February 03, 2010

La Belle et la Bête (and a prize)

(more about this needle book at the end of the post)


or, as we say in English....

The Beauty...


(Take one lovely design from the wonderful Blackbird Designs Joyeux Noel book)...



(add some delicious Belle Soie silk threads, and some hand dyed fabric, and you have a beauty of a sampler :-)




and The Beast...



(Where we've taken one hot water pipe leaking under the foundation and added one "highly recommended but turns out to be maybe fairly incompetent plumber" who thought it was alright to pile mud three feet high in our laundry room entry way without the benefit of LARGE plastic drop cloths, and not forgetting of course, the inches of concrete dust over every inch of the house, and you've got one big P.I.T.A)

So anyway, the pipe is fixed, the dirt is all back in the hole now, after sitting out for four days, now we're waiting on it to settle a little before he pours in the concrete and re-tiles the floor. All along with promises that he's going to make it all look "Brand New". And if you think I believe that one, well, I gotta bridge I want to sell ya ;-)

But, really? It's all OK. Because even with such a mess, I'm very aware of my blessings and have refused to get all flustered over the situation when there's such hurt and devastation in other parts of the world, and by that, I mean Haiti. I came across this blog last week, hearing that they were seeking donations of the crafty kind for these women in Haiti. HELLO?! Threads? Oh, you bet, got that! Here's the thing...you can clean out your stash, the items don't have to be brand new :-) They need lots of different things, not just thread, check out the list to see! The address you mail to is posted at the bottom of the list.

Please check out the links I've posted above and see if your heart is not touched by these beautiful women. And then please post about this on your blog too and help get the word out, let's show some stitchy love to Haiti, whatdayathink?

If you do help spread the word, via your blog, facebook or twitter, please post the link (to the post you made) here in the comments on this post and I will enter your name in a drawing for this little lovely:



A brand new needle book from The French General! You may have seen a little bit of mine in this post. It was a gift from a dear stitcher buddy. I liked it so much, I wanted to share one like it with one of you. But the catch is, you have to post about the Haiti by Hand blog somewhere to be entered to win!

Thanks so much :-) You have ONE WEEK to get it done and let me know about it, I'll draw a name on Wednesday, Feb. 10

PS. Um, you don't have to post about this to comment here, I really love hearing from you, even if you don't want to enter for the drawing :-)

22 comments:

Karen said...

What a nice gesture! I will definitely check it out! Love your BBD....really need to move this one close to the top.

Glad your dirt pile has been restored to the earth...hope the rest turns out great too.

Michelle said...

Your BBD is gorgeous. I just love that piece. And OMG at your dirt pile. I really hope he does make it "like new"!!

Anonymous said...

Okay, that dirt pile just made me cry a little. Oh my word!

I keep saying this, but I really need to get that book. I LOVE that sampler. Gorgeous!

Here is the link for Haiti by Hand.
http://natalie-astitchintime.blogspot.com/2010/02/haiti-by-hand.html

Nancy in WI said...

Your cardinal is to die for! Did you use the fabric called for? That is definitely going on my "to do" list. Wow, what a mess and that would just make me literally sick but so good you can keep the "good" attitude, it definitely helps. I'm on my way over to check out the Haiti project. Thanks for sharing.
Nancy in WI

Nancy said...

Your sampler is gorgeous! I love that design.

I just finished embroidering a little Haitian girl. The proceeds from the pattern go to Doctors Without Borders. It's on my blog if you want to peek.

KarenV said...

I love your BBD sampler, it's just gorgeous! Eeek at the mud though, I would be hopping mad.

Thanks for the Haiti link, I'll be checking it out later.

Lois said...

Loving your BBD sampler. As for that pile of mud?!?!?!?! Oh my!!! Off to check that Haiti link.

Siobhán said...

Fabulous finish, Andrea!! It is gorgeous. I am hoping to start the other sampler that you did soon, and want to do this one, too. Beautiful work, gf!!

