2014 In Review, 2015 Begins

So...in just under the wire (I was sewing on the last buttons when DH and I kissed at midnight!), here is Country Garden Stitchery's "Here Comes Santa Claus."

You can probably tell that I used some different buttons.  I didn't have the ones used in the pattern, and I didn't feel like buying a bunch of doo-dads, so I just used some that I had left over/not used from other kits.  I really think this guy is pretty cute!  I did buy all the hand-dyed flosses for this one, and I think that was worth it.

I also completed a flurry of ornamentifying before the New Year - first, here is Prairie Schooler's "Boo 1602" card design.

(The back is just a piece of gray fabric.)
And here is the front and back of Just Another Button Company's "Tweet" freebie - well, it is a freebie if you buy the button pack.  Hmm.  Anyway, since my niece was known as "Peep" until her birth, I swapped out part of the button pack and changed the lettering, then made a back with her name and birth date.  I bought this as a kit at Celebrations, and tried to squeak the front and back out of the one piece of fabric included in the kit!  It was a tight fit, but I pulled it off without TOO many problems.

The hanger was a piece of a floral spray that I ripped out and stuck between the front and back of the ornament.

Here is M-ort-icia, standing with a couple Just Nan pieces.  "Spring Peepers" is an old finish, but the peacock cube I did stitch and finish as part of Zeb's Just Nan SAL....I was sorry to see that one disappear about halfway through the year.

Finally, today I kept with my tradition of a New Year's start and pulled floss and fabric for an old design from my stash, Black Swan's "Fairy's Gate."

I love the design but hate the fabric and that tacky sun button that were included!  (The fabric is just a 28-ct. lambswool....nothing terrible, but not what I envision for a fairy garden piece.)  So I've got a different charm to use, and the fabric I pulled from my stash is a piece of 32-ct. Sugar Maple Fabric called Butterfly Kisses.  Much prettier!

2014 wasn't a terrible year for me, stitching-wise.  I think I had about 13 finishes, most of them relatively small...the exception being the Labyrinth for DH.  Oooooh, unlucky 13!  Maybe that is why the rest of my year hasn't been the greatest....my cat died, I need a mouthful of expensive dental work, my DH lost his job (and the dental insurance) right after I got the dental work started.....  But life goes on.  Everyone in the house is healthy and relatively happy, I have my job, our child is growing and thriving.  DH does have some job leads, so here's hoping 2015 rapidly looks better than 2014!!  (And hey, I kicked off 2014 by backing into my own garage door from the inside.  At least I didn't do THAT again....  LOL)