This week's stitches and Colour

Just a brief note to let you know that this weeks stitches are:

Closed Fly Stitch and Rosette Chain, which is very tricky I've been told!

The Colour is Orange

Will post last week's highlights soon!

A Day at the Races

Well not quite, but I was at Sandown Racecourse for the Stitch and Craft Show.

My Friend and I went with anticipation as the September show had been disappointing with alot of our favourite retailers not attending. It wasn't as bad but still smaller than when we first began going some years ago. There used to be a time when all three floors were packed with stalls. Today it was the ground floor and the Guilds and workshops on the first floor. I blame the credit crunch and now it is official that we are in recession I suppose I shouldn't be surprised.

Don't tell DH, but I tried my best to get the country out of recession by buying:

These two Jan Beaney & Jean Littlejohn books for coursework reference...

and got this book FREE!

I had a lovely chat with a Lady from the Needlelace Guild, who got my idea juices flowing on the thought of needlelace grids and I bought this kit to teach me the rudiments to help in making bigger grids.

After a run on jewellry making over Christmas I replenished my stock of pins and jump rings

De Haveland Threads - I haven't used any of the previous purchases but I had to have these colours, I like to get them out of their box and stroke them - cheaper than owning a cat. The colours are a feast to the eyes. The three skeins on the right are cotton and these will be used. The blue and yellow skeins will be off to the coursework thread box and the purple one will be used later when I practise this week's stitches for my Journal.

AND finally a lovely surprise, Oliver Twist goodies. I had checked on the website last night to see who was exhibiting and I thought the crafting outnumbered the stitching. So it was nice to find Oliver Twists with all their beautiful threads, silks and felts, they had missed the exhibitor deadline for the catalogue. When I discovered on Sunday that the week's colour was purple I was amazed to find I don't have alot of purple threads - I do now!

The beige stringy stuff is silk paper string which I am planning to use with my grid idea.

Now off to play with my new toys

Serendipity's Zentangles are just crying out to me...

...I must have a go. Having said that after reading the Zentangle website it's Doodling but with a posh name!

So once peace and quiet has decended with the Darlings in their bedrooms - Son fast asleep and Daughter listening to BBC 7 - I shall begin on Monday's page in my Journal and I shall use a Purple pen. I'll show you the results on Sunday.

Now off to make sure Son has a bath!

They said I wouldn't last the week!

My Darling family laughed last week-end when, after cutting up strips of paper bearing names of stitches and colours, I announced I would keep a journal. "Who's going to join me in a sweep stake for how long she's going to last?" asked DH to my Darling Children - Well I have proved them all wrong so far!!!!

THIS WEEK'S OUTPUT

COLOUR: Red

STITCHES: Oriental canvas stitch and Detached Square Filling Stitch

If you want to know what's been scribbled, click on the photograph for a close-up

Sunday and The Rules

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

- I don't normally give in to illness if I can, but I just had to today I ached all over!

Sunday

And so a new week begins with the colour Purple

And the stitches: Sorbello and Linked Double Chain

Added later after rereading this post...

For those of you who are wondering, Keith Barron is an English Actor of Stage and TV and was rather big when I was younger in various SitComs, I believe he has also been on CountDown. Well, DH and I like to play a game of spot the bit part Actor - you know the ones, they support major stars can be intregal to the plot, may get killed in the first episode, you recognise them all the time, but do you know their names? NO! - and DH is rather good at it. In the past we have followed an Actor around Hampton Court Maze while he convinced me he was who DH thought he was - (He was right) and an Actor in the M&S lingerie dept in Richmond must have felt his ears burning as he helped his wife choose underwear (He was right again). As it were Keith Barron will be pleased to know that DH didn't see him as he sat at the outside table of a cafe in East Molesey - to quote DH "Oh, I didn't see him, I only spot bit part actors!" So there you go Keith, you may not have been on TV much recently, apart from "Where the Heart is" but in DH's eyes you're BIG TIME!

Has it only been a Week?

Jan 1st found us boarding a plane to Nice, hiring a car and driving to Antibies for a week-end away to celebrate the start of DH's Gap Month as he had left his job of 19 years on December 31st and begins his new one 2nd of Feb.

Posh yachts in the marina

Nativity cakes in the Patissarie Shop

We're in France there has to be some snails!

In the Square was a Christmas Fair with a fountain that "moved " to music and at night had a lazer show - maybe I could suggest this to Boris for next year's New Years celebrations in Trafalga Square!

We had a great family time seeing the sites and for the boys the highlight was driving the Formula One route in Monte Carlo, which we visited last Saturday.

On the Grid

Through the tunnel

Not quite Lewis Hamilton, but we only had an Opal Corsa!

Sadly we didn't break the bank at the Casino

and this is not a Frenchman, but an English man who forgot his hat and had to borrow his Daughter's beret to stop his baldy head from burning in the winter sun!

It was a shock to return to Freezing England!

What do you think of this idea?

This afternoon we went to collect Darling Daughter from her B-P week-end and on journey HAD to stop as Darling Son HAD to visit the little boy's room. As we had literally just passed what we thought was the last service station before leaving the motorway we were all "relieved" to see signs for what really was the last one some miles later. Now I kept visiting sites last year with bloggers showing their journals and thought what a great idea and then I remembered one of my resolutions last year was to produce a stitch library - this did not even get started!!!! So as we stopped at the service station car park I was wondering if I would ever get this idea of the ground...

SO when I saw this a page a day diary for sale in the foyer of the service station I knew I had to get it and begin something - anything and include a stitch each week. Now will this happen? Nothing ventured, nothing gained as they say, so here goes...

