mainely stitching

I’ve been kind of stalking my mailman lately, as Angela alerted me to the fact that there’s a package on the way for me … and I kind of have to admit to making a purchase or two lately … but what arrived completely blew me away.

You may remember my amazing good fortune at recently winning Cathi’s blog give-away for a hand-stitched Dear Jane Quilt. Well, it has already arrived, all the way from the west coast of the US (where she is currently visiting her family). I think I’ve had flights from there to here that took longer to arrive! I just don’t know where to begin with this quilt. It is such a thing of beauty!! I’ve taken a ton of photos (thank heavens for digital photography!) and I’ve chosen the spot where I want to hang it. What is the best way to hang a quilt for display? This measures about 25 inches square. It seems I should conceal a rod somehow to provide uniform support, but I don’t want to damage the quilt in doing so, so your suggestions will be gratefully received. Cathi, if you’re reading this, you are insanely generous to give away this gorgeous work of art. I’ll treasure it!!!

In the spirit of give-aways, I’d already planned one for today. This is an absolutely lovely design from Kathy Barrick-Dieter called Her Sampler. It’s one of her older ones and I’m not sure if it’s still in print or not. In addition to an alphabet and numbers, it has houses, acorns, birds, and a totally cool tree. The stitch count is 94 by 110. Please make it clear in your comment that you want your name included in the drawing and I’ll use the Randomizer to choose a name on Monday morning (so I can post it on Monday).

Subscribers to The Gift of Stitching Monthly, don’t forget that you only have a couple more days to order back issues for half price. I was missing several because our PC was stolen a couple of years ago (we’ve since bought an external hard drive), and there were a couple of issues that I simply forgot to save. Oops. So  now my collection is once again complete, and I had great fun going over the missing copies last night. One of the nicest surprises was the design Sweet World by Deborah Thorpe of Midsummer Night Designs in issue seven. Can’t wait to get going on that one!

I’ve been up since 5:30 this morning with some awful pain in my neck that makes it hard to move. Nevertheless, I’ve been working on gifts for Max’s teachers so they’ll be ready for the last day of school on Friday. One of his teachers in particular has made a concentrated effort with Max and this is his last year with her so I wanted to make something extra-special. I’m working on Country Cat from the Prairie Schooler leaflet Barn Cats for one teacher (at Max’s request). I’ll fill it with lavender to finish it as a little cushion/ornament. The gift for his other teacher has yet to be decided.

Ages ago, Chiloe asked why the kids all have two teachers. It’s due to various reasons. Most teachers have children of their own and don’t want to work full time. Having two people sharing one job also cuts down on unemployment, which is something the government is always busy with. And I believe it is cheaper for the schools to pay for two part-timers rather than one full-timer in regard to benefits, pension, etc. It seems like full-time teachers don’t exist here, although I’m sure they do. Just not in my town. Sorry it took me so long to answer, Chiloe.

But instead of stitching this evening, I’ve finally been able to watch The Golden Compass on DVD. I’ve been waiting for that pleasure for some time now – and it was worth waiting for! I prefer the book, but the movie really is quite brilliant.

Now time for that last feeding, and off to bed!