Not A Lot......

to show for the last couple of days really. I started the Ozark motif, as planned, on Monday night but struggled to get a flow going so it didn't get finished. Maybe tonight????

Tuesday night was UFO Night again, so For Amanda came out to play. Boy, is it nerve wracking going back to cut a piece that you've already had one monumental cock up on! Took me a bit to get up the courage to do it, then it went ultra slowly - almost ended up oxygen starved due to holding my breath each time....... not that my brain notices the difference these days. LMAO The bar wrapping went much easier and this is how the heart looks now:

I didn't do any infilling stitches in the end - I decided I would wait until after all the beading is completed, see what it looks like and how many beads are left and take it from there. No beadwork attempted last night as I was too tired to concentrate - I opted for an early night instead. Hopefully the Tacky Bob will get an outing next week....... it's been a while since I've done any beading, so it will make a nice change.

I've stalled on the finishing of one of the ornies today. Well, actually, that barely got started - I cut out a couple of rectangles of card then decided I wasn't in the right mood for it and put it all away again. I seem to have lost my motivation somewhere along the way this week. As my Mum used to say: I need putting in a bag and shaking up. :0)

Something I did manage to do today was putting up the new bird feeder in the garden. There's nothing hanging off the hooks yet (need to go shopping for something suitable) but there are four fat balls in the lantern bit at the top and some water in the dish. It hasn't taken long for three of this years starling broods to discover those fat balls and start squabbling over them but, surprisingly, the ram-raiding sparrows have been much more cautious, preferring to suss things out from the top of the back fence while someone else makes the first move. Going by what I've seen before though, it won't take them long to start diving in there. LOL

DS has had two reasonably good dress rehearsals this week and is feeling a bit happier about the performances to come. Good job, as they start from tonight. He's working during the day and performing in the evening so he's going to be living on adrenalin for most of the time. Fingers crossed all goes OK.

DH announced last night that he has to go off to Italy again next week for a few days and possibly for a few days the following week as well. Good job we didn't book the week in Thwaite, as we had planned to do, or it would have had to be cancelled. Am hoping we can still manage to go off for a long weekend together somewhere before the end of November - perhaps to Hope or Castleton in Derbyshire instead, as it's not that far to travel. It's worth travelling further for a week but not a weekend at this end of the year, what with the weather and the darker nights.

Thanks to Angela the book The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time will be off on the start of its Book Crossing travels soon. (Angela: it's all packaged up ready to go, am just waiting for when DH can pop it to the PO for me). Can't wait to see where this one ends up. :0)

Sally: the LNS is called The Sewing Shop (I think) and is towards the top end of Ashby High Street. Can't say I've spotted any cross stitch items lately but it's got a reasonable amount of finishing items - well packed for such a small place. :0)

Time for me to be off if I'm going to have chance to do some blog reading and get some stitching done tonight.

Thank you to all who visit and for all the lovely comments. Big wave to any newbies - please say Hi....... I don't bite. :0)

Tiring But Fun

Definitely the best way to describe this weekend. Thought I would first give you a look-see at the stash I bought from my LNS on Saturday:

Sunday and DS shot off bright and early to help out with the Get In at the theatre and we didn't see him again until gone 10pm. We started out with going to Silica Lodge Garden Centre for our dinner - had a little look round after but nothing caught our eyes. Next we went to the Stephen H Smith's Garden Centre, so I could go raid the rather good craft shop there. No pumpkin orange cording in sight but I did find some other goodies that were on my shopping list (the Whisper templates)...... and some I decided needed to be on it when I saw them. ;0) Here's that haul:


Aren't those Halloween tags so cute? LOL We also managed to come away with another bird feeding station for the garden which I want to set up with special seeds to attract robins, tits and finches to come and visit.

Next up was a trip to The Range - frustratingly enough, still no pumpkin orange cording but I did console myself with a reel of thin orange piping and a couple of other must-haves and also found a nice replacement shower curtain for the bathroom. See, it wasn't all craft stuff. LOL It's thirsty work, all this looking round and shopping, so we stopped off for a drink in the cafe and I succumbed to one of their choc chip cookies with white choc chips in it. Now the mix of choc chip cookie and mango and passionfruit drink doesn't quite work but I decided to be brave and go ahead and deal with it anyway. LMAO.

