Never Run With Scissors

Jammin', no stitching and studying!

2011-10-24T21:21:00.005+01:00

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

2010-09-23T21:24:00.005+01:00

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

2010-06-16T13:31:00.004+01:00

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

2010-02-14T21:35:00.002Z

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!

2010-02-01T18:58:00.003Z

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.....

2009-12-14T13:16:00.004Z

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!

2009-12-06T22:25:00.002Z

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!

2009-10-30T17:57:00.002Z

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!

2009-10-06T22:26:00.004+01:00

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.....

2009-09-06T12:24:00.004+01:00

.... 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)

Winging it!

2009-08-15T08:10:00.006+01:00

Hoorah - I have finally finished Titania's first wing:

I hope she doesn't start to fly as she'll be going round in circles! I love the delicate look of the wings and am pleased with how my conversion's come out so far. I started to add one of the ribbons next to her knee as I'm a bit silvered out for a while! So many other things are calling me at the moment, but if I put her down now, she may not see the light of day again for a while. I managed only three finishes last year and so far this year I have NONE! I have no small projects at all amongst my WIPs, so will have to keep on stitching to get at least one finish...

Thank you for all your kind comments and hugs. Dad finally moved to the nursing home this week after being in hospital for nearly 5 months. I visited him on Wednesday and he wasn't quite sure if he liked it, but I know it'll take a while for him to settle in properly. I've got a nice new flatscreen tv/dvd/freeview combo to take over to him today that we chose for him. He's got a tiny tv provided by the home, but can only receive terrestrial channels on it, so now he'll be able to watch all his favourite programmes and dvds too.

Hope everyone has a happy stitchy weekend! :o)

Silver wings

2009-07-28T18:40:00.005+01:00

I've been stitching Titania's long anticipated silver wings. I've had lots of frogs where the colour or type of thread hasn't been right, but I've finally found what I think I'm happy with (which is a mixture of Petite Treasure Braid, Kreinik and Anchor Lame thread!) and the wings are entirely stitched in metallics:

The effect is very subtle, but definitely silver! They will look more defined once the backstitch has been done. There are infact 7 shades of silver, which isn't very apparent, but I know they are all there. Here is a photo of the whole piece:

Both photos seem to have come out with quite a bluish tint. The fabric is greener IRL.

Life is pretty tough at the moment, which is why I'm not blogging much and have not commented on many other blogs - I do keep updated though through Google Reader which is the best blog tool ever! It's all pretty complicated, but Dad has to go into a nursing home and the arguing about funding has been going on and on for many weeks now. I think we've finally found somewhere for him and they're assessing whether or not they can cater for his needs at the moment. It means that I have to sell his house, which was my home all my life until 4 years ago and the house that Dad wanted me to inherit. That will be especially hard for me as so many memories are tied up with that house, including many of my long passed on and much missed Mum. There's so much sorting and things to do and I'm especially thankful for my sister in law Sally, who has been supportive in so many ways. I'm relishing my stitching at the moment, which helps me to escape and unwind for a while. Keep on stitching folks - I'm enjoying all of your beautiful projects.

Feeling fruity!

2009-07-01T16:28:00.015+01:00

I'm astonished at the abundant amount of fruit in my garden. I remember my landlady mentioning before she went back to Madagascar that I would be inundated with apples and that there were pears, rhubarb and blackberries, but I've also found wild strawberries, raspberries, blackcurrants, gooseberries, artichokes and potatoes! I'm also growing tomatoes, peppers and aubergines in the greenhouse and the tomato vines have little green babies that have just appeared so I'm very excited about those too!

I'm not a lover of goosegogs as we like to call them, so my sister relieved me of a huge tub of them this morning, but I'm going to pick some raspberries later to go with some strawberries I already have in my fridge.

The cooking apple tree is absolutely smothered with delicious looking fruit and I can't wait for the blackberries to

ripen so I can make my favourite pud - apple and blackberry crumble. ;o)

I've been avidly watching Andy Murray's progress through Wimbledon and he has just this very second beaten Ferrera in the quarter finals, so is on his way to the semi's! I went up yesterday to see the ladies quarter finals on Centre Court and we were very thankful that we had shady seats as the temperature was unbearably hot yesterday.

I always go with my SIL who has been going for many many years and is very adept at spotting tennis players and famous faces, well I managed to spot one of my own yesterday - Ainsley Harriott was sitting 5 rows in front of me. I did toy with the idea of giving him the contents of my picnic bag and asking what he could do with it in 20 minutes, but decided to resist that particular urge!! For those readers outside the UK, Ainsley is a celebrity chef/presenter on Ready Steady Cook. I couldn't get a photo of his face, but did get the back of his (very shiny) head!

Time for strawberries, cream and a drop of Pimms

2009-06-25T11:07:00.005+01:00

Yes, Wimbledon is here once more and I'm enjoying a couple of weeks away from work. I'm going up on Tuesday with Sally, my SIL, to Centre Court. Our seats are right at the back, but at least we'll be in the shade and we will still have a great view. We always take a picnic with us and I always try and pack in something extra special, so I'll be scouring Sainsburys on Monday for something nice.

Dad has been in the rehab centre at the hospital now for a few weeks and it is simply awful. I'm sure it's made his level of confusion worse and even the move itself hasn't helped matters. They put him to bed at 7.30pm and for a man who has problems sleeping, this isn't good. It has been agreed that Dad needs to go for some care for a while. Initially we thought it would be residential, but at the meeting we had to discuss his case, they thought nursing care would probably be better. There's a chance if it's nursing care, that he will get full funding. Otherwise, I will have to sell his house (and my home for 35 years) to meet the costs if it turns into a long term placement. I'm really not sure whether or not he will ever be well enough to go home, but all we can do is hope and pray. I'm still waiting to hear about the funding and as soon as I know, we will be able to view places that have vacancies.

I've been doing some stitching and have actually been working on a Mirabilia! I really reached burnout a couple of years ago with my Miras and haven't really wanted to pick any of them up for a long time. But I had an urge to work to Titania and here's what I've been doing:

I've stitched most of the coral sash and have just started the bottom part of the dress. You may remember that I wanted to stitch her with silver wings and have been looking at silver metallics that might be suitable for this. I noticed that someone else recently stitched a purple Titania with silver wings, however, those wings had some blue in and I wanted purely silver. I'm not sure whether using purely metallics will be a little overpowering or not, so I'm playing with a few ideas at the moment. The fabric looks a little bluer than IRL. It's SMF's Winter Meadow Belfast linen.

I've also been doing a spot of baking and as it was my friend's birthday, yesterday I baked a Cherry Bakewell cake:

And delicious it was too! I got the recipe from Rosie's blog - Baking Cakes Galore, which has lots of mouth watering recipes on offer. Happy stitching everyone!

Wildlife

2009-06-07T17:59:00.006+01:00

Yes, I caved and let Catkin outside after a week and since then we've had a live baby rabbit (who was very cute!), who Catkin dropped and then it hopped into my trainer to hide! I took it back outside in my trainer and released it again. Then yesterday and today, we have had shrews. Yesterdays didn't survive and the one today doesn't look too healthy, but I guess it's to be expected living in the countryside and keeping a cat.

Dad is still in hospital. He's now not going to the rehab centre, but is going to a rehab unit at another hospital, which is closer to his house. They're just waiting for a bed to become available, so hopefully it won't be too long now. I saw him yesterday and he seemed quite well.

Not any stitching to share, but I will share a few piccies. These are some gorgeous flowers my DB and SIL bought over last week, when we had a lovely walk out in the sunny weather and then they came back for some delicious homemade fishcakes!

This was the view we had on our lovely walk into town - I honestly believe there's no better walk into town anywhere else!

And this is one of the pretty poppies growing in my garden - I love them and have never seen any like it before.

Happy stitching everyone!

Thank you

2009-05-25T15:25:00.009+01:00

Thank you so very much for all your lovely, caring messages. We truly have a fantastic support network of stitchers in cyberspace.

I’m still feeling sad about Bobbi, but I now have my other gorgeous girl Catkin here with me. Dad is still in hospital and it’s been agreed that he’s going to go into a residential rehabilitation centre for several weeks, so I didn’t think it fair on Catkin to be left alone, with just the neighbour popping in to feed her twice a day. She’s a people cat and would get very lonely, so I have bought her back with me. I’m going to try and keep her in for two weeks and then only let her out when she’s hungry. I’m right in the middle of the countryside, so it wouldn’t take much for her to get herself lost! We’re on day 2 of incarceration and she’s already tried to escape through the inch gap I left with the top window open for ventilation! She seems to have made herself very much at home already though and the area is a wonderful place for a cat to explore.... I just hope she doesn’t try and catch too many rabbits or birds :o(

Dad is going to receive intense physiotherapy in the rehab centre and the occupational therapists will also work with him so that he can regain some mobility. The idea is to encourage and support him to be able to do more for himself, so that he is less worried about returning home as he will be able to look after himself more. We’re meeting at the hospital tomorrow to discuss when and how it will happen. Andy and I went over to look at the place on Saturday and I was pleasantly surprised. Very clean, nice accommodation with very friendly staff. There’s also a large lounge/diner with an enormous TV which I know Dad will like very much! There’s only a dozen residents of the rehab centre which seems to indicate they receive plenty of care and attention. I’m sure that it’s going to be a really good experience for Dad and I hope that he will be able to return home afterwards.

I have been doing a little stitching, so will share some piccies with you. Firstly The Guardian:

I've also been working on Taj:

And here's how the whole thing looks right now:

I'm hoping to finish my first Taj side soon! Happy stitching everyone :o)

2009-05-16T17:50:00.003+01:00

Hi everyone. Life has not been good recently in any shape or form, so I’m afraid this isn’t going to be a particularly happy post and I apologise now.

Dad had a nasty fall at home at the end of March. He fell and hit his head on the wall, losing a lot of blood (which I had to try scrubbing out of the carpet for days without success) and ending up with a 3” cut at the back of his head, requiring stitches. Thankfully the neighbour popped in to see him and found him sitting on the sofa with blood pouring out of his head. Had he not come in to see Dad that evening, I really think he could have bled to death. He had amnesia and has had memory problems ever since. He was in hospital for 3 weeks and for the last few days was in a ward where he received appalling treatment (my subsequent complaint is currently being investigated) and so he discharged himself. He now receives care 3 times a day and the district nurses also come in daily to monitor his blood sugar levels. But here we are 3 weeks later and he is back in hospital. He’s had a really nasty bout of gastroenteritis and the doctors have been very worried about him, but today they seem to think he’s on the mend and should be home within a few days. Work have been very understanding and I’ve been able to take a few days leave when I’ve needed to. I’m also now working flexi hours, enabling me to have every other Friday off, so I can go and visit Dad weekly, rather than every other week. It’s been a very worrying time and Dad is far from well. His brother, who had similar health problems, passed away a few days after Dad went into hospital, two weeks after I’d taken Dad to see him – they hadn’t seen each other for nearly 20 years. Needless to say, we’re very glad that we went when we did. He went rapidly downhill in the last few days, poor thing, as he’d seemed in reasonably good health when we saw him. I also lost a good friend I'd met at my last job around the same time, who was terminally ill with cancer. She’d fought a brave battle and was a fighter right until the end.

It’s also not been a good time for kitties. Joy – the cat I’ve been looking after at my accommodation – was blind in one eye and last week, it suddenly went from being gungy one day to very sore and bleeding the next. Poor thing had an eye tumour. I contacted her ‘mum’, Becky, who is studying at uni, and she returned home and took her to the vet. She was 18 and it was likely that the tumour had spread to the area behind her eye, so Becky made the brave decision to have her put to sleep. The same week, my sister had to have her cat Bertie put to sleep as she had suddenly developed a large mass inside her.

Then today, I had to say goodbye to my beautiful baby girl, Bobbi. She’d not been eating and was drinking lots of water. She was skin and bones, poor thing, which happened very very quickly. So I made the best, but difficult decision to have her put to sleep. I feel so sad. I knew her from when she was a week old. She sat in the palm of my hand and mewed at me, before her eyes were even open, her beautiful golden eyes. She loved sitting in the garden in the sun and in the wintertime, loved to be curled up next to the fire. When she was happy and contented she would purr deeply, curl her tail around her legs and suck the end till it was soggy, like a child sucks its thumb for comfort. I will never forget her.

A lovely afternoon

2009-03-15T19:02:00.006Z

It's been a beautiful day here in England today, well, down in the south anyway! I've had a house warming shared lunch with most of my immediate family today - 2 of my sisters, their children / husbands / wives / partners. 14 of us squeezed into my little house, but thankfully I also share the garden and am able to use the large conservatory at the back of the cottage. It was lovely to share lunch together - everyone contributed something and I was busy baking lemon & lime cupcakes at 10pm last night in preparation...

Then my niece Ellie (you can tell we like baking!) made a beautiful 'Country Cake' decorated with cows, sheep and flowers! She is such a clever girl. I love all the little details, the fence, the flower stems, everything! :o) It tasted pretty good too. We polished off most of the food, but there's still a little cake left over which I may take into work with me tomorrow.

I seem to have lost my stitchy vibe at the moment. It could be that I can't see the tv from my only armchair in my little house (I like to stitch and semi-watch films). I can't site the tv anywhere else and don't think I can move the chair anywhere close by. I can see the tv from my bed, so may stitch temporarily sitting on my bed for now. In the summer I'm looking forward to sitting in the conservatory and stitching there. I have an urge to pick up my neglected Taj Mahal WIP at the mo.... Have a great week folks!

A long hiatus

2009-03-07T08:01:00.007Z

Yes, it's been longer than I can even think about since I last blogged. My life has taken another turn of events and I apologise now that this post may be a little long, a little rambly and there may even be a healthy smattering of photos!

