I'm Ready For The Sunshine

I didnt manage to do any stitching on my UFO yesterday but have done a little today. Been doing the fiddly bits - the gold curls and the stitching inbetween them so it doesnt look a lot at all. Still better than nothing.

I am all packed now and we did an on-line check in tonight so our seats are booked on the aircraft, and the big bonus we only have to be there two hours before the flight instead of the normal three.

After the bitter cold of today and waking up to snow this morning I am really ready to see (and feel) the sunshine. Will look forward to catching up with all your blogs and seeing what you have been up to stitching wise when I get back.

The Postie Came...

The postie came today HURRAY, and I got my lovely Dinky Dyes silk for the Taj Mahal project. Thank you Jayne (Jaynes Attic) for getting these for me.

Just got the beads to get and the Caron Threads now.

Thanks to all the lovely people who emailed, posted in forum and even 'phoned me to let me know about the European Cross stitch Company where I can buy my beads in a pack for the design. I shall be sending for them when I get back from my holidays. The Caron threads may take a little longer, I still need 9 and at nearly five pounds each it will mean staying on the stash wagon for a while to save up for them. I think maybe I need to join Stashers Annonymous lol..

I took another picture of EMS Garden Alphabet as I finished the C last night (well I actually did the b/s on the butterfly this morning but dont tell Julie (its Tuesday so she will have her big stick out if she thinks I have been working on something other than my UFO).

I am going to do some work on my UFO this afternoon but I am babysitting tonight so will probably take the Alphabet with me and do some work on the trellis.

Depending on how much I get done on Celtic Spring today I might do that tomorrow night too as I am going to miss the next two weeks.

Last In My Rota

I have been working on the last in my rota tonight, EMS Garden Alphabet. I have done the flowers on B (the B itself was already done) and started on the flower for C. Not going too badly for saying its on 32 count linen. The picture makes the fabric look white but in real life its more a natural shade sort of beige/brown shade.

I dont know if I will find time to do much tomorrow as I still have my packing to sort out and we are going over to Shionas tomorrow night. Tuesday night we are babysitting over at Davids house so hopefully I will take it with me and get some done then. Depending on what time David gets home, and therefore we get home will depend on whether there is an update then or not.

A New Finish

I got the linen thread I was waiting for this morning - many thanks Jayne - and was able to finish my Kissy Cross Mystery sampler tonight.

I havent put a border on as I don't really feel that it needs one but I can always add one if I feel it needs it once I have a frame. That will have to wait until after the holidays though.

I also had a note from Jayne (Jaynes Attic) to say that she had posted my Dinky Dyes silks out to me this morning so I shall be stalking the postie on Monday in the hopes that they arrive.

Not that I will be using them for a good while yet. They are for my Chatelaine, Taj Mahal, project and I still have all the Carron Waterlillies threads to get and the Delica beads. I have no idea where I am going to get the beads from as when I looked on-line for a supplier I couldn't makes heads or tails of what I was supposed to be ordering. Does anyone know if there is someone who supplies a bead pack for this chart.

Tomorrow will see (hopefully) a start on the last project in my rota, which should mean I could soon be starting something new, but with the holidays coming round fast I think I will just stick with the Garden Alphabet until we go.

LHN Bee Keep Quilt Block

I just finished this quilt block tonight and I am really pleased with the results. I did not use the recommended threads but used Dragon floss instead and I think its turned out really pretty.

I can reveal now that my RAK I received the other day was from AnnT and it was two lovely sets of marker pins with beaded tops. She asked me not to mention what it was as she had sent a similar gift to Terri but hers had not arrived. Thank you Ann they are lovely and if I remember I will take a picture of them tomorrow.

HAED's Away

I did do work on the HAED design for a couple more hours this morning but there was not enough progress to warrent another picture. I am glad to say it is now back in the box until next time round. I did have lots of encouragement on this one and feel that it may stay out for longer as it takes shape, but for now I cannot see the point in spending a long time doing something I am not really enjoying.

