A Stitch in Time

Christmas Mandolin

2012-01-28T17:21:00.003Z

My mum put a couple of pretty Mill Hill kits in my Christmas stocking this year, and I finished the first one a week ago. I would have posted it earlier on, but the photos I took at home in the evenings were DREADFUL, so I had to wait until I remembered to take a photo during daylight hours! Luckily today was really sunny, and I remembered to get the shot before it got dark (although the light was just beginning to fade!).

Anyway, here it is:

I've been busy today - shopping, doing some work etc - but now I've got all that done I think I'll ignore the housework (because I never do that ;) ) and enjoy some stitching time. I'm trying to get all the xs done on the peacock firescreen - which is looking achievable, and I'll probably do some more knitting as we're planning on watching some more of The Killing.

I hope everyone else is doing something they love this weekend!

Swathes of Blue and Green

2012-01-22T18:46:00.002Z

This weekend has been pretty chilly. Not the weather - but our boiler (temperamental at the best of times) has decided to finally pack in for a while, and until the spares arrive we are sans heat and water...

The good side of this was that we had to sit in all day yesterday and wait for the repair guy! We caught up on quite a bit of TV that we have recorded (including the first part of Treasure Island, which I really loved, and more of the Killing). So, of course, I stitched!

While watching the Killing I knitted some more of my cardigan - I've now done the back and both fronts - so just 2 sleeves and a collar to go! When watching anything not with sub titles I have been working on Peacock Firescreen - I'm working on the lovely blues and greens of the tail that drew me to this piece initially:

On Wednesday night, Lou came over for another lace evening - I've started a little Bedfordshire motif, as I wanted a quick fix after completing the butterfly. This is also something of an experiment, as I don't have a photo of the finished piece, or a working diagram - I'm doing this deceptively tricky motif just from the pricking. It must be even trickier than I thought though, as the pattern called for 14 pairs and I used 18...

I should finish this on Wednesday, once I have decided how to chuck out 4 pairs during a windmill crossing...

I hope everyone has had a lovely, crafty weekend too - if a little warmer than it has been here!!

First happy dance of 2012 and an overdue ORT report

2012-01-17T22:03:00.003Z

I have finished something!!!! And not just anything, but the Bedfordshire lace butterfly I started back in May 2009! I am unbelievably proud of this little bit of lace, I have learnt so much during Christine Springett's courses, and it really shows in the pieces I am producing.

I'm also very proud to say that I have finished my first quilt top. Of course I've not finished the quilt yet... I have no idea how I'm going to successfully quit it using my basic sewing machine and my very small dining table... But here is a photo of the top as it was when I completed the pattern.

I decided that I wasn't entirely happy at this point. When I started this I somehow misinterpreted the pattern and used the plan cream in the setting triangles in the blocks as well - instead of another pretty print. So there is WAY too much plain cream. So I decided the play a bit. But I didn't take a photo of the quilt top once I'd made my additions - so that will have to be a surprise! Since then I have pinned by batting and backing cloth to the quilt and folded it up carefully. Hopefully I'll be able to start the quilting process at the weekend.

And now for a very late ORT report. Last year I took part in the TUSAL - the totally useless stitch along. I religiously collected all of my ORTs (old ratty threads) into a pretty vase, and at each full moon posted a picture of the vase and my collection on my blog. Until September, when I went temporarily AWOL from blogland.... BUT, I did remember to take a photo of the ORTs before I cleared the vase out to start my 2012 collection:

I am VERY late with my first ORT report of 2012, but here it is. The green at the bottom is from Peacock Firescreen, the red layer is a surprise, and the browny-gold layer is from a little Mill Hill Christmas ornament kit - a mandolin - that my mum popped in my Christmas stocking this year, and that I expect will be my second happy dance of the year.

Happy stitching everyone!

Yearly re-cap

2012-01-15T20:40:00.003Z

I've been meaning to post this for weeks, but I never seen to find the time. So 2 weeks into January, here I am recapping 2011...

Last year I did a whole variety of crafting - I finished 4 medium to large cross stitches, 6 smaller cross stitches, 5 knitted projects, 1 crochet piece, 3 lace projects, 1 needle felting project and 1 small quilted project:

Cross stitch:
A New Beginning
Classic Pooh Birth sampler
Bird in Hand
Time for Harvest
Holiday holly biscornu
Hedgerow Birds
Celtic bookmark
Christmas pinkeep
Wild Thyme Fairy
Christmas joy needlebook

Knitting:
Lace scarf
Stripy socks
Zig zag scarf
Chenille cable scarf
Blue cardigan
Pink cable scarf

Lace projects:
Bedfordshire lace sampler
Bedfordshire lace flower
Christmas bangle ornament

Other crafts:
Crochet corsage
Needle felted mushroom
Pink heart quilted cushion

Much more variety and lots more knitting than last year, but my cross stitch productivity dropped off as a consequence!

At the start of the year I had the following WIPS:

* Eeyore's problem - some progress
* Peacock firescreen - lots of progress
* Gaelic banner - didn't touch it
* Wild Thyme fairy - FINISHED
* A new beginning - FINISHED

* Sampler quilt - some progress
* Amish star quilt - some progress
* Milanese lace - didn't touch it
* Bedfordshire lace flower - FINISHED
* Bedfordshire lace butterfly- FINISHED
* Lace ornament- FINISHED

This year I am starting with the following WIPs:
*Eeyore's problem
*Peacock firescreen
*Gaelic banner
*Fruit Bell Pull

*Green cardigan
*Crochet scarf

*Bedfordshire lace butterfly
*Milanese lace

*Amish star quilt
*Sampler quilt
*Teacher's pet quilt

So how did I do with my goals for 2011?

1) Finish Wild Thyme Fairy YES
2) Finish Peacock Firescreen NO
3) Work on the other 3 cross stitch WIPs I didn't touch Gaelic Banner, but I worked on the other two
4) Finish the lace ornament and 1 more lace project YES
5) Finish a quilt NO, but I am close with one
6) Start a large TW YES
7) Start Hedgerow Birds (Blackbird Designs)YES - and finished it!
8) Do the finishing on some of the many ornaments I stitched in 2010 NOT ONE :(
9) Stitch lots, on what I want, and enjoy it!!(my favourite goal from 2010!!) ALWAYS :)

For 2012 I am going to attempt the following goals:

1) Finish my Bedfordshire lace butterfly
2) Complete another lace project
3) Finish Peacock firescreen
4) Work on all three of my other xs WIPS
5) Finish Teacher's pet quilt
6) Finish another quilt
7) Finish my green cardigan
8) Finish the crochet scarf
~ and, as always ~

9) Stitch lots, on what I want, and enjoy it!!

Happy stitching everyone :)

Happy New Year!

2012-01-04T17:16:00.004Z

Hmmm, I've really got out of the habit of blogging, haven't I? December was mostly taken up with work, Christmas shopping, visiting family and making some Christmas gifts. When the festive season finally arrived I ate, drank and crafted, making great progress on a couple of projects. We did over 750 miles in the car visiting family and friends. Thankfully we realised that after all that busy, we would need a relaxing holiday... so Ed and I both took this week off work too. Yeah for extended holidays!

I had three happy dances in the run up to Christmas. All were knitted gifts:

The first scarf was for my friend Annia. It's actually a very late birthday present, but I posted it with her (bought) Christmas present. The yarn is Ranco multy by Araucania.

My second happy dance was my first ever pair of socks, which I made for my Dad. These were a big hit, he wore them the day after I gave them to him.

The second scarf was for my sister. I decided it was time I tried a more complicated lace pattern. This backfired a little, as it took me ages to get going... then a week before Christmas the pattern suddenly made sense. Which was great until I had to work out the pattern for the pretty ends, which took a while. I then learnt that I forgot how to do the pattern entirely when knitting late at night... I finally finished it at about 10am on Boxing Day - then wrapped it and drove to my parent's house - it was done JUST in time... It's knitted in a different colour of the same Ranco Multy yarn, and I LOVE it!

I've not had chance to work out my yearly recap, or to think about goals for 2012, but they will follow. Hopefully after not too long! I'll also share some photos of my current cross stitch and knitting projects, and what I hope will be my first happy dance of 2012, a Bedfordshire lace butterfly...

I hope everyone has a lovely, crafty 2012 xx

Happy Dance!!

2011-11-20T20:45:00.005Z

It's been a while since I've had time to blog, but I wanted to share my latest happy dance with you:

A New Beginning
(c) Abbey Lane Designs
Stitched in Weeks on platinum cashel

I really enjoyed stitching this piece, and I think the colours are fabulous. I've got no idea how to finish it, maybe a cushion or a wall hanging instead of a frame.

What else have I been stitching on recently? I've been making steady progress on the Peacock Firescreen by Barbara Thompson:

And while staying in Nottingham at our flat I've been working on a small kit of Lincoln Cathedral:

I've also been knitting and crocheting, but more of that later, I hope!

Happy stitching

Pretty peacocks

2011-09-29T20:48:00.003+01:00

Is anyone else enjoying the Indian summer? It was 28 degrees C in Leeds today. It does feel a little odd wearing a sundress and sandals at the end of September, but I'm not complaining - in fact I'm hoping I can manage a similar outfit tomorrow and over the weekend. Although my legs are back to being milky white again, after a pretty cool August!

This week I picked up A New Beginning again. I've finished stitching the peacock and bird motif, and have also done the orangy diamond in the middle, and the small olive green motif just under it. Last night I started the square blue motif in the middle - and it's now official, I've finished pages 3 and 4!!! I'm really enjoying this as a change.

Sorry, it's a bad photo, and very crumpled...

This weekend I'm off to Nottingham. Tomorrow night we're going to the wonderful Memsaab for dinner with some of Eddy's colleagues, and on Saturday we're off to Lincoln. I'm taking a couple of projects to get framed, and I hope to pick up some lovely tea and coffee at Imperial Teas. I can't shop too much though, as it's the last weekend of spending before my credit card bill is issued, and I'm all spent up - just enough left to get a deposit down on those frames!

Whatever your plans this weekend, I hope you have a lovely one - and that you get some stitching in too!

Birth sampler happy dance!

2011-09-24T21:09:00.003+01:00

Well it's all washed and pressed now:

I really enjoyed stitching this kit (I did switch from aida to linen), and I can't wait to get it framed and give it to Helene and Guy.

This weekend I've done a little more knitting of the pink and orange scarf, and have picked up A New Beginning again. I hope everyone else is having a lovely, relaxing weekend.

Happy stitching

Now autumn is here...

2011-09-20T20:43:00.003+01:00

I don't know about you all, but it's getting a bit nippy around here. So I'm even more addicted to knitting! I really do feel the need for lots of warm cuddly scarves... not to wear JUST yet, but I know it won't be long! Over the weekend I finally finished the chenille cable scarf I knitted over the summer - all I needed to do was sew in the loose ends! But this is now finished and ready to wear - I *almost* can't wait!!

I've also got a progress photo of the scarf I knitting my friend Annia as a late birthday present - the colours are fabulously autumnal. I wouldn't wear anything this bright, but the colours are exactly what Annia loves. I really hope she likes this once I've finished it.

I've just taken the last 2 days of work - a lovely four-day weekend, spent pottering around the house and garden - with lots of crafting of course. I knitted a fair length of Annia's scarf while watching Wallander on Sky+, have a cross stitch HD to share once it is dry and pressed, and we dug up the potatoes, ate chard, courgettes and tomatoes from the garden and planted up several pots of winter violas. It's my last chance for time off before Christmas - our term starts on Monday. Although I do wonder if once I've settled into my term-time routine I'll have a little more time for stitching.

Where does the time go?

2011-09-13T21:39:00.004+01:00

First I should apologise to my regular readers - I've become very bad at writing posts. No particular reason, just life being extremely hectic (but then, it always is). I've not been stitching as much as I would like recently - I seem to have less time and energy than usual. Hopefully when term starts and I get REALLY busy at work things will settle down and I'll get back into my usual routine - and the lovely extended evenings developing a stitching ass...

So what I have I been working on? Well I've got the knitting bug again. I've started a lovely new cardigan (I bought the wool back in the winter last year) - given the state of the weather I should knit it quickly, it would be useful to have another snuggly cardy in my wardrobe! I've done the back, but that's all so far:

Last Thursday we had another stitch and bitch, this time at Sonia's. I really loved the crochet scarf that Heidi made back in June. She kindly gave me the a link to the pattern, and I tried it out - with Chrissie and Louise, my crocheting buddies, there for support in case I couldn't figure it out (they didn't need to help me out as much as I thought they might have to!). Chrissie lent me a lovely ergonomic hook (NEEEEED some of those) and some yarn, and I quickly made the flower. I then improvised and made a smaller flower and over the weekend I made it into a corsage, which I wore to work yesterday. I love the pretty button I found for it in John Lewis. I also bought some rather fabulous Debbie Bliss Alapaca in John Lewis, which I hope to use to make a scarf similar to Heidi's...

At the weekend I visited a new-to-me knitting shop, Saltaire Yarns (recommended by Chrissie). I left the very happy owner of a basic crochet book (I can never remember which stitch is which, so I can't read patterns), a book called 'luxury yarn one-skein wonders' and two of the aforementioned single skeins of luxury yarn. My credit card is in shock... two yarn shops in two days. Ouch!

Anyway I'm so far behind in the blogging stakes I totally forgot about the 29 August TUSAL. This is my current ORT jar status - most of the new ORTS are from Peacock Firescreen. The jar is sat on my new knitting project, a scarf for a friend using one of those luxury yarns, pattern out of my new book :)

I hope everyone had a lovely summer, and that you are all getting in some lovely stitching time now the weather is on the turn! Happy stitching x

Another week off work...

2011-08-29T18:54:00.003+01:00

Wow, it's ages since I last posted. No proper reason, just life taking up all my time. I had last week off work, but this time I didn't go away ;) Eddy and I spent most of the time gardening, or catching up on TV that we'd recorded while on our travels. While watching the telly I've been either stitching on Peacock Firescreen, or knitting. No pic of the knitting yet as I've still to finish the back of the cardigan, but this is where I've got to with Peacock Firescreen:

Before I was on holiday I'd been focusing on the Classic Pooh Birth Sampler for Helene and Guy's new baby daughter, Holly. We went for a picnic with them yesterday (yes, in true British Bank Holiday weekend style it did rain - we ate between two heavy showers), and we finally met Holly for the first time - she's now 10 weeks old and is lovely. Anyway, I've finished the XS, just the BS to do - hopefully it'll be done and framed for her Christening:

When we bought our house four years ago we had HUGE plans for the garden. One of the first was to shape the lawn into two halves with an archway between. We sorted the narrow section last year; this week we finally shaped the far end of the lawn, and started the heavy digging (we have rock-solid clay, for the most part). All of the digging takes a long time, but the soil is so much easier to work in the areas we have dug over so far, so it is worth the effort. Once we've finished digging the area over and planted it up a bit more I'll post some photos. It feels wonderful to see the 'master plan' coming together, slowly and surely!

Sadly my plan to work on my quilt this last week totally failed. Maybe next time I get a few days free I'll take over the living room and get the borders sorted...

Jo, world explorer

2011-08-15T20:33:00.009+01:00

It's a hectic summer for me, and both my crafting and my blogging have really suffered. I won't bore you with all the details, but will tell the story of the last few months in photos...

In June we had the most amazingly relaxing break in Spain. Check out the view from the villa...

In July we went on holiday in Belgium. First we visited Brugges and lots of WWI cemeteries:

Then we volunteered on a WWI excavation - my area was investigating a German dug out and trenches:

I had a mad turnaround at home on 30/31 July. I managed to take my TUSAL photo, and a progress photo of the Classic Pooh birth sampler - but failed to find time to post them. Not that I was doing any stitching on my travels - in fact for the first time ever (practically) I left my needles at home...

I had about 20 hours at home before I headed off again - this time for a work-related trip to Pretoria, South Africa. The work was intense and busy, but I made up for it with 2 intense days of sight seeing, one in Pretoria at the museums, but one day at the Lion and Rhino park:

Best of all they had an animal creche... this was the most amazing experience ever...

It's been a tiring but truly amazing summer :)

Now I'm trying to get back into life at home, work, housework - and some stitching!

July Ort Report

2011-07-03T22:48:00.005+01:00

I'm a couple of days late, but am doing much better than for the last full moon! This month I have collected ORTs from Peacock Firescreen (mostly greens and peaches), Bird in Hand (dusky pinks) and Pooh Birth Sampler (golden yellows):

I perched my ORT jar rather precariously on the edge of a plant pot for a bit of seasonal colour - I really love these white petunias, which we have scattered around the garden in pots, adding a splash of brightness.

As it is the start of July I really should set myself some goals, but first I'll review my June goals:

1) stitch on my WIPs yes, I mostly stitched on Peacock Firescreen, Bird in Hand and Pooh Birth Sampler
2) resist more new starts, apart from... managed this one
3) something from the lovely things Karin sent me! but not this one...

