Gotta love my H...

My H. sent my aunt flowers on Wednesday, when I was still there, via Interflora, all the way from Norway. That's the second time he managed to surprise me so totally that I was out of words for a good half minute :) A messenger brought this lovely bunch of flowers in oh! so vibrant, fresh colors. He later told me he meant the flowers to be for us all there at my aunt, but I am so glad he addressed the little note to her. She deserves all the best in the world. And it's a story of love between her and my H. too... Gotta love this guy! :)

I decided to forgive the flower folks for not knowing that a special Norwegian character should have been there (an A with a circle) instead of the I in his name...


So I'm back home for some two short weeks... I'll return to spend Easter with family.

At 100 and 2 months, grandma is really fine. Good days follow more difficult days, when she's totally restless, can't sleep and keeps changing rooms (which of course requires helping her walk, every 5 to 10 minutes). But her head, oh her head is totally okay if not for the short-term memory which is failing her often. Otherwise she's really amazing.

Do click on the picture to enlarge it, isn't she?

Here, my cousin's teenage daughter learns cooking... she also learned quite a bit of crafting, but wait for the next post... :)

I brought my devil cat back home. She's spent 4 months at my aunt and well, she managed to terrorize all the four-legged community. She was even after the softest male in the bunch. She chased the youngest female all the day (and night) long. She scratched, bit and yelled. I was hoping to let her stay there till May and take her directly to Norway for the summer, but honestly, my aunt's cats started to come home reluctantly and often left right after filling their hungry bellies. I had to take her home. The first two days, she slept a lot but today, she's showing the fullest of her abilities. Didn't enjoy me typing, bang! - told she my fingers. Ah, I told you I have a difficult cat. I'm often saying, my next cat will be the nicest, softest creature I can find. Till then, at least 10 years more of difficult cohabitation await... sometimes I feel sorry for myself, because 2 years after taking her from the shelter, she's really not giving much of herself... But, I would never give an animal away and her green eyes and soft fur are enough to melt my heart. I took her, I'm keeping her, that's how it will be... Here she is with Happy on my aunt's lap.



We made a thousand pierogis... a family tradition...


One Sunday, we gathered to read an article my father published about his life and an event from the past. If you're curious what I looked like at 16, look for the girl in the red/grey pullover, her father to the right :)


In the garden, the first signs of spring...

And just to motivate myself to diet, I'll post this recent picture here! Shame, shame on me. But I swear I'll transform into an Easter bunny soon with all the greenies I eat! Anyone else dieting? :)
Ah, I h-a-t-e this picture! No, I don't know why my face is shining! Must be my spring aura, right...

I will keep on dieting
I will keep on dieting
I will keep on dieting
I will keep on dieting
I will keep on dieting...

Till tomorrow! :)

How weird, because I *can* see the photos of the round poinsettia ornie... Here they are again!



Jennifer - the PS pinkeep is the first chart to the left in the upper row of the #35 leaflet "Prairie Garden". I didn't change anything else than the threads I used ;-). By that I mean that I used silks instead of DMC but I followed the graph - a pink color, a dark green, a light green...
Gabi - I'll be away 3 months at least.
Suzanne - you asked about the template for the gingerbread man. My scanner has died and I should get a new one soon, so I can't help you today. I took it from a Tilda (Tone Finnanger) Christmas book. But, honestly, as I've been telling others offlist, you could easily draw one yourself or follow or print out a template/photo from Internet, the shape is pretty basic, and then all that's left to do is to sew around and stuff it. And to decorate it the way you want :)
Speaking of Tilda, one great thing about being in Norway in January specifically was that I could grab the new Tilda the day it was issued. I guess it will take a few months before it is translated into English but who know, maybe they're more smart than I think and the English version will be out very soon! I'm planning to do the little mouse from it while away. That said, I should be back in a week or two hopefully!
One more earlier finish which H. keeps on his desk... by Elisabeth Designs.

