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.

Ahead or behind?

I have been working on the satin stitch of An All Was For An Appil.  I was so excited to reach this point because I am nearing the finish line.  Well . . .who wants to say compensation stitch?  It is driving me crazy.  If anyone who has stitched this sampler has any helpful hints on stitching the satin stitch letters, please share.

In the meantime, I needed a break from this sampler and I picked up the easiest quickest stitch I could find in my stash.  Has anyone ever heard the phrase "I'm so far behind, I think I am ahead?"  I am either three months behind or nine months ahead.

Each year I say to myself "I am going to stitch one Christmas ornament a month."  I don't think I have ever reached this goal.  This Merry Christmas is a freebie, it has been in my stash so long I have forgotten who designed.  The year 1885--that was the year Great Grandmother Sarah Miranda moved from Spring Creek North Carolina to the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee.

Am going to finish this ornament using the French General Rouenneries by Moda.  I had several skeins of Gentle Arts Lambswool in my stash and it seemed to work well with the fabric.

Decision time.  Am I going to tackle the satin stitch letters of the sampler or get more instant gratification on another simple design?