In July I would like to:
1) work on at least 2 WIPs
2) finish the xs on Pooh Birth Sampler
3) make some lace
4) do another type of crafting - either quilting or knitting
5) START SOMETHING WITH THE LOVELY STASH KARIN SENT ME. Can you see I MEAN it this month???

I've enjoyed the lovely warm weekend with a spot of gardening, eating the first potatoes from our garden, plus herbs, raspberries and strawberries, and stitching on Pooh Birth Sampler. Unusually for me I also did some housework... I'm sure that phase will pass ;)

My rose garden (before I did the dead heading though!!):

The first few potatoes - Anya and a red one I forget the name of:

Happy stitching everyone x

So, where on earth will I find space for these???

2011-07-02T18:11:00.004+01:00

I've picked up two pieces from the picture framers - Fantasy Triptych and Waiting for Ships. It took me ages to pick out the frames and mounts, but it was worth the effort. I'm really pleased with how they turned out.

There's only one problem - where on earth am I going to find room to hang them? I feel a major picture reorganisation coming on!

I spent part of last week on holiday in Spain with friends. Although I took some stitching with me I didn't do any at all. It was a lovely trip, I'll share some photos later on. Since I got back I've worked on a couple of pieces. Last night I finished stitching Bird in Hand:

And since then I've been working on Classic Pooh Birth Sampler - a gift for my friend Helene, who had a baby girl 2 weeks ago. This is how far I have got:

Hope everyone else is having a lovely relaxing weekend, with plenty of stitching time!

Stitching birdies

2011-06-23T21:03:00.002+01:00

Over the last few weeks I've been stitching birds. I started Blackbird Design's Bird in hand - the bird is now complete and I'm tacking the branch he's sitting on:

I've also been focussing on Peacock firescreen - which is beginning to look great. I've not finished the top half yet, but I've probably done about half of the stitching - the bottom half is much less densely stitched:

I'll try and post some more pics tomorrow or on Saturday

A Very Late TUSAL!

2011-06-17T13:55:00.004+01:00

Right, I have access to my camera now! Here is a photo of my ORT jar taken earlier this week.

Orts include some from Fruit Bellpull, Peacock Firescreen, Lindsay's giveaway gift and Bird in Hand.

I'm away this weekend, but when I get back I'll post some photographs of my stitching - promise!

Still here, still stitching...

2011-06-15T22:09:00.003+01:00

Wow, it's been pretty busy round here lately. I have had time to stitch (a little), but no time to blog - how I miss reading about everyone's crafts, and life in general! Anyway, before I left work at Silly O'Clock (AGAIN) today, I promised myself I'd blog tonight. Of course it didn't occur to me to get my camera out of my lab coat pocket before I left... So there won't be photos. Not even of my TUSAL from 1 June - hey, at least I remembered to TAKE the photo :(

Well, it's nearly 3 weeks since I last blogged, so I ought to at least review my May goals!!! I said I wanted to:

1) Work on at least two xs WIPs YES, worked on lots of different projects - Peacock Firescreen, Pooh birth sampler, Bird in Hand (another new start), Lindsay's giveaway gift, fruit bellpull... I think that's it!
2) Finish knitting my scarf YES - I just need to sew in the loose ends and it's done
3) Start Helene's birth sampler YES
4) Start to stitch something with the lovely goodies Karin sent me from her giveawayNope... really must do this, I am waaaaay overdue (Sorry Karin)
5) Add the borders to my quilt top Nope, not had time to do anything other than admire it!
6) Make some lace YES - I've spent a couple of evenings working on the Bedfordshire Butterfly
7) Start my giveaway prize stitching, now I have the necessary supplies YES, just need to find a suitable backing fabric (I see a trip to the Skep in my near future)

So, what would I like to achieve in the rest of June???

1) stitch on my WIPs
2) resist more new starts, apart from...
3) something from the lovely things Karin sent me!

Happy stitching!

Birds and Fruit

2011-05-25T22:20:00.002+01:00

So for the last few days I've been stitching on Barbara Thompson's Peacock Firescreen - it's ages since I last picked it up. I'm really enjoying the bright colours and big blocks of this at the moment:

It's the perfect piece to alternate with Fruit Bellpull - If I'm fed up of confetti it's time for the Peacock. If I'm bored of big blocks of colour, pick up the bellpull. Hmmm, I might be on to something here...

And if I want a change from stitching, there is always the knitting - which I hope to have an update for in the near future!

Thanks for popping by my little corner of the net x

Two lace making successes!

2011-05-22T18:46:00.008+01:00

This week I finally took the sampler of Bedfordshire techniques off my pillow, and trimmed the fringe at the bottom. Apart from the sympathetic ties on the bottom vein (which I just couldn't figure out), I'm really happy with how this turned out. One of the major tasks was to try some techniques above the main bit of lace, and others below.

The top
Underneath

I was particularly pleased with how the last section, with multiple raised leaves, went:

http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
On Thursday night I went over to Louise's and picked up the Bedfordshire Lace butterfly I started at Christine's lace course two years ago, and finished off the wings on the left (I honestly thought I'd finished them ages ago!). I took it to Sheffield Lace Makers working day and AGM on Saturday, where I got started on the second set of wings, I'm going to focus on this piece for now, as I'd love to finish it and get it off the pillow. It's packed away at the moment, but I'll take a photograph when I next pull it out...

Anyway, on Saturday Sonia and I had a lovely day at Sheffield Lace Makers. As always there was a competition at the AGM, for any piece of lace completed that year. I entered my sampler and also the little round flower motif I finished in February. I knew the flower was the best piece of lace I'd ever made, but I didn't seriously think I stood a chance - imagine my amazement when I was told I'd won third prize!!

I won a lovely Chris Parsons lace bobbin, decorated with lily of the valley. Of course it's already on my pillow... The prize was presented by Norma, our president.

The second prize went to Ena for a superb owl, and Helen (our outgoing chairwoman) won the Munday trophy for her fabulous fascinator, which she is wearing to a wedding in a few weeks time:

I am gobsmacked that I was in such talented company - and to me it shows just how much my technique has improved with the weekends in Aston Cantlow.

A Little Archaeology

2011-05-17T17:39:00.005+01:00

OK, so when I set this blog up I did say that occasionally I would post about my other passion, archaeology...

At the moment I am busy working on a ton of different projects (possibly too many, who knows...), but the one that is really exciting (well, one of the ones that is really exciting...) is called 'From Cemetery to Clinic', funded by JISC.

Basically, with a group of colleagues in both Archaeological Sciences and Visual Computung we are creating an online resource about a medeival cemetery in Chichester. It's not just any cemetery, but was attached to a leper hospital, which later became an alms house. And lots of the skeletons show signs of leproy. We (well, my clever colleagues, not me!) are busy creating 3D laser scans, with textured overlays, of the affected bones and linking this into a GIS map of the excavated cemetery - with lots of information about the skeletons. It's a short project (just 5 months), and scarily we're half way through - but we now have a blog about the project and what we are doing - so if you are interested in my day job, or archaeology in general, then please do have a look.

Finger bone with a groove at the far end - this is caused by the contraction of hand muscles in leprosy - the person would have been unable to straighten their fiungers, a feature called 'claw hand deformity'.

Lace and gifts

2011-05-14T16:14:00.003+01:00

Sandra asked on my last post if I enjoyed the Bedfordshire lace course last weekend - and the answer is a resounding YES!! I left work a little later than planned and dashed off down the motorway - stopping off in Nottingham to eat tea and pick up Eddy - getting to Wilmcote, jhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifust outside Stratford at about 8.30.

Being disorganised, after a swift pint, I set about pricking out a spare lace pattern. I suspect doing this after a pint was a bad idea, and the following morning I pricked it out again after before we ate a heavenly breakfast. We got to Aston Cantlow just after 9.30, and said hello to everyone - most of the group were on the course the previous year, and I sat with Jane, who I know from this course, demonstrating at Harrogate Knitting and Stitching show, and we always seem to run into each other at various lace days. Eddy set up at his lathe in the back room, and got busy turning bobbins, and I started a sampler of advanced Bedfordshire techniques - different rolled tallies, veins and raised leaves - both above and below the lace. We were supplied with many cups of tea by the lovely Sue, stopped for a fabulous buffet lunch and then briefly for cake mid afternoon. By 5pm I had learnt several new techniques, improved in several areas after some useful tips and suggestions, and was just over half way through the sampler.

That evening we went into Stratford for dinner, and the following day we were back in Aston Cantlow by 9.30. The last area I'd worked on the day before - a diagonal vein with sympathetic ties - hadn't gone brilliantly, probably because I tension too much. After a quick chat with Christine I decided to leave it and learn from the experience - after all, it's only a sampler. My progress slowed a bit when I hit to raised leaves, especially those on half stitch (the more open background), and I was loathe to leave my pillow when we were summoned to the pub for Sunday lunch! After a delicious meal of salmon, asparagus risotto and veggies followed by a pear and almond tart I got stuck in... and the the time we had to leave I'd only got about 1" of pattern to go (I was the last person to put down my bobbins, and Eddy was the last to turn off his lathe). We stopped at Eddy's mum's for tea, and I got back home quite late on Sunday night - thoroughly exhausted but thoroughly happy. Of course I never did need that second pricking....

This week has been dreadfully busy - end of term marking and all that... but I had a lovely surprise. On Thursday I popped to the post office and picked up a parcel that was too large for the letterbox. It was a lovely package of goodies from Sara - I'd won her giveaway a few weeks ago.... and boy was I in for a treat:

Thank you Sara, you made my day!!

This weekend I'm opting for very lazy, with lots of crafting - I hope that you all have a lovely weekend too.

Happy Stitching x

The ort report

2011-05-06T08:13:00.003+01:00

OK, so I'm late (again...). I'd left my camera at work, so although I'd taken a photo of my ort jar on Monday, I couldn't upload it. Never mind! I think my orts look really pretty this month - they've come from A New Beginning, Tine for Harvest, Fruit Bellpull and Eeyore's problem, in that order - and I think with very little mixing! Given I spent the latter part of the month on my sewing machine I took the photo on my dining/sewing table...

Tonight I'm heading off to Aston Cantlow (just outside Stratford) for Christine Springett's Bedfordshire lace course. Eddy will be turning bobbins again... there will be a report on that early next week.

Hope everyone has a lovely stitchy weekend!

Spring florals

2011-05-02T21:37:00.004+01:00

Well I've been off work for 13 days, and over that time I've met up with my mum, aunt cousin and cousin's son for the day, visited Margaret in Birmingham, bought some lovely new clothes and some lovely new stash, had good friends over for dinner, and then a very old friend and her son over for lunch, and done lots and lots of gardening, stitching, knitting and quilting! The glorious spring weather has helped make this a fabulous break, and I've really enjoyed watching our plants grow, flowers start to bloom, and the lovely floral fabrics that is 'Rural Jardin'

So over the last few days of this fantatsic break I've been watching lots of snooker and other TV while quilting and knitting. My scarf is now 2/3 done - I've just started with the 3rd and final ball of yarn. Thankfully no frogging of late :) As it hasn't changed in any way other than length I won't share another photo!!

I've also been racing ahead with the Teacher's Pet quilt top. Yesterday I laid out all of the blocks to finalise the arrangement. The suggested one from the pattern didn't quite work:

So I switched the top left block with one left over (there are 2 spare blocks, which will be cushions - both are identical with lots of cream, so I am pondering an applique something in the middle of the large cream square, with either the pink or red fabric, as that is what I'll have left over! Last night I stitched the rows together, and today I stitched the rows to each other. This photo is of the main part of the quilt top all stitched together (taken with a flash - the photo I took yesterday is much more accurate in terms of colour):

I'm really pleased how it has turned out - not too bad for my first quilt top! With hindsight I would have picked another fabric from the Rural Jardin range, and used the plain cream/beige for the setting triangles and another patterned fabric for the squares in the blocks, but it's far too late now!! Next I need to cut out and add the three borders - pink, then cream, then pale blue. But not for a couple of weeks - it's back to work tomorrow (boo!) and next weekend we are away on a lacemaking/bobbin turning course. I spent some time today pricking out my pattern (a sampler of advanced Bedfordshire Lace techniques) and finding (almost) everything I need to take.

As it is now May it's time to review and set some goals... In April I wanted to:

1) Get A New Beginning past the half way mark Yes!
2) Work on another WIP Yes! - Eeyore's Problem
3) Start fruit bell pull YES!!
4) Select and buy a chart for Helene's birth sampler Yes - it's a Classic Pooh birth sampler, which was her first choice!
5) Make some lace Nope, not a single bobbin was touched (apart from winding some this morning, which doesn't count as it's a) not making lace and b) May...)
6) Do some knitting YES!!
7) Do some quilting YES!!

And I am pretty happy with that!

In May I'd like to:

1) Work on at least two xs WIPs
2) Finish knitting my scarf
3) Start Helene's birth sampler
4) Start to stitch something with the lovely goodies Karin sent me from her giveaway
5) Add the borders to my quilt top
6) Make some lace
7) Start my giveaway prize stitching, now I have the necessary supplies

Not much, eh?

Happy Stitching x

Productive days off work...

2011-04-30T21:34:00.004+01:00

I am enjoying the most fantastically relaxing and productive break from work! Since we got back from Margaret's we've slept late, read, gardened, watched TV and had friends over for food. I have also had time to do lots of cross stitch, knitting and even some quilting! The gardening is pretty dull at present - lots of clearing and digging, but nothing pretty (yet!). But the crafting is most definitely pretty!

First I should share a progress picture of Fruit Bellpull which I took this afternoon - although I haven't actually done any stitching on it since we were in Birmingham:

I actually remembered to take the photos outside in the sunshine today, so the colours look really lovely! I used my newly constructed garden bench as a back drop:

I bought the bench at Coughton Court last summer. We popped it in the loft over the winter and I finally unpacked it and put it together a few days ago. Turns out I only had to tighten 9 nuts, the easiest flat packed furniture I've ever put together!! Next to Fruit Bellpull is the scarf I've been knitting. It's about half done now - it would be much longer, but I had to pull out about 6 inches last night, as I realised I'm managed to reverse the pattern part way up. Grrrr! I love the middle cable:

I also pulled out a really old WIP - Eeyore's Problem by Designer Stitches. I last worked on it in September 2009. My taste in cross stitch has changed considerably over the years and I don't think I'd pick something this bright (or on aida) anymore, but I still love this design:

I've also started ANOTHER quilting project. For which I am blaming Joy - her lovely recent posts have been very inspiring! (I now have three quilts on the go, worrying as I've never, ever finished a quilting project bigger than my four hearts cushion... oh well, I do enjoy having lots of WIPs on the go). Yesterday I spent HOURS cutting it out. Not that it was complicated, it's just the first time I've used Moda fabric (Rural Jardin by French General), and I was petrified I'd cut it out wrong.... It's for a simple (and allegedly quick) pattern that I bought at Quilting Chicks in Cortez when we were on holiday in the US last year, called 'The Teacher's Pet'. Apparently the quilt top can be cut out and sewn together in five hours, but not at the speed I cut it out!!! I've done 2 of the 4 seams on each of the blocks so far - and I can certainly say that it is going together very quickly. This is how it looks so far:

It seems it's another month for Blogoversaries - Edgar is celebrating the fourth blogoversary of Blacksheep's Bit of the Web with a giveaway - do go and have a look at his blog, his stitching is truly inspiring!

I think that's it for now. Only two more days of my extended break to go... I really need to fit in some more quilting, gardening, cross stitch, do a couple of jobs around the house and finally get some lace out. I may be a little busy...

Happy stitching x

Easter travels and an Easter Happy Dance

2011-04-27T19:33:00.005+01:00

We had a really lovely Easter weekend. On Friday we headed off to Birmingham to stay with Margaret (Eddy's mum). After a brief stop in Solihull for some necessary clothes shopping (ahem) and a very necessary coffee and cake, we sat around til late setting the world to rights. On Saturday we went to see Bill (Eddy's Grandad, who is 92), so that Bill could give Eddy 'all of Big Grandpa's chisels'. All THREE of them. To say that Margaret and I were crying with laughter would be an understatement! After we left Bill's, we picked up Paul (Eddy's Dad) from his care home (he has dementia), and took him home for lunch. He was delighted to see us all, and was exceptionally lucid, which was lovely. We sat in the sun in the garden, and I finished Harvest Time:

Harvest Time, (c) Blackbird Designs
Stitched on Stitches and Spice Tundra in GAST

On Sunday we went to Wightwick Manor, a National Trust property near Wolverhampton, for the day. It was built in 1887 and decorated in the fashionable style of the time - mostly William Morris, with de Morgan tiles and a really good smattering of Pre-Raphelite art. It was pure bliss!!! I have never seen so many William Morris wallpapers, curtains and upholstered furniture in one place! And the de Morgan tiles were just stunning. As for the drawings and paintings - wow!! This house was just jam packed with artwork and designs by my absolute favourite artists of all time (there must have been at least 10 or 15 Rossetti's dotted around...). I was in heaven. I did tell Eddy that I wanted him to buy the house for me ;)

Sadly, photography wasn't allowed in the house (for good reason, but it means I can't share the interior with you), but I got some shots of the outside and the gardens:

The flowers were lovely. I particularly loved the yellow rambling rose, covered in tiny, delicate flowers called rosa banksiae

and this tree peony:

In the grounds we saw this lovely bug house - or a 'Buckingham Place for insects', as Margaret put it... I feel inspired to try and construct something on a smaller scale in my garden!

