More than just Cross Stitchin': snowman

Showing posts with label snowman. Show all posts

Monday, October 20, 2014

Jane - one of our dear 'Stitching Sisters' friends loves to collect snowmen. And as Jane would put it she has “Well over 500 dear little frosty friends in our Henley Landing.”

So when her grandchild was on the way, she of course decided a snowman blanket would be necessary for the many winter cuddles they would enjoy together. To make the blanket even more special, Jane decided to have the 'Stitching Sisters' and the 'Four from Forest' each stitch a square. We all had a time frame in which to complete our square and pass the blanket on to the next person. Nothing like a good timeline to force you to sit down and stitch !!

Jane had no idea what pattern anyone chose to stitch, so when the blanket finally made it's way back to her - she would be completely surprised. Any empty squares were completed by Jane herself. When she told us of her plan to include everyone in the making of this blanket, we were thrilled and honoured that we would be part of such a special keepsake. Let's take a look....

Jane - showing off the blanket at Brentwood.

Wow !

Jane surprised us with the names of all the
people who stitched a square.

In memory of our dear Stitching Sister
Patti who loved to knit!

A is for Alexis
(it's also for Angel)

Unto us a child is born, and that definitely means
There's Snow Place Like Home

As much as we love you Jane - I really hope
there isn't as much snow as last year !!!

Hey wait a minute...

this blanket was done for LAST WINTER.

So all that snow was your fault !!!

Awwww... that's OK "Jayne with a Y" - we love you anyway, but don't let that happen again!

Many many many precious hours of blanket cuddling.

And to end things off, how appropriate to have a picture of Alexis on her first birthday with one of her frosty friends.

Happy Birthday Alexis !!!

Bonnie

Monday, January 23, 2012

Changing the Mantle

Does anyone else find it a challenge on how to decorate their mantle for that in between stage? Christmas is over, but it's still too early for all those hearts and pinks and reds?

Not very original I know, but what I came up with could best be described as a "winter mantle". Mainly snowmen, but also a few other wintery/homey themed items that make you want to cozy up with a warm afghan and your hot beverage of choice.

I'm wanting some sort of a garland... paper snowflakes?... Crocheted snowflakes?

Happy to finally display this snowman cross stitch that I finished in March 2011!

Just had to add this rustic "Let it Snow" plaque that my son made me 15 years ago when he was in Grade 5.

Since changing things over after the Christmas decorations came down a couple of weeks ago, I've noticed other mantles in the blogging world that have followed this same direction; but with less snowmen and more winter. I've ~~stolen~~ tucked away a lot of these ideas that I hope to incorporate into my decor this time next year!

Tracey

Friday, December 9, 2011

First Snowfall 2011

Woke up this morning to look out my bedroom window and see a white covering of snow. Just enough to make the decorating I did outside this week look even more festive.

As I came down the stairs, I had to chuckle... I noticed these 2 snowmen smiling- peeking out of their summer (and spring, and fall) "home" as if to say... "Let us out! Winter is here!" .

I guess I'd better get busy and find them a special spot to sit for their wintertime stay...

Tracey

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Finally In The Mood

To frame a couple of finishes!

You may remember this finish from April 6th. I bought this frame a few weeks back, but it was black... the only one I could find that was ready made in a 5"X5" size. So first of all, I had to wait for a nice day weather-wise to get out my trusty spray paint and head outside. Then, all of those little pink buttons had to be sewn on.

Now, I have to admit, framing is not my favourite thing to do, so when the mood strikes I dig right in! So I thought I may as well get my snowman in his frame too; since I had all my supplies sitting out anyway.

I had Neale from the Thread & Eye make me this distressed, painted frame to tie in with the vintage look of the piece. I'm really happy how it turned out! He'll now be packed away (the snowman, not Neale!) until that nasty weather returns... many, many months from now!!

Tracey

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Another Blast of Winter & A Finish

I wish I was writing that winter was finished for this year but not a chance. Woke up to a winter wonderland again this morning. Looks like another good day to stay inside and stitch.

I am happy to have another finish under my belt for 2011! At least this vintage snowman looks like he is happy to have more snow... means he'll get to stay around for that much longer :^)

I know you read a while back that I was hoping to have this one finished before Valentine's Day (ha ha), but I'm sure you can all relate... picking up something new to stitch and putting those other projects on the back burner. Well, that was the case with this one.

So I think I will get Mr. Snowman and his little friends all framed up and tuck them away until later (much later) in 2011... when we are actually looking forward to having snow again.

Now onto stitching something a little more spring-like...

Tracey

Monday, January 24, 2011

It's A Boy!

Now that got your attention, didn't it? :^)

Wanted to share the latest progress on my Winter stitch. What a fun stitch it is! Happy to have the little boy and his puppy done.

I hope to have it done soon, so I can have it out on display before Valentine's Day. Never sure if it's proper decorating "etiquette" to have the 2 overlap... Winter & Valentine's??

Tracey

Friday, January 7, 2011

A Snowman Start

In January I quite often feel like starting something new. Something wintery but not necessarily Christmas. This year I picked this cute snowman pattern adapted from a vintage postcard. It is from a book called Christmas Keepsakes; Book 2 in the Leisure Arts Christmas Remembered Series.

