Sunday 25 October 2009

Very belated blogiversary gifts

These, im ashamed to say, are blogiversary prizes from me to Michele and Juls from January 2008! Yes, nearly two years ago LOL In my defence, i had 4 winners and i sent Staci's and Nicola's within the year but then i got pregnant and i developed an aversion to stitching for months and Juls and Michele's gifts got postponed...for a while :)

I sent Michele the heart pin cushion and other goodies which you can see on her blog. That little pillow was a labour of love. I started it the night i went into hospital to be induced. Then, after my horrendous labour, i couldnt look at the damn thing again, let alone stitch on it, for months. Look, i found proof, here's me trying to stitch on it back in those early sleep deprived days. It's on my knee!
When i did finally decide i could put that trauma behind me and stitch on it again, i finished it and decided i was going to make it a hanging ornie. Then my sewing machine chewed it up and i spent hours trying to salvage it. I finally made it into this little pincushion. I hope it stays together Michele! So, when i sent it to Michele i told her this story behind this little labour of love! I wonder, does anyone else have something they cant stitch on because of a time they associate it with?

There is no such story behind the gift i sent to Juls. Although i did actually finish the stitching on it a year ago, i just never got round to the finishing until now. I sent Juls a little notepad and a selection of tea bags to go with her gift.

So if i ever decide to do a blogiversary competition again, be warned, it could take years for gifts to arrive!

18 comments:

Cindy said...

They are wonderful finishes :)

I have a lot of unfinished projects that I can't bring myself to stitch, but can't think of any reason for most of them other than frustration or a traumatic frogging session LOL :)

Suburban Stitcher said...

Oh, I'm laughing at this post, only because I AM THE EXACT SAME WAY! I definitely had the aversion to stitching when pregnant, and then after baby, it's SO hard (especially after your first). My PIF winners are going to be waiting until day 365 this year, I'm quite sure :) But, I also think that's the great thing about our community. We "GET" each other. We all know that life happens in between stitches sometimes...and that's OK.

Happy belated blogiversary :)

Karan said...

Better late than never LOL. They are both lovely - am sure they were well received.:0)
I can relate to your story. I started the LoopyLou Mistletoe SAL just as my Dad was diagnosed with cancer/having chemo. Have tried picking it up again since he passed away but it's so firmly fixed with all that that I only managed to do a bit on it..... it's still unfinished 2 years later. :0(

Jinger said...

Your finishes turned out great. I think we all have a project or two that, for whatever reason, we cannot seem to finish. Whether it is the project itself (almost like it's cursed - error after error after error) or we associate it with a bad memory/experience, they are just plagued with being unfinished forever!

I am just now getting ready to mail out my PIFs that I started a little over a year ago.

Congrats on the finishes! They look great!

Diana said...

I think the pincushion is very cute.Just the fact that you did finally send it after all these obstacles says a lot about you. Some people would have just given up and not sent anything at all or started something new that would not of had as much meaning.

valerie said...

Great finishes!

Kim B said...

Love those finishes Cheryl! Induced labor is the WORST! I had a terrible delivery with my son after an induction. Pitocin contractions are the work of the devil! But with DD, I labored for a few hours at home, for 4 hours in the hospital, pushed through 4 contractions and boom, she was born. Easy peasy! Induction deliveries are just no fun at all! I commiserate with you :)

Kathy A. said...

Beautiful little gifts. You may be late but you honored your commitments.
Knowing Juls personally, the little tea pillow is perfect for her. She will love it.
Glad that you are doing so much better and life is good.

Anonymous said...

Your recipients
Good thing come to those that wait.
You
Great things come to those who are patient.
an occasional reader
Connie

CindyMae said...

Those are both fantastic! Love that pic, I remember those days. I almost miss them but not enough to do it again! LOL

Juls said...

Thanks again Cheryl!!!!! I love my gift!!!! And good things do come to those who wait! Glad your stitching again!

Juls said...

PS Cheryl...that was me ..I was signed in under the wrong e-mail acct when I posted it.....

New York Dreamer Cross Stitch said...

hi, i just found you blog! i'm a stitcher too and like to learn new techniques. i just had a baby and when i got pregnant for some reason i could'nt stitch for months and then i had to force my self to stitch again! I tought was only me!
sorry for my english i'm italian living in new york.
bye, Ezia.

Lynn said...

Looking at that picture of you brings back so many memories of just how sleep deprived I was when my boys were young.
Considering all the trouble you had I think your heart turned out lovely. The pillow finish is very cute too. I'm sure they appreciate all the effort that went into them.

Dani - tkdchick said...

Even though they may be late... they're beautiful gifts and I'm sure they're appreciated!!!!

stitcherw said...

Lovely finishes. Trick or Treat Mice, which I'm working on now, I had problems with because of associations. When I first started it I loved it so much I couldn't put it down. Even when I started getting a headache from working to long on the black I made myself keep going. In the end I kept going until I had such a horrible headache that I was physically sick. When I finally put it down, after that I couldn't make myself pick it up again, just the thought of working on it made me feel slightly ill. It took almost 10 years before I was able to get myself motivated and past the initial stress to pick it up again. Even now though it is a bit of a push to pick it up and start working on it, but once I do I enjoy it.
Sue

Wendy said...

Congrats on getting those PIF gifts sent out - I think its awesome that you finished them as a lot of people would probably just not bother.

I have a lovely little kit that I started when my son was having surgery - that was hmm, 9 years ago and I haven't been able to touch it since. I just have such an aversion to it now, I should really give it away.

Deb said...

Oh, you two look so sweet together, Cheryl.