Last Tusal of the year.

Here is my final TUSAL of the year along with my final piece of stitching for 2011. It is a little pillow ornament for my tree and I tried cutting the threads between the kloster blocks again and did a much better job this time (I think)

We have family arriving today and staying throughout the festive period so I am going to be a busy bee. I love having a houseful and folk know they are always welcome here.
All that is left for me to do is say thankyou for spending 2011 with me and I wish you and your famillies and friends the most wonderful Christmas holiday. May it be peaceful, healthy and happy!!
Bye for now, Midge xx

Bent Creek Snapper Year finished.

I have completed the last part of this

I can't decide how to finish this. I'm not really wanting to frame it so if you have any ideas please let me know.
All the Christmas preparations are just about complete here. All that remains to be done is the fresh food, a bit of wrapping and putting up the tree (which we are doing on Sunday)
Thanks for reading my blog today,
Bye for now.

Advent Calendar - all ready to go!

I completed it in time for the 1st December and here it is all filled with yummy's for the children to have.

I plaited some embroidery floss for the hanger and used a lenth of dowel for the horizontal bar. I hope you like it.
There were shrieks of delight this morning when the children saw it and they are already saying "I can't wait untill after tea and then we can get our goodies out."
Thanks for dropping by and reading my blog today.
Midge x

Tusal - 25th November.

Here is this month's update.

The jar is almost full and the Tusal year is almost up.
Bye for now.

Do you want to join in with next year's TUSAL?

If you do then head on over to Daffycat's page where you can sign up.
It's a bit of fun and has been a bit of motivation for me to increase the number of ORT's before the posting day.
Hope you will join us.
Bye for now.

November's Snap

Here is November's Snap all finished.
Only one to go now.

The Advent calendar is coming along nicely and I have been and bought some backing fabric and wadding to complete it. Hopefully, my next blog post will be of the finished article.
Bye for now.

Castles is framed - AT LAST!

After weeks and weeks I have been to the framers.
Here is how my Castles In The Air looks now.

I am absolutely thrilled with how it has been done and can't wait for Mr Midge to come home and hang it on the wall.
Bye for now.

Slow progress

Hi folks, it is ages since I have stitched - or seems it - but as November is well and truly here I decided that I should make a start on this month's Snap.
Here is a work in progress shot.

Lovely colours to work with is this month.
The framer called yesterday to say that my Castles in the Air is ready to collect. I can't wait to see it.
Once I complete November's Snap I really need to crack on with the Advent Calendar. Not too much to do but I really want it complete for 1st Dec.
I'll take a photo when I get home from the framer.
Bye for now.

Alex's Birthday Cake.

Today is my son's 8th birthday. He asked me to bake him a cake for his birthday as he doesn't like the fondant icing on the kind of cakes that are aimed at children in the shops.
Anyway, we picked out this cake from Ruth's blogThe pink whisk - caramel cake and here is my version.

It's a bit messier than Ruths because I think I made the icing too thin but when I put it on a plate this evening it will be fine.
I used a flake on top instead of Dime bars as I couldn't get them in my local supermarket.
Have a look at The pink whisk blog because it has loads of fabulous recipies for people who like to bake - not chefs. She makes it easy with step-by-step photo's and  everything I have tried turns out deliciously scrummy.
He has picked his favourite tea tonight - Macaroni cheese with bacon so I guess I'd better crack on with that now before I collect him from school and then it will only need a quick bake in the oven.
Bye for now.

Tree of Stitches.

After joining up to the Stitch Specialists I thought I had better get a wriggle on with this. I am working on 32ct turquoise Zwiegart evenweave with DMC thread (310) I have completed the first 3 parts of this. I love the different speciality stitches and really missed them since Castles in the Air has been finished. Eyelets are next!

Bye for now.

October TUSAL and two UFO's!

Hi everyone. It's Tusal time and here is the update this month.

I have had to tamp it down so that the whole years worth will fit in.

