Birthdays, show and socks

This little free chart from Shepherds Bush is the design i chose to stitch for Karan for her birthday earlier this month. Forgetting she was going to be away on her hols for her birthday, i forgot to post the parcel so it arrived before she left.

Now that she is home and it's arrived safely (thank you Royal Mail) i can share it with you. The yellow gingham fabric was not my first choice of fabric for it, but i'm gald i stuck with it, it looks really summery and turned out quite nice and was a lovely design to stitch. I seem to be having quite a few SB little finishes recently.

The fruit and veg show is drawing closer. Tonight we have another meeting with the committee at my home. I thought i better make the sampler a priority and i put the finishing touches to it this weekend. It's a fun job to think of different things to put into it, you never know if a crafter, a flower grower or a fruit and veg grower will win the Best in Show. Just need to find a nice frame for it now.

We've had a busy weekend, DD had an allergic reaction to some antibiotics, they were changed and she is on the mend now. DS was away with friends for a long weekend in Portsmouth and DH had Friday and Monday off work. We got some jobs done that we had been meaning to for a while. Friends came over Sunday afternoon and a visit from my brother yesterday. Evenings i was too tired to stitch so the knitting came out and i finished off the second sock. I'm really proud of my first pair knitted on 4 pins and will definately be doing more.

News from DD's place .... the temporary toilet will be replaced with the new one this evening and on Friday the inspector will be out to see the standard of work that has been done and make a list of what is still outstanding. I did ask if the date could be changed as i really dont want to be there getting all stressed out on Friday, i had other plans for that day, some of you will know all about that, but i'll leave the rest of you in suspense till next time to tell you what is supposed to be happening on Friday.

I better get off here now and go and get ready for my yoga class this morning. Mum is coming over for lunch today too, and then we have the meeting this evening, going to be a busy day again, enjoy your day whatever your plans

Monthly ornament

It's that time of the year again when stitchers are off on their hols. This lovely postcard dropped through my letterbox yesterday. It's from Wanda Witch Bunny. For those of you who don't know, she is one of Mr Sticks bunny spys from the UFO group at Stitch & Stash and was sent to Karan for her birthday last year. That broomstick was the perfect poking stick to make sure Karan stitched on her UFO projects each week.

They've both been holidaying up in the Lake District this past couple of weeks, and getting up to lots of exciting things i bet. I wonder if they got to see a real Peter Rabbit up at Hill Top Farm or even the original Betrix Potter sampler that i stitched a copy of last year, now that would have been an amazing sight to see. Thank you Karan and Wanda, i hope you had a wonderful relaxing holiday and have come home all raring to go on your UFO project!

This weekend i needed a fast finish fix, one of those times when you need to be happy dancing about in glee when you stitch something that really does turn out nicely. The monthly ornament for the Stitch & Stash group was just the thing. Another Shepherds Bush one again, this time it's from JCS Ornament Mag 2006 and called Mary & Joseph. This small piece of 32ct lugana in lemon zest that was in the 'little bits' bag was the perfect size for it. The trim was a gift from Kathy (no blog) last Christmas and jumped out of the finishing bits drawer and looks the perfect edging trim for it (well i think so LOL).

Yesterday DH and i attended a Cops and Robbers afternoon organised by the local events committee together with the police and local brewery. There was lots to do, we had our thumb prints taken and there was a competition for the children to find the 'baddie' and they were put into a mobile cell and on trial. It was really good fun. The police were in attendance by the van load to offer advice on any aspect you wished to discuss. They were also marking (post coding) bikes and repairing them for youngsters. The lord mayor was in attendance as well as the local councillor and we had a demonstratioon by the local Parkour (urban free running) group. These guys have won a grant and got the only freerunning site outside of London built on a local park, next weekend is the offical opening of that.

I hope you had a good weekend with your families

Happy St Swithin's Day

Do you believe in folklore?
Have you ever heard of St Swithin

There are various different ways this rhyme is written depending which part of the UK you live but they all mean the same thing.
St Swithin's Day, if it does rain
Full forty days, it will remain
St Swithin's Day, if it be fair
For forty days, t'will rain no more
If there is rain on July 15th it is supposed to rain for the following 40 days and 40 nights.

Last evening when i was at the stitchy club there was the most awful thunderstorm, i am a wuss when it comes to thunder - bad experience as a child when a window was blown in during a storm and my mothers wrist was slashed across a vein, blood everywhere - why is it even as an adult you never seem to rid yourself of a bad experience and it always come to the forefront of your mind when you don't want it to? sorry, here i am waffling and going off the subject .... what i was going to say was that today has not been much better, we've had about 10 or so bursts of heavy rain inbetween the sunny periods. I guess if the folklore is true that means the school summer holidays which start on Friday will be a very wet time.

Whilst i was trying to keep busy at the club and not look out of the window, although you didn't really need to look at it, the sound of the rain beating a tune on the roof meant you had to raise your voice to be heard and the loud claps of thunder followed by the ooo's and aaaaah's from those that "love a good storm"! One lady loves it and was really excited by it all, but me i kept stitching away on the sampler and managed to get the basic wording complete and not a frogged stitch in sight, so one bit of good news was my concentration level was good even in the storm as the frog is keen to visit when i stitch as the club each week LOL

Here's another question for you.... have you heard of the Mongol Rally 2010? It starts 24th July, a fun event where whacky cars aim to drive the 10,000 miles to Mongolia from the UK. DH had a phone call from one of this team to ask if he would be able to help them out. They are hoping to take a 'well worn' Rolls Royce that once belonged to Sir Jimmy Saville (that was the kinder version of what DH called it) and they were looking for a Rolls mechanic who would be willing to give them his time free of charge and give their car a checkover before they left. As one of the charities they are supporting is the MS Society, DH and DS were only too pleased to spend a day with them last week and give the car the onceover. It'll be fun to follow their progress and see if they make it to the finish line.

