proud mummy

well first off I am going to show off my dd Neve's first trophy for her skating - she only skates at the weekend doing her Skate UK badges but really enjoys it and this was for first place in the bagdes 8,9 and 10 classes, she was so happy, it was really lovely to see..



I also received two lovely packages this week - one from Nicky for my F&S Christmas round - a lovely Lizzie Kate design which fingers crossed i will get made up into an ornie in time for this Christmas and secondly a lovely christmas tree filled with lots of sparkles from Janice from Friendly Stitchers for our Christmas ornament exchange - and this is already up on my tree. This is also my squares for Nicky for F&S

i've been managing to do a little more stitching on a couple of other pieces but between working two jobs and overtime, getting sorted for Christmas and trying not to go insane , stitching time has been missing somewhat - still got a few days off over the Christmas period so will catch up then hopefully.





thanks for all your comments, always much appreciated

one has arrived

Sent off a couple of exchanges what seems like ages ago, thankfully one of them has finally arrived - this was an exchange with Janice from Friendly Stitchers - i used a Sweetheart Tree design of a holiday fob, it turned out quite pretty..

Thanks for all the comments re finishing, so glad to know i'm not the only one out there who has a problem with it lol!

fingers crossed my F&S square will turn up soon. Now working back on my friend's baby sampler and a little Thomas the Tank engine which my wee boy has been asking me to do for ages - he was so impressed with his ornie that he now wants loads done! i will add WIP pictures soon..

hope everyone has a good weekend and aren't bankrupting themselves too much with christmas shopping.. bye for now

i don't like finishing

Oh i really don't like finishing things off, I am just no good at it and i get into a right kerfuffle - anyway managed to get a couple of Christmas ornies done for the kids - from M designs - i actually started these last year but ran out of time so quite pleased that i am actually organised this year

Also got my F&S square sent off for the Christmas round and my ornament exchange for Friendly Stitchers - so will show pictures once they arrive with their respective owners.

Also got my friend's picture framed and took it up to her the other week - she was really pleased with it and it is now on display in her living room.. looks pretty nice i think..

Right now back to my rotation stuff...

over-excited!

Well a few weeks ago i started entering lots of competitions, reckoned somebody's got to win them - anyway, it has come up trumps! I got an email a couple of weeks ago to say that we had won a family holiday to either Greece, Turkey or Morocco - i was a bit sceptical at first as you would be but then i realised i had actually entered this comp (it was through Lidl in associatio with Walkers crisps) and all the details matched up.

We decided on Turkey as we haven't been there before and everyone i spoke to said it was lovely - i've had a couple of emails since and we are just awaiting the booking confirmation to stay here - Arum Hotel -. We chose to go next summer in the school hols, so we are flying out 30th June from Glasgow for a week - I am so excited!!!!!

The kids had been asking if we were going anywhere but i had had to explain to them that we couldn't afford it for next summer, so this has just come at the right time - we've had a pretty crap year this year what with one thing and another so this couldn't have come at a better time - now i just need to win some spending money lol!!
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No stitchy pics to show at the moment - working on a couple of Christmas exchanges so they will have to wait till they have been received.. as it is the start of the month tomorrow i'll set some goals -

1. finish F&S christmas square and post
2. finish Friendly Stitchers exchange and post
3. start back on rotation - birth sampler, joe's stocking, Chatelaine St. Pete's

sunday stitching

okay i have been sorely neglecting my blog for a while but with good reason, as i have actually been stitching and here is the final result

and here it is framed - it's for one of the doctors at my work who got married recenlty, she was supposed to be getting married in the Cayman Islands but a bit of a hurricane put that idea out and she ended up getting married in Mexico - thought i would do this for her though as she is really sweet and always get's us pressies at xmas...with my stitching time being a bit on the short side just now, i've just concentrated on this. I've a couple of updates on the others i'm working on - baby sampler for my pal (whose baby i have still not met, i must get up to Glasgow soon..) and christmas stocking for ds Joe which is so not going to be done for this christmas lol!

