Two Little Boys

I have at last finished the Two Little Boys which I have been stitching for AnnT's wfb. Although it took me all month on and off I have enjoyed stitching this one, just in time as we are due to post on this weekend. My order came from Lekker today so I now have the thread to carry on with Le Temps. I also ordered myself a new pair of scissors to match it (good excuse lol). I will show you a picture of these next time I do an update picture on this and you will see how well they go with it.

I also ordered some Carries Threads so that I could pic some to do my next big project but to be honest I am not really keen on any of them so think I will have to have a rethink on this one.

Oscar is coming to stay for the weekend tomorrow. It should have been the annual Steam Rally, which we take him to every year but it has had to be cancelled. The park is waterlogged for a start and also I think there would not have been a very good turn out as the steam engines, steam rollers and even steam cars come from all over the country and with the weather so bad everywhere I cannot think that the owners would risk these valuable machines on the roads to get here. The forcast for the weekend is more heavy rain so think we will be staying put and playing games all weekend.

I hope everyone is safe and that none of you have had damage to your homes.

Update & New Reveal

This is the latest up date on Le Temps which I am really, really enjoying stitching. Unfortunately I have now ran out of thread so have to wait until my order arrives from Tina.

As it was AnnP's birthday yesterday I can now also reveal the little pinkeep and scissor fob I stitched as part of her gift.

I am please to say that I am now getting back into my stitching. I still cannot stitch for too long at a time but I am really wanting to get back to my rota now so I have decided that this weekend I am going to make a start. It is the hardanger building spot next and as I finished hardanger church last time (feels like years ago) it will now be a new start. This time I am going to be doing one of the two hardanger houses. Planning ahead - I think I will have to make one of those "this months target" lists, I will have Terri's wfb to do and then I may do another from my rota before getting Heirloom Christmas out again. I will also keep trying to do a bit more on my ufo. I am so close to the bottom of the dress now but I can spend an hour on it and see no progress at all so I refuse to take another picture before the bottom of the dress is done.

Hope you and yours are all safe in this dreadful weather that is hitting our country at the moment.

Cake & Sweetpeas & A Try Out

Here is what I have been up to today lol. Making a Pirate's Chest Cake for Ozzies party tomorrow. Glad to say when we took it over late afternoon he was thrilled with it. There are 5 gold candles to stand on the five coins along the front but his mummy is going to put those on tomorrow.

I just had to take a picture of my first sweetpeas this year. I have these in the house all summer, they dont last long but there is a new supply everyday as these perannual sweetpeas grow a bit like weeds in my garden, not that Im complaining I love them.

Now for a try out. I had an email from Sally, bless her, today explaining how to put a link on to my posts. It sounds easy enough lol, so if it works this should take you to a link to Sally's Blog. Thanks so much for that Sally.

Just a quick note to Lisa who asked about the threads for Dippy. I used Dinky-Dyes floss in 10 Cloudy Skies, 20 Gum Leaves and 26 Wild Cherry. They are not really variagated its more a suble shading.

Dippy - Part 8 Done

Here it is and I'm just longing to find out what is going to be in the middle. I have so enjoyed stitching this one.

I have had to have a rethink over a large project I so wanted to do. I have had my heart set on stitching the Antique Blue and Red Sampler which is a freebie and comes in 16 parts (10 parts published so far). I wish I could do what Sally does and just say "here" for you to click on a link but I can't so its here if anyone wants to look - http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=http://users.skynet.be/bk236098/CARINNE/G-MarquoirABC.htm&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=2&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dmarquoir%2Babc%26hl%3Den%26pwst%3D1
Anyway when I showed it to my DH he pointed out just how large it would be when it was complete and asked where exactly I planned on putting it when it was done (and how much would it cost to have framed). The more I have thought about it the more it has put me off and so I am now thinking of stitching "Floralie by Papillon Creations which is a similar sort of thing but maybe a little more managable. Someone else is doing this on their blog and it really looks lovely, but I am going to have to wait a while - Im definitely on the stash wagon chart wise at the moment.

I didnt get any stitching done at all yesterday but I am hoping to get Auntys wfb done this weekend.

Have a lovely weekend everyone and hope the weather is not too wet for you all.

Whippeee - Dippy Has Arrived

Part 8 of Serendipity - the freebie in 9 parts - from Papillon arrived today. Everything may just get put on one side tomorrow. If I have anytime for stitching I think I will just have to do this.

