Lots of Pictures

Today I'm going to show some ornaments I stitched earlier this fall and what I am working on today. The following is the front of the kits I got at the "everything's a dollar" store. These are the kits I am doing for my teacher-friends. Since I give them an ornament every year, I try to come up with a different style of ornament every year. I thought these were cute and a different way of finishing ornies. This is the ornie that I am working on today. To be such inexpensive (fancy way of saying "cheap") kits, these patterns are pretty complicated. This
little pattern had 13 colors and lots of backstitching.

The ornie below was the first teacher-friend ornament kit that I stitched. It is for my friend that collects snowmen. She decorates her condo with them every winter. She has them everywhere. When I go to her place, I really get in the holiday spirit. She gives the Christmas parties every year. It's a brunch. She is a marvelous cook. We have the best time - eating, talking, laughing, reminiscing, etc. We worked together over 20 years and shared many life experiences with each other. We are like a very close family. They were there when I got married, had my babies, had illnesses, had surgeries, lost my son, lost my father, etc. It's not often you work with people who become such close friends. I truly thank God for each and every one of them.

I am so excited, because I FINALLY figured out how to post pictures and journal between each of them!!! I have been trying for days to figure it out. I would go to other sites who use the same blogger I do and they were doing it. So I was determined to find out how to do it myself! I really made a mess of my post yesterday, but, hopefully, that won't happen again. Well, back to my pictures. The following is a little snowman angel. He came from Folk Art Sampler Collection by Dianna Marcum put out by Designs by Gloria and Pat. This booklet is filled with minis for Christmas as well as Halloween, needlework, school, and fall. I have stitched a lot from it. (I am partial to folk art.) I will probably give this to my sister, the angel collector. Not only do I give each teacher-friend an ornament each year, I also give each member of my family one,too. (even the children)

The snowman below is also from the booklet. I'm afraid I'm going to have to keep him. I think he is SO cute!

The penguin below is another mini from Folk Art Sampler Collection. Another teacher-friend collects penguins. So I stitched him for her.

The angel below was a freebie I got off the internet. I don't remember where she came from though. I think she is so cute. I will probably give her to my great-niece, who is 9-years-old.

She is my sister's granddaughter. It's so hard for me to believe that my sister is a grandmother. She is 5 years younger than me! She got an early start on her family. She had her first child when she was 18. I got a late start on my family. I didn't get married until I was 32, and I was 33 when my first child was born. He was born 5 days before our first anniversary. So - my sister is a grandmother and I am the mother of a teenager! Life can be so weird! My brother is about to become a grandfather. He is also younger than me by 2 years. His grandchild is going to be a boy. He is due in January (maybe he'll be born on my birthday, the 16th). I have stitched something for him, but it's too big for the scanner. I'll have to take a picture of it after I get it framed.