I left my old job at the end of January and much as I was sad to say goodbye to the people, I wasn't sad to leave the company - it was definitely time to move on. I started my new job at the hospital on the first day that the UK was covered by its worst snow in 20 years! I think it took me nearly 2hrs to get to work for my induction and they were very kind to us and let us go by about 2.30 in the afternoon. I've been there for 5 weeks now and am working with a great team - the other HR Advisors are all very experienced and have much knowledge between them. I'm sure I'm going to learn lots from working alongside them. I've been involved with a few of their cases and eventually I will have casework of my own. I think I'm going to like it :o)

About 3 or 4 weeks ago, my sister, who works as an administrator in our church office, emailed me at work to tell me about some accommodation that was going to be advertised in the weekly church bulletin and that she thought it might be suitable for me. It was a little further from work than I had wanted, but looked nice from the photos my sister sent and she arranged for us to go and see it that evening. It's an unusual setup, to say the least. The owner, Mary and her husband, spend most of the year out in Madagascar, working for a Christian organisation and are abroad for 4-6 months at a time. They own a big cottage in the Sussex countryside, in a very quiet and peaceful village. Mary's husband (a builder) has extensively renovated the cottage in the 20yrs they have been there. Next to the cottage is a large building, which was originally some outhouses and a few years ago, they totally renovated them into a studio house for their daughter to live in, who subsequently went off to uni 200 miles away and decided she didn't want to live in it. They then began letting it to help pay the bills whilst they were out in Madagascar. The deal is that all bills are included in the very reasonable rent and the tenant also feeds their elderly cat - Joy. Joy is 18, going blind and deaf and is very sweet. The tenant also needs to make the main cottage look lived in - turning lights on & off etc. I went to view it and fell in love with the place, so just a few days ago, I moved in and here I am!

This (l) is the studio (the taller part at the front is a garage) and the strange black stuff on the ground is covering vegetable patches. There are many fruit trees in the garden (which I also get to use) and I can help myself to as many fruit and vegetables as I like!

(r) An inside main view. There's also a separate bathroom and LOTS of storage areas, even for all my stitching stash! The pink and blue throw on the chair is made by the villagers Mary teaches crafts to in Madagascar.

So at long last, I have a beautiful little home of my own. It's early days yet and I'm still settling in, but I'm looking forward to being here all through the lovely summer days coming up.

There has been a smidgeon of stitching going on, but hopefully when I'm more settled, there will be much more! I finished another page on Snow Princess & the Polar Bear:

and there's even been a tiny bit of progress on Midnight Hunting (I finished off the lower part of his wing):

That's it for the moment I think! I will attempt to catch up with blogs over the next few days and my apologies if I haven't visited yours in a while. Have a great weekend folks!

New wheels

2009-01-21T17:16:00.006Z

Yay! I finally picked up my new wheels and took them out for a spin today. I didn't get very far as the garage had put probably around a cup of petrol (gas) in the car, so it promptly ground to a hault, nowhere near a petrol station, but thankfully my good friend was off work today and drove over to pick me up and took me to get some petrol. Thank goodness for friends!

Welcome to the new look blog by the way - hope that it is as clear to read as the old layout, I just fancied brightening it up a bit :o)

I'm spending a few days at Dad's as he had a cataract operation on Monday. All has gone well and I'm trying to teach him how to administer his eye drops, which is no easy task at all.... he seems to have managed to swallow (yes, swallow!) more than he's got in his eye so far!

I've nearly finished the page of Snow Princess I've been working on, so won't add any photos until I've got there. I can't not add any photos at all though, so let's see what I can find.... here's a pic of two of my sister's cats Bertie (l) and Kitten (r). Kitten is Bertie's mother, though is absolutely tiny. They both seem to like sleeping on my bed and snuggle up together, washing each other and helping me on my laptop ;o)

Frrrrrrosty!

2009-01-16T19:07:00.006Z

It's been a bit nippy down here lately and last Saturday there was such a lovely layer of frost in the garden, that I took a few photos.

Everything looked so pretty as if it had been covered in icing sugar! It's been a bit milder this week but it's gonna rain pretty soon I think.

Thank you all for your lovely messages following my car accident. Would love to hug you all! My bruises are healing nicely now (had some nasty black ones for a while). I managed to find a little runaround car on Weds to get me mobile again and I pick it up next week after they've finished servicing it for me. I've been relying on friends, family and the bus to get about. I don't like travelling by bus as it makes me feel quite ill, but it's been very efficient in getting me to and from work.

I've also resigned from my old job. I leave in 2 weeks time on 30th Jan and start my new one straight after, on 2nd Feb. They asked me to start then as there's an induction scheduled for that day and half of the next, so it'll be good to get the induction done and out of the way and then crack on with the new job.

It was my sister's birthday yesterday, so we all went out for a delicious Italian meal last night on my BIL. I had tagliatelle with salmon which I really enjoyed and even managed to squeeze in some Italian ice cream for dessert. Have a good weekend folks ;o)

Happy new year!

2009-01-04T07:51:00.003Z

Happy new year everyone! Hope you all had a great Christmas and wish you all the very best for 2009. I've not updated my blog for a while, as I've had lots of things going on...

I haven't got the new year off to a very good start. Yesterday I crashed my car into the back of another. I was driving reasonably fast at the time - there was a truck on the side of the road, obscuring a short traffic queue in front of it, caused by someone who had stopped to let horses cross the road. As I came past the truck I only had a few seconds to try and stop the car but still went into the back of the other car with some force. Somehow, miraculously, I walked away from the accident with nothing more than shock, a small cut on my knee and lots of bruises. I'm still pretty sore, but had it not been for my airbag, I think it could have been so much worse. Unfortunately my car was so badly damaged at the front that it's been written off :o( The other car was a Volvo and hardly had a scratch and the 2 passengers were absolutely fine. It's really strange - I can't remember the actual impact, but can remember the few seconds before very clearly. It is starting to feel a bit surreal now, as if it were a dream, but my bruises are very real!

I had a quiet but nice Christmas. Lots of time spent with various members of my family and we also all went out on the 27th Dec to celebrate Dad's 76th birthday. Somehow the restaurant managed to pull enough tables together to sit all 18 of us and Dad had a really enjoyable day.

I mentioned my impending redundancy in my last post. Well, the good news is that I have been offered a new job at a local hospital as Assistant HR Advisor with much better salary than I had hoped for! It's a conditional offer though and it can't be confirmed until my references, health clearance and CRB check have all come back, so in the meantime I'm working part-time in my old job, probably until the end of January. The job sounds very suited to my skills and my new manager seems lovely. I can't wait to get started and wish the paperwork would be sorted out sooner!

Snow Princess has been back on the Q-Snaps during the last few weeks and this is my most recent progress:

A little close-up too of the area I've been working on. I've nearly finished page 12 now and am looking forward to starting page 11 which has some of the princess's robe on. I've been stitching this for so many years now - I'd love to get a nice substantial chunk completed this year. My stitching resolutions for this year? Stitch long and prosper sums it up for me I think ;o)

A quick update

2008-11-09T20:14:00.003Z

Life is very hectic right now, mainly due to work. I found out earlier this week that I'm going to be made redundant as the HR teams in all the stores across the company are being restructured. There is going to be a tiny amount of HR admin hours in each store (13 in my main store), which I just can't survive on. Most duties are going to be covered by the managers and by head office. My kind employers have timed it well, if all goes to timescale, I will be made redundant the week before Christmas. Nevertheless, I am going to enjoy Christmas and look forward to a new job somewhere in the new year. As you may recall, I was looking for a new job not so long ago, so already have my CV prepared and am registered with a couple of agencies, I just need to look in earnest now.

A little more progress on The Guardian to share also:

He's coming along slowly, but I'm still really enjoying stitching this one! Have a great week everyone :o)

Day out at Longleat

2008-10-12T20:12:00.012+01:00

Wow - what a day we had! The weather was beautiful and the animals were wonderful, except that is, for the evil monkeys..... Here are a few photos:

The giraffes were so sweet! I so wanted to stroke them, but we weren't able to get close enough.

The cute little tapir. We were rather amused at the signs that said the tapirs like to spray people, so we didn't hang around them for too long!

Oh how we regretted totally dismissing the Monkey Jungle warning sign.......

This is one of the evil monkeys that ripped off my roof trim, bent it into a boomerang shape and left it balanced procariously around my car aerial!! I was extremely stressed and wanted to leave the monkey enclosure but couldn't as there was quite a build up of traffic. I used to be quite phobic about monkeys but had got better when we went through the monkey area at Woburn last year. Those monkeys were quite sweet in comparison! Needless to say, my monkey phobia has returned!!

We got really close up to the camels, so much so that I thought this one was considering spitting at us!

I love the rhinos, although this one was moving closer and closer to the car which was a little unnerving. After we had passed, the traffic was momentarily stopped whilst the keepers used a bulldozer to move them back towards the fence!

Andy and I pictured in front of Longleat house. What an amazing looking house!

Here is the pathway leading through the Secret Garden. Where does that door lead I wonder....

Despite the monkey incident, we thoroughly enjoyed our day out. I've had such a lovely few days with special meals out, cakes, journeys, adventures etc.... it will be hard going back to work tomorrow I think! Have a good week everyone :o)

Birthday girl!

2008-10-09T09:36:00.005+01:00

Yes, it's that time of year when there is cake, lots of cards and maybe a gift or two.... Eeek! I'm feeling old. I'm not celebrating a BIG birthday, I've got a couple of years to go until the next big birthday, but the realisation of just how much time has elapsed and how things have changed in the last ten years or so has really sunk in lately. I've got a few nice days planned though (I could never let my birthday celebrations be concentrated into just one day after all!!)... I went out to lunch with my Dad yesterday to a lovely little pub - The Castle at Rowlands Castle in Hampshire. Today I'm off to my SILs and we're going to do some more family tree research before her, my DB and my nephews take me out for dinner this evening. Tomorrow Andy is coming over to pick me up and whisk me away to Wiltshire. We're staying overnight at Warminster before visiting Longleat Safari Park on Saturday. Then finally on Sunday, my dear niece Ellie, who is a cake decorator extraordinaire, is making me a special birthday cake and we're having a family tea at my DS's house with lots of family. The weather forecast is really good for the next few days, so let the celebrations begin! My boss gave me a special little cake when I was at work on Tuesday:

It arrived in its own little box as you can see! I shared it with my Dad when I went to see him yesterday. I loved the glittery icing!! Whilst I'm on the subject of work..... I have some good news to share. I have had a promotion, albeit a temporary one. The HR Manager at our Horsham branch has gone onto adoption leave for a year and I am going to be covering there for 2 days a week as a 'Relief HR Manager'! I will still be doing 3 days in my current branch in my existing role, so I'm sure it's going to be quite an exciting time. I was handed over to last week and it's my first day in Horsham on Monday, so I'm getting a little nervous now. Keep everything crossed for me please!!

Last but not least, a little more progress on The Guardian:

I'm working on the trees behind his head at the moment. It's all half stitch, some with 5 strands of thread which feels a little strange to stitch with. Thanks for everyones lovely comments on my progress updates so far - it seems like you love this project! Happy stitching everyone :o)

The Guardian progress

2008-09-25T11:39:00.002+01:00

As promised, here is my latest progress on The Guardian:

As you can see, progress is coming along, albeit very slowly at the moment. I'm just trying to establish new routines at the moment and I'm sure once I've fully settled in at my sister's, stitching will progress much more. Happy stitching folks! :o)

Davis Cup

2008-09-21T20:38:00.005+01:00

We had a lovely trip today up to Wimbledon, to see the Davis Cup tennis. Great Britain was playing against Austria, and although we won the first of the 2 matches today, we lost the second meaning we lost overal. We had an excellent day though and of course, I managed to get a few photos....

The first is of me and my nephew David - we all received these free inflatable sticks that you could bang together to make a really loud noise! Moi? Making a really loud noise? Surely not!!! The second is from the end of the first match which featured Andy Murray for Team GB, but I'm afraid I can't recall the name of the Austrian player. Being a nosey sort of person, we decided to have a wander after the tennis had finished to see if we could see some areas of the Wimbledon site that were cordoned off, so we tried peeking through the netting to get a glimpse of all the construction work from the installation of the Centre Court roof. There seemed to be lots of very large roof sections about the site. I can't wait to see the roof in action next year! :o)

Hoorah! Strictly Come Dancing is back!! What an autumnal tv treat :o) I wonder who will be voted out first.... aha, it's Phil Daniels! I thought Austin Healey was particularly good last night when he danced a waltz. I wonder how he'll fare with the Latin dances.

There's been a little stitching this week, but not a great deal. I will try to remember to take a photo of my progress on The Guardian to share with you as I now have my camera back!

There may be some good news on the job front, but I'm not going to mention details until it comes to fruition, so watch this space! Have a good week folks :o)

New abode

2008-09-14T20:15:00.005+01:00

I've just spent my first weekend in my new home, which has gone quite well. I was quite emotional on moving out day (Friday) as Andy has been a big part of my life for a long time and I think I'll find it hard for a while yet. My sister and I have "project health" under way though, as her daughter's wedding is in 2 months and we both want to get a bit fitter/lose weight before the big day! I'll keep you updated as to how we get on.

I've not got any photos to share as unfortunately my camera, along with a lot of other things are still at Andy's house. I've not had much time to stitch what with getting ready to move etc, but have done a bit more of The Guardian, so will share that next time (once I pick up my camera that is!).

My interview went really well (thanks for all your good wishes!), but unfortunately I wasn't successful. The job was quite specifically a recruitment post and the interviewer felt I was more of an HR generalist than specifically recruitment. He told me that it had been a very difficult decision as I'd been one of three excellent candidates, but I'd not been successful this time, however, he did say that there was a job coming up within the next few months which would suit my skills, so to keep watching the website. I'll definitely be keeping my eye on that one as the company sounds excellent and I'd love to work for them. I've also applied for a couple of other jobs through an agency but haven't heard anything just yet. I'm getting quite desperate to move on from my current job right now, but there are a couple more stones unturned which I'm planning to get a grip on very soon ;o)

Ouch!

2008-08-31T11:22:00.012+01:00

I'm very sore & a bit sunburnt today after our only summer's day this year yesterday. I went to Shoreham Air Show with Andy, his brother Rob and their mum Avril and we had a great day, but despite slapping on the factor 30 it was too late. I also realised later that the sun actually went through the thin top I was wearing & I got sunburnt underneath! We had a great day though, despite the soreness. Here's a few piccies I took:

Here is (l-r) Avril, Rob and Andy in their summer hats and shades! Behind them is the Catalina flying boat.

(Right) Rob and Andy in heated discussion about whether this plane was a Chipmunk or not...

(Left) The Wingwalkers do their stuff - rather them than me!!

(Right) The RAF parachutists descending from 10,000 ft in formation.

