It's Christmas!

First of all I want to thank everyone for their wonderful supportive comments on my blog and emails after my last post. Although I still can't quite believe it is happening, I am slowly coming around to the idea that in the end my redundancy might be for the best. Two major things I have noticed in the last couple of weeks are that I am not comfort eating anything like as much as I was, and I'm not getting horrendous indigestion everyday, so I think that could be trying to tell me something. I am still going to be sad to leave my job in a way (I'm now leaving on the 19th, not the 23rd), but I am looking forward to having some time at home to get myself together and decide what I want to do next.

Anyway, onto what this blog is supposed to be about, stitching, and some pics to show!

Firstly Amy received the ornament I stitched for her in the private exchange we did, and I received the most gorgeous ornament in return which is taking pride of place on my tree already.

Next up I've been in a stitched stocking exchange on the Tranquil Stitches BB and I've received my stocking and my partner has hers!

I've just finished off the last of my gift stitching and that will be going in the mail tomorrow, and then I can hopefully get back to stitching the ornament for our tree.

We go to Lapland a week today and I'm like a little kid at christmas with excitement! I'm also panicking trying to make sure we don't forget anything important, but I wouldn't be me if I didn't worry about something lol.

So if I don't get chance to post again before we go, I hope you're all enjoying the build up to this special season, staying warm and cosy in this cold and snowy weather, and still fitting in lots of stitching. Hugs.

Shellshocked

Well after a lovely long weekend off I went back to work this morning and was only there for half an hour before being called to a meeting with my senior partner and the HR Manager.
I've been given my notice of redundancy and finish work officially on the 23rd December....
Although it isn't unexpected I'm in shock right now and can't quite believe it. I have had a few tears when speaking to DH and my mum on the phone, although Erin's reaction and happiness that she will see more of mummy did make me feel a little better.
I know we will be able to survive on DH's salary, but it is obviously going to mean big changes to our lives and spending habits from now on, I just hope we can rise to the challenge as a family and maybe even turn a bad situation into a better future for us.

Yummm, Gingerbread!

It's 16th November and I'm already in the christmas spirit for some strange reason lol. Maybe it's the fact I've been doing christmas stitching for the past week or so, not sure, but not complaining as it's definitely lifting my spirits which has been sorely needed lately.

First of all I stitched an ornament for Amy (no blog) for a private exchange we're doing. I finished it into an ornament the other night and Erin doesn't want me to send it off as she says she wants it for our tree lol. Can't show a pic just yet as Amy sometimes reads my blog, but promise to post one when she's received it.

Then I stitched a small piece for a stitchers stocking exchange on the Tranquil Stitches BB. I know a few of the members of the BB may read my blog now and again so that's another pic I can't show yet, but the clue is in my post title. I had thought of posting a pic as no-one would know if they were getting it, but seeing as I've added my partner's name to the piece I've had second thoughts. Erin then decided she wants to keep this as well as you can put sweets in the stocking lol.

And then today I got Erin set up in the conservatory this morning with lots of bits to make christmas cards. This led me to thinking, I should take the chance to finish finish something from my stitched drawer. And because my head was full of gingerbread I couldn't resist making this up into a large pinkeep. I used a green/red/gold fabric to back it, red ribbon and then pins in different colours as used in the design and I just love how it's turned out. The ornament and stocking will be packaged up and sent on their way in the next few days, but I'm not parting with this, and it's staying up til the rest of the decorations join it in early December!

Tonight I'm going to start an ornament for our tree. It's the Prairie Schooler "Snowy Night" design from this year's JCS Ornament mag, and makes me think immediately of Lapland where we're going in exactly 24 days!!!!! We have had this booked for SO long we thought it would never arrive and with everything going on at work etc it's going to be so wonderful to get away as a family and for DH and I to go back to being kids for a few days and forget about everything. Erin still doesn't know and we're trying to keep it that way until the day we leave, but it's getting harder by the day as DH and I are so excited we keep nearly letting the cat out of the bag!

And just to make me even happier, tomorrow is my first Monday off work (yay!). I have big plans of reorganising Erin's bedroom while she's at school, in plenty of time for santa to make his visit and deposit piles more toys than she already has lol.

Thanks to all my lovely visitors and commentors on my last post, hope you're having a wonderful weekend and are stitching up a storm.

Go Check Out Chiloe's Giveaway

Chiloe is running a great giveaway on her blog to celebrate her 600th post. Go check it out and say hello whilst you're there!

Finally I Have Pics!

I've been working on my HAED Cabin In The Woods for the last couple of weeks and finally today finished page 12 which is my 4th page! I think I'm approx 17-18% done with this now which doesn't sound too bad, but when I look at the huge piece of fabric it seems like I've hardly done any! But it is wonderful to finally be seeing the cabin appearing before my eyes.

And as promised here is a pic of part 5 of the Papillon mystery which I finished a couple of weeks ago.

Next up I want to try to finish off an xmas ornament I'm stitching for a private exchange I'm in, not sure how it will go because of the shape but will see. I also have a little stocking on the way to stitch up for another exchange I'm taking part in and I want to stitch an ornament for our tree, so it's going to be xmas stitching for a while to come for me, but I'm looking forward to it.

Now onto my PIF, I have to say I'm disappointed that no-one has signed up for it, just hoping everyone doesn't think that my stitching is that bad... I'm going to contact Hazel to see if she wants me to drop out of her PIF but if she does think it's ok for me to still take part I guess I will do some randon PIF's instead for people who I think might appreciate it.

That's it for today, happy stitching everyone!

PIF!!!

I've just found out I've been very lucky and have been chosen to participate in Hazel's PIF (pay it forward). This is my first PIF so I'm very excited, I just love the meaning behind it.
So now I am offering the same thing on my blog. If you would like to receive something handmade by me within the next 365 days, please comment on this post to say that you are interested. I will then ask Erin to draw 3 names on Sunday 9 November. If you are one of the chosen three then in return, please post the same offer on your blog. This is a simple and a lovely way of spreading joy in the stitching world and I hope that you will want to take part! This PIF is open for everyone!

