My RR Returns and Other Stuff!

I am here at last with a blog update! Last week was my full-ish week on Bygone Stitches A Quaker Christmas and I made pretty good progress even though I do say so myself! Lol! I actually stayed up until I'd finished the snowflake motif last night as I didn't want to leave it unfinished! You can see my last picture of it here.
Friday Chris came for a visit. We had a lovely afternoon chatting. I showed her all my stitching all over the house, some of my stash, we did a bit of trading and I saw her gorgeous Judy O' Dell Sampler Garden Casket and accessories ( not finished yet) and it made me want to start mine but I can't yet so have to be good! She forgot to bring my RR but I forgave her and we decided that she keep it, finish it for me, and send it back all done!!! Lol! Somehow I think she must have had a change of heart as my RR arrived in the post yesterday:) I'm looking forward to meeting up again soon as I enjoy her company and we get on well. Here is a pic of my RR. I couldn't get a close-up but in the next few weeks I hope to make a start on making it up into the accordian book. Should be fun!


As you know I was thinking about maybe having a new start to replace Just Nan Morning Song and I couldn't make up my mind what to do. In the end, rightly or wrongly, I decided to go ahead and start Blackbird Designs Rites of Spring:) My plan had been to keep up with the Loose Feathers and have one finished before the next one came out which worked well for the first one then went totally to pot after that! Lol! I managed to stitch a bit of the tree and one of the swans. I think it could be quite quick to stitch.

I have been very naughty this morning and have ordered this after Kate posted a link to it on the S&S forum. I ordered it from Hollie Stitch . I will never be rich at this rate but I will have some lovely stash! Still at least I'm not stashing as much as I used to and I'm being much more selective about what I buy! I tend to think long and hard now rather than jump in with both feet!

Last week I received a parcel from Sarah who I got to know through the HAED forum and we keep in touch via PM on there. She knows I have not been well and sent me these lovely things:) Thank you so much Sarah. The notepad and pen are now in my bag and the JBW chart is waiting to be started and I hope to stitch it ready for Autumn:)

I finished the biscornu for the S&S secret biscornu exchange and it's in the post. I can't show it yet although I don't think the person I'm sending to reads my blog. I don't think it'll be much of a secret as we've known each other for several years now!

I went to the doctors yesterday as I found out on Friday afternoon that he wanted to see me regarding my blood tests. There was nothing untoward showed up so my swollen jaw is still a complete mystery, which is rather annoying, but he did mention the possibilty of it being a blocked saliva gland but I would be in more pain. I wanted to scream so why the hell have I felt so ill then?!!! It's been swollen two weeks now and I'm beginning to think I'm stuck with it although it's not as swollen as it was. So it's a wait and see situation as far as that is concerned. The only thing that did come to light is that my iron levels are low again so I now have just over three months supply of iron tablets. Something else that it looks as though I am going to have to put up with! Thank you all for your good wishes. I appreciate them very much and they mean more than you could all ever know:)

Well I better end here so thank you for reading all my drivel today:) Hugs to you all.

Secret Stitching and WIPs!

Not much stitching this week although I did manage almost 10 rows of page 1 of HAED TT letter J on Tuesday night. Monday night by the time DH and I had got back from the meeting/ talk at school I did not feel like stitching as I felt so ill. The talk was pretty dull I must say but there were some points brought up that we did not know about but it was pretty scary too thinking that at the end of uni Jess could be about £24,000 in debt!

Anyway back to my stitching! Here's my progress on HAED TT letter J. I do like the way this is stitching up. It's so easy to stitch with there being so little confetti and so few colours. I can see me actually wanting to keep stitching this and finishing it! Lol!

Last night I was a bit late sitting down to stitch by the time Abi and I had got back from her review evening, had tea, washed up etc so I only got the seahorse finished on Sea Stars and another one started. I was in bed at just gone 10pm which is not like me at all. I love this seahorse! He looks so cute! Karen how are you getting on with yours?

Now that I know everyone has received their little gifts I can show the secrets I finished! I wanted to stitch a little something for Chris, Lisa, Jane and Tracy for stitching on my RR and found the ideal thing when Jayne was doing pre-orders a while ago. So here is what I stitched! The picture does not do them justice though.

