St Nicholas Cross Stitch Completed

I really did not expect Nicholas to be completed this quickly.

But here he is!  

I'm very pleased with how the halo turned out and will work next of framing him to hang.  I have a 'few' frames laying around, a hazard of being a professional picture framer for quite a few years.  Hopefully one will fit him.

I have plans to add my name and the year to it once I have a frame chosen and can see where i have space for  a signature.  So next week I should have him hanging on the wall, at least that's the plan.

Here's some more of Nicholas' story:

Upon the death of Archbishop John, Nicholas was chosen as Bishop of Myra.  After his consecration as archbishop, St Nicholas remained a great ascetic, appearing to his flock as an image of gentleness, kindness and love for people.  This was particularly precious for the Lycian Church during the persecution of Christians under the emperor Diocletian (284-305).  Archbishop Nicholas was locked up in prison together with other Christians for refusing to worship idols and the Lord preserved him unharmed.  Upon the accession of  Constantine as emperor, St Nicholas was restored to his flock, which joyfully received their guide and intercessor.

In the year 325 St Nicholas was a participant in the First Ecumenical Council. This Council proclaimed the Nicean Symbol of Faith, and he stood up against the heretic Arius.  

He is known to have worked many miracles during his life and having reached old age, St Nicholas peacefully fell asleep in the Lord. His venerable relics were preserved incorrupt in the local cathedral church and flowed with curative myrrh, from which many received healing. In the year 1087, his relics were transferred to the Italian city of Bari, where they rest even now.

St Nicholas is the patron of travelers, and we ask him to help through his prayers for deliverance from floods, poverty, or any misfortunes.  He has promised to help those who remember his parents, Theophanes and Nonna.

St Nicholas Day is celebrated on December 6th in the Eastern church and children put out their shoes for him to fill with treats.

Be Kind

Remember to be kind to others.

Remember that praises will get you farther than threats.

Remember that no one like bullies.

St Nicholas Cross Stitch Almost Done

St Nicholas is getting closer to being done, in fact I expect to complete it this week.

This is the corner I have been working on with all it's stitches done.  

Then I started on the halo.  The one in the pattern was very small and wimpy so I enlarged it.  The peach colors close to his head are the original halo which was about 2 stitches larger.  I took those 2 colors and widened them on the pattern paper and just filled it in.

I also wanted to have the halo be metallic gold but not overwhelming.  To this end I stitched half crosses in 2 strands of DMC and am completing the crosses with 1 strand of a paler gold metallic thread.

More of the life of St Nicholas:

The youth Nicholas was fervent of spirit, and in his proficiency with questions of faith he was like an Elder who aroused the wonder and deep respect of believers.  Constantly at work and unceasing in prayer, the priest Nicholas displayed great kind-heartedness towards the flock and the afflicted who came to him for help and he distributed all his inheritance to the poor.  St Nicholas always strove to bestow charity secretly and to conceal his good deeds.  Through these stories comes our modern Santa Claus and his being the patron saint of children.

The Bishop of Patara decided to go on pilgrimage to the holy places at Jerusalem and entrusted the guidance of his flock to St Nicholas.  When the bishop returned Nicholas asked his blessing for a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.  Along the way the saint predicted a storm would arise and threaten the ship.  St Nicholas saw the devil get on the ship intending to sink it and kill all the passengers.  At the entreaty of the despairing pilgrims he calmed the waves of the sea by his prayers.  Through his prayer a sailor of the ship, who had fallen from the mast and was mortally injured, was also restored to health.  Because of this he is the patron saint of sailors.

When he reached Jerusalem and came to Golgotha, St Nicholas gave thanks to the Savior.  He worshipped at all the holy places and then decided to withdraw into the desert but he was stopped by a divine voice urging him to return to his native country.  He returned to Lycia and yearning for a life of quietude the saint entered into the brotherhood of a monastery named Holy Sion which had been founded by his uncle.  But the Lord again indicated another path for him, “Nicholas this is not the vineyard where you shall bear fruit for Me.  Return to the world and glorify My Name there.”  So he left Patara and went to Myra in Lycia.

How to Make Soft Spreadable Butter Quickly

A few years back I made the switch from margarine to real butter.  This is part of my good food journey, eating REAL food that my grandparents would have recognized and not the chemical laden crap the store carry so much of now.

But one thing I missed about the one molecule away from plastic margarine was the soft spreadability of it.  I keep my butter in the fridge most of the time as I don't use it every day.  Sometimes I would forget to take it out and let it soften which is usually 30 or more minutes depending on the season.

Somewhere in blogland I read how to soften butter quickly and easily and I'd like to share the secret.

Leave your butter in the paper (I only put it on a plate for company) and microwave it for 5 seconds on each of the 4 long sides for a total of 20 seconds.  I start with the opening side first so it won't leak if it gets a little too soft on the last go round. 

Remember only 5 seconds each side.  I use this method even with half & quarter sticks though it sometimes only needs 3 sides done if it is small.

St Nicholas is Slowly Coming Together

Nicholas is coming together nicely.  When I am working on it I can't see the design, it's too close.  But I am amazed every time I back off and look.

What appears as a muddle of random stitches up close becomes 3 oranges on a plate with fingers curved  around the edge when you hold it away.

Here is some of the legend of St. Nicholas:

Nicholas was born in the city of Patara in the region of Lycia (on the south coast of the Asia Minor peninsula), and was the only son of pious parents Theophanes and Nonna, who had vowed to dedicate him to God.

As the fruit of the prayer of his childless parents, the infant Nicholas from the very day of his birth revealed to people the light of his future glory as a wonderworker. His mother, Nonna, after giving birth was immediately healed from illness. The newborn infant, while still in the baptismal font, stood on his feet three hours, without support from anyone, thereby honoring the Most Holy Trinity. St Nicholas from his infancy began a life of fasting, and on Wednesdays and Fridays he would not accept milk from his mother until after his parents had finished their evening prayers.

From his childhood Nicholas thrived on the study of Divine Scripture; by day he would not leave church, and by night he prayed and read books, making himself a worthy dwelling place for the Holy Spirit. Bishop Nicholas of Patara rejoiced at the spirituality and deep piety of his nephew. He ordained him a reader, and then elevated Nicholas to the priesthood, making him his assistant and entrusting him to instruct the flock.

More next time...

Nicholas' Oranges

I got caught up in a pet disaster last night and totally forgot to post my weekly update for Tuesday Stitchers.

I have made some progress on St Nicholas, in fact his oranges are nearly done.  Those oranges represent the 3 bags of gold he left in stockings drying before the fire.  The stockings belonged to the daughters of a poor man who had no dowries for them and so they would have to be sold as servants.  If you have ever noticed old time pawn shops, their symbol is 3 bags of gold also.

New Website & Domain Name For My Saintly Images

I finally went and registered a domain name today.  I don't have a domain website yet as I have not decided what plan to go with.  However I do have a Google Site here.

Just a little page for the moment that points folks to my Etsy shop.

Whenever I get a hosted website up it will be saintlyimagesandmore.com

Due to the large number of sales I have had in the last month, I think I might be being told this is the direction and this is the time to go for it.