Catching up

Well! It's about time that I posted some of these ornaments! They were all great fun to stitch and finish. You can see that I was partial to the flat pinkeep style of ornament. Who would have guessed that they were this easy?

Bonne Annee
A freebie from Grilles de Maryse
16 ct. khaki aida
DMC Variations 4030 and white

"Santa"
Freebie from Schoolroom Samplings
On a door hanger with a 22 ct. insert and stitched over 2

Mini Gingerbread man
A freebie from The Floss Box
On Christmas green Lugana

Mini Hat
A freebie from The Floss Box
On 14ct. Metallic silver aida

Lizzie Kate's Joy
On Oatmeal Floba
Inserted in a small tuck pillow

Happy New Yeah!

Cubismo Grafico - Happy New Year!!! Happy New Yeah!!!

My ornaments...

As much as I love the Christmas and all the preparations, I haven´t had time to stitch ornaments because of all the other exchanges I´ve participated in. Well, these are the ones I have stitched in November and December. Both of them presents for friends.

Pallet #5

Throughout December, folks brought offerings of canned goods for Greensboro Urban Ministry's Food Bank to drop-off locations in Sunset Hills (and Historic Aycock). Through December 27th, three trailer loads totalling 2,557 pounds of canned goods had been collected and taken to Urban Ministry. More keeps coming, too.

Two boxes, one marked "Joy" and the other (shown above) "Love" stood out. Nightly, neighbors emptied the food collection bins. Lots and lots of small bags holding a few cans told us that it wasn't 10 persons each bringing 255 pounds who filled the bins, but rather it was many, many folks bringing their five loaves and two fishes.

Pat Spain, Food Distribution Director for Greensboro Urban Ministry, thanks the Friends of Lighted Christmas Balls for keeping the needy at heart. Supplying food for the needy, the elderly, little children and those down on their luck would not be possible without the support of so many in this community.

Truly, in this life, we get to keep what we give away. Thank you Greensboro for giving.

Michael Bublé - Let It Snow!

01 - let it snow, let it snow, let it snow
02 - the christmas song
03 - grown up christmas list
04 - ill be home for christmas
05 - white christmas
06 - let it snow, let it snow, let it snow (live)

download
myspace
webpage

Human Nature - Jingle Bells

download
myspace
webpage

Christmas ornaments

Here are couple of ornaments I've stitched this year, I haven't been very organized in this SAL and haven't stitched every month :) Next year I'll try to stitch two ornaments every month and also post the photos here :)

Design: Joyeux Noël by Isabelle Vautier
Stitched on 30 count natural linen with DMC thread

Design: Artichoke Lace by Periphaeria Designs, colours changed
published in TGOSM (December 2007)
Stitched on 28 count linen with DMC 712

Design: Yule Flower by La-D-Da (JCS Ornaments issue 2007)
Stitched on black linen with DMC threads

Ornaments stitched by Leena

My last...

... ornament in this year. I hope it will be more next year!

This is "Christmas spot sampler" (eef). The recommended threads are not in my stash, so I used Anchor-threads, one over two on Edinburgh-linen (Zweigart, antique white).

Welcome to Jennifer, the new Admin, and best wishes for a happy new year to her and all SAL-members! (I cant say this better in English...)

Barbara

Give a can

photo: alisa smith

Alisa Smith shares awesome pics of 2007 Lighted Christmas Balls. No doubt the spread of Krispy Kreme donuts made viewing Lighted Christmas Balls far more fun! Click here and check out the beautiful pics. Kudus, Alisa

Ops! Ornament

Ops!
Helga Mandl Designs
Sugar Maple Fabrics 28 ct Ice Crystal Lugana, DMC Floss

New Year, new admin!

Please welcome Jennifer as the new administrator of the SAL blog! She has offered to help and has some lovely ideas to hopefully inspire you in the coming year. I will still be around but she will be taking over adding members etc from now on. Barbara has also very kindly offered to help, though she has her hands full with a lovely Christmas baby right now!

