Almost caught up

I had a low-key Thanksgiving here at home with my husband and son, which was very comforting. My mom passed away on the 27th last year, so Thursday was the final "first" that I had to get through. It wasn't as bad as some others have been, like Mother's Day or her birthday, and my hope is that going forward I can shake off a lot of the depression that has bogged me down at times this past year.

I spent the long weekend eating, watching football (go Bears!) and hockey (go Wild!) and stitching until my hands got tired--in other words, it was a really good weekend. I am about halfway done with part 6 of the Jardin Prive SAL, so I should get it finished today, in plenty of time for the release of part 7 on Wednesday. Here are the five completed parts:

And here's where I left it last night:

I'm stitching it on Zweigart Lavender Edinburgh, and I am making changes and additions as I go. I've added a few colors, including a gold metallic and white, gray and black Wisper, and I'm adding some JABCO buttons. Here are a few more photos:

I loved the snowman's heart-shaped hat, and it was the perfect spot for a little red heart button. ❤️

I'll be attending my first Jingle Ball this weekend, mostly because Cathy Habermann teased her Christmas Beetle chart a few days ago and I knew I didn't want to wait a year for its general release. It looks like a companion to her Ladybug Picnic and Botanical Bee, and I always love a good series!

And as long as I was "attending" this virtual retreat, I also signed up for Cathy's Stand Up for Santa finishing class:

I really liked this design when she shared it a while back, but it wasn't enough by itself to make me sign up for the Ball, but between the two designs I couldn't resist anymore. I obviously won't have the Santa stitched in time to actually participate in the finishing class, but Cathy's written instructions are so good that I know I'll be glad I added them to my "finishing" binder. I'm also curious about the Ball, so I'll try it out this year and see if it's something I would want to do again.

Hope everyone has a great stitchy week!