merry christmas all

Well my stitching has been sorely neglected the past few nights, thankfully i am now sorted for Christmas and have four days off work, back for three,then off for another four - bliss. 

I have had a couple of stitchy weekends though, a couple of weekends ago I met up Eileen whom I met through the HAED BB and we had a great wee chat and some lunch up at Largs. She had brought along her various HAEDs to show me and I was drooling over her work - it's so nice to get a chance to see other's pieces in real life, I am in awe of how she manages all her different HAEDs, v impressive lol! 

And just on Saturday there i headed up to Glasgow to see Ally again - a very pleasant afternoon was spent in her company and I was treated to some very delicious sweet potato and carrot soup followed by the now legendary lemon drizzle cake (and very nice it was too!) - as usual though, we chatted all afternoon and didn't produce a stitch, but i did help her decide on what to choose for her Crazy challenge - it was a tough choice but we managed it in the end.

I have managed to sort out my list for Wipocalpyse 2012 - on this page here.

Many thanks for all your comments, there always nice to see - Merry Christmas to you and yours!

my day

Thanks to Jo for running this online advent calendar. Today is my turn, yay..

I decided to share with you a stocking I completed a couple of years ago for ma wee boy.  I've also made a stocking for his sister and an advent calendar.  Am trying to stay away from ornaments as let's just say that finishing and me do not go together - this year's attempt is now residing in a landfill somewhere in Scotland lol !!.  (the stocking was very wonderfully made up by a dressmaker in town - I know my limits...)

As for traditions, I can't say as such that we have any as a family, but we do enjoy the  traditional
celebrations of eating and.drinking too much and watching Doctor Who of course. 

As a child our family attended midnight mass so we always got to open our presents after that, it was lovely with it being dark and all the christmas lights on, eating chocolate and arguing over who could play their new records first.. 

Now on Christmas Eve me and hubby usually share our presents as we count that as our anniversary of when we first got together and scarily this year will be our 20th together - where does the time go?

Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.4

rapunzel

Been working away on HAED SK Rapunzel this week - finally made it across the page now just keep going down - have signed up for the 2012 HAED sal - I chose Siberian Tiger, so will start this in January ( like I need another HAED start lol! )









Now it is December I'm going to try to make a couple of xmas ornies in the next couple of weeks - but with Christmas fayres and all that coming up, i'll see how i get on.

And in response to my dilemma last week re the mince pies - i'll admit i gave in and had both lol! Just couldn't resist ...

Tonight off to the pictures with the kids to see Hugo - mmm popcorn (and I wonder why my clothes are shrinking?..ha ha)

she's got it oh baby she's got it

Well on my travels through the planets I have now finished with venus (wasn't very exciting, not much to see) - on my next outing I will head home for a short while before a quick jaunt to mercury and then what i imagine will be an extended tour of the sun..

Tonight i am back to Rapunzel till the end of the month - this is where I am at just now

However the burning question of the afternoon is...m&s double choc chip cookie or get into the festive spirit with a mince pie?  decisions, decisions

I've been hermiting..

Managed to get a good few hours stitching in this weekend - been working away on "don't make me kill you" from pinoy stitch. I'm.enjoying this as its a nice easy stitch and breaks up the month nicely. Tomorrow back to the solar system and the dreaded black.. hope everyone joining in with IHSW has had a fruitful weekend.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.4

a mini happy dance

Part 3 of White Nights in St Petersburg is done - thank god for that, those gates were driving me insane...

longish post

Well my week off was good but i really could do with another couple off as well.  Managed to achieve some stuff, got DD Neve's room painted and bought her chest of drawers after suffering the hell that is IKEA.  Is it just me or is there anyone else that cannot stand IKEA, it drives me to distraction - i just want to go in to a shop, pick what i need and get out, i don't want to get lost in their furniture maze - but fair due to them ,their furniture is nice and well priced so I grit my teeth and go for it.  needless to say though Neve's chest of drawers has now taken up residence still in the box in the hall - i reckon if I have it built by Christmas i will be doing good, i really have to work myself up to it..

some piccies of our weekend away - our cottage was gorgeous, it's just outside Peterhead, about 40 mins north of Aberdeen, up on the northeast coast of Scotland. I had never driven up that way before, been to Aberdeen to visit friends before but don't really know that part of the country.  We dropped the kids off at my dad's and set off on the Friday morning, it took up about five hours altogether after negotiating Aberdeen city centre on a Friday afternoon - lots of fun... Sheila who owns the cottages was there to greet us and showed up round.  The two cottages are out on a little isle and to say it was a bit breezy was a bit of an understatement.  Lee was more excited about the coal fire than anything else and spent most of the weekend keeping it going.  

