Sunday 7 March 2010

It's That Time of the Week

Yes, it's that time of the week... blogging update time. It seems to have come round real quick this week..... and already a whole week into the new month of March. That certainly flew past.

So, what have I been up to since my last post? Well, that looked forward to visit with my DSis had to be called off, as my stomach kicked off and I came down with a bit of a bug. :0( Aaaahhh, now I remember why this week seems to have flown past.... I spent the best part of two days doing nothing but sleeping, so I kinda lost them. LOL DSis and I have made up for it by having long chats on the phone, though it's not quite the same as spending actual time together. She has more holidays later in the year, so am sure another opportunity for a visit will present itself so we can make up for lost time then. Thankfully I feel much better now. :0)

As soon as I was up on my feet again I realised my DBro's birthday is fast approaching, so I made a card for him:


As inspiration was a little lacking I opted to cheat and used some of the KanBan goodies I'd bought last month. Some of this is decoupaged but the scan seems to have lost some of the 3-D look of it. My DBro is a very good DIY enthusiast, so it's very apt. :0)

It's also that time of the week for SAL updates too. Yes, folks, I'm going to bore you all with yet another pic of Mother Earth! Believe me, you are going to be sooooo sick of seeing Her by the time the whole piece is finished. LOL With not being too well Sea Stars didn't come out to play last week, so I made ME my focus piece instead and it's showing the benefit of that - even DH made a comment on how it's coming on. Here's where I left off last night:


Basically, I carried on with the next section of background between the edge of the last page and the next tree trunk and brought it down to the bottom of that page. I stitched in part of the tree trunk too, as it will give me a good marker to work from.... and make it easier for you to see what's been added next time around. (Yes, I could hear you all groaning at that! LOL).

It's also the time for the monthly update over at the Stitcher's Showcase SAL Blog, so I do have something a little different to show you (Wow, I swear I almost heard a full on version of the Hallelujah Chorus then. ROFL). Here's where February's progress got to:


Am glad to have finished that central section as it gives a much better view of how the variegations in the Thai silk are stitching up... and I'm pretty pleased with it. If you have a look in the bottom right corner you can see the thread I'll be using for the next section of this design. I almost made a start on that earlier in the week but decided on making ME my priority instead. Who knows, I may decide to put a length or two of the thread into this tonight....... will see what mood takes me when I park my behind in my armchair later. Yes, it's good TV night tonight (Larkrise to Candleford and Seven Ages of Britain) so I shall be getting a serious case of Stitch Ass whilst they're on. :0)

The Great Car Hunt continued yesterday, with a slight change in the search, as DH said not to concentrate on new cars just so we can take advantage of the scrappage scheme, but to think of it as a search on two levels: one that includes the scrappage and one that doesn't rule any car out. OK, why didn't he tell me that to start with? I'd ruled out several older cars that I liked the look of because we wouldn't be able to take advantage of the scrappage scheme with them. So we went back to view some of the Used cars again that had taken my eye. I didn't like some of them when I sat in them because I was sat so low it would have been dangerous. Why do they make cars in such a way that you don't get a good view of even the bonnet, let alone the road ahead, because you can only just see over the dashboard?
Anyhow, the upshot is that the search may be over..... I rather liked a 2008 Kia Picanto Ice Special Edition, in a lovely icy blue colour (a cross between light blue/grey/silver) that has all the basics I wanted (air bag, air con, CD Player, adjustable drivers seat and the like). What I really like about it though is that it's a small car without being cramped, the drivers seat adjusts up (I can see the bonnet and the road!) and, more importantly, it doesn't have a foot of wheel arches sticking out of the sides, or half a mile of extra bumper front and back. Why do manufacturers add these on when all they are are hazards that are crying out to get scraped?! You've got to remember folks: I haven't been behind the wheel of a car in ten years.... and my last car was an original Mini. I loved that car, as I knew exactly where every bit of it was and I could get into any parking space without a problem.... I just wasn't so keen on the sick-making, bone jarring, boob-bouncing ride that comes from not having a decent suspension and the Council's not maintaining the roads. Yes, I'll be having refresher lessons before I venture out on the roads again... but I want that added confidence of knowing exactly where every edge of the car is because I want to avoid getting those scrapes. And because I really don't want DS taking the wee-wee and claiming men are better drivers! ;0) We should be going back to the garage to give it a test drive soon.

