Tomorrow it will be a new year…which you all know, so why am I telling you THAT? Wow where has the year gone to? I know that we all say the same thing. But really where does the time go to? It slips by all too fast. I normally keep very busy and never let myself waste much time… there is just way too much to be accomplished, too many places to visit, new needlepoint shops to discover, new books, new threads and stitches to fall in love with and new canvases to find. Another stitching venture to relish and ooh just so much more!

I had a wonderful time in NY with family and friends, and it is great to be home again with kids. I could hear AlleyCat meowing at me through the door as I approached it and she kept it up for quite awhile until I opened that can of cat food! They are usually always good while I am gone and really don’t get into too much mischief.

I will be stitching the New Year in…how about you? I pretty much finished my assignment for some special person that I am stitching for, so now I can turn my needle and thread to this canvas. I have the gold beads almost finished up…note I said almost, when I was challenged again with the way that the “C” is painted, so out it came and instead I worked on the mug. As soon as I finish the letters, I will work on the background, since the long arms of the snowflakes need to be stitched over the background…or maybe not! I noticed on the others, that when I stitched the white of the snowflakes after the green (or the red) so that it came up in canvas holes shared with the green already stitched, that the green shaded my beautiful white Kreinik to a pale, pale green.

And I need to finish the flowers on this, Welcome by Annie Lane before market.

A few stitchy things that Santa brought for me this year! A handmade frog crafted with exotic woods for scissors, laying tools, a ruler and so much more. Magnets and a cat scissors round out the new treasures.

I have my eyes set on a new canvas, which is not on bars, nor have I studied it for stitches and thread selections. I also would love to finish up a few things that are crying to be finished. Here I thought I had all this time before Christmas to stitch for myself…well it didn’t happen, so what was I thinking? Now next week is market and I am sure that there will be more canvases coming home, either for me or to work on for stitch guides.

Happy New Year from Sylvester, AlleyCat and myself!

and until next time…keep on stitching