January musings

Well, this has certainly been one frigid month, hasn't it? I'm hoping that when February arrives the tide will turn and things will begin to warm up... It does make for good stitching weather, but I've found it hard to settle lately. The world seems to be spinning out of control lately and even my stitching doesn't  seem to be helping relieve the stress. So few stitches have been added lately...

The finishes I'm going to share with you today were all stitched and given away as Christmas gifts in December. Thankfully, all arrived safely and in good time. After much thought, I've come to the decision that I won't be exchanging stitched gifts any longer. To be honest--I'm simply getting older and my eyes are as well. I just don't stitch as quickly as I used to and what extras I do stitch, I'd like to be for my family. I truly hope everyone understands--and may even be a bit relieved! I've received so many wonderful gifts over the past 17 years since I began blogging--from all over the world: the U.S. and Canada, of course, but also England, Ireland, France, The Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Germany, The Czech Republic, Austria, New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa! Amazing, how a simple hobby like cross stitch can draw us together. We may not speak the same languages, but we speak the language of needle, thread, and fabric--one tiny thread  on a blank canvas that starts out as a single stitch and grows into a beautiful design. I'm so thankful for each of the gifts my fellow stitchers have sent me since I began my blog on January 24, 2009 (17 years ago tomorrow!). But, I'm even more thankful for the friendships!

Many of these designs are ones I've stitched for myself in the past, including this first one. I'll post the details on each finish in the caption underneath the photos...

"Joys of Christmas" by The Drawn Thread stitched on 28 ct. dirty linen. Love the two-colored cording and teeny buttons on the snowman!

 

"Good Tidings to You" by The Sampler Girl (found in the 2011 Just Cross Stitch Ornament magazine). I stitched this one "over one" on 28 ct. tea dyed Monaco with DMC threads (I changed the red to DMC 221).

 

Prairie Schooler's "A Christmas Visit" (Book No. 48). I stitched this sunflower Santa on 40 ct. vintage country mocha with the suggested DMC threads. 

 

This cutie gingerbread boy card is by Crocette a Gogò from the chart called "Christmas Green Chic." I also stitched this one in 2024 and made it into an ornament which you can read about here. 

 

Peace and Noel from Hands on Design's "Oh, Christmas Three" chart made into greeting cards. They're both done "over one" on 25 ct. black Lugana.

 

A trio of charming cardinals, stitched on 40 ct. vintage country mocha are from "Christmas Advent Calendar" by Crocette a Gogò. She also has some wonderful free charts on her website right here.

 

For my 5-year-old grandson, Mister B, I made this cute dinosaur sporting a Santa cap. He is stitched "over one" on 25 ct. black Lugana with the suggested DMC threads. The chart is one I found on Etsy (right here) by MaxStitchesArt and is called "Christmas Velociraptor."

 

And I know you'll recognize this gingerbread boy ornament--I think I must have stitched it at least 10 times now! It is from the JBW Design's chart called "Baby's First Christmas." I changed up the colors a bit and stitched it on 32 ct. black Belfast linen. This was for my youngest grandson and is always my go-to gift for new baby boys.

  

 

Shoulder replacement surgery update... Thank you to all who wished my husband well on his right shoulder replacement surgery which took place on January 5th. The surgery itself was supposed to last 1 1/2 to 2 hours. When the 3rd hour wrapped up, I was beginning to worry that I hadn't heard from the doctor yet! About 15 minutes later, the doctor finally appeared in the waiting room to say everything was fine. She explained that it took longer than normal because "the component was larger than expected." WHAT?! I can just picture them scrambling around to find the "right size component" for my husband's shoulder! Anyway, he's been home recovering for over two weeks now--and, like most men, he is a very "impatient patient." At times I feel like I'm having to tell a toddler "no!" "No, you can't go shovel the driveway," "No, you can't do a spin on the exercise bike," "No, you can't lift that heavy pan!" You get the idea... 

He received some much appreciated and extremely thoughtful gifts during his recovery. For those of you who are looking to do something special for someone who is recovering from surgery, any of these would make fine gifts. It looks like a lot of food, but my youngest son had driven up from D.C. to assist us that first week and he certainly helped gobble everything up very quickly! 

The dried fruit tray on a bamboo cutting board was a gift from his old office and came from 1-800-baskets.com. The wonderful fruit and chocolate tray came from a former coworker from Edible Arrangements. And the containers of chicken noodle soup and yummy rolls and cookies came from my youngest sister and her husband from Spoonful of Comfort. All were just wonderful! 

