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Monday, 30 June 2008
Six month blogiversary draw


Today is my six month blogiversary and I do not know where those six months have gone to! I would like to thank everyone that takes time to visit me and leave such lovely comments and what better way to show my appreciation than to have a draw. Up for the prize is the Quaker Biscornu (shown above), together with a little goodie package. This is the biscornu that I stitched for May's Monthly Finishing Challenge (for those that haven't seen it before go here). You have 7 days in which to leave a comment to say you would like to be entered in the draw (on this post only) and I will make the draw on Monday, July 7. So, don't be shy, leave a comment - you have to be in it to win it!

I have no new stitching pictures to show today although I have been stitching a little.

I have already lost 5lbs on my healthy eating plan - slightly more than my planned slow loss of lb per week.  Yippee!

Eggling is doing really well as he has 14 flowers out, with more buds to open. Do want another photo or are you bored of him now? He really wants re-potting but I need to buy one as the ones I have are either much too large or too small. My strawberry pot is wonderful now and has some rather large green strawberries. I can't wait til they turn red - yummy!

Thanks for visiting
Take care 

Edited: This draw is open to anyone who leaves a comment, including new visitors. Just leave a comment and you are in!

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Sunday, 22 June 2008
The eggling has flowered!


The eggling flower has landed! Yesterday morning it was a tight red bud and later, in the afternoon, this beautiful flower emerged. There are other buds around the flower and on other parts of the plant. I am sorry about the poor picture but it's dull here today and really hard to get a good photo so I will try and remedy this when, or if, the sun comes out. I think it now needs re-potting into a much larger pot so I will do that in the next couple of days. I couldn't find a stick so I used a chop-stick instead! 

On the stitching front, I have been really busy finishing. HOE LHN exchange has been mailed off to it's new owner so I really hope that she likes it. I also finished my Christmas in July ornament and Quaker Animal exchanges and will get them mailed off sometime this week. I even finished the HOE Summer Quaker which is not due for mailing until August - how early am I with this one? I have also stitched and finished two birthday gifts for friends. All of this I cannot show yet, not even the birthday gifts as I know that both recipients read my blog but suffice it to say I am pleased with how all these projects have turned out. I have also stitched a tin topper for the Monthly Finishing Challenge and only need to put on my initials and the year before I finish this off. It's another black and white theme which, as you all know, I love but I will say nothing more until it's completed and ready to show. 

And, hopefully, I will also have something new to show in the next couple of days. I stitched this project in a SAL with a friend at the end of last year and we were going to get together for the finishing but, six months on, and it's still prepared and ready to finish so I have to decided to go ahead and finish mine now.

No more progress on Hannah Beeby as yet.

Thanks for visiting
Take care

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Friday, 13 June 2008
HOE freebie chart exchange





Today, the mailman delivered the most wonderful package to me from Sharon M who lives in Oklahoma. Inside was the above (top picture), firstly a beautifully stitched and finished box and can you believe that it's Sharon's first attempt at a box?!! The wording on the top of the box  is 'scissors' in different languages. I can tell that Sharon has been a visitor to my blog by the black and white theme! Not only did Sharon stitch the lovely box top, she also added a matching fob with co-ordinating scissors. Also enclosed with the package was a bag of colourful ribbons, two skeins of DMC variagated threads, some needles, a thimble in it's own tiny velvet bag, two reels of black and white ribbons, a needle threader with a tiny tassel and a red bead, a piece of 32ct linen and  a piece of the black and white gingham too!  How spoiled am I? Thank you Sharon - you have made this exchange so memorable for me.

Today I was going to have a marathon finishing session as all my exchange pieces and gifts for friends are stitched but, after all the excitement in receiving this beautiful gift, I didn't get round to it so I am planning on doing this tomorrow. Tonight I am working on Ms Hannah.  

Still no flowers on the eggling. I think it's due to lack of sunshine as it's dull and gloomy here but the buds are fairly big so maybe it will bloom really soon.

Thanks for visiting
Take care

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Monday, 9 June 2008
Guess who has a new camera?

Sunset from the rear of our house

Look at that cute little face!

