I made a new stitching start last night, a small charity item, but it isn't worth posting a pic - I'll do that when it's finished.
I was going to post a pic of my progress on Love Is You by Carol Tinson of Heirloom Embroideries instead, as I actually picked it up and stitched on it during the week (after a loooong break) but Blogger isn't playing today. :0(
As for the mouse saga: no forlorn little body in either of the traps today so I'm hoping that means it was a lone squatter - either that or it's gone off the Chilli Chocolate since its major binge, with its unfortunate side effects. It's unusual, as they usually travel in pairs..... and a breeding pair at that (going green at the thought of orphaned mouse babies - that really would mess with my Karma!)
The cleaning frenzy has continued today with the help of DH, who hasn't had to work today (for a change) and is happy to help now the Grand Prix has finished (why do men insist on watching these things when they are taping them anyway??!!!). The washing machine is starting to complain at the amount of over-time it's being forced to do, as I'm washing all the bedding and towels from the bed drawers - yes, the ruddy thing had even been in them and my skin hasn't stopped crawling since that discovery - but I'm making it have it. The bed has been thoroughly Dyson'd and if I'd got a steam cleaner it would've had a dose of that as well. Thank goodness for the better weather today, otherwise the tumble dryer would also be reduced to a quivering wreck. ;0)
As if there wasn't enough to do already here's what happened last night: our DS went to a friends 18th birthday party and fell back into the house around 2am, promptly throwing up into the kitchen sink. Pretty gross..... even grosser when I realised he hadn't bothered taking out the dirty plates and cutlery I'd left in there last night 'cos I just couldn't face more cleaning (the Universe teaching me another lesson, no doubt >roll eyes<). The sink had a liberal dose of disinfectant and the pots got Milton'd.
A minor dose of verbal earbashing was given as he came up the stairs and disappeared into his bedroom but he felt too rough to care and the kitchen compost bin had to be pressed into an alternative use. I walked away and left him to it..... big mistake, as the contents somehow ended up on his quilt, so that had to be stripped off and another one found. More verbal earbashing was given and an evil plan to offer him a greasy fry-up this morning was hatched >:0) but I abandoned that when I spoke to him this morning and realised that the sickness had less to do with the booze and more to do with a bug. He did have the good grace to apologise and is feeling pretty shame-faced today and no hang-over in sight.
After all that it's now got to the stage where: it feels like the Marigolds will have to be surgically removed from my hands; an industrial sized tub of Udder Cream will be needed to get my hands fit for stitching again; moving house feels like it would be much less work and we're having to have a re-stock of disinfectant, Milton, Persil tabs, Ariel tabs, bleach, Dettol Multi-Surface, replacement Marigolds etc etc. We're pretty sure the cashier at Tesco is going to think we're a couple of weirdos with a cleaning fetish ........ guess I'll just have to smile sweetly and think of all those Sports for Schools vouchers our friends' school will benefit from. ;0)
Sunday, 30 September 2007
Saturday, 29 September 2007
The Princess and The Mouse
Last night was Happy Dance time as I started and finished the couched border (it does lay flatter than the scan shows, honest) which completed The Princess (kit #6941) by Dimensions. I didn't like the 14 ct white aida in the kit so used Polstitches 28ct evenweave Christmas Candy instead and am quite pleased with the effect. 
I reckon the Princess, my 3 year old niece Erin, will like this - especially as she does have the tiara, wand and a Cinderella ball gown to go with. Wish the scan was better: it doesn't show off the sparkly opalescent ribbon (used on the tiara, wand and around the name plaque) well at all.
Many thanks to Dawn for having your stash clear out and giving me the chance to get my hands on this kit. :0)
The hunt is on for a suitable frame.
Speaking of hunt...... the choccie spread bait worked well and the first mouse crossed over the Rainbow Bridge some time last night. Poor wee thing, all spragged legs and glassy eyes staring up at me - yes, I felt as guilty as sin when I saw it first thing this morning and even held a little funeral, returning it to Mother Earth, but I've since found more evidence of where it's been on its travels and am feeling a lot less guilty as the day goes on.
