Blessings Be Thine - Finished!

I finished "Blessings Be Thine" © Blackbird Designs for Christmas a few days ago.
This is stitched on 40ct linen, and I realised that I like to stitch on 36/40ct very much!
It was so fun to stitch this design, this is so beautiful, isn't this?

I added my initials and there was also a part where I had to stitch something alphabet, so I stitched my husband and son's initials (A and T) on it.

Sorry again, these photos don't show the linen colour justice at all...
I would like to take accurate photos of this and Quaker Faith Hope Love, when they are framed.

Here is my favourite part, tulip? a lily of the valley? I don't know what flower it is, but I love this pretty flower very much!

Some friends asked me where I purchased this design, so here is some information.
This design was published in 2005, and I think this is no longer to be sold now...
But I ordered it this year at Attic Needlework in the US, I also asked her to kit up for this design.
I hope this small information would be helpful a bit for you.

I have so many e-mails that I have to reply back, please my friends just wait for me for a while.
I will make some time to reply you back.

Take care and thanks for visiting!
And happy stitching~ :)

Design : "Blessings Be Thine" © Blackbird Designs
Fabric : 40ct Vintage Pear
Thread : GAST

Quaker Faith Hope Love - Finished

Last night I finished "Quaker Faith Hope Love" © Midsummer Stitching for the SAL with Carol R., yeah!

Today the weather is in strong contrast to the weather in last few days, it's a very fine autumn day, the bracing air of autumn make my mind well-balanced and feel so fresh!

Here is my finished piece...
It was so fun to stitch along with my dear friend!


Quaker Faith...

Quaker Hope...

and Quaker Love...

These photos don't show the linen colour justice, I think the photo of "Love" is the most closest to the real colour.
I'm going to order a frame for this piece, but this month the budget is tight (lol), so I hope I can get frames in a few months! :0

Carol and I are planning to do private SAL again, we are going to stitch LHN piece next time together!
I'm very not good at setting the time for large piece SAL, though SAL for small piece is so fun and it motivates me to work on the same piece with dear friend!

Next time I will share my finished piece of "Blessings Be Thine" with you!
(I just finished it a short time ago!)

Take care and thanks for visiting!

Happy stitching :)




Design : "Quaker Faith Hope Love" © Midsummer Stitching
Fabric : 40ct Wichelt linen (Sandstone / Tea)
Thread : GAST (Cranberry, Oatmeal), Crescent Colours (Tartan Plaid)

Little Stitcher...

Today my DH was called by his parents to visit them in Tokyo, of course I didn't go with him either my son.
And just after he left their home, MIL called me (I thought that she would do this!) but I didn't answer the phone! ;p

Anyway, here is my sweet little stitcher!
While I was taking my eyes off my son, he sat on my chair and what he was doing is stitching on my piece!!

Lovely, isn't he?!
He said "I'm doing cross stitch (actually it sounded like 'cnoss sketch')"
He is doing 'cnoss sketching' as he knitting his brows, lol

And here is the result of little stitcher...

lol,
But he made x (cross), wow! :0

Yesterday we had unexpected lovely visiter in our garden (very very small garden!).
I saw something is moving through the curtains, and found this little squirrel on the fence.

(sorry for this mess photo, I forgot to tidy up a clothes peg...)
He was stopping on the fence for a while, so I called my son and husband and DH took his this photo!

I'm surprised that he visited us because where we moved to is quite residential area as you see from this photo, there is neighbour's house very near by.
We were very happy to have this lovely visiter in our garden, but this means they came here since they haven't been able to find their foods in the wood...
We need to think about environmental protection more deeply.

By the way, I finished "Quaker Faith Hope Love" © Midnight Stitching for SAL with Carol R. today!
I hope the weather tomorrow will be fine and hope I can take good photos of it.

Take care and thanks for visiting!
Happy Stitching.

Dear Friends,

Dear friends,

First off, what can I say... I just want to sincerely thank everyone for all of their kind thoughts regarding the relationship between my MIL and I.

I received so many thoughtful comments and e-mails that cheered me up so much.

I have never thought that these so many of you would respond to my last post...

Now I admit that my decision to write here was right, venting helped me a lot and knowing that I have so many wonderful friends around me gave me much energy and courage.

Even though I have never met you before, and won't be able to meet you probably in my life, I realised that I have so many special friends in the world.

Your words truly cheered me up, made my heart warm, and made me decide to go forward, that meant to me so much.
I red your comments and e-mails in tears, I was very touched by every single words from you, thoughtful words towards me, they all made me blinded with tears.

