End of year update 2012 with two hours to go!!

Happy 2013 to everyone!

Biscobud from the side

Biscobud from the top

2012 has been a bit mixed as far as stitching was concerned, but I did finish several projects and started several others. This is one of my finishes: a biscobud which I made for a friend who lives in Florida. It's actually quite small, and was very fiddly to put together. I filled it with Christmas pot pourri, and kept my fingers crossed that it would get through customs - which it did!

What I sent

I also took part in a Christmas ornament exchange. Despite frogs moving in, it was completed only one day late, and still made its destination well before Christmas. The picture shows the house from several different angles, and the card was made by a friend who sells them for charity.

The ornie I received from Liz G

The card I received - Christmas tree

MLI Angel for 2005 -  internet pic

I made several starts, and was rather taken by this one from MLI - a freebie. I'm hoping to get that finished by next Christmas  - a present for someone, perhaps if I can bear to part with it!!

My start on MLI Angel for 2005!!

I also tried - mostly unsuccessfully - to get organised into a stitching rotation. Instead, I was attracted by still more Chatelaines and HAEDs, and am now well SABLE'd out.
So, on January 1st, I am planning to start only two more projects. Both are quite large so I certainly won't finish them in 2013, not with all the other projects I have on the go!! I fully intend to be more organised about stitching, especially as my sister's 60th birthday present hasn't progressed since her birthday in the summer. Perhaps that should have a bit of priority!!

My January 1st starts aren't completely kitted up yet - too expensive to do it all in one go - but I have enough to begin, and ended up with a free piece of white cotton/linen fabric as well. I'll keep these projects close by ready to take with me when grandchild #6 puts in an appearance (due date Jan 10th). There might be an occasional slot where I'm not busy in an evening (Ha ha)!!

They are:
(1)Chatelaine - Xmas Mystery 2013
(2)HAED - Muppet, Gabby, Malteazer and Gemm by Lesley Anne Ivory.

I had hoped to add another Chatelaine, but daren't just yet as I still haven't completed my "starts" from 2012, though I have made better progress than I had thought I would. And this year, I am planning to add "Stitching" (along with "Guitar Practice"!!) into my very busy schedule, and not leave it to odd minutes here and there as I have done for the past two years. (A thought: I'm supposed to be retired: I'm busier than when I was working!!)

I'm having difficulty waiting till Jan 1st to start my projects, so I will be working on one of my long-suffering WIPs meantime - like this biscornu.

Framecraft Christmas Biscornu

I hasten to add that this isn't my work, but a pic off the internet when I was struggling to stitch this piece. The pattern vanished for several months, and finally came to light when I was filing some past sermons! By then, it was less than a week to Christmas, and far, far too late to complete for this year. What I'll probably do is stitch the two pieces, and put some Christmas fabric for the bases, so that way I'll have made two presents.

Happy planning and starting to all in 2013, and see you next year!!

Still Keeping on...

Just a quick update as there's not been a lot happening in my stitching life, though I've been busy with other things. Last week I finally cleared the desk I use! not that I use it for desk-work: my sewing machine goes there, and until it was clear I couldn't even think about the curtains which need the tape and linings added. So now I have no excuses. No "before" photo, but here is the "after". Basically, you couldn't see the desk surface because of "stuff".

It has now become very obvious that I didn't finish painting the wall red! Something to do with a grandfather clock which needed moving. One day I will get it repaired, but I have to save up a little as the most recent quote we had several years ago was £500!! Probably more than the clock itself is worth as it's a hybrid!

Still planning my Christmas stitching. I can get down to the stitching in earnest after this coming week once I have been to the Knitting and Stitching exhibition at Alexandra Palace in London on Thursday. Hopefully I will be buying fabric for Herbie while I am there, but he may have to wait till Hobbycrafts in Birmingham. I now have my partner for a Christmas exchange on an online sewing group, so what I have planned for that will have to be kept secret till after Christmas or whenever it has been received.

