Monday 9 May 2011

Sweet Little Berries

Those sweet little strawberries should be ripe in a little more than a month from now but until that time I'll gaze on my own sweet finish and dream of the pies to come.






I spent some quality time with this on Friday and had it finished in no time. Would you believe I ran out of the CC Spinach used for the leaves with only 8 stitches to go? I had purchased this as a kit and there was just enough floss needed for the design. For every other colour I had floss left over but in this case I ran short. Now I know I didn't waste any. I made a point of being very frugal so I wouldn't be in this position. When I discovered my dilemma I made a foray into my stash and found some CC Desert Mesquite that appeared very close in colour to the floss in question. I don't think it's all that noticeable. You'll find it in the upper left corner in the dark leaf. For the sake of 8 stitches I was not ordering more floss!

I've decided that this will be a pillow finish. Now I'm on the hunt for some coordinating fabric.


I hope all the Mom's out there had a most enjoyable Mother's Day. My Mom lives 500 miles away so I don't get to see her very often. This photo was taken on the occasion of her 80th birthday this past August and she is surrounded by her three daughters.

My day was a very quiet one. I worked my final weekend at the hospital and upon returning home I had phone conversations with mythree sons who called with their wishes.
We will all be together on the Victoria Day long weekend in 2 weeks to celebrate my belated birthday and my retirement both which take place this week.




With SLB out of the way, I started concentrating on the Wedding Sampler for my cousin's daughter. If you remember, I'd hoped to stitch this in the colour of the bridesmaids' dresses. The dresses are tangerine and I started stitching the piece with a DMC floss which matched. The colour though just didn't suit the design. I talked with my cuz about it and decided to frog out the tangerine and go with something more suitable. The design calls for the use of metallics which I wanted to avoid. Instead I've decided to go with GAST Gold Leaf. I'm happier with it so far.The picture quality isn't the greatest since it was dark by the time I was able to grab a picture. I'll try and get a better one in daylight later in the week.


While shopping last week, I caught the straps of my purse in the shopping cart. Somehow during the process of trying to remove it I managed to pull a muscle in my shoulder. This in turn has aggravated some pre existing bursitis so at this point I'm not able to use my left arm much. I have pain when I lift it past a certain point. It's most definitely annoying. I can't hand my money out the window and grab my coffee at the Tim Horton's drive thru!! This is a major concern, lol!Nor am I able to swipe myself out of the hospital parking lot. I'm having to reach over and use the right arm instead. Consequently it bothers me when I'm holding my stitching in hand for any length of time. I've been icing it in the evenings and it is improving but very slowly. So stitching may have to sit on the back burner for now. I still want to drop by at tomorrow's stitch night though to drop off one of my pieces for our framer John to stretch. This is Cast All Your Cares which I stitched for my friend Priscilla. I told her she wouldn't find anyone better at looking after her piece. Once stretched, she can take it to the framer of her choice.


Now I'm off to get my pants pressed for work tomorrow. I can't believe I'm almost retired.

I hope you all enjoy a great week. The sun is staying with us for the next several days so it should be a good one.


21 comments:

  1. What a lovely family picture. I'd never guess your mother's age! The wedding sampler is coming along well. Take care of your shoulder - don't overdo!

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  2. Love your LHN piece. It will look great as a pillow. Congrats on your retirement!

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  3. Nice stitching! Looks like you'll have more time to do some needling; congrats on your impending retirement! Take care of that shoulder...lots of ice and maybe some PT so it doesn't freeze up on you. Hugs!

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  4. This is such a cute pattern - The berries are too pretty :)

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  5. Oh Lynn, Sweet Little Berries is just gorgeous, I've been admiring it as you've gone along but the finished stitch is really pretty and will make a lovely pillow finish.
    Know what you mean about running out of thread, oh! how annoying is that, I've run of out of GAST with about 150 stitches to go but a kind blogger has come to my rescue so hopefully it will be a good match!
    Sorry about your shoulder ~ easily done ~ but to not be able to keep your coffee intake up-to-date is not funny at all!!! I guess plenty of rest will be the best healer.
    Enjoy your week too and thank you for all your lovely comments recently xxx

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  6. Just think by the end of the week you won't have to worry about that silly old parking lot machine, and you will have the time to get out of the car and go in for your coffee, thus giving time to your shoulder to heal enough to get at that stitching. Awe, Retirement. wooo hooo for youuuuu. Congratulations. Now you'll be so busy you wont know where all the time goes.

    Your stitching is beautiful as always Lynn.
    Be always in stitches.

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  7. So sorry to hear about you shoulder problem, Lynn. Isn't it strange how the oddest little incidents (like a trapped purse strap) can cause such annoying problems. I hope it keeps improving--you don't want to go into retirement with any injuries after all!! I'm sure you're counting the seconds until the "big day"--can't wait to see how you spend your extra free time :)

    Love the little LHN piece and I'm so glad you were able to find a color to fill in for the CC Spinach--it looks just wonderful.

    Enjoy the last few days of work now--I'll be happy dancing with you on your last day!!

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  8. Lovely finish! I think you matched the threads, so glad you had something on hand for those 8 stitches!

    Happy Retirement! I know you are looking forward to having time for all you want to do!

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  9. Sweet Little Berries looks great Lynn, it will look nice finished as a pillow. Happy Mother's Day and congrats on your retirement! Sorry to hear about your shoulder, hope it feels better soon!

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  10. You're retiring, too? Cool! When? My last day is June 2. Congrats!

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  11. Sweet Berrie finish Lynn. Beautiful family photo. Sorry to hear about your shoulder, hope it eases soon.
    Best wishes on your Retirement!

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  12. You must be so excited about retiring! Only 2 weeks away! I hope you have a great weekend with your family.

    Sweet Berries turned out really nice. That's great that you were able to match up the thread for those last 8 stitches!

    I hope your shoulder issues don't last long. Hard to believe that happened from a tangled strap. :( Feel better!

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  13. Pretty strawberry finish.....strawberries are all the rage nowadays! I must say that cat disguised as a rabbit is so dang adorable, I have a cat who looks like this one. Cute disguise! Smiles...

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  14. Beautiful finish! You don't notice the change of colour at all...how annoying to run out that close to the finish.

    Congrats on your retirement this week...cheers!!! Hope your shoulder feels better very soon. I'm sure you'll be back at Timmies getting a coffee really soon!

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  15. Grats on the finish and on the impending retirement. I bet you'll get a lot more stitching done once you've retired (and once your arm is healed up)!! Hope you feel better soon!

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  16. I can't tell you ran out of CC floss, the finish is so pretty. Sorry to hear of your accident with the cart, hope you are feeling better by now :)

    It's raining here and hasn't stopped for 2 days now! Where is Summer?

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  17. Congratulations on the fnish!! And your retirement! You need to heal quickly so that you can stitch now that you have the time! ;) I hope you're better soon.

    I like the changes that you made to the sampler--I think that color is much more timeless. Nice progress!

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  18. Love your "Sweet Little Berries" piece, and one would never even notice a difference in the floss! What a wonderful photo of you with your sisters and dear mother.

    Congratulations upon working your last weekend and retirement! Hope that it will include more stitching time when your poor shoulder is feeling better.

    Love the rich gold tones in your beautiful new wedding sampler start. Will look forward to seeing it when it is finished!

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  19. Congratulations on the finish. I wish you well for your retirement Lynn. Take care of your shoulder, hope it improves soon as you'll have lots more time for stitching soon!!

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  20. Wishing you many years enjoying a happy retirement ~ congrats!

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