Birthday Memories

Hope you're having a Happy 75th Birthday in the Other World Dad.This is how I know you want to be remembered: enjoying fun times with your youngest grandson Finlay at yours and Mum's favourite holiday place at Pelham Farm, Lincolnshire. Boy, did little Fin's eyes pop when he saw that blue tractor! LOL

I had decided to post a pic of my Dad in his RE uniform, taken when he was serving out in Egypt but couldn't find it. Instead, an envelope full of photos "appeared" where I don't remember seeing it before but when I looked inside and saw this one among them I knew it was more than a co-incidence.

Remembering all the happy times and great memories Dad. :0)

Saturday Surprise

During my solo evening last night I carried on with the Ozark SAL and got it finished:

Another lovely thread colour - really happy with how this is turning out so far. Wonder what next month's pack will contain? :0)

Oh, just in case you were wondering: I bottled it and didn't watch the Resident Evil DVD - decided I wasn't that brave after all........ although I did watch a Most Haunted repeat instead and an X Files afterwards so I'm not a total wuss. ;0) LOL

DS went off bright and early this morning, with Alex, to Brigg farmers Market, so there's a nice big corn-fed chicken to roast for tomorrow's dinner, organic veggies to go with and the fridge is re-stocked from our favourite fish and cheese stalls. He also brought back a few one-person portions of meat for the freezer, ready for when DH and I go on our weeks holiday in May - he can be quite self-sufficient when he wants and enjoys cooking.

The surprise bit for today is that, although he didn't get in until gone 2.30am this morning, DH hadn't indulged excessively. He was in that nicely relaxed state: swaying gently backwards and forwards as he attempted to get undressed, thinking he's being quiet when he's actually making more noise than usual. LOL He had a bit of a lay-in and after a meal he was more or less back to normal by the afternoon........ and felt even better after watching the Grand Prix qualifying session on TV, mug of tea in hand. No headache Julie, so no point in playing the radio loud - will save that one for when it is needed though. LMAO

We popped into the town centre to CRAM late this afternoon and the result is that they are building me a new PC in a posh black tower and it should be ready for picking up early next week. Yay!

The weather here today has been lovely - so much so that we sat out in the garden when we got back from town, enjoying the warmth, a cup of coffee and the birds singing. DH must have been feeling nicely revitalised because he then set-to and mowed the lawn........ and I enjoyed watching him. Eheheh!

Karen: sorry but my challenge piece pic is going to be late again - I've really struggled with a finishing idea this time but will send it as soon as it's done.

Anyway if I'm going to get that challenge piece progressing I'd best go and get on with it.

Hope you've all been sharing in the lovely weather and enjoyed a good day. :0)

Thank You - Gracias - Merci

So says the card I made a little earlier in the week : and that's what I'd like to say to all you lovely ladies for all the kind comments about ET. :0)
I still feel like pinching myself to make sure it wasn't a dream and she is actually finished. LOL

Thanks also to Sally and Karen for setting my mind at rest by letting me know that Helen and Dawn are OK. :0) BTW, Karen - best duck real low 'cos it'll be a very big brick! ;0) LMAO

A BIG WAVE to Helen - thanks for taking the time to comment (LOL about the belly!) and I hope you are recuperating well and not in too much pain (((((gentle hugs))))).

I started Part 4 (? - three SAL's on the go, I'm struggling to remember!) of the Ozark SAL on Wednesday, as planned, continued yesterday and still have four and a half letters to go - won't post a pic until it's finished though. Must say I love the way this thread colour stitches up and the alphabet is looking very effective. Can't wait to see what the next bit will be.

I've made a few more cards today. Two I can't show yet but this one I can:

which is for our friend Alex's little girl. As I hadn't written her birthday down on my calendar and DS only told me it was her birthday late this afternoon it was a bit of a last minute "Oh, bum - what shall I do?" panic make. Quite pleased with it though, as it turned out better than expected. The main embellishment is pretty neat: it opens up into a little 3-D display that says "on your special day" inside. Not sure how long that will last if Grace gets her hands on it though! LOL

I'm in charge of the TV remote tonight. Yay! DS has gone to Alex's for their regular D&D session and DH is out at the LISI Dinner............ please don't ask me what LISI stands for! All I know is that it's some kind of engineering Institute and this is their yearly posh dinner with speakers afterwards - basically a free meal and chance for a chat with some of the higher echelons in Corus on a social basis. DH was warned before he went out NOT to imbibe too much of the free booze that goes with the free dinner........ or else! Nope, I won't be taking bets on him having taken that warning to heart and I've got the "I Told You So" t-shirt all ready for the morning.

