A finish and a near finish

Hello there. How are you all? I have yet another bad cold so despite the fine weather am confined indoors so what better thing to do than read books - oops stitch crosses.

For the first time ever I participated in a round robin which was kindly moderated by Edgar. Mine came back to me from Carol R quite recently and as Deb wasn't able to finish her section I finished that off so it's already pressed and is now waiting in its roll to go to the framers.

Have also been making good progress on the ABCeDaire which as you can see is almost done too. All being well there should be three or four pieces to take to Sarah the framer and my "sampler wall" can really take shape.

There have been too many crosses in my life I have decided so the next piece is a five band sampler with hardanger, drawn thread, needle lace, ringed back stitch and pulled thread. The 32 count raw linen and the perle threads are waiting for me, indeed crying out for their turn, but I need to get some of the current projects done. I have three other unfinished pieces of which two are "almost done" so I am going to discipline myself and get Quaker Row and my Anne of Green Gables Book done before starting the new sampler.

A couple of weeks ago I got some new spectacles - you can click here to see them. Volcanic ash caused delays to the plane bringing my lenses from Mr Zeiss in Germany and impatience reigned but it was worth the wait and I see clearly once again.

Hope you have all had an enjoyable weekend and warmer temperatures than here.

All the way to Italy and Seattle but not together!

From Auckland to Florence and NZ Post managed not to lose the package. Vania let me know that it has arrived safely so I can show you the complete package. I forgot to take a picture of the Kiwi Coasters so this snap is 'borrowed' from Vania. The postcard I marked 'I live here'. The exchange return to Marne also arrived safely so here's a snap of her Lilac tassel and extras. I can't remember how many of these hardanger tassells I have made but they never fail to give pleasure and are really easy to stitch - as well as being slightly unique as they were a teaching piece by a New Zealand embroiderer many years ago and the chart has never been published. The two pieces of fabric are a stylised version of Maori traditional designs and the striped packet is delicious New Zealand chocolate!.

I'm currently stitching a few last crosses in An Emblem of Love which was a Round Robin moderated by Edgar. This will make another in the "to be framed pile" and I hope to get them all framed before the Goods and Services Tax rises from 12.5% to 15% on 1 October. Yes! Today was Budget Day here and the GST rise was a poorly kept secret. Income tax cuts go some way to alleviating the pain!

Have a good night everyone.

Package from Cheryl

Some time ago I won a "3 years blogging" prize from Cheryl and it arrived safely in the mail last week. However I went off to Wellington to a family wedding and only tonight have I a chance to show you a photo of the package.

Thank you so much Cheryl. Your stitching and finishing are amazing - and I love the pins and the roll of ribbon. These will be put to good use. That rose card is really sweet. Many many thanks.

I took some lilac linen and DMC perle threads with me to Wellington and between chatting to family and throughly enjoying Niece Number Two's wedding I made good progress on a small return exchange gift. Tonight when I put the last full stop on this post I am back to my chair to finish off.

Have a good evening everyone.