Not Much Stitching ( Picture Heavy!)

There hasn't been much stitching going on recently and all will be revealed shortly! So there isn't much stitching to show this time around! 

First of all I want to show you the ornament that Chris stitched for me for our annual ornament exchange. Chris was a little worried about this as she wasn't sure if I would like it or not but I LOVE it! It is just gorgeous. I have it hung off the garland on my mantlepiece. Thank you so much Chris.

I restarted our December SAL last week as I hated it over 1 on 28 count so I'm now doing it over 2 on 28 count and it looks so much better. I need to get a move on with this as I'm way behind now!

I didn't get anything done on HAED Guardian over the weekend but I did make progress on HAED QS Holly Fairy last week. I'm really enjoying this one. Guardian will be coming out this weekend and, hopefully, I'll get a good bit done. Maybe even get page 10 finished!

I'm afraid I've scrapped yet another piece of stitching. Last night I settled down to stitch the January Wordplay which is my SAL with Barb but I just couldn't get into it. I decided no this is not for me and have decided to scrap it and not doing anymore. The plan was to do all 12 but I just can't face it. I see no point in carrying on with something I'm not enjoying. I find it hard some nights to settle down to stitch so it's best I don't do something I'm not enjoying. I've emailed Barb to ask her if she minds if I SAL with her but on something different. 

I received a lovely birthday card from my dear friend Barb last week and inside it was a cheque for £10. Thank you so much Barb {{{{hugs}}}} I've already decided that I'm going to put it towards buying the new Little House Needleworks Little Sheep Virtues series. Anyone who knows me well will know I love sheep so these are right up my street :)

So that's my stitching news. Now onto what we did at the weekend. We went here!

Well not just there but my other photos are on my phone! We set off from home at 5.20 on Saturday morning to be picked up by the coach in Beverley at 6 am. We got to Marble Arch in London at midday and had 4 hours in London where we walked to Buckingham Palace. We spent a while there taking photos and admiring the view before walking back and going down Oxford Street which was horrendous! It was so busy so you could hardly move at times. We had to be back to be picked up at 4 pm but of course there is always going to be someone who doesn't turn up! One couple were still not back at 4.30 so they got left behind and had to get a taxi to our hotel in Reading. The following day we up bright and early for breakfast and on the coach for 9.30 to go to Windsor. Again photos are on my phone. Windsor is a delightful place and of course the castle is there. We were back on the coach for midday for our much anticipated Harry Potter Studios Tour. This was the main reason we booked the trip. My girls have grown up with the books and films and we were so excited to be going. I took loads of photos but will just pop a few up ( Photos are clickable). Some are not so good as it was so busy you literally had to snap a photo quite quickly. I have to admit I was quite emotional when we went in as it was just so magical! 

My ticket

Doors to the Great Hall

Great Hall

Costumes

Teachers

Ice Sculpture 

Common Room

Entrance to Dumbledore's Office

Dumbledore's Memories

Sword of Gryfendor

wands of the cast

Dobby

Mirror of Erised

Death Eater

Diagon Alley

Carl and I in the Ford Anglia

Abi, Jess and I enjoying a Butter Beer at the tomb of Tom Riddle

Abi knocking on the Dursley's door.

Hogwarts

Thank you everybody for your lovely birthday wishes on my last post. I treasure your friendships more than you could know.

That's all for now. Hopefully I'll have more stitchy progress next time. I've had to mark all blogs as read in my reader I'm afraid as there were just too many to catch up on.

With much love

Sally

xxxx

Yesterday...........

Was my **th birthday lol and I was spoilt rotten by my family and friends. I had a lovely day. I met up with my friend Gill, who I met through going to the craft club, and she treated me to a hot chocolate with cream and a scone with jam and cream :) We sat in the cafe chatting and I showed her how to grid as she's starting her first HAED soon. Before we knew where we were it was 4 pm. I also chatted online to my surrogate sis Lisa which I always enjoy doing. Anyway next year is a big one and I'm planning on having a tattoo to celebrate but not sure I can wait now that Abi has had one and it looks so good.

The day before my birthday Chris came to visit and we had a lovely afternoon chatting and showing our stitching. Chris is making great progress on our December SAL. I think we have decided already what next year's will be! Anyway Chris and I do an ornament exchange and this is what I stitched for her. I haven't taken a photo yet of the one she stitched for me but it gorgeous. I have it hung from the garland on my mantlepiece. Photo next blog post :)

I am going to let the pictures of my gifts do the talking!

First of all a Wish Necklace from Abi. You open up the clam, remove the pearl and pop it in the necklace. I love this. It's so pretty.

From Chris. Just look at that cute sheepie! Thank you so much Chris. I love him!

From Christine. I can't wait to use this soap as I bet it is gorgeous. Thank you so much Christine.

