Days Out & Days In

I'm still here - although the trek down the windswept High Street on Thursday did almost take my breath away! It was productive though, as we stopped in at the local craft shop and came away with two thicknesses of Vilene and various lengths of pretty trimmings for finishing items and a good idea of what else they stock for future reference. :0) I also re-joined the local library (just a couple of minutes walk from our house now) and took out a couple of books - one of which is about Boudica, which is very interesting. There's method in my madness here: now I've got the books out I've got to take them back - a nice incentive to break that final barrier, left over from the agoraphobia, of going out of the house on my own. It'll be just far enough to be a challenge but not too far that I can't see myself ever doing it. :0)

Friday we went to my DSis's in Doncaster for the day. The weather was still a bit wild, with occasional downpours, but no snow. We took her out to a garden centre for dinner as a belated birthday treat and so she could spend some of the garden vouchers she was given for Christmas and her birthday. She came away with a ceramic hanging bird bath, a pole to hang it from, a suet slab and a holder for it. No garden pots, as they didn't have a matching pair in a design she liked. DH got a few bits, including a book about the Spitfire, and I couldn't resist this coaster:
It appealed to my sense of humour - although DS swears the only one who isn't normal in this family is me. I really don't know what he means. ROFLMAO

The weekend was down for more lousy weather so we opted for staying in and getting a few things done. Saturday I decided to finish the Ozark border so set to with determination.......... only to realise that I'd made two mistakes: one on the left side and one at the top, right near the start. After frogging what I'd done on the left and taking the top back from the beginning - around three lengths of thread (definitely a cross stitch moment) - the top mistake was corrected (this would've made the border one stitch too short and put everything else out) and the rest was re-stitched. That mistake meant it didn't get finished Saturday, as planned. It did get finished Sunday afternoon though: It won't all fit on the scanner, so the pic is of the bit that will, just to give you an idea of colours etc. The amount of thread given for this was very generous and there's loads left over. :0)

Sunday evening was the turn of the Amanda SAL: fabric marked with the top corner starting point and tacked onto the scroll frame ready to make a start whenever the mood takes me.

Guess I could've got more done but I had to keep breaking off in the afternoon, which set me back. DS finally got round to boxing up the Lego models and other bits that were left in the little bedroom (my future craft room) and I was helping him seal the boxes and mark them, ready for them going in the loft until he gets his own place. Then I was on veg peeling and prep duties for our dinner - whilst I would've much preferred to have continued stitching I do like to eat occasionally and, as it was roast lamb with all the trimmings, it was well worth giving up the time for. ;0)

Alex isn't coming for her usual visit today so, once I've done all the jobs and caught up with blogs I'm hoping to get some extra stitching time in. The choices are: making a start on the Amanda SAL or on the February Challenge, which is a beautiful heart design by Kris of Dragonfly Stitches. Decisions, decisions!

Despite all the forecasts for lots of snow over the last few days we haven't had any here, just a tiny amount of hail and lots of wind and rain. So, the question is: who kept all the snow then? LOL

Hope you've all had a good weekend, despite the weather, and that the week has got off to a good start for you. :0)

Brisk and Breezy!

That's the weather I'm referring to and that's the only way to describe it: the recycling wheelie bins were tumbling like nine pins through the night, meaning unsquashed plastic pop bottles were rolling down the street in a bid for freedom and there are brightly coloured cardboard packets liberally decorating most gardens this morning. Earlier we had sudden bouts of torrential rain and hail that sent out the occasional lightning strike, now it's downpours of rain and hail that are interspersed with bright sunshine - yes, Mother Nature has got a right menopausal moody on today! LOL

Sorry to disappoint Mr Stick but I did have that delayed UFO Night stitching session last night and this is where I got to by the end of it:

Why is it that the last bit always seems to take aaages to get done? Oh well, only another one (or maybe two) more sessions to see the cross stitch complete then it'll be on to the backstitch.

Not sure how long that will take but I want to free up that frame for a new start! I've got the Ozark SAL taking up the frame that Karen sent me (thanks again!) and the other spare one has been reserved for the Amanda SAL which starts tomorrow - did think I'd got another spare but that must have been an hallucination or wishful thinking or something. >rolleyes<>

Not much longer and we'll be finding out what the Monthly Challenge for February will be - can't wait to find out which design we'll be stitching! There were 50 votes taken last time I looked!

