In the bleak midwinter .....

Perhaps not quite midwinter yet, but tell that to the weatherman - today hit its high temperature at 1 a.m., and it's been dropping since then - now into the well-below-freezing range with snow continuing.  But I'm cozy and warm here in our suburban cottage, sipping green tea with honey (from our Saskatchewan beekeeper friends), using a favorite china cup shown above :) and enjoying some fine Advent music from the first album that I've ever bought through iTunes.   I wish you all could hear the music .........do check out Advent Promise for a selection of fine choral and instrumental music honouring this ancient season.  

I've had time, though, for a fair bit of stitching - want a peek at some? 

Here's an ornament for an exchange, though I'm sure I'll do another one for myself - the background fabric it`s resting on is the silk that I've used for the reverse side, and the pattern is one from a Just Cross Stitch Christmas Ornament issue from several years ago. 

A Guild stitching day allowed me to make more progress on a couple of projects - one of them is the ongoing Monasterium Four Seasons Quaker ......

After a Guild presentation about peacocks, I just had to stitch a little one for myself - this handsome fellow will become a Christmas ornament, with the same silk backing as shown with the Quaker Noel - I stitched him with dark teal DMC floss and a green Kreinik blending filament, though I'd not sure I'd include the Kreinik again - I love the final effect, but it was more than a little frustrating to stitch with  - perhaps there's a secret to it that I haven't yet figured out .....

Did you know that peacocks were sometimes included in Renaissance paintings of the Nativity, as symbols of Resurrection?  

I`ll save photos of a few older pieces that I`ve completed for another post, and in the meantime I`ll keep on stitching and sipping tea and watching the snow fall :)