Happy Mail Day To Me!

It's just one piece of mail, but it's been sooooooo long since I had any stitching supplies arrive!  Thanks to 123stitch for nearly instant gratification!

There's not a lot here, but I'm excited about it!

I put the throw pillow from my bed behind so you can see how nicely the colors work together - this will be a decoration for my room.  I have NONE of my stitching hanging anywhere in my house.  And I have no artwork in my bedroom right now, other than kid-art.  I deserve to have something I've made that I love in my room.  So I ordered 28-count Monaco (my fav fab) in Tea and some over-dyed threads from Threadworx - Rich Chocolate (which has a very subtle variegation) and Hidden Treasures.  Which I think was dyed just for me.

The pattern is from My Big Toe (hooray for Boise-area designers, boo for no more LNS to shop in) - "Great Is Thy Faithfulness," which is my all-time favorite hymn.  I plan to stitch this with some combination of Doro Theos to make a meaningful installation in my bedroom.  And I may not wait until 2014 to start!

Reflections (part 1)

This has been a year of a lot of changes for me.  I'm starting the process for myself of looking at then-and-now scenarios - what my life was like a year ago, and what it's like now.  While there have been a handful of difficult events (or bad changes), most of the changes have been good.  At least they have been productive.

For example, I finally redid my bedroom!  It was an important part of my "process", of dealing with the divorce - finding who I am as an adult-single-person.

Here's the before - 5 shots to try to give you a 360 view of the room:

Some things I want to point out - I haven't had a "real bed" since I graduated from high school.  When we got married, we had a futon on a futon frame (because that's what we could afford) and dressers and bedside tables that were given to us.  We were never able to afford to have a grown-up room.  We replaced the futon mattress in 2002, and some time in 2007 we got rid of the futon frame.  So my mattress and box spring were on the floor for almost 6 years.  This room was depressing, and bland, and didn't reflect my personality at all.

First change: color!

Next change - finding a home for my yarn so I could move my clothes back in the real closet:

(Or moving my clothes back in the real closet so I could make a home for my yarn)

This took math, but I was thrilled to find out that my reach-in closet is actually deep enough that I can walk in.  And house laundry.  And use hanging sweater-shelf things.

Then - a bed!!

This is sort of a sleigh bed - it has an angled headboard so I can lean against it.  And I love the "waves" carved in it.

Some white curtains to cover the closet, new bedding and totally unnecessary pillows!

 I'm not totally done:

I found this great corner chair that goes so nicely with the paint color, and makes me very happy to sit in!  I still need a lamp and a footstool to make this a cozy reading/stitching corner.

Obviously, I still need some artwork, as well.  I did find a clock at Hobby Lobby that has the aqua color I love.  And with the photo session I just had with my girls, I'll have some fresh photos to put up, too.  I really want a large kind of canvas looking piece (or group of pieces) over the bed that will bring in more of the aqua and browns and make it feel more complete.  But as it is right now, this is a restful space.  The girls and I curl up on the bed to have "important" talks.  And even better:

Annie can see out the window without standing on her hind legs