To all of you cat lovers... see THIS video - till the end. He actually is beautiful, don't you think?
Me, I can't wait to see my Toska tomorrow evening. Oh, I know she'll ignore me. She'll hiss and all. Tough love, they say. But I love my witch of a cat, or as H. calls her... well, I'll let you exchange the first letter of witch with the second letter of the alphabet! LOL

Busy Thursday...

Today turned out more busy than planned, so again tonight I am not ready to post the gifties and exchanges I wanted to show. Another boring text for the morning... In the meantime, some medical checks and doctors visited, some nasty stuff excluded, we're down to two possibilities, one more probable than the other. I have other checks planned up till May. What I might have doesn't sound too scary but should be treated seriously nevertheless, I don't know more about it than I was able to google, so I'll wait for the next checks and a visit at the specialist in April to know more about possible treatments. Anyway, I am relieved to hear it's nothing inside the woman infrastructure, that's been checked thoroughly :)
Looks like I won't be home much this year, even less than the last. I'm leaving on Saturday for a week or possibly two, to spend time with my family (I'll work normally) and I'll return to Warsaw as soon as my cousin plans a business trip back here - I need his car to load cat, dog, stash, laptop and me, on top of the usual luggage. Grandma is slowing down visibly, who knows how long she'll be among us. But then that's what we've all been saying for the last 20 years or so :) I can't wait to see Toska again and to bring her home.
Then I'll be back home for a week or two, then Easter away again... H. will come for what I'm sure will be a lovely week in family :) And then, a month later, I'll be flying away to Norway for the summer. I'll admit to you that's the only thing that keeps me running these days. I don't like it here alone any more, and doggie doesn't like the downtown environment at all either :)
Work has been desperately slow in February, but then I had flu as well so had to turn down a few jobs. As a result, I only ordered a couple of things from the Nashville market, the Lizzie Kate among these, and I can't help thinking I didn't do the right choices. I keep updating my wishlist but the fantastic new Good Huswife charts and others will just have to wait. I absolutely want to stitch some of them in the recommended silks, and that'll have to wait till I'm rich again ;-) Same for the Blackbird Designs, I will only order the kit for the Small Token pincushion Theresa is offering this month. Hopefully the stockings and the lovely My Heart is True leaflet won't be sold out very soon :) I've heard on the PS group that a very recent leaflet just became OOP, though.
Not like I have nothing to stitch, heh! But you all know how it is, we jump on the new stuff like on fresh bread rolls :)
I'm two days away from being finished with CHS Strawberry Blonde. That one is an absolute fav'. I so like the way the silk colors play on the LL linen. I haven't been framing my finishes for a long time, but I think I'll fork out the money for this one very soon!
I'll leave you with a biscornu I made in January... this picture is very dear to me, I placed the biscornu on the snow in the garden and each time I look at it, I remember that day and that moment. By now, I'm sure you all know how much I miss Norway and my H. :)

"Snow" by Whispered by the Wind - freebie found HERE.
Stitched on 33 ct. Dove Grey (R&R) fabric
with Gloriana Silks or Thread Gatherer (sorry, I've misplaced the tag)

I'll add one more finish from January...

Poinsetia ornament from one of the Christmas JCS magazines...
Stitched on opalescent linen with Vicky Clayton silks
I added a cluster of beads in different sizes and matching colors on the top of the ornament.

My own HOE exchange pieces

(a view from the garden in Norway to H's mother's little house)

I just saw on HOE2 that Ellen S. received the biscornu I stitched for her. Really, I took very bad pictures... I loved the result and I am glad that Ellen likes it too!

Winter Berries by CosmicHandmade
(this freebie is now retired but you can request it by writing to Carol)
Stitched 1 over 2 with silks and overdyes on 40 ct. LL

And here is my Prairie Schooler exchange piece for Laurence.

Stitched on WDW fabric with silks, finished with Gloriana silk ribbon

Thank you so much for your visits, it feels really good to be blogging again and return to this friendly community :) Also a warm smile to new visitors, I'll make sure to visit your blogs later tonight :) I am fighting a super boring text for tomorrow morning, and I need to get it off my head before I procrastinate too much, so I'll post many photos of gifties tomorrow, still need to describe them.

