Embroider Me Happy

 

Hello!

Apologies for my absence in Blogland of late - it's been a while hasn't it?  I'm afraid I had a little disagreement with a hand blender (aka an Awful Accident) at the beginning of last week and ended up with a huge bandage which made it very difficult to type.  It took me an age to type an e-newsletter for the Being Creative Group and I just didn't have the juice to write a post!  You might be wondering what on earth happened, but I certainly don't want to upset those of you who might be reading this with a nice piece of cake and a cuppa...i'll just say I was Very Lucky I didn't lose an important finger whilst cooking something and leave the rest to your imaginations.  It's all healing nicely and yes, I also felt awfully silly for being so absent minded. 

Moving swiftly on.... 

Being one handed meant an abrupt end to crocheting.  This realisation made my heart sink as I was intent on finishing my Rainbow Bliss Scarf.  But if crocheting was impossible, then so was doing the dishes and I didn't mind about that part!!  Itching to create something though, I had a flash of an idea to set about making some Christmas gifts...and decided the sewing stuff could come out for a play.

A little jaunt to the haberdashery was had, and I came home with some lovely vintagey coloured embroidery threads.  My idea was to make some Lavender Pillows, and you can see my first effort at the top there.

I haven't done any embroidery work since...ooh, let me think...forever!! No, I did it as a young girl and used to spend hours working on cross stitch pieces too.  It proved to be a lovely distraction (as I stroked yarn and missed it dreadfully) and also very relaxing.  I could easily hold the embroidery hoop in my poorly hand and stitch with my right - oh yes, I was very lucky in that I didn't damage my Painting Hand!! Can you imagine if I'd done that??!  

My first design has been stolen by my daughter - she slept with it inside her pillowcase last night and went out like a light!  I ordered a little bag of French Lavender which has the most beautiful fresh and heavenly scent (my garden supplies were harvested but ended up looking rather magnificent in an ancient stone marmalade jar and it was unanimous that they should stay there, so they have - they're in my kitchen looking gloriously summery).

I'm looking forward to making some more of these, with plans for some seedhead designs and a request for a Peppa Pig one...I hope the recipients will be pleased with them!

Although we are still only in September, and it feels awfully early to be chattering away about Christmas gifts and the like, I'm afraid I have to get ahead of myself even though I don't naturally start to feel Christmassy until the very end of November.  There is so much to achieve it seems, and I have already begun work on one of this years card designs...want a peek?

I managed to sneak an hour of painting in this morning, despite it feeling very wrong to be painting Rudolph and snow as the sun cracks the pavements and we waft about in our summer clothes that we'd just packed away.  An Indian Summer is a lovely gift though isn't it?  A last taste of warmth; lazy golden days that give way to cool evenings and peach melba sunsets.  In a few weeks we will be trudging up to school in horizontal rain and tornado style winds that rush down the valley from the Pennines, so we are making the most of it whilst it lasts.

It's time for me to pick my little bean up from nursery now, so I will bid you farewell!  Thanks for dropping in to see me, I'm looking forward to properly catching up with you now that all my digits are back in working order!

Sending love
Julia x x x

ps - note to the Being Creative Project people ~ Gallery will be posted on 1st October, not 30th September as mentioned in the e-letter!