It's been a while....again

It's a bitterly cold day in Derbyshire but once the housework is done I'm going to sit by the fire and stitch. Last year wasn't a good year for stitching or blogging and I thought about closing my blog down but there are lots of things that I've done that I like looking back on so I thought I'd give it another try.

Youngest daughter's wedding took up a lot of last year as did re-modelling the garden and redecorating the house and the fun doesn't stop there as my eldest daughter gets married in just seven weeks and I've not even got my outfit yet.

I am getting back into stitching and at the moment I am really enjoying it again and I'm trying to do a bit each day. I found a couple of photos that I'd not put on here from last year so at least I've got something to show.

CCN Snow Love

LHN Warm Winter Woolens which was a gift from Barb 

And a new start in the parlour at Needlecraft Haven , Peace on Earth by LHN

Three more teapots have been put on the shelf, just another three to stitch and it's done. These are quick to stitch so I don't know why it's taken so long to do.

A few more stitches have been put into Celtic Noel, I really need to finish it this year.

I'm still knitting away on DH's jumper that I started before Christmas and I've had more stitching goodies for my birthday so I shouldn't be short of something to do.

I know it's a bit late but I'd like to wish everyone a very Happy and Healthy New Year,

until next time, take care,

A busy couple of weeks

It's been a bit hectic over the past couple of weeks because I've had DH at home with me and it's been so nice to have company during the day. He's not one for going away on holiday but he has been a great help in the garden helping with the things I can no longer do, just a shame that he had to go back to work. He's had to change his hours too from being on permanent night shift for most of our married life to an afternoon shift which is working out so much better for both of us.

There hasn't been a lot of stitching going on but I have put a few hours into Celtic Noel

and I've been in the parlour with the ladies from Needlecraft Haven stitching on Snow Love by LHN

Now that he's back at work I'm hoping to find a little more time to catch up on some other stitching and knitting and as he always likes to take cake to work I made a frosted lemon coconut cake. It's supposed to get better for keeping but it never lasts long enough in this house.

I'll leave you with a few photos of the garden, I hope you enjoy them.

We took down the little picket fence that we put up to keep DD's dog safe when he was a puppy but as they are both no longer living here it made sense to remove it and open up the garden.

DH treated himself to a tree fern, I just hope it doesn't die on me.

Two new roses were purchased, the top one is Noble Antony

and this one is called Othello and they both smell gorgeous.

Another new addition is this sweet delphinium named Bolero.

Lots of apples on the Bramley....

and plent of blackcurrants to go with them.

That's about it for now

love and hugs

A new start and a finish

The sun is shining here in Derbyshire and doesn't it lift the spirits. I have felt so much better this last week probably because I have kept myself busy and not dwelt on the things that get me down. Thank you for your kind comments and welcome to my new followers.

I have another finish to show.

Sunflower Inn by LHN

I so enjoyed stitching this with the lovely ladies over at Needlecraft Haven, lovely bright colours after sewing so much red on Beatrix.

I have a new start, this is one for DH. He doesn't usually take much of an interest in what I stitch but he saw this when we popped into Hobbycraft the other week and said that he liked it so hopefully I'll get it done for dare I say Christmas, the way this year is flying by it will be here before we know it.

Fragile Miracles by Joan Elliot.

And I've decided that I need to finish Celtic Christmas, she has been on hold for far too long. This is how she looked last time I left her.

Once again it's mostly red but at least it's different shades this time.

We had a lovely Saturday last weekend visiting Lullington Open Gardens, so much time and effort put into the gardens and of course I couldn't come away without buying a few plants.

I think it's called a Galaga or it's common name is Goat's Rue, there's also a Sea thistle to replace the ones that the slugs and snails dined on

These are a few photos from the garden.

This is a self seeded nicotiana plant growing in the greenhouse, it is huge but it's not in the way so we left it.

It's Lily and Callum's summer fayre at school tomorrow, always a nice afternoon out. Catching up with old school friends tomorrow evening and a trip to see our eldest daughter in Ellesmere Port on Saturday so lots to look forward to.

That's all for now.

hugs,

Time to catch up

I thought that it was about time that I caught up with my little blog and posted a few pictures before I forget what I've been up to. Sadly for quite a while I have been feeling like this

and nothing that I did would make it go away. Not every day has been bad, just enough to make me feel low and try as I might I couldn't snap out of it. But today is a good day so here I am playing catch up.

At the beginning of May our youngest daughter Rachel got married, it was a lovely day and the sun shone just enough to be able to take some outdoor photos, but as I haven't got my copy of the wedding cd yet I can only show a couple that my nephew took.

Rachel and Darren

and a very rare one of me and hubby together.

I have been stitching and believe it or not I have actually finished Beatrix.

I put our initials and our three daughters on instead of the charted ones, I thought after all the hours I'd spent on it I was allowed to make it mine.

Sunflower Inn is also coming along and hopefully it won't be too long before there's another finish.

And this was a present from DD Rachel who also likes to stitch.

Grandma and Grandpas house, a Lilliput Lane kit.

The garden is lovely this year, well the flower garden is. The vegetable plot at the bottom of the garden has been left as I just didn't have the heart to do it but we have decided to grass it over at the end of the year and just extend the flower garden, one less thing to worry about.

Before I go here are just a few photos of the garden.

Thank you for taking the time to visit, hopefully I'll be back soon,

love and hugs,

It's been a while

Aren't the weeks flying by, I can't believe that it's April tomorrow and such a while since I last blogged. I have still been stitching and knitting but at the moment a lot of my time has been taken up with preparations for my youngest daughters wedding, only five weeks to go and I've still not found any shoes or a bag to match my outfit. I'm also trying to make a jacket to go with my dress just in case the weather isn't as warm as we'd like it to be. I just hope that it's not anything like last night or today, I hardly got a wink of sleep the wind was howling so much and the rain was heavy too. Think it might be time for a nanny nap this afternoon.

We've also spent quite a bit of time out in the garden when it's been fine, only one flower border left to do and then the veg plot has to be seen to. The green house is full of little seedlings ready to be potted on, it's just finding the time to fit everything in. The old couple next door cut all of their trees down last year which made our garden very open so we bought a few things to fill in against the fence until we decide whether to higher the fence or just grow taller plants.

I am still plodding on with Beatrix Potter, I'm determined to finish it soon. There's not a lot left to do.

This is what I started over a month ago but had to put it away as I had so much else to do but I got it out again at the weekend and didn't want to put it down. I think I'm enjoying the pretty colours after sewing so much red. 

Sunflower Inn by LHN.

And finally a picture of my flowers and tea pot that I had for Mothers Day.

I have been so good and not broken in to it yet but I'm afraid its days are numbered as it is getting very tempting to just have a nibble.

Well that's about it for now, I have done more on my Celtic Noel and another two tea pots are stitched on the shelf but they can wait for another day. It is absolutely throwing it down outside, I hope that it picks up for Easter. My two grandchildren Lily and Callum have gone to Scarborough this week with their other Grandma and Granddad, I so hope that they've got better weather there.

Bye for now, take care

  xx