How Long?

Just look at how long it's been since I got to spend a significant amount of time in my sewing room. I've snatched 10 minutes here and there, but that's it.
I plan to remedy that. I'm signed off work at the moment with a 'itis' in my hips and lower back. Hmm, I didn't know what to do with myself yesterday, I couldn't walk, I couldn't sit, I couldn't stand, I just couldn't settle all day. Today pain relief and anti inflammatory medication is working and I think pottering may be possible, so I've plan to spend a little time in my nest, hopefully I'll be able to potter in there. I did get a shock when I saw that calender though.
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Speaking of calenders, here's my wavy advent, complete with extra waves since I was folded up for a year! LOL Maybe I should have had a go at pressing it before I hung it and stuffed the pockets. It's all ready for tomorrow.
Hopefully today I'll be able to do a little more to mums elephants. I still need to make some more pieced blocks, but I'll have to find the box first!

I haven't been totally idle, the knitting needles have been busy with Christmas gifts. Here is some that I can show, a lovely blue Aran scarf, I need to make it two ball of yarn longer.......

And matching wrist warmers.

I got my SSCS package away and a couple of other international packages, so now the pressure is off and I can relax for a week or two.

Time to move or I'll seize up.

Is there such a colour?

I'm pretty certain that the recipient of this gift won't be looking in on my blog, so at last I can show off some of my Christmas knitting. I whipped up this little bag today on huge great 12mm needles and some super chunky yarn. I lined it with Cadburys purple fabric and added a cadburys purple ribbon to the front.
Is there such a colour as cadburys purple? Chocolate eaters will know exactly what shade of purple I mean. LOL Time to slip a bar of said chocolate into this little baggie and get it ready to mail.

On with the secret stuff.

Cross stitching for my Mum.

Back again with another cross stitch show and tell.
Mum chose this piece herself and asked me to stitch it for her. It was done on 11 count aida. LOL It felt like cheating the stitches were so big.
As soon as I saw this kit in the shop I knew I had to have it. All those cuddlies are so adorable.

There was so much clever shading that there was no need for back stitching. That really made my day! I think my sister Moya has this one now. I can't help wishing I had hung onto it.

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These Fuchsias were another must, as soon as I saw the design in a magazine I knew I had to do this one for mum. I stitched all of the outline/frames first then enjoyed stitching the fuchsias one at a time.

She loves Fuchsias and used to have many different varieties. She has a smaller garden now, and had to leave many behind. This sampler is on her dining room wall though, I know she adores it.

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All of the projects shown today are large pieces and were framed in 18 x 20 inch frames.

Round Two

Chookyblue is currently hosting round two of the cross stitch blog hop. Go peep at her blog for a list of those taking part. This is of course my fourth post! I got carried away last weekend.
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On with the show. I stitched a series of six of these 'Windswept Santa's' and made them into tree ornaments. I really should remember to photograph the rest of them.
Ooops! You'll have to turn sideways to see this one! 'Good Fortune' Was a gift to my brother and sister in law when they moved into their new house together. The blurb on the kit packaging said it should hang near the front door. And that's where it is. :-)

'Holly Fairy' was a magazine chart. One of my sisters started it, but got stuck. I finished him off for her. I'm really not sure what happened to him, I must ask.

I made the tatty teddy wedding sampler twice! Once for James and Pat and again for a school friend. Sadly both couples have split. I haven't done any wedding samplers since learning that. I feel like I jinxed them.

Needless to say all of these pieces were finished off with beautiful frames. You don't see said frames here because I learned that it is oh so much easier to photograph them before they go under glass.

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Enjoy the blog hop, I'll be back tomorrow with more.

So frustrating

At last a late shift!! I've spent a great deal of my morning off surfing the web and browsing my way round online yarn stores. I finally joined Ravelry and my purse is currently regretting that! It's not so bad really, all I purchased today is two balls of sock wool. It's time I stopped procrastinating and knitted some socks. Baby size of course.
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What else have I been up to, well I knitted a pair of pretty creamy coloured mittens and a hat, they make a nice girly set, can't show them though as they are a gift. I purchased a boyish blue aran yarn to make another set, but......yep! That's a gift too. That's the frustrating part.
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Here's a gift I can show you. This lovely organic cotton yarn is so very soft, it will make a lovely top for a baby. I'm just finishing the back.
The pattern of course is one I found on Ravelry. LOL
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Chookyblue is all geared up to have another round of the cross stitch blog hop this weekend. Look out on her blog for a list of all those taking part.
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Right, I'm off to find chocolate for my SSCS partner.

Wanna see some more Cross stitch?

Todays pieces are all from 2004 and 2005.
This is a beautiful piece, I love it, but I gave it away, promising myself that I would stitch it again. Of course we never do, do we?
My brothers wife also fell in love with it while it was still a WIP, so now it hangs over their bed. I know it's cherished. It was framed in a simple wooden frame with an oval aperture.
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Forget me not was a free pattern offered by Pam Kellogg, I played about with it a little making a larger version of her pattern and added some vines as well as the beads and other embellishments and the words Forget me not into the larger heart. It's now on a real bell pull hanger, rather than a knitting stitch holder!
It hangs in our dressing room.
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Canterbury Fairy was a gift for my penpal. This was a freebie on the front of a magazine, though I substituted the white fabric for my own blue piece.
Noel, is one of Lavender and Lace 'Celtic Ladies' I do have some of her sister patterns here awaiting my attentions. She is framed in a very ornate gold frame and comes out every Christmas. It took me exactly one month to complete her.

