I'll start where I finished last time - I went to the opticians on Monday afternoon to have my eyes checked as I had been experiencing some worrying phenomena. However things had improved by that point in that I wasn't seeing flashes anymore. Anyway the optician did a thorough check and I am very relieved! There are no holes or tears in either retina and my general vision is the same as it was last July when I had new glasses. I do however have a lot of floaters in both eyes, and at the moment the ones in my right eye are making themselves known. The optician said that either I will get used to them or they will settle down. In the meantime, if I experience flashes again, I need to go straight back. So all's well that ends well.
On the stitching front, there has been some progress on Enchanted Garden, but not a finish because I was out every night Monday to Thursday this week with one event or another.
However the light at the end of the tunnel is in sight. All that remains is to finish stitching Fairy 4 (wings already started), the leaf she is kneeling on, some more ground surface and then the last of the back stitching. It is half-term this week so I will be home every night except perhaps Thursday. The plan is to have this piece finished and at the framers on Saturday.
The weather has improved - it was so sunny and warm today that I went out without a coat and ended up carrying my cardigan. Here's hoping that you are getting some sunshine too.
Where to start? Well, the doctor has referred Mum back to the hospital so we are waiting for an appointment letter. Other than that, he told her to carry on living her life, unless she experiences strong pain for more than 20 minutes, in which case ring 999! So we carry on ....
I have made good progress this week with Enchanted Garden:
Having mentally divided the unstitched lower part into three sections, I am pleased to report that two of the three are now complete, including back stitching, and that I have started the third and final section on the far right hand side. This section consists mainly of Fairy 4 and of the stalk to the toadstool that Fairy 3 is sitting on. It is less than a quarter of the whole piece but more than an eighth. However I am going to be a little short on time this week as my diary is booked up every night until Friday, when I propose to collapse in a small heap. I plan to stitch what I can when I can, and then whatever is left will get my full attention at the weekend.
I haven't a lot to say tonight - I have an appointment tomorrow afternoon - it may be nothing or it may be something. Work knows because I have to take some time out, but nobody else - I don't want to worry the family when they have enough on their plate. If it is nothing, they don't need to know - if it is something, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.
May the sun shine on you, your loved ones and your stitching!
What can I say? Life just loves to bite you on the behind sometimes. I've been nagging Mum to go back to the doctor and have her heart checked out again for some time now. Thursday morning just gone she had a funny turn and finally made an appointment for this coming Wednesday. Today I get a call from my cousin, a cardiology nurse. In the course of the conversation, Mum's funny turn comes up - J doesn't like the sound of it at all, says that Mum should get herself seen sooner rather than later, says she really should have had herself checked out on Thursday. So I've spoken to Dad on the quiet and fingers crossed, he will be making her an emergency appointment in the morning. I may find myself in the dog house over this, but "de Nile" is not always a river in Egypt where Mum and her health is concerned, so needs must.
EDITED TO ADD: The dog house is very crowded - me, my sister and my cousin all convicted of not talking to Mum and doing things behind her back. She is seeing her preferred doctor on Wednesday. But she still loves us :-)
On a brighter note, there is stitching progress to report.
This week I have back stitched the top section of Enchanted Garden as far down as was feasible. I then moved to the bottom left hand corner and started to work across. I am now back stitching as I go so that once an area is done, it is done and I don't have to go back to it later. The green lines that Fairy 2 is standing on are the bottom of the piece, which makes it easier for me to see how much more there is to go, because I know where the right hand edge is.
The next section to do is the bunny's body and various clover flowers etc. The final section will be Fairy 4 with her adapted hairstyle and the stalk and surroundings of Fairy 3's toadstool.
I know for sure now that I'm addicted to this cross stitching lark - I've given myself repetitive strain injury with it, I've promised myself a month off after this piece to give my wrist a rest, so why am I lying in bed nights contemplating new starts, mainly BAPs, especially when I've got four WIPs currently gathering dust until I get this piece done? Does anybody have a cure for this insanity :-)?
May the sun shine on you and your stitching.
I am sitting here on a lovely warm sunny Bank Holiday Monday evening, hoping that all of you have had lovely weather too. I know that I'm a day late with this post, but I was on babysitting duty last night and didn't get in until just around midnight.
I am delighted to be able to report that Blogger has finally allowed me to add pictures to last week's post so please do pop back and have a look.
And now for the stitching ...
Following a concerted effort, the top of Enchanted Garden is complete as of yesterday. The picture is as of first thing this morning and I have since started the back stitching. There was one particular clover leaf which caused me much aggravation as it had to be frogged twice - firstly for being one stitch too low and secondly for being one stitch too far to the right. However I persevered and reached the end before I had to toddle off to deal with small people.
Speaking of small people, I am so tempted by this new piece by Peter Underhill of Heritage Crafts. There was a picture but it vanished. It would be just the thing for my sister and brother in law as they have three Peking bantams (with feathery feet) laying eggs in their back garden, in addition to my two small nieces.
And this is Turkish Challenge in its final form. I still can't bear the fabric but I don't think it looks too bad, do you? Many thanks to Mum for doing the finishing off and for finding the bell pull hanger (Framecraft, 5.5 inch, available in Hobbycraft). The idea is that we all hang our Challenge piece on one of these and they can either be exhibited or if we give them to Z, then she can hang them up easily.
I've come to a bit of a decision about my stitching. I love doing it, but all this working to deadline, even if self-imposed, is taking the joy out of it. So once Enchanted Garden is finished, I'm planning on taking a breather, taking a month off to rest my wrist and basically clearing my mind and doing other things, with the aim of coming back to it refreshed and eager to move on. I won't stop blogging - I'll just have to find other things to write about. But that's for the future - I have to get the rabbit finished first.