We got sorted and then headed out for something to eat - we ate in a local hotel, Buchan Braes, and i have to say it was one of the best meals we have had for a long time - baked scallop, lamb terrine and gressingham duck - just gorgeous...

Saturday we just pottered about and ate in, we had planned to go for a walk but it was just so windy we were struggling get about.  We came back down the road on the Sunday , it was so nice to be away but we did miss the kids .



I did spend time doing some reading, i had my book with my for book club  - not sure if i have mentioned before but i am in a book club, well we call it book club but this is in the loosest possible terms, each of us picks a book, read it and then talk about it for oh maybe five to ten minutes and then chat for the rest of the night.   So this month's book was Divine Misfortune by A Lee Martinez - a fantasy comedy about gods ? - honestly when i first looked at it i was not impressed, fantasy is just not my thing in books but i got stuck in and i have to admit I quite liked it, it was amusing but not laugh out loud funny and an easy read - kind of drifted halfway through but got there in the end. 

So now am finished that have started on a book i picked up in the cottage - New York by Edward Rutherford, now this is definitely more my cup of tea - a nice big meaty historical tale.  I've read Sarum years ago and really enjoyed that one so am looking forward to getting stuck into this.  this is definitely a reading at home book though as it is the hardback and weighs a ton lol..i'm tempted though to actually just get it for the kindle instead, as it'll be easier to handle.  I just love me my kindle.

The only other reading i've been doing lately though is blogs, i miss reading them a couple of days and the next thing you know you have 200 posts to read - i am slowly catching up though and commenting, but if comments are a few days behind that is why, - my whole life is always playing catch up ha ha

Nothing too exciting to report on the stitching front, just working away on my rotation - finishing up this month with HAED QS Rapunzel, starting a new month tomorrow with Chatelaine.   and at some point in the near future i am going to sort out my list for Measi's 2012 WIPocalypse .

Okay best be off, thanks for stopping by and welcome to my new followers. 

ihsw

Off to Aberdeenshire tomorrow so just a quick catch up from my first hermitting weekend: I worked on Ink Circles - Bramble and The Rose, 32ct white linen and Carrie's Creations Island Breezes

Before

After

That's all folks, goodnight xx

needlebook exchange

My partner has received so can now show pics:

This is from me to Gillie

and this is from Gillie to me

 

am loving the thistle..

holiday time

Off work for a week - yay! Plans are :

1. not setting the alarm for 9 whole mornings.
2. having a girly day with my dd Neve
3. painting Neve's room
4. stitching
5. getting the house into some sort of order
6. spending a romantic weekend with my dh Lee - staying at a lighthouse keepers cottage here

So, made it to Berlin and back, it was short but sweet, would really have liked to spend a couple more days there to have a good wander about - the hotel we stayed in was really nice, actually a one bedroom apt, me and Kim (my friend who came with me) were ready just to move in - no kids, no husbands, no cleaning - seemed good to us..  the Bruno Mars gig at night was surprisingly good - lots to sing and dance along to and of course we had to indulge in a few beers (we were in Germany after all).

Stitching wise, managed to get a wee bit done on my Chatelaine White Nights and the Solar System and this weekend i have signed up for International Hermit and StitchWeekend - looking forward to having a look at everyone else's progress, always good to find more blogs i haven't come across yet, you can never have enough blogs to read!

Okay pictures:

Chatelaine White Nights in St Petersburg

Solar System

Ink Circle - Bramble and The Rose

Reichstag

Brandenburg Gate

Berlin Cathedral

Right off to enjoy some more hermitting and stitching..

aarrgghhh!!!!!!

that is how i am feeling at the moment - I am now into week 3 of no washing machine and going slightly demented!  It is not even a year old so still  under guarantee so am stuck waiting for Comet to pull their finger out and get it sorted.. they sent an engineer out after they had diagnosed what was wrong with it from me telling them "it was making a horrible screechy noise" and funnily enough it turned out to be something else, and they are now still waiting on the part to fix it - between trips to the laundrette and the goodwill of friends and family we are just about keeping the washing under control but it is seriously pissing me off!!! 

Ok rant over lol!

I got my needlebook finished for the exchange over on Friendly Stitchers - actually got it finsihed last week but it is still in my car waiting to get posted, sorry Gillie - it will get to you eventually... I am normally terrified of finishing but this wasn't too scary, will post a piccie once i know it has been received.

