Stitching Shamrocks and Saying Goodbye

Happy St. Patrick's Day, my friends... I truly hope that you are all doing as well as can be expected during these unsettling times. Every day we are greeted with yet more worrying (at times, downright scary) news and updates regarding the coronavirus/COVID-19 which has affected every one of our countries. It appears to me, that it will have a far-reaching effect that will take our world a long time to bounce back from. Here, our schools are closed throughout the state, restaurants and bars are shut down (except for getting take-out food) and all non-essential businesses are closed for at least two weeks. My guess is that it will last even longer than two weeks... My dear mother is allowed no visitors in her senior living community and my in-laws are now required to eat in their room as there will be no communal dining time for the foreseeable future. How are things being handled in your country or state? 

In times like these, our stitching brings comfort, doesn't it? I can't imagine life without my needle, fabric, and thread--they truly soothe my soul during times of distress. I've finished up the four St. Patrick's Day designs from Pineberry Lane's "Little Shamrocks" chart. Each one stitched up very quickly and, I have to admit, the finishing took longer than the actual stitching.  They are stitched on 40 ct. raw natural Newcastle linen with most of the suggested threads, although I did change a few things along the way. Below is a little vignette I put together with my newest St. Patrick's Day stitching. I bought a set of the topiaries (shown on the left side of the photo) at the Target Dollar Spot and the white pitcher and two tiny cups adorned with clover were purchased at Goodwill last year. The moss "rocks" came from The Dollar Tree.

Would you like a closer look at each one?  Here you go...

"Basket O'Luck" finish. I added three small buttons,  a ribbon and silver shamrock charm to the flat mounted finish. For this one, all of the suggested colors were used.

Shhh... don't tell anyone, but "Sweet Clover Girl" is my favorite of the bunch! I turned her into a round ornament by eliminating the square border that was charted. I also change her face color to DMC 950 and gave her a shy little smile. I had this green and cream gingham ribbon that I thought finished her off perfectly with a big bow and ruched ribbon trim.

"Erin Go Bragh" was made into a simple pillow with handmade cording tied in a bow at the top. The faces on the women were changed to DMC 950, their dresses , shamrocks, and hats to DMC 580, and I also added a shamrock to the girl's hat on the left. Love how she is blowing shamrocks out of her pipe!

The final finish is called  "Wee Lassies" and is also finished into a small pillow with two different fabrics, ric rak, a cream colored button and a small tie of green jute attached to the button. The girls' faces were done in DMC 950 and I changed their mouths up a bit. I do love their red hair!

Here is one last glance at the quartet. Which one is your favorite?

I truly loved stitching these and even though I have not one ounce of Irish blood in me, they definitely make me smile! How about you--are any of you mostly Irish? 

Saying goodbye... This past week was a very difficult one for me as I said goodbye to two very special people in my life. The first was a wonderful co-worker of  many years who passed away just weeks short of her 90th birthday. We shared so many laughs and fun times at the library and she was probably one of the kindest, most generous people I ever met. Always there for you in a pinch.

Unfortunately, I was not able to attend either my friend's visitation or  her funeral as I was down in Texas for yet another funeral. And this one was even more difficult. I can't help but cry as I write this... My dear daughter-in-law lost her mother at the very young age of 71. Although she'd been having some serious health issues for the past six months, no one expected this outcome so soon. So, in spite of our fears of flying with the coronavirus epidemic, my husband and I boarded two planes and flew down to El Paso, Texas. I think our presence truly brought some comfort to my daughter-in-law and I can only hope that she'll turn to me for the love and guidance she received from her own mother all these years. It won't ever be the same for her, but I promise to be there whenever she needs me--she is so very dear to our family. 

Flying was not easy... I am not a good flyer to begin with, but flying with the coronavirus fears is a different experience altogether. We wiped everything down in our seat area and tried our best to keep our hands away from our faces (not so easy when you are on two planes each way for more than eight total hours of flying time!).  I hope and pray that neither of us picked up anything on our trip! To ensure that I don't pass anything along, though, I'm staying at home for the next two weeks happily holed up with my stitching, reading, and baking. We have almost no food in the refrigerator, but have placed an order online and my husband will pick it up later today. He doesn't even have to go into the store as they will load it into the trunk of his car. We've never done anything like this, but I hope it is successful and I can shop this way more often!

Flying above the clouds felt like being in a cocoon. I almost hated to land and return to the reality of this rampant virus and all of the news pertaining to it. This shot was taken as we prepared to land in Chicago on Saturday night. 

GETTING TO KNOW YOU... Oh, I so loved reading all of your responses to my new "Getting To Know You" section questions! Thank you so much for letting me get to know you a bit more... I have to admit that some of your responses to the question of "What small living thing are you most afraid of" made me cringe--I mean maggots and earwigs! UGH!!! So, I have two new questions for you today. As always, this is just a fun way to get to know each other a bit better--participate or not, it is up to you. Of course, I'll give my answers to the questions as well.

1) Do you think of  yourself as an introvert or extrovert (or a bit of both!)? I don't think you'll have any trouble guessing that I'm an introvert. I am most happy in my own little world doing my own thing. I have always been quite shy and simply prefer my own company. Parties exhaust me and I'm always relieved when I can "opt out." After a social gathering, I need time alone to "recharge my batteries." I won't have any trouble self-isolating, let's put it that way!

2) What, besides your stitching, helps you relieve anxiety in stressful times like these? For me, it's exercising. I love to walk on my treadmill and if I don't do it daily, I can feel the anxiety building up inside me. Music helps, too--even more as I get older. It can take you back to easier times or bring back memories of happy experiences. Can't imagine life without either. How about you?

I'll leave you with one last photo I took in Chicago's O'Hare airport on our flight home from Texas. I think I'm behind the times, but look at one of the many receptacles placed in very plain view throughout the airport... 

Who knew?!?!

And that wraps up another post... I hope it's brought you a few smiles during this scary time we are all facing. Things are changing so quickly and it's hard to keep up with all the news. I truly hope each of you stays healthy and safe. We WILL come out of this on the other side! Take comfort in your stitching, call a friend or family member, read, pray, and do whatever helps relieve the anxiety. Bye for now...