I am now trying to decide if I've got the bottle to go and watch DS's DVD Resident Evil: Extinction whilst in the house all on my lonesome. So far I've stayed quite happily in front of my PC, putting off that decision........... I've got a BA Honours Degree with Distinction in Prevarication, don't you know. ;0) LOL

Plans for the weekend include a trip to CRAM for a new computer and a continuation of the car hunt and new kitchen inspiration, hungover DH and weather permitting.

Whatever your plans are, hope you all have a good weekend. :0)

HAPPY DANCE! HAPPY DANCE!

I had a trawl back through my records and it looks like I started this particular piece some time back in 2005 and I finally put the final stitch in her last night, during Tuesday UFO Night over at JA/S&S forum.

Here she is, in all her unwashed/unpressed glory....... finally completed!

YAY!!! A BIG thank you to Julie and Mr Stick and the girls for all the encouragement and for keeping me motivated with this one. Believe me, with those hair/wig bands and the DMC metallic thread it needed a lot of help, so I didn't lose the will to live while stitching them!

I shall be back Tuesday next week with another UFO - undecided as yet as to which one, so will wait and see what screams the loudest! LOL

In the meantime I'm keeping my eyes open for a sandstone looking fabric to complete ET as a wallhanging, which I think will suit it better than it being framed. If anyone spots anything they think will be suitable whilst trawling the web or eBay then please give me a shout and point me in the right direction, thanks. :0)

I've now got a scroll frame freed up and plenty of new starts waiting to occupy it and am now trying to decide which one of them I fancy starting next: Long Dogs Rosemarkie? Ink Circles Tanglewood? Chatelaine's Autumn Dusk? This year's L*K Flip-Its? Or one of the many kits in my stash - such as Teresa Wentzler's Egyptian Sampler? Or a Dragon? If I knew how to set up one of those poll things down the side of my blog I'd throw it open for a vote 'cos I'm struggling to decide.

I also completed the stitching on the Monthly Challenge piece yesterday (definitely a good day! LOL) but am now stalled on the finishing. I know what I'd like to do with it but I can't find any instructions for anything like it and I'm not sure my skills are up to doing it off the top of my head - I don't want to risk ruining the stitched piece as I'm really happy with how it's turned out. Guess I shall just have to bite the bullet and have a go...... or bottle it and make something simpler - either way I've got to get it done and the pics sent to Karen before Sunday's Reveal Day.

My library and audio books are due back tomorrow, so I am revving myself up to have what will be only my second solo wander down to the library and back. Unfortunately I didn't rapidly follow up the success of the first trip, due to getting that lousy cough and cold and a few other problems, so it feels like I'm back at the beginning and starting out from scratch again. Oh, well - I'll get there eventually! :0)

BTW, has anyone heard how Helen (Stitchingranny) and Dawn (Mystic Stitching Witch) are and if they've both had their ops yet? Got everything crossed they are both OK but would love to know for certain.

Lynn: am still unable to comment on your blog but have been thinking of you. Sending lots of (((((((((hugs))))))))) to you too.

Many thanks to all my visitors for taking the time to visit and thank you for all the kind comments on my recent stitching, they are much appreciated. :0)

Memorials and Memories

It's the first anniversary of my Dad's passing on the 28th of this month, with what would have been his birthday the day before, so these dates have been very much on my mind as this month has drawn on. On Saturday I made this card:My DSis will open the envelope on the 27th and put the card on the hearth, along with some flowers. I chose an Egyptian theme as it seemed most apt, as my Dad served in the Royal Engineers in Egypt during the Suez Crisis, of which he was very proud. The card shows Anubis, god of death, holding an ankh (symbol of eternal life) to the mouth of the young pharoah, thus ensuring he lived on in the afterlife. The gold figures on the paper ribbon at the top and bottom are the gods and goddesses of Ancient Egypt.

