In Memory of Edith...

I haven't blogged in a couple of days. I think its because I've been thinking and not really ready to say much. On Thursday a dear online friend of mine passed away Edith Kilfoyle aka Edith In Alaska had been in intensive care in Anchorage for over a week. She was having trouble breathing and finally passed on to a better place. Edith wasn't a spring chicken, she has lived a good long life and touched many of us in the stitching community over the years. It was wonderful to see the outpouring of thoughts and prayers for Edith by the stitching world.

I had gotten out of touch with Edith when life started to get really crazy for me. I got back in touch over the Christmas holidays when I used the piece Edith had stitched me to put together my online pillow tutorial. Working on it made me realize I missed here. As soon as the pillow and tutorial were done I sent Edith a long deserved e-mail sharing with her what I had done to her gift. I didn't realize today just how much that meant to her when I talked to Hannelore (Lorchen) on the phone today. Hanne let me know just how thrilled Edith was and how that made her feel so special. I was glad I was able to touch her life in some way as she had touched mine over the years.

There is a special project in the works for Edith's children and I hope to be able to take a part in that when we're ready to start. Its the least I can do.

When Edith wasn't well and in the hospital I knew it was only a matter of time. Things like this really make you think about your relationships/friendships. The first thing I did as soon as I could was call Hannelore in England (a challenge to arrange with my schedule and the time difference). We were incredibly close friends a couple of years ago but life got in the way for both of us and communication became infrequent. I really surprised her with that phone call this afternoon :-) oh but it was so nice to talk and open the lines of communication again! I'm going to vow to e-mail her every day!

Thinking along the same lines I realized I missed the camaraderie I had last year with Carol and Katrina while we were doing that Celitc Band Sampler SAL! I've already mentioned this to Carol and she's more than game to do another SAL. Now we just have to find something all three of us want to stitch!

So what can I say but value your friendships, don't get out of touch.

My best friend Christin did a lovely things for me on Friday. Friday is grocery night, Christin and I have turned it into a social event instead of just "doing chores" as most people see doing the groceries. We meet at Food Basics where Christin can easily get to on the bus after work. We start there, go onto Costco, then any other little stops along the way (WalMart, etc.) then we have dinner out. Anyhow while in Costco Christin let me pick out a bouquet of roses for my 30th Birthday (which is on Monday). Trust me, get a grocery buddy its much more fun!

I was hoping to add pictures to this entry but once again Blogger picture uploader doesn't seem to be working properly!

SBQ

Well, yesterday was HELL! I had a headache most of the day at work, in the afternoon my leg started to hurt. By the time I got to Christin's after work my legs hurt, like the bones hurt. The best way to describe it is "growing pains". I just couldn't get comfortable! So I put my feet up on the couch, elevated them a little. I closed my eyes for a second... just a second. The next thing I knew it was 30 minutes later! I didn't nap, I didn't doze, I didn't sleep, I literally passed out! I was groggy for the rest of the evening, but like good little lemmings we went to guild. About half way through the meeting, I started to get a migraine. When I finally got home I laid there on the couch kinda numb and watched the Amazing Race, in a lot of pain. I even had to sleep in the guest bed it was so bad!

This morning... poof... gone! I was expecting to have to call in sick this morning it was THAT bad last night.

Okay onto the more fun, and less depressing stuff!

Q : Have you ever participated in a needlework mystery (i.e., a design that you started before knowing how it will look in the end and by which you receive parts of the design via the internet, magazines, or leaflets at spaced intervals)? If so, why did you decide to do the mystery? What appealed to you about it? Did you enjoy it? If you have not done a mystery, would you ever do one?

A : Yes I've done one large mystery, one medium and about 3-5 small ones. I have enjoyed the ones I've done. For a very long time I stayed away from mysteries, very leery of them. But over time I was impressed with the ones being put out by Chatelaine. Then she put out one with stunning fall colours, Mystery 6. I couldn't help myself, the colours were too drool-able! So I gave in! I find it has to be a desirable theme and colours that I think are just drop dead gorgeous!

The End of March Break - One Last HD

Well I squeaked in one last HD last night, I finished it at about 11:45pm. Normally I would of blogged about it last night but I thought it was best to just head to bed to be ready for my first day back to work.

I finished up Joy Tree by M Designs from the 2005 Just Cross Stitch ornament issue. Its part of my RR (my selection) that I had been waiting for extra supplies for.


Now normally tonight I'd work on Celestial Dragon, but I'm not going to work on it tonight. Instead I'm going to get going on that last model for Great Bear Canada. Then I can get my stitching schedule back to normal... until another model shows up.

Another Ornament!

Well, another day and another picture from the Botanical Gardens in Montreal.

Yesterday I fell like I pretty much wasted my day doing all that running around that you save up to do on a day off! My day didn't start off the best, with my car door not wanting to shut properly... to forgetting some receipts for an insurance claim! Argh! I left home at 9:30am and didn't get home until 3pm! What a long day, felt like I didn't get much done either!


Yesterday as part of the freebie SAL at the Needle and Thread BB I started this prairie Schooler c2005 freebie. I stitched it on the same fabric as I had stitched the last PS freebie I did. I finished him this morning.