Next posting will be any stash I buy from Ally Pally!
See you then.

September update

These past two weeks I haven't done as much stitching as I'd intended. I thought it would be interesting - and might give me an incentive to keep stitching -  to add some sparklies to the Fairytale Castle, so I've missed a few stages and moved up to one of the beaded flowerbeds. I was a bit anxious that on 32 ct the beads might be too close together to be manageable, but so far, so good! I'm looking forward to adding some more next week - along with finishing frogging the colour I wasn't satisfied with.

Sparklies added

 I've added a bit more to the biscobud. I decided to experiment a little with Algerian eyelets and Jessica stitches as a change from cross stitches. I think I will put something sparkly between the two outer layers to see what it looks like. This an experimental biscobud, so I will enjoy playing!

Biscobud update

I did start the Westie puppy on pink evenweave. It doesn't look as bad colourwise as I had feared, but so far, all I have stitched is one ear, so not worth a photo.

Last week we spent two days in Harrogate visiting friends. It was lovely to see them again and spend time catching up on family news. (It occurred to me that we have been friends for 45 years on October 4th this year!) We spent a pleasant afternoon looking round Benningborough Hall where I was intrigued by the display of Victorian lace in the laundry room. There were also a couple of pieces of delicate embroidery. The photos aren't best quality, and the light wasn't good because of the window bars.

Some of the Victorian lace and embroidery at Benningborough Hall

Afterwards, we had tea outside in the sun, and were entertained by the antics of several blue tits who came to see what crumbs we had left. (We had actually put some on an unoccupied table next to us.)

Again, not the best photos!! The chaffinch and great tit were too shy to hang around long enough for me to focus my camera!!

A busy fortnight looms, so not sure how much stitching or updating will get done.
Till next time, then, whenever that happens to be!

Just a couple of photos

 Well, the weather hasn't been all that sunny, but I did manage some photos!

UKCS Biscobud challenge

The fabric for the biscobud challenge is much darker than it looks. The stitching doesn't show up very well: I used one of Steff Francis's  hand-dyed rayon threads, and has such a high shine my camera couldn't focus properly! So I did my best by tricking it into thinking it was focussing on something else!

MLI Angel - freebie 2005

The Marilyn Leavitt-Iblum angel is being stitched on cream/gold sparkly evenweave fabric one-over-one on what I believe is 20 ct. I've not done much yet, but so far I like the feel of it. I just have to work out how the beads will lie!

Oh, a-frogging I have been

I daren't post photos of FC at the moment! I've been working on the Castle, and wondering why it was getting a bit boring. Then I realised that in artificial light, all the dark greens looked the same! So I decided to frog one of them before I stitched any more in that colour. Actually, what I did was remove one of the substitutions.  I had used artificial silk (DMC rayon) in the suggested shade rather than the DMC cotton, and I'm replacing it with the cotton. It looks much better now, but I'm still not 100% satisfied. I'm looking at the possibility of a lighter shade still, but have to do a bit more experimenting. My proof that I'm doing the right thing came when I frogged a few stitches of the wrong colour because I couldn't see any difference in shade! Anyway, FC has taken a few steps backwards, so I'll post when it is a bit further forward!

As to other projects, I have started a freebie Christmas angel from Marilyn Leavitt-Imblum and a biscobud, both SALs from stitching groups. Both are in the very early stages, but I might get around to taking photos if we have any sunshine over the weekend. Still looking for suitable fabric for my Westie puppy. I might have to settle for pink as I don't really want to add any more to my stash.

Now to book tickets for Ally Pally in October and Hobbycrafts in November. (And the mending pile is just as high as before!!)

