Snow & Sunshine here...but I'm thinking of snow

Yes, I finally finished "All Bundled Up" by Brenda Gervais and I'm thrilled with the outcome.  As I worked it I was questioning my choice of stitching this on 20 ct. over two.  But now that it's finished....I like it but  still feel that perhaps at 18" x 12"  it was a bit too large for a pillow and was thinking a banner of some sort, but Sara says pillow so that's what will happen, hopefully next week on my days off. 

 I picked WDW 20 ct. Blue Jeans as linen because I wanted the snowman to pop off the linen.  For him I used WDW Whitewash.  I used WDW Carrot for his nose which I stitched first with cross stitch and then satin stitched over that (by stitching it first and then putting satin stitch over that, it gives the nose more dimension, as it sits on top of the linen.  I also stitched the scarf first and then did a chain stitch over two stitched cross stitches to hopefully somewhat resemble knitting.  I used black beads for eyes, mouth and buttons.  I stitched the checks in DMC 950.  For the Bird I used WDW Garnet for the body and tail, CC Razzleberry for the bargello wing, DMC Black for the face and CC Ye Old Gold for the beak and the legs.  The shoes are WDW Chestnut.  The birds scarf is  CC Second Hand Rose with a turkey work fringe on the scarf and a brown bead for his eye.  Snowflakes are done using WDW Whitewash.  The vines and outline on the leaves is done in WDW Guacamole and the darker color on the leaves is WDW Moss.  The small flowers on the vines are done with WDW Red Pear and again stitched first and then satin stitched over that.  The larger flowers are done in WDW Garnet with a CC Ye Old Gold outline with the inside outline also done with Ye Old Gold and the center of the flower are French Knots done in Red Pear.   These larger pieces challenge me to use different stitches to get dimension and are fun because they normally stitch up quickly.  Now I am finished (I think even though we just got the Festive Fob-Winter Edition in which showcases snowmen) with January snow, and I am moving on to Valentines and February stitches.  I've managed to find several I want to do so I'm  off and stitching like crazy.  And getting ready for  Superbowl Sale and Nashville market.  While designers are in a frenzy to get designs done, Sara and I are in a frenzy trying to figure out what we are taking to stitch on.  So many things to choose from so we both end up with several projects with us.  Sara has been honing in on taking class projects and has managed to finish several.  I, on the other hand, have not finished one class project I've taken.  Perhaps I'll take one this year as I have one I've taken to 2 Nashville Markets and still have not worked on it.  Well I still have time to think about it.  Last weekend was Camp Wannastitch held in Ocean City by the EGA and we had volunteers on hand to help out.  Stasi Buhrman, who stood for 3 days and cut fabric, thank you Stasi...an angel from heaven as far as I concerned.  I sincerely hate standing on my feet all day doing that.  Stasi is also an expert at helping stitchers with choosing linen and fibers so she is definitely the volunteer you want to have.  Debbie Liming is helpful in finding things for people and suggestions, as well, on linen and fibers, Thanks Debbie, appreciated the assist.   Kathy took over on Salty Yarns register and assistance as well and then Sara was there to direct traffic.  Where was I?  As usual I sat in Sea Trader hoping I wouldn't have to get up, although I did get caught up in the frenzy when the lines got too long in Salty Yarns, stitchers came over to me to get them out of the shop in a timely fashion.  It's always a lot of fun for us when the shop is busy, makes time go by quickly and I love to see or hear about changes people have made in designs, or how they finished something.  Anyway, it was a great group of stitchers and we really appreciated seeing them.  January isn't exactly booming here in Ocean City so to have a busy weekend is a real blessing for us.  So a Big Thank You to Camp Wannastitch participants.  Hope to see you next year!  And a big Thank God you were here, to Stasi, Debbie and Kathy.  We are rushing towards the SuperBowl sales and have a few lists already from some stitchers, so if there is something you need, don't wait to come in and find it isn't here, just e-mail us, text us, phone us and let us get it in if we can, then you won't be disappointed.  But you need to do that ASAP as we are placing orders.  Remember, The sale pertains to instock items only.  The sale starts with 10% of anything under $24.99- 20% of $25.00 - 49.99 and 30% off anything over $50.00.  As usual the sale extends the entire weekend, so Friday, February 1, 2019 thru Monday, February 4, 2019,  the sale is on.   It pertains to anything in Salty Yarns, nothing is excluded.  As one stitcher announced, the best day is Sunday as we have a Superbowl food frenzy going on as well.