Thanks for the Haiti link.

Deb said...

I will definitely check out your link! Your piece is so beautiful! And what a PITA about that plumber and the mud! What the heck was he thinking when he did that anyway?

Loraine said...

Oh boy, what a mess that plumber did make! I hope he is able to make it look better than that when he is done. Good luck with that.
I love the little giveaway you are having. What a great idea. I will post about it on my blog. We are doing quilts in quilt guild for this, so I don't know if I will have time to do another one. It has been a devastating tragedy, however, it is nice to see the people rally to help those in need. A very nice and comforting thought, that "the love of man has not waxed cold."
Take Care, and have a wonderful day!

Amy said...

Your sampler is out of this world. I love cardinals anyways.

I am feeling bad about your plumbing nightmare. My prayers that life will get back soon.

After living in Ohio 38 years, I couldn't understand why someone would have to dig up for such an easy fix as a water pipe. We had basements and you just went down there and fixed what you needed to fix. Now that I live in Texas, I understand that the stuff is under the foundation and you can't just get to it. Yuck.

staci said...

Your sampler is stunning! This is definitely moving up on my "must stitch" list...just as soon as I finish Let Heaven and Nature Sing, lol ;)

Hope your mess is resolved soon, ugh!

Melissa said...

Your sampler is gorgeous Andrea. I was trying to kit that up recently but I think the piece of LL Pear won't work very well for me. Yours is bee-ooo-ti-ful!

I have just posted about Haiti by Hand. I have already started gathering supplies and should be able to send it off next week. Thanks for posting about it. I think it's a great idea.

Oh yes, please enter me in the draw as I so love this FG piece. Thanks!

http://wordsnblooms.blogspot.com/2010/02/giddy.html

Valerie said...

The BBD piece is just gorgeous! I adore cardinals and have had my eye on that piece for some time. Now I just might have to give myself and early Christmas present!

Thank you for posting the Haiti link. What a great idea!

I am new to your blog and have thoroughly enjoyed reading it! I look forward to reading more of your posts!

Stitch By Stitch said...

Your sampler is just beautiful! I love their designs. I will be sure to check out the link to Haiti.I know we could all find something to donate. Blessed, yes we are!

Brigitte said...

The more often I see this wonderful BBD design on a blog the more I feel urged to buy the book for it. And I know I will during this year, lol. Greta stitching, Andrea.
I hope that all the work in your house will be finished soon so that you can get back to normal.

MyLifesAStitch said...

Oh, the BBD is just beautiful, as is the needle book!! Love your blog!!

angelasweby said...

Andrea, your cardinal finish is just glorious!! Every design in this book is stunning and your piece is exceptional.
I love your calm and serene approach to the disaster in the utility room! It 's a lesson to all of us. Worse things happen at sea as we say...or on land!!

Your link to the Crafting Supplies for Haitian women moved me deeply. I don't have a blog but I have listed it on my Facebook page. It's linked to my stitching friends in all three groups I belong to so hopefully the thread, so to speak, will connect to others :>) It's here:

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=681361430

And like Nancy, I also bought the pretty little Haitian girl pattern the profits of which go to the DWB charity.
Thanks for spreading the light of hope to so many other candles :>)
Angela xx
www.picturetrail.com

Please add me to your drawing for this lovely needlecase. My email is:
john.sweby@btinternet.com

Annemarie said...

That was a big shock: going from the lo-ve-ly BBD pics to the mess in the other pic. Yikes. Still, if you think of all of the dreadful things happening all around the world, you realise you don't have it so bad. Thanks for the Haiti link.

Michelle said...

Hey, girl! Just wanted to let you know I retweeted you. I'm "cozyegg" on twitter.

Katrina said...

I can think of another name for your plumber but I won't use it in polite company, LOL. What a huge pain but you are right, in the big scheme of things not the end of the world :-).

Love your BBD finish, gorgeous!

Unknown said...

I love your bird is so cute!!! The needle book is so beautiful!!!