Monday 31 August 2015

Long hiatus

I had a comment on a previous post this morning and I was a little ashamed to see that it has been over 2 years since my last post.  The last couple of years have been filled with all sorts of things to keep me occupied, both happy and sad.

Unfortunately my dear Dad passed away in June 2014.



He'd had poor health for some time and following minor surgery in May, he never fully recovered.  Dad had spent his final few years in a nursing home and had been well cared for in his time there.  In his last few weeks he had been in hospital and we managed to get him back to the nursing home for his last few days.  The nurses and care assistants were amazing and I couldn't have wished for better care for him.  It has felt like the end of an era for me in many ways, as during Dad's last few days, I was also finishing my dissertation for my MSc.  I had finished it a couple of days before he passed away and I was so glad to have been able to tell him that I'd finally finished.

I graduated in August last year and now that all my studies have finished, I've no idea how I managed to fit it in alongside working and stitching!


In stitching news, the Mirabilia retreat up in Bakewell mentioned in my previous post has become an annual event and I attended the third one in April this year.  I've made so many good friends through the UK Mirabilia stitchers who all seem to try and enable me at the drop of a hat!  At the Gala night awards at this years retreat, I won the award for having the largest stash of hand dyed fabric.  I'm not sure if that's a good or a bad thing!


I also went to the Crafty Kitten fabrics 5th anniversary retreat in Bideford, Devon in June this year.  Another excuse to get up to mischief with my stitching gals!


I've had a few stitching finishes over the past couple of years, but as always, not as many as I would have liked!  I finished Chatelaine's Taj Mahal Mandala in January, a project I'd started 7 years previously and my first Chat finish.  It is stitched on Lakeside Linen's Amethyst linen (discontinued).

I finished two variations of AAN's Champagne stitched as anniversary gifts for my brother & SIL and my sister and BIL.  This is one of the two stitched for a Ruby wedding anniversary.


I finished my Rose of Sharon conversion and added a silk ribbon rose to her hair and beads to the top of her bodice.



And earlier this month I started a SAL with 3 stitching friends.  We are stitching Ink Circle's Bramble and the Rose.  I'm stitching 1 over 1 full cross using 'Galaxy' silk by Thread Pickerz on Crafty Kitten's Sept 2014 Limited Edition jazlyn fabric.


The design is monochromatic but the silk has shades of yellow, orange, purple and teal in, offset by a deep grey/black.  I love how it is stitching up so far and have nearly finished page 1 of 9.

It's absolutely pouring down with rain here today, unlike yesterday when although it was cloudy, it was still quite warm.  We went on a trip to Amberley Working Museum near Arundel, West Sussex and had a great day looking at the exhibits.


They have all sorts there - displays of old electronics, machines, woodworking, masonry and we got to have a trip on the steam train too.


The weather seems pretty much set in for the day I think.  A good day to be cosy in front of a film or two with some stitching for me!  Happy stitching.

2 comments:

Samplings from Spring Creek said...

Congratulations on finishing your degree--a big accomplishment. You stitch very large designs

Le trame della Galaverna said...

I adore Roses of Sharon
Your conversion coloura is very beautiful
Ciao Giovanna