Stitching and Gifts

I got there lovely gifts from Lisa S for Falling into Halloween exchange on the  Stitched with Love blog.  I LOVE the  cat ornament and the back of it is a little heart charm saying  Made for you.  The wooden box is going fun to paint before next Halloween.  The bats are so cute and I have used a couple already.  The fabric is adorable and I can't wait to start the pattern and ribbons.  Thank you Lisa! You put a lot of thought in my gifts and I appreciate it very much.

 The  two pictures above is what I put together for my partner, Jen.  I had Colleen to email Jen asking her favorite Halloween candy was, and I put a Halloween tin can with Hersheys bars, Reese's peanut butter cups, and Sweet tarts. I gave the rest to my brother, well the Sweet tarts at least, lol. I stitched Punpkin Kat from Bette Ashley in the Simply Cross Stitch Magazine, No 37, 1997.  I wanted to do it in the ornament but it came out too big.  I added Glendon Place  Witch Parking Only, the fabric that was recommended, a few hand dyed threads, stickers, needles, and a pair of socks.  

I made this Witch's Hat by The Stitchworks in the Just Cross Stitch Halloween issue.  I made a couple of  changes, I used gold metallic thread for the stars instead of the orange (didn't have any) and use one of the bats I got from Lisa.  I made it into an ornament and added a gold bead hanger. It was for Vickie H for the ILCSing Halloween Ornament exchange.  I almost kept it for myself.  I like how it came out and Vickie likes it.

 This is Witchy Brew by Witchy Stitches.  It was stitched on 30 count linen and used WDW Lavender for the words. Both the pattern and fabric came from Cape May at my retreat.  I added one of my new bats.  Did I tell you I like the bats a lot?  This one is for me for a chance.

 This lovely needle book is from Denise of UK, sometimes in Saudia Arabia,lol. It was for the Autumn Exchange in the ILCS group.   I love it.  She did a great job.  The below picture is the inside of the needle book.   Thank you Denise! I am waiting for  my partner to get my exchange, than I can show it off. 

As I was writing about the snow, the mail came in and I got a package from my Secret Penpal.  She  sent two mini Christmas ornament and a beautiful Thanksgiving post card.    Next month I get to find out who my penpal is, and I can't wait. I have no idea who it is.  

Until next time,
Vicky

SNOW!!!!

When snow is falling, it is so beautiful!  I could watch the snow fall for hours.  It is gorgeous and the romantic side of me comes out, lol.  Last Saturday, Connecticut and few other New England states got hit with our first major snow storm.  Usually around here, the foliage is at its peaks and leaves are falling.  Instead of rain, it snowed.  Pictures below is what it looked like outside of my kitchen the next morning. Its a winter wonderland.

 This snow brought a lot of damage, because it was very wet and heavy.  It you look at the first picture on this post, and compare to the above picture, you can see the branches are hanging very low.

 These trees are exactly down the end of the street.   I just love zooming in with my camera and I didn't have to step outside.  These trees are just a fraction, maybe less, to all the damage this storm did.  Mother Nature was not very nice.

 These are bushes between my building and the next building.  I wish I took a before picture of these, because the bushes are a good 5 feet tall and were beautiful.  They are destroyed and will be pulled up in the spring.

This picture is from my right side and I like how the stop sign is covered.  Usually by the time I get up after a storm, the snow is off the sign.  We lost our power around  4 pm on Saturday.  I was about to start supper.  I thought I would stitch a little before it got dark, but with the storm, dark came very quick.  I listen to the radio under my bed covers and hearing the numbers of power outrages kept climbing.  Sunday morning the guys took a quick shower and used up the rest of the hot water.  There were only 3 Dunkin Donuts stores open  in our area.  Dad got egg sandwiches and coffee for  breakfast and KFC for supper.  Luckily they were open and very busy.  We ate in the candle light.  I tried to crochet using a flashlight and I think I did 4 granny squares.  I was a little slower but I was able to do something instead of twiddling my thumbs.   Monday morning was more egg sandwiches and coffee.  We went to  my aunt's, who did not lose power, and took a shower.  It was so  nice to have a hot shower.  After  we got home, I stitched until it got dark and than I switched to crocheting. I had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for supper.  Than the power came on around  930 pm.  I was so happy and the first thing I did was to put the heat on.  It was getting cold.  I can't imagine how much colder it would have got. Unfortunately there are communities still out of power as I am writing this.  I hope they get their power back soon.  The electricity company says 99%  of all towns by midnight on Sunday.