HAPPY ST. GEORGE'S DAY!......

To all my English friends here and across the pond. To those who don't know, St. George is the Patron Saint of England. He's the famous one who slew the bad old dragon. The symbol worn today is the red rose, one of my favorites (the favorite being the lavender rose). My favorite statue of him is the one in St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. He's pictured as a young man, quite well done by the artist. I think of him as one of "my" saints because I'm such an anglophile.
To Julie, Elisa and all the special friends (including Midge and Mr. Moe): I hope it was a good one.



I finally managed to get the Traveling Stitcher put together. Not without its problems! I decided to make the case myself. First mistake. I used some fabby from my collection here. Second mistake: now that it's together I don't really like it. There is an extra case because of a stitching mistake. Third error. But it's all done and in my needlecase basket. It's getting so full now that I need to find a larger way of displaying them. OH, and for fun I corrected the grammar!


I've now got Loose Feather's Peacock Pinkeep kitted up and am ready to start it. The fabric is wonderful. Colors-well???? Not my favorite.

Anyway, that's about all going on here. My visit to the retina specialist wasn't so good. I had it figured all wrong, of course. I thought the problem might be from diabetes (I'm insulin resistant and I thought maybe I had crossed over) or perhaps MS. It's not, of course. It's a part of my heart disease. It's hell growing old!

A GOOD TIME ON SATURDAY

Here is the Loose Feathers Keepsake Box and Pin Cushion that I finished last week. I used fabric, threads, all the materials it called for. The lining fabric was my choice: I like anything that is old fashioned English rosy looking. It didn't take anytime to do the stitching and a couple of days to put the box together. The only thing different was that I didn't put the center divide.

We took the day off and went to Springfield yesterday. It was great and the parade was a hoot. Hopefully tomorrow I can download the pictures and get them online by Tuesday, which is Mardi Gras. My pastor mentioned the holiday in his sermon today. I wanted to jump up and yell that not everyone takes the opportunity to get rousing drunk. Some people just enjoy the beads, food and family time. And it wouldn't hurt some Baptist folk to do without for 40 days, either. Food would be a good choice!! Oh, I've found the best King Cake. The ones yesterday were from the Navarre Bakery in Springfield. I think I'll make a pilgrimage tomorrow. They (the cakes!) go away for a year starting Wednesday. These were WONDERFUL. Not pre-made pastry like Albertson's or Winn Dixie. And the cream cheese filling tasted like sweetened marscarpone. The icing wasn't in dark Mardi Gras colors. They were pastel. Oh, my mouth is watering. No wonder I'm a hundred pounds overweight.

There's no news on my friend's killer. She stays with me, in my mind, all the time. I hope the police will catch the creep soon. The Bible says to forgive. This one will take awhile to forgive-and forget, if ever. Prayers are appreciated.

I BELIEVE!

It's cold here so I guess ole Phil maybe right.Perfect time to stay inside and stitch.

Here's my progress on the Bea Potter sampler. It's coming along okay. I try to take a few stitches at least every other day. And, like another sampler I finished, I've added special dates to the sampler. You might have to look closely to find them. The chart shows some initials worked in. Like some others in the SAL, I'm holding back, thinking that I might add my choice.

I've stitched a couple of ornaments for Stitching For A Cure. Plan to do more. I still have to put them together. Come on, those of you that stitch. Let's get busy. Donna's goal is $5000.

The big stitching news is that I've finished the Loose Feathers box. I've done the stitching on the pin cushion and will show a snap of them both later.

I've also started the Victoria Quaker. The picture shows it as a framed piece, but it may be completed as a stitching kit, which is what I'm doing. I'm also doing it in a complete color change and adding the wording in French. More later.

Until then, I'm going to drag myself up, get dressed and go to On The Boulevard, my favorite beauty place, and get a nail repaired and---ta da---a hair change. If I still have the nerve when I get there.

Until then, stay warm. Especially my friend across the pond. England is being snowed in.

Okay, here I sit, pouting. I've got another fever blister and this one is BIG. I just had one last week and took my pills like a good girl and it never really got bad. Wouldn't you know the prescription expired the 16th and I never managed to get it refilled? And it's too late to stop this one. It's one of those nasty ones that is in the middle of my lip and not around the edges. Just have to hibernate for a few days and stitch- a lot.

Speaking of stitching, I've managed to bring things to a halt until I finish the Loose Feather's Keepsake Box and Pinkeep. The top is within a few stitches of being finished and then on to the pinkeep. It's really small and won't take long either. I'll have to find some fabric, paint and the box, of course. All will be at Hobby Lobby. It's been a fun project.
Dianne is going to the needlework market in February and she's been taking orders for this little goody. It's an etui. It has to be specially bought because only so many will be printed. Can't wait to get my hands on this goody!

Today was the State of the Church message. Bro. Collin did a great job and has a great vision for this year. He mentioned several mission trips that will be available. The Senior Adults are going to Lafayette (Louisiana). A group will go to Wisconsin to help a former pastor with his new mission church. That would be fun, but only if we were to fly. But the goody is a proposed trip to Peru. Would I like that !! DH says he doesn't think my doctor will clear me for that one because of the altitude and lack of medical facilities should I need them. Well, I'm not worried. We'll see. If worse comes to worse, I can go on the mission field to Lafayette. Just what we'd do there hasn't been announced