Merry Christmas - Feliz Navidad !!!

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas full of joy, peace and love. I have enjoyed reading your comments and getting to know you all a bit. I look forward to a new year of fun and sharing with you. God bless you...

Os deseo una Muy Feliz Navidad llena de felicidad, paz y amor. He disfrutado leyendo todos vuestros comentarios y vuestra amistad. Nos vemos en el Año Nuevo con nuevos proyectos... Que Dios os bendiga.

The True Meaning Of Christmas

by Brian K. Walters

In todays' day and time,

it's easy to lose sight,

of the true meaning of Christmas

and one special night.

When we go shopping,

We say "How much will it cost?"

Then the true meaning of Christmas,

Somehow becomes lost.

Amidst the tinsel, glitter

And ribbons of gold,

We forget about the child,

born on a night so cold.

The children look for Santa

In his big, red sleigh

Never thinking of the child

Whose bed was made of hay.

In reality,

When we look into the night sky,

We don't see a sleigh

But a star, burning bright and high.

A faithful reminder,

Of that night so long ago,

And of the child we call Jesus,

Whose love, the world would know.

Oh Christmas...

Hello friends....

It's been a while since my last post and I have been stitching as much as possible. I have finished some Christmas ornaments and also my Angel Band Sampler, although I have not framed it yet. I will show you the final result soon !!.

(Peg, if you are reading this, I missed you on Wednesday at stitching night and I wish you had been there to see my beautiful sampler. I am so proud of it !! You and your husband are in my prayers and I hope to see you next month.)

Christmas is such a special time for me. Every year, I start thinking about it way before the month of December... I get that cozy feeling thinking of snow, fireplace, the smell of spices, baking cookies, wrapping gifts, sending cards, and of course, time to cuddle up and stitch (hopefully while snow falls outside). I promise myself that this year it will be different. That I will read the story of Jesus' birth and focus on the true meaning of Christmas. But every year I fail miserably, does the same happen to all of you.? No matter how much planning I do, by the end of november, I get so stressed out about the many thing there are to do, that I even have shortness of breath, can you believe that???. Needless to say that all those thoughts that brought that cozy, warm, peaceful feeling turn into little devils nagging at me: I need to figure out what gifts to buy for whom, when to mail them, what's a good time to bake some cookies, oh gosh I am running out of time !! Maybe if I take a couple more days off work I'll be able to catch up. Oh my gosh, I have to send the packages to Spain so they make it there on time... How about the Christmas cards, I need to add that to my to do list so I don't forget, how about decorating the house.. oh well, maybe this year I can do just a little decorating, and that will save me some time, but no, I do like the house fully decorated.... and on and on and on.

So tonight, as I write this, I am stopping this hectic pace and promising myself to re-focus. I will think of the true meaning of Christmas every day and I will thank God for sending his son to die for me. How amazing is that love and mercy? What am I without that? It is hard to grasp the huge meaning of what our Saviour did for us, and yet, we have to try. We owe that to Him, so that's what I commit to doing. Gifts, cards, decorations, even cookies :-) will take a second place this year and that's my promise. I hope you guys will be able to stop the frantic pace also and really enjoy this special time with your loved ones.

Oh yes !!! I do have a few things to show you :-) Below are some little ornaments I've been working on. The first one is called Be Ye Merry by Threadwork Primitives and I stitched it over one. I love it and it will be given as a gift soon.

The ornament below is from the 2009 Just Cross Stitch ornament issue, and it will also be given as a gift :-) Believe it or not, this is the first year I have stitched ornaments to give as gifts and I am loving it. Isn't it nice to give without expecting anything in exchange? Give, give, give... that is also part of the Christmas spirit. It is so rewarding to think of those that don't have as much as we do and give to them as God has given to us.

This is the basket I made with some of the Little House Needleworks ornaments. I love the end result although the pictures are not that great. It sits in the center of my dining room table.

Well my friends. I do thank you for stopping by and reading my blog. I love your comments and I really treasure them. I wish you a Christmas full of blessings and joy for you and your loved ones. You have blessed me this year with your friendship and I appreciate it very much.

Merry Christmas !!!

From California...

Hello stitching friends.... My DH and I decided to leave the snow and cold weather of Colorado and fly to California to enjoy the sun, the ocean and most of all, my husband's grandchildren. But I've got to tell you, two toddlers can drain you of energy in about one hour !! How can these little people have so much energy ALL DAY LONG ??!!! We love them, though, and honestly, we don't see them enough, so this weekend with them is a very special treat.

