Frustration!!

Thank goodness blogger seems to be back to normal. It was very frustrating not to be able to leave comments on blogs..The trouble seemed to be with comments that needed the extra  word confirmation and you ended up in a loop of signing in and then signing in and then signing in .... LOL
Thank you to all those of you that did manage to leave comments for me.

No stitching to show I am ashamed to say because I have that knitting bug and have to finish this little cardi. Its coming along nicely and although the pattern is a very simple one it has caused me some bother, maily because I was knitting watching TV and forgot the pattern rows.  I have also been very naughty and ordered a whole lot of wool to make a multi striped cardi for the Autumn. I 'll show it all as soon as it arrives. It was all reduced at www.deramores.com But I have vowed not to start knitting it till August as I must get on with my stitchy things.
I will be watching the postie tomorrow.


.

Something different.... for a while

All this unpacking has been very stressful. I worried about packing up our belongings, I worried  about the moving day but it never occured to me that unpacking would cause stress!
Why stress????Bbecause we still have too much stuff. although we have sorted and given loads of china, books and furniture away we are still trying to find room for more!
Although I have been happy stitching my Sampler Aux Bouquets I needed some thing easy and different so..... when I was reading some blogs the other evening I came accross Hazel's who had just ordered and received some beautiful yarn. Lovely colours to crochet a granny square blanket.  I don't really need a blanket expecially as I have not long made a quilt.
So after an hour or two (or maybe three or four!! LOL ) I found what I wanted.

A knitted little cardi or bolero

 I decided on this colour of dusky pink and to knit the little short sleeved cardi because I have just bought a bolero.

I find knitting very relaxing and also with the French Open Tennis championships on TV at the moment, it's just perfect to knit and watch the tennis.  This little cardi will be perfect for our week away in Saundersfoot at the end of June.
Hope everyone is happy doing what ever it is you enjoy.

I am still stitching!!

When you're moving house, packing up your belongings just takes over your life!

Or so I thought.. it is a week and one day since we moved and now unpacking our belongings is all we're doing. Trying to find a place for everything is getting very stressful. We have given a lot of glasses, china and books away. We just have too much stuff. Everyday we have tried to get straight but as we unpack more and more boxes, the more mess we seem to be creating!

Some evenings I have fallen alseep as soon as we have had dinner I have been so tired.. but those evenings when I have stayed awake I have worked on this..

Sampler Aux Bouquet. It didn't need a massive change of colours so seemed simple to stitch.

 

However saying that, I had frogs all over part 1 and spent a lot of time unpicking and re-stitching.
But here is it is I have now completed all of part 1 and am half way through part 2. Unfortunately I didn't allow enough fabric for part 3, so I will stitch that one separately.

And as we are here in Billericay I intend to join in the quilters class I did, when we stayed here in April and I have already picked out what I want to make. As you can see the little flower heads are suffolk puffs!

This is in this book that was recommended to me by a member of the Sampler Guild, that I met when I went to the Canvey Stitchers get together.. it is a lovely book with lots of other projects in it too.

I can't wait to get started,  but I have to unpack a few more boxes first!!!
Thank you to all that wished us well for our move, I am sorry that I haven't been visiting blogs of late, I am just too tired some evenings to log on... now that is admitting to something to be too tired to log on!!

We've moved!!

You might be thinking I have given up on my blog but these boxes and bags are the reason why I haven't been able to post. I have been extremely busy!

These were in Coventry last thursday 12th May... our moving day!! It all went very smoothly but then we had been packing boxes for two weeks prior to the day and now??
This is the kitchen in Billericay to where we have moved... and these are just a few. We had about a hundred boxes and two days here we have unpacked about thirty!

And here is a picture of dh at the end of the day..

I am sure we will be straight eventually and it is worth the temporary mess and hard work.

When we went shopping yesterday we met my teaching assistant and  I had a lovely chat with her, while we were chatting along came another from my old school,  so it was hugs all round. It seems the school is to have a two day OFSTED next week, Joy of joy I am no longer teaching.. I shall pop into the school thursday after its all over. I had planned to go to the school  to give the Headteacher my acceptant note for  her leaving do, so just as well I met June who told me the Inspection was Tuesday and Wednesday!!

It is so wonderful to be back here..in fact it's bliss!!

The Royal Wedding

The crowds

The ABBEY

That dress... wow!

Happily married

The Kiss!

I loved it all! Spent all morning watching the whole event and wow can't the Royals put on a show!
It was wonderful..

A good read!

The opening page of this book is the 07:44 train on the Brighton to London line.

The Brighton to London line. The 07:44 train. Carriages packed with commuters.

A woman applies her make-up. Another occupies her time observing the people around her. A husband and wife share an affectionate gesture. Further along, a woman flicks through a glossy magazine.

Then, abruptly, everything changes: a man has a heart attack, and can't be re...more Carriages packed with commuters. We are given a snap shot of the occupants of one section of the train. A woman applies her make-up. Another occupies her time observing the people around her. A husband and wife share an affectionate gesture. Further along, a woman flicks through a glossy magazine.   
Then, abruptly, everything changes: a man has a heart attack, and can't be resuscitated; the train is stopped, an ambulance called. The passengers leave the train.

