Heartfelt Friends Round Robin

Thought i would end the year with some stitching photos seeing as it's what this blog's primarily about :) My Heartfelt Friends Round Robin returned to me in one piece Woohoo! I read so much about these going missing but i was one of the lucky ones! A big thank-you to Donna, Edgar, Lesley, Janice and Rowyn for stitching on it for me (especially Rowyn who kindly stepped in at the end)! Its an LHN house theme as you can see and it has been on quite a journey - Scotland, England, America and New Zealand! I need to finish my square on it now.

Ashamedly i have had Jancie's RR in my possession way too long. I wasnt stitching for ages earlier in the year. Pregnancy caused an aversion to stitching! However, a few weeks ago i did finish my square. Janice wanted an LHN autumn theme. I stitched this square

and here's how her piece looks overall. Lovely! I didnt want to post it off to Lesley as i was worried about it getting lost in the Christmas rush but i will soon! Speaking of Christmas i'd quite like to do a Christmas themed Round Robin sometime...just an idea.

Well this will be my last post of 2008! Tonight we are going to our friend's house to bring in the New Year. Hopefully i'll be able to stay awake until midnight! Here's wishing everyone a very Happy New Year!!

A favour to ask...

For those of you that are regular visitors to my blog, you will know that i am in a LHN Round Robin that the lovely Donna set up Heartfelt Friends RR Above is a picture of my RR at present. Isnt it lovely?! I think its on its way from Donna to Edgar at the moment. Anyway, one of the stitchers has pulled out and i was wondering if anyone out there in blogland would be willing to stitch one of the squares for me and of course a wee gift will be stitched for you in return :) I have already stitched one of the squares (its partly complete at the moment) so dont really want 2 stitched by myself seeing as its about friendship etc The theme is LHN designs and my only specification is that the square has to include a house! Anyone willing? I understand if not but i would really, really appreciate it if someone is willing!

Last night i finished Gilmore Girls season 7. Ive had the boxset for ages but couldnt bring myself to watch it knowing it was the last ever season! I liked the way it ended, although i think Rory should have stayed with Logan. I did cry at the end but maybe that was more to do with pregnancy hormones that anything else LOL

I realised i never posted any pictures of our holiday back in June. We flew to Portugal but we were actually staying over the border in Spain. We had a great week. The hotel was gorgeous. It was situated right on a golf course and was nice and peaceful. We relaxed the whole week - i read a lot of books! The weather was perfect. Here are some snaps

Mum and Dad to be:
Have a good weekend. Its a local holiday here which means i get Monday off woohoo!!

Part 4 complete

I finished part 4 of The Rose Sampler yesterday. Just need to work on part 2, 3 and 5 now! I cant put this one downI've also just started Janice's RR. Janice wanted an autumn theme and i think you'll agree it looks superb so far

I am stitching LHN's acorns and pine trees in my square. The squares so far have been stitched by Lizzy (top left), Donna (bottom middle) and Edgar (bottom right).

Have a good weekend everyone. For once i dont have many plans (yeah!!) Im off to visit my friend and her new baby today. Also need to get some running in, the big event is a week tomorrow! www.justgiving.com/cherylthomas

Winter House and RR

I received word that Cathy got the package i sent her for the SBEBB Winter House Exchange. I stitched her a CCN chart from JCS 2006 Christmas ornie magazine and finished it as a wee pillow. I sent her other goodies too but i don't have a photo, you can see those on Cathy's blog. Funnily enough, if you read my previous post, you will have seen that Jean stitched this design for me too :)I havent done anything on either of my SAL pieces this week (Cirque des Cercles and Dear Diary) because the little free time i had was spent trying to finish of Lizzy's RR to send on to Lesley tomorrow. I finished my square anyway....Here's the whole piece....Doesn't it look great? Lizzy wanted everyone to stitch a LHN Dear Diary chart. It was working on this RR that made me realise how great all the Dear Diary pieces would look together, hence the SAL with Laura and Vonna!

Had a busy weekend. On Friday night my mum and I went for dinner and then went to the cinema to see PS I love You. The film was okay, not as good as the book. Last night we were out at our friends house. Tonight is the usual sunday night girly get together which we havent had in a good few weeks now. Then its back to work tomorrow :(

Have a good week!

Snowfall and WIPS

We had our first snow fall of 2008 yesterday. Not much compared with what some of you North Americans get but this suits me fine. Anymore than this and everything is a nightmare. Our country can't handle snow!My boss text me the other day to say that i could have today off and just start back on Monday! I was so happy! I though it was dumb starting back on a Friday anyway.

