Happy New Year!

I like New Year's. I think it's my favorite holiday, because we sorta get to officially start over and do better. My New Year's Eve is extremely quiet. First, the man I hang out with is on a man trip with brothers and friends. Man trips are good. To emphasize quiet, even though laryngitis is something I've had at least once a year for almost 40 years, some particularly dastardly and disgusting case (that didn't stop me from golfing yesterday) has weaseled its way into my throat. Everyone who calls asks if it's me ... even my mom! It'll be normal soon enough. Oh, and the good news: swallowing is difficult, so I've already inadvertently begun my after-holiday diet!

I know I said the last view of Christmas was yesterday, but I had requests for an answer to the final round of Musical Ornaments. Below are the new ornaments that might have been spotted in the last couple of pictures. That's really the last view of Christmas for 2008.

Next is a picture of the project that has taken most of my stitching time this year, which has to be squished into non-work hours along with a class, a tutoring student, piano practice and lesson, golf and other fun. My version of And They Sinned is being worked in Sampler Threads on 40 count Lambswool. Because I am left-brained and what my friend Rhonda calls a "tuck, tuck, fold" person (she is too, so we get along fabulously), I chose to make the vine border the same all the way down, instead of doing it as charted. Of course, you can't make one change without making others, so some of the cute little things (a brain fart is denying access to the word for those things) had to be moved around. And then I had to center (or center better) some sections because they bothered me. The great news is that I've finished two of four pages, and I'm devoted to finishing all of it this year. Adding to our fun ... my sister is on Page 4 (bitch), and my mom started it right around Thanksgiving and has already made it through the cloud (she's retired and gets to do whatever she wants)! I am definitely the slowest stitcher in the family, but I know more piano songs and chords ... na, na, na.

Finally, here is my New Year's start ... Miss Lila's House. I've started it on black 32 count linen, over one, with Needlepoint Silk. So far, I'm not loving NP silk over one on 32 count. I think it's a fiber twist issue, and I'm trying to get over it (tuck, tuck, fold again rears its ugly head). If worse comes to worse, I may have to change to cotton floss, but I'm gonna give it a chance.

So my goals for 2009 ... 1) finish ATS, 2) keep better track of what I start and finish, 3) make the record more public (a blogland bonus), so I know my successes as well as denials. I'll start with those and see how it works out. Peace, love and understanding to you all in 2009.