Wednesday 17 April 2013

Blessed

Lots of stitching has been done since my last post and not only that I have also received some lovely gifts. I did not realise until dear June emailed me but I had won one of her lovely giveaways. Last week this arrived. Look how beautifully it is wrapped.

I had to take a photo before I opened it up and found this lovely chart, ribbon, thread and pins.
Thank you so much June, I love it all.

This week I received a package and envelope from dear Lainey. She has been having an awful time of it lately and you may have read on her blog that her DH had  a cancer scare. I have been keeping in touch ( not as much as I should have really ) showing my support as have several of her friends. Look what she sent me to say thank you. How sweet is that and how beautifully wrapped :) Honestly, Lainey, no thanks were needed but thank you so much.


Also she sent me the LHN Curly Q Ewe chart so that I can join in with her and Mouse in their SAL. Bless you Lainey you are so sweet for thinking of others when you are going through it yourself. I look forward to our SAL. I was going to order the threads I need in the JJs sale but international shipping from the States has increased dramatically so any saving I make would be swallowed up by shipping so time to delve into my thread stash or wait for Patchwork Rabbit to reopen:).

I am so blessed to have such lovely stitching friends. So many of you have been wonderfully supportive since I lost my Dad and for that I will be eternally grateful. As silly as it sounds I shed a wee tear or two when I received the sales leaflet for his house from the estate agent on Friday and later that day the stone mason rang to say that the head stone was back on the grave so my DH, Abi and I went to look at it. Seeing my Dad's name there with my Mum made it seem so much more real and Abi and I cried. Sounds crazy but I'm sure some of you will understand what I mean.

Anyway enough of that! Time to show my therapy stitching. My Little House Needleworks Little Sheep Virtues SAL with Barb is going well. Barb has not been well so started after I did but I was a little slow the first Monday I picked mine up :) Here's where I am at  so should be able to finish it next Monday. I'll make a start on my April ornament for the Christmas All Year Round SAL then and hope I can get it stitched up before next month!

Of course my problem when I have other things to stitch, like the ornament, is that I don't want to put one of my HAEDs away while I stitch it as I'm afraid I wouldn't pick it up again but it think I may have to give QS Spirit of Winter a miss this  coming Sunday and stitch on something else! Speaking of QS Spirit of Winter this is my progress.  I always think it hasn't grown much but then when I look back at the last photo I think that doesn't look so bad!

I had a panic with HAED Guardian this time. I'm sure those of you who stitch HAEDs have all done it at some point! I was stitching where the angel's hand is and it just did not look right. I was thinking I'd done something wrong so checked the colours against the thread key and no that was all fine. Anyway I put it to one side while I went to make a cuppa, glanced at it and thought wow there is a hand!!! So pleased with this page as it's nice to get away from background as there is a lot on this one!

My SAL with Mouse is going well. I'm loving the colours in this so much. Just hope I can finish it how it's shown on the photo! My finishing bug has gone awol and I'm seriously scared it will never come back as I certainly don't want to resort to framing everything again!

I stitched a teeny bit more on HAED SK Dragon's History.  Note to self- stick to stitching 10 x 10 squares on this piece rather than wandering!  I got very confused on this and I know that some shades of a  colour are in the wrong place but I can't really tell so not even attempting to put it right!

Finally QS Holly Fairy. I am quite  close to finishing page 4 and am so excited by it. I know I'm sad aren't I?! I'm still hoping to get her finished by September if  not before but with 5 more pages to do I'm not sure I can do it! OK 4 of those are partial pages so maybe I can!

Just want to send a heads up to those of you who like using silk thread. One of my stitching friends on Facebook has just started dying her own silks. At the moment she only sells from her Facebook page but is hoping to get a website set up soon. If you're on Facebook and fancy having a look her page is Thread Pickerz Silkz.

Hope you are all well and stitching up a storm.

Take care everyone and thank you for visiting. I appreciate it more than you  could know :)

With much love

Sally xxxx

31 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hello Sally

I've read your blog now and again but never commented but wanted to say how sorry I am about your Dad. It's understandable why you shed a tear.
Beautiful gifts from June and Lainey.

Your stitching is lovely as always.
I've become a follower so that I can follow your blog properly.
Bye for now.

Annie said...

All your stitching is beautiful! And your packages are lovely. Congratulations....you deserve it.

Pull the other thread said...

Beautiful stitching Sally. Guardian Angel looks wonderful, I have so often thought I had made a mistake but once you step back it comes together. Such lovely gifts for lovely friends. Take care.

butterfly said...

Beautiful stitching Sally , every thing is growing I can see you have been busy.
Lovely gift from sweet Lainey .
It is good to cry Sally , you are still so raw from your loss, let me know when you find a white feather , I found one in my shoe the other day inside ! just a sign from a loved one.
Take care enjoy your stitching.

Vickie said...

I had never heard of finding a white feather like June mentions!

Your gifts are so nice, good for you.

What progress! So glad you have your stitching bug back.

Maybe if you just take a look through your pile of finishes you will be inspired to finish one off?

Margaret said...

All of your stitching is beautiful. I totally understand your crying or tearing up at the various events that are happening after your father's death. I would be doing the same. And it's definitely not silly. Losing a loved one leaves a hole in your heart. It never really goes away, does it? Hugs.

Fiona said...

Lovely gifts. Your always amazing me that you seem to make such a lot of progress on your HAEDs and you only stitch on them one day a week.

