< iStitch
Friday, 21 August 2009
Red!


I have just heard from Amy that she received the red cube pincushion that I stitched for a personal exchange. I mailed it to her last Monday afternoon and it reached her today - how fast is that? I think that Amy had been coveting one of these cubes as she got in touch with me to say that she had been unable to locate the pattern. Unfortunately, as this is part of a CA Wells' class piece, I was unable to help her but I did suggest that we could do an exchange and that I would stitch her one in the colour of her choosing! As we all know Amy loves red so this is the colour she chose. It's stitched on 35ct white Brussels linen with Glorianna Poinsettia silk thread, DMC 12 white perle cotton and has a 7mm white silk ribbon trim. Inside I placed a British coin to give it a little weight. The picture is 'clickable' for a closeup view.

I have also finished a gift that I have been stitching so this is now ready to be packed up and mailed out to it's new owner. I call it 'a splash of red' - are you intrigued?

Thanks for visiting and enjoy the weekend
Take care


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Thursday, 21 May 2009
For Yuko


I heard from Yuko that she has received the gifts that I sent to her and Sweetie. The post between the UK and Japan is very fast as this was only posted last Saturday. Yuko has always admired the tiny square pincushions that I have stitched for others and even last week, whilst chatting on Facebook, she said how much she liked them. I had to smile to myself because, unbeknown to her, I had already stitched one for her before my surgery but had not got round to sending it! There are many more (and much better) pictures on Yuko's blog (here)  - I think she likes it! It is stitched on my favourite 35ct Brussels linen with DMC white perle 12 and Soie Crystal 0068 which I chose because pink is Yuko's favourite colour. The ribbons are 7mm silk and the pattern is from CA Wells.

Yesterday I put a few more stitches into Beatrix Potter and I will work on her again today. I also made the scissor fob for my upcoming giveaway and, as I have now decided that I will make another one, participants will get two chances to win! Don't forget to come back as this giveaway will be posted shortly.

'Lost' came to the end of the fifth series last weekend - what a cliffhanger - how can I wait until 2010? And 'Dexter' is back - well actually he's been back for a few weeks - but what is going on? He seems to be settling down or ..... is he? 

Thanks for visiting
Take care  

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Tuesday, 19 May 2009
A willow basket



Back in 2001 I was lucky enough to attend a CA Wells' Living Legacy weekend in Harwich Port, Cape Cod MA. One of the first classes was 'lining a basket' with Marcia Brown of The Binding Stitch. I had not lined a basket before and I was quite pleased with my first (and last) effort!


This is the cartouche that I stitched for the bottom of the basket. There were other items to go into the basket; a photo album with a stitched front cover and a slider purse. If you have never attended a CA class and get a chance - go for it as her classes are fun and you will learn a lot.


A group photo - are you there?


And now if you are of a nervous disposition , look away ...

... this is the scar I am left with on my right hand after my surgery and as you can see it's healed up nicely. My hand is still a little stiff at times and occasionally swells slightly, mostly when I've overdone it and, strangely enough, the weather affects it too! Now to get my eye sorted and I shall be as good as new. The date for this surgery is May 27 so not long to wait now. The wedding is on June 20 so I hope that I will not have too much of a black eye. Nicola has loaned me a great pair of Chanel sunglasses that not only match my dress but will add that air of mystery too!

I did pick up the Dutch Band Sampler last night but not enough progress to post a picture. Some of the beads and the lobster claws I ordered arrived this morning so as soon as the rest arrive, I will be making some more beaded scissor fobs. I will be having a fob giveaway shortly, so please come back if you don't want to miss out!

Thanks for visiting
Take care






Harwich Port on Dwellable

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Wednesday, 25 February 2009
A White Christmas?





No, it's a White Exchange! When Su and I decided to do an exchange I thought long and hard as to what to stitch for and then I remembered that she had said how much she liked the pink and white pincushion (here). As this is one of my favourite pincushions, which I enjoy both stitching and finishing, the decision was made but now what colour to use? I had just finished my whitework Christmas Snowflake ornament for the 2009 Christmas Challenge (here) and suddenly the choice was made - a whitework pincushion! It's a CA Wells' pattern and stitched on 35ct white Brussels linen with DMC white perle 12 and AVAS Blanc Optique silk floss; the ribbon is a 7mm white silk. To complete the 'white' theme, the extras I sent were, of course, white! I apologise for the poor pictures - I would love any tips of taking pictures of whitework stitching although I sure Su will put great photos on her blog! Maybe I should have waited and stolen (umm - borrowed?) her photos? 

