Dreadful Weather & Stitching!

Well we certainly had the most horrendous weather on Thursday. We had awful gales and rain. The wind was swirling around so much I couldn't find a place in the house where I couldn't hear it quite as much as other rooms! I didn't venture out at all as I hate wind at the best of times. In the afternoon I decided to try and finish CCN Forest Snowfall but I couldn't concentrate on it properly as I was too busy listening to the wind and thinking the patio doors were going to blow in! I made a mistake so decided to put it away and unpick it another day. Abi had to walk home on her own because Jess was staying behind for IT. They changed the course so far through the first year so it means they only have time to do two units instead of four so their teacher said he'd stay behind on a Thursday evening for those who wanted to do an extra unit Jess did as it'll mean an extra GCSE. Anyway Abi had just about got blown off her feet so she'd sheltered in the library door way and rang me to see if her Dad was home and could pick her up. He wasn't so I said I'd ring my FIL and he went to pick her up. Thankfully we had no damage to our house or anything in the garden but there was damage elsewhere.

The wind has returned today but nowhere near as bad as it was. Good job I left the wheelie bins round the end of the shed or I think they'd have been over again! The foreacst for us for Monday is heavy snow so we'll see if it's right. It certainly feels much colder today than it has done of late.

On the stitching front I've done my week ( Monday to Friday) on HAED Summer ACEO and for all I don't feel that I've done much looking at the scan I guess I have for five days! LOL! That's five evenings plus a couple of hours over two afternoons. I have done 32 rows on page two, which is about 2,500 stitches, so that's it until it's her turn in my rotation again. I desperately want to get another HAED finished and am still rather despondant over the time it's taking me. I want to finish another before I start another or I'll never finish anything!

It's nice to see her wings finally develop and I LOVE the colours of her hair!

Speaking of hair I think I'm going to have mine restyled with the money I have left from my birthday and the money I got for Christmas. I've had the same style for years now and have just had it either cut a bit shorter, or had a few layers out in so it's time I had something different. I bought a hair mag yesterday but can't make up my mind what to have! LOL! I fancy something really different but not too short and nothing outrageous!

Right might just go and add a few stitches to Forest Snowfall and see if I can get it finished!

A Bracing Walk!

This morning I decided to have a walk along the seafront. It was a bit dull as we'd had heavy rain a couple of hours before but it was nice. The wind was getting up too so if I wasn't quite awake when I went out I certainly was by the time I came back in. Anyway I took the digital camera with me and took a few photos of the sea and the promenade to share with you.

The end of The TransPennine Trail.
Wonder what this lot are waiting for!

It was a lovely walk and one I really should do more often seen as we live so close. I can actually see the sea from my landing window. I don't think I'll be walking it tomorrow though as we're supposed to be having gale force winds and heavy rain. More rain! My lawn is squelching under foot enough as it is! LOL! Anyway I think the walk did me the power of good as I feel that bit brighter than I have done over the last week or so.

I haven't finished CCN Forest Snowfall as yet! Yes I know I only have a bit left to do but I have got heavily into HAED Summer ACEO, which is in my rotation slot for this week, and I just want to keep on stitching her. I actually sat yesterday afternoon and did a couple of hours ( not that you'd notice really!) and intend on doing some this afernoon too. I need to start a little something for a friend who has a birthday later on this month and have found the chart I want to stitch and sorted fabric and threads but just not got around to starting yet!

Hope you enjoy my pictures. Anybody who doesn't know where I live like to guess where it is? And no asking somebody who does know! LOL!

Oh and it looks as though Blogrolling is finally working! I contacted them through their support form on 30th December and finally had a reply yesterday to say they were looking into it and hoped to have the matter resolved soon. Not before time!

Catching Up.

Sorry I haven't been around for a few days. I have been feeling under the weather both physically and mentally and just haven't felt like doing much on the PC. Been trying to catch up with at least one group I'm in plus just been catching up with the blogs in my list. Please welcome Paula to the wonderful world of blogging!

