A great idea?

Well I think it is..

Write a little note on what blessings you've received each day and pop the notes in a jar to read either at the end of the month or year or when you're feeling 'blue'!!

 

I have only just started this but I already have some wonderful notes of blessings...
And what made my heart sing yesterday? My DD phoned as she had received those pesky fingerless mitts. I sent them to the school where she works, she is an Examination Officer in two Cambridge Comprehensives. A very stress filled job especially as the one took on the IB.
She was delighted and had shown them to all her colleagues, who were very impressed! Criky it was just a cable pattern with a twist section around gaps.. the worst bit was the awful metal needles. If I had the size in plastic I would have used those but I didn't. I have bought new sets of needles for sock knitting, which  are wooden and square, yes square, but they hold the stitches securely..
Anyway I am looking forward to reading my notes at the end of March? I suppose I could write them in a little book but some how,  little notes appealed to me more!
Whew so glad she thought they were ok!

Happy Days.

An tricky knit!

Here they are the fingerless mitts my DD wanted knitted.

 

The yarn is a mixture of alpaca, wool and 8% nylon.

It split as it was knitted, the needles were metal and slippery and the cable needle a bit long.

 

 

Yes they were a tricky knit.. one way of making a hole was just to purl a stitch without taking the yarn fwd, the instructions for this were ambiguous and frustrating. It took me a while to it work out and I started several times!! The metal needle kept slipping out of the stitches so I had quite a few tricky moments.. scream, scream, scream!!  But they are done and all in all she is worth it.   Hope she is happy with them. They are extremely warm. I shall post them to her today with the instructions that as they took a lot of my expertise and time, so she is to put them on and keep them on at all times. Well perhaps take them off when she visits the loo!!! !

 

Happy Days

A glorious morning on the beach.

Before I was even dressed this morning my lovely DH said... 'Let's go to Southend,' The sun is glorious today and warm, temps reached 17°C.  We stopped and had a coffee sitting outside looking across the Thames estuary.  It was so warm, we had to remove our scarfs and gloves and as it is February,  Nell could go on the beach... so we did!

As soon as we got onto  the sand she started to jump up and nose DH hand, because we always play 'fetch' on a beach and she was expecting us to have a ball. And we didn't, we hadn't thought of taking one. Boo-hoo

So I think we best keep one in the car for another time. How clever of her,  as it is over a year since she has played  'fetch' on a beach!

Instead she did her rolling and her twisting round in the sand getting sandy, so she still enjoyed herself and raced and raced around us.

 

And after chasing some seagulls, she was wet as well sandy!

 

Like us she loves the beach.

It was so lovely to walk along, the air was fresh, and the sun shone.

I loved every minute of it.. if we didn't have eye tests booked for this afternoon we would have stayed longer.

It has made me hungry for sunny days and summer!

Hope where ever you are, you too have weather like this.

 

Happy days indeed.

 

 

Happy Days

I have had a play around with Smile Box... what do you think??

 

 

http://secure.smilebox.com/ecom/openTheBox?sendevent=4d7a6b344e5451324d7a493d0d0a&sb=1

 

 

OPAM... Will I won't I ??

One of my WIPs is this cardigan for me.  I started it in September 2013, and although it is an easy knit to do, I have had other things to get done as well.

Typically as a mother and wife I have sewn and knitted for family rather than for me and there were Christmas makes as well..  But I was very happy to do other things.

 

On my needles is the first sleeve nearly finished and then just the other one to do. I AM going to finish this by the end of February.. But and it's a big but;  I visited my DD yesterday and she wants me to knit the fingerless gloves she has not been able to do.. so I think I will have to do those first!

 

Daughters come first!!

Happy Days..

 

'LOVE' and the winner is................

There were 6 of  you that asked for the 'Love' chart..

1. Nicola
2. Vickie
3. Butterfly
4. Lynda R Brown
5. Valerie
6. Kate

I used a random number generator and number 2 came up so it's you Vicky!!
Can you please email me with your address.

I will be having a giveaway to mark my 250 followers so watch this space!

Love to all

Happy Valentine to DH

I have managed to get this finished although my finishing isn't as good as it could be.. but I am not able to do it this afternoon nor evening so it has to do.. Annoyingly I haven't any cording and I haven't time to make any.. so it just had to be sewn and a bow.

The colours are better than this and if you click on it the colours show much truer.  If you know this design you might notice that I have changed the colour of the hanging key to dark rose, it is listed as ecru but it didn't show up on the linen, so hence the change.

I am a lot easier about changing colours these days, where as when I first started cross stitching I had to use the advised colour..

I do like this and will be giving it to DH tomorrow.. he knows there is something coming because this morning I asked to be in the dining room alone! But he hasn't really noticed what I have been stitching all week, so it will be a nice surprise!

Happy Stitching and I hope your Valentine will remember you tomorrow!

If anyone would like this chart please leave a message on this post.

Come dance with me!

 

I have finished my cut through Beach Hut.. it was the first cross stitch I picked out of my WIPs to stitch until it was finished this year. I failed to get it done by the end of January because I had to knit those socks for my youngest grandson.

I am very pleased with this now although when I was doing the back stitch,  which brings it all alive looking, I did get a few  whew feelings....as to  how much more there was to stitch. Then when I thought I had finished I saw the little bird on the life belt that still

needed to be stitched!!  I had forgotten how much this designer likes back stitch. Then it was only as I was stitching that last bird,  I realised I have used the wrong colour blue for the roof, but hey ho it looks ok.

 

To fit in with my plan for this year I have to chose another WIP now to finish.

I think it will be the 'Welcome' design with the cat on it.

I have stitched more of it then this shows.

 

But before that I want to stitch Love by the Cricket Collection for DH

 

Happy Days

 

 

Spring is in my kitchen!!

I love the tiny daffodils called tete a tete  they are so pretty.

I always buy them round about now when I think that winter will never end. Although we haven't had snow  like some parts of the US we certainly have had rain.

 

 

But today it isn't raining and we have beautiful sunshine. The chutney is mango. The farm shop where we have been going for our fruit and vegetables had a box of 12 very cheap.. we were expecting some to be very over ripe but no, although some were soft, so DH has made chutney. We also had some in a fruit salad last evening and with yogurt for breakfast. Yummy, they have such a smooth taste.. so we were very pleased with our buy.

Come on spring, we're more than ready!!

 

Chris