HOE biscornu received

Gabi from Australia just spoiled me. We all know: there are exchanges and exchanges, and while most of us will say we love what we receive just the same, regardless of our partner's skills and the goodies... but some packages go straight to your heart, also because of an exceptionally friendly card or letter your partner had joined.
Gabi made me smile with her kindness, the warmth of her message, she made me jump with joy at the goodies she sent :)
See for yourself, this gorgeous biscornu...

Gabi says it's bigger than she expected, but due exactly to that - being sort of more flat and large, it is incredibly original! Oh and the colors, I just love them! It is stitched on Cashel linen with Gloriana silks (my fav'!) with Mill Hill beads added. The colors are so me.... this biscornu will have a very special place in my heart. I just have no words to describe it! The pattern is partly from a Giulia Punti Antichi pattern ("Deruta Christmas ornament"). It just couldn't be more beautiful!

Gabi also sent me TWO charts from my wishlist...

...colorful thread rings (I'd never seen such before!) and a skein of Australian silk in a charming spring color...

... also, two lovely pieces of fabric (again, colors I love!) but that wasn't all...
She also sent me a fantastic lavender soap bar made with lavender from a local farm that delivers to that soap company. I didn't like lavender so much before... always wondered why so many ladies like it... my favorite scents being lilly of the valley, magnolia, peonia, vanilla, lemon, rose... but this bar might make me change my tastes! It is so fragrant, the smell is so delightful... "Hand-made" soap plays a big role in my daily shower routines... to start the day, I need a smell I like on my skin, the more fragrant, the better, and some evenings, after a tiring day, there's nothing better as a reward... well, almost! :) (peanut butter, Mexican food, lemon sorbet, Vietnamese take-away, H's tender smile...)

Gabi, THANK YOU for this exchange, you made it absolutely exceptional.

I've prepared a long post to catch up with many other gifties received during the past two months... stay tuned!
Monday's gone... only 4 days left till the end of the week! :)

Etsy pleasures...

Melissa, I'll answer right away with pleasure.

These fantastic mice are the original work of Anna, a UK gal from Holland. She's created a whole world, a whole dynasty of these mice, and I am just one of many, many people who have a very soft spot for them! I wish I could afford a whole collection. In real, they're even more cute!

When I saw the female (Anna often makes male and female versions) Traveling mouse, shown in my previous post, I just knew it had to be mine. Just like the Traveling Stitcher, the recent LHN chart :)

Then I asked Anna if she could make a cross-stitching mouse! And do you know what? Within a few hours, really, she designed and sewed one for me. She originally wanted to include a hoop, but that proved too difficult, so she asked me if that one could do.

Of course, I loved it!! Isn't she super adorable? My pictures are not very good, I took them at night before leaving, so I'll refer you to the original photos (below).

If you visit The House of Mouse shop, you'll find dozens of the finest, cutest, most intriguing mice, representing different jobs, cultures, hobbies, and what else.
I don't think that the stitching mouse if on regular sale, but tell Anna you come from the Polish girl to whom she sent to Norway last year... And I'm also sure she can make any original mouse after your idea if you ask nicely! :)
I think they make such great gifts also.

Anna's etsy shop is HERE.
You can see the original Traveling mouse HERE
and the Stitching mouse HERE, enjoy!

Can you really resist the birthday mouse? I have to get that one one day. Though I'll probably ask Anna for a different outfit, since one of mine is dressed the same.

At the same time, I'll grab the occasion to show you the necklace that was waiting for me.... I am not sure if I ever mentioned, but I am a jewelery junkie... Never enough necklaces and earings, I say!

which was so nicely packed...

This one is from Susan at sdvintagecollection.

In December, I won a gift certificate from lillyella and here is what I chose...

Nicole has her own original style and I'm the lucky owner of many of her pieces...

I hope visiting these three shops will inspire you!

I'm stitching tonight on CHS' Strawberry blonde... I can't tell how much it is enjoyable. The colors are so well matched, so elegant. Ah, I wish their recent charts were.... different than what they are, really!

