Challenge reveal and a new outfit

Good afternoon readers...

I hope all the people in the south of the UK are safe after the stormy weather we had last night and earlier this morning.  Wind speeds have been recorded at 99mph in some parts.  It was not as bad for us as they had predicted but it's so sad to read that some have lost their lives and others are suffering damage to their properties from falling trees and flooding.

If you could see the sunlight that is flooding through my window right now, you would not believe the difference from the heavy rainfall and darkness of earlier today.... british weather... ho hum!

Yesterday was reveal day for the October challenge chart chosen by Christine at Needlecraft Haven.  She chooses some lovely designs for us. This little one from Homespun Elegance was the choice.  As usual I found I was at the end of the month and 'oh no, reveal day, better whip up something fast' so just a quick simple finish so as not to be in detention (again!).

 

A new doll for Isabelle's Christmas pressie to accompany the pram we have bought is going to be getting a new wardrobe of clothes too.  Here's what the knitting pins have made this week.  I'm hoping that the putting on of these will help her develop her motor skills with the buttons etc.

 

 

A bit of excitement to look forward to this week.  Saturday is the twice yearly meet up of the ladies from the Needlecraft Haven forum.  It'll be lovely to see some friends again that I haven't seen since April.  We're having a book swap and a goody bag exchange, it'll be a fun day. I'll tell you all about that next time.

 

Have a lovely week yourselves, and now we have put the clocks back here in the UK we should all get and extra hours crafting in each evening.... if we are lucky.

 

 

Who's a silly stitcher then?

It's been quite a productive week on the crafting front.  The weathers been dreadful, rain, rain and more rain, so lots of time spent inside cosying up on the sofa.

A couple of knitting finishes ...

Christmas pressie socks

   A free pattern at Ravelry called Blueberry Waffle Socks

 

Isabelle's cardigan using the bamboo 4ply sock wool.

 

A new stitching start ...   

CCN - Santa Village - Reindeer Stables

 

and then a disaster was found ......

 

The Jardin Prive SAL - a stupid mistake by someone who should know better!

 

 I had completed Part 1 & 2 and it was looking lovely.  Took it off the frame and OH NO!!! the fabrics too short for the other parts.... how can that be .... 

 

I opened the fabric drawer and took out the bag with the antique white fabric in and there on the top was a lovely piece just the same as I had been stitching on.... except.... this one was considerably longer.  Yes, you guessed it, when I cut the extra off I put back into the drawer the piece I should have been stitching on... aarrgghhhh.... all that wasted time.  No point frogging it, and as hubby said, the verse doesn't read too bad and could actually come to a conclusion as it is.

 

So, out came the longer piece of fabric and a new start on Friday last week.  I worked like mad all weekend and we now have Part 1 & 2 completed again

 

 

They make a nice pair!!

 

No measuring of fabric needed last night when I added more on the Plum Street Sampler SAL

 Part 4 added - I choose Mary's Sampler 1

 

Another Christmas knitting project going to be started tonight, I can't possibly do that wrong... can I??

 

Have a lovely week

 

 

Goodnight Cathey

Just heard the news ..... a very sad day...

our friend Cathey aka Pumpkin is at peace and free from all her pain and suffering.

 

My thoughts and prayers are with Catheys family and friends at this sad time.

 

Thank you Katie for finding the strength in your heart to let us all know and to share with us some pictures of the happy times you and Cathey shared together. 

 

She will be missed greatly by all

 

  

A loving {hug} to everyone who knew this wonderful lady who has

left a little stitch in each of our hearts.

 

 

Stitchers are so kind and so friendly

An envelope arrived last week..... regular readers will remember that I stitch the Best in Show sampler for the local Horticultural and Craft show each year and I had said that if anyone came across any alphabet floral/vegetable charts that they didn't want I could give them a home. 

 

Julie at K C's Court kindly sent an email to say she had something to send to me. Aren't these lovely. Thank you so much Julie for your kindness.

