Phew - By the skin of my teeth.........

I managed to get finished before my holidays. This is the centre of my neighbourhood,
its a stitching shop (couldn't fit needlework on the sign), I feel I should put something in the sky, but I'll wait I think til it comes home in 18months. Tasha is sitting there waiting to greet everyone, tho' I should have added some black on her, but I know its her. The garden is full of flowers, the shop is ALWAYS open. The shop is an adaption of Brightneedles Needlework shop, the tree on the left of the shop is an adaption of a Homespun Elegance tree and fence. The other tree with the swing hnging from it is by DT, the swing was my own thoughts, as I'm still a big kid and love swings (Mum you must have deprived me as a child as we never had a tree that could take a swing in the garden - LOL!!). This time the path is straight and paved in granite as granite never wears out and there should be a lot of walking in and out of the shop LOL!! - Do you want to visit my shop? - I hope so!
Here is a picture of my 2 finished squares, hopefully I have them blended together OK, I'm quite pleased with the result.

I have stitched yesterday the new PS - Spring freebie, though I haven't had time to make it up into an ornament or pin cushion, can't decide yet which to do with it, I will post a picture of it when I get back from my holidays next week. Holiday stitching had me in a quandry, I have finally decided to take 2 pieces with me, and then decide when I get there which to stitch or if I stitch at all, though usually I try and do some, my first choice is by Homespun Elegance - Olde Shaker Tune, the other is by Lori Markovic - Polly Wolly Doodle.

Did I mention I was going on holiday LOL!! - We are going to Lanzarote, the temperature will be around 20 C maybe warmer (hopefully), which is a darn site warmer than the UK will be if the snow arrives. We haven't been to this particular Canary Island before, though some of the lads at work have been with there spouses/partners and have said its really nice, Mark and I will just be chilling.
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How to be annoying

Well, I've managed to annoy everyone at work since Thursday, all my friends this weekend - haven't started yet on the family apart from MIL, - WHY?? you might ask - well let me tell you 'Did you know I'm going on holiday' ? We have only now got 3 and a half sleeps to go then we will be flying.
You know the snow I've been wanting and wanting? - Well, guess what, its coming next week when I go on my holiday - sods law that one, kneeeew that would happen, when you want something that much its bound to happen when you aren't going to be here, now as long as it doesn't prevent 1. Our journey down to Manchester Airport or 2. The plane taking off, then I really don't care.

Have I managed to annoy you yet - bet I will before Wednesday LOL!!!!
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Nothing New

I'm afraid I have nothing new to add today, I have been really busy stitching my 9th square on my NRR and its almost finihed and then I can share it, I needed to have it finished before next Tuesday and by the looks of it I'll have it done by the end of the weekend. Why next Tuesday you might ask, its cos we are going on holiday YIPPEEEEE!! Just for a week but for once we are going on our own, as wonderful as it is that our friends always want to come away with us, its come to the time when we need our time - if you know what I mean and so we have dumped the friends (in the nicest possible way of course) and its just Mark and I. - Oooh Sun, pool, novels, stitching and cocktails - BLISS total Chill!!!

So I will be posting again by this weekend and hopefully I will have some bits to share, now its decision time what to take with me next week in the way of stitching.
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Warm and Fuzzy

My friend Maria sent me this today, its so great I just had to share, it reminds me of my cat Tasha.


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Lovely surprise

I got stitchy mail this week which was a lovely surprise. Maria a friend in Canada sent me some beautiful 28ct Quaker cloth in a soft violet colour and some lovely bundles of thread. It was a really nice surprise and a lovely thing for her to do, it quite made my day when it arrived. As you know I haven't been feeling 100% lately and that really perked me up - THANKYOU Maria.
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Ribbon Trim instructions

Gosh its not as easy as it looks to photograph what you do, so I apologise if the photos aren't brilliant, I will write step by step as we go along though and hopefully that will make it a bit clearer, if not I'm sorry and you'll just have to ask me instead.