Got a bit more done on HAED SK Rapunzel - am stitching this on 18ct aida and really loving it, my other HAED is on 25ct linen, so this makes a nice change, not quite as demanding. 

this week am back to working on Chatelaine White Nights - aiming to get at least the west gates done but between fat club, book club and Neve's skating, it'll be a bit of squeeze getting much time on it. 

Off to Berlin in two days - very excited now! 

100

Goodness i've made it to 100 posts - it's taken me a bit of time but got there in the end lol!  Been working away on Bramble and The Rose for the last few days - don't know what it is about this piece but the frogs certainly love it - drives me to distraction,  anyway it is now away for another month - here's hoping october is a frog free month.. 

am now working on a needlebook for an exchange over on Friendly Stitchers - and been printing out instructions on how to make it up - making up things is not my forte but these instructions seem pretty foolproof to me - (famous last words lol!)

right, off to watch The X Factor now - loving this series with the new judges, specially Gary - he has certainly matured well ha ha...

night night all

 

Well it's a new month so time for a bit of an update with this and that -

Family

The kids went back to school in middle of August and along with that goes all the out of school stuff - Beavers, Guides, swimming, parent association stuff, and Neve is now a full member of the figure skating club which means she can go up to four times a week - I don't think lol, two or three at a push is enough for us!  I am all for her practising and doing well at it but i still want her to enjoy it not think of it as a chore.

It's now getting very autumnal here i.e grey clouds, rain, wind - not much different from our summer actually just a bit colder - very dreich as we would say - had to actually give up and stop wearing my sandals and get into shoes - a sad day..

A wee bit of good news

Yesterday I got a letter to say i had won a trip to Berlin to see Bruno Mars in concert - am not too fussy re the Bruno Mars bit but quite excited about seeing a bit of Berlin, although it will be just a wee bit unfortunately as it is only for one night and the flight is quite early coming back, - i shall have to go and learn a wee bit of German as it is pretty non-existent at the moment..

Being a stitcher of course my first thought was - wonder if there are any good LNS in Berlin lol! Does everyone else think like this when they head somewhere new?

Stitching

A couple of WIP's progesses for you: 

I joined up over at Love 4 Stitch Alongs forum as a bit of an incentive to work on a couple of pieces i have been neglecting recently so have adapted my rotation somewhat to fit them in - managed a little bit on my chatelaine

And this is where i got to for the summer exchange on Needlecraft Haven - just a wee bit more to go

okay that's me for tonight - off to watch The Soprano's before bed. 

giveaway results

Ok folks -  i have used the tried and tested sophisticated method of sticking everyone's name in an envelope and pulling one out - works every time!

So for "Irresitible Gifts to Stitch" - we have Christina in Miami

and for "Christmas Card Ideas" - we have Teejay

i will be in touch for you snail mail address.  Hope you both enjoy these.

time for a giveaway

Okay folks - got a couple of chart books which i received which i thought i would be better off offering as a give away as i am not likely to use them and would rather they go to a good home!

  first up is "Irresistible Gifts to Cross Stitch"  -lots of lovely little gift ideas 

if you are into card making next up is Papercrafts' Christmas Card Ideas

Will keep this open till 5th Sept - please just leave a comment stating which one you would like and i will draw a name at random - easy peasy! 

Please feel free to spread the word around the blogging world.

wip update

Right thought it was about time to actually have some stitching photo's. These are the current four pieces in

 my rotation

The Solar System which i am doing for ds Joe

This is the summer exchange piece from Needlecraft Haven - just loving the green fabric which is a bit brighter than it  shows here

 This is for the consultant i work for who is off sick at the mo and she does love her coffee

and this is the HAED BB SK SAL - i chose Rapunzel and have made a tiny start so far on page 1. 

Have felt very productive this weekend, cleaned the car and got the garden sorted as much as I could yesterday till the rain started, tackled some of the iron mountain and then got some good stitching in and then managed to actually watch a whole film last night - Sherlock Holmes, really enjoyed it as well..

Today got Neve to skating and then sorted out the credit cards - well, moved them all about to % transfers - maybe one day they will actually be paid off, - (oops watch out for that flying pig)  and now going to pick up dh from work, get dinner sorted and get another couple of hours stitching in and back to work in the morning - the joys.

thanks for dropping by

Just some random snaps of the hols - good time was had by all, but oh i wish i could just go back right now..

woo woo a finish

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.7

This is Bent Creek's "I do" wedding sampler which i have done for my niece - this picture is not the best i have to say as the fabric is quite a bit lighter than this but being a bit lazy couldn't be bothered to look for my proper camera and just used the phone, which as the advantage of being able to upload straight away to blogger.