 

Happy times stitching along in SALs with other stitchers, a question came into my mind though.....

Does it make you stitch more being in a SAL and having to show regular progress to others through a stitching group, forum or friends SAL? 

I think I do stitch more.  It's nice to show off your progress each week and see how everyone else is getting on and encourage each other. I seem to be stitching a lot of things in SAL's in recent months.

I've just finished the stocking-along.  There's the ornament a month, the monthly challenge, Parlour evening with Santas Village on a Wednesday (am awaiting the next chart so I can carry on with that) and also......

Hopefully lots of progress on this next one as Strictly UFO stitching has been happening on Saturday and Sunday and will be for the next few weeks with Strictly Come Dancing on the TV.   My HAED UFO is out the dusty cupboard.  It's Leo by Sarah Butcher and was a gift a very long time ago.  Cobwebs dusted off and it's on the frame and here's where we leave it ready for next week.  This is just one quarter of the design gridded, its only a tiddler compared to some Haed's that ladies stitch.  The last time it saw the light of day was Feb 2010 according to an old blog post!  If you want to see what the finished design should look like, it's here.  ** whisper quietly that it was started way back in Jan 2007, it is my oldest UFO and I do only have 1 other UFO so not bad I don't think.

 

The Jardin Prive, Positive Thinking SAL shouted so loudly when I saw it that I just couldn't resist.  Part one completed and so very pretty it is too.

 

 

and just to make it a threesome, another SAL, this time the teeny tiny one over 9 weeks from Plum Street Samplers.  I chose the first one and have completed Parts 1 & 2.   I chose a blueish 32ct fabric  (no name on it, so have no idea what it is, but it's nice) for mine, although it doesn't look too blue in the picture.  Maybe a future update with show the true colour of the fabric.

 

Just to finish off, here's the knitting I've been doing.  Blueberry Waffle Socks from a free pattern at Ravelry.  They are for the 'C' word - Christmas - with the rate this year has been moving along it will be here and passed me by before I get started with my handmade gifts to I thought I better get cracking and make a start. 

 

Anyone else made a start on their festive gifts yet?  Please say you have and its not just me that's doing it!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

A September holiday & a couple of finishes

Can it really be that long since I did a blog post showing some stitching?  Another month gone by in the blink of an eye.

Although, I do have a good excuse for one week of the month, I was away on holiday with no internet connection at all, very strange but very therapeutic too.  A lovely week away, just DH and I, we were on the east coast of north Norfolk but looking west, very strange, the sunsets over the sea were beautiful at Hunstanton.

 

Lots of walks along the sea front...

 

 

 strolling along the esplanade gardens which were still in full colour...

 

A visit just up the road to Heacham to the church, St Mary the Virgin

 

where the real Pocahontas, later renamed Rebecka, came from Jamestown after marrying John Rolfe from Heacham.  She lived in the village for a while with her husband. 

 

 

Heacham also boasts the famous Norfolk Lavendar.  We'd missed the best of it but it was still an impressive sight and the smell in the air was very pungent.

 

 

A short distance away is the ruins of Creake Abbey, where Margaret Beaufort used to regularly go to pray for her son Henry Tudor to become the rightful king of England.  Of course he eventually did after the Battle of Bosworth and the death of Richard III - which just happens to be about 10 miles from my home and also the recent finding of Richard III's body in my city.  (If you watched the Philippa Gregory version of The White Queen on the TV recently, you'll know all about Margaret Beaufort). 

 

 

Long walk along Snettisham Beach - hubby used to come here as a child with his family and wanted to revisit.  

 

Burnham Thorpe, the birthplace of Horatio Nelson....

 

 

The pub where he was born....

 

and the village church, Church of All Saints, that his father was rector at for a long time.  This housed a lovely exhibiton of Lord Nelson and his life.  The lectern in the church is made from the timbers from his ship HMS Victory donated to the church by the admiralty.

