What a week! And it's only Wednesday!

Our planned house move won't be happening this weekend. There is yet another problem with our seller's purchase clogging up the whole process. Seems this time though rather than the vendor being at fault its actually the mortgager. So frustrating!

Still it gives me a little more packing time I guess,. Every cloud and all that.

Not done a stitch yet. I started this:

But I have not stitched for a few nights. She is called Twilight Magic, a HAED, and was featured across 2 issues of World of Cross Stitching magazine here in the UK.

I am giving Avarice a break for a while. I don't want to get bored with her so I figure if I do a bit of this one then I will be ok.

Right, back to the packing!

xx

Tired today...

We have been busy working on packing for our new home. My husband is such a magpie! We have thrown away so much stuff, its just not true. He likes to gather. He won't be at the new home tho!
Mind you, having said that, I am a gatherer of craft stuff. My stash is e nor mous!! If you notice I have added a for sale tab and I will be putting a few bits on there in the new year. I have many, many magazines, and some kits that I can easily part with and not miss.
Jon is home now until we move. I am quite glad really as I have had a small crisis with boxes and cannot seem to source any. Its a good job I saved some and had a fair stash. The clearout is keeping me busy!
Anyway, its 11pm and I am going to bed in a mo. Ready to start the last week of our occupancy here, Its so exciting to be finally moving to a bigger, better home. It can only benefit me and my family.

Stitchy update soon xx

IHSW and news!

Well this IHSW I didn't get to do all that much for one reason or another. I am going to make you wait for the pics though until I get out my thoughts.

On Friday I got the call I have been waiting 14 weeks for. Our new family home will be properly ours either later this week or early  next week so we have set a moving date!

We will begin our new life on 3rd December. I will be offline for 12 days until things get sorted with internet access etc. I have my phone, so I may be able to post text but not pics as bizarrely when my phone posts to Blogger it rotates my pictures.

So I probably won't do much... if any.. stitching til around Christmas or maybe even after!

This weekend I barely sat down. I caught myself going backwards! Saturday I went to arrange transfer of our Mortgage deposit and I ordered some of the furniture I want for our house. Of course I was doing this with 3 children in tow so it was not the easiest of situations but I managed. Saturday evening I did some stitching.

On Sunday my girls actually for the first time ever all slept in until 8 am. It was a bit of a shock to my system as I have been used to 6 am starts for many a year now. It was rather nice lying in bed waiting to hear the sound of feet crossing the hall.

Sunday evening we (me, my 2 biggest girls, and my stepfather) went to the Ice Hockey. Our local team is the Sheffield Steelers and the match was full of drama! After scuffles and fights, flying pucks and a few goals we were treated to an extra time win over the Nottingham Panthers from the Steelers. made a rather nice round off to the weekend. I love my Ice Hockey and I am very lucky that I am actually a friend of the owner of the Sheffield Steelers and I get either free or discounted tickets dependent on the match.

I ended the weekend really feeling quite happy and content for the first time in a long time. I woke up this morning knowing I could put things into motion for our move and I have a warm feeling.

And so to Avarice. As I say, I didn't do an awful lot on her. I completed the page midweek so I guess really I probably got all stitched out doing that but anyway. Here's a before and after pic.

My thumb int he bottom pic for good measure!

Until the next update...

Ooh by the way... if you look at the top of my page I am going to do a repair tutorial soon. I helped someone as after they frogged a HAED they managed to break a couple of threads so I thought it would make a good tutorial.. how to mend rather than restart!!

xx

TUSAL anyone??

The lovely DaffyCat has opened the TUSAL for 2012. Details are on her blog and the rules!

The TUSAL is a fun thing., I haven't joined one this year but I have followed lots of them. I have signed up for next year though! Its quite interesting to see the posts.

Getting ready for IHSW although I will be a stitchy session down - Ice Hockey calls on Sunday afternoon. I will just have to make my needle fly on Friday evening and Saturday.

