Blue Ribbons and Prior Commitments

After still not being satisfied with the stripes on my blue ribbon today, I made a phone call.  My favorite girls, Jill and Peggy, at my favorite needlepoint shop, Amy’s Golden Strand, pulled some additional threads for me late today.  I am going to go by tomorrow and make a final decision, but in the mean time…

I’ve made some prior commitments and I should start getting to them.  We moved into a new house last year and my husband asked me to finish up our Christmas stockings so we could hang them from our new mantle this year.  I guess I should confess that I’ve had these stockings at least four years (one of them for a decade or more I bet), but who’s counting?

This is my husbands stocking and I have stitched a great deal of the back ground already.  I know what you are thinking.  “You’ve gotten that much out of the way and stopped at the fun part?”  Well, see, I actually like skipped tent;  it’s that color of blue that I hate.  Hate may actually be an understatement here.   I really want to finish it for him, but I have to talk myself into it, can you tell?  He keeps telling me I won’t think it’s so yukky when everyone is ooohing and ahhhhing over it, but I’m actually self conscious about some of that skip tent.  I know I can’t be alone in thinking that some of the stitching I did early in my needlepoint career is less than spectacular.  I did get a great idea today to try some of the DMC Memory Thread to make the silver ornaments hanging from the trees.  Perhaps my procrastination wasn't all bad.  

I picked out the Tapestry Tent Snow Bear shortly after I started working on my husband’s so they would coordinate.   Little did I know I would have such a love to hate relationship with blue.  It is such a gorgeous design, but I will be stitching it last I think.  I even convinced my husband last night that if I finished both his and my daughter’s stockings this year I should buy myself a new one.  After all, to have two that are so blue and one that is not blue at all might look awkward hanging from the same mantle.  I’m not to that point yet though.  As I mentioned, it is such a gorgeous design!  I have lots of ideas for it as well, but my mood really is blue enough these days.

I love love love the Toy Maker Santa by Melissa Shirley.  I will be stitching it at the same time I’m finishing up Mr. Blue to break up the monotony if nothing else.  I actually bought it during one of Amy’s after Christmas sales right after I found out I was pregnant and months before I knew I was having a girl.  I am so eager to get started on it.  All this color and happiness on one canvas who wouldn't be?!!


I've also committed to stitch Stars for a New Millenium with my stitching group.  I've already stitched it once, but I would like to do another one to match my new decor.  I make my daughter an ornament every year for our tree and I haven't even begun thinking about this years yet.  I also  found a great idea on Pinterest a few weeks ago I am planning for as well, but again, that is a project for another day.  It's all part of keeping busy, right?  


I hope you'll stick around to see how everything turns out!