So here's some progress pics of some pieces i've been stitching recently. The first is Lizzy's RR and im stitching LHN's Mary Heaton (from the Dear Diary Series). It was stitching on this RR that made me decide to stitch all the Dear Diary Series for myself. And here is Cirque. I had a bit of a break from it just before Christmas so this is my week 7 progress. The end is nigh for page 1....maybe next week?
Check back soon for my blogiversary!

Rainy saturday

Its 1pm and it's such a dull day we've had to have the lights on all morning. How depressing! This morning we went to play badminton as we feel that we never get any exercise in the winter. By the time you get home from work, it's dark and i just can't be bothered doing anything. But i must!! Its so easy just to come in and veg out in the evening especially when work has been busy and stressful. Unfortunately Scottish winters come with a lot of rain so outside is not particularly appealing!

Anyway, on to nicer topics....like this gorgeous Christmas ornie i received from Karen this week! I love it Karen and can't wait to hang it on my tree. Thank-you. No decorations here yet mind you! I normally put my decorations up 12 days before Christmas and take them down 12 days after. Here's my lovely gift from Karen anyway, it looks like a JBW designs one to me but im not sure
I also received the next RR to work on for the Heartfelt Friends RR. This one is Lizzy's and my, is it a beauty or what?! Lizzy is using LHN's Dear Diary series for her piece. It looks really great. Ive never seen these Dear Diary ones before but im definitely going to buy some after seeing this piece. I have already started my square and am going to stitch the Mary Heaton, Fort Wayne one.You'll probably be bored of CdC by now but as im working on it once a week for the SAL and i only normally get to post to my blog once or twice a week, it's going to be a regular update here. It's great motivation for me to see my (small) progress week by week. I've started working on the big circle, bottom right. Still on page 1 though!This afternoon im going to stitch and either finish watching season 6 of Gilmore Girls or watch Hairspray on DVD. Perfect rainy day afternoon in my eyes :)

Edgar's RR

I finished my square on Edgar's RR at the weekend. I used about 4 LHN charts to put this square together. I hope you like it Edgar! Here's what Edgar's piece looks like overall. Half way now! I'll be sending it on to Lesley this week.I have to show a picture of this adorable hat and glove set i picked up today for my nephew! So cute eh?

Bonfire Night

Remember remember the 5th November

Gunpowder, treason and plot.

I see no reason why gunpowder, treason

Should ever be forgot

It's bonfire night. I love fireworks. For those of you that don't know, i did a History degree at University....so here's a history lesson.....

On the 5th November 1605 Guy Fawkes was caught in the cellars of the Houses of Parliament with several dozen barrels of gunpowder and was then, along with this co-conspirators, was tried as a traitor for trying to blow up (quite literally) the government. He was sentenced to death by execution by the awful practice of being hung ,drawn and quartered. The following year in 1606 it became an annual custom for the King and Parliament to commission a sermon to commemorate the event. The words " Remember , remember the 5th of November" serves as a warning to each new generation that treason will never be forgotten. The 5th of November is still commemorated each year with fireworks and bonfires culminating with the burning of The Guy. Tradition allows British children to display their 'guys' to passers-by and asking for " A penny for the guy.

I must admit, whilst i love bonfires and fireworks, i find the whole "Guy" burning thing a bit sick.

We had a lovely time at the wedding on Saturday at Stirling Castle. It was the posh-est most Scottish wedding ive ever been too. When we arrived we had to knock on a wooden door to get in, say the names of the bride and groom and then climb through a small trap door. The place was exclusively reserved for the wedding only! Here's some pictures of the castle and the bride and groom.Speaking of wedddings, it was my sisters wedding anniversary yesterday. They've been married for a year already. Here is a picture from their wedding day (i am standing next to the bride).
So it was a busy weekend. We didn't get home until about 3am then we were up early on Sunday coz DH runs the family church at our church and i had kids club to help at. Then i was at work on Sunday afternoon. However, amongst all the busy-ness i did manage to work more on Edgar's RR. Ive got a lot more done than when i last showed a picture on the 21st Oct. I decided just to use lots of LHN charts for this square. Im not going to do it again. It takes me forever to decide what to use and where. For quickness im going to stick to one chart when the next RR comes my way. Here's my progress so far anyway

100th post

This is my 100th post! I love blogging!

