Another project completed

I finally completed my latest project, this time its for our local vicar who is moving from this parish in early August to another parish with his family after 15 years.  One change I made was to use varigated threads which surprisingly were cheaper than DMC or Anchor threads.  Compared to their £ 0.90 I only paid £ 0.30 per skein.  I also changed the design of the corner flowers after playing around with material however, stitching them onto the cushion at the end was more frustrating than on previous ones.   Only trouble is the family leaves when we are away, so the cushion is hidden away at my parent's home, so I am taking a risk putting it on here at the moment.  

The top part after playing around with the varigated threads

The dreaded shields and boat that is on the church sign outside

The finished piece

Really pleased how the flowers turned out on this one

The back view

This time I went a bit adventurous on the hem

I have also been surfing the net to find cheaper and different material.  One difficulty I have found is whilst materials are cheaper, you never know what you are going to receive and what the quality is like, the other option is buying locally and paying more money.  One place I did find for material, who actually provides free samples is www.myfabrics.co.uk so I have some samples on order and am waiting to see whether I can save some money and have a decent purchase.  Whilst our local shops, all 2 of them have a good selection, to get a more wider choice the nearest place is in Norwich 26 miles away and I never seem to get the time to go there.  My DH, Steve says that I have an expensive hobby, my argument is that whilst I am stitching I keeping busy and not raiding the cupboards and picking on food, especially chocolate.

High School and the Summer Holidays

This past week has also seen our daugher leave Primary school and she will be starting High school tomorrow and my son will be beginning his final year there.   Whilst she is looking forward to going, she does have mixed feelings and it seems to be the end of an era.  However,  we just have this one more week and then the kids finish school for the summer holidays.   I just hope the relentless rain we are getting eases off for at least the next 6 weeks with just a light shower at night especially as we will be away for the majority of the time.  One thing is certain though, whilst we are away I won't be stitching cushions as much so I am at the minute so I will not be spending money on my pastime, not unless I see any kits or charts!!!

Another week away, all change in the household and another order

Firstly, thank you for all the comments made on my father’s day cushion, my dad loves it and it is sitting in pride of place on the top of their sofa as he dare not use it as a cushion.  I could not reply to each one as usual as we were away in the motorhome and whilst I can use my mobile phone, it is quicker on the laptop to type.

Before I went away, I did complete another cushion, for Victoria's birthday.  At the minute I have not stuffed it with an inner cushion as I can hide it away easier from her prying eyes.

Our trip away did come with surprises, especially at the end and both our own two children were away from us during the week at some stage.  Ben, our son had work experience, so he stayed for the weekend and then stayed with my parents during the week, and on the Wednesday, Victoria went to Belgium with her school around the war graves and to the Menin Gate in Ypres for a two day visit.  She did enjoy it and it was quite enjoyable to hear the young people were respectful when paying their respects to those who have fought for our countries, especially during the evening Last Post ceremony that is held there each evening. 

But we did not return home without some drama affecting us.   Our youngest looked after child came down with spots on the Friday night, which at first we thought was due to heat rash.  However, on the Saturday after getting an emergency appointment with the local doctor it was confirmed he had come down with Chicken Pox.  Whilst our own two had already suffered Chicken Pox our two other young people had not and were very wary and cautious.  Luckily, no more outbreaks in the household have developed.  The other issue was our washing machine, which after the 6th load it started to spew out washing powder mid load, luckily it is still working.

My poor sick washing machine

This week I thought I would be lucky to continue with my stitching, but one of our young people moved into independence on Tuesday and most of Tuesday and Wednesday was spent repainting the bedroom and sourcing new bedding and beds as these were needed.  In fact, we’ve been so busy, it was not until yesterday we remembered today is our 12th wedding anniversary, so for both Steve and myself, it was a last minute dash down town to get each other a card and small gift each.   And finally, whilst everybody here are looking forward to the end of the school term, our   youngest daughter is looking forward to her last week at Primary school.   Whilst I have been writing this blog we have also been designing a scented cushion to make for both her teachers.  Victoria's orders and my quick work on getting the design made up of what she wants.



So today, I have spent my wedding anniversary starting my next cushion project, on behalf of my mum for our local vicar.  He and his family are leaving to go to another parish after 15 years.   The hardest part was the shields and boat symbol on the church to design but hopefully, this will turn out ok when I stitch it.

The completed design

A close up of the dreaded shields and boat

The actual sign at the church

By tonight, when I go to bed, it will be stitched or almost stitched up ready for me to get the material and whizz up a cushion on the sewing machine.  For the stitching I purchased some different threads to use other than the DMC that I usually purchase, so it will be interesting to see how the final result turns out.  My mother chose the brown threads to go with his furniture.