We are supposed to be going for a wander down the High Street soon, as it's our local Market Day - we'll have to choose our moment and hopefully the weather will be kind and hold off long enough for us to get our shopping done and get back home without getting wet, although we'll definitely be getting a tad wind blown! All garden jobs are now on hold but at least I managed to get out there yesterday and fill the brown bin with conifer clippings, ready for it being emptied today.

Dawn: I might be planning on us getting some DIY jobs done - that doesn't necessarily mean that DH will extract his digit and do them. He needs a rocket up for motivation, so I don't think it would do any good to send him round to yours. LOL.

Anyway, DH needs to send an email to work before we can go shopping, so I'd better go. Hope you're all taking care, keeping safe and staying warm and thanks for visiting. :0)

Wednesday's Wafflings

We had a nice meal out last night and sat in the pub nattering for a while afterwards, then decided to pop to Tesco to do a bit of shopping (it was just across the road). By the time we'd finished in there, driven home and put the bits of shopping away it was around 10pm and I was too tired for stitching, as planned, by then. So I was a bad lass and didn't stitch on ET but - before Mr Stick starts jumping up and down - I shall be making up for that today instead. :0)

As there's no update pic to show today thought I'd share pics of the other two charts that were in yesterday's Thread Bear package instead. I love the Irish Blessing on this - wouldn't it make a lovely New Home gift? This one was so cute and it'll make a brilliant Oestre picture, as well as being adaptable for a sweet New Baby picture for my bunny loving neighbours...... who just happen to be expecting their third baby in July (which I didn't know when I ordered this):
This uses GAST threads (or DMC). I don't have any GAST but, thanks to Jayne's Monthly Club, I do now have a respectable collection of Carrie's Creations, so does anyone know if there's a conversion list available somewhere online, please? TIA. :0)

DH has booked Thursday and Friday off work, in an effort to use up some of the time-in-lieu he built up over the summer/autumn - although so many men on that same project are now owed so much time off it's been decided some of the over-time worked will now be paid in actual money instead. We won't get excited though - by the time the tax man has done there won't be much left over! Not sure what the plans are yet but am hoping we'll get a few DIY jobs done in the house...... there's plenty on the list to choose from!

Nicola: the Dentist knows how I feel about going, so he puts me under sedation when the main work is done. He wasn't very careful last time though, as I woke up part way through treatment - it hasn't helped at all and why I got so wound up this time. :0( Maybe I should try the approach I once saw in a film on TV: grab him by a certain part of his anatomy while looking him straight in the eye and growling menacingly: Now, we're not going to hurt each other, are we? Seemed to work well in the film, anyway. ROFLMAO.

Thanks for all the lovely comments about the Memories piece - all credit to Jayne, her instructions are very clear and the design is such a treat to stitch.

Now I'm off to do that belated UFO Night stitching on ET before Julie sics Mr Stick on to me. ;0)

Hope all is good with you and that life is treating you well. :0)

A Mini Happy Dance......

as I finished Part 1 of the Memories SAL last night. Yay! Got to say that I've thoroughly enjoyed stitching this and can't wait for the next part. The fabric and threads are lovely to use and everything about it works so well. I also got my Thread Bear order this morning but, from the looks of the packaging, RM have been less than gentle with it. >:0( Luckily the contents were wrapped in tissue (and very prettily bound with a piece of gold ribbon), so the charts were protected from the tears the envelope received. Obviously RM haven't realised yet that stash packages are extra special and should be treated as precious objects and only handled by the gentlest of postal workers, preferably whilst wearing protective gloves. Yeah, right - and that squadron of flying pigs has just gone past again. LOL.
I've now got enough plastic floss bobbins to keep me busy winding my DMC threads for some time and here's two of the charts I got:
I'm a sucker for a cute snowman and the LHN designs are irresistible, so how could I not buy them? It would take someone with waaay more willpower than me! ;0)

Glad to say I'm feeling much better now. Had a quiet but enjoyable day at my DSis's on Sunday. On Monday I managed to do all of my usual house jobs without getting overly breathless (though deliberately paced myself) and had a good natter with my friend Alex in the late afternoon.