DS went over to Bradford on Saturday, with friends, to go and visit another friend who now lives and works there, and they all went out for curry and a few beers to celebrate the friends birthday. He's back now and has disappeared off to the theatre.... DH is already there, as it's the Get In for another amateur dramatics group and they're helping out. Yes, folks, the TV remote is all mine once again. You know, I could really get used to this! LOL

Right, time for me to go and catch up with blog reading and commenting, have something to eat (just me for an evening meal tonight) and then work on getting that Stitch Ass. :0)

Many thanks for visiting and for the kind comments you leave. Hope you have all been having a lovely weekend.... and that the week ahead is a good one. :0)

17 comments:

Tina said...

Love how ME is coming along and those Thai silks look gorgeous.hope you get your car that you are after

Tina x

stitchersanon said...

I think Mother Earth is coming on beautifully...you have achieved so much in what is really a very short period of time.
Well done!

glamlawlib said...

Your HAED piece is looking great, every stitch is progress :)

Love the colour of the Thai silk too.

Good luck with your car search and I hope your health continues to improve!

Jane said...

That card is lovely. Enjoy your evening of stitching and hope you have a better week ahead

Daffycat said...

Great progress on ME! She is such a biggie I thing making her a focus piece for a time is a good idea.

Lovely new start too ~ such pretty colors!

Good luck with finding that perfect car! I too can't stand cars where you can't see the front.

Maggie said...

Sorry you had to call off your visit to your sister, glad your feeling better now though!


ME is looking good, i do admire your patience with these HAED's

Good luck with the car hunting, we did a similar thing last yeat but gave up as i couldn't settle on another car i really liked, i still really like my little Puma, it gets me around to where i need to go (usually work & back and shopping, lol) I know what you mean about the roads, round here they are terrible in places, the bad weather we had had hasn't helped none.

Have a great week :-)

Lesleyanne said...

Lovely progress on ME. Nice new start and a gorgeous card.

Clare-Aimetu said...

That's a great card Karan, Mother Earth is looking lovely x x

Christine said...

Great progress on ME. Good luck with the car hunt.

Barb said...

Hi there Karan couldnt have ME fix as the confuser wont let me see the pics for some reason. It did let me see the lilac one though I do love those colours.
Hope you are feeling better now and that you will soon be brumming round in that little car. Oh I wish I could drive - you might have had a visitor.lol

jane said...

Glad to hear you are feeling better Karan, shame about your visit. The car you like sounds lovely ( not that I know the first thing about cars!)
ME is coming along great now and your new start is lovely too!

Mylene said...

Great job on your brother's card and Mother Earth is looking beautiful!

Siobhán said...

Great progress on your ME, and your card is lovely! Your HAED looks great, too. Good luck on the car search.

Julie said...

ME has certainly grown this week. Great card for DBro too, hope he has a lovely birthday.

Good luck with the car, DD sat in hundreds when she was looking and finally decided the little KA was for her, must say i like to drive it too LOL

Sally said...

Wow ME is really coming along now Karan.

Your new start is so pretty. I LOVE the colours. The card you made is brilliant!

Hope you are feeling much better now.

Dani - tkdchick said...

I'm enjoying watching ME grow. I find I quite ejoynhaving one focus piece

Stitchingranny said...

Now don't faint Karan but I made it to bloglines and Im slowely working my way through a few each day and then (fingers crossed) I will try and keep up.

Mother Earth has certainly grown since I was last her and though I cannot comment on each post I have missed I have done a quick flick through to catch up with what you are doing. I love the look of the new craft room and snap - you have chosen the same colour as mine is. See we both have great taste lol.