Another Tuesday - Yet Another UFO

This week I decided my eyes probably couldn't cope with another session of 1 over 1 stitching so opted for a different UFO and it was the Heirloom Embroideries piece For Amanda that guilt tripped me the most. Just in case you can't remember what it looked like, here's a pic of where I last left it:


Now I thoroughly enjoyed stitching this piece but I stalled when it came to the central heart motif, as it involved some woven and pulled thread work and was totally outside my comfort zone. Last night was zero hour: time to tackle it and put the phobia to bed. The kloster blocks stitched up, no problem, and I started on the cutting......... three sections taken out OK and then my DSis phoned, so I broke off to go for a natter. About half an hour to 45 minutes later I came back, settled down, glanced at the chart and cut out another four threads............ then had that sickening "OMG, what have I done?" moment when realisation hit:

1. I'd cut out the wrong four threads;


2. It was going to be impossible to repair;


3. I can't do the woven/pulled threadwork infill in the heart now.

I put it to one side and told DH what I'd done, then swallowed hard so I wouldn't either start crying or start throwing things. Yes, it's only a piece of needlework but I'm stitching this as a joint memorial piece to my Mum and Dad, so it's got special meaning to it - making such a huge cock up on it hurt and I felt physically sick.

After I'd calmed down I picked it up again and realised that, actually, I can make the mistake work for me: I can forget about the woven and pulled thread work, as per the chart, (which I wasn't confident about anyway) and finish the centre area as a proper hardanger piece with woven bars and a beaded filling stitch. I've already altered the letter M in this piece, to make it a little less heavy than the charted one, so now I'm altering the heart - maybe it's not as Carol, the designer, envisaged it but I guess it will have my personalisation on it. Hope she won't mind.

The mistake was taking out those horizontal threads - I should only have been taking out vertical threads, so the gaps shouldn't be there. A very hard lesson learnt this time round. :0(

This morning the remaining piece of fabric from my last Sew and So order arrived: a fat quarter of 28ct Brittney in Antique White, so that's been added to the rest in my stash. Good service again: received an email yesterday to say the fabric was back in stock and my piece had been despatched and it arrived today, postage free. :0)

I picked out the threads for the next Halloween piece this afternoon and will probably use some Pol's Hot Potatoes fabric again, so that's my stitching for tonight sorted. It's the final part of Lost In Austen too, so I'm looking forward to seeing how that unfolds - there have been some unexpected twists and very funny moments but the best bit had to be this Mr Darcy dunking himself in the ornamental pond at Amanda Price's request. Christine: Colin Firth he isn't but Phwoar! He would certainly give CF a run for the money in a wet cotton shirt competition! LMAO. Poor Jane Austen - she must be turning in her grave! LOL Oooo it sounds like it's about to start so I'm off.......

Many thanks for the kind comments, they're much appreciated. Hope you're all having a lovely stitchy day, free of pesky frogs and mistakes. :0)

Back To Stitching

After all the chat about other things and pics of my cards I thought it was about time this blog got back to what really matters......... stitching. LOL

As it was Tuesday yesterday it was, of course, UFO Night over at JA/S&S forum and time to choose a "new" UFO piece to stitch on. First out of the bag was Mistletoe by Lynda Bodkin of Loopylou Designs. This started out as a SAL piece on JA/S&S forum last year but because my Dad's condition started deteriorating (terminal cancer) I had to drop out after only completing the first part - all the bits stitched in the lavender coloured thread.

Last night's stitching was the green bits and not a lot got done really. Trying to get those lazy daisies to look like the chart representation was trickier than I thought, so it was slow going. I also had around an hour's interruption when my DSis rang- have to say that by that time it was most welcome. I think that I'm still associating this piece with some sad memories, as I didn't enjoy stitching on it at all. Think it might be best to put it away again, choose something else to stitch on next UFO Night and come back to this at a later date because I would still like to finish it at some point, as it's a very pretty piece.

