Proudly Pirouetting

I finished the stitching on this in the middle of last year, but didn't make it into an ornament until last month.  The recipient was feeling down and not in the Christmas spirit the day I gave it to her; I think it helped some. I think it came out fairly pretty.

Lovely Pinkeep from Ana

I am very lucky to have friends who gift me with their handiwork.  This Ana made for me.  It's a beautiful pinkeep with its own foldout stand, so it can stay out all year!  She also gave me these brilliant threads that are itching to be made into a temari.  Thank you so much Ana!  It's all spectacular!

A Curious Post

Andreas never fails to snicker when he walks past these two stores in the mall.  Finally, he took a picture last month.  They're both well respected local women's clothing chains.  It's the fact that they're next to each other here that gives him giggle fits.  Anyway, I thought I'd share a little bit of the weirdness of living in a country where the language is different.

Magela's Felt Heart

At our little Christmas party, Magela gave me this cute felt heart that she made.  I don't have a tree here, so it sat on my mantel over Christmas.  Thank you so much, Magela!  It's darling.

Passionflower Temari

 This is just a simple three spindle temari, but it reminds me of a passionflower.  It was one I gave away for Christmas.

TGOSM Ornament Exchange - Thank you Kay!

Kay sent me this gorgeous ornament in one of my favorite color combinations.  I love it! This was part of the The Gift of Stitching Magazine's exchange.  Thank you Kay!

A New Necklace

I picked up this necklace at the artisan faire in Parque Rodo.  The colors and craftsmanship really appealed to me.  And it's surprisingly lightweight to wear!

My First Rose Spindle

This was my first attempt at this woven rose pattern, and I like it.  I'll be making more of these.  This one was gifted on Christmas eve.

Quartered Heart

There's definitely a quarter of the big heart in the middle done.  Lots of stitching still ahead, though!

Gifts from Adriana

The girls got together just before Christmas, and we had a small party.  We also did a small gift exchange.  This is what Adriana got me!  I love the ribbons and threads and beads and will use them in various projects.  The little stocking is so cute, and cookies with a reusable tin are always welcome.  Thank you so much!

Miniatures from Buenos Aires

Finally took a picture of these.  They're miniature prints of some beautiful paintings we found in Buenos Aires.  I just fell in love with them - probably due to the color scheme.

Christmas in Montevideo

Between it being summer here and the worry about theft (crime has skyrocketed in the past few years), there isn't much in the way of Christmas decorations around Montevideo.  These pictures are of the setup they have in the mall for children to walk through.  The mall, by the way, is a former prison.

Last year's theme was Disney.  This year's is "Christmas at the Zoo".  There are several climbable areas and some animatronic animals.

 A view of part of it from above.

Yes, Virginia, there is a camel.

A picture of the two and a half story fake Christmas tree... almost all the trees are fake.  You can't find any real ones in the city at all.  And the fake ones for homes are pretty pathetic looking.

The poor girls overseeing the area had to dress up as zoo guides.

Santa was not in the zoo.  He was on the third floor in the food court.  This is where they have weekly bingo games when Santa's not in session.

Last Cracker - from Susan

 Susan absolutely spoiled me with the amount of stuff she put in and around her cracker - there was a whole baggie full of things not stuffed in.  Here's a pre-opening picture.

And here is the exploded view.  Isn't it all wonderful?  I've decided I'm going to put the block to use, too.  I'm going to use it as my steampunk round robin block because the colors and all the rich brocades and such are perfect for it.  Thank you so much, Susan!

Thank You Betty!

 Betty sent me this pretty cracker with red fabric in the Christmas cracker exchange.  The gold stitching on it is snowflakes!

Here's what was inside:  many pretty batiks, some beads and trinkets, and some cute crocheted flowers.  Thank you Betty!  I'll definitely be using the fabrics soon.

A Fairly Summery Christmas

Defensor Sporting Club sponsored a Christmas artisan fair this year.  It ran for three weeks in the evenings only (not starting until 7 pm) before Christmas.  Here are some pictures from one of the times we went.  As you can see, it was pretty popular.  Notice, too, how light it is.  It's not been dusk here until about nine lately.

Handmade games.

I thought these flipflops were neat.  They took the regular Dr. Scholl's design and printed different designs on the bottoms.  Aren't they cute?

Thank You Nancy

This is the ornament I received in the Friendly Stitchers exchange.  Nancy made it for me, and I love it.  The lace trim she picked sets it off beautifully, too!  Thank you so much!

A Christmas Cracker!

 This Christmas I exchanged three crackers in the Crazy Quilting International group.  This is one of them - a lovely, scrappy block with lots of different fabrics.  The second picture is what was inside when I opened it.  Thank you!  I'll have lots of fun playing with all this!

A Crazy Start to the New Year

I love starting projects.  The thrill of putting a needle into an unmarred piece of fabric is a real pull for me.  So how could I resist when I heard about this challenge?  Start a new project each of the first fifteen days of the year, and then try to finish them all by the end of the year.  Most of the ones I've picked are small, and I figure this is a new way to do goals for the year.  I've started my first piece today.  It's at the top of the list I'm adding to every day as I add a new project.  Maybe it'll make me somewhat accountable...

Yet Another Ornamental Finish

Here is how I finished the Christmas Wreath from the JCS ornament issue.  I think it came out pretty well.  The variegated red thread is part of the Weeks Dye Works threads I won.  I'm putting them to use!

And More Winter

The last of the blocks in the group I'm sending to Ritva next week is done.  This is from the winter round robin and is Cathy L's.  She had a bunch in these colors with silkies in the middle.  I'm not a fan of silkies, so I get stymied when I see them in blocks.  I'm never sure what to do with them.

And here is what I decided to do.  I pretty much left the silkie alone and added a heart for him to offer.  I hope she likes it.  The holly and the pine boughs took a loooong time.

Golden Brown Kiku

I was making this temari as yet another Christmas gift when my plans were changed.  We are to keep this one, I've been told, because Andreas likes it too much to give it away.  It did turn out pretty well.

It's On The Bag

When I was stitching the kaleidoscope mandala, one person in particular would always stop and remark on how pretty the pattern and the colors were.  So, for Christmas... this is how she got it.  I sent the completed  cross stitch off to Betsy, and she made this wonderful tote out of it!  I love it.  She's got an Etsy shop now, too, and I'm sure if you have something you want made into a tote she'd do it for you.  The following pictures are of the construction.  Oh, and the recipient loves it!

All Made Up

Finished off the little angel ornament.  I think it came out pretty well.

A Bit More Tree

At a temporary stopping point while I wait for thread to be received from Hand Dyed Fibers.  Time to work on something else in the meantime.