I have also had a good old tidy out of my craft store and I found these two UFO's. The first is a Latch hook rug I started for my daughter a long time ago. I asked her if she still wanted me to complete it and she does as apparently "Eeyore is so cool" I am over the hump with it and will see how much I can get done before poor Eeyore falls out of favour with the 12 yr old fashionista.

The second find was a quilt panel Advent calendar. This was also bought ages ago but never even started so out comes the sewing machine and dressmaking shears and I begin. I've cut out the pockets and top stitched them I have pressed them into the final shape be it a single, two, three or five pocket strip. I have started to attach the pockets to the base fabric and it is fiddly but quite easy. I will have to go shopping for some wadding, backing fabric and bias tape but hopefully this will be done in time for Advent starting on Dec. 1st.

There are so many projects in my craft cupboard I haven't got on with and I know that I designated 2011 the year of the UFO but I think it may have to run on through 2012.
Bye for now and thanks for stopping by my blog today.

Pearl tissue case

Some of you may remember back in February I went to visit Polstitches shop in Wales. I bought this pattern whilst I was there and stitched it up. It has however, lain in my sewing box for ages waiting to be finished. Anyway, I bit the bullet and decided I should get on with it and here it is.

I am really pleased with it.

I hope to have some progress soon on my other projects.
Bye for now.

October's Snap

Sorry I haven't posted in a while but life just gets in the way sometimes.
I thought I'd better crack on with October's Snap and here it is.

I can't believe that there are only two more parts to go, this year has absolutely flown by.
Bye for now.

TUSAL - 27th Sept.

Here is this month's update.

I have started a new project as I am missing the speciality stitches in Castles In The Air. I have signed up to the Stitch Specialists and am doing the Tree of Stitches design.
I have nothing much to show yet apart from the trunk which is cross stitch but I will update you when I have done a couple more parts.
I have chosen to work the design on some hand dyed aquamarine 32 ct fabric with black floss.
Bye for now.

Kit review

I have done some more work on this kit although as it is in whites and cream it is difficult to see. I have now reached the 20 hour mark on it.
I am finding the Maderia thread absolutely lovely to work with. It is a thread I have never tried before but it is so soft, shiney and easy to work with that I can see myself using it again.

Bye for now.

Kit review

I have done some more on the kit from Yiota. 15 hours approx.

You can see the peacock coming to life. The top left corner has quite large blocks of one colour but the rest of it has quite a lot of confetti. It does make it very detailed though and I quite enjoy it.

We have had two very windy days here - gale force and it has blown a load of leaves off the trees already so I don't think Autumn is going to be very colourful this year. I'm off to sweep up the debris in the garden and see if I can harvest any of the sweetcorn (which blew down) for tea.
Bye for now.

A giveaway

Over at Between the Stitches there is a giveaway. Gorgeous floss and a coffee design to stitch if you want to know more head on over to between the stitches and take a look.
No stitching at all for me this weekend. I may get a little in later today - hopefully.
Bye for now.

September's Snap

Well I did get my afternoon stitching and here is the result of it.

Only 3 months to go now to the end of it and the year - Blimey!

My tomatoes are all ripening in the greenhouse and taste scrumptious. I have a glut of cucumbers and courgettes.
We have a busy weekend coming up so I'll not be blogging again untill next week.
Bye for now.

Kit review update.

I have made a start on this. I have worked on it for approx 5 hours and I can just see the peacock's body starting to appear. The trees and pheasants are fairly dense in confetti - especially the greys.
Anyway, here is a pic.

The first of my brood went back to school today and already the house is quiet. Thursday is the first day I will be on my own again and I intend to treat myself to a whole afternoon stitching.
Bye for now.

August Snap and a Pulled Thread Needlecase.

Here is August's Snap.

I love doing each part of this. The colours are much better in real life.

I have also had a go at some pulled thread work. It was a cover kit on a magazine many years ago. It is designed by Jane Greenoff and was on a copy of her own magazine - sadly it is not available anymore but it was one of the best mags ever published.
Here is the needlecase.