It found and raided DS's choccie stashes: the Chilli chocolate on the shelf in the understairs cupboard and his Cadbury's hoard in his bedroom, so no wonder the little beggar was so keen to be up there (mouse and DS) and the ungrateful little so-and-so (mouse) left his calling cards all over the place. Have you any idea how much poo one little mouse can generate..... especially after eating its own body weight in Chilli chocolate? I am now seeing mouse poo all over the place - even innocuous bits of fluff look like it and I shall probably be having nightmares about it tonight, after I'm done cleaning.
Being a Pagan I generally love all of the Mother's creations and try to avoid killing anything but you have to draw the line somewhere. It's bad enough they move in as non-paying lodgers but when they start free loading on the choccie (and that Chilli choc ain't cheap!), refuse to use the available toilet facilties (two loos, one up & one down, at that) try to share your bedroom (yeuk!) and leave me with a shed load of cleaning to do then the line has most definitely been crossed. Mice beware: the trap has been reset and is raring to go again.
On the positive side: the killer dust bunnies have been ousted from under the beds and that sort out I was going to have of the stuff on the shelf in the cupboard under the stairs but kept putting off 'cos it was too much like hard work.... has finally happened. The Universe works in mysterious ways sometimes ;0)
I reckon the Princess, my 3 year old niece Erin, will like this - especially as she does have the tiara, wand and a Cinderella ball gown to go with. Wish the scan was better: it doesn't show off the sparkly opalescent ribbon (used on the tiara, wand and around the name plaque) well at all.Many thanks to Dawn for having your stash clear out and giving me the chance to get my hands on this kit. :0)
The hunt is on for a suitable frame.
Speaking of hunt...... the choccie spread bait worked well and the first mouse crossed over the Rainbow Bridge some time last night. Poor wee thing, all spragged legs and glassy eyes staring up at me - yes, I felt as guilty as sin when I saw it first thing this morning and even held a little funeral, returning it to Mother Earth, but I've since found more evidence of where it's been on its travels and am feeling a lot less guilty as the day goes on.
It found and raided DS's choccie stashes: the Chilli chocolate on the shelf in the understairs cupboard and his Cadbury's hoard in his bedroom, so no wonder the little beggar was so keen to be up there (mouse and DS) and the ungrateful little so-and-so (mouse) left his calling cards all over the place. Have you any idea how much poo one little mouse can generate..... especially after eating its own body weight in Chilli chocolate? I am now seeing mouse poo all over the place - even innocuous bits of fluff look like it and I shall probably be having nightmares about it tonight, after I'm done cleaning.
Being a Pagan I generally love all of the Mother's creations and try to avoid killing anything but you have to draw the line somewhere. It's bad enough they move in as non-paying lodgers but when they start free loading on the choccie (and that Chilli choc ain't cheap!), refuse to use the available toilet facilties (two loos, one up & one down, at that) try to share your bedroom (yeuk!) and leave me with a shed load of cleaning to do then the line has most definitely been crossed. Mice beware: the trap has been reset and is raring to go again.
On the positive side: the killer dust bunnies have been ousted from under the beds and that sort out I was going to have of the stuff on the shelf in the cupboard under the stairs but kept putting off 'cos it was too much like hard work.... has finally happened. The Universe works in mysterious ways sometimes ;0)
Friday, 28 September 2007
Thank You
I know I've already posted today but I had to post again to say a big thank you for all the greetings and kind comments about my stitching and cards, they are all very much appreciated.
