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!