Jammin', no stitching and studying!

Oh dear. It's been an absolute age since I last blogged. Following Heather's comment earlier on my last post over a year ago, I thought it was time to pop in & say hi.

I've not stitched in ages for many reasons - a) I've had very limited free time and b) I've developed problems with my neck and shoulder as well as having RSI in my wrist and elbow. I've had two very painful flare ups of my neck/shoulder problem this year and had some physio which didn't help much. The doctor said it's just something I will have to put up with and I need to try and minimise the activities that are the cause, which unfortunately seems to be using the computer (not so good for work!) or stitching. I have picked up my stitching a few times, though can't work on it for the amount of hours that I used to and so over the last year have sold off about half of my stash as I know I'm never going to be able to stitch it all. When I get my stitching mojo back, I want to concentrate in short bursts on the pieces I really love rather than pieces I only like.

Heather, yes, I've been busy making lots of jams, jellies and chutneys again this autumn. My favourites so far are Spiced apple & cider jelly, quince jelly and caramelised red onion chutney. We also have several different fruit gins/vodkas on the go - blueberry, strawberry, raspberry, cherry and black/redcurrant. These need to be bottled up soon as they've been steeping for a few months so will be just in time for Christmas gifts. Earlier in the year I made marmalades and lemon curd too. We gave most of our home made goodies away last Christmas - this was most of what we made:

We made lots of different things last year - pickled onions, mulled pears, sloe gin, elderberry vinegar, jams, jellies, chutneys... but I guess the piece de resistence was 'Notella' - we attempted a version of Nutella made from foraged hazelnuts which we dubbed Notella! It saw off my 30 year old food processor in the process and was a lot of hard work for one jar of produce. This year we've concentrated on chutneys as I have grown my own veg in the garden and jellies. Last weekend we picked the last crop of quinces and cooking apples. The quinces need to be used quickly, though the apples will store for a few months.

We grew veg in the garden for the first time this year. I made the mistake of sowing 15 courgette plants and of course, all of them grew! I don't even like courgettes and didn't enjoy the resulting glut so gave lots away. We also had tomatoes, peppers, chillies, onions, squash, sweetcorn, beetroot, French beans and lettuces along with the fruit from the trees in the garden too. Lots of things to learn for next year and we need to work on feeding our crops as sadly some of the produce was very small indeed!

Other than my burgeoning farmer's market, my other big news is that I started studying part time on day release at uni 5 weeks ago, which is being supported by my employers. I have enrolled on the Personnel & Development MSc, which is a three year course. I've worked within HR for most of my working life, though without the industry's recognised qualification and now the time is right for me to fit this in with my life. It may only be 5 weeks in, but I'm enjoying it so far, despite having homework and two assignments to complete over the next few months. I'm dreading the exams at the end of May/beginning of June mind you...!

Hope everyone is ok out there. I promise not to leave it so long next time ;o)

Stitchy update

Hi everyone! Just dropped in for a little stitchy update. In the last few months I've worked a little on Snow Princess:
Look - she has a hand! I've also worked a little on Watergarden:

My time has been occupied with a new interest in foraging and preserve making. I am lucky enough to live close-by to areas that have wild fruit trees/bushes. So, we have been busy making jams, fresh fruit pies, cordials, pickled beetroot, pickled shallots, cheese, hazelnut nougat, Nutella (we call ours Notella).... quite a production line! This weekend we are making chilli oil, quince jelly and two types of chutney. We're planning to do little Christmas boxes of home-made preserves for friends and family, though we will probably manage to keep a few jars of goodies to see us through until next year ;o)

I'm enjoying my culinary adventures so much, I'm considering starting a foody blog... watch this space!

More progress on The Guardian

Yes, I'm still around, honest! Just not been in a blogging frame of mind.

I've made a little more progress on The Guardian, though I have to admit that I've not stitched on this one for at least a month. Snow Princess went back on the Q-Snaps a couple of weeks ago, but it's very slow progress indeed. Never mind - Wimbledon is just around the corner and I'm very excited to be going up to Centre Court on Monday where we are in the 3rd row, right behind where the players & umpire sits... at least I think we are! Either that, or we're opposite them. We shall see. Happy stitching everyone :o)

The Guardian update

As promised, here is an up to date photo of my progress on The Guardian:

Isn't he looking magnificent! I'm working on his chest area at the moment and then most of the rest is half stitch. I'm stitching this for Dad to accompany his African Lions I stitched a few years ago, but I think he could be waiting a while yet....! Happy stitching folks :o)

Hello!

It's been, er, a bit of a long time hasn't it! Sorry folks - busy life both at work and also at home. Happy Christmas, Happy New Year and Happy February!!!

