Do you remember Gus?

 Late in 2024, about October time I started a very large Cross stitch project.  A kit Tony had gifted to me for Christmas back in 2014!

Winter Fairy is a full coverage design by Elana Krumina. I think she is Lithuanian, but don't hold me to that.  For some reason after only a short time, I put her aside in January of 2025. She was never put away, but sat here in a dust cover, behind my armchair whispering to me often. As I completed the stitching on Down in the Garden her whisperings grew louder and today, they reached a yell. So out she came. I pulled out my Gus frame which had been put away. It takes up rather a lot of space.

It does a great job of supporting my roller frame. There is no way I could cope with this big piece in a hoop, I need the extra help. 

You can see where I left the design back in January last year with the Fairies furry friend almost completed. I stitched for a while this morning, then got on with some chores and the grocery shopping. Once I got home, I settled into my chair again, looking at the kitty I decided he should be named Gus, taking his name from my frame.

I spent the whole afternoon sat here stitching away. Gus is completed he now has his legs and paws, and I stitched a little more too. It's difficult to see, but I've also worked on the Fairie's white dress hiding Gus' rump and tail. It's showing up as a creamy yellow patch on the next image.

I think it would be good to have this as my hand working project here at home, at least until I get the first page of the chart completed. Once that is done, I'll decide whether to continue or have a break and do something else for a while. I don't want this lovely piece to be forgotten for another year and worry that might happen if I decide to rest it.

Watch this space.

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I have a whole week off work, starting today, so plenty of time to get some things over the line, I hope.  There are two possibilities for tomorrow, find and add the borders for Down in the Garden. Or add the borders to the memory quilt. I'd like to get the memory quilt onto the frame before I go back to work next Wednesday. We'll see how that goes. 

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A little progress.

 Life has been busy, so there is not much to show for a week. But I have made progress and any progress as we all know, is better than no progress.

One big boost was completing the stitching on Down in the Garden today. 🪡 As soon as the last stitch was made I set about removing the calico I had added around the edges to keep things tidy, then laid all nine blocks out onto the floor. They look good together. 

A quick tidy up to neaten the edges, then sew them together and add some borders. LOL I'll have to find the fabric first. It's been so long that I have forgotten where I stashed it.

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I moved swiftly on choosing not to go hunting for border fabrics today, instead I pulled out another project that has been languishing, albeit nowhere near as long. 

I started this Lanarte cross stitch back in January, it went with me to Okiwi bay. It did not see light of day there. It did come out of the case while we were on the Isle of Man, and progress was made.  The last progress image I captured was in January, when I first started. 

While on the island as the berries were completed and today, I worked on the bowl.  🪡🪡

It is a cute wee design, with a border. Though I may not bother stitching the border. I think I have a plan for this wee piece, and a border is not necessary.  Hopefully I can get it completed soon. I have Quilting and craft club this weekend; I might take it along. It's easier than packing up the fun machine and fabrics etc.

 I have a few other smaller pieces that might make good take along projects. I also have a very large piece tucked away behind my chair here. It's not whispering anymore, though obviously it's not quite yelling yet either. LOL

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And finally, the cherry tree has come fully to life. My neighbour who sends me a photo every year has moved away, but I did my best to reproduce it. I captured this image standing at my washing line the other day.

Not quite the same, but still very pretty. That is big cherry in full bloom, little cherry comes to the party much later and will have blossom in a while. Usually just after winter has one last gasp and blows away all the blossom on big cherry. LOL

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A rescue job and lots of life interruptions.

You know in a recent post I mentioned that my hands were ready to be doing something other than stitchery? I should be careful what I wish for.

I had big plans for my two days off this week, but very little of what I wanted to happen actually happened.

I came home from work on Saturday with a crochet blanket. It belongs to a resident but was falling apart. Just simple Granny Squares, surely, you can fix it Lou?

Well, I did. There were several squares that needed attention some more than others, and after some messing about I settled on a good method of rescuing them.

I also had a good look at the joining, several of the squares were coming adrift from each other. Then as there was no border, just a bunch of joined squares, would I be good enough to add one? 

