Merry Day #25 - Merry Christmas!

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Merry Day #25!

I know that I have fallen apart here the last week...

but with good reason! My family has all been home and I have spent every precious minute with them.

Keith did get his dream truck...

Toyota 4Runner SR5 Premium

It is fresh off the trailer, only 3 miles on it when we test drove it. He wouldn't have gotten it, had I not said: You deserve it, you get it. 

This man is the most hard working, honest living man I know. All he does is work. He has put three kids through college. He has no hobbies that he spends money on. He never, ever blows money on anything. We have saved our entire marriage. We are of the age now and in the position now that I say we can throw a little caution to the wind and if ever there was a person that deserved to throw a little caution to the wind, it is this hard working, generous man. 

Here he is with his baby - (that we are not allowed to drive in the rain, snow, or in the salt - ha ha ha!)

I did very little crafting this week....

but I did get this applique done on the sweatshirt for holiday JOY :)

I used my Baby Lock Meridian single needle embroidery machine and Kimberbell Designs software.

I started painting Ellen Stamilio Designs - Mr &Mrs. Claus. She uses a lot of traditional Tole Painting strokes so I'm a little lost...but I'll figure it out.

These boys went on a brother winter hike in the woods and later met up with some friends to hike with in a local state forest trail. Makes my heart happy when my adult children still love to be with each other :)

Yesterday we had our

~ Pfeiffer Family Christmas ~

here are some scenes from our most spectacular day toagether. 

Hunting the Christmas Pickle and Bigfoot:

Pickle Finder: Austin - who got to open presents first. 

Bigfoot Finder: Logan - who got a bag of Bigfoot Poo (Lindor Chocolates)

Just fun silly traditions we do each year. 

After presents we had all hands on deck helping Mom and Dad prepare our Chinese Christmas Feast!

Fra-la-la-la

They were rolling homemade:

Egg Rolls

Pork Dumplings

Crab Rangoon

Our Chatterbox, warming his arthritic kitty bones in front of the fire on his kitty pie (he was looking at his Daddy who was talking about his gift he just opened - which involved the word "treat" - LOL!)

Daddy by the tree, on his iPad 

(which he told me 3 Christmases ago he'd never use so don't get him one - three years later....he is ALWAYS on it)

Our big tree:

Ellie with some early morning food prep with Mom:

Goofing off waiting to dig in:

Resident Chefs:

Our Traditional - stick it in the pie-hole Christmas photo: 

I won the "exploding kitties" game during our White Elephant exchange so we played this fun (albeit heavy on the rules) game all afternoon - I never won. Ha ha ha!

and finally we celebrated the birth of our newborn Savior and King at midnight mass:

What a wonderful day we shared with each other! Perfect, wonderful day!

Merry Day #25!

What do I have to do today: 

NOTHING!

So guess what?! I have pulled several potential new starts - all Christmas Themed and I'm going to choose one and start it today! And stitch the day away in my PJs with no bra!

 TMI, I know. 

Finally....

I wish to thank, each and every one of you for following me, my family and words here. It is always humbling to read your comments and words and I thank EACH ONE of you deeply for taking the time to read and comment. I appreciate that so much!

You know...

with me I always try to be very, very real. I never "put on" I figure that's silly to act/to be something I'm not. I haven't been faithful to this blog for several years. When I lost it all a year or so ago and all that was going on at that time with me....I nearly deleted everything that was left. Just done. Pack up and go home. I'm glad I didn't as with all things - life went on, circumstances changed and my true friends stood by me. 

Life has been difficult for me and my family for the last 3.5 years.

For reasons I will keep to myself, we have struggled. Mightily. During this time, I have prayed. I have prayed for our struggles, prayed for mentors to be placed in paths, for situations to be illuminated and for hearts to change. During these 3.5 years, there were times were I felt no hope. What was I doing wrong? Where was God in all of this? 

How singularly human I acted. How selfish and self indulgent.

To compensate for where I think I am failing, I then will over extend myself, trying to be all things to all people, being super human. Because I know from 51 years of experience I can work longer and harder than anyone else and I can control the outcome of that.  I pride myself on it (sinner that I am). 

