The First Stitch of 2014 and Some Great Gifts

Design - "Chill Out"

Chart - "Tiny Tidings IX"

Designers - Lizzie Kate

Fabric - 32 count natural linen

Fibers - WDW & DMC - 2 strands over 2 threads

Started - 1 January 2014

Completed - 4 January 2014 

Considering all the snow and the extremely cold temperatures much of the US has endured the past few days, I thought it the perfect time to stitch "Chill Out". It was 26F Sunday morning - cold but nowhere near the Arctic conditions present in the midwest and along east coast.  

I was the recipient of some wonderful gifts over the holidays.

Let me show you...

This might be the 'powiest' watering can ever!

Does my sister have me all figured out or what?

A couple of elves left me mementos of my summer in the U.K.

Brown sauce - I'm now a fan - love it on scrambled eggs.

And a UK Pillar Box bank for my spare change.

I have a couple of interesting books to read on a rainy day. The guide on the right is one of three published some years ago now.  They make wonderful gifts for grade school aged children as way to introduce them to the natural world. The books are out of print, but easy to find on the internet.  

I've never kept a record of my bird finds.  It might be interesting to do this year and track my observations and the number of different birds.

This cute sheep ornament will hold a special place in my heart for a couple of reasons. First off it is by the designer Linnea who I love (see the calendar below). But more importantly, "Baah Humbug" was my paternal grandfather's patented response to greetings of "Merry Christmas!" Not that he was a Scrooge per-say ,he just thought that we got a bit carried away celebrating the holiday.  He was the type of person who would have been perfectly content with a fresh orange in his stocking, a wreath on the door, and a nice meal with all the family in attendance.  

Here's my Linnea calendar for 2014.  It is mini-poster sized so I use a child's easel to display it.

Maggee, keeper of the Stitching Devotee blog, took pity on my Cardinal Envy and sent this pretty red bird my way.

I started collecting these bird tiles from Terra Madre a few years ago.  This year I was given a Flicker.

Pretty life-like, isn't it? 

My mushroom ornament collection grew apace this year too.

And look at the lovely ornament Chris of Tot Hill Farm Stitches gave me! 

It reminds me of dogwood blossoms - one of my spring time favorites.

Thanks to everyone - I am truly blessed!