As reading your comments and e-mails, my mind is getting become clearer than before and I decided not to see her anymore as much as possible.

(But it's Japan, it's hard to part from them actually...)

But I will take your advices with me next time I have to see her or talk to her, and I will try not to take what she says to heart.

I do really appreciate for your thoughtfulness from the bottom of my heart.
I can never thank you enough...

I do hope this message of appreciation will reach you who didn't have their e-mail address in the comment that I couldn't reply back...
Annie, Amy in Oklahoma, Tanya, Linda, Harmien, KarenV, Vaida, Marnie, Dora, Tammy, and Jurga, Thank you so much for your encouraging words and supports.

Lili, Andrea, Angela, Nina, Julie, I will e-mail you later tonight.

It's pity that my English is not good enough to express my emotion and appreciation to you all.
I will never forget about your kindness.

FRIENDS ARE THE BEST!!

((hugs))

I have been bullied...

No stitching post either no photo today.
Sorry about this post, if you don't want to feel blue, please skip reading this, but if you could just listen to me, please let me confess to you how I have been treated by my MIL...

I'm wondering how the relationship between you and your MIL, or you and your DIL in your country?

In Japan it often to be a big problem, maybe because most of MILs are excessive meddling? I don't know exact reason, though... Most of my friends are complaining about their MIL, though most of them are very small things TO me.

My MIL is... a quite extreme, strong-minded and very mean person (at least TO me), I don't know why she can be so mean this much, it's unimaginable...
For example, I've heard that she have sprinkled water onto a neighbor's dog just because the dog have kept barking.
And when my son was a baby, we were at PIL's house and she was tired physically, and so she took my son's nursing bottole by force and said "Go back home!!", even though my son was having milk at that time...

As basis of their sense of values, all they need is money, high social standing, diploma ism, good looks, etc...
So they judge people just by those their sense of values.
I remember when I've met them before my husband and I married, they said to me "ugly" or "unrefined" in a roundabout way...
They were hoping to have a beautiful DIL like an actress for their favourite son...

Basically they don't like me because I'm not beautiful, not from a rich family, graduated from normal college, they always look down on me and my family.
But I believe that I have beautiful heart, I'm from a warm family, I spent very wonderful time at college, I was proud of my work, and at least I know what the love is.
But it doesn't matter for them at all, of course they don't listen to me, if I talk about something they don't know, they just ignore me.

My MIL have keep saying to me not to have any more babies, I just don't understand why... maybe because she is jealous?
She always speak in a commanding tone, and said to me "A weak person like you can't even raise a child nicely"...
How can she be so nasty? Why should I be bullied?
She says about me as strange person, because she saw how I adore my son, and even said to my son "Your mum is very strange!"...

She is very tricky, she doesn't show her true character in front of other people, so my husband couldn't understand of what I say about her, even though I cried and told him so many times before.
I realised that she tells my husband how I am wonderful, that's why my husband couldn't believe how she treats me like this.

But about 2 years ago, finally she gave herself in front of my husband and FIL.
Because she was completely refuted by me, she shouted down on me in front of them.
That was horrible, 70years old lady shouted down, that was vulgar so much, but that's what she really is like.

Recently my husband finally understood what I'm keep saying about her, and so protects me.
So now they don't like us, not only me, they don't like their son...
And on the other hand, my husband's older brother became a secretary to the famous politician, so they are now crazy about him.
That's what they really are like.

These are just the tip of the iceberg.
I have never met such silly parents before in my life, but c'est la vie... I've got them as my PIL...
Actually I became ill because of her bullying thing...
I still have been taking medicines, she changed my life.
I know people would say "ignore her" or "be strong" etc... but to have kept been saying terrible thing to my face, I just loose control of myself and become not confident, and sometimes I don't know the meaning of existence...
I want to be more strong and tough, I want to ignore her existence, now I have been trying to be strong a little by little.

Soon the new year will come, I feel depressed thinking about it, because in Japan the new year celebration is one of big event, and we have to gather at PIL's house.
As thinking of horrible PIL, I miss my mum and dad (he has passed away just a month before our marriage...) terribly...

While I was very down, I met Cross stitch and blog, and they make me forget about depressed feeling, and moreover I could make so many wonderful friends in the world!
So cross stitch and blog meant to me so much.

Thank you friends for your warm hearts, you cheer me up so much.
I don't know why I wanted to confess about this, but this was just a big secret of myself.
I do really hope nobody else have been in this kind of situation like me.

