Away...

I know I disappeared :) But after a week filled with stress and too much thinking, I had taken the decision to just pack and leave for some days at my family - and I had such a great time that the stay elongated to almost 12 days :) During that period I really didn't feel for blogging... just had too much of a nice time :) To those who might think I was on vacation, I hasten to add - nope! I took my laptop with me and worked normally. My free-lance status means I can do excatly the same job as at home, anywhere there is an Internet connection. I am sure I don't have to convince you that working in the garden here, surrounded with gorgeous flowers in full bloom is just heaven comparing to working in my tiny flat in the center of a big town. Hah! I enjoyed every minute spent with my family. Gradma is slowing down with every day passing but she's just amazing. At 98,5 she's in better shape than most 80 years old people I know. Both my cousins with families live close to my aunt and visit very often. And the 4 cats and 2 dogs provide additional fun :)

The GREAT news is that despite a non-celebrated :( birthday next week, I have my plane tickets bought and ready for June 2nd, which is Saturday in more or less two weeks - I'll be leaving for my summer in Norway and I just can't wait!!! Now I need to fulfill the last steps of the veterinary procedure for both Happy and The Queen which means the next 10 days will be VERY busy. Happy has already taken the plane last year to Oslo but it'll be a first time for The Queen. And H. flew with me that day so it all wasn't that terrible despite the obvious stress. This time I'm facing taking a taxi to the airport with a) two big suitcases b) hand-luggage reduced to laptop in a hand-bag c) one big transporter with a dog d) one smaller transporter with a cat e) me and myself f) my STRESS, hey, I just have two hands!! I don't have the smallest clue how I'm going to cope with all that, kicking luggage with my feet while talking gently to my pets and holding tickets etc. in my hands. Well, I'll tell you. If I manage to do it, I'll be a proud gal. I keep telling myself that this is doable. The problem was that there weren't any cheap tickets left and the cost of H. flying back of worth to pick me up from Warsaw and help with the logistics was really prohibitive. Ya all know how travelling can be costly.

So, I've promised to live my birthday like it's just another day in the year and SMILE because in just a few days, I'll be flying to Norway! Waaahoo!!

Donna, I know I've been tagged, will reply asap! I'll be back home tomorrow. It's awfully HOT and my cousin and wife are going to Warsaw by car tomorrow so I'll travel with them instead of taking the train.

To the little giftie I promised - only Mylene posted a comment that day and I had promised Cheryl to put her name in the "hat" as well, resulting in her "winning", so if you see this, Cheryl, please send me your snail mail addy to fjordgirl at gmail dot com :) Mylene signed up for a PIF form me so a giftie will fly to Holland in due time :)

I've finished Their Song and started working on another piece. Pictures - soon.

I'm just sending this quickie as midnight approaches and I need to get up in just 5 hours, so I'll post more pictures tomorrow, if time allows.

A mood for celebrating

I really don't know why, without any apparent reason, I feel for celebrating everything today. Must be this horrible allergy/homeopathy text I got rid of this morning, because otherwise it's a gloomy week. Outside it rains very often, it is grey, a time for stitching, heh! ;-) The text for tomorrow is about registering trademarks in the EU so that'll wait, I'm doing a short break. And the phone is still silent between Norway and Poland, a consequence of last Saturday's tough talk between two people who love each other dearly but who sometimes have some issues to solve, like everybody :(.
So, apart from walking Happy and visiting the pets shop (didn't I say the word celebrating at least once today? LOL) - I got bones for doggie, tasty cans for The Queen and other rubbish to spoil them both ;-) ... I'll do pretty much nothing today.
And since my nephew celebrated his 5th birthday last week, here are some photos I took last December in Cheeseland.

On the first picture, it's me (the grey whale - WHO took that picture??? - ah yes, my brother... sigh) in the middle, H. (the tall Norwegian, you must know how to recognize Norwegians ;-)) and my sister-in-law. Jeremi poses in the center. When you ask him to pose, he becomes soooo serious. But when I take a shot in a natural situation, here's him!

5000 ahead!!

Yay, that is amazing! I wasn't planning to celebrate blogiversaries, but to hit 5000 visitors is nice enough to send a broad virtual smile and...

