The Good, the Bad and the UGLY.

I have been converted. I have crossed over. I am going to have to set up a new blog. I never thought it would happen to me. But it has. I am addicted to.......

CROCHET!!

It began about a year ago when I learnt how to make a granny square from that guy Mike off Youtube. Remember I asked for any scrap donations of wool as I wanted to make my dd a big blanket?? Well, I have finished it... but more about that later.

This passion really began with this lovely lady's photos:

ElizabethCat

Please take a moment and see how inspiring this girl's work is! Truely breathtaking.

So this then lead to me getting some of this:



and with lots of help from the aforesaid lady, I was able to make my first African flower motif:



Not quite sharp enough at the edges but a great first attempt.

This lead to this:



which will go towards making a nice little blanket me thinks.

But back to the aforesaid granny blanket. This is definitely the "Ugly" in the title post but my dd loves it and I learned a lot through doing it. I even learned how to "join as you go" to join the squares up. Now I have some ideas about colour and organisation and so the next one will be oh so much better.









I remember having a similar crochet blanket when I was a child and I used to do so much with it. I used it to play on. I used it as a tent between mine and my sister's beds. I used to comfort myself with it and use it to dress up as a queen! I hope my dd will get a lot of pleasure from it.

Sally, Barb, Tracy and I believe Lesleyanne and I are doing the At Home with Jane Austen by The Sampler Girl SAL which was in the Gift of Stitching magazine a year or so ago. I have made a measly start. This is the "bad" in my title. :( However, a start is a start and it is an enjoyable stitch too. Just wish I had all the threads doh!



Here's the good. The very good in fact. I thought I'd save the best till last. My friend and I have been working on big big big baps (you know - the one my dad is now working on :S). Well, my friend, after many years of toil has finally finished her masterpiece. She didn't work on any other project in the 5 or 6 years that it has taken her to finish this. She says she is now going to hang up her needle! It truely is a work of art. Amazing. The design is from Golden Kite and contains lots of blends. I should know the title of this art piece but for the moment it escapes me. We had champagne to celebrate her putting in her last stitch. So without further ado....





Congratulations Michelle!

Thanks for all the lovely emails for the RAKs. I'll be getting on with a few of those soon. Thanks for your kindness and friendship.xx

OPW and RAK anyone???

Okay, here's my official progress for this weekend:



I never touched the Ink Circles!!! Arghhhh. However, I did get 3 bands finished on the Just Nan. Yay! I really like working on this design. I really like this last band although I did make a couple of mistakes on it - don't know how :S



RAKs (Random Acts of Kindness)

Now I was recently reading Sharon's blog and she has decided to offer out some raks for anyone that is interested and I really liked her approach so much that I have decided to copy her idea and put a similar thing on my own blog. One thing I like to do is surprise people with a little trinket, a trifle of stitching sweetness or other such gift now and again but it can be really hard to surprise people when you have to email them and ask for their snail mail address!!!! Sooooooo..... if you would like to be considered for something surprising in the future (and I really would love everyone who reads or is vaguely interested in my blog to do this) then please could you email me your real name and your address and your blog link. I have a folder ready to place all my RAK email addresses in. No promises, no guarantees, but it is there ready for me when the moment takes me. Does that sound fair? Then one day you just might get a little surprise through the post from me. Might not be big, might not be small. Just a "something". Interested??? My email can be found in my profile. Sharon was worried no one would email her - can you imagine?? I really hope people email me. Please put RAK as the email title.

So a new month. I am currently working on another pair of socks but will hopefully have a post next time. What will get stitched this month I wonder? Hope you all have a good month. I am very happy as dh is arriving home from Japan tomorrow. It has been such a long time (nearly 3 months in total) and I will be more than pleased to see him home for good.

Have a blessed Easter!

Official Progress Weekend (OPW)

Tonight is the start of our first "Official Progress Weekend" or OPW as I am going to call them. Tracy and I have decided to work on our Ink Circles and Just Nan SALs and see what progress we can make this weekend. Here is my before shots:

Ink Circles:



Just Nan:



I will post again on Monday to show progress. I hope to have many more of these OPWs.

Hope everyone has a lovely Easter Weekend. I am spending mine with friends seeing as my dh is away.

