Another Week - Another Update

It's that time of the week again (aren't these weeks disappearing fast?!) for another UFO Tuesday update. I had the intention of tackling a different UFO this week but Mother Earth was calling loudly for me to give Her a face. I stitched on Her both Tuesday and Wednesday night - one night's progress just doesn't look much on a HAED piece. So here She is:

The colours on Her face look a bit odd when working close up but it all seems to look OK when viewed at a distance. Maybe next week I'll get to one of those other UFO's! LOL

I've also been in stash heaven this week. My order from Sew & So arrived very quickly: ordered the goodies Monday evening, received confirmation of despatch email Tuesday tea time and it arrived Wednesday - just shy of 4pm. Honestly, RM get worse! DS is spitting pips now, as goods he ordered (within the UK) on Wednesday last week still haven't arrived. Great service from Sew & So once again though. :0) Oh, so you want to know what I got? LOL This nice little addition to my stash:


Whilst I have quite a few nice hand dyed fabrics in my stash now - courtesy of Jayne's Fabric Collectors Club - it was rather woefully short of neutral coloured fabrics. So I bought some fat quarters of 28ct Brittney evenweave in Ivory, Mushroom, Bone and Cream (with Antique White to come when it's back in stock) and 32ct Murano evenweave in Ivory and Antique White. My fabric stash is looking a little more "rounded out" now. I finally remembered to get some self-adhesive backed felt for finishing off the back of ornies that are stitched on plastic canvas or perforated paper, to avoid using wet glue - a nice Christmas green which is actually called Holly. While I was there the Just Nan needlebook fob chart just happened to hop into my basket - now how could I be so cruel as to put it back when it so obviously wanted to come and live here with me? LMAO

The Holly felt has been put to good use already, as I backed the plastic canvas Santa ornie early last night (the one I started stitching on holiday last month and completed after getting home). It's a lot quicker than gluing but it does have a tendency to gunge up the scissors....... though I'm quite happy to put up with that for the sake of speedier finishing. :0) I shall get the cold melt glue gun out later and christen it (bought it on holiday and not had chance to try it out yet) by gluing the plastic canvas pieces to the metal wording frame - if that's successful that'll be a pic to share another day. :0)

I also have a birthday card to make for FIL. I had a go at making one yesterday but stalled: I know the theme (snooker) and have a basic idea of what I want to achieve but things just weren't coming together. Am hoping a nights sleep and coming to it a bit fresher today will help the ideas start flowing. Weeeeell......... that's the theory, anyway. LOL

Tonight is Sea Stars turn again, so that's tonights stitching plans sorted. By the time I've got the rest of my jobs done today I'll probably be ready for a sit down this afternoon: wonder if I can fit another stitchy project in then? Best get on so I can have the chance to find out, hadn't I?

Whatever your plans are I hope you're all having a good day. Thank you for taking the time to visit. :0)

A Little Something About The Weekend.

We were out in the garden on Saturday, thanks to one of those lovely late summer/early autumn days of sunshine - not been much of that sunshine around this year, so we made the most of it to get some outside jobs done and also sit and enjoy it all. There were lots of birds and butterflies fluttering around though we didn't see the dragonflies this time. Thought I would share some pics and let you see what certain bits look like now. Here's the door to the Secret Garden again:




Helen: we didn't cut it back after the last pic to show you what happens when the ivy is allowed to do it's own thing. We won't be able to get in there soon, so it's going to have to have a trim. :0)

The triffids have decided they are on a mission to take over the bottom end of the garden - before going on to take over the world! LOL They've had a second flowering:



Think the Green Man has just about disappeared now. This is a view of the large daisy type flowers DH's Dad gave us quite a few years ago:

They flower every August and also seem to want to take over the garden. The little pile of dead wood at the front there is for the frogs to hide under, although I'm not sure if they actually use it. The butterflies and bees love those purple flowers on the bush next to the daisies - it's another one that has to be thrashed back hard every year or it takes over and also decides it wants to be a tree rather than a bush.

