Time for an update

I really have slacked these past few weeks.  On the health front yet another change of medication seems to have helped the situation.  I've had a heart monitor check done for a few days and my next appointment will be with a cardiologist on 4th July so hopefully then things will be sorted finally.

On the stitching front I seem to have managed to do quite a bit.  I finished Angie's Sweet flowers on time and am now starting Part 4.  Its beginning to look quite colourful and I'm pleased with the result.

For StitchingHangout May was a purple month and so I worked on Cirque des Cercles.  I didn't finish as much as I wanted to but at least it seems to be progressing albeit slowly.

The second Angie SAL via Sticklounge is Fleur and Papillon.  I've finished Part 2 of this which I'm hoping to frame as a companion piece to Sweet Flowers eventually.

As an end of May update on my HAED Mask of Colours I didn't do very well at all.  I was hoping to get a good portion of Part 10 done but alas.  Better luck this month I hope

Tribute to Ackworth, another Sticklounge SAL fared better and I'm now well up to date with this one which is now half way.

Windows by Kelly Searle, my final Sticklounge SAL is gradually catching up.  I love the vibrancy of this one and am looking forward to finishing it and getting it up on the wall.

Finally, on the stitching front is DOS a SAL on Friendly Stitchers.  I finally finished Part 2 although I still have a bit of infill between the medallions.  Now onto Part 3 and the drawn thread part.  Not sure at the moment whether I will use ribbon or not.  Decisions decisions.

Finally, I received a RAK from Deb Hay, this lovely chart which I look forward to stitching in the not too distant future.
The garden is slowly taking place and we've been planting up the front garden (our project for this year).  Tomatoes are planted as are aubergines and peppers.  Hopefully the melons will go in soon.  Outside the rain has literally stopped things and at the moment its a case of dodging the showers so hopefully there will be a break next week so we can get the sprouts and cannellini beans in.

Thats it for now.  Have a good week

Not a good week

The last couple of weeks haven't been good,  Major health problems due to a changeover of medication which hasn't agreed with me.  This has culminated in a trip to A & E and I'm beginning to feel like a pincushion.  Back to Drs tomorrow but hopefully things will be sorted out ere long.

So, a few pictures of what we're growing in one of our tunnels.  These are the potatoes that we are now digging.  Have so many old ones left that I'm restricting us to just digging one stalk each Saturday just for a treat:)

From the left, spring cabbage, strawberries, lettuce, more lettuce with radish behind it and behind that is spinach and on the right is beetroot.

This is my herb bed which I use almost every day.  Sage, rosemary, oregano, lemon balm, tarragon and chives.  Coriander, dill, parsley and basil all have a part row of their own in the main beds.

On the stitching front I finished Part 1 of Fleur and Papillon by Angie.  This is a lovely design and I'm hoping to pair it with Sweet Flowers also by Angie.

I also finished Part 7 of Windows by Kelly Searle. I love this design.  Its so colourful and vibrant.

Thats about it for this week.  Hope you all have a good week

Another wet and windy Sunday

Well, this week has been wetter than last and today its been howling a gale so much that lots of the trees have been stripped of their new leaves.  Is everyone sure that its the end of April and not November?

First up I haven't done much outdoor picture taking but have kept indoors out of the worst of the weather.  I did however, rush out and pick these

They are a member of the cuckoo pint (arum) family and their name??? commonly called The Mouse Plant.  Remind you of anyone????

The best thing thats happened this week has been that we've dug our first new potatoes.  We grow them early in one of our polytunnels but this year was the earliest we have ever dug them 28th April.  They were scrumptious and No, I didn't wash the dirt off them before I took the pic.

On the stitching front I haven't finished any of the SAL parts this week.  They are all in various stages of being worked on.  However as its the end of the month I have taken pictures of two of my long lasting WIPs that I have been working on.  First up is Mask of Colours, a HAED piece.  I've just started page 10 now so only 14 more to go:((

Secondly is a Mystic Stitch one called Vin de Provence.  I'm only on page 3 but then there's only 15 pages in total.

This week I'm hoping to finish at least a part of one SAL and work on the others.  In the meantime have a good May Day.

Another wet Sunday

Well this week has been rainy.  No not rainy, just totally wet, soggy and  a washout.  Not much has been done outside which is a bit disappointing and the weather next week is supposed to be.... you guessed it.... wet wet wet.

So no pictures this week but a few that I took last week.  This is one of the camellias that grow in our drive border.  They love the soil here is its very acidic.  This one is a dark red and has just this year started flowering.

This is our new orchard thatwe have been planting for the last two years.  At the moment we have 48 apple trees, both eating and cooking planted.  This year some of the xmas trees will be demolished for posts and firewood  and we will be planting 16 pear trees and also some greengages.

On the stitching front I;ve finished Part 7 of Ackworth

This is now really taking shape.  Part 8 should be released in a week or so.
I've also finished Part 6 of Windows by Kelly Searle

This is really beginning to look good now and I'm very pleased with it.  \I've also worked on two Angie Designs SALs, Sweet Flowers and Fleur et Papillon.  No pictures as yet but hopefully in the near future. Also Mask has seen the light and Vin de Provence.  Pictures of those two next week.

