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)

A Little Christmas In June.

Despite the rainy weather on Sunday we went out anyway. We started with dinner at a local garden centre and, luckily, by the time we went on to a local Motor Show the rain had stopped. No, I'm not having a mid-life crisis and turning into a petrol head..... DH and I wanted a look-see at the Motorhomes that were on display there. After being caravanners since DS was a youngster we're now thinking of swapping our 'van for a Motorhome, as they are much more stable than a towing outfit and there's a lot less hassle setting up when you've arrived on a site - essential now both DH and I have health problems that will gradually deteriorate. It would also mean much more holiday/weekend freedom for us plus, thinking ahead to DH's retirement, it would make it so much easier for us to take off whenever we felt like it, to wherever we fancied going and for as long as we wanted....... or at least until our pension money ran out. LOL

It was interesting to see different makes of Motorhome's and how they handle the internal layouts and seeing them gave us a better idea of what we do and don't like. We both like the end fixed bed option: no having to make up your bed every night and take it down every morning, which becomes very wearing when we're away for a fortnight in our caravan. The Adriatik range came out tops with us for best use of space but we are probably a little biased, as our caravan is an Adria - they are different branches of the same company. We liked one of the smaller Izola's - you can have a nosey here at some of the larger ones they produce. Unfortunately we don't have a spare £40grand available for the new models - we have got the details of a sales site (actually pretty close to where we live) to go and have a nosey at their used models....... so guess where we are probably going next weekend. :0)

Yesterday was my usual routine: got all the house jobs done before Alex came round for a coffee and a natter. She and my DS went to the M,B&S Event on the Sunday, so we compared our experiences of that - she enjoyed the folk music (as we had) and had a chat to the male half of the duo, the upshot being that he can get her a harp, an instrument she has always wanted, via a FairTrade route, and for half the cost she would be expected to pay from a musical supplier here. She's now saving the pennies - hope she saves them quickly, as I so want to hear her play that!
Between jobs I was having a Blog reading/commenting catch-up but I got quite a few error messages up and couldn't get onto some blogs, which got really frustrating, so I gave up after a while. Am hoping the problem has now been fixed, as I want to continue with the catch-up later.

No stitchy pics for you today: I've been busy stitching my JA/S&S Monthly Challenge piece and some of it is very fine, so it's taking a while. Plus it's a secret until Reveal Day. ;0) So here, as promised, are pics of the other three Christmas cards I made during last month's cardmaking session:

Yes, the snowman theme really did take a strong hold of me. :0)

I had a phone call from Kate from Thread Bear earlier: some charts I ordered last month are now in stock - I just have to nip over to the site and add a couple more bits to the order and it'll be all set to go. Yippee....... stash post is imminent! LOL

Julie: I will email you about your question. It may be too long-winded and heavy for a Blog. :0)

Right, as it's raining again and I can't do any gardening I am off to watch what's left of Dawn Bibby's session on QVC, whilst continuing with the Monthly Challenge piece, but I'll be back later to read those Blogs I couldn't access yesterday and catch up with all your news.

Hope you're all having a good day, whatever the weather is like where you are. :0)

Normal Service.....

has just about been resumed, I'm glad to say. :0)

DH and I had the trip to the Mind, Body and Spirit event at the Lincolnshire Showground today. We went a little later than planned, getting there just after 2pm. The late arrival meant I didn't have time to have my tarot cards read - or have any Reiki - but we did have a good wander round, soaking up the atmosphere, spent a little money, listened to some great toe-tapping live folk music (the chap also played a digeridoo) and watched medium Simon Goodfellow give messages to people from their departed loved ones. He's quite a funny bloke and there were a few laughs in there. I almost got a message. LOL He pointed me out as the lady in the green dress (yes - I actually wore a dress and not my habitual trousers!) but Henry or Harold didn't ring a bell and even less so was the name Nettie.......... turned out the message was for a lady on the opposite side of the room who was wearing a green top. After receiving messages from my Dad when we saw Ian Lawman at the Pink Pig I really wasn't expecting one again so soon, so didn't mind when it wasn't for me, but I'd so hoped that my SIL Helen would come through for my DH. Never mind, maybe another time - then let him say he doesn't really believe in it. LOL

We left when it all ended (5pm), bought an icecream apiece from the van in the car park and sat eating it near our car whilst the remaining people left. The weather was lovely and we were parked near a tree, close to open fields and away from most of the other cars, so it tempted us to linger a while and enjoy the quiet. We then had a nice, steady drive home and sat out in the garden having a cold drink afterwards, still buzzing from the great atmosphere at the event. :0)

