Saturday, September 21, 2013

Plum Cottage happenings and a give-away

 

Good morning Folks ~ The rains finally let up Thursday so I did my errands, got home around noon, ate a sandwich then grabbed my straw hat, sunglasses, got the lawnmower out of the shed, cranked it up and mowed. Boy did it need it. It had been almost two weeks since I did it last. The mower ran out of gas and I ran out of steam, so that I did not finish the little lawn area to the west between the privacy fencing there and the barn. Another time.  I need to weedwack too, but I’ll do that later also.  It felt good to get that much done.

With all the rain we had this week I was stuck indoors so I did more going through and getting rid of ‘stuff’. I read, I crocheted, and thought about things. This journey of being a widow isn’t easy. I’m getting used to being alone and think of my dear husband and his being in heaven, and wonder what that must be like. I cry, I pray, I live and I am thankful for each new day I am blessed with.  Being thankful is positive and raises my spirits. My dear husband is no longer in pain, he is completely well, whole, he is at peace. I am alive, a daughter of The King, and He  is with me at all times. I am thankful for this little haven, for the little cottage, workshop, gardens, birds, butterflies, scents, colors, for friends, for family, for my love of cooking and creating, for books to read, music that touches my heart and soul, for lessons learned.

My 5th bloggiversary will be on the 28th of this month, so I am going to have a give-away and will use random.org to choose the winner.  I will announce the winner on the morning of the 29th.  This is open to only the continental United States.

The prize is a little ‘Give Thanks’ journal.  A place to write down things you are thankful for, or whatever else you might like to write in there. Thoughts or poetry about being thankful, scripture verses that bless your heart, whatever.

I am thankful to all of you, for reading and following my humble blog.  I am thankful for all of the love, encouragement, inspiration you all have given to and been to me, especially since losing my DH this past Dec. You are a wonderful bunch.

Here is the little journal. The color is more of a dusty, mauvey, pale rose, who knows how it will look with your monitor, as they all show colors differently. The fabric is moiré. I crocheted the flower and hand sewed it and the beads to the front of this little book cover. It has a ribbon tie to keep it closed. The size is 3 inches wide by 5 inches high.

09-21-give-away2

Thank you again and I look forward to seeing who the winner will be. 

Just leave a comment here to be included in the drawing.  Make sure I also have a email addy to reach you. Only one entry please.

**************************

I bought some Czech glass beads of a certain size this week to use on my little purses. I need to buy more felt to line purses with and am loving these little creations. My heart is happy working with needles, hooks, threads, beads. I am thankful for the gift God gave me to be able to do this.

Here’s part of my work surface. Several things going at once as you can see.

09-21-dusty-rose-purse-parts

Here’s a close-up of the beads used for this purse, a sort of smoky rainbow of colors. In the light, they reflect different colors.

09-21-dusty-rose-flowers

I can’t quit crocheting hearts.  Hearts have always been something I loved, and they are even more special to me now.  DH was my love, my encourager, my mentor, my heart is filled with love and many, many memories of him and our life together.

Last week at work, I was crocheting since it was so quiet. (My boss has told me many times through the 16 + years that I’ve worked there that he hopes I have something to do when it is quiet, so I sometimes crochet.) Anyway, a younger woman came in with her husband and she excitedly asked me if I was crocheting and I said yes and she wanted to see what I was doing. I showed her and she said she was just learning and hopes to someday be able to do what I am doing.  I told her she would, it just takes time and practice, plus she loves doing it and her husband encourages her and that’s a big plus.  I told them my husband had encouraged me too, and that I lost him in Dec. and miss his love and encouragement.  I told her to keep crocheting and she said she would.  I showed her the little purse posted here in the blog and she really got excited.

They told me they were sorry for my loss then continued on around the shop looking at the pieces we have. They said goodbye when they left and my eyes filled with tears and when the door closed I sobbed. The loss is overwhelming at times and I just let the tears flow.

Learning new things is exciting, encouraging others to learn is exciting too.

So, don’t be afraid to try new things,

encourage others too,

and let ‘love’ be a part of all that you do.

09-21-crochet-heart

Love and hugs to all of you ~ FlowerLady

21 comments:

Jane said...

First, congratulations on your blog anniversary sweet Rainey! Your DH was such a dear encouraging man. Love, love, love that little crocheted heart. I know that you say that all it takes is practice and encouragement, but never in a million years would I be able to do such dainty work! Here's a hug for the weekend!

It's Just Dottie said...

My heart cries with you Lorraine. Our God knows our pain and He is with us always. But sometime life is
hard and that is why He gives us friends. Your needlework is just lovely.
Hugs Dottie

Nancy J said...