Next up is an update on Cleo, as promised. Here's where I got up to:
Her face definitely looks a tad freaky at the moment, sort of Alien meets Halloween. LOL It's 1 over 1 Petit Point and is best done in small doses, so it's slow going. I don't know what metallic thread is in this kit but it's lovely to work with and way nicer than the DMC stuff I had to use on ET - there hasn't been any waste at all. I'll be glad to pick her up again, especially as I've been listening to my Egyptian music CD's and am so in the right mood. :0)

I actually started listening to the CD's in an attempt to drown out the sound of building work going on next door: all that banging, hammering and drilling started Monday and has continued on and off since. I don't mind folks having work done but I can find it stressful (ie bad for my blood pressure) so the music came out in an effort to stop the wind up. Best idea I've had in a while: have been listening to music from around the world, from Japanese style to Native American to Peruvian panpipes to Celtic to Egyptian, with a little English folk music and a variety of New Age music thrown in for good measure - those builders will end up with the best all round world music education ever by the time they've finished this job. LMAO

I've learnt that when there's boring housework to be done the Egyptian music is the best to listen to: jobs get done in a fraction of the time, it's waaaay more fun and lots more calories get burnt when you wiggle while you work........... sooooo glad no one could actually see me though! LMAO
Check out the New World Music site and do a search for Phil Thornton to listen to samples of the music, if you're curious. There are even more samples of alternative and relaxation music to listen to here if you feel the need to chill. BTW, no affiliation to either: just bought from the NWM website and from AV at the M,B&S events I go to and been happy with the goods.

Karen: if you have any New Age style shops near you they will probably advertise M,B&S events - local Tourist Boards should also have info. Better still: Google Mind Body Spirit or Mind Body Spirit events and all kinds of interesting links come up. Hope this helps you find an event in your area. :0)

As yesterday's planned sessions of stitching whilst watching Dawn Bibby and then having a blog reading catch up didn't happen, due to getting side-tracked, I shall try again today.

Thank you to all for taking the time to visit and to those who leave comments - very much appreciated. It let's me know I'm not waffling away to myself LOL. :0)

Bank Holiday Weekend

I forgot to share pics of the new goodies I received on Friday morning - Plum Street Samplers charts I'd pre-ordered from Jayne: A bit of a surprise, as I didn't expect them to arrive for a while yet. I so love the tongue-in-cheek type of humour in these designs. :0)


The BH weekend got off to a good start with the arrival of more new stash on Saturday morning, my May's Monthly Clubs from Jayne's Attic:

Another lovely rainbow of colours and the fabric is another lovely one. :0)

So what did we get up to over the weekend then? Well, the short version is: a wander down the local High Street to post a couple of packages, do a little shopping and have dinner at the Il Sorriso cafe, followed by a couple of house jobs on Saturday; dinner out at a local garden centre with some plant buying (flowers and veggies) after, then a look round a couple of local garages at cars, then potting up the plants in the evening on Sunday; a quieter day Monday, as I was feeling very arthritic and had to take pain killers, so I finished the making up on a stitched piece - DH mowed the lawn and did a few other jobs in the garden. After such lovely weather and so much time spent in the garden the brown recycling bin is well and truly full, so it's a good job it's emptied this week! Unfortunately, despite all the attention it received, the garden still looks like there's a triffid or two out there. :0)

The Monthly Challenge piece, the Caron Keeper, I stitched last month has safely arrived in it's new home with Helen, so I can now post some pics. Here's a view of the front: The fabric was an unlabelled piece from my stash (28ct, I think, and a sort of mix between milk chocolate and milky coffee - difficult to describe) and the thread is Carrie's Creations Polar Bear. The edges are decorated with cream Mill Hill beads and I made a little hanging loop from the same beads too.

The back view:
I added a little "Made with Love" charm close to the hanging loop but you can't quite see it in the pic - I'm still learning as I go along with this digicam/photography lark. Each time I picked this piece up I kept thinking of Helen, so knew I had to send it to her. I was very nervous about it though, I must say, and am so happy she likes it. :0)

The stitched piece I finished on Monday is all wrapped, packaged and addressed ready for a trip to the Post Office, to be sent to its new home. I'm very nervous about this one too as it's the first time I've used the sewing machine to finish a piece - me and sewing machines don't get on that well! I'll post a pic when I know it's arrived.

