Hello July, this is your month to excel !

 

And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees,

 just as things grow in fast movies, I had the familiar conviction 

that life was beginning over again with the Summer.

F Scott Fitzgerald 

Happy to be back on here, it's been a strange few months.  My poorly Mum has no real change, just up and down and it is what it is.  I have missed being here with you all but I have tried to keep you up to date.  Thank you all for your kind words, your support and help, you are all amazing people.

In addition I would like to thank the pattern testers that applied and I have found two lovely ladies to help me complete my work for publication, you can not get it published without it being tested by someone other than yourself, I know what I mean when I compile instructions, however it may not make total sense to others unfortunately.  It also means my work load has stopped piling up with all that has been going on.

Happiness has returned and although my Mum's illness has cast a shadow, she would want me to continue with what I love and be personally happy.  She has always been a huge fan and advocate of my artistic side and I have to say I am grateful to have inherited it from her.  If my Dad was still alive today he would come up with a wise crack about the above statement.  I feel I should mention I am grateful for the Italian culture and culinary skills that he and my late Nonna have instilled in me, and I am also grateful to have inherited her beautiful Italian hair too....

Stitchery talk then, Today I am getting ready to match up the materials to a design or two and they will be winging their way to the ladies soon.  I am sorting, finding and collating today as well as sorting out my work desk.  Then it will be time for me to design and do some slow stitching myself.  I am hoping that I can concentrate fully on this.

Last weekend we went truffling and I bought some gorgeous old spools of silk thread. I was over the moon with the find.  You can see, I hope, in the photos the wonderful colours and hues of the silk thread. They have the original labels still attached and they read Head & Son, Sloane Street in London. The lilac colour is 56  1|4 which made me smile for some reason. 

There is a really good amount on each reel and you can split the thread for embroidery.  The excitement when I spied them in an antique shop was as if I had struck gold I think.

I am trying to do some homework on these outstanding threads and when I did an initial search I have come up with nothing so I am going to really try and do my best to find some information.  I have sent a message to a friend of mine who is very talented and works in a fashion museum.  I am pleased to say she is on the case!

Beautiful things happen when you distance yourself from negativity.

Some other news for you all, I have hedgehogs here now in my garden! Oh boy they are beautiful.  Every night I put out a water bowl, dry hedgehog food and two dishes of a little cat food with meal worms on them.  Every night they turn up to feed and there can be a few of them, thus the four bowls.

Hedgehogs have different sounds and I have done research, joined a hedgehog group online for the area I live in and have been learning all sorts of things about these gentle creatures, who, unfortunately are
becoming extinct for several reasons.

They are killed on roads, slug pellets and the most horrible one is that long wild grasses that they choose to nest in are just cut down without checking if they are in there along roadsides and some gardens.

One night a few weeks ago I found two in the garden so from then we have been feeding them.  They make some incredible sounds and often make me laugh.  I have been able to go out when they are there and actually stroke some of them, who it seems do not mind this at all.  They come earlier and earlier and so it was the other evening around 9pm and still very much light outside, were poking their heads through the bottom of the gate!! too cute. ( The gate has been made higher for them to wander under)

In between visits to Mum I have been sorting through my studio and my office to sort some bits out and at the moment I am getting things ready for the pattern testers and I am busy finishing off some designs....

This coming weekend we are off truffling again and the weather here has turned to Summer once more so it will be very enjoyable indeed.  Often we then have some lunch out as well.

The basket will be ready to go and find little treasures,  It has been a difficult few months for a few reasons, however things have very much calmed down and happiness has returned and balanced the scales once more.

The other difficult thing that has happened that I must warn others of and so it is that around 18 years ago I sold a most gorgeous very old Shaker quilt to someone.  I found out a few weeks ago she was telling people that I had swindled her out of the money for this quilt!  To cut a very tiresome story short, not to give her fame or let her enjoy herself by talking about this awful woman, I gave her the money back and got the quilt.  The thing is it is not the same quilt at all!  I have a much later quilt than the one I sold her because, and get this, she pleaded I sell it to her in the first place.....  I am very much out of pocket over this but lesson is learned my end.  All I can say is karma is a beautiful thing and I truly hope that it will pay her a visit one day soon.

Karma has no menu. You get served what you deserve.

Normally I would not put anything like this on here, in fact it has never happened before, but I want to warn my dealer friends (who would have probably said the transaction was too long ago to give her back her purchase money if I had taken advice from them). With my Mum worries I think she prayed on me at a vulnerable time  and knew exactly what she was doing, and my lesson has been truly learned.

I battled with putting the above information on my blog as I like it to be a happy, informative, slightly quirky and full of wonderful stitchery talk, but really this had to be shared to stop people like this.

Back to fabrics! now fabric lovers and slow stitchery lovers I have been putting together little bundles of gorgeous antique fabrics and tying them with vintage ribbons.  This, in fact, is not just a thoroughly

enjoyable pass time for me (really! I hear you shout!) it is also my way of tidying my fabric cupboard in a way that when the bundles are together in a pleasing colour coordination, it is easier to choose my fabrics without the hunt.

What then happens is that when it is all tidy, it gets dishevelled each day I go in to find patterns and colours that blend.  All I seem to do is tidy, fold and stack! So by bundling, its like a gorgeous antique grab pack of beauty .. Ta Dah!  

Well that is it for today and in time for a weekend read.  I will be back next week, I have missed you but have enjoyed my emails and personal comments you have sent me, I think I have answered each one and not missed anyone, forgive me if I have.

I hope the sun shines where ever you are and that you have a wonderful and peaceful weekend.

As always stay safe and Happy Stitching!

Sarah X