Work is crazy at the moment and life is generally busy so ive not been stitching as much. I only had 1 free night last week and it's going to be the same again this week. So here is an update on what i have been working on. First of all, Edgar's RR (sorry about the lighting of the photos, it's getting dark so early here now!) Im making this RR up as i go along! Edgar's only preference was to have trees in each square. Im not working from any particular LHN pattern, im just adding things as i go along...which is making for slow progress.

Yesterday i was suffering with my startitis problem that you'll know i have by now. I started this one from the 2006 JCS ornament issue. I think i'll keep this for me when's it's done; for my Christmas tree. I think it's by Cherished Stitches.

Finally here's a quilting update. Im finding quilting class hard going....im generally really tired on a Thursday evening and the lighting in the room isn't great. Progress is slow. I find quilting takes up a lot of time - particularly measuring and cutting. Don't get me wrong....i do enjoy it....but i would prefer to use my machine than sewing by hand. After this class is done my next quilting attempt will definitely be machine stitched! Sorry about the bad light in these photos.

Have a good week!

Thank-you Harmien!

Thank-you for all the get well wishes. I still have the cold but am feeling much better today.

After a week of no post due to the Royal Mail postal strikes over here, my first day of mail after the strike was GREAT!!! First of all, a BIG thank-you to Harmien. I love Harmien's blog and I have admired Harmien's beautiful threadkeepers for a while and totally out of the blue she sent me one! I don't even know how she got my address! Harmien i was so excited when i seen the envelope with your name and address on the back and i am so touched by your kindness. Thank-you very much. I always say this but i just can't get over how kind and generous my blogging friends are. Now, here is my threadkeeper. Isn't is beautiful? Harmien put my initials on one side and hers on ther other. I still say she should sell these, i bet loads of people would buy one. I just love hand-crafted pieces.
So in other Good Mail Day news, i also received my next RR to work on. This is round 2 of the Heartfelt Friends RR and we are using LHN designs. I received Edgar's from Donna yesterday. I couldn't get a good picture of it but this is a real beauty. I love how he has stitched all our initials in hearts across the middle. Edgar's only specification is that he wants trees in each square. I think i know what im going to stitch for him.

The in-laws left this morning to back to Canada. It was totally fine having them to stay. I felt bad to be so ill for the week they were here and not very good company as a result, but they understood. Whilst im glad to have the place to ourselves again, it is always sad for DH to say goodbye. He gets on well with his parents, especially his dad and really misses him. His mum always gets quite upset when leaving and i do feel sorry for her. She is actually English so she made that move away from her family herself when she got married. I wish all our family lived in the same place but they don't so goodbyes are part and parcel of our life.

I went to my quilting class last night. Just did more cutting out and measuring so i'll wait until i finish my homework (lots of sewing!) before i give an update. Better go and do some work. I'm working (!) from home today to stop spreading my cold germs around the office!

Jocelyn - if you read this, i can't comment on your blog as you havent turned the comments moderation on! Maybe that's on purpose but i just thought i'd let you know anyway. Your blog is great by the way :)

Donna's RR finished!

I finished my square on Donna's RR. Donna i hope you like it. Its an adapted version of LHN's "The Counting House."and here's what Donna's RR looks like overall.For anyone that loves LHN you should visit our Heartfelt Friends Round Robin blog. I am way ahead on the RR (the deadline isn't until October) but i just wanted to work on this until it was finished to get it off my mind as i have a few deadlines before the end of the year (as you can see in my sidebar) and i would like to do some Christmasy Stitching for myself and my family at some point too.

I received this gorgeous biscornu for Hazel on saturday morning as i was a winner in her blog competition! Isn't it gorgeous? This is my first ever biscornu! Hazel, i love it! Your stitching and finishing is just beautiful. Thank-you so much!In other stitching news i received my exchange partners name for the Specific Designers Exchange on the SBEBB and im excited about that! I have already decided what to stitch. This will be my first exchange on this board. Speaking of exchanges, remember the nightmare i was having with my Fair and Square exchange (if not, read about it here)? Well, the squares arrived back to me (they were marked return to sender) and i have now posted them off again to my partner's new address. Im so glad they were returned to me! Im going to do round 3 but i hope it will be less stressful this time round :)

Yummy Fabric

I can't believe it's September already. Summer has been pretty non-existant here this year, its so depressing! I keep thinking it might still come but when you see the leaves changing colour you know that's wishful thinking.

