A finish for OPAM and progress...

 My finish this month is a pair of socks for my youngest GS.. he does love Grandma's socks and wears them around the house.. the yarn is Regia sock yarn, a mixture of wool and nylon, so hard wearing for a teenage boy.

This is coming along and I think this might be my OPAM finish next month as there are only 6 more squares to do. I am going to frame and display this with two RR that have been waiting for a similar design. They were squares too, so each square stitched by someone else.

And this is looking good.. I still love it and have tried to complete the left corner.

Colours are lovely, don't you think?

Hope you have something you love to stitch, sew, knit, or crochet in these days while we wait for spring time weather!
Welcome to my new followers, I am slowly working my way around you all.
Thank you for all the encouragement for my slow, slow, slow weight loss! Yesterday my new trainers were kicking up the sand on Southend beach...and a first for me... NO ice cream! 
Happy days to all.....

 

XX

I am still trying!!

 

It will take time.

It will require dedication.

It will require will power.

You will have to make healthy decisions.

It requires sacrifice.

You will need to push you body to its max.

There will be temptation.

But when you reach your goal, it’s

WORTH IT!!

@@@@@ 

I have joined with two women who like me want to lose weight.

We are meeting weekly to check our weight

It's a great way to make friends and achieve our goal.

To all those of you out there in blog land who know what it’s like trying to lose weight, I wish you well for today and know that you can do it

 

XX

 

Walking for Health and Weight

I have bought some trainers!! These were the least 'in your face,' even the black ones had vivid pink, orange, or lime green flashes on them.

These are Nike and a half size bigger than I normally wear. I had looked up trainer firms on line and a lot of the comments suggested getting a half or even a full size bigger for width and comfort.
I have walked in them, this afternoon, just once round the lake in our local park, which is half a mile and they are ok.. I think I will wear them in gently until my feet get used to them.
It seems, to prevent Alzheimer's, strengthen your heart and reduce the risk of cancer, the so called experts say walking for 20 minutes three or four times a week is the best way to do this... and  I want to lose weight. I am losing.... but ever so, ever so slowly!
So I am giving it my best effort!
Keep walking folks.. trouble is I would much rather stay inside and cross stitch! LOL
Anyway happy days all. Hope if you're in US you are not in one of the states with snow 3 or 4 ft high.. poor you if you are. We have spring like days and then wet ones but it is a lot warmer. Thank the Lord.

XX

 

Blue China design and my cleaner!

I am happily stitching this design, and it is growing fast

I did quite a bit last week as I stitched most evenings and on Friday all afternoon too!

Being retired allows you to please yourself.

The daffodils are in a little blue design jug that was my grandmother's so not just pretty but old too; she died 1980 age 94.

 It stands on my dresser on the 'blue china' shelf..Lots of the china on my dresser have memories. When I worked full time I had a weekly cleaner. The first one I had called, Fran was superb and I loved coming home on a Thursday evening to a tidy, clean and bright home. But in the first month, she decided to wash the china on my dresser,(something I myself only did now and then!) So  I was horrified when I saw my little dresser, with the blue china mixed up with the rest of the stuff and before I even had a cuppa I had to re-arrange it all back to how I wanted it. I thanked Fran the following week by note but added there was no need to wash the dresser china, I would do that myself. She was my cleaner for years and I always loved Thursday evenings best of all the week

Here is my daughter's shawl ready to take next week when it is half term.

She works in two Cambridge schools as an Examination Officer, quite a stress job.

It will be nice to see her and my youngest GS, the other two are away in Uni.

The lovely bag is what the yarn came in from Love Knitting...
We are having some early spring like days.. so I have been hap, hap, happy.. goodbye winter, come on spring! Hope you're enjoying the sunshine too!

xx

YOTA and thoughts and prayers

I have kept to my plan of spending a week on each project and managed to fit other things in as well.

This little hanging is for my friend who had a massive stroke last year.

She is trying valiantly to make progress, but it is very slow.

I wanted her to know that I am thinking and praying for her everyday, so made her this, so she could look at it and know how dear she is to me.

This is the design I have chosen for my YOTA.. and hope to make as much progress on it this next month as I have this..

This is where I was last month.....

 

 

 

 

And as you can see I have stitched 5 more squares, which I am very pleased with.

All my other projects have made progress too and I knitted the back of my cardigan, that I have had on the go for a while, so now only need to do the last sleeve. I think I can see that as my March finish.

Hope you are all keeping busy and happy in this brrrrr weather. At least to me it is stitching weather so I don't feel I have to do anything else.

Happy days!!

XX

 

 

 

 

 

Spring is on the way!

Lovely to see clumps of snowdrops in my garden, the herald of spring.. today it was only 2°C when we took our dog Nell to the park. She recognised where we were as soon as we got out of the car. She ran and ran and almost skipped with joy! I was well wrapped up but I need a hat, it was freezing!

 

We stopped and watched the ducks slipping on the frozen part of the lake. It was so funny to see them skidding as they landed.  Can't wait for the weather to warm up, but  it seems we are to have colder weather, although I shouldn't complain as people up north have snow and I just have snowdrops, which are wonderful. When I see these popping through the frozen soil, it makes me want to skip for joy, just like Nell!

(Actually I don't know if I can skip anymore!LOL)

 

Happy days

xx