Happy New Year 2022

Here we go. I think that the New Year holiday is my favorite because it’s all about new beginnings. Had great hope for 2021 but it turned out to be not such a great year. I lost many dear friends and other acquaintances. I think we all were hopeful that we would see the end of COVID and yet it continues to march on. So, 2022, we’re counting on you. Please don’t let us down!

The last three months of 2021 were busy. I didn’t stitch very much and when I did, I stuck with the same project. I was digging through my stash one day and this project jumped out at me. I’ve had it forever, it’s stitched on Lakeside Linen Vintage Sand Dune and it’s stitched with Belle Soie silks! It’s the perfect combination! The color palette is quite scrumptious too. I’ve made great progress on it, but there’s still quite a lot of stitching left in the border!

Sorry for the wrinkles. If I had to get the iron out then I wouldn’t have been posting right now. The color of the linen in the second photo is more accurate.

Little House Needleworks - The Elizabeth Hancock Sampler

After Christmas, I wanted to work on something different and I decided that I really want to try and finish this piece in 2022. When I started it, years ago, I had big plans to do a block a month and quickly figured out that there is a lot of stitching in those blocks! I’ve spent three or four nights on the school house block and have lots of stitching to go. When this block is complete, I will still have five more to go.

Carriage House Samplings - Village of Hawk Run Hollow

Before Christmas, we did some painting to freshen up our walls. Our wall that spans between our dining and living room used to be red; we reverted back to a neutral palette and it’s a cream color now. We had a hard time putting nails in the wall again! Over the weekend, we put up these picture ledges. I’ll be able to switch out stitching pictures without putting so many nail holes in the wall!

Finally, I’m cleaning through a closet today and found two picture frames with some stitching in them. These pictures used to hang in my daughter’s bedroom when she was a baby. I pulled the stitching out - oh boy - look at the taped edges! Let me tell you, that tape is really dry. I can also see the hoop marks in the aida (at that time, I didn’t know that you should remove your hoop at the end of the day.) I’m going to cut off the tape and soak these pieces in some sudsy water and then make them into some little pillows. They bring back good memories.

That’s it. Hope the new year is good to you. I’ll leave you with a picture of our little Lizzie from New Year’s Eve.