I need another week... at least...on Slow Sunday Stitching...

Where does the time go???? I would really like an additional week of time squeezed in before Christmas which is only 7 days 13 hours and 9 minutes away according to my countdown clock at this moment.  I was productive last week but there is still so much  I want to do. I finally got up a Christmas tree. I opted for a smaller tree this year... 4 1/2 feet and I placed it on a small table I found at IKEA for $15... the table is powder coated yellow and will look great on my front porch next Spring. Anyway with the tree on the table it still  looks like a big tree from outside and the on the inside it was less to decorate and it takes up less floor space... a big consideration when you have a small house.

Now I still have 2 other Christmas projects I want to get  too and the sand is tumbling through the hourglass at an ever quickening rate...yikes!!!

So here's what I can show for my week... cross stitch...lots of cross stitch. I noticed I've been on a cross stitch binge since before Halloween and it doesn't show any signs of slowing down.  Charts have been showing up in my mail slot at an alarming rate... Christmas and Snowmen and little prim ladies... I'll explain that last obsession in a bit.... that's a teaser...LOL

First, my Lizzie Kate Tiny Tidings XX1...

So in looking at this picture I see I somehow got the bottom crooked and I think I need to edit the frou frou at the top a bit... a project for later today... anyway I'm happy with how it turned out.

I like the fabric I painted as a base for this piece... gives it a bit more movement and the little guys are adorable.... I placed it here on the lower shelf of  my TV cabinet...

I need to find my bag of fake snow and sprinkle a little on that top shelf too... wonder where I left it? Someplace safe I'm sure...

And then I got off on another  tangent... prim little ladies... OMG... I am besotted with them and must stitch more....I blame it on my love of paper dolls as a child... I could never have enough of them...now I think I shall stitch myself a whole sorority of little prim ladies with puffed sleeve dresses... and this is how it started...

Isn't she pretty???  Quite angelic... She's half of the chart Peppermint & Holly by With Thy Needle and Thread...

As you can see I only stitched the right portion of the chart... peppermint angel but no holly ... I did change several things ... first she's stitched on 36 count linen that I painted and then overdyed... I changed her dress color to GA Grecian Gold and her hair is a bit more auburn than the chart called for...the white was in my stash...DMC...no band... I used 2 ply for her and 1 ply  for the snowflakes...now this was a piece of linen that I had planned to use for something else, but as I was painting it, it got yuckky so I shoved it in a jar of leftover dye and this is what I got... oh I LOVE this but don't know if I can recreate it... insert frowny face...

I know it is hard to see in this pic but there are traces of the yellow I started with peeking through and it is very mottled which I think is perfect for prim pieces... and I took my cue for the trim from Brenda Gervais' model... that red and white cording came from Target... $4 for about 30 feet...

I just hand stitched it on ... wish I had cut the piece a smidge longer... would have helped when I tied the bow... live and learn.

And since I had a bit more of that lovely turquoise linen and I wanted another prim lady I stitched this...

This is A Sprig of Holly by Pineberry Lane... I used the called for DMC colors except for the little scallop bands top and bottom ...I think it called for 830 and I only had 831 ...or maybe vice versa... anyway.... I LOVE the little scissors in her hand... I added some pipe cleaner evergreen stuff and some berries and gingham to the top...  I purchased this pattern from Patternmart.com  ...  you buy the pattern and then you can immediately download it and print it out...INSTANT GRATIFICATION!!!  and the price was less than buying a paper copy elsewhere. They have a nice selection of prim patterns and I will be buying more.

I added my prim ladies to this shelf of the bookcase...those reindeer needed some colorful company...

And so I remember next year how I decorated this bookcase a gratuitous shot for me...

That middle shelf could use a cross stitched piece... gotta work on that... right now I'm torn between starting some more Christmas pieces... I have 2 larger pieces I want to do and there isn't enough time to finish before this Christmas but realistically I did plan them for next year... I finally got some more 36 ct linen to re-paint for the Lizzie Kate  ABC Christmas and this time I don't "see" anything in the splotches... and I want to stitch this piece from With Thy Needle and Thread...In Santa Claus Land...

Now I painted a piece of fabric in light blue and green... I love the little houses that run up the side of this piece and I think there needs to be  some contrast so you see that deer in the front.... did you see the deer??? I didn't at first... anyway, my plan is to have some larger Christmas pieces next year and change out the samplers that hang year round in my living room. I know that some stitchers have adopted a Santa Sunday stitching plan and I'm thinking that would be a good idea for 2018.

And there are several Winter pieces calling my name... I got the Little House Needleworks Winter ABC's chart in the mail last week... I painted a piece of linen for it yesterday and got my flosses together... I'm going to add a bit of turquoise to the piece... that is usually a quick stitch and I'd like it when January rolls around.

So I have no lack of things I want to do... I just need more time... need to clean up my craft room...it it looks like Hobby Lobby exploded in there...oh the humanity... ornaments and ribbons and fabric and paper strewn hither, thither and yon....and I want to bake some cookies and make some fudge... I bought a ginormous bag of chocolate chips at Costco ... need to do more with the bag than sneak a handful of chips several times a day.

I know next week will fly by for all of us...hope you have a happy and productive week ahead!! I'll be linking up with Kathy's Quilts today... now I'll be off and hopefully get busy on another project.

happy stitching-
carol fun