Happy December 1......

I am soooo excited!!!!  Today is December 1 and that is also my Advent Exchange from our Stitcher's Garden message board group.  That means those participating in the exchange fill out a questionnaire back in early June this year, names are exchanged and you buy small inexpensive gifts or make small inexpensive gifts for Days 1-24.  Then on December 25, Christmas Day, you have a special gift that was purchased for you from your Advent Wish List Questionnaire that you filled out.  It is always a lot of fun!!!!! 

Here is what I got for Day 1.

You don't know who has your name until you receive your Advent box.  Linda xstitched me this wonderful little angel and the JOY ornament beside it.  She also sent me 5 skeins of regular Hand Dyed Fiber silks and a beautiful card.  I love all my gifts!!!! 

Also, today is the start of the iStitch Designs Advent SAL.  YEAHHHH I get to go pull my fabric and threads for it and get started on it.  I don't want to fall behind on my homework. 

Then I got really motivated and got my small Christmas Tree put up today.  With moving into a smaller house, I just knew the BIG Christmas tree wasn't going to fit.  Oh well.  Maybe next year especially if we move to another Air Force Base.  But the small one will suffice for now.  You know why......because all my handmade ornaments from friends, my kids in school and the ones that I cross stitch fill the tree!!!!   There are NO STORE BOUGHT ornaments on the tree.  I do have a small blank spot in the back of the tree but that can be filled with the ones that I still need to finish that are in the "finishing box" in my sewing room.  Do you have a box of ornaments waiting to finished up or am I the only one??  I usually take one or two days to do a whole bunch of finishing for myself.  Now the ones that are gifts get finished first. 

Here are a couple more that I have finished up recently that I wanted to share as well.

Homespun Elegance Wondrous Joy

I just LOVE the fabric that I found for this ornament.  I had already stitched this ornament in red this past January and have the backing fabric all for it as well.  This is a gift for dear friends of ours but when I saw this printed navy fabric I just KNEW I had to restitch it again in blue variegated to go with this printed fabric.  I may even have to restitch it again to keep for myself!!!

This is The Drawn Thread Christmas Quartet

I had soooo much fun taking my ornaments to JoAnn Fabrics and choosing the backing for them.  I just happened to go in there earlier in August or September and just lucked on that they had just put out all their Christmas fabric.  I was in heaven!!!  This is another ornament I'm going to have to restitch for my tree.  Yes.....this too is a gift for someone. 

I must go now.  I have cross stitch Advent SAL homework to get done!!!  hehe   Doesn't that sound just wonderful???  Cross stitch homework!!!???!!! 

Happy Stitching!