That evening we went out for a lovely meal at a nearby pub, and once again sat up late chatting. Margaret helped me try out some lace knitting (and I now vaguely understand charted knitting patterns), and I also made great progress on Fruit Bellpull. But more on that later...

Happy stitching x

It's spring, so clearly time for... PUMPKINS???

2011-04-21T20:41:00.004+01:00

So my stitching never seems to follow the seasons. Christmas ornaments in August. Sunflowers in November. And pumpkins in the hottest April I've ever enjoyed!! A few weeks ago, when we went to my Mum and Dad's ruby wedding celebrations I wanted to take a small travelling project with me. Ed had bought me BBD's Harvest Time for Christmas, and I had a lovely bit of left over hand dyed linen that was just the right size. I'd bought the floss when I needed some threads for Hedgerow Birds, as I knew that it wouldn't be long before I HAD to start it.

After a major frogging incident this afternoon (I'd missed 6 rows out of the middle pumpkin. How??? Possibly because I stitched that bit in the garden while chatting to Mum and Dad!!), but after a couple of hours in front of the snooker this afternoon/evening I'm probably approaching the half way point:

Time for Harvest, (c) Blackbird Designs
Stitched in GAST Dark Chocolate, on Stitches and Spice Tundra

I also started TWs Fruit Bellpull (also with an autumnal theme) at the weekend. I've now completed the border around the apples square. I'm planning on stitching this one block at a time, to include the borders and BS. I sometimes find the final push of borders and BS is a TW a little, well, time consuming - so near yet so far, if you know what I mean! Anyway, here's a snap of that:

Teresa Wentzler's Fruit Bellpull
Stitched in DMC on Antique white Quaker cloth

Embarrassingly on such a sunny day I took these photos at dusk, so they are a little dark!

This weekend we are off to see Margaret in Birmingham. I've not decided which piece to take with my yet... maybe both of these - after all, we have the car!!

Have a lovely Easter, and hope everyone finds some stitching time x

Loving this sunny spring!

2011-04-17T20:52:00.004+01:00

Well the weather in the UK has been just amazing for the last few weeks, I swear that a couple of years ago we'd have been delighted with a bit of this in July and August! Sadly I've been busy at work (and getting back into the bad habit of working late), but I've made sure I've made the most of it at the weekends!

Last weekend it was my parents' Ruby Wedding anniversary, so we went back home to celebrate with them. I took the opportunity to take a couple of pieces in the be framed at my favourite framing shop in Lincoln. It'll be ages until I get back to pick them up, but I can't wait to see how they turn out. Patience is a virtue, I suppose...

On Saturday we had a party with close family and friends - 22 people in all - and took full advantage of the lovely sunny weather, spending most of the afternoon sat in the garden. My sister Michelle, Eddy and I organised the food allowing mum to chat to her guests - and everyone seemed to have a lovely time. I certainly did. On Sunday we ate delicious leftovers in the garden at lunchtime, and in the afternoon I caught up with one of my old school friends.

This weekend was also spent outside, busy sorting our garden. We tidied, weeded, trimmed and scattered new bark chippings in the front garden - I don't think it's ever looked this finished! I can't wait until my roses start to flower!

I also took some snaps of the flowers currently in bloom. I love primulas, and the apple blossom is just coming out.

Stitching wise I've been focusing on A New Beginning - and I've just got past the half way point. I took the photo outside, taking full advantage of the lovely sunlight!

I've also started two new pieces, but don't have photos of either, so I'll share those later in the week.

Happy Stitching x

April goals and TUSAL

2011-04-04T20:55:00.002+01:00

It's time for another TUSAL! This month I added orts from Hedgerow Birds, A New Beginning and Holiday Holly Biscornu:

It's also a new month, so time to review those goals:

1) Finish Hedgerow Birds YES
2) work on another WIP YES - A New Beginning got a bit of work
3) knit the rest of the cardigan YES, and I finished sewing it up yesterday (admittedly in April, but I'm happy!)
4) make some lace (anything would do) On Friday (again in April) I finished the Christmas decoration
5) do some quilting YES, made a lovely quilt cover at the class I went to
6) start TW's Fruit Bell Pull, now I have all of the supplies Nope
7) I would also really like to get more of the biscornu done YES - another early April Happy Dance

Amazingly, in March and the first few days of April I had FIVE happy dances!!! I am amazed! I didn't get fruit bellpull started, but I can live with that.

in April I'd like to:

1) Get A New Beginning past the half way mark
2) Work on another WIP
3) Start fruit bell pull
4) Select and buy a chart for Helene's birth sampler
5) Make some lace
6) Do some knitting
7) Do some quilting

We'll see how that goes - on the plus side I do have nearly 2 weeks off over Easter!

Happy Stitching

A weekend of happy dances

2011-04-03T22:49:00.006+01:00

Wow, this week has just flown by! I worked far too late every night this week (leaving at 6.50 was early????), but made up for it over the weekend. On Friday night I set myself a little challenge - to totally finish three crafting projects before going to bed tonight - and despite spending most of the daytime running errands or gardening, I achieved it!!

On Friday I pulled out the lace Christmas decoration that I made at the Harrogate Knitting and Stitching show in Harrogate. Last November. All I needed to do to finish it was to sew in and tie off the ends... which I finished just as True Blood was coming on.

Yesterday it was the turn of Holiday Holly biscornu by The Sweetheart Tree. By bedtime I'd got it to the stage that it needed stuffing, and I finished it early this evening. It's my first ever biscornu, and I really enjoyed it - apart from the fact that the floss for the back stitch border and whip stitching was so close in colour to the fabric that I had trouble seeing the stitches. I see more biscornu in my future...

After that I put the last bit of sewing into my lovely blue cardigan, and added a pretty handmade button by Stuart Johnson, which I picked up at the lace event last weekend. The cardigan is lovely and warm (possibly a little warm for the current weather, but never mind - there's always a cold day not too far away!!). It fits brilliantly, but the sleeves are a little long. Not that that's a problem - it keeps my hands warm! The pattern is by Twilleys, and I found it very simple to follow. This is the first garment I have knitted since I was in secondary school.

In the garden, we planted most of our veggies, generally tidied up after the weekend, planted some primulas and I attacked (and beat) the snowberry bush that I hate in the front garden. RIP bush - you'll be replaced by a lovely rose next year, once we are sure you are totally beaten ;)

I can't believe it's April already. I'll pop online tomorrow and deal with goals and the TUSAL. I hope everyone else had as relaxing a weekend as I did.

Harrogate Lace Event

2011-03-27T20:54:00.005+01:00

Yesterday was a fabulous day of stash enhancement!! Eddy and I met Sonia at the Harrogate Lace event a little after 10 and hit the stalls. It was a lovely day - I've been making lace long enough that I've started to know some of the 'crowd' - it was lovely to catch up with Stuart and Sue Johnson and Christine and David Springett (the team behind the May lace course we go on), then Jane and Agnes (plus their husbands) who also come along in May. And lots of people from Sheffield Lace Makers - and especially Phyllis' gang - Margaret, Kath, Di and Barbara - and Phyllis of course!!

So we spent as much time chatting and catching up as we did shopping. Eddy really enjoyed himself too - he can't wait until we can work out how to get a lathe for him - he really enjoys turning bobbins! He was also in an extremely generous mood, and bought me a lovely present of stash from one of the stalls, plus I joined a bobbin a month club - and the first three bobbins for that are part of a Christmas present from a few years ago!

So what did I get... I bought some bangles for making lace Christmas ornaments, some ribbon and pins, a glass paperweight to pop my Bedfordshire flower in, some new plyers and cutters for spangling and some huge bobbins for making large scale lace with different fibres (like wool or ribbon). Eddy bought me the lovely rainbow wood knitting needles, scarf pattern and skein of 2-ply alpaca (yup, definitely going to give large scale lace a try - I just need to buy some more of the large bobbins!!), and I bought the rainbow wood crochet hook as a present for Louise.

I also bought some beautiful bobbins from (left to right) Acorn bobbins, 2 by Stuart Johnson, I can't remember who did the next one, Margaret Wall, three unspangled bobbins by Malcolm Thorpe. Sonia bought me the one on the right, which is by Sarah Jones and which says 'making lace is making friends'. The spangle on the far right is by Margaret Wall, and all proceeds are going to Comic Relief! The four buttons are by Stuart Johnson (one will go on my new cardy when I finish it), and Eddy bought me the four dividers by Brian Goodwin.

After all that shopping we went to Fodder (a lovely farm shop/deli/cafe) for a lovely (if slightly late) lunch, and bought lots and lots from the shop...

Last night I worked on Holiday Holly Biscornu - I'm about half way through the second side now:

Today we went to two garden centres and did some gardening - my roses are all pruned an ready for summer now.

Happy Stitching :)

And the winner is...

2011-03-25T20:01:00.003Z

I did do the draw for my giveaway last Sunday (or, to be specific, Eddy pulled a name out of the hat). But I've been both shattered and busy all week, and not had chance to blog... There have been some days that I've been so tired that I've not felt like stitching, which is a really bad sign, and last weekend I mostly slept. Anyway, the giveaway winner was Lindsay (I must stop pulling her name out of the hat...) - congratulations Lindsay, I'll be sending a little something your way as soon as I've stitched it!!

So I've not done an awful lot of stitching this week, but it's a long time since I posted a photo of A New Beginning... so here it is:

Sorry, it was dark when I took the photo, so the colours don't show up well. I made a major error in the green motif on the bottom right corner. The top 2 rows were off by one stitch, but I decided to frog the bottom row and move the whole thing up a stitch, as the bottom isn't exactly straight anyway... I really dislike frogs...

Tomorrow we're off to Harrogate Lace event, so there will be some stash enhancement going on. My poor visa card will be in shock again...

Happy stitching everyone

Four hearts HD

2011-03-19T17:51:00.005Z

So two weeks ago I went on a day long quilting course at the Skep to master using triangles... Maureen had picked out a really pretty four hearts pattern to try out. I was immediately inspired to do this in pink (not the bright reds Maureen had pulled out for us to pick from), so nipped into the shop and picked 4 fat quarters. I think the fabrics I chose have a really 'Old Colonial America' feel to them, if you know what I mean.

Sorry for the not great photos. I've left my camera at work, so these were taken on my iphone.
ETA: I have no idea why they are rotated.. I just rotated them by 90 degrees and uploaded again, and the new images are rotated through 180 degrees in blogger. So I deleted them again. I give up...

I really enjoyed the class, once again learnt some new things, and am really, really happy with my cushion cover. Even though I'm not really a pink person I think my choice of fabrics was just right. I finished the binding and did the button holes at home - which of course took over a week to do. Mostly because I couldn't remember how to make a button hole....

This weekend I'm trying to finish my cardigan (sewing it together is making my fingers hurt, so it is slow going), and am stitching on A New Beginning. I may try and share a couple of photos tomorrow.

And to remind anyone reading this tonight - there is still time to enter my giveaway - see my last post. I'm thinking of stitching a Black Bird Designs piece for the winner...

The amazing generosity of bloggers

2011-03-12T16:49:00.007Z

I've been meaning to post this for a while - and in the meantime, the generosity has increased and I've still not done something about it...

A while ago Lindsay posted a really pretty TW finish called Greetings, and Karen shared her lovely Button Tree by The Drawn Thread. After commenting on how lovely both pieces were, Lindsay lent me the JCS magazine (April 1990) with the TW chart in, and Karen sent me the Button Tree chart - on the basis that I pass it on once I've stitched it. I was really delighted when they both arrived in the post a couple of weeks ago.

I then won a couple of giveaways (must be my lucky month!). First of all I won Sara's giveaway, in celebration of her having reached 30 followers. She's not sure exactly what she's stitching yet (a girl after my own heart), but it's really exciting that something will come at some point in the future! The second giveaway I won was Karin's - and I got the lovely 'green' prize, including Vicki Clayton's dragon earth thread and some of Karin's beads. The deal is that I stitch something with the thread and send a photo to Karin... any suggestions anyone? What I wasn't expecting were the lovely extras - a piece of hand dyed fabbie (a much prettier shade of green than the photo suggests - it reminds me of springtime, perfect for this time of year), some Krenik braid, mill hill seed beads and a lovely scissor fob. The parcel was wrapped in some pretty tissue paper and tied with a lovely ribbon, which of course I will also add to my stash. I feel very spoiled.

A while back, Avivah came to the UK to stay with Sarah, and she joined us at my house for a stitch and bitch. We got on really well, and since then have been blogging buddies and facebook friends. She asked me to send her some English tea before Christmas, which of course I was happy to do, and I squeezed in some chocolates as well. On Thursday I received the most amazing thank you present... 4 skeins of fingering weight yarn, hand dyed by Avivah, two sets of the cutest kitty stitch markers (which she also made), a bar of soap (and made by one of her friends) on a little soap dish that Avivah made in her ceramics class, a cross stitch kit of a Cochiti drummer and a copy of the Subversive Cross Stitch book. Again, I am blown away by her generosity (I mean, I sent her tea bags...).

If you like Avivah's yarn and stitch markers, she sells them on Hairball yarns. The yarn is a wool/bamboo/nylon mix and is amazingly soft. I keep stroking it...

So all in all I have to say thank you to each and every one of you. Your generosity is astounding, and each package was a special treat to receive. And I know that at some point there's another treat coming from Sarah! Yup, I'm a very lucky girl!!

So... in honour of exceeding 50 bloggers here (which I've been meaning to do for a while), and to mark the amazing generosity of my blogging friends, I'm hosting my own giveaway. I'll stitch something (no idea what - well some idea, but nothing concrete) for the lucky winner, and add a few goodies to the package. To enter, comment on this post before midnight a week today (Saturday 19th March).

Happy Hedgerow Birds!

2011-03-10T18:19:00.002Z

This is a quick post, as I'm meeting two friends for dinner shortly. I've been meaning to post this for days now, just have no time... Hedgerow Birds is finished!!

I have a few other things to share, hopefully I'll have time to blog at the weekend.

Happy Stitching x

TUSAL

2011-03-05T09:17:00.003Z

I've had a busy week this week, and am about to go out for another quilting class. More on that later!

It's time to post a photo for the TUSAL:

Most, if not all, of the ORTS I've added this month have been from Hedgerow Birds. The beady eyed amongst you will see it creeping into the corner of this photo... I'll show a proper photo of it when I'm next online.

Hope everyone has a great weekend. After my quilting class I aim to do some knitting and to pick up another WIP - or maybe even a new start. It depends how the mood takes me!

Happy stitching x

March goals

2011-03-01T17:56:00.002Z

It's that time of the month again....

February in review:
1) Finish sewing in the threads on the Bedfordshire flower, and also complete a lace ornament I have almost done yes to the flower, no to the ornamant. Disgracefully really, as it is so close!
2) Work on another lace project nope
3) Work on Hedgerow Birds yes, lots!
4) Work on another WIP no, but did start and finish a bookmark, and started a biscornu
5) Do some quilting yes, 2 more blocks done
6) Maybe start some knitting and this is where I did a lot - knitted 1 scarf, started another scarf, and knitted about 1/2 a cardigan!

So what would I like to achieve in March?
1) Finish Hedgerow Birds
2) work on another WIP
3) knit the rest of the cardigan
4) make some lace (anything would do)
5) do some quilting
6) start TW's Fruit Bell Pull, now I have all of the supplies
7) I would also really like to get more of the biscornu done, but I've found the 32ct fabric hard on my eyes (which is unusual for me), so we'll see

And if I do achieve all that it will be a miracle!

Cardigan heaven...

2011-02-27T18:54:00.004Z

Wow, it's a while since I've had time to post. Last weekend Margaret (Eddy's mum) came to stay for the weekend, and boy did we fill it with lots of things!!

Friday night we went out for a delicious curry. On Saturday we went to the wool shop in Leeds - I'd seen their stall at the Pudsey Lace Event, and really wanted to see the shop... more about that later :). In the afternoon we went to Leeds Industrial Museum then into the city centre for coffee. That evening we watched a movie and knitted. Well, Eddy didn't, but Margaret and I did! Sunday we went on the Keighley valley railway - we did the whole loop on a lovely steam train, then went to Riddlesden Hall for lunch and a good explore of the house. Afterwards we had tea and cakes at Salt's Mill in Saltaire and that evening we ate out at the Calverley Arms... I can't believe we fitted so much into a weekend (which is probably why I was so tired on Monday).