Karen: glad to hear that Riley is OK and isn't letting anything get in the way of keeping Mummy busy :0) No mouse ghosts yet but that choccie spread bait is mighty tempting, so just give it time >shudder< (and DH can definitely deal with the poor things afterwards). You can find the Stitch'n'Stash forum by clicking on the link at Jayne's Attic
Claire: don't worry about it - I know all about that safe place, as there's one like that here too. :0)
The Best Laid Plans....
of mice and men - seems the most apt title today. Why? Two reasons:
1) The plans for stitching didn't pan out. In fact, I didn't touch a needle at all yesterday but it wasn't a total crafting wash out. Here's what I got up to instead:
a New Home card for my new neighbours, the two Pete's, who are a great improvement on the miserable so and so we lived next to for the last 20 odd years:
a birthday card for my FIL, Ron, which should appeal to his sense of humour (and hopefully cheer him up) as he's got flu at the moment, Bless him:
a birthday card for my Uncle Tony, a retired Merchant ship Chief Engineer:
Hopefully that little lot has broken the cardmaking block I was in; :0)
and 2) The new neighbours have made great improvements since moving in, including turning the big eyesore of a barn in the back garden into a good, water-tight workshop. Nice but unfortunately they evicted their mouse population when they did that and now the little beggars seem to have taken a fancy to my nice warm house as their new abode - a fact I realised around 2 and 3 a.m this morning when I heard one of them scrabbling round behind the bedside cabinet and the back of the bed, nearly giving me a heart attack 'cos I thought it might have been a ghost. Yeuk - that's me off on a cleaning frenzy again!!!
Luckily I remembered a spell in a back issue of "Fate & Fortune" magazine, that my DSis gave me, that's supposed to be good for clearing out mice permanently (and ants, fleas and bats apparently) but I've got to wait until the next full moon to try it out - lousy timing once again.
DH, on the other hand, is on a vendetta and prefers the more practical solution : he's hunted out some traps to put down and isn't bothered that killing critters messes with your Karma. I think it might also have something to do with being rudely woken up by a jab in the ribs and me hissing "What's that noise? Did you hear that? Oooo, is it a ghost?" in the best Yvette Fielding tradition.
On the bright side: at least I know the house wasn't being haunted.
Note to self: I really must stop watching Most Haunted when I'm in on my own. :0)
1) The plans for stitching didn't pan out. In fact, I didn't touch a needle at all yesterday but it wasn't a total crafting wash out. Here's what I got up to instead:
a New Home card for my new neighbours, the two Pete's, who are a great improvement on the miserable so and so we lived next to for the last 20 odd years:
a birthday card for my FIL, Ron, which should appeal to his sense of humour (and hopefully cheer him up) as he's got flu at the moment, Bless him:
a birthday card for my Uncle Tony, a retired Merchant ship Chief Engineer:
Hopefully that little lot has broken the cardmaking block I was in; :0)and 2) The new neighbours have made great improvements since moving in, including turning the big eyesore of a barn in the back garden into a good, water-tight workshop. Nice but unfortunately they evicted their mouse population when they did that and now the little beggars seem to have taken a fancy to my nice warm house as their new abode - a fact I realised around 2 and 3 a.m this morning when I heard one of them scrabbling round behind the bedside cabinet and the back of the bed, nearly giving me a heart attack 'cos I thought it might have been a ghost. Yeuk - that's me off on a cleaning frenzy again!!!
Luckily I remembered a spell in a back issue of "Fate & Fortune" magazine, that my DSis gave me, that's supposed to be good for clearing out mice permanently (and ants, fleas and bats apparently) but I've got to wait until the next full moon to try it out - lousy timing once again.
DH, on the other hand, is on a vendetta and prefers the more practical solution : he's hunted out some traps to put down and isn't bothered that killing critters messes with your Karma. I think it might also have something to do with being rudely woken up by a jab in the ribs and me hissing "What's that noise? Did you hear that? Oooo, is it a ghost?" in the best Yvette Fielding tradition.
On the bright side: at least I know the house wasn't being haunted.
Note to self: I really must stop watching Most Haunted when I'm in on my own. :0)
Thursday, 27 September 2007
UFO Night Update
Tuesday nights are UFO nights on the Stitch'n'Stash Forum, encouraged by Julie and the scary Mr Stick. My designated project is Egyptian Tablet by DMC and this week I was really keen, so Tuesday UFO night turned into Wednesday UFO night and a reasonable amount was achieved.