Life & Stitching

Last week at work we were all waiting with baited breath to hear news as to whether the reduced hours would save our jobs for the time being or if some of us would be getting redunancy notices. This meant I wasn't exactly in the mood for stitching on a night, just couldn't concentrate, so after finishing part 5 of the Papillon mystery I put my stitching way (no pic I'm afraid yet).
One thing I did decide after sending Karan her prize from my contest was that I miss being in exchanges and sending my friends stitched items and gifts. I haven't taken part in any since early this year when I hit a slump and was scared I couldn't keep up with them, so I've joined a little xmas stocking exchange on the Tranquil Stitches BB and am also doing a private xmas ornament exchange with one of my stitching friends in the USA. I so love to see what people receive in exchanges on their blogs, and often wonder about the exchange boards they are on as I've never come across them myself. Does anyone know, are these sort of things invite only generally? I don't want to commit myself to lots of exchanges again just yet, but will see how the 2 I've signed up for go and take it from there. All I know right now is that I'm excited to be exchanging again.
And talking of the private xmas ornament exchange, I've finished the stitching for that today after only starting it yesterday! I decided I felt like some xmas stitching but it took me a few days to find the right ornament and kit it up as I always procrastinate that lol. I'm really pleased with how it's turned out, now I just need to decide how to finish it into an ornament. No pic of that either I'm afraid and it will be a good while before it can be revealed as my exchange partner reads my blog.
I've also been thinking more about joining in the UFO night on the Stitch & Stash BB again. Julie does a stirling job along with Mr Stick in beating people until they stitch on their UFO's, erm I mean encouraging them lol, and while I'm being a bit flaky about my stitching right now in general I think that if I can at least put in one evening a week on a UFO I might feel like I'm making progress on something. Going to give it more thought, but it's seeming like a good idea right now.
And back to work, finally late Friday afternoon we had an email saying that the reduced hours had been passed, and asking us to decide which day we want to take off each week, starting 17th Nov for approx 6 months. I've chosen Monday's as it will mean a longer weekend for me, and after the worry of thinking we were going to be out of a job altogether the reduced hours are a welcome alternative. I've decided to make the most of it while it lasts, the reduced money isn't ideal, but the extra time at home will be wonderful, especially in the run up to xmas, and hopefully overall it will mean more stitching time as well lol.
Well, enough of me waffling, seem to have got carried away there, guess that's what you get for having a couple of days off for half-term, going to the cinema and then a play barn with Erin, and xmas stitching and writing most of your xmas cards whilst there!!! I think I must be giddy with the shock of being organised!
Til next time, have a great week everyone (hugs).

Boo Winner

Sorry I'm late with the draw, the weekend didn't go as planned so a bit behind with everything lol.
Anyway, without further ado, Boo's new owner is.......





KARAN!




Can you please let me have your snail mail addy Karan and I'll get it in the post to you asap.
Thanks for entering!

Some Enforced Wagon Time

Well, it's been coming but was still a huge shock when an emergency departmental meeting was called at work for 2pm today.
We've been told that unless enough people are prepared to reduce their hours by working say 4 days instead of 5 for the time being, then redundancy consultations will begin on Monday. As much as everyone needs every penny with living costs going up as they are, the majority of us have agreed that we would rather try to manage like this for 6 months or so in the hope things improve, than risk having a redundancy notice on our desk in the next couple of weeks.
I'm trying to think positively in that it will mean I'll have more time at home to do the things I'm always trying to fit in on an evening. We are going to have to tighten our belts though and part of that is obviously going to mean me climbing on the stash wagon for the foreseeable. Anyone got any tips lol?

Boo To You!

First of all I'd like to thank everyone who left me a lovely message after my last post with hugs and support etc, it means so much to me. Things here are still not great but I'm trying to stay positive and thankfully I've been stitching a little more which has helped.

I've been working on Cirque as it's easy going with no colour changes and last weekend I finished page 2 which is my third page, taking me to officially over half done!

I may go back to it soon and carry on, but for the last few days I've been working on my HAED Cabin In The Woods. I spent 2 nights getting really frustrated as I was in confetti central and just wasn't making any progress so in the end decided to start at the opposite side of the page which isn't as bad, and haven't been doing too badly. Will show a pic once I've got more done.
Then today I've mustered every ounce of courage and made up the Just Nan Boo Tin! Now I don't have any finishing flare lol, so it really is scary for me to try to finish off something I've taken ages stitching and it makes me feel really nervous the whole time I'm doing it in case I make a mistake or it doesn't turn out right. But apart from having to fiddle with the twisted cording I'm really pleased with the result on Boo. DH has now been instructed to get the halloween decs down from the loft this afternoon so Erin and I can put them up and display my new tin!

And in recognition of the kindness of stitching friends I am now doing a draw for the Boo chart and leftover beads. Obviously there will be no tin, web charm or ribbon, but I'm sure you imaginative stitchers can work around that lol. So, if you'd like to enter, please post a comment and saying you want to be entered, and I'll draw a name a week today and then get the chart in the mail to the winner on the 20th Oct, so you'll still have time to stitch it for halloween if you get your skates on!

In The Doldrums

Things at work since I went back after my op have been getting steadily worse again and this last week I've spent a lot of the time near to or in tears, and taken to having early nights as all I want to do is hide away and sleep, which I know for me is a sure sign I'm depressed again.
There were more redundancies at work last week and everyday we seem to hear more doom and gloom about the housing market etc, so everyone I work with is at rock bottom and the atmosphere is awful. I think my job is probably safe for a while due to my length of service, experience and qualifications, but dealing with the atmosphere on a daily basis is getting hard to bear. When you spend so much of your life at work it becomes impossible to turn off after work when things are so low whilst you're there and I have to admit that I'm really struggling. I'm trying to take it one day at a time but earlier today I was so close to handing in my notice and just throwing in the towel...
I have had one nice day though. At the weekend DH and I took Erin to Gulliver's World in Warrington which is a theme park for young children. Erin absolutely loves it there as she can go on the rides as many time as she wants. This time she was also tall enough to go on the three rides she's missed out on before, a roller coaster, a runaway mine train and the log flume, and loved them, especially when I got soaked through on the log flume lol. We had an absolutely wonderful day, the weather was gorgeous, the queues were short for the rides surprisingly and it was just so nice relaxing and being a family with no worries for a while. DH and I said we definitely need to get away for more days like that, as I felt like a weight had been lifted off me for a few hours.
Stitching wise I've nothing to show I'm afraid. I have done the stitching for the Just Nan Boo Tin, but have yet to pluck up the courage to attempt the finishing. I've done none besides that and to be honest the rotation has fallen by the wayside, so I've decided for now that when I do actually feel like stitching I'm just going to grab what's calling and see how it goes. It's typical that when I'm stressed or down I usually turn to my stitching, but at the moment I can't even be bothered with that.
Here's hoping I'll snap out of it in a few days.

How Does Your Monday Go?

I've got the usual Monday blues, not helped by still worrying about the Paypal fiasco. We managed to get all the cards stopped so now it's the waiting game while the new cards come through and we see if we will get the money back from Paypal. We have decided that if/when it is resolved, if we get our money back we are in future going to use an old bank account we have never got around to closing just for Paypal, and just keep a small amount in it for that purpose only, so this can never happen again. Thanks for all the messages I received, it makes me feel a bit better at least knowing people care.
Now onto what this blog is supposed to be about, stitching! Here are my HAED Alisha QS and the Papillon mystery How Does Your Garden Grow with Part 4 now complete. I've also done a little more on Cirque but want to wait til I finish the page til I take another pic.




