Overwhelmed..

I have been truly overwhelmed by the generosity of bloggers this past week. Not only did I get a cosy cowl from Heidi and a beautiful red exchange from Cathy but this week, Louise sent me one of her walnut shell stuffed hearts and some chocolate!!! Isn't it beautiful??? The chocs have long gone I am afraid! 

Also this week, Lynda returned the "Dandy Dreams" chart I loaned her and added a couple of charts for me from my wishlist!! Now, the thing is, this was just a loan as I have other people that wish to borrow the chart from me and in no way did I expect anything in return but Lynda had already given me two LHN ornament charts so these two beauties were a real surprise! Thank you so much Lynda. I am quite overwhelmed at your generosity! 

Melissa also emailed me to let me know she had received my redwork exchange. I showed you a little snippet of it a couple of posts down. Pleased to say that she liked what I made her. Phew! It is always a relief when an exchange arrives safely at its destination. Here is what I made her. 

AMAP alphabet

28 count over 1

Threadworx Wine Castle thread. 

I have been trying to cheer myself up a wee bit with some colourful blooms as hubby has left for a long work trip. Just as we are starting to get back to normal, he has to go back to work which means going away again. So I bought the lovely tulips at the top of this post and also these two tubs of hyacinths. I love hyacinths and adore their smell once they start to bloom. Looking forward to these bursting forth!

Thanks for coming to visit me. The Dandy Dreams chart (click on link to see my finish) will be being posted off to Tina (no blog) but if you would like to stitch it after her then let me know and I will start up a sisterhood or something. 

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A Cowl, a Snood, an Exchange, some Knitting, getting away and IHSW update!

Well the title says it all really. Lots to share but I will try to be brief. About a week ago I got a wonderful surprise through the mail. 

This beautiful crocheted cowl was made for me by my dear blogging friend Heidi. I was not expecting it and it was wonderful to receive it. It is so thick and snuggly and warm. Just to show you how it looks on....

Not a great pic of me but you get the idea.

I finally finished my own snood from the Deramore's freebie pattern they offered on their last newsletter. I changed the pattern slightly and just did  knit two together at the front instead of knitting at the back. Again, here is a pic of how it looks on.

Sticking with the knitting theme, I have knitted the back of the waistcoat pattern I bought but it looks a little short to me. I know I will have to pick up at the top at some point so will just carry on till it is done and then maybe reassess for length. 

Yesterday, I got the most gorgeous redwork exchange through the post from Cathy B. It is an exchange on the FTT exchange board which is a small group of stitchers. I just love this piece and it made me cry when I read Cathy's card attached. It was very touching and I will treasure it always. Thanks Cathy. The pattern is from Heartstrings Samplery. 

Now, I did hermit a little over the weekend. I did go away on the Saturday to Bala in Wales. We stayed in a guest house on the edge of the lake and it was beautiful. These were our views from our window. 

It was so relaxing and the breakfast in the morning was lovely; pancakes for the kids and a locally produced full Welsh for us. Yumm. We met up with some of my husband's friends that he works for on the Saturday evening and had a really great evening. They have three boys and the kids had a brilliant time playing with each other and jamming together in the studio. I definitely need more weekends like that. On the way home we went through Llangollen and this shop had the longest place name I have ever seen!!

But, I did hermit before and afterwards and have made some lovely progress on my Sampler Aux Bouquets. Here is where it is up to now. I am determined to get this finished up soon. Please excuse the wrinkles. 

So I am a bit worse for wear today after going out last night so I am going to take it easy today and be kind to myself. Thanks for stopping by and letting me share a little piece of my life with you all. 

Oh I notice I have made 302 posts and have just over 500 followers now! That deserves a giveaway so I will get my thinking cap on and get busy. Watch this space. 

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IHSW

It's the International Hermit and Stitch Weekend this weekend and I am intending to join in the fun. I am enjoying meeting new stitching bloggers and have been working my way through the list. I am intending to stitch on Sampler Au Bouquets by Jardin de Prive. I might be going away for one night but I might not either so will take it with me if I do go. 

Won't you join in?

WIPocalypse February update

Finally, I have something to share for the WIPocalypse for this month. I am so pleased that I have actually managed to finish something! As you know from my last post, I have been very busy with my exchange piece I have been working on and this got sent out today so I will be able to reveal that once the recipient gets it. I didn't think I would have any time left to stitch on anything else but I got busy with the Here We Come Wassailing by Shakespeare's Peddler and now it is finished! I think this is my first finish of this year - not counting the exchange piece. So here it is:

Such a pleasure to stitch on. I have decided to sell the pattern and threads - limited edition Sampler Threads from The Gentle Art which came with the kit. There is ample thread to do this chart several times over. Lots and lots of thread! If anyone is interested please email me at hazelhenry @ hotmail . com (omit spaces) - first come first served. I am selling it for $18 + $1 towards pnp. I take Paypal.

Thanks for looking in on me. 

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Back at it!

Thank you all so much for your kind, kind words in my last post. Each comment really helped me and I feel a lot better and getting stronger each day. I don't want to dwell on the negatives though. I saw a great quote today on Pinterest that said:

Every day may not be good

But there is something good in every day.

I like that. For a while now I have been trying to pick out the positives in each and every day. Here's one from today:

Yes the snow finally hit Great Britain. How long it will last is anyone's guess. So we had a bit of fun with it and got the sledge out and then little man brought out the buckets and spades and wanted to make snow castles.

I have slowly been getting back into crafting mood although I have had an exchange to stitch for this month so most of my time has been dedicated to that. Although I don't want to spoil the surprise for my exchange partner, I thought I would show you a glimpse of it.

Yes, it is as intricate as it looks and is taking me forever but in a good way, it has kept my mind from wandering during the last few weeks.

I have picked up the knitting as well. An online shop I use for most of my yarn - Deramores - had a free pattern on its newsletter for a cowl or snood. A knit along they are doing. You can find all the details on Ravelry here. Instead of knitting two together through the back, I am just doing a normal knit two together. I am using King Cole Riot which is wonderfully soft to work with and is working up a treat. Here's my progress so far. It is still in its unfinished and unblocked state.

I have also been inspired to try and make myself a garment - again!! I decided I would use super chunky wool and something small so hopefully it will be fairly quick and easy. Here is the pattern I am doing and the yarn I am knitting it in. I just hope it is as simple as it looks as I am not great at following patterns. I know a few people on hand though who hopefully might be able to help me if I get stuck. Yes Liz, if you're reading - I am talking to you!!

Lastly, before Christmas I ordered something rather special which I forgot to mention. My dd used her spare Euros to buy if for me so I had to wait till Christmas day to open it. Karen from My 4 Lil Girls blog made this gorgeous bag to order. She even crocheted the flower brooch on it as well which can be removed. Karen makes some amazing things including cushions so please pop by her blog and take a peek. She has recently opened an Etsy shop too. This bag is my favourite bag ever. It is so well made with lining and everything. 

I have been busy working on my zigzag blanket as well but I will take some snaps for another post. I need to get on with this exchange or it will be late!

Thanks for taking the time to visit and comment. I really appreciate it. xxxxxx