Moving on and moving in!

A bit of time off work and one or two other changes and I'm feeling more like my old self.

Thank you to every one for your lovely thoughts and get well wishes.

My Doctor prescribed rest and I added stitching to the prescription. 

Of course we all know about the restorative powers of our crafts.

As you know I'm all up to date with Gail Pans I Stitch BOM. I've also had ample time to get my October Christmas Ornament completed and was wondering what to do next.  I did think about just getting on with and completing the last two ornaments, but that felt like cheating. 

So what should I do? I was trying to think of something small that I could put away when Novembers Stitchy commitments came along. Just a little something to keep my hands busy in the evenings. Then there was a big change and suddenly I have more time on my hands....

But a few days before all that happened Janice had suggested that Queenie should come back out of exile.

Well, she wasn't really in exile. I put her away when my lamp was out of order. She was staring at me, and making me feel guilty.  

So anyway, here she is. I forgot to take a before photo, so this one is ten minutes in progress. LOL

I finished the bouquet.

That frizzy blue flower is made up of cross stitches and beads.

There are lots more beads to add, especially along the hem of her dress and petticoats.

Hopefully I'll get that completed today.

When I realised how close I am to the end of this one, I allowed myself to start thinking about the next big project. I spent an hour yesterday evening prepping for that.

And during a break from stitching I was looking on Pinterest when something caught my eye.

Which sparked a memory and before you know it I was digging through photocopied pages from back copies of magazines, sorting out fabric and threads and visiting the button jar and lots of precious memories. 

My button jar is made up from several button collections. I had my own wee stash, then a dear lady who I nursed back on the Isle of Man gifted her button tin to me. Then of course I inherited mums small button tin, and since moving here to New Zealand, I have inherited Tony's grand mothers button tin too! All of those button collections now reside in a huge jar in my room.

So now I have my next two projects lined up. LOL

One I'll share regular progress on. And another which involves buttons will be kept secret for a while.

Sorry.

So that's some of the moving on news.

The other news?

I'm changing jobs again.

The job I was in was making me ill. So after talks with my Doctor and my lovely husband I have handed in my notice, which I do not have to work as I have more than enough annual leave accrued to cover two weeks notice. I have applied for and was offered a casual position at a local nursing/rest home. It's only a casual position at this time, no guaranteed hours. But you know how these things go, now I have my foot in the door...

As some of you know I was a care giver for 20 years back on the Isle of Man. It feels like I'm going home.

And of course a casual position means more sewing time too.

Win, win.

So that's the moving on part of this blog post dealt with, what about the moving in?

The other day, while I was sitting sewing, Belle was moving between my chair and Tony on the couch. She loves to snuggle with me, especially if I have a blanket, but I fidget and wriggle a lot, which annoys her. So then off she goes to see Tony.

He was watching a video about fine scale modelling but she managed to get his attention.

A little head scratch is always good to break the ice.

Just let me get closer, to save you stretching...

And quick wash before you scratch my ear.

Thank you. 

That's enough of that. You watch your video, while I have a snooze just here. You don't need your left arm do you? 

LOL

I couldn't resist snapping photos as she moved in on Tony and got all settled. They stayed like that for an age, while she snoozed and he watched some bloke 'un boxing' scale model aircraft. Which apparently is a bit like you and I opening a quilt kit and showing off all the lovely fabrics and discussing the pattern format. 

Really?  

How can a bunch of plastic pieces, usually grey, be anything like all the lovely fabrics that come in a quilt kit?  They don't even sound exciting. Sprue. Flashing. And don't get me started on the smells given off by the glues and paints. 

They do seem to have the concept of 'stash' correct though. They buy all this stuff, un box it, look at it, fondle it, stroke it, talk about it, then put it back in the box and leave it on the shelf or in the cupboard until 'one day' comes along! Now that does sound familiar. LOL

Maybe we're not so different after all.

*

I have to be quiet today, as it is the day between Tony's two night shifts and he is sleeping. The perfect excuse to sit in my comfy chair and stitch beads all day long. I wonder if Belle will join me, or if I will wriggle too much? I'll take pictures if she does. 

How is your weekend going?