I've had a lot of fun reading what sort of stitchery goodies everyone has received and I thought I'd jump on the bandwagon by showing mine off, too. :-)

Before Christmas even started, I received two beautiful handmade ornaments from fellow bloggers and friends: Dianne sent me the PS partridge (knowing my love for Prairie Schooler and for birds) and Jenna sent me the adorable sheep that I think we'll hang in our (sheep & bird themed) nursery after the holidays. Thank you!

Then my dear friend Sara (who you probably all know by now not only knitted our stockings but also taught me to cross stitch) sent me a whopping 51 skeins of DMC floss in colors I didn't already have. Wow! (I'm looking at them now!) She also sent four gorgeous Silk N' Colors skeins. The willow green became an instant favorite. And she sent two different sizes of magnetic place keepers for patterns - after watching me try to balance the working copy on my lap, memorize my place, stitch, and frequently jump up after the kids, she knew how useful these would be!!

My Mom sent us the money we needed to buy our new Sony DVD recorder, which we have had SO MUCH FUN with. Strictly speaking, this is not a stash item, but it is something to do with the kids (my "other theme" in this blog).

And my wonderful, understanding and supportive husband provided storage solutions - a new bobbin box to store DMC fibers, and a new chest of drawers! Yes! We now have a lovely three-drawer chest downstairs which holds my pattern leaflets, fibers, buttons & beads, and kits. Everything is neat and I can finally find what I'm looking for when I want it! No more running up and down to the attic or being unable to find the Christmas buttons I needed. He actually thought it would hold EVERYTHING so it was a bit embarassing to show him that it doesn't (as in 'doesn't even come close'!).

A few people have asked what I meant about this being my first year that I've really done cross stitching. Although Sara taught me the basics a little over 10 years ago, I only stitched very sporadically until shortly before Christmas last year. Suddenly I had the urge to make a few Christmas gifts - wall hangings for my Mom and Aunt Hattie, and a pillow for Sara. Then I urged Max's school to hold a crafts fair to raise money for the school improvements, so of course I had to contribute items for that. And by the time that was done, I was hooked! I'd discovered overdyed and hand-dyeds, I'd tried beads and buttons, I'd learned the difference between over one and over two. I'm still learning a lot about finishing, which I consider my weakest point. There are things I can't do - like French knots - and others that I don't do well yet - like beading. Every project has been a learning experience as well as a source of great enjoyment. When I finally ventured online around March of this year, it was like a whole new world opened up to me. Friends like Annemarie have been wonderfully supportive and encouraging. Lots of friends have opened my eyes to the many wonderful designers out there. And many are still introducing me to new fibers and techniques. In 2006, I'm really looking forward to tackling larger projects and to learning a lot more about finishing. Most of all, I am really looking forward to getting to know my "new" friends a lot better and meeting yet more wonderful people online.