I was reading a blog earlier - Serendipity, I think - who had been advised to put some tasks she wished to set herself in a bowl and draw them like a raffle instead of having a static list so I shall be taking a list of stitches and instead of doing them alphabetically I shall choose one on a Sunday, stick it on the relevant date in the diary and only do that stitch on the pages that week - how's that for an idea? Come and join in if you like, the more the merrier and it will make me keep doing it too!

I hope to create random pages of ideas, using found items which could be pictures, words, lables or anything which grabs my attention and can be glued down. I am now off to sort the washing piles out, print off a list of stitches and begin today's page before today becomes tomorrow!

Bye for now...

Blog Update:

Bag of Stitches made - Son has suggested that as there are so many I should have two stitches per week - This week's stitches are Straight Stitches: Oriental (Canvas) and Crossed Stitches: Detached Square Filling (Pulled Thread Work)

To give added interest I also have a bag of colours to decide what the colour of the week will be - threads and paint etc - This week is red

The Early Bird...

finds the camera, takes the remaining photographs and gets them downloaded and begins upload to Module 4 blog - Result!

Now off to Church...

Coursework Challenge Day

Good Morning Blog World

So it's Saturday 8.50am, a little later than I had hoped, but here I am ready for the Coursework Challenge. This post will be extended throughout the day, so keep reading as the post will get longer!

I woke to see the garden covered in a smattering of frost and snow flakes.

It's very cold and I have no desire to venture outside so I have no excuse not to get on with the challenge. Concerned that Dear Daughter will be out in this today but I have packed hats, gloves etc so she should be fine. Found out last night that one of my friends had waved off first born Son of 18 years to his flight to Cambodia, where he will be teaching English for 4 months. With only text, emails and the odd phone call to sustain her she was a bit upset but resigned to the fact he had flown the nest. Makes my two nights separated from my first born fade to insignificance - she's only Counties away not Countries and Continents!

So Plan of Action:

1. Once back in the work room I shall review what has been completed and photograph it

2. I shall be up loading the work completed so far.

3. Begin to tackle the next Chapters.

4. Photographing and uploading onto the Module Four blog as I complete each stage during today.

Knowing me I shall also be going off at different tangents as the ideas grab me!
These too will be photographed and uploaded

Blog you later!

...11.53am

Been busy finding receipts for Son so he can take a faulty disc back to Game, taken messages for DH from a long lost Uni friend he will be visiting after the Footie match - which is thankfully on as the pitch is okay. In between all this I have found all the coursework and refamiliarised myself with what I have done so far. Been busy sorting through the lettering and now having a coffee break while playing with "wordle".

Back soon...

...4.04 pm

Cup of tea time - everything stops for tea!

Although I have done quite a bit of this module last year I tended to skip some parts that I find dull and a bit boring, so today has been catching up on the bits I would happily not do if I could get away with it!

Here is my workroom floor with sheets of paper covered in ink scribbles hopefully drying in time to stick in the sketch book.

Must take a break to put the evening meal together so the boys have something warm when they return from the Football.

Be back soon...

...11.10pm

Nearly the end of the day and I haven't yet downloaded all the work onto the Module 4 blog!

Boys returned from Football later than usual as DH called on an old Uni friend, who I don't think we have seen since his wedding and as his eldest is 18years old it must be some time ago!!! Fed them and then chilled out for a while - next to the fire to warm up(!) - Boys now in bed and I'm at a loss as to where I put the camera! Loads of pictures to download so I can upload to blog - I probably need some sleep. The good news is the wall I hit on chapter 2 has now been removed and I think I will be able to sign it off. A few other walls to sort out on some chapters but I think I am further on than I thought! Hurrah.

I think I 'll set the alarm for early and see what can be done tomorrow .

Good night Bloggers everywhere

A Promise to Myself

Daughter has left to attend her Baden Powell week-end, Son and DH will hopefully (frozen pitch permitting) be off to the football at lunchtime and I have promised myself a day dedicated purely to coursework and I WILL blog about it and download all the work done tomorrow evening.

I am now going outside, I may be sometime...

Yes, it's book club night and we are convening in the local pub to claim our new book for Jan 2009 and discuss stuff marital, child related and have a general good old moan about stuff over a glass of wine or two.

Problem is it's jolly cold so various DHs are dropping us off and collecting us later so we don't slip on the frosty paths!!!!!

Blog you all tomorrow.

My Leafy Quilt Completed

With thanks to Ferret for a great workshop

I completed this quilt just before Christmas in good time for show and tell at my Quilt group. The leaves took some time in making and as usual I made far too many, OR did I make enough for three more quilts and now I'm all prepared for when I find time to make the backgrounds!!!LOL. Hope you like it.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to you all.

Review of 2008 and a vague plan of 2009 coming in next few days

Didn't last year go quickly?
Hopefully the breaks will be applied to this new one and it will pass at a more sedate pace!

Good Cheer to you all and here's hoping the credit crunch doesn't bite too hard

At the end of each year newspapers usually do a review of all who passed away in the year. To all you consumers out there here's mine to the shopping street!

We sadly say goodbye to...
MFI - my daughter's bedroom would be empty if it wasn't for you
Morgan - never could fit in their clothes, so good ridance!
Adams kids clothes - ooops never shopped there - I was a Mothercare/Ladybird/GAP Mother and ...
Woolworths - now this shop I will miss, but I am abit annoyed as the chocolate fountain I bought for the New Year's Eve party I attended last night was abit of a damp squib as the fountain motor didn't work and we ended up having a chocolate fountain fondu!!!! As the shop in my village has now shut I shall be persuing this with the manufacturers...

Who knows which shops in our hermogenised shopping centres will be next - DH hopes it's not NEXT as he is rather particial to their clothes - one of the only shops he will happily go in without protest when out shopping with me!

So have a great year crafting, best wishes