More progress on The Guardian

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

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

The Guardian update

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

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

Thank you

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)

A quick update

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)

Birthday girl!

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

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)

Ouch!

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....

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

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)