A New Year and some new starts

So - it's the beginning of 2015! Happy New Year to all my probably non-existent readers. I haven't posted for so long, any I did have will have given up long ago!!  To make up for it, this may well be a long post!! I have just put a poster on our church notice board which reads:

CPO poster - Reboot

It caught my sense of humour - and that of others in the church as well.

2014 has been a bit of an iffy year. Briefly, I had just about recovered from the surgery I had in April 2013, when a very stressful family situation developed, unfortunately not one I want to blog about. The stress has made both my husband and I very unwell, and in my case, it caused irregular ventricular contractions. Of course, I became very anxious about this, especially as my doctor was considering the possibility of heart failure! So that, in turn, led to panic disorder - not something to be recommended!! It has limited my activities quite a lot, including my concentration span, so I haven't done as much sewing as I would have liked.

In April of last year, I joined a quilting group, and have become hooked on it. I am quite impressed with what I can do. OK, I'm still a rank beginner, and my progress is very slow, but two hours each week are spent sewing and chatting - and I have no responsibility for anything! The first thing I tackled was a mystery project. I haven't yet finished it, but this is the main panel part done:

Mystery Quilt project - main panel

One thing led to another, and I ended up repairing (with guidance from a very nice lady I discovered on the internet) a rather elderly hand sewing machine we have had lying around for about 25 years and never quite got around to disposing of!! With a bit of research, I have discovered it dates from around 1895 - 1914. It works beautifully now it has been cleaned and oiled and rusty parts very lightly sanded. It's beautifully decorated and a joy to use when quilting as I have so much more control over the stitching.

My finishes for 2014 consist of two cards, and a needlecase for an exchange. I received a lovely card and needlecase in return. At the moment, I don't have a good photo of the needlecase I received, so I will post it in a later blog.

Wedding Blessing card

The needlecase I made: From the top
back and front, inside front, inside back

The exchange Christmas card I received

 

 

 

The Christmas card I sent

As I mentioned earlier, my health hasn't been brilliant. My doctor has put me on some medication which means no caffeine - ie no tea, no coffee, no chocolate! It also means no alcohol. He told me all this just before Christmas. Guess what I received as presents?!  Chocolates and chocolate biscuits!! Oh, well, I can be kind to family and friends...  At least the medication is being effective and I am starting to feel more myself again. Hope I don't have to take the tablets for too long, though.

Christmas was hectic with 14 of us at our eldest son's house - 6 under 9 years old. We came home for a rest. Our middle son was over from Canada, so it was a real family occasion, and we have some family photos to show off to everyone who is willing to be bored by them!!

Once home, I decided to think about where I want my stitching (and other things) to go in 2015, and have decided that I'll aim to 

• do a little stitching each day as it's very therapeutic - except when the frogs come to call!!

• say "No" when I feel under pressure to do too much

• keep up with my blog a bit better

   I have started a new project for 2015: Muppet, Gabby, Malteazer and Gemm from HAED. It's one over one on 25 ct Lugana in "Dusk" from Sparklies. It's gorgeous!! This is a mock-up of how I hope it might look:

I'll keep you posted!!

Well, I think that's quite long enough! If you have been, thanks for reading this ramble.

Jenny