Anyway, the wool shop. The selection of wool was great - good variety of types and colours, and not too much really expensive stuff - which means making clothing wouldn't cost the earth. There was a great table to sit at and leaf through patterns, and lots of models on display, for inspiration. Best of all, the couple running the shop were lovely and really helpful. I came away with some 'sublime' wool in a lovely denim blue, which I'm knitting into a fitted cardigan/jacket. By the time Margaret left I'd already completed the back and one front. Since then I've done one sleeve, and started the other... it's a lovely design by Twilley's of Stamford, and a really easy knit! I especially love the crochet style edging:

While I was there I saw some 'Signature' wool by stylecraft - it's a now discontinued range, and was on offer. We found another great cardigan pattern it would be suited to, but sadly there wasn't enough left in the shop - I needed 24 balls! I did a quick google search at home, and found some going VERY cheap at rock-a-bye-baby... They only had 20 balls but this was the same dye lot as the stuff in Leeds - so guess where I went again this Saturday!! Overall I have to say that I received AMAZING customer service at both shops - which is so valuable in the current climate. I'll definitely keep both as favourite shops...

Speaking of good customer service, the threads I ordered from Thread Bear arrived this week - it's the first time I've ordered from them. I love the fact my stash was carefully wrapped in tissue paper and tied with a pretty red ribbon. Again, I will go back!

So I finally had the necessary Apple Cider for Hedgerow Birds. I've now finished the front, and I've made great progress on the back - it's probably about 3/4 stitched now.

Sorry for the crumpled state of these photos - I've been stitching this in hand.

Well, that's what I've been up to of late... now time to try and catch up on reading everyone else's blogs...

Knitting and stitching

2011-02-15T15:00:00.003Z

I had a real urge to knit last week. All I had in the house was the super chunky wool needed to make a scarf identical to the one I did for 'knit the walls of York' last year. I finished it the following day, and sewed in the loose ends on Saturday:

Last week my mum came to stay for 3 days. We went to the Leeds City Art Gallery and the Henry Moore Institute, Hebdon Bridge and Haworth, then just before she left on Thursday morning we went to Texere Yarns. Mmmmmm, wool... I took along my scarf book intending to get some aran, but decided 6 balls at £3.10 a ball was a bit much for a scarf (ahem), I changed tactic, and went for a lovely chenille called 'Merlot' to make another scarf in the same book. It's taken me a while to be able to do that pattern without reading and checking every row, and I taught myself how to use markers (and made them from an old bit of ribbon), but now it's coming along nicely. I still can't keep track of the 22 pattern rows (many of which are the same), and because the chenille is flat and it twists I find counting to rows really tricky, so I have resorted to a tally chart on a post it note! Anyway, here it is:

I think I'm addicted to cables...

I've also been working on Hedgerow Birds. I'm still waiting for the extra skein of Apple Cider, because one of the extras I ordered to bulk up the order is out of stock, so I've left off the birds and date on the first side - so if the skein is a different shade it won't be too noticeable. Other than these bits I've finished the first side and started the back:

Happy Stitching!

Lots of progress

2011-02-08T11:43:00.002Z

Once again I gone into butterfly mode, flitting from one project to the next...

I've made lots of progress on Hedgerow Birds:

I've started a Sweetheart Tree biscornu (my first ever bis), but haven't really made enough progress to warrant a snap yet.

I made two more blocks of Amish Star. I've love the red/green block. Actually, they are both pretty nice, although the blue/green one is actually blue green and brown, my camera is doing a bad job of getting colours right...

And I made a little gift for Sarah, one of my PhD students who is heading back to the states this weekend. It's a Celtic knot design from Celtic Charted Designs by CO Spinhoven/Dover Press. I backed it with the fabric it's resting on. I finished it late yesterday and then dashed over to Chrissie's for Sarah's last stitch and bitch - where we had a lengthy discussion about who gave me the book. Chrissie and Sonia both said they had to book and might have LENT it to me, but I'm sure it was a gift... possibly from Sarah and Amy, from when Sarah was working at the Scottish Crannog centre - but none of us are very sure!! Anyway, Sarah loved it, and it will join a Highland Cow bookmark that I stitched her around about when she was in Scotland!

I'm still off work, but slowly getting back to rights. My mum is coming to stay for a few days - I need to leave for Leeds train station in about 10 minutes... I'm planning a trip to Texere Yarns as part of the festivities, as we're both trying to get (back) into knitting.... Told you I was flitting from project to project.

Oh yes, and as part of my stash buying at the weekend I bought some Quaker Cloth for my next TW start... It's a biggie!

Happy Stitching x

TUSAL and stitching

2011-02-04T13:15:00.005Z

Ooops, nearly missed the new moon! I had it in my head that it was the 4th, but it was yesterday! It's the 4th in March (now need to keep the number 4 in my brain for another month...). Here is my update for the Totally Useless Stitch Along, hosted by the lovely Sharon:

There is a real mix of threads here. The pale purple/blue towards the bottom was from the sky of Wild Thyme Fairy. That's sandwiched between some orts from A New Beginning. I then have some from Hedgerow Birds, the huge pile of white is from my lace, and the pinks on top from Hedgerow Birds again. There's a lot of pink because the froggies came a visiting on Thursday...

Here's a (pretty dreadful) photo of Hedgerow Birds:

Initially I found that although I enjoy working on this loose weave, low count fabric (20ct), my stitches were quite wonky. I've finally figured out how to get them to lie better with less overlapping of threads, so the area to the right (stitched this week) is much neater. Maybe the back will be perfect ;). Oh, and those frogs. Like an idiot I stitches all of the flowers in pink, totally missing that two were in purple! I was half way through the J (in pink) when I realised. All sorted now.

And now my credit card bill has been issued I'm off to do a little online retail therapy. After all, I NEED that apple cider to use on Hedgerow Birds, and just one skein would be a real waste of postage charges...

Happy Stitching :)

Bedfordshire flower

2011-02-03T09:53:00.004Z

It's done!!! Yesterday I finally sewed in the last thread on the Bedfordshire lace flower I was making. Quite a few people commented on my last post about this lace piece about the huge mound of bobbins, and how I keep them in order. So I thought I'd try and explain... and show how the final furlong of this finish panned out!!

First I should say that the photo in my last post (and here again) is a little misleading...

Most of those bobbins had been 'thrown out' or discarded when they were no longer needed - more pairs of bobbins are needed to make the leaves and petals - so you add pairs in at the start of the leaf, and throw them out towards the end! It's figuring out where to do that as invisibly as possible that's the tricky part. Anyway, this is how many pairs of bobbins I needed to finish that last little bit:

As you can see, they are all carefully organised onto large safety pins which are threaded through the spangles (beads). This means I can move any sections of bobbins I don't need out of the way, without them getting muddled up. You rarely, if ever, work with all of those bobbins at once!!

If they do get muddled up I look at the threads to make sure they are running in order - in cloth stitch (the outer border) the passive threads should all be parallel to each other, with no crosses or twists.

Anyway, at this point I just needed the bobbins on the left of the piece - so I moved the other two groups of bobbins out of the way, took the bobbins I needed off the safety pin and grouped them back into pairs:

Once I'd finished the bit of lace, I joined the ends together, and cut all of the ends off:

Once I'd taken all of the pins put I was left with a huge pile of loose threads:

Usually I make lace face down, so I could have cut the ends off close to the work, but this piece was made face up. So to make sure none of the cut ends showed, I carefully sewed each one through to the back of the work, and cut it off there... which needed a small sharp needle, LOTS of light, and even more patience. Hmm, I think I'll try and stick to face down pieces in future!!

And here is the final piece:

There are some areas which look so neat I can't believe I made the lace, and other areas I'm less happy with in comparison - but this is by far the neatest piece of lace I've ever made... I learnt so many techniques and tips on Christine Springett's course last year - I can't wait for the next one in May!

Happy Stitching :)

Progress and Goals

2011-02-02T10:55:00.006Z

I have a confession to make - I've been off work for a couple of weeks with anxiety/stress... so I've made WAY more progress on everything than normal. I'm feeling much better now, and hope to get back to work soon. But on the plus side it's been a great opportunity for some real progress - with all of my crafts!

On Sunday I felt like quilting - and pulled out Amish star. I completed 3 more blocks, making that 4 in total, and therefore 1/4 of the blocks are done. Here are some photos:

This one is my favourite so far... it's the colours...

And all 4 blocks together

I've also been stitching Hedgerow Birds, and I'm really happy with the progress so far:

Hedgerow Birds, Blackbird Designs

Thanks to Gio for answering my question about the floss - I had a feeling you'd know ;)

Also, I completely forgot to answer a question Gina had about Wild Thyme Fairy - in actual fact the amount of back stitching wasn't too bad at all. I did most of it in one evening, and for the most part is wasn't fiddly - long stitches, and only one colour. The face detail was a little more complicated, as it's essentially over one, but there was so little of it, that armed with a sharp needle, it was not too bad at all. The BS on this was much better than on Pooh and Eeyore, let alone a TW or Dracolair!!

Right, time for February goals... I was quite pleased with my progress in January:

1) stitch an ornament did two
2) finish Wild Thyme Fairy yes
3) start Hedgerow Birds yes
4) work on another WIP yes - A New Beggining got quite a bit of attention
5) lace, hopefully... yes - the flower motif is almost finished

February goals:

1) Finish sewing in the threads on the Bedfordshire flower, and also complete a lace ornament I have almost done
2) Work on another lace project
3) Work on Hedgerow Birds
4) Work on another WIP
5) Do some quilting
6) Maybe start some knitting

That should keep me busy :)

I'll try and post about my lace tomorrow... hopefully I'll have finished it by then.

Happy Stitching!

A little finish

2011-01-30T10:54:00.005Z

Well on Thursday I said I'd post my latest finish on Friday, but you know how it is!!! Last week I stitched the Cherished Stitches pin keep from the 2010 JCS edition - which matches the needlebook I stitched earlier this month. I used the green border to make a matching back, with my initials and date in the lovely pink:

I then started Hedgerow Birds by Blackbird Designs. After looking at the loose weave of the fabric I decided against using a frame, and am stitching this in hand (which is very unusual for me, with anything bigger than an ornie). That said I am really enjoying the 20ct linen, and using 3 strands of floss - a real contrast to the 32ct/1 strand of floss stitching I've been doing of late!! I took this yesterday afternoon, but started some more of the birds last night:

I have one niggle though - the patten clearly states it needs 10 yards of Apple Cider - which my lovely sister bought me - but I've almost finished the first skein. I've still got quite a bit of it to use on the first side - and I'd say that there's just as much Apple Cider on the back. Hmm, maybe it's a typo on the pattern - if anyone else has stitched this I'd love to know if they ran short of this colour.

Yesterday I was supposed to go to a quilting class, but sadly it was cancelled. I was a bit listless all day, until I decided to pull out my lace pillow. I've very nearly finished the little circular motif that I started back in May - not that you can see much under the pile of bobbins and pins!!!

I'm going to try and finish this today - but it will prove tricky, as it's the first time I've ever made lace right side up - it's easier to make the lace this way up, but much trickier to join up the trail around the edge at the end. It'll then take me a while to tidy up all of the threads that got thrown out along the way... but eventually I should be able to show you the finished design!!!

Finally, thank you all for the lovely encouraging comments on my last post, they really do mean a lot :)

Happy stitching!

What a difference a year makes...

2011-01-27T17:20:00.007Z

It's about one year since I started my weight loss journey. Over the year I've steadily lost an average of 1.1 lbs per week, and for the most part either lost (either a little or a lot) or stayed the same each week. I gained 4 times - once after 4 weeks in the US, at Christmas and New Year and on 2 other weeks when I perhaps tried to squeeze too much fun (and too much food) in. I'm now an amazing 4 stone 2.5lbs lighter (that's 58.5lbs for the non-UK types), and 3 dress sizes smaller - and I feel fantastic! I still have a way to go to be a healthy weight - I'm just on the border between obese and overweight for my height right now - but I'm in no rush!!

A while ago Dani said I should post some before and after pictures - and having got all dolled up for a family wedding at the weekend, it seems like the right time to share a photo of the new, slimmer me!!! But first the before pics... this was tricky, as like many people, I had a tendency to shy away from the camera. So these were taken a few months before I joined weight watchers - my guess is I was a few pounds heavier at that first weigh-in, but to be honest I really don't know!!

March 2009 - at a stitch and bitch at Sonia's. Left to right: Sonia, Emma and Pam, then me working on Fantasy Triptych.

July 2009, on holiday in Wales.

January 2011 (with the benefit of a new hair cut!!), with Eddy, at Trudy's wedding. Love the Monsoon dress and shrug I picked up in the sales...

Today I was a good ww girl, and went for a swim, instead of spending all day on my arse stitching... although I plan to put the not moving from the stitching sofa plan into action as soon as I've posted this. And I have a little finish to share with you tomorrow.

Happy stitching :)

Loving those motifs

2011-01-21T21:43:00.005Z

Thank you to everyone who has commented on my last few posts - it really means a lot to read what you have written, and it's really exciting to see so many people commenting, and my number of followers increasing.

Gina asked about the back stitching on Wild Thyme Fairy - I have to say although it looks really really detailed, there actually wasn't that much! Most was on the wings and her limbs, the dress has a few flowers on, and there are a few other areas with just a little bit of detail. The only bit that was remotely tricky was her face, as some of the bs was over one, but as I'd stitched her skin over one to begin with, it wasn't too much of a challenge - although I was pleased that I had a sharp needle!!

This week I've been stitching on A New Beginning. I'm really enjoying all of the different motifs, and I'm already 1/4 of the way through!! I last worked on it back in June, although I had finished the letter B and the other small yellow motif between taking the last photo and picking it up again.

A New Beginning (c) Abbey Lane Designs

I realised a while back that my vertical centre line was a bit off-centre - thankfully the whole piece fits with just over an inch to spare - I'll have to be careful when framing this piece though. Serves me right for being too eager to get started with the stitching to begin with!!

Thanks for popping by, and have a lovely stitchy weekend! We're off to Eddy's cousin's wedding tomorrow, so I won't have much needle time!

Finally finished

2011-01-16T20:53:00.002Z

It's been a busy week around here again... On Tuesday I popped down to Birmingham and stayed with Margaret. I took with me everything to make the 2010 ornament that matches the one I just finished (yes Karen, it's on my to do list!!), but didn't even open the bag! Wednesday morning I picked up a colleague from Canada at the Uni, and for the rest of the week we worked on a paper. So no stitching time until Friday. And at that point I shocked Eddy as I was too tired! He did wonder what the body snatchers had done with me ;)

Anyway, yesterday I forced myself to pick up Wild Thyme Fairy again. And once I'd got a couple of lengths in, I was quite enjoying it... and a little after midnight I finished it!

Wild Thyme Fairy, (c) DMC

Today I picked up a New Beginning again... I'll post a progress picture in the week (I hope!)

Happy stitching!

Fancied a change...

2011-01-09T19:02:00.005Z

I know, I know, there was a happy dance sooooo close, but I just couldn't resist. I didn't have much time for stitching in the week. On Friday the fairy definitely WASN'T calling to me... I fancied some hand dyed fabric and fibres... so I looked at what supplies I'd bought in for ornament stitching and started Christmas Joy Needlebook by Cherished Stitches from the 2009 JCS ornament issue. I finished it earlier today - what a beauty:

Christmas Joy Needlebook, by Cherished Stitches
Stitched ob Sparklies 32ct Parchment in Weeks and GAST.

Hmm, the finishing into a needlebook looks a bit more advanced than anything I've ever done before, but hey, time to learn somehting new :) But not just yet ;)

Anyway, I also realised that I never reviewed my December goals... so here we go:

In December I wanted to:

1) work on my lace project hmmm, maybe for 1/2 hour
2) finish another WIP yes, Pooh and Eeyore
3) start something new started and finished stitching Holiday Peacock
4) do the finishing for some ornaments erm, no, didn't find the time :( - the only ones I did this year were for the TWCOE
5) do some quilting did the first square of Amish Star

Not bad, all in all.

So what for January:

1) stitch an ornament (yes, I've done that, but I'd planned to do one this month)
2) finish Wild Thyme Fairy
3) start Hedgerow Birds
4) work on another WIP
5) lace, hopefully...

Finally, Avivah asked what an ORT is - it's an old ratty thread. I had to ask that a couple of years ago, but it's a great phrase.

More fairy stitching

2011-01-06T21:35:00.003Z

Since I've been back at work I've not had as much time to stitch, but this is where I have got to with Wild Thyme Fairy:

Not much to go now... hopefully I'll manage a happy dance this weekend (especially given this design has so little back stitch).

This year I've decided to join in the totally useless stitch along - while stitching collect all your ORTs in a pretty container, and post a photo of it every full moon. This year the TUSAL is being organised by Sharon.

Here is my ORT 'jar' - I could only find Kilner jars in the house, and I thought Eddy would object if I used a new kilner jar... so I'm using a pretty small vase instead!!

Since I only decided to join in the TUSAL 2 days ago, and I've not had chance to stitch since then, it's totally empty... time to go away and Christen the new ORT jar I think!!

Yearly re-cap

2011-01-04T22:00:00.003Z

2011 is already rushing past at an alarming rate (how can I be back at work already????). I really need to sum up my 2010 stitching!