The past couple of weeks I've carried on with my rotation but have missed quite a few nights of stitching which isn't good for my sanity lol. Anyway, I've finally finished the round and I'm pleased with what I've achieved, especially on HDYGG.
I've been wanting to start the SALexandre with Sally and we had planned to begin this month, but I couldn't help thinking that I shouldn't be starting another big project at the moment when I want to make more progress on my wips. So we've decided to put it on hold for now and we'll see how we're both set in another few months or so.
In the meantime I've decided to keep my slots in the rotation as they are, but rather than a set time on each project I'm just going to stitch on it for as long as I'm enjoying it. If it's one I'm not particularly enjoying I can move on, but have to have at least put in a few stitches. I'm hoping this way that I can make much more progress on my focus pieces, Cirque and HDYGG, and maybe even finish one of them before the end of the year so I can free up a slot, whilst still making some progress on my others and mostly not getting bored.
So it's back to slot 1 today, which is smalls, and I get a new start which I'm really excited about! With halloween coming up next month I couldn't resist the new Just Nan Boo Tin and Needlebook when they came out, and have been dying to start one of them since they arrived. I have plumped for the tin first and now have everything laid out at the side of me on the sofa for when Erin has gone to bed!
Hope you all have a good week. Thanks to all my readers and those who take the time to leave a comment. And welcome to my new commentors, it's lovely to see some new faces here. I've been very lax in reading and commenting on blogs this past couple of weeks, have just been finding it hard to settle, but I hope to rectify that soon.

Argh! Paypal Fraud!

Sorry for my screaming, but this afternoon has been a complete nightmare. This is nothing to do with stitching so please feel free to ignore my post, I just need to vent.
I got an email earlier from Paypal to confirm that a payment had been sent and my bank account debited.... Now only DH and I use the account so I wondered what DH had ordered. When I looked at the amount, $1,150.00! I knew immediately that it couldn't be DH, but by this time my bank account had already been debited with £659.57!
I then got an email from Paypal to say that they had flagged it up as a suspicious transaction and I immediately followed this up by reporting it as an unauthorised transaction, which will take 10 days to either resolve and for us to get our money back, or we're over £650 out of pocket.
Now I don't know how you girls that use Paypal use your account, but for ours when we buy something the money comes straight from our bank account, and if there is not enough money available it is charged to a backup credit card.
So we've had to ring our Bank and credit card companies to stop our bank and credit cards, and on doing so we found that someone had tried to charge £6,000.00 to our credit card as well! Thank god they had immediately flagged it up as suspicious and when we rang it was then rejected. It's going to be 7-10 days before we get new cards, so until then we can't get any money out or buy anything!
In the meantime our Paypal account has also been frozen and I don't want to give anymore bank/credit card details until I know if this is going to be resolved.
I feel totally sick to my stomach right now, can't stop crying and am really worried that we're not going to get the money back.
So another reason for my posting this is to ask if anyone can give us any advice to help stop this happening again. How do you use your Paypal account? Do you have a bank account registered as well as a credit card, or just a credit card? Do you use a separate card that has a small limit on it specially for things like Paypal and Ebay? Right now I just want to close the account I'm so worried and scared because I don't know what I'm supposed to do....

Finishing Fun

Well, my first week back at work wasn't too bad thank goodness. I was a nervous wreck last Sunday and then Monday morning I felt physically sick, it was like being the new girl again! Anyway, once I'd been back a few hours I settled down and now it feels like I've never been away.
As it's DH's and my Wedding Anniversary on Wednesday I thought I'd better try to get Always & Forever finished finished this weekend to give to DH.

Now I've only made one flatfold before so was still quite nervous about doing this one. I had to choose backing fabric from my stash and didn't really have much choice of suitable pieces, but didn't have time to go shopping for something else. The finishing took less time than I expected and although it's not perfect I am pleased with the finished result on the whole. I have to say that flatfolds aren't my favourite finishing technique, can't quite seem to get on with them like I do with pinkeeps etc, but as an alternative to framing a smallish piece of stitching I think they're a great idea.

This week I've been working on Celtic Autumn for the first time in a LONG time lol. The pics are before and after so I'm pleased with the progress I've made this time around. The most recent pic is also a much better colour match to the real thing, the original pic was awful. I have Spring, Summer, Autumn and Xmas in my stash and would like to stitch them all eventually, so I figured it was time to give Autumn some regular attention so at least one of them might get finished one day. I'm not a great fan of beading so am trying to do it as I go along. I've tended to do a bit of stitching then add a few beads and so on and it's not too bad that way. She will be up again in my rotation in about a month so you'll be seeing more of her then.

Yesterday I stitched on Cirque and made good progress, but don't want to risk boring everyone with a pic showing just one day's stitching every week so think I'll probably post a pic every couple of weeks instead.

Next up in the Papillon mystery again for a couple of days. I'm hoping to finish Part 3 this time around!

Hope everyone is having a good weekend and all my fellow UK'ers aren't suffering too badly in all the rain we're having. It's sunny here right now but daren't put any laundry out as it's sure to be raining again before I know it.

I'm Back!

Well we got back from holiday on Wednesday afternoon and things are slowly returning to normal. I can never get over how long it takes to empty the caravan and put things away, and the amount of laundry there is! We had a good week away and were very lucky with the weather as it was lovely a few days, and we only had rain during the day on the second to last day. Saying that, I came down with a stinker of a cold on the 3rd day and felt dreadful the rest of the week. The last two nights I had to dose myself up with cough medicine and prop myself up on pillows in the caravan to get myself to sleep, so it was nice to come home to my own bed.
Stitching wise the rotation went out of the window for the week which I knew it would, but I still managed to get some done. Firstly I finished my LHN Always & Forever for our 10th anniversary next month, and then I made some more progress on Cirque. I've now done half of the page and for some reason that's given me a boost that I might actually finish it one day lol.
The pic of Cabin has only just been taken, but it's a couple of weeks since I worked on it last. I've now actually reached the cabin itself and it's SO good to be able to stitch colours that are not blue. I'm looking forward to working on this again soon.
Back to the rotation, and I am going to tweak it slightly. There have been a few days when I haven't stitched for one reason or another and this has meant certain projects have missed out on stitching time. So I've decided that rather than have the set days of the week I'm just going to do 4 days on slot 1, 1 day on Cirque, 2 on the mystery, and then onto slot 2 for 4 days, and so on. This way if I miss a day's stitching it doesn't matter, I just don't move on until I've done my set day/s on that project. I'm hoping to get the Papillon mystery back out tonight for a couple of days, don't really feel in the mood for stitching but hoping once I pick it up I'll soon get back into the swing.
Well, only 2 more days of freedom and then it's back to work for me after 5 weeks. I had 3 weeks sick leave after the op and then 2 weeks holiday leave, so this is the longest I've had off since having Erin over 5 years ago. I'd be lying if I said I was happy about going back, right now I'm dreading it and feel sick when I think about it, but there's nothing I can do so just got to try not to think too much about it til Mon lol.