Back from my Break

Well, it wasn't exactly a holiday, but I've not had internet access every day, so I left it till my return to update my stitching blog. I didn't do as much as I had hoped, and was only able to finish one of the Olympic challenges I was taking part in for a group. Well, it wasn't even a proper finish as I was interrupted by a phone call, and missed finishing on time by a handful of cross-stitches and back-stitches. When I came to take a photo today, I found I had missed one stitch - black on navy blue is very easy to miss!! But I am very pleased with the final result, and will make it into a birthday card for a friend. Sadly, the pink for the ears and tongue wasn't really dark enough, so I may have to redo that before October!

Completed 2012 Olympic Challenge: Disney Dalmation puppy

The Fairytale Castle has had to take a bit of a back seat for the moment, but I will pick it up again soon. That will be part of a challenge to finish it by the end of the 2014 Winter Olympics, or maybe 2016 Olympics. Meantime, my Westie puppy is having a rethink. I need to find some dark evenweave because of all the half-crosses and other non-standard cross stitching in it.

Not everything has been stitching-oriented! We visited assorted grandchildren, and got very seriously delayed leaving one set by the construction of a Lego police station! It took over the whole of the dining-room table as can be seen by some of the extraneous objects surrounding it which have nothing at all to do with its construction!

My sister's cushion had a few more stitches added to it. I stayed with one sister in Sussex, and we had some sunshine!! It was lovely to be on the coast for a few days, and my health improved a little while I was there. I spent a day walking along the shallows on the beach while my sister was at work.The beach was practically deserted as it was quite a misty day, so it was a lovely peaceful time and I felt really revitalised. Unfortunately, Derby has a fairly polluted atmosphere, and I can feel I am going downhill again

On one day, we met my second sister and eldest granddaughter in London and visited Buckingham Palace. Because it's the Diamond Jubilee of the Queen's accession to the throne, her diamonds were on display. It was amazing to see all those sparklies, including the little miniature crown Queen Victoria wore after Prince Albert died.

I showed my second sister how far I had got with her cushion, and I think she was quite pleased with it, but sorry I hadn't finished it yet! I must try to get it to her by Christmas.

While I was away, DH sanded and varnished our wooden bedroom floor, something he'd been planning on doing for a while, but had been unable to do while I was around because of my asthma. It looks really good, and I am noticing the benefits of less dust.

Well, that's a fairly lengthy update. Tomorrow's stitching looks like tackling the mending pile. Humph!!
Till next time then!

Catch-up time

Just a quick catch-up with my sewing projects. This past week I've been working on Mary's cushion, and have started on the large blue flower on the left. I'm hoping to get most of this side done before I see her next week. So far, I'm quite pleased with the way it's looking.

Mary's Cushion 31 July 2012

The previous week I spent on the Fairytale Castle. I'm at a less interesting part - hedge rather than sparkly!! But I can still see progress, and hope to spend a bit more time on it after I've been away visiting assorted grandchildren and sisters.

 

 

 

 

Fairytale Castle 22nd July 2012 - part-way through Part 1

Dalmation 31st July 2012

Now the Olympic Games have started, I am taking part in an Olympic SAL: making a start during the Opening Ceremony and aiming to finish by the Closing Ceremony. I've started a Westie puppy for a friend who is seriously ill, and a Dalmation puppy for another mutual friend. Both are kits, and both were on white. I thought they would look more striking on a dark fabric, so have started them both on 16 ct dark blue Aida. I like the effect. The problem with the Westie is crosses across material rather than holes.

Westie 31st July 2012

It may be a couple of weeks before my next update as internet access may be a bit hit-and-miss while I am away. However, it has been quite a long time since I last saw some of my grandchildren, and they are all growing up far too quickly! Maybe in about a year's time they will be living a little closer as our eldest son takes up his first curacy which he is anticipating will be in the Sheffield area. I can live in hope!!

Till next time

A Stitching and Health Update

At last the cushion is coming along very nicely. Not too many green visitors this week and noticeable (to me) progress. I've actually finished the lower gold-coloured flower and stitched another small leaf since this photo was taken, but there hasn't been enough sunshine to take any decent photos.

Cushion July 14th 2012

As you can see, I've been trying stitching with the hoop the other way, but I'm not sure I'm happy with that as I've run into a number of problems and had to move it anyway!