The flowers are worked in cross stitch, the edge is done in hemstitch and there is a pulled thread panel on it. My heart was in my mouth when I cut the threads but it didn't all unravel and it was suprisingly easy to weave the cut threads back into the fabric. I would love to try something like this again one day.
I have done a few hours work on Yiota's kit now and will post a pic soon for you.
Hope you enjoy your weekend.
Bye for now.

p.s. Thanks for all the lovely comments, it is so good to read them.

New Month - New Challenge

You may remember in my last post that I told you I was doing a test stitch/review for my pal Yiota who makes and sells her own cross stitch kits well here is the kit she sent me.

As you can see, it has my favorite subjects in it - PEACOCKS. I am so looking forwards to starting it and will be getting on with it tonight.
The kit is great. It has some lovely soft Aida in it that isn't at all scratchy (like so many kits) and all the thread is pre-wound onto bobbins so all the preparation has been done. It even includes a needle.

The chart is easy on the eye and big enough that the symbols are clear and different from each other so there shouldn't be any confusion about which colour should be where.
I'll let you know how I get on and if I encounter anything I wasn't anticipating.

Whilst I have been away with a busted computer, I have been cracking on with a needlecase by Jane Greenoff that has some pulled thread work and hemstitch on it. I have completed Augusts Bent Creek Snap and have made a small amount of progress on the blackwork peacock. I will endevour to show you pics of these next time.
Bye for now.

Camera software sorted - a TUSAL pic at last

So finally, clever Mr Midge sorted me out and I can post pics again. Thanks go to Gina who tried very hard to educate a Numpty in computer know-how but I still was useless and unable to do it.

Anyway, drumroll please...................................................................................

I'll be back tomorrow to let you know about something new that I am doing. I am going to review a kit for my forum pal Yiota. Who has a great website here

Check it out, she has all manner of things including cross stitch kits

Bye for now.

Tusal - 29th Aug

I have loads of lovely ort's to show you but as you know my computer died whilst we were away on holiday and I had to buy a new one. The new computer is great but I am having so much trouble loading the camera software on and so I can't post a piccy at the moment - so sorry - I will as soon as I can get it sorted out. My Hubby is going to take a look at it later.
Bye for now.

Hi! I'm home......

Hi all, I'm back from my hols in Cape Verde and it did not disappoint in any way.So beautiful, relaxing, sunny and tropical it was pure bliss.
We got home on Wednesday and when I turned on the computer it was dead - the hard drive has blown and it is terminal so at the moment all I have is stolen moments on my daughters notebook. We have lost all the info/files etc on the old one and the camera software as well so it may be a while before I can download pics for you. When we get another we can reload it on so all is not lost permanently.
I hope you are all ok and that you have been busy crafting whilst I've been gone. I haven't picked up a needle since my last post but I am itching to get going I just need to get through the mountain of washing and ironing first.
Bye for now.

Holidays start here.

It's early morning here and the day of my long-awaited trip to Cape Verde. All the packing is done and in a few minutes we will be loading up the car and driving to the airport. A 7 hour flight and we will be there - YIPEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!
I'll let you know all about it when we return home.
Bye for now.

July TUSAL

Here is my July TUSAL update.

I'm afraid it is a bit too dark for you to see what is in the jar but I have added to it again this month.
Tomorrow (1st August) is Yorkshire Day and all of us "Yorkies" will be sporting a white rose and generally being proud of where we live.
Bye for now.

Stylish peacock update.

Whilst laid up, I have been working on this.

As you can see, I have done quite a bit.
I also finished the jumper I was knitting and it just needs pressing and sewing together so that is on the list of things to do.
Now I can stand, walk and drive again, the list of "need to do" is massive and what with all the gardening and packing etc it seems like I won't ever get to the bottom of the list. Must get on but thanks for dropping by.
Bye for now.

Bent Creek Snapper Year - July

I have now completed the July Snap.