Next was a trip to Poundstretcher, just across the road. What is it with that place that has you filling your trolley? We went in to get a couple of tubs of wild bird fat balls (our ram-raiding sparrows love them, getting through loads and Poundstretchers have the cheapest price) and we also came out with a new steam iron (that was on the list, so that wasn't so bad) BUT we also came out with a Halloween bucket and sweeties (ready for the Trick or Treaters), a new yard brush and pan and some other household bits plus a laminator. Now that laminator definitely wasn't on the list and, although we'd said in the past that it would be a useful thing to have at some point, it wasn't a priority........ but at £9.99 it was just way too good to ignore...... and I have just the spot for it, once DH has moved the old printer out of the way. Think it'll be a while before we go in there again though. LOL

Home, and while DH sorted the chicken and put it in the oven I put the shopping away, then he went out and mowed the lawn while I prepared the veggies. A Farmers Market corn fed roast chicken and all the trimmings for tea - DS nuked and ate his when he finally got in. It wasn't all work and no play though, as I managed to get the second Halloween ornie completed later on:

Stitched 2 over 2 in DMC threads

Polstitches 28ct Hot Potatoes evenweave fabric.

I also finished reading the book: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon (see The Reading Corner Blog for more info). This is another one I shall register with the Book Crossing web site but am thinking of doing a controlled release this time. Does anyone fancy reading this? I'm happy to post it out to someone, so long as the recipient is willing to go to Book Crossing and journal on it, then pass it on - I really would love to see at least one of my registered books begin travelling soon!

Despite planning to do some no other stitching got done over the weekend - we were either out or I was in but too tired and not fancying a frog visit. The intention is to make up for that lack this week: today it's my regular jobs session before Alex's visit but tonight I want to get the final Ozark SAL motif done.

Well, it's time I gave the Dyson a trip out of the cupboard so best be off.

Many thanks for all the lovely comments and for visiting - you make my day. :0)

Ta Daaa.......

Yes, it's Reveal Day for the JA/S&S Monthly Challenge. This month's design was a freebie called Noel by Windy Willows and this is how I chose to make it up:

Stitched 1 over 1.
Fabric: unknown oddment of 28ct evenweave.

Thread: Carrie's Creation Plymouth Red.

For the back I used some fabric I bought from my LNS:

I used a gold edged burgundy organza ribbon for a ruched edge finish - another technique that was a first for me but which I'll certainly be using again some time, as I'm very pleased with how this turned out. There weren't as many finishes in the group album as I was expecting but those that were in there were lovely and there were some more finishing ideas to pinch. :0)

With October being Breast Cancer Awareness month Karen has posted lots of links to freebies (and useful links) with this in mind, so the Challenge is an open one: we can choose, stitch and finish any one (or more) of the pink ribbon designs we want to - I've already chosen the one I want to stitch. I am hoping lots more of the S&S Forum members decide to join in with this one as I think it's a brilliant idea. My piece will be stitched with my SIL Helen and Aunty Doreen in mind........ unfortunately they were not survivors.

Last nights plans to tackle the second motif on the Ozark SAL didn't happen........ I got waylaid by the Online Needlework Show, spending quite some time browsing through all the booths. A pleasant way to spend an hour or so but I was a bit disappointed by the time I'd done, as I didn't really see anything that grabbed me enough to want to go and find a seller. :0( By the time I'd finished the browsing it was getting a bit late to start the motif so I did a bit more on the Halloween ornie instead. This one seems to be taking forever to stitch, for some reason, despite it not being that much bigger than the Fall piece I did - must be the colour changes slowing me down. LOL

Today was a pleasant day. The weather was nice, for a start, and I got a trip out of the house - unlike last weekend, when DH had to work.