I also wanted to show you a couple of things that I've finished. I have lots of WIP and not enough finishes. I think my cross stitch is like my brain, scattered all over the place !!! LOL.

Below is a pin cushion, or maybe I should say just a cushion from Primitivebettys. It is big for a pin cushion, but I love it !! It is called Blue Tulips. The chart instructions ask for the fabric to be aged with a mixture of water, walnut crystals, clove, vanilla.... so it has a primitive look. I didn't stuff it completely in order to add to that primitive look :-). I don't think I did a very good job staining it, though. It is harder to do than it seems, and after trying, I believe it is all about the tool used to stain the fabric. I used a brush and I don't think that's the best way to do it, but I still haven't figured out what to use instead...maybe a sponge, a cloth or a different brush.... Any ideas?

Hola queridas amigas.... Mi marido y yo hemos decidido dejar atrás la nieve y el frío de Colorado y viajar a California a disfrutar del sol, el mar y sobre todo, de los nietos de mi marido. Pero tengo que deciros que dos niños de tres y dos años son agotadores !!! ¿Como es posible que dos cositas tan pequeñas tengan tanta energía durante TODO EL DIA !!! A pesar de todo los adoramos y, para ser sincera, no los vemos muy a menudo, así que este fin de semana con ellos es un placer.

También quería enseñaros unas cositas que he terminado. La verdad es que tengo muchos proyectos empezados y no termino nada !!

Abajo podeis ver un pincushion, o quizas debería decir un cushion de la diseñadora Primitivebettys. Es bastante grande pero me encanta !! Se llama Blue Tulips. La tela ha sido envejecida con una mezcla de agua, nuez molida, vainilla, clavo.... Tampoco lo he rellenado del todo para contribuir a ese look primitivo. El proceso de envejecido es mas complicado de lo que parece y creo que no lo he hecho muy bien. Yo utilice una brocha para aplicar la mezcla y creo que voy a tener que encontrar otra herramienta, quizas una esponja o un trapo. Si tenéis alguna idea decidmelo por favor. :-)

I have also finished one of the Little House Needlework ornaments. Now I only have 11 left to go !! I used the wool I bought a few weeks ago for the back and I really like the feeling of it. My idea is to finish them all by Christmas and put them all together in a nice basket as a table center or something like that. I just hope to have them all finished by Christmas and I figured that maybe if I wrote about it in my blog, I would feel the pressure to actually finish them. LOL !

También he terminado uno de los ornamentos de Little House Needlework. Ahora solamente me quedan 11 por terminar !! La parte de atras la termine con tela de lana y me gusta mucho como ha quedado. Mi idea es terminar los doce ornamentos y ponerlos todos juntos en una cesta como un centro de mesa. Espero poder terminarlos todos antes de Navidad.

Lastly, there is a project bag I made myself !! I went to my favorite fabric shop again (The Little Wool Shoppe), bought some fabric and decided to give it a try... I think it came out great considering it is the first time I've ever done one of these. Now I am all excited and I'm going to be making more of them for sure !! My friend Katrina let me borrow hers as a guide and I think I did a good job.

Finalmente os enseño una bolsita para mis proyectos de punto de cruz que he hecho yo misma. Considerando que nunca he hecho nada así, creo que me ha quedado bastante bien. Me encanta la tela que compre en mi tienda favorita The Little Wool Shoppe. Ahora estoy tan entusiasmada que voy a continuar haciendo mas.

And this is it for today. I'll try to get some stitching in this weekend, but that will be a challenge with two toddlers calling my name every minute :-) Yaya, yaya, yaya... that's what they call me, so very cute !! Enjoy your weekend and..... stitch in peace.

Y esto es todo por hoy. Voy a intentar hacer punto de cruz este fin de semana, pero con dos peques llamándome todo el día, no se como voy a encontrar tiempo :-) Yaya, yaya, yaya.... así es como me llaman... Son encantadores, la verdad. Espero que paséis un buen fin de semana. Un abrazo.

What did I get into???

That is exactly what I thought when I started stitching this beautiful sampler by The Victoria Sampler. It is a tea cozy called "Tea Party" and I love it; HOWEVER......