Medium-sized and larger cross stitch happy dances (7):

*Pooh and Eeyore
*Fantasy Triptych
*Sunflower charms
*Mini Greek Island
*Laugharne Castle
*Postman Pat birth sampler
*Pomegranate and Pear Stitches

Ornaments and other small cross stitch (13):

*Joy, Love & Peace
*Storyteller ornament
*Holiday Peacock
*French Country Star
*Peace
*Snowdon
*Oh Christmas Tree
*Winter sampler
*Santa's buddies
*Dragonfly pincushion
*Holly ornament
*Peacock heart
*Winter song

Knitting and other crafts (6):

*Cable knit scarf
*Stripy scarf
*Lacy scarf
*Tulip Scissor Keep
*Quilted mat
*Torchon lace garter

I stitched slightly fewer medium-large projects than last year (9), but more smalls (up from 6) and did lots more non-cross stitch crafting compared with last year, when I completed 2 lace projects. I was also pleased that I managed to blog more often in 2010.

At the start of 2010 I had the following WIPs:
* Eeyore's problem didn't touch it
* Peacock firescreen made good progress
* Fantasy triptych FINISHED!!!
* Gaelic banner didn't touch this one either
* Wild Thyme fairy getting close...
* Postman Pat FINISHED!!

This year I am starting with the following WIPs:
* Eeyore's problem
* Peacock firescreen
* Gaelic banner
* Wild Thyme fairy
* A new beginning

* Sampler quilt
* Amish star quilt
* Milanese lace
* Bedfordshire lace flower
* Bedfordshire lace butterfly
* Lace ornament

Hmm, that's quite a bit on the go :)

So how did I do with my goals for 2010?

1) finish Postman Pat YES
2) finish Fantasy Triptych YES
3a) finish at least one more WIP NO but I finished my Jan 1st start - Pomegranate and Pear Stitches
3b) and make good progress on all of the rest partially met - I didn't stitch on two WIPs
4) start another large TW NO, still not decided which one!
5) stitch lots, on what I want, and enjoy it!! HELL YES :) )

So what for 2011:

1) Finish Wild Thyme Fairy
2) Finish Peacock Firescreen
3) Work on the other 3 cross stitch WIPs
4) Finish the lace ornament and 1 more lace project
5) Finish a quilt
6) Start a large TW
7) Start Hedgerow Birds (Blackbird Designs)
8) Do the finishing on some of the many ornaments I stitched in 2010
9) Stitch lots, on what I want, and enjoy it!!(my favourite goal from 2010!!)

I think that will keep me going ;)

Last Happy Dance of 2010....

2011-01-03T09:52:00.003Z

... OK so this is a little late. I finished Pooh and Eeyore in front of Battlestar Galactica on the 30th, washed and ironed it, but didn't have time to post as we had visitors for New Year. So here it is a few days later than planned:

I had a lovely New Year celebrations with old friends - a 3 day / 2 night eating extravaganza!! It was the best New Year I've had in years - pretty low key and spent with people I care about. On New Years Day we went to Roundhay Park to let the kids run off some steam (and get some needed fresh air), watched Shrek 2 and went out for curry... Everyone left after a lateish lunch yesterday, at which point we crashed out!

Today I need to drive Eddy (and his many presents) back to Nottingham, and it's back to work tomorrow... once again the holidays seem far too short. I think I'll post my yearly review and goals over the course of this week.

Happy 2011 everyone :)

Fairy progress

2010-12-29T22:17:00.002Z

I did loads of stitching on Wild Thyme Fairy in the run up to Christmas, and a little bit on Christmas day and boxing day... we're back home now with real internet, so here's a photo:

Santa was very kind to me, and I was lucky to receive lots of DVDs, CDs, some new crockery, smellies, chocolates and best of all, 3 lace bobbins and 4 cross stitch charts from Eddy, and a little bag of interesting fibres from Sonia.

We're just starting to watch Battlestar Galactica from the very start (I got the full box set from Eddy), so I'll be brief... BG is probably one of the best series I've seen on TV in ages....

Christmas stitching

2010-12-23T09:32:00.000Z

Well we got away for Christmas, despite the snow. We left a day earlier than planned as it was forecast 10 inches in Birmingham! Margaret was trying to phone to tell us not to come when we arrived. We ignored Eddy's cell phone and 5 mins later rang her doorbell and shouted 'surprise'!!

Since then I've developed a serious case of stitching butt, and have made great progress with Wild Thyme Fairy. I'm posting this from my iPhone so not sure if I'll manage to upload the photo I just took.

Hmmm looks like it's not an option! I've stitched her arms, face and one wing since the last photo. I'll have to wait until I'm at my mums (who has the Internet) before I share a photo.

Hope you are all enjoying some holiday stitching too!

Busy busy busy....

2010-12-20T17:05:00.003Z

Wow, it's 2 weeks since I posted??? I can't say I'm surprised! December brings with it the end of term meltdown (usual heavy workload, PLUS marking and a few grant deadlines to boot). Then it's party season. Last week I was in London on Tuesday and didn't get home to 10.30 (I took the opportunity to see my sister); Wednesday was our undergraduate students' Christmas party, followed by a meal out with our masters' students. Thursday was the departmental Christmas cocktail party (and I squeezed into an old cocktail dress, and fully enjoyed the beverages on offer). Friday was a leaving do for 2 colleagues, followed by another meal out... so as you can imagine no stitching got done.

This weekend has been filled with Christmas preparation. We've both taken all this week off so today we've been claning and bought our tree - we usually buy if after Eddy's birthday, but due to the weather forecast we are going to leave home a day earlier than planned for Christmas... We'll be back for New Year, hence the need to buy a tree :)

Anyway, since I last posted I have worked on Wild Thyme Fairy almost exclusively... here she is as of Saturday monring, she now has one arm!!

Happy stitching everyone, and if I don't get back on here this week, Merry Christmas one and all xx

Exciting things that come in the post ;)

2010-12-06T20:14:00.003Z

I've had a good few days of exciting post...

On Saturday (while I was in the shower) the postie rang the doorbell... shortly later Eddy popped upsairs to say I had two parcels - one from the US and one from Australia... ooooh, I thought, probably the TWCOE. I was right... look at these beauties:

A lovely Christmas tree (no idea who it's by, but it's very familiar) stitched by Sophia in Australia.

Hummingbird by TW, stitched by Terry, who organises the TWCOE.

WOW!!! They are both so beautiful - thank you ladies!!!

Today I was expecting some nice post, as it's my birthday... and I wasn't disappointed. A pile of cards, a bracelet, a lovely bone lace bobbin (from Eddy) and this:

from my lovely sister. I'd asked her for the chart and fabric, but didn't really expect her to also get the floss. Lil sis, you are a star. I'll use this as the perfect opportunity to advertise her blog, a humorous account of life living in London... do pop by and have a read!! She's an aspiring writer, and I really enjoy her posts (but I may be biased).

Happy stitching everyone

Harrogate knitting and Stitching

2010-12-05T19:51:00.006Z

OK, so this is a week late... Last weekend was Harrogate knitting and stitching show. For the last few years I've gone for a good stash shop with Margaret, or with Sonia and Pam. This year I swore blind I wasn't going to go... (it can get a bit 'samey')... and then Phyllis asked me if I'd help with the Lace Guild stall!!!

On Saturday I drove up to Harrogate, arriving a little later than planned due to the snow. I set up my lace table and pillow, and set to work on a little gold and green Christmas ornament as a demonstration piece. I was delighted to realise one of the other volunteers was Jane, who goes to the Christine Springett class in May. It was great fun making the ornament, and talking to anyone who passed by, mostly explaining lace isn't as tricky as it looks, and showing them a couple of stitches.

We had an amazing display of entries to the latest Lace Guild competition - on the theme of 'movement'. The John Bull trophy winner was a map of the London Underground made entirely of lace - it was a real talking point. Irritatingly I'd forgotten my camera, and my phone battery died just as I arrived in Harrogate, so I don't have any photos of the display.

But what about the inevitable stash shopping??? I had a break at lunchtime, when I bought two sweetheart tree charts (Lets get fancy fob and Holiday Holly biscornu), then right at the end of the day I bought a quilting kit from Oakshott (who had a lovely range of shot fabrics), and enough Moda fabric to make another lap quilt (from a pettern I have in my stash). Hmmmm, I've never actually finished anything bigger than a table mat....

Phyllis bought me an Oakshott cotton pack - enough fabric to make either a bag or two simple bowls, with a free pattern - for my birthday.

All in all it was a great day!!

This week I've cut out the Oakshott fabric into pieces for 'Amish Star', and today I have made the first block (of 16). I'm quite pleased with the results:

I wonder how long it will take me to make (I would have made more blocks today, I think, but I've been hit with another winter cold - nothing too bad, but my nose is rather runny, which makes sitting at the sewing machine tricky!!)

Weekend white out

2010-12-04T09:39:00.003Z

Well it's been a snowy week here... On Wednesday the University closed as the snow was falling so thick and fast there were concerns staff would struggle to get home (most staff live out of the city centre, on the hills - where the weather is generally MUCH worse than on campus). We had a snow day on Thursday. Much as I would have liked to spend the stitching, sadly I had a pile of marking to get done...

This weekend we cancelled our trip to Birmingham, as to get there we'd have to drive through some of the worse affected areas. Thankfully Eddy was able to get home by train - we were worried we'd not see each other this weekend.

So, what to do??? We're meeting a good friend for lunch (not seen her since August bank holiday), and probably making a more serious start on the Christmas shopping. I'm hoping to do some quilting also.

Over the last week I've been stitching Wild Thyme Fairy:

Last night I wanted a change, so started Holiday Peacock by Courtney Collection (JCS xmas ornie 2010). I finished it this morning:

Hope everyone has a lovely stitchy weekend!

December goals

2010-12-02T17:27:00.004Z

I'm trying to to think about the fact it's December, that Christmas is on the way, and I've not really done any Christmas shopping to speak of... but it is time to review those goals ;)

In November I wanted to:
1) Make good progress on Peacock Firescreen yes
2) Finish Pooh and Eeyore no, there's not much to do, but I didn't touch it!!
3) Finish Tulip scissor fob by Sue Hawkins yes
4) Stitch two ornaments I stitched 4, including 2 for the TWCOE
5) Work on my lace project a little bit
6) Work on another WIP yes - Wild Thyme Fairy

Not bad, all in all.

I seem to have forgotten to post the ornament HD that I completed earlier this month... French Country Star by JBW Designs from the 2010 JCS ornie magazine:

It was a fun piece to stitch.

So, what do I want to do in December?

1) work on my lace project
2) finish another WIP
3) start something new
4) do the finishing for some ornaments
5) do some quilting

Yes, I'm going for 'quite vague' this month!!!

I didn't really participate in NaBloPoMo month, but I did try and post more often - something I did achieve - 12 posts in all.

Knit the York Walls!! - Part II

2010-12-01T19:43:00.005Z

A while ago I posted about the attempt to knit enough scarves to wrap them around the medeival walls of York. As a group we knitted about 15 scarves, and sent them in for the big sale on 21st November. We decided to go to York to see what happened - so Eddy and I got the train (the morning after a-ha - boy was I tired!!), and we met my mum at York station.

We were too late (11am) to see the scarves wrapped around the walls (truth be told, only around a small area... a bit of a disapointment, but I guess it made it much easier to actually sell the scarves for charity!!!). But there was an article (and photo) on the BBC news web site.

We made our way to the scarf sale to pick a couple out for Christmas presents. Imagine my amazement when I saw one of the two I knitted (in the £5 pile, so not a bargain bucket scarf!!)! I had a lovely chat to one of the ladies taking money, giggling about the amazing coincidence.

Scarves for sale, mine is the pale pink textured stripy on the right of the photo, just in front of the sofa arm!

My mum had great fun picking out a scarf (and trying a few on):

Apparently, 3792 scarves were knitted, and at least £3000 has been raised so far!

After the scarf sale we went to Betty's for lunch (mmmmmmmm), then did a spot of Christmas shopping. It was a lovely day out!

Re-living the 80s...

2010-11-27T22:11:00.003Z

I first started to listen to music in the 80s. Now 6 was my first ever compilation album, and a year later I got Hunting High and Low for my birthday - the first real album by what is still a favourite band... I did actually keep buying a-ha albums longer than many, the last one I bought was Memorial Beach (although it seems to have been discarded at some point since I left Uni). My tape of Hunting High and Low has always remained a favourite... The writing wore off the cassette years ago, and I lost the case while at Durham Uni as an undergraduate, I think in my friend Phil's car, a fact he still denies... I never saw them live though, but would have killed to when I was in my early teens!!!

So when I realised (rather late on) that they were doing a farewell tour this winter, I HAD to go... a quick facebook call later, and Julia, Louise and I had tickets for the Manchester gig last weekend. We had great seats (especially given I bought the tickets 8 months after they went on sale) - a long way back and high up, but with a really clear view of the stage. A-ha were great, but the atmosphere wasn't amazing - I think the venue was too large for a band that isn't currently at the top of the charts (plus I've always preferred smaller venues anyway). The fact it was all seating didn't help - I felt a little odd when I was dancing... but having said all that I really enjoyed the gig...

The Sun Always Shines on TV

Living Daylights

Take on Me

Take on Me

Afterwards I bought a mug (felt a bit too old for a t-shirt with a photo of a young-looking a-ha on)... and had a giggle using it for a drink of coke on the train home!!

Me and Louise (and my new mug)

Making Lace in Sheffield

2010-11-23T22:07:00.005Z

Well this weekend was really busy for me - What with Sheffield Lace Makers on Saturday, the a-ha concert in Manchester Saturday night and then a trip to York on Sunday I certainly kept myself busy... too busy as by the time I got home on Sunday I totally zonked out. I thought I was just shattered but Monday morning I woke up with what I would usually describe as a 'flu-like cold - but without the cold. Between Sunday night and Monday afternoon I slept for about 18 hours, with short breaks for food - and phoning work to say I was sick!! So apologies for not posting over the weekend... (I'm on the mend now, if still a little tired and achy).

Anyway, Sonia came round Saturday morning to head off to Sheffield. If you recall, this working day was planned to be an open day, with displays of lace and other crafts by the different 'groups'. As I've been on the Sheffield Lace Makers committee in the past, and Sonia is now on the committee, they suggested the pair of us should contribute a display. Initially this was very daunting - the other groups are much larger, and many have been making lace for years... what on earth could we do???? It soon became apparent that for us, variety is the spice of life... what with my lace, cross stitch, blackwork, tapestry, quilting and knitting, and Sonia's lace, embroidery, cushions, beading, spinning, weaving and bobbin turning, we had quite enough for a display... we were also aware that the other groups might have had a PLAN for their display, we just turned up with a box or two of things we thought might be useful - and as a very late (yet inspired idea), some fairy lights. Plus photos on my laptops of the many projects we have given away over the years. We were both REALLY pleased with our end result (and I took the opportunity to shamelessly promote this blog!!):

Jo and Sonia's Corner - you might recognise a few pieces ;)

I found all of the other displays really inspiring - lets just say that Sheffield Lace Makers are a really talented group of ladies!!!

Rockingham Lace Makers

Nene Lacemakers

Norton Interest Group

Rotherham Lacemakers

Phyllis' Tuesday night Group aka 'Tuesday's Child is full of grace'

After having a really good look at everyone else's displays, and the lace they were currently working on, I did get down to make a little lace, and completed 2 of the 5 petals on the flower I am doing, including my first (and second) ever raised leaves. Sadly there are so many pins on the piece I can't get anything like a reasonable photo of it just yet, so that will have to wait.

At about 3pm we had to pack up to leave - to make sure I got home in time for the gig.... more on that later!!

Peaceful stitching

2010-11-19T22:20:00.003Z

I have to admit that I really am a stitching addict. A day isn't complete if I've not had some time to stitch!! I find it very relaxing and peaceful (even when frogs come to visit - but not quite as relaxing!). This week I stitched 'Peace' by Blackbird Designs, from the 2009 JCS ornament issue... the name really reflected my mood while working on it!

Peace, (c) Blackbird Designs
Stitched on Sparklies 'parchment' using the recommended threads.

Tomorrow I'm off to Sheffield, for a Sheffield Lace Makers working day. Each group will put on a display of things they have made - not just our lace. Our 'group' - me and Sonia - are hoping to wow with the wide range of crafts we do. I'm also hoping that my recently completed Fantasy Triptych will help with the wow factor!!

Lots of scarves...

2010-11-17T21:26:00.003Z

Remember those scarves we were knitting for RAW - who have been trying to get enough scarves to wrap them around the walls of York?? Well our little stitch and b**** group knitted about 12 (I think) - 10 are pictured here:

Julia's husband Ian dropped them off in York - they've had loads of scarves (over 3000 now) and therefore have enough to completely encircle the walls. I really hope we can get to York on Sunday and see this (and get lots of photos).

This week it's been all change at weight watchers - I'm loving the new pro points system (especially free fruit), and lost a whopping 3.5 lbs at the scales. Only 2 more lbs to hit the 4 stone lost mark. Woo hoo!!!