To begin with you need 3 lengths of ribbon, usually I estimate about 2 metre lengths for a small hanging pillow so in total it would be 6 metres if you were doing it in all the same colour ribbon, make sure they are all seperate lengths.Next fasten the 3 lengths of ribbon to the bottom point (in this case is the heart point), I usually slip stitch this together.


Now here I catch the ribbons with the needle and cotton pushing the needle through all the ribbon thickness


Then pull the thread towards you so that the ribbon ruches


Then catch the fabric through the seams with you needle this is about 1/4 inch intervals as I go along, then catch the ribbon again, this is usually about 1 inch intervals along the ribbon or however far or close you prefer the size of the ruches,



You do this all the way around your pillow until you get back to where you started I then catch the ribbons altogether and make a slight knot with them and fasten off, then trim the ribbons to length and you have the finished project.



This particular project is for my MIL for Mothers Day, the heart is a freebie by Anne Les Petites Croix and the thread I used is Lasting Friendship by Dragonfloss, its a lovely varigated thread in soft lilacs and mauves, the fabric is 32ct Lively Lilac hand dyed by Kates Kloths

Ribbon trim

From this to This..........

As you all know I took some stitching with me to Durham at the weekend -quick reminder of what it was well now its Finished and sewn up.

My finished Wabbit
is going over to Durham to my SIL Dawn, when we were there she expressed a real liking for it, and as she passed her fitness instructor training exam on Saturday - WEY HEY WAY TO GO DAWN!!!!!
I think she deserves it as she has worked so hard for this, even though she wouldn't let me do the class on Saturday, but I understand her reasons 100% due to the fact it was her exam and me collapsing in the middle of the class would have done no good for anyone - not that I intended to do that, but Dawn wanted to be safe and careful and if I'd done the class I wouldn't have been able to have the lovely afternoon I had with my sister Helen.

So I still haven't managed to do a Wabbbit for myself, now a few of you have asked how I put the ribbon on like I have on the Wabbits, if you can bear with me til the weekend I will do a photo shoot (sounds very high brow LOL!!) and do a step by step, its really really easy honestly, you just need soft ribbon to do it.

My weekend

As my blog is a little about me but mostly stitching, I thought I would just pop in a few pics of our weekend we have just had over at Durham. I didn't take any actual pictures of Durham just of us lot. My 2 nephews Ryan and Kier, who I must thank for letting me spend 10mins on the computer on Friday night, which was really generous of them, as boys and their computers are not easily parted especially when Uncle Mark tells them 'Oh she says she won't be long, but its at least 90mins' which did of course cause a wee panic from Kier
We had a brilliant night and the red wine flowed rather to well as you can see by the state of colouration on Marks face and my BIL's eyes - LOL!!
Saturday day I spent with my wee sister Helen - sorry no photos, I forgot to take the camera, what a lovely time I had, I don't get to spend many hours with Helen on my own so I quite cherish the ones I do and although we often have a wee sisterly spat now and then we didn't fall out once (I know we sound like 15yr olds, but I'm bossy and she can be condescending, which we do laugh about it LOL!!) We wandered the streets of Durham in search of the perfect outfit and visited some lovely shops on the way, I love The Renovation shop it has some wonderful things for the home in there, we came out with some beautifully smelling rose soaps, but we could have spent an absolute fortune
Saturday night was a rather good night as we went out to a restaurant for dinner, but again the alcohol flowed rather too well and we had to visit 'Brown Sugar' to end the evening with cocktails, so here are just a couple of photos from there.




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Some progress

As we are going away for the weekend tomorrow I thought it might be a good time this afternoon to update my blog as I won't have time tomorrow morning. I thought I would show you progress with Woodland Walk, I am stitching it on 32ct Douglas Fir hand-dyed Sugar Maple Fabrics Belfast linen, the bit you can see that I've started is the fox cubs head.
I also have been stitching my next house on my NRR due to the fact I have 9 squares on mine and there are only 8 of us in it, I am stitching a needlework shop, seeing as the love of the needle is what brought all of us together, and no I'm not showing progress on that one yet.