My prayer life - because of my struggles and my family's struggles - has sort of been not the best, for the past several years. However, in spite of the desert, I tried to continue in prayer - best I could - to be steadfast, persistent and continue on. I fasted. I talked to God. I offered good works to his better glory for the help and healing of what needed healed and helped in my family life.  

About 3 months ago....my prayers began to bear fruit. I have seen hearts change, I have seen situations resolved. Again are things perfect? No they are not! But fruit is borne and for that I am thankful!

 Why do I tell you all of this? Because I know that there are people out there struggling, just like me. 

Life is hard. 

No matter how you want to spin the pictures and stories to plaster all over social media today - 

LIFE is hard and WE ALL have issues. 

I'm here to say: My family has struggled - mightily - the last 3.5 years. I have struggled mentally and spiritually the last 3.5 years (and some years before that).

We are all common in the strife of life. I walk with you in strife.

Today is the day...

that we of the Christian faith celebrate the God-man humbling himself to come to earth - this dirty, sin ridden earth - to save us. 

There is so much hate in the world, so much strife. When I go in public I am truly and honestly shocked by people's actions, by their words, by their treatment of other people. Then these same people will go on social media and proclaim that they are so kind, so loving, so all knowing. 

I am saying right here, right now that I too struggle in kindness, in love, in being the kind of person I want people to remember me - the sort of legacy I want to leave.

Give of your heart to the world. Be the love to someone who needs love. Be the kindness to the one who is suffering. You don't have to be Christian or believe in anything or any other power other than simple love and kindness shown to fellow man walking the earth with you.

I plan this year - the year of 2022 - to give thanks to God for his answer to my prayers by:

“I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach.”

-Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol"

 

God sent his son to teach one thing: Love.

and I hope to honor that Christmas miracle and my own Christmas miracle I received last night by doing the best I can at spreading only: Love.

Join me.

Merry Christmas!

all my love, Vonna xxxx 

Merry #20 and Merry #21....

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Merry Day #20!

Sorry I've gotten a couple of days behind...

My husband and Ellie is on vacation for the next two weeks so that throws me off because we do things that I am usually not doing. 

Yesterday on Merry Day #20...

I started my day cutting out and sanding in preparation for painting these:

Then Keith said...

tomorrow on Merry Day #21- I want to go to Evansville and I think we may get ourselves a Christmas present.

????

We are going to look at

Toyota 4Runner SR5 Premium

Mama may getting herself a new car! He must be serious because he was moving money around this morning in accounts. We will see. 

But because of this change in plans, yesterday zero painting happened and lots of housework and laundry went on. So....

Not much else news today.

Merry Day 21!

Merry Christmas!

All my love, 

Vonna xxxx

Merry Day #19….

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Merry Day #19!

I spent the day finishing the stitching and then creating this: 

Which is now displayed here: 

I love it! 

Merry Day #19

Merry Christmas! 

All my love, 

Vonna xxxx

Merry Day #18.....

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Merry Day #18!

Today we travel....

to celebrate Christmas with Keith's Mom. Honestly the only thing I am looking forward to is the pizza (that sounds horrible and I don't mean it like it sounds). She always has pizza from a local pizza place and it is the pizza we grew up with and no place on earth makes it like this little joint. It's a smallish affair with Keith's brother and his family. Then our family. It's small, low key and fun. But I really look forward to the pizza. HA HA HA! This is really the only Christmas get together Keith and I attend besides our own. When my kids were little it was a flurry of having to go to place A, B, C, D and then come home exhausted and our own children didn't have the experience of getting up on Christmas morning to open their own presents here left by the jolly man himself.

So....

in 2004, I was pregnant with Ellie and I decided - I wasn't doing this with 4 kids and travelling all over Southern Indiana. That we would visit during the Christmas time-frame but the actual holiday would be spent in our home. Wasn't a popular idea with some extended family - but frankly I didn't care. I know that sounds harsh but honestly the day is meant to be reflective and in my mind stress free and spent creating your own traditions. I was still working in the hospital at that time so I had to work Christmas Day most years. Christmas should not be one day - it should be carried in your heart all days of the year.

