Season's Greetings

HAPPY NEW YEAR, dear Friends, receive my warmest wishes for these blessed days. I hope your Christmas was merry and bright, and surrounded by those who love you, and that you are also enjoying a few days of quiet, resting, and carefree stitching- making memories with your families and friends.

It has been a long time since I last posted, and I am so sorry it turned into a much longer Blog-break than I ever anticipated. You were never far from my thoughts, however, and I wish I could have found the time to write down some of the funnier observations I was thinking of sharing with you. Believe me, I could have used a clone, or telepathic messaging in the last few months! LOL
I found myself needing to make some hard time-management decisions, and unfortunately the blog was never making it to the top ten on my daily list.

November took me by surprise: the time-demands becoming more pressing and urgent as the days got shorter. All those things that require immediate care and attention, and have a tendency to derail the best laid-out plans. If anything, this has taught me to be a wee bit more humble: I cannot possibly do everything, the way I would like or am used to doing... a big 'ouchie' on the ego, but also a letting go of a lot of expectations... And at the end, I am happy how I invested my energy and most grateful to everyone who pitched in to help me along the way. All is good and all is well: a good place to be as I say goodbye to 2011.
:)

Realizing I had less and less time available for prepping, I started focusing on getting my Camelot half-square triangles hand-stitched, as I could have them with me as I went about my day. Well--- those teeny weenies turned out to be the most worthy of stitching adversaries I have yet to encounter... You wouldn't think they would bring a grown woman to tears of frustration, boredom and exasperation--- but they did!

I have never been so challenged, or learned more about the depths of my fickle and wicked self, as I did making these 4 HST-corners: 1764 little triangles that took over the last two months of my stitching life! It was not unusual to find me stitching them at 5 am... I couldn't let these little ones taunt me for ever...
It became an obsession to finish: I needed to have my Camelot top done by Christmas or else...

Good news. On Christmas eve the top was finally assembled and basted. The boys did a spontaneous happy 'Hopscotch' dance on the quilt, what else could you do than jump from circle to circle on the floor? :)

Leave it to them to put all things in perspective. :)

And all is getting back to normal, I am feeling more and more like myself and I am happily enjoying hand-quilting: the dragon slain and the quilt a beauty. :)
I am starting to look forward to get back to my other projects once the kids get back to school in the new year.

Thank you for all the lovely emails and wishes, hoping all was well in my little corner of the world. I rather enjoyed them, and gave me a chance to get to know some of you better. Thanks for thinking of me! :)

  Yes, all is well, and at the end of it all, I can honestly say, that sharing the load with friends is what it is all about! Thank you, for being in this with me, as I look forward to being there for you!

I raise my champagne glass to you, on this New Year's eve:
To my dear friends and Quilting Sisters,
Happy 2012! And May there be stitching! Lots of Stitching!
:)

with love,
Valentina

Cannot believe this is what all that fuss was about...
Seeing them now, they were kinda cute, actually!
:)