Happy Birthday Abigail!!!

Happy 15th Birthday to my beautiful youngest daughter Abi!!! I cannot believe she is 15 and am wondering where the hell those years have gone! Love you sweetheart and am so proud of you:)

Another Roll Done!

I really must apologise again for my lack of blogging, both reading them and writing my own. I just did not seem to have enough to post as my stitching seemed almost non-existant following some frogging after the most silly mistakes ( I think my mind has been elsewhere and not completely on my stitching!) and feeling so damned stupid for making such silly mistakes! So I now have enough stitching to show and I caught on blog reading yesterday and did some commenting.

Friday afternoon Chris came over for a visit and it was so good to see her. We haven't seen each other for ages and I must admit I have been rather lax of late at emailing her ( please forgive me Chris). We spent the afternoon catching up with a cuppa, showing each other our stitching and trading some SB roll charts. Thanks for a lovely afternoon Chris and I hope we get together again real soon. Looking forward to starting our SAL on 1st December:)

So Friday evening, seen as Thanksgiving is coming up in the USA, I decided to start the Thanksgiving Roll which Chris had given me. I had it just about finished by the time I stopped stitching Friday evening and I finished it off and made it up yesterday:) Not bad going for someone who was beginning to think her mojo was going!

Shepherd's Bush Thanksgiving Roll

32 count ivory fabric

DMC and Carrie's Creations

A while ago you may remember I finished HAED TT Purple Dragon. Well she's been patiently waiting to be made up for a while and I'd got as far as lacing her onto card to make a pinkeep, chosen some ribbon and put one pin in! So after I'd finished the roll yesterday I thought it was time to finish pinning the ribbon on so here she is all finished up:) I used two ribbons and twisted them, first time I've ever tried this and I really like it:)

Needleprint Beatrix Potter Quaker Sampler is coming along quite nicely but the more I look at it the more I think I won't get it finished this year, which is my goal. I was very put off picking it up again last Monday as I'd had to unpick the motif I was stitching last time I showed you my progress as I'd made a mistake but I will try and get back to it tomorrow.

HAED Guardian is going well :) I have finished my 5th page and started the next. My plan was to do more of the angel but I decided I might just get mixed up and make a mistake so I'm carrying on across the top. Only the page I'm working on and a tiny bit on the next page and I'll be across the top:)

Finally my last WIP is Lizzie*Kate Merry Christmas By The Letter. Again this piece was spoiled by a visit from the frog ( really need my brain back in full working order but it seems to wander when I really don't want it to!) and I ended up having to rip out the C and so much of the H but it's all stitched back up now and I have more done:)

That's all my stitchy progress:) After our SAL last December Chris and I decided there and then to do another this December and we decided on Blue Ribbon Designs Peppermint Twist which I am really looking forward to. At the moment I'm unsure whether to stitch the picture or the stitching smalls set but as I have lots of my walls already I may go with the stitching smalls!

Hope everyone is well and having a lovely weekend. It's rather chilly here on the east coast of England. This morning we had thunder, rain, hailstones and sunshine!

Take care everyone:)

Hugs

Sally
xx

Ready For An Update?!

Guess what?! Yep I'm here with another blog post! I have been getting around to blogging since Thursday so I've given myself a good talking to to just get on with it! Lol! Plus I'm feeling much more like my old self so, hopefully, my posts may be more frequent:)

So what I have been up to stitchy wise? Well first off I've started and finished my Shepherd's Bush roll for October. Yes I know my last two month's worth did not get finished until the following month and here I am with October's finished in, well, October! So without further ado here's the final kit in my stash ( now onto charts).

Shepherd's Bush St Nicholas Roll kit

Started 4th October 2009

Finished 9th October 2009

I made several mistakes on this one and spent time frogging but I love it!

Next up is a wee finish for hubby's auntie. Those of you who have read my blog from the beginning may remember that I started stitching her a card for her birthday several years ago and she has become so used to it that if I didn't stitch one she's be very disappointed! This year I was a little late starting one so had to find something quick and came across this freebie from Praiseworthy Stitches in my stash and thought it would be ideal for an October birthday.

Praiseworthy Stitches Pumpkin Visitor.

Unknown fabric

Gentle Art Sampler Threads

Started and finished 11th October 2009.