AND.... ON THE DAY (be it today or tomorrow or any day later) that my blog's counter hits 5000, if you leave me a comment saying more or less you're in for that, I'll put your name in a hat - naaaah, to say the truth I don't have a suitable one but I WILL write names on bits of paper, put them in a bag and proceed to an honest drawing LOL!) - and I'll send a little giftie to the winner. I promise it will be nice :)

Aaah yes... I won't be reminding you on that... so keep watching the counter! ;-) You have to leave a comment on that very day :)

Just for the fun of celebrating, smiling and to say thank you for reading me!

Busy week ahead

I wasn't very efficient today and work awaits with three very different texts to work on, and not very easy either.
I've only got a few stitches more to do on my Prairie Schooler stocking.
Replying to Vonna : well, if I want to be fair, I can't say why this stocking is not a winner :) Whatever I could say it would reveal which is mine LOL! and I want to be fair to Linda S-H who's the only other person participating. On the other hand, if you know me by now, you'll immediately know which one is mine ;-) I'll just say that I imagine a winning stocking as a more classic one, while mine is more sampler-like and very personal :)
I think we may have to wait quite long for the PS folks to choose the winner because our listmom Linda McM will be on a well deserved, super exciting holiday (waving to Linda! have a super lovely trip!!) this month.
I really made this stocking for fun, for the joy of participating in the contest and not to win anything (though that would be nice, I imagine :) I never win anything!). And now that that stocking is done and just waiting to be ironed, I must say I love it.
I also have to describe which element comes from which leaflet etc. but I'll do that in a free moment. Yikes, why do we have to work :(

No stitching?

Very wrong! I'm stitching very fast but I can't show it. I'm working on the Prairie Schooler contest stocking - with the idea I am not doing it for a contest, but for fun. There is no way my stocking can win, instead it will be a very personal one :)
Some days more and I'll be able to stitch on my WIPs.

On cats, dogs and birthdays

Cat queen is finally fine and back to normal, more or less :). She finally started to come for hugs in the morning. Well, her version ;-) The alarm in my cellular phone rings in the morning and she runs fast, jumps on the bed near my face and I take her in my arms :) She doesn't show more appreciation for me as a human being than that, but that is still a long way we have gone together since a little bit more than a year. I still have to be careful because there are plenty of things she doesn;t like, but she *is* changing, I swear she is. One the mornings when we sleep together nose to nose, belly to belly and her paws on my cheek, one could almost think she likes me! LOL I hope Happy forgives me for talking about her mainly on my blog, but with Happy, it's very simple - he is HAPPY. Always :)
Must say my own father did something very surprising two weeks ago. But from the start...their dog had a very ill heart and died while they were away in Switzerland and Canarian Islands. Now, I woulnd't have gone on a vacation if my dog was _that_ ill but that's me. My brother thinks I'm extreme that way, but my pets are parts of the family and as long as I don't have kids, they're my kids, my best friends, you name it. Already last Christmas their doggie was so bad that I suggesdted many times that they help him leave, but my father's wife was hysterical at the thought. I'll viciously say she was doubly hysterical, from what I've heard, when she learned that his condition worsened suddenly the day they left for vacation. I felt so, so very sad about how they handled it all. But then you can't tell other people how to behave with their pets/kids/hubbies/hobbies etc. ;-)
Anyways, five days after they returned, they took not one, but TWO doggies from the shelter! I am sooooo very happy about that. That they took dogs from a shelter, and that they took both they loved. One is already at home, it's a small black mix-breed aged 4-5 months named the same as his two predecessors, and the second one will arrive next week after the necessary procedure the shelter insisted on following (vaccinations, neutering etc.). She's 3 and redish, named Tara. Nice :) Both are small.
Now I must say my reasonable father surprised me. His wife is particularly good at forcing her wills on him, but he has some limits, and having two dogs is not something I would every thought he would accept. I am really happy :)
On another note, I am upset about my summer. I should fly to Norway on June 1st for 2-3 months, but the administration of my building had the wonderful idea of organizing not one but two types or works concerning my part of the building. One is putting additional heat insulation from the outside and the other, oh horror! is changing water pipes in both the kitchen and the bathroon. I love the idea! NOT! Problem is that they don't know the dates, I can't buy my plane tickets, and on the whole flying from Norway for a week or two for the duration of the works will be an expensive trick. So I don't know... and I don't know when I will know anything! That annoys me severely. Apparently I am the only person interested in knowing the exact dates :) RRRr-rrrr-rrrr. Might be I'll stay home this summer and just make trips here and there to avoid the heat when it arrives. Mind you, it won't be any day soon, after 10 not so warm days, we're facing 10 not so warm days with rain!! Each day.
So, H. was supposed to fly in for my birthday and take me back with him ;-) Mainly to help me with numerous luggage pieces, a dog, a cat and my nerves LOL! Now the situation being as it is and money being on the (very) low side, I think I'll suggest he doesn't come now. After all, a birthday is just a day.
Does anyone long after their childhood birthdays? I feel that whatever H. does, it's never as nice as it was in the ol' days :) My parents made it very special that day, also other family members. On the other hand, H's birthdays weren't celebrated that much, and well, he's Norwegian ;-) so the intensity of that day is not the same ;-) He does his best, but it's just not the same. My birthdays are never as nice as I would like them to be. My father used to wake me up with a delicious breakfast on a tray and the whole day he treated me very special, the day was so full of joy. For H., apart from the dinner out - or any other nice thing we do (usually we are away somewhere) it's just a day - and he's not behaving differently really. I don't know, maybe when you have kids, they know how to make it very important... Or maybe I am generally too nostalgic, which I am well known to be! :)
Heh, my nephew is 5 since Thursday! I sent him a biiiiig package which he received a day late, but his parents said it's great, because the birthday joy was then spred on two days. My SIL told me that when she came back from work, she saw Jeremi all excited, with red cheeks and all, shouting he got a package from aunt Anna, I can visualize that :) I promised another trip to Geneva soon, maybe without H., so we can spend a few days playing and having fun together and he'll have his aunt for himself :)