We came away with a nice little haul: more Mother's Fragrance incense sticks and some special Isis incense (to be used on a burner); a couple of CD's; a herbal tea infusion (Menopause mix, so guess who that's for LOL); a bar of Olive Oil soap; a book on Dreams; a couple of embroidered velvet bags for my Rune and Angel cards; a Moon-gazing hare ornament (been looking for one of these for a while - now sitting on the hearth in the living room); leaflets galore for similar forthcoming events and various therapies and the following A4 poster:

It made me laugh out loud when I first read it - it's a great attitude to have to life and is something I fully intend on doing. LMAO

It's been a quiet evening for me, sharing my time between the computer and TV (too tired to risk picking up a needle), whilst DH popped along to show his face at an evening wedding "do". One of the Italian chaps who has been over here regularly to work on the Disaster Five project has married a local lass, so DH felt like helping them celebrate. :0)

Well that's about it for now as I need my bed, especially as we have another outing planned for tomorrow.

Thank you for the well wishes. Now whatever you're all doing this weekend I hope it's fun. :0)

Post Holiday Blues?

I seem to be having a bout of something like them at the moment, despite just having had a good Bank Holiday weekend. You know what I mean: you feel generally out of sorts with yourself and everything around you, everything seems like too much trouble, so you just can't be bothered, and your stitching mojo keeps wanting to pack it's bags and go off on a holiday all on its own. Not helped by the weather which is either warm and humid, so it feels like you're breathing treacle, or it's raining so I can't get outdoors to try and alleviate my mood. I learnt some time ago that it's best just to go with the flow when I feel like this, doing what I fancy doing when the mood strikes, as fighting it just leads to a deeper low that takes much longer to get over. Thankfully the worst of it seems to be passing now. :0)

Before the intermittent mojo really took hold I finished Part 5 of the Ozark SAL:
I made a couple of changes: the two motifs were different on the chart but I prefer things like that to be symmetrical so stitched them both the same and the numbers were supposed to be the same colour as the alphabet but I thought it would look a little heavy like that, so stitched it in the same colour as the motifs. The lighter areas of that thread get a little lost on the fabric but I like it anyway.

I got a couple of pinkies this week too, which helped to lift my mood.
There's the Twisted Oaks/Dinky Dyes Breast Cancer Needle Nanny (will be thinking of SIL Helen when I stitch that) and my regular Monthly Clubs of Carries threads and Sassy's fabric. So many lovely colours! I quite fancy stitching a single thread project using Plymouth Red, it's such a lush colour. :0)

So what else have I been up to?

Stitching-wise: about two threads worth on Night Watchman before giving it up as a lost cause for now. A little more progress on Cleo (update another time) but I've started on the 1 over 1 Petit Point face, so it's best done a little at a time. I did have a total block on the Monthly Challenge piece, despite having the fabric and thread all sorted, ready to go - thankfully that lifted last night and I made a start (sorry, no pics until Reveal Day later this month). I actually feel like sitting and stitching that again now, so will be off to do more when I've finished here.

Memories and For Amanda are still waiting in the wings but I've had a block on those as well - I will get round to them eventually!

Tuesday UFO Night I just couldn't decide on a new UFO, was really fed-up with myself and not fancying touching anything "new", so stitched a little on Cleo instead. I reckon normal service will be resumed next week, so please be gentle with me Mr Stick! LOL

As for the Bank Holiday weekend: Saturday was Brigg Farmers Market and DS went with Alex to do some shopping. Meantime, DH and I did some house and garden jobs. I raked up a lot of dried and strimmed grass - that didn't help things, as I set off my back and was seriously aching for a couple of days afterwards. Despite that DH and I had a trip to my DSis's on Sunday, with dinner at The Servery then on to Strikes Garden centre afterwards. DSis bought more compost, some willow trellis and a few plants for a couple of pots she'd forgotten about - we spent some time in her garden when we got back, putting in the new plants and doing some tidying up (I did everything very carefully!). Monday DS and DH worked on the Mini, so I took things easy and completed the Ozark SAL section in between doing a couple of jobs - Alex didn't come round, as she was visiting her parents. Tuesday DS was back at work but DH was still off (the steelworks always have an extra day for this BH, not sure why), so we had a trip out to the garden centre at Kirton after dinner. We are on a hunt for a small weeping willow tree: normal ones can grow up to 25 feet, which is way too big for our garden, but you can get smaller ones that have been grafted onto smaller trunks - the bulk of these seem to grow to around 6ft but we want one to grow to around 7 - 8ft, as our garden is big enough to take it. Not found one yet but there are several more garden centres to try, so we're not giving up just yet. :0)

