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Well I have been blogging for nearly a year, I am delighted to have kept going for all this time.. a year today to the day is when I had my knee op. I have a follow up appointment tomorrow.
It has allowed me to carry on gardening, although I don't bend it, I stand with my legs splayed like a giraff weeding and planting so I have aching muscles the next day but I can get it done which when it was very painful I couldn't.
Of course my knee and op allowed me to stitch more as I sat for three months and did nothing else!
And at that time I started this blog, so I am giving away some stitchy bits, don't know what as I haven't started yet so it will be a surprise to who ever gets them and me!!
The draw will be 14th August as I am away end of July, we are going to Essex as the tenants are changing in the house there and so we will be clearing up and gardening, no doubt!
Today I am off to see my grand children in Cambridge and my daughter said, bring your marigolds as still no dish washer, but what are Mums for???



This is my grand daughter lounging in my chair wearing the shirt she persuaded me to buy her after we had been to see High School Musical 3, well isn't that what grand mothers are for?? LOL

Only some stitching but look at what I have grown! And Nell has grown too!

A little bit done to my 'Cats' sampler but I have found it hard to stitch this this week, I just didn't want to, basically as it is those three cat heads in all blends of greys, light beige and white.. I haven't completed that section yet as I need day light for the white bits!


Then if I haven't got enough to do I have been stitching this Bothy thread design. It is something I bought quite a while ago on one of those spur of the moment moments, and goodness know what I'll do with it when it is completed!!

And this is what I do with the rest of my time, my gardening! This is the raised bed in the back of the garden and I have taken a photo to show the cut and come again salad leaves that Nic sent me as seeds with an exchange back in the sping. It also shows cos lettuce, beetroot, cabbage and fennel, quite a fertile little bit of the garden, covered with chicken wire against Nell who it seem likes lettuce< grrrr> and next doors cats< even more grrrrr> and the blooming pigeons, you can also see the beans which have shot up these last few days with the rain.
This year we have also grown some at the allotment too altho not too many as we can't eat them all, but bean chutney is easy to make and we have recipes which are yummy!



And here is our plot, too big really but we love it there! Its quiet and peacful altho less than a mile from the city centre.If you click on the pic, you'll see how big it is!!


And my sweet corn of which I am very proud!

And this is Nell, now 18 weeks old and can chew anything and does! But isn't she pretty and she is very lovable.


I have put green bean chutney on the side of my posts for those who have asked, its one my friend gave me and is delicious!

What have you done today to make you feel proud?

Well I do feel proud of myself as I have exceded my June targets altho' I did not start my Blue Ribbon design I have all the floss ready to go, but look how much of Beatrice Potter I've done, last month I had only completed two motifs so I wanted to do three this month and I did more than three so I am well pleased!


I also completed the LHN sal which was 'Needleworks' I did accidently stitch the border in the wrong colour but didn't realise until I had nearly finished so I certainly wasn't going to frog all that and I like it with Almost Auburn colour, I think perhaps the darker colour would have been too dark. Fortunately I had enough of the Almost Auburn floss as I had bought more because the one I had disappeared.. couldn't find it any where and all of Nell's 'two-two's' were closely examined!!



Then I did a quick New Home card for my son Simon and Tracy as they have moved, so that was nice to stitch as an extra to my month's targets


And I have done quite a bit to my 'Cats' sampler, it is coming along nicely and in fact I am beginning to quite like stitching it altho' I have the three grey cat heads in the middle to do next and all those different colour greys, groan!!!

And I send my Exchange Heaven alphabet needle case to Edit in Spain, so I am very pleased with all my efforts for June... my weight?? Well I lost a pound and a half!! Better than gaining and this coming month I am definitely going to lose five pounds!!! Watch this space!

Sad day for Michael Jackson fans

These are photo shots of Michael during his changes.


I wonder if you’re feeling like me over the sudden death of Michael Jackson?

I am heavy hearted and feeling quite sad that he has died., I loved his songs and his music , and yes he has had so much said about him, the rumours and court cases in the last few years but his talent and musical ability out shone all that for me.

I still play the cds I bought years ago and love to watch his moon dance and Thriller dvd… what a loss to the musical world. When I bought it my youngest son said ..... you bought a Michael Jackson???? But I loved his sound! Very sad he was indeed a little boy lost... such a shame

When his Earth Song was first recorded I was working in a school that was 8 minutes drive along country lanes from where I lived and I used to play that tape (in those days!) so loud in my car driving to work I am sure it could be heard before I arrived!! Such a sad young man and all those ops to change his appearance…

An early end to a sad life. He was a prime example of what early fame and an over ambitious father can do to a person. He spent his money trying to recapture the childhood he was robbed off by being forced to go on the road at such an early age by a manipulative and greedy parent. Luckily the other Jacksons being older when that happened don’t seem to have been so badly affected. I just hope that the media don’t fill their pages with speculations about his private life and will let him rest in the peace he never knew in life.