Don't eat too much chocolate!

PS Thank you for all your encouraging comments regarding blog reading. I am so glad I am not alone.

Finishes and keeping up. Oh and Lily's poem.

I have to say this.... I am struggling to keep up with blog reading. I really don't know how you guys do it. Is it that you all have super duper whizzing computers that never go on the blink and crash in the middle of your programmes? It seems to take me forever to wade through the securities for comments. I am trying - you know I am. I just seem to be losing control. I am following more and more blogs each day which is GREAT as I get more inspired with each new one.

So.... plan is, I will always prioritise adding comments to folks giving me comments. I read all the blog posts in my followers section and try to comment where I can but sometimes I just cannot get time to comment. I keep going on blogs and seeing comments by people who I recall as having visited my blog in the past and I think "Oh I remember her, she did that gorgeous sampler". And so I return there. Blah blah you get the idea. Blogs are morphing into some sort of metaphoric virus - albeit a nice one (for a change). So please please don't be offended if I don't comment or seem to take ages to comment. I'd love to be Superwoman or even Mary Poppins would do but I'm not so bear with me. ;-)

Okay. I have decided that the "finish" I finished I will show you. I have decided on something else for my exchange and not this piece. I just love it too much. It was such a joy to do. Here is "Netherfield Park" by The Sampler Girl.







Stitched on Lilac Cashel Linen given to me by Janet
Threads - DMC

You see I even took time playing around with the fuzzy wuzzy thingy - more time consumed!

The knitting bug has been lurking as well.





Wristwarmers by Sirdar
Yarn - Crofter (knits up like fair isle - amazing)

I just love these and they were so easy to make. Only took a few days. They have a bit more pinky purple in them than the pic shows. My dd wants a pair now.

Lily came down the stairs the other night with a poem she wrote. She likes to write it seems. The first bit didn't relate to the rest of it so I am not including the first bit she wrote. I am also deleting the copious amount of speech marks she put in it but here are the exact words she wrote:

In winter Lea said,
Peace is sliding, riding, full of speed.
And Peace is a seed greedy to grow
As you gather up speed
Lip-reading the winter wind.

WHAT?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She is 7 years old and she is writing metaphorical poetry. I was stunned. Now, I am aware of the bias involved but come on! This deserves praise indeed. I am needless to say, VERY proud of my little girl.

So there you go. I think that's all for this week folks. Still awaiting some parcels to land at their destinations and holding my breath they will get there in one piece. Have a good week everyone.

Some stuff.

Look what came through the post for me the other day!



Joanne (Aussie Stitcher) had emailed me and said she would like to gift me with this chart off my wishlist as she had it and was finished with it. Of course I said I'd love to have it. I am finding these LHN "scripture" based charts really hard to get hold of. I was so surprised to find that Joanne had sent me a few extras too! So sweet and kind and she must know me really well as Lindt is my absolute favourite chocolate.

I have finished my secret new start but I am undecided now as to whether to use it in an exchange with someone I am in or just to keep it to myself. Hmmmm..... So no pics yet till I've made my mind up.

Here is a picture of my Dad's progress on I am Half Sick of Shadows:



It was taken on my dh's mobile phone so not a great pic but just look at that detail! It is looking amazing. I don't know how much of it he will continue to do or whether he will soon pass it back to me but he is doing a wonderful job don't you think?

Oh and I nearly forgot, this is what I made Elisa for the Stitch it and Pass it on blog. Cindy stitched and sent the chart to me then I stitched and sent it with the chart to Elisa and now Elisa will stitch it and send it witht the chart back to Tracy. I stitched it over 1 on 25 count using one strand of Crescent colours of my choice. I used double ribbon for the bow and outside edge and Moda sampler fabric for the back.





Four Friends
Brightneedle

Thank you for all the lovely get well wishes. I am nearly there. Just another day of antibiotics left. Still very tired but feeling a lot better. xx

Back from Ireland!

.......and looked what welcomed me home:



This is the gorgeous pinkeep exchange I received from Vonna. I love it. Just look at the rouched ribbon edge:



It was a design from off my wishlist and Vonna thought it would be nice to stitch it for me. How kind. I just love it. Thanks Vonna.

