Mail, the Smalls SAL, and Other Things

(Lots of pics here!)

First, I got a sweet and unexpected note from Rachel, my exchange recipient for the Autumn Exchange.  She sent me this package of winter signs - I'm already imagining potential projects that they might embellish!

And after a snafu with the Postal Service, I got my Autumn Exchange from my partner as well.  She made me this adorable fob stitched from a Prairie Schooler design, and included a pair of stork scissors and some DMC flosses.  Thank you Sharon!

With my week off between Christmas and New Year's, I decided to do some more finishing.  This is the "April Sewing Lady Tin Topper" by The Needle's Content, finished with an Altoid tin.  I didn't like the look of the red tin edge with the burgundy and green floss, so I took a hint from my previous box finish and wrapped the edges with jute twine.

I took the picture with the pattern picture so you can see the changes I made - adding hair to the lady, made her eyes blue, and used purple in her skirt in place of the dark green.  Oh, and I alternated the bobbins on the top and bottom.
Here is the inside, complete with a pair of "Tiny Gems" scissors and Sharon's lovely fob.  The pattern said to glue flannel to the inside of the top lid as well, but when I did that the tin didn't close properly, so I removed it.  And I made some twisted cord (to keep the scissor tips from "ramming" into the metal box!).

Finally, my December finishes for the Smalls SAL and my last finishes of 2015!

This little house is from the same issue of the UK Cross Stitcher magazine as the one I posted last month - I just decided to try one on navy fabric.  It just did not photograph well....

 

And here is my daughter's annual Christmas ornament.  This was a Sunflower Seed design from....2013? 2014?....the JCS Ornament issue, anyway.  The design said "Home," but I changed it to my daughter's name.  I also used different beads, and left off the white and green layers of the border (alluded to earlier in my rant about red flosses bleeding into white).