Well, well. Wednesday has finally arrived without too much mishap! I hope you’re hanging in there, too!

It’s a little early yet for Christmas wishes, but Anna and I are both going to take some time off until next Wednesday, December 28th so that we can do Family Things.

At first, we were planning to work through Friday afternoon, but we’re expecting a fairly unusual large winter storm and some wickedly cold temperatures starting this evening. I took the executive decision that we’re better off staying at home, where we can get other things done!

Besides, with all the hustle and bustle of the last couple months here, I didn’t think I’d get a chance to do any Christmas cooking, but yay! I’m going to use the bad weather as an excuse to do some holiday baking.

I’ve got all my ingredients lined up to make five recipes for family Christmas gifts: my Mom’s Almond Roca that she made every year at Christmas, to the delight of family and friends; my Auntie’s date nut balls, which are another family Christmas favorite; Zimsterne, those nutty cinnamon star cookies that are so, so yummy; my own recipe of bourbon vanilla pecan caramels (just to heighten the sugar shock); and a favorite recipe for a homemade hot cocoa mix that goes over well with the kiddos.

This should keep me busy for the next two or three days, I reckon.

I probably won’t do a lick of stitching…

…well, maybe a lick! I have a small piece going at home right now, and bad weather is really the best excuse for stitching. I’ll share this particular piece with you next year.

We’ll be back in the swing of things next Wednesday, duly refreshed and full of holiday cheer!

In the meantime, we both wish you and yours a very happy, joyful, and peaceful Christmas! May you find every reason for hope and joy in this Christmas season, with innumerable good blessing for the New Year!

Let’s talk reticello before signing off…

Every year, as the New Year approaches, I start thinking ahead about what I want to learn, or what I want to explore further, in the new year. I try to set at least one goal for learning something that is new to me, or that I want to improve on, that excites me. This year, it’s reticello. I really want to concentrate on learning the techniques well and exploring possibilities with reticello in 2023.

And I’m so happy to have Giuliana Buonpadre’s books to help me out! She was certainly a master of this beautiful art and she left quite an impressive legacy for us. I wish I had known her personally. I’m sure she was an incredible teacher and mentor.

I’m also excited to stock these gorgeous reticello kits in my shop next year. I’ll have at least four styles of kits in the new year, including the three I showcased last week and the one in the photo above (which may very well be my personal favorite – I love the white-on-white.)

Reticello Winners

So before we say cheerio for the week, it’s time to announce the reticello winners from last week’s give-away! There are two!

Thanks to Vito Maistrello, Guiliana’s husband who carries on her legacy and keeps her books and products available, I’ve added a second drawing for today’s give-away, which means I’m giving away two bundles, each including a kit and two books.

The first name drawn was Emily Beauchamp, and the second name was Laura in SP. I will contact you both by email!

Thanks to everyone who participated!

And again, my best wishes for a wonderful and merry Christmas!