CATCH UP TIME

Not what we give, But what we share, 
For the gift without the giver Is bare.
– James Russell Lowell

I am please to share that this little piece has safely arrived. it was started with plenty of time to be ready for Annette of California Stitcher's birthday which was early October, and was almost completed when I received the call telling me my eye surgery date had been brought forward and so was not finished till I had my new glasses. The work is Pulled Thread Embroidery 

 Another piece that had to be put aside at that time was my Stitching friend's Challenge piece That was going to Joan in October !!! fortunately Joan understood as she had had eye surgery the year before  and knew that for a time stitching would be impossible. Thank you Joan for your patience.

the Challenge was a needleroll  having found a delightful free pattern on Krienik Threads I set out to stitch the Victorian silk needleroll only to find I had misread the chart and stitching on 40 count did not feel like a mass of unpicking, so created a new design with what I had stitched.  This is my finally completed piece, these little roses buds have been stitched so many times over the years and in some many different ways and colours.

The needle roll I received in the exchange came from Ann, who has stitched another Cardinal design to add to the ornament she had stitched for me previously. we don't have these colourful birds in new Zealand however I think I would like to collect more small designs like these and have a cardinal tree sometime. I have just bought myself a small tree which I plan to keep up and decorate with different themes during the year.

 Thanks to everyone for all your comments on the last postings and not giving up on me when I had been away for so long, I am trying to answer everyone but computer changes where my emails list all the comments one after the other and not as separate mail leaves me wondering if some folk are getting two replies and others none, then I find everything put into the drafts box.!!! and I am left not knowing which ones have been sent. I do like hearing from everyone and have been trying to be better at replying so if you don't hear back I hope you will understand.