La d da Needle case for Edit in Exchange Heaven

My Exchange Heaven piece has been received, it was for Edit in Spain and it was her first received exchange so I am doubly happy that she liked it.
It was a La d da design, stitched on 28c antique white, with DMC threads and made into a needle case I backed it with a greeny fabric, which matched the green of the threads used to stitch and I liked it myself too!!


I have had a very productive month so far and received stash too!
So saving all that and pics for next time 'cos no time now as I am watching Wimbledon!!

Socks!!! And a tragedy turned into a new stash!!

Am I mad or what but I have sent off for a starter sock pack!! I looked at knitting socks patterns and wools a couple of weeks ago and like Sue (as if by magic) said, looked at so many sites advertising sock knitting I felt I had knitted half a dozen pairs!! I used to knit them for my children and as the fashion for young girls is to wear coloured socks around the house I thought what a good idea it would be to knit them for Christmas pressies!
So I shall have a go although I have a lot of cross stitching on the go I can still fit in knitting(I hope!!)


But a bit of a nuisance well actually a tragedy I have lost one of my crescent floss's for My NeedleWork SAL!! I thought I might have left it at the Cross stitching group I went to on Wednesday but it seems not. DH and I have looked everywhere in the house and haven't found it... So.... I have had to order another and of course I couldn't order just one so I have ordered quite a few, well a lot! So I am waiting for delivery...... wahoooo lots and lots of crescent colours!!
Watch this space!!
I shall use them for 'Natures Beauty' which has DMC listed but I shall match up the colours..
I am a happy bunny!

My Loves!!!, my garden, my stitching and my love of reading!

What a change in our weather, our sunny days have gone and it has been much cooler, and on Sunday the heavens opened. We needed rain but that much??? We had been to the allotment for a couple of hours each day of last week which was very dry and if it hadn’t rained we would have had to go to water, so the rain was good for that, (I must take a photograph so you can see how big it is ) Still the rain meant I could sit and stitch and not feel I should be outside gardening as I still had some plants to put in here. Nell is trying to help by digging the holes ready for the plants eeek!!!
This beautiful climbing rose is called Wedding Day and its what Mike and I bought with some vouchers we were given when we married nearly three years ago It has a beautiful scent as well and the open single blooms are so delicate

And here are some of my patio pots which I love doing every year, I grow most plants from seed except I bought the sarafina .


I love Ladies Mantle and yes I know it spreads every where but the bright green of the flower heads is so clean and fresh I let it grow where ever it wants! Its easy enough to pull up.

And my lupins are slowly going over, but still pretty and I love the way they smell peppery to me. These are all grown from seed two years ago and each year they come up and are as beautiful as ever

And I seem to be on track with my cross stitch this week, done a bit of my 'Cats' sampler, and some of 'Beatrice' too, which doesn’t have to have the progress posted till the end of the month so I shall do some more before then and post a pic then . I have stitched the first part of LHN Needlework and I love stitching it, it is so easy but looks so pretty. And I have finished my alphabet piece for Exchange heaven so I am well pleased with myself! For a change this evening I am going to stitch a Lavender pictured scissor fob, bought yonks ago. I found it when I was tidying my stash… I have such a lot of lovely designs to stitch but I have discovered crossstitch4U so I just had to order some Blackbird designs and a Prairie Schooler one. Well you know how it is, a girls gotta have spare stash for those spare moments when everything else is done

My Needleworks.... this sal is to be stitched section by section as directed and so not too much to do each week.Left to how I would like to stitch it I would just stitch till it was finished! It is 28c cashel linen colour flax and crescent colours floss which are just lovely colours.

And of course my love of reading has had me reading for a second time ‘The Memory Keepers Daughter,’ by Kim Edwards and it was so enjoyable. (It was this months choice of my reading group ) I couldn’t remember the details nor the end. I loved the story and although it moves slowly I liked that about it. The descriptions of Phoebe as a grown young woman with Downs Syndrome were very poignant and I really felt for her and her need to be allowed to live her life as normal young woman. A story of lies and deceit that slowly tears the family apart and you are drawn deeper into the entangled lives of two families. A good read in my view

And last but not least that little 'digger'grrrrr she really needs a wash and a trim so thats to be done before the end of this week!!


She has been good and bad... the good is she will now get out of the dishwasher when told NO! And also asks more to go out before she pees and not after!!
The bad is she has chewed through the cable on Mike's laptop, fortunately it was switched off at the mains.. thats why I told him I keep all my cables on the table!!

