Goodbye 2010, Hello 2011!

It's almost time to say goodbye to 2010 and welcome in 2011, we will take the decorations down on Sunday, they will have been up since 1st December. In years past i have been one of the last to put my Christmas tree up and the first to take it down, the years must have mellowed me, i have enjoyed my decorations and appreciated the time I've spent at home this holiday. I have a friend who itches to go out at any opportunity and just hates to hang around her house, not so me, i love pottering around home, and I'm comfortable with my own company, i suppose it wouldn't do for us all to be the same.

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So by tomorrow i hope these have all been eaten so as not to tempt me

Because it's back to sensible eating for me, although i have tried to moderate myself i will still need to do a few hours step up's on the Wii to compensate for my indulgence ;)

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I've enjoyed seeing everyone's round up of the years stitching, there are some lovely slide shows out there of the most beautiful finishes, you are all such a talented bunch! I had 15 finishes this year a couple were carried over (the larger ones), if you scroll back to the top of my blog there is a slide show at the top right so i won't put up another one. I really enjoyed the LHN ornament SAL this past year, and it gave me the chance to have a go at finishing, I'm still not perfect but at least now i have some idea and not so afraid of having a go :-)

For 2011 i have a few charts i would like to stitch like these...

And these
But that could be subject to change if something else takes my fancy, lol. I've also got a stack of 'freebies' that i want to stitch too.

One i do want to finish is Beatrix Potter

This is the first time I've shown BP, when i started it i was reluctant to share it because i wasn't sure i would carry on with it, being such a big project i thought i might loose interest, anyway i picked it up again this week and I've decided that it's a keeper, so watch this space!

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As i don't make resolutions the only other thing apart from stitching goals is to carry on with my reading. I fell behind in my list keeping last year but i read 25 books, not bad going for me :-) I've had quite a few books for Christmas so I've got plenty to keep me going for now.

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We are having a quiet New Years Eve. We will be going for a curry early this evening then coming home to see the New Year in. I hope you all have fun however you are celebrating :)

Thank you for your visits in 2010, they have been very much appreciated :-)

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

Beatrix Potter

I've been MIA yet again, busy stitching away on Santa's but not this weekend. This weekend i was 'Living the Dream as Seen on Screen' For those who do not know, this is a UK TV programme dedicated to showing us how the other half live in houses that have been used in film or TV.

The house we stayed in now belongs to the National Trust but was once owned by Beatrix Potter and was the very house that was used in the Miss Potter film!!

If you re familiar with the film you will recognise this porch. Can you see just on the floor they have still left the slate Hill Top name plaque?

Hill Top house in the Lake District was the first house that Beatrix Potter bought with earnings from her books and she did live there. When it came to making the film Hill Top was totally impractical for filming and a search was made to find somewhere suitable. Yew Tree Farm was chosen for the job and it was here that we stayed this weekend.

Yew Tree Farm in Coniston was owned by Beatrix Potter, she bought it when the National Trust could not afford too as she did with many, many properties in the lake District, she eventually sold them back to the National Trust when they could afford to buy. She helped set up tea rooms at Yew Tree Farm and she picked out the furnishing and bought them with her own money.

Isn't it the most idyllic looking place you could imagine?

On Saturday morning when we got up there was snow on the hills, making it even more picturesque, if that's possible!

This is the view from the dining room, taken on Sunday morning when it was teaming down with rain and impossible to take more photos outside.

A view of the dining room through the mirror. This is where the furnishing that she chose now live. It's very cosy, there are just 3 tables as there are just 3 room to let here, the log fire was lit for us in the morning. Can you see the lovely dresser with the plates and the corner cabinet? So lovely!
There was a gorgeous sitting room, again the log fire was lit for us and a bottle of port sitting on the window to help yourselves to (yes i did partake in a glass!!)
Lovely panelled wall and leather Chesterfield

Cosy corner with local magazines to browse and a collection of old books, there was gentle music playing in the background too, not a TV in sight...bliss!
Warm fire, just what you need on a chilly night

another view of the sitting room, how cute is that little window!

The next few photos are not the best but i had trouble with the light.

Now i now where the saying 'Up The Wooden Hills' comes from, the house had lovely wooden stairs and panelled walls leading up to the bedrooms.

Our bedroom was call the Tarn Hows room and was just lovely, there were 2 windows like this, one on each side of the room.

And a fabulous four poster bed

The door way you can see on the other side of the room leads to the bathroom, the doorway was very low and there was a sign above saying 'please mind your head' but guess who banged his head at least 3 times? yes DH has a sore head to go back to work with!!

I have just too many photos to show in one post so I'll show more next time of Hill Top and our boat trip on Windermere. If you want to click here to visit Yew Tree Farm website and have a browse, there is a bit on there about the filming of Miss Potter and how Yew Tree Farm came to be chosen to portray Hill Top.
In the meantime, i have one more day holiday from work tomorrow so will be having a lie-in tomorrow and plan on some sitting and stitching..Until next time x