For ages I have been wanting a new camera and now I have one! It's a Canon EOS 400D and seems rather complicated to my Sony compact but, hopefully, I will soon learn how to use it properly. I am not a great photographer at the best of times, so I am looking for a local photography course to sign up for. 

I did no stitching at all yesterday. It was a beautiful day and I was reading in the garden. My current read is The Echelon Vendetta by David Stone - "a chilling suspenseful journey through the darkest alleys of international espionage" - at least that what it says on the back of the book! I got this, with others, from the local library. 

Today, again, the weather is lovely and now that I have finished my household chores, I am heading outside. I will finish the book and make a start on HOE Summer Quaker for - opps - nearly caught me out there!  

Many of you asked about my potato bags. I got them online - just google "patio potato bags" - there are quite a few on there but I cannot remember which company I used. You just plant the seedling potatoes and up they come! I planted each bag over three consecutive weeks so that they will be ready a week apart. I think that maybe I should have left a longer gap between planting but hey it's my first time and what do I know about gardening? The first bag is starting to flower and I think that, once they flower and the flowers die off, they are ready for eating. 

Still no flowers on the eggling but the buds are fairly big now so it shouldn't be too long. Am I boring you with my eggling? 

Thanks for visiting
Take care 

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Sunday, 1 June 2008
Some stitching, some frogs and a few buds!


Hurrah, at last, a few more stitches in Ms Hannah. I finished as far as the Z in both the first and second alphabets. I love this sampler and using one strand of silk, over two threads on 40ct fabric, makes it look so delicate.  The shade of green is not unlike the green that Donna chose for her QFRR. I am sorry for the poor photo but the light is terrible here today as it is dark, gloomy and raining.
 

And now for some frogs but not the stitching kind! While in the garden yesterday I noticed a movement at the root of the honeysuckle and, when I got closer, I could see three frogs (or maybe they are toads - what's the difference?). Can you see their tiny faces? They stared right back at me and were not at all concerned when I zoomed in with the camera. 

It was a beautiful sunny day yesterday so I spent most of the time in the garden. My potatoes are enormous and, hopefully, after the deluge of rain last week, my tomato plants have recovered. 

And, I think that my eggling is budding! I will wait a couple of days for it to flower and then post a picture. I am so eggcited.  

Thanks for visiting
Take care

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Wednesday, 7 May 2008
Stitching and the like


Thank you all for the kind comments on my last post. I think I have just about recovered but although I have been stitching I have no photos to show. After my disaster with my HOE freebie chart exchange I decided not to re-stitch the piece but to start something completely different but I had problems with the new piece too! I stitched part of a faggot stitch border and then filled in the inside but when I went back to finish the border I could not get it to line up! Arrgghh - I think my heart wasn't really in it - so I threw it to one side - took a fresh piece of fabric and started yet again but this time I finished the faggot stitch border first. Hurrah it lined up so I have now started to re-stitch the inside and, so far, everything is fine. I have been put off signing up for the next exchange for this and other reasons but, saying that, if I can finish this one without any further problems and then do the LHN exchange piece, I may sign up later.

We are having wonderful weather here in our little corner of the UK and I have been spending a lot of time in the garden. The potatoes that I planted in patio bags are coming up and my tomato plants are doing well too. These are first time projects for me so it's great to see them thrive. I do, of course, have to be careful because Tommy thinks that anything in the garden is either his breakfast, lunch or dinner! I love to sit in the garden and read and have just finished Jacquot and the Waterman by Martin O'Brien and A Darkness More Than Night by Michael Connelly - both really good books. Today I am going to make a  start on Hunter Killer by Patrick Robinson. When I left work one of the girls handed me a huge pile of books and I am now working my way through them.

As there are no stitching photos to show you I thought, for those of you watching my eggling, you would like an updated photo. OK it's not 2ft tall (yet) but it has grown some and I am keeping watch for any buds.

