Beautiful day!

Today has been the first day this Spring, when I've felt it was warm enough to get out into the garden and do some long-needed tidying. I've managed to fill 3 garden rubbish bags, and nearly 2 of those are full of dead leaves from my Cordeline which sits on one side. I also pulled up the clematis which dies back every year (didn't know that when I bought it), and after 4 years it only reached 4 foot high last year. So I decided that I will replace it - this time I'm trying a passion flower. I also cut down my vine last year which was lovely, but made so much mess if you left the grapes too long. Two years ago we were away when the starlings descended en masse and stripped it bare of grapes in a week! It was like a scene from Hitchcock's "The Birds"!
Once I have managed to get all the way round I'll post an update picture of both my front and back gardens. Neither of them are large, but as I am the only one who goes out there to tidy, it's plenty big enough for me to manage normally. We had a local celebrity gardener (Sven Wombwell) design and build them both for us, so I REALLY have to keep them looking good!

What else have I been up to?

My sewing machine got a bit of a run-out last week as I sat down and made a few things for Jess. We were going to see them last Tuesday, and I'd promised my DD that I'd make her a couple of things. Here's what I came up with -

 An apron with elastic in the top and hook and loop fastening so she can do it up herself.

 Summer dress - with a few rows of machine embroidery around the skirt to brighten it up

 Tunic top. I wish I'd had more of this fabric - I got a fat quarter at a show last year, and it was the last one. It's full of references to "Grandma"! This tunic crosses over at the back, so does away with the need for fastenings. I think I'll make this again as it was a fairy easy make and looks quite sweet.

Cross stitch has been progressing, although not as fast as I wanted it to. I'm finally getting round to the backstitch, so as it's close to being finished I'll wait and show it completed next time.

My knitting - THAT cable shrug is slowly progressing. I'm back to about halfway down the second sleeve, so probably where I was when I had to rip it all back two months ago! So FINALLY I feel like it's progressing again. I tend to knit this in the evening while I'm watching tv, so I do about an hour or so each night - if I can stay awake long enough that is!!

I heard from Ruth that she's organised my $10 credit with 123.com, so watch this space when I reveal next time what I'm going to get!! 

Until next time
take care
Sandie

I'm a winner!!

After posting about Ruth's giveaway in my last post, I was astounded today to discover I'm a winner of the $10 card for 123 stitch! So I'll have to head on over and see which pattern/kit comes to the top of my wish-list!

I've been slowly grinding away at my November stitch from the Joan Elliott diary stitchalong. Here's today's photo.

I've been stitching a bit more today, and have finished the 2 fairies at the bottom, Apart from a few butterflies and a lot of leaves (!) this ones nearly ready for the backstitch, then I'm going to move on to ???? Not sure. As I'm half a month ahead - I've done four months' pictures now - I might put a bit of solid work onto my cheetah. I think it must be feeling neglected as I've put in barely more than 2 lengths of thread since the beginning of the year! So watch out for progress on that one I think. 

Take care and keep smiling no matter what the weather does - I'm cold and fed up of winter now - can someone please turn up the thermostat!!
Love

Sandie

Heads up on a giveaway

Ruth's Little Leprechauns is having a giveaway for her birthday. Pop over and have a look at what she's offering - and add your name to her comments!

It seems too cold for Easter here - normally I'd be hoping to get out and do some tidying in the garden, but there's still snow on the ground - not as much as in some places I know, but the grounds so hard!

Maybe by the end of the Easter break ??

You can but hope eh?

Happy easter everyone
Sandie

Easter and birth samplers

I was catching up on some blog-reading today and on Jo's blog she was talking about birth samplers she has completed. So here goes with some of mine. (WARNING - picture heavy post!) And I'm sorry about the quality of some of these photos - they are rather old!! And some have been scanned in from original prints as I no longer have access to them all!

 Obviously first has to be my own daughter's sampler. It was after all the one that started me on my cross stitch journey. Stitched on linen, with one strand of thread, patterns gathered from various sources to my own design. 

This was the next one I stitched - for friends of my husband. 

These next two were stitched for a friend's first two grand-children. The first is "Bluebirds for baby" and the second is from a book of Mother goose designs. 

Now this one started a whole series which I designed myself from a variety of images. I worked in a large library, and when one of the staff became pregnant I thought it would be a lovely idea to design a birth sampler for her. Several other colleagues volunteered to stitch out a motif, so it became a kind of round robin! When all the main motifs were done I took it round most of the rest of the staff, inviting them (or twisting their arms!) to put a couple of stitches in - even caretakers had a go! Then as a finishing touch I put everyone's names around the sides.

This one design spawned more and more - not just birth samplers but wedding ones too for other colleagues. I continued doing these until I retired. (More of them perhaps in another post!)