From my DH along with a charm for my Nominations bracelet. I love Boofle. Abi set me off with him a few years ago.

From Lainey. A wonderful selection of trims, backing fabric, a gorgeous tape measure and a gorgeous stitched piece. Thank you so much Lainey.

From Julie. She said my sewing kit was not complete without this angel :) Thank you so much Julie.

From Lesleyanne. Another cute sheepie for my collection ( can you tell I LOVE sheep?) Thank you so much Lesleyanne.

From Lisa, my surrogate sis. A gorgeous coaster with the words I need to tell myself every single day and HAED Mini Frozen Hearts which I adore. Thank you so much sis.

From Michelle. A beautiful pin cushion with a pretty pin and a lovely Primitive Betty's chart. Thank you so much Michelle.

From Karan. Some gorgeous trims and threads. Thank you so much Karan.

Thank you to each and everyone one of you for your beautiful cards and gifts and for making my birthday so special. I feel so blessed to have such sweet friends that remember my birthday. 

I had better get on now. Still way behind on blogs but no time right now to catch up. Jess is coming home today and I have things I must do before she gets here!

Take care everyone. 

With much love

Sally

xxxxx

A Gift for Michelle

A while ago you may remember me showing my progress on The Sampler Girl Know Your Own Happiness and me saying it was going to be an rak but not knowing who for. Well when I showed the one Barb stitched for me the lovely Michelle loved it so I said I would stitch her it. Well it was already almost done so here is it finished. Michelle emailed me to say she loved it :)

I also stitched a wee ornament for Michelle's tree. I chose The Sampled Girl Bedford Falls. I finished it off simply. I'm afraid my finishing seems to have gone downhill this year rather than got better!

I have a couple more finishes that I can't show just yet. Chris and I are doing our annual ornament exchange and we are meeting up tomorrow. Really looking forward to that as we haven't met up in ages. So I'll be able to show the ornament I have stitched for her after tomorrow.

Not much progress on the stitching front really. HAED QS Holly Fairy is going quite well though. I finished page 1 and made a bit of good progress on page 2.

Also managed to make a bit of progress on HAED Guardian. I kinda wish I could wave a magic wand and make this grow faster but if I wasn't so darn fed up with myself it would grow faster anyway!

I started With Thy Needle January Wordplay last Monday. This is my SAL with Barb. I decided to stitch this one over one on 28 count linen. I plan on doing them all the same. I didn't get much done so need to get a move on so that I can get it finished and on display for January. I have another gift to finish before I can pick this up tonight though. Not much to stitch on it.

Wednesday I sat down with CCN Gingerbread Cottage which is what Chris and I are stitching for our December Sal. Unfortunately I didn't like it over one on 28 count as the colours didn't show up well enough so I'll be restarting it on Wednesday.

I received a lovely early birthday present last week of HAED Mini I Remember Moonlight from my lovely Irish friend Paula . I've had this on my wish list for quite sometime now and kept looking at it and now I have it! Thank you so much Paula for thinking of me. I love it and look forward to stitching it one day soon :)

I am going to try and stitch from my stash as much as possible next year with maybe the odd treat. I have so many lovely charts and I haven't really missed treating myself as much as I usually do this year. I want to try and stitch on my HAEDs as much as I can with some smalls thrown in here and there. 

I must apologise if I haven't visited and commented on your blogs recently. I keep desperately trying to get caught up but just don't seem to manage it somehow. I will try and get properly caught up soon.

That's all for now. Hopefully I will be back a lot sooner next time.

With much love

Sally

xxx

It's December!

As yesterday was the 1 st December and we put our Christmas decorations I could at long last open the ornament that my dear friend June kindly sent me. I could have opened it before but I thought it would be more special if I saved it. I have to tell you it was well worth waiting to open. It is a gorgeous PS design and I absolutely love it. Thank you so much June, I will treasure it always.

I didn't get my ornament tree put up until today. I didn't realise how many ornaments I had. These are ones that have been been gifted with, received in exchanges or stitched myself. The photo is not that clear so will try and get a better one.

Not much on the stitching front this last week. My DH had a week off so that we could do our Christmas shopping and I've been so tired. The lovely thing was we picked Jessica up on Wednesday and had a day out shopping with her then Friday Abi had two lessons cancelled so we took her out shopping. Hopefully I will get some stitching done this weekend and get caught up.

I have, however, almost finished the page on HAED QS Holly Fairy so hopefully I'll finish that this week. I have a gift I need to get finished and a few ornaments I need to get made up. I haven't enough progress to show on anything else I'm afraid. I shall be putting LHN Home of a Needlework ( Too! ) on hold for a while but will still  be stitching with the ladies in the parlour on a Wednesday as Chris and I are starting our December SAL of CCN Gingerbread Cottage. Chris has started hers.