I love how this is coming together and doing it month by month is really keeping me focused.
I'm going to go back to my knitting now and see if I can finish the jumper in time for our camping trip at the end of August.
My children break up today for the long summer holidays and tomorrow evening they are having a friend each to sleepover (or should I say stay-a-wake-over!)
Two weeks today we will be winging our way to Cape Verde and boy oh boy do I need a break.
Yesterday, I had to have a mole removed from my leg because it had become crusty and sore and the Dr advised it's removal. I have to keep my leg elevated for 48 hrs and so I'm watching rubbish on TV and stitching - quite a treat really. The histology will be back in a week and the sutures are coming out the day before we fly. Keep your fingers crossed that all is well for me please. I am sure it will be as was the Dr but as she said, sometimes these things are better gone and then there is no worry left.
Bye for now.

Finally, my Castles in the Air is complete.

After almost 2 and 1/2 years, I have completed my Castles in the Air project.
I have learned so many new stitches with this project and really enjoyed doing each part.
Here is a close-up of the castle

Here is the completed project.

Back to Bent Creek now and I hope to be able to update you soon.
Bye for now.

More of Castles in the Air

There is still quite a large chunk to complete but I have now completed the bottom border under the blackwork gate.
I am going to start the top border this evening and then the final piece, the castle.
I also have slipped behind with my Bent Creek Snapper Year and really want to complete July before August comes around. I need at least 30 hours in every day!
Bye for now.

My mojo is back!!

And I have started the final part of my Castles project. I tackled the dragonflies and flower bit first as I knew it would stitch up quite quickly and give me that feelgood feeling.

Now it is on to the top border and the castle. I am going to leave the castle until last and then I will truly be able to say that I have been building my castle in the air.
Thanks for stopping by.

July TUSAL

Here is my TUSAL pot for the 1st July.
Not much more is in it but there is some bling from the final part of castles in the Air.

Side-tracked - again.

Goodness, I haven't posted for over a week! I'm afraid I have been side-tracked with gardens, childrens activities and life in general.
You remember that I was going to have 4 hours to myself and intended to stitch the time away? Well, I had a visitor call and that was the end of that. Lovely to see them and catch up but my poor stitching hasn't got any further. When my friend called, she brought me a large pack of chunky wool that she had picked up at a car boot sale. She didn't want it, not her colour and she doesn't knit, and thought I would like to knit myself something for the winter. How lovely of her, she really is a kind and generous friend. Well anyway, I spent the next evening going through some knitting patterns to see if I had anything that I could do and Hey Presto I found a V-neck jumper that would work out great. I started straight away and because it is done on 15mm needles and is in chunky wool the back is done, the front is done and I have the sleeves to do next - still no stitching though!
An e-mail from Papillon creations revealed the final part of castles in the Air was ready to stitch up so I sorted out the threads for this but got no further.
I am hoping for a productive weekend but as I know better than to plan I shall just go along with whatever comes our way.
Enjoy your weekend and bye for now.

Stylish Peacock Update

Here is an update on this.

It is taking me ages to do the blackwork but I do enjoy it.
I have completed over half of the design now. I'm hoping to progress quite a bit with this over the weekend as both children are out at activities on Saturday and I shall have 4 hours all to myself. I wonder what I'll be doing?????
Bye for now..

Holiday's on the horizon.

Hi everyone, I thought I'd put finger to keyboard and give you a bit of an update. When I tried to take some pics, I realised the camera was out of battery so no pretty pictures for you to look at just now.
The Stylish peacocks are coming along great but it is quite time consuming working all the swirls and the blackwork patterns grow so slowly. Anyway, progress is progress and I will pop up a pic as soon as I can find the charger for these batteries.
The garden is blooming. We have eaten our first broad beans and peas and also turnip (not really ready but I was thinning out the row - I had already left it too long/late really - and I decided to cook up the "thinnings" They were golf ball sized and I roasted them off with the meat on Sunday - absolutley scrummy. The bonus is that the others can now grow on and turn into real size turnips. The greenhouse id burgeoning with plants. The cucumbers are slow to get going but the bell peppers and tomatoes already have fruit on them and the chillies have flowers.
On a bit of a countdown now because 7 weeks today we are going off on our family holiday. I know there is still loads of time but we booked this trip so far in advance - over a year ago - and now it feels like we are nearly there. We are going to Cape Verde and here is the beach.

