Monday 5 March 2012

Monday -yes it must be Monday

It is my Shepherds Bush night with Sally and Colleen, I hope Colleen is ok as I have not heard if she is coming to Sallys tonight (virtually) . I have a happy dance to show you.from last week.
This is my finish of Merry,Merry Be by Shepherds Bush.If anyone would like the chart leave a comment for me saying you would like it. If more than one I will get the hat out for the name to be chosen. I have had another little finish but cannot show you that as it is a birthday present so maybe next time. You may be wondering where I have been,well the answer simply is nowhere. I have been sitting in this chair ,feeling rather fed up and out of sorts with everything. You may remember I thought I had walked too far on my birthday and was in pain when I got home. Gradually worsened and I gave up and went to see the Danish (hmmm) GP we have. He diagnosed tendinitis of the Achilles heel so comfy chair has been in use over the last 10 days or so. No going upstairs,steps or generally doing much at all . It is feeling better though and I am hoping to get into town for a coffee on Wednesday and meet a friend.  Sorry don't mean to moan. Martin has been a star as always, and has been doing wifey things like cleaning etc. He does draw the line at ironing though !! I have been stitching a little on the nights I planned for. Tonight though being Monday I have a new start!!! Be afraid,
be very afraid, not really she's a very cute witch. I also am doing a shepherds bush gift but that one cannot be seen until September ,not a lot of point in mentioning that is there .I have as Sally thought may be a nice idea put my latest SB little Monday stitching inside the needlebook she made. Fits just right. Tuesday night with Julie and Mr Stick saw progress on QD I do not show you this one very often as it is over one and grows slowly, as I said to Julie now I know why it was in the box of unfulfilment for a year, it is so s l o w! to see some progress I have almost finished the large diamond,sorry it is a bit blurry but you get the general idea.
Wednesday I was in the parlour again , with Mrs Darcy, I think I shall like this more when I get a little more done. Don't know about you but I itch to start a new project but it takes a while to "get into it".So here she is in her pale lemon dress, a faceless woman at the moment.
As you know I am a Jane Austen fan and for those of you who have not seen my little shrine to Jane in my hall here it is.Tanya The Sampler Girl is the one I can thank for designing the Jane Austen sayings etc to hang in my home .
I need a quill pen to go in my inkwell I think. I also have my 4 large TSG samplers in the lounge Mansfield Park,At Home , Return to the Sea,and Sense and Sensibility. Still more to do in the stash pile ,and as Martin and I are about to celebrate 45 years of marriage I have just ordered Happy Anniversary from the Sampler Girl to stitch,Tanya has done it as a commemorative piece for Will and Kates anniversary next month ,but as it is in blue shades I thought I would adapt it a bit for us. I may stitch it again later in the year as my friend also has a Sapphire wedding anniversary in September. Talking of stash . I was not impressed at all this last weekend by the p.o leaving me a card saying I had to pay £11.18 to get a packet from the U.S. I had forgotten the amount you could get into the UK had gone down, £15 is the limit before you have to pay customs (VAT) and then to add insult to injury £8 for Royal Mail handling charge. I had ordered something to go in my friends birthday gift and a piece of Week dye works fabric (cannot get in UK ,unless of course you know different.) I thought as I had a little birthday money left I would order the fabric that was called for on the pattern Karan got me.
I am now a bit concerned as the gift voucher I had from Colleen has been used in a shop over the pond and I know the value is over £15 so I wonder if I am to have the same scenario .Perhaps as it was a gift voucher from someone in the US spent in a US shop they would mark it as gift. Hmmm hoping for a bit much there I think. Well I shall not be using the US for anything over £15 now. Rant over. I did get a little more stash but mainly threads and fabric from my Sew and Sos vouchers.
Boughs of Holly was a chart I got a while ago and I was able to get the fabric needed and threads also.Which I was very pleased about, also I got these to do my Wordplay ornies again I have the threads that are supposed to be used.
Did a little knitting on a snood this week,I think it will be more like a short scarf as the wool is not going as far as the other sort. Loved the colour though.
Well my dears, all that remains for me to say this time is thankyou so much for all your lovely comments (keep em coming) and the wishes for the birthday that was. I leave you now with Roses ,these are 10 days old and looking rather good.
Alfie said this morning that it wasn't fair that they only get 2 days off ,guess who did not want to go to school today. Take care all and hope you were not too bored with the ravings and rantings of this grumpy old woman! Hugs n stuff Barb.

22 comments:

Barbi said...

I love your new finish! And if no one else would like it I would love to have it :)
Your new SB is adorable! Can't wait to see your progress on that one.

Julie said...

That's a cute one, love the little stockings.
Good girl for sting still with the foot up resting, nice progress on the QD.
Your hallway lts very inviting wth the Jane pieces.
I have read other blogs recently where Royal Mail are being really strict, it's gone beyond a joke now to order from the USA and waiting patiently for a parcel to arrive with lots of lovely stash goodies inside.
I'm sure you have plenty to keep you busy for a little while....
Love and (hugs) xxx

Mouse said...

ohhh dear re your foot etc .. hope it starts to improve more each day ... real pain re the post ... so far I haven't had too much problems you must have got a jobs worth !!!

would love the chance to have the SB Merry merry be chart as it is such a cute finish :)

also congratulations on you wedding anniversary too :) love your wee nook as well :)
take care and don't over do it on that foot :) love mouse xxxx

Tricia said...