Therefore all that back story to say....

this year we are celebrating with our family on Dec. 24....

the actual day will likely be just Keith and I as our other kids drive around to their significant others and friend's family homes. And you know what?! I'm GOOD with that! I have planned for Keith and I quiet and relaxation and just he and I being together. He likely will be listening to his music (operatic rock - don't know what that is - google it. I personally DO NOT care for it - but he listens all the time) and reading politics (ha ha!) and I likely will be painting or cross stitching. Quiet reflective times just he and I. I love that. 

Lots of rambling today and zero cross stitch....

but I'm working on what I hope to be a fabulous finish...

Almost finished on "Vonna Day" yesterday!

Merry Day #18!

Merry Christmas!

All my love, 

Vonna xxxx

Merry Day #17....

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Merry Day #17

Well today is Friday....

and I've rushed around beating the bush all week long and GUESS what?! I'm taking a Vonna day today! That means I am NOT cooking, I am NOT cleaning....well I might run the swiffer through real quick - I have a cleanliness problem - I am sort of OCD. I am going to sit on my rump and cross stitch. It seems like my cross stitching has been few and far between this year. I have kept myself so busy that I just haven't had time for much of anything. 

Today I want to talk about the tradition of stockings....

Do you hang stockings? When I was a little girl, I always wanted to hang a stocking at my house. We had great big stockings at my Granny's house, but never at our house. When I got married and had children (well Katie) I decided that YEP I was doing stockings. 

You'd think....

Since I'm a cross stitcher that I'd have cross stitched stockings, right?

Yeah....no......

This week I was doing a last minute....

- "I got my husband's stocking done will you finish it and get it back to me by Christmas" and it was a Shepherd's Bush stocking. My client sent me a photo of all her other stockings that she had finished so I could do it the same. That photo... oh. my. word. while I was finishing her stocking I kept thinking about that picture. 

Here it is: 

Here is the one I finished for her this week: 

You know it takes a good 2-3 hours to finish one of these properly without mistakes, they are fully lined, handmade piping, hanger - the whole works. And I make my piping on the bias, which is the correct way to make it. I see other stockings from other finishers posted on the web and I can tell they are not using bias cut piping and it looks sloppy. Maybe to other eyes it doesn't stick out, but it sure stands out like a sore thumb to me when I see it. (and P.S. how I finish my stockings AND how to make bias piping is on a video tutorial of mine. I give it all away, FREE! Every secret, every tip. FREE!) Which that doesn't happen much anymore I guess, I am not on Patreon, I don't ask for a "coffee"(what in the heck is that?! anyway. Someone asked me if they could buy me a coffee and where my link was?) WHAT?! No, don't buy me a coffee - you know what I want? Kindness. Spread Kindness and while you are doing it think about being happy spreading it. And that I'm a nice person too and love all people and give freely and lavishly with my heart. TO ALL. What happened about just sharing among friends. Why has their been this mentality, that seems to be cropping up, to sell every little thing that you hold in your head. I just don't get it. Just be my friend. Be a nice human. Anyhooo, I digress. 

So while the time I was finishing this stocking.....

I kept thinking about her mantle photo. My heavens to mercy it was a gorgeous! My stockings are not cross stitch and while they are sweet and my babies have had them since, well they were babies. They are part of our tradition. Here is a pic of them: 

But her stockings....

I kept thinking and thinking and thinking....

I've finished, literally hundreds of these stockings over the last 16 years. 

Then I started thinking about my goals in 2022.

 Because you know, one thing leads to another....What are my goals stitching wise? Last year I toyed with 2021 being Christmas all year long. I love Christmas. I'd like some more ornaments (I know it's a sickness as I literally have upwards of 300 stitched ornaments) and I already talked about a Snowman Tree and my family is growing by adding new family members....

and wouldn't it look sweet having all the same type of stockings hanging? 

SO......

I made a call to Ogden, Utah today and bought myself and Keith a stocking.

I purchased Lois' Stocking for me and Oliver's Stocking for Keith. 