Phew - it was quite a day! There was a celebration of the Battle of Britain which had happened on that day in 1940, so there were a number of Spitfires, Hurricanes and a Lancaster in a re-enactment. The Shoreham Air Show always occurs on the last weekend in August every year and this is the 2nd time I've been - I went a few years ago on a truly blustery day when I sat and froze all day, so I guess I have witnessed 2 extremes of weather when I've been! Unfortunately, for the people going today, we've had storms and lots of rain this morning - how strange that the weather changes so much from one day to the other. An ideal day to stay home and do some stitching... talking of which, here is my latest progress on The Guardian:

Not much progress this week unfortunately as things are quite hectic at the moment. After 3 years I'm moving out of Andy's house and moving in with my sister, who lives about 12 miles away. I'll be really sad to leave Andy's but the time is right to move on now. I'm busy packing and will be moving in about 2 weeks time. I'm really looking forward to moving in with my sister though - we used to work together and I don't see so much of her now we have different jobs. She also has a lovely dog and 3 cats, so it'll be nice to live in a house with some animals again. It also looks like I might be changing jobs soon. I need to earn a bit more and now I have my qualification from all that studying at college this last year, I should be able to get a job with much better pay. I have an interview on Wednesday, so I'll let you know how it goes! Happy stitching everyone :o)

All the better to hear you with....

2008-08-24T08:41:00.006+01:00

I thought I'd update you with my progress on The Guardian as we have some wolfish ears starting to appear:

Isn't he lovely? I just can't put him down at the moment! I must say thank you all for so many lovely comments on my progress - there seems to be a fair few stitchers who are also wolf fans out there.

It's bank holiday weekend here in the UK and typically the weather this morning is pretty dismal. It's meant to be clearing up a bit later and they've promised that the sun will be out. I'll believe it when I see it! I haven't felt very well for the last couple of days but am feeling a bit brighter today. I'm hoping that the weather will be nice tomorrow so that I'll be able to venture out in the sunshine somewhere. Happy stitching folks! :o)

A wolfish new start

2008-08-16T10:06:00.008+01:00

I've been working on this for a couple of weeks now so I thought I'd share my progress. It's my new Dimensions Gold project 'The Guardian' which I'm stitching for my Dad as a companion to 'African Lions' which I stitched a few years ago for him. Here's what it will look like (hopefully!) when it's finished:

I didn't even notice the second wolf in the bottom right of the picture when I first got the kit!! The trees are mainly half stitch so I'm hoping that this one won't take too long....

Here's what I've managed so far anyway:

Hasn't he got a handsome face? I just love those eyes!! Although the entire design area is stitched, I'm using a hand dyed fabric as with so much half stitch, the colour of the fabric will show through and enhance the design (I hope). I'm using SMF's Snickerdoodles Belfast linen. I've got a lovely relaxing weekend coming up - nothing but stitching and watching the Olympics! I am hoping to get a nice chunk done and get up to his ears by the end of the weekend. Have a great weekend folks & I send you all lots of stitchy vibes! :o)

My first TW finish

2008-08-03T14:59:00.004+01:00

Yes, after a mere 4.5 years off and on I have finally finished my Egyptian Sampler! I would have finished a week ago but there weren't enough beads in the kit - grrrrrr. How annoying! The colours in the border are really vibrant IRL but it's a very dull day and I've struggled to get a halfway decent piccie so this will do for now I guess. There are a few other TW's in my stash which I may get to, but not for a while. I have an urge to finish a couple of other WIPs that have been on the go for a while too.

I haven't got much news I'm afraid - I've been to the cinema a couple of times recently to see Hancock and The Dark Knight. Hancock was a little disappointing - it seemed as if it couldn't make up its mind as to whether it was a comedy or an action flick. The first half was great, but the second, not so good. The Dark Knight I really enjoyed - Heath Ledger definitely deserves an Oscar nod for his performance. I'm hoping to see the new Mummy film soon and also Mamma Mia which has been sold out every time I've been to the cinema, so I'm guessing it must be good!

I've been nominated for an award by Sally (Stitchyangel's Treasures) - thanks Sally! I've not received a nomination before and I'm really chuffed! If you haven't visited Sally's blog before, take a peek as her blog is always a great read and she has some beautiful WIPs on the go.

So the rules of the award go like this:

1. Put the logo on your blog;
2. Add a link to the person who awarded you
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs;
4. Add links to those blogs on yours;
5. Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs.

I will nominate: Kathy's Kreations, Karoline's Corner, Obsessed Dragon Stitcher, The Fireside Cat, A Joyous Place, Ginnie's Cross Stitch and So Much Stash - Sew Little Time. I've aimed to nominate people that haven't been nominated yet, so please take a few minutes to explore these blogs if you can. I'm getting the urge to stitch now, so enjoy the rest of the weekend folks! :o)

Wimblemania!

2008-07-09T12:37:00.006+01:00

Yes, Wimbledon is over for another year, but what amazing matches we had this year. Wasn't the men's final unbelievably good? Wow. It was really too close to call at the end. Luckily we've got some more tennis lined up to tide us over til next summer. We're off to see the Davis Cup against Austria (also being played at Wimbledon) in September and to see the Black Rock Masters at the Albert Hall in London in December. Of course, I have a few photos to share from our trip up on Sat 28th June...

Me with the truly hideous 'terracotta tennis warriors' on the newly built Court No.2! That's Rafael Nadal next to me, honest!!
A view of Centre Court from our seats which were in row Z near the back. Thankfully you get a good view no matter where you sit.

This is Jelena Jankovic who was practicing on one of the outer courts (Centre Court is the ivy covered building in the background). We saw her match a little later and she won that day.

Not much stitching news I'm afraid. I do have a little update of Snow Princess - my polar bear now has an ear so can hear what I'm saying about her!

I am very, very close to a big finish elsewhere though, so will post again once I've achieved it. Lots of stitchy wishes to you all :o)

Lots of updates!

2008-06-18T07:10:00.007+01:00

Yippeeeeeeee! Yes, my college course is finally over. I'm relieved to get my life back!! Whilst I was completing my assignments it felt as if the course was going on forever, but when we got to the end, it didn't seem that long since last September when we all first started. I got an overall pass, but of my 5 assignments, 3 were passes, 1 gained a distinction and 1 gained a merit, so I guess that's not too bad. I've been feeling a little strange on my days off since it finished and although I've been stitching, it feels like I should be doing something else!

Talking of stitching, I have a finish and an exciting update! First of all, after much longer than it should have taken, I can present 'This Heart of Mine' by Ink Circles:

It's taken nearly a year to finish, I started last July and finished on Friday 13th June. It's been my lunchbreak project at work and with so much going on at work, I've not always managed to get some stitching time in. It's stitched 2 over 2 using Polstitches 'African Sunset' on SMF 'Impressionism' Belfast linen, which looks a little bluish in the photo, but it's actually minty green and lilac/purple.

My update is for Snow Princess - I've finally finished the page with the polar bear's face on!

Isn't she lovely? :o) I've also removed (with some difficulty) the gridding threads from the areas I've stitched. Here is a close-up of the bear's face:

I've got holiday coming up for the next 2 weeks as it's Wimbledon once more, so I'm hoping to get lots of stitching done inbetween the games.....

Phew!

2008-05-16T18:33:00.002+01:00

I'm breathing a huge sigh of relief today as I submitted my main, huge college assignment yesterday which has been about 6 months in the making! I'm keeping absolutely everything crossed that it passes and doesn't get referred.

Both my college commitments and work are very stressful right now, so my apologies if I haven't had time to visit many blogs recently. I only have a few more weeks of college left now & am looking forward to getting a bit of my life back!! I have a practical training assignment next Friday, the following week we have to submit all our final paperwork and then we have 3 more weeks of classes. Work will probably get a little easier around the time that college finishes too, so I will be back on an even keel then I guess :o) It'll be nice not to feel guilty about doing a bit of stitching instead of doing college work......

New look!

2008-05-05T17:26:00.002+01:00

Happy May the 5th everyone! It's my beautiful God-daughter Catriona's first birthday today. Wow - hasn't one year flown by quickly! It seems impossible.

Not much to talk about really. I'm still ploughing through my college work. Just seven more weeks to go and it'll be over! That's if I can get all my assignments finished of course...

I thought the time was right to give my blog a bit of a makeover. What do you think? I've lost many links in my sidebar, but when I have time I plan to add a few in. Hope all those in the UK are enjoying the remains of a lovely bank holiday weekend. Happy stitching folks! :o)

Egyptian Sampler

2008-04-27T17:30:00.004+01:00

First of all, a little update. As I may have mentioned, I've been stitching Teresa Wentzler's Egyptian Sampler on & off for the last 4 years! Hence, for the last 6 months or so, it has become my project that lives at my Dad's, giving me a chance to stitch on it usually about once a week. I am determined to finish it this year... especially now as Dad has bought me a Dimensions Gold kit - The Guardian - which features wolves and he thinks it would look nice opposite the Dimensions Gold "African Lions" I stitched him a few years ago! I've promised him that I'll start it as soon as I finish ES. Anyway.... here is my progress as of yesterday:

Sorry, it's not a good piccie! It was getting late & I was in a bit of a rush. I've still got a fair amount of the border to do. The central part is nearly finished, I just have to finish off the twisted band which I started yesterday. I'm sure the end is in sight!

Andy & I have just returned from the garden centre, where we've managed to source some bee-friendly plants and also a bee nesting box! Bees are under threat and if nothing is done to help them, we could lose our busiest garden visitor. The nesting box is great - hopefully a queen bee will make it her home very soon & get busy nesting! It has a lifting lid and see-through window at the top, so if successful, I will try taking some photos.

On Friday I gave a presentation of one of my college projects to the rest of the class. Eeeeeekkk! I'm really not comfortable with the whole presentation thing, but I made it as humorous as possible and it seemed to go ok. I've got another 8 weeks left and then it'll all be over! Phew. Not that I'm counting the days or anything. I'm having a family & friends party on the Saturday after to celebrate finishing and I can't wait! By coincidence, Wimbledon fortnight follows and I have 2 weeks off to relax and enjoy it! ;o)

April update

2008-04-15T18:39:00.010+01:00

Sorry I've not blogged for a couple of weeks. Things at work have been very busy since my boss left and I've also been snowed under with work for college. However, I wanted to share a few piccies....

Firstly Tribal Butterfly, which has now been framed correctly:

I picked this up today and this is the second time I've had to pick it up from the framers! When I first collected it, the day before my boss was due to leave, I was too busy looking at the framing to notice anything. I took it home, prepared to take a photo of it and suddenly I noticed a strange looking thread running across the body of the butterfly. Then it dawned on me - they had framed the butterfly back to front! I was looking at the back of my work!!! :o( I had to explain to my boss why she wasn't going to receive her leaving gift on time & took it back to the shop. They weren't very apologetic, just remarked that it must've been because the back of my work is so neat & said they would get it re-framed for me. I finally got another call from them yesterday saying it was ready for collection. She even said that they'd had it since Friday, but had misplaced my number & had only found it yesterday! I am pleased with the end result, however, don't think I'll be going back there again in a hurry.

Thanks so much for all the lovely comments on Tribal Butterfly. I think Claire asked if it was a kit or chart. You can buy it as either. In my previous to last post (when it was a WIP) I put a link in to the designer 'Sparklies' where you can see it. There's also a gallery where you can see some other colourways that have been stitched.

I also thought I'd share a couple of snowy photos I took when we had our little April shower the weekend before last. Within about 2 hours of the snow starting to fall, the back garden looked like this:

And this is the street outside my house. Look at my poor little red car covered in snow over the other side of the road!

It didn't take long to melt away, but the next morning my windscreen was still covered in frozen snow! We don't get proper snow down here on the south coast very often, let alone in April, so it was a most unusual day indeed.

I've been stitching on Snow Princess, and my polar bear has a face! I need to stitch a bit of the blue around him to make him stand out a little more, so once that is done I will share a piccy. Happy stitches everyone!

Tribal Butterfly HD

2008-03-30T15:41:00.004+01:00

Yes! I'm proud to announce my first finish of 2008.....

I finished this just a few minutes ago & am so pleased with how it has turned out! My boss leaves on Saturday, so hopefully if the framing shop are on form, I should just be able to get it framed in time.

Yesterday Andy took me to the annual stitch show at Olympia, London and we had a great day. Funds are tight, so I wasn't able to have a splurge, but did manage to pick up a Daylight portable lamp at a bargain price. I've wanted a decent stitching lamp for ages and it seems perfect! I also picked up Cut-Through Noah's Ark which I have wanted for a while & the stitched model on display at the show helped persuade me as it has lots of sparkly threads in it! Being a magpie, I just couldn't resist! I also found some scissor sharpeners which will be very useful for all my scissors that have lost their 'snip'. There didn't seem to be as many stalls there as in previous years and I noticed that a couple of regulars that sell Miras and L&Ls weren't there this year. It was great to see lots of sparkly, colourful stitchy type things though.

I'm not sure what I'm going to pick up next.... perhaps a bit of Snow Princess? I'll have to see what is screaming at me the most!

A new start

2008-03-22T07:09:00.004Z

No Taj this week as I'm frantically stitching a leaving gift for my boss, who leaves on 5th April. I have a few days off so I should just have time to finish this as it's stitching up pretty quickly. This is my progress on 'Tribal Butterfly' by Sparklies:

I'm stitching this 1 over 1 using 4100 DMC Variations on Polstitches limited edition Turkish Delight Jobelan fabric. I love how the top right of the wing looks like an owl's face!! Sorry about the creases in the fabric...

I was meant to be up in Yorkshire this weekend visiting my best friend Sharon, but unfortunately my car has decided it doesn't want to go anywhere. So instead, as well as frantically stitching, I am going to spend the time researching my next (and final) college project. It's a biggie so I'm going to need all my concentration to bring it all together.

I'd also like to wish everyone who reads my blog a very Happy Easter! :o)

Taj progress

2008-03-13T10:13:00.003Z

Some more progress for you...

It's very exciting to get to my first Taj at last!

I've not felt good the last week or so. It started with a migraine last Thursday and then I thought I had flu on Friday. Yuck! I stayed at home all weekend to try and shake it off, but now seem to have some sort of chest infection that has lasted all week, so I'm off to see the doc tomorrow.

We have a college skills day tomorrow on 'presentation skills'! We have to pick any topic we like that we can talk for ten mins about, so I'm going to talk about cross stitch of course! The idea is that we learn our skills in the morning and we all do our presentations in the afternoon. Could be interesting! I think I will have to do a bit of show & tell with mine. ;o)

A bit of Taj

2008-03-06T08:22:00.003Z

Yes! I have a lake and a door and a bit of outline....

Such pretty silkies! I can't wait to see the first Taj come to life. Thank you all for such lovely comments - you ladies really do keep me motivated!

I have a college assignment due this evening after a few weeks off, oops, I mean 'reading weeks'! This time last week I was really thinking of giving it up, but somehow this week it really has all come together and I finished my assignment last night. As long as it passes and I don't get referred I will be very happy. All that's left now is the BIG work-based project which is double the size of the assignment I've just completed. It has to be submitted on 25th April and I also have to do a presentation of my project to the rest of my class. Eeeeeek!

