Prairie Sampler and GOF

I thought it was about time that I updated my blog as it will soon be time to show part 2 of Prairie Sampler and I haven't even posted part one. I've really enjoyed doing this, though at first I wasn't sure how I'd get on doing it in four weekly sections but it's been easy to keep up each week so it's made me think about how I usually start a new project.


I'm not over keen on the fabric that I'm using, it's 28ct permin linen in amber which has the look and feel of brown paper and creases terribly so I don't think that I shall use it again. It's a lot darker than the photo and it does look ok with the crescent colours that I'm using.

I've also finished the exchange for the Gift of Friendship that I do two or three times a year.


This year I chose to stitch a pendibulle as I'd never done one before and the only problem was finding a pattern that would fit into a corner but I don't think it's turned out too bad. I know that there aren't many in the GOF group that know that I have a blog so I think it's safe putting it on here.

Apart from a little stitching I've been looking after a poorly pussy cat. One of my daughters cats that she left here when she moved out got hit by a car three weeks ago. She broke her bottom jaw, split her top palette and her skull. Thankfully the vet managed to operate and wire her jaws up but the downside was that she had to be fed every couple of hours through a tube in her throat which was a bit tiring to say the least. Luckily for me she had the top wire out at the weekend and she's back to eating normally so just the bottom wire to come out and hopefully she'll be as good as new.

Hope everyone is keeping warm and dry, it's bucketing down here....

love and hugs

Come and join us

Chris and I are doing a SAL for LHN Travelling Stitcher. It will start on January 2nd 2010 so there's plenty of time to get your name down and join in the fun.

You can find all the details here so please take a look

LHN Starlight Sampler

A finish at last.

I've only had the bottom border to do on this for ages but I've just not had the time to finish it but I finally knuckled down to it yesterday and here it is.

It's been lovely to stitch and so lovely to see it finished.

I have joined in with a SAL for LHN Prairie Sampler, link is in my sidebar, and although it doesn't start until November 1st I thought that I'd get myself organised so the threads and fabric are waiting for me to start.

It's a beautiful sunny day outside so I am going to brave the spiders and do some much needed gardening

An exchange and a proposal

My gift came today from Wendy Jo for the autumn/halloween exchange on Exchange Heaven and it is absolutely gorgeous.


The finishing is perfect and the colours so rich. She also sent me a piece of fabric that I shall certainly find a use for. Thank you Wendy Jo.

My other news is that Rachel, my youngest, phoned me last night from her holiday and told me that Darren had proposed and she had accepted. Me and DH knew he was going to ask her as he came and asked for our permission last week which I thought was rather nice. Of course we said yes as he's been so good for Rachel since she met him 18 months ago and after her first disastrous marriage she deserves someone who'll take care of her.

I managed to get some more stitching done on starlight last night until the spiders started invading the house. We had two giants crawling round the living room but thankfully Tony caught them both otherwise I'd have still been jumping up and down on the settee, I am such a wimp!!!

Have a good day whatever you're doing.....

love

Autumn sunshine

It's glorious outside today and DH keeps saying why don't I go out in the garden and enjoy myself like I usually do when the sun is shining. Well, as everything in life, there is a reason why I don't like gardening in autumn.........I'm terrified of spiders. I don't even like going into the greenhouse to pick the tomatoes in case one falls on my head from where it's been lurking, waiting for me to walk into it's wonderful web! I can sit and watch them from the safety of the conservatory and marvel at the intricacies of their spinning, but oh how I wish they'd do it somewhere else.

On a brighter note, Elisa has received the stitching that I sent to her as her exchange piece for Exchange Heaven.
I loved stitching this and made it into a needle book for her. I really must learn how to use my camera better than point, click and that's it!

Lily has gone away for the week with her mum Rachel and Darren, her first proper holiday and I think if things go to plan for Darren there will be news to tell when they get back. I am going to make the most of it and try and get some stitching done though to be truthful I really ought to do some decorating before it gets too cold to keep the windows open, but it's so much nicer and oh so much easier to sit and stitch.

Joshua is growing fast but still no news of his appointment for his clicky hip. his neck has responded well after visiting the osteopath and Sharon says that he might only need one more visit and then she can carry on with the exercises herself. Poor little chap he's had so much prodding since he's been born but he still smiles away.
Hardly any Beatrix done this month but starlight sampler is coming along nicely.....

hugs

Exchange received

It's cold and wet and miserable here in Derbyshire, so I'm sitting here doing nothing apart from catching up with tv and putting my feet up. Not much stitching going on either as it's been a busy few weeks though that is going to be remedied soon hopefully.

