My Christmas Village: Day One

 

Welcome, welcome, welcome to my 11th Annual Christmas Open House! I'm so glad you're here! Settle in for a week of Christmas stitching and some simple recipes to make your own holidays a bit more cozy, or to give as quick and easy gifts. The sewing room and kitchen are open!

I've always liked the tradition of setting up a Christmas village but have never had one of my own, partly because I've never seen one that was just right for me, and partly because they take up a lot of storage space I don't have.

This year I chose to just make my own Christmas village using the Hometown Holiday series by Little House Needleworks, but with a very special twist: I personalized each and every building. The result is a very unique little village that is just right for me. Come along for a visit!

The very first chart in this charming series is a house you can personalize with your family name, so that's where I started. I stitched my village on 28 ct. raw linen, and pretty much used the suggested threads, except I always used DMC 3865 for the snow and snowflakes, for a brighter look. The raw linen cord I used for finishing was from Hobby Lobby, and I've been hoarding it for years. Sadly, it appears it's no longer available.

I've spent almost my entire life on military bases, so my village had to have a Main Gate. I renovated the fire station and added a Military Working Dog to guard it, in tribute to these remarkable dogs that have been helping keep me safe for over 50 years. Mr. Wonderful says when he was in Afghanistan, he always felt calmer when the dogs were around. I agree. When you see them, you know things are under control. They have their own memorial in Texas.

Our first recipe this week is one of our Thanksgiving favorites. This Honey & Spice Glaze really perks up turkey. If you don't like heat, don't be alarmed at the ingredients. It's very nicely balanced and isn't hot. Since there are only two of us, I use a 3 lb. turkey breast and this recipe makes plenty of glaze, but if you have a larger one, you'll want to increase the amounts. Also, because it only takes a couple of hours for a small turkey breast to cook, I glaze it before I put it in the oven and have never had a problem with the glaze getting too brown or burning. If you're worried about it for a longer cooking time, just wait to glaze until later in the cooking process.

Honey & Spice Glaze for turkey

1 tsp. chili powder

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. ground allspice or ground cloves

1/8 tsp. cumin

pinch of cayenne pepper

1 TBsp. honey

1/2 tsp. cold water

Gift bag/basket idea: Mix the spices together in a small container, and add a cute little jar of honey, along with the recipe.

*****

We're off and running... er... moseying through town. Fill up your cocoa mug and come on back tomorrow to see where we go next.

It's Coming...

 

It's almost time! My 11th Annual Christmas Open House begins Monday, 16 December! If you're new here, every Christmas we take a week to snuggle down deep into the joys of Christmas stitching and eating. You can catch up on the last 10 years of Christmas Open House by clicking on the tabs at the top of the page.

I love all of my Open Houses, but this one is especially personal and I'm really excited to share it with y'all. There's also a first-ever Bonus Post included! Come on over on Monday and see what I've been up to all year!

A Wee Gift

 

I recently put together a little thank you gift for a reader and fellow stitcher who did something very sweet for me. I thought I would share it here in case anyone is in need of an idea for Christmas giving. I'll include links at the end of this post.

This is my version of a wee Prairie Schooler design, from a set of small design cards that I think were originally shop freebies. They are now available as several sets of small cards, perfect for tucking in a greeting card, or stitching up and cute-ifying, as I did here.

I added a small thread book from a shop on Etsy. I have a couple of favorite shops for these, but they're widely available and you can find lots of sizes and styles by just doing a search on Etsy.

I included a few supplies in case she wants to make another one, and I made a peppermint counting pin to go with the thread book. I tucked in a few other little goodies as well, to round out the package.

Prairie Schooler mini cards

Thread books

A note on the stitching: my snowman is stitched on 28 ct. Denim Jobelan; snowflakes are a Smyrna stitch; tree is stitched using my mismatched threads method.

Happy Stitching & Gifting!

Happy Thanksgiving, Y'all!

 

Very best wishes for a safe and happy Thanksgiving! I'm thankful for all of you, brand new readers and those who have been with me for years. 

Peculiar Pumpkins

 

I didn't manage to get this done in time for Halloween, but wanted to show it off anyway because it's so charmingly weird and the colors are so vibrant... I love it!