Yesterday I stitched for 4-5 hours on my chosen pattern from the Miniature au Point de Croix book. I am stitching 1*1 on 40ct (I promise to use the 50 or 55ct next time) using HDF OMG Red 1149 and OMG (no pun intended) it's gorgeous - would you like to see? I will work on it again this afternoon so, hopefully, I may even finish it today! I have no idea what I will do with it once it's finished but I am thinking I will hem-stitch it. 

I still have my cold. Despite swigging cough medicine before I went to bed, I coughed for most of the night and hence slept in late this morning. I am now late with the chores so I need to get off the computer without my daily 'blog read'. Hopefully I will catch up later.

Thanks for visiting
Take care   

Edited: Take a look at Su's blog - she has, as I thought she might, taken some wonderful pictures of this pincushion. I am going to look for a photography class!

Stop Press: I've changed the colour pictures to black and white - they look better - I think!

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Monday, 26 January 2009
An exchange and a RAK


Recently Becky and I did a personal exchange and now that Becky has received her package I can show you the mattress pincushion that I did for her. I knew exactly what I wanted to stitch for Becky - check out all those tiny bees! The pattern is a CA Wells design from a class I took with her in Cape Cod in 2002 called 'Stitching in the Garden' which I amended very slightly. It is stitched on 30ct Brussels linen with Glorianna Winter Woods, NPI silk threads and DMC 12 perle cotton 642.


This morning I received a lovely package from Anita of Little Stitches. Anita is a really talented lady - go visit her blog and/or her website to see some of her lovely designs which can be purchased at such a reasonable cost. In the package were some Access Thread Drops, a Cover Button Kit and extra buttons, some shaped and coloured eyelets. some needles and a skein of Carrie's Creation silk floss in a gorgeous share of mauve and teal called Epithany. I've not tried this silk floss before and I am looking forward to giving this a try. Thank you Anita for such a lovely gift. I have something a bit different planned for these buttons so watch this space!

At last the sun has made an appearance and I feel so much better this morning so I am planning on some 'finishing' today. I have two exchanges which should be sent out next weekend so hopefully I will be on time. I was beginning to panic a bit as usually my exchanges are stitched, finished and mailed well before the deadline! 

I did stitch some over the weekend as I made a start on my Beatrix Potter Quaker SAL and I will post a picture tomorrow. I found it quite comforting to curl up on the sofa and lose myself in a few Quaker motifs and I am very pleased with both the fabric and floss that I have chosen. 

Thanks for visiting
Take are 

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Friday, 16 January 2009
Missing?


On December 13 I mailed six gifts to the US. To my knowledge only four have arrived. I have no idea of what has happened to the other two - what is it with the postal system? I'll own up that I missed the deadline by a couple of days for mailing in time for Christmas, but surely they have had plenty of time to get there now? One missing package contained one of the tiny Christmas Crackers (see here) and a birthday gift and the other the above pincushion with Swaroski crystal and pearl pins. Still, ever the optimistic, they may eventually arrive and if they don't I will re-stitch! The pincushion is a CA Wells' pattern and is stitched on 35ct white Brussels linen with white perle no 12 and a pink AVAS silk floss although I cannot remember the shade number. 

Still no luck with the Charland mistletoe charm but a thank you to all those who searched their stash and/or contacted their LNS. I guess I will have to wait for the one I have on order but in the meantime I will 'finish' the ornament and stitch the charm on later.

It's dull and gloomy yet again. Will the Summer ever arrive? Will I ever see sunlight again? Will I ever sit out in the garden and feel sunlight on my face? I'm SAD!