Before:
After:
I even stitched a little of the hair band. I love all things Egyptian and I started this piece very enthusiastically but that soon disappeared when I started on the hair/wig areas - it may look effective when completed but it's an absolute pig to stitch, believe me!
Todays weather is windy and cold with showery rain so not a day for being outside, which is a shame, as I'd planned to trim the buddleia bush in the front garden. If it holds off for long enough I shall pop out and fill up the bird feeders out the back so I can watch the birds for a while. That's more fun than it sounds: the young starlings are like a bunch of quarrelsome football hooligans when they start, quite happy to stick the beak in each other whenever they can; the sparrows are like persistent ram raiders, a mob of them all flying in and grabbing as much as they can before flying off and returning again within minutes for another go; Poppa blackbird is more careful and elegant, carefully sizing up the area and who else is about before hopping forward for the ground seed; the ring neck doves are like housewives at the supermarket, queuing up (more or less patiently) along the workshop roof waiting for their turn; the other pigeons are the bully boys, always greedy and taking more than their fair share and seeing off other birds that dare to stray into "their" territory. There's a robin redbreast and a pair of blue tits that put in an occasional appearance but I'm lucky if I see them, as they only appear when the other birds aren't around and that's not often. You can learn a lot about behaviour just by watching birds.
Well, as it's cold and I can't do the gardening I shall have to think of something else to do....... how about a bit of stitching? :0) I have the couched border on "The Princess" to do to complete that piece, or there's my HAED Mother Earth that I haven't touched in a while >blushing in shame or I could make a new start. Decisions, decisions!
Wednesday, 26 September 2007
Today's Stash
Well I couldn't figure out how to edit a post to add a pic so I'm adding it here instead. Unfortunately it's only a scan but at least you'll get to see my new stash.
Blogland Here I Come......
After enjoying browsing many Blogs on a regular basis I've decided it's about time I made an attempt at blogging myself.
By the title it should be fairly obvious that this will mainly be about my craftwork: specifically cross stitch, hardanger & blackwork but I also make cards & do the occasional piece of canvaswork (very occasionally). I love my crafts & will look forward to sharing with you.
Today has been a good day: I've been accepted as a member of the Yahoo! Long Dog Sampler group, as I intend to start stitching Rosemarkie soon. Thank you to Ina for pointing me in the right direction & to Marc & Tim for allowing me to join. :0) I've already browsed the pics on there of members completed Rosemarkie pieces - stunning!
I've also received some stash post from Jayne's Attic: the Cat's Whiskers/Dinky Dyes Happy Holidays chart & thread pack. I like both designs but the Celtic Tree Ornament is so me.... & the DD silk threads are gorgeous, so touchy-feely. Bliss!
Will post pics once I've figured it out..... it may be a long wait as I am seriously technically challenged at times. Still, it keeps me quiet & out of trouble. ;0)
By the title it should be fairly obvious that this will mainly be about my craftwork: specifically cross stitch, hardanger & blackwork but I also make cards & do the occasional piece of canvaswork (very occasionally). I love my crafts & will look forward to sharing with you.
Today has been a good day: I've been accepted as a member of the Yahoo! Long Dog Sampler group, as I intend to start stitching Rosemarkie soon. Thank you to Ina for pointing me in the right direction & to Marc & Tim for allowing me to join. :0) I've already browsed the pics on there of members completed Rosemarkie pieces - stunning!
I've also received some stash post from Jayne's Attic: the Cat's Whiskers/Dinky Dyes Happy Holidays chart & thread pack. I like both designs but the Celtic Tree Ornament is so me.... & the DD silk threads are gorgeous, so touchy-feely. Bliss!
Will post pics once I've figured it out..... it may be a long wait as I am seriously technically challenged at times. Still, it keeps me quiet & out of trouble. ;0)
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