Twas the day before Christmas on a Slow Sunday...

 Hello - well that week flew by at warp speed... I don't think I've had one so chock full of things to do in quite a while... but tomorrow is Christmas and I think I'm ready... although I still worry that I've forgotten something major... but it is probably too late to fix whatever that could be... so I'm not going to think about it.

As I promised I have one more post of Christmas decor... this is large shelf display... some old stuff and a little new stuff ... and yes Olive, the other reindeer, who came to live in my house last year is standing guard...

Recapping from the top..The Quaker Noel Row sampler from Bent Creek... notice it is pronounced Noel but the reality is there is no letter L in this sampler... get the joke?? LOL I brightened it up a bit adding the red and the gold...

My Nativity set that I needlepointed in 1984 has the top spot... the designer was Polly Carbonari.. I needlepointed a lot of her stuff back in the day. I stitched this when my oldest child was 1 year old ... I wanted a Nativity set that wouldn't get broke if handled by a small child... 

Below that a couple of Christmas samplers from Blackbird Designs... Feliz Navidad is stitched on an 32 or maybe it was 36 ct. linen dyed with Apple Green Rit Dye... I don't remember what Merry Christmas was stitched on ... and in the center I have Christmas Bird by With Thy Needle & Thread.   As far as I know there are 4 Christmas samplers by Blackbird Designs and I think I have the charts for the other two... maybe I'll do another before next Christmas... good to have goals right?

This middle shelf  is all Prairie Schooler and has my new finishes for 2023. The little deer were in a Cross Stitch magazine Christmas edition years ago... in the middle The 12 Days of Christmas No. 74,  stitched on a 32 count linen I dyed with some concoction of Golden Yellow and Tan... 

the two angels are from the appropriately named Angels chart, it is No. 42... the linen was dyed with Rit Aquamarine... the frames were picked up at Hobby Lobby this year... they had a whitewashed finished and I repainted them with a sparkly gold paint... I think they have a Russian icon look... but that may be my wishful thinking... and on a Prairie Schooler tangent... these charts are available ... if you click on any of the blue links it should take you to a site that has the charts.

 Since I posted my list of PS charts I had, Nancy, a lovely reader of this blog reached out to me and had a couple of charts that I didn't have that she offered to me to purchase ...and I did... and now my count is over 75 PS charts...  here's my new list...

it harkens back to the day when I use to go with my Grandma to play bingo... there was a board with the numbers on it that lit up when the number was called... and where did that memory come from?  LOL... lots of old ladies in the church basement... smoky haze and a small glass bottle of Coca-Cola... I would run the winning cards up to the front of the room for my Grandma and my great aunts Lucy and Kate...

okay lets get back on track... below that memory filled shelf is Oh Christmas Tree by All Through the Night... like the No "L" sampler I brightened this one up too making the stars gold and the birds red... the linen was painted with Lemon Yellow and I think Evening Blue... I didn't have a plan when I painted this, I just wanted splotches of yellow and blue... the frame was from Hobby Lobby and it was already a shabby yellow... it was meant for this piece!   The little pillow with the  little yellow house came from  Prairie Schooler Up on the Housetops No. 25.

The other side of the shelf is my putz houses... little cardboard sparkly houses...and if you are interested in a little history of putz houses check out this article... I remember having little decorations like them when I was a child...all of these are ones I've picked up over the last couple of years... some have little lights inside and occasionally I remember to turn them on. 

At the bottom... along with some Christmas quilts is In Santa Claus Land by With Thy Needle & Thread...another one where I stitched it on a turquoise (Aquamarine dye by Rit) instead of the beige called for.  

Well we are opening gifts tonight primarily for Elliot... it will be a lot of fun!   Tomorrow my older son is doing a open house and we are bringing appetizers and finger food... got a couple of yummy things at Costco and will make some deviled eggs... afterwards I'm going to sit and  relax ... I've moved onto stitching some snowman stuff. I'll redecorate after the 1st of the year and the snowmen will hang around till about March when I'll be longing for Spring.  Fingers crossed for a mild winter... 

Hope you are all set and ready to go... I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts to see what everyone else it up to!

May you have a blessed and peaceful and joyous Christmas!

carol fun