Friday, December 10, 2010

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 !!!

15 comments:

Maritza said...

Natalia, qué bonitos están todos los adornos que has preparado para estas navidades!!!, los bordados son magníficos y la cesta es muy , muy bonita, queda maravillosa sobre la mesa. Un beso

Lois said...

What lovely ornament finishes Natalia! I love your basket with the LHN ornaments. I do like your new header too!

Margaret said...

You're so right that we should all remember the true meaning of Christmas and not let all the busyness and stress take over. I will do my best to follow your example. I love all the ornaments! The gifties will be greatly appreciated I'm sure. And your basket of ornaments is wonderful! Enjoy your holiday season!

Educación Extra de 0 a 6 años said...

Hola Natalia!!
Que bonita debes tener ya la casa, con esos adornos tan lindos!!
Me ha gustado mucho leer tu entrada y darme cuenta de que no soy la unica que esta siendo esclava de la agenda estos dias, pero es que se acomula el trabajo. Pero todo parece que lo llevas genial!!
Me alegro de que te hayas planteado el verdadero significado de la Navidad, ya que en estos dias que vivimos parece que hemos perdido el norte, con el consumismo!!
Muchas gracias por hacernos reflexionar un instante!!
Un Abrazo
Raquel

Karen said...

Love your ornament finishes! Your little basket is just brimming with some great finishes.

Katrina said...

Gorgeous!!! Everything is so pretty Natalia :-).

valerie said...

Love your basket of ornies Natalia. They look beautiful! I do think that a lot of people forget the true meaning of Christmas. We get caught up with gift shopping and parties and focus changes...

Siobhán said...

Zoinks!!! Lois told me that I'd go crazy over your ornaments, and I did! WOW!! What a wonderful job you did on everything, Natalia. Wonderful! Wishing you a wonderful Christmas.

gracie said...

Wonderful ornamnets...

Marcy said...

Your ornaments are lovely. I enjoy making ornaments for others and usually don't get around to making some for myself -- thus the reason for entering the crazy 2011 challenge.

Tea Party is gorgeous! Everything on it looks great to me. I love all the flowers.

Concha said...

Se ven preciosos todos tus adornos!!.

Candi said...

Your ornaments are beautiful! I actually started stitching the little house ornaments over 1 but I think I like them better over 2. So many things to think about. :) Merry Christmas!
~*Candi*~

CalamityJr said...

Thank you for reminding us of the important things! Someone will be very pleased with her unexpected gift; your ornaments are lovely.

Julianne said...

Natalia,

Thank you for visiting my blog and leaving me such a nice comment..

All of your ornaments are wonderful and your finishing is spectacular, I tried to finish a round ornament and it was a disaster. Can you share your
technique?

Have a very Merry Christmas.

Have a very Merry Christmas.

Nieves Mª said...

¡¡feliz Navidad¡¡Mis mejores deseos para ti y tu familia.
Cada dia haces cosas mas bonitas.
¡Cuando vienes para acá.
Felices vacaciones en California.
Besos NievesMª.