I have started a new quilt square, the bee keep from the Gift of Cross Stitch on line magazine. I am not doing it in the shades recommended however I am using mainly Dragon floss for this one, all apart from the brown in the bees and I don't think DF do a brown shade, if they do its one I don't have. Hopefully I will get this finished tomorrow and be able to put up a picture of it.

Not Enjoying the HAED

After working nearly everybit of the evening on this I have very little to show for it. There are loads of colours in that tiny bit some just used on one stitch, well quite a few are only one stitch. It is very bitty and messy to stitch and its left me feeling very frustrated. I will try and do a bit more in the morning but I do not think it will last any longer than that. Gosh its going to take a long time to complete if every time it comes out for an airing it only lasts a day or so, but never mind. My theory is that if you only do 2 stitches everytime it comes out it will still get done eventually. Maybe I should offer a prize to whoever can tell me what it is lol. I can hardly tell and I have the chart in front of me. It is actually Such is the Way of fairies and it is for my daughter. She fell in love with two HAED designs this on and Chessmates. Kindly she bought the two and then said it would be nice if we stitched one each.

Think tomorrow will have to be one of my quilt squares, I am sure I will see a little more progress on that.

UFO Night & Nice Suprise

Tuesday night and my UFO was out again. Didnt get much done today. This afternoon I as went to bed with a headache and this evening I went to hobbycraft with my daughter but fairly pleased with the amount I did do given the time limit.

I had a lovely little RAK gift today but unfortunately I am not allowed to tell you about this just yet lol. Needless to say it brightened up what I can only describe as a cold, dank and wet day here.

So to the person who sent it me Thank You and I will look forward to telling you all when I am allowed.

Bluebells Update

I have finished for Sparkling Bluebells for this round of my rota and its ready to go away till next time. I am very tempted to work on this a little longer and finish it but I need to do my Tuesday SAL at the Stitch and Stash forum tomorrow and want to get on with others in my rota too.

I still have the vines and flowers at the bottom and the beads to put on but not a lot so I shall have at least one finish to look forward to in the next round of my rota.

What I do Wednesday depends on what the post brings between now and then. I am still a thread short (and one I am needing to use) for the HAED design. Also I am waiting for a linen thread to finish off my Kissy Cross Mystery Sal. It the postie arrives with the threads I will probably finish off the Kissy Cross and then move on to the HAED. If not I will probably do a quilt square and hope the threads arrive before I go away.

I have been trying to decide what stitching to take on holiday with me and think I have almost decided on the Sue Page Flower Girl. Its no.1 on my rota and is about half done. Also it is a fairly easy one to stitch. If I followed the rota order it would be EMS Flower alphabet but as this is stitched on 32 count which I struggle with these days even with the use of my magnifier then its a definite "NO" for relaxed holiday stitching. I may also take a couple of small quilt squares just in case I get lots of stitching time and finish the Flower Girl - lol think Im hoping too much.

Not Much Stitching

..... today. We have had our four year old Grandson for the weekend and tonight I have been feeling wacked - not really in the mood for stitching so not got a lot done. Done quite a bit of chatting on here instead lol. Still its nice to chat about your stitching instead of actually doing it sometimes.

I managed to get the bottom two corners done on the middle section of Bluebells and the three b/s lines under it. I really will have to make more of an effort tomorrow.

Bluebells Are Growing

I am amazed at how quickly this one is growing. I did a little bit Friday afternoon when I got back from the dentist where I had to have a filling done £42.50 for one filling hate to think what it would have cost if I hadnt been lucky enough to have an NHS dentist.

I have also worked on it tonight and I now have the bottom two corners of the central block to do and then the bottom half which is almost the same as the top but in reverse. I shall be working on this until Monday night and am hopeful that I may get it done apart from the beads and embellishments. Even if I dont it should easily be completed on the next round of my rota.

A Good Start on Sparkling Bluebells

I spent most of the day trying to re-organize the Stash for the Stay At Home Parcel on the Stitch and Stash forum. We have had loads of wonderful donations and even the smallest package has been very gratefully received. It has meant that some of the charts and smaller kits I have been able to group together but I still have all the threads and odds and ends to sort out. I have taken new photographs of everything so hopefully I will be able to run a Quickie Parcel Draw before I go away with everything all ready in place.