Saturday evening I finally got round to starting the Jayne's Attic Good Friends Count SAL. Parts 1 and 2 were waiting to be done, so I stitched them whilst watching the first LOTR film on TV. Here's what it looks like so far:

It's on 28ct Chocolate Crush, hand dyed by Jayne, and the threads are: Dinky Dyes silk Ironbark and Finca Perle #8 shade 4000. The piece is one of Jayne's own designs, the second she has released via her Stitch & Stashers Forum, and is just as much of a pleasure to stitch as the Memories piece was. Am looking forward to Part 3 coming out. :0)

On Sunday we had a trip over to my DSis's. We had a meal at hers and DH watched the Grand Prix. Later he took down the old light in the front bedroom and put up the new one for her. He's quite taken with the lights she's bought and has suggested we get one for our living room, as the current bulb and shade makes the room look quite dingy. Not one to stop him willingly spending money on home improvements I've told him to go for it. ;0) Her re-decorated front bedroom looks lovely so far - the wallpaper looks and feels like she has a fabric on the walls. I had hoped that would also have DH wanting to dip his hands in his pocket for wallpaper for our bedroom but he wasn't feeling that enthusiastic. LMAO.

Oh, and here's a pic of something that arrived last week and I forgot to share - the Halloween issue of the JCS magazine:

Of those on the front, the top two and left middle one are definite must-stitches and the right middle one is a maybe and inside are a few more must stitches too. I do love this end of the year and it's celebrations. :0)

Well I've got all my jobs done and Alex is due any minute so I'd better go and put the kettle on.

Thank you to one and all for taking the time to visit. Hope you've all had a good weekend and an easy start to the week. :0)

Sea Stars and Other Things

A rather belated showing of this weeks Thursday Night SAL progress on Sea Stars - still, better late than never I guess!

The top small motif is stitched in Carrie's Country Blue and the lower in Solitude. If it hadn't been for an attack of the dreaded frog on the top motif, where I had to re-do the top half of it due to being a stitch out, the second motif would have been finished. I think it must have been the night for it, as Rosanne also had to frog some of her piece. Barb is on her holiday, so didn't stitch - I wonder if the frogs conspired together to make sure we didn't go racing too far ahead of her. :0)

DH had the day off on Friday. After breakfast he set to and put fresh silicone sealant all round the bathroom sink, tap and back of the vanity unit so hopefully making it all watertight again. It's ready for a wipe down and the stuff going back in there once he's cleared the clutter away. We then popped to Screwfix to pick up the new light and bulb for DSis's front bedroom, as she's finished all the painting and wallpapering now, then set off to Epworth to have dinner at The Lemon Tree Tea Room. It was a bit of a trip down memory lane, as Mum and Dad used to love meeting up with us there on a Sunday for a meal, a natter and a look round at everything. After that we called in at a shop to buy some flowers then set off for Rosehill. Once again the pathway that Mum's plaque is on was looking neglected, so we did a tidy up before putting some flowers in the little pot and putting her tag there. We then put some flowers in the pot at the monument where Mum and Dad's name plaque is, then put a rose near where Mum's ashes are and a little spray of carnations near Dad's ashes. It was drizzling with rain but still looked lovely and felt peaceful. We saw the big buck rabbit in the undergrowth again and a squirrel skittered down a tree, then scurried away when he saw us. For the first time ever a large dragonfly appeared and did a dancing flight around the area in front of where I was stood in the scattering area, twice flying towards me and then away - it was one of those special moments that has you glued to the spot with wonder. :0) When I glanced away and looked back it had gone. DH didn't see it at all.

By this time the drizzle was a bit more substantial, so we said our goodbyes and left, driving to The Outlet to see my DSis - she had to work, so couldn't go with us to Rosehill this time. We called in for a coffee and warm through/dry out and she was glad of the distraction - it wasn't very busy for a Friday and they were looking for things to do. Afterwards we did a little shopping. First stop was the book shop and there are always lots of interesting books in there at reduced prices so I got me a nice haul:

Thought it was about time I read about my own country's myths and legends and not just those from Ancient Greece and Egypt - the book is the size of a large doorstop, so it'll keep me quiet for a while. LOL The Ceremonies book doesn't just include Pagan celebrations but also includes information on those from other religions that are celebrated throughout the Wheel of the Year - it will be interesting to compare the differences/similarities between them. :0)