Friends too had their babies - 

 

and of course my own dear Jessica came along - my grand-daughter who is now approaching her third birthday - 

At Easter time we seem to hear of more babies being expected. But at the moment it's all quiet on that front as far as I can see. Hopefully I'll get some more of my own work done before I need to start searching out baby patterns again. But if anyone has heard of a new arrival recently, I pass along CONGRATULATIONS!

Until next time when I'll try to fit in some photos of what I've been up to recently!!

Sandie

I'm trying a test post!

Afternoon everyone
I've tried really hard to clean up this blog, and hoping it might now have worked! Please do let me know if you get any strange messages popping up!

In the meantime I've been posting on my other blog (newly created) - http://grandmasplaceinthecountry.blogspot.co.uk/ If you hop over there to have a nosey round, please let me know if you can't leave a comment as I've had a comment to my email today that it wouldn't allow postings! NO PEACE FOR THE WICKED EH??

In the meantime I happened across a giveaway for some goodies on Karen's blog -
http://mystitchyramblings.blogspot.co.uk/
I hope you'll hop over and give her a look too.

Best wishes
Sandie

Oh My! February Already

If only I was good at making excuses - I'd come up with a reason why I haven't been around! But I'm not - so I'll just own up and say that not much has been happening and I can't face more time at the laptop!

However I'll start now and try to update you from where we left off last month!

Cross stitching - has been moving on a bit. I've started the Joan Elliott Diary 2013 stitch-along. The idea was  to stitch a picture a month from the diary, but I decided to start with August not January! I gridded the fabric, and made a start. There's been a few messages about it to Joan Elliott on Facebook, as we discovered several mistakes in the printing where World of Cross Stitch has changed colours! Luckily Joan replied and has put us right with the correct colours, even providing a pdf of her finished samples. And surprise surprise I have finished August!

I'm going to do all 12 months on one piece of fabric, and put the name of each design and the month it represents under each one. Now I've started April!

Then I've got another FINISH!

I started to make a bellpull with four Santa designs I found. But after chatting with a friend about Christmas traditions I changed my ideas. She was telling me about how her grand-daughter posted a letter to Santa in her "false" fireplace. I can remember doing that as a child myself. And it got me thinking that Jessica won't have that opportunity as they don't have a chimney, so I came up with an alternative. It's still a bellpull type hanging, but I will sew it up with a pocket at the bottom so that she can put her letters there for Santa. Here's the cross stitching finished. 

The pocket will start just under the word Santa. Then I'm going to back it with felt and sew it onto a hanger so that she can hang it over the doorknob of her bedroom for Santa to collect!

And I've gone back to my cheetah. Not got far here yet as it's loads of confetti stitches. Here's the pattern and how far I've got. 

 I'm starting at the top left corner on this one to try and focus on where I am. It's only four A4 pages, but completely stitched. So I need to be methodical. I discovered that I was one shade missing, but a quick email to Yiota solved that - she's putting it in the post to me today. Good service eh? I've put a link to her website on the right hand side, so go and have a look. I'll be reporting how I get on with this pattern over the next few months.

My knitting hit a brick wall this week - and bounced back at me. I was sure I had enough wool to complete that shrug. But you can guess what I'm going to say can't you? Yes - I'm a third of the way down the second sleeve and rapidly running out of wool. And I can't find any more! So today DH and I went to town and I've come up with a sort of solution! I'm using an Aran weight yarn, so I found 2 different 4-plys which when used together are ALMOST a match. So I'm going to pull it back to the edge of the first sleeve and knit the "back" of the shrug in the mixed, then do the second sleeve in the original. Hopefully it won't look too odd, and I'm reluctant to pull out all those cables, but there's no other way.

I've put a few photos up that I found of some of my older pieces on my Older Cross Stitch Finishes Page, so hop over and have a look.

And on another front we're off on holiday at the end of the week, so I won't be around again until March! Off to LA for a couple of days, then onto the Golden Princess for a 2 week cruise around the Hawaiian Islands. We did the same cruise (on the same ship) in 2010 and had such a fabulous time that we're doing it again. I just hope DH doesn't come home with another ukelele!! I'm intending to hit the craft/sewing shops while we're away, so hopefully there's a bit of spare room in the cases!

  It's our 38th Wedding Anniversary while we're away, so a small celebration on board is in order I think. I'll be missing you!!

Take care 'til next time
Sandie

Tigermum's last Wipocalypse 2012 and Hello 2013

Morning All.
It's finally bright and sunny this morning - the first one in a bright New Year for each and everyone of my followers (and their families). Let's hope that 2013 brings us no more of that horrid rain in the UK which has flooded areas, destroyed homes and even lives.