DS was up and out and off to Brigg Farmers Market to stock us up on lots of tasty goodies. This week, as well as the usual items, he came home with some diabetic banana and walnut cake for DH to try (better for him than the other cake and scones he sneaks when he shouldn't) and some eel steaks to try. I'm happy to try the cake but not quite so sure about the eel, though I'm usually game to try most things at least once..... so long as they're legal. LOL At least it's not jellied eels - now those I definitely do draw the line at. Anything that looks like it's covered in snot does not appeal at all, thank you very much. Blech!

My trip out, with DH, was a walk down our local High Street. First stop was Il Sorriso for dinner: we had their home made beef and vegetable stew, which comes with a thick slice of bread and butter, and we also had a warm drink. As I'd finished reading my last book and had registered it on the Book Crossing site (see The Reading Corner Blog in the side bar for more details) I took it with me, to release it into the wild there. Got my fingers crossed that this one gets picked up quickly and starts travelling far and wide, as the previous book (Labyrinth by Kate Mosse) seems to be staying put in Chapel Stile. Maybe I should try some controlled releases with my next books, as that way I know they'll be read and passed on.

After dinner we popped into my LNS. I was after some finishing bits for the Halloween ornies - no pumpkin coloured cording in site but I still came away with some goodies that will be useful for other finishing jobs. Well, tell me: who on earth, in their right minds, can walk out of a LNS with empty hands? LMAO Next stop was the Help The Aged charity shop for a look-see at the book selection and I didn't come out of there empty-handed either:

I love Dave Eddings fantasy books and am gradually working towards collecting all of them. The middle book with the odd title I bought out of curiosity: I want to know what made it an award winner and if I would class it as a good read. The Candace Robb book is a medieval murder mystery and I usually enjoy the history/thriller mix. I've got quite a few non-fiction books waiting to be read, like those I bought earlier in the month, but do like to mix a good fiction read in there as well, otherwise it gets a bit heavy going, and these will do quite nicely.

We also called in at a couple of other shops for some bits and pieces and the chemists for DH's new meds (Elisa: they're the same tablets as yours but DH has to take these on top of the gliclazide he's already taking, as they weren't keeping his blood sugar levels down enough. Hopefully the combination will do the trick). After that we stopped off at the Malt Shovel for a cold drink (pint for him, J2O for me) and a rest before tackling the walk home - all that shopping and the warm weather was very drying. :0) DH was happy to sit and watch the Grand Prix qualifying when we got back - he'd taped it - while I was happy to settle in front of the computer.
No stitching again tonight as I've been blogging and blog reading/commenting, having a natter with my DSis, catching up with forums and generally pottering around - hope to make up for the lack tomorrow, after we've been iron shopping (Karen: nope, irons definitely don't bounce. Wonder if the Dyson bloke fancies a new challenge? LOL).

Many thanks for the kind comments about Sea Stars. Thank you for visiting. :0)

Are You Bored Yet?

With all these Sea Stars updates? If not, then you probably will be by the time this SAL is finished. LOL Here's my Week 5 progress:


Yes, I've reached the octopus. Yay! The motif in Denim was completed (quite a nice one to stitch) a second fish has joined its mate and a start made on the octopus, which is in Carrie's Pacific Blue, and the ship's wheel, in Rosewood. The stitching went a bit better this week: I decided the needle was getting a bit old, so swapped it for a new Jonathan James size 26 petite and the thread seemed to twist and knot much less than before. Perhaps I don't twist the smaller needle so much?

As for my other pieces:

• I did a little more stitching on the second Halloween ornie yesterday afternoon but there's still more to be done. I shan't bother posting a pic until it's completed though.
• There's been an answer to the Ozark query, so I can go ahead and stitch the second motif now - probably tonight's project. Will post a pic when it's done.
• The next part of the Good Friends Count SAL has been received, so that'll be one for this weekend.
• I haven't done the finishing on the first Halloween ornie yet but hope to get to it some time over the weekend. I may go shopping for some ribbons and bits for it tomorrow.