But she is still so lovely I could eat her!
And don't forget Gaynor is having a 1000 blog hit give away so log in to her blog and get your name down for some goodies!
http://stitchersanon.blogspot.com

Yet another exchange gift

This was the fantastic little zipper purse I received from Laurie in HoE.. with it she sent three skeins of DMC, some cording and dark green edging( don't know what its called) and little note books, all rather nice.. I just loved the purse, how clever she is to sew something like that.

On my own stitching front I shall post pics of what I have managed to do in the week as the 'My Needleworks' SAL is to be posted on monday. I have made an effort with my 'Beatrice' Sal and I am begining to really love stitching it. I took it with me when I went to the Cross stitch group here in Coventry on Wednesday morning which was very nice, it was good to be with like minded women and I shall enjoy going each week. I am tempted to join in a SAL with Blackbirds design group and have odered some charts!! Suddenly I am stitching more than ever.

You might notice I lost 1/2 pound this week which was such a surprise as after our Family Get Together BBQ last saturday when I ate ice cream and drank wine... and then the left overs were very nice on sunday, I was expecting to gain, so I am very pleased with that 1/2 pound!

My eldest son is 42 today... he was born in Bridgend hospital on a monday with the Mamas and the Papas singing 'Monday, Monday' in the back gound at 5:05pm and the date was 06/06/66!!
I am feeling just a bit old!

Exchange received

This is the lovely pin keep I received today from Nicola in the Year Long Prairie Schooler exchange, the colours are very me and it matches our lounge so it will be on my shelf for all to see.. I love it



I am starting my LHN My Needles Work SAL today so this week is sorted!
Start LHN SAL
Stitch the last bit of the Cat Nap section of my 'Cats' Sampler
Stitch at least 3 motifs on my Beatrice SAL
Finish Alphabet for Exchange Heaven

And I think sort out the linen for my Blue Ribbon design... so watch this space.

A very busy month!! Lots to show!

Progress all round!!

My 'Cat's Sampler' is growing slowly! If I wasn't in Gaynor's Stitchalong I don't suppose I'd stitch this regularly. I have a stash that needs to be reduced so I will carry on with this so I can do one of those??? I dared buy any more I am running out of places to store them!


Finished this, LHN 'Home of a Needleworker too,' but not framed but I have one ready so when I have a spare evening, if I do, then this is what I'll do.Its stitched on 32C Cream Belfast linen with DMC threads. I have 'My Needle's Work,' ready to start the SAL tomorrow, Don't you just love LHN designs!




The Challenge this month was a needle roll.. The is a freebie Dragonfly Stitchers design stitched on 28c Antique Belfast Even Weave with Vicky Clayton hand dyed silk, Grape Vine... I loved stitching this and am thinking of using it again, its so delicate.I actually made this up before Church this morning!!


And for X-stitch monthly exchange a sun glasses case for Fleur, with it I sent a small book and a packet of sweets, well sun glasses mean holidays to me and on holidays I read eating sweets!!


And my poor Beatrice has just had a little stitching done this month... still as it is going to be an heirloom, I have a while to finish it!!! I do like stitching it but other things over take me... the garden, our new little Nell who is such a sweetie

And here she is... You can see she has grown and when she has worn us and herself out she crashes in my shady border!!

A present for me and a present from me!!

My fob from Exchange Heaven
Isn't this the most delicate and pretty fob and she made it into a little winnie needle case. It is so beautifully stitched and made up..just look at the little loop and stitch button and in the most beautiful colours.. thank you Amanda.. I love it.If you click on the pic it will show the detail.


And my exchange for the year long Prairie Schooler exchange has arrived so I can post a picture of it now. And if I say I liked it enough to keep it for me, Gaynor will know just what I mean!! Lynn, who received it liked it too.

Stitching done and stitching to do!

The fob I did for Lindsay in Exchange Heaven has arrived so I can now post pics..
I saw on her blog that she loved sunflowers so a sunflower it was!


And on the back a couple of bees!



And I have been busy with one of my WIPs that I am doing for Gaynors SAL I am pleased to say that I completed all the back stitching on the green cat and on the one I did last week.. so I am moving along slowly.Its not that I don't like this but since I bought it close on three years ago my tastes have changed and it hasn't had the same appeal, however I am enjoying stitching it as doing it in a SAL makes it a must although today thursday is the day I usually stitch this and I am desperate to get an exchange finished for the year round Prairie Schooler exchange so I might just get that done and finished this evening. But if I do that I will be behind with my Beatrice SAL.... arghhhh there aren't enough hours in my days!!!



And this is what I would really like to get started on I have said two months in a row that I will and as yet I haven't.. I think I need to buy some 28c linen for it, so off to surf!