Yesterday I had a gift from my dear friend Lesleyanne. She sent me HAED Effects of Caffeine SK as a thank you for me lending her a chart. It was a lovely surprise. The silly thing is I can't for the life of me remember lending her a chart let alone which one I lent her! Thank you so much Lesleyanne. I love these little draggie charts. They are so cute.

Thank you to all of those who entered my blogoversary giveaway. There may be more finished piece giveaways in the New Year. Yesterday I actually considered giving up stitching (won't go into detail ) but I can't just sit in front of the tv and vegetate in an evening plus if I didn't have my stitching I would go mad! Anyway enough of my ramblings. The randomiser chose.......................................Christine! Congratulations Christine! I have your address so I will get that off to you this week :)

That's all for now. Finger's crossed I'll have more show next time! Must catch up on blogs too!

Take care everyone and keep warm. It's going to get very cold this week.

With much love.

Sally

XXX

A Gift From Barb & A Wee Giveaway

Yesterday I received some lovely post from my dear friend Barb. A while ago she stitched a lovely piece by The Sampler Girl which many of us admired and asked where the design was from. She very kindly offered to stitch some of us it and let me tell you it is gorgeous.

Thank you so much Barb {{{{hugs}}}} I will treasure it always. Barb also sent me the chart of LHN It's Cold Outside which she has recently finished stitching ♥

My blogoversary has been and gone! I always seems to manage to miss it! Anyway I am having a wee giveaway for the Stacy Nash piece I stitched a while ago. I won't use it so would like it to go to someone who will. It's not the best finishing but I hope whoever wins it will like it. If you'd like to be in with a chance please say you'd like to enter. The only thing I ask is that you have commented regularly and not just for giveaways I've had. Please don't flame me for that.

That's all for today.

With much love

Sally

xx

Christmas All Year Round Finish

I can't believe that I have actually managed to finish my November ornament for the Christmas All Year Round SAL in decent time. OK so it isn't made up yet but it's finished. I seriously need to get my finger out as I have three ornaments to make up before the tree goes up and I need to get them done this week because next week I'll be too busy!

So here's my ornament.

Daffycat Designs Stocking Reindeer

32 count Permin Amber linen

DMC

Started 12th November 2012

Finished 20th November 2012

I also finished this one.

Little House Needleworks Snow in Love

32 count Gander Rose linen

DMC

Started 15th October 2012

Finished 12th November 2012

I stitched Abi a wee gift for her 18th birthday.

Shepherd's Bush Happy Birthday

28 count unknown fabric

DMC

Started 25th October 2012

Finished 6th November 2012

I have had two other finishes and a start but can't show those as they are gifts.

Progress now on my HAEDs. Guardian did not get much done on it as we were out for Abi's 18th on Friday evening and I was shattered when we got back in. Saturday we went to the pub for a quick drink although Abi doesn't drink alcohol :).

HAED QS Holly Fairy is coming along nicely. I have almost finished page 1 and just love how she is looking.  I am hoping to get this page finished soon. Abi wants it finished for Christmas. Yup I'm Super Mum!!!

Final stitchy photo is my progress on LHN Home of a Needleworker ( Too!). All the chatting in the parlour over at Needlecraft Haven means it's slow going but I am enjoying this :)

I  am adding a couple of BBD books to my for sale page as well as LHN Snow in Love chart so please take a look if you think you might be interested.

Next year I am planning on trying to stitch from my stash as much as possible again with just the odd treat. Obviously if I need fabric or threads I will have to buy them as I can't stitch without them! Things are getting tighter as I'm sure you will all know as the economic climate is not improving, prices of everything are on the up but wages are not going the same way! Another thing is I won't be able to stitch and send as many birthday gifts next year. I did cut down a little this year but next year I am going to have to cut down more. I hate doing it as I do enjoy giving. I will still be doing it for a few of my friends though. 

Thank you for all your lovely birthday wishes for Abi on my last post. She says thank you very much and send you all hugs. Here are just a few photos. She insisted that I buy a dress to go out in but I am terrible when it comes to buying clothes. I hate the way I look and just feel that I look old and terrible. However the red number I bought made me feel really good! Not keen on the photos of me though! Abi had a tattoo done on her birthday and I must get a photo of it to show you. I have one on my phone but not got it uploaded onto the PC.

That is all from me for now. I am way behind on blogs and may have to mark them all as read just this time but will see how I get on.

Take care everyone.

With much love

Sally

xxxxx

Happy 18 th Birthday!