En que lio me he metido??? Eso es exactamente lo que pense cuando empece a bordar el sampler en la foto de abajo. Es un diseño de The Victoria Sampler que se llama Tea Party y me encanta; PERO.....

......you know I've mentioned before that my husband and I are thinking very seriously about moving to my home country of Spain sometime next year. Well, having to make this decision, has caused me a great deal of stress and anxiety. There are a lot of things to consider in such a definitive move, but one of the things that really bothers me is leaving my stitching "world" which includes stitching friends, my Sampler Guild, stores, designers, retreats, classes....... you name it !!! I know you are thinking that, with Internet, there are no borders, really, and I agree, but there is nothing like hanging out with friends on a stitching weekend, or going to a LNS and touching the fabric and the threads, see the colors, look at new charts.... you know what I mean. (I really have a point to make, and all this rambling will make sense in a minute). Sooooo....., in all my anxiety and wanting to "stay connected" to my stitching world, I thought I would find a website that offers stitching classes on line that I could take all the way from Spain, and that's how I came to know The Victoria Sampler and its Cyberclasses. Now, I don't love all of the Victoria Sampler designs, but I just fell in love with this one, so, all excited and impressed with myself, I signed up for the class and decided to give it a try..... It was two days into stitching it that I started to ask myself if I had lost my mind !! I mean..... all those darn, fancy stitches !!!! You have your satin stitches, your chain stitches, your modified queen stitches, your foliage stitch (foliage stitch???)..... and to top it all....... the white daisies with their cute silk ribbon. Oh dear, I am going crazy !!! After this "fancy stitch adventure," I've decided I love mindless stitching, thank you very much !!!! I want to be able to sit in my favorite chair, watch a movie and stitch non-stop without having to study and analyze a chart !! Now, I'll finish this beautiful tea cozy, just because if I started it, I have to finish it, but I am not sure I'll get into all this specialty anymore. Then again, maybe this is like having a baby, after a while, you forget the pains of labor and do it all over again !!! LOL !! Below are some pictures of my progress. Let me know what you think :-)

Ya sabeis que he mencionado antes que mi marido y yo estamos pensando en irnos a vivir a España el año que viene. Esta decision me ha causado mucho estres e indecision. Hay muchas cosas importantes que considerar cuando se toma una decision tan definitiva, y una de las cosas que de verdad me preocupa es dejar mi "mundo de punto de cruz" el cual incluye mis amigas, my asociacion de samplers, tiendas, diseñadoras, classes, fines de semana haciendo punto de cruz... TODO !! Ya se que con Internet estos dias no hay fronteras, pero no hay nada como pasar un fin de semana con amigas haciendo punto de cruz, o ir a una tienda y tocar el lino y los hilos, y ver los colores... vosotras me entendeis, ¿verdad? Pues con toda esta preocupacion, decidi que una buena manera the seguir "conectada" a este mundo seria encontrar una pagina web que diera clases por internet, y asi es como llegue a conocer The Victoria Sampler y sus Cyberclases. No soy una fan de todos los diseños de The Victoria Sampler, y de hecho, hay muy pocos que me gusten, pero, tan pronto como vi este, me enamore, asi que decidida y armada de valor me apunte a la clase. Pues despues de dos dias de bordar y bordar, me empece a preguntar si habia perdido la cabeza. Madre mia !!! todos esos puntos de bordado especiales me estan volviendo loca !!!! Despues de intentar bordar este Sampler, he decidido que me gusta hacer punto de cruz sin tener que estudiar y analizar el chart. Sé que lo voy a terminar, pero creo que no voy a meterme en algo asi nunca mas. Pero quizas esto sea como tener un bebe.... cuando el tiempo pasa, una se olvida de los dolores del parto y volvemos a hacerlo todo otra vez !!! :-) Abajo podeis ver algunas fotos de mi progreso... Ya me decis si os gustan.

Slowly (painfully slowly) getting there...

Despacito (muy despacito) voy avanzando...

Below is the cross stitched part (that was a piece of cake !!) and some of my satin leaves. Please don't look very close at the chain stitch that makes the stem.

Abajo podeis ver la parte bordada con simple punto de cruz (esta es la parte facil !!)

Below are the white Daisies stitched with the silk ribbon. As you can see this is not my forte, and I pulled the ribbon too tight !! (What would my friend Nieves think, as good a job as she always does with her projects). But, being the perfectionist I am, I've already ordered some more ribbon and I'll be re-doing the darn little flowers..