It's quite a nice blanket, and hopefully my attention will see it last a while longer.

So that took care of my weekend evenings and also my free time yesterday.

The rest of yesterday was taken up with chores and errands.

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Unfortunately, today has been pretty similar and throw in a training thing for work this afternoon. There really hasn't been much time for my things. That said, I stopped for a while at lunchtime and picked up my stitchery. Down in the Garden has progressed a little more. As it was time to move the hoop, I decided that it was time for an updated photo too.

Oh dear, Blogger is doing that thing again. Click on the image for a clearer view. Though even if you don't, you can see that the coloured border is almost complete. I can see the end of this one. Then it will be time to sew all the blocks together. 

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And just before I return to my stitching, a quick look at what a friend of mine has been up to. On Friday Tony and I went to a Wearable Arts show here in town, our friend Ange had an entry which her daughter Ree was modelling for her.

Sadly, Nature's Palette did not win any prizes.

It was an amazing show with some stunning pieces. 

Even Tony was impressed.

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Back to my needle and thread now. 

Then back to work tomorrow. 

A New Recipe.

 I promised you a new recipe and here it is.

Creamy Peppercorn Chicken

Ingredients

Chicken breast, sliced
Broccoli
1 leek, sliced
1–2 tbsp peppercorns in spring water, with some lightly crushed
100–150 ml cream
2–3 tbsp cream cheese
Salt and black pepper

Method

Brown the sliced chicken in a little oil or butter, then remove it from the pan.

In the same pan sauté the sliced leek in butter until softened.

Add the peppercorns, crushing some against the side of the pan to release their flavour.

Stir in the cream and cream cheese. Let it gently simmer until the sauce starts to thicken.

Return the chicken to the pan and simmer until cooked through and the sauce is lovely and creamy.

Season with salt and black pepper to taste. 

Serve with steamed broccoli. I stirred mine into the sauce.  

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You could use any veg you like with this recipe. I've had broccoli and leeks in the garden over winter. The broccoli has gone nuts and I need to use it up. The leeks are still small, I'm hoping they bulk up a little and don't go to flower. I just pulled the largest while I was out there the other day.

Tony loved this meal and announced that this invention test is a keeper. 

Though I think I would use less peppercorns next time.

It's Spring, Down in the Garden.

 It's only just the third day of the month and already one of my goals has been achieved.

My Christmas ornaments are all completed. No photo though, you know I like to keep them secret until after delivery. Though I probably should take photos now, before I forget and give them all away without doing it! LOL

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I've also been making good progress on my Down in the Garden stitchery. Picking away at it here and there.  Here is where I left it last night.  🪡🪡

Blogger really does not like the images of these stitcheries. It is clickable if you would like to see a clearer image.

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I'm at the three days off point in my roster. Yesterday was taken up mostly with chores and errands which included a haircut. While I was awaiting my turn I looked out of the windows in the upstairs salon. It's in a corner building and has wonderful views out over the bay area and also toward the mountains.

It wasn't the brightest of days and the views over the bay weren't much to write about, but looking inland, to the mountains....

The camera sees things differently. Yes they look majestic rising up beyond the back of town, but in real life, I felt like I could just reach out and touch them. They felt so much closer than they appear in this image.

Speaking of views, looking out of our own dining room widow I can see that the big cherry tree has blossom.

Spring is in the air.

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Back to my goals. 

A little more of my time will be about fun today, though there are still other less exciting things to do.  Hopefully I can make some more great progress on the stitchery. I'm ready to have something else to do with my hands. My cross stitch is whispering to me from its resting place behind my armchair. But there are other projects vying for my attention too.  A decision will be made once this one is complete. 

Maybe not today, but I do need to add a little stitching to the memory quilt, once I work out what that is, I will let you know. Then maybe it can progress its way to the frame for quilting. 

And finally for today.

There has also been a new to us recipe. I'll share on another day as it was good.

Now I'm off to peg washing out. Then the fun can commence. 🪡

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