The small town I live in sits on the edge of 'The Lake of the Pines'. In my younger days we spent lots of time enjoying the campgrounds and swimming areas. Here is a little history of the lake. Lake O’ the Pines Lake O’ the Pines is a large reservoir in the Piney Woods region of Northeast Texas, primarily in Marion County and also extending into Harrison, Upshur, Morris, and Camp counties. It lies about 25 miles northeast of Longview near the town of Jefferson. - The lake was created by constructing Ferrells Bridge Dam on Big Cypress Bayou (also called Big Cypress Creek) as part of flood control plans authorized by the Flood Control Act of 1946. WC-SWF. - Construction began in January 1955, and the dam was completed by December 1959, with the reservoir beginning to fill soon after. Army Corps of Engineers, SWD. - Originally called Ferrell’s Bridge Reservoir, the site was subsequently named Lake O’ the Pines because of the surrounding piney woods. - Today, the lake serves multiple purposes: flood control, water supply storage for Northeast Texas communities, wildlife habitat, and recreation, including boating, fishing, camping, and wildlife viewing.

AND THE WINNER IS: DEBORAH POPOVICH This month, your creativity and presence truly shine in this community — and now, it’s going to reward you back in the sweetest way! - In the first week of January, I’ll take the Top 10 names from our current 30-day leaderboard. * Those names go into a big cozy cup (yes, literally!). - I’ll draw ONE winner. And that lucky maker will receive a stuffed 6x9 mailer — filled with goodies like: - Handmade treasures - Little stitched delights - Fabric bits & bobs - Cozy maker supplies - And whatever inspiration wants to jump into the envelope that month. This isn’t about being “the best.” It’s about showing up, participating, encouraging others, posting your projects, and being part of the creative heartbeat here. Your energy fuels this place — and now I get to send some of that joy right back to you! Let’s make this fun, motivating, and filled with community spirit. Who’s ready for the drawing? Don't forget to invite your friends. We love company!

As we step into a brand-new year, I find myself grateful— not in a loud, confetti way, but in the soft, steady way that comes from knowing I’m not creating alone. You— with your scraps and stitches, your paper piles and half-finished dreams, your brave beginnings and tender tries— you are the gift I didn’t know I was building toward. I promise to keep this space warm. A place that feels like home, where the door is always open, and nothing has to be perfect to belong. I promise to tend it gently— to make room for rest, for encouragement, for sharing what we have instead of measuring what we lack. Here, generosity matters, so does patience, so does laughter when things don’t go as planned. May this be a refuge from the noise and the rush, a place to lay down the weight of everyday living and pick up thread, paper, color, and hope. As we enter this new year together, may we create freely, cheer each other on generously, and remember—again and again— that making side by side is one of the coziest things we can do. I’m so thankful you’re here. Let’s build something beautiful—together.

I am just starting my third year of post card swaps within New Zealand. The theme for January is My Favourite Room. While my room looks nothing like this I really loved this piece of fabric and am happy to be using a small part of it. I have a lot of novelty fabrics that I have acquired over the years mostly from our freebies table at guild meetings. I still need to attach the back to this and create an edging to hold it all together.

This is a Winter/Xmas panel that I made a couple of years ago with Roxy’s Journal of Stitchery. I like it so much that it stays up all year. Unfortunately it doesn’t represent Xmas in New Zealand as our Xmas’s are more about sun and sand.