Abajo podeis ver las margaritas que borde con lazo de seda. Ya veis que no hice un buen trabajo con esto y tire demasiado del lazo (Ay, que pensaria mi amiga Nieves con lo bien que ella lo hace todo). Pero como soy una perfeccionista, ya he comprado mas lazo para volver a bordar las dichosas margaritas.

Don't look at the white daisy, but the satin leave and the thistle look pretty good, don't they??

No mireis a la margarita, pero la hoja con punto de satin me ha quedado bastante bien, ¿no os parece?

Below is my favorite flower so far !!! The Tulip Flower with the feather stitch and all...... I did great on this one, didn't I?

Esta es mi flor favorita... El Tulipan... esta si me salio bien, ¿verdad?

Below is the Pink and Blue flower... Nice, huh?

Abajo esta la flor Rosa y Azul (la diseñadora no se calentó mucho la cabeza con el nombre de la flor)

And this is it for the Tea Party Sampler. Below is my progress on one of the Little House Needleworks Christmas ornaments. I have lost count of them all, so I don't know which one this is. Anyway, I really love the colors of Weeks Dye Works linen, but I am finding that I don't like to stitch on it at all because my stitches look horrible, and I can't quite figure out why. I think it is too soft and my stitches look loose and uneven. I am quite puzzled by this, so if any of you know a trick or know what I am doing wrong, please let me know. This is stitched in straw and it is more golden than the picture shows. I am bummed out because I bought a big piece of 40ct in the same color that I was planning on using to stitch BBD mystery sampler, but now, I am not sure if I'll use this linen.

Abajo podeis ver el ornamento de Navidad de Little House Needlework. Lo he bordado en lino de Weeks Dye Works, el cual tiene colores preciosos, pero he decidido que no me gusta bordar en este lino porque los puntos de cruz no me quedan nada bien y todavia no he averiguado porque. Creo que el lino es muy flojucho y los puntos quedan desiguales. No sé....

Well, with all the anxiety and stress over all those specialty stitches, I figured I needed some distraction and some time to unwind, so last Saturday I travelled to Windsor, CO (a town about 1 1/2 hours away from where I live) to a great little store called The Little Wool Shoppe. What can I say, I had to get my stash fix, and they were having a big sale... Can't beat that !!!. Below is the fabric I bought...

Pues con todos los nervios del bordado, decidi que necesitaba un dia de relax y de compras, así que viaje a Windsor, Colorado. Windsor es una ciudad a una hora y media de donde you vivo y allí hay una tienda de telas y de lana que me encanta, así que el sábado pasado decidi acercarme por allí, ya que tenían unas rebajas estupendas. La tienda se llama The Little Wool Shoppe, y abajo podéis ver las telas que compre...

By the way Katrina, they still have that purse you want so badly :-) :-)

And below is all the wool I bought from the same store. They have the greatest selection of wool. I plan on using it to finish the Little House Needleworks ornaments, if I ever get around to finish them. I am all caught up on stitching them, but the finishing is a different story. I have all these great ideas and no time !!!

Abajo podeis ver la tela de lana que compre. Esta tela la voy a utilizar para terminar los ornamentos de Navidad de Little House Needleworks, si es que encuentro tiempo algun dia !!

And guys, this is it for today.... I'll keep you updated on my Tea Party sampler, and know that if I finish this sucker, I'll be showing it off big time !!! I hope you have a great weekend. I really appreciate you stopping by to visit and taking the time to leave me a comment. It means the world to me.... Until next time.... Stitch in peace.

Bueno, pues con esto termina mi perorata... Ya os diré cuando termino my Tea Party Sampler, y quiero que sepáis que cuando lo termine voy a presumir y a presumir, con lo que me esta costando. Espero que paséis un buen fin de semana. Muchas gracias por visitarme y por dejarme una nota... Os lo agradezco muchísimo. Un beso...

What a weekend !!

