Muddle & Mess

We are having a new kitchen !  For anyone who has done this then I have no need to explain the title of my post.  Most of the old kitchen has come out - though I do still have a sink and a cooker, just no where to put anything.  The plumber has been, taken out the old boiler, which at the ripe old age of 42 was more than ready for retirement, and fitted a posh new one in the loft.  The posh new boiler also meant we could have the tank removed. Having the tank removed is great from my point of view as the tank cupboard is in my craft room so when we next decorate the cupboard can be removed and I will gain more space, so its not all bad.  The bad was all the floorboard up and the mess it created up here.  Add that to the all the dust etc from removing the old kitchen, lots of tiles and the boiler you will fully understand the mess and the dust everywhere.  This weekend the plasterer is coming to get it all replastered, followed by the electrician to put the new plug sockets fronts on.  Oh yes the electrician had to come too as I am going from a stand alone gas cooker to an electric integral oven and a lovely ceramic hob, so all the wiring had to be put in for that which meant lots of chiselling out of the plasterwork to create runs for the wires - a bit more dust lol.

We did think ahead and put a few plates, mugs, bowls and some cutlery in a seperate box so we could get at them easily but that is as far as it goes, you do not realise how many bits are taken out the cupboards and popped back without thinking whilst cooking a meal.  "Where's the cheese sauce ? " (looking at a meal) and the reply "sorry cant find the cornflour" seem in some variation or another to be a daily event.  Oh well enough grumbling I am sure it will be worth it in the end.

Due to the dust stiching is being put away properly in the day, instead of just at the side of my sofa where it normally resides.  This means getting everything out again in the evening and some evenings there was a could  not be bothered element, so not a lot has got done this week but here is the progress so far.

As you can see there is just the bottom row to do now, 4 more "frames" and a bit of twirly stuff and then the numbers to put in.  I think I will just stick with this now as I am so close, but please don't expect that to be done in a day or two, a week or two maybe.  Wow then I can bring another WIP (or UFO to be exact) out for an airing. 

I have been in a "colouring pictures" mood so I ran off a couple of images from La Pashe "Best of 2012" Just Inklined CD.  Those and the Promarkers were put to good use in amusing me for a while and three of them have now been made into cards. 

 



For some reason these look far duller on here than they do in explorer, also since I took these pictures they have had some twinkly bits added.  I will have to try taking a better picture before I add them to my facebook album.  Maybe its just the quality of light at the moment the days have been so dull.

Well off to see what cards I need to get made for March now.  Have a lovely day and for those who have taken the time to read my ramblings then I thank you.

Oh and one last thing - I seem to have lost my link to Bloglines (or whatever it was called).  Can anyone point me in the right direction as I cannot remember the names for all the blogs I used to follow and I would love to catch up again.

May your frogs stay in their ponds.

Stitchy Update.

Just a very quick post tonight but I wanted to put up the pictures of my present wips as promised.

Firstly The Water Pump, by Lanarte,  though looking at the chart its real name is Garden Bounty, however I think the former describes it best and so that is what I shall continue to call it.  I have loved stitching on this one, mainly because it has been a complete change from working in just one colour, but I really must go back to my other stitching for a short while. 

Secondly this is how I Still Do, by Ink Circles is looking at the moment.  I am stitching it on 32 count, which alas is rather small for my eyes nowdays.  With a good light and my magnifier I cope but still find the eyes get tired after a while.  Again one I am really enjoying and more so as I can see the end in sight, although I am a little worried that I may not have enough thread to finish it.  For that reason I am going to leave the numbers 'till the very end so that if there is a shading difference it will not stand out so much.

My skill as a photographer is rather limited and I could not get a picture of the whole thing that was not blurred to oblivion lol.  I have got the whole width is so you can see there is not really an awful lot left to do.  One more small motif and then the rest of the number frames across the bottom, plus a bit of a twirly bit as on the right side. 

Thank you to Christine and Mary for your kind comments 

May your frogs stay in their ponds.

Hello and welcome to anyone who may drop in to read my ramblings or maybe if anyone still every looks this way.  It has been well over a year since I last blogged.  2012 was the year from hell for us and I cannot say I was sorry to see it end.  Amongst other things my Mum was diagnosed with Alzhiemers, a relief in the end to know it was not me that was going mad, and to be able to get some help. 

Mum has now gone into a home and though it took a lot of heart searching, it has ended up being the best move we could have made.  With 24hour constant care she is no longer anxious all the time and has slowly become more like her old self again, I feel like at long last I have my Mum back and with out 10 hours a day spent trying to cope with her I have far more patience on the few occassions she does get muddled with things.  We know that things could suddenly deteriorate at any time but for the moment she is fine and that makes me fine.  This picture was taken last week when her and a couple of the carers went to play snowballs outside lol.  She loves the snow, unlike her daughter who thinks it should be reserved for Christmas card pictures. 