Twisted Oaks Designs M'Lady's Needle Nanny

Carrie's Creations Lumiere De Cheryl

Gifts for Chris, Lisa, Jane and Tracy.

Thank you for all your good wishes for the dentist. Unfortunately I am still none the wiser as to what is causing my jaw to swell but it's up more and I have felt terrible these past few days. The dentist was very thorough and was totally stumped! So I managed to get an appointment for the doctors the same morning and saw the same one I saw at half term. He decided he wanted to do blood tests to see if those will shed some light on what is going on so I went for those yesterday although I have to go back in 2 weeks to have one of them repeated. He said that if there is anything he will be in touch and the results should be back tomorrow. So I'm keeping my finger's crossed that I am simply fighting an infection of some sort and it's nothing more serious than that.

Jess enjoyed herself at university on Monday so much so she didn't want to go back to school on Monday! Lol! Let's see if she feels that way when she's there full time!

Abi's review evening went well. I did not feel like going but it's only once a year and as DH was working late and could not go I decided I needed to make the effort and I was so pleased I did. All the teachers Abi and I saw had nothing but praise for her and I came out feeling so proud:) Apparently the group she is in has quite a lot of children who really don't want to work and one teacher said that Abi and the group of girls she sits with have kept her going which I thought was lovely. I really would not like to be a teacher these days.

Thank you for all your lovely comments on my Just Nan finish:) Your visits and comments mean so much {{{{hugs}}}}.

I'm going to hang some more washing out while it is fine. It keeps looking like rain!

Hugs

The Song Has Been Sung!

Last night I finished Just Nan Morning Song! Yahoooo!!! Lol! This has been an absolute pleasure to stitch and thank you so much Nic for stitching along with me:) Not sure if I'll start something else for a Sunday or just carry on with my rotation as it is for now. I'm tempted by the BBD Loose Feathers Rites of Spring but I may wait a while and try and finish something else first!

Just Nan Morning Song

SAL with Nic

Stitched on 28 count Jayne's Attic Count on Me Jonquil

DMC

Started 13th April 2008

Finished 22nd June 2008

I am going to the dentist tomorrow. As I said last week my jaw is swollen again. It was only half term the last time it happened and I went to the doctors and he said I could be fighting an infection but leave it and see what happens. This time I decided dentist first then doctors if they don't find anything. It's the 4th time it's swollen up but this time it's happened again quite quickly. I can feel it coming on when it happens and I must admit I don't really feel well. I keep getting all hot and bothered but that could be hot sweats due to my hormones but I haven't had those for ages! Oh well time will tell. Will see what my dentist says tomorrow.

Jess has gone off to Hull University this morning for masterclasses in Biology and chemistry so I'm hoping she enjoys it:) We've got a meeting at school tonight about applying for university etc then it's Abi's parents evening on Wednesday so we're going to be busy! Not sure I want to sit through this meeting tonight but it should only be an hour and we have no idea of the why's and wherefores of university so it'll be a big help; hopefully!

Thank God the high winds have dropped today. It was awful here yesterday and rather scary. I noticed lots of leaves and branches blown off trees when I was out earlier this morning.

Have a good week everyone:)

Hugs

Lisa's RR Take 2!

I have just put the final stitches into my second block on Lisa's RR and this one went so much better! I think I was just scared when I did the first one that I'd mess up with it being one over one on 28 count and I relaxed a bit more stitching this block. This is stitched over one on 28 count using DMC 99, which I have taken a liking to! So here you go Lisa:) I hope you like it:) This will be in the post to you this week:)




As promised here's my progress on Ink Circles Sea Stars. I am much happier with what I got stitched this time. It seemed to have been so slow of late but two motifs and a bit of a seahorse have made me happy!


That's all for today. I'm going to do some more stitching, cook tea, then get Just Nan Morning Song out:) It's a stitching day today as it's so windy out there!