Flying Visit

Just a quick update as we are going away in our caravan tomorrow for a week so I won't be able to post while we're away.
Haven't been able to take update pics of my wips today as the batteries for the camera are on charge ready to take away with us, but I have taken a quick pic of the Papillon mystery with my phone to give you an idea of progress. It's not a brilliant photo but you'll get the idea. I've now finished parts 1 and 2 including adding the beads, and I made a start on part 3 earlier.

I made good progress on Cabin In The Woods in the 4 days I worked on it last week and finished another oval in Cirque when I worked on that for a day, but you'll have to wait til we get back for a pics of those lol.

I've managed to sneak four wips into the caravan to take with us. The mystery, Cirque, Celtic Autumn and Always & Forever. A&F is to work on during the day if I get chance at any of the activities Erin goes to, and the other three are for in the caravan or sitting out in the sun if we get any by some miracle. Sometimes when we go I get loads of stitching done, other times hardly any, but I can't risk having nothing to stitch can I?!

So til next time, I wish you all plenty of frog free stitching (hugs).

I Love My New Rotation!

Well 11 days in and my rotation is still working lol. I don't want to jinx myself as I've tried so many different ones all for them to fail eventually, but I really am enjoying this new set up. The pics I've taken were taken before the weekend and the colours are all wrong as it was so dull, but you'll get the idea.
Cirque is great to work on for just one day a week as I'm keeping making progress, no colour changes means it's easy to pick up and get going on, and I don't get bored of it.

How Does Your Garden Grow is fast becoming my favourite project. This pic doesn't show it but I've now finished Part 1 except for the beads and have made a good start on Part 2. It seems to stitch up very quickly once you get the hang of each stitch, and it's so pretty.

Last week Mon-Thur I made a good start on LHN's Always & Forever. This is for DH for our 10th Wedding Anniversary with is in September. I've been going to stitch it for a while but then he does something to annoy me and I think "I'm not wasting my stitching time on him" lol, then he does something to get back in my good books again and I change my mind. Anyway, I love the design and it will be displayed in our lounge when it's finished so I'll enjoy it as well, so figured I might as well just go ahead and stitch it. I had the silk specially dyed by Vikki Clayton to go with the browns in our lounge, and although I wasn't wild about it when I first got it, I just love it stitched up. I have to say though that by Thur I was glad to put it away as I was getting a little bored. This will be coming out again before it's next slot though as we're going away next week in our caravan for the week and I'm going to take it to stitch a little on when I'm watching Erin doing the activities, plus I need to get it finished and made up somehow before 10th Sept.

And finally as it was smalls week last week I made up the Alphabet Tree freebie I stitched a while back into a floss ring tag! I'm not wild about how the eyelet setting worked out on the back, but I guess it's practice I am very pleased with the finish on the whole.

This week is the turn of HAED Cabin In The Woods and I've managed to get a good bit done the last 2 days. I'll take a pic before it goes away again.

Health wise I'd say I'm back to about 80% now. I'm still having trouble bending over and the main incision is uncomfortable and placed perfectly to catch on anything I wear, plus I still can't drive so am stuck at home when David is at work, but other than that I'm managing to do a lot more and feeling better.

I have til next Wed on sick from work and already had 2 weeks holiday booked from work which starts next Mon, so unless something happens in the next couple of weeks I'll be going back to work on 1st Sept. Right now I feel sick when I think about it and am dreading it, but it's got to happen so I'm trying to not focus on it too much and just enjoy the time I have left and get myself to 100% before then if possible.

Hope you're all having a good week, thanks to everyone who comes and visits my blog and especially to those who take the time to leave a comment. I still haven't figured out a way to track my visitors like some can do on their blogs, so I'm just hoping I do have other visitors besides the ones who comment lol. Til next time!

Whoohoo!!!

I finally figured out after god knows how long how to add a pic to my blog title! I've tried this so many times and finally today found out by trial and error that the template I was using was the problem. So I've been playing for a while with a new template and colours etc, and am really pleased with myself and the result lol.
Now don't laugh, but I've decided to have another try at a rotation. This last week while I've not been able to do much stitching as I've struggled to get comfy I've been thinking lots about it instead, and how I can make the most of my stitching time, make progress on some wips and not get bored. So I've come up with something slightly different from the last few times I've tried. You can see my idea in my sidebar.
I started it yesterday and worked a little on Cirque last night. Today and tomorrow are How Does Your Garden Grow. I've already put a few stitches in that this morning when I went out with DH in the car for a little while to get me out of the house for the first time in a week. He was trying to get some parts for his car and we ended up going to about 4 different places, with me staying in the car the whole time, but at least it was a change of scenery lol. Easily pleased aren't I!

Phew!

Well, I made it through the surgery, not brilliantly, but it's over thank god.

Last week things got worse by the day in the run up to the op. I nearly crashed my car twice by leaving the handbrake off, I left it unlocked all day at work one day, went to work another day and didn't turn on the burglar alarm at home.... Get the picture? One highlight was a lovely good luck card and stitched gift from Sally which I received a couple of days before which brightened my week (hugs Sally). I hope you don't mind me borrowing your pic of it Sally as I'm not up to setting up the camera and taking pics just yet.

So when Friday came I just wanted it over. I did have a few tears but when it came down to it I was pretty calm. I remember seeing 2.02pm when I first went into the anaesthetic room, and the last I remember was 2.05pm, then I was in the recovery room with people pestering me to wake up lol.

I didn't find out til later that day, but the surgery didn't go exactly to plan. The largest of the 4 incisions should have been 10mm, but ended up being over 50mm as my gallbladder was so inflamed and filled with lots of large stones that if they hadn't of done this they would have had to have opened me up fully to remove it. I was also told that if I hadn't have had the op when I did I'd have been in casualty within the next couple of months with it as an emergency because it was so bad.

My hospital experience on the whole was good though. The nurses were nice, I was in a room with 3 lovely ladies who seemed to take me under their wings as a surrogate daughter and it was made sure that I was well looked after with pain meds etc.

