Wonders Never Cease

Stitching.

This is in the hands of the person for whom it was stitched, so I can share it.  Margaret Sherry for one of the British cross-stitch magazines.  A very dear friend who recently made a really brave move from the West Coast to the East.  Starting a whole new life.  She celebrated her 33rd birthday - a Masteryear - on Saturday.  I haven't heard the report, yet, but she had told me she would walk the perimeter of Central Park and did post pictures of Central Park so I assume she went at least partway (although knowing her, she did indeed do the whole thing.)

BTW, the magazine had an ad for a new publication:  CUTE cross stitch.  Since the cute ones are the ones that tug at me, I'm looking forward to that one fer shur.

 



And this is a project I started several years ago.  I bought the Bareroots ("What Color is Spring")  in, I dunno, 2005? 2006?  2007?  By 2008 I had assembled the patchwork and worked the embroidered sampler (Crabapple Hill) in the center, and by sometime the next year had finished the pink embroidery band.  Then I folded it up and stashed it until last year.  I was sorting through stuff in a purge last summer and ran across it just in time to take it to my Mom's for her quilt club meeting.  Some time later she commented that she hoped she lived to see it completed.  I realized that I hoped I lived to see it completed, too.

Every Friday I drive to her town and "let" her take me to dinner.  Two weekends a month I spend Friday night with her, and on Saturday my sister joins us just to hang out for a while.  I've been taking this to work on, and this past Saturday finished the sunflowers in the first of the yellow bands.  Prior to that I finished the orange flowered vine in the orange section.

I like this kind of embroidery.  Unlike cross-stitch, this is pretty brainless so I can listen and work at the same time.  Very relaxing.  Sadly, though, for some reason the other two don't talk as much when I'm stitching as when we're just sitting around looking through Mom's latest deliveries of mail order catalogs.

Of course, this isn't stitchery, but I'm so darn delighted with my lilac that I have to include her.  Gorgeous color, lovely scent.  And in Southern California, too.