The fabric and chart and thread which is the next picture is what I am taking with me for our weekend away visiting the family, I have to take stitching with me just in case..... I am in the Wabbit mood and haven't done one of these for ages, so this one I am going to stitch on 32ct Spring Green hand-dyed linen by Kates Kolours and the threads I am using are those by Heavenly Hues - of course as usual I have totally changed all the colours, the wabbits tail I will do in Whisper thread. Hopefully I will get it finished as they are so quick to stitch.

Here is a finished picture of one I did a few years ago, this one is called Wabbits Wonder and I stitched it for a dear friends wife.


The other I did as a birthday gift for a work colleague, they look very different although they are the same design.


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No Bees No Honey completed

I have, whilst I have been off, finished No Bees, No Honey. I'm really pleased with the way its turned out, now to frame it!!

I have now started the picture Mark has asked and asked me for which is Woodland Walk, I will post progress on this one too, there are a lot of colour changes in it, so I am including this on my kinda rotation as I must do more to Mermaid Heaven, she is sitting looking half done, and of course Les Dentelles, so I will try and discipline myself - not a hope!!
I also have decided to do the needlework shop in the middle square of my NRR before I send it off next Month to Carol, but I think I will sort of design my own with elements of other designs in it.
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My First House is complete!!

Well I think I have finished my first house, so here it is for all to see.The design of the house is Mill Hill Spring village. I have now got a clematis growing over the fence as this is one of my favourite flowers and I have at least 30 of them in my own real life garden. The small tree on the right of the fence is from DT as are the birds. I have placed Floozi sitting in the garden as that is where he loves to be, I haven't put Tasha there but I might as yet. The birds are suposed to be blackbirds - common in my area, the softer gray one is a female with 2 male birds chasing after her - must be something psychological haha!! I added what I would call a band stand as I have always fancied one in real life but no room to have one, there are roses on the bushes and an apple tree, I'd love a conservetory in real life so my make-believe house has one. I would have added more flowers and some bees and butterflies, but felt if I put much more in it would look really cluttered. The path is winding as nothing in life is straight I find it always has a slight bend and turn. The wishing well is there, cos we all have wishes don't we?
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Massive Headache

Sorry I haven't replied to emails or posted for the past few days, but I have had a massive headache, something in my head went pop and then terrible pain, so I was rushed off into hospital on Friday afternoon when it happened as it was thought I had had a bleed on my brain, as all the symptoms I displayed were of that. So, I had a scan of my brain - I think to see if I had one LOL!! then later that evening I had to have a Lumber Puncture - not very pleasant I can tell you, even if the doctor was quite dishy, anyway I'm glad to say that they found my brain and the LP came back OK, its been decided that I had a massive migraine attack.

I can't sit for long at the computer at the moment as it irritates my eyes and my back is pretty sore too when I sit still for too long. But I have done some stitching for an hour or so yesterday and again first thing this morning and I have almost finished my house for the NRR, so I'll post that maybe later this afternoon. I will also email folks then that I owe emails too.

I am OK , so don't worry about me.


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A Gift for a special Birthday

Today is my mums birthday - HAPPY BIRTHDAY Mum xxx. So its a special birthday. Shes going to hate me for showing this photo as since then she's lost about 3stone, but I love this one, it has such happy memories of a wonderful time we had on one of the times when her and dad came to visit this was May 2002, mum and I were in our bedroom, looking at stash, and we were teasing each other and having such a laugh, I think this picture shows what a happy lady my mum is - Love you!!
This is what I made mum for her birthday, its a hanging pillow which I stitched on lavender checked evenweave (28ct), I stitched it with the DMC linen thread, I quite liked the thread, though it does tend to make your stitches uneven which was a bit of a draw back, but I think the overall result was quite good, I know mum received it in the post yesterday but when I rang this morning to wish her Happy Birthday she hadn't opened her gifts as she was waiting for tonight when she was going to go to my sisters for a birthday party tea with my nephew and niece as they like to help open gifts.

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