Bonny Swans

This morning, when I put my foot outside the door, I slipped and gave a rendition of Swan Lake that would have made Darcy Bushell weep with jealousy. After I had picked myself up (well, got to my hands and knees) I crawled back inside to see what caused the slippage and subsequent free ballet recital, and I noticed the world as far as I could see it was covered in a thick layer of ice. Clear, freezing cold, dangerously slippery ice. And so we had a day off. We baked some bread, we had a little snooze on the couch, and we had a nice long walk in the woods when the ice had disappeared. You may have noticed the significant lack of anything stitch-related in this summary of our day, and you're right. Having Pelle at home is a lot of fun, but he won't allow me a minute's respite from my motherly duties, so I'm waiting until this blog post has written itself, so I can do some stitching.

In the course of the last couple of weeks my mailman brought goodies to fondle and drool over, sent by some sweet, generous friends, old and new, to brighten my days. And oh boy, were they brightened.
Firstly, I am now the very lucky owner of one of Jennifer's very own, very beautiful, useful and gorgeous quilted project bags. Here it is in action:

Jennifer, thank you so much for your thoughtful gift. I know this has not been an easy year for you, and it makes the bag even more special. I haven't tried the gluten-free chocolate cookie mix yet, but I will!

Secondly, look at what new friend Valie sent me!

Valie is one of those immensely talented French blogging ladies who always make me green with envy because of their amazing stitching and finishing skills. One of her beautiful projects was stitched with Stef Francis threads, which I had never heard of before, and she kindly offered to send me 'some'. Well, the threads are every bit as gorgeous as the picture implies and I can't wait to work with them. Maybe use them for Beatrix Potter? And will you look at that beautiful pinkeep she made for me? The stitching and finishing are so neat! Thank you, Valie, and thank you for your friendship and your support.

Now, on the stitching front there's not much to report. I'm still working on Kathy's RR, which should be finished some time soon. Only a sail, some clouds, and a palm tree left to stitch, and then I'm done!

After that, I'm going to finish Michelle's NRR and send it to her. And no, Christmas was not some fairytale deadline I had in mind: I'm actually going to make it. One of the many advantages of the floor stand is that you don't have the urge to grab another project while you should be working on the one in the frame. Or maybe the urge is there, but the piece in the floor stand just sits there all day, staring at you expectantly. Silently reproaching you for not finishing it. Very effective. You should all try it.

Off to stitch, then off to my electric-blanketed bed and read my book. Hope you have a wonderful couple of days, until next time!

******************************************
Soapy Twist; Part 4: The Bluff

Amy's court date goes better than expected. As soon as the judge starts, it is very obvious that by the end of it all visitation is going to take place, no matter what. The judge is not interested in mud-slinging, lies, tears, tantrums or any other form of emotional outbreak, so in the little time Amy has, she tries to think of a way to make an arrangement that will be maximally comfortable for Petey and minimally comfortable for Jane (aka Linda the Loathsome Liar) whilst pleasing the judge and showing her that Amy is as reasonable a person as she herself. It is decided that Jane is to pick up Petey every Saturday at eleven and she is to bring him back at five, accompanied by her mother, Margo, who is also to stay with Jane and Petey during the entire visitation time. Amy wants this in writing, and that is agreed on. Now, the reason why Amy wants this sort of arrangement is as follows: she does not trust Jane alone with Petey, because the former is entirely incapable of thinking of anyone but herself (in other words, Linda the Loathsome Liar is not only a loathsome liar, she is also a raging narcissist with the gift of the gab, who can sell subscriptions to Dutch highbrow newspapers to people who don't even speak the language) and she has threatened to kill herself and Petey if Amy was to leave them alone together. Also, Amy doubts whether Jane and Margo can keep up with the obligation of picking up Petey every week and taking care of him. Taking care of Petey is not what you might call a walk in the woods if you don't know how to deal with him, and she is secretly hoping it will prove too much of a challenge.
So, Amy is hugely relieved that the ruling was given on Thursday and she doesn't have to wait another two weeks in nail biting suspense for the judge's decision. Consequently, she spent a very enjoyable Sinterklaas, and she is currently suffering from a severe case of happy bunny syndrome.

Meh

This is going to be just a very quick update of what I have been up to lately. But first, let me say thank you to all of you lovely ladies who have been taking the time to drop me a line, asking me if I'm okay. I feel a total oaf for not replying to you at the moment, but I'm being a bit of a cyber recluse. Those of you who have known me a bit longer will know that in times of emotional turmoil, or in times of Post-Translatic Stress Disorder (which occurs in the days following the completion of a translation) I tend to shy away from the computer and just sit and stitch in silence. And since this is a time of both emotional rumblings (so much so that I couldn't even see the humor in my own soap opera for a couple of weeks, which is not a good sign, and certainly not a good basis to go blogging), and of a serious case of Post-Translatic Stress Disorder, please pardon me for not writing to you right now, but know that I am comforted to know that so many of you are thinking of me (and Amy).

So... sitting and stitching quietly. And what, pray tell, have you been stitching? I hear you ask. Well. This:

This is Katrina's Neighbourhood RR, with my addition at the bottom on the left. This is a design by Primitive Traditions, and some of you may recognize it as one of the ten samplers that formed A Most Noble Pursuit. This lovely neighbourhood is now on its way to Kathy, and then it heads back home!

I've also been working on this:

This is Kathy's Neighbourhood, the last one (officially) for me. After this, I have to finish Michele's Halloween Neighbourhood, but at the rate Kathy's is going, I wouldn't be suprised if I could finish both of them before Christmas! Honestly, I've never been so inspired to work on a neighbourhood as Kathy's, which boggles the mind (or at least it does mine), because I don't particularly like working with pastels (don't mind them, but they're not my fave) AND out of all of the four seasons, summer is my least favourite, while Kathy's is definitely a pastelly, summery kind of neighbourhood. And I can't wait to get back to it! This wee house in the middle block was the work of two evenings, and now I've started on the right hand side in the middle for the second block (I'm stitching two blocks for Kathy). The house in the middle is by Brightneedle, and it's a fragment from Summer Cottage on Blueberry Lane. The other one I'm doing is also by Brightneedle, and it's a smidgen of the Key West Sampler. Love it, love it, love it. All of it.

*****************************************

Soapy Twist; Part 3: The Bollocking

Amy is due in court next Thursday. An unfortunate date, since it is the day before Amy's most favourite holidays, Sinterklaas. She's extremely miffed at Jane for ruining Sinterklaas for her and Petey, even though she isn't even around. Amy realizes it is a tad unfair blaming Jane for something like this, but doesn't give a rat's behind anyway. And which judge invites parents round for a nice bicker about the kids the day before Sinterklaas, for God's sake? Well. With a bit of luck, the ruling will be made known a couple of days before Christmas. Fa-la-la-la-laaaa, la-la-la-bollocks.