THE BEST MEDICINE . . .

A million 'thank yous' to you lovely blogging friends that have again offered your messages of support and prayer on my health ~ my biopsy results were not perfect but have definitely ruled out all the very nasty things that it might possibly have been and although I now await kidney test results, I am optimistic on the Doctors getting me through this!

What a gorgeous weekend we have just had and with the added bonus of a Bank Holiday Monday here in England it meant 3 long awaited days working in the garden . . .  for me it really is just The Best Medicine!

Like all gardens after such a long long Winter, Spring brings such beauty and colour

I love the grass and trees this time of year ~ so green and fresh

I don't actually know the name of this flower but the smell is just heavenly

My favourite part of the garden ~ a gentle slope from bottom to top and so many fragrant flowers and shrubs as you brush past them

My sewing room and the gorgeous shrubs I look out on to

Sunshine, sunshine, sunshine

Mr. Robin keeping watch from the Magnolia Tree for any worms as I dug the flower beds

My Mum gave me this Lilac Tree as a little sampling about 8 years ago, hers perished shortly afterwards and mine is still flourishing, it got hidden away when the team were in the garden last year landscaping and building the Garden Room but it's been rescued and treated to a new pot

DH has been painting the garden furniture and has matched the colour to the new pots exactly, so pleased with it

We've put the bench under the Apple Trees and hopefully after such a disappointing yield last year we'll be luckier and  get a good crop

Next to the bench ~ a new border ~ lavender, pinks, rosemary and choisya

And finally my rocking chair, also being lovingly restored by DH to match the bench

So any sewing I hear you ask? 

Well not a great deal I'm afraid!  I have progressed further with my HaED but the light is poor today, Yes! the rain is back so I will try and take a good photo of that for next time.

This wooden flower shape was a freebie with a recent cross stitching magazine but I didn't like the flower motif they suggested stitching on it so found this little chap to sew on instead, it came with a keyring attachment so I shall attach it to my Summer canvas bag once the good weather returns!

I'm just about to finish another small project, unusual but very cute but again I'll keep you waiting 'til next time and by then I might even manage to get it sewn up too.

Thanks for stopping by

HAPPY STITCHING

x x x

NO MORE STITCHES PLEASE . . .

A hairy caterpillar slowly crossed the path in front of them,

in search of something to eat.

'One day soon it will change into a butterfly' said Big Nutbrown Hare.

'With wings?'

'Oh, lovely wings' said Big Nutbrown Hare.

Happy May everyone ~ how quick has that arrived?

OK, so I have been keeping quiet about my continuing health problems but as my title to this post probably indicates I'm not stitching, well I am and I'll show you more in a minute but just to fill you in, in as fewer words as possible . . .

Not been too good for the last 6 months and have been sent to see yet another Specialist.

Felt I was being exceptionally brave when I went to see him on my own just before Easter, after all it was only for a consultation so it's okay DH I can cope, WRONG!  2 biopsies, a local anaesthetic and stitches ~ not quite what I had envisaged ~ needles & injections ~ no, no, no! 

Went back a week later to have stitches removed and get results ~ biopsies missing and no trace of them at the London hospital they were sent to!  Still missing 2 weeks later so last week had to have the biopsies repeated ~ more needles, more injections ~ even more no, no, no!

Told the Specialist if this was going to be a regular event I'd bring him a chart out of my Stash box and at least he could stitch a design with his crosses!  At least he changed the colour of the thread this time from black to blue!  Anyway stitches out tomorrow and awaiting results with much stress and quite scared ~ totally had enough of feeling rubbish and not knowing what is wrong with me ~ there! story told, not a very joyful one so let's move on . . .

My thanks again for all your supportive messages and advice on my HAED attempt ~ I have not given up on it completely but have followed your many suggestions of tucking it away and coming back to it later . . .

SO, what to stitch in the meantime?  I know, I'll start another HAED instead (I'm putting this insanity down to my present state of mind!) ~  

'VIBRANT VISTA'

This is another original artwork by the wonderful Jane Wooster Scott, I love her designs and HAED have quite a few to choose from.  I've avoided anything with snow this time and opted for an Autumnal/Harvest feel and . . .

so far so good!

