In The Doldrums

I've not been feeling too happy the past week. My boss was on holiday for half term so I was left to hold the fort at work and it was awful. Erin was also away with my mum and step-dad from the Tue to Sat and I missed her dreadfully even though I didn't expect to, so I was very emotional. And then yesterday was the worst day I've had in a long long time, another dreadful day at work and a major run in with my mum who I have a very difficult relationship with unfortunately due to my childhood. Last night I felt completely and utterly drained and like I'd hit rock bottom, but I guess when you hit that point you can either give up completely or claw your way back up, and as Erin needs her mum I can't give up so I only have one option...
So I haven't much stitching to show for the last week. I have worked on Tomboy QS a bit on and off and have done about 700 stitches in total I think, but my heart hasn't been in it at all. So today I've decided I am going to start timing again and do my proper 10hrs on her before I move on, and that might help me feel a little more productive.
Hope everyone is having a better week than I am and managing lots of stitching. Thanks to everyone who visits and to those who leave comments, I really appreciate it (hugs).

Finishing Fun

Last night I finished stitching the Prairie Schooler Autumn Pinkeep that Sally and I have been doing as a SAL, so this afternoon when I got home from work I decided to try to finish it as a pinkeep and also pick something else out of my to finish drawer. I have quite a few things in the drawer to finish off, but I'm not a fan of finishing as I'm not great at it, so I figure if I do two at a time I'll get there eventually lol.
So here is the pinkeep finished off. I meant to take a pic of the fabric I've backed it with but forgot. Anyway, it's the same colours as in the stitching and has pumpkins on it, so matches well.
The chatelaine took me ages to lace and reminded me why I put off doing it before lol, but I'm happy now it's finished and pleased with the way it looks.
Technically I haven't finished my 10hr slot on smalls as I did the stitching for the pinkeep in less than 8, but I'm really not in the mood to start kitting up something else and just getting into it when I have to put it away again, so I'm going to move onto Tomboy. I need to do a load of gridding first but don't know if I can be bothered tonight. Might just put away my threads from the pinkeep etc and get Tomboy out tomorrow night.

Can Ya Tell What It Is Yet?

This is School Of Dolphins after it's 10 hour slot. Please excuse the appalling photo, the sun is still low here today and as it's aida the fabbie is really stiff so shows all the creases etc.
If you look at the outline on the left hand side you may be able to see the start of one of the main dolphins!
I have to say I've not really been in a stitching mood this week but when I have stitched on this I've enjoyed it and I'm really glad I picked it up again. DH is actually showing some interest in it as it's for him lol!
Later today I'm hoping to kit up the Autumn Pinkeep from September's Gift Of Stitching Magazine. Sally and I were talking on msn last night and she said she'd like to stitch it as well, so I talked her into joining me lol. It looks like a quick stitch as it's on 2 1/4 inches square over 2 on 28 count, and I'm really looking forward to it. Hopefully this will be one I stitch and make up straight after! Although I've just had a thought, I hope I've got some suitable backing fabric...
I also need to be thinking about getting Tomboy out and doing some more gridding ready for her slot which is after the pinkeep.
You may see from my side bar that I have changed the smalls slot I had to a seasonal smalls slot for now, and I've suddenly gone seasonal lol. So will stitch autumn/halloween until that urge goes, then move onto winter/xmas. In the New Year I think I will probably add another smalls slot for gifts or whatever, but will leave it like it is for now.
Sally and I were also talking about quaker designs last night, and between us we came up with what I think is a great idea that some of our dear stitching friends may be interested in. If you read her blog she has posted about it today, but in short we are wanting to do a quaker RR, using one of the With My Needle concertina book charts. Each book has 10 pages and we'd do 2 pages each, with you doing the front and back pages of your own book, and each person would incorporate their initials somewhere in the two pages they'd stitch. If you go over and read Sally's blog using the link above there's more info, but if you're interested in joining us or have any advice to offer about RR's please comment or email me.
Hope you all have a great weekend. The weather here is looking like it's going to be a nice day.