Thanks for visiting
Take care

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Friday, 25 July 2008
HOE Summer Quaker exchange



I received a lovely e-card from Jill today saying she had receive the HOE Summer Quaker exchange that I sent to her. The Post Office excelled itself as it only took 4 days to travel from the UK to the US! I stitched a CA Wells' pincushion for Jill although I did not strictly adhere to HOE rules. I pondered what colour/s to use and found the Thread Gatherers Wild Violets in my stash and as a frequent visitor to Jill's blog I knew what a 'purple' lady she is so rather than stitch in a colour that she 'might' like, I decided to use the colour I knew she 'would' like! I also made some pins from Swaroski crystal and silver Delica beads. 

I have been working on Hannah Beeby for these past couple of days and I will take a photo to show you later - she is looking good even if I do say so myself :o) And I actually think that this is the right week for the SAL too!

Thanks for visiting
Take care and have a great weekend 

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Friday, 18 July 2008
Long time - no post!
Working has its disadvantages like no stitching and no blogging! But I'm back even though I will probably be working next week too. Ok so here goes - quite  a few pictures to show you. 

Firstly Helen asked me about the fob she spied hanging off the basket from which I drew the names for the Quaker biscornu draw. Here is photos of both the back and front. I stitched this at "Stitching in the Garden" a CA Wells' class held in Cape Cod in 2002. It was originally attached to a pencil but I removed it so I could hang from one of my Nantucket baskets. The back is a silk fabric with an embroidered bee on it. There was also another fob hanging from the basket which I will show you another time. 



Next up is a Christmas ornament which I stitched a couple of weeks ago and, if you remember, I did give you a tiny glimpse of it. I finished this off today.  It's the fob from Sampler Cove's Rhapsody in Red III which I amended into an ornament. The ribbon was a bit thick to do the ruching around the edge but I think it looks ok and I know my friend will appreciate it. It's stitched on my favorite white 35ct Brussels linen with a red and green Splendor silk thread. 

I also finished my piece for Jayne's Attic Monthly Finishing Challenge but I cannot show any photos until the reveal day on July 27.



And then I got some stash in the mail from Golden Needle.
 

This is The Stitching Parlor's "My First Sewing Box and Scissor Fob" pattern with the fabric, threads and the Whitman's tin to finish it. These are not usually colours I would choose but I am looking forward to doing something different. 


Cathy from Golden Needle also asked me if I would stitch for the Habitat project. Lizzie Kate donated the patterns, another customer donated the fabric so all I had to do was supply the DMC threads and my time for stitching. It was a quick stitch on 14ct Rustico. It's a long time since I have stitched on Aida fabric. These pieces are going to made into banners for those people who were made homeless by Hurricane Katrina. Cathy also enclosed a second piece of fabric and pattern for Kirby to stitch one too which I am sure she will do once she returns from her girly trip to Majorca.

Last Wednesday evening was our Stitch-n-Bitch group meeting. It was a bit of an effort to go but I am so glad I did as we had a great time and I managed to stitch some more on Mindi's QFRR piece.  It won't be too long before this is ready to be mailed on. 

While I was there a pair of the Dovo scissors again caught my attention so I decided to treat myself - check out the top two pictures - aren't they just gorgeous?

Thanks for visiting - have a great weekend
Take care 

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Friday, 28 March 2008
Quaker pinkeep



I've been a bit lax in posting this past few days but I have been busy - some stitching and finishing that I cannot show yet and eating! I had dinner with my son and his family on Monday evening, dinner with my stitching group to celebrate two birthdays on Wednesday evening, yesterday it was lunch with my friends from work, as one member of staff is leaving, and then last night I had dinner with my daughter and her family. I guess I will have to cook tonight but I think I have eaten enough to last me for a couple of weeks or more!

The above pinkeep I originally stitched for the HOE exchange but I liked it so much that I decided, selfishly, to keep it for myself. The pattern is from the Ackworth School Pattern Book. It is stitched on 36ct antique white Edinburgh linen with one strand of black Au Ver a Soie silk floss over two threads. I added a pocket on the back to hold a pair of Kelmscott Putford scissors which I have ordered but, as I am waiting for them to arrive, I put a pair of my Gingher scissors in for effect. I think the black Putfords will look a lot nicer. I also finished the pinkeep I stitched for the HOE exchange and I am putting together a gift package for my partner so I can mail it, hopefully, tomorrow.

