November WIPocalypse and Giveaway

It’s WIPocalypse time again!  I have to confess I have no progress to show – October was such a busy month, I didn’t get time to work on anything.  This month I’m going to make sure to make some time to stitch.

This month’s question is what are your favorite materials to stitch with?  I’m almost exclusively a DMC user, but I occasionally use Weeks Works.  I would like to try out silk threads, but I haven’t found a project that justified the expense.  I don’t have a preference on fabrics – I’m happy with either Aida or linen.  The one thing I am particular about is my hoops; I like the heavy duty round wood ones that are sold as quilting hoops.  I’ve tried frames and fancy no-slip plastic ones, but I always come back to the wood version.

And now for the fun part!  Since it’s getting close to Christmas, I have a little giveaway!  It’s a Margaret Sherry pattern, “Father Christmas.”  It’s about 5 1/2 square, so a nice little project for the holidays.  I’m adding some hunter green 14 count aida, some cheery red and white striped cotton, and an oval nonslip hoop.  All you have to do is leave a comment below sharing your favorite holiday design or project.  I’ll close comments on Nov 13 at 7:00 pm CST and draw a winner by random number.  Be sure to leave a valid email address so I can contact you if you win!

#30daysofgratitude day 5, hands

We painted everyone’s fingernails last weekend.  Smaller got Bogata BlackBerry on hands and toes, Mini got Snow Me White, and I got Toasted Almond.  They both love getting painted, and I desparately needed a manicure.  Smaller was completely happy, but Mini wanted ninja turtle stripes on top of the white.  I don’t keep all those colors, so he settled for sharpied X’s in homage to Halloween.

My only rule for them is no bright red – I freaked out once when I glanced over and thought I saw blood.  But beyond that rule, they can choose from anything I have in my stash.  I love how much they love getting to pick their color out of the box of bottles, and their sheer excitement over such a small treat.  It’s a little thing, but it brings us all so much fun.