It was my uncle's funeral on Thursday afternoon. We have a new vicar at the parish church and he seems a vast improvement on the last one. I have to admit that I don't go to church except for funerals, weddings and christenings plus when the girls were in juniors in primary school they had carol concerts in church. Anyway the service was beautiful, the hymns two of my favourites and the vicar was wonderful. I did not feel particularly sad as it was more a celebration of his life and I was OK until my uncle's coffin passed by us on the way out, then the tears came. I have felt pretty low since then and can't put my finger on exactly why. There was something after the funeral which did nothing for my already low self-esteem and confidence but I think it's those things on top of PMT which are making me feel low plus I've been feeling like I've been going down with cold but it doesn't seem to be coming to anything which is very annoying.

My stitching has been going quite well even if I do say myself! I have almost finished Country Cottage Needleworks Forest Snowfall and as you can see from this WIP pic I only have some snow and backstitch to do.

I have darkened the scanned pic slightly so that you can see the white better. I am delighted with the way this is turning out and am hoping to get some time during the day tomorrow to get it finished. Would love some snow here like this! LOL!

My plan for the weekend was to start Chatelaine Summer Afternoon but on Saturday evening I felt sick, my throat was sore and I felt generally sorry for myself. So I got the sofa snuggler out, wrapped myself up in it and started to read The Hogfather by Terry Pratchett. Sunday evening I didn't think it was worth starting Summer Afternoon so I carried on with CCN Forest Snowfall.

This week it's the turn of HAED Summer ACEO in my rotation and I am hoping to get a good bit done on her. She is one of my goals for 2007 on the HAED ezboard and I want to get her finished by the end of the year, although much sooner would be nice! I have two pages done so four to go although two of those aren't full pages.

I am doing well on the wagon so far and even though I have been feeling down I have not had the urge to buy anything. Usually when I feel down I want to buy some stash so things must be very bad! LOL! I think the fact that I have lots of charts plus complimentary charts has made me realise that I just don't need to buy anymore and has sort of stopped me wanting to, if that makes any sense at all! Let's face it three months of not buying isn't going to kill me and I'll save money too!

First Finish of 2007!

Well, here we are 10 days into January and I have my first finish! It is San Man Originals Let It Snow, a SAL for SMO message board members only. I actually started this back in November and the SAL ran for 7 weeks. I kept up with it pretty well but the last part came out late Christmas Day but I didn't request it until a few days later then didn't get around to stitching it. So here it is, stitched on Polstitches Dragon Shades Friendship using DMC, Dragon Floss and San Man Strands. I am delighted with the way this has turned out.

I'm still doing quite well with CCN Forest Snowfall. I made quite good progress on the house last night and hope to get that bit done tonight. I can't see me having it finished by the end of the week but you never know! Off to stitch and see what I can do!

Oh I almost forgot! I wanted to share this photo of Abigail and our budgie Billy!

Do you think he likes her hat?!!!

What a Day!

I think like the rest of the country we have had very high winds today. I went to the shops today and just about got blown away! It wasn't too bad going but coming back I was walking against the wind so was tired out by the time I got in! LOL! Later in the morning the heavens opened and the wind blew even more! Thank God I was inside and safe!

Had a good clean up in the living room today. I think it had the best dust it's had in a while with the Christmas decorations being up. Even the floor got a polish! It'll be the turn of the dining room tomorrow!

I have decided to try and get the SMO Let It Snow SAL finished over the next few days if I get chance to stitch in an afternoon. I managed to get the snowman finished this afternoon so just have to backstitch him and do the snowflakes on his body which I hope to do tomorrow. I'd like to get it finished and made into a bellpull by the end of the week. CCN Forest Snowfall is going quite well but I'm not terribly keen on the fabric. Don't get me wrong it's very pretty but with it being opalescent it's a pig to see the holes properly and I've ended up making a mistake in the counting in one place at least. Hope it goes better tonight!

Looks like Blogrolling is working again ( finger's crossed!).

Christmas Mystery IV

Here's my Chatelaine Christmas Mystery IV part 1 completed! I'm very pleased with the way this is looking so far. I chose not to use the silks as I just couldn't justify spending all that money so am using DMC as well as the recommended Rainbow Gallery threads and Delica beads etcSo I am now free to stitch on anything I like at the weekends until the next part comes out! I have no idea what that will be as yet. Maybe something I'm already stitching on or something new off my goals list! if I'm going to make any headway on it I'd better start soon!I guess I could make weekends my time for Chatelaine stitching and start Summer Afternoon! LOL!