I don't think I mentioned that I have been successful with the Wimbledon ticket ballot this year and I have got tickets for Centre Court for the middle Saturday! I'm so pleased as they usually do special events on Centre on the Saturday - they've had parades of champions in the past. It's something to look forward to for after my course anyway.

Have a great weekend folks & keep on stitching! :o)

Taj update

2008-02-28T11:52:00.006Z

Yes, it's that time of week once more! Here is this week's progress:

Yes, it's still on the Q-Snaps, but I won't be able to keep it like that for much longer! Once I've finished doing the Woven Scotch stitches around the border, I am looking forward to stitching the outer parts and the Taj's! :o)

College work is still taking up lots of time. My next written assignment is due in a week's time and I'm trying my best to pull all the parts together. I'm not so confident with this one...

I spent last weekend at my brother & sis-in-law's which was great. My SIL cooked some delicious dishes for us and it was nice to relax and switch off from college work for a while. I felt very spoilt indeed :o) Enjoy the weekend folks!

A teensy bit more progress...

2008-02-21T10:09:00.003Z

I haven't had much time to stitch this week as I need to do lots of college work at the moment:

I absolutely love stitching this project & will definitely be adding some more Chatelaines to my stash in the future when funds allow.

An amusing tale to share. Andy went shopping a couple of nights ago to the well-known food retailer just around the corner and who should he see perusing the cheese section, but Mr Norman Cook aka Fatboy Slim! He and his wife Zoe Ball live about 10 mins walk away and like to keep things local I guess ;o)

Taj Tuesday once more

2008-02-14T09:16:00.004Z

Here is this week's progress:

The fabric colour has come out slightly truer, although it still looks more blue than it does IRL. I love how Taj seems to change shape each week. I saw a programme the other evening where Monty Don (a British gardener) is going 'Around the World in 80 Gardens' and this week he was visiting the actual Taj Mahal garden! He spoke about an area behind the Taj Mahal which they have discovered was originally also part of the entire garden and the tomb itself was to have been the centrepiece of the garden. Most interesting indeed....

I was amazed and thrilled to have been one of the finalists in the Silkweaver Showcase 2007! My Crescent Dreams was there, along with two other CDs. Congratulations to all the winners. I loved the large category winner - the fabric that the stitcher chose for 'The Kiss' was absolutely beautiful.

Andy loved his framed Mabel & Bee by the way. Thank you for all your lovely comments!

Something other than Taj!

2008-02-07T08:46:00.000Z

I'm not feeling too well today so haven't gone to the tribunal. I'm hoping to go to the court in Brighton instead in my own time in the not too distant future, as I think it will be a fascinating process to watch.

So, I'm sharing with you instead a photo of someone that's just come back from the framers:

Yes, it's Mabel & Bee that I finished er...... nearly 2 years ago....! It's Andy's birthday this weekend and I got it framed for him as a surprise. It took much effort to find suitable mats for this one as many colours didn't look right or seemed too overpowering. The manager of the shop where I took Mabel spent a great deal of time with me, trying to find the right combination. Eventually we decided on a soft cream bottom mat and porcelain top mat, with a lovely blue/grey frame. I'm really pleased with it and can't wait for Andy to see it!

A bit more Taj

2008-02-06T07:01:00.001Z

Here is this week's progress:

I love stitching with the silkies - they're so soft and pretty!

I'm off to sit in on an employment tribunal in Croydon tomorrow with my college class. I'm looking forward to it - hopefully we'll get an interesting case....

Taj progress 29th Jan

2008-01-30T06:54:00.000Z

A bit of filling in this week.....

.....using some delicious 'Green Tea' Wildflowers and 'Lemon Lime' Dinky Dyes!

College news: I got a distinction last week for my Recruitment & Selection practical assignment - yay!! When I saw the 'D' written on the front, I honestly thought that the tutor had missed the stalk off of a 'P' (pass) and it wasn't until I read the grading details inside that I realised that I actually did have a distinction. Onwards and upwards with my 2 written assignments now. ;o)

Taj Tuesday

2008-01-23T07:06:00.000Z

The weeks seem to be flying by! Here is my latest Taj update:

I love the gorgeous colours of the silks in this! :o)

I've just heard about the death of the actor Heath Ledger on the news which is very sad. He was a great actor and had so much more to give. My thoughts and prayers are with his loved ones.

Snow Princess Page 14 HD

2008-01-20T09:41:00.001Z

As promised here is a Snow Princess update:

I finished page 14 last night and have finally got to the page with the polar bear's face on - yay!! I've got a lovely stitchy afternoon planned, so you know which part of the page I'll be doing first.... ;o)

A bit more Taj

2008-01-16T06:48:00.001Z

Yes, it was Tuesday Taj yesterday once again, so here's this week's progress:

Thank you all so much for your lovely comments - I really appreciate them :o)

Sally - the fabric I'm using for This Heart of Mine is SMF's Impressionism Belfast linen.

I haven't got any news to share really..... I will have to be concentrating on my college work quite intensely over the next few weeks, so I will probably just pop in for the odd update once a week with Taj. I may even have a Snow Princess update soon, watch this space...

More stitching

2008-01-09T20:29:00.000Z

Here's my progress from this week's Taj SAL:

I didn't get much stitching time in after work unfortunately. I really love working on this - the silkies are sooooo soft and lovely!

I've also been stitching on my Ink Circles WIP whilst at work during my lunch break. Here is 'This Heart of Mine':

I'm hoping to finish this quite soon. Things have quietened down somewhat at work, so I actually manage to fit in all my lunch breaks now! It also helps that my stitching mojo is back and I'm lovin' it ;o)

We're receiving our second written assignment at college tomorrow. I'm really not enjoying college which I think has alot to do with our tutor. I'm just going to hang in there & do the absolute best I can.

Taj SAL has started

2008-01-02T07:17:00.000Z

So every Tuesday we will be stitching Chatelaine's Taj Mahal Garden and I will probably bore you all rigid week by week with my progress.... ;o) Anyway, this is what I did yesterday:

I just cannot get an accurate scan or photo of the fabric, but it's a gorgeous purple IRL. The silkies are wonderful - such pretty colours. I am looking forward to Tuesdays now!

Stitchy progress

2007-12-30T10:31:00.001Z

Hello everyone - I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas. Mine was quiet, but in a nice way and I got a fair amount of stitching time in. Here's what I've been up to....

Some progress on TW's Egyptian Sampler which I've been working on for eons! I've stitched the left and top borders and stitched some of the details in the corners of the border. I was so sick of those colours by the time I finished the top border, I just couldn't face starting the final part on the right! It has been one of my new year's stitching resolutions to finish this for about the last 3 years, so I declare that 2008 is the year! I'm stitching much more frequently on it now that it's the project at my Dad's house, meaning I get to work on it weekly!

The other WIP that has been getting some attention is Titania:

2007 has been a real non-Mira year. I have 3 Mira WIPs and the only one I had picked up was Lady of the Mist which I started way back in Guilt-free January. I have fallen out of love with Miras a bit and wanted to stitch a few other projects this year. After I finished Tatty, I wanted to pick up something to work on during Dec and I noticed Titania fluttering her eyelashes at me from the WIP drawer. It was quite nice to work in large blocks of colour for a while and I do really love this one. Who knows, she may get another turn on the Q-Snaps before too much longer. ;o)

What are your stitching plans for 2008? I'm starting a Taj Mahal SAL with Gill and Kathy on 1st Jan. We will be stitching every Tuesday. Other than that, I want to stitch the 2nd row of Snow Princess and I have a couple of HAED QS's I'd like to stitch: Peridot by Meredith Dillman and Dragonfly by Jessica Galbreth. Both have such beautiful colours in. I did start Dragonfly in the summer & decided to try tent stitching using 2 strands on 32ct fabbie, but wasn't happy with the result, despite test stitching beforehand. I preferred my tent test stitching of 1 strand on 32ct but wasn't sure how well it would cover. I may try a higher count fabric using 1 strand and see how that turns out.

I'm looking forward to seeing lots more stitching from you all in 2008, so all that's left to say is have a very happy new year!

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-25T12:16:00.000Z

I'd just like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. I hope it's filled with lots of lovely surprises and stitchy treats :o)

I am spending Christmas with my Dad. Unfortunately he has to have dialysis today, so I'll be busy cooking at home and waiting for him to get back so we can tuck into our Christmas dinner. He's been very sweet and has bought me a laptop for Christmas, so I'm very excited about that (as you can imagine!). It's also his 75th birthday on the 28th, so we're busy arranging a surprise family gathering for him, which he really hasn't got a clue about! I can't wait to see his face ;o)

I'll be offline whilst I'm at my Dad's, but will be back and signing on with my new laptop and hopefully a couple of stitching pics once I'm home again. Have a very Happy Christmas everybody!

Ted HD

2007-11-30T17:33:00.000Z

Yay! He's finished!! :o)

I'm really pleased with Ted's new look. The backstitching was neverending though. He will be off to his temporary home next week with my boss. He's going to be a birthday gift next April, for my boss's partner's mum. I'm not sure which of my WIPs I want to work on next.... I may pick up my Dracolair draggie for a while as I've not worked on him since last Dec!

I've also done a floss toss for Taj:

The fabric is gorgeous - it's Amethyst from Lakeside Linens which is a glorious deep purple shade. I'm afraid it's not much of a floss toss as I didn't actually get the flossies out of their baggies... ;o)

We had our interviewing assignment at college last night and thankfully we all passed. The candidate my team interviewed was a bit of a waffler and it was quite difficult to keep her on track, but it seemed to go ok. Our tutor is giving us feedback next week. Well, that's 2 assignments down, 3 more to go. I say 2 down, but I still have some work to do on the interviewing assignment, as I have to write a 1000 word reflective statement about it now it's finished!

Anyone in the UK watching Strictly Come Dancing? I love it! Much as I wasn't a fan of Kelly Brook and Brendan Cole, I was sorry to hear that her father had passed away and as a result she had left the show. I'm really rooting for Alesha and Matt to be in the finals - both of them are great dancers and truly deserve to be there.

Have a great weekend everyone! :o)

Ted update

2007-11-26T09:37:00.000Z

Amongst all my recent college work, I've had a bit of time to work on my Tatty Ted WIP:

I love how he's turning out! The colours seem to look fine against all the others in the background. I've got a bit of time off this week, so I'm hoping to try and finish this one off. I'm dreading all the French knots though!

College is going well. I've been informed that for my first major written assignment I have not been 'referred', which means I've got a pass, merit or distinction. Phew! The tutor hasn't marked the ones that aren't refers yet, so I should find out my results in a couple of weeks time. This week we have an interviewing assignment. I spent last week devising a job description and person specification for a ficticious job. I'm in a team of 3 people and this week we have to interview a person our tutor has requested to come in. I've done interviews before, so I'm not nervous about it, although I suspect our candidate will be quite hard work - either so talkative we can't get a word in edgeways, or very, very quiet and hard to get information out of.

Well, it looks like Gill and Kathy are up for a Chatelaine Taj Mahal SAL in January. Anyone else want to join? Shall we stitch one day each week, or over a particular weekend each month? I'm happy to do either. I have some gorgeous rich purple fabric all ready to go. I'm looking forward to starting this one!

Looking a bit Tatty

2007-11-12T16:57:00.001Z

Or are they called 'From me to you bears' nowadays? I'm not really sure, but I've always thought of them as 'Tatty Teds'. Here is the progress on my commissioned project, which is a Tatty Ted design called 'Flower Pot':

The fabric is actually white, however, this was taken in artificial light, so it has made it look a bit grey. My WIP has no 'ted', no backstitching and no french knots (eeeeeek!) yet, although most of the cross stitching is done. The reason that I've left Ted until last is that my boss, (who commissioned this) wanted a traditional colour bear, i.e. sandy brown. I tossed my flosses and came up with suitable colours, but to be sure, I wanted to get most of the background done first, so I could see quite quickly whether the colours will clash or not. There is a huge amount of backstitch on this one, which I don't mind too much, it's more the french knots that I'm dreading! Here is what it will look like when complete (courtesy of Sew & So):

College work is progressing very slowly. I now have the main body of my assignment done, along with a PESTLE and SWOT analysis (don't ask!). I have still to do my introduction, conclusions and recommendations. 1:30pm this Friday is the deadline, so please send any supportive hugs you can muster this week - they would be so appreciated! ;o)

Help!

2007-11-11T12:21:00.000Z

I'm having problems trying to comment on blogs! Each time I click to comment and the comments window comes up, I repeatedly get the warning about displaying non-secure items, regardless if I click yes or no. It keeps reappearing every couple of seconds and I don't even get a chance to type anything! Is anyone else having this problem? Or does anyone know what I need to do to stop it? :o(

Progress

2007-11-07T20:30:00.000Z

A little bit more progress on my TW Egyptian Sampler:

I finished the Queen block and have started on the border at the bottom. I'm going to work my way around the border as much as possible.

I'm working on a commission at the moment for a friend, so will post a piccie when it is a bit more legible! It is a backstitch laden design, not my usual sort of thing, but it's not a huge piece so shouldn't take me too long.

College coursework is taking up alot of time right now & really bogging me down. There have been both tears and tantrums! We submitted our main project proposals last week & are now waiting to see whether they've been approved or not. Tomorrow we have to hand in our homework - we had to redesign a recruitment advertisement which is much more my sort of thing! Next week though we have to hand in our first written assignment which I'm dreading.....

Snow Princess top row finished!

2007-10-21T15:43:00.001+01:00

Yes, at long last, here is the entire top row of Snow Princess & the Polar Bear:

It's taken me 2.5 years to stitch 7 pages so far and I'm very excited about my achievement! I have now completed 32,000 stitches which is around 25% of the 127,200 stitches in total. I have moved down to page 14 and will stitch page 13 after that, which has the polar bear's face on. I can't wait to get to that part!! I have a small commissioned project I need to complete before I stitch anymore on this, so I'll have a break from my blues.

Thanks to all for your birthday wishes. I had a lovely day with my family, despite the weather being very wet indeed.

College workload is growing larger by the week, so I probably won't get a great deal of stitching or blogging time in for a while. I do try and read a few blogs when I get time though! I really do need around 36 hours a day most of the time.....

Day out at Woburn Safari Park

2007-10-08T21:06:00.000+01:00

First of all, my apologies for being a very sporadic blogger right now. We are at our busiest time of year at work and my college course is starting to become time-consuming. I don't get much time to browse blogs at the moment, but will probably catch up one day.....!

