Of birthdays

Hello to you, honeybuns! I just crawled out of my sickbed to write this blog post because it is Monday after all, and Monday is my SAL day with Nadia. Plus it's my birthday (my 39th, but since 40 is the new 30 and 30 is the new 20, I'm really only 19 years old today, so there's no need to panic) and I wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your kind wishes, your comments, your e-mails, your e-cards and your phone calls. You are all so sweet and you managed to turn this very strange day into a proper birthday after all :o)

As I said, I spent the better part of my birthday shaking and shivering under the covers, next to my shaking and shivering son, BUT I took some pictures that I think are quite sharp, considering the circumstances. First of all, dear Barbara sent a birthday card with the sweetest birthday wishes ever, and the card came with a gift:

Isn't it a thing of utter brilliance and beauty? I'd been coveting one of these since I first saw it on Barbara's blog, for obvious reasons, and now I have one of my very own!

I also gave myself a present. Two presents in fact, because I had two of my finishes framed. One of them is a very old one. I finished it in 1999 and I remember that I really enjoyed stitching it, although I wouldn't even dream of starting something like this today. Funny, isn't it, how tastes change over the years? Still, I think this is a gorgeous sampler, not one of those samplers you see popping up everywhere (no offence, but sometimes it is nice to see something new) and since the year 2009 is slowly drawing to a close, I thought it would be nice to finally have it framed:

Williamsburg Sampler by Elsa Williams. It was a kit that I gave away after finishing so I don't have any further details

And here's one you may remember:

The Harvesters by Little House Needleworks, stitched on 32 count Belfast with splotches (can't recall the name of the fabric) with DMC threads and Belle Soie Pumpkin Carriage for the pumpkins

And now the reason why you all came here today (right?): my weekly update of Rejoice by Carriage House Samplings

Now, remember I'm the slowest stitcher in the world. I don't care what anybody says or claims, it's true! Hours and hours worth of stitching has gone into this and still you can't see what it's supposed to be. It's a lovely piece, though. But you know what? With all of these SALs I'm doing, I don't have time to stitch for myself anymore! Now where did I hear that before? Ah, why can't stitchers ever be satisfied with what they do and how they do it? It's a mystery. Which I don't propose to solve today, because my head is spinning and it's high time for sleepy bobos.

Yours shakily,
Annemarie