Need more time on a Slow Stitching Sunday...

Hello all... I know I skipped posting last Sunday... I didn't have my displays finished and I was feeling yuckky from a cold...this week the cold has subsided and I think the displays are as complete as they are going to be... I always want to add a little more here and there but time is not on my side... I have Christmas cards to work on and some baking to do and I'm not done shopping yet.... but  instead of doing the things I should do, I've been knitting on a shawl ...mindless knitting... a great predestination project...but back to what is finished... Christmas displays...

I'm starting with the biggest display ... my shelf unit... I looked back at the pictures I took last year and  then mixed things up as I had some new pieces to add...  here's the whole unit...

from the top ... on the wall my Bent Creek Quaker Noel Row... notice there is no "L"... a little joke Noel... I didn't get it until I friend stitched it and pointed it out... it was charted all in one color and I added in the gold and red...on the top shelf my 35 year old Nativity scene... I needlepointed this in 1984... the designer was Polly Carbonari... I thought it would be the perfect kind of Nativity scene for a small child... soft and non-breakable... I showed it to Elliott but he's still at the stage where he needs to put everything in his mouth... so we kept a little distance this year...

Next shelf is a silvery forest... I had a couple silvery glittery trees and I picked up a few more this year... from left to right... a little lady from Pineberry Lane, Merry Little Stitches, I left off her Santa hat... freebie deer from Prairie Schooler... another little lady, this one from With Thy Needle & Thread , Peppermint and Holly flanking the Christmas Bird also from WTN&T... an additional lady from Pineberry Lane, A Sprig of Holly  ... and finally the Merry Christmas sampler from Blackbird Designs... the PS deer and the Christmas Bird have been stitched for a couple of years...they just saw the light of day and framing this year... picked up the frames at Hobby Lobby and sparkled them up with some glitter paint... I really like this shelf...

Below that is my J'Arrive by Tournicoton... stitched him last year... a cute snow globe tin and a sleigh full of gingerbread men...next year I'd like to tuck a bit more cross stitch in... Note to self: need to stitch some little pieces...should write this down somewhere...LOL

I was surprised that I could squeeze that small tier tray on the shelf... the tray came from Target's Dollar Spot/Bullseye's Playground... I'll be using that again in my displays as it lets me cram more stuff in... and somehow I have a small collection of Santa head.... 3 pieces makes it an official collection....the one with the real poinsettia was just purchased last week...I love the little poinsettias... the cross stitch piece is Little Bits of Christmas from The Drawn Thread... frame from Hobby Lobby was shiny gold... I toned it down by over painting it with a berry red craft paint...

And on the other side of the space is the little yellow cabinet...

I bought that reproduction ceramic Christmas tree at Hobby Lobby... I remember my Mom like everyone's Mom made one back in the late 60's/early 70's... don't know where it went but it does bring back happy memories... and the little retro TV came from Walmart... it plays music as the train circles by... and I finished Oh Christmas Tree by All Through the Night  ... very happy with this one... I think the addition of a little red and gold adds a lot.... totally lucked out with the frame... from Hobby Lobby, of course, can't beat half priced frames!.... it was already painted that shabby yellow.... just what I was looking for...

And I did finish December from  Hands on Designs A Year of Celebrations... all 12 pieces stitched and finished... yeah... I'm proud of myself for keeping up with the series...

Well I think I'll stop here... I still have a bit more to show but I'll save it for next week... I amaze myself with how much I can stuff into my small home... but then I go and look at Priscilla Blaine's house ... you can watch her Christmas home tour here... and  I don't know how she does it...so many Christmas cross stitch pieces!! I've had conversations with a couple of friends in the last week and we've all said we want more Christmas stitching so we are going to try and stitch Christmas all year long... I'm planning on putting together a basket with small charts kitted up and ready to go so I can have more smalls... there are several Prairie Schooler pieces I'd love to have... such classics!


Soooo... I hope your Christmas preparations are going smoothly... my goal for today is getting the Christmas cards done... and later this week some baking ... and I want to totally finish my Christmas shopping... a couple of things I wanted to get are out of stock... and there are people on my list who are very hard to shop for... however Elliott is not one of those people... OMG... I have so many things for the little guy...he is such fun to shop for... I know my son and daughter-in-law will tell me I got too much but they have no idea how much I didn't buy...LOL


Here's a wish for a productive week for all of us.... I'll be linking up with Kathy's Quilts  and  looking at what everyone else has done this past week....the deadline of Christmas certainly makes us speedy rather than slow stitchers...

happy stitching-
carol fun