Please give Jennifer time to get settled in and a big thank you for helping out!

Lighted Christmas Balls in Dearborn, Michigan!

Lighted Christmas Ball enthusiast and kindred spirit Traci Stafford Croft hosted a Christmas Ball workshop in their neighborhood...

"Not quite the same scale of yours (we're just getting started), but we can see the potential for growth within our neighborhood - MANY neighbors from other streets came/are coming by asking questions even though not all of the neighbors who made light balls have them lit yet...so we expect the rest of our stree to light up over the next couple days. (jonathan's note, check out Traci's pictures on Flickr. Better yet, drive down their street and see for yourself )

This is such a wonderful thing to do with friends/neighbors. Next year we'll start adding in some of the other elements: charity collections/donations, band, etc. (We'll see...) We were planning on being outside, but the weather was supposed to be in the low 40s, so we did it inside (and the weather was nearly 60). :)

Thanks,
Traci"

exciting update, from Traci, 12/28/2008:

"Since I sent you the pictures, we've had quite a lot of excitement...probably 40 - 50 cars a night driving down the street (we're only a 1 block street not off of any main road, so traffic is really rare) and we've also been contacted by our "City Beautiful Commission" and the local city cable channel. Our kids gave light balls as presents to their teachers who immediately asked..."Is that YOUR street?" It's been so wonderful. I can only hope that we can generate more interest and some good will in years to come. ;)"

Kudos Traci!

Christmas Biscornu Ornament

This is my first contribution to this SAL. Pictured is the front and the back. The size difference in the pictures has to do with my photography. The main poinsettia design is from Prairie Schooler. I added a leaf design in the corners and used the smaller green design on the front to make a coordinating back. It is stitched on 18 aida. Making the biscornu was a challenge, but I would definitely make one again!

X-mas presents

Reading the comments on Christmas a Go Go! I noticed a few requests for re-uploads of last years songs.

Well, normally I wouldn't, but since it's still Christmas, how can I refuse? Here they are:

Pizzicato Five - 24 decembre (single version)
Cusbismo Grafico - Ave Maria
Handsome Boy Technique - Our Belssing
Pizzicato Five - 24 decembre (Handsome Boy Technique Yikes! Peach Cut 5' 24"!! mix)

See you all next year :)

My christmas stitching

These are some of my christmas stitching, I did stitch a lot of christmas theme biscornu as well:

Just cross stitch ornament issue, Jean Farish:

Prairie Schooler, Christmas strawberry:

Bent Creek Glad Tiding:

Blue Ribbon design, Red ornament:

M design, snowman freebie:

Pam Kellogg Christmas Biscornu:

French freebie:

Sweetheart tree design:

Elizabeth's Design:

Merry christmas and a happy new year.

Stitched by Anita

New ornament

This is "Sapphire Star" from Patricia Ann Designs (2004 JCS Issue). I stitched it with a Dinky Dyes Silk, and erinite coloured crystals on mystery fabric.

24 decembre

Today it's yu-ni-gatsu ni-yu-yoka again: 10+2-month, 2x10+4-day. In other words: 12/24.
I posted two versions of this song last year, this is the album version (very different from last year's single versions), sung by Ronnie of the Scooters. Enjoy :)

Pizzicato Five : 24 decembre

The Blues Are Still Blue Christmas Compilation 2007

The Blues Are Still Blue Presents:

Christmas Compilation 2007:

Nellie McKay - Christmas Dirge
James Brown - Soulful Christmas
June Christy - The Merriest
Irene - Christmas On The Beach
Milton DeLugg & The Little Eskimos - Hooray for Santy Claus!
Mae West - Put The Loot In The Boot, Santa
The Pipettes - White Christmas
Michele Cody - Merry Christmas Elvis
Rufus Thomas - I'll Be Your Santa, Baby
Shonen Knife - Space Christmas
Andre Williams - Poor Mr. Santa
Rufus Wainwright - Spotlight On Christmas
The Free Design - Close Your Mouth (It's Christmas)
Solomon Burke - Presents On Christmas
Brenda Lee - Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree
Ivy - I Hate December
The Young Republic - Merry Christmas Again...
Willie Nelson - Please Come Home For Christmas
Carla Thomas - Gee Whiz, It's Christmas
Over The Rhine - All I Ever Get For Christmas Is Blue
Clarence Carter - Back Door Santa
Cocoon - Christmas Song
Darlene Love - Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
Elvis Presley - Santa Bring My Baby Back
Eux Autres - Another Christmas At Home
Gayla Peavey - I Want A Hippo For Christmas
Holly Golightly - Christmas Tree On Fire

Lucky Christmas

In my opinion the best album by a Dutch artist this year, Life Is Short by Lucky Fonz III, contains a song that has a small link with Christmas (or at least the title of the song is a reference to Christmas). If you like what you here and want to here some more of Lucky Fonz III go here.

Lucky Fonz III - Christmas Lights In A Cave (Life Is Short)

First snow

Finally I have to show another christmas ornament: "First snow", a Drawn-Thread-Freebie. It's a christmas gift for my stitching friend Anja. I hope you'll like it too and wish you all a merry Christmas.

Kissing a Man With a Beard

No further explanation needed...

Solex - Santa Monica (Kissing a Man With A Beard)

A growing plantation...

.....of TPS christmas trees. Merry christmas to all of you, see you again next year!


Feliz Navidad y un prospero ano nuevo...
Birgit

Winter in Canada

Repost from last year of a song that made my top X-Mas songs. (Even though I'm not even sure it is a Christmas song, it really has that feeling though). It's so gooood.

Elisa Gabbai - Winter in Canada

This year I also found a (quite different) but lovely version by French femme Mireille Mathieu. It has her sound, German sung with a French accent. Very nice!

Mireille Mathieu - Winter in Canada

Lula & Wayne

German singer Lula teamed up with Wayne Jackson for a wall-of-soundalike duet, wishing all y'all a merry x-mas.

Lula & Wayne Jackson - Merry Christmas

More here, here, and here

Probably my last ornament for 2007

I haven't posted for a while but thought I'd share this last ornament with you all. I do have one other which is stitched and not finished but since it's now 5.30pm on Saturday, I don't think it will be finished before Christmas. So this will be it for me for 2007. Merry Christmas everyone!

Holly Days Stocking (I left off the backstitched "Holly Days")
by Mill Hill

Threads: DMC
Stitched on perforated paper

Mel Tormé - Christmas Songs

download

Froehliche Weihnachten, Craciun Fericit, Joyeux Noël, Buon Natale, Merry Christmas, Shinnen Omedeto, Polit Nadal, Pozdrevlyayu Prazdnikom Rozhdestva, Bon Nadal, Bo Nadal, Zorionak, God Jul, Boas Festas, Idah Saidan, Kala Christougenna Kieftihismenos, Zalig Kerstfeest...¡FELIZ NAVIDAD!

by Barb in TX

I've finally got an ornament to post on here. I made this for my grandgirl. The design is by Lorri Birmingham and from the Leisure Arts Big Book of Christmas Quickies.
Thanks for looking.

Barb in TX

Don't you forget about my tannenbaum

Did you know that the melody of German Christmas carol O Tannenbaum is also used for the official state songs of Iowa and Maryland? And that the Britisch Labour Party used it for their hymn The Red Flag? And that waaaay back in 1990, three Dutch guys called De Ideale Schoonzonen (the ideal sons-in-law) mashed it up with Simple Minds' millionseller Don't You Forget About Me?
Now you do. (Thanks Luba)


De Ideale Schoonzonen - Oh!! Denneboom

Silent Keren

The headline means that Keren Ann recorded a version of Silent Night, not that she is silent, or does not sing no more. Heaven forbid.

Keren Ann - Silent Night