Here is Lois' Stocking (which will be mine) I liked her hat and her body is like mine (HA HA HA), she has a frosty friend and look at that tree loaded with ornaments! Well I think they were channeling me when they designed this!:

and here is Oliver's (which will be Keith's) He's the king in our family so...fitting:

I told them to send the whole shebang...18 ct. linen, pearl cottons, charms, pattern - whole deal. Gave them my CC# and hung up.

I don't even know how much that it is going to cost, but I don't care - whatever - it's just money, right? 

I say that and Keith rolls his eyes and shakes his head. 

So....

I'm thinking besides one or two projects that are long term that I'm planning on doing that isn't Christmas related -  I am going to focus on Christmas pieces - stockings, large pieces (I have Santa of the Forest to finish) and ornaments. 

I have a couple of weeks to think about it.....

and make my final decision. 

So what do you think of this idea? Keep the spirit of Christmas alive in my heart all year long....

I like the sound of it. 

So that does it for today....

Merry Day #17

Merry Christmas!

All my love, 

Vonna xxxx

Merry Day #16....

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Merry Day #16!

Well with the stand reviews done and 10 days before the big event that I wait for all year long, I thought I'd share our family traditions with you each day until Christmas Day is here!

As I know it is for all of you...

Christmas is a time of memories. One of the *best* memories of Christmas I have is the ones of my maternal Grandma. Her name was Eileen Campbell Weber and I loved her with all my heart, and she loved Christmas as much as I do. When I was a young girl, every feast of St. Nicholas Day (Dec. 6) we would get all dressed up and my Mom would drop us off at Granny and Pap's house. The house was always lit up with Christmas lights, but inside we ate in candlelight and then we would get to open one gift. I can remember the excitement I always felt when I was little going to our "fancy" party on St. Nick's day. It brings back warm memories and smiles remembering my grandparents. 

My grandma...

was a very "fix-y" lady and would always decorate her house to the nines each year. One of my most favorite decorations she had was of a large, painted ceramic set of Santa and Mrs. Claus. Oh I loved them! I can remember standing by the buffet she always put them on and just staring at them, taking in all the details of the painting and what Mrs. Claus had in the large bag at her feet and the twinkle in Santa's eye. When my grandmother passed, I always hoped I'd get that set, but my brother inherited the house and Santa stayed with the house. 

As an adult...

I always thought about those ceramic pieces. Did they still make them? Was ceramics even a thing anymore? So one summer I had time on my hands (hardy har har!) and I started searching for them. Through my research I found that they molds were made by Atlantic and that the ones my grandmother had (the very large ones) were hard to find (well at least they are hard to find for me). But I could find a set that stood about 15 inches tall - the Santa was the same, but Mrs. Claus had a different pose. But it was close enough so I bought the set. Now here is the dilemma....Remember I couldn't paint! So...I got the set and sat out to do what I could to make that set look like what I remembered my Granny's to look like. I was successful! Here they are....setting on my "buffet" in my own entry way! (really mine is just an antique dresser from my husband's grandparents)

The Antique Ceramic Christmas tree....

was from my paternal Grandmother that I inherited. Her name was: Frances Eleanor Epperson and I loved her with all my heart too. The table cloth the pieces are sitting on is from my Granny (Weber) too and is from the late 1950's - early 1960's. Very different ladies - in terms of style and demeanor - but both had character and charm - I learned lots about keeping home, hearth and family traditions from these fine examples. As I sit here writing this, I'm crying a bit because I love and miss them. But it is my hope, that through me and my memories they remain alive and their traditions and values are passed on to my children. Family was *very* important to both of these women and I have tried, with all my might, to instill that in my own family. I think I've been successful because although we are not without our own struggles - I have a very tightly knit family. We do (literally) everything as a family - even those of us that has left the nest, still fly home to do our traditional things and as my chicks fly the nest - I hope that our traditions are stitched in their DNA to pass on. 

Between us....

