Well, well. Wednesday has finally arrived without too much mishap! I hope you’re hanging in there, too!
It’s a little early yet for Christmas wishes, but Anna and I are both going to take some time off until next Wednesday, December 28th so that we can do Family Things.
At first, we were planning to work through Friday afternoon, but we’re expecting a fairly unusual large winter storm and some wickedly cold temperatures starting this evening. I took the executive decision that we’re better off staying at home, where we can get other things done!
Besides, with all the hustle and bustle of the last couple months here, I didn’t think I’d get a chance to do any Christmas cooking, but yay! I’m going to use the bad weather as an excuse to do some holiday baking.
I’ve got all my ingredients lined up to make five recipes for family Christmas gifts: my Mom’s Almond Roca that she made every year at Christmas, to the delight of family and friends; my Auntie’s date nut balls, which are another family Christmas favorite; Zimsterne, those nutty cinnamon star cookies that are so, so yummy; my own recipe of bourbon vanilla pecan caramels (just to heighten the sugar shock); and a favorite recipe for a homemade hot cocoa mix that goes over well with the kiddos.
This should keep me busy for the next two or three days, I reckon.
I probably won’t do a lick of stitching…
…well, maybe a lick! I have a small piece going at home right now, and bad weather is really the best excuse for stitching. I’ll share this particular piece with you next year.
We’ll be back in the swing of things next Wednesday, duly refreshed and full of holiday cheer!
In the meantime, we both wish you and yours a very happy, joyful, and peaceful Christmas! May you find every reason for hope and joy in this Christmas season, with innumerable good blessing for the New Year!
Let’s talk reticello before signing off…
Every year, as the New Year approaches, I start thinking ahead about what I want to learn, or what I want to explore further, in the new year. I try to set at least one goal for learning something that is new to me, or that I want to improve on, that excites me. This year, it’s reticello. I really want to concentrate on learning the techniques well and exploring possibilities with reticello in 2023.
And I’m so happy to have Giuliana Buonpadre’s books to help me out! She was certainly a master of this beautiful art and she left quite an impressive legacy for us. I wish I had known her personally. I’m sure she was an incredible teacher and mentor.
I’m also excited to stock these gorgeous reticello kits in my shop next year. I’ll have at least four styles of kits in the new year, including the three I showcased last week and the one in the photo above (which may very well be my personal favorite – I love the white-on-white.)
Reticello Winners
So before we say cheerio for the week, it’s time to announce the reticello winners from last week’s give-away! There are two!
Thanks to Vito Maistrello, Guiliana’s husband who carries on her legacy and keeps her books and products available, I’ve added a second drawing for today’s give-away, which means I’m giving away two bundles, each including a kit and two books.
The first name drawn was Emily Beauchamp, and the second name was Laura in SP. I will contact you both by email!
Thanks to everyone who participated!
And again, my best wishes for a wonderful and merry Christmas!
Have a very Blessed Christmas, Mary, with your family. I missed getting the Reticello Kits, and will look forward to you having them in your shop again. May God bless you and your family! ♥️
Just wanted to wish you and Anna and your families a very merry Christmas! Yours is the one newsletter I read from beginning to end and I enjoy it very much. Thank you for all you do for the needlepoint community. Enjoy your well-deserved break!
Best wishes for a wonderful New Year!
Eileen
Mary,
Merry Christmas to you and Anna, and to your entire family! Enjoy your baking!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you miss Corbet and Anna, and all Needle’n Thread readers 🙂
Merry Christmas to you and yours. Try and stay as warm as possible. It’s going to be cold here in East Texas also…
Thank you for all you do for us. Happy Stitching.
Merry Christmas Mary! Be safe, be well – and be sure you taste test all that baking. After all, quality control is a ‘thing’!
Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and only the best in the New Year. Stay warm and safe, and hopefully everyone can enjoy some time with family and friends.
Merry Christmas, Mary and Anna.
Thanks for another great year of embroidery.
Beth
Dear Mary,
We trust you are safe and well. Your impending winter storm even made onto our nightly news here in Western Australia.
Your baking plans sound wonderful and very relaxing.
It is exciting that you plan to learn more about reticello in 2023. I love Guiliana’s beautiful work.
Thank you for your wonderful work and especially for this blog.
I have very little time to put needle and thread to fabric (still working with lots of demands on my time), but I dream about the projects I plan to stitch and have collected information and ideas for them over the years, and you keep me enthusiastic and my dream alive!
Trust you and your family and friends have a safe and enjoyable Christmas and may your new year be the very best!
Thank you.
Kindest regards
Louisa
Merry Christmas from the UK, your Blog has been fantastic company and although I don’t order due to distance, some of your stock has me drooling
(in a non-creepy way).
Looking forward to lots more stitching chat next year
It looks similar to hardanger but maybe finer thread