Another RAK ... and stash ...

(Updated to apologise for the piccies - Blogger won't upload photos for some reason for a change hmmm, so I've had to use Photobucket, so no chance of enlarging...)

Further to my post yesterday, I have another lovely piccie to share of some goodies that Missy sent to me - she was going through her charts and found this one that was just perfect for me ... I knew the chart was coming, but I didn't expect the other goodies - stitchers are such generous souls! I have to admit I literally laughed out loud when I opened the envelope and saw the chart title ... I just love it! And I adore the dishcloth that Melissa crocheted herself, as well as the yummy thread - I feel very very spoiled. I don't want to use the dishcloth ... I just want it to sit in the kitchen and not get used/soiled - I just adore hand-made gifts. Thanks again Missy for an awesome treat :D {{hugs}}

And believe it or not, I had a 3rd arrival today as well ... another expected parcel, with unexpected contents - this time from KarenV. I sent Karen the specialty threads for the Love needleroll ornament for her to stitch it, and had the threads returned with some added company across the oceans - not only did Karen send me some scrummy threads (unfortunately the Stef Francis thread is now unusable, as it's totally covered in drool - that's the prettiest colour I've ever seen in her threads ... I almost don't want to use it, but just to continue drooling over it for years to come), but there was also the sweetest little biscornu, all stitched by Karen ... I was absolutely floored, and thrilled to have these little treats, and felt quite overcome by it all. Thanks Karen for your generous gift ... and I will treasure the biscornu always :D {{hugs}}

As the title states the word "stash", you can correctly conclude that squishy mail has also been arriving in my PO Box from a spending spree ... thanks very much to a generous gesture from my employers, we got given a wee bonus last week at work - not as generous as past years, which is understandable, but sufficient for me to have a little stash splurge on scissors! Thanks to the kind offers made by Jenna and Erin to help me procure some lovely Gingher's, I've been thinking about this for a wee while now ... and when my 'crappy' old scissors started having problems cutting a simple DMC thread early last week, I jumped on the internet as soon as I heard about the bonus and filled a shopping cart with shiny metallic things of different shapes and sizes ;) Seeing as I was paying all the money for postage, I added a couple of extra 'cheapo' pairs in there as well as a new pair of Gingher's and Tres Claveles, so I can also make up a few small sewing kits that can sit with my WIP's etc ... I've already christened one of the el cheapo pair, but I'm waiting until I put a scissor fob onto my Gingher's before they get christened, and they're never going to leave the house again! Thanks again, ladies for your kind offer, but I ended up just biting the bullet and splurging (and thanks again to my lovely employers!!) :D

Also, today saw the arrival of even more stash ... the last remaining items from a very old backorder from SB&B, plus some other charts that we added on when we returned from Hong Kong. Now you may remember I went on the wagon and said I wouldn't be buying any more charts until at least my birthday ... well, I have actually been sticking to it so far - you see, all these new charts are actually for Mum, not me (she's paying for them). We bought her some more #26 Piecemaker needles (she's already worked out how great they are haha), some Floss-Away bags, and some Kreinik braid for us both as I'd run out, and a few charts. The M Designs needlerolls (Butterfly, Rose Mosaic and Snowmen ones) were from my backorder, as were the two Victoria Sampler kits (that's what was holding the whole process up - Level 3 #1, Whipped Spider Web Rose, and Level 4 #1, Four Sided Pulled Stitch & Four Sided Hemstitch). Mum went mad on Prairie Schooler Santas (Starry Night ... which is a gift for me from Mum yippee ... Redwork Santas, A Christmas Visit, Santa Collection 1996-99, and Santa Collection 1988-91), plus Lizzie*Kate snippets (2001 Ready or Not, and 2004 A Good Night). The last little goodies were some 32ct cream Belfast that I needed as I miscalculated a biscornu I started stitching before the biscornu exchange earlier in the year, and needed another piece so I could actually stitch the back (pretty important in the scheme of things LOL), and the Silk Bella needed for the Lavender Rose Sewing Case SAL (which is no longer a SAL, as I think everyone's almost finished ... oops ... never fear, I am still committed to stitching it, and will be doing this before I stitch anything else ... I just have to get my exchanges in the post first, and I'm getting VERY close to the wire with that!! Next week should see me finally starting this gorgeous new project).

Now I'm going to finish my stash report with a hug for both Gina and Sharon, who always make such wonderful company to visit with. They kindly drove all the way to my little flat and spent their time fondling my stash and finished pieces/WIP's, as well as sharing other items of interest - Gina brought some great books to flip through (and I seriously will have to get a copy of the Why am I tired? book ... Sharon, if you see me coming in saying cheekily "I've seen a book, I think it's blue, and it's something to do with being tired", you'll know which one I mean, 'cos I know nobody else that does such daft things teehee), and Sharon brought some wonderful CQ blocks to examine ... I have to admit I harbour no desires to try a CQ myself, but I really do love to see them in real life - perhaps when I turn 80 I should be about 1/4 through my stash by then, I might consider it LOL. We had a lovely lunch, with much chatting, and then a great afternoon tea of goodies that they brought with them. I feel like I've known these lovely ladies for so much longer than I really have, and you're welcome to visit at any time {{hugs}}.

I'll leave you with a photo of one of three bulbs in flower - this is a hyacinth that Sharon brought with her as a gift for me, and it's just stunning (every time I tried to get the whole pot in, they came out blurry, so it's just one of three bulbs in the piccie) ... thanks heaps Sharon, it's gorgeous! Who would believe on Saturday it was all in bud!! (My blog will start having an identity crisis now ... it'll be thinking it's actually Carol's blog, with the flower piccie at the bottom ... the photography's not as good as Mike's though LOL.)

My apologies to anyone I'm owing an email to ... I hope to catch up next week - I don't tend to spend much time online while Mum's here, after her making a comment about me "wasting" so much time on the computer during the last visit, which means that I get even further behind than I normally do ... and I've been bad enough on my own just lately! LOL.