I also was the winner of Laura's giveaway in the One World One Heart blog event and this is what she sent me!:



This huge batch of cardmaking / scrapping stuff! Brilliant! Thanks Laura. I will surely put it to good use.

And.... drumroll please..... here are my first pair of socks!



The sock workshop, run by Debbie Tomkies from DT Craft and Design, was a success and I finished the first sock in the evening and then did a second sock whilst in Ireland. Very quick to do and quite easy. We were taught on 5 needles. I made a couple of mistakes in the second sock but I know where I went wrong and so will not make tem again. They feel lovely and thick and warm. This hopefully won't be my only pair that I make. They were really fun to make. The yarn is a double knit yarn with a mix of alpaca (i think) and nylon to give the durablility.

I also finished my first punchneedle design this month too. Oh it has been a month of firsts! This design/kit is by Rachael's of Greenfields. I don't think it is perfect by any stretch but for a first go I don't think it looks too bad. I am going to make it into a little hanging cushion thingy.



Ireland was great. I was not. I was very ill. I had contracted conjunctivitis and a chest infection from the boy before I went. It is a good thing we stayed in and stitched most of the time. The foto of me and my friend doesn't look too good (of me I mean!). You can see my puffy face and eyes. Still feeling bad but got antibiotics now so hopefully it will clear up soon. Some of the pics are of Bangor and Dunaghadee - very pretty seaside towns. Some of the pics are of the murals you can see in Belfast from different terrorist groups. Taking them was quite scary. We couldn't hang around for too long. I heard some dreadful horror stories of the things that have gone on there in the past. Really quite horrible but it was good to see there are some really pretty areas and some wonderful people there. My friend's mum and Granny were fab and fed us really well. We ate lots of traditional Irish food like champ and wheaten bread.



Ireland trip March 10

I did have a new start whilst away but I am saving it for another post. Thanks for all your lovely comments. They really make my day. Now I need another week away to catch up with all the blogs I have missed. x

A few things to share

It's been a long week and I thought I'd better write an update. Little boy has been ill again - chest infection, ear infection and conjunctivitis. Poor fella. His temp was a raging 40 degrees the other night. He is on antibiotics now and seems much better already. I started with the sore eyes yesterday and felt a bit rotten today. Very tired. I am off for a much needed break in Ireland with my friend next week. Hubby is home and having the kids. I am hoping to come back very refreshed and ready for the next round!

Nic was my partner for the Friends Through Threads Pinkeep exchange and this is what I made for her:







Design - Carriage House Samplings Folk Art Pincushions
Backing Fabric - Moda Blackbird Designs
Threads - DMC

Nic says she really likes it and the shrug the lady is wearing is just like her own! Glad you like it Nic.

I won one of Lynn's Bottle top pincushions that she was giving away a while back. Now, if you have never visited Lynn's blog, I say to you now, GO GO GO. Her work is lovely and so inspiring. I was really pleased I had won one as when I saw them on Lynn's blog I started collecting bottle tops with the intention of making some. She has a link to some great instructions but there is nothing like seeing one in real life to "show you". So here it is:



Isn't it beautiful?

I started my first Just Nan design this year gifted to me from Barb called Snowfire Christmas and I am absolutely loving how this is turning out. I got so into it that I freaked out when I realised I had ran out of a colour of thread. I found a great link to a site that sells DMC for 28p a skein. That, in the UK, is unheard of. In fact the last time I went into Hobbycraft for just 2 skeins of thread, I paid £1.80! So if you are in need of DMC then head over to Kat's Cross Stitch. Even the pnp is reasonable at 85p. You would pay more than that in petrol and parking. So I now have my missing skein and plan to get to work on this again very soon. Here is where I am up to on it:





I was really trying to get a close up to show how sparkly it is but cameras never really do them justice do they?

So.... what else.... I have started my first punchneedle kit! I started but I did it wrong at first! READ THE INSTRUCTIONS YOU IDIOT!!!! Yes well, after I re read the instructions, I made pretty good progress on it but I will save the pics for another day. It is quite addictive but my dh hates it as he says the PUK PUK noise of the needle punching the fabric sounds like a chicken. HAW HAW HAW. I'm a getting him back for all the bad music he keeps playing round the house. Naaa, it is good to have him home, really.