I am not going to stitch it into a bag like shown, but will frame it. The design size is 5"x7" so I'm hoping a store bought 8"x10" frame will do the trick. I had the fabric on hand, (28 ct. Jobelan, Sage/Summer Khaki) and all the floss, so a pretty thrifty project indeed. This is always a bonus, especially right after the holidays! :^)

Notice the cute pillow in the picture? Jody stitched this pattern by Bent Creek 10 years ago, (and 4 of them to boot!) and presented them to us at our Christmas get-together. They were unfinished, which gave us all the opportunity to get creative and do with them what we liked.

Have fun stitching up all of those wintery projects you have on your to do list. If it's anything like mine, you will have lots to choose from!

Tracey

Charlie Brown

Growing up, I had a pet monkey named Charlie Brown. Actually, he belonged to my sister and he came to live with us in 1966. You were actually allowed to have monkeys as pets then and if you can beleive it, he was ordered from an ad in the back of a magazine. Charlie Brown was a squirrel monkey (just like the ones in the Telus commericials).

Everyone in school loved when it was my turn for 'show and tell'. You will see in some of the photos (if the slide show downloads for me...) that he used to wear diapers. Eventually, he learned how to take them off. We had a rope strung across the kitchen from end to the other. We kept a piece of papertowel on the floor at the end of one rope and that's where he did his business. His rope provided many hours of entertainment. At bedtime, if mom and dad were not home when it was bedtime, he would sit on his roap and cry out until they returned.

If I was crying, Dad would put him up to my face to lick away my tears. He would dangle from my hair and lick from one eye to the next. It alwyays made me stop crying. He would play outside and every once in awhile he would swing from tree to tree and end up down the street at the neighbours.

Often you would find the monkey lying in the cast iron pan on the stove. The pilot light from the gas stove provided him a warm and comfy spot. He would also sit on top of the lamp shade for warmth, and if you ever heard a 'pop' - you knew he peed on the lightbulb. It happens...

Charlie Brown used to sit on the wall phone.... until it rang. That was always funny. He brought many years of amusement to us all and I miss him and his antics.

Bonnie

Warm hearts ... and warm toes!

Well since we are talking winter, let's talk about warm hearts ... and warm toes.

A few years ago at Christmas we had a gift exchange. Ironically, both Anita and myself had the exact same idea for a present. We always open our gift bags at the same time, and it was really hard for me to keep a straight face when I saw that Anita had had the same gift idea as me and while she explained that she thought slippers would be a good idea, that way we could carry them in our bag with us at all times. Anita had knit slipppers for everyone and made a little draw-string pouch, with our names embroidered on it, to keep the socks in.

Then they all opened my gift bag and we burst out laughing. I knew how much everyone loved snowmen, so I had stitched faces on white slippers and added a carrot button for the nose. Well we weren't finished with the laughter because I thought we should get a picture with our slippers on. So then we were all sitting on the floor trying to get different positions in order to get everyone in the picture at the same time. We tried sitting up against the wall and taking the picture of our toes all pointing up to the ceiling and then I said, nooooo - that will show the snowman's face upside down. Someone said... (and I won't say who...) "Good point, let's think of something else. What if we lay on our back with our feet in the air - you know... like if our feet were ON the ceiling"

Well then the faces would still be upside down wouldn't they. Spontanious Laughter.

We had to think of something else. It was decided that we would just stand toe to toe in a huddle and we would take the picture from above in order to get everyone in the picture. Sounded like a good plan right?

Well... not if you have a protruding belly and/or big boobs. After the inital light-headedness subsided from sucking in our bellies, we had to deal with the shadow from the boobs.

So we stood in our huddle, adjusting, wiggling and laughing with our arms around each other while we tried not to tip over. It was about that moment when Anita's daughter walked in on us, which of course added to the laughter when we saw the look on her face.

Finally the photo was taken and our toes are doubly warm.

Bonnie

It all started with a tea towel...

Quite some time ago when I was perusing the Dollarama, I came across the cutest autumn tea towel with a teddy bear dressed up like a scarecrow. It immediately reminded me of Jody and I thought 'I'm going to get that for her', and then I thought... why not get one for everybody? And so I did and it was a hit.

From that point on, it's no surprise to any of us if there just happens to be an occasional 'mini gift' exchange on Cross Stitch night. Once when Jody hosted in February, she gave us all a tiny picture frame with a 1" x 1" opening. I had no idea what to do with mine, but Tracey knew immediately. Because it was Valentines day, Tracey stitched a heart.

Mine sat for a good number of months before I could figure out what I could stitch in such a tiny area and not copy Tracey's idea. And then one day it hit me; Jody loves snowmen. I would do a snowman in the frame that Jody gave me. But.... do they make snowman patterns for less than 1" x 1"? I couldn't be bothered looking, so I winged it. And voila! A happy smiley snowman face. I think it took longer to write this posting than it did to stitch that happy face.

We'll have to get a picture of Tracey's heart posted after her renovations are complete as I expect it's packed away for now.

p.s. I wasn't allowed to Blog today unless I cleaned my house. It's half cleaned; consider this half a blog.
Bonnie