It's Been A While..

Hello stitching friends,

It has been such a long time since I've posted.  The year 2012 didn't end very well for me, as a matter of fact, it was the worse year ever for me.  My mom passed away very suddenly and unexpectedly in October and my world pretty much collapsed.  A month after my mom's death, I had to put my sweet dog of 15 years to sleep.  It has been a slow recovery for me, but thanks to God, family and friends, I am making it through, little by little.

Stitching has really helped me keep my sanity and, I have tried to keep doing it.  Below are some pictures of what I've been up to.  I hope you enjoy them....

As part of Nicola's Scarlet Letter Challenge, I am stitching Dona Dorotea.  It is a fun and easy stitch so far, but I am not looking forward to the satin stitches :-)

Hola amigas y amigos,

Ha pasado una buena temporada desde la ultima vez que escribí algo en este blog.  El año 2012 ha sido el peor de toda mi vida.  My mama murió muy inesperadamente en Octubre y mi mundo se derrumbó por completo.  Ni siquiera un més mas tarde de la muerte de mi madre, mi perra de 15 años tuvo que ser sacrificada.  Me voy recuperando muy lentamente gracias al cariño de familiares, amigos y la misericordia de Dios, pero es un periodo de mi vida muy, muy difícil

He seguido haciendo punto de cruz y la verdad es que es lo que más me mantiene distraida y sin pensar mucho en todo lo que ha pasado.  A continuacion podeis ver algunas fotos de lo que he estado haciendo, espero que os gusten: 

On December 10th, 2012, I became a US Citizen.  In a very nice ceremony, I took the Oath of Allegiance in the company of my husband Brent, our dear friend's Jeff and Katrina and about 70 other people from 27 different countries.  It was a true honor and a very special moment for me.  I now have dual citizenship: Spanish and US.  To honor that, I stitched America The Beautiful by BBD.  I personalized it with the date of my swearing in and changed the little US flag for a flag of Spain.  I love it !!!!

El 10 de Diciembre del 2012 obtuve la ciudadanía Americana en una ceremonia preciosa.  En honor de este acontecimiento, he bordado un diseño llamado America The Beautiful, de Blackbird Designs...  Lo he personalizado con la fecha de mi juramento como ciudadana Americana y he cambiado la bandera pequeñita de la Americana a la Española, ya que tengo doble ciudadanía.  

40ct Confederate Gray

Threads called for except for the red of the flag

That's me in the middle with the purple sweater :-)

Cute hand warmers I got as a gift for Christmas to celebrate my citizenship

I also finished The Shephard and The Shephardess, a design by Examplars From The Heart.  I love this design and what attracted me to it the most was the saying on it.  I am looking forward to get it framed and hang it in my home.  Not the best of pictures, but will have to do :-)

También he terminado The Shepard and The Shephardess, un diseño de Examplars From The Heart.  Me encanta !

Below is a SB stocking I finished for a my sweet Isabela who is very special to me.  I stitched it and Deb from Artistic Needle finished it.  She did such a beautiful job. 

Esta es una media de Navidad (come se dice en Español???) que borde para una niñita muy especial en mi vida que se llama Isabela.  

My mom was a truly remarkable and beautiful woman and she is so missed.  She touched so many people throughout her whole life.  She was giving, generous, wise, stoic, brave and loving towards all.  My life now has two parts, the years with her and the years after her death, and it will never be the same, but I find hope in the knowledge that I will see her in heaven again.  

My mamá fue una persona maravillosa y la echamos tanto de menos.  Generosa, sabia, estoica, valiente y cariñosa.  My vida se divide en dos partes: los años con ella y los años después de su muerte, y nunca será lo mismo.  Me comforta pensar que la veré de nuevo en el cielo :-)

My mom

1930 - 2012

My sweet Nala brought so much joy to our lives and she took a little piece of our heart with her as she went to sleep forever.  I cannot say enough about the great dog she was.  It is hard to be around the house without her and she is very much missed too.  I am a bit jealous of her because I know she is now with my mom who loved her and whom she loved :-)

My dulce Nala nos trajo tanta alegria los años que la tuvimos con nosotros.  Al morir se llevo un trozo de nuestro corazón con ella.  Nala fue el perro ideal y la echamos tanto de menos.  De echo, estoy un poco celosa, porque se que ella esta con mi madre ahora.  Mi madre la quería mucho, y ella a mi madre.  

Nala celebrating her 15th birthday

1997 - 2012

Well friends this is all for now.  Sorry if this post made you a bit sad, it is a very sad time in my life, but with God's grace, I know I will push through.  Thanks for stopping by my blog.  I so enjoy seeing the work you all are doing.

Pues esto es todo de momento.  Espero no haberos entristecido mucho, pero este es un tiempo muy triste y dificil para mi.  Muchas gracias por pasaros por mi blog.  Un beso !!

Natalia