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