Barb said...

Hi Sally ,lovely progress and such lovely thoughts and gifts from friends.
I finished my Love piece on Monday will mail you soon. Take care ,cry if you need to all part of the grieving process my dear, but smile often at the happy memories.

Tina said...

Hi Sally,was reading about your Dad with tears in my eyes,it's normal to feel sad for a long time.
Lovely wips and gifts from friends...love that button jar
Take care
Tina xx

Ranae said...

Hello sweet Sally,
You certainly are the HAED queen.
You received some pretty awesome parcels lately
I'm not very good with Facebook, but I will try to find your friends silks or if you can suggest or whatever it is that I can find it.
Take care!!

Patti-Rocky Mtn Stitcher said...

WOW your HAED are coming along beautifully!! I admire your dedication!

Michelle said...

A lovely post Sally - you are blessed xx

Lesleyanne said...

Gorgeous gifts received Sally. Beautiful stitching on your gorgeous projects, love seeing your progress. Thinking about you, it is still early days since the loss of your Dad. My mum says its does you good to cry when you need to xxx

cucki said...

Hello dear...All your stitching is beautiful! And your packages are lovely.
......Congratulations....you truly so blessed..
Big hugs x

Linda said...

Oh wow Sally. Those HAED's are gorgeous as are the rest of your stitching.

Linda

Mouse said...

gorgeous progress on all the stitching and nice gifts you got in the post too ... just perfect to help cheer you up ....
tried to find your friend but it is a closed group ... love mouse xxxxx

Tricia T said...

Hi Sally!

What a lot of progress you've made! I am a SLOW stitcher right now. I think I've stitched about 100 stitches total in the last week.

I had to laugh at your "stick to 10x10 squares" phrase. I TOTALLY agree! I thought I'd go quickly and do an area of about 400 stitches at the same time and I got SO confused!!! 10x10 squares for me, too!!

Hugs for you and Abi for missing your Dad. I'm sure certain things will trigger it for awhile and tears don't hurt so don't ever feel ashamed of them.

Blessings!
Tricia

Christine said...

Lovely stitching Sally and beautiful gifts. I know what you mean about postage from the US, it is ridiculously high now, especially when you factor in the reduced value of the import allowance and the obscene handling charge the post office will slap on if you get charged at Customs. Mind you, inland postage has gone up with a jump this month too.
I'm off now to check out your friends FB page

Carol said...

Lovely gifts and beautiful stitching as always Sally!

I had lost my finishing bug for some time too! It's back again now, although I had to really push myself to get any done. Not having finished anything for some time I was really worried that I would mess things up. I'm sure yours will come back soon and you'll enjoy creating some beautiful pieces again!

Chris said...

Lainey is so kind! I hate that she and her DH have been going through this.
Your stitching is amazing Sally. You have made such great progress on your HAED pieces. I am in awe.
Hugs!

Shirlee said...

So glad to see you stitching, & what great RAKs from June & Lainey! I continue to keep you in my prayers, my friend.

Chocolates4Breakfast (Terri Malinovich) said...

What a lot you have going on, Sally! Thankfully, I still have both my parents but I can imagine how you feel. Lovely gifts and beautiful stitching, too!

Sue said...

Oh Sally, I wish I could stitch half as fast as you must do,you've made such a lot of progress.It's only natural for you to miss your Dad so much, I still miss mine even though he's been gone for some years now.Love all the stitching and you've truly been blessed with some good friends.....x

Emma/Itzy said...

It is not silly at all to cry over the estate agent or the stonemason, all those memories, I know I would be a blubbering wreck should anything ever happen to my Dad.

Your stitching is looking lovely, you always great progress! Your gifts are lovely too, aren't stitchy friends the best? :)

Kaisievic said...

Such a lovely long post, thank you Sally. It is understandable that you would feel sad seeing your Dad's tombstone - so final, isn't it?

Lovely gifts from your stitchy friends and you have been stitching up a storm - I cannot work out which is my favourite!.

Catherine said...

So sweet of Lainey! She and her family are in my thoughts and prayers everyday.
Lovely projects you have going on. I finally sat for 15 today and stitched ~ the first time in over two weeks, only to realize I made a mistake and have to tear it out ~ ugh!!
Certain things still trigger my tears for loved ones that have been gone for many years...I love what June said about the feather!

Carol said...

Such lovely projects, Sally... And it's not silly to cry for our loved ones. We just had to put my dad in a dementia care facility and I can't even bear to think of him there or I start crying. Sending you hugs--you will get through this...

Julie said...

You've received beautiful gifts from your stitching friends and have made lots of progress on your projects.

I hope as the months pass your heart will heal and you can shed tears of joy at the happy memories of your dad as opposed to tears of sadness.

Kathy Ellen said...

What very thoughtful and kind gifts from June and Lainey.

Your stitching progress is all wonderful, and so true that it is the most wonderful "therapy" to help us get in touch with the more peaceful side of ourselves.

It is perfectly natural to shed tears of sweet memories of your dearly departed father, who now rests in peace beside your mother. We love them so much in life, but that love continues on into eternity.

Bless you, dear Sally.

Karoline said...

Great progress on your wips, they're looking lovely.

You got some lovely gifts

Anne said...

So sweet of Lainey and June to send you gifts. Lovely progress on your WIP's too. I understand how hard it is to go through the loss of a close family member. The wonderful memories we have of them are what we can cherish now. Take care Sally.