I'm happy to pass this little chart along so the first person to drop me an e-mail (in my sidebar) with their mailing addy will have it sent in the mail to them.

Now I'll get back to Joy Tree... yet again!

Botanical Gardens & RR HD

Its been another couple of days since I last blogged! Yesterday was a lovely day out with my friend, her daughter and her Mom. We went to the Hershey Factory, and for the first time that I've ever been there they've been working! Normally if I do go there its on a weekend and the machines are off. You can still walk around and do the tour but its not as interesting. Oh boy does it ever smell like chocolate!!!! It made my poor tummy rumble! I of course came home with some goodies. We also went for a nice lunch at my local watering hole (Pub).

Today's March Break field trip, was with my parents. We went to Montreal to check out the Botanical Gardens. My Mum told me they used to take me there a lot when I was a kid, but honestly I don't' really remember. So it was a new adventure for me. Oh the greenhouses were beautiful!! When we entered the house holding the orchids the air was just so fragrant! I took soo many pictures that I can't share them all at once. So every now and then I'll share a new picture with you. Don't ask me what the flowers are... there were too many to remember! Also they had an exhibit called Butterflies go Free. One of their greenhouses had been turned into a butterfly habitat. It was soooo cool walking around with butterflies fluttering around you in the air. It was just awesome! We wrapped up our day with lunch at McBay on Boul Des Source, we used to go there when I was a kid (gosh ... almost 30 years ago... I turn 30 on the 27th of this month!). We also took a drive around the old neighborhood. I slept all the way home! Boy today really pooped me out! I'm still not 100% this week.

On Wednesday in the mail the first installment of the TWRR I joined shoed up! So that evening I started Suzanne's TWRR. Suzanne's RR is a band sampler so I stitched the top portion of the border from Teresa Wentzler's Romeo and Juliet.

Between now and bedtime I'm going to get back to Joy Tree which I barely started on Tuesday. Tomorrow I'm going to start my piece for the monthly freebie SAL over at the Needle and Thread BB (link in my sidebar). I've picked out another Prairie Schooler freebie, this one is of a Santa. I even have the same fabric as the last PS freebie I stitched!

Oh gosh, I've almost forgotten the SBQ!!!!

Q: Do you stitch "over one?" If so, describe your experiences. If not,have you considered it?

A : Yes I do. I don't mind stitching over one at all! I've stitched anything from signatures, to portions of designs, to whole ornaments, to large Silver Lining designs! I've stitched over one on 25ct, 28ct, 30ct, and even 32ct! My current ornament Joy Tree is stitched over one on 30ct. I find I actually enjoy stitching over one from time to time... but not all the time!

Sigh... March Break is almost over!

3rd March Beak Happy Dance

Well, I've done it again today! Another happy dance in the Dani camp! This one really was a quickie I started it this evening and just finished it during the Amazing Race.

This finish is Little Pumpkin in The Patch by Heart in Hand c2003. I've stitched it on 28ct Queen Ann's Lace Joblean (its what was on the top of my evenweave scraps baggie).

This is a cute little chart that was given to me ages ago by my stitching fried Misty and I've finally gotten around to stitching it (about time!). I like the design, but I'm not too impressed with how the blackbirds turned out. Oh well. I'll probably eventually turn this into a cube-it to put out on the coutner at work during October.

I've started yet another project tonight. My next piece is M Designs Joy Tree from the 2005 JCS ornament edition. This was my selection for the JCS 05 Ornament RR, I never got around to stitching it for myself because my supplies didn't arrive until the last minute. Actually, it was the threads and beads only that arrived. I finally got the extra thread and embellishments last week! Talk about a long wait as I ordered those back in December.

Tomorrow I have an outing planned with my friend, her Mom and her daughter. We're going to go to the Hershey Factory and out for lunch.

Second March break HD!

Well I haven't been online for quite a few days... were you starting to worry?

Saturday morning I headed out to Ann's and helped her re-organize her shop, Knowledge and Needles. After my afternoon of slave labour (of course I offered so one can't complain right? And well it was a great chance to play with lots of stash!), we settled in for some well deserved stitching! I worked on Bug Collector all weekend! Ann and Dan treated me to a really nice dinner out on Saturday night, I'd definitely go to that restaurant again, then ordered in Chinese on Sunday! Oooh I must be at least 5lbs heavier after that!

Monday morning I headed back home. By mid afternoon I crawled into bed not feeling verry well! By 3pm I realized I was running a low-grade fever! Argh! I was not pleased at all, isn't it typical that you get sick when you're on your holidays? I'm feeling better today, my temperature has been very slowly coming down and my tummy is a little sore.

Now onto the good stuff! My second March Break happy dance! May I present : Jeannette Douglas's Bug Collector c2002. Its stitched on some old Silkweaver Colourblooms, Blue Clouds and I just love how the colours pop! This was an awesome piece to stitch and I don't know why I left it sitting in my stash for so long!




Now I'm onto another new piece, once again not small. I thought I'd let this stitching week be for me, to stitch a lot of the smaller pieces I've been wanting to do! I've put aside my model stitching and my SAL's this week! My next project is Little Pumpkin in the Patch by Heart in Hand. I don't have all the overdyed cottons called for so I'll be subbing as needed. So keep an eye on this space...