Last Day of the year, last finish

I did it! I've managed to have the thirteenth finish of the year. It is a Halloween ornie. I abandoned this poor thing sometime in August... 

and finally it is done, done. I know there wasn't much to finish this one but I stitched this on 25 ct over one. The stitches were very tiny and the writing was painful...

Have an awesome New Year!
Evalina

Blessings of 2013

Just two more sleeps to the New Year. How was my 2013? It was a good year! Of course there were ups and downs but after all - I can't complain. Here are some of the blessings that I'm thankful for:

1. Freddy is my biggest blessing
2. I've started my own business and survived. Next year looks very promising!
3. I'm thankful for Jacques, very good neighbour and a friend
4. I'm very thankful for my blogging friends and followers
5. For my spiritual teachers
6. Frosty Girl that is a lot of trouble sometimes but I love her to pieces. After all she is still a puppy (10 months old)
7. My ZoomZoom of course who sits on my desk and tirelessly watching me stitching or watching birds outside the window
8. My clients
9. Candice for referring new clients
10. For my quiet moments
11. For a beautiful, peaceful place I live in
12. For entertaining birds coming to my feeders
13. For my stitchy hobby

And talking about my hobby... I have a few finishes this year! Let's see

• c. 1800 Gift pincushion
• M. Quertier 1799
• Birdsong ornament
• Good Morning
• Bluenose Dime
• Couple ornaments (April and May) from Prairie Schooler
• Happy Fall Towel
• French Country Pumpkin
• A freebie from Plum Street Samplers
• A Baby A Manger
• Snooty Stitchers Society pincushion - that is my latest finish never seen before. Here is the pic:

What is Snooty Stitchers Society? It's a Facebook group of snooty stitchers who will stitch The Snooty Parrots sampler designed by Barbara Ana starting January 1st.

When I look on my stitchy accomplishements I see twelve finishes... you know, there is a couple more days left in this year... maybe I can stitch one more of my WIPs and end 2013 with 13 finishes... What do you think? My office is closed until January 2nd, I have some time...

So long my friends,
Evalina

Advent Calendar

It's that time of the year when Jo of Serendipitous Stitching is hosting Advent Blog Hop.  At the beginning of December I started a lovely piece 'A Baby A Manger' and finished just on time for this post:

I was born and raised in Poland and my post is dedicated to Christmas traditions in Poland.

Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia! That is the way to say "Merry Christmas" in Polish. Among Poles, wherever they are, the most beloved and beautiful of all traditional festivities is that of Christmas Eve. It is then that the Wigilia, or Christmas Eve Dinner is served. It is a solemnly celebrated occasion and arouses deep feelings of kinship among family members.

For days in advance, Poles prepare the traditional foods and everyone anxiously awaits the moment when the first star, known as the Gwiazdka, appears in the eastern sky. For that is when the feast to commemorate the birth of the Christ Child begins.

There is always a thin layer of hay under the white tablecloth in memory of the Godchild in the manger. Before sitting down at the table, everyone breaks the traditional wafer, or Oplatek and exchanges good wishes for health, wealth and happiness in the New Year. This is such a deeply moving moment that often tears of love and joy are evoked from the family members who are breaking this symbolic bread. The Oplatek is a thin, unleavened wafer similar to the altar bread in the Roman Catholic Church. It is stamped with the figures of the Godchild, the blessed Mary, and the holy angels. The wafer is known as the bread of love and is often sent by mail to the absent members of the family.

The dinner itself differs from other evening meals in that the number of courses is fixed at twelve. According to myth, in no case must there be an odd number of people at the table, otherwise it is said that some of the feasters would not live to see another Christmas. A lighted candle in the windows symbolizes the hope that the Godchild, in the form of a stranger, may come to share the Wigilia and an extra place is set at the table for the unexpected guest. This belief stems from the ancient Polish adage, "A guest in the home is God in the home."

The Wigilia is a meatless meal, no doubt the result of a long-time Church mandate that a strict fast and abstinence be observed on this day before Christmas. Although the Church laws have been revised and permit meat to be eaten on this day, the traditional meal remains meatless. Items that would normally be included in a traditional Wigilia menu include mushroom soup, boiled potatoes (kartofle), pickled herring (sledzie), fried fish, pierogi, beans and sauerkraut (groch i kapusta), a dried fruit compote, babka, platek, assorted pastries, nuts and candies.

