Look What I Collected Today!

My LK is back with me all framed up! and i think they made a smashing job, i wasn't too sure I'd chosen the right frame but it works quite well don't you think? You can't see all the little cute charms from this photos but they are really sweet. It's hanging in the dining room at the moment but may find it's way to one of the bedrooms at a later date, for now i want to admire it :-)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I've been working on my Yesteryear this week, not so much as i would have liked though and i did stitch for a whole hour one night then discovered i couldn't count! so threw it on the table and gave up for that night, next night was spent unstitching my mistake and trying again.

This is my progress then.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For Mother's day last year my eldest daughter bought me a beautiful pair of scissors and i have forced myself not to use them until i had made a scissor fob for them, this past week i have managed to make one at last, the chart was found in a very old copy of Cross Stitcher.

So now i can use them but have to remember to hide them when i am done for the night, as daughter #3 and OH have been know to use my scissors even though i have stressed on more than one occasion that they are for threads ONLY!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So...no stitching for me next week, we are off to Prague for a week tomorrow morning, just me and OH. It is a sort of birthday present to each other, his is in October & mine is in December and as there wasn't anything in particular either of us wanted / needed we booked this holiday. Daughter #1 is looking after daughter #3 for the week, she is having a weeks holiday with her so she will be able to see her off to school and be here when she gets home. Our winter woollies are packed, looking at the weather in Prague it's just a bit colder than the UK at the moment so we will need them, the guide book is jam packed with things to see so hopefully i will have lots to share with you next week. Until then, thanks for visiting me and taking the time to leave a comment, i do appreciate it :-)...Tara-a-bit x

The Weeks Goings On

I was going to leave blogging until tomorrow but had a phone call from OH at lunch time saying that he has to stay so that some job or other gets done in the morning, he will be back around lunch time tomorrow. DD#3 has gone out with friends so that leaves me myself & I accompanied by a bag of mixed nuts & raisins and a LARGE glass of red :-) excuse me if i start to waffle further on down the post, that'll be the wine! I do have finishes to share (note the plural?) first up is the LK double Flip It's i started this last year, can't remember when. Photos are taken in three sections because it is rather Long.

It is now in the safe care of my LNS for framing, to be collected next Saturday, i will try to get a photos of all of it then.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Next up is my SAL ornament finish for February

This is a freebie fromhttp://needlenecessities.blogspot.com/ Heidi's blog. Every month she is making a free primitive design available on her blog, (designed by her)this was the first one.I hope she likes my interpretation of 'primitive'. I do not find it easy to come up with ideas of finishing or sewing nor the fundamentals of a machine come to that, but i am quite pleased with how it turned out, my Home Economics Teacher would have been proud that her lessons had not been entirely wasted on me, however, i am glad that none of you could hear the expletives that were uttered whilst this was in the making :0

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One last item before i go and that's a WIP.

I started a LHN called Yesteryear, i am a week into it and this is how it looks so far.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I must end on a sad note, my mother phoned late this afternoon to tell me that her little dog, Dot had been taken to the vets and has had to be put to sleep. Mum took her to have some teeth out at the beginning of the week and she has been poorly ever since, she took her back to the vet on Wednesday because she didn't seem herself, the vet gave her some vitamin shots and various other things but at lunch time today she took a real turn for the worst, luckily my brother was there and took mum to the vets with her where they gave her oxygen and put her on a drip. My brother took mum home but the vet phoned her about an hour later to say that Dotty was not doing very well at all , she was a very poorly girl, her kidneys had stopped working and they could not do anything for her, the best thing would be to put her to sleep, my poor mother was crying when she was telling me, i feel so sorry for her, i know she will not sleep tonight for thinking about Dotty and the fact that she wasn't with her to say goodbye properly, but the poor thing was suffering and they could only do what they did. My mum is going to miss her so much, she has always had a dog, in fact i cannot remember not ever having a dog in the house when we were growing up. Mum was 80 last August so i don't think she will have another dog, she has a cat that was a stray she took in so at least she has something for company, but i don't think she will replace little Dotty.

Thanks for visiting me, till next time.... Tara -a-bit x

Note added: I hadn't noticed until Sharon mentioned it that i had left out a photo of my LK finish, i have included that now, thanks Sharon, i wouldn't have noticed, well i did say i was accompanied by a Large glass of red last night, lol. Have a good day all x

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Happy Valentines Day!

OK, hands up, who got flowers or chocolates, or both perhaps from their OH on Valentines Day?

I jokingly asked where my card was this morning, it was clear from the reply of "what card? what for?" that Valentines Day and all the adverts to remind our DH's had completely missed my DH! I would have been more shocked to be honest if he had taken a blind bit of notice of any adverts/cards shops/florist/or general window display that has had a Valentine theme for the past MONTH, hellooooooo, have you been going round with your eyes shut?, well yes, actually he probably has! Fast forward to this afternoon, i go to the local Tesco, he goes to the newsagents for a paper, which is a euphemism for ' having a quick pint' (i know this, he knows i know this but you have to play along, lol) upon my return he makes me a cup of tea, helps put the shopping away then announces that he has a present for me, ahhhh me thinks he has redeemed himself, bless. This is what he gave me........now don't laugh.........

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A CHEESE & ONION COB FROM THE PUB!!!!

I told you not to laugh!

My reaction: (in disbelief) "You bought me a cob?"

OH: "Yes, you like cheese & onion cobs"

OH is now sporting a black eye where the cob hit him!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Moving on swiftly to the magazine give away from last week

The Winner is

Congrats Mary, they will be on their way to you as soon as you send me your address.