The JA/S&S Forum is still not recognising me as a member so it's full-on cold turkey here at the moment and it's not nice. :0( I miss reading the news and seeing all the pics of the beautiful pieces everyone has been stitching. Those Yahoo forums just aren't the same, so I hope the technical glitch is fixed soon because I'm really missing everybody. :0(

Stitching wise: I've been working on Night Watchman since finishing the gift piece but I'll leave an update pic for another time. It just doesn't seem to grow very fast.

I've managed to get behind with Blog reading and commenting again, with being out-and-about so much, so hope to have a catch up in the next couple of days.

Thanks again for taking the time to visit - hope you're all having a good week. :0)

Two Updates

I started on the next part of the Memories SAL last night but as it is just two rows of long and short satin stitch I won't post an update on that yet - I'll leave it until I've completed the whole section and then share.

Thought I'd post a pic of where I'm up to on the For Amanda SAL piece instead:
Am stalled on this until the Perle thread arrives from Thread Bear. Yes, I went shopping today and no, I didn't buy just the thread: their stock is just as bouncy as Jayne's and all kinds of wonderful things kept jumping into my basket and I just didn't have the heart to turf them out. LMAO ;0) Have had to ask that they send the package Recorded Delivery because the last few packages I've had (sent from elsewhere) have turned up with the packaging damaged (one looked like they'd been surfing up and down the depot on it). I'm hoping that sending by RD means that Royal Mail will handle it a little more gently. Yes, I can hear disbelieving snorts from all over the place - I doubt it'll work either but you have to live in hope!

The second update is of Night Watchman. After several occasional stitching sessions it seems to have grown a reasonable amount:

I'm concentrating on the background whenever I stitch on this because I know if I do the most interesting bit (the owl) first I shan't have much of an incentive to carry on with it. There's an awful lot of that background and it can be quite "bitty" - although it does look effective. That's what I like about Heritage Stitchcraft designs: they stay as true to the original piece of artwork as possible. Plus I also like the fact that the threads in their kits are pre-organised so all I've got to do is mark the centre of the fabric, put it on a frame and start stitching - great for when I'm feeling lazy and want a quick new start. :0)

DS seems to have settled into the new job OK. He doesn't enjoy having to drive along one of the main routes in/out of town at peak times but the quieter alternative route adds extra mileage/time to the run, so he's reluctant to use it - the price petrol (gas) costs now it would make a heck of a difference to the running costs. He's a bit grumpy at the minute because the insurance is due and, like me, he'd rather that money went on good stuff - in his case, PC/X Box games, DVD's, CD's and nights out. Don't think you need three guesses to work out what I'd rather spend it on. ;0) LOL

My back isn't twinging so much now, so I've had the Dyson out and given the bedrooms a birthday today....... and promptly had a piece drop off it and a spring go ping. Another job for DH - as if he hadn't got enough on his list already! Karen: he's pretty good at basic plumbing, as he and a friend put our heating system in and replaced all the old lead piping when we first moved in. He's also a proper electrical engineer, so he can do all those jobs too. The only problem is actually getting him motivated into shifting his butt to do the jobs............. anyone got any spare dynamite laying around? ;0) LMAO

Well, there's not much else to share for now as things have been fairly quiet since our rather hectic weekend - thankfully! Tonight I plan on doing a little blog reading and then will carry on stitching Memories.

Thanks for stopping by - hope all is well in your parts of the world. :0)

An Update - Stitching and General

Bit of a busy few days, so I'm glad to be able to take a breath and start a catch up in Blogland again.

