QCSG Christmas Party

The Queen City Sampler Guild had a delightful Christmas party on the 12th of December. The Christmas party committee did a great job organizing the day. The lunch was warm and satisfying. The setting was festive and the company of stitchers made a great afternoon. There were small gifts at the table for everyone - chocolate, a handmade button needle minder, etc. A raffle ticket was given to all and everyone won a door prize. I myself won a handmade scissor fob done in red and gold beads - I hung it on my tree for now and you can see it in the sidebar pictures. I was in charge of the silent auction. I'm happy to say a good amount of money was brought into the guild through the generosity of donated charts and kits that I put together into lots for the auction. I bid on and won a pink Whitman tin with all the items needed to make it into a lined sampler box (fabric, threads, batting, magnets etc.). Long tables were covered in stitched items our members brought in to share. It was an incredible sight. Lots of oohhing and aahhing. So come take a look:

We had two small trees filled with ornaments. One tree for the secret stitchers and one for the regular ornament exchange. Here are a few of those ornaments.

These are pictures of some of stitched pieces the members brought to the Christmas party. Our members are amazing. This is only a small part of what was brought in to share.

Hope you enjoyed the Queen City Sampler Guild's Christmas party.

Queen City Sampler Guild II

Marsha

Ornaments

This is a very heavy photo post - just so you know. These are Christmas ornaments made by guild members, co-workers and myself. I'll start with an ornament I made for myself. I haven't done that in a long time. And I haven't ever stitched one for myself. I have one tree that is nature themed and has lots of bird ornaments. When I saw this Homespun Elegance design, I knew I wanted to stitch it for me. Festive Red Bird. I used beads instead of knots. The tassel is from Hobby Lobby. I'm pretty sure I changed the overdyed threads to go with the linen piece I had on hand.

The Queen City Sampler Guild had its Christmas party this past Saturday. It was a grand affair and I'll have to do another post with tons of pictures. There are two different ornament exchanges if you wish to participate. The first is the regular exchange. As you arrive, you hang your ornament on a tree and your name is put in a basket. Later, an ornament is pulled off the tree, held up for everyone to see and find out who stitched it, then a name is pulled out of the basket and you get that ornament. They are all gorgeous. This is the ornament I made for the regular exchange. It's a JBW design. I left off the animals underneath and the bow on top and overstitched the crown with gold.

Here is the back of the ornament.

This is the ornament I received in the ornament exchange. It was stitched by Lisa. It has beads and is bright and cheerful. Lisa does amazing work. She is an expert on quilts and started back stitching this year. We're happy she joined us.

This is the back of the ornament, with Lisa's initials and Queen City Sampler Guild letters. I love it as much as the front.

Our secret stitcher is revealed at the Guild's Christmas party. An ornament that you stitched for her is hung on a tree, and when yours is held up you retrieve it and take it to your secret stitcher. My secret stitcher was Evelyn and to my surprise she was mine. This is a very old Vanessa-Ann design from a Leisure Arts leaflet by Tina Richards. Evelyn likes sheep so it wasn't hard to pick. The back is wool from a felted sweater. It was stitched on pink evenweave but in this photo it looks blue.

This is the ornament I received from my secret stitcher, Evelyn. It is a Christmas Kit and Bixby design. It's so cute. The back was from a fat quarter I had sent to her, sheep on a burgundy background. Very cute. The filling in of the sheep is not for the faint of heart according to Evelyn.

A friend from work, Kathy, and I ran into each other at a Keepsakes (our LNS) sale earlier this year. We talked about what we were stitching, going to stitch etc. As we talked, we decided to make an ornament for each other. She wanted something elegant so I hope this filled the bill. It was a Nordic Needle beyond cross stitch kit. Hardanger 101, no cutting - yeah.

This is the angel ornament that my friend Kathy made me. She did some traveling this past year and her cross stitch went with her to Russia and Greece. My blue angel is well traveled. The back is burgundy velvet. I just love my elegant blue angel. Thank you Kathy.

A friend at work, Sarah, made me an ornament. Wasn't that sweet of her? It was a really nice surprise. She decoupaged on pieces of a torn atlas, buttons and one of my favorite words - HOPE. Thank you Sarah.

What an awesome bunch of ornaments. I like what I made and loved what I received from very talented women. Thank you all!

Marsha

December 1st

Happy December 1st. I saw this advent calendar peeking out behind a picture today as I was cleaning up. I was so happy to find it on the first of December and not the 31st like I usually do. I love opening the little windows and I really liked this one because it looked older and European. How nice that an angel is the behind the first window. I love it.

A few weeks ago I went to a local craft show and didn't really see a whole lot that was new and interesting. That is, until I found Glitter House Girl. It was glittery. It was sparkly. It was fun and it was shiny. I love sparkly, glittery things. So, I bought a house and hope to buy a few more in the future. This is not a good picture but it will give you the idea. She has an etsy shop - glitterhousegirl.

Before I forget, I have one more Thanksgiving glimpse. I got a gift from my secret stitcher the day before Thanksgiving. A surprise box with a card, a small pattern called Autumn Snapperland by Bent Creek, a nice pad of paper with a sampler motif on it and a cute turkey decoration. I really like everything and it was a great surprise.

Marsha

Happy Thanksgiving - Late

We enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner a day early at my daughter Dana's. She made all the traditional things we like and a few of her own touches. We had a wonderful meal and Dana did a great job.

The only small glitch happened to the sweet potatoes. It was realized that the marshmallows had been forgotten to be put on top. No fear! Ryan came to the rescue. Just put them on and then broil them for a minute or two. Brilliant. Only you have to watch carefully. Too late, they came out flaming. No problem - they're called Sweet Potatoes Flambe! They were actually quite good.

Here's Dana with her first ever Thanksgiving turkey. It was delicious.

Have you ever noticed that when you tell a child to 'just smile normal' it can't be accomplished. You get a tight, crooked sad/smile look. So, I gave up. Here's Evan excited, to have some family at his house for Thanksgiving dinner.

Hopefully, some stitchy pictures next time.

Marsha