Read my lips...

SIXTY-SIX-DOLLARS is the price someone just paid for this little fav' chart of mine! Wish I were rich, heh! ;-)

Colors

Donna asked what my favorite color is (Donna, sorry for the late answer, I don't feel for doing much lately! :() I am asking that question to myself quite often. Some things are sure :). I hate blue. I admit to substituting blue in some patterns where it is the dominating color and I happen to regret not having changed it in others, like in Blackbird's Designs "Bluejay's message" I am working on. I should have done the bird in dark grey ;-) But then I look very good in dark marine blue and that happens to be my "elegant" color. Most of my official clothes are this color - I look very bad in black and only buy some black clothes "just to have them" because in some occasions they look best.
I can honestly say that I love deep, intense, fuchsia, indian, raspberry PINK. No pastel colors for me.... What annoys me personnally is that once I move out to Norway, I'll have to rething my color strategy for the interiors LOL! I don't think any man wants pink around him too much :) Here my room is in cream/pink/wood, my kitchen is green-cream-metal, the bathroom is light grey and pink. Not one blue element! LOL
Colors I look best in are "autumn" shades. I like to say that I look good in intense but muted colors, like "with a splash of milk" :). I have a peach shade of skin and green eyes - now, if I didn't look like a perfect mixture of both my father and mother, I would have wondered. Noone has green eyes in the family. One of my grand-fathers is said to having had green eyes but the way I remember him, I'd say they were blue. All his photos are black and white, unfortunately.
Never mind... Ah yes, I love some shades of dark grey and I'm always on the look out for such clothes. I have an old Ralph Lauren golf t-shirt I got for peanuts, I absolutely adore but it starts too look too worn out ;-) Unfortunately all the clothes I see that have this color are really made for men and unadaptable (much too big or much too manly).
Oh, and I hate admitting to liking pink! LOL I find it conveys an image that is not mine. No baby pink, no pastel pink, I like intense pink! I hate admitting I like pink, have I said that? ;-)
Now, when it comes to shades of cross-stitching fabric, I never have enough of light cream shades in all versions and types.
Well, like H. say - I love colors. Because for each purpose I like different ones, which all together create a very variegated palette :)
Sorry Donna, I know it's much more than you wanted to know but I should be doing some house chores and procrastinating is what I am best at in such moments! LOL

The queen has calmed down

Can that human sadist be trusted now? I wonder...