Stitching time will be limited tomorrow however. Firstly I have to go into work for a couple of hours in the morning, after almost 4 weeks off I can barely see my desk for the workload so its really just too try and plough my way through some of the easiest things to get the load down as quickly as possible.

Tomorrow is the longest day and also most importantly of all the sunshine in my life, who goes by the name of Oscar will be 5 years old tomorrow. Tomorrow evening we are having a small family suprise party for him at his daddy's bistro. For him though the important party will be Sunday when all his school friends will be at the house for a Pirates Party. My other task tomorrow is to make his birthday cake - a pirates treasure chest. I know what I want to achieve but quite how I will do it Im not sure yet lol. Anyway thought there ought to be a picture of the main pirate so here it is trying to look fierce -

Happy Birthday Oz

On the stitching front I have kept stitching and though I have not achieved an awful lot I have enjoyed what I have done. Firstly a little more of the Le Temps Qui Passe . And secondly a little more of AOY . I have also done a little more on my UFO but I am finding this a struggle as the frame is very large. Unfortunately because I have added the beads as I went along I cannot take it off the frame and put it onto a hoop or a Q-snap which would make life a lot easier. Still it is growing though very very slowly and I can see that it will be finished in the not to distant future, so I am feeling very optomistic about it.

Once again a big thank you to all of those who visit my blog and even more so to those who are kind enough to leave a comment it really is appreciated.

Weekend Plans Are Washed Away

We woke to find most of the garden under water this morning, and it was still pouring. We switched on the radio and there were flood warnings everywhere. DH was not too happy about driving to Yorkshire if it was going to be bad there and a phone call to our friends revealled they were having problems with flooding in their area too. Sadly we decided the only sensible thing to do was postpone our vist :0( .

On the bright side I had decided that I would make a start on my new chart, Le Temps Qui Passe, to take with me. Two reasons, the first it would mean I only had to take one thread and the second, I was longing to make a start on this. I am doing the stitching purse (not the sampler), and to make up for my disappointment at not being away I have stitched on this quite a bit today - though only in very short stints. Here is a picture of how it looks so far, using 32 count cream and Dinky Dyes Silk in Murray River.

Tomorrow I am going to try and do a little bit more of AnnT's wfb. Its a good job I have a whole month in which to get it stitched lol as Im not quite half way yet. This is (almost) the first of two little boys.

I am enjoying my stitching again but do find that I can only do it for such a short time. After half an hour my shoulders start to ache and if I ignore this my headaches start, so I know I have to be sensible and at least I can stitch still.

Thank you all so much on the lovely comments regarding my first pinkeep. Lisa sorry the alphabet is just my own design but I thought it was in keeping with the type of thing Ann liked, and yes I did use glue to keep the beads on my pins. If you would like a copy of the Alphabet just email me and I will happily send you a copy. Tanya remarked on the lovely blues in the design, it was Dinky-Dyes No10 Cloudy Skies and the Pink was Wild Cherry.

At Last I Can Show You

My first ever pinkeeper. I was really pleased with the results as I am definitely not into sewing lol. I made this and the little fob to match for AnnT's birthday which is today - Happy Birthday Ann -. I know Ann loves the Little House Needlework designs and thought an alphabet would blend in with them. Although it doesnt show up here it is stitched on a lovely blue fabric, and I found a pretty blue sprigged fabric to back it with. I also made the little swarovski pins. The blue marking pins (on the front of the pinkeep) which I originally made to go with this looked so dull against the swarovski pins that I changed my mind and made pretty blue pearl ones instead.

I did her initials on one side of the scissor fob to match. On the other side I did a wee stitching angel which was a freebie I found through a link on Su's site (Contemplating My Needle and Thread). I am please to say Ann seemed thrilled with her gift.

I am stitching

Not a lot because I am finding it hard to consentrate at the moment but nevertheless I am still doing it. I am just flitting about at the moment, doing a bit on AnnTs wfb, some on my UFO (yes Julie not sticking to Tuesdays at the moment but keep doing a bit so mr stick can stay in the cupboard lol) and also a little gift I am making for a friend.