The magazine Victoria is in will be published sometime in the new year so we are eagerly anticipating that, and of course I will blog it for her.

 Well today I am off to the supermarket as its real Mother Hubbard stuff here. Goodness knows what I would do without my Stepdad to take me. Our weekly ritual of shopping is now less painful as he takes the strain and drives us there.

Right, must stop procrastinating and get on!

xx

A page finish and lovely news!

Finally finished page 3 of Avarice last night. In the absence of a move stitching is keeping me sane.
Here she is in all her glory and a close up of the finished face for good measure too.

In other news.... the house move we are still waiting for. Its getting a bit silly now.

And I am living with a media star!!

I answered a request for Cross Stitch Crazy magazine for their Crazy Kids feature and my Victoria is going to be featured in issue 160!!

I had a pic of her stitching from when she just started aged 5 and I sent it in, well it caught Lucy's eye and she emailed me to ask for confirmation that she can use the pic! Victoria was so delighted yesterday. She is now watching the letterbox too as there is a prize promised... probably stitchy goodies which will delight her no end I am sure.

Its IHSW this weekend, if you are not sure what it is then look at the lovely Joysze's blog, all will be explained there. Put your name in the list, pick up your needle and get stuck in!

xx

Could not wait to post this!!

Avarice has a face! Well, the top half LOL

Her eyes just sort of... appeared. I was stitching away and I could see features forming but then I put down my needle and looked and there they were.. and her nose too. I am working on the jeweled hair decoration on the side of her head. hoping to have this page finished in a couple of days.

I managed to tweak the camera settings on my phone so its a bit of a raw image, but it means you can see the confetti stitches properly and just how many colours have made up the gems. I have been constantly surprised by the palette. You would think that it is all browns and golds but there are a fair few purples and plums and amethyst shades as you can see from the left side of her face. It also looks wonky because I had to de frame the piece and use an 8" hoop instead.

xx

My Biscornu arrived!

My Autumn themed Biscornu that I made has arrived with its recipient so I can now share it with you all.

I chose not to do the usual Biscornu with a repeating pattern and I used Keats poem To Autumn as inspiration.

Hope you like it.

Here is the original poem: (courtesy Wikipedia )

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness

Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun

Conspiring with him how to load and bless

With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eaves run;

To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,

And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;

To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells

With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,

And still more, later flowers for the bees,

Until they think warm days will never cease,

For Summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells.

Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store?

Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find

Thee sitting careless on a granary floor,

Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind;

Or on a half-reap'd furrow sound asleep,

Drows'd with the fume of poppies, while thy hook

Spares the next swath and all its twined flowers:

And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep

Steady thy laden head across a brook;

Or by a cider-press, with patient look,

Thou watchest the last oozings hours by hours.

Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they?

Think not of them, thou hast thy music too,-

While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day,

And touch the stubble-plains with rosy hue;

Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn

Among the river sallows, borne aloft

Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies;

And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn;

Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft

The red-breast whistles from a garden-croft;

And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.

 

xx

Weekend progress

I managed to spend a fair bit of time on Avarice this weekend. This page is about halfway through. Dosen't look like it but there's a fair bit of confetti stitching. The dark part is not just black - its several shades of black and dark brown.

So, I  kept my promise - I did some!!

xx

A Busy Week! And not a STITCH!!

I have been super busy this week. Hallowe'en Monday, one child in school, 2 at  home for Monday and Tuesday then hubs was home from work,
I really did make it crack though when he was home - Wednesday we were off to the supermarket and getting gifts for a 1st birthday and a 21st birthday. We took the kids out for tea later.
Thursday I met my lovely sis and had a cuppa with her and a school friend before coming home and cracking on clearing out our garden with hubby and a couple of friends.

I actually don't feel as though my feet have touched the floor all week.

I haven't done a stitch. Inbetween filling our skip, caring for the children and doing the jobs I have done I am so tired I have been sleeping at every opportunity.

I really want to stitch this weekend so I am going to. No ice hockey fixture so I am getting on with Avarice :-))

xx