All is still going well with Mr X. He has been my absolute knight in shining armour by trekking on foot into town when we had all that snow (a 20 min walk either way on a good day) to get groceries for not only me, but my two neighbours as well. He has also climbed into my loft space to set mouse traps and then removed what was caught (euch - one of the down sides of living in the countryside!). He has equipped me with his snow boots so that I could walk without falling over in the snow and when I did manage to slip over on some evil ice, landing on my elbow he looked after me. He has repaired everything in my little flat that has broken or not been working properly, and in my car too. He even narrowly missed being flung through a full length window at dad's a couple of weeks ago by the heavy wardrobe he was trying to move down the stairs on his own. The wardrobe decided it wanted to fall on its side & speed down the stairs. Thankfully Mr X is very quick on his feet and although he caught the full brunt of the wardrobe, he managed to move quick enough to stay upright and towards the window frame, avoiding the window. I asked him the next day if I was worth all the hassle, all the ups and downs (literally!) and without a second's thought he said yes. Awwww :o))) This is us on New Year's Eve. I think he looks very cheeky in this one!

I've also lost a stone in weight since we met, which can only be a good thing. We've discovered we both like walking in the countryside so I've now got a fine pair of walking boots & when life isn't quite so busy, we hope to get lots of walking in. Lots of exercise and I'm sure another stone will drop off before too long ;o)

There has even been a bit of stitching going on! I've been working on The Guardian and will share my progress soon. Happy stitching everyone!

Drum roll please.....

I guess I should share a couple of photos of me with my wonderful man. I don't want to parade him in the, er... limelight though, so he shall henceforth be known as 'Mr X' - there is an X in his name somewhere, so I thought it appropriate ;o)

This was us (and a windmill!) just a couple of weeks after we met. He's doing his best Indiana Jones impression I think.

And this was us last night at a Christmas classical concert - an annual charity event at church by the King's Chamber Orchestra. It was magical, romantic and we both enjoyed it thoroughly! Mr X looked very smart in his suit, but is also sporting a beanie hat due to shaving all his hair off!! Not really the right time of year for such a dramatic new hair style, so we have to make sure his head keeps warm and snug :o)

We went to visit Dad at the home on Saturday & he told me that the staff have asked him to be Father Christmas for the residents Christmas party! He has got lots of very white hair and a large tummy, so I think he could be a very good choice indeed. As I can't get to the Christmas party at the home myself, I'm hoping they will be able to send me lots of photos afterwards.

Still no stitching being done I'm afraid. I'm hoping that I will get an evening to myself before long so I can sit, stitch and totally relax. I have many more Christmas cards to write out first though.... Happy stitching everyone! :o)

Sssshhhh!

It's all been quiet on the blog front recently I'm afraid. There has been zero amount of stitching going on as life is pretty hectic at the moment. We're spending every Saturday at Dad's house, trying to sort through 4 decades of rubbish and junk and it's taking much longer than first expected. I'm hoping to be finished by Christmas and then will get the house onto the market first thing in the new year. It's proving to be very emotional, as expected, but my wonderful man has been through my side throughout, helping me every step of the way. How fab is that?!!

Yes, the romance is still going very well indeed. I'm extremely happy and even my brother in law, when we went to my sister's for dinner last night said he was a nice young man and that he was a good catch!! We are looking forward to spending our first Christmas together and plan to go fossil hunting on Boxing day. Yes, fossil hunting!! I couldn't have hoped for anyone better to spend my days with really :o)

Wow!

I have a few things to say wow about at the moment.....

Firstly wow - what wonderful friends I have in cyber space. Thank you all for such lovely comments on my Titania finish and also your comments regarding the difficult situation with Dad and the sale of the house.

Secondly wow - what wonderful family I have. They have been so supportive and especially this year. They are going to be helping me next weekend to do a mass sort of the house and I'm very thankful for them.

Thirdly WOW - it's a fantastic wow indeed. There's a new man in my life :o)))))) It's not been long, but he makes me so happy and as a result, I'm a very lucky girl indeed.

Have a great weekend folks! xx

Titania - finished at long last!

Finished! I'm very pleased with how she's turned out. I put the final stitch in on 30th September. My only finish so far this year! She was stitched on SMF's Winter Meadow Belfast linen, skin stitched over 1. I also used metallic pink and silver beads to go with the wing conversion. Somehow I have another 8 WIPs on the go and all of them are BAPs, so not sure that I'll be able to finish anything else this year.

Dad is now quite settled in the nursing home. We had a review last week & it looks as if he will be staying on a permanent basis. The next step is to continue clearing and then sell the house which will be very hard. I'm going through a tough time emotionally at the moment, which is why I'm not blogging much right now - haven't got the heart to really. But I'm getting a bit of stitching in each day now though - little and often and I WILL see off those other WIPs eventually! Happy stitches everyone xx

Just one more wing.....

.... and the beads, and a bit of backstitching, but I finally feel that I'm on the home straight with Titania:


Apologies for the fabric creases! I'm hoping to have a finish by the next time I post.

Dad is a bit more settled in the home, but doesn't seem overtly happy. He knows that he can't go home as his mobility problems mean he can hardly walk from the bed to the chair some days. He is looking much healthier than he has done for a long time though and I think this is down to them feeding him the right diet and the correct amount of fluid on his daily fluid restriction (due to dialysis).

Short and sweet today folks - sorry I've not been able to get round to many blogs recently, hopefully I'll have a bit more time to do that very soon. Happy stitching! :o)