Today we've had the dreaded trip back to the Dentist to have our temporary crowns taken off and the proper ones fitted. I nearly burst into tears when I saw the chair and had to make myself sit in it, doing breathing techniques while he was doing the work. When he'd done my legs were shaking so much I couldn't make it back to the waiting room, so had to sit in an ordinary chair in the treatment room while DH had his crown fitted. Needless to say, I didn't look but kept on with the breathing techniques until we could both leave. I was annoyed with myself afterwards for not saying anything about the last visit but just knew if I did I'd have made a total pratt of myself by bursting into tears. Guess what: I won't be going back there for a looooooong time, if ever.

Afterwards DH took us to the nearby garden centre for a warm drink, to give us both chance to settle down, which was a good idea. I settled down even more after he dropped me off at home because, with the weather being fine, I was able to spend a good twenty minutes or so pottering about doing jobs in the garden - always a calming influence and good for the soul. :0)

He also suggested we treat ourselves to a meal out in a local pub tonight, so that's what we'll be doing later. Don't worry Julie & Mr Stick, I haven't forgotten it's UFO Night. ;0)

Many thanks for all the lovely comments about Eliza's Pyn Pillow and the well wishes, they're greatly appreciated. Hope you're all having a good week. :0)

Monthly Challenge Reveal

The reveal was today and it was brilliant to see everyone's interpretation of the piece: Eliza's Pyn Pillow, a freebie design by Ellen Chester from With My Needle. There was a rainbow of different fabric and thread colours and lots of different finishing techniques used - a real feast for the eyes. :0)
So now I can show you what I did with the design. Front: Back:
My first ever beaded pin cushion! The fabric is Silkweaver Solos 32ct Lugana (don't know the name, unlabelled) and the threads are Carrie's Creations: Sherbert for the alphabet; Multi Grain for the basket; Sea Kelp for the stem and leaves and Sunflower for the flowers. Apart from the satin stitch hearts, the front was stitched in 1 over 1 cross stitch (didn't read the instructions properly - Oops!) and the back motif in 2 over 2. Just wish I knew how to make the corners a bit less bulky without risk of the fabric fraying on the corners - guess practice will make perfect in the long run.
A BIG thank you to Karen and Julie for running the Challenge :0) I've now learnt a new finishing skill and realised that it's best to have an idea of what finishing technique to use before selecting threads and fabric, to make sure I've got the right colour of ribbons/beads or whatever for finishing. Have already put my vote in for next Months Challenge and we'll get to know the result and what we're stitching at the end of this month - can't wait!

Last night I tacked the fabric for the Ozark SAL onto the scroll frame, so that's all ready to go now. Didn't do any stitching at all, as I still felt out-of-sorts and very tired, with the temporary crown giving me some bother as well. No more tap-dancing elephant sounds from next door (a.k.a. those banging wheelie bins) so a better nights sleep was had, once I got off - which was after having to stir myself to go let the son and heir in after a night out with his LTC pals. The muppet had only gone out without his front door key! Tempting as it was to leave him and his rapidly chilling Chinese take-away on the door-step I just didn't have that level of cruelty in me. ;0)

Today is Brigg Farmers Market and DS shot off there with Alex bright and early. Fridge is now re-stocked with home-made cheeses, smoked fish and chicken and butter and the freezer with sausages, fresh fish, butty bacon and meats. Plus there's a bag of various organic veggies hanging in the workshop. Reckon DS has redeemed himself, don't you? ;0)

Today I'm wheezing like a set of old bellows so the weekend plans have had to be changed. Having a quiet day today and an early night tonight, dosing up with one of those Blackcurrant Lemsip Max drinks (good stuff that) and decided not to go to the M,B & S event tomorrow - don't think I could get round the hall once, let alone the usual mammoth trawl we have. Hopefully I'll feel a bit livelier in the morning, so we can go to my DSis's for the day instead, as we need to take over all the bits that DH got from the local Screwfix place for her that she'll be needing soon. She's already had a re-painting session in the little bedroom and re-done the filler round the window in there and her bedroom, as well as having a fella in to fix a leak in the roof for her - starting as she means to go on. LOL.

Thank you Nicola for the solution to the paragraph problem, it's much appreciated. Of course Blogger is behaving today, so I'll have to wait to try it out next time it glitches.