I am also still waiting the arrival of the NPI silk floss which I ordered to start the Hannah Beeby SAL, which I should have started on Monday but, as my thumb was extremely sore and the floss hadn't arrived, it remains unstarted. Hopefully the silks, together with my Putford scissors will be here soon.

I have also been a very 'Naughty Girlie'. I have been eyeing the new iMac since it's launch last year and, bearing in mind that my present iMac is not even a year old yet, I have been talking myself out of getting it but I have given in and it is on order and might even be delivered today! How exciting is that? I am a real Apple fan and apart from the iMac I also have a G4 iBook, a Classic Ipod and a Nano. Once I have transferred everything onto the new computer I will list this one on Ebay where hopefully I will get a good price for it and will salve my conscience.  

Thank you for all the nice comments on my HOE biscornu and one question from Jen to be answered:- 

Q.  "How did you do the edge of the biscornu?"
A.  I surrounded the design with 4-sided stitches which I then used to stitch the back and front together using CA Wells' exclusive binding stitch ("Sam and Bertha") and adding the beads as I went. So long as you have an even number of 4-sided stitches this works extremely well and is very easy to do.    

Thanks for visiting
Take care 

Edited : My new computer arrived this afternoon - now to transfer my files etc onto it :-)  I will post a picture when it's up and running! Oh don't you just love Macs?
 

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Monday, 25 February 2008
Nothing new to show



Although I have a good stitching weekend I have nothing I can show yet. My biscornu for the HOE exchange is finished and I am putting together my package to get into the mail in the next week or so. As soon as my partner receives it, I will post photos. I also made a great start on a pinkeep. As to whether I send this to my unknown partner in the pinkeep exchange depends on their taste and, as to whether I fall in love with this piece myself. I am really pleased with how the stitching is turning out and so will probably end up with this in my display cabinet!

My lamsbwool fabric for the Quaker Friendship RR (32ct) and for Hannah Beeby SAL (35ct) turned up in this morning's mail so tomorrow I am visiting a friend from my stitching group who has said she will overlock (serge) the edges for me. I hate unravelled edges - so untidy! And then ... I will put my first stitches in QF. 

As I have no new stitching photos that I can show you and, as I like to see photos in blogs, I have posted two photos of a project I did in 2000.  It's called a Sampler Cottage Etui and is a CA Wells' piece.  As you can see the roof lifts off and inside there is a pincushion and a scissor fob. There is a scrimshaw ruler in a slot on the inside - you can just see it and a scrimshaw thread winder is attached by a pin to the back of the pincushion. The scissors fit into a slot on the side opposite the ruler.  I really enjoyed doing this project - a real cute little house!    

Thanks for visiting
Take care
Carol

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Wednesday, 23 January 2008
A bad day!

Thank you to those who gave me suggestions for my Shaker Box lid. After much procrastination (opps what a big word!) I decided to go back to square one and re-lace it with extra batting going over the sides - oh dear - bad move. I careful undid the lacing on the stitching and replaced it with a larger piece of batting which I laced to the precut mat board supplied with the box. I then re-laced the stitching onto that but found that the extra lacing actually pulled the piece smaller and it still didn't fit as snugly as I had hoped. In fact the fit was worse as it wouldn't lay flat in the recess on the lid. And - oh no - what is that red on my stitching?  Guess who had pricked her finger? Did you hear me scream?  So ... plaster on finger ... I undid the whole lot again - removed the extra batting and re-laced the stitching pulling it slightly differently so the red mark does not show - I hope!  I am now going to go with the braided cord around the edge so watch this space for an update photo. What a waste of precious stitching time!

So no new stitching photos today so I decided to show you a couple of projects from the past. Both are from CA Wells classes that I did in London.




The thimble suitcase I stitched in 2002.  Just look at those tiny hedebo ribbon handles - aren't they just cute? A thimble fits in the opening between the handles.




The deckchair I stitched in 2004.  As it was a seaside theme I changed the name to Siesta Key. I also made a teeny scissor fob to match the pincushion headrest. The scrimshaw CR on the headrest is by Marcy Pumphret.

Thanks for visiting and putting up with my tale of woe.
Take care
Carol

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Wednesday, 2 January 2008
A New Project for 2008

Pyramid Etui
Designer: C A Wells












January 1st, 2008 New Project Start
Diminutive Sewing Set
Designer: Merry Cox




Welcome back and thank you all for your kind comments on my first blog - much appreciated.  A special thank you to Cindy for guiding me in the changing of the URL!  