I am again searching for a set of the ceramic Santa and Mrs. Claus. I would like to paint a set of the Santas and a ceramic tree to gift to my daughter, Katie, next year in her first year as a married woman. I feel it a way to bridge her childhood home and her new home - as well as remembering her ancestors. We will see how that goes - I'm nothing but ambitious when it comes to these sorts of things - and I have a huge wedding to plan and execute as well as help with a second one. And we are planning a trip to Washington DC in July. HA! Big Ideas....that possibly could come true. Tenacity. See this is why I don't sleep at night. Thankfully I can share all of this with you because Katie doesn't even realize I have resurrected this blog. 

OK so that does it today for Merry Day #16!

Thank you for sharing these days with me!

Merry Christmas!

All my love, 

Vonna xxxx

Merry Day #15....

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Merry Day #15!

Alrighty Folks...we have come to the end of the stand reviews and that leaves my ranking of them. I hate to rank, because I have each one of the stands that I own for a reason. And - believe it or not - I use all of them. However, there are some that I use more than others. There are some that have features that outweigh others. There are some that I believe to be superior to all the rest. So...with that being said - I am going to give an honest ranking and my reasoning behind the rank.

Let's please remember - I am basing my ranking and all the reviews I have shared - on the stands as they come to the customer that has purchased them out of the box. Let it be known that I would never say nor do I regret purchase of any stand I own. I truly think each stand I own - when put to the test of use - is wonderful, useful and I do not regret owning ANY OF THEM. They each shine in different situations for different uses. I am not basing my ranking (nor did I base any of my previous reviews) on work-arounds, hacks, or anything else. I based solely on the stand, as it came to me once purchased. These (as I stated at the very outset) are based on my opinions, and experiences, as a consumer of said products. I am allowed my opinions and you are allowed yours. I am giving unbiased thoughts on all products listed. ALSO, I am primarily a cross stitcher - so my reviews and rankings are based on using linen/aida/evenweave fabrics - not canvases. Thank you for understanding. 

FLOOR STAND RANKINGS OVERALL 

#1 FLOOR STAND: 

Hands down - K's Creation Metal Floor Stand. Here is why: the ball joint head, universal ability to hold whatever you are stitching on and the complete adjustability for reach and height. This stand is fantastic. I would buy it again in a heartbeat. I could not live without it. While I need to note: it does tip and I don't feel it is as portable as the company claims. Set up and leaving it in your primary stitching area and  slapping a 10 lb bar bell on the floor plate (or purchase of their larger floor plate) solves the issues I have with it. I love this stand. Period.

#2 FLOOR STAND: 

Needlework System 4 - This is a solid stand and does a fantastic job. However the reason it isn't #1 is: it does not allow for feet up stitching. It is basically bound to one way of stitching: either q-snaps or stretcher bars or scroll frame - whichever you choose - if you wish to stitch multiple ways that gets cost prohibitive. Therefore not really universal and I feel the best stands on the market need to have a universal approach to holding stitching. The Needlework System 4 is a fine stand. And I REALLY love mine, they have top notch customer service - but if you are looking for a universal approach, this isn't the stand for you. And I must say, the non-ability to stitch feet up is a  real deal breaker for most and if doing just a bit of research you will see that statement repeated over and over.

#3 FLOOR STAND: 

Rolaframe - Solid stand, works great, easy to use - however it is made ONLY for Rolaframes. It is not a universal stand, you are limited in use. If all you use is Rolaframes, then by all means this is the stand for you, but in ranking as far as universality - I have to rank it in the bottom. 

LAP STAND RANKINGS OVERALL

#1 LAP STAND:

Hardwicke Manor Fanny Frame - it is lightweight, easy to use, not unwieldy. All you need is whatever fabric you are stitching on plus your thread and needle - hoop it, slap it under your thigh and off you go. Simple. Hands down #1 lap frame. 

#2 LAP STAND:

Mr. Mike Hope Lap Stand - it is lightweight, beautifully constructed, universal in that it will hold any type of stitching frame - q-snap, scroll rods, stretcher bars, larger hoops - you just place it on the arms and pegs hold it in place. Because it is lightweight it is easy to sit on your lap and stitch away.

#3 LAP STAND:

Rolaframe - I use this frame a lot - it is never in storage. It is very lightweight, very easy to use. I love this frame, however the reason it ranks where it is ranked is because you can only use Rolaframes with it - it is not universal. If you use Rolaframes...I believe this is a must have.

