One Last Needleroll for 2009

One last post before Christmas to show what will probably be my last finish of 2009! As you may know Chris and I have been doing a SAL of a Shepherd's Bush needleroll each month which I have really enjoyed and we are planning on keeping it going it going next year :) So here's my last roll of the year and I have to say I really like this one.

Shepherd's Bush Pin Needleroll

32 count cream fabric

DMC and Mill Hill Beads

Thanks Chris for doing the SAL with me. I have really enjoyed it and look forward to carrying on next year :)

Thank you to all those of you who have visited me this year and I hope you will continue to visit me even though my blogging has been a bit hit and miss these past few months. Hopefully things will improve in 2010 and I'll be back to my old blogging self :)

Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and Father Christmas brings you all lots of nice stitchy stash!

Hugs

Sally

xx

A Christmas Happy Dance!

Wahooooo!!! Come dance with me as I have a Christmas finish! Lizzie*Kate Merry Christmas By The Letter is all finished up, buttons are sewn on and it's ready to made up. I'm planning on just doing a simple bell pull finish as I haven'tr eally got time to do anything else with it now as I'd like it up on the wall as soon as possible :) Sorry the piccie isn't a very good one but it's really dull here today and it keeps trying to snow :)

Lizzie*Kate Merry Christmas By The Letter

36 count flax linen

DMC threads

Started 7th July 2009

Finished 17th December 2009

Another finish for me is an ornament. Chris and I decided to do an ornament exchange like we did last year and after much contemplation I decided on Milady's Needle A Spot of Christmas from this year's JCS ornament mag and I am ver happy to say that Chris loves it. I decided to finish it as a pinkeep and used a twisted ribbon finish as I really like how this looks.

Milady's Needle A Spot of Christmas

32 count fabric

DMC threads

Stitched for Chris.

Finally my December SAL with Chris. It's a little slow going as I will admit I am spending too much time online chatting lol but I am enjoying this piece so much. This will be my sole WIP other than a needleroll until Christmas so, hopefully, I will get more done.

Thank you so much for all your birthday wishes :) Seems hard to believe my birthday was nearly a week ago. Time is flying so fast. I received a lovely card and gift from Karan this week. Karan handmakes her cards and just look at the beauty she sent me. Isn't it gorgeous? The chart she sent me is a JBW Sweet Nothings called A Single Rose and I love it. Roses were one of my Mum's favourite flowers and my Dad always used to have a lovey display in his front garden so this design is so perfect. And the silk thread is so soft. Thank you so much Karan xx

Well onto other stuff now. Tuesday was my follow-up appointment at the ENT clinic and this time I saw the head consultant. He was so nice, checked me over and decided to do a scan. He did say that just because he was sending me for a scan it didn't mean he thought there was anything wrong and is using it more as a screening scan ( ?) so we shall see once I've had that done. Also I started with toothache on Sunday! Now I so rarely get toothache but it was very painful so Monday I rang my dentist to see if I could get an appointment and went Wednesday just before lunch. I ended up having a tooth out while I was there! I didn't expect to get it done there and then but now I have no more pain other than a bit of discomfort from having it out and I'm now £45 lighter in the bank for it! Lol! Wonder if that's everything now???

I hope everyone is keeping nice and warm as it's bitterly cold here in the UK at the moment. We've had out first snow of the winter and where I live we had very high winds last night which was really scary. Thankfully it's dropped a little today but it's still very windy.

I'm off to catch up on blog reading and commenting now before lunch then I'll see if I can my L*K made up to hang :)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Hugs

Sally

xxxx

Happy Birthday To Me!!!!

Today is my ( shush) 46th birthday and I have had quite a lovely day :) I have had some gorgeous cards and some gorgeous presents too and I have been spoilt with some lovely gifts from some of my stitchy friends.

A few weeks ago I bought a Nominations classic bracelet and one charm to start myself off as I'd had some money given. Abi had got one for her birthday from me and her Dad with some charms as well as a couple of charms from my Dad and I really liked the idea of one. Anyway my Dad asked after I'd bought it what I'd like for my birthday and gave me some money to go get something so I bought some charms. Hubby bought me my zodiac charm along with some flowers. Abi bought me an angel keyring and mother and daughter necklaces which I thought were such a lovely idea :) Jess paid for me to go the cinema to see A Christmas Carol in 3D which was unreal!!! What a fantastic film and simply stunning in 3D!

Now I cannot go without showing the lovely gifts I received from my stitchy friends.

First up is the gorgeous scissor fob I received from my dear friend Lisa. Now Lisa knows I love snowmen and she knows I like Prairie Schooler and look what she stitched for me :) I abolutely love this and it will be going on my scissors and will be treasured very much. Thank you so much Lisa!