I've decided this year to do the Papillon SAL 80 days and have picked a mint green linen and Carries threads for this.  Hopefully the silks will arrive in the next week or so and then I can begin that one.

Have a good week

Sunday 15 April

Couldn't think of a quirky title so I decided on the date instead.  Not very original but there.  The above pic is of one of the tubs I have standing outside my kitchen window.  A bit of colour on the dark wet cloudy days.

Carrying on with the them of pics of my house and gardens.  This is a picture of the drive taken from the front of my drive.  The white in the distance is the front gate.  The drive still needs a lot of work doing on it but slowly slowly....

Finally from the garden are some double primroses.  They really look absolutely stunning at this time of the year.

On the stitching front I only have one picture this week - Part 1 of a SAL run by the Friendly Stitchers Yahoo group (one day I'll learn to do those snazzy links) and designed by Michelle.  I've used (with her permission) a bit of artistic licence here but I'm happy with the results.  The fabric is Polstitches Chocoholic and the threads are Carries.

I have been continuing with my other projects and have started yet another Sticklounge SAL.  This is another design by Angie and called Fleurs et Papillon (Flowers and butterflies).  Mask of Colours goes on unabated and I've also picked up a UFO, a Mystic Stitch design Vin de Provence.  Hopefully pictures of some of these will follow next week.

Have a good week everyone

Its Easter - and another Sunday

To start off this week I've finished Tribute to Ackworth Part 6.  This is a SAL from the Sticklounge Yahoo group designed by Luv2stitchDesigns.  This last part was a quick stitch so I finished it in a few days. 

My next finish for this week was Section 2 of Angie's design Sweet Flowers.  This was a sign up from her blog and is a monocolour sampler that I have changed to multi colour.  The next part is due out shortly and I'm looking forward to stitchin g on that.

My third finish (if you can call a Part a finish) was Part 5 of Windows by Kelly Searle (also a Sticklounge SAL) it can be seen in its entirety at www.etsy.com/shop/SuthernStitchin.  I've just started Patrt 6 and this one now introduces a burst of other colours.  Watch this space for pics.

This weeks pictures of our grounds is the walkway that goes down beside my tunnel.  It hasn't yet been planted up with daffodils (I love daffodils) but will be hopefully over the next couple of years.

This week I've had my daughter and grandson down for a few days so life has been somewhat hectic but they have now gone back home as her husband has arrived for a few days before going back to work in London.

I wish you all a Happy Easter.

Until next week - have a great time

Its Sunday again - 1st April 2012

Well, due to special request from Mel, I'll start off with a couple more pictures of the "estate".  This is our soft fruit garden which we finally finished planting up this winter.  Raspberries, blueberries, gooseberries (red and green), loganberries, blackberries, blackcurrants and rhubarb.  Now all they need do is produce fruit.  We've also got strawberries but they are elsewhere.  5 rows in my tunnel, one in Mikes and 2 in the veggie garden.  Can you tell I like strawberries?


The one below has been taken to the left of the one above and is the path that leads to the orchard.

On the stitching front its been a busy week but with only one picture.  I've been working on my HAED Mask of Colours and am about one third down on page 9.  Windows (Sticklounge SAL) progresses slowly but Part 5 should be finished this week.  Sweet Flowers Part 2 is also nearly finished so pics next week.  The one I did finish was Part 5 of Ackworth (another StickloungeSAL)  Pic below

Thats about it for this week.  Still seed sowing and potting on veggies for the garden.  Mike has finally sorted out and dug the front garden so hopefully we can start planting next week.

Have a good week

Sunday Update 25 March

Well, its that time of the year and in our back garden at the moment is our resident pheasant together with his harem of ladies.

This year however, he has a hybrid in tow. She has a golden tripe round her head and a very dark brown/light brown striped body. The picture isn't brilliant so I'll try to do better next time.

Onto stitching; I've finally finished Hilary's Calender of Cats.  I really thought this was going to be a quick stitch but was amazed at how long it took (sorry Hilary).  However, its finished now and will be winging its way home on Wednesday.

Finally, having seen how wonderfully well Kerry is doing with her HAED, I was motivated to get mine out.  It was started in 2007 and I had only done 6 pages so if I want to get it finished this century it was time to begin again.  I have so far managed to do pages 7 and 8 and am just starting on page 9 so all seems to be progressing steadily.

So that appears to be it for this week.  I'm still working on my SALs and hopefully will have something to post next week.  The forecast here is fine for the week so hope everyone has a good week.

Its officially Spring

so its time I did actually start this blog. 
The weather has been great so far although cold at night so at least we can get on with sowing seeds and getting the garden ready to plant veggies.

On the stitching front I've almost finished Hilary's Cats (picture to come soon) and the three SALs that I'm doing are progressing well.

1. Angie's Sweet Flowers.  This is Part 1.  The original is pretty monocoloured so I thought I'd jazz it up a bit.  Its stitched in Carries threads. 

2. Windows a SAL on the Sticklounge group.  This is up to Part 3, stitched mainly in DMC.

3. Tribute to Ackworth also a Sticklounge SAL.  I think this is my favourite.  Its stitched on a hand dyed called African Daisy in DD Illawong and Desert Plum.

and the fourth is Mask of Colours by HAED but pic will also be coming later.