Made into a card for Auntie Joan

Monday evening was Bea evening and I managed to start another motif but not finish it! It's progress though and I really want to get this finished before the end of the year so please spur me on! I have plans for a couple of new starts 1st January next year! Lol!
Next up is a little bit of progress on Lizzie*Kate Merry Christmas By The Letter. This is such a fun stitch and, of course, I'd like to finish this in time for Christmas and make it into a bell pull but it's coming a little bit faster than I want it to!
HAED Guardian is coming along quite nicely and I have almost finished another page! How I wish I could get more done on this but, even so, I must admit that I am quite happy with it:) I am hoping my 5th page will get finished this next week and then it'll be just 25 more to go!
So that's all my stitching finishes and progress for this post:) Hope you have enjoyed looking at them:)

Now I am sure you are itching to know about my planned new starts for the New Year! OK so anything could happen between now and 1st Jan but................. the girls on Stitch and Stash were spurred on to do a Just Nan SAL after Julie posted her progress on my fave Just Nan piece Lady Scarlett's Journey. They have decided to start this in January and I am going to join in. I haven't decided what with yet but it'll either be 4 Wishes or Memories as I have both of these in my stash. Will have to see if I have everything I need for them before I decide:) Also after I mentioned that I'd dyed some fabby for CHS Shores of Hawk Run Hollow ( have you seen the Christmas one by the way??? Gorgeous but too expensive for me- I got Shores on sale) Deb and Jane mentioned a SAL and as I love stitching along with others so we can spur each other on I said yes! Of course I need to get Blue Ribbon Designs Winter Wingding finished but it seems to have become a UFO:(

While I remember I've reduced everything in my for sale blog ( link in my side bar) so please have a look and see if there's anything you're interested in:) Thank you:)

I almost forgot I have finally got Little House Needleworks Hen party made into a pinkeep! It's nothing fancy as I haven't been able to find anything nice to finish it with. By that I mean something like the berries that were on the top of the finish on the chart.
Poor Abi has been in the wars of late firstly with a gammy toe caused by a new nail growing, followed by a stye under her eyelid:( We are hoping both have cleared up now but her eye looks as though as though it's swelling up again so I hope it's not another stye coming.

As for Jess she has settled well, is enjoying her course and just generally loving university life:) She had a visit from one of her friends last Sunday and another friend is visiting tomorrow. She has also made new friends on her course which she is happy about as she had no chemistry friends within her block at the halls of residence although she gets on really well with them all in there:) At the moment she is suffering from Fresher's Flu which most of the others had in the first couple of weeks and were jealous of her because she only had a sore throat! Lol!

That's all from me for today. Thank you for all your continued visits and comments. I appreciate each and every one of them:) I have got back into blog reading and commenting at long last and hope to keep up with it now.

Take care everyone.

Hugs

Sally
xxx

A Couple Of Finishes

Well I know it's been a while again and I am really sorry. I feel awful neglecting all my blogging and stitching friends. I've hardly been on a stitchy forum for months and I haven't read anyone's blog for ages and I apologise to everyone for that. I will get back into it soon I hope. I just seem to have lost my enthusiasm although I have been stitching a little and have a couple of finishes to show you.

The first one you have seen before but not in the actual made-up form. I must say that this took some making up! The times I had to unpick the lining as I hadn't got it quite right was ridiculous and I even threw it across the table because I could not get it to go right! Anyway here it is all finished up; I'm not 100% happy with it but for a first attempt it's not too bad I guess:)

The Sampler Girl

In The Garden With Jane Austen Stitching Bag

From The Gift of Stitching May 2008

And my other finish is a needleroll ( surprise surprise!). I love stitching these as they are so quick and easy although the medallion stitches took some getting used to and I know the first two or three are not quite right.

Shepherd's Bush Snow Fall Roll Kit.

And here's my progress on Needleprint Beatrix Potter Quaker Sampler. I'm enjoying this again although I didn't stitch it on it this Monday.

That's all the stitching I have to show for now. Yes a measely little bit but better than non at all I guess. I'm currently working on another SB roll kit and that one is St Nicholas Roll which I have unpicked more times than I care to think about. I don't seem to be concentrating too well these days! Plus I have the urge for some Christmas ornament stitching after receiving the JCS Ornament issue from Down Sunshine Lane. Some gorgeous ornaments in there yet again:)

Jess has settled incredibly well in her halls of residence and she started her course on Monday. So far it seems to going well:) I have to admit we had our doubts that she would actually go as she was so nervous she was actually being sick. When we left her I managed to hold it together until we got back to the car. I cried on and off all the way home and when we got home and many times after that. I know people have said well she's not that far away but she's still away and not being able to see her, hug her etc really hurt. Poor Abi was heartbroken and sobbed so much. But we are steadily getting used to her not being here and she's made many new friends. She was very lucky as the halls have been refurbished so her room is all new and shiny:)

So that's all for this post. Not very interesting I'm afraid but I'll get there one day.

Take care everyone.

Hugs

Sally
xx

Here I Am!