Next is a gorgeous floss tag ring from Julie. Julie also chose a perfect design for me as it's a Just Nan, it's my initial and it smells divine of lavender which I abolutely love :) I can't wait to put it to good use and it will also be treasured very much. Thank you so much Julie!
Last but not least is a gorgeous pyn pillow from Barb. When I opened this I couldn't believe my eyes as I'd looked at this chart many times and had fallen in love with it. It's M Designs Miss Mary Mac's Pins and Needles and Barb has personalised it with my name and again it smells divine as she's filled it with lavender. This will also be treasured very much and I intend to pop it next to me while I'm stitching so I can smell the lavender. Thank you so much Barb!
So as you can see I have been spoilt and I feel honoured to have friends who take the time to remember me on my birthday and stitch gifts :)

That's it from me :) Take care everyone.

Hugs

Sally
xx

Oh Dear!

Yes it's oh dear as there seems to be a distinct lack of blogging and blog reading going on in my house! Last week was one of those of weeks I really do not want to repeat in a hurry but a bit more of that after my stitchy updates.

Yes stitchy updates. That thing I do with needle and thread which I just about remember how to do! Although last week it was well and truly my sanctuary. Chris and I started Blue Ribbon Designs Peppermint Twist and here's how far I've got. This is stitched on my own tea dyed fabby using DMC

My other piece of stitching is Lizzie*Kate Merry Christmas By The Letter which has come along quite nicely and is quite close to being finished. It has been such a fun design to stitch and I look forward to getting this on the wall for Christmas Day.
I'm hoping to get a needleroll done this month but HAED Guardian is probably going to be on hold until after Christmas now. I'd like to get Peppermnt Twist finished this month but I have my doubts that will happen! Lol!

Our start to December was not a good one as my Dad rang at 7.45 am to say he'd fallen getting out of bed and couldn't get up. He has severe arthritis in his right knee so I am assuming his knee gave out on him but he doesn't know what happened so we cannot be sure. He had smacked his nose on the wardrobe door and didn't know if he'd hurt his arm or not. I took one look at him, knew I wasn't going to be able to get him up and called an ambulance. The paramedics were there in no time and were so good. They couldn't decide if he'd broken his arm or dislocated his shoulder but it was clear that he'd done something by the shape of it. To cut a long story short he had dislocated his shoulder and cut his nose so had four stitches in that. The most annoying thing was that had intermidiate care been able to see him the same day and arrange carers to go into his home he'd have been back home the same day. As it was the hospital deemed him fit to come home the following day which distressed me greatly as he clearly wasn't. Anyway regardless of how I felt about it he came home with his arm in a sling, unsteady on his feet and he lives on his own. Not good. He has carers three times a day plus he now has the Lifeline/ telecare system installed so that if he should fall again he can get help by pressing a button. So last week was very stressful for all of us but my Dad is feeling more settled with the help he's had from intermediate care and with the lifeline in.

Anyway that's all from me for now. Not sure when normal blog reading/ commenting service will resume as I, as I am sure everyone else is, busy preparing for Christmas.

Take care everyone.

Hugs

Sally

Look- eeeeeeeee A Big Finish!

Here's Beatrix in all her glory! Just need to add some initials to it :)

Needleprint Beatrix Potter Quaker Sampler

25 count lugana one over one

Victorian Motto Antique Rose

Started 1st January 2009

Finished 29th October 2009

PIF for Elisa

At long last I have finally stitched Elisa's PIF. She has had the longest wait and I really must apologise to her as I had planned to get them all done much sooner than I did but at least I did them within the 365 days!!!! Anyway I know that Elisa really liked the SB Friendship Roll I stitched for Andrea so I decided to stitch it for her also. The fabby I used is slightly lighter but I think it looks just as good.Shepherd's Bush Friendship Roll

PIF for Elisa.

I have been doing other stitching too so I do have some progress to show:) First up is Beatrix. Now I am spurred on by the fact that I am so close to finishing this as once I finish the motif I am working on I only have four more and two of those are small. My plan to finish this by the end of the year actually looks as though it's going to work! I have done a little more since this piccie.

Also coming along nicely is Lizzie*Kate Merry Christmas By The Letter. Still hoping for a finish in time for Christmas but not sure I will get it done as I have a few things I need to do.

Lastly, and I do hope you're not getting fed-up of this, is HAED Guardian. I am about halfway down my 6th page now and just wish I could get more done on this. I think next year I am going to have to concentrate on it a lot more or it'll never get finished in a million years!

That's all my stitchy news. Hubby and I are Christmas shopping this next week so it's possible there may not be much stitching going on! I have to say that although I love Christmas Day the build up in recent years just gets me down and I wish I had a magic wand to make it all happen! Lol!

Finally a huge thank you to everyone who wished Abi a Happy Birthday. She has read all the comments and says thank you and sends hugs to everyone of you:)

Sorry this is short but I don't have much to say right now!

Take care everyone!

Hugs
Sally
xxx

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