Wednesday 15 September 2010

It’s ‘What’s On Your Work Desk Wednesday’….and the wanderer returns!

It’s not been easy but I thought it was about time I tried to get my act back in gear to some extent and get blogging again. And what better day to choose than a Wednesday, the day we all pop over to Julia’s Blog and have a good old nosy at what every one is working on at the moment.

I’ll come to what’s on my desk in a moment but first I wanted to show you the Order of Service I made for dad’s cremation and the Thank You cards that I made to send out to those who sent flowers and very generously gave donations to St Clare Hospice, where dad spent his last days.

Back in June I was feeling very guilty and upset……..the reason, I didn’t have time to make the usual six Birthday and Father’s Day cards that I have to do for Dad every year. I was forced into going out and buying cards for him, which really went against the grain and I just couldn’t get the feeling of guilt out of my mind.
So despite having to make fifty, that was the reason I wanted to make something very special for Dad’s Order of Service for his cremation.



Dad was very proud of his days in the Army, so it seemed right to have a photo of him, age 20, in his uniform on the front.

I didn’t have to make quite so many Thank You cards, but I still wanted them to be personal and special so I knew exactly what stamp I was going to use, my good old Penny Black Iris….you can never go wrong with that!




Now then, what’s on my work desk today?

It’s some of my Cross Stitching!




When Dad started his treatment at the Hospice back in May I found myself thinking about what I could do to give something back to them because the way they cared for dad was second to none.

Partly inspired by a beautiful quilt that my good friend Nicki sent over from Switzerland for dad when he was first diagnosed, I decided it might be nice to cross stitch a quilt for each of the eight rooms and one for the central seating area, with a cushion to go with each one. Not only that, I needed something to do while sitting with dad for several hours a day and this was perfect.
Dad loved the idea too and gave me some money towards the materials, which was a lovely gesture.


This meant a lot of stitching was ahead of me because I would need nine squares for each of the quilts and one for the cushion, so a total of 90 squares!
After some thought, I decided to go with geometric designs on the quilts.
They would be good for either gender but the quilt for the seating area would be different. That one will have Yellow Gerbera’s all over it because that is the hospice logo.

Nicki kindly agreed to do all the quilting for me and drummed up some more help in the form of two ladies in Holland who stitch another for another charity project. They will be stitching the squares for four of the quilts and another good friend Sharon has offered to stitch all the Gerbera’s for the seating area quilt, so we now have a truly international project on the go.

As it is such a personal project for me, I wanted to have a piece of my own stitching on each of the quilts, so the ladies in Holland will receive a pack containing all of the materials they need, including at least one of the squares already stitched by me









and when Nicki receives everything ready for making up there will also be a matching label which says ‘St. Clare’ and have the Yellow Gerbera log on for each quilt.



I've already stitched all ten squares needed for one of the quilts and cushions and these will be winging their way over to Switzerland for Nicki to get started on when she has the time.




Well, it’s been months since I blogged properly and I don’t quite know when the next one will be……… but that doesn’t mean I won’t be keeping an eye out!

Lots of Love
Sue
x

17 comments:

Liverpool Lou (Anne) said...

Lovely post Sue, glad you're finally able to join in again. Love the x-stitch, what a lovely gesture
Anne x

Lynda said...

Good to see you back Sue - the Order of Service and Thank you cards are beautiful and you've written a very moving post. The quilts and cushions are going to look stunning - what a lovely gift for the Hospice. Take care.

Love Lynda xxx

Anonymous said...

Thats has really made me choke up - what a stunning thank you card and such a beautiful memory of your Dad for the hospice.
x Tricia

Sue said...

Hi Sue
a beautiful post, your order of service & thank you cards are beautiful.
Your stitching is gorgeous it will look lovely on the walls, they will be delighted with such a lovely personal thought. A very emotional but lovely post hun, hugs sue,xx

Helen said...

What a lovely post - but I am sure it was hard for you. LOVE the order of service and thank you letter you crafted - how gorgeous is your writing!! your stitching is also fabulous. Take care.

Sarpreet said...

its great to see something different in the form of cross stitching, fab workspace,Happy WOYWW! Thank you for sharing your workspace (Linky number 19)

donnalouiserodgers said...

well i am a firm believer that having a creative activity happening as you sit with someone who needs your presence in a quiet companionshipis very therapeutic - for both parties,

lovely post, welcome back,

dx

JoZart Designs said...

Such a lovely moving post and beautiful work. A real tribute to your dear Dad. I'm so touched and I'm sure the hospice will be too.
JoZarty x

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

I'm sorry to read about your father. I'm sure I've visited before, but it's been so long ago, I frankly don't remember. It's good that you were able to join WOYWW again today. The Order of Service and thank you cards are wonderful. You are right. That iris stamp is lovely. Your personal message was so eloquent, too.

You make lovely cross stitch. I've not seen much of it on this group, and it's a welcome change. What a worthy gift, too. Happy WOYWW. Hope to see you again really soon.

Sarah said...

Lovely! The order of service and thank you cards are beautiful and what a fantastic idea for a gift for the hospice

Anonymous said...

Hi Sue
I was so sorry to read about your father, but your projects you have planned for the hospice are a great way to honor his memory. Your cards are really beautiful too. It's very nice to have you back too.

Hugs
Brenda

Andrea - Wales, UK said...

It's great your back and you are an inspiration to as all. Your post is fab and the Order of Service and the Thank You notes are gorgeous.

I haven't done any cross stitch for years, I'll have to post some of the things I've done.

A.xx

Ciara said...

What a lovely thing to do for the hospice. Hopefully it will be therapeutic for you too

Take care,
Ciara
xx

Chrissie said...

Great post Sue.
What lovely creations... the order of service looks most fitting and your cross stitch is awesome!
Chrissie

Anonymous said...

oh wow!! Sue... this is so so gorgeous!!

Kathy said...

Hi Sue, it's lovely t see you adding to your blog.
The OoS and Thank you cards you made are so beautiful - it's easy to see that they were a work of love.
Wonderful to see you cross-stitching and I know that you will produce some fabulous items with them that will be admired and treasured.

Thank you for the cards you sent to me recently - I promise I'll email once I've caught my tail!

Sheila said...

Sue
I was so sorry to read about your Dad.
Your Order of Service and thank you cards are really beautiful.
Take care
Sheila-x-