Andy and I had a wonderful day out yesterday at Woburn Safari Park in Bedfordshire for a pre-birthday treat (my birthday is tomorrow). You can see my Woburn photo album here. And here are a couple of my favourites:

We were up close to the Siberian tigers. Yes, that is my wing mirror in the picture!

I also got up close to the cute wallabies! I'm never satisfied unless I can actually touch a creature!!

The best moment of the day though, was driving through the monkey enclosure. Several cars around us had monkeys leaping onto them and then leaping off again and we were heading towards the way out, without having had any monkeys being even slightly tempted to jump onto my car. I suddenly heard a little noise, almost like a shreiking noise and I noticed at the foot of a tree next to my car was a baby monkey calling for its mum! It looked so tiny and lost and I felt really distraught that it seemed to be so lost and alone. Suddenly this little baby took a running leap and landed on the roof of my little car! All the cars around us stopped and people were all fixed on my car roof!! Although I have a sunroof, the baby monkey was sitting at the back of the roof, so we couldn't see him from inside. Although I did see a little monkey paw resting on the back window for a few moments! Baby monkey continued shreiking from the top of my car. I really wasn't sure whether I should start driving and hope that little monkey would jump off safely or not. Anyway, I decided to stay put and sure enough, little monkey's mum eventually came out of hiding. Mum and baby gave each other a hug and we continued on our way!

There were lots of other beautiful and amazing animals to see. I loved the bears! I'd seen a polar bear before, but these were North American black bears and soooooooo cute!!! There were also some darling little marmosets who looked very mischevious, running along the fence to their enclosure and staring at all the people in a curious, tilted head way! I was sure that if I'd stood there much longer remarking on how sweet they were, one would probably have jumped onto my shoulder for a ride! There were also some very naughty squirrel monkeys - one stole a chocolate bar from a little boy's pocket and ran up the nearest tree to eat it! We had a fabulous day, but then I love animals so it was just my sort of thing.

On my big day tomorrow I'm going out for lunch with my brother and SIL to a little village called Fittleworth in the north of West Sussex which should be good. I also went out for lunch with my Dad on Saturday. Eeeek... so many calories! Then at the weekend it is Catriona's christening, so I'm going up to Yorkshire for a long weekend to do my duty as Godmother. It's Sharon's birthday at the end of the month, so we have plans for a girlie night out (well, as girlie as you can get in her little village!!). I'll try to blog again soon! :o)

Snow Princess page 6 HD!

2007-09-17T20:04:00.000+01:00

As promised, here is Snow Princess with page 6 completed:

And here is a close-up of the section I've been working on:

As you can see, I've very nearly reached the end of the top row! Just 2.5 columns to go, so hopefully I'll be having another HD very soon.

College went really well. It was mainly an introduction, doing ice-breakers and a tour of the college, but we did have a presentation by the local branch CIPD secretary which was quite interesting. We have a full day in college this Friday for a skills day, so I'm sure we'll start having to putting pen to paper then.

I had a nice day in Arundel with my sister on Saturday. We just spent time chatting, having a bite to eat and browsing around the shops. I stayed for the evening and we had wanted to get 'Blades of Glory' from the video shop, but they were all out, so instead we plumped for 'School of Rock', which I've seen before but my sis hadn't. I think she enjoyed it, but she did fall asleep..... possibly due to the wine she'd been drinking!! ;o)

Eeek - I'm a student!!

2007-09-13T09:23:00.000+01:00

Yes, the day has finally dawned. As of tonight I will be a student once more! My CPP course starts this very evening. I'm a bit nervous about the amount of work involved, but I keep reminding myself that it is only for a year, well, only until next June/July really. I will be popping to the shops to buy some stationery supplies a little later. I have to find the right folder, paper, pens etc. I love stationery! :o)

Thank you all so much for all your kind words and wishes to Sharon & her family. They're holding it all together pretty well. The funeral is tomorrow and Sharon is going to be saying a few words to remember her mum. It will be an emotional day for all of us I'm sure.

I had all my hair cut off a couple of days ago. My niece is a talented hairdresser and does my hair at home for me (much cheaper than the salon where she works!). I usually have mid - long curly hair, but was so fed up with it when I went to see her..... she suggested having it in a bob style, but shorter at the back and slightly longer in the front. I didn't realise how short she meant until I looked in the mirror!! The back of my neck hasn't been exposed like that since I was a baby! I'm really pleased with it though. My niece made it look very sleek with her straighteners. Mine aren't that good, but it's that short at the back that it doesn't need straightening & I can do the front myself quite easily.

I haven't had a great amount of time for stitching recently, but I am VERY close to finishing the 6th page of Snow Princess, so will post a piccie once I've got there, hopefully within the next few days. Watch this space.....

Sad news

2007-09-05T08:58:00.000+01:00

My best friend Sharon lost her mum to cancer 2 days ago. She was such a warm, wonderful lady and I'd known her for nearly 30 years. Please keep her family in your thoughts and prayers if you are able - it's really a tough time for them.

Just popping in!

2007-08-12T10:26:00.000+01:00

I just thought I'd pop in to say hello :o) Work is extremely busy at the moment & I'm also supporting another store who has no HR assistant at the moment - it's very important that I ensure that these poor people are paid at the end of the month! So, I'm pretty bushed by the time I get in & just want to relax, occasionally even pick up a needle. So sorry if I haven't gotten around everyone's blogs in the last couple of weeks - I will catch up eventually.

A couple of piccies to share with you. First of all a bit of progress on This Heart of Mine, which I'm stitching during my lunch breaks at work (when I get one!!). I took a few photos and this one is the most accurate for the colour of the thread (Polstitches, African Sunset), but the fabric is way off. It's more green with touches of lilac. I get to stitch on this one possibly 2-3 times a week, for around 40 mins each time, so I'm quite pleased with my progress so far. The thread is such a beautiful array of colours - cerise, orange, pale pink, peach. I may stitch this again sometime in the future in a different shade, if I can find one as lovely as this!

This is a photo I captured early one morning at the end of the garden. I am absolutely petrified of spiders and it is around this time of year that I give up going into the garden until about November as it's spider season! I think their webs are beautiful though - they're stitchers of sorts I guess. So I crept as near as I dared and captured this one glinting in the early morning sunlight.

I'm going over to Arundel this afternoon to meet a good friend of mine from where I used to live. We go back quite a long way, from when we used to work at a well-known supermarket chain together on the staff reception desk. Arundel is about halfway between us, so we're going to visit the wonderful 'Belindas' tearooms and enjoy tea and cake together. I haven't had a good natter with her in a long time. It will be great to see her - we've got loads to catch up on! Enjoy the rest of the weekend everyone. :o)

A few piccies

2007-07-28T11:42:00.000+01:00

I picked up Crescent Dreams from the framers yesterday & I'm really pleased with the results:

I decided to take some arty type photos in Dad's garden, by the lavender I planted as a tiny plug a few years ago & it is now this enormous bush, which is always swarming with bees collecting pollen. The frame is silver with a tinge of gilt and both mats are in shades of lilac. I shall be giving it to Sharon next week, although I don't really want to part with it now! :o)

To the left you can see the aforementioned lavender bush. I love lavender as a plant, although the fragrance I find quite sickly. Give me a beautiful rose fragrance anyday!

Catkin (right) came up to see what I was up to. She doesn't like having her picture taken & doesn't usually stand still for long enough! Catkin is approximately 8. She turned up unannounced on my doorstep one day and decided she wanted to live with me - she tried to follow me in my front door! I already had 2 cats at the time and didn't really want to have another, but when she was still hanging around a couple of hours later, I felt sorry for her & let her in. She made herself right at home and has been there ever since.

Her elder 'sister' Bobbi is now 14 and I've had her since she was 6 weeks old. I was first introduced to her when she was a tiny 1 week old kitten - she didn't even have her eyes open! She sat in the palm of my hand & mewed contentedly. She's never been a lap cat, but has a very sweet temperament. She is the image of the 'Felix' cat, although a little rounder in the tummy department! Unfortunately, Andy is allergic, so my kitties have to remain with my Dad.

Last but not least, I have a stitching progress picture for my one and only TW - Egyptian Sampler:

I've been stitching this on & off since 2004, in the run up to my holiday in Egypt. I've left it at Dad's house, so now whenever I visit him, this is the one I work on. I've been working on the Queen square, as you can see. After that, there's two bands to complete and then onto the border...! I have several TWs in my stash, but they have so many colours & blends, I don't think I could cope with having more than one on the go at any one time! I will definitely start another TW once this is finished. I'm wondering if her beautiful Illuminati will be finished by then - I saw it on her blog the other day & it looks amazing so far. I have more than enough to keep me going in the meantime though! Have a great weekend everyone. :o)

Harry Potter.... wow!

2007-07-25T17:59:00.000+01:00

I've kept off the world wide web for the last few days as I didn't want to come across anything that might spoil my reading the final Harry Potter book. Well, I started it Saturday afternoon and finished it on Tuesday evening (which is very quick for me) and I have to say I'm amazed at how fantastic it is! I shouldn't be really as Rowling is a great author, but I read and read and read and didn't want to stop until I'd finished. I'm not going to mention what happens as I don't want to spoil it for anyone else, I will just say that if you've followed Harry's story thus far, you will absolutely love it. I can't wait to see how they portray it when they get to make the film.

We also loved the film. Order of the Phoenix is not my favourite book but the film was very intense and exciting. The dementors were portrayed much more as I had imagined them (the dementors in Prisoner of Azkaban looked far too much like the Nazgul from LOTR to me). There were quite a few things skipped over or missed out but the film was still well constructed & felt right. I'm looking forward to the dvd...

Not much news on the stitching front - my time has been occupied with Harry and also a visit to my cousin's near Windsor. I had a lovely weekend - I hadn't seen her for a couple of years what with one thing and another! We talked about our family history and she's given me a few more bits of info so I can add them to my vastly growing family tree. She has loaned me her huge box of old family photos (she is my only cousin on my natural father's side of the family) and I'm planning to scan them all and put them on a disc for us both. Some of them date back to the mid 1800s so are deteriorating and we don't want to lose them. How wonderful would it be to have a 'time turner' like Hermione's so I could go back and visit them!

Busy little bee

2007-07-15T09:51:00.000+01:00

I've been back at work for a week now and my 2 weeks off seem like a dim, distant memory :o( I've been very busy this week and have hardly managed to get a stitch in. I did take 'This Heart of Mine' to work with me to stitch during my lunchbreaks as I haven't quite got my official new lunchbreak project ready yet (I MUST sort my fabric out!), so I managed to get a bit of that done a couple of days last week. I really don't like it when I don't get much stitching time, so will have to try harder this week.

I had my meeting at college about my CPP course on Monday, which went well, and I found out by Thursday that I've been accepted onto the course and it will start on 13th September! Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!!! It is going to be alot of hard work, lots of coursework, but I keep reminding myself that it is only for a year and I will have really achieved something by getting through it at the end of the course.

Work has been really busy this week too and I had to work an extra day to fit everything in. I ran a new staff induction yesterday for 8 people and they were the best bunch of starters I've had in ages. A couple of people were really friendly and chatty so this had a very positive effect on the rest of the group. All in all, it was a very good induction!

Last night we went out for my BIL's birthday. We went to his favourite curry house, the Jahflong, which has great food and the best onion bhajis I've ever tasted! He is going to be 60 next week - I can't believe it!! But then, all my siblings are much older than me, my eldest sister is 20 years older than me, but doesn't behave like it, infact none of my siblings do - we're all a bit eccentric when we get together. My eldest sister had bought a party box of different types of balloons. One was a 'whizzer' which was a very long, thin balloon & when you blew it up & released it, it would make this very strange whizzing noise & dive up to the ceiling like it was trying to burrow into it! By that time, there was only us and one other table of people left in the restaurant. The staff found our balloons very funny, but the other party of people didn't! Unfortunately one of the whizzers went off in their direction (hee hee!) and whizzed around this girl, making her shreik! Whoops ;o)

Hopefully we're going to see Harry Potter later on today. I can't wait to see it & also can't wait for the book next weekend. I wonder what's going to happen......

2007-07-08T13:57:00.000+01:00

Well, Blogger has decided not to let me give this post a title. Poxy Blogger! It would have been 'Yippeeeeee! The camera is back.' I've now managed to get my hands on a memory card reader and can upload my piccies that way! So first of all, here is a brand new photo of Snow Princess:

I'm about a third of the way through the 6th page now.

Next my only photo from Wimbledon on Wednesday, showing the huge black clouds approaching Court 13 when we had a 2hr rain delay! We had a great day and apart from watching a few of the great doubles matches we also saw the Duke of Kent and Daley Thompson (Olympic Decathlete) wandering about!

Here are a few other photos that I've taken recently, first of all a piccie of Andy with my Bagpuss hot water bottle!

Awwwwwwwwwwwww! I snuggle up with Bagpuss during the cold winter months but sometimes Andy 'borrows' him!

And last but not least, a couple of photos of the Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth when we visited just before my birthday in October last year:

It truly is an imposing structure! I haven't been to the top yet, but plan to one of these days.

It's the Men's finals today at Wimbledon. I can't believe how quickly my 2 weeks holiday has gone! Back to work tomorrow :o( I've also got an informal meeting at college tomorrow evening for my CPP course that starts in September. Work are paying for me to do this course, which lasts a year and will give me a recognised HR/Personnel qualification afterwards. It sounds like a lot of hard work though.... I only hope there'll still be a bit of time for stitching! ;o)

Oops... another new start!

2007-07-03T09:33:00.000+01:00

Oh dear. You never know when startitis is going to strike, do you? Well, this is what happened to me yesterday:This is my new WIP - This Heart of Mine by Ink Circles. I have to admit I've wanted to start this for a while, and as I finished my little birdies last week..... ;o) I'm using Polstitches Dragon Floss in 'African Sunset' and SMF Impressionism Belfast linen, stitching 2 over 2. I'm going to include this in a sort of rotation, well, I will be stitching on this project every Monday, and for now will continue with Snow Princess for the rest of the time (until I can't take the blues anymore!).

What a washout Wimbledon is proving to be! I don't think there has been one day without a rain delay so far!!! We're hoping to go up tomorrow or Friday, so fingers crossed for a dry day.

I spent a lovely weekend at my brother's last weekend with my SIL and my two nephews, not doing much due to the weather, but it was great to see them all. One of my nephews passed his driving test last week, so congratulations to him! :o)

Page 5 HD!