Barb, I love all your new stash and your finish!! I hope you'll be feeling much better soon. You poor thing! I'd love a chance at the SB pattern. I can't use linen, so I don't like buying the kits, but I love the patterns!

Lesleyanne said...

A gorgeous finish. Love all your new stash. Your new starts look very cute. Your hallway looks very inviting. Hope you feel better soon.

Cath said...

Hope you feel better soon Barb .
Love the finish , and new stash .
Take care .XXX

Michelle said...

A lovelyt finish Barb and I love all your stithcing. Mmm your new stash is wonderful. Hope you feel better soon sending you hugs xx

Ellen said...

Hope you are feeling better!

SB's Merry Merry Be is gorgeous! Would love a chance to stitch it, thank you! Looking forward to your new SB start!

Love your Jane's corner!

Hugs,

Mindi said...

Congratulations on your Merry Be finish, its adorable! I'll pass on the chart since I already have it, but you're so generous to pass it along to another stitcher.

Tendinitis of the achilles can be very painful, so you're not moaning and groaning for no reason. Ice as well as rest is what was prescribed for me.

Clare-Aimetu said...

Gorgeous finishes, lovely stash too. I love JA too! Have you read any Victoria Connelly, she bases her novels on JA - they're very good. A Weekend with Mr Darcy is my favourite

Christine said...

Sorry you hurt your ankle Barb, hope its getting better now.
I love your Shepherds Bush finish, could I put my name in the hat for the chart please?
I didn't know they'd dropped the value of goods you could bring in, £15 is almost nothing. If they want us to stop buying stuff from abroad maybe they should do something about the rampant inflation at home. I've just ordered a couple of yards of fabric from Spoonflower to make a dress for Eloise, I hope they don't spot that one as it comes through.

Tina said...

Hope your ankle is better soon Barb,your new stash is fab,love Mrs Darcy cant wait to see more wip's
Nearly finished Return to the Sea just the bottom bit to do,i told you i can;t stitch on anything else whilst i have TSG on the go lol
Take Care Hugs
xxx

Sally said...

I love your Merry Be finish! So glad you enjoyed it. I like the look of your new start too. It does fit perfect in the needlebook doesn't it!

I hope you are well on the mend soon. You seem to have had it rough of late {{{{hugs}}}}

Lovely WIPS and new stash. What a bummer about the customs charges though. It's getting harder to order from the States now. I think we're just as well off paying the little extra and getting stuff in the UK now. I have to agree with Christine though in that if the government don't us to buy from overseas then they should stop the extortionate prices over here!

Your hall way looks so welcoming. I love it.

jane said...

Lovely finish Barb and great work on your WIPs.
I hope your Achilles is improving and you are abel to get out and about, if not then more stitching time! Take good care of yourself!
Your hallway looks great with all your Jane items on display.

Marilyn said...

Love your finish.
I would love the chart!
Nice stash on board too.
Hope your ankle feels better soon.
Marilyn

Julie said...

Hi Barb! I would love to go into the hat for the great Shepherds Bush chart. Sympathies on the foot, my friend at work had the same problem and I remember the pain she was in. Get better soon. xxx Julie

Dani - tkdchick said...

That is a lovely finish, that diamond you've been working on is so pretty! Look at all that wonderful floss!

Veronica said...

I love the red fabric you used to finish of Merry, Merry Be. Matches the design perfectly. I'd love to be included in the draw for the chart if possible.

Lovely WiPs and stash. That WDW linen colour is just fabulous. Too bad about the custom charges though.

Hugs,
Veronica.

Elisa said...

Ouch ouch ouch, tendinitis is awful, I have had a few times, you have my sympathy...hope it's improving now. Great stitching progress and love the SB finish too. My studies have kept me from the parlour the past few weeks, but I hope to pop in for a visit next week xx

Anne said...

Sorry to hear about your pain :( Tendinitis is horrible. Just relax and keep stitching! Love your finish of the SB! I would love to be entered in the draw! Your Jane area....omgosh! IT's amazing!! Congrats on your 45 years of marriage! WOW!! I think your Happy Anniversary design will be lovely and a great addition to your home. Yucky post!! I hate the additional charges! It seems like you get quite dinged in the UK :(

Jennifer M. said...

Lovely WIP's you are stitching. I hope your injury gets better. I had tendonitis in my wrist and it was not fun. The only help for tendonitis is ice, pain meds and rest. That is it. Enjoy stitching your projects. :)

Jen

angelasweby said...

Barb,
Sorry you have had tendonitis. Any pain in the feet is really miserable as I know only too well after suffering planter fasciitis for over a year - thankfully now gone but I dread it returning. Glad you were able to rest and how sweet of Martin to look after you and help around the house. A 45 year anniversary coming up soon. That's fantastic. I hope there will be lots of celebrations :-) Tanya's Happy Anniversary chart is one I have been eyeing up. It's so pretty. I may yet, end up succumbing to it as we celebrate 36 years in July!
I have to say, I swooned over the picture of your Jane Austen shrine. How I wish we could sit down for a comfortable coze and chat about Jane Austen over a cup of tea :-) Your writing slope, inkwell and stitched designs look wonderful.
I have a little surprise for you which I am putting into the post on Monday. I hope you will be able to find a little place for it somewhere in your JA corner.
Talking of post, it's a real shame about having to pay such high customs charges. i do hope your gift doesn't get charged.
Such lovely stash and dreams of soon to be started projects. I have to say I hate starting new projects and would prefer to stitch comfortably on the same piece for ever and ever...haha!
Warm hugs Angela xx

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