A Personalized Treasure - Filet Crochet Nameplate

Wow, what a week this has been - I had so many things I wanted to accomplish and so many fun things to do...but sometimes life has other plans for us...and this time, it planned another head cold/flu for me. It started a couple mornings ago when I woke up with absolutely no voice and watery eyes and now has dragged on for a few days adding a terrible dry cough - ugh! I have finally figured out I must need more sleep because I feel great when I wake up and then my health goes down hill rapidly throughout the day. In any case, business must be done, so I have been working in all my waking moments - getting the market charts bagged and packaged for shipping, taking care of shops emails and orders, and putting the final touches on my class piece for the Heartland Stitch Counters Retreat.

With my birthday on the calendar this week, I have had several fun surprises that I want to share with you...but today I must share a special surprise that had absolutely nothing to do with my birthday or Valentine's Day. This beautiful treasure was sent to me from a new stitching friend I had the pleasure of meeting when I was teaching in Mystic, CT last fall...and to say I was blown away to get this surprise would be a HUGE understatement. This absolutely gorgeous filet crochet nameplate arrived in my mailbox this week and I was stunned. My close friends know that I do not crochet or knit - I just don't have a talent for it - I can do one long chain, but when it comes to adding rows, forget about it - so I have a enormous appreciation for knitted and crocheted items and for those who are patient enough to make them! After meeting Liz in class, I knew she was extremely creative and talented - she is one of those needleworkers who just jumps in and adds her own unique style. I was able to see an array of her finished projects at Stitcher's Hideaway and she added her own special touches to each and every one. To receive such a thoughtful "just because" gift truly touched me. I will definitely be taking it to my framer, so I can hang it in my studio...it needs a special home where I can admire it daily. Thank you Liz - I will treasure this handmade personalized gift!

Friendship Across The Miles

Well, it is almost the new year...and I am bringing it in, as usual, with a terrible cold/flu...I have been fighting it for weeks and somehow right after Christmas it surfaced at maximum strength. For the last several days, I have been pretty miserable (that explains my lack of posts, tweets, and returned emails) - today has almost been tolerable and I am hoping to have shaken it off by the start of 2011! Before we make the move into the new year, I do have a couple more holiday things I wanted to share with you...

Back in the Spirit of Cross Stitch and CATS Stitching Festival days - back when they were held in Des Moines, Iowa each year...we're talking about years ago...during one of the needlework classes, I sat next to Lee and her husband Harmon (this was back when I was taking classes, before I was teaching them). Lee is from Detroit, MI and we had an instant connection - she was such a sweetheart and we enjoyed sitting together at several classes/events. We exchanged contact information and birthdays and have kept in touch all these years. On special occasions, Lee and Harmon always send me the most beautiful cards in the mail and tuck-in adorable little treasures. This year, they sent me the cutest hand crocheted Christmas tree - complete with little jeweled ornaments and a gold star on top! It was made by one of their friends and was such a heartwarming enclosure. To think we met over our mutual love of needlework, became friends across the miles, and have kept in touch all these years is a tribute to what friendship is all about. I hope one day Lee, Harmon, and I will be reunited...but until then, Lee and I will keep up our long distance friendship with cards and notes and fond memories of our special time together.

I also have to share what my sweet friend Merry did for me. She had no idea that I have been really sick for almost a week...but she must have sensed I needed her...because I received a wonderful envelope from her in the mail this week. What was in it?? - a pair of cuffs she knitted especially for me - I knew she was working on them, because she asked me for my palm measurements, but I had no idea they were done and on the way! I absolutely love the dungarees blue she used - it was the perfect color choice for me...and they fit, well, "like a glove". Also included - a fun floral pink folder (shown in the photo) with several quilt and sewing patterns and some gorgeous pieces of fabric. How is that for a "care" package??...and she didn't even know I needed one.

Finally, as I mentioned before, my husband and I really don't do Christmas gifts for each other - we usually just get a couple things we need/want for our home - this year, a new Keurig Platinum Brewer and a Dyson Ball vacuum. But, my husband threw me off a bit...about a week before Christmas, he came home with a surprise gift for me. If you follow me on Twitter, I posted a photo of this wrapped mystery gift and asked for guesses...and several of you guessed correctly! It was a NookColor - really the only thing I mentioned I wanted - I am so super excited - and although I haven't felt well enough to do much reading, I have managed to almost finish one book and have perused several magazines (which are awesome on a color eReader!). It was a grand surprise and I am still giddy about it. I did make him a little something special for Christmas - a new large fleece blanket and matching over-sized pillow - both in camouflage fleece for his "man cave". They were a huge hit - especially with Simba who has been caught curled up in the center of the big fluffy pillow...and burrowed down in the blanket.

All in all it was a magical Christmas and I feel extremely blessed. Now, if I could just beat this darned cold/flu for the New Year...

Tomorrow, tune in for a sneak peek photo of "Turn The Page" - my new bookmark sampler that will be released at the TNNA Needlework Market in February....