Saturday we had a long afternoon out: dinner out at Brigg Garden Centre, where DH and I had a nice meal, two drinks and a long chat then went shopping. Bought some gorgeous lemon coloured pansies (six plugs for a pound!) which will look stunning in my Arthur and Guinevere terracotta pots and against the red brick of the house wall and a pot of narcissi (also a pound), then found a great book on handmade cards that will be a useful ideas book and also some wording peel-offs and a bride and groom brass stencil for dry embossing. DH treated himself to a book on the London Blitz (WWII) and a diabetic quick cook book which has some Italian style food recipes in it - the food was one of the things he enjoyed over there....... the other being the local Grappa! LOL We then picked up a part for DS's Mini from a fellow Freecycler in one of the villages and followed it up with a bit of a drive round some of the other villages, ending up at the turf maze at Alkborough. We didn't hang around: the wind was blowing straight off the rivers, up at us and it was flipping freezing. Home for a take-out curry and I finally made a start on Part 3 of For Amanda.

Sunday we went to my DSis's for the day. I took the Alphabet Tree Challenge piece to show my DSis and she loved it, so it is now in her china display cabinet in front of a lovely photo of our Mum and Dad. :0) I also took some surplus 8x8 and 12x12 scrapbooking papers for her to add to her collection, ready for when she starts her new hobby. DH did a couple of small DIY jobs for her and (hopefully) sorted out the burglar alarm problem. As it began to snow on and off in the afternoon we didn't go out, so I did a little stitching on Night Watchman - again there's not really enough progress made to make an update pic worthwhile. By the time we were travelling back much of the snow had disappeared - until we came to the Thorne turn-off, where there was quite a good layer on the verges and in the fields. When we got home it was pretty obvious there'd been more snow there than over at DSis's. Glad to say it's now long gone but it's still bitterly cold out and the rain has taken over where it left off. Yuk!

Monday I got on with my usual jobs and fully intended finding the time to update my Blog and visit everyone else's but my DBro popped in for a surprise visit then, just as he was preparing to leave, Alex arrived for her visit - when she left it was time for DH to come home so I never really got the chance to. It was a good afternoon though: I don't get to see my DBro as often as I see my DSis, so it's good to have a catch-up and then Alex had brought some of her stitching to show me. Wow! She is very much in to freestyle embroidery and has made up about sixteen small "patches" of roughly the same size but of differing shapes: each of these has a base fabric to which she attaches various oddments of material (silks, sari fragments, kimono scraps, whatever) with stitching (feather stitch, I think) then proceeds to decorate each scrap however she fancies. Each patch is different, although they often incorporate the same stitches: some have beads added; others have a roll of fancy yarn that has been attached with metallic thread; one has a sisha mirror attached under embroidery; some she's added tiny flower embellishments to; others the flowers were on the fabric and she's developed them as a theme; gardens of lazy daisy daisies etc etc etc. Each piece is a little work of art with memories stitched into them (she could tell me exactly where and when each piece was stitched) and she intends to make up a quilted wall hanging with them all, using black dupion silk bands to join the patches. It is going to be stunning when completed and I am so looking forward to seeing it - am hoping she will let me take some pics to post and share on here. :0)

After tea last night I carried on with For Amanda and here's a pic of progress so far:


I love the script on this, as it just flows so beautifully. It's UFO Night tonight, so ET will be getting my attention, but I shall be back to this as soon as I can.

Will I finish ET and get a HD tonight? Well, that all depends on how much of a pain the metallic thread decides to be and how long my patience holds out with it! There's a Most Haunted (new series) on later tonight, so that will keep me sat in front of the TV while it's on. Watch this space......... LOL

Christine: don't worry and no rush, I was only joking - I still need to do a floss toss for Papillon. I'd also like to put at least one project "to bed" before making a start on a new one - I need to free up a scroll frame! :0)

Many thanks for visiting - hope you've had a good weekend and are all coping OK with the rather iffy weather. :0)

Memories and ET

It seems like I'm on a roll with the stitching plans at the minute, so am making the most of it while it lasts!
I sat and watched Dawn Bibby's two hour slot on QVC yesterday afternoon - partly for the inspiration (no buying, despite plenty of temptation) and partly to have the chance to finish Part 3 of Jayne's Memories SAL. It worked quite nicely and here's the result:
It was a nice, quick section to do and I really enjoyed stitching it. Fanfare, please: it means that I'm now right up-to-date with all three SAL's for the first time ever since starting them. Toot! Toot! LOL

