It is a Happy Christmas from him and a Merry Christmas from him

This is just a quick note (well knowing me it probably will not be quick or a note).
Ollie in his favourite chair with his friend!Just waiting for Santa.

I have been so blessed with lovely friendships I have formed since using this "confuser"thing, and have been overwhelmed with the kindness shown I just thought you may like to see some of the goodies I have received in the last few days .Only one person said no opening till the 25th so hee hee I opened these .
First but really in no particular order is the Package I received from Karan along with one of her beautiful homemade cards. I have had these in my "to get"list for a while and was delighted when Karan sent them to me, they are LHN charts.
Daisy Lane Cottage,and Lavender Hill. Thanks Karan.

Next I had a total surprise from Karen (different spelling) a needleminder from Kelmscott with lily of the valley on it. Thankyou for that Karen I will endeavour not to lose this one , the one of these I had must have fallen in the bin that I keep by my chair and it got thrown away complete with needles -so how did you know I needed another.


Next my Irish friend Anne sent me this parcel and gosh all these little red parcels jumped out with little messages in gold on them.


Also in this parcel was 2 bars of Black and Greens Chocolate which Martin and I shared. Then there was this and oh its just great.

Well it has sheep on it lol.
I haven't tried these threads before so that will be a first.
I loved the little robin ornie and the stocking and needlecase, I was a lucky girl. Of course I still have Julies to open tomorrow.
This week I had a message from Jayne of Jaynes Attic saying she needed my addy. Jayne took part in RAK exchange at the beg of the year but due to circumstances she did not get round to sending anything, So this morning the postman delivered this one for each month Jan,Feb and March.


I havent done it twice its front and back view.That was January

These little tins were for Feb (heart tin very apt)
March were these charts I just love that Carriage House one,the hardanger one may take a bit of courage in both hands.

Jayne had also made a very pretty card.
I really dont think I need Santa to come tonight as I am more than happy with my goodies. Thankyou to those who read my blog and I will speak again after the day off tomorrow. Hope your Christmas festivities are peaceful and happy. Take care
Hugs Barb

oh bring us some figgy pudding

Well not really , but anyone want a piece of shortbread just cooled from the oven. Martin dear DH,has made it a tradition that I make shortbread for the workshop at Christmas,they have had 2 tins full this week.

Well they say no news is good news and no news of my friend that was undergoing major major heart surgery this week. I think her husband was allowed to stay near the hospital in rooms for relatives ,she is in intensive care for 3-4 days if all went well ,so no way of getting in touch, and if heaven forbid it did not work then I don't suppose he feels like phoning people.So it is a waiting game. She is in our thoughts and prayers.

Sue has had bloods taken and has to have a CT scan this coming Wednesday so again no news to report.Again we are all hoping for a positive outcome.

We have just been to buy Ollie's Christmas present. I cannot tell you what he has got I may take pic on Christmas day and it would spoil the surprise.(spoilt dog).
Did buy him a new comb like a rake,which is spring loaded, combed him with it when we got home and trimmed him and now he looks really good, well a bit smarter anyway. We have a super doggy shop ,that we go to,they don't mind you taking your dog and there are dogs on leads and dogs off the lead just wandering about and all very friendly. Ollie was most interested in my coat when I got in, probably a bit miffed that he wasn't allowed to come this time . We also got a pressie for Ellas bunny Lettuce ,no we didnt buy lettuce that is her name.

Talking of bunnies , I had some lovely mail this week or rather Rose and Seymore did, for those of you who do not know about Rose and Seymore my friend Julie from Stitch n Stash ,a while ago sent me Seymore Bunny to "SEE MORE" of me stitching on UFO nights ,which Julie hosts with Mr. Stick. He was a gentleman bunny of more advanced years and wears a pair of wire spectacles and carries a stick (to prod me into action). Anyway he advertised for a wife and lo and behold a wedding was held in the summer when Miss Rose arrived. It has been quiet for a little while and there has been not much nagging going on,then this week the stork (postie) brought from Julie , twin girls Maisie and Millie identical twins, here is a family group pic around their own Christmas tree. Thankyou so much Julie, they are all just so sweet. Julie also sent me something for Christmas opening so I will have to show you that later.

I can now show you Kates ornie to me on the Stitch n Stash forum Christmas ornie exchange ,I am delighted with it as it is one of the Shepherd Bush designs from the J.C.S. mag and I have been meaning to stitch these.So now I have my first one. The goodies were a little tin sheep for hanging , I love Sheep, some sheep buttons,I love sheep, and a little sheep card (get the picture) it was so me, also some lovely Christmas tree fabric for backing . Twas all lovely thanks to Kate.




