Monday 18 January 2016

January ...... I do hope this year I will be able to catch up with you more....

I am hoping to  do a blog post more  often  , the best laid plans often don't  happen. We had a traumatic start to the New Year and I  would like to thank my dear  friend Julie for listening to me on the phone. You are a star Julie and although far away  I feel somehow as if you are near .
So I am not saying anymore on the subject and will share the  good things that have happened since the night before Christmas. Which seems as  if that is ages ago  now. The man in red arrived and look at what he brought me.,
I have been muttering at my old one for a while and it was running like a bag of nails. So this was a lovely surprise and I am learning how to use it as it has a computer (oh dear) in it ,which I am not used to. It does all sorts of fancy stitches and I am really looking forward to getting to grips with it.My first project will be one of these two bags,,talk about jumping in feet first. So maybe by the next time I will have a little of it to show you .
 
 As if I have not got enough craft work to do lol Just had to do this one. I have been treated to fabric for both and I am beginning to get itchy fingers. Martin is at work tomorrow and Wednesday ,the family are giving me a break for a few weeks from cooking, This week I  have been suffering from vertigo and it isn't pleasant ,today is the first day I have felt up to much. Kate is not well and so she is off sick so I am hoping the family are helping her. 
Anyway this is the bag I am doing first.
Another one of the animals,

Pictures are not good sorry ,will try harder.
I have only got one finish to show you since last time ,lots of wips ,but this one I finished just before Christmas and forgot to put it on my last post,
I have never done a hoop finish before and I am quite pleased with it. I have almost finished the last one Merry Be , Sally finished hers ,but I mislaid my pattern so she kindly sent me hers so I could finish it ,Thanks Sally. Then sods law I found the one I had mislaid . I seem to have a bit of a thing about losing things lately , my mind for one!!
I have unfortunately got some dentures and over Christmas I lost those. I think they went out with the rubbish. I sheepishly visited the dentist last week and quoting Pam Aryes I  said, I wish I had looked after my teeth!! He thought it highly amusing ,he said I wasn't the first as he had heard lots of stories about people losing their teeth. So I now have 4 visits to him over the next 4 weeks as I have to have the top two front ones crowned too , not only is my spine crumbling my teeth are too. I will be a pile of bits on the floor one day.  lol..
Would you like to see my wips. I do not have anything as magnificent as Sallys Robin ,her blog is Stitchyangels treasures. 
So here we go. 
I have started on Mondays with Sally ornaments from the current and past issues of Cross stitcher ornaments, we have to try and guess which issue it came from , Sally is doing the 2015 issue and I think it is called Give love by Legacy Designs on PAGE 32. is that right Sally , Chris is also joining us and has stitched Joyful Santa by Homespun Elegance. Mine is from 2014 issue. I am doing it over 1 on 28count fabric and can you guess what it is. 
I put a coin next to it to show you how tiny it is.Although I have quite a bit more to do. Next is Tuesday stitching which I am devoting to either my cubes or Merry.
Christmas cubes by The Primitive Hare.
12th Ornament from CCN  a sal with Sally.A finish soon maybe., Wednesdays I am back in the parlour with my maids and I am still trying to finish in the Moonlight. 


Sorry pic quality is not good , I think the afternoon is not good for taking photos as it is dark by just gone 3.Thursday is either cubes or Merry which I have shown you already,
Friday is a new start for Sally and I we are stitching sheepie designs and we have chosen Miss Violet from Needle and Thread this is an ongoing sheep  designs for the year. My son and daughter in law gave me the threads for Christmas and the fabric so I am all set to go.
Here is a pic of the chart.

 Then on Saturday I am over at Needlecraft Haven with Julie and Mr .Stick on ufo night. Not strictly a ufo as I have done one,meanwhile I have been collecting the Prairie Santa for each year not getting them stitched. I asked Miss Julie if they could be classed as a ufo and she said Yes. So Saturdays are the Santa night, here is the latest progress over one of 2013.
Here is a picture of himself ,when he is finished.
For some unknown reason I have 2 of 2001and 2014 if anyone out there would like them leave me a comment at the end. These are the pics of them.
Last but not least on Sunday is the Blackwork Journey ,I had a bit of a hic cup with this ,I was one stitch out on one of the outer blocks ready to fill in and had to frog some. I was not impressed as it took ages to find  where it was however back to where I was and a little done of the next block which looks difficult and needs concentration.
This is done on a quiet Sunday afternoon. So my weeks stitching in a nutshell .I know this is a bit late but here are some of the gifts my stitching friends have given me last Christmas ,see it does sound ages ago doesn't it. 


I was very lucky ,of course sheep came into it and love Sallys bag ,it looks like one of the colouring books that are very popular at the  moment. June sent me this lovely ornie ,
Loved the little wooden tag. I will not list all things by everyone but you are thanked every single one of you. We did succumb to these in the sales ,we needed a new bed but decided on singles (so if he snores I can move it to the other side of the room )lol.You also have to mind the gap!!!!


Saturday last was my sons birthday he was 48 argh where did that time go. Here he is at the pub we went to for dinner.
To us he is one in a million just like his dad.I have started at slimming world with Kate my daughter as she has lost 4 stone and I just had to have some body to help me. So I made this for pudding tonight . It is yummy  and the whole bowl is just 1 syn. 

