A get together...and a new start!

Yesterday I met Astrid, DJ, and Jill for lunch and a visit to The Stitching Post (Denise, we missed you!), as they are open the first Sunday of every month.  And I bought a few things...

Two new Sue Hillis patterns.  I have yet to stitch one of her patterns, but I love her style.

Cottage Garden Samplings Christmas Sampler.  The pattern pic is hard to see here.  I picked my own colors from the Threadworx range and also a piece of Lakeside Linens 28 count Vintage Exemplar to stitch this on.  My new favorite fabric.  A perfect neutral color.  Much more a rich warm brown than is shown in the picture.

Here is a better pic of the pattern right from the Cottage Garden Samplings website.

I had already had this pattern by Cherry Hill Stitchery called Merry Christmas, but I picked up a Threadworx red and a Threadworx green, and a Rainbow Gallery Petite Braid in Gold for this one.  I have a piece of 28 count Opalescent White Cashel coming in the mail to stitch this one on!

I received this kit in the mail on Saturday, an Ink Circles and Dinky Dyes collaboration called Strawberry Roam.  Love this one.

And here is my small start on Lizzie Kate's A Little Snow.  I snatched this one right up when it came out.  Stitching it on Lakeside Linens 28 count Vintage Exemplar.

At The Stitching Post the owner, Melinda, stitches a lot of the models in the store, and very quickly at that.  She had the entire Country Cottage Needleworks Santa's Village finished and framed, and it looked spectacular!!!

 I heard some people in the store commenting on it while I was shopping and I realized something.  When we hear/see someone who stitches a lot and gets a lot done, it is not because they have some super stitching power that the rest of us do not possess.  It is perseverance, dedication, determination, and diligence to stitch every single day.  These people probably do not let other distractions, like Facebook, become a part of their lives, and they may not even have a lot of family or work obligations.

And this applies to many other facets in our life, healthier eating/exercising, curbing overspending, a multitude of things.  And a lot of the time it is not talent or opportunity that gets things accomplished.  It is simply getting through one more day, one more length of thread, one more workout, one more day of not purchasing something we do not need.  All of those "days" compound on one another.

On Saturday DH and I went to Walmart to do some Christmas decorating shopping and I picked out a new stocking for myself.  I love purple, so this one was perfect.  Very shiny and BAM!!!

Until next time...