The SIXTH morning after the traumatic visit to the vet brought changes :) Finally she slept a loooooong time in my arms in the early morning, purring LOUD! Let's see how things will be now... It was a long wait but well worth it :) Only yesterday she jumped out of my arms each time I tried to be nice to her. But she wasn't biting or scratching anymore since some days so I knew there was hope! :)

During that time of trouble, big brother relaxed. "That model knows how to relax" - that's a phrase H. often says about him and we both laugh. See for yourself. I was changing bed clothes but got distracted at the computer too long... only to found Happy only too happy and deep asleep :)

Another cat post - this time a finish!

But what or who is hiding in there??


Oh it's just me the little cat...

I am accompanying my weird cousin who's been sent somewhere far as a giftie!

Design: from Prairie Schooler #06 Barn Cats (colors highly adapted!)

Fabric: hand-dyed Jobelan 28ct Wild Rose

Threads: VC silks and WDW/GAST

I also sent this little card (couldn't resist, they are hand-made and the gallery is just two houses away from me)

I am being hated...

...by my cat! Now I must admit that my devil queen has been changing gradually but incessably, she's developed lovely habits - like running to get hugs in bed with me when the alarm clock rings in the morning- or during the day when I feel for a moment of tenderness with her ;-) She hasn't been attacking big-brother-dog and generally she's just been changing. Now today can have changed it all.

I *needed* to take her to the vet to have a blood sample taken. A hundred dollars affair (gulp!) but she needs to have rabbies antibodies tested in the national laboratory somewhere in Poland, where the blood is sent by special messenger. This is because this summer, she'll be flying to Norway along with Happy the dog, and happy me. Happy had this test done last year and the procedure doesn't need to be repeated if you remember to do the rabbies vaccination each year within the prescribed 365 days. Of course there are additional criteria set by the Norwegians but these include giving the animal a pill against worms within the last 7 days before the trip - and then going to the vet in Norway within the first 7 days to repeat that. Of course each step has to be documented duly by official vets and done in set order and time. I did it all with Happy and there was no problem at the airport in Oslo. The police officer was a gorgeous young blonde girl, with a special reader she checked his electronic chip implanted in the neck, checked all the stamps and what nots in his European Union pet passport. But the most important is the blood sample - and today it was time to take cat queen to the vet. Yikes! Even if my worst scenario I didn't foresee that ordeal. We were 5 (FIVE) persons around her: I was holding the rear legs, one assistant was holding a towel around her neck so she wouldn't bite, another assistant was holding one front leg, another the other leg - and the vet did her best to take the blood sample. Problem is the official lab needs TWO big samples. Cat queen was very upset and no blood did flow. Only when she calmed down thigns started to happen. I didn't know that a cat (my cat!) is able to cry/shout THAT loud! It sounded like we were removing her skin. The lady from the reception came to ask us to maybe calm her down or do it quicker because people in the waiting room were asking what we're doing to this poor cat! LOL

Ok, try to visualize it. She tried to bite, scratch, kill, strangle, deafen us, whatever. It almost worked. At one moment I looked at myself and I looked that way: I was sweating all over, cat hair was flying everywhere, dark grey cat hair sticked to my wet face (lovely! i could have been mistaken for a grizzly..), then she made a strong move, and small and biggr drops of dark red blood sprinkled all over my white (who puts on a white shirt to the vet???) shirt, then to top it all she peed on me - now you can see the scene. I looked very lovely :) but the vet assistant warned me she could also do worse (you know what) - which she didn;t and I was very pleased with that! :) One hour later we had it all done, now it's just to wait about 4 weeks for the results from the lab. I got her the tastiest bag of delicious wet food for cats they had.

