Thursday 13 January 2011

Hear ye,well not a lot !

Hello everyone did you think I had deserted you . As if I would. Some of you know I have been feeling a little under the weather,due to a virus thing and then a perforated ear drum. Which I can tell you is not pleasant. Anyway been Drs again today and have more antibiotics as she said it is still very red and angry in there. She needs to see me in 2 weeks unless it gets worse. Then she if the deafness is still there she will send me to Audiology- oh the joy of all that.
Anyway that is all I am going to say on the subject . Since I last wrote we have celebrated the New Year and we had all the family here for dinner. Oh boy was that a squeeze but we managed and all enjoyed it.

The Journey begins. On the first Monday of January 2011, Sally Colleen and I started our respective Shepherds Bush Designs. This is the start of the Journey and it is so nice to stitch. This was the first weeks progress followed by this weeks.


It does not look much progress but every little helps and some of the thread colour is very close to the fabric colour. I think they are clickable if you want a closer look.
Then on Tuesday I decided I would do the Rosewood Manor Quaker Diamonds -this I am doing over one as the Quaker Christmas,here is the start on that although I think I am going to change nights to Thursdays as I want to do the UFO night with Mr Stick and Julie on Tuesdays . I am going to do the Autumn design I started or I can see it being put away until this Autumn. Anyway another pic for you

I placed a 50p piece next to the first motif I finished so you can see just how small it is.
Now I will show you how far I have got with the Autumn Ufo ,however I do not want you to think it is all wips I do have 2 little Happy Dances to share.

The first one is The Sampler Girls Claras Dance done on fabric called for and also threads. I am quite pleased with how this turned out, although I now need some more filling-so shall send for that when finished on here.

Then I was reading Heidis blog the other day and she had stitched this design from Danybrod and I fell in love with it. So of course being the copycat I am ,well imitation is the sincerest form of flattery so they say, I had to stitch it. On my 60th birthday a friend gave me this photo frame and I have had it upstairs awaiting something to put in it. I now have to find the other 3 seasons to put in it lol.So if you see any designs out there. Let me know. I did wonder if to use the same design but use the seasonal colours and change the tree and adapt the words. Anyway My thanks go to Danybrod and Heidi for pointing me in the right direction with this one.


Yesterday was the night I had decided would be my Jane day,and I am delighted to say Tina , Angela and Margaret have decided they would also fancy a Jane Day. Tina and I are doing Sense and Sensibility and Angela and Margaret are stitching Fancy a Jane Day. So girls how did you get on. I did mention to Margaret I would maybe set up a blog for Jane stitchers but I have not yet decided on that.
Anyway another wip for you

I had not realised how narrow (but long) this design is.
So that is me up to date with stitching.
Thankyou so much for your enthusiasm and encouragement to me in my stitching . I just cannot believe how kind you all are. I have just realised I have 93 followers ,blimey 93 I never thought I would get that many.
Family news ,well we have had Sam who is now 9 enrolling for cubscouts and taking his promise. He was 9 last week and although he is not smiling properly(trying to keep a straight face I think) here is a pic taken last night just after he got home.

Sorry it is a little dark.
It was also the whirling dervish that is Alfies ,birthday yesterday heis now 4 and I just love this pic of him , I GOT A BIG BOAT Nanny he said,Think he was pleased don't you.

Jack the eldest grandson started his GCSE exams yesterday. I think it was English a subject he is not really that bothered about although important. He is excellent at Maths and Sciences though.
Sunday is our sons birthday ,Graeme will be (oh perhaps I had better not say )but it makes me feel old realising my son will be 43.I do not know if we will get to see him or not.
Martin has just come in to take Ollie out as I am confined to barracks . He really is a treasure, coping with a chest infection of his own too.
I have one little piece of stash to share which I shall do for next Christmas , I know Sally said she would post me hers when she has done it but I thought she may like to have a Jane night again together later in the year where we stitch the same design.

I also have been a little naughty and ordered an early birthday present for me well Brother usually sends pennies. So I took the bull by the horns and ordered The Needle Charmer by Examplar Dames in the US. As it was $28 I do hope I dont get charged by the PO here. It has happened to me once and i felt as if I did not want to order from the US again,as when you have to add £12 to the order it makes it an expensive chart. Anyway when it arrives I will of course give you a glimpse.
Ok I think that is all my news nothing much happens when you cannot get out.
Take care all and keep stitching. Thanks for saying Hi - it is good to have a friendly visit.
Hugs n stuff
Barb.zx

18 comments:

Sally said...

So happy to see you posting Barb. Sorry to hear you've had to go back to the doctors though but here's hoping the second set of antibiotics do the trick :)

Love your start on the Journey. It looks so pretty. I do love the pastel colours the Bush ladies use. Your other WIPs are lovely too.

Love your two finishes; both of them are just gorgeous. Not seen the Danybrod one before. The frame you've mounted it in is lovely.

Can't wait to see your other new stash!

You take care my dear friend xxxx

I would love another Jane day later in the year with the Christmas design. I look forward to it :)

Tracey said...

Lovely stitching Barb! When you start the JA Christmas piece let me know- I have this one too and maybe we can do a SAL. :) Your pillow finish is lovely- I think it looks ok like it is, looks very antique-ish. :)

Lisa said...