On saturday i went fabric shopping. My mum told me about a material shop in town that i never knew existed. I think i'll be in there quite a lot from now on :) Check out all this yummy fabric i bought

The next picture shows my favourite fabric purchase! It was quite pricey but i loved it so had to get it! Im going to use the red piece for Amitie once it's stitched, i think it'll be perfect for it. This weekend I have again been so touched by the kindness of my blogging friends. Regular readers will remember the story of the most expensive rr ever. Well today i got an email from Donna with a gift certificate for Mary Kathryn's online store!! Ive already emailed Donna but i'll just say again - Donna, thank-you so much!! That was just so kind of you. Im completely overwhelmed by your generosity, you are such a lovely, kind friend :)

Speaking of Donna, here's her RR update. You can see ive been making good progress on this one.

It's been a lucky weekend - Hazel emailed me to say i came 2nd in her competition!! Can't wait to see what gift i win! Thanks so much Hazel, it was so great of you to offer up all those prizes on your blog and im excited to be a winner :)

So ive got a busy week ahead. As well as the usual work each day, i have a post-camp evaluation meeting tomorrow night, my friends birthday meal on Wednesday night, a baptism to go to on Friday night and a busy day next saturday too! Hope i get some time to stitch ;)

Fair and Square Round 2

Well i posted my squares for the Fair and Square Exchange 3/4 weeks ago now. Unfortunately my partner for the exchange moved house and i didn't have her new address and she isnt having her mail redirected so i don't know if she'll ever get these. Very annoying indeed! So i thought i'd just post these pictures of what i stitched to prove that i did stitch them!! I read that my exchange partner liked houses and trees and samplers so found this chart, which i had to ammend to fit 50x50. It is a freebie from Les Grilles de Maryse. I really enjoyed stitching this and might stitch it again sometime.Ive made good progress on Donna's RR this week! I know it's not due for posting until the 7th October but im keen to get it finished so that i can work on some other things without this being at the back on my mind.
Today is my mum and dad's anniversary and as i found out at dinner the other night that my Dad reads my blog i shall take this opportunity to say "Happy Anniversary to you both!"

SBEBB and Sewing Nights

Yesterday i joined the SBEBB (Stitching Blogger Exchange Board) and i am so excited about it! I thought long and hard about whether i'd have time to do it and came to the conclusion that i do, even if that means i'll never stitch anything for myself ever LOL. Today i signed up for my first exchange which will be the "Specific Designer Exchange." The designer chosen is LHN so that suits me just fine seeing as it's one of my favourites and, as you know by now, LHN is the theme of the RR we're doing at the moment. Here's how Donna's is lookingSo i now have to keep a close track of all my deadlines which im going to post in the sidebar to help me keep record.

Thanks for all the comments about the quilting! Im really looking forward to it and for those of you who asked - i will definitely still be stitching! I'm also so excited that one of my friends has really got into sewing these days and has signed up to come to the class with my mum and i. Someone my age who shares my hobby! Yeah!! In fact, last night, we had our first "sewing" night at my house, much to the amusement of our other friends! It was actually only Lori and I stitching, the other 2 watched a dvd and laughed at us. This is me pretending (badly) that i haven't noticed the cameraand here is Lori surrounded by stash boxes!and i'll leave you with this cute picture of Fiona, Lori's little one, wondering what on earth i was doing!

Im gonna be a quilter!

Im going to quilting classes! I've been wanting to learn to quilt for ages but just haven't had the opportunity to try it yet. My mum has started getting interested in it too after visiting one of her quilting friends. Anyway, last week we found out that there is going to be a quilting class in the wee community centre in my village which is right opposite my house. The lady that runs the class (which is for beginners) is only taking on 6 class members so mum and i make up 2 of those. We start at the end of september and it runs one night a week for 10 weeks and is a good price too. Im a bit worried about it as i'm hoping i will be able to do it as im not experienced at sewing at all. Least my mum will be there and can help me out though.

When i told my sister about this she couldn't stop laughing and said "What are you going to do when you're old? You're going to have no hobbies left, you're using them all up now." The cheek of it! It did make me laugh though.

Here are some stitching updates. This is where im up to on your RR Donna. LHN's "The counting house." Im using the recommended WDW, Crescent Colours and DMC threads. This one is an enjoyable stitch as it's nice and simple. A good tv stitch (a piece you don't have to concentrate too hard on).I haven't done much on Amitie recently but i got home from work earlier yesterday and sat in the sun for a while (yes, you read right - we've had sun...and heat!) and worked on it for a little while.As usual, im glad it's the weekend. No plans tonight which is fine by me as we were out last night and im tired today. Tomorrow night i'm dragging DH and 2 of our friends along to a work event. Im taking some of the young people i work with to a concert organised and performed by other young people in the area. Not sure what it'll be like, just doing my bit and showing face at it!

Have a good weekend everyone!