Fairy fun

2010-11-16T15:51:00.003Z

At the weekend I said I fancied a change... so I looked at my WIPs and decided to pull out Wild Thyme Fairy again. I've made great progress, finishing her leg and getting going with the thyme and grasses to the right of the fairy. The last progess photo I posted (back in March) shows what she looked like when I picked her up this weekend. Is it really 8 months since I last worked on her???

I've done almost all of the stitches in the bottom left corner, and am making good progress with the bottom right. The top half is less intensively stitched, so once the thyme and grass is done it should come along quickly. Well it would do if I'd not decided to stitch the areas of skin over 1...

I've finished the stitching on the second ornament for the TWCOE. I just need to get them both finished ready for posting by the middle of next week.

Saturday stitching

2010-11-13T20:27:00.005Z

Today I finished stitching the TW ornament for the TWCOE. I need to get both of the ornaments I have stitched finished by next weekend for posting. I think I'll have to stick to a simple finishing style!! Sadly I can't share a photo of either just yet, but I can give a quick update photo of Peacock Firescreen:

Sorry, it's dark again (why do I never think of taking photos in the daytime??).

Had quite a lazy day today - went over to Hebden Bridge to pick up a wall light we ordered (just need to organise an electrician now, and my new lighting scheme for the living room will be sorted - have I ever ranted about the dreadful lighting in here? Who puts halogen lights in a living room??? I understand halogen lights as a spotlight, and in kitchens, but not as a central light in the lounge...). Anyway, we had a lovely lunch in a little cafe, mooched around a couple of shops and came back so Eddy could watch the rugby. I mostly stitched :)

Now I need to decide what to stitch on tonight. I fancy a change from the peacock, not sure what I'll pull out. Probably ought to work on a WIP though, I'd like to get another one finished by the end of the year.

Tulips (but not from Amsterdam)

2010-11-09T22:02:00.005Z

I have literally just finished the tulip scissor keep by Sue Hawkins!! I took it to my parents' house as planned, finished the main stitching areas on Friday night, made the cord, tassel and started stitching it together on Saturday then... not a lot!! I'll explain why shortly!

I had a lovely weekend. Friday night we ate at home, and chatted in front of the TV. Saturday mum and I left the men in front of the rugby and headed in to Lincoln for a spot of shopping. I needed some tops and jeans another size smaller (yes, I've now got to the point in my weight loss journey where I've run out of smaller sizes in my wardrobe - this is going to get expensive!!). I work out my current size in Monsoon, my favourite shop. I started out struggling to fit into a size 22 top (US size 18), and a comfortable size 22 bottom (always needed a larger top, shall we just say I'm quite well endowed?). Anyway, I tried on (and fitted in) size 16 bottoms (US size 12) and size 18 tops!! I even found a size 16 tunic that looks great - I suspect a size smaller fits because it's baggy though. I should stress this is Monsoon sizes, I'm a size 20 top elsewhere still. BUT I've not bought ANY clothes in a size 16 in maybe a decade. I dutifully put the £45 jeans that looked fabulous back on the rail, and bought a pair for a tenner in New Look :)

That evening we went out for pizza to celebrate my Dad's birthday. Pizza Express in Newark doesn't really live up to their usual high standards, and the upstairs section has dreadful acoustics - you can hear the conversation on the table opposite perfectly, but not the person next to you... Made for an interesting evening, especially when my Dad and Eddy started to talk about the table opposite to see if they could hear us!! Nutters.

Saturday Eddy and I went into Nottingham and did a little more shopping, did a few errands, including a brief visit to Eddy's flat and his work before heading back to Leeds. Thankfully with Eddy in tow - when we got back we discovered the back door had expanded badly in the damp and it took 45 mins to chisel and pull bits of wood off the bottom so we could shut it. So Monday morning we had to order a new door before heading off to work (it's very rotten). Last night I did a few stitches in a second ornament for the TWCOE. So I didn't finish the tulip scissor keep until tonight. And here is it in all its glory:

I really enjoyed stitching this piece, and might have to buy another Sue Hawkins piece next time I see her at a needlework show (Harrogate perhaps?).

Thanks for popping by my blog - I've been looking at the stats recently, and am amazed how many people seem to pop by my little corner of the internet!

Happy Bonfire Night!!

2010-11-05T18:03:00.002Z

To my UK readers - have a happy and safe bonfire night. To everyone else, have a great night also, and ponder why us Brits feel the need to celebrate the date someone tried to blow up the houses of parliament!!

Hope everyone has a lovely weekend - I'm off to see my folks (leaving as soon as I've posted this). It was my Dad's birthday 2 weeks ago, so we are going out for dinner tomorrow night. And yes, I have parcels for him in the car. I'm looking forward to driving down tonight - if the A1 is dark I should see lots of lovely fireworks, which will break up the monotony of the drive.

I packed Pooh and Eeyore and the Sue Hawkins pieces which I hope to finish this month, just in case I get the chance to stitch!

Peacock progress

2010-11-04T22:28:00.003Z

I've made quite a bit of progress with Peacock Firescreen this week - I've done almost all of the top right corner, apart from the extra side panel. Given there's a lot more stitching in the top half of this piece I'm probably at least 1/4 done(well, apart from the BS). It's odd, I've really hated this piece when I've been stitching it before, but at the moment I am loving it. I hope that feeling sticks around a bit, as I'd like to get quite a lot done before the end of the year!

Sorry, the photo is very dark - it's quite late and very dark!!

Christmas is coming...

2010-11-03T22:16:00.002Z

I hate to say it, but Christmas is really beginning to loom. What has made me acutely aware of its loomingness? The fact it's time for the TW Christmas Ornament Exchange again. I've taken part for the last 3 years, and have really enjoyed both sending and receiving the ornaments.

Last night I stitched a non TW ornament for the exchange (which means no photos for this post). I also want to stitch a TW one, which I'll start tomorrow. By TW standards my choice is quite simple (but very beautiful), so it should be a quick stitch. I'm really happy \i signed up again this year!

Scarf finish

2010-11-02T20:39:00.004Z

Although I finished this at the weekend, I've only just sewn in the loose ends and taken a photograph tonight:

The scarves out stitch and b**** group have knitted will be heading off to York next week, ready for the wrapping of the York walls on the 21st.

This month is NatBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) - although I suspect national to the US or Canada, rather than the UK... Anyway, I know I won't manage to blog everyday, but I'm going to see how often I can manage it!!

November goals

2010-11-01T20:18:00.003Z

It's time to recap those goals and set some more. So how did I do in November?

1) Finish FT YES
2) Finish my scarf YES
3) Knit 2 chunky scraves for a charity event YES
4) Stitch an ornie YES - Snowdon by Jemini Designs
5) Work on another WIP - YES - Peacock Firescreen
6) Buy my 3 stone lost stitching treat - YES - not what I'd intended (A BBD Loose Feathers chart, fabbie and threads), but some lovely speciality threads for Christmas ornament stitching!!

I also made the lovely quilted mat at the weekend.

I don't think I've ever met all of my goals before :)

So, what do I want to achieve in November???

1) Make good progress on Peacock Firescreen
2) Finish Pooh and Eeyore
3) Finish Tulip scissor fob by Sue Hawkins
4) Stitch two ornaments
5) Work on my lace project
6) Work on another WIP.

Should be a busy month!!!

Quilting class fun

2010-10-31T14:32:00.003Z

Yesterday I took an introductory patchwork & quilting class, organised by The Skep Knitting and Quilting Shop in Farsley. Although I have taught myself the basics from books, there were a few things I'm not very good at (cutting out, matching corners and getting consistent seams for starts), so I thought the absolute beginners class would be a good idea. Plus although I've made a few blocks, I've never actually done any sashing, quilting or binding!!

The day started with a near miss for me - as I was backing out of the drive I remembered that I needed the cable and foot for my sewing machine. Shall I just say I wasn't the only one!! When we arrived we all had a cuppa, and Maureen, the teacher, gave us all a present from Clare, who runs the Skep - a lovely pin cushion complete with a few pins, a needle and a wonderful 10% off voucher... more on that later ;)

We all made a simple 16 patch block, and I chose not-very-typically-Jo colours for mine. The green fabric with bright pink berries really caught my eye - and the plain cerise pink was a perfect match!! Once I'd made the first 4 small units, I tried arranging them in different ways, and decided that they looked fabulous as a Puss in the Corner design. Maureen was very taken with my choice of fabrics and design, and suggested that we should quilt through the plain pink using a leaf motif, using a lovely variegated green thread. The sashing was surprisingly simple, as was attaching the binding, but the mitred corners were really tricky... By the end of the class I'd got everything finished apart from 2 mitred corners and stitching the binding to the back by hand. I did 2 corners and some hemming last night, and finished it in front of the TV this morning:

I had a blast yesterday, and learnt LOADS - Maureen was a great teacher, and very funny. I can't wait to sign up for quilting 2. Plus Louise and I fancy the crocheting class that they run. Pam even kept the Skep open late for us so we could go shopping after we finished. I only bought 2 fat quarters, as i have plenty in my stash already and no real idea of what I want to make next. But I picked up some more wool to make another cable knit scarf (I like the one for Cancer Research UK so much I'm making one for me!!), and some lovely ribbons for finishing Christmas ornaments:

Oh, and I forgot to say - at lunchtime we were treated to homemade apple pie and/or mince pies made by Pam. Thankfully I don't like mince pies, so my ww week wasn't totally trashed ;) And that reminds me of another thing - I had a major victory at ww this week - I passed the 50lbs mark - I can't believe I have lost 50.5lbs since January!!!

Last time I posted I promised a photo of Peacock Firescreen:

I've made quite a bit of progress on it this week since the last time I shared a photo (which is exactly where it stood when I picked it up), something else I'm really happy with.

Anyway, I have to say I am having a wonderful weekend on my own (Eddy's at a conference, and is on his way home right now). I'm planning a nice tea tonight with apple crumble with our own apples for pudding. Hope your weekends have been just as lovely.

Happy Halloween everyone!

Never posted this finish!!

2010-10-28T21:24:00.004+01:00

Not long after we got back from the States (probably in May), I stitched this ornament from the 2009 JCS magazine:

Oh Christmas Tree
(c) Charlotte's Web Needlework

I really enjoyed trying all the speciality stitches, and learnt quite a bit from it.

This week I've been working on Peacock Firescreen by Barbara Thompson. If you recall I really wasn't enjoying it much, but now I've started the peacock I'm getting quite into it. I'll post a photo at the weekend.

Christmas Sea Otter

2010-10-26T21:01:00.004+01:00

Last night I finished the sea otter ornament from the JCS 2008 xmas ornaments magazine. I'dwanted to stitch him as soon as I saw the design, as he's so cute, and he reminds me of our fabulous trip to Alaska a few years ago (in 2006 I think). I didn't get the buttons until we were in Vegas at Easter, and I honestly thought I was one of the wool colours short... until a couple of weeks ago when I checked my stash to work out which colour I needed to order... and realised I had all 3 shades. So I started him right away!!

Snowdon, (c) Jemini Designs
Stitched in GAST simply wool, Esatz glissen gloss and DMC

The photo is a little washed out - the fabric is a 28 ct linen by Jane Greenoff called tansy, and is a lovely blue-green IRL. I really, really enjoyed stitching this little guy!

FT Happy Dance!!

2010-10-17T23:00:00.003+01:00

Yes, it's finally finished:

Fantasy Triptych, (c) Teresa Wentzler

I really slowed towards the end of this project. I think subconsciously I didn't want to finish it...

Last night we watched Wallander in Swedish - so once again I did some knitting so I could read the sub-titles!! I started my second scarf for Cancer Research UK:

After finishing FT tonight I picked up Pooh and Eeyore and finished the xs. And yes Avivah, there were a few more stitches in that gap!!! I've just started the bs, and will share another photo in the week. I seem to be having a very productive October, which is lovely... wonder how many things I can finish before the New Year!

Stash shopping and stitching

2010-10-16T16:45:00.003+01:00

This week has been particularly busy, and I've not had a huge amount of time to stitch. When I have had time I've not felt like using the large frame FT is on, so I've still not quite finished - just the beads to go now!! I had a sudden emergency on Wednesday when I realised I didn't have enough beads, so I put in an order to sewandso for the beads and a few skeins of speciality threads, for ornies in the JCS 2010 ornament magazine.

I've done quite a bit more of Pooh and Eeyore, but still have some xs to do, before all the detailed BS, which really brings this piece to life:

I also started an ornament, for the 2008 JCS magazine. I bought all the stash for this in Las Vegas back at Easter... any idea what the nondescript brown blob might be?

Today was the Pudsey Not Just Lace Fair, which of course I had to go to as it's just up the road!! Phyllis stayed with us overnight last night, as she was organising the Lace Guild's stall. She went to the hall at about 8.45 this morning. Sonia came over at 10.30 and we headed over, missing the doors just open rush. Eddy came along too. I bought myself some lovely bobbins, one antique leopard (left), three from Margaret Wall (middle) and five from Stuart Johnson (right).

I also got lots of spangles (beads) - enough for all the bobbins I have that are unspangled, including all of the ones Eddy made in May. Both Stuart and David Springett asked Eddy if he was still wood turning (we don't have a lathe - or room for one - though!). Eddy bought me a pretty bobbin for Christmas, and I got him a wood turning book by David Springett. I also bought myself a 24" round pillow (much more suitable for Bedfordshire Lace than my current pillows), and this adorable little duck pin cushion:

All in all, great fun!! And now I am going to drink my cuppa (which will have cooled down perfectly while I was writing this) and pick up FT and get those beads on. I fully expect another Happy Dance today.

Thanks for popping by!

Two knitting happy dances :)

2010-10-09T19:30:00.003+01:00

Last night I finished the scarf I was knitting for me - it's a basic lace pattern, in a pretty variegated double knitting wool. This afternoon I finished the one I was knitting for cancer research UK. It's a very basic cable (pattern from the Skep knitting and quilting shop - my new local haunt), in a chunky magenta wool. Not as bright as in these photos... I love the cable so much I may have to knit it again for myself... I have about 1/2 ball of wool left - it took 2.5 balls, and is over 1.5m long!

The lighting at home is dreadful tonight, and don't do either scarf justice... but I really wanted to share these with you today!!! The ones with me wearing (I won't say modelling, as that's a real stretch) just didn't come out. But it is fabulous - lovely and long!

Knit the York Walls!!

2010-10-07T20:20:00.002+01:00

As I mentioned in my last week, I'm knitting scarves for charity...

One of my colleagues, Julia, was in York over the summer and met a group aiming to get enough pink scarves to hang them around the walls of York. Apparently they had a scale model - a small scarf or two wrapped around a Barbie Castle!! Inspired by this, Julia asked if our stitch and bitch group at work would join in...

On Monday, Julia, Sonia, Chrissie, Emma and Louise came over to mine and we started knitting. Emma and I chose chunky wool, which was VERY CLEVER...

I'm hoping to knit 2 scarves. The first is bright magenta and has a cable. Not having knitted a cable since I was 18 this proved to be a bit of a challenge at first... I spent much of the first hour swearing and ripping out the scarf. Now I've got the hang of it, it's coming along nicely (just under a metre at present).

The scarves have to be sent to York, and will be wrapped around the 2.5 mile walls on 21st November. 2832 scarves, measuring 15 x 150cm are needed. Afterwards the scarves will be sold in aid of Cancer Research UK. So I'm spreading the work - pull out your knitting needles, find some pink wool, and help knit the walls of York!!! Details are here.

October goals

2010-10-02T14:01:00.003+01:00

well I knew finishing the xs on Fantasy Triptych was a long shot. I might have managed it, but Thursday night I helped a friend move house, rather than coming home and stitching, which completely kyboshed any attempt to get it done! Last night I did the maiden's hair and dress, and now just need to do the over 1 (I'm going to convert her hand to over one) and the speciality stitches - which technically means I've now completed the xs!!!! Woooooo!!!

Anyway, it's time to recap September's goals:

1) Finish the xs on Fantasy Triptych - close, but no banana...
2) Work on Pooh and Eeyore - yes
3) Stitch an ornament - nope
4) Make good progress with my lace - I made progress, but I wouldn't call it good!!
5) Finish my scarf - nope
6) work on another WIP - not that I remember...

Now term has started, life gets hectic again, so I need to be a bit more realistic... yeah right!!! So here are October's optomistic goals:

1) Finish FT
2) Finish my scarf
3) Knit 2 chunky scraves for a charity event - for Cancer UK a group of knitters are trying to knit enough scarves to fit around the walls of York... more on this to come!!!
4) Stitch an ornie
5) Work on another WIP
6) Buy my 3 stone lost stitching treat

Lets see how I get on!!

I am still here!!!

2010-09-28T21:45:00.005+01:00

I am still here, and finding a little time to stitch - probably quite a bit of time really, I still stitch most days, but not as much as usual!! Term has just started at Uni, and I have acquired a master's course to run... so I'm a little busier than usual!