Thank you so much for listening to me.
I appreciate for you all...

Stitching Progress 1022

I have been working on both "Blessings Be Thine" © Blackbird Designs and "Quaker Faith Hope Love" © Midnight Stitching for SAL with Carol R. now.
These two projects are very fun to stitch along!

Here are the photos of my progress so far.

This is very beautiful design, isn't this!
I love it very much and I can't wait to see the completed piece in the frame!

And here are some photos of Quaker SAL with Carol R.
I have done "Love" and am stitching on "Hope" now, but the thread colour (Oatmeal) which is recommended in the chart doesn't show up well on the linen I've chosen, so I have been thinking ripping off and re-stitching, but at the same time I have no energy to do it...
I think I should stitch Faith first. :)

As seeing this photo, I found that it does show up a little bit better in the sunlight, but under the room light, it doesn't show up well...

Carol R. and I were talking about the distance between us and thought it's so moving thing to do SAL with her, we are thousands miles away each other, but stitching the same design at the same time, that's so great!
I will think of her whenever I see this piece.



*Design : "Blessings Be Thine" © Blackbird Designs
Fabric : 40ct Vintage Pear
Threads : GAST

*Design : "Quaker Faith Hope Love" © Midnight Stitching
Fabric : 40ct Wichelt Linen Sandstone / Tea
Threads : GAST (Cranberry, Oatmeal), Crescent Colours (Tartan Plaid)

Stitching Post, Blessings Be Thine 1020

From a week ago, I have started stitching after my son slept at night.
And now I have been working on "Blessings Be Thine" © Blackbird Designs, preparing for Christmas!

Sorry for this wrinkled photo, :( Iron is yet somewhere in the box, lol
You finally knew how I am lazy as it has been coming out on latest posts, lol
I love this very beautiful design, it's so fun to stitch!

Here is a photo of my new project which goes on as SAL with Carol R.
We are going to do private SAL for "Quaker Faith Hope Love" © Midnight Stitching.

I chose GAST (Cranberry, Oatmeal) and Crescent Colours (Tartan Plaid) on 40ct Wichelt Linen : Sandstone.
As I'm going to stitch this on 40ct, it must be very small, but I love this linen so much, I wanted to stitch this beautiful design on this.

So let's see how it will turn out at the end!
I found a nice framer online, so I will order frames for both of these designs when I completed.



Blessings Be Thine © Blackbird Designs
Fabric : 40ct Vintage Pear Linen
Thread : GAST

Birthday Present FROM Jessie

Today while I was out visiting a doctor, a parcel from Singapore arrived to my home, and so when my husband picked me up at pharmacy he brought it for me to open it in a car.
The gift was from Jessie, she waited for me to let her know my new address.
Here they are, she totally spoiled me!

Once I opened the parcel, I was so surprised! There were a lovely round box in there and in the box there were so many goodies all in Pink!
As she knows that I love Pink (so she does!), she gathered craft materials in pink and made a pink box for me!

And another puff envelope, there was a pink frame, she stitched "Strawberry Girl" © Tralala for me!
It's such a lovely design, and I LOVE it!

Did you already realize it?
She personalized it as stitched my blog name "Be Happy" in the design, how sweet she is!
She also added laces on the top and bottom, it does suit for this pink frame so much!

Here is a photo of inside pink box! She added 2 Flat Fats fabrics, ribbon, heart buttons, tassels, Cashel linen (28ct carnation pink), DMC threads!
Ohh... I'm still excited!
There was also a Lizzie*Kate chart (Faith Hope Love), how generous she is!

Thank you SO much Jessie for such a wonderful present!
I'm totally overwhelmed by everything you sent me!

AJ my husband is so jealous, but do I deserve these wonderful gifts from friends???
I really appreciate for my dear friends, Thank you so much everyone!

Tote Bag From Mum's Friend

As I mentioned a few posts back, I received a lovely tote bag from my mum's friend the other day!

When my mum came over here (from Western Japan to Eastern Japan) to help me packing the end of September, she had a lovely tote bag with her.
And she told me that it was made by her friend and also told me that she is offering to make one for me if I want.

So I gathered all materials (fabrics, lace, linen code) and left them to my mum.
And here it is, what my mum's friend made for me!
Isn't this lovely?!

I heard that she felt something is missing, so she added lace crochet on the surface.
The lace crochet is actually a sleeve of old cardigan, I heard.
It's nice idea, isn't it!? She loves to recycle, so that's just like her!