I will now show you my stitching this was my ornie to Kate in the above exchange , she hasn't got round to posting on board yet but just in case she doesn't , she did like it by the way, here it is.

I thought I had deleted this well I had on my camera but found I had saved it elsewhere. The little lavender cushion was an extra and I enclosed a little Christmas package too.

Then on the 17th it was Angis birthday, I don't think she has a blog. Another stitched gift, a Blackbird design from the My Heart is True booklet by Blackbird designs I had a box from Rhajmahal ,which reminded me of the Chrysanthemum that Angi stitched on UFO night well the colour anyway, so I used this to put the stitching on. I bought her a couple of truffles in a cracker to go inside and ta-da here it is.

I have done some stitching on my new Quaker Christmas and I will post a pic next time, I am also doing my last Christmas ornie for this year and another birthday gift. I don't think I will be blogging again before the "big"day so may I wish you and yours all a joyous and peaceful Christmas and a Happy New Year. Take care and thankyou for the comments and to all including Karyn "I have the kettle on, if you fancy a piece of shortbread".
Hugs
Barb

Tis the season to be jolly

Deck the hall with boughs of holly tra-la-la-la la la la.
I thought I would go and collect some holly from the garden - here is my holly tree and I saw the birds have left me 2 berries ,this was one of them! Oh well their need is greater than mine I suppose.
Another week has fallen off the calendar and apart from the normal seasonal things that need doing ,it has been pretty uneventful
Sam did his Shepherd bit on Wednesday,Kate said he was a very smiley shepherd. Alfie is going to be sheep this week. I haven't shown you our baby bear who is almost 3 and he is a whirling dervish. Took a pic yesterday but it is a little blurred so forgive me for that,he was probably whirling at the time lol,



Ollie is fine this week, thank goodness no visit to the vet.Only for his medication for epilepsy.
We have DONE the Christmas shopping this week as Martin had a couple of days off,as I cannot walk for very long we do it in stages, our list seems to have dwindled a lot these last few years with dear ones no longer here. I like to give to friends for birthdays , and Christmas is a time for family pressies, as well as birthdays of course but you know what I mean.
By the way to my pagan friends Yuletide blessings, can you tell me WHY can I not get a card with Yule on . I am a Christian so of course the 25th is special, but to pagans the 21st is their Winter Solstice and it is special to them so I am sorry if you get a "christmas card" but I did adapt it for you !

We are having a bit of a family worry at this moment in time,our daughter in law Sue is having to see ,you will have to forgive spelling on this, neurologist,think that is right,tomorrow. Her G.P. has got her to see a consultant in a week, her co-ordination is not right and her symptom's are like being drunk without the alcohol.Not funny when the room spins and you cannot get out of bed. Just hope she is going to be ok she is very special and is so important to the family. Sorry I do not mean this to be a gloomy post. We also have a friend who has gone into hospital for major heart surgery today,op is on Thursday, it is touch and go if she will make it so keep her in your prayers on Thursday.Will let you know how things go.

I am now putting worrying head back in the dusty cupboard, along with the miserable one.

That's better a stitchy head . I know, I can hear you from here thank goodness for that. Well I have a couple of things to share and an exchange I cannot yet as it is not reveal day. So shall we go a-stitching.

Now you can see the pics I couldn't show you last week.

First up is a pic of the stash . Blackbird Stockings for September and October.



Then Homespun Elegance Joyous heart (more later) and a bird one, Do not worry, by Silver Creek Samplers.



Down Sunshine Lane sent me my first auto ship for LHN sal ornie which arrived this week.


Last but not least I received threads from Vicki Clayton (thanks Julie ,I think you may have started something with these threads.So here is pic before the great start,Tina(no blog) is doing this with me over on Yoyos blog. Not sure how to link blogs so you can click on them . Another lesson to be learnt.


More goodies to show you are a little birthday gift for Tina ,she only gave me her birth-date last Saturday ,so I had to stitch her something quick and get it on the post on Monday. Her birthday was the 8th but it did not reach her till Wednesday, She didn't mind and seemed to really like her little gift.
Which was

I sent her the little scissors too as I thought they matched quite well.So you can see my new chart came in very useful.
Then it was Sally's birthday,she has really kept in touch over the last year and is always so encouraging. I did M designs Miss Macs Needles and pins for her. I had some pretty lace in my box and used it for a trim. I added Sallys name to her pillow and filled it with lavender. I have a thing for lavender since Su sent me a lavender filled pillow earlier in the year. Anyway here is a pic of it,it isn't very clear I am afraid.