Today my youngest baby is 18! I can't believe Abi is 18. I don't know where those years have gone but I am so proud of the young woman that Abi has grown into. She is a kind, considerate witty girl who is also amazingly clever. She is very artistic; she takes the most fantastic photos and draws and paints amazing pieces of art. Abi we are so proud of you and love you to bits. Have a fantastic day sweetpea xxxxx

Wash Day and Other Stories

I am still here! I can't believe it's well over a week since I last posted. This last week seems to have been manic. Lots of time spent on the phone to Ebay customer services and worrying about Fozzie who had two visits to the vet. 

So without further ado here's the a wee bit of finishing from last Sunday. Let's just say my sewing machine very quickly went away after this! In the words of Craig Revel Horwood from Strictly Come Dancing "It was a disaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaster darling!" I managed to prick my finger and bled on it, thankfully on the wrong side of the fabric, then when I had it all sewn up and turned it the right way I had sewn the backing fabric on back to front! I looked at it and thought OK it doesn't look so bad so I'll quit before things get worse! Sewing machine may be coming out again this afternoon! Anyway this is Carriage House Samplings Wash Day which has been sitting in my finishing pile for a few months now. I am actually quite pleased with it so maybe not quite the disaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaster I thought!

So what else have I been up to? Well I was hoping finish LHN Snow In Love last Monday but it didn't quite happen. I ran out of the red I needed to finish the wording so fingers crossed I'll get it finished tomorrow. Barb has made a start on the wordplays and once she's finished January I'll be starting mine. So I may have to do another ornament in the meantime. 

I can't show you what I stitched at craft club on Tuesday. I had a finish but that is a gift and all will be revealed after Friday. I did stitch on another piece but again that is a gift. Tuesday and Thursday evening were HAED QS Holly Fairy nights. I'm now onto black again after stitching her eye and getting down to the bottom of the page on that bit. Love how she is looking.

I have been in the parlour with Barb and the ladies at Needlecraft Haven. I really must get my WIP pic put up on there before they think I have forsaken them. The house isn't quite finished yet but I'd got a bit bored with it and wanted to stitch something else so moved onto the wording!

I finally finished page 9 on HAED Guardian and made a start on page 10. Yay! The more I stitch on this the more determined I am to keep going and actually finish it. 9 pages down, 21 to go! I have stitched a little bit more but didn't get a photo taken.

I had some lovely post this week from my dear friend Michelle. She is beating the Christmas rush and posted out a birthday card and gift as well as a Christmas card and gift. I don't have a photo as I have put them away to resist temptation! Thank you so much for thinking of me Michelle {{{{hugs}}}}

HAED had a 35% off sale the other week and I had to be good as funds are a little tight as we've had a lot to pay out lately what with one thing and another. I kept telling myself that I had plenty to stitch and there would be other sales so it wasn't a big deal. However when Michele upped the sale to 50% for 36 hours  ( then for longer when all the traffic crashed the site!) deep down I was a little disappointed that I couldn't take advantage of it. So imagine my surprise when the lovely Claire RAK'd me with this cutie from my wish list :)

This one is History of Chocolate Storykeep. Thank you so much again Claire. Later on in the evening I was RAK'd again by my surrogate sis Lisa with this beauty from my wish list.

This is Mini The Forgotten and this piece calls to me so much. Thank you so much again Lisa. Looking forward to when we can do our SAL of this but don't worry if we have to postpone. I understand {{{hugs}}}

Later on I was RAK'd yet again this time by the Christmas Elf :) I have a sneaking suspicion who she is but I can't be 100% sure. This one is Santa Claus at the North Pole Stocking. I can't tell you how much I want to start this right now but I'd never finish it for this Christmas so I think it'll be a project for next year. Whoever you are thank you so much.

I felt so humbled and undeserving of all these lovely gifts but amazingly it did not stop there. I was in bits over my Ebay problems then with Fozzie being ill and my lovely new Facebook/ stitchy friend, Karen, sent me this one to take my mind of it all.

This one is Home is Where the Magic Is Storykeep. Isn't it gorgeous? I would love to be in this house with the snow falling and all my lovely stitching/ crafting friends there with me. Thank you so much again  Karen{{{{hugs}}}}

I will be passing on the kindness these lovely ladies have shown to me at a later date as I've sold some bits on Ebay. I thought my account may have been compromised after I stupidly clicked on a link in an email from them which I very quickly realised wasn't from them at all ( very clever as it was about an item I had listed) so I ended up having to ring their customer services three times to get it sorted as the first two times they were pretty useless! I cannot believe I was stupid enough to click a link and I still so cross and upset with myself as I have never done it before. I'm still in two minds what to do with account at the moment. Has anyone used Etsy for selling charts etc?

We will remember them.

Well that's it from me for today. If my sewing machine comes out and I get any finishing done I'll be back in a couple of days hopefully!

Take care everyone.

With much love

Sally