DH went back at work Wednesday so I was busy catching up on jobs that needed doing. Thursday Alex came for a visit, bringing Grace with her. It was good to have a catch up on news and see Grace, who has grown quite a bit since last time I saw her, and her speech and imagination have developed a heck of a lot too. I'd forgotten how much hard work kids of that age can be...... and how entertaining they are too. It was an absolute delight to hear her yell out my DS's name when he got in from work: she was so excited she couldn't stand still and launched herself at him as soon as he stepped through the door - my 22 year old DS just seemed to melt as soon as he saw her. Grace is his god-daughter and it's obvious they adore each other. :0)

Today I've already got most of my jobs out of the way so am planning some afternoon stitching for a change, with a blog catch-up later (yes, I've got behind again!) - that's if I don't get distracted by the new book I'm currently reading. Yes, I am definitely feeling brighter, as up until today I couldn't even be bothered to pick a new book......... not me at all, as I love reading.

Weekend plans: continue with the great willow tree hunt LOL; there's a car show event somewhere around town that will have a couple of motorhomes on display, so we'll be popping along to that for a nosey at those and there's also a Mind, Body and Spirit event on at Lincolnshire Showground - a touch of Reiki and a nosey round the crystal and Pagan stalls will do me a power of good. :0)

Hope all in the UK had a great BH weekend and that all of you enjoy this coming weekend. Thank you for visiting. :0)

Christmas In May????

The planned start on the next part of the Ozark SAL didn't happen on Wednesday night. No, I didn't give in and stick with Cleo either. A new start then? Nope.......... as it was such lovely weather DH and I had some time out in the garden, doing some weeding and general tidying up, after our evening meal had settled - all that fresh air (well, as fresh as it gets round here) and work did for us, so we had an early night instead. Must have gone sound off too because there wasn't a peep out of us until the alarm went off this morning........ wouldn't say either of us exactly leapt out of bed, eager to start the new day, either. LOL

The result of that is (apart from the aching muscles): no stitching update pics to share.
It hasn't been a totally craft-free zone though, because the cardmaking bug bit this afternoon. After seeing the lovely stitched Christmas cards and ornie on Mylene's blog it made me feel all festive, so I decided to be well organised and start my cards early too. Thanks for the inspiration Mylene. :0)

When DS had the tidy up (sorry Karen: I reckon it's a one-off event,a mental aberration, so no chance of you loaning him. LOL) he unearthed the snowman toppers I used on the first two cards:

I'd forgotten all about those, so it was nice to "find" them again and put them to good use. :0)

Next up was this quick and easy card:I made another three after these but will post the pics of them another time. I figure if I continue to make at least a couple of cards a month there should be plenty to send out by the time the festive season gets here. I'll probably also be well Christmassed out by then too! LMAO

I've now decided on which two designs to stitch for the JA/S&S Monthly Challenge and have the charts printed out ready to go. (Thanks again for posting the other links Karen). I know what fabric and threads I'm using on the first piece - just need to decide on the other. If the Ozark SAL still isn't shouting loudly enough tomorrow I reckon I'll start the first Challenge piece instead. Sorry folks....... won't be able to share these until Reveal Day, which I think is now the 23 June.

I've managed to do a reasonable amount of blog reading since being home but there are still a few more I need to visit - I will get there soon, I promise. Oh, for a few more hours in the day! ;0)

Thank you for taking the time to visit and especially for the kind comments - they are all greatly appreciated. :0)

Another UFO Night Success

Last night was Tuesday UFO Night over at the JA/S&S Forum. Yes, Julie, I was good and left Cleo alone and stitched on my UFO instead....... so Mr Stick's services won't be needed. LOL
I was so close to a finish but had to call it a day around midnight when my eyes had finally had enough of the 1 over 1. I'm no quitter though, not when a Happy Dance is calling loudly, so when I'd finished my lunch I picked it up and carried on until it was finally completed.

The details, for those who need to know: the piece is called Love Is You and was a Limited Edition design by Carol Tinson of Heirloom Embroideries, issued for Valentine's 2007 via her forum. Fabric is Permin (Wichelt) 28ct Lambswool Linen and the silk threads I used are: VC Heart Wood and Kaalund Poinsettia. All stitched 1 over 1. It was started back in February 2007 - not my longest ever UFO piece but it is good to get it completed and have one less guilt trip in my workbasket to deal with. ;0)

Many thanks to Julie and Mr Stick and all the girls for all the encouragement. The group sure is on a roll for finishes at the moment - I think this is one of three completed this week!
I shall be back next Tuesday with yet another UFO....... not sure which one yet, will decide that on the night.