Hugs

Lisa's RR:)

I have been stitching on my first block of Lisa's RR this week and for all it's a lovely piece it has been a bit of a long haul stitching this! Lol! I'm afraid I did have to frog one motif but it's restitched and all correct now so, as promised, here's a piccie for you Lisa:) I hope you like it. I've been restitching the motif and doing the backstitch whilst listening to Russell Watson this afternoon so I am happy and relaxed {{{{sigh}}}} He's got such a gorgeous voice.

No progress picture of Sea Stars yet as I forgot to take a picture yesterday and DH has gone to Donnington with his Dad and brother today to watch the Moto GP practice and qualifying so has taken his camera with him. I am happy to report, though, that I did make better progress this week and stitched two small motifs and started a sea horse!

Abi went back to school yesterday feeling much better than she did on Wednesday so that was a relief. She had a huge nosebleed last night just before she went to bed so I hope she doesn't have another one today. She is prone to them especially during hayfever season.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend:)

Hugs

An RAK From Michele:)

I was rather puzzled when postie brought me an envelope from Monique today. When I opened it up you can imagine my surprise when I found this inside:) It is one on Monique's gorgeous new threadholders which I was admiring on her blog. It is an RAK from the lovely Michele. Michele this was a wonderful surprise and an equally wonderful gift:) Thank you so much ( an email is on it's way to you) you have truly made my day and as I said in my email I wish you could have seen the smile on my face:) {{{{{hugs}}}}} I wish I could be as lucky as Edgar and meet you in person.

Just a quick post today. Abi is off school ill. She felt really sick early this morning. We're not sure if it's a bug or if it's the anti-inflammatories the doctor prescribed for her knee. I have a swollen face yet again so we make a good pair today. Plus my not-so-monthly monthlies are here yet again and I'm heavy again:( ( Now you see why Michele made my day). I'm off for a lazy afternoon of stitching, sitting with Abi:)

Hugs

WIPs and New Stash ( Naughty!)

Sunday night was SAL night with Nic on Just Nan Morning Song. I have really been enjoying stitching this piece as I love Just Nan band samplers and I am hoping to have this finished by the end of the month. I did actually cheat a little this week as I did not get much stitched on Sunday evening due to helping Jess to get her Sims 2 game working on her laptop so I did a little yesterday afternoon too:)
Last night was Bygone Stitches A Quaker Christmas and I managed to get a lot of another motif done but didn't quite get it all done as I was looking at the UCAS website with Jess and I ordered a parents guide and she ordered a prospectus for Hull University. Anyway here's my progress. I think if I keep this up I should have it on the wall in time for Christmas this year:) Teri asked what the red thread is I'm using. It's Carrie's Creations Old World Red and it is gorgeous:)

I had some new stash delivered today. OK I know I'm supposed to be being frugal BUT I fell in love with Chris' Judy O'Dell's Sampler Garden Casket that she has been stitching and have been umming and ahhing over whether to get it or not. I was originally going to sign up for the private group on the Just a Thought forum but then Chris emailed me to say Needlecraft Corner had the chart on sale. It was half price so I ordered that and the finishing instructions:) I don't know when I'll start it but it won't be for a while yet. I had a quick scan through the finishing instructions and all I can say at the moment is HELP!!! Lol!

I have one more place left on my PIF. Any takers?????

We spent Father's Day being very lazy:) DH has had some early mornings and some long days of late so he deserved a lazy day watching the motorbike racing on TV:) The girls brought him breakfast in bed:) Jess bought him the latest Neil Diamond CD and Abi bought him a Simpsons World's Greatest Dad mug with socks:) He and I don't exchange gifts; just send cards; but this year I decided to get him a little something. He loves the song Candyman by Christina Aguelira but I couldn't find it in the UK and found it was never released here as a single CD so I downloaded it from MSN and burned it onto a CD. Jess made a cover for it and he was delighted:)

Thank you for your kind comments and hugs on my last post. For all it's 23 years ago I still find it hard at times without my Mum here.