I decided to start a new project for 2008 and chose Merry Cox's Diminutive Sewing Set.  I fell in love with this project when I first saw it and contacted Merry to see if she would be teaching this in the UK but alas she said not in the near future.  I regularly surfed ebay to see if someone would put one up for sale, again no luck  :-( and then a very good friend of mine in the US said she would send her mother to one of the classes to get the kit for me!  So now I have the fabric, the silk threads, the finishing kit and most of all the tiny wood carrier.  I couldn't wait to start it but the Christmas ornament frenzy had already started and  I had also decided to stitch pinkeeps for my friends in my stitch group so I put it to one side thinking it would be my holiday project but again I was too busy to make a start and then a friend sent me this  "The Metrostitchers is a fun group of stitchers with activities all through the year.  Although bases in the metro NYC area, there are members in other states and even a few in other countries -- they are moving towards world domination! They have a tradition, begun many years ago of starting a new project on New Year's.  No matter how many projects we have going, we celebrate the New Year with a new start, small or large. We carry on this tradition as a way to honor all those stitchers who have gone before us -- the mothers, grandmothers, aunts, sisters, friends and all who have taught us to love fiber and needle. We hope you'll join in continuing this tradition..." .  And so, I decided that I, too, would start a new project on New Year but with the proviso that it must be finished by the end of the year!! 


I also have a few other unfinished projects that are stitched and which I need to finish - a scissor fob, a pinkeep and a design to be affixed to a shaker box lid and, of course then there are those UFO's that we all have hidden away!  


Last Sunday - Dec 30 - my stitch group met up for the day.  We started at 10.30am with a coffee and a chat and then Lynn, the beader of our group, said she would show us how to make snowflakes out of Swaroski crystal beads.  We had a terrific morning and all managed to make 2 snowflakes - pictures will be taken and posted soon.  I was a bit out of my 'comfort zone' as I don't do much beading but I was rather pleased with my snowflakes even if they didn't quite come up to Lynn's standard but they say practice makes perfect so I will have another go and see if the saying is true.  After lunch of lasagna and salad followed by not one but two delicious desserts, we all decided to stitch.  I worked on Eliza's Pyn Keep stitching on 32ct lambswool linen with DMC threads and surprisingly nearly finished the front.  We finished at 4.00pm and decided it was a great day and that we must do it again soon.  


Laura asked me about CA Wells' pyramid - this is a beautiful piece Laura (see photos) but this is a class piece.  You might be lucky and find one on ebay but expect to pay quite a high price for it.


Daisy Girl - I have been to visit on Fair and Square and yes I would be interested in joining but not yet as I am due to have surgery on my right hand in the very near future and I would not like to join and not fulfill my obligations so, maybe when the surgery is done and I am able to stitch, I will contact you if that's ok with you?   I am not sure how long my recovery will take - I had the same surgery on my left hand last April and it was 8-10 weeks before I was able to stitch - very frustrating but the hardest part of only being able to use one hand was the everyday things;  tying my hair back into a pony tail, putting toothpaste onto the brush, spraying deodorant under the good arm and even worse - try pulling up (or down) your panties with one hand!!!  Moral of this tale - do not leave it too long before you visit the bathroom!!!


It's my first day of not working today - did I enjoy it? Oh yes but why did it go so quickly?  A work day doesn't fly past that quickly.  It feels as though I am still on a break as Ken does not go back to work until next week - I expect I will feel differently when I'm "home alone".


Thank  you for visiting with me again.
Carol

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Monday, 31 December 2007
My First Blog!

Abide Thy Heart Shaker Box
Designer: Merry Cox
Fabric and Floss: 36ct sandstone linen, Soie Crystal silks threads




Royal Sachet
Designer : CA Wells
Fabric and Floss: 36ct antique white linen , NPI silk threads



My sampler wall
Designer: Darlene O'Steen
Fabric and Floss: 36ct linen,  Au Ver A Soie silk threads


Today is the first day of the rest of my life - my first day of retirement!  After 30 years of working in a law office It's now 'my time' so I decided to start my blog and share my life with you.  I am new at 'blogging', despite my numerous visits to various blogs in the past, so, if this blog seems very basic, please bear with me and I will try and make it more interesting as I go along.