After the meal the members of the family sing Polish Christmas Carols called the koledy while the children wait impatiently around the Christmas tree or choinka for the gifts to be exchanged.

Aside from the beautiful Wigilia, the Polish people have a number of other traditions that they practice throughout the Christmas season. Polish Christmas Carols or koledy are numerous and beautiful, especially when sung in Polish parishes at the Christmas Eve Mass. This Mass is called the Pasterka, which means the Shepherds Watch, and there is popular belief in Poland that while the congregation is praying, peace descends on the snow-clad, sleeping earth and that during that holy night, the humble companions of men - the domestic animals - assume voices. But only the innocent of heart may hear them.

Christmas Day itself is spent in rest, prayer, and visits to various members of the family. In Poland, from Christmas Day until the twelfth night, boys trudge from village to village with
an illuminated star and a ranting King Herod among them to sing carols. Sometimes, they penetrate the towns in expectation of more generous gifts. In some districts, the boys carry on puppet shows called shopki. These are built like a little house with two towers, open in the front where a small crib is set.

During the Christmas season, the theaters give special performances. On the feast of the Epiphany, the priest and the organist visit the homes, bless them and write over their doors the initials of the three wise men - KMB (Kasper, Melchior and Balthazar) - in the belief that this will spare the homes from misfortune.

The Christmas season closes on February 2, known as Candlemas Day. On that day, people carry candles to church and have them blessed for use in their homes during storms, sickness and death.

Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia i Szczesliwego Nowego Roku!

Merry Christmas and happy New Year!

WIPocalypse

Full moon, last time this year - time for WIPocalypse summary. I had very good intentions of finishing 13 projects for 2013 - I have finished only four...

 

Pin cushion

 Bluenose Dime

 M. Quertier 1799

Good morning

I have done more finishes but they were not on my WIPocalypse list so I guess they do not count...

Overall I'm very happy with my projects. Next year I will really finish them. That's my new goal for 2014! 

So long my friends,

Evalina

My winterland

In the last few days my world got covered with lovely white blanket. Each time I look outside or go for a walk my heart is singing and beating a little faster. I love my Winterland!

the road to my cabin

 

wild rose hips waiting for the birds

Somewhere behind these trees is my little cabin with warm wood stove

Lately I was working on my latest project 'A Baby A Manger' 

I love the border, here is a close up

So long my friends,

Evalina

Lost and found

Last year, I think it was last year or maybe a year before, I was desperately looking for a chart with three  kings I have seen on someones blog. First I just wanted to have it but after I couldn't find it became an obsession until I got it. It arrived in a mail safely but it was after Christmas already and, I guess, I was in a Easter or Summer mood ... until yesterday ... Out of a blue I decided to stitch that piece and ... I couldn't find that darn chart anywhere.  I know I have it, I can see it in my mind's eye, but where the heck I put it?!? I checked all my binders, draws, craft cabinet... no luck. Wait a minute - I have some stuff in boxes! Remember, I was getting ready to move to Ontario? I started to pack some things and my stash was one of these things... two hours later, in the LAST box - I found it!!!!

And my fingers start to itch and my head start to spin... the model looks great but is a little to black and a little to grey... So I dived to stash again and I found a lovely golden evenweave fabric and the floss (Raven from Carrie's Creation and Straw Bonnet from The Gentle Art. There! I have a new start

So long my friends,
Evalina

PS: Do not forget to check Nancy's blog, she has another awesome giveaway for all 500 yards of floss!!! And please do not forget to tell her that I have sent you :)

Wow!

Nancy of the Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe has an awesome giveaway! Can you imagine? She is giving away chart of your choice if you're the winner. Go check out her blog and tell her that I've sent you there.

So long my friends,
Evalina

Hello December!

Beautiful sunny day in the Yukon, though a little chilli I would say... Yeah, who I'm kidding eh? It's f?#@!g cold! Thank goodness I'm working from home and do not have to stick my nose outside. Frosty has very short walks today, believe me.

Would like to know what I was stitching lately? I worked a little on Door Hanger 'Jingle as Ye Enter, Jingle as Ye go' from Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe

 and on the ornament. Here is the front:

and the back:

I'm using lovely silk floss from Carrie's Creation 'Holly Days'.
I also have finish stitching freebie from Plum Street design (scroll down for the link)

For some reason my camera can't grab the right colors, this piece is stitched with a lovely turquoise - it looks perfectly blue on the pic...