As there's no other stitchy pics here are the ones of the swans. Momma swan on the nest:

Not sure if this was pre or post hatching - guess if it was post hatching DH would have been fending off Poppa swan before he could get the camera out. LOL

Here's the proud Momma and her three babies:

Up on the bank there's a Mallard drake to the left and Canada Geese in the background - Poppa swan regularly gave them hell. LOL The Geese were about the noisiest things there - no traffic noise, no blaring stereo systems, no emergency services sirens blaring, no Friday/Saturday night drunks shouting and using the gate post as a urinal........... nothing. Sheer Bliss! :0)

The proud parents with babies: Notice Poppa swan swimming towards us? He may have had a limp but he sure could move fast when he thought Momma and babies were under threat. He reckoned my cousin got too close one day and was across the water and up the bank, hissing and snapping like a demented thing, before my cousin realised what was happening. We didn't hang around when we saw him swimming in our direction: we took the final shot of the view of Lincoln Cathedral and walked back to the cabin, leaving them in peace.

Helen: the cabins (or Lodge's, as they call them) are great. They are big enough that we all said we could quite fancy living in them! They are also extremely well kept, equipped and clean and Katie and Tim (owners) are lovely - any problems and they are only too happy to help. We can also highly recommend the breakfast and summer baskets they've started doing this year: mostly locally produced farm foods in them (the salmon and asparagus quiche was huge and very tasty!). Can recommend some good eating places too. Let me know if you want any more info. :0)

Tonight's stitching plans: I might just start the next part of the Ozark SAL....... if Cleo doesn't shout too loud. ;0) I also have to decide soon on which of the JA/S&S Monthly Challenge pieces I want to stitch and pull the fabric and threads for it. Due to the technical glitches the votes were lost, so it's been decided the best thing is to let us choose whichever one (or two!) of the freebies we want to stitch. We've also been given extra time for completion, due to everything being in limbo while the forum was down......... so if I really knuckle down I could conceivably stitch and make up two items (one for me and one as a gift). All pics will be posted in the album and I'm really looking forward to viewing that, especially as there's going to be even more variety than usual. :0)

Thanks for stopping by. Wherever you are: hope the weather is being kind and you're having a great day. :0)

Some Holiday Snaps

As promised, here are some of the pics we took on holiday.
This is the view of the fishing pond we saw, through the patio doors of our log cabin, whenever we sat on the sofa:Look closely and you'll see a fishing brolly to the right. That guy was there, in the same spot, every day from first thing after an early breakfast until gone tea time - he must have had an enormous bladder because all the time we were there we never saw him once go back to his cabin for a loo break! LOL

The view from the back of the fishing pond, looking back at the cabins:

Our uncle, aunt and cousin were in the one on the right, us in the one next to it. The two cabins on the left were newly built over the winter.

At the back of the fishing pond is an embankment, built to act as a wind break as it's open fields for miles over the other side. This is the view across the fields from the top of it:
Look closely and you might just see Lincoln Cathedral in the distance. It dominates the whole area, so you can see why they chose to build there.

Here are the coot family, having an outing on the fishing pond:

The little fella at the back was always lagging behind - not sure if that was because he was just slower or if he was trying to make out he was braver than the others. He's got a beady eye on DH though.......... so maybe he was just posing for the camera! LOL

We heard the owls screeching and hooting on several nights but didn't manage to see any of them this time around. The foxes were also heard but not seen, though leftovers from their rabbit meals were dotted about in various places. The hares proved just as elusive - the crops in the fields were much higher than last year and they were keeping their heads well down........ DSis saw them twice, I only spotted them once. Badgers had moved in since last year and had created a sett in one of the embankments: lots of paw prints and some scat but they proved to be elusive too. Plenty of varied birdlife around and there were just too many rabbits to count! Oh, and one day, when we were driving back to the cabins (down a single track lane) what we think was a red deer fawn popped out from the hedgerow and trotted down the lane in front of us for several yards before disappearing into the hedgerow on the other side. It was a wonderful moment - once we'd got over the shock of almost turning it into a speed bump! LOL :0)

We love going on holiday with family but I've suggested to DH that it might be nice if just the two of us went back for a week, or long weekend, at some point. It would be nice to have another chill out but this time doing things at our pace - taking more time to sit and watch the bird and animal life and doing a little walking around the area to see if we can spot more. He likes the idea, especially as he gets a bonus of an extra week's holiday this year.

More pics another time of the swans and cygnets........ I've got to go chop an onion and fry some lamb mince for tea etc etc. Plus it's UFO Night tonight, so I've got to leave off Cleopatra and pick up Love Is You or Julie and Mr Stick will have something to say about it. ;0)

Thanks again for stopping by..... and I will be having a catch up with your blogs very soon. :0)