Late afternoon I thought it was time I made a start on
Sparkling Bluebells and I am amazed at how quickly it has
grown. We are going to visit friends for dinner tomorrow night and Oscar is coming Saturday morning to spend the weekend with us but I am hoping to get some more done on this on Saturday and Sunday evenings.

Part One of VS Heirloom Christmas Done

I am quite pleased now this is out of the way and I can put it away and forget about it until after my holidays. Having said that I have enjoyed stitching it as its been very different to anything I have stitched before.

Once the presents had been stitched I went back and added a little more to the tree and I am quite pleased with the overall effect now.

I am now looking forward to starting No 10 on my rota which is the Sweetheart Tree - Sparkling bluebells, though I have decided it is going to more of a sparkling pink bells as I have changed the colours (I wasn't keen on the blues used in this one).

I have got three little hearts and I really like the one with the pink centre but as this is the largest of the three I will just have to wait and see which one looks best when I start stitching. Hopefully I will start on this tomorrow and with any luck I will be able to post a WIP picture tomorrow.

Tuesday UFO night

I have worked on and off this afternoon and this evening on my UFO which is Celtic Spring.

This is a picture as it was when I decided to join the SAL

and this is how it looks tonight.

I am really pleased with the progress I have made and looking forward to doing some more next week.

I Think I've Done A Tree

I think I have at last finished my Christmas Tree. I haven't fastened off as I may need to add a little more once row 2 (the parcels under the tree) is done, however I am fairly pleased with the results. I did start off trying to do this exactly as the chart but found it quite difficult and easier to just follow the general shape of the branches and just ad lib the rest.

I also had a lovely suprise tonight when Elaine phoned me. Unfortunately she too is full of cold so not getting on too well. I know she is also busy organising RR's and SALs for the Stitch and Stash Forum. I was quite tempted to join the SAL but I have to be realistic and I have so much else to do. It was however lovely to have a little chat.

Tomorrow I shall be doing my Celtic Spring which was the oldest project in my rota but I have taken it out and I am going to do this as part of the Tuesday night UFO SAL which is being run on the Stitch and Stash forum. Hopefully I will soon get it done and then I can start on Celtic Autumn, which I bought at the same time as I thought they would look nice as a pair.

Feeling A Little Better

I have been feeling a little better today and tonight I came downstairs for a couple of hours and even managed to get a little more of Heirloom Christmas done. Still a good way to go to get this months allotment done but feel its achievable now.

Thank you to everyone for the get well messages they really cheered me up.

No Stitching

Poor me feeling very sorry for herself the last few days. I have been in bed since Wednesday with a really severe cold, and though I am feeling a little brighter today I am still far from well. I havent done any stitching so I am really behind now with my Heirloom Christmas. Hopefully tomorrow I will feel better still and be able to get out of bed for a couple of hours and stitch. I would really like to get the first part done before I go away but I am not going to rush it so will just have to see how it goes.

Keith bought the lap top up tonight and I have been busy catching up with everyones blogs. I also took a subscription out to the Gift of Stitching online mag the other day so I have been having a read of that. Mmm definitely one in there I am looking forward to stitching - when I get time.

Heirloom Christmas day 1

I have made a start on Heirloom Christmas. I am not sure about the star at the top - I may change it later but will wait and see what I think when the tree is done. The tree is not as hard as I had imagined but it is rather fiddley and time consuming. I will try and get a bit more done tomorrow but I am at work tomorrow too so will not have as much time. Having said that though quite a bit of my time on it today was counting and placing the basting threads to work in.

A Good Start

It was lovely to end the year completing one of the items on my rota. Since then I have been doing some stitching on The Quiltmaker by Lavender and Lace. I did quite a bit but it has now gone back in the box as I am going to spend the next couple of days on Heirloom Christmas Sampler by Victoria Secrets. This is my main project for 2007 and I am doing it as a SAL with Elaine from the Stitch and Stash forum. We are hoping to finish the stitching by August and then stitch all the beads on in September. I hope you are reading this Elaine and ready to keep me motivated lol.