2007-06-28T10:12:00.000+01:00

As promised, here is my Snow Princess page 5 HD:

Apologies again for the poor scan. I'm hoping to have an antidote to my camera problem this weekend, so watch this space! Click the link to my Snow Princess WIP in the sidebar for a slightly better view. I love the swirls and snowflakes that are coming into the background now.

So, the stats... I have now stitched over 25,000 stitches, which is just over 19.5% of the design. Last time I posted an update, someone asked how big this design was. It's 400 stitches wide by 318 high, which, IIRC is 127,200 stitches in total. I've just started on page 6, after which is a very narrow page 7 (just 25 stitches wide). After I've completed pages 6 and 7, I'm going to allow myself the luxury of stitching the page with the polar bear's face on it! I really think I'll need a break from the blues by then, and he's just so cute I don't think I'll be able to resist stitching him for much longer.

Thank you everyone for all your lovely comments. It's been great catching up on everyone's blogs. Carto, I'm known as 'SamanthaStitches' on the BBs. I'm sure I'll see you there. Nice also to hear that so many others will be watching Wimbledon. Wasn't Tim's match a nailbiter Mon/Tue? Mind you, we should come to expect that with him! Shame he didn't get much chance to play yesterday. I shall be glued to his match today though. Looks as if there's some other good matches coming up too. Time to get the strawberries out! ;o)

Another HD!

2007-06-25T09:05:00.000+01:00

Here is my second 2007 HD, Sitting Pretty by Heritage Stitchcraft:

I started this in January and the reason it has taken me an age to stitch is that I've been stitching it only during my lunchbreaks, when I have time, at work! I love the fabric - it's Castle View by Silkweaver on 32ct Jazlyn, so it's very soft too. I've nearly finished page 5 of Snow Princess, so I should be sharing that HD with you in the next few days.

I'm off from work for 2 whole weeks, as it is Wimbledon fortnight once more. Come on Tim! I'm not sure who I'll be supporting this year as Agassi retired last year and Andy Murray has withdrawn due to his wrist injury. Guess it'll be Henman once more! I'll be getting a fair amount of stitching time in too during these two weeks. I'm hoping to catch up with everyone's blogs and also the BBs, which I just haven't had time to browse recently. So I'm off now to have a trawl around the websites.....

Phew!

2007-06-10T11:31:00.000+01:00

Thanks for all your good wishes. Catkin is absolutely fine. I have no idea what was wrong with her leg, but the vet gave her a thorough checkover, watched her walking and of course, she was no longer limping and back to her normal self! It cost us £27 to find out she was fine mind you.... It's money well spent though, I would never begrudge paying out for the health of my little furry friends.

Talking of which, we've been discussing the possibilities of getting a house bunny, which I would absolutely love, but Andy's not so sure. I have this new habit of going into the huge pet store near Dad's each week and admiring the bunnies they have for sale, even naming the ones I particularly like the look of! So we've had Sir Galahad (a silver bunny), Cinnamon, Honey, Scamp..... and yesterday I absolutely fell in love with this gorgeous little bundle of lop eared fluff who I named Tigerlily. Why Tigerlily? Well, she was a beautiful pale golden ginger colour with bits of white and very subtle grey markings which looked a little like stripes, so she reminded me of a tiger. I soooooo wanted to bring her home with me, but came home empty handed. :o(

Andy's brother Rob is staying with us for the weekend. The boys have gone out for a coffee on the seafront whilst I catch up on some documents for work. We're then going out for lunch at The Bull, which is a historical and locally famous pub in the village of Ditchling. The weather is beautiful - blue skies with a few fluffy clouds..... I guess I really must get on and go through my work documents so I can be ready when the boys come back! ;o)

Good thoughts & vibes needed....

2007-06-08T07:49:00.000+01:00

Catkin, my gorgeous kittie (who is in my profile photo), has been hurt & has an injured leg. I'm not sure how it happened. My 2 kitties live with my Dad as Andy is allergic. Dad said that Catkin has been limping and won't let anyone get near her, not even his carer who feeds them each evening. I don't think it's broken as she wouldn't be as mobile as she is, according to what Dad has said. I'm really worried about her though & am going over first thing tomorrow to take her to the vets to get it checked out. I would really appreciate any hugs, vibes, good thoughts right now.

On a stitchy note, thanks for all your comments about Crescent Dreams. I can't believe it's my only finish so far this year. I'm quite close on another 2 WIPs though, so hopefully I'll have some more HDs to share with you very soon. Snow Princess is coming along - I've got another 2 columns to do and I'll have finished page 5. I'll share a photo update once I'm doing my page 5 HD! ;o)

Crescent Dreams finished!

2007-06-02T20:16:00.000+01:00

My first finish of 2007........

Thanks to my bruv for taking the photo for me! :o) Unfortunately it's a little dark, but it shows the peach colours on the blanket well. I swapped the aqua stars for opal ones and made bead ropes out of 4 different colours of bead. I'm really pleased with the finished result. I've also had several cuddles with the recipient over the last couple of weeks whilst they've been down on the south coast. Baby Catriona is gorgeous - she slept face down on my chest with her hands under her head and her bottom in the air for hours and hours! Awwwww..... :o) I'm hoping to get Crescent Dreams framed within the next few weeks, so I'll share another photo once it's done. Since then I've been stitching my Snow Princess. I'm probably a couple of weeks away from finishing page 5. I have a couple of weeks off work at the end of June/beginning of July as it's Wimbledon once more, although as money is tight I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to visit this year. But it means I should get a fair bit of stitching time in - my goal is to finish the top row of pages on Snow Princess by the end of Wimbledon!

I went up to London last night with my SIL and nephew to the Royal Albert Hall. We went to a concert by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, titled "FilmHarmonic" which may give you an idea what it was all about! They were playing well known film scores with a section devoted to John Williams who celebrates his 75th birthday this year. So we had themes from Mission Impossible, Pirates of the Caribbean (yay!), Gladiator, ET, Star Wars, Chariots of Fire, Superman, Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Great Escape, Jurassic Park and a few we weren't familiar with. It was fabulous - the orchestra was about 100 strong with such a variety of instruments! We agreed that it would be great to be on the percussion instruments at the back - they looked as if they were having a great time!!! I especially love the music from Pirates & Gladiator which sounded fantastic. I think I'll have to dig out my soundtrack CDs tomorrow whilst I'm stitching. ;o)

Watergarden progress and a new arrival!

2007-05-07T10:22:00.000+01:00

I've been stitching a bit on Watergarden whilst waiting to add the finishing details to Crescent Dreams!

Apologies again for the scan - if you want to see a better picture, just click on the link to my Webshots & its in the Works In Progress album. I've reached the outer edge at last & I love the golden gate! I'm going to put it down for a while now & firstly I shall finish off Crescent Dreams as baby Catriona Hope has finally arrived! She decided to make an appearance on Saturday evening. Both mum and baby are doing well & from the photos I've seen she sure is a cutie! They will be coming down very soon so Catriona can meet her grandparents, so I'm sure I'll be able to arrange a visit to see them. ;o)

Once CD is finished then I shall pick up Snow Princess again - I'm getting an urge to stitch lots of blues over 1..... I must be totally barking mad........!

New project!

2007-04-21T13:25:00.000+01:00

But shhhhhhh! It's a secret! :o)

(Yes, another wobbly scan I'm afraid folks... ) Isn't she adorable? What a sweet little thing she is! This is my WIP of Mirabilia's Crescent Dreams which I started on 1st April. I've converted the blue blanket to lilac and instead of blue or pink accents, I've opted for peach shades which look lovely against the lilac. Unfortunately it doesn't show up as nicely on the scan. I'm planning on adding either silver or opal beads for the stars and instead of ribbon I might make a bead rope for the dangling stars. I'm going to add baby's name and DOB too, once she makes an appearance! It's officially 5 days to go, but you know what babies are like. ;o)

Blue of a different kind...

2007-04-15T17:19:00.000+01:00

This time it's blue fabric instead of blue threads! Thought I'd show you what I got up to when I stayed at Sharon's last weekend in Yorkshire. I've started a conversion of Crescent Dreams for the baby that's due in 11 days (& counting!) and am about halfway through so will post a piccie of progress very soon. I couldn't take it with me & let Sharon see it, so I dug out Watergarden for a bit. I worked on the reed bed at the top of the piccie. Once again, apologies for the poor quality scan. Click on the piccie for a better result. By the way, the fabric is Silkweaver's Blue Diamond reflections belfast linen.

The weather has been beautiful here the last week or so. If the temperature was like this all through the summer I would be very happy indeed. I'm not very good in the heat and am dreading the thought of it reaching the upper 30's this summer... I've been doing a spot of gardening and we bought a few perennials to brighten up the border, plus I have a philadelphus that I meant to plant last autumn that is still in its pot & its now looking green and glorious. We probably won't get flowers this year but the green is so lush, I'll be happy with that. :o)

Snow Princess update

2007-03-27T18:27:00.000+01:00

Yay! I've now finished pages 1-4, which means that there are 20,080 stitches/15% of the project completed. Apologies for the dreadful scan - if you click on the picture you will see a better result.

I've got to put her down for a while to stitch a little gift for my best friend Sharon - her baby (also my Godchild) is due to arrive at the end of next month. They found out last week that the baby is going to be a girl, so now I know what colour scheme to use, I'd best get stitching!

83/239!

2007-03-20T08:37:00.000Z

"It’s been said that allegedly if you’ve seen over 85 movies you have no life. Mark the ones you’ve seen. There are 239 films on this list. Copy this list, go to your own blog, paste it in and put x’s by the ones that you have seen. Add them up and post it.”

(x) Rocky Horror Picture Show
(x) Grease
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man’s Chest
( ) Boondock Saints
(x) Fight Club
( ) Starsky and Hutch
(x) Neverending Story
( ) Blazing Saddles
(x) Airplane
(x) The Princess Bride
( ) AnchorMan
( ) Napoleon Dynamite
(x) Labyrinth
(x) Saw
( ) Saw II
( ) White Noise
( ) White Oleander
( ) Anger Management
(x) 50 First Dates
( ) The Princess Diaries
( ) The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
( ) Scream
( ) Scream 2
( ) Scream 3
( ) Scary Movie
( ) Scary Movie 2
( ) Scary Movie 3
( ) Scary Movie 4
(x) American Pie
( ) American Pie 2
( ) American Wedding
( ) American Pie Band Camp
(x) Harry Potter 1
(x) Harry Potter 2
(x) Harry Potter 3
(x) Harry Potter 4
( ) Resident Evil 1
( ) Resident Evil 2
(x) The Wedding Singer
( ) Little Black Book
( ) The Village
(x) Lilo & Stitch
(x) Finding Nemo
(x) Finding Neverland
( ) Signs
( ) The Grinch
( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre
( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
( ) White Chicks
( ) Butterfly Effect
( ) 13 Going on 30
(x) I, Robot
( ) Robots
(x) Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
(x) Universal Soldier
(x) Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
( ) Along Came Polly
(x) Deep Impact
( ) KingPin
( ) Never Been Kissed
( ) Meet The Parents
( ) Meet the Fockers
( ) Eight Crazy Nights
( ) Joe Dirt
(x) King Kong
( ) A Cinderella Story
(x) The Terminal
( ) The Lizzie McGuire Movie
( ) Passport to Paris
( ) Dumb & Dumber
( ) Dumber & Dumberer
( ) Final Destination
( ) Final Destination 2
( ) Final Destination 3
( ) Halloween
( ) The Ring
( ) The Ring 2
( ) Surviving Christmas
( ) Flubber
( ) Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
( ) Practical Magic
(x) Chicago
( ) Ghost Ship
(x) From Hell
( ) Hellboy
( ) Secret Window
( ) I Am Sam
( ) The Whole Nine Yards
( ) The Whole Ten Yards
(x) The Day After Tomorrow
( ) Child’s Play
( ) Seed of Chucky
( ) Bride of Chucky
( ) Ten Things I Hate About You
( ) Just Married
(x) Gothika
( ) Nightmare on Elm Street
( ) Sixteen Candles
( ) Remember the Titans
( ) Coach Carter
( ) The Grudge
( ) The Grudge 2
(x) The Mask
( ) Son Of The Mask
( ) Bad Boys
( ) Bad Boys 2
( ) Joy Ride
( ) Lucky Number Sleven
(x) Ocean’s Eleven
(x) Ocean’s Twelve
(x) Bourne Identity
( ) Bourne Supremecy
( ) Lone Star
(x) Bedazzled
( ) Predator I
( ) Predator II
(x) The Fog
(x) Ice Age
( ) Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
( ) Curious George
(x) Independence Day
( ) Cujo
( ) A Bronx Tale
( ) Darkness Falls
( ) Christine
(x) E.T.
( ) Children of the Corn
( ) My Bosses Daughter
( ) Maid in Manhattan
(x) War of the Worlds
( ) Rush Hour
( ) Rush Hour 2
( ) Best Bet
(x) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
( ) She’s All That
(x) Calendar Girls
( ) Sideways
(x) Mars Attacks
( ) Event Horizon
( ) Ever After
(x) Wizard of Oz
( ) Forrest Gump
(x) Big Trouble in Little China
(x) The Terminator
(x) The Terminator 2
( ) The Terminator 3
(x) X-Men
(x) X-2
(x) X3
(x) Spider-Man
(x) Spider-Man 2
( ) Sky High
( ) Jeepers Creepers
( ) Jeepers Creepers 2
(x) Catch Me If You Can
( ) The Little Mermaid
( ) Freaky Friday
( ) Reign of Fire
( ) The Skulls
(x) Cruel Intentions
( ) Cruel Intentions 2
( ) The Hot Chick
(x) Shrek
(x) Shrek 2
( ) Swimfan
(x) Miracle on 34th street
( ) Old School
( ) The Notebook
( ) K-Pax
( ) Krippendorf’s Tribe
( ) A Walk to Remember
( ) Ice Castles
( ) Boogeyman
( ) The 40-year-old Virgin
(x) Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
(x) Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
(x) Lord of the Rings: Return Of the King
(x) Raiders of the Lost Ark
(x) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(x) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
( ) Base-ketball
( ) Hostel
( ) Waiting for Guffman
( ) House of 1000 Corpses
( ) Devils Rejects
(x) Elf
( ) Highlander
(x) Mothman Prophecies
( ) American History
( ) Three
( ) The Jacket
( ) Kung Fu Hustle
( ) Shaolin Soccer
( ) Night Watch
(x) Monsters Inc.
(x) Titanic
( ) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
( ) Shaun Of the Dead
( ) Willard
( ) High Tension
( ) Club Dread
( ) Hulk
(x) Dawn Of the Dead
(x) Hook
(x) Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
( ) 28 days later
( ) Orgazmo
( ) Phantasm
(x) Waterworld
( ) Kill Bill Vol. 1
( ) Kill Bill Vol. 2
( ) Mortal Kombat
( ) Wolf Creek
(x) Kingdom of Heaven
( ) The Hills Have Eyes
( ) I Spit on Your Grave
( ) The Last House on the Left
(x) Re-Animator
( ) Army of Darkness
(x) Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace
(x) Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones
(x) Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith
(x) Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope
(x) Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back
(x) Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi
( ) Ewoks: Caravan Of Courage
( ) Ewoks: The Battle For Endor
(x) The Matrix
(x) The Matrix: Reloaded
(x) The Matrix: Revolutions
( ) Animatrix
( ) Evil Dead
( ) Evil Dead 2
( ) Team America: World Police
( ) Red Dragon
( ) Silence of the Lambs
( ) Hannibal

I guess I have a life then! I have seen lots more films than the ones listed here, of course. There seems to be many teen movies in this list which really aren't my cup of tea. Where is Back to the Future I ask, all 3 parts?!! ;o)

Time to relax...

