What a month of Ups and Downs! Since I last wrote, I have had a birthday, crashed my car (whilst trying to avoid a small child who ran behind me while I was reversing), been suffering with yet another Fibro-flare and a flu-virus, and celebrated Mother's Day! (I am pleased to report the child was unharmed, but the car lost a wing-mirror and suffered some nasty scratches 
.)
The weather has been appalling in the UK; gale-force to hurricane-force winds, driving rain, etc - the daffodils blooming so bravely in my garden are struggling to keep their cheery heads up! The nuthatches and woodpeckers have started reappearing at the feeders in the garden, so I hope that means they are busy building nests nearby!
Among the prezzies I had for my birthday was this stunning needleroll stitched by my friend Val:-
Isn't it gorgeous? It was completely unexpected so all the more special.
Another of my birthday presents was an iPod Nano, what an amazing little device! I joined Audible.co.uk so now I can sit and listen to a talking book while I stitch - bliss!
I have managed a little bit of stitching, but swollen hands have reduced the amount I would usually be doing. Here are my most recent efforts . . the Traditional Band Sampler . . 
Coming on nicely, isn't it? I'm really pleased with the colour of this one, although you can't really go wrong with Gloriana silk!
And the next 'mini-chart' for the Drawn Thread's Sampler of Stitches, JKL:-
I spent ages trying to figure out how 'daffodil' fitted under 'J' until I realized it was in fact a 'Jonquil' 
. Under 'L' is Leviathan stitch, which I always think of as Smyrna stitch, so it will be interesting to see if the same stitch is repeated under its alias later in the sampler. ('Leaf' stitch is a repeat of 'Foliage' stitch from F, so it's not outside the realms of possibility). I liked the circular 'Jessica' stitch, created with straight stitches, and also the 'Knit' stitch, which really does resemble knitting!
I'm hoping to go to the NEC Sewing for Pleasure show tomorrow, but I'm still feeling a bit wobbly from the flu, and my car hasn't yet come back from the garage, so we shall see how things go.
Til next time, happy stitching!
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