Another gift for a not so far away friend

Let's take a break from lighthouses for a moment, shall we? Oh, I know! Back to the ornaments. HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!

Prairie Schooler Prairie Birds (Book 24) - Cardinals
Stitched 1 over 1 on 32 ct. mystery fabric
with recommended DMC threads

I stitched and finished this little ornament for my lovely friend, Dianne (Dianne Rambling On). I met Dianne when I started blogging and she has been a great friend to me both online and in person. We chat and share links on Facebook, email regularly, and have even met up in person in Ocean City, MD, over the summer. Jeff, Nick and I had a very nice lunch with Dianne, her husband and son, and Dianne and I had even MORE fun browsing in Salty Yarns on the Boardwalk.

Dianne is a wonderful combination of mom / big sister / favorite aunt and we can talk about so many things. She's also a mom, though her son is considerably older than mine (by 20 some years!). She's been a good resource for parenting advice and I am constantly inspired by her creativity and touched by her generosity.

When I admired a goldfinch piece from this Prairie Schooler book, Dianne generously loaned me her copy so I could stitch one up for my husband, who happens to really like goldfinches. I haven't quite managed to stitch his up, but I did stitch this piece for Dianne. Dianne is a nature lover and posts many pictures of her beautiful gardens. I know she appreciate the beauty of the bright colored cardinals in the barren winter as much as she loves the colorful spring and summer flowers, so I thought this piece would be perfect for her.

I stitched it a few months ago when I was on an over 1 stitching kit, and I just love how it turned out. It's really much prettier and more delicate in person, and for some reason, my finishing looks a little lumpier in the photo than it does in real life. But overall, I was pleased with how it came out.

Little did I know when I was stitching it that Dianne had already stitched and finished this piece for herself! (You can see it near the middle of the tree here.) But Dianne assured me that she loved it and thought it was cool that she had two, since mine is much smaller than hers. I like to think that I did a good job picking something she'd like!