I just looked again at my first Shaker Box. I always was admiring the Boxes when I saw them on the web. My friend Laurie helped me to buy a special one for a special project. The top of the box is a solied piece of  wood. It´s from a cherry tree, downed during the Hurricane of Isobel. The tree had "spalting" in the grain, and so this box is one of a kind.

And I also got a little box for a scissor and a thread pallet. I´m looking forward to line the box in a special way.

Yesterday I had a new start. I started Catherine Agnes by Indigo Rose. I totally forgot how funny and fast this Indigo Rose designs are to stitch.

Here´s my progress after day 1. I think I´ll stitch on this till it´s finished. So hopefully it will become my first finish in 2006!!

Catherine Agnes progress after day 1

I just pulled out all my items for decorating the tree tomorrow. DH really brought the most beautiful tree today. I´m really satisfied with his selection!

I have a wide range of Christmas decoration for the tree, mainly glas balls in the different colours. Each year the familiy don´t know how our tree will look like. Taditional with straw stars, or white and gold, or coloured........??? I love to choose every year a different style of the tree.

When I looked through my Christmas decoration I just found little wood crisp boxes which a girl friend painted for me years ago. It was at a time when children were very young and they always wanted a tree with a lot of chocolate and sweets. I don´t like the look of chocolate at the tree, so my friend made this boxes for me. They are very little about 3 - 4 cm (1,2-1,6inch) and they have a hanger for the tree and you can open them and put sweets inside.

I think they maybe would look nice too with a stitched cover??? Maybe I´ll make some for next Christmas!

Today I got a wonderful Chritmas package from my dear stitching friend Laurie.

She sent the most loveliest, tiniest, cutest, prettiest Christmas Stockings I ever saw!!! I love them!!

Can´t wait to decorate our Christmas Tree. Usually in Austria the tree will be decorated briefly before the Christmas evening. The tree is a surprise for all the little children. Our daughters (18 and 10 years) always want to be surprised too.

So I have to do the decoration in the afternoon of the 24th December. Nobody may go into the living room, At the evening a bell rings and the "Christkind" brought the Christmas tree and all the presents.

I think we will stay on this tradition till my daughters will be merried :-).

Today I got a wonderful Christmas package from Rachel. And if you know me, I never can resist to open my packages earlier :-)!!

Rachel sent me Amy Mitten silks which I always wanted to try but never got the opportunity to buy them, wonderful silk ribbons which I love to use for finishing, a wooden needlecase and a thimble for my collection.

And she made this wonderful needlebook with the Tokens and Trifles perforated paper cards. I saw this on the web but never thought how much more lovely it looks in reality. It´s really beautiful and an a wonderful heirloom needlebook!

And last but not least she made a wonderful scarf for me. It really fits gorgeous to my winter outdoor jacket, isn´t it :-))?? The only wearable cloth in the moment to go out! Here it´s snowing and it´s cold and stormy!!

I love how my stitching small collection is growing!!