Still rocking

WOW! is all I can say! what an awesome, spectacular trip. It was truly a wonderful time from start to finish. Our North to Alaska trip on the Sapphire Princess couldn't have been better. A great big thank you to Judy Bradford of Cambridge Cruise Centers for making it such a treat; absolutley no worries, except my fabric issue, but we won't talk about that because it all turned out,  just plain great sailing!  Thanks so much Judy for all your hard work at making all us stitchers so comfortable and always there for us. My boat here on the prairies is still rocking at times, just that sensation of movement, of still being on the ship. We had wonderful weather, all the locals in every place we went, Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway- kept saying "it has been raining for weeks this is our first day of sunshine, you are lucky" and lucky we were. From the first day in Seattle - Anne from Gloriana Threads  who is out on the west coast came in and spent the day with us, what a treat, to the last day in Victoria at Button and Needlework Boutique who treated us to wine and goodies, it was terrific. Changing Tides in Juneau had our Northern Lights finishing fabric for us, Traditional Stitches and The Silver Needle had goodies in our bags for us. Thank you to all those people who made it a very special trip. It is very much appreciated.

I know so many of you on the trip made some new friends which is extra special and I got to spend some time with everyone which was really great. I see your smiling faces and it makes me happy. Glad you loved the projects, yes it was 2 projects, we did a small Alaskan Sampler- called you guessed it - North to Alaska - and we also did a passport cover - called - Passport to Alaska - and yes one stitcher is done!!! -Barb Kneller of Portland, OR has already sent me a picture of her finished piece!

My sincere thanks to you - you cruising stitchers who came sight unseen of the projects to do, and embraced them and stitched happily away. You made it the success this cruise was and again it is greatly appreciated.

Hope all is well in your little part of the world what with all this 'weather' and that I may be honoured with seeing you again soon. I must admit by Wednesday I relaxed  and forgot about my little electronic issue! and had a great time.

Hugs to you all,

jeannette

Passport to Alaska!

And we're off! to cruise the inside passage to Ketchikan, Skagway and Juneau and ending with a nice little evening in Victoria! How excited are we? Very! We have a ton of surprises for you and it will be super to have a day in Seattle first. My husband is very keen on the ballgame and the flying over the fjords tour. This promises to be a wonderful trip and I am delighted you are all coming along. Remember to check back and see what is new when I return on the 5th and if you are in Missouri in mid September join us at Celebrations midwest. I will be teaching 3 Pines Sampler -specialty stitches and 3 Pines Accessories - a great finishing class. So come and see this fun event with lots of different booths - shops and designers alike, I think we will all enjoy it immensely.

Off to bring our beloved dog Cleo to wonderful friends who will take care of her and pack! I have piles everywhere.

Mush!

jeannette

An electronic difficulty

What will you say is this? Well unfortunately I was hospitalized for Atrial Fibrillation, a new diagnosis for me, in July. I left it for 4 days thinking that this rapid heart beat of mine would go away but it didn't; and I then spent 20 hours in emerg while they tried with meds to bring the heart rate down, which didn't work and then I was admited and in hospital for almost 2 weeks! It was not easy with a few scares in between but I am out and free.... and feeling better. My hospital room, I had a bed by the window, overlooked Calgary west and I could almost see my house! much to my chagrin, I don't know if that was good or bad. I know I did look out that window with a few tears wishing I could be there rather than in that hospital room. Every morning I would go get a clean hospital gown and sheets and towels, yes I helped myself, I needed the walk and sometimes get them for my roomates too. They changed with the wind and I just kept staying there, and staying there, you know, they have wireless monitors now so I could see my heart rate at all times on this TV screen, I don't know if that was good or bad either, I so badly wanted it to be normal and not racing. For some excitement I would dance around and see the screen go crazy! So I am home and finally feeling like I can share this without feeling sorry for myself, one doesn't want to do that but somehow I think it is part of the process of acceptance. I did stitch while in hospital and finished our projects for the cruise! But now that is all done, the instructions are written and edited and the kits are being made so all is well.

I have also finished the last 3 in the Garden Secrets series - spring/summer, they are Two Rabbits, One Sunflower and Five Ladybugs. I am just working on the covers and the pieces are at the framer so hopefully soon. I also have started the Fall/winter series and hope to have those coming in the near future. They have been so fun to design and stitch, I have really enjoyed them.

I will also be releasing  a new sampler called 'My Story" and the companion piece called 'My Storybook'. They are stitched using silk floss, some metallics and beads and charms on 35 ct fabric but would look equally well on 32ct or 40ct. They both have a floss pack and the  Storybook piece has an extra charm pack for the bookmark. I was going to release here in Aug but then with going on the cruise it seemed that would not work so well, so it will be ready for when we come back in early Sept.

My hospital stay was helped by  several things, one was my ipad and Dale and I would play Angry Birds! and also a mean game of 'Cross Crib' we kept a running tally and we are tied! The other was my phone, oh my, did I text! I must say it is pretty nice they let you have your phone and you can talk to whomever you like, wow, what a difference that made. Thank you to those who sent me encouraging messages, thank you to 'Debbie' from Hamilton for the beautiful card. And thank you to my friends and dear family who came so faithfully to visit. It really means alot when you are stuck. Most of you know I worked in hospitals for 30yrs. so it is not like I didn't know what it is like but good grief when it is you, it is a whole different ball game!

Hope to see you soon in Seattle and on the Sapphire Princess up the inside Passage and seeing some awesome scenery. We stop by Changing Tides in Skagway, Alaska and see Jan - she has sent me some absolutely lovely Alaskan themed fabric for finishing and we look forward to seeing Mike and Kim in Victoria at the Button and Needlework Boutique!

As ever,  jeannette