Getting ready for class

A few days ago I received a package in the mail with some beautiful silk ribbon and I couldn't quite figure out where they had come from , the card inside said Hearty Craft but no note and I assumed it had come from Kathy our instructor for the CQC . Here are the gorgeous ribbons

Today after some inquiry , I realize these ribbons came from Lin , how sweet of her to send these off to me , I love them and will sure have fun with them. You see one of the reasons for signing up for this class was I have always had a desire to learn silk ribbon embroidery and it is one of the things we will be covering in this beginners class . Thanks ever so much Lin for this wonderful gift ,I sure appreciate your thoughtfulness  :-)
 In todays mail I received the kit for the class from Kathy , wasn't quite expecting that either but am thrilled to have it .

Kathy has included the threads , ribbons, lace and charms and oh even the needles in this cute little wool needle case . Thanks Kathy , this is wonderful and now I can make more than one block :-)
 I have to prep my block now with markings for the embroidery stitches and then follow Kathy's instructions as to which stitches to use and where , should be fun , maybe a tad challenging but thats ok .

 Since I haven't been sewing I have been off exploring with DH when he goes to see clients and last week we were at a cottage where there is an incredible beach so I took a walk.

Not the best photo but these are morning glories amongst the beach grasses , so pretty and delicate .

a closer view

This little sandpiper (?) was not happy that I was walking in his territory and was letting me know with lots of chatter ,it was so cute .

I just love the texture of this large piece of driftwood that was on the shore , years of being washed by the salt water has worn it smooth and bleached it :-)
I was so busy watching the plovers and other shore birds that I neglected to take any photos of the actual beach so next time I promise to take more photos , my battery went dead this time around :-(

 Thanks for stopping by today and special thanks to Lin and Kathy for my treasures .
 hugs Sheila

Determination is the word of the day!

It will be 14 weeks tomorrow since I broke my wrist and I will tell you truthfully it has been a struggle in more ways than you can imagine , you never realize what you have until it is taken away and not having the use of my right hand has not been easy but I knew I had to persevere to get back to normal. I am far from that yet BUT and I emphasize that But I am improving , slowly but surely . I am not a quiter  so a week or more ago I seen a post by Dolores about a free crazy quilting class and I inquired and signed up , crazy , maybe, but the way I looked at it if I dont at least try I can never regain my hand coordination so sign up I did. I gathered my supplies first ....

This is not everything I need but a good start , then I had to post this on the special blog that our instructor Kathy of Shawl Designs has set up for the participants of this class . Once I posted this Kathy sent the next step by email and last night it took me about one hour to cut the paper templates apart , geez it hurt ...
This morning I had the task of taking those templates and cutting them from fabric , ouch again but with determination and slowly but surely they were all cut using my rotary cutter that has sat idle all these months . Next task was to sew these together , almost painless , yeah!!

Here is my prepared block, I may have messed up as I cut the templates by placing them on the right side of the fabric so they are in reverse of the way they may have been meant to be but believe me I will not be recutting them at this time . Next will come the challenge of doing the embroidery but I figure if I take my time I can handle that one stitch at a time so I want to thank Dolores for getting me back on track , I have a long way to go yet but this is in the right direction and their is a smile on my face .
 I think the most important lesson I learned from this break is to appreciate what you have , you never know when things can change and it is a long road to recovery both physically and mentally . Also use a step stool not a chair ;-)
 Thanks for stopping by and come back soon to see my progress.
 hugs Sheila

Some mail to share

I have to apologize for taking so long to post these great postcards I received about a week ago , I find it so difficult to type on the computer and can't do it all from the iPad .
I had taken part in a postcard exchange through Brandy Lynn of Canadian quilt Talk with the theme of maple leaves . Lucky for me I had one suitable postcard on hand so was able to join in the swap and my partner for the swap was Monika of My Sweet Prairie and this is the lovely postcard she sent to me . Thanks so much Monika , always a pleasure to swap with you :-)

My friend Annette also sent me one of her creative postcards with the same theme , Annette always comes up with the greatest cards . It was so thoughtful of Annette to send me this great postcard , thanks so much , it did brighten my day , just love it  :-) Annette's card depicts someone enjoying a swing on an old tire under a maple tree , how clever , the maple leaf is dimensional  ;-)

Then a few days ago I received a package in the mail from my friend Eglea in Brazil , she sent me this lovely thread painted fuchsia flower . She has been practising her thread work and it is just amazing . I love it !

She also included some vintage fabric which she had used in a previous postcard she had sent . I can't wait to try it out , I love the texture of it . Thanks so much for everything Eglea

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Are you wondering how the wrist is coming ? Well , slowly but I do see some improvement , I seen my doctor on Tuesday and he gave me permission to leave the brace off which is a relief as it gets kind of hot . I get very discouraged at times as I can't do the things I want to do and everyday chores are still challenging but I have to remind myself this too shall pass if I do what I am told and push that wrist and hand as much as possible and often . To be honest my wrist is not nearly as sore as my hand is , my thumb being the worst , it aches a lot . Send me some healing thoughts please , I so want to get back to normal .
 Thanks for taking the time to stop by today and I hope the sun is shining where you are .
 Hugs Sheila