So for this week that is all the stitchy news. I have another couple to share with you but that a secret for now .

Just heard the weather forecast and BRRRRRR -baby it is going to be cold outside. So wrap you all up warm , I have my Julie scarf on indoors at the moment its helping my
painful neck. I have had baking head on and just taken shortbread and twinkle tarts(mince pies) out of the oven , ooh don't you just love the smell of Christmas .Take care all and I will speak to you again next week.
In answer to comment by Jane I will look forward to seeing YOUR tree next year, and also I cannot find your blog?
Thankyou to those of you who left me comments ,I get all excited when I see there has been one,small things give me pleasure. Diamonds are a favourite lol.

Hugs and warm wishes to you from me Barb

Oh the weather outside is frightful!

The fire is so delightful -if you've no place to go ,Let it snow let it snow let it snow !

No !no snow,rain rain and more rain. Ollie is going to have to have wellies, the way we are going. Martin bought some new wellies today as the fields where ollie goes for walks (see pic on header) is like a quagmire at the moment.I must admit that I like it cold and crisp and oh I remember the winters when Jack Frost visited and we had ice in as well as out. They don't make winter like they used to!!!.We don't get snow very often as soon as it is here, its gone in a few days. As the song says it is fine if you have no place to go.The header was taken early this year.

Update on limping dog- hmm expensive limp ,£180 for x-rays and meds, however he is now back to his normal self. Hated the lead walking for short walks. He loves meeting his friends in the fields for a run and a catch up !!
He has a friend called Bart who is a great dane, no matter where he is in the fields ,Ollie seems to sense he is there and he is gone. Martin usually catches up with them playing a bit further on. Oh spoilt dog of mine.

I also searched in the dusty cupboard for the clever head, found panic head (that time of year), Cooking head (did lamb shanks in red wine this week) and knitting head (started some socks for DH). However did not find clever head,or the memory that seems to have gone missing with it.


Family news since last time ,is that Caitlin is now 12,(it seems like yesterday that I was with Kate when she was born , Kate convinced it was another boy, first words were "oh it is a pink" delight) that happened on Tuesday,lots of singing going on mainly happy birthday from her 2 little brothers ,but Sam gave us a rendition of his shepherds song he is doing for the nativity at school ,he is 7.Alfie who is 2 is to be a shepherd (what is this thing about sheep! ) Kate our daughter says how on earth she is going to get him to dress up is beyond her ,as at the moment she has a job getting him out of his pjs,he would wear them all time if he had a choice. Pic shows Caitlin looking mighty fed up as she couldn't remember her password for her grandad to to download i tunes from his computer. Jack is 15 tomorrow and is getting so tall he is almost 6ft now and still growing. He will be able to get up that beanstalk no probs.Pic of Jack and Sam taken 3 weeks ago when they came to stay.



Now the moment you have all been waiting for. Stitchy news.

Yesterday the postman arrived, and I almost snatched his arm off as he gave me my Thread Bear order. OH YUMMY CHARTS, more of those later.Hee hee keeping you in suspenders.I also was handed another package ,he had tried to get them through the letter box and this one wasn't playing nice so he had to ring the bell.
Puzzled I thought maybe it was something I had ordered ,but no ,there was a name on the back I recognised Barbara B from the Stitch and Stash forum. Tore it open ,(no standing on ceremony here) and inside was a red envelope,and a lovely little red box. Upon opening it was filled with red tissue paper. Do you want to know what was in it,do you ,do you lol

IT WAS THIS!


I had admired the ones she had done for her grandchildrens christening and joking had said should I put my order in then.
I never suspected , the time and effort that must go into these perfect little creations that this kind lady would send one to me! She is now atop the ornie tree,the angel, not Barbara!She had even put the year under her wings. Thankyou so much Barbara again. I did say I was going to post it here.

Then today it was reveal day for the mail art.Some people havent received theirs yet but I did a couple of weeks ago and this is Elisas to me.



The last one is the goodies Elisa sent .Thanks so much Elisa if you read this.

This is my mail art that I sent to Lynda



These were a Barbara Ana and Helga Mandl designs. Done on fabric dyed by Jayne of Jaynes Attic.
Another little was the monthly challenge Peace by Elizabeth Designs a freebie. I did this on a little handmade paper notebook.


Then:- (is it never ending), I made this little cushion and sent it with some goodies to my Irish friend Anne for her birthday today. Forgot to take pic so she has kindly sent me one so you can see.

More stitching has been done but I cannot show that yet.