She's been resting all afternoon after swallowing all the portion. But don't be mistaken - she HATES me, she hates the world. When I tried to cuddle her, I was quickly reminded how sharp nails can be - and she makes warning signs as soon as I take her up. Okay, I'll have to wait and see. But for the moment I fear all the good work is ruined - she might have lost all faith and trust she he had built. Too bad...

Now, on special request from Lizzy (hi Lizzy, thanks for the lovely message!!! :), here is my progress on Their Song. As much as I love the amazingly well matched colours, I hate the fabric and I won't remember it as a fav' piece. But it will be loved once framed and hanging on the wall.

See this freebie!

I might stitch it very soon, it just shows me so well, LOL! Just need to change the hair color to something more suitable ;-) See it here.

It CAN get weirder!

Ooooooh yes it can! You won't believe it, at least neither H. nor my family can. This is *another* case where my data have been used! In the one I mentioned earlier, the b---d used my address and fax number - but not my name nor ID number - to try to get credits at many, many banks. Hmppppfff.

Now it seems someone (else?) used my name and my address in some bad way. I am "suspected" of having bought illegal diploma(s) online from a guy selling those both on the Polish equivalent of ebay and on a diploma-related site. I simply can't understand how all that is happening to me and can these two cases be coincidental? In what way? I just don't know. What worries me is that in the current one, the person also knew my second name which I only use in official documents.

We didn't go to the official part of the police "audition". The police officer was a young, beautiful woman. I'd say in 50% we just had a relaxed, laughing talk but the other 50% of time when I was asked about something and was replying, she had this disturbing way of looking me deep and straight into my eyes. Sure was a police technique but I can tell you that even if you're 100% honest, sincere and haven't done anything wrong, you can start to stutter and look like you're terribly guilty! LOL I need to calm down the next time! :)

Okay. So I was given to read the official document sent by the district attorney in Cracow, asking the special investigation section in Warsaw to audition me, to ask if I know a person called ---- -----, or using the nick ---- or -----, if I had bought a diploma or anything else from that person, had contacts with him etc. No, I haven't. No, I don;t know that person. But I told the police officer that I want to be 100% sure and honest with me and her so I'd return home, search through my harddrives where I still have stored all the information about the ebay and similar transactions I was in here in Poland or abroad, to check if I hadn't bought anything else such as a book, dictionary, mug from him.
I checked and I haven't. I have an appointment on Monday again to do the official part of the interrogation and sign what I have to sign. But now I have all the reasons to worry. Who is doing that? Who knows my second name? A coincidence, two cases like that within 2 months? Am I on a sort of bad list bought by someone? I can only hope this will stop soon. On Monday I will also call the police officer who came to see me at home some time ago. I had an excellent contact with him and the way I think I know him, he might contact the other department in another part of the town and maybe he'll have something to tell me. I am just curious to hear if he thinks there's any sort of connection between the two cases.
I'll keep you updated!

A quickie

Yup, that really was an unexpectedly fast finish, it only took me 3 evenings from start to finish.

Waxing Moon Designs - My needle and my floss

Threads: WDW

Fabric: China Pearl Jobelan, 28 ct.

I also am almost finished with Blackbird Designs - Bluebird's message but I`m missing a skein of Brick (rrrrr, what was left of it mysteriously disappeared during my Easter trip, either in the hoover, or in my cousin's daughter's hands, or in either cats' claws, rrrr) and it'll have to wait for a prospective order.

This week hasn't been nice, no work came in (it's always either too much or not enough) so a long awaited order brought a biiiiiiiig smile yesterday!

There's the frame for the Mocking Bird, a piece of Lakeside Linens 40 ct Sand Dune for CHS Sarah Spurr, the sooooo wanted conversion to Crescent Colors (plus threads and chart) of Prairie Schooler's sampler Autumn Leaves, tear drops (wanted to try them), Just Cross Stitch magazine, a 13 pieces pack of small cuts from Lakeside Linens (oh my, I think I'll convert from a Silkweaver to a LL addict), and a 36ct LL Creme brulee piece for the Mocking Bird. The LL Autumn Gold for the CHS girls is still on backorder, sniff, after almost two months, I think.
Now I really wish I could afford the recommended silks for the Mocking Bird and the CHS girls, including Sarah Spurr, but the price is just TOO high... I need to check again for Sarah Spurr.... I swear she needs silks!! LOL

Ah yes, I was about to forget. I also received the RR Apple Brown something fabric for Blackbird Designs - Their Song with the chart and all threads and I've started to work on it last night. However there's another project calling my name and if I succumb to it, I'll let you know!