The worst part came when I came home and my plan of feeling great on Day 2 like lots of people I've heard about didn't happen, Day 2 was my worst day with my tummy getting really swollen and me being in floods of tears. I felt so low and regretted ever having it done as I was in so much pain.

Thankfully things seem to be improving very slowly with each day, but it's been a big shock to the system to realise my recovery is going to be a lot harder than I expected (I thought I'd be out dancing the night away on Day 2 haha!). So far all I've managed to do is do a slow waddle around the house picking up the odd thing as I go past, watch tv, surf, and finally last night I managed about half an hour stitching before I got too uncomfy.

Erin has been such a little star. She is very careful about cuddling me and has only caught me offguard once by mistake which made her cry because she was scared she'd hurt me lots. She is playing nurse and fetching and carrying for me and helping to tidy up and I'm so proud of her it brings tears to my eyes. Tomorrow however she goes on holiday with my mum for a week and although I know she will have lots of fun and it's better for her to be on holiday with them than stuck in the house with me, I'm going to miss her like mad and keep crying when I think about it. This weekend DH and I are going to have our first weekend alone since before she was born and I'm not well enough to make the most of it lol. We have said if I'm up to eating a bit more by then though we might have a nice takeaway and a DVD.

Thank you again to those who've left comments, emailed and sent texts with good wishes and asking how I am, I really appreciate them. Thanks also to Claire for her lovely get well card which came yesterday and brightened my day and also to Dawn for coming to visit me yesterday even though I'm living in my pj's right now lol.

Hopefully my next post will be more back on the topic of stitching and I might even have some update pics to show!

Photo Binge!

Well, since I found out about my upcoming operation a couple of weeks ago I've been allover the place. I am getting more nervous by the day and veer from being terrified I won't wake up afterwards to being awake all through the op and not being able to let the doctors know lol. DH has been great and answered millions of my medical questions (he's a charge nurse in operating theatres doing joint replacements) but he's getting a bit sick of me having constant hissy fits and bursting into tears now so I think we'll all be glad when it's over.

Anyway, the upshot of this has been I've really struggled to concentrate on anything for long, including my stitching and it's lead to 2 new starts as well lol. As much as I love my new starts though even these haven't been able to hold my attention so I'm just hoping that after the op things will return to normal and I'll be able to enjoy my recuperation time with loads of stitching.

So without further ado here are my update pics. First is my HAED Cabin In the Woods which now has a chimney and start of the cabin roof!
Next up is my first new start, the Papillon mystery How Does Your Garden Grow. I've loved this design since the first part was released and finally gave in and made a start a couple of weeks ago. I am using DMC Variations for the flowers and basic dmc for the greens. This caused lots of naughty words when I was working on it though I'm afraid as I had a visit from the frog three times!!! At one point I was ready for throwing it in the bin, but I persevered and hopefully the worst is over. I sent the frog packing and don't want him back!

And my most recent start is a new HAED QS, Hannah Disney's Alisha. I know I already have three HAED's on the go, but I really love stitching on them even though they are very slow growing, the detail just amazes me and I've been wanting to start one in my fav colours for ages, so this had to be it. So far I've stitched approx 1000 stitches and I love it. The colours are gorgeous to work with and her pouty little mouth makes me smile.

And my last pics are of my Quaker round robin that was returned home to me completed recently! I have still to find a way to fit all of our initials on one of the pages if it's possible and then make it up into the book, but I'm hoping I might be able to do that after the op.

This will probably be my last post before the operation on Friday and not sure when I'll be back online after that. I should only be in hospital overnight but depending on how I feel and doctors/DH's orders it maybe a few days before I'm up and about and surfing/stitching again. Thanks to those who offered advice and kind words after my last post, I appreciate them.

I'm Scared!

After a long time of getting very ill on and off I finally found out in April that I have gallstones. I've been waiting for a date for the op and today found out it will be on the 25th July. Only 3 weeks away. I've only ever been in hospital when I had Erin 5 years ago and it wasn't a good experience shall we say, and I've never had an anaesthetic or operation. I'm an absolute wreck and feel sick and shaky now, so god knows what state I'll be in by the op date.
It's also come at a very bad time work wise as my boss goes on holiday the week after and I was supposed to be running the office for 2 weeks, but obviously now that isn't going to happen and the big bosses are not at all happy. Add to that the housing market which I work in is very bad at the moment and our jobs are all at risk. I'm scared that I will have no job to go back to.....
I know I have no choice about the operation as each time I get a flare up it is worse than the last (on Sunday night and Monday I thought I was going to have to go to the emergency department), and if I refuse this date I'll have to go back on the waiting list, but it just couldn't come at a worse time and I feel really stressed.
Up til getting this date I was thinking, ooh, 2/3 weeks off work afterwards, loads of stitching time, naps and watching chick flicks. I need to start chanting that or I'm going to go mad in the next 3 weeks!

Yay!!! Major Happy Dance Time!!!

Today I finished the last part of the Quaker RR I've been in with Sally, Chris, Tracy and Jane for the last 6 months!!!! My last part was Jane's and I have to say the floss she chose is gorgeous. She used Olde Willow Stitchery floss in Boysenberry and it was a joy to stitch because it's such a beautiful colour.

We are not returning our RR's home until the 17th July and once mine does arrive home I wil still need to make it into the concertina book as per the chart, but I'm considering this my major happy dance because the stitching itself is done and that's when I count my happy dances lol.

Thought I'd also post pics of a couple of smalls I've stitched recently. First is a coaster I've made for Erin's teacher as an end of year gift. We've already got her a mug and was going to make this into an ornament but changed my mind at the last minute and made it into a coaster to go with the mug. It's stitched with Vikki Clayton silks in her teacher's favourite red, yellow and orange colours, and I've personalised the back with her teacher's name, the year and Erin's name.

Secondly is Blue Ribbon's Alphabet Tree freebie that was re-released for a short time. This again is stitched with Vikki Clayton silk in Pastel Rainbow which I love, 1 over 1 on 28ct black fabric. I've been pondering for ages on how to finish it and am leaning towards a floss ring, but I could change my mind again so watch this space.

Thought You Deserved Some Pics....

To show that I do actually have some progress to show this year lol.
First of all is the most recent pages of the Quaker RR I've stitched. This part is Tracy's.
And next up is my Cirque wip after the last few days stitching on it. I've finished pages 1 and 4 now and am onto page 2. It is being stitched using Vikki Clayton premium silk in discontinued Caribbean Splash, 1 over 2 on 32ct antique white. I love stitching with this colour as it's so bright and cheerful but am feeling a bit bored now so going to put it away again for a while.

Next up I think is going to be my HAED Always Dreaming QS which has been whimpering at me for a while. I figure if I pull her out I'll see if she can get a bit louder and hold my attention for a little while.