I will have one more give away next week, a chart (kit) this time.

Till next time, Tara-a-bit x

(PS.I was only joking about the black eye, i might give him the cob for his tea, serve him right)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2nd Blog Give away

Laurie was the winner of my first blog give away, i have yet to hear from her but am keeping the mags safe until i do.
In the meantime here is my second mag give away.

Cross Stitcher from April 1997 & WOCS issue 138. The WOCS mag has a bonus chart of Paddington Bear!

Below are some of the charts in the magazines.

As before, if you want to be included in the draw for these magazines please leave a comment saying so and i will draw a name from the 'hat' on Saturday. Please leave me your e-mail address or link to your blog so that i can let you know if you win! Joanne & Susan (from Friendly Stitchers) if you are reading this i have already put your names in the draw as you asked :-)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I have been stitching and started a new project but not enough to show a WIP just yet so i will save that for another time, right now i have an appointment on the sofa to watch The Bridges Of Madison County which i recorded because it was on too late last night for a 'school night'.

Tara-a-bit x

The Winner Is.....

Congrats Laurie!

The 2 mags will be winging their way to you very soon.

I will have another 2 up for grabs this week if anyone is interested.

Tara-a-bit x

Did You Get Snow This Week?

No this is not the snow we got in my area, the photos are from the winter of 1947.

From 22nd January to 17th March snow fell EVERY DAY somewhere in the UK, the temperature seldom got a degree or two above freezing, there were snow drifts 8 feet deep in some areas. Throughout January 1947 there were 46 days of sunshine & 13 days that were totally sunless, February got even worse with snow drifts reaching 12 feet in places, neither schools, shops or factories closed though. By the end of the month there was chaos, fuel was in short supply and the railways were impassible with striking workers to boot! This was all before motorways, computers & central heating, fuel was in short supply so people just kept one room heated and rationing was still here in the UK too at that time, women were queing for food for an hour at a time in this weather. By the end of the month snow or sleet had fell in the area i live in now for 19 days, hail on 9 days and there was fog on 4 days and the sun had only appeared on 2 days by February 23! the first part of March that year bought much of the same with the second half milder and very wet, the rain causing a rapid thaw and then came the floods.

The Big Freeze - 1963

I was born in 1961 but my mother has relayed to me often about the harsh weather of 1963, it was the coldest year since 1740. Glasgow had it's first white Christmas since 1938 and from boxing day 1962 until early March 1963 most of England was continuously under the white stuff, although it was sunnier than average, unlike the winter of '47. 1947 was snowier, 1963 was colder. At Herne Bay the sea froze 2 miles out, can you believe that :-o and talking of cold, in 1684 John Evelyn took a coach to Lambeth along the FROZEN River Thames, now that's cold! (click on the link below to see a short film of Herne Bay frozen)

http://sasesearch.brighton.ac.uk/view/?from=search&fromid=placeid%3D4&film=1032&imagefile=%2Ffiles%2Ffilms%2F1032%2Fimage_a_full.jpg&imagealt=A+Still+from+%27Herne+Bay+on+Ice%27+%281963%29+showing+the+frozen+sea

Met Office - Winter Chills: 1947 & 1963, below

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/education/secondary/students/winter.html

More photos from the winter of 1947 below

http://www.topfoto.co.uk/gallery/1947Winter/default.htm

Somehow this weeks snow seems a little insignificant, don't you think?

Keep warm...Tara-a-bit x

The Big Freeze (Again)

Well we were promised the white stuff again and it dutifully arrived this morning! everything looks very pretty and it has been snowing on and off most of the day here so, as we live on a hill i parked my car at the bottom of the road when i came home at lunch time and have dug my wellies out of the shed so that i am prepared to either catch the bus to work in the morning (don't think it will come to that) or walk to my car without getting my feet wet!

My eldest daughter phoned this morning to say that she was stuck in Nottingham, she had been on a girly weekend to Centre Parks with 4 friends, they went to her car this morning to come back and the battery was completely dead! They were trying to find a security guard to see if they would jump start it for her when she phoned. About an hour ago she called again to say that they found the security guard but they wouldn't jump start the car in case they did any damage!!!! can you believe that?? Health & Safety madness! i suppose they wanted a risk assessment produced first! One of the girls had to phone her dad in the end who was working about 15 miles away and he has gone over to get them going. I just hope they don't come across any delays now because of the weather.

I have a finish to show! the first this year! my SAL ornament, and it's very appropriate for today too lol. I chose an Rainbow Gallery Freebie for January, but in hind sight i should have chosen a different coloured fabric, never mind, it's stopping with me so won't really matter!

I haven't got round to making it up, i had some fabric squares somewhere that i bought when we went to Cyprus in October, and one of them would have been just right, but they must have been swallowed by the house because i can't find them anywhere!
My LK is almost finished , just the boarder to work and i stitched almost half of yesterday, i will show piccies once it's all done.

I'm Having A Give Away!

According to my blogger profile i have been a member here for two years now, so as i have been having a sort out i thought i would have my first give away :-) I have far too may stitching magazines so these are the first two up for grabs.

Issue 140 & 146 of the World of Cross Stitching. They are both unmarked so if you would like to be in the draw for them please leave a comment saying that you wish to be included and i will pull names from the 'hat' on Saturday (7th). Don't forget to either leave me your e-mail address or link to your blog. I will be putting another two magazines up next Sunday.

Enjoy the snow, and keep warm :-) Tara-a-bit x