I think this is about the third time i have stitched this piece, i just love it though as it is very effective for not a lot of work lol! Will get it down to the framers at the weekend ready to be picked up before we head down south to Bath for the wedding.

tgif

just a quick post before i disappear on my hols - Turkey here we come! Cannot wait for a bit of heat and sunshine, so far our summer here has decided to disguise itself as autumn .. only planning on taking my Bent Creek "I do" piece on hols as i find that i dont' usually end up doing too much stitching when i am away, but will try and get this finished as i will need to get it to the framers when i get back as need it done for end of July - the weeks have kind of crept up on me - thankfully it is an easy stitch and i am about halfway done already.

still no stitching pictures, will update all my WIPS on my return - been working on the solar system for ds Joe, "I do" and snuck a new start in as well - couldn't resist joining the HAED SK SAL , chose Rapunzel and have managed a couple of hundred stitches on her so far.

also been getting supplies ready for a summer exchanged over on Needlecraft Haven, finally got the right threads though after dunderheid here couldn't even read her own writing and ordered the wrong numbers - duh!

one hour left at work which of course is always the longest hour of the week.

thanks for stopping by and commenting - cheers for now.

went for a walk up a wee hill

Looking south down Loch Lomond towards Glasgow

Heading up - this looking north up Loch Lomond

Up the top - unfortunately a bit misty

Well yesterday I officially bagged my first Munro - climbing up Ben Lomond. I have never done any kind of hillwalking before so this was a bit of an eye opener lol! and omg my legs are killing me today... still i have that lovely feeling of smug satisfaction at having done it but am in no rush to do it again. (maybe hillwalking is like childbirth - you forget the pain after the first time..)We were lucky in that the weather was clear right up until we got to the summit and then the rain and cloud came in but still some pretty spectacular views could be seen. Took about 6 hours up and down (including lots of breaks, which were so needed, did think that my lungs were going to explode at some points).

today i was hoping to have a bit of a relaxing day but forgot i had promised dd Neve i would take her shopping to Braehead - getting stuff ready for our hols in two weeks - yay!

have also decided to buy a kindle (credit card here we come) - been using it on my phone for the last wee while and really like it but fancy having the full size one which will be easier for bigger books.

right off to have a shower, if i can get up the stairs.

painting all done

Not managed to get any stitching done this week, time is just disappearing from me. But we did have the painter in this week and the living room is now a lovely shade of sky blue, so pleased with it, now just need to get some curtains and the pictures etc back up and it'll be all done. Got the kitchen finished off as well - am so pleased with how all the renovations have turned out.

picking up my new car tonight (well new to me car) - so excited. ended up with another Renault scenic as i've been pretty happy with the one we've had. but of course that has meant i've had to sort out all the rubbish that was in my old one and make it somewhat presentable to trade it in - not an easy job!

off for the weekend tomorrow and the weather forecast is absolutely dire - will definitely take my stitching down with me as i reckon we will be stuck indoors for a bit.

right better get ready for work now. thanks all for stopping by.

may

so what have i been up to for the past wee while :

stitching:

- stitched and finished Bent Creek "May Blooms" which is now hanging up at my work

- Solar System now has uranus, pluto, venus and saturn, think i am heading over to jupiter next

- HAED qs twilight shimmer has been having a wee bit of work on her, about half way through page 3

- Ink Circles bramble and rose has made it on to page 4

i've been very disciplined and sticking to my rotation days so with the bent creek finish i now have a thurs and friday free - so tonight i am going to make a start on bent creek "i do" sampler for my niece's wedding. This isn't till end of July but this gives me plenty of time to get it done and then framed.

work

same old same old. ended up with loads of time off in April between annual leave, easter public holidays and of course the good ole royal wedding (could really do with one of those every year) so it feels like april just disappeared from us. have actually had to work a full five days this week, i'm exhausted lol!

home

the plastering is now finished in the living room and got the painter coming on 1 june to paint walls and varnish doors, now just have to pick a colour - thinking of going for a pale blue grey but this could change, this and picking tiles for the kitchen have been the hardest decisions to make..
now officially ran out of money so the rest of the house will be on hold for the forseeable. Especially as my car needs a pile of work done on it and it looks like it's going to be going to the big car heaven instead and a new (well new to me) car bought instead - oh the joys!

plan for the weekend

lee working next three nights so telly and stitching is the order of the day. Am loving the new series of Doctor Who, the kids have been pretty freaked out by it - oh the hours of entertainment i can have scaring the pants off them by sneaking up with masks on, great fun ha ha!

right off to catch up on the soaps and have dinner - have a good weekend all