On Saturday, I am going to a sock workshop at my local wool shop. Apparently you can't go home until you have completed at least one sock!!! Eeeeeeek. I'm not that fast - it could be a late one.

I have finished my Stitch and Pass On and it is ready to go to Elisa now but she is in the middle of a house move so I'll hang onto it till she has moved I think. No pics till she has got it. It is nice to have surprises.

Oh and lastly, I bought a GripnStitch frame. It was quite expensive but it is really, REALLY good. Fabric is very tight. I will give it a go and leave more feedback as and when.

Oh, I am sure there is more to say. It will have to wait for another day.

A word of warning!

This is to the sick chinese pervert who keeps trying to put sick sex links on my posts - DON'T BOTHER! I moderate all my comments so you are wasting your time.

Look who made me cry again!

This time it was Brigitte. About a year ago I sent Brigitte some Maltesers through the post as she had never tried them before. That was all. Just a bag of Maltesers. It was a biggish bag but just a bag all the same. So you can imagine my surprise when Brigitte sent me this parcel through the post. I was overwhelmed. She wrote me a lovely card that said she was sorry I had been having a rough time of things and that it was "payback" time!!! Seriously Brigitte you have outdone yourself!



She sent me all these lovely goodies including the sweetest egg shaped pinkeep ever. She also sent me 3 peices of linen - you know how I love linen! and have had such a lack of it until these recent raks! She also sent me lots of chocolate - the Toffifee have gone already :-O. She also sent a lovely PS chart which I will definitely stitch up soon. Thank you so much Brigitte. This was a wonderfully, unexpected surprise and it DID make me cry but in a happy way. Here is a close up of the pinkeep:



Yesterday also brought something I won from the One World One Heart blogging event. This was a pendant I won from Tina. Her work is exquisite! I wore it last night on a chain. It is beautiful. I have no idea how you made it but you're very clever! So thank you for that.



Some were asking about the Besem soap I purchased. Well, so far so good. The soaps are all made from natural ingredients and essential oils and 10% of the purchase goes to charity. They smell lovely and have not dried my skin at all. They foam up really well. Here is the link to her Etsy shop if you are interested:

Besem Natural Scents

I have also been inspired by Sharlotte's punchneedle this week and have decided to order a small starter kit and a punchneedle and see how I get on. It hasn't arrived yet but will let you know how I get on with it.

Things are starting to look up a little. DH had a day off yesterday and although he has gone back this morning, he will be back on Tuesday for a couple of weeks so coming to the end of it all I think. The Japan trip will be hard when he goes but glad it is nearly over and we can get back to some normality. Thank you for all your kindnesses in thoughts, words and deeds! xx

Wow!

I got my Stitch Red for Heart exchange through the post today and what a parcel it was. Look what Janet sent me:



This is the beautiful front of the heart pincushion/scissor holder. It is stitched very neatly over 1. I turned it over and this is what I found:



Stunning back including all these hand dyed threads by Janet herself held on by mother of pearl heart threadkeeps and a pair of scissors held on with some ribbon. Wow!

But that is not all. She sent a bunch of extras. I cried. No less than 9 pieces of linen in various counts and sizes and colours. Beading needles, gold needles (spoiling me now), glissengloss threads, beads, charms, pen, and chocolate (which the darlings ate).



But to top it all off was the heartwarming letter she wrote to me. I cried again. I was so touched by your thoughtfulness and your generosity Janet. This came in the middle of a bad, depressed slump I have been in. People have asked if I have been depressed and I can honestly say that I haven't been, until now. DH being away has hit me harder this time than it usually does. Perhaps the extra child? I don't know and I know I will be okay but this parcel really gave me a boost. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Also got some lovely soap I ordered from the US today. From Besam hand made soaps. I got the link from Edgar and these soaps do smell good. Very natural and not the synthetic smell you can sometimes find with similar products. I will let you know how they are.

Thank you for all your lovely comments. I am adding people to my following list every day which makes it even harder to get through blogs and comment but I am trying to pass your way soon. Have a good weekend.

xx