Nothing To Show

I've no stitching to show this post again I'm afraid. Have not been feeling to great the last few days, really tired and a bit of an iffy tummy, so have spent most of my time just surfing aimlessly or chatting on msn lol. I took myself off to bed early last night and do feel brighter today, so hopefully it's just lack of sleep.
I've only done about 5 1/2 hours on School Of Dolphins so far and it's growing slowly but I'm enjoying it. It seems very strange because I NEVER stitch on aida nowadays but this is aida as it's a kit and I didn't have a suitable evenweave alternative to match the colour.
Yet again I'm so glad I managed to eventually find a rotation that works for me as I don't think I'd ever have picked this kit up again otherwise, and DH would really love to see it on our wall.
I have however decided to swap what I am doing for my next slot, my smalls slot. I was going to start Just Nan's High Hopes but after seeing a couple of gorgeous finishes of the Prairie Schooler Autumn Pinkeep from Septemter's Gift Of Stitching Magazine I've been bitten by the autumn bug and have decided I will do that instead. I've also been thinking that at some point I might add in a specific seasonal slot, but will see.
Hope everyone is having a good week (hugs)

Why Didn't We Do It Sooner!

Quite a few months ago I met Dawn online via a few of the BB's and we found out we live quite close to eachother, about 20 mins drive away. We seemed to like a lot of the same stitching designs and mentioned meeting up sometime. Well with one thing and another we didn't arrange anything until this week, when I found out I was having the day to myself today. So we arranged to meet at a coffee shop in town and bring our wips to show and tell lol.
I was excited but also really nervous about meeting her, as I was worried we wouldn't have anything in common other than stitching. ROTFPML I needn't have worried! We didn't even discuss cross stitch for the first hour and a half, and we have loads in common. She is a lovely girl, nice and down to earth like me and we laughed loads.
We eventually did our show and tell of wips and her stitching is perfect! HAED Mystic Woods that she is stitching is gorgeous, the colours are just stunning. She also has an older wip of HAED Winter Moon and this is just beautiful (come on Dawn, don't let Mr Stick have to come find you lol). And there were also some other lovely smaller projects she's finished which I got to drool over.
So all in all I had a wonderful afternoon meeting a new friend, thanks Dawn ((hugs)), and I hope we can get together again very soon.

Finally!

I finished the part page that means the top half of Tomboy is done!!!
The page only consisted of about 2000 stitches, but they were all pale colours and blending filament, and I thought it would never end.
I did get excited thinking that I was really close to finishing her, but have looked at what I have left and I've still got one full page and three part pages to go, so not feeling so confident now. I'm glad I've decided to leave Tomboy as she is in the rotation with a few stitches inbetween the other slots, rather than 10hrs every other slot as I think she would drive me mad. I'm sick of the sight of her after this page I've just finished so don't think I'll be doing anymore on her til her slot comes up 20hrs time lol.

Getting There

Still no pics to show I'm afraid, but I had a good night on Tomboy last night and I can see a light at the end of the tunnel for this nightmare part page.
I still have loads of blending filament to do but I'm hoping if I stick with it I'll have the page finished by the end of the weekend! That's the plan anyway lol. Erin is at my mum's tonight so I'm hoping to have a really good stitching night with no interruptions.
Once this page is finished that will be the top half completely done and I'll be putting her away to start round 3 of the rotation and School of Dolphins.
I'm trying to decide whether to leave Tomboy where she is in the rotation and keep doing a little bit on her inbetween the other slots like I have so far, or to replace her slot with another HAED and make her my focus with 10 hours on her inbetween each of the other slots. Does that make sense? What do you think? I've got it in my head now that I really HAVE to finish her this year, I'm determined, but need to work out the best way to achieve it without getting completely sick of her. Any ideas or advice would be appreciated.
Have a good weekend everyone! And thanks to all my blogging friends who read and comment, you don't know how much it means to me. Hugs.

September Round Up

September was another good month stitching wise for me:-
1. I finished my Eeyore Latch Hook Rug
2. I finished my first needleroll
3. I finished another page of Tomboy QS
4. I worked on Cirque Des Cerles
5. I worked on Cabin In The Woods
So two finishes and progress on three other BAP's, not bad going!
At the moment I'm putting in the odd stitch on Tomboy, trying to get some of the dreaded blending filament and pale colours in the top right hand part page done before I start round 3. I so want to finish her this year and part of me keeps thinking about putting the rotation on hold and seeing if I can stick with her til she's finished, but I think if I do that I might get so I hate working on her again which I really don't want, so I've decided to work on her a bit in between the other slots and see how that goes. I think I'll take her to the stitchy club with me tomorrow night and then start round 3 on Wed with School Of Dolphins.
Hope everyone is having a good start to the month! Hugs.