Stitch Away, All

I think the most fun time of year to be a stitcher has to be Christmas. So much to see and stitch!

We had our shop Christmas party with our wonderful customers. Everyone brought food and showed off some of their stitched ornaments. Here are a bunch of super cute ornaments stitched by Helen:

I think she stitched this also; my apologies if it belongs to someone else.

A lovely display of Pippin needlepoint trees, large and small, some green scissors, a project bag, and a nice large Christmas tree needle minder at the top.

Shop Lady Radonda, a fabulous needlepointer, received this pear from our finisher. Amazing.

Radonda is also working on this.

On Sunday all the Shop Ladies gathered at Ellen's house to stitch and exchange gifts. My photo doesn't do this justice. Patricia stitched the design and inserted it into a Lone Elm box with a sliding lid. Love the blue box with the inset.

While we do not sell the supplies for this kind of project, I had to share it with you. All our shop ladies are multi-talented, multi-dimensional craftspersons. Linda learned to weave Nantucket baskets, and this is her creation. The fur liner is a hat she inherited from her mom. Absolute perfection and a reminder to me that there are not enough hours in the day or days in the year to accomplish all of the things I would like to do, and that sometimes, it has to be enough to appreciate the art and accomplishments of others.

Sharon needlepointed this Santa (out of print, unfortunately).

Lois stitched this wonderful deer.

I don't remember who stitched this, but it's such fun.

Nor do I remember who stitched this charming glow-in-the-dark Pippin bat.

Ellen stitched this adorable cardinal and inserted it into the little case.

I do not remember who stitched this Shepherd's Bush piece and inserted it into the small tray, but we all loved it.

Elllen's house is decked out with a huge variety of needlework, from elegant to whimsical. Here are some Prairie Schooler santas.

I couldn't get all the Santas in one shot.

A very Christmassy small sampler (unfortunately out of print).

Here's a shot of many--but not all--of these wonderful needleworks.

I think the guy on the right looks shifty.

Now to some things for you to stitch: Three of Erica Michaels' wonderful 12 Days of Christmas strawberries.

"Wise Men," also by Erica Michaels.

"Noel" by Lizzie Kate. This is the shop model. The kit includes the Santa needle nanny shown.

One of my favorite shop models, by, I believe, Erica Michaels.

"Come Let Us Adore Him" by Lizzie Kate.

"Holiday Ornaments" by Laura J. Perin.

A re-issued Prairie Schooler set of designs.

A Mill Hill Angel.

Also by Mill Hill, two more winter/Christmas designs.

To order or for questions, please call us at 703-360-4600.

We are located at 8800 F Pear Tree Village in the Mount Vernon section of Alexandria.

Our hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 12:30-4:30 on the first Sunday of the month. Stitch Nights are the first and third Wednesdays of the month, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Our special hours for the month of December are: Saturday, December 24, 10 a.m.-noon; December 25 and 26 closed; Tuesday, December 27 8 a.m. - 3 p.m. (watch the newsletter for special notes); Wednesday-Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Saturday, December 31, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.; Sunday, January 1, closed.

Happy stitching!