This is Peculiar Pumpkins by Noctiflora Designs from the 2023 Just Cross Stitch Halloween issue (also available in her Etsy shop). I stitched it (her?) with the recommended DMC on 32 ct. Exotic Orchid Lugana.

Such soulful little eyes.

Fun stitch, and a bright, colorful addition to all of my dark Halloween finishes.

Summer Birds Finished & Framed

 

Before I wander off into Holiday Land, I wanted to share the results of my Summer Birds project for this year. I've had these finished for a while but hadn't taken the time to photograph and post, so here they are. If you're just joining us and want info on any of these designs, click on the "birds" label at the end of this post or in the right sidebar under "Labels".

Quick review: I decided to re-do my summer themed stitching decor and chose birds and had a wonderful time stitching them this spring and summer. I still have a bunch of designs to get through so I plan to continue this next spring.

My cheerful, colorful jumble of birds!

I have so many birds I want to stitch, adding to this collection will keep me busy for years!

Framing: Centering Made Easy

Finally had a chance to get in my sewing room and get some work done! This beautiful Blue Jay from Pigeon Coop Designs was the last project I completed for this year's Summer Birds and I've framed him at last! The frame is from The Rusty Roof. They have a nice selection of custom sizes and a good range of color choices. 

Framing your own needlework isn't hard and it saves a ton of money (my basic framing tutorial). The trickiest part is probably getting your piece centered properly, so I thought I'd share how I do it. As with a lot of other stuff I share here, this is probably not "the way you're supposed to do it" but it's the way I do it and it's easy and it works, so there's that. 

After cutting the foam core to the proper size, I use a ruler to draw two lines between the corners to find the center of the foam core.

I also measure and mark the center of each side.

Then I stick a pin through the center of the foam core.

Referring to the marked center of the design chart, I lay the finished piece on the padded foam core, with the pin sticking up through the center of the design. I now have the exact center of the design matched to the exact center of the foam core.

I then put one pin in the marked center of each side. If it looks good, I start pinning in the corners, working between opposite sides (ie. top right corner, then bottom left; top left corner, then bottom right), gently stretching and straightening as needed, pinning all the way around the piece, with pins about 1/4" apart. I start in the corners because it's easier to stretch the fabric in two directions (lengthwise and widthwise) simultaneously, and it's also easier to see if the horizontal and vertical fibers are exactly perpendicular, which they will be if the stretch is nice and even. If it's uneven, you can easily see the wiggle in the fibers at the corner.

So that's it! It takes some practice but it really isn't difficult at all and it saves so much money. 

September Basket

 

Down to the last three baskets in the Cosford Rise Stitchery flower basket series! I think this one uses all DMC but I swapped out the yellow and black for Weeks Squash and Weeks Onyx for more visual "movement" but also used my mismatched strands method to avoid chunks/stripes of color. 

When making single stitches, especially in a dark color where I wouldn't carry the thread across the back, I use a Smyrna stitch. It makes a prettier stitch than a lone cross stitch, and it's easier to anchor if it's off on it's own, as with a star or a snowflake. I also use this stitch for eyes to prevent my critters from looking unconscious! (The single black stitches in the small flower centers are Smyrna stitches.)

On to October!

Bonus Baby Pic:

We brought two tiny werewolves home two years ago today!

Saturday Sampler: Thursday Edition

 

All is well! We're still here, just very busy! October has been a month of anxious hurricane watching from our position right smack on the Gulf Coast. Thankfully, all of the landfalls have been just to our west or east, but it is heartbreaking nonetheless to watch them hit anywhere. I know people love to live on the water, but I cannot understand how it's worth this worry for six months out of every year. To each their own, I guess.

I've also been busy preparing for a speaking engagement at the end of the month, and I've been doing some stitching, mainly finishing up this year's Christmas Open House. Only one more project left to go and that will be done. I started a Halloween project a couple of days ago, hoping to squeeze in one more, but I'm not sure I will finish it before Halloween. Stitching is much slower these days, as I now have lots of "help" and must take frequent snuggle breaks. Speaking of the babies, they are fine: chunky, fluffy, purry, snuggly, and ever so helpful. 

Just wanted to quickly drop in and let y'all know we're okay. Thank you to those who have reached out to check on us. I have a very busy weekend coming up but hopefully once I get that over with, things will quiet down a bit and I'll be around more. Hope you're all well!

Happy Stitching!