Catch up Time!!

Time seems to be flying past. At last I've got over the bug that seems to have haunted me for the last month so I can at least see the charts now the streaming eyes have eased. I went for an MRI scan on my knee last week and I have to wait ten days for the results. I'll be glad when I finally find out what damage I've done to my knee in fall I had in March. I've been feeling as though I've been falling apart at the seams. Still less gloom and doom my DH has been told he should get full movement in arm back after breaking his elbow I think think this means I won't be able to sell his golf clubs on Ebay!!!.

We've spent a good deal of time in the garden making the most of some hot days. Although we only have a small garden we've been planting tomatoes,carrots,spring onions,French beans, cucumbers, squash, radish and mixed salad greens. Some of them have already decided to put up shoots and some are still asleep. The trouble is the moment we plant anything it's like a green light for the snails and slugs to party. We must have the fattest selection of garden nuisances going. Now we have to wait until we can pick something. (Fingers crossed)

Well my stitching has been coming along. I've been concentrating on 12 Days of Christmas this past two weeks.This of course is for the Christmas SAL run by YoYo of Dragon my Needle I've managed to finished the 4 Calling Bird, 5 Gold Rings and have completed the border for 6 Geese a Laying. This means I have managed to catch up one day, another two to try and catch up and then I should managed to finish it for display for this Christmas. The 5 Gold Rings although not as elaborate as the other days still had a lot of stitching in it and rather fiddly. I'm looking forward to 6 Geese as it looks quite an interesting block.




Break Time is moving on. I didn't get attacked by frogs this week, instead I managed to leave one of the 'browns' at my son's house so I have been trying to work round it. I just hope I haven't mis-counted anywhere. I have started the chart that puts his feet on. I can't believe that I have got to that bit, it seems like quite a landmark point. So it'll soon be back to the jacket and all the check work and then onwards and upwards to his head.

Now some time ago forthe I've Started so I'll Finish blog the first UFO I put on was by Teresa Wenzler, The Summer Carousel Horse. I did finish it but it has only recently been framed so here it is in all it's glory....I can tell you I am absolutely delighted with the framing done by Nimble Thimble it's brilliant.

Apart from this I have been transferring Scout badges from one son's scout blanket to his son's scout blanket. My grand-daughter has been helping to sew some on. she counted in the region of 200 badges. My grandson is going on a Father/Son camp in two weeks and would like to take the blanket with him. We'll have to see how we go with the transferring it's probably going to be nearly done as I'll mix it in with the cross stitching.

When trying to catch up with some blogging and email reading I discovered that the next download for Castles in the Air had arrived so that will have to be fitted in to all the other stitching I'm trying to get done. Still haven't got myself a 'little' piece to do.

Oh yes! Last but not least I came across a new SAL by SOLO BRODE. I saw it about three weeks ago but as it's written in French was stumped. I tried the Google translator which for some reason just didn't want to work so I bookmarked the page and decided I'd have another look when I felt better. My French is very poor down to non-existent, anyway I went back to it and this time I managed to get the translator to work and got my down load. I have now to make a decision on material and thread The SAL name is L'attendent l'ete 'Waiting for Summer' You are requested to choose two colours that mean Summer to you. My problem is lots of colours mean Summer to me, blue and yellow for blue skies and sunshine or greens and just about any colour going for the plants I have no idea which way to go. I have yet to try one of the gorgeous variegated colours I see several people using and am wondering if this is the time to experiment? It looks a pretty design so pop over and have a look.

Until next time hope all your stitching goes well .......

Here's some I did a little earlier!

I thought I'd post a picture of my UFO that I have been working on for some time. I started it an awful long time ago such as in the 1990's, put it in a cupboard and there it stayed. Eventually I thought I really ought to do something with it and started slowly to do a little. Now that's when I found I've Started So I'll Finish I have stitched regularly and have posted the up and downs of the saga of the Carousel Horse. Now it is coming to an end so just in case you haven't seen it before here are a couple of pictures showing it 'how it was' and 'how it is'. There's still quite a large amount of back-stitching to do and the outer frame still needs completing but I'm quite sure now it will shortly be finished.





Another piece I'm stitching is the Papillon SAL -Castles In the Air-. I'm about two downloads behind (Oops) and I think there will be another one shortly. I'm doing it on a printed 32 count linen and the colours are a combination of 11 set colours and the others chosen by myself. I must admit I am not the best at colour blending so I looked in my garden and all the colours in SAL are the ones I saw there. I have done a bit of a mix and match as there are two versions of the SAL . One is cross-stitch and the other a speciality stitch, as I am not keen on Lazy Daisy stitch I have taken bits from each one and put them together to suit myself. How it'll look when it is finished is anyone's guess but it coming along quite nicely.



As Christmas is on it's way here's a piece I have sewn through the Summer,( I just love Christmas) it's a Jim Shore Design and there are oodles of beads on it and I just love the colours. I quite like Santa doing 'other things' and have just seen the Sue Hillis Santas ( Sue Hillis Cross-Stitch Design Blog) so the charts are something to look out for.


I said I had a recipe for you. It's one that's been hidden in another cookery book and it has my son's name on the cover so I am unsure of the Author hope you like it:

How to Preserve Children

One Grassy Field
A Pinch of Brook
One and half dozen Children
Small Pebbles,2-3 Small Dogs.

Mix the children and dogs well together,
Put them in the field and stir constantly,
Pour brook over pebbles and sprinkle with flowers,
Spread a deep blue sky all over,
Bake in hot Summer sun for one hour
and set away to a cool bath tub.

Well now the kettle has just boiled, so it's off for a cup of tea and a feet up, a search for a small cross-stitch and a chill out before I go off on child sitting, netball supporting etc etc. Till next time, enjoy yourselves doing whatever is you favourite passtime. See you then

Welcome

Well this is it. Here is my first attempt at using the blog I've set up I'll probably have a million and one disasters but heyho you can only get better (can't you?). This year is the first year we(my hubby and I) have attempted to grow carrots. Now I just know how surprised you are to hear that . We do not have a garden the size of private park land so our carrots were planted in a couple of posh pots. Through the year, in the same pot, pansies have arrived and curly grass( not the bog standard stuff) varying weeds etc. Any how the great day arrived and we decided to see if there really was anything at the bottom of the lovely green ferny tops. There was. Mind you not exactly able to supply all the local shops, we had one meal from our efforts but my they were tasty. Not a total disaster.




Now nothing to do with gardens I enjoy cross stitching and although not the speediest I get there in the end. I went on this blog called I've Started So I'll Finish...Eventually..... what a boon I dug out a UFO (unfinished something or other can't remember what the O stands for) and have beens sewing on it ever since. I think it was about May my first Pic and after a few ups and downs I'm getting there.
As you can see I've not quite got the hang of how you get your pics in the right order but this is going to be the biggest learning curve ever. That's it for now thanks for calling in and I hope next time I'll have found my way through s few more of the mysteries of the BLOG. So please bear with me you know Patience is a Virtue. (I'm going to need a lot of it!)