I wrote a blog about shopping on line. I really do like the opportunity to buy online. I still love to shop, but after I do, I can look online for the products I like and even the size I like. And comparison shop for the best price for the quality.

In crossing stitch, I like to look on line for 2 reasons. One is that there are many more patterns to look at – more choices to find the exact perfect project. The other is that there are not very many places in our town to shop at for cross stitch or embroidery. Most of the stores like Walmart just have a token spot. Hobby stores have a larger selection, but seem to stick to a half a dozen venders. On line, the choice is much larger. I am excited about my project to open another site for cross stitch, embroidery, and more. Just think how many embroidery machines you can look at on one site. A brick and mortor store could never afford to keep stock of all the brands and models out there.

Christmas – a time of tradition – a time of joy – a time for memories – a time for memory making. I really have to get going on making Christmas stockings for each of my grandchildren. ’til next time – stay happy and safe.

I had a lovely comment on my about page regarding my ‘name’. Thanks. I had to laugh – its funny how we don’t realize how something looks to another. So, I am changing my ‘handle’ from Joyntheir to JoyntHeir. Should be a little more readable – huh? And a little less ambiguous. Have a lovely night everyone! and God Bless.

Hi there – let me introduce myself – I am . . . . . well, Mom, Mama, Daughter, Sister, Aunt, Cousin, Mamma, Grandma, and Granny.  I want to ‘retire’ – that is – do what I want when I want and have the money to do it.  Anyone relate?

Have you ever noticed that what you spend your time and money on are, as you ponder on it, your ‘passions’ in life?  At work I am known as a ‘passionate’ person – that means to them that I stand up for what I believe in and do it vocally without beating around the bush.  Other people have less desirable names for a person like that.  But it is politely politically correct. 

I do have several ‘passions’ in life.  My family is the first – my kids, and now my grandkids.  I find myself delighting in them as they grow. 

One passion I have is Cross Stitch (counted cross stitch).   As a child of 9, I spent 6 months confined to a bed.  My mother had to find something I could do to keep me in bed.  One of the things she did was to purchase stamped pillowcases and some embroidery thread.  She taught me how to do each type of stitch.  I loved it.  As a teen, I bought stamped quilt tops and embroidered them, then quilted them.  I would watch TV, listen to records or the radio, or be in a waiting room at the doctors or other appointment, and out came the cross-stitch. Later, I met my sister-in-law and saw her beautiful counted cross-stitch pictures.  I wanted to do it.  So I got a book of patterns, some Aida cloth, and proceeded to learn the art of cross-stitch.  It is like painting – creating something beautiful. 

As I grew more practiced at it, I started experimenting with different cloth types, different types of thread, making special pictures for my friends, birth announcements for each grandchild, and designs on clothes.  I even used it when I began to knit.  Sound crazy?  I will expound someday on how I would take a cross-stitch pattern to knit a picture into a sweater. 

When my daughter entered her teens, I taught her how to cross-stitch.  She loved it.   Now my granddaughter is almost the age I started at.  It is time to teach her.  But where are the stores I used to buy my thread, hoops, needles, cloth, and patterns from?  Even Wal-Mart has quit carrying it.  I have to go to the hobby store, and even they don’t carry the selection I used to have.  The specialized needlecraft stores are disappearing.  If I, living in a large city with a dozen suburbs, cannot find the selection, what happens to the women in the more rural communities or small cities do?

I hope this does not turn into a dying art.  There are so many more projects to do, many more things to try – like taking a picture, putting it through software, and getting a coded pattern to cross-stitch.  Well, I had better get off the soapbox for now – I can go on about another day.