December TUSAL

  

It's TUSAL time!  

Here is my TUSAL jar with my current project:

And here is the project itself.  This is the first design from the Carriage House Samplings Year in the Woods series - January Fox.

stitched over one on 25 count evenweave in Cirrus from Chromatic Alchemy

When I was choosing fabric for the series I couldn't decide between 25 over one or 32 over two.  So I bought both!  I went for the 25 count to keep the size down and it looks gorgeous.

My fabric is a lot paler than the charted fabric so I am a little bit concerned about how well the white snowflakes will show up.  I'm going to use B5200 rather than the charted 3865 which I have used in the body of the fox.

Next up is another day on my Advent Calendar Blog Hop.  I've chosen an older design from an issue of World of Cross Stitch magazine to share with you.

I stitched it back in 2010 on navy 14 count aida using B5200 DMC and beads for the moon.
I googled "rooftop silhouette" then traced this one onto black card and carefully cut it out.
Added red metallic reins and a red bead for Rudolph's nose!  Charity shop frame to finish it off.

Finally, here's another local Santa Story.  This one probably happens in many other towns and countries across the world, unlike our Silo Tree.

For several years the local Rotary Club has organised a Santa Sleigh ride around the streets of our town, especially around the housing estates to ensure as many children as possible get to see Santa, wave to him and even get a photo taken with him if they are very lucky.  On the way around they collect donations for their charity fundraising.

Here's a photo from a previous year of his wonderful lit-up sleigh.

Do you have a tradition like this?  It's not fancy, commercial or slick, just a lovely group of local people doing something nice for the children and for charity.