I can't believe september has been and gone, i definitely feel like i slept walked through that month - it's suddenly autumn and the leaves are falling - yesterday it was blowing a gale, chucking it down with rain and freezing cold and today lovely and sunny and blue skies, out picking out leaves for the kid's school projects - a lovely day has been had by all ( and now off to watch Strictly Come Dancing )

time to embrace my inner geekiness

Okay it is time to make it official - i really am a geek! I have tried to deny it over the years but it just catches up with you eventually.. this has been revealed by the pleasure i have received by getting some new a-z index cards at work, and am happily sitting here updating all my files -i think it is time to go home and lie down in a darkened room. Now when it comes to be a neat freak with stitching stash, i feel that is a perfectly acceptable state of mind to be in but when it is work related i know i have turned a corner..

picked up this book last night at ASDA and started reading it last night - so far so good, it has hooked me enough that i will keep on with it tonight and completely ignore the family (as i see it though i am encouraging my children to read by showing them a good example lol). However i am itching to do some stitching and watch the last of Britain From Above that i sky+'d the other night so it may have to be squeezed in somewhere..

my baby sampler is coming on nicely - will post a progress piccie at the weekend..

I need chocolate

Well - the kids have been back at school for less than a week and them getting up and ready in the morning is already driving me to distraction, then i get to work and it's not much better - why can people not follow simple instructions aaah! I think I need some chocolate just to calm me down lol.. and to add to it all I've had to be out every night either at meetings or work and so have hardly had a chance to get any stitching done, all I need is a half hour with my stitching and i am a totally relaxed person..

i hope you are all having a better week than me!

Okay some photos to add - my lovely squares from Nicola which i am planning to make into my first pinkeep, they are so nice - thanks very much. This was my first exchange with Fair and Square and I am really pleased i joined - I think i'll sign up for Christmas as well.

I have a couple of other finishes to make up as well so i headed off to my LNS yesterday and picked up some batting and i think i will tackle this either next weekend or the following - now up until now my finishing always turns into a bit of a nightmare but having studied some tutorials I am feeling more confident! I just have to remember to have a little bit of patience ... not one of my virtues ..

next is a WIP update of my wee boy's Christmas stocking - all that stitching round the star drove me crazy..

and last is my completed round robin that arrived back a couple of weeks ago - this was stitched by the girls in Allys Round Robin - Lynda, Marguerite, Ally, Kaye and Karen - it's quite big and i haven't decided yet what to do with it - a pillow is looking like a good idea though..

so that's my stitching up to date - also nearly finished a little christmas ornament which just needs some beads added and started on the baby sampler and a bookmark - watching all the olympics is a great excuse for lots of stitching - these olympics have been great so far, go Team GB

It's my wee boys first day at school tomorrow so need to go sort out his uniform - Oh i can feel me getting emotional already lol!!

Thanks to all for stopping by and for commenting, always much appreciated.

a mini hd

Well at last I have finished part 1 of Chatelaine St Petersburg, it's taken a while but has now enthused me to get on with the rest, however i'm working on Joe's Christmas Stocking at the moment, and waiting for the fabric and some more threads for my friends baby sampler..

I have also heard from my F&S partner Nicola that she received her squares so can now show them:

i adapted a pattern out of World of Cross Stitch, a mediterranean theme using yellows and blue and as i started it whilst on holiday in Menorca i thought it was very appropriate!

I would also like to thank Lynda for her Kreativ Blogger award - I will opt out of forwarding this on as I feel that I am pretty new to blogging but would direct you all to the blogs in my reader - as I read them all, I like them all lol!

