ME/CFS and Me

Today is May 12th and for a lot of years it has been designated as ME/CFS awareness day.

I've been afflicted with ME/CFS for 40 years and I've known that when I would get older if nothing has been identified as an effective treatment for this awful illness (and there is none yet) the symptoms would only get worse. In a couple of weeks I'll have my 71st birthday, God willing, and I can verify that indeed ME/CFS does NOT get better with time.

The last two years have seen rapid escalation of lots of very painful and debilitating muscular/neurological symptoms and one of the things I'm missing more than I can express is my ability to stitch! It has always been something that got my mind off of some of the challenges and I've fought hard to maintain it, but finally have had to accept I can't do it any more. Thankfully, I can still design and hope to have a new pattern out soon.

One major change I'm announcing today is that I have closed the gracewoodstitches.com website. If anyone wants to order patterns directly from me just send an email to bungard.gracewood@gmail.com telling me which patterns you wish to purchase and I'll send a paypal invoice to you. I'll still post on this blog for all new designs and hope I'll continue to create patterns you may wish to stitch. Hoping all of you and yours are well, please stay that way :) Happy stitching, Kathy

Serendipity Sampler #1

Serendipity Sampler #1

New design, Serendipity Sampler #1 - all cross stitch - 121 x 118 stitch count

The snow is almost gone on Gracewood and the hoop greenhouse is fully loaded with trays full of seedlings, thanks to Terry! This second year with the greenhouse he's making even better use of it this spring, AND, is planning on building a second and bit larger one by our larger hugelbed garden beds.

So the growing season is getting a jump start here thanks to being able to heat greenhouse, and my attention has to go towards planning what to grow and where to plant it after our last frost date - May 15th.

Knowing my design time is going to be more limited for awhile I wanted to publish this latest pattern, Serendipity Sampler #1. What is ‘Serendity”? Where did this word come from?

It has a great origin – coined by author, Horace Walpole, suggested by The Three Princes of Serendip, the title of a fairy tale in which the heroes ‘were always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things they were not in quest of’. Don’t you just love that? Well that is pretty much what happens when I design a pattern. I start with a general idea and find as I go along that I end up in places I hadn’t thought I was going. So I introduce my Serendity Samplers and hope you’ll enjoy the journey into unexpected things you might find along the way.

Available on my website Here

Looking foward to including some 'growing things' pics in next post and hoping all reading this are well!

'April~Spring has Sprung' Calendar Collection Series Complete!

This is a short post, because I wanted to tell you that the last entry in the Calendar Collection is complete, yeah!!!!

'April~Spring has Sprung' is the last entry in the collection and can be purchased on my Website

Hoping you all are well and if you are in the northern hemisphere enjoying spring being just a few weeks away!

March~Aesthetic Sampler

Hello all! It is February 1st and here on Gracewoods we're having our usual winter weather which means it changes daily. One day is cold and snowy the next warmer and rain, evidently it is a 'la nina' weather winter that always brings us such changeable days. One thing for sure is it is great weather to stay in by the woodstove and stitch while planning and dreaming what to plant this year. Some may love catalogs of clothes but I'm far more excited looking at seed catalogs, especially Baker Creek's!

I can hardly believe it but we're just a few weeks from starting seeds in the greenhouse.

It also seems to be a time of inspiration for creating designs and I've got lots lined up in my head at least, lol

This newest design,'March~Aesthetic Sampler', is something I've wanted to do for some time and was saving it for the March installment of the Calendar Collection. It is available on my Website

Bert & Nan are enjoying birdwatching under the feeders this time of year, the problem is they make themselves so obvious the birds disappear till the cats give up and come back wanting back in by the fire.

Hoping all stay well, happily stitching!

Calendar Collection's "February~Vintage Coverlet"

 Hello all!  It is a snowy December day here on Gracewood and I'm reaching for warm clothes, covers and cups of tea!  

The February entry in the Calendar Collection is Vintage Coverlet inspired by the colors and motifs of vintage fabrics.

February~Vintage Coverlet

I love the light and movement found in such textiles.

For sale at my Website 

Stitch count is 150 x 150 

Most of the stitches are cross stitch along with some 3/4 stitches.

May everyone who celebrates Christmas have a most blessed and Merry one and a Happy New Year to all!

New Design "January~Cozy Cabin"

 Hoping all of you and yours are doing well!

This will be a short post just introducing the latest pattern in the Calendar Collection and that is - "January~Cozy Cabin" 

It is for sale for $8.00 on my website  

January~Cozy Cabin

It has been a challenging year for all of us and I'm sure many have dreamed of a retreat to just have some peace and quiet and of course stitching time :)

While everybody doesn't have a place to escape to, all my life I've found my own 'retreats' in things like reading, stitching and watching things produced from great writing.  Just brought out my dvds of Anythony Trollope's gems.  Want a cozy night? Try stitching while watching the Pallisers series.  

Sending hopes you'll have a blessed Thanksgiving and lots of your own retreats.

Calendar Collection ~ May Design

 It took far longer than I'd hoped, but finally, I'm publishing the May entry in the Calendar Collection of patterns.

May~It's Raining Violets

Four shades of violet and stitch count of 170 x 176, Assisi style of stitching only the background.  It can also be stitched as needlepoint using a white or off white wool for violets and other vacant stitches.

May is such a beautiful month in our part of the world.  Usually wet and very green it is the time so many wild violets cover the floor of the forest.  

 And while the design is definitely for Spring, it is the first day of October and Fall fills the air.

Fall in the Selkirk Range of the Rocky Mountains

We've had our first heavy frost though we're now in a few days of 'Indian Summer' with warm days and chilly nights.  Definitely time for fall chores like firewood for winter.

Terry had one big chore for summer and that was building a new carport.  He did a craftsman like job on it too!

Have a lovely October wherever you are!