Well, here I am back home in CO after a wonderful weekend at the Shepherd's Bush Retreat in Park City, UT. I haven't had this much fun in a long time !! I absolutely loved it and I'm all bummed that it is over. It was hard to go back to work on Monday. The girls from Shepherd's Bush did a wonderful job, my goodness, a lot of work goes into organizing this retreat. We were over 170 women, all obsessed with new releases, limited editions, classes, shopping, eating.... you name it ! I got to hang out with the greatest people: Katrina, Karin, Valerie and Sara. Katrina, is the one that pretty much saved my life everyday... Katrina is the organizer, planner, save seats for everybody, stand in line early so we can get great goodies, person. She is the one that guided me and explained things to me over and over again every time I fell behind, which was most the time !!! LOL. Being a newbie at this, the retreat was a bit overwhelming for me at times.... so much information to absorb. Well, Katrina was always there for me. Karin was our official driver and did a wonderful job at it !! Thank you, Karin !!. She was also the one that kept us centered, focused and relaxed. It was such a pleasure to finally meet her after hearing so many great things about her from Katrina. I think she is wise and experienced in life and I love her accent !! There is a calm about her that I certainly appreciate. She is a fast stitcher too and could just tune us out when our chatter became too much. LOL !! I look forward to staying in touch with her through blogging and to seeing her again soon. Valerie is sweet and quiet and she would just let me talk, talk and talk about everything with amazing grace. I truly enjoyed meeting her and hope to see her again soon. I know we'll stay in touch through our blogs also. Valerie, we didn't get to speak much spanish though !! We'll have to do better next time :-). Wonderful Sara was the one that convinced me of the fact that stitching on 32ct is just fine versus my obsession with 40 ct :-). I think Sara was the one that most often needed a break from our excitement and hyperactivity, so that she could recharge and come back to us with renewed energy. I can't blame you, Sara !! She is a classy lady and I enjoyed sitting next to her in my classes. I also met some other wonderful ladies and got to see sweet Donna again, whom I had met during the Mediterranean Cruise I did in June.

Queridas amigas, ya estoy de vuelta en casa después de pasar un fin de semana maravilloso en Park City, Utah, donde fui al Retreat de Shepherd's Bush. Creo que este ha sido uno de los fines de semana mas divertidos de mi vida. Ay, lo que me costo volver al trabajo el Lunes. Las chicas de Shepherd's Bush hicieron un trabajo maravilloso organizando este Retreat. Madre mia el trabajo que esto conlleva !! Eramos un total de mas de 170 mujeres, todas obsesionadas con nuevos productos, ediciones limitadas, clases, compras, comida.... de todo !!! Para mi fue un placer pasar este fin de semana con mis amigas Katrina, Karin, Valerie y Sara. Katrina fue la organizadora de todas las actividades durante el fin de semana; ella era la encargada de que llegáramos a tiempo a las clases, también era la que estaba en la cola antes que nadie para que no nos perdiéramos ninguno de los nuevos productos. Ella era la que me guiaba y me explicaba todas las cosas que no entendía, que fueron muchas !! :-) Karin era nuestro chofer oficial. Ella nos llevaba y nos traía. Una chica estupenda muy relajada y muy sabia. Ha sido un placer conocerla. Valerie es muy dulce y me dejaba hablar y hablar sin fin con mucha gracia. Espero verla pronto otra vez. Sara también es una señora estupenda y de vez en cuando necesitaba alejarse de nosotros (que no parábamos de hablar) para recargar las pilas. También tuve ocasión de ver a mi amiga Donna, a quien conocí durante el crucero por el Mediterraneo en Junio.

Park City is almost as beautiful as Colorado this time of year. The Aspen trees are changing colors and the mountains look like somebody painted yellows and oranges all over them. I think it is soothing to look at them.

Park City, Utah es casi tan bonito como Colorado en esta epoca del año. Las hojas de los Alamos estan cambiando de color y parece que alguien haya pintado las montañas con pinceladas de amarillos y naranjas.

Below are some pictures of many different things !! The first one is of the bag we got from Shepherd's Bush at registration. Isn't it adorable? Our first project was to stitch the button with our initial... or whatever we wanted, and then assemble it with a handy tool that they gave us. Actually Karin was the one that assembled all our buttons !!! LOL.

Abajo podeis ver fotos de distintas cosas !! Esta es una bolsa que Shepherd's Bush nos dio cuando not registramos para el fin de semana. ¿A que es preciosa? Nuestro primer proyecto fue bordar el boton con nuestra inicial y luego montarlo y coserselo a la bolsa. Gracias a mi amiga Karin porque ella fue la que monto la tela sobre el boton !!