I received my exchange from Lucy on the Exchange Heaven exchange. The theme was "Home" and this is what she sent me.



This is so apt for me as I'm never without a cup of tea in my hand. Lucy charted the design herself, isn't it lovely.

This is what I stitched for Wendy Jo; I made it into a door hanger and added a little pincushion to match.

I made a little pocket on the back and trimmed it with lace, I read on her blog that she liked red so I hoped that she liked this.

Hoping to get my LHN Starlight Sampler out again soon, it's been too long since I've sat and stitched.

Stitching and strawberries

It's been a busy few weeks since I last posted on my blog, time has a habit of flying by when you're having fun. Lily as usual has kept me busy and so has my poor cat Chester. No sooner had I posted the pic of him on my last post, he got attacked by another cat and was quite seriously mauled. His head and neck had to be shaved and as the other cat had nicked a vein, he had to have staples in his head and chin to stop the blood. He's now on his third lot of antibiotics because his jaw keeps swelling up and if there's no improvemnt by Sunday, then he's got to have an operation to investigate. I hope that it calms down for the weekend, he's getting a bit too old to be put under.

We've also had a couple of visits to Chester to see my new grandson Joshua, who is now a happy and healthy 12 lbs. He's having to have physio on his neck as being overdue in the breech position has made his neck weak on one side but Sharon says that you can see improvement after only a couple of sessions.

On the stitching front, well, I've hardly picked a needle up in the past two weeks as Tony has been off work so we've been doing all those little jobs that need doing around the house that I can't manage on my own.

I received my exchange gift from Carien for the Gift of Friendship bookmark exchange, this is what she stitched for me along with the card kit that she gave to me.

I stitched for Debbie who said that she liked flowers and butterflies.
She let me know that she loved it and the colours that I'd chosen were her favourite.

And finally stitchy wise, I have to say a big thank you to stitchin' sweet Sue for the goodies that she sent to me. A few weeks ago on her blog she posted a pattern link for some felt strawberries and I happened to comment that I didn't have any red felt left. No sooner had I commented than she offered to send me some which she did in double quick time along with some charts and a skein of Weeks Dye Works thread that I'd never tried, indeed a true act of kindness. So Sue, just for you, here is my effort of making those strawberries and I now realise why you said that they were flying round the room.The garden is rewarding us after all our hard work.

The chillis are waiting for some more sunshine to ripen but we've picked loads of tomatoes, sweet peppers and we are giving cucumbers away as fast as they grow. It's certainly been a good year for the greenhouse.......

hugs,

Rainy days and Mondays

I've had that song going through my head for the past couple of hours, especially the first line ...."talking to myself and feeling old", probably because that's how I've been today but rainy days don't get me down, in fact I love the rain on my face (as long as it's not cold rain) and since I've retired, Monday is just another day to do as I please, within reason.
Last week when we did have some sunshine, me and Lily made the most of it and got the paddling pool and play mat out and went for a splash.
She really enjoyed getting me and her mum wet! I can't wait for her to get her first words out, she is trying so hard to tell us something and she "talks" for ages in her own little way. She is so comical. Last weekend was my sister's 70th birthday party and it was the first time that Lily had been on a dance floor. She kept trying to catch the flashing lights that were on the floor and she just went round and round in circles until she was dizzy She didn't want to give in though and she got quite upset when it was time to go, but with kisses from everyone and a balloon to see her on her way she was smiling by the time she left.
On the stitching front I have finally finished LHN Natures Beauty, I say finally because when I'd put the last stitch in and sat back to admire my work I noticed that I'd stitched the flowers on the left of the verse half a stitch lower than the other side. Tony said that it wasn't noticeable but I knew it was there so I had to rip it out and start again.
I started another LHN called Starlight Sampler and I've also put a few more stitches into my Beatrix SAL so I'm happy to say that I'm feeling good about my stitching.
The garden at the moment has a mind of its own, some things are growing and some are definitely heading for the compost bin.
These are my first tomatoes of the season, followed by a sweet pepper or two.This is how the garden looked a couple of years ago; last year we decided to get rid of the drive down to the shed so that we'd have more lawn. Tony has decided to get rid of his old kit car that lives in the shed so we won't need the driveway down there any more once it's gone.And this is how it looks now, it's looking a bit bare but we intend to put some more shrubs in when we get round to it. The borders are filling up nicely thanks to all the seeds that Chris sent me, even the seedlings that she sent through the post survived and grew.Some days I wonder what I've done with my time but when I look back at these photos I know where my time went and I'm quite pleased with the results. Some days it's been hard work but I love being out there, it's so peaceful.
And finally, this is my old Persian cat Chester; he's twelve years old now and this is how he spends most of his day. Wouldn't it be nice to be so relaxed.