Hugs

23 Years Ago

23 years ago today my beloved Mum passed away. I miss her so much. There is so much I wish I'd told her; so many things I wish I'd done. All she wanted was to see me married and to have grandchildren. Well, Mum, I am sure you were with me the day I got married ( the sun shone after an awful rainy week) and I know you will be so proud of your two grandaughters. God bless you and keep you safe:)

Tomorrow would have been my Mum-in-law's 69th birthday. Have a happy birthday up in heaven, Pat, with your parents and brothers. Don't drink all the gin:) She was my "surrogate" Mum and such a wonderful person. The photo shows her on the right with her older sisters and brother.

Both of them taken too soon. Hug your Mums and remember to tell them how much you love them and appreciate them.

Saturday Stitchy Updates

At last here I am with the promised updates of my stitching this week:) I had planned to do an update yesterday but it ended up a busy day so I didn't get much time on the PC.

As always Monday evening is Bygone Stitches A Quaker Christmas which I absolutely love stitching on:) I always seem to make good progress on this obviously because I love it so much! I am hoping to have it on the wall for Christmas so I need to stitch on! Lol! I do love this red thread and would definitely use it again.

Tuesday night I decided to join in the Tiny Treasures SAL on the HAED forum so that I can make weekly progress on my letter J for Jess. Which reminds me I must post my progress on there too although I rarely post or go on the forum these days. I am happy with the progress I made just for one night:)

Wednesday night was SAL night with Karen on Ink Circles Sea Stars but not a lot of progress was made due to having visitors so just one small motif done for me this week!

Yuko and Ruth have signed up for my PIF so I am really pleased:) Can you both please email me ( email is in my profile) your addresses. I still have one place left so please do sign up:) I love making stitchy pieces for people.

Thursday evening I made a start on Lisa's RR. It is a lovely piece and the colour Lisa has chosen is gorgeous.

Yesterday I received the latest Blackbird Designs Loose Feathers chart with fabric. This one is called Blessings and Kind Wishes and it is gorgeous; my favourite one so far. It also has the first two parts of the mystery sampler. These are stitched on seperate pieces of fabric then stitched together. Anyone know what the idea of that is??? I know they can all be stitched on one piece of fabric so I may well do them that way. I haven't even started the LF 30 yet and I had planned to have each one stitched before the next one arrived! Lol!

That's all from me today. Thank you for all your lovely comments on my pinkeep with pocket for Andrea:)

Hugs

PIF For Andrea and New PIF Sign- Ups:)

Well I am not really supposed to reveal this until 23rd June as this is what I stitched for the S&S SAL challenge this time BUT I am so proud of how I finished it off I am just bursting to show you! Lol! I hope Karen won't whip me with wet floss for revealing early! LOL!

As you may remember this round of PIFs I chose to send out randomly as there didn't seem to be many people signing up for them in blogland. Sammy Jo received the first one and this time I decided I wanted to send Andrea something. If you are a reader of her blog you will know she has the most amazing stitching and finishes and I have been so lucky to have been sent one of her beautiful Christmas gifts as well as some SB needleroll charts. Anyway this is what I stitched and finished for her. It is a pinkeep ( minus the pins as I liked it without!) with a pocket in the back and it's the first time I've done the pocket in the back. I have Staci to thank for this finishing technique as I saw it on her blog:) Andrea received it yesterday and I had a lovely email thanking me for it. I am so pleased you like it Andrea:)

Blue Ribbon Designs Acorns and Owls ( free design found at http://www.blueribbondesigns.com/)

Stitched with DMC

I have one more PIF to do SO I noticed that Monique was taking PIF sign up victims on her blog so I signed up! So this is how it works. If you would like to receive something made by me within the next 365 days please comment on this post to say that you are interested. The first three will receive something:) In return you post the same offer on your blog. Simple and a lovely way of spreading joy in the stitchy world:) This is the third one I've signed up for and it's great fun.

I received Lisa's RR from Chris yesterday and it is just so pretty. This is the last one to stitch on and I can't believe how fast it's gone! It hardly seems like 5 minutes since we made a start back in January.

No other stitchy updates today as I want to stitch on Sea Stars tonight before I show you my WIPs pics. Monday evening I stitched on AQC and last night I decided to join in the Tiny Treasures SAL on the HAED forum and stitched on the letter J.

Thank you for your continued visits:) I appreciate them so much:)

Hugs