Lisa and I are doing well on the wagon so far. Yeah so it's only been a week but I haven't had the slightest urge to buy anything at all. Not even fabric or threads so I am pleased with myself! I am confident that we can keep it up until April 1st.

Jess had her biology mock this morning then came home for an hour or so before her Maths one. She thinks it went OK! Tomorrow she's got three mocks but Wednesday she only has one so she can have a lie in, go into school for the mock then be home for about 12.45! Thursday is a normal school day, then Friday she's got three mocks again. I'm keeping my finger's crossed that she does well on all of them.

The Gift of Stitching

I subscribed to The Gift of Stitching today! Yes so I am on the stash wagon but as far as I'm concerned magazines can't really be counted as stash and, as Julie says, they are not stash, they are reading material! LOL! Nice one Julie! Anyway it is thanks to Julie that I have subscribed as she sent me a little something in return for sending her the charts for Just Nan Barnabee's Quest ( even though I did not ask for anything, bless you Julie). I have not had a proper look as yet but it does look very good. I also bought the back issues containing the Martina Webber design and the issue with the Christmas ornaments in it.

Last night was my last night on HAED Winter for a few weeks. I am quite sorry to have to put it away now but I really need to stick to my rotation or I'll never get anything else done! LOL! I'm hoping that next time I'll be able to finish the first page. I love the colours in this as there are blues, purples as well we greys, browns and whites. I also love the way it is coming along. So for tonight and tomorrow night it'll be Chatelaine Christmas Mystery IV. Not sure I'll manage to finish the first part but I'll have a damned good go!

I received my GC order from Mary Kathryn today. You may remember that Rita in WI from the LHN Yahoo group kindly sent me a GC for my birthday and I ordered an LHN chart ( Chocolate Shoppe) and a CCN one ( A Place We Call Home). I honestly don't know which one to start first but it won't be for a while yet as there are a few other things which I need to do first! Not saying what as one is a secret as I'm not sure if the lady in question reads my blog or not! LOL!

DH decided that we'd go out for a meal tomorrow instead of yesterday so I didn't have to cook a Sunday lunch but he is ill with cold and feeling really rough so we're going to go another time.

We took all the Christmas decorations down this morning and the house looks so bare now; it's awful! I always hate it so much until I get used to them not being there. All my Christmas cross stitch is now in the loft with all the decs not to be seen for another 11 months! LOL!

I seem to have the taste for family history again. I go through stages where I research quite a bit then I hit a brick wall and stop! I am still hoping to make a start on my Mum's family but her maiden name was Fisher and there are loads of them!! LOL!

Time To Talk About......

I decided to blog about my finishes for 2006 today. I hope I can remember them as I deleted the list from here a few days ago so am looking at my Webshots for them! I have an album of 2006 finishes but some of them are in albums for a specific designer! So here goes!

2006 Finishes.

• 
  
  San Man Originals The Perfect Tree
• 
  
  San Man Originals Dream a Little Dream
• 
  
  San Man Originals Silent Night
• 
  
  San Man Originals Holy Night
• 
  
  San Man Originals I Love Spring
• 
  
  Just Nan Barnabee's Quest
• 
  
  Shepherds Bush Busy Sheep
• 
  
  Heaven and Earth Designs Quick Stitch Luna
• 
  
  Heart in Hand Summer Needleroll
• 
  
  Heart in Hand Winter Needleroll
• 
  
  Heart in Hand Fall Needleroll
• 
  
  Victoria Sampler Jungle Bells Tree Farm
• 
  
  Bent Creek Walking in a Winter Snapperland
• 
  
  Little House Needleworks Lavender Hill
• 
  
  Elizabeth's Designs Flowers for My Friend
• 
  
  Merry Heart To Teach
• 
  
  Heaven and Earth Designs Quick Stitch Sagittarius
• 
  
  Heart in Hand School Days
• 
  
  Erica Michaels 1st Class Teacher
• 
  
  Doop Designs Our Future
• 
  
  Little House Needleworks Watermelon
• 
  
  Indigo Rose Peace on Earth
• 
  
  Just Nan Whimzi Rose
• 
  
  Little House Needleworks Where There is Life
• 
  
  Alchemy Stitchcraft/ Jayne's Attic Biscornu SAL
• 
  
  Heaven and Earth Designs Quick Stitch Blossom
• 
  
  Val's Stuff Be Merry
• 
  
  Monsterbubbles Feliz Navidad
• 
  
  Little House Needleworks The Counting House
• 
  
  Lizzie*Kate 12 Blessings of Christmas

I am very pleased with all I have achieved this year especially completing the three HAEDs. I never thought I'd be able to stitch one, even a quick stitch, so I am delighted with those.