This is the button with my initial. Nice, huh??

Este es el boton con la inicial de mi nombre. Bonito, ¿verdad?

I really enjoyed each and everyone of the classes I took. The teachers were just outstanding and I learned so much from their instruction and their tips.... We should all take some classes at some point. I thought I knew it all and I just found out that I am a total newbie !! LOL.

The picture below is the project designed by Jeannette of Jeannette Douglas Designs. It is a Sampler called "My Story, A Sampling of Myself" and it is truly beautiful with the possibility of changing some of the motifs to personalize it. It has all these different stitches that, I know, will be a challenge for me, but hey who doesn't like a good challenge? :-)

Me encantaron todas las clases a las que asisti. Las diseñadoras que enseñaron en las clases fueron maravillosas y yo aprendi muchisimo de ellas. Creo que todo el mundo deberia asistir a alguna clase. Yo que pensaba que lo sabia todo y he descubierto que soy una novata !!

La foto de abajo es un projecto diseñado por Jeannete de Jeannete Douglas Designs para la clase. Es un Sampler que se llama "Mi historia, un sampler de mi misma" Es precioso y te da la opcion de cambiar algunos de los diseños para personalizarlos. Tiene distintas clases de puntadas (¿se llaman puntadas???), algunas de ellas muy complicadas. Va a ser un reto para mi.

Below is the project designed by Charland of Charland Designs for her class. It is a really cute needle book called "My Stitching Companion" In my picture you can see it closed and open with the front and back showing. The inside is really nice also, but I don't have a picture of it !! Maybe when I finish it I'll be able to show you.

Abajo podeis ver el diseño de Charland, de Charland Desings para la clase. Es un needle book que se llama "My stitching Companion" En mi foto lo podeis ver cerrado y abierto con la parte de delante y la de atras. La parte de dentro tambien es muy bonita, pero no tengo fotos !! Quiza cuando lo termine os lo podre enseñar.

Of all the designers, I have to say that I have a soft spot in my heart for Alma and Barb from Blackbird Designs. I have always been a big admirer of their work and, after attending their class, I can tell you that I am crazy about them :-). Just to hear their stories, how they work together, how they come up with the designs... Just so interesting and fun. I can now really see a lot of their personality behind their designs. Below is the picture of the project they designed for their class. It is a little stitching tray, isn't it adorable? It comes together with a little pin cushion. I am stitching it right now and can't wait to finish it. During their class, we also learned to make cute pin needles with beads. So much fun !!!

Tengo que confesar que, de todas las diseñadoras, tengo debilidad por Alma y Barb de Blackbird Designs. Siempre me han encantado sus diseños, pero después de asistir a su clase y escuchar sus historias, como trabajan juntas y como diseñan, tengo aun mas debilidad por sus diseños. Ahora puedo ver su personalidad reflejada en sus diseños. Abajo podéis ver la foto del diseño para la clase. Es una bandejita con un bordado de punto de cruz. Me encanta !! La estoy bordando ahora mismo y estoy impaciente por terminarla. Durante su clase, tambien aprendimos a hacer agujas bonitas para el pin cushion que va con la bandejita.

This is a picture of the Shared Stitches project. It is designed to go inside the box that you can see in the picture also, but I think I'll refinish the box and put the stitching piece on the top so it can be seen. What do you guys think? I think I'll just make a pincushion for the inside top.

Esta es la foto del diseño de Shared Stitches. Esta diseñado para in en el interior de la caja de madera, pero yo creo que voy a pintar la caja de otro color y poner el bordado encima envez de dentro, para que se vea. ¿Que os parece?

And finally, this is all my stash !!!! My goodness, everyday there was something to buy and when I thought I was done, something new would show up !! LOL. I have to thank Katrina again for getting up early and picking up all the goodies for me. I am not a morning person and by the time I arrived to the little boutique, she was already in line with stuff she had picked up for me ready to be paid for. Can't ask for more !!!

Y esta es una foto de todo lo que compre !!! Todos los dias habia algo nuevo que comprar, y cuando pensaba que ya no quedaba nada, algo nuevo aparecia por algun sitio. Tengo que darle las gracias a mi amiga Katrina por levantarse temprano e ir a la tienda a recoger todas las cosas nuevas para mi. A mi no me gusta levantarme temprano y si no hubiera sido por ella, no hubiera conseguido ninguno de los nuevos diseños. Cuando yo llegaba a la tienda, ella ya estaba en la cola esperando a pagar con todas mis cosas. Que maravilla !!

