A PROPER finish!

Well, I've finally made it - my christmas stocking is well and truly FINISHED!!!

I put the last stitch into the actual cross stitch in September, and it's taken me this long to figure out how I was going to make it up. It's completely lined with the same fabric (pale blue) and I put in some wadding so that it's quite nice and "squishy" too.

We are going to collect Erika and Jessica on Friday morning to bring them to our house overnight. One of Erika's best friends lives nearby and she is celebrating her 30th birthday. Her husband has arranged a surprise party for her, so Erika is coming down for that. On Saturday Tony will be coming down to collect them and take them home, so we'll only have to make the trip once. But while they're here I think I'll give the stocking to them so that they don't go buying one for her nearer to Christmas. It also means I might get a nice photo of her with it! Grandma perks eh?

I think that at the moment it's almost as big as she is!



So as this is the first time she's been here since she's been crawling, I'd better get moving and clear the decks of anything she's likely to try and get into! Been a long time since a "crawler" has been here so it might take a while!

Good luck everyone for YOUR finishings!
Sandie

Back again!

We are safely back from our holidays and all the catching up has been done - washing (ugh), reading emails (wow - how many?), shopping to refill the fridge, etc etc etc...
Also I've been gradually stripping the vine which covers the pergola outside our back door  to make my own grape juice (bit pretentious to call it wine!) before the starlings beat me to it. Last year I opened my bedroom curtains one morning to be greeted by a scene from Hitchcock's film "The Birds". They all flew off at once on my movement, and the sky literally turned black! I hoped the grapes wouldn't ripen too quickly this year as we'd be away, and so far I've stripped about half of the bunches and got about 5 litres which I have to keep straining in order to get rid of the scum which grows on the liquid. If we can only have another few days of good weather I can get the rest picked, but if it turns wet then I shall leave them for the birds!

On our holiday we stopped one night in Cologne and two nights in Munich on the way to Mayrhofen. Each year the Oktoberfest has an image for all the official souvenirs - this year's was based on cross stitch!

I just had to treat myself to a t-shirt with that on - as well as Mike buying a stein to add to his collection! I might even be tempted to try and recreate it as a pattern to stitch. I'm surprised that the financial wizards of Munich hadn't seen that opportunity coming! I always treat myself to something from a holiday in the form of a pattern or kit. This time I got a couple of Rico pattern books (one of flowers and the other a christmas book). When we got to Mayrhofen I went to where my favourite shop used to be - it had gone! In its place was a slot machine "palace"! So I turned to my phone and Googled it - to discover that it had moved into the garage of the owner's house in the next village down! (What did we do before Google??) So we drove down there and up a very steep hill, we discovered Maria's HardarbeitStuberl, in her refurbished garage area. To celebrate I bought 2 patterns and a Hummel kit! (I've wanted to do one for ages).



Apart from that we didn't do a lot on holiday - we stretched out in the sun and watched the world go by. On the Monday before we left home they had 20cm of snow in the garden of our appartment house. Luckily when we got there it had all gone. For the two weeks we stayed the weather was perfect until the very last day when early morning rain fell, covering the mountains around in a dusting of snow again. Now we're home we've read that they are considering starting the season early this year!

But my BIG news (if you're still with me) is that I FINISHED the second side of Jessica's stocking. I still have to wash it and make up the stocking but I can stop panicking that it won't be done in time. I also created two bands which will go round the top of that.

So now I have to chose what to sew next? I must do a bit more to Egypt. But what else?
My cheetah from Yiotta's Cross Stitch?
The Hummel kit from holiday?
Oh I forgot - I've got to do a bit of knitting first - 2 Blanket Bunnies for Jessica's friends and a jacket for her which I've started - an Elizabeth Zimmerman pattern for a Tyrolean style jacket. I'll have to do that before she grows out of it!
Oh well - watch this space to see what I decide to do next.
Love
Sandie

I'm nearly asleep!

It's been a busy day here! I've been trying to sort out our car insurance today. We got the renewal notice and it had gone up - £10 A MONTH! I knew prices would rise - they hardly ever go down - but come on! That much! OK I had to spend a couple of hours trying to find something but eventually I found a good deal at more or less the same cost we have paid for this year. So today I thank the Lord for the Internet!

Our Jessica's birthday party went off well - in spite of a deluge of rain which sort of scuppered the BBQ aspect of it! That will teach us to pick the Bank Holiday weekend - should have known it would be bad weather eh?

Here's my little darling grinning for everyone during a dry spell! She's got 6 teeth now - so don't go putting your fingers in there any more!

My stitching had been a bit slow for a couple of weeks - I was too busy making cookies to take to the party! But I've picked it up again and been working exclusively on my stocking. I'm very aware that it's going to take me a while to actually make it (being embroidery on both sides), so I want to give myself plenty of time to plan it out. Here's what it looks like now...

In the detail picture above you can just see a bit of a sheen on the snowman himself - that's because I'm using the rayon thread there and I think it's a nice bit of texture to it. I'm hoping to get a bit more done this week, but next week we're off on holiday to Germany and Austria, staying in an appartment we've been to about six times before.