As it was UFO Tuesday yesterday ET saw the light of day again, as promised......... well, the light of my daylight bulb, anyway. :0)
In case you can't tell: I completed the backstitching on the first three bands, and made a start on the fourth, on the right side of the collar. Not as much progress as I'd hoped (wanted to complete the first five bands) but I had to stop as my eyes had had enough yesterday. Sorry to disappoint you Lynn and Julie: there's at least one more, if not two, UFO Nights worth of work to go before it's done and there's a HD. ;0) Warning: I have dug out my Egyptian music CD's, all set to go - I wasn't responsible for the last earthquake in this area but I will be for the next...... and it'll be more than a 5.3'er! LMAO

Speaking of CD's and dancing: I now get music while I work. :0) I suggested to DH a while ago that it would be nice to have something in the kitchen so we can listen to music while cooking/cleaning etc in there. If we've wanted to listen to something previously we've had to put the main Hi-Fi system on in the front room and whack the sound up so we can actually hear it in the kitchen - well that's OK until someone knocks at the door or phones, then there's a mad scramble into the front room to turn the music down/off, risking twisting an ankle or breaking my neck in the process, then answer. It was too much hassle, so I didn't bother much of the time but long sessions preparing stews for the slow cooker get seriously boring! DH has now bought us a mini Hi-Fi/DAB Radio combi and he set it all up last night - it's just the right size for sitting on top of the microwave, so it doesn't take up valuable worktop space and it's easily switched off when I need to answer the door or phone. I've discovered the Gold radio station which (so far) seems to play a lot of music I like, so I'm a happy bunny.

BTW Lynn: I've been trying to get on your blog to catch up and leave comments the past few days but am having problems doing so. For some reason the pics on your blog won't download for me: my computer keeps churning away trying to get them then locks up, so I have to Ctrl/Alt/Del and get back online again afterwards. I can see the wording OK - although I can't leave a comment. Absolutely no idea what's going on, so I'll have to get DH to have a look, in case it's a problem at my end. :0( Just wanted you to know, so you didn't think I was being rude and ignoring you or anything. Hope it's a quick fix, as I'd like to see all your pics - you've been real busy since my previous visits! :0)

Right, I am off to carry on with the Monthly Challenge now. As I said before, I changed my mind (again!) on how to finish this and had a basic idea tumbling around in my head (not much there to stop it these days LOL) but just couldn't get started with it. Glad I didn't because I had one of those sudden Eureka! moments this morning for exactly what to do on the back of the piece and, as it involves further stitching, I need to extract my digit and get on with it. All will be revealed on the 29th (thanks for confirming that Karen) via the album link on JA/S&S and I'll post pics and explain here in my blog then. :0)

Thanks again for all the lovely comments you take the time to leave, they are very much appreciated and make my day. Brightest Blessings to you all. :0)

Funky Flowers and a SAL

I shouldn't have bragged about the chestiness being more of an inconvenience than anything: yesterday my chest decided it wanted company and dragged my sinus into it. Result: every time I cough it feels like they're going to explode. So the best mate list, as it stands at the moment, is: Lemsip Max; Nurofen; Meltus; Olbas Oil and fleecy blanket. LOL

As I wasn't feeling up to much of anything yesterday I sat and watched Dawn Bibby's two-hour slot on QVC in the afternoon. I admit to being a bad lass, as I ordered two items: a set of jewel highlights, great for highlighting cards/scrapbook pages, and a kit with brass stencils, metallic threads, printed pics and instruction booklet for combining dry embossing, paper pricking and embroidery on cards. I've had my eye on that kit for a while and decided to give in yesterday - well, I needed cheering up! ;0)
Seeing all the lovely card examples was good too. One particular card gave me an idea and I finally set-to and made this funky flowers birthday card for DH's eldest niece. It's always awkward to decide what to make for his nieces as I really don't know what young girls of their age are in to these days.
The example I saw used papers as a background but I didn't have anything like them, so used my chalks instead. I have a "thing" with triangle cards - I can't leave the other two sides bare, as the cards just don't look finished to me that way, so here it is opened out so you can see all of them:

I love using chalks, as you get some really nice effects without having to try too hard....... and it meant this was a very quick and easy make.