This design is a little smaller than my first choice ~ only a mere 134,00 stitches and 35 pages of confetti, actually the sky is a welcome break with more solid areas of stitching, but even so this still feels like it's going to be one very big Wedding!!!
I've stitched on it nearly every day in the past couple of weeks ~ I find it a great way to take my mind of other things and I'm so so enjoying it.

Gorgeous warm weather here in the South at long last and I have 2 very happy bunnies who can now discover what that lush green stuff is in the garden!

Thanks for stopping by
HAPPY STITCHING
xxx

I FEEL A FAILURE!

I really do feel a complete failure today!

Firstly a big Thank You to those of you that left me a comment on my last post relating to my question of the colour of snow!  I really did appreciate you taking the time and it was so surprising at how different each of us regard how snow should look.

The overall winner seemed to be B5200 so why am I feeling so miserable now?

I've tried the B5200 and it's just tooooo white and stark against the other colours used, I've tried the Blanc/White and it just gives the look of grey snow so I've stitched, unpicked, stitched unpicked, stitched and unpicked (funny how stitching an area is so much quicker than unpicking it!) and finally gave in and used the suggested 3865.  I had heard from HAED last week and was firmly told that this was the correct colour and was even sent pictures of someone else's progress of this design and blow me if it didn't look a lovely shade of white! 

This is my progress so far . . . 

The camera has lightened this picture considerably but believe me the snow is still cream! (the top of the Bell Tower is unstitched!) To top it all, the hassle of keep unpicking areas I felt had spoilt the fabric in those areas so I gently washed it to revive it and Hey Presto ~ the fabric's shrunk ~ not too bad but the 3" extra fabby around the design has reduced a fair bit!

I don't know why it isn't doing it for me but I do feel that the stitching should portray the picture shown to promote it and this in no way does?

So it's official ~ after 4 weeks work ~ I give in, feel totally fed up with it and I am a FAILURE.

Good job my dear friend Barb sent me another surprise package this week, I say surprise but I keep forgetting to tell Barb my surname so the packages arrive addressed to Jane, Tilly and Oscar ~ a complete giveaway but does make me laugh!

Lots of bunny goodness 

A pretty embossed card, a gorgeous felted heart with bunny button

but just look at this for cuteness, oh I just love it, Barb has added pretty beads down each side which match the thread colours perfectly

and even the back of the cushion has a bunny

I am so so lucky to have Barb as a friend ~ I've told her I now have a 'Barb Shelf' so all her gorgeous stitched goodies can be displayed together ~ thank you Barb, you know how much it means at the moment xxx

Thanks for stopping by

HAPPY STITCHING

xxx

WHAT COLOUR IS SNOW?

Yes, I know you are all going to say white but not all white is white is it?

My dilemma . . . I've made a good start on my HAED 'A Real Snow Job' and now want to start adding the snow bits ~ there's an awful lot of them, believe me, 10 skeins worth!  The threads came in the post last week and when I opened them, my immediate thought was ugh that's cream, not white, I double-checked the thread number and nope, they're correct ~ cream snow!

Jane Wooster Scott is the artist of this work of art . . .

and amongst her many glorious paintings she did several with snow.  When I checked the thread colours used on her other designs HAED have produced they are all done using B5200 so now in doubt and not wanting dirty snow I contacted HAED, had a very confusing response with a promise of a further email last Friday afternoon and guess what ~ no reply, not too impressed and feel a bit let down!

So blogging friends ~ what colour is snow?

B5200 ~ bright white . . . Blanc ~ white . . . 3865 Winter White (this is the one listed to use)

I know many of you stitch lovely winter scenes and snowmen so wondered if you could give some suggestions or links to the ones you have stitched and feel they truly represent snow.  I just feel the snow looks so lovely and bright in the original artwork that to get the colour wrong will be a BIG mistake and OMG! the thought of unpicking white confetti stitches on 25 count 1over1 ~ my sanity could be in question!

Hope you are all having a lovely Easter and the bunny brought you lots of edible goodies

Thanks for stopping by

HAPPY STITCHING

xxx