As The Year Draws To A Close......

...I avoid the numerous "Year In Review" TV shows.  I just can't stand them.  So much sadness in the World in 2012.  But so much beauty in my own little world.  More snow is predicted for tonight and I must admit this gives me such a childish delight!  New Year's Eve is my least favorite holiday so I will be happy to stay at home.

 

Meanwhile, indoors............  Carmella admires my most recent Etsy purchase.  I've been doing rather well in my sales of little doll leotards in my Etsy shop.  So much so that I've been turning around my profits into purchases from other sellers, most often sock yarn.  I have my eye on a few more that are on "New Years' Sale" today.

 

A bit of crafting going on to.  My continuing love affair with felt.....these snowmen are from a kit my mother sent me many years ago.  Seeing as they were just heads I had to find an interesting way to display them.  Lime green and aqua blue seems to be all the rage this year.

 

Another pair of socks is on the needles and I have several pieces of fabric laid out for doll clothes.  My 2013 goal is to make my 16" fashion dolls a Downton Abbey wardrobe.

 

Wishing everyone a Happy and Healthy New Year 2013!!

A Christmas Card

I have received so many beautiful Christmas cards from around the world.  I thank each and every one of you.  I'm afraid this is it for me......the feeble "generic cyber greeting".  I have wasted too much time and postage went up AGAIN so here I am.  The feeling is there though, my friends.  Some of you who drop by my oh-so-neglected blog, on-line friends via Facebook, re-connections from days gone by, cross-stitch buddies, fellow gymnastics geeks.  I treasure all of you and the many new and interesting things you bring to my life.
It's been dull and rainy here for nearly a week.  Not a single flake of snow.  Somehow the dreariness seems to reflect the overall mood of the world these days.  So much violence, sadness and grief.  It does put my own whining and complaining into the proper perspective though.
As usual, I sepnd my days stitching, crafting and knitting; and my evenings with the gymnasts.  This odd mix suits me well.  I still love to feed the birds and my passion for gardening has moved indoors in the form of terrariums.  My latest on-line obsession has become Pinterest.  Who'd have thought that my compulsive cutting and pasting and saving things in three-ring binders would suddenly become the latest Internet craze.  I missed the boat again!!
My little Etsy shop filled with dolly leotards and gymnastics cross-stitch chugs along in it's own little niche of "fans".  Actually I've done surprisingly well.  My profits are almost instantly reinvested into another Etsy seller's shop.......usually felt, cross-stitch patterns or sock yarn.
So you see, as the world spins blindingly fast and we all hover at the edge of the "fiscal cliff" I remain very much the same.  I think I should feel badly about this, but I don't.  I've always had this "escape mechanism" that kicks in when things get stressful and confusing.  I know I can create things with needle and thread, with soil and seed but I can also create my own happiness.  I feel so blessed with all I have and the wonderful people in my life. 

My Christmas wish for all of you is that you may find your own special happiness in your own unique way.