The new threads

Will be strange to think my youngest will be starting high school in September, and our son will be in his final year there.  Victoria is going to spend the last week of the current school term at high school with Ben to get used to the change.   So, I now know my place for the next week......stitching and less time on the internet. 

Belated Father's Day present

 This past week and a half, I have been off the internet, and guiltily hiding away at home away from my dad each time he has come up to the house to walk our dog, Evie.  I do extend a big apology to those who sent me comments on my blog which I only now got around to publishing.  The reason????    Father’s Day last Sunday!!!

A couple of years ago my dad was diagnosed with diabetes, so each Christmas and Birthday have given us a dilemma...what to get him.    At Christmas Steve and I arranged with the kids to buy an empty basket and fill it up with diabetes foods, shower gels, dvd and a small bottle of whiskey slipped in.  So, why do I get the ideas late into the day, leaving me with little time of the perfect present for him, that is sugar free, not tasteless and not the usual presents we seem to purchase because we cannot think of anything else.

My brainwave was to complete one of my work in progress, which had been tucked away for 4 years,  3 labrador puppies chewing an old boot.....on the Thursday before Father’s Day. 



What the end result was going to be

On Friday, I sat hidden away in my bedroom from 9.30 am until 10 pm with a few breaks in between.   I heard my dad come into the house to take Evie out for a walk and when he telephoned me on my mobile phone I had to switch the television off and guiltily pretend that I was out.

and how much had been stitched so far

Saturday, Steve and I usually take the kids out for dinner, its our one day a week we don't cook and I sat in the pub with my cross stitch, stitching like crazy.  I did get on well, but as we had one young person sleeping out with friends, one at his family home for contact, I had a vodka or two.  Trouble was, I then had a telephone call from my brother to say he was celebrating his divorce at our local pub that night, so the stitching went out of the window and I joined him with a few of us getting through 4 bottles of champagne to celebrate his new found freedom.
Sunday, I did eventually get on with the cross stitch, albeit towards the end of the day when I felt I would be able to concentrate.  I felt guilty when I just gave my dad a card, saying that his present would be with him later and regretted going out the previous night.
After stitching from Monday, today, I finally managed to complete all the stitching and backstitch at 4 pm, and whilst Steve cooked dinner, I cut my template out and started stitching on the machine.  9 pm tonight I was able to take the finished article down to him as my parents are going away tomorrow for the weekend and he loves it.


The end result



I am so glad with the final piece!!!


So, now I have 5 months to plan for his birthday and 6 months for Christmas.....although, what’s the betting that I yet again leave it until the last minute!!!!!!

As for my other work in progress, that has taken a back seat, although we are going away again in the motorhome on Saturday, for a week’s holiday (free holiday I won) it will be coming with me and whilst the kids are at school during the day I will be relaxing and stitching.

Back from a week away....but still managed to do some stitching!




Our neighbours on one side of the field

 

The past week we took the kids and the dog away due to the half-term school holidays in the motorhome and had a great time.  The campsite we stayed on were holding Jubilee celebrations for the Queen’s 60 year anniversary at being on the throne, however most of the time the boys were out playing football in the football court, so we didn't see much of them. 

 



and on the other side of the field

It was also really full of tents, caravans, motorhomes and the weather was not too bad until the last day when the winds got up really high and our motorhome was rocking in the wind.  Due to the high winds we ended up having to take down our awning as we were concerned that it was going to uproot and blow into the side of the motorhome. 



Our home for the week



Whilst we were there, we met up with another couple we know, and also had Steve's step-daughter come to visit for the day.  She had the best of both worlds as she had us to see and also George and Molly, with their dog Fly.   She did find the over head cab at the front a bit rock when she went to have a nap, although her and Victoria enjoyed sitting up there to get a bit of peace and quiet from the boys.



However, we had to admit we were fortunate compared to flooding and high winds in Wales over the weekend especially in this camp site where the pitched caravans and cars will be completely ruined as shown on this photo. 




Evie waiting for one of her many walks

 

Evie had a great time with all the walks, however this backfired on us at night as she did nothing but snore loudly. The kids enjoyed walking around the ruins of the old castle in the next field and there were a couple of good pubs in the vicinity.



At the roman ruins



The kids wanted a photo of how the wall had moved



I did manage to complete some more of my cross stitch and have been battling on with the confetti stitches. I am beginning to get to the end of the current page I am on.  My aim is to get the rest of Ben and Natalie into the picture as soon as possible....and then its the dreaded wallpaper to do in the background. 