Yeah, I know it looks weird.. but the reason I stitched this long vertical strip first is that the chart is in two parts which overlap. And I so hate charts that overlap this way! So, I wanted to have it done and now I'm concentrating on all the left part which is all on one sheet of paper.

Till tomorrow.... lots and lots to show! :) Have a quiet, relaxing week-end, everyone and thanks for stopping by! Remember, if you don't leave me a comment, I can't get to know you :)

I am back!

Your favorite Polish stitcher is back... since a few days. I had to extend my stay due to a tough flu, cancelled planes (snow!) and I am now taking it slow at home, visiting doctors, making some awful tests (you don't want to hear about them!) and trying to cope with an acute medical problem. I was born impossible to diagnose and I guess I'll die the same way too ;-)

But enough of sad things. My stay in Norway was just fantastic... I'll post more pictures in the next days so stay tuned! I also have so many lovely things I received to show... and some of my own stitching. I did stitch - a lot!

In January, we made a short 3-days trip to Poland to celebrate my grandma's 100th birthday. Of course, our flight was cancelled (I'm very lucky this way) and we flew one day late but still in time... I'll come back to this, it was so special...


This year, there were tons of snow in Norway starting from middle January. The nature around looked like a fairytale... I so miss nature here in Warsaw. Almost every day, I walked with Happy and during the week-ends, H. came along... drove us to new places... revisited my favorite tracks, they look so different from the summer!

Just a week ago, we drove to Sørkedalen, a valley north of Oslo, also one of the starting points to hiking and skiing tracks, depending on the season, in the Nordmarka, a huge area of woods north of the town. I haven't been to that valley yet so it was a good occasion to discover and close my winter stay...

Happy was going nuts with smells despite the deep, deep snow. We soon learned why...

We played a lot with him. When I am in Norway in the summer, he has to be kept on the leash, which is less funny for him. There is a law forbidding dogs running loose roughly from the beginning of March till before the end of August. This time, Happy had all the reasons to be... happy! One of our games is that either I or H. hides somewhere far, and he has to find that person. On the picture below, he was told to wait but was so impatient to run and find! :)

Here you can see a little black spot running towards me at full speed!

Ah, another smell... what can that be?

Oh, I just love wintery scenery...

That cabin looked so cosy... but there was noone inside that day.



We met many cross-country skiers... What never ceases to amaze me, it's the people (especially young women) skiing with very heavy backpacks and sleeping bags, sometimes with tents... Most often, they'll spend a night or two in the great outdoors... sometimes, they head towards one of the shelters, attended (where spending the night costs just as much as a good hotel room in town, and mind you, Norwegian hotels are not cheap, not cheap at all) or unattended, where you need to pick up the key beforehand. Me, I still suck at cross-country skiing, so these folks are my true heroes.


We soon learned why Happy was so excited. There were many moose groups walking around. Back at the parking, a man told us he just crossed three, and when we drove back, we spotted one of them...

The pictures are lousy, taken from inside the car. The moose was very close to us and we didn't want to leave the car nor to use the flash. What a majestic, beautiful animal. They look so strong, but had you seen
it in the deep snow, when it started jumping and running... effortless, or so it seemed. When he crossed the road just in front of us, it stopped to observe us...The same evening, there were articles in the media telling drivers to be particularly careful... there are lots of moose on the roads. Because of the high snow, the leave the woods to walk where it's easier to walk... we were lucky to cross some :)

I'll leave you with an old traditional sledge...


A last snowed-in house..

And the ornament I made for Caleb, Cheryl 's newborn...

I knew I have to stitch that chart the moment I saw it. I find the words to be so touching, so sweet. Sharon, the designer, told me she was inspired by Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing.
The chart can be found HERE. I stitched it with overdyes on a piece of R&R linen, the words 1 over one. It almost killed me but the result was well worth it!
I am so glad you like it, Cheryl, and many thank yous again to Sharon for that chart... I really have a soft spot for it.