Boy, this is one long post !!! I hope you enjoyed it and, for those of you that have never gone to this retreat, I hope you have the chance some day. For those of you that have, I hope we get to do it again. It was really worth it. I thank you for stopping by and I wish you a wonderful rest of the week.

Pues esto es todo, amigas. Espero que os haya gustado ver todas las fotos de los distintos diseños. Espero tambien que algun dia podais ir a este Retreat. Es simplemente maravilloso y vale la pena. Muchas gracias por pasaros por mi blog. Espero que pasais una buena semana. Un abrazo.

Stitch in peace....

Progress on my Angel Sampler

Hello everybody and Happy Sunday !! Aren't you all glad that tomorrow is a holiday? I love long weekends. I am always able to relax a lot more and, of course, I have lots more time to dedicate to my cross stitching. I have been working like crazy on my Angel Band Sampler and I thought I would show you my progress. I have finished the two first parts and I have a third left before I complete the satin stitches and finish it. It is a fun little sampler and I love the contrast in colors. I changed the blue that it asked for originally and chose a darker blue that shows better. I like the change and can't wait to finish it. This will be the first sampler I've stitched, so I am very excited about it.

Hola queridas amigas, Feliz Domingo !!! Mañana es fiesta aquí en Estados Unidos y yo estoy tan contenta. Me encantan los fines de semana largos. Me relajo muchísimo y puedo dedicar todo el domingo a hacer lo que mas me gusta: punto de cruz. He estado bordando mi Angel Band Sampler como una loca y quiero enseñaros lo avanzado que lo llevo. He terminado las dos primeras partes y me queda una tercera antes de terminarlo todo. Es un Sampler muy divertido de bordar y me encanta el contraste de colores. He cambiado el color azul por uno un poco mas oscuro, ya que el original que llevaba casi no se veía. Este es mi primer Sampler y me hace mucha ilusión terminarlo.

I like the colors in the angel to the right, the one to the left is a bit more boring :-) So far they have no eyes, but they will soon !!

Me gustan los colores del angel de la derecha, el de la izquierda es un poquito mas monotono y aburrido :-) De momento no tienen ojos, pero pronto los tendrán !!!

I love the way the blue contrasts with the other colors. I am glad I chose a darker one. It shows so much better than the original it asked for.

Me encanta el contraste del azul con los otros colores. Creo que el cambiar al color azul mas oscuro fue una decisión acertada. Queda mucho mejor que el original.

Below is a Lizzie Kate I finished today also. Did I mention that I love long weekends because I can spend the Sunday cross stitching and finishing? :-) :-) This will most definitely hang somewhere in my home..... but then again, I will probably end up giving it away as a gift to somebody dear to me.

Este es un modelo de Lizzie Kate que he terminado hoy también. ¿Os he dicho que me encantan los fines de semana largos porque tengo tanto tiempo para bordar y terminar los bordados?? :-) Esto lo voy a colgar en algún sitio en mi casa....... aunque, al final, lo mas probable es que se lo regale a alguna querida amiga.

And this is it for now..... The last weekend in September I'll be in Utah at the Shepherd's Bush retreat... I can't tell you how super excited I am to go. This is my first time and I've heard so many wonderful things about it. I'll be going by myself and, once there, I'll hook up with my sweet friend Katrina. I can't wait, I can't wait, I can't wait......

Pues esto es todo por ahora.... El ultimo fin de semana de Septiembre me marcho a Park City, Utah al Retreat de Shepherd's Bush. No os podeis imaginar la ilusión que me hace. Esta es la primera vez que voy y todo el mundo me dice lo maravilloso que es. Voy yo sola y allí he quedado con mi querida amiga Katrina. Que ilusión, que ilusión, que ilusión..... !!!

I hope you enjoy the rest of your long weekend and stitch a lot. Thanks so much for stopping by, it means the world to me. I'll be back soon, until then...... keep stitching happily !!

Espero que disfrutéis de la semana que empieza y que tengáis muchas oportunidades de hacer punto de cruz. Muchas gracias por visitar mi blog, de verdad que significa mucho para mi. Nos vemos pronto, hasta entonces, seguid bordando con paz y felicidad. Un abrazo..