Off to a good start

The year is definitely off to a good start. Last evening marked my return to the Tuesday night stitching group. I'd taken a bit of a break - a combination of weather conditions, fatigue and work overload. It was so good to be back and when I arrived I was pleasantly surprised to see that Dani had joined us for the evening. It was good to see her again since it's been quite some time since we've stitched together. I'm hoping she'll join us again in the coming weeks. My attendance will still be sporadic until spring although I'm hoping to join the group at lease once a month.

My visit with family in Windsor was a good one, although hectic. We had only 3 full days to catch up with everyone. We ate out for lunch and supper all 3 days that we spent there! I'm glad to come home to a home cooked meal again. I did manage to make a pitstop on our way there at Thread & Eye Needlework Shop. They had some buttons on hold that I need for one of the LHN monthly ornaments. I also picked up a new Qsnap and some small cuts of linen. After all, one can never have enough fabric!

One of our evenings out visiting involved a trip across the border to Michigan to visit my sister. We don't usually exchange Christmas gifts anymore but this year she spotted something special for me that she just couldn't pass up. It seems she was shopping in a Hallmark card store and couldn't believe her eyes when she spotted this ornament.

There are many of you who won't recognize this but if you

were born in the 50's or 60's you might remember the Chatty Cathy doll by Mattel. She was on the market from 1959 - 1965 and was second in popularity only to Barbie. I loved my Chatty Cathy doll. I had the original blond blue-eyed version and my sister had a dark haired one.

When you pulled the string on the back of the doll she would recite one of 11 different phrases. Well, this Hallmark version of the doll also has a string on her back and thanks to little watch batteries within her recites the same 11 phrases in the exact same voice.
In the photo below there is a picture of us and our cousin with our dolls. I think this was either Christmas 1962 or 1963. That's me on the left, my cousin in the middle and my sister (who doesn't look totally thrilled!) on the right. This picture sits on my dresser and my granddaughters discovered it during their visit at Christmas. I had just finished discussing it with them and telling them which one was their Grandmaman. What a coincidence to receive this nostalgia gift shortly afterwards. Thanks sis!

After returning home from our visit, I found the next gift waiting for me at the post office. On New Year's Day Angela drew two names for her end of year giveaway. She'd stitched 2 lovely pillows and I was fortunate enough to have my name drawn for one of them. How great is this, starting off the new year with such a fantastic gift?! Since my name was drawn first I chose this sweet LK finish.

Isn't it pretty? I love the fabric she used and her stitching is great. I was surprised at the size of the pillow too. It was much larger than I thought it would be. Although the holidays are over, I've left it out on display in my living room. I just can't put it away yet! Thank you so much Angela. I will proudly display it each Christmas.

Although my visit with family was a hectic one, I did manage some progess on my North Wind.

This is such a fun stitch. I took it with me last night to my stitching group but I'm afraid I didn't put in too many stitches. Far too much catching up to do! I also made a start on A Cat in Snowman's Clothing but I don't have enough done for a picture yet. Shortly though.

DH has just left for his first choir practice since the holidays and once again I'm spending a quiet evening at home. I fully intend on pulling out my stitching but quite often I find myself nodding off, needle in hand. Am I the only one who does this?

I hope everyone is having a super week. I know I'm certainly enjoying all the Crazy Challenge pics on the blogs. Keep 'em coming!