Sept 7/12

There has been some stitching of ornaments finally! These first four come from a book called "Cross Stitch Wit & Wisdom" by Joan Elliott. They are stitched on a light blue 28 count mystery fabric with threads from my leftover box.

 

 Next we have an ornament from Just Cross Stitch July/August 2011. This one is called "Two Year Supply of Calling Birds" by Tracy Horner of Ink Circles. You can not see the sparkles in this photo but I used a fabric with a hint of sparkle in it to stitch this along with DMC 304, 934 and a mystery yellow.

 

Last but not least I found this one in a design called Christmas Patchwork designed by Cathy Bussi and published in the December 2009 The Cross Stitcher. Stitched on white Aida (not sure of the count) and with mystery threads as usual! Some day that box will be empty. Most likely because someone cleaning out my house after my demise has dumped the contents in the garbage, but some day!

 

A friend of mine is visiting from Boston this weekend and she is quite allergic to cats so I should get back at the de-hairing of the shack. If that fails, I have lots of Aerius in the cabinet....

Aug 4/10

Oops! Forgot to photograph this one and upload it! Another Joan Elliott on 28ct Lugana and stitched with mystery threads.

July 29/10

Whenever my brother is away for an extended period of time for training or a deployment I try to send him a letter or a postcard once a week. The Canadian postal service has a sweet program where letters can be sent to armed forces personnel serving overseas without having to pay postage. In return, my brother sent me this post card of the valley where the Taliban destroyed the Buddha statues several years ago. The date stamp says June 30/10 and it arrived today. Not bad for having to travel all the way from Afghanistan through the Canadian military and civilian postal systems.

Another ornament stitched for the Christmas giving season:

This ornament is a Joan Elliott stitched on 28 Lugana and using my mystery thread collection once again! I usually take a quick look at the photos of the finished design to get the general idea of the colour scheme as envisaged by the designer before selecting what I have available to me in my mystery thread box. Every once in a while I do not do so well with my colour choices, but more times than not the design turns out quite well if I do say so myself!

June 23/10

So, here is my progress on the amaryllis:

I have finished most of the full and half stitches, but have stopped working on the project because 1. a group of us are going in on a gift certificate for the couple I had thought about giving this to for their wedding and 2. I got way laid by making this ornament:

I am making this for Elsa, a young mom that I met at the Guatemalan orphanage in May. My friend who organized the mission is taking another team in August and when asked, she said that she would make sure that Elsa and Luis get the parcel I am putting together. I have also bought the cutest little booties for Luis that have little hearts on them. There is a strength and a deep sadness about Elsa that makes me want to reach out to her. No matter what happens to her, I want her to know that a lady from Canada cares what happens to her. The ornament is a Joan Elliot stitched over 1 on a 28 count Lugana scrap that I purchased last week at Because You Count in Moncton. Part of the reason that I chose this particular pattern is that I met Elsa at an orphanage called Rosa de Amor so I decided that the rose theme was fitting, plus I wanted Elsa to have something beautiful to call her own.

A little thinking was going on while I was out walking in the heat yesterday. The other night, a friend's neighbour called me a saint for all of the volunteer stuff I do and that really embarrassed me. I do these things because it is my honour and privilege to go to El Salvador and Guatemala and wherever. I am fortunate as a woman and a person to live in a country where I can be free personally, emotionally, politically and financially. Working alongside the people who I meet along the way is very humbling because they live in very challenging circumstances and yet they make the best of it and have such incredible spirit. I gain so much more personally than I give because my heart and my eyes are widened a little more each time.

The planning has begun for my next Habitat trip which is tentatively slated to be in November 2010......