Christmas will be here soon......

and I am not ready.

Luckily, I was able to pick up all of my children's gifts on during the Black Friday sales. Now, it's just the gift certificates and cards that are left. Hubby and I will exchange gifts after Christmas during the after Christmas sales.

This year I will be home for the week between Christmas and New Year's so it will be a wonderful time to spend time with the family and shop leisurely.

I received a wonderful exchange gift from my friend Lucy. We have exchanged gifts for the past 10 years or so. It's a very special bond that we have nutured throughout the years.

Back to knitting the red and whte sweater for my DD. If I don't finish it for Christmas, there is little hope that she would be able to wear it for much longer. Yes, she stretched out a bit since the RIPPING event. I now knit, knit, knit hoping for a quick finish before Christmas. I will definitely post a picture of that sweater here.

This year I was able to have a few giveaways and meet new friends. I joined a few exchanges and hopefully brought joy to other people. Looking forward to joining a couple of exchanges next year and continuing with my personal exchanges too.

For now, I am purling those stitches.....

And the Winner is.....

The winner of my 150th reader giveaway is:

CUCKI

Congratulations Cucki!! You have been a very loyal reader since you joined my blog. Your uplifting comments and readership is so very much appreciated!

Thank you to all who entered the giveway. Winner was chosen by counting all entries and asking an innocent bystander (read: hubby) to choose any number within the given range. He chose the number 6. That was Cucki's lucky number.

Happy stitching to all......

Blog Giveaway Ends TODAY!!

You have to be in it to win it!!

Open to all of my registered blog followers who have left a comment on the giveaway post below:

Good luck to all!!

http://betweenthestitches.blogspot.com/2011/12/because-i-love-paris-giveaway.html

Pen Pal News and Giveaway Update

Hi Everyone!!

Not much happening in my world to blog about except two things for now.

This month marks the end of my penpal card exchange. My card has been sent out with the very best holiday wishes and hopes for a blessed New Year.

Special grandma wishes to the person who received me as their penpal. Hope that all goes fantastically well and a bouncing bundle of joy arrives bringing the best of blessings.

My giveaway is closing soon and it seems to be a promising intimate group of followers in the running. It is a gorgeous kit and I am sure that when stitched it is even more stunning.

That is about it folks! Hope that everyone is having a wonderful day.

Peaceful stitches....

Because I Love Paris Giveaway!!

Hello Everybody!!

This giveaway has been long awaited. Today I have been inspired and have come up with a humble and beautiful giveaway.

As many people who read my blog know I love Paris, I love Disney and I love cross stitch. Those are three things about me that I think will never change.

This giveaway combines Paris and cross stitch! YAY YOU!!

Weekend in Paris
Dimensions Gold Collection Petites Cross Stitch Kit
Kit contains cotton thread, 18ct ivory Aida, chart, needle and easy instructions.

How to enter this giveaway:

1. Be or become a follower of my blog and leave a comment on this post with your blog address or a way to reach you if you are the winner for ONE chance.

2. Post about this giveaway on your blog. Either a post or on your side bar for another chance.
Let me know that you have done this so you can get chance #2.

It's that simple! I want to give as many people as possible a chance to win.

This is a very pretty kit.

Giveaway is open WORLDWIDE. If you already have this kit, let your friends know about the giveaway. Maybe they would like to try for it.

GIVEAWAY ENDS SATURDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2011.
RECIPIENT OF GIVEAWAY WILL BE POSTED DECEMBER 18, 2011.

Thank you to all my friends and followers. Your comments are appreciated.

Stitch happy and good luck!

Knit, Knit, Knit, RRIIIIPPPPP Twice

There you have it and I thought I was doing so well.

Don't know what to say, well, I do know what I want to say, but this is a G rated blog. It is very heartbreaking to get both front panels knitted up to the neck to see that one side is off, then to fix it to note that it was correct in the first place. Look at the other panel and not be able to figure out how to even the panel out with the mistakenly ripped out opposite panel.... so to make everything even..... I RIPPED out both panels in order to start over.

Hopefully, I have learned what the panels are supposed to look like and will be able to knit them when my hands are looser.

Please send happy knitting vibes.... I don't think I could rip it out again....

Grateful stitches......

Is it Me???

First of all, I think I am on a cross stitch wanting binge! Every chart I see, I want. Aside from that, the ones I want are the most expensive foreign charts that have to be purchased in Euros. I am not complaining, just observing that my tastes are truly expensive. This is setting aside that I have more charts and magazines in my stash that would take me 10 lifetimes to stitch.

There is a part of me that is thankful, I only stitch with DMC or Sullivan's overdyed (some WDW and Crescent Colors too) because that keeps the cost a bit lower. I am scared to look at the silks because then I would truly be lost. LOL.

This makes it hard to buy Christmas gifts for myself. The only alternative is to buy them all a bit at a time.

My favorites are Renato Parolin, Isabelle Vautier, Filigram, AAN, AMAP, Nimue and so many others that the list would be 3 posts long. All I am saying is that no matter how much I have designers are coming up with the newest and freshest ideas that are must-haves to me. That is awesome because it keeps the art alive and fresh and evolving.

Do you also feel this way? Are you even more lost than I am? Are you a lifetime collector?
Do you have lifetimes of stitching collected and still collect more and more? Are we cross-stitch hoarders?????

I call it my retirement fund.

Supportive stitches.....

Je t'aime, un peu, beaucoup

Or otherwise known as "My heart avatar".

I have finally found the information for this gorgeous heart:
Magazine: Mains & Merveilles Broiderie Creative
Special Marquoirs
Number: 13
Published: 2007
67 gorgeous pages.

Creator: Isabelle Vautier

It is the cover project.

The samplers in the magazine are all created by Isabelle Vautier and Michele Rain.

They are only samplers in this magazine.

There are so many more that I would want to stitch because they are all beautiful.

Little red stitches to all .....

A Couple of WIPS

Happiness is knitting, cross stitching, blogging and figuring out how to make a collage of WIPS. Not all in that order, but very close.Blogging has taken a back seat lately because there hasn't been much going on to blog about. A kind of lull which I used to get a head-start on my DD's Christmas sweater. I think it is a bit obvious that it will be for Christmas, but I am making a bit bigger so that she may use it for Valentine's Day as well. Of course it is not to gauge!! You know me!! But, my thoughts on a baby's gauge is: Better bigger than smaller. That is because by the time I finish, usually the baby has grown an inch or more. So, I make the sleeves a little longer, even if I have to roll them up a bit for a month or two.

It is bittersweet when she outgrows them, but I keep her sweaters together as a memento for her. Hopefully she will treasure them as an adult.

WIPS I am working on

Today is a Netflix day. I will stream movies and knit or cross stitch while I hear and see them. Sometimes I do that do you?

The teddy bear picture is one from my Disney WIP. I have no idea how long it will take to stitch and I am in no hurry.

This is the Disney WIP as it is now:

That is it for this entry. Going back to create some more...

Cross those stitches......