Christmas decorations for ORTs

I thought I'd post a picture of what I do with my ORTs (Old Ratty Threads). Unfortunately I dropped last year's ornament, so I'm hoping to replace it near Christmas. It was a lovely white bird, and I was so sad to have broken it.

Saw my GP this week who tells me my left lung still pops and crackles. She's sent me for an x-ray and blood tests, but it will be another ten days before I get the results. Not only that, but she's having to treat me for other issues the cough has caused, plus an allergy. The problem is, I seem to be allergic to the aqueous cream she suggested I used instead of soap! Oh well, if I need more rest, that's all the more stitching time, plus I still can't hold my guitar, so I have that time too!! Oh, and there's all the housework I can't do either - what a shame (LOL)!!!

This week I plan on spending a bit of time on the Fairytale Castle, so watch this space!

See you next time.

Progress - maybe!

Fairytale Castle Part 1 as of 25th June 2012

I wasn't able to take a decent photo of where I stopped stitching the FC last week as the weather has been so bad. However, I did take one yesterday evening in some lovely bright sunshine so you can see some of the sparkles. It is also quite a reasonable representation of the fabric colour. It's quite a large file, but I wanted to leave it intact because of the detail.  While I have been stitching, I have been daydreaming about the secluded pond with the sparkling fountains, the waterfalls and the water bubbling over stones. Maybe that's a bit fanciful! And my sympathies to Martina who has just lost a dear friend, so is having to delay on posting parts of her patterns.

Cushion 30th June 2012 - before frogging!!

This past week I have been working on the cushion. I have tried stitching whilst watching films, but have ended up doing a lot of frogging as I can't count and watch! So the photo is not quite up to date as there are fewer stitches in it now!

I came across the Papillon "Around the world in 80 stitches" SAL, and it looked intriguing. I have enjoyed the speciality stitches (so far) in FC, so decided to sign up. I have some wonderful de Haviland space-dyed threads which could look gorgeous in it, and I have some suitably-sized pieces of fabric from Sewitall, so i hope to spend a little time on getting that started this month.

This week I have joined yet another online stitching group - UKCross Stitch. It's quite relaxing not to have to think about time differences and slightly different meanings to words! And yesterday was the last chat I shall have with stitching friends the other side of the world. I will miss that. It was an almost magical time as distances disappeared along with time as it is a fairly instant response! Here's hoping for another way to chat!

Sparkles

I've spent the last week treating myself to stitching some sparkles! I've spent the time on the Chatelaine Fairytale Castle, and to date I am quite pleased with how it is coming on. I took the photo yesterday in a rare spell of sunshine so that it really would sparkle. Unfortunately there seems to be a speck of blue dust on one of the Dense Rhodes stitches towards the middle top, though that is not obvious on lower magnifications.

Fairytale Castle 23rd June 2012 (am)

I have stitched a little more since taking this photo, so there are some more beads added, and I intend to finish infilling the centre black and gold square today if possible before returning to the cushion. I've just seen a very nice padded footstool which would look fabulous covered with cross stitch, but it's a fabulous price, too!!

Nearly time to chat, so I'll just add a few more stitches before going online!
Till next time - happy stitching

Progress at Last

June 13th

June 17th

At last I feel I am making some progress on my sister's cushion. I've finally completed the main central bloom. The designer, Mary Hickmott, doesn't say what the flower is, but the more I've stitched, the more I've become convinced it's a pæony. My grandparents used to grow incredible scarlet pæonies in their front garden in Kent. I used to think my memory of them was faulty until at one time my dad made a comment about how unusual their colour had been, and that he'd never seen a scarlet one since. I have checked gardening books, and can find none listed. Sadly, when I went for a trip down memory lane a few years ago, they were no longer there, so one of the later occupiers must have disposed of them.

