IHSW - March 2013 Report

Well, its a little bit warmer and we're having rain instead of snow, but the sun still seems to be avoiding us.  If it wasn't for my morning multi-vitamin, I'd be suffering from Vitamin D deficiency :-)

The stitching has gone quite well this week.  You will remember that I bought a stop watch last week so that I could work out how much time I actually spend stitching.  Well, having carefully recorded all my stitching time (even taking the stop watch to work with me), I am pleased to announce that, starting on Monday and including this morning's session, I spent 14 hours, 6 minutes, 44 seconds and 71 hundredths of a second stitching.  Of course, I'll have to carry on recording in order to find out if that is good, bad or average, but for a first go, I think that that is quite encouraging.

 I spent 3 hours, 42 minutes, 25 seconds and 45 hundredths of a second on Turkish Challenge.  As you can see, I am now well into the first anemone blossom and I think that it is looking quite good.  This piece got four sessions of stitching - one each on Thursday and Friday mornings, and two on Saturday morning and afternoon.

Carnation received 4 hours, 58 minutes, 50 seconds and 42 hundredths of a second in stitching time over five sessions.  These were Monday morning and evening, Tuesday morning, and Wednesday morning and evening.  I completed the usual three blocks and got well into a fourth, but decided to stop and move on to Turkish Challenge.  This was because the deadline on TC is closer and also because I'm fairly sure that I am going to finish page 3 well ahead of the second anniversary date.

Enchanted Garden got the most stitching time - 5 hours, 25 minutes, 28 seconds and 84 hundredths of a second.  This was over six sessions - Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday lunchtimes, Thursday evening (Patchwork Group) and this morning.  Fairy 1 just needs her wings completing and then she is done, apart from the backstitch.  I look at what I've done so far and then I look at the chart, and then I wonder what I've let myself in for!

What else is new?  Well, yesterday they re-opened our local library - hurrah!  It has been extended and expanded, and now includes a young people's centre and a cafe amongst other additions.  So, having spent large chunks of time in our library throughout most of my life, I went to see what they had done to it.  I didn't see much - the place was absolutely heaving!  The bits I did see seemed very nice - light and spacious with dedicated seating areas.  I got nobbled for publicity photos by the roving photographer - I'm hoping that they get deleted.  And then shortly before 3pm there was a fire alarm!  It was a false alarm but not an expected one, however it took so long to exit the building that I decided to go home at this point.  And the best thing, the library is now open 7 days a week!  So whenever I need a fix, the books will be there.

Anyway, keep warm and keep stitching - the sun will return!