hello, hello

"Hello hello, hope you're feeling fine... "  this is a song from the 80s and I can't quite remember who sang it.  I really do apologize for the hiatus - it's not that I haven't been stitching, it's more I haven't had photos to share!

And why, you may ask.. the problem is my camera!   I googled, and discovered the problem may be that my poor Canon has lost a pixel in camera mode. I can do video, I can review old photos, but I can't take any new ones!  I feel so sad about it. it's a 5 year old classic, love its looks, but sadly it won't take photos anymore.  All I see in camera mode is a black screen.  I have to check with Canon if it can still be repaired but I'm not getting my hopes up as this is a model that was sold in the U.S., not here.

On to stitchy news.. I finished my Madame La Fee quilt square and have sent it by post to the lady who will incorporate it into a quilt.  I've gone back to doing my Maria Winkler "Peaches in a bowl" and started Lizzie Kate's Christmas Spirit double flip-it to be made into a banner.. charts courtesy of my dear cousin..  no it's not Christmas Rules, which I would also love to do.. although goodness knows and as many stitchers are wont to say, I have enough to do to last me for years at the pace I am going!   lol  I won't say I have enough to last me my whole life, but I have enough at the moment in freebies alone.

So.. there's still my Whimsey and Wit Advent Alphabet waiting in the wings for me.. I don't know if I said so in my last post, but I put it aside when I discovered that I was a stitch off-count.. don't know what I will do.  Frog? Go on?  I really don't know.

And then, when I had declared a stash diet, I went and bought a Bleu de Chine chart, and some Nutcrackers charts, and a copy of the Burda International magazine (important note - with the CHARTS!) and 3 fabrics, 32, 36 and 40 ct linen (I think one of them is jobelan not linen).  And I have to confess, there are 3 ladies waiting for me to make up my mind about additional stash.. this will be IT for the year, I spent more than I ever planned (actually I spent more than I ever have on stash in my entire life!).  I hasten to add that this stash is all pre-owned, so I can live with the idea of being a spendthrift better... now to find the time to stitch all this when they finally arrive!

Work has suddenly ramped up (is there such a word) and everyday I just feel so tired after.  Part of this is some organizational changes and the fears that go with it.. I just hope and pray everyday.. hope what, pray what, I think you can guess what  :-o

So hoping that you can send some good thoughts and prayers this way..  and I send the same to you, reading this!

a late, not so short post.. i'm still here!

hi everyone, just felt the need to post and have my presence noted. hello from this rainy patch of earth in asia!  it's raining even as i write.

it's not been a super stitchy month for me but i've managed to finish stitching a square meant to go in a quilt, for a cancer patient (whew what a long description, there must be a way to say this in a more mellifluous way!).  it's a Madame La Fee floral heart, a freebie actually.  i'm not able to post pictures, which i've been wanting to do, because my camera seems to have given up on me.  it is able to record in video mode, can show my previous photos, but in camera mode, it shows a black screen.  i googled my problem and it seems that maybe my camera's pixels have shorted, blacked out, or just in general given up the ghost.. lol   well, i turned it off then and haven't fiddled with it since, and now i am re charging the batteries, hoping the happening was a fluke.  we'll see, when the battery's been charged and loaded into the camera again. keep your fingers crossed for me, please!

in other news, my lovely stitching friend sent me the out of print and hard to find, BBD Loose Feathers No. 31 "Blessings and Kind Wishes". wasn't that sweet, and super generous of her? i was hunting all over for it to complete the Blackbird Designs Mystery Sampler, and she found it, and gifted me with it.. and it arrived last Thursday!!!  Showing her the BBD Mystery Sampler also made her want her own set, :-)   i must say, i quite enjoy being able to share stitchy news with her.  okay, that's another photo owing...

in a fit of madness, i bought a Bleu de Chine chart "Violets" and got into a whole lot of trouble over paying via PayPal.  don't ask!  although i'll write about it in my next post.  again my friend helped me out with that.  lol   if you ever get the chance, look up the The French Needle website.  if you're tired of the usual designs and charts, mosey along there and you'll be dazzled with what you find.

another extremely kind stitcher helped me with eBay-- purchasing a "Burda International" magazine. i have the magazine (bought all the way back in 1993) , but lost the charts, as the charts were all on 2 pages stapled in the middle of the magazine!  not one of the smartest things in formatting, i have to say.  

i'm thinking that at this point, i really should catalog all my purchases. i hasten to add that most of my purchases have been from fellow stitchers, hence most of these have been at least half price.  i'm excited at the thought of stitching the charts and looking at the fabrics i bought.. some linens at 32, 26 and 40ct, some aida.. they aren't here yet, but if i'm lucky they'll be here by Christmas.  how's that for something to look forward to?

August has, in the past 5 years, not been a good month..here's hoping we get through it unscathed..

anyway, wherever you are.. i hope the month of August is being kind to you!  Blessings and Kind Wishes to you! :-)

Heart

I've been stitching up a heart from Madame la Fee (it's a freebie, quick go to her site and look!), for a kind stitcher to incorporate into a quilt for a cancer survivor, who is also a stitcher. "C" -- Been there, don't want to do that again!  but of course very willing to bring joy to a fellow stitcher.

This is how it looked the other day:

This is how it looks now (so sorry, it's a very overcast Saturday.. but you might be able to see the flower top left that makes up the outline for the left side of the heart). I hope to finish the left side this weekend; it's all solid stitching:

I must say, I think this is the fastest I've stitched out of panic, because I have to mail this off before the end of July.. the bumble bees remind me of my younger brother, his birthday is end of July, but he's gone.. suddenly, unexpectedly, 5 years this August.  He used "bumble bee" as a term of endearment for his son,  my nephew.  He and I used to fight a lot as kids but I like to think we were getting a little closer as adults, at least I was hoping to be as we grew older  :(

Brother, I hope you know that you were/are loved .