Still Here!

I know it's been a long time but my stitching mojo completely disappeared and so blogging became impossible for me as I'd nothing to talk about or show.
I've had a couple of weeks with no stitching whatsoever, but yesterday I decided to pull Cirque out and just see how I got on stitching for half an hour. When I picked up my needle I literally panicked, it was such a strange feeling, I didn't know where to start. Anyway, I put in the first stitch and felt better.
Then I realised that I was thinking "how much can I get done tonight"? That made me think, I'm always thinking this when I stitch lately, how much can I stitch in a session or how soon can I get this finished? Then it finally hit me why my mojo has run away....
At the beginning of this year I signed up to two SAL's on the HAED bulletin board, as well as signing up for a Quaker RR with Sally and three other stitching friends. This was the first year I've signed up for any formal SAL's and I've never done a round robin before.
So a lot of my stitching time has been taken up with stitching on certain projects at certain times. The SAL's have found me trying to stitch as much as possible in the alloted time for showing progress pics, and the RR has meant stitching to a deadline which I'm not used to.
I've never liked being told what to do right from being a child lol, and even though the SAL's and RR are things I willingly signed up for, I've felt like I had to stitch on those projects at times when I didn't actually feel like it, and to get as much done as possible, which has resulted in my not enjoying my stitching.
So last night while stitching on Cirque I kept telling myself to slow down, stop rushing, just enjoy the process, and it worked!!!! I was so excited I was buzzing!! I thoroughly enjoyed the bit that I stitched and can't wait to pull it out again tonight! Whoohoo!!
So the result of all this is that I've decided to pull out of the SAL's. I'm due to get the last part of the RR around the 6th June and instead of pressuring myself to stitch it as fast as possible I'm going to practice my new mantra and "slow down and enjoy the process" lol.
I can't believe it took me 5 months to work this out and I am a bit sad that I've wasted 5 months of my life not enjoying my hobby which I've always loved so much. I've also been struggling badly with my moods and depression this last couple of months, and I'm wondering if my not being able to escape into my stitching has actually played a part. I guess only time will tell, but here's hoping the worst is over I have loads of fun stitching in my future!

Long Time No Blog

I still haven't been able to find the culprit who stole my stitching mojo a while back, so in the meantime I've been trying to build a new one.

It's a slow process and think it's going to be a long while before I get it like my old one, but at least I'm stitching again most evenings, if only for a short while.
First of all I finished the stitching for the Stitch & Stash BB's March Challenge but unfortunately still haven't got around to making it up into anything. I know it should have been stitched and made up in March but some of you who've lost your mojo before will know when you pick up your stitching and have to frog two for every three stitches you make, it's a sign to put it away again. Anyway, I'll post a pic once I make it up, soon hopefully.

And the other only other stitching I've been doing is Chris' RR which you can find out more about on Quaker Friends . So far I've stitched the two pages on my own, Sally's and Chris'. I think the next one I'll be getting is Tracy's and then Jane's will be my last, and the RR will be finished! We should all get our own pieces back fully stitched around mid July. I haven't seen my piece since I sent it on at the start of the RR, so must say I'm curious to know how it's looking so far. I'm sending Chris' on it's way around the 24th April so going to have a couple of weeks before the next one arrives to start and think I'm going to see if anything starts screaming at me from my wips.

Before I forget, I'd like to try and enlist some help locating a pattern. I have become fixated on a chart I saw by Haberdashery Designs called Voodoo Boy. My boss and I at work are always joking that we should have a voodoo doll to stick pins in when once of our really nasty clients upsets us which is most days lol. As soon as I saw this I knew I had to stitch it for her, but the only place I can find it is Stitching Bits & Bobs, and I really can't afford the extortionate shipping charge for one chart. Does anyone know where else I can get it? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Well, till next time, happy stitching!

Couple Of Photos

Still no stitching done here since the weekend, the mojo is well and truly missing, but just taken a pic of Sally's RR before I send it on it's way to Jane tomorrow, along with the tiny amount I did on HAED's Romeo & Juliet before putting her away again.

Last night I felt like getting rid of all my stash I felt that bad, but today that feeling has eased a bit, much to Dawn's disgust who is on her way over as we speak with a lorry to collect it all rotfpml!

Instead of stitching I'm taking the opportunity to catch up on blogs and play with mine a bit, in the hope that that will tempt me to pick up a needle again soon.

Have You Seen My Mojo?

I have realised this weekend that my stitching mojo has gone missing, don't know where I saw it last and haven't a clue where to find it, any ideas?
I don't feel that 2008 so far has been great for me, I don't know about anyone else. The weather has been awful, high winds, loads of rain, very cold, but not much sun. I know that that definitely affects my mood, I NEED sun to give me some get up and go and optimism.
Then there was my really low mood which lead to me stopping my medication, the following withdrawal symptoms and then the tonsillitus! And now, don't ask me how, but I trapped a nerve in my neck/shoulder the middle of last week and have been in pain since. It doesn't feel too bad first thing on a morning but gets worse as the day goes on, and by evening I can't get any relief or get comfy. I've had the same thing a few times before, first on one side and then the other, with no explanation and it's really painful, but it hadn't happened for a couple of months. After talking with DH I tend to agree with him that it's due to my weight and the way I'm sleeping on a night somehow, but not sure.
So my stitching has been few and far between. I finished my 2nd page on Sally's RR by doing it a motif at a time every few days and will be sending it onto Jane on Wed, but other than that not done much at all, haven't even managed to take a pic yet. This weekend is the HAED SAL Challenge and I should be working on Romeo & Juliet. It doesn't help that for some reason I just can't get into this, I've worked on it on several occasions now and it just doesn't seem to flow for me. I have put in a couple of hundred stitches so it's all progress, but again it will be going away with me annoyed with myself over it.
I've also started the March Challenge piece on Stitch & Stash. Can't say what colours or fabbie I'm using, or what I'm planning for it, but it's started, and even that isn't grabbing my attention.
So you see why I think my mojo is lost? I decided to brighten up my blog a bit with Easter colours and see if that helps brighten me up in turn. I have thought about another new start, but nothing is really calling to me, and none of my other wips seem to be even whimpering, so maybe I just need a break from it, although I always worry when I'm like this that it's never going to come back.

Grrrrrr!

I was updating my blog yesterday, had spent ages waffling and uploading pics, just about to publish and my laptop shutdown on me as it had overheated. You can imagine there were some not very nice words said! So now to try to remember what I had been waffling about...

