Miss Cleo, et al

Somewhere on the road, slipping and sliding through the snow, Miss Cleo really developed an attitude. Her eyes flashed whenever eye contact was made - she was definitely not a happy camper. "It is well below freezing and you leave me in the car?!!!" Well once we slid into Edmonton, and my parents place she came out once again. She wouldn't speak to me, she wouldn't make eye contact but she followed me around. I picked her up and again started to stitch. I only had 5 partitions and her ears left to stitch. These quickly came together and I finished her. Then I sat her up in the midst of the excitement of the visit in a place of honor. She was oohed and ached over - she was slowly won over. But everyone who saw her agreed, she definitely has an attitude.  Then I placed her back in the car on the back seat, facing the seat and supported by the very bag she should have been traveling in. 

As I traveled the passenger side of the car I stitched on the Patchwork Santa. Somewhere between Butte, Montana and Las Vegas, Nevada he was finished. he is wonderful!  Ready to be made into a pillow when I get home and inspire a lap quilt to lay beside him.

Throughout the travels, the conversation often turned to the very needlework that I was doing. I tried to convince my DH that he needs to learn how to do one of them at least. He emphatically replied each and every time - No thanks. not interested! He thought that if he would do anything it would be knitting: this after we made a stop at a yarn shop for me to pick up some sock yarn.

Christmas came early this year - I received a new smartphone and as soon as I:
a. learn how to work it
b. learn how to download photos
I will upload photos of the above projects. I had my camera stolen in Mexico and I believe I am receiving a replacement for Christmas. But for now, it is the big DSLR or my NEW smartphone.

On to something else ... does anyone out there have Christmas crackers as part of their Christmas traditions? As a family when I was growing up we always had a cracker on our plates for Christmas dinner. You "cracked" them before the meal started, after grace, and then had your little "prize" which would sit above your plate and a paper hat which would be worn during dinner. Corney? Well maybe, but what fun we had with it. In one of the Needlepoint Now magazines I had seen an advertisement for a series of Christmas (and Halloween) crackers by Melissa Shirley. Talked with mom, who is always looking for new projects that can be used for Christmas gifts (for their heirloom quality), about them. She is going to make a set for each of us kids (we are 6) and I am going to giver her the series for her Christmas present, with all the supplies that she needs to do them.    (I chose the gold ones to coordinate with my dishes)
(she chose the traditional ones)

But I will have to make sure that she has copies of all the how tops for the stitches used in each one which means I will get them first, tai the patterns and then copy all the pertinent stitches out of my favorite needlework stitch book "The Needlepoint Book" by Jo Ippolito Christensen

Oh my, I see that it now has an updated version and it is on Kindle as well. Oh boy! Shopping! Aaah another project to do before next Christmas!