Another trip around the sun... Yes, I'm a year older! After all that worrying when I turned 70, I'm happy to say I survived my first year in my '70s just fine. My 71st (how can that be?!) birthday on the 16th was very quiet this year since my husband was recovering from his surgery. My middle son came over that evening and picked up pizza on the way so I wouldn't have to cook. I received some wonderful cross stitch charts and linen, gift cards to a restaurant, Etsy, and 123 Stitch, and a box filled with a dozen tasty chocolate-covered strawberries. But, the very best gift of all (in my eyes) was the fact that my dear husband, one-handedly, made cupcakes so I would have a sweet treat. Now, in our nearly 49 years of marriage, I don't think he's ever baked a cupcake--and for him to do so while recovering from shoulder surgery truly touched my heart. They were so good--chocolate (made from scratch!) with peanut butter frosting (I did make the frosting and decorate them for him as he couldn't use the mixer or pipe the frosting with one hand). For me, it's always been the simple gestures like this that have meant the most in our marriage. How about you? 

My 71st birthday and still smiling :) 

The best thing about growing older has been experiencing being a grandmother. The joy that Mister B and Baby N have brought me is almost indescribable. They just love me for me! Even if I appear on FaceTime with rumpled bedhead hair still in my pj's--they still smile and seem excited to see me and my heart just melts. 

Grandma stage--the best stage in life!

Time does pass by way too quickly in our older years, doesn't it? As kids, we were always anxious to get to our next birthday or next milestone, but when you're older, you only wish for time to slow down. I'm still in awe of the many changes a baby goes through in that twelve month period before the first birthday. From helpless blobs to rolling over to sitting to crawling to standing to those first hesitant steps. It's quite a miracle, really. I'm so blessed to still be here to witness these sweet boys growing up!

Baby N turned 8 months old this month

 

Mister B instructing Baby N in the fine art of car racing!

So, what's on my agenda for the last week of January? Would you believe I still have my Christmas tree and outdoor lights up?! That is a new record for me, for sure. I've so enjoyed the light from them this month, but it's time... I'm not going to turn into one of "those" neighbors :) So, after the last bit of Christmas is tucked away, I plan to do some cleaning out of closets and drawers. Who am I kidding that I'll ever wear those clothes from fifteen years ago that no longer fit? I hope you enjoy this final week of what always seems to be a long, dull month. Take care now--especially those of you who are in the path of the ice and snow storm that is forecast here in the U.S. A foot of snow is expected in our region--we'll see how accurate the weather service is this time! Thank you all for stopping by to say "hello!" Bye for now...

A new year begins...

The morning dawned bright and sunny on January 1st, 2026--a beautiful start to this new year. We received a fresh coating of snow on New Year's Eve and the shimmering brilliance outside was almost overwhelming (but very welcome) after a week of gray, dreary rainy days. It was a nice way to start the month and the sunshine encouraged me to begin packing away Christmas for another year. My tree will remain for another week or two--after working so hard on all those ornaments, it's hard for me to take it down. I've been concentrating on one room each day, carefully wrapping and packing away all the decorations in their boxes and bags to rest in the attic for the next eleven months. 

Yesterday, I took a little break from "undecorating" and spent some time creating a new display for my kitchen counter. This one will stay up through January and is perfect for what is, typically, a frigid, snowy month here in western Pennsylvania.  I love this corner so much and don't understand why I had left it fairly bare (other than a stack of blue plates) for the past 30 years. Yes, 30 years ago this year, we remodeled and added on to our home--hard to believe! My sons were just 13, 10, and 7 at the time and we lived in our house (along with our huge 20-pound black cat, Shadow) for the entire nine months it took to remodel. It was a crazy year, but we were rewarded with a larger, more livable home. After 30 years, it definitely needs some updating again, but that will come slowly.

This is the snowy display I came up with for January filled with smiling snowmen, icy looking stitching, and even a miniature tree... If you click on the names of each piece (underneath the photos) you'll be taken to my post on that particular finish.

My kitchen corner display for January

 

The stitched pieces on the top shelf are: JBW Designs "French Country Snowflake" and "Inverno" by Renato Parolin.

On the lower portion of the tiered tray are "Snow Sampler" by Country Cottage Needleworks (on black in the back left), "Heartstruck Friends" by Midnight Stitching (in the back middle), and "Snowmen" by Country Cottage Needleworks (on the right). Sitting in front of the tiered tray are: JBW's "French Country Snowman" and "A Year in Chalk: January" by Hands On Design 

 

To the left of the tiered tray, I added a miniature tree (just 12 inches high) with some white lights and tiny glass snowman head ornaments. The little snowmen ornaments mean so much to me... You see, I bought a set years ago and as time passed, they shattered one by one. I was left with only a couple when, unbeknownst to me, my middle son found an (almost) complete set of them on eBay and gave them to me for Christmas a few years ago. They will always remind me of him and his very thoughtful gift! They have the cutest little faces, don't they? 

To the right of the tray is the framed finish of  "A Country Winter" by Plum Street Samplers. I just love this peaceful stitched scene with the lovely white barn, and that snowman proudly showing off his pretty red and white quilt.