Usually I just do a Raspberry one and it is lovely ,but I got a mixture of rasberries ,strawberries and blueberries this time. All you need is a Raspberry sugarfree jelly, mixed with half a pint of boiling water. Leave to cool but not set then whisk in 2 mullerlight rasberry  and cranberry yoghurts, add the fruit and put in the fridge to set. Easy or what . 
I have not left Ollie out I made him some dog biscuits and he loves them,
I used the kirstie  recipe of 350g of Plain flour sieved, 1 egg, 2 table spoons of dried parsley a low salt stock chicken stock cube,120ml of hot water. Dissolve the stock cube in the hot water. Add the flour ,egg and parsley until it forms a ball. You may need a bit more water. Roll the dough out to about 1/4 or 1/8 thick. Cut out into shapes,Place on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper .Cook in centre of the oven until they are golden . If you did what I did  the first time and rolled them out too thick they look like mini scones. I did some for our  doggy friends and put them in a jar with a sticker saying Woofy Christmas from  Ollie and a red bow. They went down well . 
Right I think I have rambled on long enough. Happy 2016 to all and the craftiness continues . Take care and please do not pray for rain  we have had quite enough !!!
Much love
Barb x




19 comments:

butterfly said...


Barb love every thing you are working on , so much stitching you have on the go ,you are so busy.
Love your new Sewing Machine.
Lovely gifts from friends enjoy your week and hoping you feel better hugs & xxxs.

Linda said...

Great post Barb. All of your stitching is lovely.

Linda

Clare-Aimetu said...

Lovely post Barb with lots of great stitching and a new toy too :-)

Cath said...

Wow, such a busy post. Beautiful stitching in the works and in planning . I would love to be entered for the Santa charts please . Not got any of those and I quite fancy some stitched ornies on our tree for a change. Somehow it's something I've never done.
Take care .xxx

Vickie said...

I am so sorry you lost your teeth Barb.
Miss Violet is going to be great!
Oh Ollie got some wonderful treats!

Mylene said...

Lovely post Barb. Beautiful stitching you are working on.
Belated Happy Birthday to your son.

Cindy's Stitching said...

the stitching pieces look great. hope you are feeling better

Julie said...

I'm sorry, I'm giggling here at the thought of your teeth going in the bin... bless you x
What a fab new toy to play with, loving the curved bag project with the little animals on it. Cant wait to see you whip that up.
Lots of lovely stitching WIP's to watch grow over the coming weeks.
You had a lovely selection of Christmas goodies and such a darling ornament from June.
Belated Birthday Wishes to the big lad and {{get well hugs}} for Kate
much love to you and Mr M xxxxxx

cucki said...

Lovely post my dear with lots of great stitching..
Well done
Big hugs x

Christine said...

Lots of lovely stitching there Barb, and I'm looking forward to seeing the results of your work with with your new sewing machine.
I was beachcombing once and found what looked to be an interesting piece of sea tumbled metal, and then I flipped it over and there were still a couple of false teeth attached! Hope your new set has a less adventurous life :)

Barb said...

Thanks ladies , so embarrassing about teeth but oh Christine what a surprise for you,did you keep them, they may come in handy one day lol.

Mary - Lecoeurceltique said...

Lots of lovely stitching. How lovely to get a new sewing machine. I'm sure you will great fun (and sometimes, exasperation)getting to try out what it can do.

Andrea said...

Don't talk to me about teeth. Mum always loses hers and we have to look high and low for them!

Lots of beautiful stitching. A lovely shiny new sewing machine too....I'm expecting to see lots of sewn finishes from you this year. Great gifts too.

If you are splitting the PS charts up, please would you put me in the draw for 2001 as I already have 2014.

Tina said...

Well the plus side of loosing your teeth Barb,is it helps with SW,you can't chew so much. Hope you get your new ones soon. Lovely wips you are stitching on at the moment and a lovely finish too.Thanks for the recipe,im definately going to try that,it's always the sweet stuff that i miss.Lovely sewing machine,looking forward to seeing it made.would love a chance to win 2001 please,i already have 2014 although have not stitched it yet.
Take care
Hugs xxx

Sally said...

Ooooh I think I have it!!! Is it The Primitive Hare?! Lol! I know I was way off with LHN wasn't I?! I was just thinking girl with some red! Oh dear!

Lots and lots of lovely stitching has been happening here and I am very mych looking forward to our sheepy SAL start on Friday.

So sorry to hear about your teeth and hope things are settling now. Hugs to you.

You received some lovely gifts for Christmas.

See you in the parlour later :) xx

Justine said...

What beautiful stitching you do, and such a variety of stitchy pieces to work on! They really are lovely choices.
Sorry to hear about your teeth. Hope you get some new ones soon.

angelasweby said...

Barb I'm so sorry the year started so traumatically and then losing your new teeth. Hope things have settled down. Also that the vertigo has gone, feeling giddy is no joke.
Your new sewing machine is lovely. Lots of exciting stitching ahead. Your Fa LaLa hoop finish is really pretty. It's turned out very well. I love your ornament stitching idea with Sally and the guessing game. It makes it so much fun and also renews your acquaintance with the designs as you hunt through the the issue looking for the right one. Funnily enough I have also dug out my PS Santas to start and am beginning with 2015 and then following on with We Wish You a Merry Christmas.
Good luck on SW. When I used to do it I practically lived on this jelly/yoghurt pudding. It was delicious especially in the summer freezing cold from the fridge.
Are you reading anything interesting at the moment? I read two great books at the end of last year. They were written by Joan Austen Leigh, descendant of Jane Austen. The first one was called Mrs Goddard: Mistress of a School and the other one was called Later Days At Highbury. I got them really cheaply on New and Used and was lucky enough to find one had been signed by the author. They are written from the point of view of the Mrs Goddard, proprietress of the school Harriet Smith attends in Emma. They are in letter form to her sister and through the letters you hear all about the gossip going on in Highbury. They are very entertaining.

Michelle said...

Lovely stitching Barb and your new machine looks wonderful - sending you hugs xx

AlisonC said...

Good luck with your new machine. Love the little rabbit peeping over the bottom of the machine. I had a new sewing machine for Christmas 2014 and cannot get over it NOT jamming up every time I use it!!

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