2007-03-16T10:59:00.000Z

Yay - I've got the next 10 days off from work. I haven't had such a long break since I was off for Wimbledon fortnight last summer. I'm not going away anywhere but will be catching up with a few friends I haven't seen for a while and spending some time with my family. Tonight we have a family send off for my niece Ellie and her hubby Kamran who are about to go backpacking around the world for a year. What a fabulous opportunity! They're going to Africa, India, Australia, New Zealand and ending their journey in the States in LA. I know they're going to have a wonderful time.

I'm feeling much better now - thanks everyone for your get well wishes. I think I've been unwell for most of the last month, so it's great to be feeling normal again. Andy & I went out for a walk around Brighton Marina last Sunday which I wouldn't have been able to do a few days beforehand. It was great to get out, have some exercise in the fresh air and not feel totally, utterly exhausted! The weather has been lovely this week, so I'm hoping it will be much of the same for the next 10 days whilst I'm off.

I'm onto the next column of page 4 of Snow Princess. I've found that by working in columns of 20 squares I can manage much easier. I'm about halfway through the page now so I hope that I'll finish page 4 by the end of my time off.

Andy's mum has invited us up to see her on Sunday, which is Mothering Sunday here in the UK. We're going to go out for lunch which will be lovely. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for good weather so we can go out somewhere nice after.

Progress update

2007-03-08T10:10:00.000Z

At last I've managed to get the scanner working so here are my WIPs...

Mirabilia - Lady of the Mist:

I've added a pair of over 1 stitched arms, a bit of glove and a bit more dress.

HAED - Snow Princess & the Polar Bear:

The scan hasn't come out that well I'm afraid. Her face looks much lovelier IRL! Though you have to look from a slight distance to make it really work. I've stitched 3 full pages and nearly a quarter of page 4. There are 6 and a bit pages across the top of the design so I'm only just half way over... I really think that this is going to take me forever!

I'm still feeling unwell. I seem to have got my cold back & my throat is still very painful. As I said to Andy last night - I'm so fed up of feeling ill! I just want to be back to normal!!!

Spring seems to be fast approaching - the last 2 days we have had lovely bright weather. As I look out the window now, the sky is clear blue with not a cloud in sight and I can see lots of pretty little daffodils nodding in the breeze. I love springtime. Must be nearly time to do a spot of gardening... :o)

I've been a little quiet...

2007-03-01T08:23:00.000Z

Sorry folks! I've had another bout of tonsilitis and the doctor also thinks I may possibly have glandular fever, so I've not been at my best really. I had to take some time off work last week but unfortunately it coincided with my boss being on holiday so I couldn't take as much time as I probably needed. I've been feeling tired all the time and my glands have been up and down and up and down. :o(

It has meant I've been doing a bit of stitching though! Unfortunately I can't even get my scanner to work now (someone obviously doesn't want me to share any pics with you!). I've stitched some more on LOTM - she has over 1 arms with her gloves and a bit more dress, but then my little Snow Princess began calling rather loudly, so I've been stitching her for the last 10 days or so, and she now has a head! Sooooo many confetti stitches, and her face is stitched from various greys and a smattering of violet but now its all stitched, her face looks lovely. I've nearly finished the 3rd page now and then will move onto the 4th page. It's my aim to eventually work my entire way across the top row l-r and then drop down to the next row and work r-l so I get a bit of polar bear face too! I'm not sure how long that is going to take me... I seem to be having a natural rotation period of about a month at the moment before wanting to move on to the next WIP. I'm hoping to stitch a bit longer on Snow Princess though as the stitches are soooo tiny, it takes a while to look as if you've made progress! Talking of which, I will endeavour to get the scanner working today and add some photos later. ;o)

Stitching update

2007-02-02T08:00:00.000Z

It's been a month since my last post - eek! Things have been busy & Andy seems to be hogging the PC a fair bit of the time too, so I sneak on when I can - usually when he goes to make a cuppa in the kitchen!! ;o)

I've been naughty stitching wise, as I've started 2 new projects during January, despite me saying I wanted to work on my existing WIPs this year! It's Nora Corbett's fault - she has a habit of releasing the most beautiful designs when I least expect it. So lo and behold, here is my WIP of Lady of the Mist (apologies for the poor scan quality!):

I started her a couple of weeks ago & am enjoying stitching this one. The colours are gorgeous! I'm using SW Cupid's Cloud Belfast linen which was a limited edition colour from last year. It's gorgeous & I only ended up using it as it was the only piece of fabric I had that was big enough! Actually it was quite close in colour to a couple of other fabrics I was considering, until I realised they wouldn't be big enough! I have also started Heritage Stitchcraft's Sitting Pretty which I'm doing on my lunchbreaks at work, so no scan yet. I'm using SW Castle View jazlyn for this one which is soooo pretty (& being jazlyn is very soft too!).

I took my new little car on a trip up to Yorkshire a couple of weeks ago to go & see my best friend Sharon for a long weekend which was great! Now that I have a good, more reliable car, I feel much more confident about driving on longer journeys. We had a stitchfest and also went out for a delicious Chinese meal at the only Chinese restaurant in their little town - The Water Margin. Fraser, my Godson was equally pleased to see me & was most excited when we went to collect him from school. :o) When I was gathering my bits together to make the journey home on the Sunday, I smiled when I heard him say to his Dad "...but I don't want Auntie Sam to go yet!" Awwww!! He's due to have his tonsils out in a couple of weeks time, after which they will be coming down to stay at Sharon's parents for half term, so hopefully I'll get to see more of them then.

Happy New Year!

2007-01-01T07:41:00.000Z

Well, 2007 is finally here. What are your plans... stitching or otherwise this year? I have a feeling it's going to be a good one ;o)

I plan on finishing Midnight Hunting, Egyptian Sampler and Watergarden. I'd like to stitch a few smaller projects inbetween stitching on the larger ones this year so that I have a few more finishes. I only had 2 finishes in 2006 - Celtic Spring and Mabel & Bee! Eeek! Definitely need to finish more this year.

I've got a wonderful new year gift from my Dad which I pick up on Friday - a new car! :o))))) Well, it's not actually new, but it is much newer than my current one. It's a mere 8 years old, compared to 18. Its a lovely bright red Nissan Micra & I'm very excited to finally get a car with power steering, lol!!

I have put down Midnight Hunting for a while. My brother was kind enough to take a decent photo (think he even managed to pick up the sparklies in the fabric!) for me when I was staying with him & SIL over the weekend:

I've reached burn-out on Duncan, so need to stitch on something else for a while. I've picked up my Chatelaine Watergarden which I haven't stitched on for over a year, so I'm hoping to get alot of stitches in this time! :o)

I'd like to wish everyone a very happy, healthy and prosperous 2007 and I look forward to reading everyones blogs this year. Happy 2007!

Happy Boxing Day!

2006-12-26T11:59:00.000Z

Howdy folks! I hope that you all had a very Merry Christmas :o)

We had a lovely day - Andy & I went over to my Dad's (he's out of hospital & doing really well). We cooked a huge dinner & looked after him. We also found time to go around to my best friend Sharon's parents to say 'hi' as she, her hubbie & son Fraser are staying with them over Christmas. I had some lovely gifts - I had some gorgeous fabbie & Dinky Dyes silkies from Gill, in a Secret Santa exchange I received Just Nan's Snow Business, a magnetic needle tugger and a Tacky Bob. I also received some lovely non-stitchy goodies too. Dad gave me some money to buy some boots & also re-new my passport. Andy gave me a lop-eared bunny calendar (awww!), Pirates 2 DVD, a beautiful cashmere scarf and 'The Other Boleyn Girl' book which I've wanted to read for a while. Sharon gave me a lovely lipstick case which was engraved with a beautiful message about our friendship on (awwwww!), a Pirates 2 calendar, a cat shaped car tax disc holder and Fraser gave me a funky chunky purple pen & notebook. My boss gave me a gorgeous necklace & mirror compact. I had a sequinned purse & bling 'S' initial keyring from my cousin. Andy's mum gave me a pretty Christmas trinket box and my friend Mick gave me a Beatles calendar. We're having a restful day today at home, though will probably go for a walk by the sea this afternoon. Then tomorrow we'll be driving up to north London to see Andy's mum for the day.

I would like to wish all my online friends a happy, healthy and (stitchy) prosperous new year. Let's hope that 2007 is a good one :o)

Stitching pics & my Dad's in hospital!

2006-11-26T15:27:00.000Z

I couldn't think what to call this post, so its pretty self explanatory. First of all, I've managed to hook up the scanner at long last & have scanned Forest Goddess:

Her skin is stitched over 1. Sorry for the quality of the pic, I'm afraid its not very good, but its better than nothing! I've also scanned my Dracolair Duncan draggie:

That is as much as I could fit on the scanner! I've finished the whole border now, with the exception of the backstitch and started on his wing which I'm very excited about!!

I've been absent from most of my online haunts recently due to Dad spending the last 2 weeks in hospital. After his fall his kidneys totally failed and his GP managed to get him a bed in the Renal ward where he has been ever since. He was very ill indeed, but thankfully now is doing much better. He's had 5 lots of dialysis now which has shifted all the fluid that had built up on his legs & made him so uncomfortable. He should be going home either tomorrow or the day after, which is fantastic news. I'll bet the kitties will be very pleased to see him home again. One of his neighbours has been feeding him all the days I've not been able to get over which I'm really thankful for. In the midst of this my car has died too & I just don't have the funds to repair it right now, so I'm relying on good old public transport & my family when they can to get over there.

We had a catastrophe this morning, but looks like we have prevented a total disaster... I decided to take out a couple of my finished stitching pieces to have a look (to remind myself that I can occasionally finish things!) and as I did I found mould on the wall in the corner where I keep all my stitching! I unrolled a couple & they seemed to be ok, but then I unrolled 2 of my Miras - Royal Holiday & Petal Fairy to find them with grey patches here & there. Not too much on Petal, but RH had loads :o( Several of my other pieces also smelt really damp & musty. I also found mould on my '3 Little Kittens' piece. I'm glad to say that I've re-washed them today & they are now all looking pristine once more. It was a very worrying time this morning, but I'm glad that I discovered it now & not in a few months time when it would have been much, much worse. My 4 seasonal queens, whilst not mouldy are rather musty so I'm re-washing them too. On 3 of them the fabric seems to have discoloured. I'm 99.9% sure that I used antique white jobelan for all 4 of them, but Autumn Queen's fabric seems much brighter than the other 3. Andy's going to buy me a large art portfolio for Christmas so I can store them all flat inside, inbetween layers of acid-free tissue paper of course. I would have been truly heartbroken if all my cross stitch stash had been ruined - all those hours of stitching for nothing! I'm so relieved it's all ok. :o)

Howdy folks!

2006-11-10T11:12:00.000Z

Yes, things are still busy and hectic and up and down and....

Dad had a nasty fall a couple of days ago. Thankfully he's not seriously hurt apart from a few bruises, but he was very shaken indeed. He had day surgery 2 weeks ago for his fistula in preparation for dialysis. He has one in his wrist. Dad can't feel it, as he has damage to his nerve endings in his fingers, but if you put your finger gently on his wrist... instead of a pulse you can feel something that I can only describe as like little cogs turning in a wristwatch! Well, not the actual cogs, but like their gentle vibration!! Luckily his fall doesn't seem to have damaged the fistula. If everything goes well & the doctors are pleased with how the fistula is, he should start dialysis 6-8 weeks after the day surgery which should be the middle of December fingers crossed. He's so poorly but by all accounts, once he's been on dialysis, even for a few weeks, he should feel much better.

I had a little trip to Bournemouth for 3 days last week on company business. It was the first (and hopefully to be annual) HR Assistants & Officers conference. I also had an extra day before the conference at a course my boss was running on 'Investing in Investigations' which was fascinating. The conference was great - lovely to meet all the other HR staff from the different stores that I'd not met before. Those of us that had travelled some distance stayed at the same accommodation - the lovely Anglo Swiss Hotel. I had a wonderful room which had an enormous bed, plus french doors to a veranda, which if you have a look on the website, is on the main shot of the front of the hotel to the right of the entrance and on the first floor you can see my veranda! I stayed an extra night due to going to the course as well & the next day told all the other HR staff about the wonderful veranda, walk in wardrobe, french doors etc... and then, rather embarassingly, none of the others had these facilities! Lol!! They all wanted a peek at my veranda just to prove I wasn't pulling their leg!!! One of the points of the conference was to decide between us just what we should put into the pack we give to new starters & then make it consistent between all the stores (you wouldn't think it would be that difficult considering there are only 12 stores in the chain!). Well, we had a whole afternoon for this & it was nowhere near enough time and as a result there is going to be a working party to work on it further and I've been nominated! I'm the only HR Assistant involved, so its quite a privilege. We're getting together next month as, whilst December is busy for everyone else in retail, its pretty quiet for HR ;o)

I've managed a bit of stitching, but still no photos as Andy (naughty boy) still hasn't got my camera fixed for me! I keep threatening to get the scanner out, if I can get it to work!! I've put down Forest Goddess for a while as I'm so burned out on her. I've picked up my Dracolair Midnight Hunting again. I've just got the final moon panel to finish in the bottom right corner and then I can get back to stitching on my Duncan draggie! It seems like a very long time since I started on him & I'd love to see him finished more than any of my other WIPs right now.

I've been tagged!

2006-10-19T17:23:00.000+01:00

Thanks to Gill for tagging me...