I love this tote bag so much! It suits for jeans, too I think!

This is not only lovely but very functional, she added many pockets inside and she made handles longer than her original design for me, because I have a little kid always with me, so she thought it's more useful.

What a thoughtful gift it is!

Thanks Mrs. Chikako!

Birthday Present FROM Su

Yesterday I found a parcel in my mailbox and it was from Su!
It's always so pleasure to receive a parcel from Su, and I was extremely excited this time, too and so I opened it soon with my son (Tass my son always excite to open the parcel with me!).

She sent me a birthday present! Here is what she presented me.
I was just speechless...

Please look what was inside the parcel... They all are stunning, aren't they?!
I DO love everything she sent me, how sweet they are.
I love the scent of perfume so much, beautiful flower print fabric, pearl heart ornament, and birds ornament, she knows what I love!!

Here is a close up photo, you know from this photo, how beautifully done her stitching is!
She stitched a birthday cake by Brookes Books and made it into a little pillow ornament.This is very beautifully stitched (just perfect!) and she added some embellishments, they are sparkling and very beautiful!

Here is a photo of fabric and ribbon and shell parts on the back.

They are just beautiful, aren't they?

It's so delicate and so soft colours, and more beautiful in the real life!

I will definitely treasure them all, Thank you so much Su!
I really appreciate for your sweet heart!

Birthday Present FOR Su!

It's Su's birthday today, Happy birthday dear my friend!

I've got a lovely e-mail from her to let me know that she received a birthday gift from me safely!
It was a bit early gift, though as I was doing packing and was busy on moving, I didn't want to lose the parcel, so I sent it earlier.

Anyway, here it is, what I made for her birthday.
I made a Tilda Snail for her, as I knew that she loves Snails!


I made her shell with dark brown polka dot, mine has a black polka dot shell, so they are sisters!
Su told me that she is going to call her "Mog", I'm happy she has got a lovely name!

Here is Mog's close up photo.


She has make up on her cheeks, she is lovely, isn't she?
And here is her shell.

I added dark brown woolly lace and crochet flower on her shell.
They (Su's and mine) are very alike, just have different colour shells, they are like twins! :)

I wanted to stitch something for Su, but since I've been packing and unpacking, had no time to stitch.
I was quite worried because Su is a wonderful crafter, I knew that she made SO lovely bears!
But I'm so happy that she loves this Snail!

I also have sent her a flower vase (red one), it's made by plastic.
Here is a photo of it.
It's quite unique, but lovely, isn't it?

This photo was taken by my mobile phone, so it's not so clear, though.
I also have this, but somewhere yet in the boxes!

Today I received a parcel from my mum, there were some craft materials and a lovely tote bag which my mum's friend made for me!
Now I have been working on "Blessings Be Thine" by Blackbird Designs, it's about 50% done now.
Next time I will show you a new tote bag and my stitching progress!

Happy Birthday, Su!
Take care and Thanks for stopping by.

Book : Tilda Sommer

Birthday Present FROM Carol R.

Yesterday I found a parcel from United Kingdom in the mailbox, it was from Carol R.
I was going out then, but couldn't resist to open it soon, so I opened it in the car!
Carol let me know that she bought some toy cars (fire truck and Mini) for my son again, and I've told my son about it, so when I said "Oh, it's from Carol" when I found the parcel, he recognized the name and said "Oh is it my fire truck??", lol He has good memory!

Here is the present from Carol R. Aren't they just gorgeous?!
She made me a pinkeep, floss tag, making pins, and scissors fob all in pink which is my favourite colour!!

Here is a pinkeep photo, isn't it beautiful!? I love this colour so much, and her finishing is just perfect!!

Here is the back of pinkeep, she stitched "2008" by 1 over 1, it's very beautiful!
I also love the tiny ribbon on top, it's pretty!

And here is her original floss tag! I love this so much, there is my name on it!

There was also sweets one is for my son and one is for my husband (thanks for your kind heart, Carol!), but just after we received it, it's gone soon!

Snittles was so yum! :D

Thank you so much for your lovely gift, Carol!

It made my day, indeed!!
My son (Mr. T) is also so happy, he doesn't do without his fire truck!
I'd appreciate for your kindness!

I have been unpacking everyday, it's nightmare and I have no energy for it at all...
So my stitching stuffs are yet in the boxes, haven't been stitching at all nowadays.
I miss it, but can't mess around more than now, so I have to be patient for a while.

Take care and Happy Stitching!