For at least three passengers on the 07:44 on that particular morning, life will never be the same again.
Lou witnesses the man's final moments. Anna and Lou share a cab when they realise the train is going nowhere fast. Anna is Karen's best friend.
And Karen? Karen's husband is the man who dies.

Telling the story of the week following that fateful train journey, One Moment, One Morning is a stunning novel about love and loss, about family and – above all – friendship. A stark reminder that, sometimes, one moment is all it takes, it also reminds us that
somehow, and despite everything, life can and does go on.

A super read that held me all the way through, which I read more or less in one sitting.

My first ever bed sized quilt!

My very first quilt. I am delighted with it although it is far from perfect. I love the sherbet colours of the fabric which I bought in Australia the year before last! I am so glad I bought that 1/4" foot for my machine as it is so much easier to get the seams 1/4" accurately. Although it is only squares and rectangles, the corners still had to be matched up!  I can't free arm stitch all over the quilt so it is just stitched along the sashing, that was hard enough.(stitched in the ditch)
I think I will keep to my cross stitching for the next few months as it is easier!
Wonderful weather here. I have been in Essex the last three weeks, the first two for the building of our conservatory and then because DH went to Dubai with work.

We love the conservatory although it hasn't any furniture in it yet, because that is all in Coventry.. in three weeks time it should all be here!
Hope you're all enjoying the warm sunny weather where ever you are.. and are stitching happily.

Hugs

Suffolk Puffs and a day with stitching friends.

I had a really lovely day yesterday as I joined the Canvey Stitching group, part of the Sampler Guild that I joined a coupe of years ago. They do a bring and share lunch, which was delicious. I weakened and had two pieces of this melt in the mouth chocolate cake made by one of the members.
Its only a 20 minute drive for me so I intend to go each week to their regular group and once a month they have a quilting day, which I am looking forward to as well. They aren't just a friendly group but extremely talented and the work on display was amazing, quilting, different designed bags as well as cross stitch. Laura told me how to make Suffolk Puffs (called yoyos in US)
When I got home I  walked Nell and didn't fancy my cross stitch so decided to make some . I made three and was on my forth when I dropped my scissors, I leaned over to pick them up and must have swooshed the finished puffs off my little table on to the floor, because when I sat up they had gone.. I looked all round and couldn't see them..,. then realised Nell was outside and yes she had blinging ate them, well at least chewed them to death!! LOL
She is such a little minx!!

 Mine are small about ¾" across so just bite sized for Nell!! Here's a link to show how they are made.
http://stayabreast.co.uk/pink-pom-pom-project/pppp-knit-patterns/suffolk-puffs-yoyos/

Here are the ones I made. I am going to use them as a border round an embroidered picture on a note book cover.
It was so soothing to sew these last evening I was missing Mike quite a bit. He texted this morning and it is 25°C in Dubai and work is going well. I think Nell is missing him too altho' I have walked her each evening and yesterday I walked her in the morning too before I went out, so she is being exercised.
Lovely sunny day here again, I love it here!

Happy days and and enjoy what ever you're doing.

I've caught the patchwork bug!!

I am amazed that I found these two cushions covers so easy .... but I have found the reason.

Accurate measuring and cutting and using a 1/4 inch machine foot!!

I've used the bright fabric I bought for a throw for the conservatory settee. Not everyone's colour choice but they were meant to be bright for our patio chairs.

The top one is made using squares and rectangles and the other is a log cabin pattern.

I choose these patterns to practice my cutting out and accurate stitching and it has certainly paid off, as I am a lot more confident in matching up corners and seams!

This was all from one session at a quilting and patchwork class, which I thoroughly enjoyed and intend to go to each week once we move here permanently.

It less than a ten minute drive from my home and she sells fabric and wools, a verity Aladins cave!

I think I have caught the patchwork bug and now feel confident enough to attempt a bed size quilt!

Socks and stitching..

These were to be my March socks but ended up as my April 1st socks, just couldn't get them knitted in time. I had a couple of evenings when I did nothing, no knitting or cross stitch! Most unusual for me but I was so tired.

This is two weeks work as no batteries for my camera last week.  I have completed a small motif and the word Tulip and a bigger motif. I am still delighted with this and love the colour combination of each motif.

It is on target to be a years stitch!

And my new start on the French Sampler au Bouquet is coming along nicely.

I am happily in the SAL in the Needlecraft Haven group with this.

However with this sunny weather knitting and stitching has been left to garden!

We are here in Billericay as we are having a conservatory built and it is nearly completed. We should be returning to Coventry next week and we will be packing stuff to move here permanently.

I am so excited!! Like a silly little girl! Every time I drive out somewhere I have to drive back through the little town just to see it all over again!

Thank you for all the lovely comments on my framed design 'His Name' for my church.. I have sent the link to all of you who asked for the web site, some nice things on it and all free.

Hope you're enjoying this sunny warm weather where ever you are.