I have been stitching away this week on HAED Winter ( Sara Butcher) but am getting a bit despondant with it if I'm honest. I'm not doing too badly but haven't even finished a page yet and with 36 pages of chart I'll be lucky if I get it finished before I'm 50! LOL! I have three other full size charts in my stash so have now decided that I won't get another full sized one no matter how much I like it. To complete it any quicker I'd have to work on it constantly and would probably end up fed-up before I'd finished it! I think once I get one page completed I will more than likely feel better about it. My goals on the HAED board for 2007 are to finish 2 pages of Winter ( being realitistic here!) and to finish QS Summer ACEO. I really want to start HAED Guardian and Spirit of Winter this year too but there's no way I could cope with three full sized ones on the go. I'll see how I get on with Winter over the next month or so. I'll post an up to date WIP pic of Winter after tonight.

On the rotation front I'm changing it slightly. I have now decided on a 4 week rotation to include HAED Quick Stitch Dragonette so that I get more done on that too. If I don't it'll take me forever to stitch the few pages it has!

Good news about the hair straighteners I sent away before Christmas! As they hadn't reached their destination as of yesterday Royal Mail considered them lost so that meant I could make a claim. I printed off a claim form from their website but then decided to do a search for the service centre I'd sent them to. Turns out that they've moved from Warrington to Wigan since the booklet that was with my straighteners was printed. So I rang them to ask if mail was being directed to them and explained what had happened. Turns out my straighteners were redirected there and they are sending me a replacement shortly! So that is one piece of good news for the New Year!

Birthday Greetings & Sad News.

Happy Birthday to my DH!!!

Today is my DH's 45th birthday, although I'm sure he won't thank me for telling you that! LOL! The four of us are going to go out for a bar meal tomorrow evening to celebrate!

On a sad note my 82 year old uncle ( my Dad's brother) died yesterday. He had been in hospital since just before Christmas but was expected to make a full recovery and go back to the home he was in so it was quite a shock when my cousin let my Dad know that he wasn't expected to live much longer. Not a good start to the New Year.

New Year, New Start!

I decided seen as it's a new year I'd have a new start! So yesterday afternoon I settled down with fabric, thread and needle to start Country Cottage Needleworks Forest Snowfall. Many of the lovely ladies on the LHN Yahoo group started this at on 21st December for the Wintry SAL but I didn't get my chart until Christmas Day from DH as one of my presents plus I didn't get my fabby until last Thursday. So I am probably way behind now but happy to have started it now! It is stitched on Polstitches Dragon Shades Stormy Skies 28 count opalescent Lugana. I will be using GAST, Crescent Colours and DMC for this. It's just a small start but at least it's started! LOL!

I think I am back to a rotation now. Lisa and I were chatting about it the other day and I have sort of stolen one of her ideas ( well not stolen as she said we were doing it together!) so this is my rotation from now ( bit complicated!)

• Weekends Anything that takes my fancy except for weekend after 25th of each month Chatelaine Christmas Mystery IV
• Week 1 HAED Winter
• Week 2 CCN Forest Snowfall
• Week 3 HAED QS Summer
• Wednesdays Only HAED QS Dragonette

I may well add some other bits to it as time goes on but for now that it is. With only having these bits in my rotation for now I should be able to make some good progress on each piece ( I hope!). I will probably stick to this better than a longer rotation but may well end up changing it slightly and having a focus piece to work on every other week but I'll see how it goes for now.

As promised I am adding a picture of my progress on Chatelaine Christmas Mystery IV. I have scanned a corner of it this time to show a close-up of it. When I put it away I was working on the gold bows and had just about got across the top of the piece with them. I have three more sides to do with those then the green inner border. I'm pleased with the way it's looking so far and will pick it up again at the weekend.

I still have the SMO Let It Snow SAL to complete so will have to see when I can fit that in! LOL! Might see if I can pick it up one afternoon while Jess is revising for her mocks and Abi is finishing the Maths she had sent home to do!
Bye for now!