I now feel I can reward myself with a few hours on the Fairytale Castle. Part 4 is due in a couple of weeks, and I'm only a little way into Part 1. (For those who are anxious about the hoop being left on the cushion fabric, I have removed it while I work on FC!!)

Till next time.

Time Out

Well, I have been out of action for around ten days now. I think in that time I put a total of 50 stitches in the cushion cover. Our Dr has been treating me for pneumonia, though not actually diagnosed it, but the treatment has worked apart from a rather drastic reaction to the antibiotics she put me on - but there again, that might have been a migraine, or the migraine might have been part of the reaction! I have found any sort of activity, including stitching, very tiring, but things are getting better now. So no progress pics (again). To cheer myself up a little, I have "enrolled" into two of Chatelaine's online classes - Herbularius (72) and one of the herb stars to go with it (103). The latter doesn't start till next month, and the former has the last part issued next month. Both are beautiful, and I could almost wish I had nothing else to do but stitch these lovely designs!

A little OT, I have had great fun doing some jigsaw puzzles, including "Crazy Cats in the Craft Room" by Lesley Anne Smith. Perhaps I should upload a pic of the completed puzzle, but that will be added later once it is off my camera chip. My excuse: therapy to aid recovery of my sprained wrist!

Ooops!!

This past week has been a chapter of accidents, so no new photos. On Monday my bicycle kicked me as I was getting on it to ride home after posting a letter. Result: one heavy landing, one badly sprained wrist, one thumb (the other hand, of course) missing a bit, and lots of bruises not to be on public display!! Stitching has been well-nigh impossible as I couldn't hold a needle or support a frame. I can't even manage to put up the stand I have hidden in a cupboard somewhere. DH is doing all the vacuuming and washing up, and most of the cooking, including making lots of cups of tea as I can't be trusted to hold a kettle safely! A lot of my journeys are by public transport, which I'm quite enjoying, actually. (I can sit fairly comfortably, now!)
On Wednesday DH reversed our car into a rather sturdy laurel bush. I doubt if it will ever be the same again! (The car, I mean, not the bush!) Next-Door-Neighbour thought he was responsible for the damage to our car till I reassured him that no, it was my DH who had caused it.
By Friday, I knew I had picked up a "bug": sore throat, loss of voice, deep cough. It's not a cold as I am not sneezing. I managed the services yesterday both morning and evening, but I'm now cancelling everything I don't actually need to do. I have a friend with COPD, and daren't go near her.
I had a bit of "me time" yesterday afternoon. I sat in the sunshine in our back garden for half an hour, and put in a grand total of one full cross stitch and four half-stitches. Better than nothing! So now  will see if I can manage a few more.
Hope this hasn't been too depressing for you all. I shall continue to enjoy an enforced rest!

A visit and some updates

The wallcovering at Kedleston Hall

 Last week I visited Kedleston Hall, a National Trust property near where I live, intending to concentrate on some books which were on open display, and not usually visible to the public. I found they had recently replaced some of the original silk wallcoverings with new. They had found some which had been protected from the light, and so were able to reproduce the original colour. My photo doesn't do it justice!

Chatelaine - errm - progress?

The past couple of weeks I've slowed right down with my stitching. I've been really busy preparing services, and then went down with a migraine - not a bad one, just a mild one which lingered for over a week. The net result was that I didn't dare do a lot of stitching as I knew I would then waste a lot of time frogging. I have put a few stitches into both the projects I'm concentrating on, though. Neither photo was taken in the best light, but then the weather hasn't been good for that and I find flash photography tends to drain the colour!. I'll try to do better next time

Cushion progress

I visit an elderly friend in a care home most weeks, and it finally dawned on me that I had stitched him a picture of an owl for his 75th birthday almost seven years ago, and I had no photographic record of it. I was quite touched when he moved into the home 3 years ago to find he had kept it and it was hanging on his wall, so I now have a photo of it.

Dennis's owl

That's all for this week. Maybe there'll be more to report on next time. I must say that writing this blog tends to keep me more focussed on my stitching than I have been in the past.