It was Tuesday UFO Night last night but I had to beg off, as I just didn't have the concentration or stamina needed to tackle that backstitching on ET - hope Mr Stick doesn't mind! I carried on with Part 2 of the For Amanda SAL piece instead, as the stitches were all ones I've done before and they didn't need much thinking about. Here's where I left off:

Over the two nights of stitching I added the cross stitch design in the inner corners, the satin stitch bands in between, a rhodes stitch band across the top and made a start on the cross stitch letters and numbers band. Still to come is a row of herringbone stitch under that, then a band under that which consists of three different stitches.......... but you'll have to wait and see what they're like 'cos I'm not saying any more. LOL

I haven't started making up the Christmas ornie yet. The red fabric goes great with it but the beaded trim is the wrong red: this is more of a Christmas red but it needs a deeper, more burgundy colour - or maybe an old gold colour instead. The local sewing shop hasn't got any of either colour, so I've put it on hold until I can find some elsewhere. I've stopped looking for the reindeer ornies........ got fed-up of finding other forgotten pieces that need finishing (guilt trips galore!) and lurking killer dust bunnies (obviously hadn't been in those corners for a while - oops!). ;0)

Have now checked in my stash for fabric for the Challenge and none are quite what I had in mind, they're either too dark or too light - now trying pieces against the trim I want to use to come up with the next best option. Am going to get threads out in a bit, in an effort to make my final choices - all of this is the bit that takes the longest and is the hardest part for me, as I'm not good with colours. You should see some of the interesting combinations I wear on occasion! LOL

I may yet end up putting the trim back in my stash and starting again with another colour scheme that's totally different...... watch this space.

The windy weather is continuing here - everything seems to be staying in place on the house so far, fingers crossed. Hope it settles down soon as I really don't like it. So hope everyone else is faring OK with it, especially those living on the coast. Karen: hope the killer hounds aren't making you take them for beach walks at the minute! Sally: Glad to hear you're OK and not been blown out to sea either. :0)

Well DH has just phoned: he's leaving work early to go pick up a bit of shopping, then coming home to cook tea for us all! Flippin' heck: I must be sicker than I think! ROFLMAO. Guess I'd best go and make it look like I've done more than sit at me computer today then. ;0)

Thanks again for all the well wishes and for the kind comments on my cards and stitching - you all help make the world a brighter and happier place. :0)

Memories Part 2

Last nights' plan of carrying on with the Memories SAL worked out nicely and an uninterrupted evening of stitching resulted in a Mini HD when Part 2 was completed:This is a dream to stitch and I've thoroughly enjoyed it so far, so roll on Part 3!

Today's stitching plan is to finally tackle some of the dreaded metallic backstitching on Egyptian Tablet, as it's UFO Tuesday today. I've had two weeks off, so I could catch up with my SAL's, but I now get the feeling that Mr Stick is on the look-out for me and is in no mood to take any prisoners this week...... so I'd best be good and definitely get some done. When that's out of the way it's on to Part 2 of the Ozark Mystery Sampler. :0)

I had been thinking of having another trip to the library today, to take back one of the books I've finished reading, then to the sewing shop for some cording but with a combination of waking up with a touch of sinusitis/headache and the weather turning cold and windy again soon changed my mind. Quite a few of the properties down the High Street have old slate roofs which have a nasty habit of losing the odd slate in windy weather, so it's best avoided on days like today. It's not horrendously windy: just fierce enough to skittle the plastic watering cans (since been filled with water, so they ain't going anywhere now) and free-wheel the empty compost bin around the garden (not bothering rescuing it, as it'll just be off again in the next good gust). It does feel like it's building up though and I've heard that some other parts of the UK are getting it much worse, so I hope everyone is OK and staying safely indoors.

Right, I'm off to try and gain back some of those lost brownie points with Mr Stick. ;0)

Thanks for visiting and stay safe. :0)

Next, Please!