Now going back to the stitching yummies I had from Thread bear, apologies ,battery has failed on camera so it will have to wait until next time. Also I have done a christmas ornie for an exchange and deleted it by mistake (rats) so hopefully will show you one from the recipient when she gets it.

Last, but certainly not least, thankyou so much for your comments they mean a lot and I hope I have given you a little enjoyment. I have felt a little easier doing this this time ,so if you have managed to make sense of my rambling,I WILL BE BACK.
One more pic for you to see the ornament tree.Speak soon hugs Barb.

Lets see if I can do this right today.

Last time I tried to post pics and promised you one of Ollie in the stitching chair,well here he is a big dog in a little chair! I think he looks so fed up.


On Saturday we had a phone call from Ella who is our 9 year old granddaughter ,asking us if we would like to go to lunch with her on Sunday.They live about 40miles away,she was cooking she said and would we like to go. Of course , (anything to get out of cooking Sunday lunch ,but more about that later). So we duly set out on a very wet day which as we travelled along turned into a lovely sunny journey.
When we arrived Ella was busy in the kitchen but had done most of the prep. Here are some pics of her doing her thing.





















Hasn't she done well it was really yummy- Pasta,cheese,tomato and bacon bake, with garlic bread and raspberry pavlova and blackberry and apple crumble for pud. All done by Ella (with mum watching).Graeme said she doesn't like the clearing down bit though as she goes, who does! but Ella WELL DONE.
We then went to Hobbycraft and I picked up the threads for my Sampler Girls Stocking , blimey haven't DMC threads gone up 79p per skein. As I needed 50 altogether(extras for other things) it was a lot just for threads.
Ella had done scones and Carrot Cake for tea and then we headed homeward.BTW Ollie did have a little all to himself and Ella made him a misshapen scone as he has to be treated like the family (spoilt, going on a diet, dog).
On Monday I finished this a design by Pineberry Lane this is for the monthly ornament challenge over on JA forum. Hope you like it,done on Sassys fabric (I do like her fabric) 28 count over 1 using Dmc threads.

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Tonight being Tuesday its the Vine over on JA with Julie and Mr Stick on the UFO night .Hopefully I will be able to start putting the leaves on the right hand side this week.
Speaking of my Julie friend I posted a little gift to her and if you haven't already seen it on her blog here it is again.
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Lastly a pic of the socks that turned the fingers blue and to prove to Julie I did do them.


Thanks to Karan for help in me getting these photos on here she is a star!! However I am sorry they are all in a line, will I get to grips with this I wonder?
As a postscript spoilt dog has a limp - maybe a visit to the vets tomorrow- perhaps I will ask him for a clever head while I am there.

Take care folks and thanks for sticking with me.
Hugs and things Barb

I have not forgotten you my blog and in the next few days I will be giving you an update on things. Plus if I can get my head round it pics(going to look in the dusty cupboard for a clever head (some hope). Anyway I will be speaking soon Hugs Barb

A bit chilly this morning

We are very lucky weatherwise in this part of the country ,but this morning it was a chilly 3 deg when Martin took Ollie for his first walk of the day. In fact he had to scrape the frostoff the windscreen of the car before he went . I was still in the arms of orpheus ,well not quite I had the obligatory cup of tea and was enjoying - come to time! I do not do mornings (as DH will tell you) .Mind you after I had fed the birds this morning I was so suprised to see 10 starlings ,yes I did count them,in ,well on, the table under the roof bit.20 more were in the tree but that is an approx figure as they kept moving lol.Perhaps the early bird does get the food lol.

I was very excited as we had a new sofa and a chair , delivered on Friday. I couldn't bear to get rid of the old sofa as I bought it with some money Mum left me. So it had to go in the kitchen! Will take pic so you can see it in its new place. Only problem being Ollie was allowed ,I know , I can hear you ,oohh she shouldn't let dogs on the furniture, however I do not want him to get on the new one as it is a very light colour and I have visions ,and they are not pleasant,of a muddy retreiver reclining on it. I hate having to say no! when he looks so put out that he cannot sit in his favourite place to watch for cats and any other furry or feathered that may come into his vision.Spoilt dog! I have put my little sewing chair in the window and he gets up there to look out, its a little small for him though and you will see what I mean if I get a pic to show you. You really wanted to read that didn't you!!!I did warn you I ramble.
On Saturday we went over to Portland again and Martin(I couldn't, cause I got the card stuck the wrong way in the camera) took a couple of pics for you to see of the view from the top of the Island ,he says he doesn't know how I could get it in the wrong way ,I told him it was quite simple really and would show him if he liked.He was not amused !! For those of you who do not know the area at all ,Portland is not a total Island it is joined to the mainland by Chesil Beach and a road now that links the two. In the olden days there was a ferry that took people across .Portlanders had a reputation of being very insular and wary of kimberlins (people not from the Island) . Gosh this is turning into a history come geography lesson. One last fact St. Pauls Cathedral is built of Portland Stone and quarrying played and still does ,a big part in Portland's economy.
The second pic is the new marina which is being built for the sailing events at the 2012 Olympics.
Now onto the stitching bit, I have almost finished the mail art envelope and I am so pleased with it. I have stitched a little gift to go inside ,so I hope the lady will like it when she receives it. One day you will be able to see it!!! I am stitching a little something from "The Stitcherhood" ,it is not finished yet but thought I had better show you I have been stitching a little.