Anyway, when I have had chance to pick up some stitching, it has usually been Fantasy Triptych, and here is a photo of where I've got to:

I don't think I'll make my target of finishing all of the xs by the end of September - but I probably won't be that far off.

In other news - my friend Krista had her blessing in church this weekend - she got married in the Seychelles in August. She wore the garter in the Seychelles, but not in Balderton. So no throwing the garter to the men (which Heidi asked about) - to be honest it's not a big tradition in England, although I am sure I have been to a wedding where the garter was thrown. We do usually do the bouquet bit though... Anyway, here is a pic of the happy couple, Dave and Krista, with their niece Emily.

Finally, thank you for popping by my little corner of the internet - I rarely say it, but it makes me really happy to read the comment and see that people are following me!

Happy stitching x

Monday meltdown

2010-09-13T20:49:00.003+01:00

Today was, well, one of THOSE days. I left work at 7pm, having achieved very little, and feeling totally p***ed off with the world.

I got home and checked the post, and received this wonderful scissor fob from Heidi:

Thank you Heidi, this completely changed my day from pretty depressing to delightful in 5 seconds flat!! It is absolutely gorgeous. And the little Singer sewing machine on the end is absolutely perfect - I have a lovely antique Singer sewing machine that Eddy bought me for Christmas one year:

It was to replace the sewing machine that I had from my Grandma when she died. It had been converted to electric - but sadly developed a fault and gave my sister a nasty electric shock, so my parents got rid of it. I'd always missed the machine, as it is the wonderful 1920s Tutankhamen version - which suits me well given I'm an archaeologist! Isn't the painting lovely:

So thank you Heidi for cheering me up after a bad day!! The fob is perfect - thank you!!

Fantasy Triptych Progress

2010-09-09T21:38:00.005+01:00

I've not had a huge amount of stitching time, but when I have, I've picked up FT. I've finished the big trees in the background, and (since taking these photos earlier today), have started on the half stitch far background:

I've been making steady progress with weight watchers, and hit a major goal yesterday - I've now lost 3 stone 1lb (43 lbs). Yeah!!! Since I started back in January, I've lost 1.4lbs a week on average - sometimes more, sometimes less, or not at all. I've only put on weight twice - both after holidays - 3lbs after the 4-week long trip to the US at Easter, and 0.5lb after the weeks holiday last week. People are really beginning to notice the difference, and it's really nice seeing my old face reappear from the chubbiness I had before!!!

This weekend I'm having a long weekend - took tomorrow off work. I'm driving to Sheffield tomorrow for a new hair cut (admittedly a long way to go for a hair cut, but my hairdresser there is AMAZING, and I still go back after living in Leeds for 6 years!). Then on to Nottingham, where I'm meeting my mum for some retail therapy, followed by dinner out. I'm staying at the flat in Nottingham with Eddy overnight, then we are off to Birmingham again on Saturday - will see Paul and Margaret, have dinner out that night with good friends, then it's our niece's Christening on Sunday. Busy busy busy...

September goals

2010-09-01T22:47:00.002+01:00

Well as usual as soon as the schools start to go back, the sun remembers it's actually not Autumn/Winter, and comes out to play. Which I'm happy about as I'm still off work :)

Not done a huge amount of stitching today - I went to weight watchers with Louise, unsurprisingly I put on 1/2 lb - not bad after all the food I ate over my weekend away. Lou came over for tea - Eddy cooked us two lovely veggie curries, with rice and naan bread. Afterwards we made a little lace. And I mean a LITTLE... too much giggling and chatting for serious progress!

Anyway, I popped on here to review my August goals, and set new ones. In August I aimed to:
1) finish Krista's garter - yes, and it arrived in time to get to the wedding!
2) work on Fantasy triptych - yes
3) finish Sunflower charms - yes
4) work on another WIP - did a little on Peacock Firescreen
5) stitch an ornament - yes, LHN's Winter Sampler

I also did a little quilting, knitted half a scarf and started Pooh and Eeyore.

In September I would like to:
1) Finish the xs on Fantasy Triptych
2) Work on Pooh and Eeyore
3) Stitch an ornament
4) Make good progress with my lace
5) Finish my scarf
6) work on another WIP

I'm starting to look towards the end of the year, and what I'd like to have finished... we'll see how that goes. I'm going to focus on one piece for the most part, with other stitching in there for a break. I'd like to finish FT and another WIP, maybe Wild Thyme Fairy, by the end of the year if I can.

Happy stitching everyone :)

Long weekend stitching

2010-08-31T20:02:00.005+01:00

This was a long weekend in the UK... I took full advantage and booked the rest of the week off work!! We've been away for most of the weekend, and got back home a few hours ago.

On Friday night we enjoyed a fabulous curry with friends at our local restaurant.On Saturday we went to Sheffield for a BBQ at Kay's - it was fantastic to catch up with the Sheffield crowd - many of whom we've not seen since Kay's BBQ last August!!

At about 6 we left and headed south to Birmingham to see Eddy's parents. Last week Paul went into full-time care, and we wanted to see how he was settling in, and how Margaret was adapting to the change. All seemed good, and it's very obvious that Margaret has made the right decision - Paul's dementia has reached a level where he really needs 24 hour care. He seems to be settling in OK at the home - although he's already lost his slippers and acquired someone else's glasses (thankfully EVERYTHING is named)... He's there on a 1-month trial, hopefully everything will go well, and he'll be settled there permanently - it's quite nice for a home, with lots going on, and very clean.

On Monday we went to Coughton Court, just south of Birmingham - it's the family seat of the Throckmortons, who looked after Mary Queen of Scots while she was imprisoned. There was a chemise on display reputed to have been the one she wore when she was beheaded. The lace edging was wonderful, and it is embroidered with something in Latin about Mary being a martyr - sorry, can't remember what exactly, but the cross stitches were so tiny and neat. Although it's probably of the period I have my doubts that she really wore it when she was beheaded (it was too clean for one thing...), but it was fantastic to look at. I also had a naughty buy - a lovely metal two-seater garden bench, which was on sale... we'll have to put it together tomorrow!

And now for the stitching part of this post... I took 2 pieces with me - the LHN ornament I started last week, and Fantasy Triptych. We spent Sunday afternoon (which was quite cold) and all of the evenings watching movies, so I made great progress... I finished the ornament, and did loads of the background on FT:

Winter Sampler, (c) Little House Needleworks
Stitched in Weeks and GAST on Sparklies' Parchment

Fantasy Triptych, (c) Teresa Wentzler

Finally, I had a wonderful surprise when I got home and checked blogger - I won a giveaway on Heidi's blog!!!! She is giving away some amazing beaded scissor fobs... I'm so excited!!!

Jo the crafting butterfly...

2010-08-24T22:38:00.004+01:00

Do you ever get in one of those moods where although everything you are doing is fun, you just can't stick with it? Well that's been me this last week...

After the last post I struggled for a few days to settle down to anything in particular... I did a bit of knitting on and off - my scarf is now 75cm long, about half way - which is good as it's freezing today, I think I'm going to need it sooner rather than later!

At the weekend I was in the mood for quilting again. But I was worried I didn't have enough of the paler shades... so I had a quick look online for quilting shops, and realised that there was a real brick-and-mortar (well, stone-and-mortar, this being Yorkshire) quiliting shop not 10 mins drive away... (I tend to buy myself quilitng supplies when I see them - as I don't generally actually do any quiliting, something I am trying to remedy). So I popped over to the Skep Knitting and Quilting Shop, where I got 3 fat quarters - one in white with lilac spots for the sampler quilt I am attempting to make (ahem), and two lovely bright ones to use as cover cloths for my lace - having stolen my cover cloths back from my lace pillows for use in the supposed quilt (it WILL be a quilt, it WILL be a quilt).

That night we watched Wallander in Swedish. Brilliant I thought, I can read subtitles while knitting. Except I can't very well, managed to get the knitting going the wrong way, and realised after I'd done about 6-8cm of knitting. I can confirm however that I can unpick knitting while reading subtitles....

Sunday I made a single block for the quilt, having spent most of the day thinking about the design and colour combinations (again).

Sunday night and Monday I picked up Fantasy Triptych. Which I am loving again... have made some good progress with the green:

Tonight, however, I fancied a change - and started the LHN ornament from last years JCS special issue.

Yup, I am a self-certified crafting butterfly...

A perfect weekend

2010-08-15T21:14:00.003+01:00

This weekend has been so lovely. And it's hard to say what exactly made it perfect... we did very little, but achieved a lot, and were very chilled out all of the time. Plus I did LOADS of crafts... and not all cross stitch!

On Friday night I finished Sunflower charms, and picked up Peacock firescreen. We ate a veggie lasagne - courgette and swiss chard - with roast potatoes, and most of the veggies were homegrown.

Saturday I did the food shopping, started Pooh and Eeyore, I blogged and did some knitting in front of Wallander (the Swedish version, which I LOVE. I can knit and read subtitles, a useful new form of multitasking...). Eddy did loads of tidying in the garden. We watched a movie. I sorted through my wardrobe - only 6 items that are too small, and lots that are too big have been moved to the spare wardrobe ready to be given to charity or part exchange for money off (a new Monsoon initiative, which I can't wait to take advantage of). I don't have many clothes, but at least I know which ones fit. I still need to sort through the shelves though... many t-shirts!

Sunday I did some more on Pooh and Eeyore, Dave came over and fixed out dripping tap (this has been an epic tale of non-tap fixing until now...), we harvested artichokes and potatoes, and ate artichokes and peas, Greek-style roast potatoes, feta and bread for lunch - and ate on the patio, for once it wasn't cold and rainy. I pulled out some quilting stuff and made 3 blocks - my second attempt at quilting and much more successful than last time! I took Eddy to the station (not so good) then came home and cooked some new weight watchers recipes - for tea tonight and for tomorrow.

So for not doing much I was pretty busy! Now I just need to pick a movie and a craft and veg out until bedtime. Until then, here are some photos of the results of my labour (none of the knitting though - I've now done 45cm of the scarf, but it looks pretty similar to last time!):

A sunny happy dance!

2010-08-14T17:36:00.004+01:00

The rest of this week has really been a wind-down after the late night garter finish! On Wednesday I went to weight watchers - no change for me, but my friend Louise got to goal - woo hoo!!! We celebrated with a bottle of cava after class, and a good natter! (I was too tired for anything more complicated!)

On Thursday night I finished the last few letters on Sunflower charms:

Sunflower Charms, Blackbird Designs

I was feeling uninspired by my WIPS. I did a few lengths on Peacock Firescreen (Barbara Thompson), but I'm just not enjoying stitching it, even though it's really pretty. So last night I did a stash dive, and pulled out a classic Pooh design of Pooh pinning Eeyore's tail back on... I've not done much yet, so no pic to share

We will get to the wedding on time!!

2010-08-11T22:14:00.004+01:00

Late last night (about 11.30pm) I finally finished Krista's wedding garter:

It took a really long time to get all of the loose ends neatly sewn away. Where I persevered with the magic threads, this was relatively easy - after I'd pinned lots more of the lace down and got the jumble of threads sorted they worked brilliantly. But in my despair last week I'd cut a fair few out - those threads had to be sewn into the lace by hand once it was off the pillow. It took over 30 mins just to get all the pins out....

Once it was off the pillow I used some blue ribbon and elastic underneath to gather it. I tied the knot in the elastic very loosely, so Krista can adjust it to fit:

At the weekend I'd seen a lovely box in a card shop that was perfect to wrap the present... but it looked lonely in the box. So I had a quick look in my wrapping paper pile in the hopes I'd find some tissue paper. Amazingly I had some in dark blue, and with the addition of a scrunched up sheet, the parcel looked really lovely (just what a bride-to-be should receive in the post):

This morning I texted Krista to see where I should post it to - I was so worried it would end up in a Royal Mail depot. I dashed to the post office and sent it special delivery (to arrive before 1pm tomorrow - at Dave's workplace)... just in time - Krista and Dave leave for their wedding in the Seychelles on Friday!!! There's nothing like cutting it fine...

Note to self - don't volunteer to make lace garters to a tight deadline. Hmmm, I seem to remember saying that when Helene got married. And Jen. And Katy...

Sunflowers

2010-08-09T11:51:00.003+01:00

I've been having a lovely weekend. On Saturday we went to Hebden Bridge and then Haworth, for a nice pootle around some lovely shops. I found a shop selling AMAZING light shades, and may actually have found a wall light I actually like (I hate the one in our living room, but haven't been able to find one I particularly like anywhere, and I've been looking on and off for over a year!).

Saturday evening we went for a scrummy curry at the local Aagrah's, and watched movies. I picked up my knitting, and have now done about 1/5 of my scarf:

Sunday we went to Harlow Carr, had a fabulous lunch at Betty's, and really enjoyed exploring the gardens. And were all inspired by quite a few things... shame our garden isn't bigger! That evening we cooked roast beef and Yorkshire pudding for tea, and sat down in front of Sherlock. I worked on sunflower charms:

All in all a fabulous weekend, full of fun, and most importantly a real break for Margaret. We've just dropped her off at the station, and my plan is to be crafty for the rest of my day off - and maybe, just maybe, I'll achieve a happy dance!

Erm, knitting...

2010-08-06T18:51:00.005+01:00

I'm having a lovely week - taken wed-fri off work, and monday next week too. Apart from the occasionally flurry of housework and food shopping, I've been busy being crafty, and enjoying food with friends.

I've finished making the lace for Krista's garter, and am busy joining it:

Heidi asked about the 'magic threads' - ordinarily I'd use either a fine crochet hook or a lazy susan to make the sewings in to join the 2 ends, but this time I'm using magic threads. When I started the lace I added loops of coloured thread looped through each pair of bobbin. Now I'm at the end, all I need to do for each sewing in is find the right magic thread (sometimes easier said than done), pass one bobbin through the loop, pull the magic thread and voila, the thread on the bobbin makes a loop through the start of the lace, ready to pass the other bobbin of the pair through, and then tie off. So no poking about with a crochet hook, which I'm dreadful at. I also tried to use magic thread to neatly sew the loose ends back through the lace, but found I'd not perfected my technique yet - so I gave up on them, and will have to use a needle and thread for that once I've got it off the pillow. This doesn't sound very clear at all... maybe I'll take some photos for an quick tutorial!

When I've needed a break from the lace, I've been working on Sunflower Charms - I'm about 1/2 way now, and am loving the wonderful summery colours. Shame the weather here hasn't been warm and sunny to match!

Today Margaret came to stay - we picked her up from Leeds station at lunchtime, and had a sandwich at a nearby cafe. After a short shopping spree, where I got a fabulous pair of trousers in the sale at Monsoon, and Margaret bought an AMAZING black jacket embroidered with cream chrysanthemums for a wedding we're going to in January, we headed back towards home - but carried on to Texere yarns in Bradford. I've been trying to get Margaret - who is a keen knitter - there for years. After much oooh-ing and aaah-ing, Margaret bought a pattern for a cardigan and some beige cotton yarn for herself, and Pam Allen's 'Scarf Style', some double knitting wool and knitting needles for me. Yup, I'm dabbling in knitting again.... I can knit, and made a wonderful cable knit jumper as a teenager... but I don't knit much now. A couple of years ago I made some dressy scarves using fancy wool, but it was all just plain knitting - and I wanted to try something fancier... having Margaret here meant I could ask questions when stuck.

So I'm knitting a scarf in feathers and fans (although just after taking this photo Margaret noticed I'd made a mistake, and missed out a row of knit. Hmmm, maybe I need to concentrate more :)

Food-wise, Sonia and Louise came over on Wednesday (allegedly also for lace making, but we didn't really do any) - we had green beans and potatoes, a lovely Greek dish; Thursday Sarah and Kat came over - we had chard paneer (our version of sag paneer, but with swiss chard, not spinach) and chana marsala (chickpea curry - our neighbour's recipe); tonight we had Moroccan chicken and Moroccan vegetable casserole. Best of all, each meal included some veggies from our garden.

Thanks for popping by, and happy stitching.

August goals

2010-08-01T22:51:00.002+01:00

I've not got any photos to share - I've been focusing on the garter this week, and as it's a repetitive pattern, the photo would look the same as in the last post about it!

Because of the need to focus on the lace garter, I kept my July goals simple:

1) work on at least 2 WIPS - yes - Fantasy Triptych and Sunflower Charms
2) complete 25 inches of lace - I've done just over 24 inches, but my lace goal has changed, which I'll explain in a bit...
3) stitch an ornament - yes, I stitched Santa's Buddies
I also worked on Tulip Scissor Keeper by Sue Hawkins

August goals:
1) finish Krista's garter
2) work on Fantasy triptych
3) finish Sunflower charms
4) work on another WIP
5) stitch an ornament

I'm going to finish the garter this week. When I started it, I asked Krista to measure her thigh. She emailed back 19 inches. About 10 days ago I got thinking, and decided that sounded quite big for Krista (who is about a UK size 6-8/US size 2-4). So I measured my thigh, and got 21 inches. After stewing about this for a few days I asked Krista to double check the measurement - which is now 17 inches (as she said herself - either she can't use a tape measure or she's lost a ton of weight very quickly!!). So 1.5 x 17 is 25.5 inches of lace. As the pattern repeat is close to an inch I decided to make a little more than 25.5 inches - so 26... which is 2 inches and ONLY 2 PATTERN REPEATS from where I am now... the end is in sight!!!!!