Sorry to hear that you're still not well, hope you start feeling better very soon.
You have some lovely wips, will be nice to watch them grow.

Lainey said...

Sorry to hear you have been poorly Barb, I do hope you are well soon.
Beautiful wips and finishes, I really like the Danybrod one.
Take care.

Beaupippin said...

Glad to see you back and hope you are feeling better. Like your new start, looking forward to seeing it progress.

Lesleyanne said...

Hope you feel better soon. Lovely WIPs and finishes. Love your new stash.

Christine said...

Hope you are feeling better Barb.
Your Danybrod finish is lovely, I like the idea of changing the colours and words to fit the other seasons.
Lovely WIPS too

Jane said...

Hi Barb
Sorry to hear your woes, know how you're feeling and antibiotics are not a friend of mine at the moment either ~ keeping everything crossed you (and DH) pick up soon.
Lovely stitching as always, lovely to have so many nice projects on the go and great finishes too, have tried to hunt down the Danybrod pattern, so cute, but it's very elusive, must be popular!!!
Great pics of the grandchildren and Happy Birthday to your son ~ hope it's a good one
xxx

Julie said...

Super pics of what you've been working on, i do hope you are soon feeling much better, no fun being poorly.

Lovely pic of the boys!

sheri said...

Hi Barb, I'm so sorry you've not been well. Hope you're 100% better very soon.

You have some great starts there, and some great finishes as well. I love the way you finished Clara's Christmas Dance into a pillow. I have that chart and now I want to start it tonight! I've started 'Tis the Season, and I love it, the colors are gorgeous.

Handsome little fellows there!

Get well soon!

Blu said...

Lots of lovely stitching! Your finish of the Danybrod design is wonderful.

Hope you feel better soon.

Heather said...

A perforated eardrum is an awful thing to have, I've had one and the antibiotics just made me sleep - not good when you have a small child to look after.

I hope yours goes quickly Barb.

Lovely too see all your stitching, putting me to shame once again!!!!

Colleen said...

So good to know you are feeling a wee bit better. I've been very concerned about your feeling poorly & a perforated eardrum. Hopefully, with 2nd antibiotics, you will be on a quick mend. Love all the wips & your finishes. Your Danybrod is lovely;I've not seen that pattern before.
My flight home from Monday's SAL w/Sally, was on time & I made it to work on Tuesday. LOL.
Take care & many hugs to you!

angelasweby said...

Hi Barb :>)
As always your posts are choc a block full of exciting snippets of chat and stitching. Firstly, I am so glad I joined your Wednesday Jane Austen SAL. I started "fancy a jane day" early evening and by the time I stopped it was almost done. I cheated a little and put in the final stitches on Thursday and I am really pleased with it. I stitched it over one and brought some of the wording a little closer together to make a slightly smaller piece. I need to make it up and be ready to go again next week. I will definitely be joining you in the JA Christmas design!

Your finishes are lovely. I really like Dany's design and, like you will borrow Heidi's clever English version. Yours looks lovely in that unusual frame.

Sorry to hear you are still not properly recovered but I know I took weeks to get over it. I hope both you and martin begin to feel much better soon.

It sounds like you have a lot of birthdays this month and next :>) We are just the same with several family birthdays in January and February. We share a birthday, too, if I remember rightly so I may well follow your good idea and get a few early birthday presents....haha! What a lovely choice The Needle Charmer is, I've always loved this design :>)
Angela xx

Charlene ♥ NC said...

Wow, Barb, you have certainly done a lot while being under the weather! It is great that you are feeling some better, but do take care!
Those Shepherd's Bush patterns are so lovely. I also have Quaker Diamonds in my stash... So you will work on each of these as a SAL with friends. That's a great way to stay motivated! Such cute grands you have... none for me. My son will be 30 on his next birthday, and there's no sign of any grands for me.
Please take care of yourself! Happy stitching!

Heidi said...

Oh Barb...I am so sorry to hear about your problem with you ear and hearing. I have had the hearing tests done as I have hearing loss and zooming in my ears. I know how hard it can be to adjust to not hearing well. I just pray your problem can be solved with antibiotics.

You are one busy stitcher my friend! I love your 1 over 1 Quaker. Your version of Danybrod's design is beautiful. I am glad to have been able to guide to there through my own. I will let you know if I come across any other seasonal ones that will work. They will come as the new seasons come I am sure.

Forgive me for leaving my dancing shoes off today. I have been outside with Jos starting on our new garden. It, like the house, has been neglected. We are totally cleaning out the rock garden and fountain area. Jos had to clean it out which sadly held some dead frogs in it. We are half way through cleaning all the rocks. What a job and I am beat!

Hugs from Holland ~
Heidi

Anonymous said...

sorry to hear you've be unwell Barb, I am glad to see you posting, I do love visiting your blog.
If I could join in with your Jane Day I'd love to, there's quite a few I want to stitch up and it would be more fun to stitch with friends
love your framed piece by Danybrod and the frame is lovely
2 handsome young grandsons you have

Kathy said...

Wonderful posting! Wonderful stitching too. Oh I love that Danybrod one. And it looks just fab in that frame. Good luck finding similar seasonal ones to fill the other three. The idea is just wonderful. So I hope you do.
Love the photos of your grandsons. Cute fellas. :)
I am sorry to hear that you aren't well. I do hope that the ear problems clears up quickly and with no permanent damage.

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