A bloggaversary!! Wonderful, and here we share, care, enjoy, laugh, cry, and support each other in a wonderful "across the miles" way, like no other. Your crochet heart is so delicate, and perfectly lovely. And those beads, they reflect light so well. Let the tears fall, all part of healing. Fond greetings, Jean.

Rose ~ from Oz said...

Oh those unexpected times can be savage.
That's a lovely close up of your crocheted heart, I'm eager to find some of my old patterns and compare it for design!
When it's constantly wet isn't it hard to find a fine and dry moment to mow!
Hugs
Rose

One Woman's Journey - a journal being written from Woodhaven - her cottage in the woods. said...

With all your sharing
and special words
you lift my spirits
and make me smile.
I am so thankful
no broken bones
but still in a lot of pain.
God is so Good...

Darcie said...

Blogging is quite the journey too, huh? I know I find a lot of comfort just from sharing my thoughts. You do just a beautiful job with your crocheting!! Your husband was so right in encouraging you forward in that venture. As for your love of hearts...whenever I doodle, I find myself doodling hearts. Never realized that, until you mentioned your love of hearts on here, and then one day, I noticed how I doodle them. Something we share in common. (((hugs))))

Gardener on Sherlock Street said...

Those little hearts are darling.
We got our fill of rain last week in Estes Park. We've gotten so used to the drought, we'd forgotten what rain was like but that was more than anyone needed. Glad you were able to get things taken care of. I need to tackle some areas of my garden too. Actually time to clean up for winter. It's just stayed so warm and more warmth in the forecast. No rush on the tender plants at least that way.

Be well. (hug)

tina said...

So sorry for your loss but it is still very fresh and new and tears are to be expected. Tears can be so cathartic. Congrats on your upcoming 5th!

Julie said...

beautiful work. love your crochet hearts!

gld said...

Another beautiful lesson for all of us. We need to be thankful more.

I am always impressed by your needlework. It is beautiful.

We finally got some lovely rain here too.

Becky said...

Congrats on your Bloggy-versary. I adore your pieces that you share with us on your blog. I'm trying to work my way through my stash and have spent today re-organizing my Hobby room to better utilize space and to go through the stuff.

Amishwoman49 said...

Lorraine, it's been awhile since I've emailed you...but I think of you often! I love seeing all the pics of you and hubby especially the younger days! I am sure your day to day life is hard, I can only imagine. But you are doing all the right things it looks like...keeping busy. Your work is very good, I just love my needle case. I will remember you in my prayers. Paula

RURAL said...

Congrats on your upcoming 5th way to go.

I do love those hearts, they are the cutest little things.

Jen

Anonymous said...

Love and hugs right back at you, Rainey.

Unknown said...

Your crocheting is gorgeous, I especially like that red crochet thread you have :)

The heart motif in the last picture is very pretty as well. Do you design your own patterns?

FlowerLady Lorraine said...

Thank you all for your comments. I try to either answer you by email or in your own blog.

Janine ~ I didn't see any way to contact you at all, so will leave a comment back to you here.

For the most part, I don't design my own crochet patterns. I use free patterns created by others and antique patterns. I love to crochet.

The deep red thread is size 10 Aunt Lydia's classic crochet thread. Do you crochet? It's a nice hobby.

If you happen to be the winner of this little give away, I'll need an email address to contact you at. That is, if you live in the continental US. You can email me through my profile.

Have a nice evening everyone ~ FlowerLady

sharon said...

hi Lorraine....great post as usual..my best friend died a couple days ago. she never made it out of the hospital...its been hard..lots of tears and memories...the funeral is on sunday..I loved her so and already miss her..but we cant fight what is and it was the best scenario..still what shall I do ?

Here I Am Carrie said...

Sometimes it hard to keep blogging even after major life changes. But the wonderful people and support keeps one going often. Congratulation of your hanging in there and continued blogging. Wishing you many more years. Don't put me in the draw my e-mail in not available. Have a wonderful week.

Rebecca said...

Oh, sweet Lorraine! Your second paragraph just "moves" me. And those tears and sobs reach the heart of Jesus who sends His peace and and personal Comforter to you.

Your crocheted hearts are so beautiful. Maybe crocheting is the "something new" I should try one of these days....

I send my love from NE Indiana this morning and pray for God's special encouragement to come "at" you from many directions today! ♥

Corner Gardener Sue said...

Happy blog anniversary! I love all of your yard creations, and forgot to comment on the prayer shawl. How nice of you!

Lemon Verbena Lady said...

I have to pay a bit more attention! Happy, Happy Blog Birthday dear FL! You know The Herbal Husband and I love you and want you to keep on blogging! xo