Our appartment is on the ground floor, just on the right of this building. This will be the view from our patio.

It's so peaceful and restful I hope to get the stocking finished there, sitting in the sun just watching the world go by. That's if there is any sun of course! It's the time when they bring the cows down from the mountain pastures, so there will be plenty of activites going on - music, food, dancing etc.

We're also managing to fit in a day trip to the Oktoberfest on the way down to Austria - one of our favourite haunts - this will be our eleventh trip! So I'll have a beer for each of you while we're there! (Or maybe not as they serve litres!)

If I don't write before we go - I'll see you when we get back - but that won't be until the second week in October - so take care until then.
Now I'm off to bed - sleep tight. X
Sandie

Stocking start

Hi :)) 

I've made quite a good start on the second side of my stocking.
I changed my mind quite a bit about this before I started to stitch it out luckily!
Remember? This is what it's supposed to be -

I was going to use a pale blue lurex thread aida - but that was too scratchy.
I was going to leave the white background for the snow, but I think the holes in the fabric detract from the pattern, so I'll stitch it all! It's only time after all!
So because of that choice to stitch ALL that white, I came up with another idea.

For the white in the sky - which I take to be the light of the moon and some snow flakes - I'm using Light effects thread in 5200 - it's now all in place even if it doesn't show in the picture.
For the snow on the ground, I'm using plain old white.
For the snowmen I'm using the Rayon thread - S5200.

With those changes it should add a bit of texture to it, in spite of there being so much white. I'll let you know if I change my mind again!

Jessica's birthday is coming on fast, so I made the party bags for her little friends to take home - at one year old they won't be expecting much I hope as they're only small bags I've made! (Thanks to SheryK Designs here. )

I've also made an Elmo bag for the boys and put small tags on each with the character, so that my daughter can write their name on it. On the back of the bags I "wrote" 'thank you for coming to my party'. They're just about big enough for a packet of raisins, a small pack of organic baby rusks and a cupcake (which I can see the mums eating!). I had to make a few extra - not in case of extra mouths to feed, but so that Jessica can have one of each to put in her memory box!

Apart from that we've not been up to much these last couple of weeks. My daughter was due to have an arthroscopy on her knee at the beginning of the month, but they cancelled the op the day before it was due. All being well it's re-scheduled for tomorrow morning, so she'll be on crutches for a few weeks I imagine, depending on what they do. Her consultant had told her that she really needs a replacement op, but she's far too young for that. He's not quite sure what he'll do during the op tomorrow, but hopefully whatever he does will at least bring some relief from pain. She's going in as a day patient at 7am, so hopefully all will be well by the end of the day. Her husband is taking some time off work, so that he can look after both her and the baby for a few days until she is more mobile again. It's worrying when your children are going to hospital, even when they're old enough to have children of their own - so please, if you pray, include Erika in your thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery.

Until next time, when I'll post a pic of the birthday girl - her party is on the 27th - the Saturday following her birthday, so pray for good weather too - a BBQ is planned!
Sandie :))

Another finish!

Evening all.
I finally sat down and worked through the Beatrix Potter sampler for my granddaughter. I hated it by the time I finished all that backstitch. Not all of it is placed as acurately as in the pattern, but you're not going to tell - are you?

We're going to see them all on Saturday, so I'll be able to take it with us, along with all the bits I've sewn for Jess. As I said before I'm not investing in framing it! Let the other Grandma do that! It was her choice of picture, so she can do the rest! (Am I a rotten Grandma for saying that?) I made a special label to go on the back of the frame which says "Chosen by Grandma Jenny and stitched by Grandma Sandie". My daughter can put it on the back of the framed picture when it's done.

Having washed and pressed it, I sat down and sorted through all my threads and now I'm ready to start on the second side of my christmas stocking. Got the fabric and threads out, and I must get going on it if I'm to make that deadline too! My special threads - DMC linens, metallic threads, Kreinik and other bits of Anchor etc have benefitted from a tidy-up (I normally stitch in DMC). I've put them all together in one drawer of my cabinet and those which I haven't started yet are sorted and wrapped in bags.

Yesterday we sat down with some friends and sorted out a joint holiday in 2012! We're off on a cruise to China, with a land tour included too! It's one of the last countries on my "Before I die" list, so I'm really pleased! But I'll post more about that later - it's a bit too soon to go on about that one! But after our friend's diagnosis with cancer, Mike and I have decided that we'll go out adventuring while we can.

I spent yesterday evening organising the books on my e-reader. There are so many books out there I want to read; I still read "real" books from the library, but I seem to be borrowing more non-fiction or cd's from my local library rather than books. If they're on my reader I can read them when I want to, not when the library supplies it - often with a time limit because someone else is waiting for it!

Better go - the stocking calls!
Take care
Sandie

A FINISH!!!

Afternoon all (or whenever you are reading this!)

I've finally finished the first side of my christmas stocking! YEH!!!

(Snoopy happy dance - but off-screen!)