Oh, these Lakeside Linens are gorgeous, why did I resist that long? ;-)

A bit unhappy

So it all looks like the b----d who used my phone and address data to try to do bank frauds managed to do something bad.
I am called to be at the police (special investigation section) today at 3pm - as a witness, and the case number is different from the one I had. So, the guy is guilty of something.
I got a visit from a police officer two weeks ago, who was absolutely wonderful, competent, professional and kind, who came to my home just to say he's closing the case for now and to inform me that regardless of what can/could happen, I am not to worry about anything - because basically, I don't know the guy, never heard of him.
Now it all starts again.

All my guilt is having had a tiny advertising for my professional activity in the biggest phone book in Poland, the police say that's where the guy probably took it from.

ARGH!!!! And I must say that for someone who is not used to contacts with the police, this can be an initial stress. Now I am getting used to the fact they are normal people, just in uniforms ;-)

Prairie Schooler exchange from Mary K.

Here is the gorgeous ornament I received from Mary Kathryn! It is done over one and it soooo lovely! I love stitching over one and getting a piece done this way was a real feast for me. The finishing is beautiful, the piece is sooooo soft :) and Mary K. added beads in the bottom. She also sent me the goodies pictured below: 3 lovely little pieces of hand-dyed fabric, a skein of Belle Soie (silk thread by Crescent Colours) which I enjoyed discovering! and two Prairie Schooler freebies, one of which I might stitch very soon because it features a house and a blackbird, and that is what I love in sampler ;-) Now, seriously, as soon as I see a sampler with a bird, trees and house(s), my fingers start itching to get it, buy it, stitch it! LOL

And here are all the goodies, lucky me! :)





I also received this cute little pillow which can also be attached to scissors :)

Thank you so much again, Mary Kathryn!!

Prairie Schooler Spring Exchange - winter ornament

Here is the ornament I stitched for Mary K., I am so glad she liked it! She makes much, much nicer photos than I, so I will refer you to her post here :) I sent her the Prairie Schooler box you've seen in a previous post (surprise!) as a PIF, a linen cloth with lavender (I knew she likes lavender :)) and some goodies: a hand-made card, a rabbit, a nest with eggs... and the ornament below for the PS Spring exchange - Winter ornament:

Prairie Schooler - adapted from leaflet #63

Fabric: Silkweaver linen

Threads: WDW/GAST

Finally back home!

First off, I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who commented on my last two finishes :). Your warm comments mean a lot to me because, basically, I am no finisher at all. Or if I may say so, I am starting to make acceptable finishing. I have noone to show me and no workshops to attend here in Poland, so I look and observe, contemplate and get ideas, and finally it looks like I can produce something I like myself :) It's been a pleasure to make these projects and an immense pleasure to read that Mary Kathryn liked her goodies. As to the gorgeous (you will excuse me, hmmm? LOL) Easter rabbit - I still don't know. My partner in the French Paquoswap (Easter swap) should have received her package along with extra goodies last week but I haven't heard from her, and she hasn't updated her blog since over a month. I'd hate to think something is wrong...

I will go through your comments tomorrow to see if I should reply to something specific. Many persons asked me about the needleroll stands. I checked and here's some info:
They are actually called Finishing stands (mine are large - 6") and they are made by Flying Needles. Now, their website only shows the Tacky B.O.B. so I hope they are not discontinued. If you check on google, you will find many online stores carrying them. For instance http://yarntree.com/webcatpdf/page30.pdf - but they don't seem to have the large version. Anyway, they are basically made to "just finish your item flat with a hidden pocket to conceal the stand" but I swear I had read somewhere they were also meant for needle rolls. "The stand provides an alternative for finishing standing figures" etc. Hope that helps!!

