colour swap received...a giveaway and quilts for japan

hi there...i'm still in this sling, off to x-rays next week to see how my arm is healing...

mr armchair is as busy as ever but i think falling into a routine here...

somehow i think he doesn't want to go back to work...he would rather look after me and jojo...

he has been so good and patient with us both...

thank you so very very much...

we couldn't do it without him as we have no family here and are fairly new to the area...

meanwhile here is a bunch of roses he brought in for us...just before all this rain started...

at the beginning of the year i entered a colour swap hosted by maree...

easy peasy...the colour i chose was soft green...

above are the little gifts sent to me by sandy...

of course...something to eat...

something pretty...

a fat quarter...

some thread

the card that sandy sent...

and the goodies unwrapped...

the chocolate is a gluten free one by kinnerton...

the label says delicious for cakes and desserts...yuuummmm, i can just taste this now...

i love chocolate...

thank you so very very much sandy...i love my little package...

and thank you so much dear maree for organizing this lovely swap...

i really think you are queen of swaps...

recently i came across david's blog...

david is a gentleman from france who does cross stitch and patchwork...and all so beautifully

i entered his giveaway and blow me down i won third prize...

above is the package and card received...

my first ever mail from france...how excited was i...

the prize is a cross stitch chart by blackbird designs...rites of spring...

and david included some beautiful variegated hand dyed thread in shiraz by atalie...

the chart gives the dmc thread colours...

and also recommends hand dyed threads by weeks dye works which i'm thinking of getting...

thank you so much david for hosting this lovely giveaway... 

i'm going to try and start this by spring...

and on the topic of giveaways fee is having one...

one of the prizes is the above...so hop on over and check it out...

and back to cross stitch...my method of working with pillows supporting my arm is working...

yay...so maybe...an opam...one project a month for march...we'll see...

now chocolate and a shiraz might be the go here later on...

i'll check with mr armchair...

till next time...dzintra

meanwhile...robyn at daisy quilts has included on her blog how quilters can get involved to assist the japanese people after all the devastation they have endured...

thank you robyn...

at last...a bit of stitching...and some reproduction fabrics...

still typing one fingered here due to my arm still being in a sling...

after visiting the doctor during the week with mr armchair driving me  

as a cheer me up we called in to my local patchwork shop steph's after my appointment...  

and bought this lovely little package of what i call reproduction prints...

which i think complement the few i have at home...

along with this jelly roll 'civil war homefront' by barbara brackman...and a very informative book below on america's printed fabrics 1770-1890 also by barbara...

and from this era i have some fabric which is very similar below..

the top piece of this pic is the fabric i have...

the bottom piece is a pic from the book...i thought a pretty close match...

1. 
   and whilst at steph's i had to get this eiffel tower fat quarter to add to my collection...

meanwhile...i thought perhaps i might be able to try some cross stitch using my right hand...

but no that didn't work as i still needed the other hand even though this was on a frame...

so i had a rummage in a box under the table...

and came up with a little cross stitch in this little 'theatre bag'...

and perfect...i still have use of my left hand but have to keep it bent in the sling...

i am supported by pillows around me and can do a bit of cross stitch with the right hand for a little while...and have frequent breaks when the fabric gets too 'heavy'...

meanwhile mr armchair is doing a fabulous job caring for me and jojo...

i still cannot do anything...

can't cut my own food...

i can choose my own clothes but i can't put them on...

and so it goes on...

he is a real hero and i couldn't do this without him as we have no family members here and we are fairly new to this area...

i did say to him that he might be happy to get back to work for a rest ha ha...

i still wonder 'who cares for the carer' especially if they are on their own...

a broken arm...the first 2 weeks

nothing funny about my situation at the moment...

but i had to smile when i looked up one day in my sewing room...

and saw this lol sign...

just the happy colours in it, and what it said...

something intriguing here is happening...

my dear friend geo (no blog) is sending me little cheer up letters regularly and with each one is part of a little puzzle...mmm wonder what the end pic will be...

pic of my arm here...the purple bit went all black...a bit scary looking...

mr armchair is run off his feet caring for me and jojo...

he had a significant birthday last week and had to pick up his own birthday cake...

buy his own candles...buy his own birthday chinese dinner which he didn't like anyway...

cancel an overnight stay (yes with jojo)...

a birthday to remember...

a visit from my friend fiona (no blog) saw her bring 'round this gorgeous bunch of happy flowers and...

some slings that she made up for me...

how cool is that...

and yesterday she brought 'round a very much appreciated casserole...

what a difference that made to hubby's rather full on days...

thank you so much dear fiona...we scoffed that down and loved it...

such a thoughtful gesture and so very much appreciated...

for mr armchair's birthday we had a visit from our dear son and his partner...

they had not long ago come back from patagonia and brought back some gifts for us...

above is a tshirt for mr armchair...

a label for some handspun wool for me...

2 hunks of it....about 500g...

now i'll have to track down some patterns, thinking perhaps a vest...

they also went to tahiti and brought back for jojo this plaited leather necklace with a shell centre...

the back is held together with a shell over a loop...

meanwhile, while they were here candles were lit for a dinner that danelle (son's partner) had requested from the latest issue of delicious. magazine...i was going to make this for birthday dinner for mr armchair...

and here she is preparing a salad...

and the meal made both by danelle and james...macadamia-crusted fish with herb salad...

followed by blueberry crumble...recipe by donna hay

absolutely delicious...thank you so much danelle and james...

this won't be a regular occurence as they live 5 hours away...

these last 2 weeks have brought around lots of changes here...

the world is still going on...people are still busy...

and i feel like i have stepped aside and am a spectator...

i found these few quotes at lenna's website...

1.  Life is not fair, but it is still good.

2.  When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3.  Cry with someone.  It is more healing than crying alone.
4.  Everything can change in the blink of an eye.  But do not worry; God never blinks.
5.  Take a deep breath.  It calms the mind.

off to physiotherapy next week...so looking forward to stitching again...

and i'll never take the use of 2 arms for granted again...