Yesterday and today it was good to see the wind and rain subside and the sun come out.  On our arrival home, our rhododendron bush    my mother purchased for our first wedding anniversary has flowered.  The standing joke as been what was going to last longer, the bush or our marriage. Bearing in mind I am not green fingered and neither is Steve and whilst we have had our ups and downs, both bush and marriage are still going strong.  Next month we will be celebrating our 12th wedding anniversary.

Steve also surprised me yesterday when we went into town, after we had arrived home with a huge bunch of flowers.  It certainly made up for the five loads of washing I had which had culminated from our stay away.

And finally, at home, its exam fever for the kids.  One has AS levels exams, one has GCSE exams and another has mock GCSE exams.   Trouble is for the boys it’s also coincided with the Euros 2012 and to them (and Steve) everything stops for football, even exam revision. 

However on the plus side,  I suppose this gives me a great opportunity to let everything stop for cross stitching.





Confetti stitches, Getting ready to go away, and Writing one handed

This past week I have returned to my current work in progress of stitching the photo after taking a break from it due to the confetti stitches.  I absolutely detest this and for the thousand time over I really regret deciding to go so big on this project.  Why did I decide to go 20" x16" instead of the 10" x 6" offered I really don't know. 

I know that it will be worth it in the end....but the end seems to be so far away.  I did decide though, to leave the bottom corner until after I have completed the rest of the picture so I can put my initials and the date of completion which I like to do on all my pieces of work. 

Stitching so far



Its getting to the stage of totally random stitches of various colours




This is what I still have to do to complete the 4th page.....then get on with the remainder of the other 3 pages



On the cushion front, I have 3 more orders, 2 forthcoming babies, and a leaving cushion, one of which I will start when I return from our week away.  It gives me a break from those dreaded confetti stitches!!!   

Due to the half-term holiday and Queens Celebrations, commemorating her 60 years on the throne over here in England the motorhome is sitting outside our home at the minute, partly loaded up with clothes.  Getting the boys to ensure they have all their gear is a job in itself.   It always seems the boys here in the home don't think about wash bags, toothbrushes, toothpaste etc and then look at Steve and myself as though we should remember everything for them.  All they think about is making sure a football is in the vehicle, ready to kick around when we arrive at the camp site.  Is this just a male thing????  We also notice it on when the boys do something for us, Ben our son asked if we wanted both mine and Steve's car's washed...only trouble was he put so much soap into the water on Steve's car it was smeary and Steve had to rewash it again.....and my car was washed but in patches with dirt still on it so I had to rewash it the next day.  Ben did tell us he was going to charge us £5 per car.....needless to say whilst he was paid something....it wasn't the amount he was expecting.  Still at least he tried on both accounts.....to clean the car and make some money.

Ben working hard

Victoria has turned into Emelda Marcos ensuring that she is taking more shoes than everybody else put together, just incase they are needed.....which are never worn when we are staying at home.  The easiest person to pack for was the youngest child we have here with us, we took him out yesterday and kitted him out with a whole new wardrobe which he is looking forward to wearing when we collect him again tomorrow afternoon to come away with us.

Mine and Steve's priority, which is important, is ensuring his and Victoria's medication is packed, and then Steve ensures he only takes along the most basic of clothing needed.  As for me......I often take clothes to wear, and then end up not wearing them.  Although this time I have not gone too overboard.   Even Evie our dog has got all excited and has been trying to sneak into the motorhome at every opportunity I have gone into the motorhome to get the beds made up and take some items into there.  Her food is already in there but it will be remembering her lead, food and water bowls, etc.   She loves to lay in between the driver and passengers seats when we travel and that is where she sleeps at night.  The only downside to her being with us is that she snores loudly and often has to be told to be quiet.

However, before we go away, I still have so much to do, fix a buckle on a pair of shoes I purchased a couple of months ago, the leather covering over the metal buckle has come off and will need restitching.....and to get my nail vanish off after being treated by Steve a month ago to having my nails painted with Shellac.  If anybody else has had this done and whilst they do last well, even when being totally abused  abused with washing up, cleaning etc, getting the nail vanish off was not as easy as I thought.  So I am sitting here writing my blog one handed whilst the other hand is in a bowl of acetone polish remover as they have to soak for ten minutes before being scraped off with an orange stick.  Sometimes I think there needs to be more time in the day than the 24 hours we currently get.

Still looking not too bad after a month, except where my nails have grown

And finally after sitting with my hand in a bowl for 10 mins of remover and scraping the remains off with an orange stick

The remains of the polish

On that note, now my nails are done,  its time to get stitching on my shoes and tomorrow morning finish packing the motorhome so we can go away, and enjoy the extended bank holiday and enjoy the celebrations taking place over here for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.....and although I cannot guarantee much stitching to be done.....it will be coming with me for the odd relaxation opportunity.  To all those who will be taking advantage of celebrating and enjoying the bank holidays, have a great time too.

