I’m linking up with Jo of Serendipitous Stitching for a picture heavy post of my creative efforts this month, including a few gifts! First of all, the banner image features our mantel with the gorgeous needlepoint stockings my mom made and gave each of us over the years. I’ve shared them before but they are so special they must be shared again! On the mantel is my German nativity I told you about earlier this month.

Next I have to show you I finished and gave the little cupcake ornament to my sister in law. She liked it. We had such a nice visit with her before Christmas!

While she was here we got our cookies made. She helped make the spritz cookies and pecan tassies (they are like little pecan pies). I also made fudge, peanut brittle, gingerbread cutouts, and snowballs. Here is a selection of them along with our favorite bought cookies. Some peanut brittle and fudge was given to my parents, in particular my dad who is the one who used to make it but no longer does because as he says “there’s only 2 of them and he doesn’t need to eat full batches” so I sent them just the right amount. For the bought cookies we have chocolate covered shortbread stars from Trader Joe’s and Zimtsterne which I buy at a specialty grocers. They are German spice-nut cookies with sugar frosting.

I also wanted to share our especially beautiful tree from this year.

It is a Grand fir and even though it has a very perfect shape (and was the least expensive option!!) the branches are floppy so I could only use my lightest ornaments. If you look right in the middle of the tree you can see 2 special ornaments, handmade trees with elementary school Me and elementary school Bob (my husband). Evidently in the 80’s tree shaped ornaments to frame a school picture was done in both Missouri and New Jersey! I think it is so sweet we have them together on the same tree now!

And I got a new star! This one has more presence than the previous one. I have nothing against angels but I display my big angels in the mantle and always hang my favorite little angels in a choir at the top of the tree.

I finally have enough Christmas (or at least red and green!) stitching to make a little display in my foyer. Here it is:

The German Christmas tower was my Grandma Mary’s. It spins when you light the candles. The little tree is from Hallmark with the 12 days of Christmas mini ornaments. I wish I had collected the big ones from the beginning, they are so cute, but I only have a couple. My mom gave me the Holy Family carving.

And I switched out my everyday hanging Smalls for Christmas ones on the ornament display:

My next gift I have to share with you was more practical…I made my daughter an apron using this free tutorial from Erica’s Sew Easy. One of her presents is a cooking class to make macarons. We will have so much fun! The tutorial was “sew” easy and came out perfect as you can see.

Finally I must share a special gift I received… my dear mother gave me a kitted up Ann Borrett from Hands Across the Sea. I just love the colors and patterns in this sampler.

I will do it reversibly, but it is much smaller than Bathya so more hope to get it done in a timely way. I started it on Christmas day.  These two lines are cross stitch reversing to 4-sided stitch and Montenegrin stitch. This is, I think, my first try with Montenegrin and I love it. At least I love it as a straight line. We’ll see about those curvy lines! I guess I am adding one more sampler to my list for 2022!