#4 LAP STAND:

Needlework System 4 - not universal - but it is constructed well and I use it frequently when I don't want to fool with a floor stand, I just place it on my lap and start stitching. The drawbacks placing it where it is in the rankings is: it is heavy and unwieldy and not universal. 

#1 TRAVEL STAND: 

 Hardwicke Manor Fanny Frame - so easy to transport, so very lightweight, easy to take apart and quickly reassembled. Very small footprint so great for tight stitching areas that you may encounter at retreats or needlework classes, outstanding to use in the car. I literally could not be without this stand. Period. 

#1 TABLE TOP STAND:  

Needlework System 4 - a fantastic, sturdy, easy to use stand. It is not going anywhere. If you like to stitch at a table, or use a TV tray table or Monitor rolling table at your stitching chair - this stand is #1 hands down. I have taken it to retreats and classes, but it is a little heavier than most and it does have a larger footprint. This is a fine option though for people preferring to stitch at a table. 

Alright....though each one of my stands I use and I love, and it hurts me to knock any of them I am going to say this: If I were to do all over again and knew now what I knew then I would only purchase two frames - this is completely based on how I stitch.

VONNA'S TOP PICKS:

1.) K's Creation Floor Stand - it is universal and outstanding as a floor stand. It is remarkable. There are some issues - but those aside, stands on the market all have issues.  I do not believe that there is any stand on the market that surpasses this stand in functionality. Even of those that I don't own, I have test driven most, if not all stands on the market. Stitching is quite literally my life, I am very interested in making my stitching easy and fun to do. K's Creation Floor Stand does that. I don't have to think, I just can stitch.

2.) Hardwicke Manor Fanny Frame - lightweight, easy to use, superior to use as a quick go to frame absolutely fantastic for travel, classes, retreats and especially for smalls stitching.

TRY IT OUT FRAME TOP PICK:

If you have never owned a stand of any kind and you just want to see what stitching two handed is all about or you are encountering joint/hand/arm issues, then I highly recommend purchase of:

The Hardwicke Manor Fanny Frame - it is not that expensive, you can give it a whirl without much cost incurred to your wallet. 

OK - there you go. Again - I would like to reiterate - each one of these stands that I have reviewed and talked extensively about over the last 5 days were purchased by ME over a 16 year period. I have used ALL OF THEM extensively over that time period. NONE of these stands were given to me for review from an individual or company. In fact - I make it my personal position to NEVER accept anything for a review - because that is a way companies buy compliments - in my opinion.  ALL of my words, thoughts and opinions on each of these stands were my own based on my stitching preferences. With ALL OF THIS SAID if you ever purchase any of these stands from whomever you purchase them from, please let those people know that you did so based on my reviews. I think it important that companies and stitch shop owners know where recommendations that are non-biased, based on personal opinons come from. Maybe they won't care - but they should because lots of people listen to what I have to say. ha ha! who would believe that?! 

That does it for today!

Merry Day #15!

Merry Christmas!

All my love, 

Vonna xxxx

Merry Day #14....

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Merry Day #14!

Here we are folks with my last stand review. Today we will look at:

K's Creation Stainless Steel Floor Stand

This is what it looks like and I took this photo directly from the K's Creation website. I am going to link you to their webpage about this stand. You can find it  HERE

Please go there and read what the features of the stand are and then come back here and I will discuss them. 

My K's Stand Experience:

I have owned this stand for 3 years. I purchased mine on Etsy from Bear Creek Limited which what I found out was K's Creation Company. Now they market this stand as "portable" and I am going to say right here, right now - I don't know what anyone was smoking when they called it "portable" but this is NOT portable. If they mean portable as in: pick it up and move it 15 feet across the room. OK. But if they mean like disassemble and pack it for travel - I'd like to see that. I'm currently 51 years old, I am in good shape, I can lift very heavy things, but let me just say: it is heavy and unwieldy and the parts are plentiful...yeah, completely NOT portable unless you have a personal assistant that lifts weights. 