                                                                                                                                                                                    Very little stitching was done in that time, though just reading my last post I have realised that 'Country Bloomers' is complete and I will need to take a picture to show you.  I am also still working on 'I Still Do' though it is getting near to completion.  I am still stitching that alongside 'The Water Pump' by Lanarte.  The reason I am stitching two at the same time is because I cannot work on ISD for long as it tires my eyes.  The Water Pump is one that I kept at Mums, so if I did have a little time to relax I had some stitching there so I do not think it will be one I have shown before.  I must make a note to get my camera out in the next couple of days. 

I have decided since getting back to stitching that my WIP box has become more of a UFO box and though I have always worked on a rota system in the past I think for the moment I will be happier just trying to complete one or two projects at a time.

This is a short post for me tonight but I have been going to restart my blog again ever since the New Year and as nearly a month has gone already I decided I best make a start or December would be round again and it would still be lying here blank.  So sorry no pictures but now I have made a start I know it will gee me on to get them taken and posted.

Speak again soon
Love

May your frogs stay in their ponds.

Well here I am again and doesn't time fly. We had a wonderful week in Turkey but it seems so long ago now, made worse by the miserable weather here. Im sorry Kathy, no pictures as they are all on hubbys computer but I will see if he will post some over to mine for me (lol if I remember). We enjoyed Marmaris very much and walked a lot, our favourite walk was along the coast to Icmela which is much smaller than Marmaris and very pretty. Luckily we are not beach people because the sunbeds were rather tightly packed at both resorts and if I was going to spend time on the beach I would hate that.

Holiday stitching was LHN's "School of Needlework" and this is what it was like on my return from holiday.

I was unhappy with the way the brown of the 2nd girls dress merged with the brown of the chair and all looked the same, so I unpicked and restitched it in a dusky pink/plum colour which shows up far better. Honest it does in real life even though it doesnt appear to on this picture.

I was enjoying stitching on this so decided to stick with it and last night I finished it. There are you may notice a few slight changes lol.

I have now gone back to Country Bloomers as that is close to being finished and will return to ISD next. I know I ought to be working on that but there is no chance on this earth that it will be finished before September so I decided another finish might cheer me up more.

Only one card to show you this time. It is one I made for a friend in the USA who has recently become a Grandma (I'm not allowed to call her Granny lol) for the first time. Guess you might realise she had a little Grand-daughter when you see this card as its very girly.

I am hoping the weather picks up for the weekend as its the Erewash Show at our local park and Oscar loves us to take him, but no way am I paddling round muddy fields for anyone.

Its now almost 10pm so I am off to stitch and watch a little TV before getting my beauty sleep. Thank you to anyone who has dropped in to read my ramblings and as always to the lovely friends who are kind enough to leave me comments.

Goodnight and hugs,

May your frogs stay in their ponds.

STITCHING, CARDS AND SUNSHINE.

I am told that life is like a toilet roll and the further along you get the faster it seems to disappear. Well that certainly seems to be the case for me as I have no idea where the last month has gone. Yes almost a month since I last made it here and a busy one for lots of reasons. I have stitched but not as much as I would have liked to, I have made cards (a busy time of year for me with close family and friends celebrating birthdays and anniversaries), but what else have I done. I made a Tardis cake for Oscar's 9th birthday earlier this week and talking of time passing - where the hell have the last 9 years gone. My baby is growing up all too fast and there are not so many kisses and cuddles for Granny these days, though I do still get a few so guess I should just make the most of it. He is growing up fast, in fact far too fast for my liking. Mum has had a few hospital appointments and doctors appointments which seems to be more actual waiting about than seeing the people concerned but she is doing OK at the moment so I am not too worried about her. She is off to Eastbourne for a week on Saturday and as it was getting close and she definitely looked like she would be going we decided it might be nice to get a few days away ourselves. Result was that on Monday we booked a late holiday to Turkey and so we are off to the sunshine tomorrow morning. Never been to Turkey before but have heard lots of good reports so I will keep my fingers crossed, but whatever it will be nice and warm and relaxing.

Right now to stitching and I have to admit that I just got fed up with ISD and have put it away for a while with the 2nd large motif still unfinished. Not a lot to do on it but hey ho, it will come out again soon.

In its place I got out Country Bloomers, and since this picture was taken I have finished the yellow bloomers, outlined both them and the green ones, put flowers in the pot beneath the green ones and done another pot. This too has gone away not until after the holiday.

Holiday stitching is always a new start, I know its naughty when there are so many unfinished ones in my box but my excuse is they are all either large designs or need a lot of colours so I need something simple to do on holiday lol. Trawling through my stash I decided on School of Needlework by LHN. Its a nice easy chart, not too big and not too many threads needed to be carted with me, it will slip into my handbag nicely.

Now to cards, the first was made for a very dear friend AnnT who some of you will know though she does not blog.

Next one was for a very dear friend and my neighbour for 40 odd years Christine, again not a blogger.

The final one is actually two pics, first the front and then the inside of the card I made for my darling grandson Oscar. The decoupage was from the "Flippin' Teenage" range and I really enjoyed making this one. When I saw the decoupage sheet I couldnt resist buying it as earlier in the year Oz dressed as a Punk for a school music program which covered 60 years of pop music. It was a really fun show starting with rock music from the late 50's right up to some of the latest hits.