 

Lots of blue and white brighten up a normally dreary, long January in my kitchen.

 

Over on Instagram the yearly #12in26ornamentstitchalong has begun! This is the sixth annual stitch-along that I've hosted and I love seeing just how many people join in each year. People from all over the world are now stitching an ornament a month and sharing them with each other online. If you'd like to join the fun, all you have to do is post a photo of your finished ornament on Instagram each month using the above hashtag so everyone can see it. Hope to see you there! 

So, how was your Christmas? As you read in my last post, that nasty flu bug interrupted our family get together and my youngest son and his fiancée didn't make it. To say I was disappointed was an understatement--we have not all been together since July 2025. We hope to see them later this month for a late mini-Christmas (which is one reason I'm keeping my tree up a bit longer). Thankfully, Baby N (7 1/2 months) and Mister B (almost 5 1/2 years) were both here with their mom and dad for nearly a week. The baby came down with a bad cold  a few days after Christmas, but neither my husband or I have caught it. It was such a delight having them here along with my middle son and his girlfriend. There's just something about having little children around which makes Christmas morning extra special, isn't there? 

We still enjoyed ourselves, eating way too much (of course!), building a gingerbread house, having a birthday party for Mister B's stuffed panda (who turned 7 according to B), watching movies, and playing games. There was just an empty space in our hearts without our missing son and soon-to-be daughter-in-law. Luckily, the little ones kept us very busy and took our minds off our youngest and his fiancée. Baby N is almost crawling--kind of pivoting and rolling to wherever he wants to go. He's such a smiley, happy little soul! As is his big brother--what a blessing they are in our lives...

The stockings were hung (and no, I didn't make them--they were all purchased from Land's End or LL Bean and I've blurred the names for privacy). Mister B and Baby N smiling for the camera right before going up to bed on Christmas Eve. They had just placed a plate of cookies (just visible in the lower left) along with a carrot or two for the reindeer, on the fireplace hearth for Santa. And, finally, Mister B working on decorating a gingerbread house a few days after Christmas (I think more of the frosting ended up in his tummy than on the house and he got a bit sick to his stomach later that day). 

 

Nonna Carol showing Santa Baby N some of her favorite ornaments on Christmas night.

  

I made eight kinds of cookies this year and gave some of the goodies to friends  (along with some Pumpkin-Cranberry bread). Everyone seemed to enjoy them!

Gift giving update... I was very pleased with how easy it was to give gifts this year for my adult children. If you remember from a previous post, I had asked each couple to suggest 1) something they would like for their homes, 2) the name of a favorite restaurant, and 3) an experience or membership that they'd like to do together. I used to buy five or so gifts for each of the six adults (amounting to 30 gifts!) which took a lot of time to buy and wrap. This way, I only had to purchase 9 gifts in total and most of them could be done online and popped in simple gift bags. The requested items ranged from bath sheets to car mats to a co-op gift card to a couple's massage to pizza/ice cream night to an evening (or two) at the movies complete with snacks. I definitely will be taking this approach in the future! 

I received some lovely stitched gifts from four blogging/Instagram friends this year which I truly appreciate! I sent a few gifts out, as well, but I'll share those with you in my next post...

From Cindy C. in Virginia (an Instagram friend) came this joyful ornament. I love the simple beauty and message of it... Thank you so much, Cindy--it is lovely!  

 

From my friend, Robin (in Virginia), came this jolly snowman tag ornament. I love it, Robin, and really need to make those cute tag ornaments soon! Thank you so very much! 

All the way from jolly old England came this adorable stitched snowman card, Prairie Schooler Santa chart, and pretty Christmas ribbon. Thank you so much, dear June--you are so sweet!

From my friend, Vickie in Wisconsin, came this darling Advent Calendar ornament. Stitched over one, it is so tiny and delicate. Thank you, Vickie--I will treasure it this beauty!

  

And from my friend, Stasi in Virginia, came this exquisite needlebook. Such tiny, precise needlework--and she chose to stitch it because she knew how special cardinals are to me. I'm using it every day, Stasi--it is truly special! Thank you!

And thank you to those of you who sent me cards this year, too--I do love receiving a nice old-fashioned Christmas card! Thanks so much to Marilyn F, Tricia B, Cindy D, Theresa B, Barb R, and Rita H... I really appreciate your thoughtfulness!

I guess I'd better sign off now... My husband is having his right shoulder replaced in the morning and we both need to get some sleep. He's a bit anxious about it, but we are both hopeful that it will go as smoothly as his left shoulder replacement went three years ago. Thank you all for your kind comments on my tree and your Christmas wishes--such a wonderful community we have here and on Instagram. We are so lucky to have chosen this wonderful hobby of ours, aren't we? Wishing you each a new year filled with peace and happiness, love and laughter! Bye for now!