Post Holiday and a huge favor!

Snowy Christmas Eve

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!  All three of our boys decided it was the perfect time to get sick. Yesterday I was bestowed the gift of not feeling so great as well.  I was hoping to ward it off, but no such luck.  Today's weather isn't so great either.  We are experiencing what I would refer to as a snow/sleet mixture.  However, the weather combined with not feeling so great has provided wonderful time today for stitching and no shopping.  I am finishing up my current reproduction and so far it has been really fun to stitch.  The sampler was originally stitched in 1847 and features a cherub, church, a couple of baskets and a couple of flower pots.  I am now working on the verse which is stitched over one.  In the sampler I am using Lakeside Linen and Gloriana Silks.  As soon as I finish and press I will share a photo because the next stop will be the framers.

Tomorrow, though provided the roads are not icy I will be making the trek to In Stitches for their annual after Christmas early opening.  If you wear your PJs you receive a little goodie for the effort.  For the past couple of years I have donned the flannel, very comfy PJ set.  I must admit the Starbuck folks look a little puzzled when I walk in with my PJs.

I do have a huge favor to ask those of you who peruse my blog.  My next design is an original and I am toying with adding a few stitches other than the traditional cross stitch.  Leave a comment and let me know your thoughts on a sampler with speciality stitches included.  Next Wednesday I will use the random number generator to pick a winner to receive a stitching goody bag.

Merry Christmas!

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Mt. Vernon by Candlelight Tour

There were probably a dozen trees decorated in the Visitor Center.

One of my favorite local events during the holidays is making the trip to Mt. Vernon for their candlelight tour.  Last weekend was perfect weather wise for this adventure.  We had very comfortable weather which is a blessing one year the temperature was 18 degrees.  The tour is mainly outdoors and even with their bonfire 18 degrees is cold.  Our visit last weekend was wonderful and we all had a great time.

First year my mom has made the trip with us

Mt. Vernon doll house in the Visitors Center, which is where you wait for your tour group

The inside of the doll house is decorated to replicate the interior of the home

Musicians who play period music while waiting for tour to begin.
The stain glass behind them is gorgeous.

When going into the house there are actors who bring the mansion to life like it was during a Christmas the Washington's would have celebrated in the home.  This Christmas the theme was around Nelly (Martha's Grand-daughter) who the Washington's raised impending engagement announcement.  Martha Washington is always there to greet.  Nelly by the way for those of you who do not know lived at Woodlawn which is down the street.  The home and land was a gift from George and Martha.  Woodlawn is also where the annual needlework exhibit for this area is held by Nelly's Needlers.

Outside of Mt. Vernon while we were walking up the lane.
No photos were allowed to be taken inside of the home.

After the tour we were able to walk around the outbuildings.
In the Black Smith building they were busy working and demonstrating their skills.

When we returned to the Visitors Center they had several Mt. Vernon
gingerbread houses and this one was stunning and perfect.

This was also the first year they had the new portion of the museum open which we were able to go thru after the tour.    I will admit we went thru the section very quickly because we did not have a lot of time.  Our tour was at 7:30 and we were running out of time.  We will definitely have to make another trip and spend more time at the museum and walk the grounds once it warms back up.

On display was this beautiful reproduction of a dress which would
have been worn by Martha Washington.   

The shoes I believe are original don't remember for sure.
However the beading was beautifully executed and
Martha sure did have very tiny feet. 

Here is the entire display which includes her dress, shoes and jewelry.
The portrait is based upon an age regression technique.
I know I have always been accustomed to Martha in her later years
and to see an image of her from her youth she was stunning.

George Washington as General Washington

George Washington during his inauguration.
Lance thought this was a really cool vignette

Etsy

I have made the decision to make my designs available on etsy as well for those who do not have the luxury of a brick and mortar store nearby.  I am a firm believer in supporting our local stores and believe me I do so happily, but I also realize not everyone lives close to one.  Even my local one is about an hour away, but I love to go there first and in most cases they can special order.  If you are interested in stopping by you can visit me at etsy.com/shop/BlackBranch

December

I don't know about you but December is always an insanely busy time of year for me.  Today hands down was a trifecta.  First things first, my son walked in the local town parade along with the rest of the scouts in his troop.  While they walk the route they distribute (throw - they are boys) candy.

Lance, Craig and the ever important bag of candy

A couple of weeks ago my neighbor asked if I would loan them my sleigh to use as part of the girl scouts float.  I was more than happy to loan it to them.  I love to decorate especially at Christmas time.  My sleigh greets everyone outside and the rest of the year my gracious husband allows it take up a parking spot in the garage.  Anyway I was more than happy to let it have it's debut today in the parade.  I dropped off my guys and took a couple of quick photos since I was on my way to our Guild Holiday Party.  When I took the picture I didn't include the jeep that was pulling it, but it was unbelieveable his jeep was the exact same color as the sleigh.  It is hard to tell from the photo but it really isn't a red or a burgundy, but somewhere in between and for the two to be the same shade was uncanny.

My sleigh getting ready for its debut

After dropping off and playing photographer it was off to our Guild Holiday Party which I along with I am sure others look forward to every year.  It is a great morning of visiting, show and tell, needlework gift exchanges, there is an ornament exchange, door prizes, of course food a plenty and vendors that we can shop with while we are there.  Talk about a stitchers delight, Stitching - Food - Shopping - Chatting....what's not to like right???

Ellen owner of In Stiches our local store joined us and is also a member

Suffolk Shaker Shop first time they have been a vendor.  Beautiful woodwork! 

Needlework Gift Exchange

Ladies visiting in the meeting room

If that wasn't enough I hosted a 2nd Annual Cookie Exchange with some friends of mine this afternoon.  I love to decorate I think I already mentioned that....and Christmas is my favorite time of year to decorate for - so hosting a Holiday Cookie Exchange is right up my alley.

The cookies all lined up for the exchange

Last year my tree I had saw it's last Christmas.
I mentioned to my mom I needed a new one.  She found this tree for me after Christmas
and it had been majorly discounted like a steal.
Guess what was my birthday present since it is only a few weeks after Christmas.
It is about 9 1/2 feet tall and I absolutely love it.

Well here is hoping you have a whirlwind of a December, but don't let it go by so fast you forget to take the time to enjoy it and remember what the season is really all about.

Memorial Illumination

Last night my husband and I along with our youngest son made the trip to Antietam National Battlefield for their Memorial Illumination which they only do one night in December.  This was our first time making the trip and I highly recommend for anyone in the area or a Civil War History person.  The volunteers line up 23,000 luminaries in perfect lines, which when viewing the perfect formation reminded me of my visits to Arlington National Cemetery.  Antietam had the bloodiest one day battle which took place along the quiet serene area of Maryland.  The 23,000 luminaries are one for each of the men killed, wounded or missing during the battle.  We did wait in line for 3 1/2 hours before going into the battlefield and it took about an hour to drive thru.  To drive thru the battlefield and know that each candle represented a person was overwhelming, everywhere you looked there were candles along the five mile route.  I did try to take some photos, but most of them did not turn out well due to moving and not being able to use a flash.

Luminaries not too far from the entrance which reflect the
150th anniversary and the stone foot bridge which is on the battlefield

A few luminaries after entering the park the moon sat perfectly right above the trees

This photo was taken from Antietam National Battlefield Website and can be viewed along with others
I had to include this photo since none of mine showed the magnitude of the luminaries.
It was like this throughout the battlefield.