Remembering Santa

This morning, my aunt sent me a photo of the Santa Claus they have hung on the wall for over 40 years as part of their annual decorations. The Santa was rescued from the trash bin at my mothers, to whom I had originally given it. My aunt and uncle rescued it and my aunt had it cleaned, framed and matted, and has hung it proudly every year since then. I did a lot of Santas over 20 years ago when I began cross stitching and I wasn't sure which one it was. I still can't believe it was in the trash, but I'm sure a lot of things went into the trash that were gifts from me. I'm not upset at all; my mother also gave away a Gutenberg Bible, and original Gutenberg Bible worth millions of dollars, but then she wasn't knowledgeable about such things.

So, here we are this morning and I look for the first time on the piece I stitched more than 2 decades ago and I begin to remember. I remember it was in a magazine and said everything I wanted to say about Xmas and Santa Claus -- and it is beautiful (even if I did stitch it).

 I think he's beautiful and I'm glad he has a home where he is loved and appreciated. 

My aunt also sent me a photo of the anniversary sampler's new home among a photo of their extensive family and their 3 youngest grandchildren. She said it was the sampler's permanent home and I'm pleased it has what my uncle told me is a place of honor.

Not a bad beginning to the morning or the first working day of the week. When it all comes down to it, where a gift ends up, preferably where someone loves and appreciates the gift, is where it belongs. I'm thankful for my aunt and uncle rescuing Santa and sharing him with me and everyone who visits their home during the holidays.

Happy stitching.

Anniversaries

This is the first time I have stitched a project for an anniversary or wedding. Mother's Day, Xmas, Easter, even birthdays, I've done, but never an anniversary.

The hardest part hasn't been the stitching, although I've had my share of problems. I usually do with repetitious patterns. I stitch a different section than I'm on and end up having to tear it out and restitch it the right way. I usually use a highlighting marker for this (erasable of course), but decided to forego it. Maybe I shouldn't have.

The hardest part has been finding out when my uncle and aunt's anniversary is. Their side of the family didn't know and neither did my aunt's sister. I thought I knew but it was wrong. My cousin found out the answer by having someone ask at her daughter's housewarming, which was last night. At least that is what I think they were all doing over at the new house Kaley just bought. It makes sense, but few things do make sense. Anyway, I finally have the date. My uncle was wrong, thinking it was before his birthday; it is after his birthday by the same amount of time -- 6 days. When I called to ask my uncle, which was my last resort, he didn't know for sure. He told me he didn't even know my aunt's birthday until they had been married a year (and had a child).

Anyway, here are the pictures I've taken since I began this project on Wednesday last. I put everything else aside to work on it and have spent some time working on it this weekend. I'm still trying to decide whether or not I want to do the outer border or leave it and use a decorative mat. Time will tell.

This is the motif that gave me so much problems. It's a lovely Celtic knot but the design is everywhere. I did the central section in about an hour or so.

I chose this design from My Big Toe Cross-Stitch Designs and used Gentle Art Sampler threads (Mountain Mist & Raven). I could have used DMC, but I like the variable color in the threads recommended for this piece. It was stitched on 32-count cream Belfast linen. 

The central section. Yes, those are my fingers hold the fabric as straight as possible.

Two of the 4 sides done. Looking good, but you cannot imagine how much effort it took to get there. I had to rip out whole sections because I wasn't looking at the right section of the repeating design.

And now there is a date. Names, too.

When in doubt, rip it out and start over. Next time I'll use the highlighter. It's easier keeping track that way. Now I finish a section of the central and outer design, one at a time. It's slow, but so is getting off track, ripping it out, and stitching it all over again the right way.

I may have to put together some wedding and anniversary designs and leave out the names and date just so I won't have to rush when it comes time to send the gift.

Happy stitching.