Well, after finishing Part 1 of the For Amanda SAL and completing the finishing on the monthly challenge the next item on the list was Part 2 of the Memories SAL, which I finally got around to starting last night. Thoroughly enjoyed stitching the three bands and the alphabet is stitching up much quicker than expected. Here's where I left off last night: No stitching during the day today, as it's my regular Monday routine of getting jobs done ready for Alex popping in for a coffee and natter, but I hope to get back to this tonight to complete it. :0)

Next item on the list is Part 2 of the Ozark Mystery SAL and I really should start on the backstitch on Egyptian Tablet, especially as it'll be UFO Tuesday again tomorrow. Mr Stick has been pretty lenient with me so far - don't want to push my luck any further! ;0)

I've also been playing around with various ideas for making up a couple of Christmas ornies I stitched some time ago and want to do them at some point this week too. Taking part in the monthly challenge is doing my confidence a lot of good as I now want to try different finishing techniques: instead of thinking "Oo, that looks hard - I can't do that" it's more a case of "I like the look of that - I want to have a go". Many thanks Karen and Julie: this change in attitude is down to you both and my drawer full of sad, neglected little stitched pieces, once transformed and on display, will also be eternally grateful! :0)

Yesterday didn't go quite as planned but was a good day anyway. We had been thinking of having a trip over to Newark to visit the Mind, Body and Spirit event on there but when it came to it we decided we didn't fancy the travelling. DH had had a horrendous week at work - with no end in sight for the problems just yet - and instead of just a morning at work on Saturday it ended up being most of the day, so he was shattered. The project he's involved with is called Caster 5 - it's now more commonly known across the works as Disaster 5!
I shared my day between the computer, my stitching, pottering and making tea and, after a quiet morning, DH disappeared into the loft in the afternoon to continue fitting the overflow tank for the boiler. He claimed it was a nice distraction from the stresses of work - who am I to argue? Whatever floats your boat! LOL

As for the tagging: thanks for the comments. I guess, after reading the tag post, it's a case of all those who thought I was a bit weird having their suspicions confirmed for real now. LOL ;0) I've enjoyed seeing what others have posted too: it's amazing how much some of us have in common - although not referring to weirdness here, just general similarities. Wonder if it's the stitchy gene that promotes that? :0)

Thank you again for taking the time out of your day to come visit - hope you're all having a good start to the week. :0)

Putting the Flags Out!

WhooooHoooo! Am putting the flags out and celebrating: I did it! I did it! I did it at last!
After two days of failed attempts to get out of the house and walk down to the library on my own I finally managed to do it earlier this afternoon. WhaaaayHaaay!
My heart was bumping so fast it felt like it was going to burst out of my chest when I first stepped out of the door but I asked my Guardian Angel to walk with me and give me strength to do it, kept my mind focused on each step and before I knew it I was walking in the library and getting my books re-stamped. Then browsed the talking book section and took out one of those to try, then, as it was only on the opposite side of the road, walked over to the Tesco Express store and got a few groceries for tea before walking back home again. Not a panic attack in sight either!
OK, it ain't as exciting as climbing Mount Everest or walking the wilds of Outer Mongolia but it was one of the main hurdles to overcome in a long, slow recovery from agoraphobia/panic attacks and it feels like I'm now finally going to get my life back to normal. :0)

I realised late last night that I hadn't posted a pic of the surprise package I received from Dusty last week. The Valentine's card is fun and sings "Who let the dogs out!" when opened (made me jump a mile the first time LOL!). The Emie Bishop hardanger heart is very pretty and is going on my "To Do" list straightaway, the buttons are so sweet and I haven't got many DMC variegated, so will enjoy trying that out at some point. If you're reading this Dusty: thanks again, you made my day. :0)
Last night was good too, as I finished the pulled thread inner border on the Amanda SAL, so Part 1 is now completed. Mini HD for that. :0) DH still hasn't sorted out the digicam port thingy (yeah, real tech speak! LOL) and it won't all fit on the scanner but you'll get an overall idea of what it's like from the pic:
Apart from a couple of minor frog visits (miscounting due to tv programme being too interesting) it was a joy to stitch - definitely 10/10 for Carol. Love those DD silks too - they're definitely next in line for a Monthly Collectors Club once I've got all of the Carrie's threads in my stash. Today's stitch will be Part 2 of Jayne's Memories SAL, so I can catch up with that before the next part of the Ozark SAL arrives (any time now).