The Dream book is a more comprehensive one than the book I already have, as it covers the spiritual, as well as the emotional and every day, interpretation of dream symbology. I got the Rune book out of interest: I'm interested in and drawn to Runes but don't have a set (at the moment), although I do have three Tarot decks and a beautiful set of Angel cards. Thought I would read up about them first. I also bought two books about Churchill for DH, making six books in all, and the total was still just under £20 - that's what I call a bargain! After stash buying books are my next weakness/indulgence. ;0)

I looked round Whittard's but I couldn't decide on which coffee to buy, so didn't bother. Next was Julian Graves for some Tyrrel's Veg crisps and some herbal capsules. Then on to Camille's for some new underwear and nighties. That completed the haul so we popped to say goodbye to my DSis before heading home.

The day didn't end there though: we stopped off at one of the local pub restaurants on the outskirts of our town for a meal. I think DH decided I needed a bit more cheering up. :0) I must say the chicken and bacon salad I had was rather nice - though it would have been far tastier if they'd remembered to add the French Dressing it was supposed to have. Never mind: a sachet or two of mayonnaise remedied that. LOL

All in all it was a "funny" old day - bit of an emotional rollercoaster ride in some ways but it certainly ended on a positive note. I know Mum (and Dad) would have approved - they used to enjoy shopping trips and meals out. :0)

Many thanks for the kind comments, they're greatly appreciated. Hope you are all having a very good weekend. :0)

Cardmaking and Mother Earth

Many thanks for all the recent well wishes - after another nights' sleep I was more or less OK and the cold feelings and cold sore had virtually disappeared. Yay! I just haven't been around much this week as things got a bit busy here.

Sunday DH and I went out to Brigg Garden Centre for dinner. We had a look round at the trees etc afterwards....... we didn't come away with a tree or any plants but I did get a few other goodies: a pack of 50 pastel coloured pearlescent cards plus various embellishments and a couple of papers from the reduced box. I love a bargain! As it was a nice day and we hadn't been there for a while we had a trip out to Humberside Airport so DH could do a little plane spotting. I had pre-planned (I'm not daft!): I took my book and the JA/S&S September Challenge piece with me. DH enjoyed watching the planes and helicopters, plus catching a few rays, while I got a reasonable amount of guilt-free stitching done. I carried on with it after tea that night too.

Monday was my usual busy day doing jobs before Alex's visit for a coffee and a natter. After tea I managed to complete the Challenge piece stitching. Result! I was annoyed with myself for not stitching last months piece through letting time get away from me (especially as I voted for it), so was determined not to let the same happen this time round. I have an idea for finishing this but haven't had chance to make a start yet. Sorry - no pics until after Reveal Day. ;0)

Tuesday wasn't a good day: had a niggling in my back and head as soon as I got up but had hoped it would wear off. After dinner it soon became obvious that my head was feeling a whole lot worse and, although it wasn't full on flashing lights, there was some visual disturbance there: a migraine, the first one in quite a while. After taking some tablets and texting DH and DS to let them know not to phone or knock at the door and please be quiet when they came home I went back to bed. DS must have taken it to heart: I vaguely heard him let himself in but never heard him get ready or go out again. I woke up just before 6pm feeling much better and even managed some UFO Night stitching after tea - not happy with the amount of progress made I didn't post a pic as I'd decided to stitch more on Wednesday.

Wednesday I felt bright as a button and got up as DH left for work and got on with laundry, other house jobs and even had an hour in the garden, trimming all the dead stuff. By the afternoon, happy with the satisfaction of being a virtuous housewife (it doesn't happen often so I like to make the most of it LOL), I felt I'd earned a craft break :0)

First off was some card making. DS attended an evening wedding "do" on Saturday and I ended up having to do a rush job on a card for him - so rushed I didn't have time to take a pic or scan it for my album. I don't fancy another rush like that so made another so there's one in hand for next time:

Friday would have been my Mum's birthday so I made a tag to put beside her name plaque at Rosehill along with some flowers:

Next up was a birthday card for my Uncle (Mum's brother). He's a retired Merchany Navy Chief Engineer so the ship theme is spot on, especially as he and Aunty have been on a few holiday cruises too:

Sorry for the blurry scans - I'm still getting used to the new printer/scanner set up. Printing I've got cracked but the new scanning set-up is taking a bit of getting used to. Yes, DH came home with it last Saturday and he came home a lot happier than he went out......... mainly because it didn't cost him as much as he thought it was going to......... not that I'm saying he's tight or anything. ;0) LMAO

After tea I carried on with Mother Earth and felt much happier with the progress after a second stitching session - am sure fellow HAED stitchers will know what I mean when I say it doesn't seem to grow much. I'd last touched Her back in December 2007 - this is where I'd left off then:

This is how She looks now:

Glad to have got the trees bit done on the left as it means that next time around I'll be stitching Mother Earths' face and body....... much more interesting and the lighter colours will make a nice change. :0) Still not sure if this piece will be a regular UFO Night stitch though - I may just pinch Miss376's idea of stitching one thread length a day on this and choose something else for next Tuesday night.

I've also finally managed to catch up with all blog reading and commenting, something I'd been struggling to do since getting home from our holiday. It's been fascinating to see how many folks have said they weren't going to, have now caved and are signing up for the Me, Myself and I NRR and what plans they have for their neighbourhoods. LOL I like the idea and have bookmarked the blog, so I can watch everyone's pieces develop when it starts. I don't have any plans to sign up - it's not as if I haven't got plenty to keep me going already, is it? Except last night I did find myself wondering what a Blackwork neighbourhood would look like...... Get thee behind me! LOL

Tonight is Sea Stars SAL night so I'd best be off and get that motif finished and see how far I can get with another one. I did think about not stitching it this week as Barb (no blog) is away on her holiday but it's shouting too loudly......

Thank you for taking the time to visit and for the kind comments, they really are appreciated. :0)

This and That

Well I managed the SS SAL stitching Thursday night but that early night didn't happen. Despite going to bed earlier I still managed to see 3am in, then had a really broken night's sleep, waking up regularly through what was left of the night.......... consequently by Friday the zombie effect had increased greatly and the yellow snow hole eyes syndrome had also kicked in big time. Just to add insult to injury a big cold sore appeared without warning on my top lip that morning and my body has been trying to fight off a cold and sore throat ever since. Welcome home to the lergy DH! LOL

Sea Stars proved to be a bit of a pain whilst I was stitching it: the fabric wouldn't stay taut, resulting in regularly having to twist the scroll frame to correct it (it's only just wide enough for the fabric so that's probably got something to do with it), plus the threads kept knotting, sometimes badly, so progress was a little slow. To be honest I was so disappointed in the progress made I stitched a bit more on it on Friday and here's where I left off:

Didn't quite finish the first motif but by the time I got this far I'd had enough........ I took some Ibuprofen and disappeared under the fleecy blanket for a while. I was so well swaddled DH reckoned I was trying to do an Egyptian mummy impression........ no, only Matthew's Mummy feeling rough and seriously sleep deprived, said I. LOL I feel much better today (Saturday), especially as the cold sore is now beyond that painful/tingly/annoying stage too. It's amazing what a decent nights' sleep can do. :0)

Looking forward to next Thursday night now: it shouldn't take long to finish the first motif, then start another in a different colour - that will really feel like things are progressing. :0)

In the end I didn't get round to emailing the Friends Count SAL chart or the Challenge link to DS for him to print the charts out for me as I decided it could wait until after DH got home, especially as I wasn't feeling up to a new start yesterday anyway. Consequently today's plan is for DH to go to CRAM to get a new printer/scanner.......... once the Grand Prix qualifying has finished. Well it's now finished and he's been dithering ever since - amazing how much he can find to do to delay going out when it involves spending some money! LOL

Hopefully I shall have some more stitching to share with you in the next day or so...... once the new printer has been bought and installed and the charts printed out so I can get on with it. ;0)

For those who were wondering DH had a good trip to Italy. Apparently whilst he and his colleagues were all walking round in shirt sleeves, enjoying a bit of pleasant late summer sun that occasionally veered towards stickily warm, all the locals considered it as the start of Winter and were wearing thicker clothes. Not sure what happened to Autumn and DH didn't ask. LOL They sat out on the balcony of the hotel Thursday night, enjoying a few grappas, under the canopies whilst the rain came down, thinking it had cooled things off quite pleasantly. The poor barman looked bewildered and kept shaking his head at them........ I guess the mad English men and their antics will be a topic of conversation for a while. LOL He was glad to get home: there was a 20 minute delay setting off from Venice airport, followed by a delay on the motorway on the drive back, due to a minor shunt in the outside lane, all making a long day even longer. One kebab for tea and a good night's sleep later and he's much happier.......... or he would be if it wasn't for having to buy the printer/scanner. ;0)