Yes I'm back! I decided to do a blog post after lunch today then go off and do a bit of stitching! I know I've been away longer than I intended. It was only supposed to be a couple of weeks while hubby was off on holiday but I'm afraid I just lost my enthusiasm and have had a hard time getting it back. The fact that I spend quite a lot of time Facebook has nothing to do with it as I was blogging before and on Facebook; it's just the way I've been feeling. Just me and nothing else:(

So while I've been away I've had three finishes. First of all I fnished HAED Tiny Treasures Purple Dragon. In a way I was sad to see her finished as I'd enjoyed stitching her so much and she is so pretty.

Heaven and Earth Designs TT Purple Dragon

Artwork by Jasmine Becket-Griffith

Started 20th May 2009

Finished 17th August 2009

11,016 stitches.

I think I'll be making her up into a hanging pinkeep rather than getting her framed but I'm not 100% sure yet.

My next finish was The Sampler Girl In The Garden With Jane Austen from the May 2008 of The Gift of Stitching. As you can see I took this picture before I made it up into a bag but I haven't taken another yet as I still need to get some ribbon to finish it off properly. I love this piece although my making up leaves a lot to be desired! I found doing the lining of the bag rather fiddly and had to have several goes at it!

The Sampler Girl In the Garden With Jane Austen

Started 4th July 2009

Finished 28th August 2009.

My final finish for this post is my SB needleroll for August which didn't get finished until this month! lol! I chose to stitch Friendship Roll as a PIF for Andrea. I just love the sentiment of this roll.

Shepherds Bush Friendship Roll Kit

Started 28th August 2009

Finished 8th September 2009.

Stitched for Andrea.

So it's now onto the other bits I've been stitching. Since I finished TT Purple Dragon I decided to concentrate solely on HAED Guardian for a while and although it's been a bit slow going due to me also not wanting to stitch quite as much in recent weeks I have finished another page so 4 down and 26 to go!
I have got back to stitching once a week on Needleprint Beatrix Potter Quaker Sampler too and have actually been enjoying it as well! it's amazing what a little break can do! I'm now all the way across at the bottom and working my way up.

Unfortunately I haven't picked up Winter Wingdings in weeks and I really should get back into it. Instead I've been stitching on Lizzie*Kate Merry Christmas By The Letter. I seem to have been spurred on with this piece since we got into September. That's all the stitching I've done in the past few weeks.

Other news is that Jess got into university and goes a week tomorrow. We are so proud of her but it's going to be hard to adjust to her not being here. I know she's only going to Hull so is not too far away and will be able to come home weekends when she wants to. She's very lucky too as two of her friends are also going and their rooms are either next door but one to each other or next door depending on the layout! And of course Abi is back at school and is now in year 10. Poor Abi is not really keen on school but she studies and works hard. She's really pleased as she put down for dual science but school put her in for triple science.

I think that's all my news for now. I think I'm going to change the way I blog so will probably only blog once a week. I will see how I feel:)

Take care everyone:)

Hugs Sally
xx

Normal Service

Will be resumed soon! I am still here as those of you on Facebook will know! Just trying to get my enthusiasm back for blogging. I have a couple of finishes as well as WIPs to show you so I'm hoping to show you those soon!

Hugs

Sally
xxxx

My Lovely Angel!

As promised I'm back with an update on HAED Guardian. It's just about all I've stitched on so I've managed to get quite a bit stitched and I just love how this looks. Selina's artwork is just gorgeous and Michele of HAED's charting is perfect:)

Last night I did a little bit on HAED TT Purple Dragon. She was feeling neglected so I had to bring her out:) I think I will do more on her night. I don't really have much left to stitch and she'll be finished:)

My hospital appointment did not go well yesterday. I won't go into it that much as I know you don't really want to hear it but there seemed to have been a mix-up and they did not have me down to see a specialist. The audiologist was very apologetic so now I'm waiting to see if I get another appointment although after I said I felt that my symptoms had been brushed under the carpet she suggested I ring the secretary of the specialist so I'm plucking up the courage to do that now! LOL!

I'm taking a blog break for a couple of weeks so won't be writing, reading or commenting- sorry. I hope this won't put you off coming back to me when I start up again:)

Take care everyone.

Hugs

Sally
xxx

A Finished Roll:)

Thank you to everyone who left Jessica Happy Birthday wishes for her 18th! She sends her thanks to you all. She had a brilliant birthday. We had a small family together which was great fun and she was a little tipsy! On Saturday evening we took her for her first legal drink at the pub then on Sunday she went for a Chinese meal with her close friends. So she had a fantastic birthday weekend! Here are a few pics of her from Friday:)

I had a lovely email from Helen ( stitching granny) saying she'd received my birthday gift and how much she liked it. I was so happy that she liked it. This is what I stitched for her.