The rules; List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether or not they have words, or even if they're not any good, but they must be songs you're really enjoying now. Post these instructions in your blog along with your seven songs. Then tag seven other people to see what they're listening to.

Mine are:

1 London Calling by The Clash

2 Hey Bulldog by The Beatles

3 Secret Oktober by Duran Duran

4 Freedom by Wham

5 Living on the Ceiling by Blancmange

6 Old Red Eyes is Back by Beautiful South

7 Connection by Elastica

Hmmm... who shall I tag? How about:

Heather, Lorna, Nicola, Kim, Claire, Kathy & Harsha. Over to you ladies :o)

Unfortunately the Ray Davies concert was cancelled due to illness :o( They gave us a refund but I was still disappointed. Hopefully he will feel better and tour again soon.

Work has been very busy this week - I've attended 2 different training sessions, done an induction, taken notes at an appeal hearing and then today had payroll training at another store! Phew! I've not picked up my needle at all this week. I've got the weekend off and I'm going to see Dad on Saturday, so hopefully I'll have time to stitch on Sunday.

It's my birthday!

2006-10-09T09:14:00.000+01:00

Oh my goodness - how did that happen?!!! Yes folks, today is my birthday. I've had some lovely gifts, including the Mirabilia White Christmas chart, some SMF fabbie and silks from Gill, a little cuddly Eeyore, a diary, some Thornton choccies, tickets to see Ray Davies of The Kinks next week, 'Yellow Submarine' Beatles CD and the promise to get my digi camera fixed from Andy, a gorgeous pink spangly leather make-up bag & lippie from my boss, a nodding Captain Jack Sparrow figure from Sharon and some money from my Dad. I don't feel my age at all. I'm still about 24 in my head I think!

I'm in the middle of a few days off from work at the mo, which I think I really needed. Work is truly exhausting right now! We've just started taking on all our Christmas casuals & I've got lots of inductions coming up over the next few weeks. I've also got a couple of little business trips - I'm going to the Horsham store one day next week for a training day and then on the 31st I'm down to Bournemouth for 3 days for a conference and more training. I really do love my job, though I'm looking forward to it quieting down substantially in mid-November once all the new staff are on board.

My camera is still unco-operative. Andy has promised to get it fixed for me though, so hopefully I'll be able to share photos very soon. I've managed to get quite a bit of stitching on my Forest Goddess in over the last few days, although I'm really getting HAED pangs right now & want to get back into my Polar Bear blues once more!! I want to finish FG though before I move on, so that I can have at least one more finish this year.

Not much progress with Dad's health. He is due to have day surgery on the 26th for his 'fistula', in prep for his starting dialysis. I'm hoping that once he starts dialysis, he will feel better in himself. He's pretty down with all the things that are happening to him. Sadly, his elderly friend across the road from him died on Friday. He was in his 90s & had been housebound for many years. He cared for his wife who was also housebound & had severe demensia. It seems he had a nasty fall when he got up in the night to help his wife. It's so sad. She will now have to go into a home to be looked after properly & she probably won't even realise that he's gone.

I had a nice few days up in Yorkshire at Sharon's last month. Although we didn't go anywhere as she was pretty poorly with morning sickness due to her expecting once again. She also asked me if I would be baby no.2's Godmum & I was delighted to say yes!! I will have to get stitching something special for the new little one who is due in May.

I'm still here.

2006-09-10T10:52:00.000+01:00

Yes, I am still around, though not very much lately. I am spending very little of my spare time on the PC at the moment, so I've been doing a bit of lurking on blogs & boards. The RSI I get in my right wrist/elbow from using a mouse is pretty painful recently & sometimes its enough to be on a PC most of the day at work. I'm still HDing with all of you though & sending hugs where necessary :o)

A huge thank you to everyone who sent hugs & warm wishes following my recent lump scare. They were really appreciated. I had my 2nd check up just over a week ago & all seems fine. My doc believed me to be quite run down & stressed which is probably effecting my immune system. I could do with a holiday & am off in 2 weeks time to go & stay with my best friend Sharon up in Yorkshire for an extended long weekend. We will be celebrating as she's just found out she's expecting again :o) They've been trying for baby no.2 for 3 years so I'm really pleased for them.

I have been doing a bit of stitching, but sadly the USB connector on my camera seems to have died totally meaning I can't upload the pics I took this morning :o( I have stitched her face and started her other arm which are over 1. I'm so pleased with how her face has turned out. I may have to get my brother to take a photo for me next time I'm visiting him & upload it that way.

I've discovered a wonderful garden nursery several miles away - Old Barn Nurseries which has re-ignited my gardening bug! They have some beautiful Japanese Maples, some must be very old indeed as I nearly fainted when I saw the price tag on the £5,999.00 one! It was gorgeous though. They also have a fantastic pantry/restaurant which has delicious food. I can fully recommend a visit! ;o)

An anxious time

2006-08-16T19:51:00.000+01:00

Sorry, I've not been around the blog world very much lately. I have felt so physically drained lately, I just tend to collapse on the sofa when I get home with no energy for anything! Anyway, I'm here now after a most emotional day. Very recently I found a small lump in the area between my breast & underarm. Now, grown-up woman that I am(!), I am always absolutely petrified of going to see my doctor & only go when it is really, really necessary. This was obviously one of those times. So I went to see my doctor this morning & she was fabulous, very reassuring. We all have 'the dreaded C' in the very back of our minds, don't we? I'm very lucky in that breast cancer hasn't affected anyone to date in my family, so thought it was unlikely. However, that didn't stop me quaking like a jelly in the waiting room before I went in. Thankfully my doctor thought it was probably a slight infection in my lymph glands, left over from when I had tonsilitus a couple of months ago. She said it should be fine & just to be safe, she asked me to go back in a couple of weeks time to double check. Andy accompanied me to the surgery & the look of relief on my face when I came out must have been a picture! I've had a few days of worrying & now feel so lucky. Having worked with a lady in my previous job who was going through breast cancer, I know how hard her struggle was. She is now fine as it was picked up early & she has had successful treatment, so please - anyone who is reading this & isn't sure of any lumps & bumps that might have appeared, please please please go & get yourself checked out to be safe.

Thanks to everyone who comments on my blog & thanks also to those who simply read what I waffle on about - I appreciate all my visitors & just wanted to tell you all!

Stressed out.....

2006-08-02T18:46:00.000+01:00

I'm feeling quite down & stressed at the moment. Firstly, Dad went for his appointment at the TIA clinic this week to check out about his funny turns that he had last month and they've told him that he has at some point, without realising it, had a stroke. He feels fine right now, its just another thing to add to his medical list of problems - he's had such a hard time of it physically over the last couple of years. I wish there was more I could do for him really, and that he'd move out of his house where he struggles with the stairs to somewhere much closer to the rest of the family, perhaps warden assisted. He's very stubborn & set in his ways though and I know he really doesn't want to move. I went to visit him yesterday & he seems ok. Thankfully he's managed to find himself a cleaner through the local church, which as well as keeping the house clean & tidy, gives him another visitor to look forward to.

On top of that I have had the most stressful day at work this week. Monday I was at Horsham new store inducting around 22 staff for their opening in a few weeks time. Everything that could go wrong did - the digital projector wouldn't connect to the laptop which had the induction presentation on, the air con stopped working and the whole thing hadn't been prepped very well! I was there with my boss, who thought I'd been on the vallium as I was so calm and laid back!! I knew there was nothing I could do about the situation, so just went with the flow & really enjoyed it. Then on Tuesday I went to another store at Winchester for a course on 'Dealing with difficult situations' - quite alot of that in my job! It was great & the trainer was the Sunday manager from our store who I've communicated with lots but hadn't met until then & we got on famously. On Wednesday I went back to my store & just had lots & lots of stress to do with pay. Briefly, one manager in particular hadn't put some payments through for his staff before the deadline for payroll in July & then had gone on holiday. It seems that he has told his staff that this is down to me & had told my boss the same thing in my absence on Tuesday! I have a great memory for detail so was able to tell my boss exactly what happened & she was going to give him a tongue lashing yesterday when they were both in. I am so angry with this particular manager!!! I'm off to Horsham again tomorrow to do more inducting, so I shall just remember to go with the flow once more... ;o)

With all this work I haven't done a single stitch this week - I so could have done with stitching this week to calm me down! When I have got home I've just been too tired. I've got absolutely nothing planned today though, so am going to put my feet up & stitch, stitch, stitch! :o)

Forest Goddess update

2006-07-30T08:04:00.000+01:00

Here's my latest piccie. She's coming along slowly but surely. I'm trying to make sure I get a little bit of time on her most days, even if I only get a dozen or so stitches in!

Work is really hectic at the moment. Yesterday was pretty intense. I did an induction for 6 new members of staff. Our training room at work is right up the top in an attic room & as you know, heat rises. There is also a severe lack of air conditioning apart from on the shop floor area, and despite having all the windows open and a large fan on full blast in the training room, it was still stifling in there. One poor girl felt very nauseous and dizzy so went home half way through, and then once my colleague had taken over to do the 2nd part of the induction another girl was actually sick (thankfully not in the room!) so the induction was stopped & hopefully we will catch them up at a later date when its a bit cooler. Our office is also exceedingly hot, despite having 2 fans on all the time, the window wide open and the blind down to try & keep cool. I'm not really a summer person - I hate all this heat. I can cope with being cold: at least you can wrap up warm & have a hot drink!

Uh oh... watch out!

2006-07-27T16:36:00.000+01:00

What are you? Try here!

Girlie day!

2006-07-21T22:04:00.000+01:00

My best girlie friend in all the world came a-visiting me yesterday & we had a really lovely day. It was the first time she'd visited me since I moved last September so it was great to show her around the local area & the house etc. We had lots of chat to catch up on & she showed me what she'd been stitching recently, including one she had been stitching as a surprise for me SeaHorses! I've got a bit of a thing about seahorses & love this design, have done for a long time! Sharon's stitching it on SW Blue Dynasty linen & has added a bit of sparkle to the reeds. It looks fabulous so far - she hasn't got much more to do, so I shall be on at her to 'Stitch!' even more now ;o) She's driven back up to Yorkshire today & I got a text from her not so long ago to say that she'd arrived safely home. I'm going up to visit Sharon for a long weekend in September so am really looking forward to it.

I've still not had much of a chance to stitch, just a few threads here & there, though I have made a bit more progress on Forest Goddess, so will be posting a new piccie soon.

Dad is still not that well. He is now having to go up to the hospital to have an iron drip every 2 weeks as there is a severe lack of iron in his blood. He had a brain scan yesterday which is in preparation for him going to the TIA clinic in a couple of weeks time. I'm going over to see him tomorrow. He's been feeling a bit down, which is hardly surprising, so I'll probably take him out for a bit of lunch somewhere when we go out shopping.

Pirates 2... twice!

2006-07-12T20:23:00.000+01:00

Well, I went to see Pirates on Saturday evening as planned & loved it!! There were so many laugh out loud moments & Johnny Depp was excellent (as usual). Anyway, I loved it so much I went to see it again this afternoon, this time with my nephew. I managed to see the first film 3 times at the cinema with different people, so am going for my own personal record with this one!! Another 2 people want to see it with me, so looks like I might manage it ;o)))))

I'm back to work this week, after having Wimbledon fortnight off so my stitching time has gone back to being limited again. The thing I loved about doing shiftwork on my last job was all the free time I had to stitch & then being able to stitch at work (whilst working on the switchboard) during evening, night & weekend shifts! Therefore, my stitching time is very precious to me, so I like to make the most of it.

My best friend is coming down from Yorkshire at the end of this week - yay! I'm going to pop in & see her on Friday for a while (she's staying at her parents house which is near to my Dad's) after I've seen Dad & then she's going to come over & spend the day with me hopefully next Thursday. It'll be great to see her - I really can't wait!

A Date With a Pirate

2006-07-08T10:15:00.000+01:00

Yes, we're off to see Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest this evening :o)))) I can't wait as the first Pirates film is one of my faves. And mmmmmm..... Johnny Depp. YUM!

Thanks for all the lovely compliments about Titania. The fabric is totally gorgeous - the photos don't do it justice at all. It looks like she is sitting in a garden, she is in focus in the picture & all the flowers/foliage behind her are out of focus if you know what I mean! Every piece of Winter Meadow I've seen has looked different, so I'm rather tempted to get another piece & hope that its as lovely as this one.

Well done everyone, you guessed correctly. I have indeed started Mirabilia's Forest Goddess. I'm not sure what happened - I hadn't planned a new start at all. I just got to thinking about how much I enjoy stitching Mira's and wanted to start stitching another one! I'm using Silkweaver's Tranquility Belfast linen which is a lovely mix of greens. I want to create the effect of her walking through a deep woodland glade. I did a little more yesterday & am not quite sure how her mossy green cape is going to look on it, I need to get more of it stitched first but I think it'll probably be ok. The dress colours really pop on it though, which is what I wanted.

I received my FOTM from Silkweaver yesterday & this time I got Iris Garden on opal Belfast which has to be one of the most gorgeous pieces of fabric I've ever seen in my life! Its one of those ones that would fit with lots of designs & I'm thinking that a mermaid might look good on it. Hey.... maybe I should have another Mira start just to keep my enthusiasm going! ;o)

More drama... & stitching too!

2006-07-07T09:26:00.000+01:00

Thanks for everyone's well wishes. My tonsils are now back to normal, its my Dad that has had all the drama with his health this week...

He had a couple of funny turns last weekend and then a couple more on Monday, which resulted in him having to call an ambulance Monday night after spending 3 hours unconscious on the floor. The police also attended as the ambulance was delayed & when the paramedics arrived, they thought he may have been suffering from a series of mini-strokes. So I went over to stay with him that night & the next day he had a scheduled appointment with his renal consultant. The paramedics said that we should tell the consultant what had been happening which we did & he thought Dad may have had some 'hypo-glaucomic episodes' to do with his diabetes/blood sugar, which would result in him becoming unconscious etc. So the consultant has given him yet more medication to add to his collection & he has been referred to the TIA clinic which specialises in people that have suffered mini-strokes, just incase thats what it was. I'm more inclined to think it is connected with his blood sugar. I have told him to eat at more regular intervals, not just at meal times & also a couple of people are going to check on him every couple of days or so. Its been a pretty worrying time, but he seems to be ok now & hasn't had any more 'episodes' since.

Stitching wise, I'm afraid the blues have finally got me! I'm all blued-out. So I picked up Titania again for a while:

And then yesterday I was very naughty indeed & started another Mira! Can you guess what it is yet? ;o)