I'm enjoying my few days off work - took the kids up to Glasgow last week to the Kelvingrove art musuem and museum of transport, they enjoyed themselves and then we headed back into Glasgow and stuffed ourselves at DiMaggio's (which kind of blew the whole cheap day out thing but was worth it lol!) , yesterday we headed down the beach for a walk and then dropped into Culzean which is a large country park just down the road from us as Joe loves the big park to play in. Today I think we are heading back down the beach as Neve wants to practice her bike riding while the sun is actually shining and might actually squeeze in a bit more stitching as well, I love being off work...

it is actually summer

Well we have actually got a bit of summer around here - I've even had to get the fan on in the office as opposed to the heating - after work i plan to take a trip down the beach and see if the crazy golf is open, haven't played it for years and saw that it was back open a few weeks ago. After that i think a trip to Renaldo's for some totally yummy ice cream is in order... Hopefully this will last for a few more days as I'm off next week for a couple of days - my plan is to take the kids up to Glasgow and visit Kelvingrove Art Gallery and the Musuem of Transport - making the most of all the free places! i also have ideas of visiting Edinburgh or if it is nice maybe take the ferry over to Arran or Millport.. then i have to actually remember to get some school shoes before they all sell out - this summer is flying by and Joe will be in Primary 1 before i know it..

I was up in Glasgow on Sunday as I wanted to visit my friend Pauline before she had her baby - well i texted her to let her know i was on my way only for me to arrive to find her with bags packed and the annoucement that her waters had just broke! (she was only 36wks) So about turn we went and I somehow managed to find my way to the Royal Infirmary - omg it's a complete maze and i dropped her and bf off and then had to try and park and then find them again - finally caught up with them and then hung about for about an hour before she was seen - baby decided not to make an appearance then but did appear on Tuesday morning - so I will try and get back up and see her and baby Arran very soon... my sampler appeared yesterday so will have to start it sooner than i had planned!

On the stitching front i have finished my exchange and will get it off in the post this weekend hopefully, and actually did some work on Chatelaine St Petes - i am nearly finished part 1 now (only another 12 to go lol!) - I've also got a couple more of Neve's skating badges to put on before she starts back and then her brownie badges - considering i love cross stitch, i hate actual sewing so it always gets left behind.

Okay nearly time to finish work - yeah!!

Beach babes and baby sampler

Thats the kids overlooking the beach at Cala en Porter and this is the baby sampler I've just ordered from The Historical Sampler Company - my friend is due a wee boy in August, so thought it was about time I actually started getting this together - I only just came across The Historical Sampler Company, there's some really nice stuff on there - I better put my cc away now....

Joe's graduation

Just before we went on hols my wee boy had his graduation from nursery, it was really good, they had learned some poems and songs to sing - it was quite emotional though as that was my last time at the nursery, i've been going there for the last seven years between the two of them though have to say will not miss those fees! That's him now on his summer holidays and off to school in August - it all goes so quick...

post holiday blues

Oh no - i've gone into post-holiday blues....it's that rubbish time when you're back at work and thinking "this time last week I was sitting by the pool, at the beach blah blah blah..." not sitting at my work with a very rubbish summer outside.. it feels like maybe I was actually on holiday for six months and came back in November not July. Oh well, will just have to live off rations for the next few months and save up for next time.

Still the holiday was good, we were in a wee town called Cala en Porter on the island of Menorca - it's up on a cliff top with a big long set of steps down to the beach, needless to say we didn't go down too often, the climb back up was a killer! We stayed in the Siestamar Apts which were pretty spacious and on the ground floor, with a playpark for the kids right across the way - good pools as well as we're not swimmers so we could enjoy them without drowning - always a bonus I feel.. good kid's clubs as well so the children were well entertained, actually managed to read quite a bit, got the paper every morning and actually read it and finished "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hoosein, and started on "When Christ and his Saints Slept" by Sharon Penman.. the only downside to the holiday was the actual cost out and about, with the euro being so bad at the moment and prices rising it turned out pretty expensive, mostly for drinks (3-4 euros for a beer and 5 for a spirit and mixer) - okay if you don't drink but i do like the odd shandy or whatnot occasionally - okay change that to a few bacardis to start with!

Don't think i would rush back to Menorca though as most of the resorts are quite small and though lively enough, i prefer to stay somewhere with a bit of character and real life about it, I do occasionally like to get out and about for a walk but this was lacking ...

