Believe

 For onto us a child is born…. Emmanuel, Prince of Peace, Christ the King……

Peace on Earth

ann

New guy on the shelf

 

The first little project of 2022 finished woohoo what a great feeling.  Father Christmas with a holly wreath on his head. Most of the Christmas decorations have been put away but the Santas are such a jolly bunch I leave them out until the middle of January usually. Brrrrrrr it’s been cold here. Hope you are staying warm. —Ann—

Christmas advice

 

"Maybe Christmas he thought doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas perhaps means a little bit more. " The Grinch 

Seems to be good advice for this year most of my shopping has been on line or from the grocery store and I certainly don't need more stuff.  

Merry Christmas

--Ann--

Dust Bunnies again

The dust bunnies were in my sewing room again, they got out all the DMC thread and wool thread for this little guy while we were away for basketball.  Our South Dakota State University Jackrabbits won the Summit tournament!!! and we broke the attendance record for most fans at a women's game in the country!!!!  We love our rabbits here.  Need to tidy up the sewing room before I can do anything else. Our world is white again with another 6 inches of snow but the forecast is for warmer days.  Can spring be far behind?  --Ann--

Santa finish

Another Santa to add to the collection.  I would work on him a little bit at a time until my fingers would get sore from pulling the needle through the holes, the size of the needle eye and thread makes a difference in how easily it pulls through. I forget those little details when a project is 4 years in the making.  I was also having trouble finding a spot to sit with lots of light, I even moved a lamp closer to my chair and put in a working 3 way bulb.  But the real solution to being able to see the little holes was buying a pair of 3.0 reading glasses!  What a difference those made!!!  The fur trim is turkey work and after it is trimmed it feels almost like velvet.  I did a long and short stitch with an angora yarn in the beard.  Then I took him to my sewing room to turn and stuff.  This was first time I have had movers remorse because I threw away all the bags of batting scraps, you know the little 1 or 2 inch strips from trimming a quilt that everyone else throws in the trash as they trim the quilt.  I threw all those away.  What do I stuff him with short of cutting up quiltable pieces of batting?  Aha!! old yarn! I had yarn from a couple decades ago back when I made a cross stitch Christmas tree skirt on burlap.  Wadded up yarn is perfect for stuffing and no calories.  One skein of white was exactly the right color for the cording in combination with a fuzzy novelty thread.  Thinking about painting another Santa.........maybe next year.  --Ann--

seasons out of whack

It feels like March here instead of the middle of May, cold, windy and freezing overnight temps.  I was sitting in my sewing room over the weekend looking at all the projects in plain sight; the quilt that is ready to machine quilt, the quilt top ready to be basted, the stack of strips already cut for another neutral quilt, the beginning of a baby quilt, so many things from which to choose. This little needle point rabbit has been sitting in plain sight since the last leap year along with the backing and prototype of a gusseted egg.  All I needed to do was sew the backing and stuff it and stitch it closed.  I pulled out the box of needle point yarn to make the cording, none of the greens I used were long enough to make the cording. Think, think think what can I used that is the right color for the cording.............sock yarn!!! specifically the opal yarn for my St. Patrick's Day socks.  Wishing for warmer May days --Ann--

smiles everyone

Squeeze together, everyone look at the camera............smiles.............needlepoint Santas I have stitched beginning in 1989.

"tell Klaus to take off his hat" "Arnold, put the book down"  "I'm checking the list"  "Sven, the goose"  "watch the candle"..............and the hand carved that I have been collecting since........equally as long.

And to all a good night..........--Ann--

Getting ready

 I pulled out all the Christmas quilts then I wasn't in the mood to deck the walls and halls and beds. We haven't celebrated the first Sunday of Advent yet, which is all about getting ready. So instead..... savor my coffee,  write my do list, mark things off last weeks list, read The Lost Symbol,  knit a few rows, look through my file of Santas, gather paints, look for scroll frame, tidy up work space in sewing room so I can paint, find scroll frame, get out box of finished Santas, look through file again, heat up lunch, knit a few more rows, look for a shiny paper plate to use for a palate, get out light box, find light, plug in light, begin painting, squeeze more paint on palate, time for coffee, finish painting, get out box of yarn, pick colors, wait for paint to dry. Tomorrow I stitch.--Ann--

Leap year

Must be leap year because I am sewing something backward!

I started this back in January and after getting the first leaf at the bottom done it just felt wrong so I looked at all the Santas that were still up and I was stitching  backwards. All the needlepoint stitching I have done over the years I have stitched lower left to upper right like this//////

The dumb bunny here, my stitches are backward this way \\\\\\ upper left to lower right.  It just feels wrong!!  The only thing I can figure out  is I took my first stitches holding the frame on end with the rabbit nose pointing down so the stitches would have been ///// but when I turned him back on all four feet I was stitching \\\\\

Maybe I should replace the light bulb where I like to stitch with a 3 way that works on bright.

Leap year follies,

Ann

New Santa Finished

rosy cheeks, bells and last stitch

Now I have to rearrange all the Santas and dust I guess he will sit in front of the fireplace instead of on top with the rest.

Merry Christmas,
Ann

Santa Collection

My Santa's usually come out with the first snowflakes or the beginning of Advent whichever comes first, this year it was before Thanksgiving some years they come out in October but these early guests never wear out their welcome.

When I started collecting carved Santas I knew the woodcarvers who carved them and there were several in eastern South Dakota. 

The Saint Nicholas with  with the bishops hat and green robe looks  like his carver, his wife painted all his carvings with artist oil paint so the grain of the wood shows through she whispered good bye to the Santa with is finger to his mouth shhhhing as she put him in my bag.

Since we have moved several times I am never there when the Santas are for sale. Now I look for Santa when we travel, I found the tallest Santa in the back row in Alaska and the Santa with no arms and tan robe in Sweden (below Alaska and left). Hubby Dearest has given me several as he has learned to surf the internet.

 Each one has so much personality

I have always enjoyed doing needlework and got hooked on needlepoint, Santa's of course. I have tried to do one every year. Some were purchased painted canvases, some from cross stitch patterns and the last couple I have painted the canvases I have a new appreciation for those who paint the canvases.

You better be good 'cause Santa Claus is watching,

Ann