Have you all seen Christine's new releases over at Alchemy Stitchcraft yet? They're all gorgeous but I just love Knot Garden - so much so that I've ordered the chart from Jayne and can't wait to get my hot little hands on it! WTG Christine!

My DSis has had her thumb checked over and the nurse said it's healing well, with no sign of infection. :0) The butterfly strips come off Monday or Tuesday next week and the nurse said she could do that herself, especially as she also has some spare bandages to re-dress it at home. Saves her having to make the trip to the surgery so she's a happy bunny.

Rebecca: many thanks for posting the info on the shop in Grimsby. I shall keep my eyes open for it next time we go. :0)

Well I reckon I've now settled down a bit, after being as high as a kite since my trip out, so I reckon a little stitching may be in order, don't you?

Thanks again to all those who take the time to visit my blog - hope you don't get too bored with all the waffling on. :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)

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)

Monday - Memories

Well, despite the miserable weather and yukky cold, the weekend wasn't too bad - a chill out with some stitching was a good prescription and I highly recommend it to anyone else who is feeling a bit off. :0) Here's where I got to on the Memories SAL: Isn't that just so pretty? The leaf stitch was a bit tricky at first but that was entirely my own fault, as I kept getting distracted by the Alien V Predator film (bit gorey but I love it when a strong female character gets into kick ass mode - I so wanna be like her! LOL). Am enjoying working on the Pol's Linen and am glad I chose this fabric for the latest L*K designs........ think they'll be high on the list of New Starts for this year (and I haven't done last years yet!).
Hopefully I'll be able to carry on with this tonight.

DH had a trip out to Screwfix yesterday afternoon and was in seventh heaven afterwards. Not only did he come back with the bits he was getting for my DSis but he also got a new drill and circular saw for himself, so that's his birthday and Christmas money all spent. The rest of the afternoon was spent getting everything out of it's boxes, checking it out by giving them a whirr or two and reading up on the instruction booklets. When DS got back there was a bit of a Show & Tell session. When I pointed out that they were behaving just like a stashaholic (naming no names) who has just opened a package from their favourite online store they just looked blank and couldn't equate the two. LOL

DS obviously needed a chill out after his day out and all the Ooh'ing and Aaah'ing over the Man Toys so when the Alien movie finished he put the Over the Hedge DVD on - one of those animated crittur movies from DreamWorks. Finally had to stop stitching when that was on as I was laughing too much to concentrate. I love the demented squirrel character called Hammy: imagine a talking squirrel on a severe caffeine hype and speed and you'll get the general idea. LOL. It was a good way to round off the weekend. :0)

Alex is due for her regular Monday visit soon, so I've got some of the dreaded H'word out of the way. Going at a much slower pace to usual, due to the regular nose-blowing stops. Having tried out a couple of different types of tissues I can tell you that, whilst the anti-viral properties of a certain type of tissue may be a good idea, they are next to useless in the absorbency department. On the other hand a well-known brand of so-called Men's Tissues may not have any anti-viral or nose soothing properties but are excellent for copious nose blowing absorbency. The rate this household is getting through them at the moment (DS has it too and the third empty box in a week has just gone into the recycling bin) I just wish we had shares in the company! LOL

The parcel from Thread Bear hasn't arrived yet. :0( I suppose the ongoing delays in the postal system and flooding have added a delay factor in. Fingers crossed it arrives soon, as I could really do with the scroll bars, as the ones I'm using for Memories are barely wide enough........ plus I'm desperate to get my hot little hands on the charts that just happened to fall into the basket as I was ordering the bars. ;0)

Thanks for stopping by - hope you've all had a good weekend and that the weeks has got off to a good start for you all. :0)