I actually did manage to do some stitching though, started on my square for my Fair and Square partner, I've nearly finished the first square and will hopefully get started on the second next week - will get a picture up once i have sent and it has been received.

will also get some piccies of the holiday up, that's a job for the weekend though...

thanks for commenting as well folks - always appreciated..

that friday feeling

Well I have made it to Friday again - oh the joy of a lie in tomorrow (well if 8am is classified as a lie in..) and not getting up for work and kids out the door - still busy as need to get the car cleaned, my wee boy's hair cut, house cleaned and maybe buy some food - it didn't look very exciting in my fridge this morning. need to get myself a bit more organised this week as the extra money I'm earning on my second job is getting spent on buying in food cause I'm too busy working to go shopping - kind of defeats the purpose of it all lol!

The cats are my part of Ally's round robin - they are Diane Graebner's cats and quilts - i chose them as well but my cats are still out there somewhere - I think they have one more visit before they return home to me - I'm now working on a couple of squares for Karen's rr which should hopefully be done in a couple of weeks and then that's me all done.. This is my second year with this rr and it's been great fun, a couple of hiccups along the way but everyone has had their robin returned - fortunatley we have a great bunch of gals involved..

However next year I think I will be selfish and opt out as I am finding I am out of time to work on my own stuff.

I have signed up for a Fair and Square exchange starting at the end of the month - have been looking out suitable patterns for that - mental note, must check i actually have the right fabric before i start - i plan to start it on my hols , I'm off to Menorca for a couple of weeks sun and relaxation in July - and looking forward to finding out my exchange partner..

finally answering some stuff...

Okay a quick post to keep up to date. Stitching time has not been so good this week - am now working two jobs as mega skint and fighting with the local council over the withdrawl of our school bus and trying to keep the house together but last week I did make a start on my wee boy's Christmas stocking - will add photo when something decent to see lol.

Managed a couple of stitches in my Chatelaine but have decided to abandon my HAED Queen of Hearts - i still love it but at the rate ot stitching it that I am at (only managed a page and a hal half so far out of 49) it'll take me literally years to do and i feel that there are too many other gorgeous designs out there that i could spend my precious little time on... anyone else felt this way about a project?

so i will now concentrate on Joe's stocking, Chatelaine St Petes and the rr I am in. I have also signed up for Fair and Square round 8 which i plan to start on my holidays in July...

Couple of answers to Stitching Bloggers topics:

1. where did i get my blog name from - from a lack of imagination! But it does describe it, "does what it says on the tin"...

2. hoops frames etc. - I am definitely a hoop girl, have had the same lovely little wooden hoop for years (about 8" diameter), and find this pretty much suits everything. I have toyed with q-snaps but still go back to the hoop. I stitch on the sofa, or the chair or my bed so like to be pretty mobile...

As for my childhood years -born and bred in Scotland - really can't complain, had one mum, one dad, one brother, one sister and a couple of cats along the way..best friend lived over the wall and had a park across the street - perfect!!

a finish and a guilty pleasure

Well another finish for 2008 - my DMC Japanese Anemones - really chuffed i finally got this done, now i just need to get it off to the framers at some point... am now working on a round robin (Ally's part - Cats & Quilts from Diane Graebner) which should be finished up this week and then I can get back on to my rotation...have finally got round to getting the fabric for Joe's christmas stocking and ended up with the recommended 18ct aida as I just couldn't afford to get 36ct evenweave at the mo (the only place i had seen a navy 36ct was silkweavers, gorgeous but pricey!!) - I haven't used aida for so long, will have to remember just to go across one!..

as per the topic off the week, i will have to admit to my guilty pleasure probably being watching "Neighbours", I've watched this for years and just love my 25mins of mindless tv... after a day at work and the kids nipping you, you can just switch on and tune out - bliss!! Oh and eating biscuits for breakfast - rubbish for the diet but fun all the same...

I hate cleaning my bathroom!

This is my small but pefectly formed bathroom - which i hate cleaning! However i have to admit i had to give in this morning and get the cleaner out - it is now nice and shiny - how long that will last who knows lol! Other than that I don't mind housework too much - the only other chore i hate more is removing any little presents that my cat leaves in the garden (mice etc...) that is definitely a dh job!!