It was two years ago I started this blogging lark. I admit that initially I wrote down things to remind me what to include, but with increasing age I lose the notes! So most of my blogs are now random thoughts which occur to me at the moment I find a spare minute to sit and write. I haven't been around much lately, and I do promise to try and be a bit better about it all this year! But I'm finding it difficult to fit in all the things I WANT to do - sewing, cross stitching, quilting, knitting, papercrafts, cooking, reading, computer time etc. And as they are all things which require input (you can't set them up to do them without your intervention) then every now and then something falls off the end of the day! But I'm sure you all suffer from the same problem. The first person to invent a way to cram more into a 24 hour day will have the gratitude of crafters everywhere I'm sure!

Anyway - what have I been up to during December? Apart from rushing round and preparing for Christmas? Not a lot! We took a few days away at the beginning of the month on a Christmas Market trip on the Rhine. It was lovely; snow, cold, plenty of mulled wine, good food and a real Christmas atmosphere to get you in the mood for the start of the celebrations.

That was as far as the celebrations went really. My DH and I spent the actual day together but our daughter and family went to MIL for about 4 days, so although we delivered presents to them before Christmas we didn't see them over the holiday. Still we bought them a webcam so we hope that SIL will fix it up soon, and we can keep in touch that way. My decorations are mainly still in the loft - I couldn't even raise the enthusiasm to get them down!

My stitching over the year - my aim for the WIPocalypse was a little ambitious I now realise - as you will too when you look at the before and after pics below. I seem to have concentrated on large pieces this year, and not achieved much, next year I'm going to be a bit more organised (perhaps?) and slip a few smaller projects in!

To the yearly update -
1. Rose fairy and quilt -  This was at the start of the year. And this was the finished article inserted into the quilt for Jessica's birthday -  A pretty fair finish I think! FINISH 1.
2. Egypt -  a long way from finished at the beginning of the year!
And finished (although still not framed)  FINISH 2.
3. Lace fan - start of the year - . Not a single stitch has been put in this over the year. I'm seriously thinking that maybe I should give this one up; perhaps restarting it  on white fabric as I think the navy is putting me off!
4. Cheetah - January -  and December -  At least it's a start!!
5. Daisy -  Again not a stitch!!
6. Mandala cushion -  FINISH 3.
7. Jessica's Wordle -  FINISH 4.
8. All that Jazz -  FINISH 5.
9. Tree Frog Trio -  FINISH 6.

10. SIL's birthday Card - (his birthday is January 1st!) As you may remember from earlier posts he works designing computer graphics, so I thought that a Monsters Inc birthday card would suit this year! FINISH 7.

11. I also started something which I know won't be done for this year, but I saw these vintage Santa's in a magazine and decided that I'd pop them on a band - maybe a start for Christmas 2013! I think that as Jessica doesn't have a chimney for Santa I might make this into a wall-hanging with a pocket at the bottom for her letter to Santa. Then she can hang it on the handle of her bedroom door for Santa to collect! 

Add to that my other sewing projects (embroidered t-shirts, hungry caterpillar pack and various other sewn items), my knitted goods - scarves, fingerless gloves and my shrug (more of that next time), my papercraft - cards for everyone's birthdays this year and ALL of our Christmas cards - then MAYBE I didn't do too badly after all!

This month my daughter is heading to hospital again for her re-re-construction of her right knee. She's due to go in on Jan 22nd, and her consultant has told her it will be a long operation and a slow recovery with at least 6 months physio appointments. So please keep her in your thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery.

Until the next few spare minutes I think I'd better stop now. In my next post I'll tell you about a few of the things I'm planning for 2013.

I hope you all have a happy and prosperous New Year.
love
Sandie

Tigermum's November WIPocalypse again!

This WIPocalypse seems to come round quicker than ever each month - or maybe it's just that I don't get as much done as I'd hoped each time?

My big finish has to be Egypt - no apologies for giving you the photo again!

Still haven't decided how to frame it though - I must take a trip to the local shops and see what looks right I think.

I also have ANOTHER finish - my frogs came and went quite rapidly without any visits from their froggy cousins either! I'm thinking of a nice vibrant colour frame for this one (once it's pressed!).

I took a few days to make a quick project for DH for Christmas. I can show it here because he never checks my blog! It's been a bit of a job to get it done without him seeing it! I've taken to stitching at the table in the dining room, with another project to hand so that I can swap if I hear him coming! He's always been a bit of a musician (with guitars, clarinets, mandolin, banjo, ukelele and piano keyboard around!) so I went for a music theme. It's called "All that jazz" and It's totally in black apart from a few gold stitches around the singer's dress.