The stand does completely come apart essentially every where you see a screw knob is where it will come apart. So you end up having a bunch of pieces of the stand: floor plate, 2 upright poles, and then the ball head and the ball head arm and then the accessories tray. Each piece isn't heavy but all of them together is. They claim it only weighs 8 lbs total. Hmmm.....seems much heavier than that to me. But I haven't weighed it so...

 I guess I need to amend my statement above and say: it IS portable if you take one piece at a time to wherever you are going and then reassemble the whole thing when you get there. (the whole portability statement really got to me, can you tell?! HA!)

I bought this stand because I wanted something that would take everything I owned, in any size, and hold it for two handed stitching. That is why I bought it - not to be ported anywhere, I just wanted a universal stand that would hold: Q-snaps, Scroll Rods, stretcher bars and a hoop if I so wanted it to do so. In that aspect this floor frame is fantastic, as it DOES just what I wanted it to do. 

I feel the K's stand is well constructed, it does what it purports to do. I believe the ball head is a revolutionary wonder. There is no other stand on the market that has that configuration. The ability to angle the head any way you want it angled to stitch is amazing. This stand is FULLY, and I do mean fully, able to be dialed in exactly to fit your stitching needs. The stand is able to be set exactly at the height you want it to be (because of the 2 floor poles), sitting in a tall armed, overstuffed couch? No problem! Sitting in a low chair? No problem! The head arm moves in and out to make the reach perfect for where you are sitting. The ball joint head perfect, and the head holder really does hold anything and holds it rather tightly. Just put whatever you are stitching your piece on - into the head holder - and screw it down. Simple.

I keep this stand out all the time - it does not go into storage.

PROS OF THE K'S CREATION STAND: 

1.) Ball head joint is fantastic, truly outstanding, no other stand - that I know of on the market has this type of system and it is well done

2.) universality of the ability to hold a variety of frames that hold your needlework (hoops, q-snaps, scrolls, stretchers)....all held by the head holder and held well

3.) The adjustability of height and reach is unparalleled in my opinion to any other stand

4.) the accessories tray is well done and I use the tray even if I am not using the stand as like I said I keep this stand out all the time, it never goes into storage

5.) able to be used when reclining, sitting, whatever,

6.) the floor plate is thin enough to slide under any chair 

CONS OF THE K'S CREATION STAND:

1.) Floor plate is not heavy enough - does not hold the stand upright - it tips. This to me is very irritating. I have to put a 10 lb bar bell on the plate so that it does not tip. Completely frustrating. 

2.) because it is metal and you are screwing down the holder on the arm to hold your needlework, there is - over time - metal filings dust that builds up. I have on occasion gotten this metal black dust on my linen. I have learned to clean it off every week and then that solves that problem - but it is worth mentioning.

3.) Customer service is lacking. I will leave that statement at that. 

4.) lastly - this hasn't been a problem for me BUT because the arm does not telescope - it is just a rod  that moves along a screw joint. Therefore if you are moving it in and out to get the reach that you want you couldn't be sitting right next to a wall - because it would not be able to move as it does not telescope. Sitting next to a table? If you have drinks sitting on it - beware if the arm is moved you could knock the drinks off the table. This does not bother me - but that is an issue to think about. 

So what do I think of the K's Creation Stand? 

I love it and I truly mean that. I don't think I could do without it, honestly. It is my opinion, that this company has some things that need to be fixed in this model - I don't know about any of the other models - but this model needs some issues addressed. I don't believe the "portability" statement is correct - that claim (in my opinion) is hogwash and needs to be removed from the title of the stand. If I have to put a 10 lb. bar bell on the floor plate to hold it - there is an issue. The tippy-ness of the stand needs to be addressed period. There is no way with what you are paying for this stand, that it should tip - AT ALL. If the floor plate is made to be "portable" thus not heavy enough to hold the stand upright with a scroll rod or what have you held in the head - then make it heavier and remove the portable claim  - it isn't portable anyway! The whole portable statement just rubs me the wrong way. Customer service needs to be addressed - if that means hiring someone to answer the phones, then it needs to happen. Or if that means hiring someone to answer emails - TIMELY - then it needs to happen. That area of the company is lacking. I am not the only one to say this, I have heard this across the board in other owners talking about responsiveness of this company. There is no doubt in my mind K's is losing business because of the lack of customer support. I tried contacting them once. Never heard back and eventually my husband fixed my issue himself. On a positive note, I did receive my stand in a timely manner - I have heard others have not, but as far as I was concerned mine was here timely. 