Hugs,

An up and down week

Well, it seems ages since I wrote anything on here yet it's only two weeks but time has a habit of slipping away from me lately and I haven't felt the best either. But, hopefully, now that the sun has made a welcome return, I shall start to feel brighter again.
I've not done a lot of stitching as even that didn't sem to pull me up from the black hole that I was in but I do have a little progress from last week of LHN Natures Beauty. I have done a little more of this but not enough to make a difference so I didn't bother taking another photo.

I also stitched a scissor fob for a friend and I liked it so much that I made one for myself.
It's a freebie design by The Drawn Thread and I didn't stick to the colours on the chart but I think these go well together anyway. I've done a little more, and I mean a little, on my Beatrix Potter but a picture of that can wait until the end of the month.
We have been busy in the garden, taking down all the wire and fencing that we put up to keep Rachel's cats from getting out on to the main road and tomorrow we have a load of turf being delivered so that we can extend the lawn nearer to the house so another busy few days.
The garden is looking very green at the moment as everything seems to have finished flowering and the summer flowers aren't quite ready to show their faces yet.
We have a few roses in bloom that brighten the place up, this is one that my friend Diane bought us for our pearl anniversary last year, Sharon my eldest bought us the same one but it's not quite as open as this one yet.
This is my old bench where I like to go and sit and grab five minutes peace and quiet; the flower borders are actually beginning to fill up again after being either pulled up by an over enthusiastic husband or an ever growing army of slugs and snails last year.
The greenhouse is thriving; the tomatoes, peppers, cucumber and aubergine have all started to grow well and we even have some tomatoes on the vines and three or four cucumbers growing already. I love watching everything grow, especially when it all goes right for once.
This was taken last week and I swear everything seems to have doubled in size since then, it's amazing what a bit of sunshine can do.
I think I'd better head off to bed as the vegetable garden needs weeding tomorrow as well as all that turf coming so I'd better get some beauty sleep in......
hugs,

Never a dull moment

It's been a busy week what with looking after Lily and making sure that the garden is well watered now that everything is planted and growing. I can't wait for all my bedding plants to bloom, there's certainly enough in the ground now to give a good show.

I must thank Bev for the award that she gave me over a week ago and I've still not managed to put it on my blog but here it is now.Thank you so much Bev and once I've found my list of blogs to give it to I'll put it on here.
I have managed to do a bit of stitching, this is the scissor fob that I stitched for Janice on the Exchange Heaven blog, it was a quick little stitch and I really enjoyed doing it.

It's not a very good photo as it was taken when my camera was still playing up, but I think I've got it sorted now.
I've only managed a little on my Beatrix Potter this month as other things have taken priority and I do find it hard to keep the fabric from flopping around everywhere, but it's better than nothing.
I've even put a few stitches into my LHN Natures Beauty and hopefully before long it will be finished, but I've been trying to finish a bookmark that I'm doing for a Threads of Friendship exchange before I do anything else of mine.

I was looking through an old box with some of my earlier stitching in and I came across a UFO well hidden amongst my sewing stuff. I started this years ago and I loved doing it at the time but somehow it got pushed to one side, I think it's all the different colours in the garden that put me off. I was stitching it to make as a fire screen, maybe I ought to give it another try.
It's a Teresa Wentzler design called an English Garden Sampler, I've stitched the middle section with the alphabet and the potted trees and to be honest it looks a lot nicer than the picture of the kit above, there's a lot of green and gold in it which looks lovely.

And finally, I can't end the day without putting up a photo of Lily; she fell over today just after I'd taken this picture and she has a slight chip on her front tooth. I don't know who cried most, me or her. I felt so guilty that I'd let her fall over and I asked Rachel, her mum, to come over in her lunch hour to check her over. I'm so glad that I'm past child bearing age !
And just one more, here's baby Joshua just before he left hospital.
hugs,