Also I thought you might like to see "Socks" dear Julie sent me the pattern stitched on 2 needles instead of the usual 4. I bought the wool many moons ago so ,despite it turning my fingers a wonderful shade of blue and turqoise I actually finished them. I am not a knitter really so it was nice to have something that grew so quickly. I washed them and wore them and was dreading the colour my feet would be ,but all ok ,feet normal colour.

Stash wise nothing much to report ,fabby not arrived yet, did order today some threads for another "blackbird "themed design for the wall "Little berries "from LHN. Will show when they arrive.

I would like to thankyou for the sweet comments and I am being followed too, all you hardened bloggers out there can you remember the excitement when you realised other people were reading your "stuff".I just hope I can hold your interest. I am thinking I shall do a little piece on Dorset, my adopted county. You may want to visit if you like what you see ,as it is a lovely place. Ollies bit, Stitching bits, more or less what I have done this time. We will see. I still am trying to get my head round how I do the blog list bit and all the other bits and pieces. DH helped me put the background on that I liked and I have done a couple of blogs that I visit but will add more when things are clearer.

I am now off to the kitchen to make a rice pudding (Ollies favourite) he woofs as soon as it is out of the oven and has to have a little all to himself. One spoilt dog!!
Take care

Get yourself a cup of something warm and sit in the comfy chair, while I ramble away to my hearts content. Well after my first attempt - and pressing publish before I had finished , I am going to have another go!
The header on my blog is the sea wall at Portland , where I spent my formative years,Portland not the sea wall lol. I also met my DH there too, the beach is Chesil Beach which stretches for 17 miles.I could lay in bed on a stormy winters night and listen to the shingle being dragged out and back with the waves. I live about 9 miles away from it now but still love to go and watch the sea wether it be calm or stormy.
Last weekend we went over for a gentle stroll and I saw this honeysuckle in the scrub , I was so pleased with the pic that I thought you may like to see.



Since I last went over to Portland they have built a cafe on the sea wall we sat outside and had a lovely cup of tea after our walk. Ollie had a ice cream ,although by the time I got the camera ready ,he had eaten most of it so you cannot see what he is eating ,but that is the explanation.


Onto the stitching front and I am still ploughing ahead with the mailart envelope, so I cannot show you any of that. I have just enrolled with the LHN christmas ornie SAL for 2010. How about you joining me too. You can join here, I have ordered with Down Sunshine Lane for an auto ship.



http://littlehouseornies.blogspot.com/

Today I received these in the post (you can see me rubbing my hands together can't you, oohh stash lovely stash. I fell in love with the stocking and was debating with myself as you do ,should I shouldn't I,when to my suprise, being a stitching Janeite I had e mail from Tanya of the Sampler Girl saying she was having a $5 day for her 660th blog (will I ever get that far)and so I jumped at the chance and got these beauties for $15 dollars ,bargain or what just a bit thankyou to Tanya for her generosity . Also this week I have ordered 2 large pieces of Sassys fabrics one in Khaki and one French Cafe . The khaki I had a piece come last week and it is just sooo nice a lovely colour. I do like stitching over 1 on her fabric.



As I sit here writing this I have just glanced up to see a blackbird and a robin on the bird table just outside the window. I do love to see the birds and we moved the table to the front of the house at the weekend ,as I couldnt see it half way down the back garden, so you may get some pics of the birds at some point.
Oh well these things have to come to an end . I am being told that Ollie has NOT had his breakfast ,he does like his routine our dog.
Take care all and I will speak to you again soon. Oh if you would like to leave a comment I would love to hear if all this is ok or just gibberish!!!! To those of you who have been kind enough to leave me a comment THANKYOU so much .
Barb