So that does it for today's review! Tomorrow I will rank my stands according to when, how, where I use them. 

Merry Day #14!

Merry Christmas!

All my love, 

Vonna xxxx

Merry Day #13....

 ~ Welcome to my ~

Merry Day #13

Today I will review another of my stands. I have 2 stands in my arsenal left. Today and tomorrow I will finish up my stand reviews. On Wednesday I will give my rankings of the stands I own and some thoughts on others that are out there that I don't own.

~ My Genuine Mr. Mike Hope Stand ~

This stand I got 6 years ago. I was struggling with wanting to stitch with my feet up - at that time and I happened to see a lady's post on social media. In the picture accompanying that post she had a Mr. Mike stand in the background. I asked her about it. She told me she stitched in this group and in the group was a lady whose husband made these stands. So I asked for the lady's information and away I went on getting a Mr. Mike Stand. 

Here is what it looks like overall: 

The knobs on the arms slider allows you to move them in and out at any position along the slider channel. Just an easy twist to loosen and then another to tighten down.

 

Here is a side view, you can see there is a knob on the side arms and several drilled holes. These allow for you to put them at any up/down height that suits your stitching piece and your stitching style. This is the short arms, the stand comes with a longer pair of arms too. I have only ever used the short arms because my projects are never that large, but if you like large projects - Mr. Mike has you covered!

Here it is holding a Q-snap set up:

Here it is holding a Scroll Rod set up:

This is what it looks like when  you are sitting. I really only use it on my lap, you also can use it on a table as a table stand, but I prefer it on my lap:

This stand is a wonderful, all purpose stand. It can hold universally Q-snaps, scroll rods and it can hold a larger hoop as well - but I don't think it works as well in that capacity as it does the others (this is a personal opinion). The stand is beautifully made by Mr. Mike Hope (85 year old gentleman) in his home wood crafting workshop. It is VERY reasonably priced. It is smooth, durable, made of oak, lightweight and a beautiful accoutrement to your stitching area. Mr. Mike seals it with a couple layers of polyurethane so it a beautiful piece of furniture really. 

When I spoke with Ms. Bonnie (Mr. Mike's wife) She told me he is still going strong and making these lap stands still and he has even come up with a Floor Stand option that will hold your lap stand for you if you would like it off the lap and into a floor stand style stitching experience. Here is the floor stand in a picture that she sent for me to share with my readers:

If you would be interested in contacting Mr. Mike and Ms. Bonnie for pricing and sale of either or both of these fine, handcrafted stitching accessories, please contact them:

 via direct message on Facebook: BONNIE HOPE

Email: bbagley41@bellsouth.net

Alrighty then folks that does it for me today....

We are about halfway in our Merry Days journey and I would like to give a deep thanks and appreciation to those of you who have been walking through these days with me!

~ thank you ~

Until tomorrow and my final stand review....

Merry Day #13!

Merry Christmas!

All my love, 

Vonna xxxx

Merry Day #12....

 

~Welcome to my ~

Merry Day #12

Today is the 3rd Sunday of Advent or Gaudete Sunday: REJOICE the Lord is near!

Today I have so much joy for answers to my prayers on a private intention. For three years, I have prayed, I have asked others to pray for a special intention of mine. Where once I was bleak and searching for an answer, for hope...over the last few months I have seen fruit after fruit in answer to those prayers. 

A reminder...to remain steadfast in prayer and in heart, for God hears the secret call of our hearts.

And with a Thankful Heart I rejoice, praise and give thanks! 

Today I shall share all of the stocking finishes I have done this year....

Also some of you have asked about the pattern to my "Doves in the Window" mug rug. It was a free pattern that you can access  HERE

Until tomorrow!

Merry Day #12

Merry Christmas!

All my love, 

Vonna xxxx