Blackbird Designs Bluebird's Needles and Pins

Unknown fabby

GAST

Stitched for Helen.

And at last my Shepherd's Bush roll for July is finished an made up. I love the colours in this one. It's so pretty.

Shepherd's Bush English Christmas Roll

Stitched with fabby, threads and beads from kit.

I have no other stitchy pics at the moment as when I've had time to stitch I've just been stitching on HAED Guardian. It's all I want to stitch on at the moment and I'd love to finish the page before I put him away again. Question is can I bear to put him away now I have his lovely face to look at! LOL!

I am back at the hospital again this Thursday. Last Thursday's appointment, in my honest opinion, was a waste of time. I explained to the consultant all my symptoms and he seemed to just ignore them all apart from the pulsing and said that some people could hear it but it is driving me balmy! He had a look in my ear said everything looked fine and has decided to send me for a hearing test. My appointment for that came through on Saturday and according to the letter I'm also seeing another specialist. Go figure! Let's just say I will be a little forcefull cos this is taking over my life and making me feel crap more often than I want to be! Sorry to vent but I'm sick of it!

Well that's me for today. I'll post again at the end of week with my progress on Guardian and TT Purple Dragon will be back out too after not stitching on her last week,

Thank you to everyone who continues to visit me and comment. It seems to have been a little quiet of late so thanks to those who are sticking with me:) I appreciate it:)

Take care everyone.

Hugs

Sally
xx

Happy 18th Birthday Jessica!

Today my beautiful, insane eldest daughter is 18 years old. I do not know where those 18 years have gone but, boy, have they been good:) I never thought being a mum would make me feel so much love and joy:) She is the light of my life and I love her to bits even though she can be a bit annoying ( she blathers on so much at times!), she is my lovely daughter:)

Here she is when she was a baby. I promised her no embarrassing photos so this one is a cutie one. I can't remember how old she'd be on this but no more than a couple of weeks I would say:)
And here she is ( now this is embarrassing- Mum broke her promise!) this morning doing her daft look when she'd just got up and was opening her presents! She did say she'd use this as her Facebook profile pic!

Dearest Jessica- I am so proud of the young lady you are turning into. I hope all your dreams comes true:)

A while ago Barb ( no blog) sent me the kit of Shepherd's Bush Happy Birthday and I decided to stitch it for her. I added the 18 on the cake and made it into a needleroll and she loves it:)

An RAK For Lynda

A while ago Lynda very kindly offered to send a Blackbird Designs chart I had on my wish list which she had two of. Stitchers are such kind people and I do like to repay that kindness when I can. It may take me a while to get around to it but I do try:) Anyway I decided to finally finish up Blackbird Designs My Pink House and send it to Lynda as a thank you and I had a lovely email from her to say she received it and loved it:)

Blackbird Designs My Pink House

Sugar Maple Fabrics but I can't remember the name

DMC

RAK for Lynda.

Today is Helen's ( stitching granny) birthday but I can't show what I stitched for her as I'm not sure she has received it or not yet so I'll save that for another day:)

I haven't got much else to show other than some WIPS. Sunday evening, as always, was Winter Wingding night. I'm now at the bottom. Unfortunately the picture does not do this piece justice. There is an owl ( minus it's eyes) at the bottom but you can't see it. It was difficult to get a decent picture as it's so dull here today
Monday night it was time for hunky HAED Guardian to come out to play and I decided that I just can't put him away at the moment so he came out again last night as well. He's also coming out tonight and tomorrow night if I get chance to stitch then:) I just love how this is looking:) It's so nice to actually see his face.
I didn't get my Shepherd's Bush needleroll for July finished in time as I didn't quite get the stitching finished but here's where it's at now. Just needs the lace stitching on and I can finish it up:)
I had a message from Barb ( no blog) asking if I would like SB Emmanuel's Song kit. She'd found it when she was having a tidy up of her stash. Well it's Christmas and it has sheep on it and it's a gorgeous design so I said yes please and she sent me it:) Thank you so much Barb. It is greatly appreciated and I know I will have great pleasure stitching it:)
I've got a busy-ish day tomorrow shopping for drinks for the small family get together we're having for Jess' 18th on Friday and I also have to pick her cake up. Then I have my appointment with the ENT specialist in the afternoon. It hasn't been bothering me as I've been so wrapped up thinking about Jess' birthday but now it's near I'm in a panic!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful week. I must say the weather is leaving a lot to be desired at the moment. Abi and I had planned a nice long walk on the beach but it's raining:((

Take care everyone and thank you to those of you who continue to visit and comment.

Hugs