Still Around

Thank you for all the well wishes - you're all very kind and they're much appreciated. :0) I'm still a bit out of sorts with myself, having good days and bad, so I guess I've hit that bridge the Herbalist warned me I would need to cross with the treatment I'm on. Unfortunately I didn't realise at the time that she meant it would be a flippin' humpty backed bridge with a great hump in the middle to climb over! LOL I enjoy the good days and take it easy on the not so good ones - I've been here already, before the treatment started, so I know the drill. ;0) It'll all be so worth it in the long run! :0)

Saturday was one of my good days, so DH and I had a trip into Ashby to get some more herbal teas from the Clinic (unfortunately Jan wasn't available for a chat, so it'll have to keep until I see her for my next consult, at the end of the month) and also pick up a few bits and pieces we needed from a couple of other places. Here are some of the bits I got whilst in the LNS:

Lots of goodies for trimming finishes. Afterwards we popped home for the car and had a trip out to Brigg so I could stock up on a few things from the Health Food Shop there. We were both tired after this so we decided to have a quiet Sunday at home so DH could get a couple of small jobs done.

Monday and the two menfolk were back at work. I was having a really good day and whizzed round and got all the usual house jobs done. Unfortunately Alex couldn't call in for her usual natter as she'd been sent home from work - she's got one of the lergies that's going the rounds at the moment. If you're reading this: hope you feel much better soon Alex. :0)

Tuesday was an off day for me but it started off well, despite this, as the stash I ordered from Cotton Patch arrived first thing. Here's a pic:


The main fabrics are fat eighths (I think) and are from the same Leafy Glade collection I backed the Celtic blackwork Challenge piece with - though these are the Spring range of colours. The other three are fat quarters from another range of fabric that I rather liked, along with the pinking shears. More Prairie Schooler style finishes will be on the cards now I have those little beauties! LOL As I was taking it easy I sat and watched Dawn Bibby on QVC whilst stitching - none of the goodies appealed but saw lots of inspiration from the finished cards, got a reasonable amount of stitching done and recharged my batteries enough to make our evening meal (peppered mackerel, brown rice and roast veggies medley: butternut squash, celeriac, red onion, garlic cloves and beetroot, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with dill seeds).

Although there's a dearth of stitching pics to show the stitching has been going OK - I just can't show you anything yet. The stitching on the JA/S&S Challenge piece is completed, there's just the finishing do do whenever the right mood takes me. The piece for the Challenge For A Finish Blog has been started and is about half done but I do like to set myself a real challenge at times: both Challenge pieces are 1 over 1 on 32ct. Eye strain here I come! LOL The problem was that, although I have lots more 28ct fabric than 32ct, I didn't have the colours I wanted in the 28ct and didn't want to go and buy more, as I really do need to start using more of what I already have in my stash. (That's the theory, anyway! LOL).

I got so busy on the CFAF stitching I totally forgot about it being Tuesday UFO Night last night until it was too late. Doh! Sorry Julie and Mr Stick! Will see how my eyes are later - may just give them a bit of a rest tonight by switching to Night Watchman and do that UFO stitching a day late. I did a little more on the ornie for the JA/S&S Christmas Ornie Challenge over the weekend too but won't do any more on that until the CFAF piece is completed. Then that finishing mood needs to kick in real fast, as that will be three items to do......... four, if the ornie I stitched before Christmas is included.

It will be nice to finish Night Watchman as that will mean I can have a new start. This year I've had to have a re-think on how many projects, especially BAP's, I have on the go at the same time. I'm taking part in three Challenges per month now - more than I normally take on - so I can achieve some regular smalls finishes (potential gifts, as well as having more ornies for my Yule tree to display by the end of this year). To keep up with the deadlines for these that means less time to spend on larger projects. I currently have Night Watchman, Sea Stars and Mother Earth on the go: NW is for Tuesday UFO Nights; Sea Stars for Thursday SAL Nights; Mother Earth is an as-and-when/occasional UFO Night project and there are a few more UFO's that need to become finishes too (two just need beads adding). There's also an urgent need to stitch a piece for our Silver Wedding, as that is in July (that design is chosen already!).

Stitching is something I want to continue to enjoy, so it's now become a case of not taking on or starting anything else or the pressure will start to build and spoil the enjoyment. SO: after making a start on the Anniversary piece I've decided that there will be no more larger starts for me until there's a finish. Hopefully that will not only mean that the enjoyment remains but that it gives me another little incentive to really get on with the ongoing projects, as now one finish = one new start, and those can be BAP's or small pieces from the NAY basket. Fingers crossed it works OK! :0)

Many thanks for visiting. Hope you are all well and keeping warm during the current bad weather. :0)