As for other things: rehearsals for Henry V have been coming thick and fast for DS. He's also had a final costume fitting and photo call for the programme this week. It's Get In at the theatre this weekend, Technical run through Monday night, a full Dress Rehearsal on Tuesday and the performances start Wednesday night through to Saturday night, then Get Out on Sunday. It's going to be a hectic week - just call this place The Mad House. LOL

DH had the results back from his second set of diabetic blood tests today: his blood sugar levels have lowered but still not enough, so he's been put on a second lot of tablets to take. We didn't quite expect that. Hopefully the extra meds will sort his levels out and he will be back on an even keel again soon. I'll have to make sure he's not sneaking any more cake or scones into his diet for a while!

We haven't got any set plans for this weekend, as such - to be honest, I was half expecting him to have to work again, so deliberately didn't make any plans - apart from needing to get some gardening jobs done (weather permitting) and to go shopping for a new iron. We've only had this one around two years and the flippin' cable is fraying badly. At the risk of sounding like an old fogey: they really don't make things like they used to! Oh, and we'll probably be popping to the local sewing shop, or The Range, for finishing bits for the ornies. Whatever we do it will have to adjust to fit round the Grand Prix qualifying on Saturday and the race on Sunday or he'll not be happy! I don't mind - I can get some stitching or finishing done while he's watching them. :0)

Many thanks for the kind comments regarding the For Amanda piece. I've got my head round it now and hope to tackle the rest of the cutting and stitching next week. The Copper Beech design - which I started ages ago - from Alchemy Stitchcraft has some nice infills on it (which is what gave me the idea) so I shall use one of those on FA. Hope you don't mind Christine. :0)

Well, the Ozark piece is calling me, so I am off to see if I can get it started and finished tonight.

Many thanks to all for visiting - have a great weekend, whatever you do. :0)

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)

Autumn Equinox and Fall

Last night was the Autumn Equinox, or Mabon, celebrations when day and night are of equal length. In keeping with the time of year the weather here has now turned decidedly autumnal, with leaves dropping, nights drawing in and a definite cold nip in the air. Here's a wonderful display of harvest produce, snagged from Wikipedia, that sums up the feeling of this season and celebration:


Celebrating in my own way, I decided to have a new stitching start last night and settled on a suitably apt piece called Fall which is a freebie design from Homespun Elegance. It's such a quick and easy piece I finished up the stitching this afternoon whilst watching Dawn Bibby on QVC (didn't buy anything, in case you were wondering LOL). Here's a pic:

I used Polstitches 28ct evenweave Hot Potatoes fabric and Carrie's Creations Pumpkin Spice, Raven and Pina Colada, Ozark Emerald and a scrap of DMC 966 for the cats' eye. I left off the Fall wording, as this is intended as a Samhain or Halloween decoration (plus I didn't like it). I haven't decided what to use to finish it yet but I know I want to hang it from a handle on one of the four doors leading off from the downstairs hallway. The intention is to have ornaments of some description hanging on each of the doors, so that's one down and three more to go. The second ornie has already been chosen, I've just got to gather the threads and choose a fabric for it. :0)

So, what else have I been up to whilst absent from Blogland? Well, I completed the finishing on the JA/S&S Monthly Challenge piece, as planned, and a pic has been taken and sent off to Karen for the album. I tackled another new to me technique in this finish and was very pleased with the outcome (even if I do say so myself)........... but you'll have to wait until Reveal Day to see what it was. ;0)

I also made a start on the next part of the Ozark Mystery SAL piece, completing one motif...... but stalled when I noticed the other motif was positioned a stitch out on the chart. I don't know if this was meant or if it is an error and have queried it. There's no way I am going risk guessing wrong then end up with yet another frog visit so, meantime, while I wait for an answer, this piece has been put on hold - so that's why there's no update pic just yet.

