Friends

Thursday 30 January 2014

Another Happy Dance!

I've managed to finish "A Good Marriage" by Lizzie*Kate - my second finish of the year:

"A Good Marriage" by Lizzie Kate
It isn't the best photo - the design is straight!

It has been stitched on lilac 28ct linen, using Crescent Colours, GAST and DMC threads.

I'm going to spend the next week off rotation, stitching on the RR piece that I have instead.  I'm also hoping to finish a cardigan that I started knitting last year...  It only needs making up, and the collar needs knitting - this involves picking up stitches along the side edge and the back of the neck, and this makes me panic - hence the reason it has sat in a bag for almost a year!

Happy Stitching!

Saturday 25 January 2014

Stitch from Stash 2014 Update

Here is my first update for Stitch from Stash 2014:

Total amount spent on stash in January: £0 - nothing at all!  I haven't needed any new threads or fabric this month, and have managed to not buy any charts, etc...

Since New Year's Day, I have stitched and made progress with the following items from my stash:

"One Nation" by ByGone Stitches (WIP)

"Family Friends Faith Forever" by Homespun Elegance (Exchange item)

"Hearts full of Love" by Jeremiah Junction (RR piece)

"Official Crazy Cat Lady" by Raise the Roof (WIP)

"Potpourri Heart" by The Sweetheart Tree (finished!)
...and this week I am stitching on:

"A Good Marriage" by Lizzie*Kate (WIP)
I am participating in an exchange over the next month or two, so I'll need to find a design to stitch... I'll hopefully find something in my stash...but I'll now have my allowance from January to help out if needed!

Happy Stitching!


Thursday 23 January 2014

First Happy Dance of 2014!

My first finish of 2014:

"Potpourri Heart" by The Sweetheart Tree
...and so the next item to be worked on, as of today, is:

"A Good Marriage" by Lizzie*Kate
I'll probably finish this before the end of next week, too!

Happy Stitching!

Saturday 18 January 2014

Getting on Track

I'm happy with the amount I've got done this week:

"Official Crazy Cat Lady" by Raise the Roof
...and this is my RR piece before I posted it this morning:

"Hearts Full of Love" by Jeremiah Junction
I'm now eagerly waiting for Gillie's RR to arrive from the US, so I can start stitching on it!

It has been a good week - Sammy went back to Uni last Sunday evening, so we have a pretty quiet house again! I lost 5lb in my first week of my diet, and also increased my exercise.  I'm going to start going to the gym again in the next week or two...I've let that slide over the last few months, too!  I think all the events of last year really affected me more than I realised, and I need to get my life back on track.

Next week is going to be hectic at work - I'm out and about around Lancashire with my tutoring on 3 afternoons, but I'll know what I'm doing with all the individuals by the end of the week.  As far as stitching is concerned, it's the turn of "Potpourri Heart" by The Sweetheart Tree:

"Potpourri Heart" by The Sweetheart Tree

I haven't touched this since I bought it from Nimble Thimble back in July 2012!  (I've really got to go back there..!)  I'm hoping to get a good amount done on it this week...The fabric has a slight sparkle to it, which isn't visible in the picture.

Happy Stitching!

Sunday 12 January 2014

Stitching, Dieting and Walking

Not much stitching done this week:


One Nation by ByGone Stitches: Before


...and After
I have also done some more on my RR piece...

It has been a busy week.  I went back to work on Monday, and have had various meetings about my new role - I'm going to teach young people (who aren't in education for different reasons) Functional Skills in Maths and English.  I start going out to see them next week, so things are going to get hectic!

I also started back at Slimming World on Wednesday, so I'm back to healthy eating, and I've also stopped drinking coffee.  That resulted in 2 days of caffeine withdrawal symptoms - headache, extreme tiredness, and lethargy...  I'm now on the other side, so totally caffeine free!  I have done this before, and managed about 2 years without coffee, but slid back into caffeine addiction when I broke my ankle last year.

Being on my diet has also encouraged me to go out walking again - something which I have let slide over the last 5 or 6 months or so...  The OH and I went out this morning - a very cold and windy morning - for a walk to Darwen Tower:

Darwen Tower

It was very frosty, and was blowing quite a cold wind up on the hill, but it blew the cobwebs away!  We are hoping to go out every week on a walk, increasing the distance, until we feel we are ready to join a walking group.

I can reveal the ornament I stitched over Christmas, as the recipient has now received it:

Family Friends Faith Forever by Homespun Elegance
I stitched this for Jane from the Needlecraft Haven Yuku forum, using a piece of hand dyed aida and DMC 806.  I received an ornament from Lindsay, which I love!

This will not display the correct way!!!

I will be working on Official Crazy Cat Lady by Raise the Roof next week.  This is what it looks like before I stitch on it:


Happy Stitching!

Sunday 5 January 2014

Round Robin Stitching and Old Pieces

My RR piece for the Needlecraft Haven Welcome 2014 RR is stitching up nicely:

Hearts Full of Love by Jeremiah Junction

My RR piece so far...
This has been in my stash box for a long time...I still have a week or so until I need to post it, so will have done some more by then...I'd forgotten about all the backstitch in the Jeremiah Junction designs... It is a long time since I did a piece that had everything covered in backstitch!  My last JJ design was this one:


This now hangs in my porch, and was stitched several years ago...unfortunately I didn't stitch a year on it...  I also found an old cross stitch piece that had been taken out of its frame due to the frame being broken:

Rivington Barn
This was stitched, according to the stitched information, in July 1989 - just before I got married and had my first child... That makes it over 24 years old, and one of the first stitched items I created!  I'm now making it into a small cushion to preserve it for a while longer...

I'm going back on my rotation as of tomorrow, but will still be stitching on RR pieces at least one day a week.  According to my random number generator, I will be stitching on "One Nation" by ByGone Stitches this week.  This is how it looks at the moment:

One Nation by ByGone Stitches
All the Christmas decorations are away for another year, and almost all the extra foodstuff has been eaten.  We will almost be back to normal tomorrow, as we go back to work, but Sammy doesn't go back to Uni for another week... It is nice having the Christmas break, but I do look forward to getting back to the normal routine afterwards!

While all the kids were home, I managed to get a picture of the three of them:

The 3 Musketeers...or not!

It isn't perfect, but it's the best picture I've got of the three of them since they were very small...and they are all now in their 20's!  I basically grabbed them all and told them to stand still whilst I took their picture, which they did without too much complaining...

Happy Stitching!


Wednesday 1 January 2014

Happy New Year!


2014 has arrived at last!  Here's hoping it turns out to be a good one for us all...

Today has been the last day of a full house here.  My eldest, Rachel, and her boyfriend are returning to their home in Cardiff tomorrow, and my other half goes back to work in the morning...  It has been nice having the whole family at home, but it has also been hard work!  I've become accustomed to having a very quiet house over the past few months!  Sammy doesn't go back to Uni until the 12th, so I've got another week or so until the peace returns...and I'm back at work next week, so I'll be able to get back to some sort of routine...

Craft-wise, I have finished the ornament I have stitched for the Needlecraft Haven exchange, and have started my RR piece, but haven't stitched enough to warrant a picture.  I'll post a picture at the weekend, when there is something to show!

Happy Stitching!