We've just had another bout of rain and i have one very wet and furry cat sporting a punk hairstyle rubbing round my legs, i'd better go and see if he'll let me give him a rub down with a towel before he has something to eat. I'll leave you with that thought, i'm sure all you cat owners will be smiling at the prospect and wondering if i actually managed to grab him and persuade him it's for his own good.....

Sunshine and showers

What do you do when the weathers still incredibly hot and it's way too sticky to be stitching.... sit outside in the shade and read a book of course.

This one was recommended to me, she's one of Karen's favourite authors, Karen has read all of Diana Gabaldons books. Does anyone else like this author? and what do you think to her books? i'd love to know. This one caught my eye in the Age Concern charity bookshop. It's the first one that she wrote and i'd been told you need to read them in order. The title is so perfect for a stitcher don't you think, i wonder if there is any cross stitch in it LOL

The challenge at Stitch /& Stash last month was this design by Les Croniques de Frimousse. I managed to stitch mine before the end of the month but only made it up into a simple pinkeep this weekend. Not a challenging finish, but at least it didn't end up in the 'never get finished' drawer with a lot of others.

The wording looks a bit wonky as i used DMC linen threads for the design and there are 'slubs' in them so it doesn't look so clear - note to self.... don't use linen threads when there is wording in a design, it looks awful.

2010 is whizzing along, it'll soon be time for the annual Fruit & Veg show. I thought i'd better make a start on the sampler for the winner of the Best in Show. I have the pleasure of stitching this every year and another lady from our cross stitch group makes other things for other winners. I found this lovely pansy alphabet in the old charts i'd pulled out of magazines. This one is World of Cross Stitching but it doesn't say which issue anywhere on it. If anyone knows please let me know and i'll update the post just in case anyone is interested in using it themselves.

With the weather being so hot recently, i've had the back door open most of the time. Look at this furry intruder. His name is Treacle and he belongs to next door. It seems he has a preference for the biscuits that i put out for Mr Moe and Midge. Just look at him licking his lips and preparing for a fast getaway after being caught in the act. I bet he was off to let his 2 sisters know there were plenty left for them!

The weather here has finally turned, instead of the sweltering heat and muggyness (is that a word?) today we have some much needed rain. Its been quite heavy at times and fantastic and so much cooler. My garden desperately needs it and so does the allotment. Yesterday DH trimmed back the blackcurrant bushes and i've made a dozen or so jars of blackcurrant jam to fill the store cupboard for the coming months. Not so good for the waistline but oh so yummy on hot buttered toast.

Thanks for visiting and reading my ramblings, i hope there was something you found interesting

Hello blog readers .....

It's been a while since there was news here on the blog... it's not that i haven't wanted to come and chat and see what you've all been up to on your own blogs, i've had one of those times in life when other things take up your time and you just don't have any spare minutes let alone hours to be on the computer and i didn't realise just how long it actually had been. Even Mr Stick was AWOL last week, i'm sure the girls at Stitch & Stash were pleased with that LOL

Amy's problems are still not sorted, we hoped that all would be fixed when she returned home, but alas it wasn't so. The brand new shower leaked and there was a manufacturing problem with the toilet and that had an intermittent leak. We have a temporary one installed as the whole batch has been recalled to the supplier and new ones wont be available until 17th July, so the saga continues until then.

I've also had some health issues myself, i guess it's all the stresses recently. The Dr has recommended a check-up with the neuro guy so i'm now waiting for an appointment so see him. I've also been on some steroids which seem to be helping relieve one problem.

Not a lot of stitching has been accomplished, i did get the challenge stitched in time for the deadline, but as yet it's not made into anything. A small gift for a friend has been done and i'll reveal that when she has received it.

Whilst i was house sitting with the builders/workmen it was hard to try and concentrate on stitching so i decided to try and make use of the time and learn something else that i have wanted to do for a while. LOOkie here, my first sock knitted on 4 needles, it wasn't as hard as i thought it would be when i'd got the hang of holding the needles and its turned out ok. A little too hot to be wearing them right now which is great as i have some time till the winter months to get the second one knitted. DH is really impressed with them and although he loves the ones i did for him last year on 2 needles, this pair have been knitted in my size so he has already suggested that a pair might be a nice pressie in his Christmas stocking.

We did have some good news, Amy's scan results came back and there is nothing serious, that was a relief i can tell you. It seems that she has an over-enlarged and tight muscle in her back. They think it's due to the fact that she is so thin and with standing all day at work and the stress/anxiety she has been under with the problems have made her very tense and the muscle has gone into spasms and as the Dr described 'double overtime'. She has some exercises to do daily and has to try and eat healthy and put on some weight - not very often you hear the Dr saying that! Also he has given her some relaxation techniques to practice and he will review the lump again in a couple of months.

Happy 4th July to my american blogging friends, i hope you have a lovely time celebrating with your families. Hopefully, i'll be able to catch up with everyones news this week and see what exciting things you have all be up to whilst i've been away.