Karen: hope the creme egg helped to improve things - maybe I should try some chocolate therapy too. LOL

Thanks again for all the well wishes and kind comments about Memories. I hope you're all having a good day. :0)

Memories Update

Well I managed to mark the start point corner on the Ozark fabric last night but when it came to sewing said fabric onto the scroll frame I just couldn't drum up the enthusiasm, so left it to do another time. I was in the mood for more stitching on the Memories SAL though and completed the leaf stitch row and made a start on the satin stitch in the next one. It's nice to do but found that it does need some concentration with the counting. It's going to be lovely when completed and will be one of those designs to look at and think: did I really stitch that? :0)

Only one more day to go before it's the Monthly Challenge reveal! Can you tell I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone has stitched? LOL

This morning I received a pinkie with the Pol's Georgian fabric for the Amanda SAL and am very pleased with the effect - the threads and embellishments look so well on it and it's going to be another piece I shall really enjoy. A BIG thank you to Jayne for suggesting this fabric. :0)

Maybe I should have called today's post Flat Friday, as that's just how I'm feeling right now. Thanks to a combination of our next door neighbours leaving something leant again the side wall of our house and the gusty winds we've been having we had to put up with regular banging against said house wall all through last night. As that wall makes up one side of our bedroom we got the full sound effect when we went to bed, so it took me ages to get off to sleep in the first place then the rest of the night I kept being rudely woken up by the louder bangs. Today I feel like a combination of death warmed over and something the cat dragged in. Yes, I am a right grumpy old bag when I don't get a decent night's sleep! DH had a nosey and it turns out that their flippin' wheelie bins were tipped back and leaning against our house. He made sure they got shifted this morning, as he squeezed round the fence into their garden and moved them himself and it's been blissful silence ever since. :0) He'll pop round to see the neighbours tonight to tell them what he's done and why and hopefully they'll be OK and not do that again. I definitely plan on having an early night tonight....... if I don't fall asleep after my tea! LOL

Weekend plans: the first Mind, Body & Spirit event of the year is being held in Grimsby at the Auditorium. Yay! Not sure what we are up to on Saturday but we'll be going to the event on Sunday and I plan on having some alternative treatments done (such as Reiki) as I'm also still feeling a bit run-down after the cold I had. Might have my tarot cards read as well. Looking forward to it. :0)

Thanks for stopping by and, whatever your plans are for this weekend, I hope it's a good one. :0)

Party Animal

No, not me - the card that I made today for my nephew Finlay. The tiny card on the front has: Happy Birthday Party Animal written inside, in case anyone was wondering, as I thought it went well with the bug-eyed critturs in the dome stickers. LOL. The scan just doesn't show the sparkle in the glitter card or the crittur dome stickers I used.

Thought I'd share this with you as I can't yet put up a pic of the Monthly Challenge piece that I finally managed to finish last night. Do you know I changed my mind on the finishing technique three times! Talk about: I used to be indecisive but now I'm not sure! ;0) Am reasonably pleased with the end result and pics have been sent to Karen for the album - now really looking forward to the reveal on Saturday....... and what the next three choices are to vote on, for next month.

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Due to completing the Challenge piece I didn't get around to putting the fabric for the Ozark SAL on to the frame yesterday, as planned, so hopefully that'll get done tonight. Same reason for there being no further progress on Memories either. As for the Amanda SAL: a check of my fabric stash revealed nothing that was really suitable to stitch this on so a shout to Jayne and a phone call later and there's a piece of Pol's linen on the way for this - Georgian, I think - so when that arrives I'll be all set to go. It's nice to be organised......... shame it doesn't happen that often. LOL.

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Yup, it's ignoring the paragraphs again. Karen: help! How do I go about editing a page to insert paragraphs when it's playing up, please? I will need the idiot's guide! LOL.

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Julie: Mistletoe is now officially classed as a UFO, so that's a candidate, as is Alchemy's Copper Beech and Heirloom Embroideries Love Is You. Spoilt for choice! LOL

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Well the hungry mob has descended (all two of 'em) and need feeding, so I'd best shoot off. Thank you for the kind comments on ET, they'll help keep me going, and I hope you're all having a good day. :0)