Christine: A new career for you then and I shall be sure to come to you whenever I want a reliable weather forecast. ;0) Plus I'm with you & Miss Price when it comes to Colin Firth. LOL Am looking forward to next weeks episode especially as I know, via the trailer, that the greasy Mr Collins gets kneed in the crotch! LMAO

Right, I am off to get another Welch's Grape Juice - cold from the fridge it tastes lovely and is bliss to my throat right now - and choose some fabric and thread for the Challenge piece. I will be organised this month! No plans on going out, as it's raining again - everywhere is getting extremely waterlogged but so far there doesn't seem to have been much flooding our way. I hope all in the UK are also staying flood free.

Thank you for all the kind comments, they're much appreciated. Hope you all manage to stay warm and dry, wherever you live, and have a good weekend. :0)

Flowers, Another Award and an Owl.

Would you believe it, with all the holiday unpacking/jobs and the excitement of starting Sea Stars and finishing Guen I totally forgot to post the flowers that Lynn gave me and the award from Miss 376 I received whilst away. So sorry for the delay.

The virtual flowers are so pretty:

Thank you so much for giving them to me Lynn, they and the sentiment behind them mean a very great deal to me (((((hugs))))). It's always a pleasure to visit your blog to read your news and see your stitching. :0)

The award from Miss376 is a thank you for visiting and commenting on her blog:

I'm amazed at getting an award for doing something that gives me such pleasure anyway. I love to see all of your varied crafts and will admit that I envy your wide needlework skills. Thank you.

I am going to hand the award on to all the people who take the time to comment when they visit my blog. I do appreciate all visitors taking the time out from their busy days to come and visit but extra thanks have to go to those who also go to the trouble of writing a comment....... it lets me know that I'm not just wasting time, waffling away to myself, and that others are interested in the crafts I love and wish to share. So a big thank you to you all - consider yourselves duly awarded. :0)

Last night, knowing that I wouldn't sleep that well with DH being away, I settled in front of the TV for the night with Night Watchman. With several good documentaries on and a new programme called Lost In Austen (that's Jane Austen, author, and not a city in the USA) there was enough of interest to keep me glued for some time and NW really has benefited from it. Here's an update pic of where I left off at around 3am this morning:

Yes, 3am! I also found an awful lot of rubbish to have on in the background after Lost In Austen finished, keeping going until I'd reached that brain numbed state where I knew there wouldn't be a problem with dropping off to sleep. OK, so today I feel much like the zombies in the Resident Evil rip-off film that was on Zone Horror in the early hours (not scarey - just carp!) but it sure beat laying in bed for hours, hearing every noise in the neighbourhood, and constantly getting up to check that it wasn't some scumbag breaking in to the cars/caravan/house. I fell asleep about five minutes after getting into bed and only woke up a couple of times through the night, going back to sleep more or less straight away each time. Result!

Tonight it's the second outing for the Sea Stars SAL. DS has another rehearsal so the plan is to have tea then, when he's gone out, settle in with more documentaries and stitch on SS. I doubt I'll be pulling another 3am finish though!

The first part of the Friends Count JA SAL arrived in my inbox today and the winning Challenge piece for September has been announced, so there would be plenty more to get on with on Friday if I had a printer that worked! I am going to have to forward the email and the link to DS so he can print out the charts for me, as DH has the memory stick (the easier transferral method) with him in Italy at the moment. Typical! Didn't he know I would need it? ;0) LOL

As for DH: he is busy, over in Italy, with lots of meetings on various technical bits to do with the equipment etc that the company out there is supplying to the steelworks. He sends me a text at dinnertime and phones in the evening. Today's text tells me that the weather out there is warm and mostly sunny and they're walking round with rolled up shirt sleeves. Go on, rub it in, texts I, as I'm shivering in decidedly autumnal colder weather and currently looking out at yet another downpour. Fat chance for getting those cyclamens in the pots, so it looks like you're right Christine.