And I was making some stitching  plans for the next year. Of course all my WIPs are the top priority but (shh...) I signed up for a couple of SALs: Just Nan and smalls. For smalls I have plenty charts and supplies, for Just Nan I chose 'Queen of the Needle'.

It's a lovely design but I couldn't find recommended fabric. I've bought 28 ct Cashel linen in baby pink but after looking at it it was just too much baby and too much pink...

A while ago I was reading on Nancy's blog about archival inks and decided to give it a try with some pale ochre and sepia color over that baby pink. Here is the result (in real life it's a little bit lighter than on the picture)

 So, the floss needs to be put on bobbins and I'll be ready to go when the SAL starts. (Check my right side bar for links to these SALs)

So long my friends,
Evalina

Wipocalypse, IHSW - oh my!

All in same weekend - the full moon that reminds me of 2013 WIPocalypse update, third weekend of the month where I should just hermit and stitch! And I really, really wanted to stitch but work got on the way. Regardless these  I manage to spare a few minutes to grab the needle and floss. Here is my progress from last weekend:

 slowly but surely eventually will get done...

and here is a lovely new start, a freebie from Plum Street Samplers. 

Now off to check other bloggers what they have been doing over the weekend.

So long my friends,

Evalina

Stitchy weekend

It was a long weekend and a stitchy one! I was working on Halloween House - it's a very slow going but going

and I finished part one of 'Positive Thinking' SAL

and I even made a few stitches on 'Songs of the Season'

Some of you were asking about my Frosty Girl, here is her little video taken just a few days ago (November 6th)

and yesterday I was trying to capture some icicles on the shore

 icicles after windy day

 Frosty Girl

Marsh Lake

Normally this time of the year the lake is solid frozen - not this year!

So long my friends,

Evalina

Heather is having giveaway!

Heather from Heather's Stitching Story has a lovely giveaway and the rules to enter are sooo easy. Check it out and good luck to all of as!

So long my friends,
Evalina

New start

I can believe it, I was enabled! And I thought that I have a strong will and will not start any new projects until my Halloween House is done. Well,  SoCal Debbie had a link on her site to a lovely SAL 'Positive Thinking'.  Absolutely lovely chart and absolutely free and it is design in a few languages. I looked and looked and kept scrolling and kept looking and before I knew it, I was printing all three parts. I did not stop there... like an addict I went to my stash cabinet, found the fabric and the floss and a little scrolling frame - I was set! Did I stop there? Nope! Stitch after stitch I made my new start...

So long my friends,
Evalina

Brenda has a giveaway!

 

Brenda from Time 2 Xstitch is having an awesome giveaway on her blog when she reaches 100 followers!  The winner will receive a Samplers Not Forgotten chart of their choice!  Enter HERE and tell Brenda that I sent you!

 

So long my friends,

Evalina

 

 

 

New week, new friend and more progress on Halloween House

I love my morning walks with Frosty. Today we were blessed with a beautiful sunrise. Despite chilliness (14° F) we had a great time.

Cheerful and happy I dived in into my inbox and there it was - an offer from Nancy from Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe. How could I resist a free chart and beautiful floss? I did not now how to order so I sent her email and in the mean time links from her blog directed me to eBay. Believe me, today is not a good day to shop on eBay (well, at least for me)! There was a battle that ended up in a new friendship. From now on I'm buying directly from Nancy.

My weekend also wasn't bad. I was working on the Halloween House and even made a progress! And I finished 'The good house' too!

So long my friends,
Evalina

Have you ever?

Have you ever lost car key? It happen to me yesterday... I live in a small community 40 miles from the city. Well, yesterday I decided it's time to go shopping, visit post office and do some banking. Oh, I wish I didn't go... I parked the car by the post office, went to pick up the parcel, left it in the trunk and that is the last time I remember to use the key. I must put it in my pocket I guess, and since pockets in my jacket are very shallow, the key just slipped out. I only walked one block to the bank and back... Later I walked same block at least three times, stopped at every little shop hoping someone return the key, called local radio stations, visited the police station - NOTHING, ZILCH. I also called my dealership, a guy came and at least had open the car doors and the trunk and I was so hoping that I dropped the key in there while leaving the box. Nope, no such luck. So here I am, 40 miles from home with 82 year old MIL who has dementia... I was more than frustrated. The car dealer offer to cut another key, reprogram it (stupid key must have programmable chip) and it would cost me around three hundred bucks plus the car must be towed there...