Firstly I want to thank everyone for the wonderful supportive comments after my last post on going cold turkey with my anti-depressants. I'm very pleased to say that most of the withdrawal symptoms have gone now, with the worst ones just bothering me occasionally, like dizzy spells. If I had known I would be able to do this I would have done it ages ago, rather than staying on the meds for all this time. So now we just wait to see if I can get the appropriate help for my issues with food. I have a hospital appointment next Wed for an initial consulations, so fingers crossed.

Unfortunately now though I'm suffering with tonsillitus which started last week. It's hard to believe but at 35 I've never had it before and boy what a wake up call that was. I ended up crawling to the drs last Fri instead of going to work and am still not feeling much better although I did drag myself into work today. So things like housework and socialising are non-starters here right now, didn't leave the house from Fri to today, and think I'll only be going to work then back home to my sofa the rest of the week.

So now onto what this blog is supposed to be about lol, stitching. I don't feel to have done much since my last post, but looking at the pics I guess I have. I've worked on Ink Circles Cirque Des Cercles and managed to get to the bottom left hand corner, plus I've stitched my first page of two for Sally's Quaker RR. These two were a relief to stitch when I couldn't concentrate on my HAED's, but I knew I was feeling better when they started calling again, so now I'm having a few days on Cabin In The Woods and seeing if I can reach the chimney of the Cabin!

And finally I was tagged by Claire and Elisa over the weekend. I have to name 7 weird or random facts about myself.

Here are the rules of the tagging;

1 Once you are tagged, link back to the person who tagged you.

2 Post the Rules on your blog.

3 Post 7 weird or random facts about yourself on your blog.

4 Tag 7 people and link them.5 Comment on their blog to let them know they have been tagged.

So for the 7 weird or random facts about me:

1. I'm scared of the dark.

2. I can touch my nose with my tongue.

3. I was in labour with DD for 42 hours.

4. I met DH on a blind date.

5. I cannot stand the noise of other people eating if I'm not.

6. DH says I can reverse park and read a map lol.
7. We gave DD the middle name Dominique as we got married in the Dominican Republic.

I see that a lot of people have been tagged over the weekend, so not naming names, but if you read this and haven't been tagged yet, you're it!

Awful Week

First of all I'd like to thank all my wonderful blogging friends who commented on my finish of Tomboy. I had a record number of comments and it really made my day.

Now on non-stitching things which I just feel I need to explain, please feel free to quit reading now if you wish as it's long and quite heavy. This week has been really really hard and I'm just thankful at the end of each day that I've managed to get through that day.

A few of my close blogging friends know that I've been on anti-depression meds for a long time now after suffering with post natal depression after having Erin 5 years ago. I've had counselling regarding issues from my past and have resolved those, but the depression still has me in it's grasp and a lot of it is to do with my weight etc. I saw my own dr last week and to say he made me rethink things is an understatement. I spent 3/4 hr with him when it should have been a quick 5 min app to get a repeat prescription, and the upshot of it all is that he thinks I need specific help for my issues with food, and my meds need rethinking as they are obviously not working anymore. I cried through most of the app and came home totally drained, but it really opened my eyes. After a lot of research, thought and discussion with DH I decided last Friday to come off the tablets and go cold turkey as they say. I know it is something you're not supposed to do and I've had a telling off from lots of people, but I really haven't done it on a whim. I did try to come off the meds last year by reducing them, but I had bad withdrawal symptoms and knew it would go on a long time that way, reducing the dose slightly over months. I've read A LOT on the internet about the type of tablets I was taking and I can honestly say I wish I read it BEFORE I started them. The tablets I was on are the worst for coming off and are well known to cause horrendous withdrawal symptoms. Anyway, call me crazy or stupid but I decided that this was the way to go and took my last tablet last Thur night and haven't had one since.

Sat which was my first med free day I felt great, motivated, elated, happy, it was great... Then came Sat night and I got about 3 hours sleep in total in between the most horrendous nightmares and sweating. Sun I spent most of the day crying, wanted to scream and shout and felt like I was going to fall over I was so dizzy. Sun night I suddenly started hearing funny noises in my head (now don't laugh, I know I've always heard funny noises, but not these lol). I've since found out that these are what medical professionals have named brain zaps.... It's like hearing zzzt, zzzt, zzzt, in my head at regular intervals but stops when I close my eyes. I tell you, the first hour I thought I'd really lost it lol.

Sun night thank god I slept better, no nightmares or sweats, but woke up dizzy again and yesterday spent the day trying not to fall over and instead stay calm. Last night I had a nightmare again when I first went to sleep and ended up going back to sleep with the light on at first, but this morning when I woke up I did feel a bit better. Today hasn't been too bad. The dizziness is still there constantly and the noises come and go. I've had to get a hold of myself a couple of times and think "stay calm, deep breaths", but other than that it's been ok. As I get through each day I feel proud of myself that I've done it and it gives me more determination not to give up and go back on the meds. I can now say I've nearly done 4 days med free and if Sun was the worst I have to face I think I'll be ok. I am aware that new symptoms can appear at any time, and all of them can go on for weeks if not months, but I'm just taking it one day at a time for now. I have to see my dr again in another 3 weeks or so so we'll see what he has to say if I manage to stick with it. I know I'll probably get another telling off, but by then hopefully I'll be over the worst.

One symptom I didn't expect was not being able to concentrate on my stitching.... This last weekend has been the Monthly Challenge SAL on the HAED BB and I've been working on Romeo & Juliet again, but I've got very little progress to show. I've found that I really can't cope right now with confetti stitching, I came close on Sunday to taking my scissors to all of my wips and cutting them into little pieces lol. Anyway, the outcome was I stopped doing any confetti and just stitched a couple of blocks of the same colour and that seemed ok, no wanting to explode anyway lol.

Next in line is Sally's Quaker RR which I made a start on last week. I'm actually really looking forward to it as this is stitched in one colour of variagated floss over 2 and so means no confetti, colour changes or anything, so I think I'll be safe lol.

If you have read this far, are you mad?! lol No, seriously, thanks for listening and sorry to waffle on, but it's mainly for me to get it down in writing what's going on as I'm trying to keep a sort of diary to look back on and keep a track of any changes as they happen.

Til next time...

She's Finally Finished!!!!

After 2 years and 1 month approx my HAED Tomboy QS is finally finished! I finished her this afternoon and as the last stitches were going in it didn't seem real, but when I took her off the qsnaps and looked at her all finished the excitement hit. I really can't believe she is actually done, there were times when I thought I'd never do it, and right now I don't ever want to do another black and white design or stitch with kreinik blending filament ever again lol. But I am absolutely ecstatic with her and can't wait to get her washed, ironed and to the framers to choose a mount and frame. She is going to be my first professionally framed piece because after all the work that's gone into her I think she deserves it. She was stitched 1 over 1 on pale blue 28ct jobelan using 21 colours of dmc plus a huge amount of kreinik lol.

