Hey, Friends!
It’s not winter, but it sure has been feeling like it is! At almost 11:00 a.m. and only 32~. So… what’s better to do on these cold, December days than stitch?
Yesterday was the SC Stitch-In at The French Hens in Manning, coordinated by Amy (Down Sunshine Lane). Typical for me, I arrived late (not last), but it was a great day with good stitching, good food, and great fun chatting and laughing with the other folks! 
We had an ornament exchange, and I got this very pretty ornament from Hildit. She said it was her first, but I don’t know that I believe that. It’s hanging on my little stitched ornaments’ tree now! Great job, Hildit, and Thank you! 
Yvonne got the one I made, the cardinal from BBD, Tis the Season. Ladies, you were correct. The red is CC Cupid. 
Amy had a surprise gift bag for each of us, too. There's a pretty fabric that will be perfect for backing ornaments, one of everyones favorite DMC - 115, and several nice goodies for treats. My pics aren't the best, but you can see more at Amy’s Stitching blog.
I’ve made a few other ornaments since Thanksgiving. The tree is from a Just Cross Stitch Ornament edition. The little hearts with snowmen are Heartstruck Friends.
Just so happens that today is the New Moon, which means it’s TUSAL day! I will finish stuffing the month of December, then begin a new ornament in January. If you’re interested in becoming a TuSAL participant, visit Bonny’s Bits. She mentioned recently that she was going to try to give the project a jump start.
Do you remember a while ago that I won a gift from Pat at Gatherings? Well, I finally decided what to use it for. It's a paper trimmer to use for cutting mat board for finishing ornaments, etc. I've wanted one for a long while, but didn't want to pay as much as needed for the heavy-duty model. Thanks to Pat's prize from CSN Stores, I didn't have to! Planning for next year? Karen mentioned over Thanksgiving that she uses holiday time to inventory stash and plan for the coming year. I decided to do something similar and have been going through a box of graphs that need to be filed or organized in some way. I’ve found things that I loved and had forgotten, didn’t remember at all, and thought ‘what possessed me to buy that?’ One thing I plan to do for sure. I joined a new Blackbird Designs yahoo group, and they plan to have a SAL with the Anniversary of the Heart series. I showed you the fabric I’d chosen in the last post, I think. What else? I haven’t nailed it down – probably whatever strikes my fancy at the time!
Thanks for taking time to stop by today for a visit – and I always love your Needler’s Point comments! I especially appreciate all your concern and well wishes for my health over the past month. I’m feeling fit as a fiddle – better than I have in a very long time. 
Charlene♥SC