Advent Calendar Success and a Travelling Pattern Finish I can show you

The Advent Calendar is being a great success, I hope you're popping by each day to see the new addition then going over to the blog owner to read about their stitching and Christmas traditions.  There are still four days left if anyone wants to join in the fun.  All you need to do is email me asking for a day, post a stitched Christmas/Winter pic on that day, let me copy it onto my blog and tell us about a Christmas tradition in your country/home.

I shouldn't have favourites but I did love Cucki's How to Say Merry Christmas in several different African languages, fascinating!

Finally I have a finish I can show you - the latest Lizzie*Kate Travelling Pattern.  This came to me via Kate and here it is with Madame Muriel.

The card came with the pattern, it's great isn't it?  I decided to stitch the pattern in vaguely Christmassy colours and used variegated DMC 115 (red) and 92 (green).  I changed the flowers to bright red with yellow centres so they were a little like poinsettias.  But not much! 

What I want to know is - how come I can do the most complicated TW and Mira's with nary a frog in sight but a simple little simple thing like this and they come along in pairs?  First of all I stitched the entire satin stitch top border 2 threads to the left and had to frog it.  Then I found I had stitched the "L" 2 threads too high so the red border was too high and the side satin stitches were out by 2 threads.  I was not going to frog two whole sides so I jiggled the bottom two corners adding in extra stitches and no-one will know.  Except 159 of you and you're not telling!!

As this is a Travelling Pattern it must be moving on now.  To be in with a chance, leave a comment saying that you want to be in the Stitcherhood.

It has travelled well and had visited 8 homes before mine ~ you can check out all the gorgeous finishes at the following blogs:

Hooked On Stitches
Old Ragged Threads

Loretta Stitching Blog
Reflections In The Pond
Erica's Places
My New Perspective
Buttons & Stitches
Kate's Floss Box

If you would like to be part of this sweet Travelling Pattern here are the rules:

1. Comment on this post, saying you would like to be part of the Stitcherhood.

2. You agree (if you are chosen) to stitch the design and send it along to the next person in a timely manner. If this means dropping everything in your rotation to concentrate on this project...so be it. If you can't bring yourself to do this ~ don't sign up.

3. You must have an active blog to participate. If you have a blog but never post to it ~ you won't be chosen to be the next stitcher.

4. This is a giveaway-type Travelling Pattern. That means you must follow it from blogger to blogger to enter each time it is ready to send along. Commenting on this post doesn't make you a guaranteed part of the Stitcherhood.
I'd also like to know - if Life is indeed a Stitch, then which stitch is your life?

Mine would be the Serendipity Stitch, yes there really is such a thing.  I discovered it while deciding on a blog name.  I didn't want to use one which as already in use in the World unknown to me.  Here's a link to how to do the Serendipity Stitch.

This lovely card is from Shannon, she recently posted that she would like to exchange some ornaments this Christmas as she only received one card last year.  Well, ornie finishing is a "tried it once and didn't like it" thing for me so I offered to send a stitched card instead.  Here's what I received yesterday - a gorgeous little snowman in a snowflakey wreath.  He's stitched on perforated paper and is so sweet.  He's hanging off my clock at the moment as we won't put our tree up for a while.  He's my first ever stitched ornie present and I'm so pleased with him.

I'm also rather pleased because I have realised that I can now do ornie exchanges with people who don't mind perforated paper ornies.  I had it in my mind that an ornie must be a stuffed pillow but clearly it doesn't need to be!  Watch out next Christmas for exchange offers galore!

BTW, is anyone else thinking "that card would chart and stitch up nicely"?

And finally, I've mailed off all my cards and parcels to go overseas (yesterday was the last posting date) so if you get something from me, let me know when it arrives safely!  Now to start on the UK post...