So ... where shall I start?  I suppose by telling you a little something about myself.  I have been married to Ken for 43 years; I have two children and six grandchildren whose ages range from 7 to 18 years.  I live in a very small seaside town on the south east coast of the UK - on a clear day we can see France over the channel!


I have been stitching for over 30 years.  So how did I start to stitch?  To cut a longish story short it started with my daughters attendance at a local dance school.  Each year the school would put on an annual show and also enter competitions for which she needed costumes.  One year she was doing a Czech national dance and the description of the costume she would need stated "... and a heavily embroidered headsquare". Oh dear, my heart sank, I had no idea where to start.  OK - I took a deep breath and reached for the sky blue fabric I had used for the skirt, ironed on a transfer, brought some DMC threads in emerald green, black and white to match the braid I had purchased for the bands around the bottom of the skirt and I was off - albeit very apprehensively.  I found I was enjoying it - so little by little, stitch by stitch until I had finished. Oh wow it was beautiful and I was extremely pleased with the finished result. She didn't win the competition but her costume looked good and I thought she danced well - not that I was biased of course! Unfortunately I have no pictures of my first effort - maybe a good thing as maybe it wasn't stitched as well as I remember it to be :-) 


So ... that was it, I was hooked and for a while I stuck to traditional embroidery until a couple of years later I discovered cross stitch.  I went from basic cross stitch pictures, to cross stitch samplers to multi-stitch samplers and then, in 1998, I went along to a CA Wells' class in London.  The project was the Peacock Needlecase and I was very pleased with my finished piece.  Since that time I have attended more of CA's classes and even went to Cape Cod for a couple of them.  Since then I have enjoyed making 'smalls' and I am sure I will continue to do so.  My favourite project is the Pyramid Etui - I think it really has that 'wow' factor.  I also like Merry Cox projects and Darlene O'Steen's wonderful samplers.


When my first grandchild was born I, of course, stitched a birth sampler for her and have done so for each of my grandchildren in turn.  I also stitched a picture for each of them every Christmas until I found I was spending my precious stitching time on large picture projects so one year I made tiny stitched stockings and backed them with felt.  I filled them with tiny gifts of chocolate, candy canes etc and a tiny teddy poked his head out of the top.  The following year I made my first ornaments.  A little Christmas mouse holding gifts, dragging a tree or draped in baubles adorned the fronts and on the back I stitched each child's name and the year.  Since then it has become a tradition where I hand out the ornaments and then they hang them on their respective trees.  Sometimes I use a ready charted design, sometimes I use a part of a design altered to suit and even some I have designed myself - a Noel cube with a jingle bell inside, a 3-sided ornament etc.  The youngest asked me a couple of years ago "Nan, are you 'knitting' us ornaments for the tree again this year?"  She now knows the difference between 'knitting' and 'stitching'.


This Christmas I joined my first exchange group and designed a piece called 'Holly Noel'.  I have now joined a scissor fob exchange and have made a fob called 'Strawberry Humbug'.  


My eldest grand-daughter also likes to stitch.  She started at 4 years old with 6ct Binca fabric, some skeins of coloured wools and a very large needle.  She stitched a square of cross stitches and her initial K in the middle.  She progressed from thereon to pictures and eventually at 12 years old she joined me at her first CA class.  As we entered the room I overheard one of the ladies say "Oh no, someone has brought a child along".  At the end of the class this same lady came over to me and said how wonderful it was to see a child of her age sit and stitch along with us and how well behaved she was.  We also did ornament exchanges at the class and one lady received Kirby's ornament two years running and she was absolutely thrilled.  She came along with me for the next few years until she discovered boys!!  She still stitches and is hoping to go into fashion and design in the future.  2 of the other 3 grand-daughters like to stitch and I have provided them each in turn with a filled sewing box.  


Well if you are reading this you have survived my first attempt at blogging and maybe you will come back and visit with me again?  And now I am off to stitch some more.  I am due to have more hand surgery sometime soon so I need to stitch as much as I can before then.



A Happy New Year to you
Carol
   

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