I'm SPEECHLESS!!!!

The post office called me Friday afternoon to let me know that an Express package had just been delivered, and I needed to come pick it up or wait until Saturday for it to be delivered. An Express package? For ME?!!! It must have been a mistake. She said, "Nope - It's for you." I grabbed the kids and out the door I went. I had no clue what it must be.

I got home with the package, sat down on the sofa and opened it. It was from Felicia, and she sent me the most wonderful surprise!!! I still can't believe that she would do such a fantastic thing! She sent me the pattern for The Houses of Hawk Run Hollow AND ALL the silks to stitch it!!!! Nothing could have prepared me for what was inside this package!! I never dreamed that I would ever get a chance to stitch this pattern. DH just wouldn't hear of a pattern costing that much and then add the silks??!! HA!

Even if I could have talked DH into the pattern, I would most certainly have used DMC and a cheap evenweave. Now, I'll be stitching an heirloom, and I showed DH what Felicia sent, and said the fabric has to be nice, because I'm using silk. Well he didn't argue (this time), so I emailed my LNS and made sure she had the linen. She let me know she had a lot of cheaper alternatives as well, but I really am going to get a very nice piece of linen because this piece has gained so much more meaning now. I'm planning on stitching it, framing it nicely and putting the lovely story on the back of the piece. Felicia will go down with me in my family history :-) Now all I need to do is pick up a few model stitching jobs to pay for the framing!!

I'm still blown away by this wonderful gift. I can't convey how much I appreciate Felicia's generosity. She's one in a million!!!