I have also been trying to sort out my charts ready to list on the computer. Julie too is interested and so is Terry. Between us we should have quite a number of charts to keep us going for a while lol. Another question that popped up was swaps. Again this is completely up to you, if someone asks for a chart and they have something you would like then feel free to ask if they would like to do a swap. My main aim is to hold a list of the charts we all have, but I dont want to turn this into a job with big rules to follow. All I would ask is that if you do a swap you let me know so that I can change the name against the chart.

More re below...

So far Lisa, Chris and Lynn have all said they would be interested in this. I have also had a private email from someone with some very relevant questions.

The first - would we have the right to ask if our chart was going to a smoke/pet free home.

Yes I think so. I personally would have no objections to my charts going to someone with pets but if you have an alergy then this question would be relevant.

next - how many people would you anticipate being in this - and is it open to people from abroad.

Well I am open to comments but my own view is to keep it small so that we know where our charts are going i.e within a group of friends. Regarding charts going abroad I really am not sure. I certainly know of a couple of people who I would not mind sending to in the least but as you will be asked personally for your chart then I think it would be entirely up to you. Again as you will be approached personally it will be completely up to you if you decided that you did not want to pass a chart to a certain person and it would be nothing to do with anyone else. They are your charts and you have the right to choose who you loan them too.

If you have any more questions please ask, the more questions and answers we sort out the smother things will run.

And lastly - lol - to the person who said they were not sure they dare admit how many charts they have - well I too come under that catergory and if you look at it logically you have a lot more years to get through yours than I do, and it still doesnt stop me hoping for more lol.

More re below...

CHART LIBRARY

I have been thinking about this for a while and now with so many of you On The Wagon its made me think harder.

Have you ever seen that someone has just bought a chart and thought - If I knew they wanted that they could have borrowed mine. Well I have quite often, so here is my idea.

Anyone who wants to join the library sends me a list of the charts they have in their stash.
I will make a list and if anyone is looking for a certain chart then they can ask me. If it is on my list I will put them in touch with the person who has it. I will make a note of who has borrowed the chart and the date and also when it is returned. If more that one person has the required chart I will list all the people with the chart so that if someone is going to be working on it shortly and doesnt want to part with it at the moment you can ask someone else. The only restriction I can think of is that you must not ask until you are fairly close to being able to start the chart - its not fair to borrow something you are not going to start until 12 months later.

This is just an idea at the moment but would value any comments and would love to know if anyone would be interested or not.

Fairies At The Bottom Of My Garden

I have been stitching on Fairies for the last couple of days, on and off. More off than on to be honest as I have been trying to limit both my stitching and computer time until I find out what is causing these headaches. I am moving away from my rota for a short while as I have a gift to stitch for a friends birthday at the end of the month and also I have my picture to stitch for AnnT's RR this month. There is also this months section of Heirloom Christmas to stitch, and at the rate I am stitching at the moment I shall be happy if I get these three things completed.

I rather fell off the stitching wagon last week as Lekker Threads were offering a 25% discount on all orders over 10.00 until the end of May. I just couldnt resist the chance of expanding my collection of Dinky-Dyes Silks. I also ordered a chart, I know I have hundreds already lol, but I have an excuse (do I really need one). The chart I ordered is by A Mon Ami Pierre and is called Le Temps Qui Passe. It is for a start a Quaker design and I have been wanting to have a go at one of these for ages. Also I chose this particular one as it can also be made into a needlecase, which is something else I really would like to have a go at in the future.

On the home front we had a new front door fitted on Friday morning. Although most of the morning was brilliant it started to pour just as the fitter was finishing up so I maybe did not take as much notice as I should have done when I went to check it out. It wasnt till Keith came in and said he thought they had used 2 different types of glass that I went and had another look. No the glass was the same in both panes, lol however the silly man had put one in with the patterned glass on the inside (plain on the outside) and the other the opposit way round. On the bright side we had all the wallpaper stripped off, skirting boards and ceiling painted before the door was fitted so yesterday and today we have been getting the new wall paper on and now the furniture is back in place and my hall looks lovely and clean again. Next week hopefully someone will be coming to change the glass round the right way in the door and we are having new Garage Doors fitted next Friday. lol We have been in this house 38 years you would think by now we would be finished with needing things done but its a bit like the Forth Road bridge, when you get to the end you seem to be back at the beginning starting again.

On that note I will say goodnight, and thanks once again to all the wonderful people who both visit and leave comments in my blog.