 

No holiday would be complete without a steam train ride for DH.  The Wells to Walsingham Light Railway boasts the longest 10 1/4" track in the world.  

 

passing through some wonderful countryside on your 40 minute journey ....

 

 

you arrive at Walsingham where you can visit the pilgrimage site of The Shrine of Our Lady or Walsingham Abbey before heading back on a later train. 

 

We visited The Shrine of Our Lady (we have to go back to the do the Abbey another time DH said). You can read more on the link above, as there was a service going on in the church, we were allowed in but no pics.

 

 

This is the outside altar that they have blessings and services at in the warmer weather

 

 

The gardens were very tranquil

 

 

 Short drive after our train journey back and into Wells Next the Sea.  A lovely old fashioned seaside place, a great harbour....

 

 

beach huts in abundance....

 

 

looking out over the wonderful sandy beach.

 

 The only bad day weatherwise was Thursday, and typically that was the day the family drove over to spend the day with us.  It was to be a beach day, but we didn't let the weather bother us.  It turned really windy, rainy and cold.  We still picked shells ....

 

 

Up went the beach shelter ...

 

 

we flew the kite...

 

and by the late afternoon the sunshine had returned and we walked into the town centre from our base close to the lighthouse (I posted a pic of that just a few weeks ago) and we sat eating our fish and chips next to the bandstand watching the sea.

 

 

and you can't have a day at the seaside without a ride!

 

 

Friday the sun shone beautifully, the beach at Old Hunstanton just down from the lifeboat station looked inviting. We set up camp for a while, wandered about, paddled, read our books, ate our picnic lunch and took in the atmosphere - what a shame it wasn't weather like that the day before!

 

 

As with all holidays all too soon it was over and time to return home.  It's only a 2 hour drive away and is our nearest seaside coastal place, i'm sure we'll be visiting it again next summer.

 

Better not sign off without some stitching news, after all this is supposed to be a blog about crafting hobbies isn't it....

 

February 1st saw the start of my stocking-a-long with Linda and a few other ladies.  Last week I put the final stitch into Janlynn's Nativity Stocking.  It's turned out really nice and i'm very pleased with it.  Just need to make friends with the sewing machine and get it made up now.  Thanks Linda, I've really enjoyed stitching along with you and look forward to watching your stocking become complete over the coming weeks.

 

Wednesdays I am in the parlour with Barb and the ladies at Needlecraft Haven, a forum hosted by Clare.  Santa's Village is my choice for this year and Santa's Stocking Store was completed last night, that's makes 5 cottages finished, 7 more to go lol.

Last Sunday was reveal day for the challenge hosted by Christine at NH, she choses us a lovely chart each month and you can do with it what you will, change the colour and make it up just as you wish.  This time the chart was from Kissy Cross.  Here's my version, this one also doubled up as my monthly ornament for September too!

 

There has also been some knitting going on but I've forgotten to take a snap of that.  Plans for October include the Jardin Prive SAL and also the Sunday Mystery Sampler ' Mary's Sampler' at Plum Street Samplers which will be released over 9 weeks.    I'm hosting a UFO evening at Needlecraft Haven called Strictly UFO for all the Strictly Come Dancing fans to sit watching something really exciting and fun and give them a chance to grab an old UFO out of the workbasket and make some progress during the couple of hours you are sat sitting comfy and cosy watching.  There are quite a few bloggers you might know who are joining in with this, look out for their Strictly progress on their blogs.   I'm supposed to be joining them and searching out my very oldest UFO HAED of Leo, I wonder if I can find it???

 

Thanks for stopping by, I hope all is well with you and your families and life is being kind to you.  As autumn is now upon us, we usually find that us stitchers hunker down and get a lot more productive with our hobbies so i'm looking forward to seeing lots of progress on your blogs in the coming weeks and months.