DH only worked half a day on Sunday. He thought we would go to Epworth for dinner at The Lemon Tree, then go to the Festival of the Plough event after - as it was already around 1pm, meaning we'd only end up with a couple of hours at the event by the time we'd eaten (hardly worth the entrance fee) and I could see that he was shattered I knew he was being a tad unrealistic, so suggested we had lunch at home and pottered about here instead. After an initial strop (boy, don't they get moody when you don't fall in immediately with their plans? LOL) he soon realised staying home was a more sensible option. After lunch and a chill out he felt better and fitted the new ceiling light in the living room and what a difference that has made. Unfortunately when he turned off the power to do the light we soon realised that the back-up battery for the burglar alarm is dead, so we need to get a new one - otherwise next time there's a power cut the darned alarm is going to keep going off and pee off the neighbours big time. By late evening DH said he was glad we'd stayed in, instead of rushing off out.......... I guess that was his way of apologising. ;0)

Monday was jobs galore - got such a flying start on those that I gained a bit of extra computer time and had an enjoyable browse of the Freebies Gallery site, looking for Halloween/finishing inspiration and trawling for suitable charts. Thoroughly enjoyed that and found what I was looking for, then had a good natter with Alex when she arrived. She and my DS had been to a Mind, Body and Spirit event at Harrogate on Sunday, so that was one of several topics of conversation we got through. After she left I kitted up the Fall freebie and..... well, you know the rest.

Today being Tuesday makes it UFO Night tonight. No idea what I'm going to stitch yet............. may end up tossing a coin at this rate. Drop by tomorrow to see which piece guilt tripped me the most and won out. LOL

Thanks again for taking the time to visit. I hope you all had a good weekend and an even better start to the week. :0)

Santa and Friends

No, not Santa and his friends, just in case you think I'm going dotty and having Yule/Christmas mega-early this year - that's Santa and the Friends SAL. :0)

As promised, here's a pic of the fully assembled plastic canvas Santa ornie:


That's another Yule ornament made, though he's a bit too big to go on the tree. He looked quite at home in the spot where I took the pic so he'll probably end up there when it's time to trim the house.

Boy, did I have a nice surprise last night! While DH was getting ready to go out to see his friend I grabbed the remote and channel flicked, prior to settling down with my stitching for the evening, and found: a programme about Brian Ferry and Roxy Music, followed by a televised gig from the 80's over on BBC4. WOW! Was I in Seventh Heaven or what - hardly noticed DH say goodbye on his way out! Had a fab couple of hours with great music, a nice bit of eye candy and a really lovely piece of stitching to do. Luckily the eye candy didn't have me drooling all over my stitching and, despite the big distraction, the frogs stayed well away. LOL Here's a pic of the finished Part 3:

Taken in artificial light again but it's not a bad pic for colour (on my screen anyway). This really is a nice piece to stitch, not just because I like the colours, but because if flows so well, IYKWIM. Looking forward to the next part coming out next week. :0)

DH was up and out to work first thing and has just come home for dinner at almost 2pm. He's off back at around 3.30pm but, as he's feeling fairly tired, we'll not be going anywhere or doing any jobs so he can have a bit of a rest. Am hoping he may decide to go back to work via Screwfix, so he can get the new light for the living room - at least it will then be to hand, ready to go up when he's got the time and does feel up to tackling a job. Thankfully Mr Italian is in a much happier frame of mind because steel is being cast and he can get on with the job he needs to do - dummy is now back in the pram!

DS was up and out fairly early too: he's doing jobs at the LTC Guild Room - something to do with speakers and cables and the like. I guess he'll be back when he's either hungry or needs to get ready to go out. LOL

Meantime I've been playing on the computer, catching up with forums etc, and gathering a couple of bits together to tackle the finishing on the Challenge piece - with immaculate timing DS emptied a box of tissues this morning, so I grabbed the back off that, ready to roll. I know what I want to achieve.......... let's just hope I can get it to actually look like the image in my head. :0)

Stitching plans for today are to get on with the next part of the Ozark SAL and, if that doesn't take too long, perhaps make a start on a Halloween ornie. Glad to say that the Ozark part isn't a choice between six bands this week - just two motifs to stitch and the only choice being which thread to use for which motif. Think I'll toss a coin. LOL

Hazel: would love to know which HAED piece it is that's got that many pages! Will be so impressed if you do ever stitch it. :0)

Thank you to one and all for taking the time to visit - hope you're all having a good weekend. :0)