Angels on our way

Sometimes when the going gets tough you need angels on your way to help you through the bad patch.

My angels are my friends and my family, I can't do without them.

Today is a rough day, I have more pain then I had before, my anxiety levels are high and for the first time I needed some anxiety medication to stop the racing thoughts in my head.

I am still waiting for my MRI scan to reveal if the cancer is gone or still there or is spreading somewhere else and on some days I can't handle this very well any more.

I know craft blogs are mostly uplifting and no one wants to read the hard stuff, but it is for now the real stuff in my life.

My angel doll

Every fortnight a small group of creative friends meet together and we have a craft morning, last time I started making this angel doll with Elizabeth.
The doll patterns are designed by her and her friend over many years. I finished the angel doll just before our craft morning today and took it along to show the other women.
I was not in the mood for crafting much and I left a bit earlier.
I came home crying, life seems to hard now.
But my amazing husband was home to comfort me.

The grapevine angel

But I realize that the kindness of my friends this morning are the angels on my path today.

They recycled cans for me to use for my herb plants, made me a coffee, gave me a new pattern to make for another angel doll and gave me a hug and prayed for me.

Thank you God for the angels in my life, I need them so much.

The way ahead

These last weeks I made myself busy with creative stuff to take my mind of things.

I made a grape vine wreath from the cuttings of our grape vine, I have been spinning and knitting finger less gloves for Rachel and painting my watercolour cards inspired by cup cakes this time.

I feel good when I am in my creative zone,my thoughts are in the process of making and I don't have to go to places were I don't want to go.

grape vine wreath

But time is ticking away and each day brings me closer to the day I have to go to Christchurch hospital for my cancer check up and now it is only two weeks away.
My scan will be in September, but this is my first appointment after coming home from treatment and I am dreading it. I don't want to go, but I have to go.

Hand spun and hand knitted finger less gloves.

Most days I feel really positive, but some days I am not and I ask myself if I will ever feel really happy again, like before I got this damn disease.

Watercolour cupcake cards

Then I go to my creative place and thank God for giving me this place to escape reality for a while.

Another watercolour cupcake card

My life is sweet,just eat cupcakes. Please don't tell me sugar will make cancer grow, I will still eat my cupcake and knit a little bit more!

wreaths made from grapevine cuttings

This year I worked in the local vineyard helping with thinning of the vines, leaf picking and the harvest.

I love the look of grapevine wreaths and I asked if I could have some cuttings in Autumn to make my own wreaths.

Last week I picked up some cuttings, but because it is late in the season and the pruning of the vines is nearly finished, the cuttings are dry and brittle.

So I soaked the branches in the bath for nearly two days.

Finished wreath

 

The soaking of the cuttings and a brick holds them down.

The start of the wreath.

 I used a long branch and carefully shaped this into a circle, with a little copper wire I tied the bottom of the wreath together.

 Next I wove the branches in and out around the first circle and luckily because of the soaking in the bath, the cuttings were pliable enough to bend.

More finished wreaths.

 I try to leave the tendrils on the cuttings and also some dried up grapes, this gives more texture to the wreath. I like the rustic handmade look, so much more interesting then the mass produced wreaths.
And made from cuttings from a local vineyard!
Maybe I will spray some white and turn them into shabby chic wreaths.
I will use the left over branches to make stars and hearts for Christmas.
In September I am part of the Shabby Chic market and they will look great on my stall.

The vineyard were I worked and one of the bottle of wines from the vineyard

Just before the thinning of the vines.