I'm hoping to finish making the lace on Wednesday, ready to join the ends, sew the threads into the lace and add some elastic and ribbon. I'm trying to use 'magic threads' to make all of this easier - basically I have coloured loops of thread worked into my lace, so at the end I just pass a bobbin through a loop to pull the bobbin thread through the start of the lace, tie the pair off, then use more magic threads to loop each thread again and pull it back through the worked lace. Simple. In theory. I've never tried it on something of this scale before though... wish me luck!!!!

On the road again...

2010-07-25T23:05:00.003+01:00

No not me, but the lady in Fantasy Triptych!! Last week I celebrated hitting the 20 inches mark with the lace garter with a couple of evenings of TW heaven - and have now completed the road in the maiden panel:

Sorry, it's not the best photo. I'm leaving the unicorn and maiden til last, as I just love the colours and would rather finish on a high than with lots more green :)

This weekend has been busy - I was working all day Saturday, manning a stall at the Pontefract Medieval fair - in a lovely fetching yellow t-shirt. We were discussing medieval food and had a re-enacter recreating medieval dishes which people could try out. My favourite was Black Poray - basically cook cabbage or kale in a little salted water (so it's mostly steaming). Fry some bacon pieces. Once both are cooked combine with each other. Season to taste. This dish comes from the Forme of Cury - the oldest cookery book written in English, written by Richard II's cooks in the 1390s. And it's really tasty!!!

Today I did the grocery shopping (was too tired on the way home last night), Eddy cooked a fabulous veggie lasagne, we watched the Grand Prix (naughty Ferrari at it again...), tidied the house a bit and made some lace...

Happy Christmas Jo!!

2010-07-20T21:08:00.003+01:00

When we moved into our house (the move from rental land to mortgage joy), we had quite a blank canvas as a garden. It was lacking in plants, and really lacking in height, just one laburnum in the back left corner, and an elder in the back corner of our neighbours garden:

Summer 2008, we'd not done much to the back garden at this point

So we decided for our first Christmas in the house, we'd buy each other a tree... that was nearly 3 years ago (we moved in September 2007). Last summer I bought Eddy an apple tree, but we'd still not worked out exactly what tree I wanted, and more importantly where we'd put it. When our neighbours cut down the elder we realised we desparately needed some height... so we started to look at trees. I fancied something native, a silver birch or a rowan perhaps. Two weeks ago we were at our local nursery, which specialises in trees - and bought one of each!

Rowan tree
We planted the taller Rowan in the middle - and then replanted some montbretia around it - it really doesn't look like it was planted on Saturday!

Silver birch
The silver birch we bought was a much younger tree, so we planted it in the back corner, in a raised bed we are busy building. It's tucked in behind our raspberry canes (which are doing brilliantly this year), and will grow into the space well, we think.

We do spend a lot of our time (and money!!) in the garden - this year we have been busy cutting down the ivy growing in the laburnum tree (it now sways in the wind - compare it with the congested mass in the top photo!!), have dug and extra bed into the lawn and planted it up, started to de-turf on the other side - we are adding an archway half way up the lawn to divide the garden a bit. Oh, and our veggie patch (created last Easter) is doing great things this year!!

And that is why I never get as much stitching done as I'd hope at the weekend. But best of all, although Eddy does pretty much all of the hard work (de-turfing, heavy digging, construction etc), it's all activity points for me with weight watchers, which has really helped with my weight loss!

We've not really decided if the rowan or the birch is my tree - but they are both in our garden, so that doesn't really matter!!

Not quite 20 inches!!

2010-07-17T21:04:00.003+01:00

If you've read my last post you'll know I'm determined to make great progress on the lace garter I'm making Krista - so much so that I've vowed not to pick up Fantasy Triptych until I've got 20 inches of lace made...

It's quite tricky to measure lace in progress, as you work on a diagonal, but I think I've got 19 inches done. The lace is living on my lace table, I put a tea towel over it when I'm not working on it. Here's a pic of how the whole pillow looks:

I use large safety pins through the spangles to keep the bobbins in order in the areas I'm not working on currently.

This is a close up of the actual pattern - much better now it's long enough to photograph on the blue cloth of my lace pillow, rather than on top of the pattern!!

We're about to watch a movie (Revolutionary Road - our latest rental from Lovefilm), if I really work well tonight I might hit the 20 inches mark... just another 8-10 inches to go!!!

Weekend fun and weekend stitching

2010-07-13T17:42:00.004+01:00

Last week I took 3 days off work, and ended up being about as busy as I would have been if I'd been to work - but busy doing fun things!!!

On Wednesday I pottered around the house, did some stitching and lace making, and cooked a lovely asparagus tart for tea (Louise came over to make lace). Thursday Eddy was also off, and we spent much of the morning in the garden and at garden centres - I bought (and planted) 3 parsley plants, a potentilla, an achillia and a lovely new rose (Lichfield Angel - a lovely creamy colour). Eddy bought us 2 (small) trees - a rowan and a silver birch - which are being delivered on Thursday (another job for the weekend). That afternoon I went to Leeds for a much-needed shopping trip. On Friday morning, not being able to keep up with our raspberry canes, we made a moderately small batch of raspberry jam (yum). We then headed off to Hardwick Hall, near Chesterfield, and looked around both the old and new halls - something we've been meaning to do for years - the tapestries and embroideries in the new hall were simply STUNNING.

We continued down the motorway to Birmingham to stay with Eddy's parents. Regular readers of my blog will know that Paul has dementia, and Margaret is very busy caring for both him and her father, who is blind. Saturday was Margaret's birthday, and we wanted to make sure she had some fun, so we went out for lunch in Aston Cantlow (where we did the lace making and bobbin turning course back in May) then spent the afternoon at Mary Arden's Farm - the home of Shakespeare's mother on the outskirts of Stratford. That evening it was Eddy's cousin's 30th birthday party, and I drove to make sure Margaret was able to have a drink - this having the added bonus that I could slightly keep my weight watchers points in check!!! We had a nice evening, but dealing with Paul at a party with lots of strangers was a little tricky, even as a team effort. Some of the people he went and talked to certainly looked very bemused!! On Sunday we went to see Eddy's Grandad, had lunch, watched the Grand Prix then headed home.

Although we were pretty busy, we did spend quite a bit of time sitting chatting - so I made great progress on Sunflower Charms:

Sorry, the photo is a little dark, and the lovely yellow colours are a bit washed out.

This week I'm attending a conference in Leeds (and working from home when the conference is dull)... and in the evenings I'm doing my best to progress Krista's wedding garter - I really need to get a wiggle on. So sadly my TW is being neglected, even though it's shouting to me... it's too big for a travel piece and when I'm at home I need to focus on the lace... Hmm, I'll treat myself to some TW as soon as I hit the 20 inches point!!

Flying post

2010-07-11T22:44:00.004+01:00

I've had a busy few days, and for once it wasn't work!!! I took 3 days leave last week to just potter about - which turned out to be quite a busy 3 days, but with a good amount of stitching - which included finishing Santa's Buddies by Angel Stitchin:

I only bought one pack of snowflake charms - didn't realise the pack only had 4 in when the design required 5... so I just missed out the snowflake on the left of the tree. I also just realised the charms are wonky in the photo - oh well...

This weekend we went to stay with Eddy's parents, and I took along Sunflower Charms, but I'll post about that some other time - it's late now and I'm ready for bed!!!

Summer Startitis

2010-07-04T20:01:00.005+01:00

This summer I've been suffering from a serious bout of startitis... Essentially, nothing in my WIP pile is really grabbing me, so I'm pulling out other things. Thankfully I've managed to limit myself (mostly) to small items.

In June I started A New Beginning.

I also pulled out a small tapestry I'd bought at a lace fair - Tulip Scissor Keeper bu Sue Hawkins. I've actually completed one side now - so half way (less the edging of the complete piece to make it up):

One of my goals for June was to start a Blackbird Designs piece, from the selection I bought on holiday. I chose Sunflower Charms (Loose feathers #15):

I've only put in a few lengths of thread so far, but I'm enjoying the wonderfully summery colours - just perfect for the current weather!

Last night I wanted another change of scenery, and decided to start an ornament (given I failed to stitch one in June). I picked out Santa's Buddies by Angel Stitchin from the 2009 JCS ornament issue:

I'm stitching it on 32 count linen, so decided a single strand of Gentle Arts Wool was enough - I'm really enjoying using the wool. This is a really cute and fun stitch - I hope to finish him this week!

With 2 new lace making starts since May (Bedfordshire flower and the garter for Krista), I've got quite a few things on the go. Not sure that won't stop my itchy fingers from wanting to start something else though!!!

July goals

2010-07-03T19:01:00.005+01:00

I've had a busy week at work, and I've been so tired it's really affected my stitching mojo - not good when you have a deadline to meet...

So how did I do with my goals? In June I wanted to:

1) Start A New Beginning (Abbey Lane Designs) - yes
2) Complete 15 inches of lace (I have a deadline after all) - done about 12 inches, so not bad
3) Stitch an ornament - no
4) Work on a WIP - yes picked up Fantasy Triptych again
5) Start one of the Blackbird Design that I bought on holiday - yes, I've started one - will share a photo tomorrow!

In July I'd like to:

1) work on at least 2 WIPS
2) complete 25 inches of lace
3) stitch an ornament

I'm keeping it simple as I really need to get Krista's garter done before her wedding!!!

Last weekend was Krista's hen weekend - and it was a wonderful opportunity to catch up with my school friends, Leanne, Julie, Anne, Michaela and Krista. On the Friday night Leanne, Julie, Michaela and I went to a barn dance in Anne's village, partly organised by her husband. The wine flowed and we were all really giggly all night - it was wonderful fun. The highlight was eating THE BEST LASAGNE we'd ever tasted (from the deli Anne works at) at about 1 in the morning in Anne's garden!! Julie, Leanne and I crashed at Michaela's, but didn't go to bed until the sun was beginning to creep over the horizon!!

The next day we'd organised a little surprise for Krista - she'd split her hen do into 2 halves - Julie and I had decided to join her for a spa day on the Sunday, the others were going to see a show at the local theatre. Krista's mum and sister organised surprise drinks for her before the show - the first time all 6 of us have got together since Anne's wedding 7 years ago!! Krista's mum managed to get her out of the house unawares we were waiting for her in the pub with balloons, presents and kir royale. It was a really fun evening:

Me, Michaela, Julie, Krista, Leanne, Anne

The next day at the spa was wonderful too. I had an amazing hot stones massage, then chilled out in the pool and hot tub til lunchtime - a wonderful 3 course extravaganza - in the afternoon we sat in the sun with a cuppa, enjoyed the saunas and steam rooms, swam again and sunbathed. Bliss!!!

This is a stitching blog, honest!

2010-06-22T21:35:00.004+01:00

Hmm, it's a while since I shared any stitching photos. This month I've been focussing on the lace garter - 12 inches long and growing. I am enjoying making it as it's not very complicated. A few people commented on the lace in this post... Angela - it's really not as complicated as it looks, there are 2 basic stitches - cloth stitch and half stitch, which both use just 4 bobbins (2 pairs). It's the sequence of which pairs to use and if it's a half or cloth stitch that's a little tricky, but in torchon lace (the type I'm making the garter in) there are a few combinations that we use again and again - cloth stitch trails, half stitch trails, spiders, rosegound and honeycomb. To answer Theresa's question - yes it is honeycomb down the centre, but there are some 6-legged spiders also, which look like slightly larger honeycomb in this pattern. I've not posted another photo of the lace, as it looks essentially the same, just longer!

I did start A New Beginning (Abbey Lane Designs):

I'm stitching this on some platinum Belfast linen, in the required Weeks. I'm really enjoying it so far, even is I did have to frog the yellow triange on the right, which I'd put in the wrong place first time round.

This week I picked up Fantasy Triptych. I think I was inspired by seeing some TWs in progress on Dani's and Michelle's blogs. I'm really pleased with my progress (last photo - taken in March - is here).

When I compared it with the last photo I was amazed how much of the road I've stitched in a week!

Two for Tea

2010-06-20T20:45:00.004+01:00

Last weekend I went to a good old-fashioned tea party. Not just any tea party, but one jointly hosted by my school friend Michaela - I've known her since we were 11! Michaela lives in a lovely little village in Lincolnshire, about 1 hour drive from my parents (it takes her 45 mins, but we have to allow an extra 15 or so, because we tend to get lost - we actually got there in less than an hour this time, which was a minor miracle!). It's worth noting that I live about 1 1/2 hours drive from my parents... but I do consider a 2 1/2 hour drive well within the bounds of acceptable if there is cake on offer...

Anyway, Michaela and some friends organised a tea party and food fair with a vintage feel at Timberland church hall:

We'd not told Michaela we were coming - so Eddy, Leanne (another school friend - we were in the same class at age 5, but I don't really remember her until a couple of years later...) and I arrived at the hall, queued to get in (always a good sign) and waited patiently for Michaela to stop serving a little old lady and spot us. Amazingly when said little old lady dropped her walking stick on my foot, and I picked it up for her, Michaela didn't spot us AT ALL, even though she was chatting to the little old lady the whole time... that's what I call excellent customer service. Eventually the little old lady bought some of Michaela's wares, and moved on. Michaela was a little surprised to see us!!! She was pretty busy though, selling homemade bread, cakes and fudge, so we said a quick hello then went to the back of the hall for afternoon tea:

We were given a table next to Michaela's husband, Stuart, and their two boys, so we had a lovely chat with them. Until the afternoon tea arrived, which stole our attention for a little while:

Eddy and Leanne

We were served sandwiches (finger sized, smoked salmon, egg, cucumber and ham - one of each per person). I lucked out as Eddy's veggie and Leanne doesn't like salmon!! There were also 2 small cakes, a slice of fruit cake and the most enormous scone with jam and cream EACH. It was scrummy (and looked a picture):

After a lovely chat, with wonderful cake, we had a good look at the stalls, and bought 4 plants for the garden, some home grown asparagus and potatoes, and (of course) a bag of Stuart's fudge... Michaela says it has a growing reputation in Lincolnshire - I pointed out it has a growing reputation in Yorkshire too!!!

We had another chat with Michaela, who by this time had sold most of her bread:

Michaela

She invited us to stay for a BBQ, which was lovely... her garden is a proper cottage garden (although now is devoid of chickens - see her blog to read about the 'girls').

It was a wonderful afternoon out, and a great opportunity to catch up with some old friends. And best of all, I get to see them again next weekend - Anne (who lives in another Lincolnshire village near Michaela) is hosting a barn dance on Friday night... I've not been to a barn dance since I was about 10. I think it might be Eddy's first! Leanne and Michaela are going and Julie is also joining us... so that's 5 of the 6 of us... On Saturday/Sunday we are celebrating at Krista's Hen do - and if all goes without a hiccup, it will be the first time all 6 of us have got together since Anne got married...about 6 years ago? Which will be wonderful!!

Oh, and I might add that despite the afternoon tea/BBQ combo last Saturday I exercised A LOT, ate carefully every other day and LOST 1.5 lbs that week :)

Rocks

2010-06-15T22:36:00.006+01:00

One of the jokes we made frequently on holiday was how many photographs we'd taken of 'stripy rocks'. And rocks in general. I think it's the geologist in Eddy!! Our next destination on the Great American Road Trip was no exception... Monument Valley.

Thanks to a wonderful tip-off from a work colleague, we stayed at Goulding's Lodge. Goulding's was one of the first trading posts in the area, and was used as a set in 'She Wore a Yellow Ribbon'. But for us it was the stunning view from our room that made it special.

Goulding's Lodge
We stayed in the motel on the bottom right of this photo - our room was the ground floor one that is on the left of the building. It had stunning views of Monument Valley:

The sun was beginning to set when we arrived...

So we waited a while and watched the sun set before getting dinner!

The next day we paid for a 3-hour tour of Monument Valley. It was well worth the money. Our tour guide had a wicked sense of humour - we realised he was making up names for some of the rock formations when he said "see that rock over there - it looks like Snoopy lying down". Snoopy was joined by "W V, stands for Wonderful View":

"Wonderful View"

...and "submarine rising out of the ocean". Sadly I failed to snap Snoopy or the sub, but the rock formations I did get a shot of were stunning:

A rare photo of Ed and I looking fairly normal (we don't look good in photos, as a rule)

We LOVED the petroglyphs (typical archaeologists!!)

After our tour we had a lovely slice of cake to keep us going, and headed off to Cortez, our next overnight destination. We passed Mexican Hat, and Ed got this shot as we drove past:

Mexican Hat

The lovely stripy rocks in the background are typical of the rock formations we passed between the Grand Canyon and Cortez - but I won't share any more photos of rocks with you - at least not today!!!