Okay. So I am back from a super lovely Easter - if not for work. But let's start from the beginning. I haven't mentionned it, but last month I was blocked one full day more at my father's because there was something wrong with my plane's wheel and we were turned back from the gate - and the next plane was 24h later. My poor Dad drove again to the airport to fetch me, and we got to spend one more day together. If not for the accompanying stress, it would have been fine. In December, I was blocked 2 days at the airport because of fog conditions while H. waited for me in Geneva. Hmpf. Guess what happened this time (H. couldn't believe his ears when I called him). *OF COURSE* my plane was cancelled and I waited 6 hours for the next one. Lovely... not. Then when I finally arrived to the destination airport at 6pm (instead of noon), it was only to discover that the ground services did not transfer my luggage. After even more mess, it was found in Warsaw and sent back by the last plane, and a driver from the airline drove it directly to my aunt... before midnight. I was *pooped*. I really enjoy traveling and taking planes, which I did very frequently since the tender age of 4, but I feel I've had my dose now. Thankfully my flight back was on time which I almost felt like something weird :).

The stay at my aunt was fabulous. My soon 99 y.o. grandma is still fine, and it was great to be surrounded by an extensive bunch of family. My cousin and I drove to Berlin to fetch H. arriving from Oslo - and then the even better part of the stay started. We had a fantastic time together. The weather didn't allow us to bath in the sun in the garden, but we enjoyed spending time with family, celebrating a traditional Polish Easter, playing with the (many) cats and dogs, and simply enjoying life in its best version. I will post pictures at a later time because I am absolutely exhausted. I left Warsaw in a zombie mode, having worked 20h per day, and ... work kept coming in all the time while I was away - which means I worked in the kitchen preparing Easter during the day, working upstairs during the night - and constantly running up the flight of stairs leading to my bed-room, where my laptop was installed. Ah the evolution of Internet, the evolution of minds! My aunt has a new wireless Internet connection and it's a real revolution in the life of this house, including obvious benefits for me, because I could work on the terrace (weather allowing) and not connect through my expensive cell phone connection. It made a whole world of difference :) and my aunt is doing very well learning Internet and her new laptop which my cousin bought her last month.
So I worked... and worked... and worked... and I am back since Wednesday evening, but I worked... more.... and now I am facing a workless week-end which I plan to spend STITCHING! I am half way through Bluebird's Message (by Blackbird Designs) - and I got an order containing several patterns so I have tons to stitch now :)

And - I received a super lovely Prairie Schooler exchange and PIF from Mary Kathryn, but you'll have to excuse me, I'll post more tomorrow.

Okay, this was a chaotic update before I doze off over my keyboard. I only slept 1-2 hours since 2 days so it's time to get some well-deserved rest :)

Prairie Schooler - box

Design: Prairie Schooler, adapted from Book #12 "The Three Bears"

Fabric: Silkweaver Jobelan (Porcelain)

Threads: my choice of silks, GAST and WDW

Here is a box I completed recently as a giftie for someone. Sorry for the over-contrast on the picture but I hope you can get an idea of this finish :)

Easter rabbit finish

Design: Easter Parade by Blackbird Designs

Fabric: Silkweaver 28ct Jobelan (Porcelain)

Threads: WDW/GAST (some changes)

Oh please tell me you like it! :) I am sooooo proud of myself, this must be one of my nicest finishing projects ever. I am the living proof it is possible to learn by reading blogs, web pages, and all I am able to do when it comes to finishing comes from learning from Internet :)

So here is the project I sent to my partner for the French Easter swap.
Below, I have posted a photographic description of the finishing process, in case this might inspire someone :)

I started with the stitched piece:

... to which I ironed thermo-transferable fliseline:

Then I pinned the stitched piece onto a piece of styrofoam:

From behind, it looked this way:

Now I've pinned the backing fabric that covers the back of the styrofoam:

Here's what we have at this moment:

I pinned the banding along all sides:

And added a ready-made flower I bought and which suited it beautifully:

I used fabric glue to attach a needleroll stand to the behind:

When the glue dried, it was invisible:

I just loved the banding:

Now the stiched piece is ready and can stand thanks to the support given by the needleroll stand.
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