Looking good eh? I'm really pleased with how it's come out. The penguin bellies are done in ordinary white, but I've used the Sparkle white from DMC for the snow - gives it a bit of extra oomph!

I've been working on my other 2 main pieces as well - really cooking with gas this week! That's what you get when the weather's bad eh?

The Somebunny Birth Sampler seems to be coming on ok. Now that I see more of it, I think it will be right for either boy or girl. The recipient doesn't know what she's expecting, but I will wait until the birth, then I can spruce it up with writing in either pink or blue which should help to make it male or female. Not sure yet if I'll do the blocks all around the border - maybe just some corner ones? That will frame the picture without being too much extra work.

My little Rose fairy is also beginning to take shape. The work is so fine that I can only work on it during the day. The actual size of her so far is about 3" square, so you can understand why it's taking me a while!

We went up to see our daughter and granddaughter last week. While I was there my daughter gave me some clothes that she had been given (second-hand ones not new). They are all "labels" but some of them are not to her taste, but the fabric of them is good. So I've brought them home to try and make something out of them that she feels happy to put Jessica in. I made a cute pair of dungarees for her the other week. There's no reason why ALL dungarees have to be made from denim eh?

Well I'm off to make cards now - Erika's third anniversary is on June 12th and there's a couple of birthdays for good friends, so I'd better put my thinking cap on.
Til next time - KEEP CRAFTING!
Sandie

Progress at last

I've finally sat down after our holiday washing marathon and got back to my stitching!

Looking at the calendar I realised that I ought to make a move on this stocking - otherwise I won't have time to make up the second side and then make the stocking with it before christmas, so I've been beavering away at that! I now have just a small portion of the snow left to finish and then the small amount of backstitch to do! I hope that I can do a bit more tonight (after I've watched Bones on Sky Living!)

I know it's got hoop marks, but I promise I'll wash and iron them out when it's finished! It was left in the hoop while we went away - I forgot all about it in the excitement of packing! I just want to get it done now!

Back to the steaming needle and watch this space for a finish!
Sandie

Some progress photos

I said the other day that I'd post pics of my progress on my 2 main pieces. Well - here they are -

This was my stocking up to last weekend. I've reached the bit where it spreads out for the "foot" shape, so I'm keen to see if my calculations of the size of the aida piece were correct! I hope so, otherwise I shall just have to sew an extra piece to the side so that I don't have to start over again!

And this is Egypt as I picked it up last night. Still in it's frame, but I was in a hurry to take the photo! Hopefully you can spot the progress since the last post in February for it.

I've spent the afternoon waiting for a Virgin Media engineer to call and connect our TV and it's a good excuse to just sit with a cuppa and sew!

Til next time

Sandie

I don't want another week like this!

Evening everyone.
Hope your week has been better than mine?

My daughter rang on Tuesday to say that our grand daughter wasn't well, and the GP had suggested she took her to the paediatrician. That was at lunchtime - she sat around in A & E until 8pm (with a screaming baby) when they admitted her to a ward. Finally at 1am they decided she had a urinary infection, so set up a drip with antibiotics. Two days later (after no more antibiotics & severe diarrhoea) they decided it was an e-coli infection. She was given more antibiotics last night and seems a little better today, but a prem baby does not need those days without extra fluids! Luckily my DD is an ex health care worker, so she knows the right questions to ask! We have just heard that the Consultant wants her on iv antibiotics for another 48 hours so it will be at least Monday before she''s home.

As a result I couldn't settle to much stitching this week, but I did get some more of my stocking done.

Progress!

You can see that I've managed to get most of the previously blank area filled in with the Light Effect thread, so now I'm able to stitch it as I go.

Also this week I've been battling to get an answer about a possible repair to my Slice diecutting machine. It uses SD cards with designs on, and suddenly it has stopped recognising cards one day, and the same card put in 10 minutes later - it sees it! I bought it via QVC UK in May 2009, so it's out of warranty - hence the aggravation. QVC can't get me a reply from their supplier about what to do, so today I contacted the parent company - Making Memories in US. They have at least responded to me - but the bad news is I have to send it to US for them to take a look, repair if required and I have to pay postage both ways as well as the cost of the repair! They have NO UK or European dealers who are authorised to repair them!

Still enough of a rant - I think an early night is called for! Along with a G & T (the tonic purely for cramp eh?)
Keep smiling
Sandie

Progress - although it's slow!

I've been working all week on this christmas stocking. The progress doesn't look much so I'm getting frustrated with it!


Stocking Jan 15th



But in my defense I've been back into what were areas I'd not sewn before in order to put in the Light Effect threads. (See 2nd Jan post for comparison).

When I started this we were on holiday and I was using a small hoop so the project was portable and I didn't put in the speciality threads in case they were damaged when I moved the hoop. Now I'm sewing it at home I've got it on my roll frame, so the Light Effects won't get damaged when I roll it up the frame. So as I've been adding a bit of colour to the bottom, I've also been going back and adding white and pale blue into the mountains and the snowflakes.

Think I might have to carry on with this for another week instead of going back to Egypt.

Sandie