Well, I need my tea now so may the sun continue to shine on you all and your fingers stay nimble to stitch.
Just a few days late, but I have a good excuse for not posting on the night - I was out with my team from work enjoying our Christmas do. I know that sounds daft, but trying to find a date which suits the majority of 21 people split between two different cities took the organiser several months. Anyway we went out for a very nice curry at a very good price, and a good time was finally had by all.
Well, I don't have a lot of stitching to show you, because as you know, I am concentrating on getting Enchanted Garden done.
Blogger appears to be having problems uploading photos, so I'll just do the writing now and add the pictures later, hopefully tomorrow.
Enchanted Garden - well, Fairy 3 has wings and arms and is properly dressed. She still needs legs, but there are only so many hours in a day. I have now stitched from one side of the piece to the other. Once I've done Fairy 3's legs and the toadstool that she is sitting on, I shall scroll up and finish off all the clover leaves and flowers at the top of the piece, and back stitch my way down as far as I can. I shall then scroll down and do all the stitching at the bottom (including Fairy 4) before back stitching my way back up to the middle. I have about 5 weeks left for this, leaving me a couple of weeks to get it framed. Fingers crossed, folks!
Turkish Challenge - the stitching on this was finished earlier in the month, but on Wednesday this week I went round to Mum's to start putting together the final piece. It is not wonderful but we were limited as to what we could do to combine the stitching and the fabrics. What we ended up with was using two of the fabrics in a sort of braid effect to frame the stitching with a diamond and using the third fabric on the back. Mum did the braid effect on her machine and then I have slip stitched (sort of) the two braids to the linen with the stitching on. It will then need some wadding before being backed and bound. I'm quite pleased with the stitching (first time on linen) but the overall piece - does nothing for me!
On a brighter note, Mum and I went to the fabric place today. Mum was helping someone choose fabric for a baby quilt that Mum is to make for her. I didn't come away with much - a bit of aida, some needles, a couple of threads and a 4 1/2 inch square quilting ruler which will do the same job as the Blue Ribbon Designs Stitch Starter that I was thinking of buying - so that saves me ordering from the US.
Right, time is getting on and I'm yawning like mad, so photos tomorrow if all goes well and so good night!
Edited to add: Blogger is now finally letting me add pictures!
Time seems to be flying this year - how can it be time for IHSW again? At least we have had some sunshine this weekend and I did go for a nice walk yesterday afternoon because I was getting a bit of eye strain.
Anyway, let's start with the good stuff! Major Happy Dance time, folks! Major, major!
Page 3 of Carnation is finished! I put the last stitches in on the evening of 17 April 2013, which means that I was five weeks ahead of schedule for getting it done by its second anniversary (25 May 2013). I am so pleased with myself that I could sing!
Now I am concentrating solely on Enchanted Garden. Fairies 2 and 3 (top right) are now both works in progress. I'm working across the middle of the piece at the moment, and then will decide whether to work the top section or the bottom section at that point. There has been some frogging this week, but onwards and upwards as they say!
What else? I went back to Pilates after a two week hiatus, and I feel better for it. I also went to a Marie Curie meeting and discussed future fundraising events. Not only that, I attended a shoe party (like a Tupperware party, but for shoes) and bought a pair. I can't show you them yet as I'm waiting for them to be delivered, but they are purple peep-toe stilettos. I'm going to wear them to work and shock the pants off my colleagues, who rarely see the other side of me - I'm not sure that some of them even realise that it's there :-)
On Wednesday I am going to take Turkish Challenge round to Mum's, together with the horrid fabric, and try to work out how to combine the two in a way that I can bear to put my name to. And on Thursday we are finally going to have our team Christmas do. Our team is split over two offices and it makes it very hard to synchronise diaries, so we are having Christmas in April this year.
I hope that the sun is shining for you, and wish all the best to you and yours.
First of all, apologies for absence if you missed me. I was away last weekend at a family history conference and followed it up with a brief but very enjoyable visit to my cousin, so no blogging last Sunday.
However I did take some stitching with me for those odd moments when you aren't scheduled to be doing something or going somewhere. I came home on Thursday in time for Patchwork Group, following which I am overjoyed to say that Turkish Challenge is finished!
This is the washed and ironed version for you all to see. The next part of the challenge is to work out how to use the fabrics that Z brought back from Turkey with the stitching to create a finished piece. The stitching is 6 3/4 inches long, so I need to decide how long the piece is going to be (it has to be a multiple of 6 inches) and whether I am just going to top and tail the stitching, or whether I am going to frame it. I showed the fabrics on this post, so any advice would be gratefully received.
Next up is Carnation - I stitched two blocks on this before I went away and plan to finish the last two blocks on page 3 this week. You can just see the second little girl's face starting to appear at the bottom right - the orangey colour is a reflection from the Chinese lantern that she is holding. I am so close with this one - I am planning to hold a major, major Happy Dance in my next post!
Finally, Enchanted Garden, which is about to get a whole lot more attention. The black area in the middle is Fairy 2's hair. The plan now is to work across the middle of this piece, and then scroll either up or down (depending on how I feel at the time) and then back the other way, and then do the backstitch. How long have I got? Well, according to my diary, 7 weeks from today is 2 June 2013. That will leave me a fortnight to have it framed and get it wrapped. Fingers crossed, folks, fingers crossed!
The weather appears to be warming up here and my heating got turned off on Friday. I'm starting to see a lot more flowers and blossom around so maybe Spring really is on its way - fingers crossed.
