Christmas in July

Every year I set a goal for myself to stitch one Christmas ornament a month.  I have never achieved this goal, but I keep setting it every year.  Since July is the half way month toward December and Christmas I always try to have "something" made for Christmas in July.  When I belonged to EGA they had a fabulous event called Christmas in July when they would begin work on an item for Christmas.

This is Crowning the Tree by the Blackbird Girls Designs

This is a freebie (apologies, I do not know the designer, it has been in my WIP basket for a few seasons).  I added the year 1885 because this is the year Great Grandmother Sarah Miranda moved her family from Spring Creek, North Carolina to Emert's Cove, Tennessee.

AppleJack helps with the backing fabric color selections--he has a wonderful eye for color.  The stocking fabric is small holly leaves and the red fabric is a French General fabric.

This is a "Make Do " piece from Theresa at Shakespeare's Peddler.  AppleJack found the old keys for me and since there was a lock and a cage in the design, I thought adding the key would be a nice touch.

This is the back.  I love the way, Betty, the finisher extraordinaire centered the flowers in the middle of the design.  Adds a nice touch to the finished piece.

These are my humble beginnings toward Christmas ornaments 2012.  Hopefully, having some finished pieces will motivate me to finish others before Christmas arrives.  With temps in the triple digits for the eighth day, Christmas seems a loooong way into the distant future.