Robin and the Winter/Christmas stitch guides

Hi Everybody... Robin here.

For those of us in the northern hemisphere: Happy Winter Solstice! And, in keeping with tomorrow: wishing you the best Christmas Joy.

I was visiting my family (Mom, 2 sisters, 2 brothers-in-law, 3 cats) last weekend; thus the reason for no blog. (Did you miss me? 😊) On Sunday, I was back at the LEX airport waiting for a plane that never arrived from ATL due to their untimely mess. All was good with me. I called my family and they gave me another night's stay. My Memphis departure was 6:25AM Monday, this time thru LaGuardia. Talk about a Manhattan Transfer! I made it home on Monday afternoon. All was good.

I have compiled a list of my Winter/Christmas 🎄 themed stitch guides. Aren't they festive?

Robin King stitch guides - Winter/Christmas
Melissa Shirley Designs

Robin King stitch guides - Winter/Christmas
Kelly Clark, Zecca, Burnett & Bradley,
Alexa, Amanda Lawford, Associated Talents,
Anne Brinkley, Annie Lane

Robin King stitch guides - Winter/Christmas
CBK Needlepoint, Chris Roberts-Antieau,
dede Ogden, Eye Candy Needleart,
Kirk & Bradley, Labors of Love Needlepoint

Robin King stitch guides - Winter/Christmas
Labors of Love Needlepoint,
Maggie Co, Melissa Prince Designs,
The Meredith Collection, Painted Pony Designs,
Raymond Crawford, Rebecca Wood Designs

Robin King stitch guides - Winter/Christmas
Rebecca Wood Designs,
Rishfeld  Designs, Sandra Gilmore,
Machelle Somerville

Robin King stitch guides - Winter/Christmas
Susan Roberts/Tapestry Tent

Robin King stitch guides - Winter/Christmas
Susan Roberts/Tapestry Tent,
Strictly Christmas

Robin King stitch guides - Winter/Christmas
Shelly Tribbey, Brenda Stofft,
Julie Mar & Friends, Sew Much Fun

If you are interested in any of my stitch guides, you can email me at creativecats@comcast.net.

While visiting my family, I took a photo of Midge's tree. It is very beautiful and is a resplendent showcase for all of the needlepoint ornaments she stitched over the years.

Needlepoint ornaments from top to bottom.

Here is a closeup so you could see an example of her finished Light Bulb ornament. Very clever.

The finished Light Bulb ornament is all its glory.

The Willow Stitch Variation (\) could be a nice Light Bulb ornament stitch. Just turn the diagram so it runs north-south.

Here's a stitch for you!

Another fun Light Bulb ornament stitch would be from the Byzantine family. Imagine how clever you will be when you use only threads from your stash!

Here's a stitch for you!

My Christmas to-do list is just about finished; a wee bit of baking and then I will be done.  😊😋

Until the next time... HUGS!  Robin

Some of Robin's Favorite Christmas Things

Hi Everybody... Robin here.

We are in the 2-week countdown until Christmas 🎄. Yikes! How's it going for you?

I thought I'd get into the Christmas mood and share with you a few of my favorite things.

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First up is this delightful stocking stitched and finished by Fran Tylavsky.  The canvas name is Woodland Territorial Santa (TTAXS440) from Susan Roberts Needlepoint; artist, Liz Goodrick-Dillon. Fran attends my local needlepoint classes at Stitchers Inc in Memphis, TN. She recently became a first-time grandmother, and William is the lucky boy for this stocking.

William is a very lucky boy!
Lovingly stitched by Gran Fran.

Fran stitched and finished this stocking this year... in only 8 months (our first class time was April 1, 2017) all while still working her full time job! Here's one of my photos from our class taken 04/01.

Woodland Territorial Santa
TTAXS440

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Here's one of my favorite things: Teri Ambriz Snowflake Design.

Teri does Snowflakes right!

Teri is a member of the Facebook Needlepoint Nation, and she is a very prolific stitcher. One of her finished pieces had this delightful background. I diagramed it and it is now part of my stitch guide repertoire. Thanks, Teri for your inspiration!

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Every holiday/season needs a special cocktail, and my favorite December go-to is from Chef Mario Batali.

Persephone cocktail
One of my favorite things!

It's called Persephone and has 4 wonderful ingredients: Gin, Rosemary simple syrup, pomegranate juice, and a squeeze of lime.  The Gin & Rosemary play nice together, and the Pom color is very festive. Don't be afraid of making the Rosemary Simple Syrup. It really is simple and Chef Mario includes the how-to, too. Here's the link to Mario's website. http://www.mariobatali.com/recipes/persephone/  It's a must have for those who do.  😊

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Need a quick little stitch? Try the Christmas Trees! Very festive.🎄

A stitch for you!

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Last, but not least: Christmas Lights. Brilliant idea.💡

Christmas Light by Midge King

My sister, Midge, designed and stitched a bunch of these for her Christmas tree. She used the same stitch different across the color families.

Christmas Lights by Midge King

Once done, then she selected another stitch pattern and made another set. Great way to work with your stash. Here's another idea: you could even make the Lights from the threads of your project you worked during the year. 😊

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Well, that's all for now. Would love to hear from you.

Until the next time. HUGS!  Robin