Mayday update

The second part of the Fairytale Castle arrived today - and I've hardly started the first part! I need to spend most of my time stitching the Ottoman Elegance cushion - about 200 stitches per day to get it finished in time. It was 170, but I've missed some days. But so many other designs are calling out to me that I'm going to get very side-tracked if I'm not careful. So I shall have to see if I can prioritise a bit and set aside some dedicated stitching time. I notice our local library has started a craft group on a Monday morning. I had been wondering about starting something like "Bring and Stitch" or "Stitch'n Chat" at our church which is right opposite, so perhaps a different day might be a good idea if we're to avoid clashing. Maybe September would be a better start date, but I intend to investigate the library group for ideas!

Here is an update on OE

The colours are as near as I can get them. The original photo was rather grey because of the light - also rather grey! I adjusted them on a photoshop-clone, but everything is a little green. If we ever get ant decent sunlight I intend to have a photo session outside.

A Quick Update

Just a quick photo of Chatelaine's Online-95 as far as I have done by today. The lighting is not good, so it's not easy to see the sparkle of the threads.

Spring has Sprung?

We're having some typical British Spring weather: lots of showers, hail falling, wind blowing, and, just occasionally, sun shining! So we have some new turf laid in the garden, though we need to get a little more to finish off. The robin thinks that is a very good idea, and watches eagerly every time I go to do a little weeding. David is over from Canada for ten days, so we are making the most of our time with him as it could be another year before we see him again, and maybe two before he returns for another visit. The net result is: not much stitching. On the other hand, David is a very good enabler, and has brought over some Swarovski cubes for the Chatelaine Fairytale Castle which I had difficulty getting here. Now all I have to do is track down the substitute I need for Gloriana Cottage Woods. If necessary, I'll leave that till I go to Alexandra Palace for the stitching show there in October. I'll probably end up getting more fabric for my next Chatelaine when I visit, as my favourite fabric supplier will be there, and she wants to see how far I've got on my current one!!




No stitching photos again, but here is one that might be called "The Long and the Short" - Abigail and her Uncle who stands around 6ft 5ins

Fairytale Castle and Alas, poor Frederick!

The fabric has arrived for the Chatelaine Fairytale Castle, and imho, it is gorgeous. It's called "cloud lilac", and I hope it will give the project an ethereal look. I may get a few stitches in tonight, but have to sort out hymns and readings for Sunday's service.
I think I may have wasted some money trying out other ideas, but maybe I can use the lavender 32 count for another project. I would have called that colour dirty beige, but maybe I'm biased! Some of the Swarovski beads have also arrived - but I managed to order AB beads instead of the uncoated crystal ones. They might work - we shall see. I will now try to get a bit more organised before I order anything else - apart from the DMC threads.



At least this week I managed to get bit more done on the cushion. I have done slightly more since this one was taken.















I also took one of Frederick, more to get me motivated than anything else! Perhaps if I actually have his ghostly face looking at me from my computer, I will be spurred into action!

Busy - busy - busy

No pics and not much stitching this week. Just been kitting out a Chatelaine online class. It has taken me a long time to work out what colour fabric to use, and what substitutions for the silk floss. There's one I can't track down a reasonable substitute for, so may end up phoning de Haviland to see if she can help. Since it is a fairytale castle, I've opted for a lavender fabric - think Rapunzel/Tangled. I chose cotton in the end as it's lighter to handle. I just hope it has the strength to hold the beads. I've had to send to Canada for some of the Swarovski cubes - 4mm indicolite. They look very pretty, so hope they're worth it in reality. DS has had to order them, and if they arrive in time will bring them over next week. Just need to order the Delicas now!

Now Good Friday and Easter are over, I can concentrate on some stitching. Currently very tired and not thinking straight

Pics

These are the three pieces of evenweave I bought in Birmingham. I loved the cloud effect, and thought they would add to the stitching. Unfortunately, they are all just too small for the Chatelaine design. The Fairytale Castle will probably end up on antique white - safe, but should be effective.

