And the sun finally shone!

What an absolutely gorgeous day!  The sun shone brightly and I went for a walk with my friend and her Mum through the grounds of Calke Abbey in Derbyshire.  We parked in the village outside and walked up the road through the grounds.  There were so many cars going past that we were convinced that there must be some special event on.  When we got to the place where you have to pay for parking, we asked the lady in the kiosk and she said "No, its Sunday and the sun's shining".  I took a few photos, but they aren't very good - partly because I don't take enough photos, but also because my transition lenses had gone dark so I couldn't see clearly.

This is a view of Calke Abbey through a large picture frame that stands beside one of the tracks for you to take photos through.  As you can see, I didn't quite get the frame squared up in my view finder.

This is a photo of part of the herd of red deer that live in the park.  It was such a nice day that they were having a little bath.  Apparently there are also fallow deer, but we didn't see any of them.

This week has been a good week for stitching.

Stitching on April, I managed to get the whole of the bottom section of the right hand angel's apron finished.  The next stage will be her arms and the watering can that she is holding.  In order to help with the lettering, I have bought a copy of "Alphabets Galore" by Leisure Arts, following a suggestion from Jules.  I have found a couple of possibilities already - just need to get this second angel finished, so that I can see how much space I have got to play with.

Moving on to Corgi, I just want to say how easy this chart is to use and how much I like the subtlety and shading that is coming through as I stitch.  However I need to make better use of my lunchtimes for stitching this than I currently have been.  I get sidetracked by other people's blogs and next thing I know, time is up and I have to get back to work.

Really pleased with my progress on Carnation this week.  I wanted to get six blocks done this month - well, I'm halfway there already with three blocks completed!  Just one more block on the current row to do and then I can move down to the next one.

And a mini happy dance on Train!  Two full blocks and one partial block later, and column 4 is finished!  Now I can feel that I really am more than halfway through these pages!

In other news, despite the non-slimming diet required by small people having a sleepover, I have maintained this week, so still 11 stone 6lb.  I am quite happy with this under the circumstances.

If I've counted my days right, this time next week is WIPocalypse, so hopefully I will have some good progress to show and lots to see on all your blogs.  So all the best to you and yours, and may the frog stay away from your stitching.