To lift the glass off the bead work my framer put a tiny gold slip frame under the heavier ornate frame. I love these ladies and really want to stitch the whole set so that they can change with the seasons. One day..........................................................

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Nothing much to report, a whole bunch of early shifts and not much in the way of late shifts, so no sewing happening. I have knitted a few rows of hat, but that's about it.

Lest We Forget

I'm a little late this year, I'm sorry. This is the official Sunday upon which rememberance services will be held to mark the anniversary of the 11th hour, of the 11th day of the 11th month and the end of the 'Great war.' Once again I will go with one of my service users and stand proudly beside him at our towns war memorial.

More Cross stitches.

If you want to see more cross stitch projects you could follow the link to this post on Chookyblues blog, where she has a whole list of folks who are taking part in a Cross stitch blog hop organised and hosted by the lovely Chooky herself. Thanks Chooky, I'm loving looking around at other cross stitch pieces.
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On with the show.
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Todays pieces are all from 2005. In spite of what you see here they were framed and given away.
'Tenderness' was a gift to a dear friend and her new baby daughter.
Nordic Angel was a gift to my sister and her husband. They eloped and secretly married in Sweden in an ice chapel, so I wanted something which reflected that, besides, she didn't like any of the wedding samplers we looked at.

Little Angel was a gift to my BFF. Rather that sign the edge of the work, I signed my name on the pages of the book. Along with a message.

I have many more projects from 2005. I may post some more tomorrow, in fact, I probably have enough pictures of my cross stitch to keep us busy for the whole week! Right now though, I'm off to knit, I'm half way up a lovely cosy hat.

Blame Chookyblue

As some of you know, I was a cross stitcher before I got interested in patchwork and quilting. So when our beloved elf Chookyblue asked if anyone would be interested in doing a post or two about cross stitch I jumped in. I've been working so many early shifts I have no energy for sewing, so it's nice to show something here.
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This first cross stitch piece I made back in 2004 and gifted it to my mum. I framed it first of course. It now hangs in her sitting room.
This picture really doesn't do it much justice, it really is a beautifully peaceful scene.
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This is another piece I made as a gift, I think I made it at about the same time. A chess board for my Hunney. I made it all in secret and gifted it to him for Christmas. He knew nothing about it.
Everyone else did, our friends at the framers. The window guy who cut me the toughened glass is also a friend of ours, all of my colleagues and service users at work. Only my Hunney was in the dark.
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I'll post some cross stitch over the weekend.

First Anniversary

Sunday was our first wedding anniversary. It seems like so much longer, but we have been together for over 8 years. The first anniversary is traditionally celebrated with paper gifts and look what my Hunney came up with.
A message in a bottle, the paper of course being the message. He composed his own message to me. What a wonderful gift. He said it was the first thing which popped onto his google search. This is where he found it.
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Mum also got in on the act and gave us a beautiful bouquet of flowers. Thanks mum.
No sewing, knitting or crafting to report today, I have done a little, little being the operative word! I've had loads of early shifts, so not much energy for sewing once dinner is made and cleaned up.
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I have a job interview today though. :-) Fingers crossed.

Gotta go.

Catching up.

I had a gentle return to work with a late shift on Monday and a day off on Tuesday so I could attend an appointment, then a day in the office yesterday. In spite of over 60 emails awaiting my attention and a few items of old fashioned Royal Mail it was a good day and I feel as though I got loads done. So today is my day off and I have plans.
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I made pastry on Monday morning and it's been sat in the fridge waiting for me. I plan to use it up today by making more lunch box pies. We didn't eat all of the last lot yet, but no harm in stocking up. It's a cold wet miserable day, so a good day to have the oven on. I also plan to make a lamb and bean hotpot for dinner, that needs to sit in the oven for a good while too, so I plan to stay in the kitchen /dining room most of the day. I have Kays quilt with me and I'll be closing the binding on that and adding it's label. If I manage to get through all of that I'll get on with a few more rows of my rippling blanket (2)
I've played about a bit with the row count, on the previous version I changed yarn colour every 12 rows, this time I'm making more of a pattern, I think I like this one. As I think I said in an earlier post this version is also wider than the last one and I plan to make it longer too. I could easily make a habit of knitting a blanket to snuggle under during the winter. Although it's still only 14 inches long, it's very cosy already. :-)
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Sleeves up, pastry here I come.

Back to work today.

My two weeks of Annual Leave come to an end today. Even though I achieved a lot and was busy almost every day, I do feel rested and enjoyed my time off. So much so in fact that I wish I'd won the lottery and didn't have to go back to work! Don't we all have a similar wish? So this morning I made Monday pies with the left overs from our Roast dinner then headed up into my cosy nest to play. I've prepared a bunch of pretty Christmas ornaments made with more leftovers!
I sorted some ribbon to use and hunted through the button tin for buttons to use as tree trunks. I also decided to have a go at some round ornaments this time.

Hmm, not perfectly round, but they'll do me. :-) That's me all set for an evening with my Hunney in front of the TV. :-)

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My Monday pie smells so good I'm off to eat it now. Then relax for a while before going into work for 3pm.