We Got Snow!!!!!

Here in the UK snow has become something very rare since I was a child. I remember walking to school regularly in the winter with it like 12 inches thick. We haven't actually had any snow that you could do anything with where we lived since Erin was 2 (she turned 5 last week) and even then we were pushing our luck a bit lol.

So when DH got up this morning and said we needed to get the shovel out I thought he was just joking. He was actually but we had about 3 inches which Erin and I immediately went crazy over lol. As soon as we'd had breakfast we got wrapped up and went out in the garden to make her first ever snowman before it all disappeared. After all, the way things are going she might never get to do it again....

On a stitching front, I'm down to 991 stitches to go on Tomboy and just about to sit for a bit and try to put in a few more!

1800 To Go....

I've no pics to show this time around I'm afraid. The reason being is that I have been working diligently on Tomboy since last week and I'm now down to 1800 stitches to go before I have a huge happy dance! I've made up my mind I'm not taking anymore pics until she's finished, and I have a daily goal of 200 stitches which I'm managing to stick to so far. I started her way back in 2006 and it's been a long hard haul with her as if I'm honest she hasn't been a whole lot of fun to stitch. All the different shades of grey and the huge amount of dreaded kreinik blending filament have made for some naughty words and her being hidden in the cupboard regularly, but thankfully I've finally reached the point of no return with her and am determined to keep going til she's done. It's great being able to mark off those stitches each night and then when I finish another couple of blocks I've been cutting them off the chart, so my piece of paper is getting smaller everyday lol. HAED are having a sale which started yesterday and is running until the 9th Feb, so I'm really really trying hard to finish her before the sale ends, in which case I'll treat myself to a chart as a reward. Any cheerleaders out there need a job? lol
Yesterday I was excited to receive Sally's RR through the post. Her stitching is lovely and the Friendship Book she has chosen to stitch is really pretty. Yesterday I had to fight the urge to start on my part straight away, but it's going to have to wait til Tomboy is finished then I can give it my undivided attention.
Hope you're all having a good week. The weather here seems to have picked up a little bit, we've at least had a bit of dry and bright weather which is very welcome, but it's cold out today. Thanks to everyone who reads my blog and those who take the time to comment, I really appreciate knowing that people are interested in my stitching. Hugs.

Quaker & Cirque

I finished stitching my two pages on my Quaker Pattern Book for the RR last Thursday, but have only just got around to taking a pic. I am stitching mine 1 over 1 on 28ct antique white evenweave using DMC 99 which is a lovely variagated pink. I have so enjoyed stitching my pages and can't wait til Sally's piece arrives with me to start stitching on.

Then the last few days I've been working on Cirque Des Cercles for the sampler SAL on the HAED BB. I had got a bit bored of this the last time I worked on it but I really enjoyed getting it back out again and had forgotten how nice the colours are. I have finished the first page now and am working downwards and onto page 4.

I have to admit that my former rotation which included several single evenings on different projects just didn't work for me, it made me feel all at sea and I couldn't seem to get into a rythm on anything, so I'm going back to making Tomboy my focus piece (she's up next) and will just see how the mood takes me as to what I work on in between, but intend to spend a few days on each of my wip's as they come up.

Hope everyone is surviving the terribly wet weather we're having here in the UK, areas very near here have been flooded for the first time in my memory this week, it's really scary.

It's My Birthday!!!!

Well, today is my Birthday and I can't believe another year has gone by so quickly.
I was woken at 6.15am with DD bringing in my cards and presents and a choc cake with a candle on for me to blow out. She was upset when I said we weren't having cake for breakfast lol.
My main pressie from DH and DD hasn't arrived yet as it's coming from the US. DH gave me the go ahead to order the kit for Chatelaine's Egypt Garden for my birthday as I've wanted it for about 3 years. I was hoping it would have arrived as I ordered it on 3rd Jan, but at least I've still something to look forward to. I did also get a lovely plate that DD and DH made for me specially at a paint a pot shop near here which is really nice.
My mum got me a watch and sent me some money, my aunt got me some books I've been wanting, DH's nan sent me some money as well, my friend/boss got me a HAED gift certificate and a lovely necklace and I got a Boots gift card from the girls at work.
I was then very spoilt by my wonderful stitching friends Sally, Julie, Karen and Claire. Sally sent me the pretty pinkeep, Julie sent me the lovely tin and Karen sent me the fab mirror. Claire sent me a gift certificate to Down Sunshine Lane so I will have great fun browsing their later.
I am also taking part in a Birthday Thread Exchange on the Stitch & Stash BB and I received some lovely threads from Dawn, Dusty, Jayne & Lindsey. Lindsey was also kind enough to send me a stitched card which I'm definitely going to turn into something else in the future so I can make good use of it.
All that is missing is some nice weather and a good stitchy session. I hope to stitch later on but don't think I'm going to be lucky with the weather, guess I can't have it all lol.
Last night was UFO night on Stitch & Stash and I worked a bit more on School Of Dolphins. Again not a lot of progress but I've filled in the dolphin's nose a little bit. Tonight is QS SAL Night on the HAED BB so I'll be working on Always Dreaming again, then tomorrow I have a free night and will be working on my Quaker RR again which I'm really looking forward to. Til next time....!

HAED Monthly SAL Challenge

Friday to Monday this last weekend has been the Monthly SAL Challenge on the HAED BB and so it was time to dig out Sara Butcher's Romeo & Juliet from the UFO pile.
Looking in my photobucket album the last time I worked on this was October 2006! And that was when I first started it I think. So I think it really is about time that it gets some attention again this year lol. The pics are the before and after.
When I first started it even though I'd gridded the page I started stitching it cross country and I have really regretted that this weekend. I also found out that I hadn't even fully kitted it up when I did start it, I'd just pulled the first half dozen colours. So I spent 4 days filling in holes in the stitching and pulling some more threads so I could carry on, not fun!

Anyway, I know where I'm at with it now and have the threads I have pulled properly organised so it should be much easier to work on next month and hopefully there will be more progress.

Tonight it's back to School of Dolphins for UFO Night on Stitch & Stash and although I'm not really looking forward to it it will be good to make more progress. I find it very strange working on aida now I'm a confirmed evenweave/linen girl and the aida seems very stiff. If this wasn't for DH and the only stitching project he's ever really shown a huge liking for I think it would highly likely have been resigned to the bin by now lol. But as it is I am going to keep going and hopefully with enough Tuesday nights it will get finished eventually.

Well, that's it from me for now, hope everyone is having a good week and the weather is not being too awful to you (it's high winds and heavy rain here, yuck). Hugs.