Bath - As mentioned I was going away to Bath for a few days holiday last weekend - I should have learned by now that us travelling to Bath by car is always a disaster and par for the course the car broke down on the way there - thankfully we had only been going about an hour and a half but not one to do things by half the timing belt went - now for anyone who knows anything about cars, they will appreciate that this is not something you want to happen! thankfully I'm with the AA and they got us back to Ayr and as it wasn't too late in the day we thought sod it - we'll just rent a car and start again - so we eventully got to Bath about half past midnight with no more mishaps.

We had a great time when we there as we caught up with all the family and managed to get back to Scotland in one piece - needless to say I am now without a car for the next wee while and with a huge dent in my bank balance lol! Thankfully my friend is a mechanic and is fixing it for me at mate's rates or it would have down the scrappy for the car as a garage would just have been unaffordable..

Stitching stuff - On the stitching front though I've been working away on my DMC Japanese Anemones (see WIP above) for my friend (wife of my mechanic mate) as i really want to get it done - it's been kicking around for ages and to be honest I just want to see the back of it now.. so my rotation is off at the mo. And when i got back home I had a lovely little design I had picked up from The French Needle called Ribboned Pillow - www.thefrenchneedle.com/ribboned_pillow.htm waiting for me. That cheered me up a bit - nothing like a new bit of stash to perk you up..

Weight loss -I have just realised though that i stuck a weight loss ticker up a while back and omg it still hasn't moved - I think I better get my backside in to gear and do something about this - okay time to go and put diet head on i think!!

clowing around

Well i got my little clown finished for Kaye's RR - will get it off in the post today. Going to carry on with my DMC Anemones now - it's driving me crazy as it is virtually all fractionals but I love the finished design and I am doing it for a friend so will persevere!

Off work today - yeah, of course it's chucking it down and blowing a gale - what did i expect though! Off over the easter weekend as well and driving down to Bath to visit the in-laws, hopefully the weather will have picked up by then, i could do without a long wet drive...as the last time i had to do that i wrote my car off by running into a tanker - oops!

March finish

Another finish and just in time for March - Bent Creek Snappers - March Blows - must look out a frame and get it up at work for the beginning of the week.. Other than that on the stitching front been working on my HAED and started Part 1 of Chatelaine's White Night of St Petersburg - I am so exicted about this but it is so big! Still it'll be worth it if I ever finish lol. Also finishing off a clown for a RR which should get done this weekend...

Life otherwise has been the usual busy, busy, busy - hence the not very regular blogs - being working overtime to put some money by for the summer hols, and between kids stuff at night, darts and just general running around, i sometimes feel that i never stop... me and dh Lee were actually out together ( the first time in ages lol!) on Thursday - went to see Joe Bonammasa in Glasgow (a kind of rock/blues guitarist) who was excellent but i was so tired on Friday my head was practically banging of my desk all day - I must be getting old as I just cannot take the pace any more...

Right, off to have a shower and get the kids out to the park while it is still dry...

second round robin done

This was my first finish of 2008 - my piece (that's the bottom bit) for Marguerite's round robin (part of Ally's Round Robin group). Such a simple little sampler to do but so effective. It will be so smart once it is all done..

bring it on 2008

Well this is my second finish of 2008 - a cute little bookmark for my dd, i took the alphabet out of World of Cross Stitching and i am pleased to say she is very happy with it... It felt pretty good atually finising something as i feel that i have only been working on big stuff which will take years to complete, so have changed my rotation slighlty to incorporate all those little things i want to tackle.

Back at work this week after having been on hols last week which was lovely.. spent the week doing pretty much nothing, a bit of reading, a bit of stitching, watching lots of Shameless (bought the DVD set for hubbie) ,. Took Neve out on her bike and she has just about mastered the art of riding it and that was pretty much it. Perfect.

Diet is going really well ha ha - lost a whole 1/2 pd but hey at least it is not going on which is where the problem really lies. Will just keep plodding on with it, if it takes a year or more - so what - as long as it comes off eventually.. I have even turned down Roses this morning - quite an achievement I think..