New Starts

April 1st - not only our 40th Wedding Anniversary, but a day of starting new projects. After a slight hiccup, I have downloaded the first part of my first Chatelaine online design. "Overwhelming" is the best word to describe it, but also awesome. I thought I had a suitable piece of fabric, but unfortunately it looks like being a bit small. So, I need to revisit my stash chest to find another piece or to look online for something suitable. This is not a project to cut corners in, even if I am not going to use the silk. Poor little silkworms.

I have put 14(!!) stitches in HAED's storykeep "Enchanted Manor", and about the same in Labor of Love's "Don't Wanna". I may end up restarting the latter as I don't like the effect over one. I think I may have picked up a piece of 32 ct rather than 25 ct. I must re-measure.

That's it for now. At this point in my writing I realised I couldn't see as I had a migraine, I am now "out of commission" for almost a day because of the meds I am on for it. Hardly surprising I picked up the wrong fabric for "Don't Wanna", or that I couldn't calculate the amount I needed for Chatelaine's "Fairytale Castle". I had hoped to post some pics of the fabric I had bought for that, too!

PS. My thanks to everyone who has visited this site, and posted comments.

Family Get-together

Wednesday March 28th I met up with my two sisters and 18 yr old granddaughter to have some catch-up time, and also to visit the Turner exhibition at the Tate Gallery in London. As you might imagine, a lot of talking happened! After lunch, the exhibition and a cup of tea, DGD and I went to the V&A just briefly to see the Golden Spider cape. I managed to get some photos, plus some of other items made with spider silk. A pity we didn't have longer there.

A -stashing I have been!

Thursday I went to the Sewing for Pleasure exhibition in Birmingham with three friends. I had good intentions of sticking to my shopping list of replacement clip-on magnifying glasses, fabric for Chatelaine's Fairytale Castle, and a simple longstitch kit for my next-door neighbour. and then just enjoying looking at the displays, and getting inspiration.
Well. I bought the fabric, but had no success with the longstitch kit, and a mixed result for the clip-ons. For this last, I had to buy the wrong magnification and ask DH to switch lenses from my old pair which I couldn't see to do! Anyway, I can now see comfortably to stitch.
I ended up with all sorts of other bits and pieces, including a number of peyote beading patterns which looked quite easy - until I returned home. Of course, I also had to buy the beads to go with them and some bead containers! Then there was the "friendly plastic", odd skeins of thread, a Christmas card kit, petites sizes 26 and 28, double-sided tape, extra fabric as it was on offer, and some dolls house bits and pieces for DGD #2. But I mustn't forget the two charts of cars for DS #1 and DD, Jensen Button's F1 and a Citroen 2CV respectively, nor the two 3D Christmas Houses from the Nutmeg Company which I fell in love with - and they were so friendly on the stand! Photos will come later.

Meantime I have finally finished DGD #3's baby shawl, and am very close to finishing DGD #2's shawl for her baby doll. I visit on Tuesday, so have a very tight schedule for that!

Hello

This is just a test run to see how this blog will look.

I am planning that it will feature not just my cross stitching, but also any other type of craft work that I attempt. Currently I am finishing off yet another shawl for yet another grandchild, and a shawl for DGD #2's baby doll. Hopefully they will both be finished this weekend.

Also in the pipeline are some peyote and other beading; assorted cross stitching projects, including some 3D ones; some patchwork projects (of indeterminate nature at the moment); a skirt, for next autumn now, and a knitted hat and scarf. So much to do, so little time!!

I plan to put some pics on here to keep things updated. I'm gradually realising I haven't photographed all my projects, and some of these I will probably never see again. Maybe I will add in some of my mother's work at a later date, but that will depend on time. What I don't want to do is spend so much time writing that my stitching suffers.

I think that's enough for now, and enough to sort out the layout I want.