Then the phone rang. It was Freddy with the good news - neighbour's cousin was heading my direction and did not mind to bring my spare key. What a relief! Forty minutes later, finally I could start the car and drive!

Thank goodness that rest of the day went smoothly. I didn't have much time to work on my Halloween House but hopefully today and tomorrow I can find some extra stitchy time...

So long my friends,
Evalina

Halloween House and Halloween Blog hop

Jo of Serendipitous Stitching is hosting a Halloween  Blog Hop. Here is the letter for the mystery phrase:

R

  

for the next letter visit http://darkandfluffy.blogspot.co.uk/

 

All Halloween Eve I was working on my Halloween House and finally I'm happy with the progress even though I wouldn't have it done by tomorrow. Mind you,  I'm not putting this piece away until is finished - even if it is a little after Halloween.  While stitching I was listening to "The Good House" by Tananarive Due - perfect book for the scary night. If you didn't read it - do it, you won't be disappointed!

 

 

Have a spooky, scary Halloween!!! I'm visiting other blogs to see what the phrase is...

 

 So long my friends,

Evalina

Halloween House

What a slow going project! Regardless the turtle progress I'm determined to get it done (some time). Here is the new pic with the graveyard done. Both ghosts in the graveyard are stitched with glow in the dark floss (it is really glowing!!!). I'm not a big fan of stitching with this floss so the house ghosts will be done with normal DMC white.

So long my friends,
Evalina

Full moon and Halloween House update

It is a full moon and time to report on my WIPocalypse 2013 (click here to learn more). I didn't stitch as much as I would like but here is my little progress:

So long my friends,

Evalina

Rising Star

For some time I'm following Cathy's blog. I absolutely love her writing style and sense of humor. She just published her first novel and I can't wait to read it.

If you do not want to wait for my review you can buy this ebook on amazon and kobo. (more links on Cathy's blog)

I do a lot of SALs (stitch-a-long), does anyone would like to do RAL (read-a-long) with me?

So long my friends,
Evalina

Traveling pattern

 I have finished my Pumpkin and made a little pillow. Now the chart is ready to take off.

Traveling pattern is going to Linda, check her blog if you would like to see where the chart will go next.

I've also made a little progress on my Halloween House.

This design was to be stitched on white fabric and I decided to change it for more 'halloweenish' look. So far I like it despite a few 'oops' here and there. Can I finish it by Halloween? It looks like I need a challenge... will anybody dare me?

So long my friends,
Evalina

Pumpkins for Cathey

Daffy is spreading the word that Cathey over at Pumpkin Patch is celebrating 7th year of blogging. Happy blogoversary dear Pumpkin!!!

I'm still planning my trip to Nova Scotia and that's where she is. Since Pumpkin lives in my dream destination I decided to celebrate even more. Thinking of Cathey and my trip I stitched this little beauty from JBW designs:

I have finished the stitching part and this weekend I will turn it to a little ornament or pillow - I'm not sure yet... And, since I'm thinking of a trip, I would like to turn this lovely pattern into a Traveling Pattern. Who would like to stitch it next? Would that be you?

So long my friends,
Evalina

Stitchy weekend ahead!

It's a lovely Saturday morning, first day of Autumn and a stitchy weekend ahead of me. The fall equinox is really tomorrow at 1:44 PM (Pacific Standard Time) - day and night should be equal and from now on the nights will get longer and longer.

Last week Freddy's Mom arrived and she will stay with us for a while. It will be interesting to see how long she will enjoy the north. For three years or so she was planning this trip and finally she made it. The funny thing is that most of her adult life every winter she was spending in Florida - now she will be on the frozen north... She brought her 'winter clothes' (suitable for Florida of course) and I almost was rolling on the floor laughing - thank goodness I have good supply of parkas. Mom's visits are always long ones ... will see this time.

Last weekend we went for a ride to show her our marvelous north and the smallest ever desert.

 Mom is almost 82 years young and I think she looks fabulous! Below is Mom with Freddy:

Now, let's talk about the stitchy stuff. I have finished my little towel

and this weekend I'm working on the Halloween House. The HS is a SAL with Linda and many others. Some ladies have already finished this project - I hope to have mine done by Halloween.

So long my friends,
Evalina