A verrrrrrrry loooooooooong stitchy post

A few days later than I had hoped, but here I am with a photographic report of my sippy stitchy birthday celebrations.

A wise man recently told me that the way you celebrate your birthday is a foreshadowing of what the entire year is going to be like. Well, if he's right - and I have no reason to doubt him, because it proved true in the last couple of years - then this year is going to be one happy year for me, filled with love, good health, fun and stitching.

Even though I told my guests that their presence was present enough for me, they all came bearing the most astonishing, thoughtful gifts. And here they are, in alphabetical order of the givers.

You all remember I had high hopes of winning the soul of my oldest friend, Annique? Well, look at what she brought with her and judge for yourself if she doesn't already have excellent taste:

She gave me a beautiful chart by Iris van den Heiligenberg, a lady whose work I have admired for years. With it, Annique gave me the gorgeous Gloriana silks the design calls for, and a small wooden hoop. I like to use these as frames as well.
Yes, yes, I hear you think, but what about the stitching? Did you do it? Or, more importantly, did she do it??? This is me teaching her:

And this is the picture she sent me two days later.

Ladies and gentlemen, a big round of applause please. I think we have a winner! Annique admitted she was sort of twiddling her thumbs the next evening when Santa was finished and she just sat there... doing nothing. Needle and thread beckoned, but she's still fighting the urge. Ah, we've all been there, haven't we? Thinking 'Surely I can't be enjoying this old ladies' hobby?' Annique, sweetheart, give up the fight now, because you will lose anyway :o) And thank you for being there. It really means a lot to me, and I hope you know that.

Next up: Barbara.
As if I didn't have enough reason to nominate the lovely Barbara with the The Blogger Who Makes You Green With Envy Because They Can Stitch, Design, Work, Keep House And Raise A Family Without Seemingly Losing Any Of Their Amiable Qualities Award a while back, it now turns out that she can work magic with wool felt as well. Look at this amazing needlebook she crafted for me!

I love the colours of the felt and I adore the antique lace on the inside. And look at the scissors' fob, including a froglet to ward off the frogs! Thank you, Barbara. As always, I'm amazed at your creativity and thoughtfulness.

Harmien really went out of her way to spoil me on all fronts:

This is a quilted coffee cup she found at an Etsy store, designed (I think) to carry my mobile phone, but really, too pretty to use. I just have it lying on the table beside me so I can touch it every now and then :o)

She also gifted me with some fabulous patchwork fabrics, so many that if I could bring myself to use the sewing machine, I could make an entire quilt! Also, she gave me a skein of Belle Soie silk called Old Crow, which I didn't think was very nice of her, but there you go (Old crow indeed. The woman's freaking five and a half months older than I am.)

And last but certainly not least, she knitted this dishcloth, with cotton Staci sent her only days before. I have a picture of the dishcloth in action (you know, as part of the promote Staci's dishcloths campaign) but I'm not sure Blogger would accept another picture in this post. Maybe next time.
Anyway, Harmien, you really outdid yourself here. You gave me all of my favourite things, and more, because you were there and you are always there for me. Thank you for everything.

Heidi was there too! I had wanted to meet her for the longest time because she has two of the most inspiring blogs you can find in stitchy Blogland, and she always seemed like such a sweet, special person to me. Well, I can now officially teel you that she is all that, and more. It was great fun to meet her husband as well. Heidi brought the most amazing gift: a project basket she made herself, with Blackbird Designs fabric. Look at the picture and weep, for it is beautiful:

Heidi also gave me some threads by Carrie's Creations, which I've used in the past and LOVE. Thank you, Heidi, it was a great pleasure to meet you, and I hope you will join our Sip 'n' Stitches more often!

Mady (who doesn't have a blog but who does have a beautiful gallery over at Cyberstitchers) was not at my birthday party in person, but she was there in spirit. And on Monday, this gift from her arrived:

I have not been able to take them off since. I LOVE Mady's handknitted socks. They're beautifully made and they're warm and comfy, and Mady has great taste in colour. Thank you, Mady, for thinking of me, and for being such a dear friend.

Last, because her name is last alphabetically, is Margaret's gift, which is so beautiful I can't get enough of it. It's here beside me on the table (next to Harmien's coffee cup), and I have to look at it up close every so often, because it is so neat and petite and heart-warming:

Stitched over-one in my favourite colours. And, as you can see, an addition for my sampler wall which I will cherish forever. Thank you Margaret! I can't wait until December 13th, when we have our next Sip 'n' Stitch over at her house.

I realize this is a ridiculously long post, but I wanted to show the world how generous and sweet our stitching community is. Of course, we all know that, but it doesn't hurt to emphasize it every now and then :o)
You must have been wondering about the outcome of my court case, which was due yesterday. Well, I got it on Tuesday, but rather than going into it right here and now, I've decided to go about it in a different way. I'm going to write a soap opera. Now I'm sure if I offered my storyline to any existing soap opera, the soap opera bosses would all be like 'Aww, honey, no. Even soap opera watchers aren't willing to suspend their disbeliefs THIS far.' So I will be offering my soap opera to you, in very small portions, at the end of every post, starting next time. It's going to be a wild rollercoaster ride, so be prepared...