I also made a tag which will go next to our parents' name plaque at Rosehill.
This is the boy King Tutankhamun with an ankh and scarab beetle. Dad never got to see the sights of Egypt, as they were out of bounds while he was there, and he couldn't afford to go there for a holiday in later life, so I hope he and Mum are seeing all the sights now. :0)

Saturday evening I carried on stitching and finished Part 4 of the Memories SAL, after finally choosing a year:
We'd been through some pretty bad times in the previous couple of years, culminating in losing three family members to various forms of cancer last year: DH's DSis in March, my Dad in April and my cousin's wife in November. I chose 2008 because I want this piece to be a reminder that no matter how much crap life throws at us, no matter how bad things get, we can get through it - coming out the other side OK and going on to enjoy better times.

Sunday we had a trip over to see my DSis. We took the card, the new light fittings & bulbs DH got for her from Screwfix (for the hallway this time), had dinner out and a drive round afterwards and did lots of nattering. Though I took the Ozark SAL and a small piece with me I didn't get any stitching done whilst there and was too tired after we got back, especially as we called in at Tesco Express for a bit of shopping on the way home.
Today has been my usual Monday routine of jobs, with a Forum and emails catch-up thrown in as a little light relief, before Alex arrived, followed by evening meal preparation and cooking after she went. Tonight I hope to start the Challenge piece - that's right...... I still haven't stitched it! I also haven't got a clue on how to finish it. I sort of had something in mind earlier in the month but have absolutely no idea on how to achieve it and haven't yet spotted any online instructions to help me out either. Oh well, at this late stage I guess plain and simple will be the best option! LOL

Helen: thank you again. It means a great deal to me. :0)

Oh, Julie, that Thread Bear order: some of the goodies are meant as gifts........ errrmm....... well........ that's the intention............. depends if I can bear to part with them after I've got my sticky little mitts on them! Can't have an extension on the house though - we've already got one and it's almost full! ;0) LMAO

Karen: DH would probably love a day by the sea.......... doubt he'd do any work while he was there though - he'd be off to sunbathe in the same spot as the British Gas blokes! :0) LOL

Well, if I'm ever going to make a start on that Challenge piece I'd better go. I shall start my blog reading catch-up tomorrow - by the rising numbers of posts on Bloglines it looks like some of you have had busy weekends. :0)

Thanks again for taking the time to visit and leave comments, which I very much appreciate - it's always good to know I'm not waffling away to myself (it means the men in white coats with the green van and the funny waistcoat won't be round just yet! LOL).
Have a good week all. :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)

Almost.....

ready for that Happy Dance, as I got a band of metallic backstitching completed on ET last night. It's the blue and red band above and below her ear, if you can't tell (I can't and I know it's there - not a very good scan): When I'd done it I double-checked the chart and there's one more lot of backstitch left to do, on the vultures back end and tail - it cheered me up no end when I realised that bit is in good old DMC cotton and not the lousy metallic thread! It'll have to wait until next UFO Night though, as the next part of Memories is waiting to be done and I received the next Ozark SAL pack this morning....... plus I've yet to start the Caron Keeper for the Monthly Challenge. That's certainly enough to keep me busy and out of mischief for a while. ;0)

The Ozark SAL pack was a lovely one to open again as the threads are gorgeous - definitely a lot of my colours in this piece. I won't say what they are or what the next bit of the design is because I don't want to spoil anything for those who may not have received their packs yet. For those who aren't taking part: sorry, you'll have to wait and see - I'll post an update pic when it's done. LOL

Here are the pics of the fabric, from Creative Fabrics, that I mentioned in a previous post: Neutrals, and not so neutrals, for finishing stitched items or lining tins or making needlecases or whatever. :0)
This is sort of an "events" mix: Halloween; St Patrick's Day shamrock; Valentine's hearts; Bonfire Night star burst; Christmas rag dollies; Easter and Autumn buttons, with a sewing notions fabbie because I liked it and it'll come in for something at some point. :0) I think most eventualities are covered with that little lot.

Not sure what to stitch tonight but there's plenty of choice to go at - maybe I should toss a coin! LOL

Many thanks for all the kind comments: it's good to be able share all my crafts with you, as no one here shares the same interests, apart from my DSis (for papercrafts) and she doesn't live in the same town. :0( I still haven't had that promised catch-up with blogs yet - had to take pain killers again today, so have been limiting time spent sat in the computer chair - but hope to in the next few days, to find out what you've all been getting up to. LOL

Mylene: you do extremely well with your English and it's always a pleasure to read your blog. I'm envious of your ability to speak more languages than I ever could - all I manage is English and a very little French I learnt at school (many moons ago!). :0)

Thank you again to all for visiting - hope you're all having a good week, despite the return to miserable weather. :0)