Well I've since had my tea, DS has disappeared for the night and SS is calling loudly so I am off to get some stitching done.

Thank you, once again, for taking the time to visit - hope you are all managing to stay warm, wherever you are. :0)

A Final Fanfare, Please

Yes, please stand for the final Fanfare for Her Majesty Queen Guenevere. Thanks to Julie, Mr Stick and the girls on the JA S&S Forum Tuesday UFO Night yet another UFO has bit the dust....... or, should I say, finally turned into a finish. :0)

Here's Her Majesty in all her unwashed and unpressed glory:

I reckon she'll look good as a wallhanging in my hall, so I shall be keeping my eyes open for a suitable medieval style fabric for that. Meantime, those Egyptian bellydancing CD's have had another outing so if there's any news reports of earth tremors in the UK you'll know why. LOL
There are several other candidates for next weeks UFO Night waiting in the wings, so watch this space.

Night Watchman has grown nicely but I shall do a little more on him before posting a pic - will leave that until next time.

It was the Monthly Challenge Reveal Day on JA S&S Forum at the weekend. The design was a lovely one by A Mon Ami Pierre and once again there have been some gorgeous finishes - some novel finishing ideas and lots of inspiration there. The selection for this month is up for voting (which I've done) and it'll be some early Christmas stitching this time round. Looking forward to seeing which one wins and I'm determined not to have to drop out, like I had to last month. Got my fingers crossed for one particular piece to win as I've already got a thread colour in mind for it. LOL

We had a good day at my DSis's on Sunday: we went to a garden centre for dinner, then had a shop. DSis bought an ivy plant for one of her pots and some bags of glass nuggets for decorating the tops of her pots. We bought a couple of metal toadstool decorations as part of her Christmas present - they look quite magical and make a lovely sound when the wind rattles them - as well as some cyclamens for our pots, to replace the violas that have died off, and a kneeling mat for DH to use inside the house. While we were there DH removed the radiator from her front bedroom and sealed the pipes, so she could get on with wallpapering the room this week (she's off all week) - she's got a shorter double radiator to replace it with when the decorating is done. A local gypsy kindly took the old one away, saving her a job and a rupture from moving it (very heavy).

I had quite a nice surprise yesterday afternoon: I was sat at the computer when I heard a skittering noise on the sun lounge roof. I almost ignored it, thinking it was Poppa blackbird, until I realised he'd have to have clogs on to make quite that amount of noise. Glancing up made me realise it wasn't a bird at all and a double-take had the realisation hit that it was a squirrel! I shot out into the garden to see he had jumped off the roof and into the neighbours garden and as I watched he scampered across their garden and shimmied up a concrete fence post to stand on the top of the fence. Unfortunately the kids in the next house were making a bit of noise, startled him and he shot off along the fence like a rocket, soon disappearing from sight. It's the first sighting of an urban squirrel I've had round here in many years and it was such a thrill.......... but I've been kicking myself ever since that I didn't once think to grab the ruddy camera to take a pic! I shall be keeping the camera to hand from now on, in the hopes that the visitor will be back again some time soon. :0)

DH is off to Italy tomorrow (Wednesday) morning with several work colleagues, on another trip to Buttrio, due back Friday night. With a little forward planning (for a change) we did a Tesco's online shop last night and had it delivered tonight, so DS and I can eat while he's away. ;0) As DS will be busy with rehearsals in the evenings I shall be on my own more than usual but the cupboards are now stocked, the TV remote is mine and there are plenty of stitching projects waiting to keep me busy, so the time will be filled quite nicely. Hopefully the weather will behave during the days (had rain in the afternoon and a thunderstorm around 6pm today) so I can get those cyclamens in and have a potter round as well. Who knows, I might even feel inspired to have a trip to the library and back! :0)

Karen: I heard about the Ozark Mystery SAL via Jayne's Stitch & Stash Forum & signed up for it there (there's an actual Ozark Forum but I never got round to joining it and don't know the link). Jayne is currently taking sign ups for the 2009 Mystery, if you're interested. :0)

Well I'd better go and make sure DH has packed everything he needs for his trip.

Thank you for visiting and thank you for taking the time to comment - all are very much appreciated. :0)