Around the time we go the turtles will be laying/ hatching their eggs (can't remember which) and part of the beach may be cordonded off but you can watch them in the evening mking their way to and from the ocean.
If you can't tell I am very excited.
Have any of you already been?

I have notioced a huge uplift in the number of folk visiting my blog over the last week or so. You are most welcome.
Bye for now.

More corners!

I have now completed the other two corners in part 22 of Castles in the Air.

 Here is the overview.

Only one more part to go now and I can't wait to see how it turns out.
Bye for now.

Bent Creek Snapper update

Here is my June Snap.

This part had quite a lot more stitching in it as the suitcase is completely stitched.
Hope you like it.
More soon on my stylish peacocks, castles in the air and my veggie plot.
Bye for now.

TUSAL - 1st June

Here is my June Tusal.

You might be able to see the bronze metallic ORT's that are from my castles in the air project.
Bye for now.

Corners

I can't believe how quickly time is flying by (or how long it is since my last post) but here is a bit of progress on my Castles project.
This is the penultimate part of the chart and it is to work a design in all four of the corners. Each one is slightly different.

I have only completed two so far. I will be working the others when I get back from a visit to friends in Essex this weekend.
The drive down to Essex will take us around 3 hours but as I am sure I have said before I can't stitch in the car so I have a new book to read and I am quite excited.
I am not taking any stitching with me at all so I hope when I get back I am raring to go with my UFO projects.
I hope you enjoy your long weekend.

A finish!

Do you remember the cutwork mat I was doing in my sewing class? Well here is the finished article along with a canvas work scissor fob that I did on 18ct interlock canvas with perle thread.

The mat needs a good press but I have to say I am really pleased with how it turned out.
Our class ends next week untill September so I won't have much to show you that is "new" just progress on the other projects.
I have stitched some more of the blackwork peacocks and hope to be able to update you soon.
Bye for now.

Tales from the potting shed

It's been a busy week here at home. Loads to do in the garden and no time to do it!!
Anyway, this is what has been keeping me (us) busy over the weekend.

Steve and I put a water feature in. He did the electrical work and I did the grafting. It is granite plinths on a pebble puddle and it trickles merrily away all day long now. The sound it makes is heavenly.

I promised other pics too so here they are.

Here you can see potatoes and broad beans.

Here is the salad cress and peas growing up the trellis and in the foreground some cavelo nero - a dark, rich, leafy vegetable that is gorgeous steamed and splashed with balsamic vinegar.

Savoy cabbage just starting to heart up.

Finally, some carrots that are just coming up. They need thining in the next day or so.


My stitchy bug has left home at the moment so I have nothing to show you I'm afraid. I do have an urge to start something new but as I promised myself I wouldn't untill something was complete then I will have to restrain myself.

Well, back into the greenhouse. I have tomatoes to pot on and cucumbers to plant into the beds in the greenhouse.
Bye for now.

Bent Creek Snapper Year - May

Here is the May snap.

I love how quickly this comes together, it is all in cross stitch and a couple of evenings can see each segment complete.
I'm going to get some more of the blackwork peacocks done, it would be nice to have at least one finish during my self-imposed UFO year.

My garden is blooming, I have flowers on the broad beans, the peas are climbing the trellis, we have had so much broccolli that even I am starting to get fed up of it and I have 3lbs of rhubarb in the freezer. The tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers and courgettes are almost ready to be planted into their final growing positions (be that in the greenhouse or bed) and the salad leaves, radish and spring onions are only a few days away from being ready to eat.
We have some very cheeky pidgeons that won't leave my cabbages alone and what with them and the cabbage white butterfly, I am not sure any of the Midge's will be eating cabbage this year - I guess I should expect at least one disaster crop. Photo's of the veggie plot soon!
Bye for now.

Needle case in Canvaswork.

I have never had a needle case before, I have always kept my needles on a magnet in the lid of a tin box. In my class we could make a needle case or scissor keep (I don't have one of those either)
The work is done on 14ct interlock canas with perle thread and finished with a piece of quilting fabic and felt.

I hope you like it as much as I do.
Bye for now.