Time to Get Out the Needle

Christmas is behind us now, the calendar has been changed, Laura has gone back to school, Mark finishes work this Friday. New beginnings.... It's time to take up the needle again.
I've spent a lot of time in the kitchen the last few weeks; made large batches of spaghetti sauce, chili and turkey soup so I could send back 6 tubs of each with Laura for her freezer. So I have a few "quick thaw and heat" meals on hand.... So I'm hoping the next few weeks I can spend more time stitching, sewing and reading.. the way I like to spend January!

Here is one recent finish - a cross-stitch I did for Laura for Christmas. It is another design by Heart in Hand.  This one is called Snowman Medley, designed by Cecilia Turner. I had ordered the Christmas Medley to do as well, but it must be popular as it has been back-ordered twice now. Guess it will be head of the list for next year...  These little snowmen will keep DD company through the winter. Cecilia's designs are quick and easy to stitch, and I love the bit of whimsey added by the buttons... (check out the crow on the head of the top snowman..)

Yesterday marked the first day of TAST 2012 - that's Take A Stitch Tuesday, run by Sharon Boggon of Pin Tangle.  Sharon will present one new stitch per week - the first one being Fly stitch. I am hoping this challenge will push me to do more stitching, learn some new stitches and experiment with those I already know to vary them creatively. Experimenting with new threads, color combos, etc. should be fun. It is a commitment- and I know
there may be some weeks when I do not have the time to get it done but I am going to do my best. I'll post pics here each week of what I have done. It is interesting to read the comments of others participating, to see how they are going to proceed with this Challenge. Some are doing it as a sampler, others are adding to a piece already started, others are doing journals. I think I will do each week's stitch on a separate piece of cloth, probably Aida, and put them in a binder with accompanying notes. (The TAST logo above was stitched by Annet of Fat Quarter who has kindly allowed it to be used by all doing the challenge.)
 So, check back in a few days to see what I've done with Fly Stitch for Week 1, TAST 2012.

Peace,
Linda

"With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts." ~ Eleanor Roosevelt