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Wednesday, 4 January 2023

A brand new month

Happy New Year!   I hope that 2023 has started out well for you and that It will continue to be a good year for everyone.  New Years Eve for us was much the same as any other has been over the Christmas period, we did enjoy the London fireworks, I say every year that I'd like to go next year, perhaps 2023 will be the one, who knows.

I do have a new piece to display for January.  This is January by Waxing Moon Designs



It's not a new finish, I stitched through December 2020 and finished January 2021.  This was one of the three pieces I took to be framed over the Summer, and the last one to come back to me.

Framing was again done by Mark at Betty Stitchkit and as usual he did an excellent job.  I'm really pleased with this one, I love how that little red house pops in amongst all that white, yes there was a lot of white stitching but I'm not one of those people who have a problem stitching white so I found it fine.

Last year I didn't do a lot of stitching, this year I'm quite enthusiastic about stitching all the things and looking forward to more finishes, lets hope that enthusiasm doesn't wain in the coming months, ha ha.

What I'm enjoying today, the weather is very mild and I'm sitting in the conservatory, usually in December it's like stepping into Narnia and you half expect to see Alsan sitting at the table, but not today.  Also, I looked out the window and I saw this.


A flower on my Camellia!  A lovely little pink spot my garden which is mostly a drab brown.
It won't last long if we have another cold snap but it is a reminder that very soon things will be popping through the ground giving more colour.  
Our woodpecker has come for his dinner while I've been sat here too, (sorry for the photo quality, I snapped quickly with my phone)


He (she?) comes most days, I was so excited when he first started coming and It still makes me grin when I see him at the feeder.

I've enjoyed a slice of my Christmas cake while sitting here.  I gave half of it to my sister and brother in law and took some to my elderly neighbour, both said how lovely it was, so that was good and means it didn't get wasted.


I hope you are enjoying whatever you are doing today.

-X-

15 comments:

Vickie said...

January all framed up is gorgeous!! And so is that pink camellia bloom!
Your Christmas cake does look great, so nice of you to share.

Sandy said...

The stitch is lovely. I also love camellias. Lots of those plants on my street. Most are blooming now.

Shrimpton and Perfect said...

A very happy new year to you Maggie.

Notes From The Frugal Trenches said...

Wonderful embroidery and that afternoon tea looks lush! Love the mug too!

It's really lovely to share isn't it. Something as simple as a slice of cake can really make someone's day.

Lowcarb team member said...

How lovely to see that flower on your Camellia.
It's great fun to watch the birds in the garden ... we also have squirrels that visit and I do like to watch them too.

Your Christmas Cake looks very tasty perfect with a cuppa.

Enjoy your January days.
(I do like your January stitching)

All the best Jan

Debi said...

Love your January stitchery... it's beautiful. I used to love doing counted cross stitch but my eyes don't let me do it anymore. We have woodpeckers that visit too... they love the suet blocks we put out. That cake looks so moist and delicious! Happy Wednesday!

Chris said...

That cross stitch is just lovely, makes me want to stitch again.. I'll need my magnifying glass these days.. and an early camellia, beautiful.

Solstitches said...

Beautiful stitching. It’s been so long since I read any blogs but I really enjoyed your post and feel motivated to resurrect my own, long neglected blog. Happy New Year and happy stitching.
Margaret

Jackie said...

Very nice stitching, and the frame sets everything off so well.

Male Downy Woodpecker, we have those visit us here as well. The female according to my bird book is pure white (with a bit of black).

God bless.

Carol said...

Oh, I so love this one, Maggie! I stitched it at least 10 years ago and STILL don't have it framed... how embarrassing. I so wish we had a good local framer nearby. Love seeing the woodpeckers visit! Hope you are having a great new year so far! ♥

Gill - That British Woman said...

it is very mild here in Southern Ontario, so strange for this time of year. I love your January stitching, very pretty.

butterfly said...

Love the January stitch I have this one somewhere in my boxes .
I love it.
We both watched the fire works too it was amazing , it seems to get bigger each year.
Happy New Year , I am also looking forward to stitching more of my charts that are not going down but growing . Have fun hugs June.

Poppypatchwork said...

I love your January stitching, so pretty for this time of year. We still have plenty of Christmas cake left, we have a small slice most days with our coffee, but we still have a couple of mince pies left, I love both.

Jo said...

Your stitching is lovely, it does make a difference when you get it framed professionally. It's good that you have somewhere local which does it. I didn't pick my cross stitch up once last year but I do want to get back to it again this year. I do love to see woodpeckers, yes, that's a male great spotted, you can tell by the red patch on his neck, the female doesn't have that. We had a sparrowhawk in the garden on Christmas Day having his dinner, it scared the birds off for a while but they're back again now. I've still got the best part of a whole Christmas cake left, Mick, Daniel and Eleanor don't eat it but I shall give some to Jasmine and Jacob otherwise I'll end up eating it all myself!

Manuela said...

Happy New Year, Maggie.
January framed looks great.