Thank you to all those who were kind enough to leave such lovely comments, you all keep me smiling bless you.

Hugs from

May your frogs stay in their ponds.

Ready For A Change

Its been almost a month since my last post and I haven't really got a lot to show. I have been working on I Still Do but not so much as I have had two small gifts to make too. Hopefully I will be able to show you them soon but as they are both for people who probably read my blog (well one certainly does, not saying who but the one who usually leaves the cheeky comments), then I cannot show them yet. With regard to ISD I am over half done the 2nd of the larger motifs, and will try to plow on until that is done. edit - Oh dear I should that written plough but too much Farm Town must be rubbing off on me and I am using American spellings lol. However I am feeling ready for a change now and having recently seen Kathy's stitching on Fairies At The Bottom Of My Garden, I have a yen to get mine out and do some more on that. Lisa asked what thread I was using for this - its Carrie's Creations, Hearts on Fire which I thought very appropriate. The chart is actually meant to be stitched in a variety of different reds but I just fancied doing it in the one varied colour. Anyway here is how it looked when I took a piccie this afternoon.



The other thing that keeps me busy and out of mischief nowdays is card making. I spend hours designing what to do on the computer before actually printing out bits and bobs I need to actually make the cards. Mostly I use bought card stock though I do print off my own card stock at times too. I know this is supposed to be a stitching blog but card making is just as much my hobby so I thought I would show you half a dozen of those I have made recently but if you don't want to see anymore in the future let me know or I may bore you to death with them as I certainly produce a lot more finished cards than I do finished peices of stitching.

Thank you for the wishes for my health which I am glad to report is continuing to improve. I started driving again and this weekend was our stitching group meet up, to which was my furthest drive so far. Only about a 30 - 40 min drive away to Wendy's house but it felt like a real achievement. As usual we had a lovely day, made even better by the fact that Rachael had bought her daughter Lucy who was celebrating her 11th birthday so we got cakes too. I think she enjoyed her day with the adults too.

Today we took our Grandson to Alvaston park. Its years since I have visited this park and its well worth checking out if you live in the area. Lots of ducks to feed on the lake (and we hadn't thought to take anything to feed them), and lots of ducklings too. A nice new cafe opened there a few weeks ago, nice and clean and not too badly priced for meals and snacks though we only had a drink today. Best of all there is an Addizone there, which is designed for over 12,s though there were a few like Oz who were under this age range, and a few like us right at the other end of the scale, all having fun checking out the outdoor gym - and its free too.

I think thats all I have to tell you for now. Thanks to all those who are kind enough to have left comments.

Hugs to all,

May your frogs stay in their ponds.

ps Oh I forgot to say thank you to Sally for sending me the link to the signatures, I will check that site out Sally, thanks. xx

I lost my name ...

Well not quite my name but certainly my signature here in blogland. I tried going to the site I originally got it from but that seems to have died, which is probably the reason for my signature going walkabouts. Does anyone have any good links to free blog signature sites, if so I would be grateful to know where they are. Of course this is the lazy option lol, I could go to google and would probably find one there, but the word "Free" seems to be used when things are certainly not free just lately. I used to type in Free Clip-art and got loads, now what comes up is Royalty Free and they still want paying. Also a lot of so called free sites just mean that you seem to be able to view they for free. Oh well moan over............ sorry about that.



I promised you an update picture of I still do and so before I go any further I think I had better show you what it was looking like last night.

I am quite pleased with the progress made, I know it doesnt look an awful lot but as its on 32 count after a while my eyes start crossing so I cannot do too much at a time. Also I need to concentrate, now my usual stitching time is when I sit to watch tv in the evening. Ok I get into trouble because I sometimes lose the thread - on the tv programme not the stitching - but as most things we watch are pre-recorded then I can (or hubby can for me) rewind. However because this is finer than I normally do when I look up at the tv, its the thread of my chart I lose so I have to keep working out where I am. I do use a "working copy" so that I can mark it off but you cannot mark off after every stitch. All this said I am still enjoying stitching on this and so whilst the enjoyment lasts I shall stick at it and try to watch things on tv that dont need a lot of concentrating on.

I had a lovely day on Saturday as my little stitching group met at my house. It was a Hardanger Group when I originally joined it but people had deadlines to meet for normal stitching and so bought that and this week there were three of us doing cross stitch, one doing crotchet and one teaching herself Tunisian Crotcheting, a sort of cross between crotchet and knitting. I think we are really now just a group of friends who enjoy having a get together once a month, a bit of stitching, a lot of gossip and lots of laughs so who cares what excuse is made for actually meeting lol.

Oh I was asked how long it took to do my hardanger pieces. I started my Tissue Box Cover on the 8th December 2008. Tulips and Lace has been a lot quicker but I cannot recall exactly when. I have no note of starting it on my blog so it must have been started after i last blogged in July last year. I have a feeling that I started it to take with my to India in October, but sorry cannot be more accurate than that.

Thanks for the lovely folks who left me comments and welcomed me back,

Hugs

Helen xx

May your frogs stay in their ponds.