Stitching and cooking

I have been lazy in updating my blog, however I have been busy here (well keeping myself busy) for several reasons.  One was regarding my first order, making an 18th Birthday cushion which my friend Jo and her daughter, Charlotte loved, especially as it was in pink.

Another one was due to making a cushion for my step-daughter Natalie who needed a boost.  She loves hamsters and sometimes whilst words cannot make things better for somebody a personal gift can say it all.    As Natalie has three hamsters already, the stitching seemed apt for her, however the look on Natalie's mother’s face when Steve and I took her home after taking her out for the day and being told I had got Natalie another hamster was a picture.....there was a massive look of relief on Sharon’s face when she realised it was a stitched one.

This one was a real labour of love, stitched over the weekend and  the cushion made up on Monday, however not without mishaps.  My aim was to put a ribbon around the edge; however I think I was too stressed in trying to get it completed on Monday and I had a right battle with it and decided not to stitch it on. 

It didn’t help that I had woken up that morning with an ear infection and had to get an emergency doctor’s appointment that morning.  It did get to the stage me in the doctors ripping the stitching off the attached ribbon on the cushion and putting the threads in my handbag with the other people waiting to see the doctors wondering what on earth I was doing.

Culinary Creations

We also seem to have a culinary master (or mistress) in the family.  Victoria has discovered the art of making pancakes and surprised me with her first effort.  It was so big it hung over the dinner plate.  Victoria's one is shown below and she was a bit gutted her one didn't turn out so big.  The day before yesterday she did cookies and tonight Victoria has been making cakes (chocolate) by herself and is now awaiting them to cool down so she can experiment with icing them with red, yellow, blue and green food colouring.  Pretty soon roast dinner?????  I will have to wait and see.   Just got to wait for Victoria to let me taste one now.....will probably be a long wait.



Multi-coloured iced chocolate buns





 

One busy week with a very good ending

Storage Problems and Stitching news

I have a storage problem, my materials are now taking over the dining room and no matter how neat and tidy I pack everything away it’s taking over the room.  This has stemmed from re-decorating and de-cluttering the room, and now its hunt for storage solutions that works with the room.  Due to this not much stitching has taken place as the big cardboard box that I housed my curtain material in was sorted out and using my template for the cushions itself I cut out as many cushions as possible.  The end result was one basket containing the cushion material and another basket containing the curtain linings to use in making cushion inners.   At the moment I am currently looking for a cupboard to store all my stash or a blanket box or if anybody has any other ideas they will be gratefully received.



Funny how the contents of a large box.......




Can be reduced to this



I have though, started to make a couple of baby girl cushions and have a few more to make up along with an order from a fellow foster carer to make an 18th birthday cushion for her daughters impending birthday.

Chasing Ferrets

We did have a bit of excitement on Sunday after the heavy rain and gales, Evie our Labrador, especially.  To explain fully, our rear garden is split into two, grass one end and concrete the other.  Evie tends to stay away from the grassy end by a gate, and Steve heard her getting very excited outside and went to see what the matter was.  We discovered two of our neighbours ferrets running around our garden.  By the time our neighbour had appeared wearing protective gloves and whilst Steve was ensuring that they did not run into our house,  I had managed to grab hold of ‘Precious’ with my bare hands who was then used as bait to catch ‘Sparkles’ whilst Steve. 

Panic over, and with one jealous dog who would not leave me alone, peace reigned for 10 minutes before yet again another ferret was seen running around the garden.....this time it was ‘Timothy’ and I had to grab him as he was around my feet whilst I unlocked our back gate for Paul to take from me.  We were then hunting for another ferret in both back gardens before Paul finally found her in his shed in the open tumble dryer.   Peace did not reign after that as every 5 minutes Evie wanted to go outside to see if there were anymore out there before returning back indoors satisfied that there was no more ferrets running around.  Steve very kindly did tell me that I was safe handling the ferrets as they did not go for bad meat, which was typical of him.

Missing person Number 2

After the excitement the other week of missing person No 1, I had missing person No 2....this time it was our 17 year old foster daughter who had caught her bus after college in the next town and fell asleep.  She realised her error after waking up once she had passed her stop and was on the other side of town.  When asking her where she was she could only tell me she was near a large roundabout, and there are loads of them here.  Finally by powers of deduction and asking for other landmarks, such as a name of the road I was able to discover where she was and collect her.

And Finally.....

Today I received some good news on the job front.   I had uploaded a CV onto a major site here in England with my profile and got a telephone call today from an agency who are interested in finding me a social work position, so fingers crossed I may soon become a working woman.   I will miss my current role as a SAHM even though it can be hectic and extremely busy 90% of the time.