May's Stitching From Stash

Sweet May is upon us and the good weather has finally arrived....minus the hailstorm which passed by yesterday afternoon and once more damaged the gazebo roof. Only the outer panes have been perforated and the panels are still holding for now. You may recall that this happened to us last year and I ordered replacement panels for the damaged pieces. Fortunately we haven't put those in yet but it does look like I will have to order one or two more panels.

So okay we won't count that storm and will revel in the mild sunny days which we've had lately. I've spent this month stitching on some lovely spring designs. Actually one was designed as a Valentine offering but the motifs in the piece do resemble spring.
First up is my completed Blackbird Designs Spring Tulips.

I love the soft, pastel colours in this piece. I'm hoping to finish this one as a pinkeep which I can display on a small easel.

This was followed by my second finish, With Thy Needle and Thread Forget Me Not Postcard Pinkeep. I stitched this for a fellow choir member of mine, Joanne, who is returning home to Hong Kong after spending 4 years in Ottawa for her university studies.  I changed the wording to Forget Us Not to represent all of the choir members and edged the piece in some green lace which matches the leaves.

I gave this to Joanne yesterday when we all took her out for lunch. She was thrilled and told me that it touched her heart. 
I finished this piece just as the designer Brenda suggested by ironing the pillow finish flat to resemble a postcard. I love the finish although it does show up just how crooked my sewing is!
The rest of the month I spent time working on Primitive Betty Live, Laugh, Love which has been hiding in my stash for at least a year or so.

This is slowly coming along and will probably be my go to piece in the next month. I'm also working on a small piece for my Smalls SAL which I will post a pic of on Wednesday for this month's commitment.

I did dip into my allowance this month and ordered a couple of patterns which popped up on eBay. I have been looking for these for some time now and didn't want to let them go. They are Blackbird Design patterns which are OOP. The total for this purchase came to $23.18. May is my birthday month so I was gifted with two patterns of my choice as a birthday gift from a friend. I ordered two of Jenny Hoffman's patterns from her Etsy shop which I have been eyeing for a while. Also my youngest son gave me a $25 GC for 123 Stitch which I can put to use when the urge strikes me! 
Here's a pic of me celebrating my birthday which happened to fall on Mother's Day this year. My family took me out for a fabulous lunch at a favourite restaurant in Ottawa's Byward Market. Only my eldest son and his family were not able to join us since they live at a distance.

That about covers it for this month. My stitching might be limited somewhat for a little while. I'm going into hospital tomorrow morning for a total hip replacement. Hopefully I will recover well and can spend many hours stitching when I return home later in the week. After all, I won't be going very far at first!  I hope all my US friends are enjoying a lovely long weekend. Take care and I'll see you all soon!