My knitting also takes centre stage this month. I finished my wrist-warmers (and wore them on Monday when we went to London for the day).

I've now started another knitted project - a cabled shrug from a Lion Brand pattern. It's my first attempt using circular needles, and so far I have to say I feel very comfortable with them.

And my cross stitch concludes with the first picture of my cheetah. I showed the fabric on the frame in my last post - here are the first few stitches I've put in. It looks like it will be a slow progress on this one because there are so many pesky confetti type areas, but the finished project looks like it will be worth it. It also uses Madeira threads which is the first time I've sewn a project with them, and so far I'm impressed with their coverage and the fact that - unlike my experience recently with Anchor threads - they do not twist up so much either.

Well, if you're still here I hope you've enjoyed seeing my progress this month. I'm off to check out some of the other blogs and be inspired yet again.
'Til next time - take care and keep warm and dry (especially if you're in the cold or flooded parts of the UK)
Sandie

FINALLY!!!

Morning all

Some of you may guess from my title that I have finally got something to shout about!!

Here was my Egypt piece on 4th November -

And here it is today - FINISHED!! Washed and pressed and ready for framing -

Now I just have to sort out a frame and stretch it square (you will notice the wonky lines which separate each section). That year was my 60th birthday in the November, so not only is it a souvenir of our fantastic trip, but also my birthday.

And on another upbeat note I've managed to finish one of the wrist-warmers I was knitting. I put it down in order to finish the embroidery, now I can get moving on the second one. I am quite happy with how it turned out, but there are a few changes I would make to the pattern if I was to knit another pair in this pattern again. And they are SOOOOO soft! The pattern said to knit 3 cables, but I decided to knit an extra one so that the lower edge comes higher up the wrist - then there's no gap when I wear a coat.

So what am I moving on to next?
Well I decided that while I'm prepping the fabric for my next BAP, I'll get a small one in. Some of you may recognise this kit, as it was discussed on a Yahoo group earlier this year. I'm going to do it as a gift for someone close to me as a Christmas gift!

 

I'm going to add the title - Hear no evil, See no evil, Speak no evil when I finish it too.

And my BAP? - it's really time that I got going on that Baby Cheetah I got from Yiota's xstitch earlier this year. The fabric will be completely covered with stitches, so I've marked out the fabric from the kit with my fabric pen, which will help to make sure that I get all the stitches in the right place and (hopefully) not have too many visits from cousins of my froggy pals above!

 

Here's the fabric marked up, and here are the colours! All pretty similar eh?

 

Watch this space!!!

Finally I had to include a picture as it's Remembrance Day. This picture was posted on Facebook by a catalogue company - a cross stitched picture! 

We remember with gratitude all of the men and women who have given their lives to ensure that we are free to live in the countries we do in freedom. And our thoughts are with the families who have given their loved ones for their countries. 

Until next time - in thoughts of peace

Sandie

Quick link to a giveaway

Afternoon all
just a quick note to let you know about a fantastic giveaway on Heather's stitching Story

She has some Little House Needleworks to share - draw open until 12.11.12.

Talk soon
love
Sandie

Tigermum's EARLY Wipocalypse update October

Evening everyone!

It's getting colder here, and with the news of price rises from our energy companies I've finally brought out the jumpers rather than turning the heating up a few degrees! Have to save the pennies now we're both officially pensioners you know!

What have I been up to? Well - read on -

Egypt - it's actually beginning to feel like I might get this one done by my self-imposed deadline of my birthday in November - TWO years after I started it. Here's the photo I took last night as I finished the mini hieroglyphs above the last two figures.

Now I just have the final hieroglyph band above them to do - so I'm looking to do that during the afternoons - before the light gets too bad each day.

I've started with some of the wool I bought at the show. I'm trying out a pattern for fingerless gloves - I followed blindly, and if I was to knit them again there are some changes I'd make to it. For a start I think the 4 garter stitches at either end of the row should be cut to 2 stitches. After the rib rows the pattern tells you to make 3 rows of garter stitch - why? It doesn't make sense to have that just below the cable pattern. But as long as I knit the second mitt the same as the first it won't really matter! But the wool is lovely and soft - it's called Sublime - a bamboo and pearls dk - something I haven't used before. It would be perfect for baby and toddler clothes too.

All the rest of the items I had on my original WIPocalypse list are still there - glaring at me as I type! But AFTER Egypt I'll pick one to get going on again. How are you doing with your UFO's?? Drop me a line and let me know?

Here's my contribution for Hallowe'en -

This is a Pocket Dragon figurine I collected a few years ago. They were produced by someone called Real Musgrave, but are no longer available. I think they are really cute!

Dinner calls - and I need to get settled in with those gloves for the evening!

Sandie