Sunday 25 May 2008

Needles have been working!!

Well, my needles have been working but not my dialup service. This morning it was very generous and allowed me to download photos. Yippee!!
I have made good progress on my Little Book of Stitches. This is page 5 - only three more to go.
Next time I will include a photo of the first 5 pages so you can see how this is coming together. And as I look at this page I realize it is upside down. OOPS
Noddy and friends is clipping right along. When I pick this stitch up I find I get quite a bit done at a time.
The never-ending Paradigm got some good work too. I finished the large motif on the left and added some smaller motifs. I am looking forward to finishing this page as I will then be officially 1/2 way there. I am hoping to have this completed by years end.
My ornament for May is a freebie "Catch a Falling Flake" by Vivian Bales of Northern Needles.
A quick stitch as I was behind this month due to my trip to Texas.
Here is the finished Swedish weaving afghan for the new bride in June. I have to turn the left and right borders under and stitch them down and it is ready for wrapping and giving. The long car ride to Texas and back gave me the time to finish this.

My DIL's parents celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary the weekend that I left for Texas. Although I was unable to be there, I stitched this little Anniversary sampler from JBW Designs for them. I learned that the 35th anniversary is Coral and so---coral it is. Ann from Knowledge and Needles so generously donated the tiny gold hearts.
And a little advance notice if anyone is interested. Dear Dani was here for the weekend and we had some wonderful stitching time. On Saturday Beatrice and Barb (no blog) came to stitch with Dani and I and the conversation went "My next Miribilia will be....." At the end of the discussion, it was more or less decided that we would all start a Miribilia as a loose SAL starting Jan 1, 2009. I will be doing Royal Holiday and I cannot remember what the others are starting but will keep you updated. If anyone would like to join please keep it in mind and we will give out further info closer to that date.
The trip to Texas as you can imagine was very stressful. My sister was and is still in shock. She cannot really believe that Jim is gone. Even though he was quite ill after his last seizure I think she believed that he would pull out of it. It has difficult to understand that he is gone at 57.
My two sisters and I are very flamboyant personalities - we are always right,the only one right and know better than the other. LOL. To have the three of us and my mom together for 9 days was quite the challenge. Regardless as to how much we disagree and at times dislike each other, when it comes to a crisis we all pull together. We got through it with amazing grace and are all still friendly - quite the accomplishment.
My sister is doing okay - she will not suffer financially for the next few years. The children are understandably upset. They are having a difficult time understanding this process as well. The emotional ups and downs are expected and she will deal with them for herself and the children very well, I am confident.
My thanks to all of you who extended such warm wishes to myself, my sister and our families. It is very much appreciated.
And the rainbow at the end of the day. This was the view out my back door on Thursday. It doesn't get more beautiful than this.

17 comments:

Kathy A. said...

Oops and the winner is posted in the blog entry before this one.

mainely stitching said...

Dear Kathy, it's wonderful to read that your stressful trip to TX had the outcome it did - that your sisters and you and your mom could pull together and find strength, and that your sister will not be in dire straits financially. Losing a spouse at such an early age is just so shocking. Wishing the family peace and happier times to come.

Your stitching is, as always, wonderful! (And what a lot you've gotten done!)

Carolien said...

Hello Kathy,

I am glad your sister and her children had and others around her during such emotional days.

You made some great progress with your stitches, it looks great! Yes, I hope we can both finish our goals (PL and my sampler), that would be nice!

That rainbow is breathtaking!
Bye, Carolien

Carolien said...

Oops, I meant: have YOU and others around ...

Greetings, Carolien

Ranae said...

Everything is looking great.
That afphan is awesomely beautiful.
Congrats! to Carolien, lucky duck!!

staci said...

That is a gorgeous view from your door!

Rowyn said...

Wowsers, what a fabulous view from your back door!

Lovely stitching, and the afghan is stunning.

Glad to hear your sister is doing okay. Hopefully it will become a little easier with time.

Cheryl said...

Lots of lovely stitching! That afghan is beautiful.
Such a sad time for your sister and family will keep them in my thoughts and prayers anyway.
I have a couple of Mirabilia charts in my stash so would be most interested in a sal

Hazel said...

Goodness your needles have been flying?? Is that the Book of Stitches from The gift of stitching mag?? Looks fab. Sorry to hear of the sad loss to your family. xx

Wendy said...

Wow -what an incredible amount of needlework...and each piece gorgeous!

How comforting for your sister that she has such compassionate family to help her through such an awful time. That's really what family is all about.

Beautfiul rainbow!

Sue said...

Wow, ALL of your stitching looks super. You've got a lot of projects going right now ;)

Kim B said...

I extend my prayers for your BIL and all his family who are missing him and coping with this loss.

Your stitching is beautiful, btw.

Lynn said...

All of your stitching looks fantastic Kathy! I especially love that stunning afghan.
I'll continue to keep your sister and her family in my prayers as they try and cope with their loss.
I'm so glad you were all able to be there and support her.
Count me in on the Mirabilia SAL. I have a number in my stash and one UFO lying about.
Love that rainbow! You have a beautiful view.

Crazee4books said...

Hi Kathy,

So many beautiful things to comment on in this post. Your needles have indeed been smoking!!

I love the needlebook pages that you're stitching. It's like a little sampler on each page....which is probably the whole idea of the thing, isn't it? It even looks good upside down! Lol.

That afghan is stunning Kathy! I've never seen anything like it before. The Bride for whom you are stitching it will be so thrilled with it.

I'm glad that you and your sister and your mom were all able to be with your other sister and her family at this awful time. I feel so bad for her and for the kids who have lost a wonderful father. It's going to be a difficult time for them but having your support will be a great help and comfort.

Well, we finally had a decent weekend weather wise. DH and I headed to the nursery and got a load of plants for our pots. Then I spent the afternoons putting them in their pots and setting them in place around the deck. Today was lovely too but unfortunately I had to go back to work.

Cheers!

Beatrice said...

Even though I saw you on the weekend it was fun reading and seeing the photo's on your blog. All the pieces are wonderful.
You've managed a lot of stitching. I seem to be in a slump!!!
The rainbow is amazing!
The Miribilia that I'm planning to do and I have the pattern and the fabric for is "White Christmas" I hope to have one of my larger projects done by Jan 1 2009!

Aussie Stitcher said...

Your wips are looking great Kathy. It is good to hear that you feel that your sister with cope well with the loss of her husband. Sending good thoughts to you and her {{{HUGS}}}

Dani - tkdchick said...

Kathy all of your projects look just fantastic!!!!! I really enjoyed my visit this past weekend!