   
Thank you for visiting
Take care

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Wednesday, 16 April 2008
Quaker Friendship Round Robin


It's really strange to be back at work - it's as though I have never been away! It's a bit like when you return from a vacation - except there are so many people away. It's a small office with only 14 members of staff. Out of those 14 there are 2 on leave, 6 off sick and 1 on compassionate leave! So that leaves 5 and 2 of those are part-time employees. I just hope I don't catch whatever bug this is, else I will be phoning in sick too!

In the evenings I have been working on Wendy's Quaker Friendship Round Robin and I am nearly finished on my section. I had first choice on both colour and section to stitch and I chose DMC 158 which really is a pretty shade of blue that blends in well with the variagated thread that Wendy chose to work her section.  
Flox

Stitcher asked me "Do you know what's in the eggling, or is it a surprise?" It says on the box it's 'flox' so flox is what I am expecting but as the egglings come in lavender, petunia and basil, I suppose it could be anything! The above picture is from Firebox.com and is not an update on mine. 

Thanks for visiting
Take care

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Monday, 14 April 2008
Needleroll update




My needleroll for the Monthly Finishing Challenge is nearly finished. The stitching, including the hem-stitching, is done. I did frog out the double thread back-stitching and I think it looks a lot nicer. I would have finished it off but I had a visitor and time just ran away with me. I don't think I will get it done today though and maybe not til next weekend! I got a call from my friend from work who is the Office Manager (Liam's grandma) to see if I could help them out for the next couple of weeks. Someone has left, another is on holiday, another is having surgery and another has had a death in the family. Of course, I could not say no, and it will actually be quite nice to see everyone again. Although I love being retired and at home, I do miss everyone - so - my retirement actually lasted a whole 3 months. And it is only for two weeks!



And for those watching my eggling ... just look. Eggciting or what?

Thanks for visiting
Take care

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Friday, 11 April 2008
Needleroll start


I made a start on my needleroll for the Monthly Finishing Challenge. The pattern is called Plymouth Mass by Eventide Designs and I brought it in a great needlework shop called  The Sampler Needlework in Plymouth a few years ago, to stitch as a memento of my trip. The fabric is 32ct platinum linen and I am using the suggested DMC floss but I really wish I had stitched with one thread instead of the recommended two but I've gone too far to change now. I worked from the middle downwards and am now working my way up. 

  

And for those watching my eggling  - it's sprouted!

Thanks for visiting
Take care and have a great weekend

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Tuesday, 1 April 2008
Eggling update

I thought you might like a 'eggling update'. I cracked open the egg and have been watering it. It's sitting on my kitchen windowsill but doesn't seem to be doing much or am I just much too impatient? It's kind of cute and I am looking forward to at least a few green shoots so watch this space!

I was up early today and have finished all my chores so I am going to have a stitch day. I had planned on working in the garden as the grass really needs cutting but it's raining yet again. I know I really should have done it yesterday but I was busy and ran out of time although I did find half an hour to actually sit out there and catch a few rays of sun. Oh the sheer pleasure of holding my face up to the warm sun - maybe I should have been a flower? I thought it was a good sign that Summer was actually around the corner but today I am not so sure.

I am finishing up stitching some gifts and, hopefully, get around to putting them together later. The mail man has just been and still no sign of my silks for Hannah Beeby. Again, I think, I am being a little impatient but I really do want to make a start on this and also in the same package should be some fabric and floss for my re-start of the Merry Cox Diminutive Sewing Set. I have chosen 35ct optical white Brussels linen and Au Ver a Soie silk floss so I hope to also make a start on this shortly.

Right off to stitch!

Thank you for visiting
Take care


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Thursday, 20 March 2008
Easter egg?


Look what the postman brought me today. OK it's not stitching related or even made of chocolate but, it is an egg, and it did come for Easter.  It is actually a real egg, you crack it open with a spoon and add a few drops of water and, hopefully, a plant emerges and eventually flowers. I wonder how they got the compost and seeds inside? I will post updates but, as I am not very green-fingered, don't expect miracles! For anyone interested in these 'egglings' go to Firebox.com and search for 'eggling'. 

I am meeting friends for lunch today so my post is short and sweet and it would have been sweeter if that had been a chocolate egg.

Thanks for visiting
Take care

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