Saturday 27 February 2021
Turned out nice again
Sunday 21 February 2021
Short and sweet today
This week was half term, Arty was still at nursery when Jenny went to work but we had Oliver for a few days, and tomorrow is a Bonnie day, so not much rest here!
I haven't done much of anything since Thursday except prepare food, snacks and play games. Kids take up so much time and energy! They don't say it's a young mans game for nothing, I'm shattered!
We enjoyed it though and today we managed to get all the housework done by 1pm so I've been able to have some time on the sofa this afternoon and finish a stitched piece.
Some Bunny Loves You by Cottage Garden Samplings
Stitched on 32 count, one over one with the recommended DMC threads
Started: 1st February 2021 - Finished: 21st February 2021
Ohmygoodness, I absolutely LOVE it!
I found the frame in The Range for £1.99 and I think it's perfect for this piece.
I laced the stitching onto some card which I had put wadding on and mounted it in the frame, without the glass.
Mark very rarely comments on anything I stitch or knit but even he said this is a perfect matchπ
Sunday 14 February 2021
Remember Elizabeth Jackson?
Nine years ago this month, probably almost to the day, I started stitching on Elisabeth Jackson.
(Two photos from my blog post in February & March 2012)
The photo above shows how much stitching I'd done and was the last time I worked on her, March 2012.
Fast forward a good few years and I joined a group on fb where people posted their unfinished projects and asked if anyone would either finish it for them and send it back or alternatively you can put you unfinished project up for adoption.
I still had some affection for Elizabeth and didn't feel I wanted to put her up for adoption, so, I asked if anyone would be willing to finish her for me. Lo and behold a lovely lady called Nadia said she would do it for me. We didn't know each other so it was a bit of a leap of faith for me to pack Elizabeth up and send her to someone else to stitch on, but pack her up I did.
That was back around the end of July last year. Nadia messaged me a couple of times letting me know how she was getting on but the last time I heard from her was around October/November and then with Christmas and New year to be honest I forgot about poor Elizabeth until Nadia messaged me to say she's done!
I received her back in the post last Wednesday, do you want to see?
Nadia did an absolutely brilliant job, she's a stitching angel! The back is as neat as the front, you would never know that two different people had stitched on this, I'm so happy π
The lighting in the photos is not brilliant its making the fabric look slightly different in all of them, I would say the last photo is more true to colour now. To tell you the truth, I didn't really like the colour of the fabric, never did, it had a yellow tinge, and that was probably one of the reasons she got put to one side. So, when she arrived back I gave her a bath in tea and coffee, and put her in the oven to dry π¨
But it's ok, don't panic, she came out fine. I'm still not totally in love with the fabric colour but it's toned down the yellow-ness and given her an aged look. I like it.
As soon as lockdown is over i'll take her to be framed.
I now only have one very long term WIP left, I won't be asking anyone to finish that one though as I know once I force myself to pick it up I will like working on it.
What's the longest WIP you have hidden away?
-X-
Wednesday 10 February 2021
Wednesday walk and book talk
It was far too cold to take Bonnie out for a walk on Monday, It kept trying to snow all day but never settled, the wind made it feel even colder. We had planned on going to a local National Trust property, most have lovely grounds to walk in, although at the moment none of the houses or cafe's are open. There was a smattering of snow yesterday morning and still very cold but the wind had dropped and the sun came out for a while. I only went on a local walk, to the church at the bottom of road, back up and around the outskirts of the estate. I like walking when the weather is like this, cold and crisp with a bit of Winter sunshine, in fact, I prefer walking in this kind of weather than in the Summer. I always think when it's cold, you can wrap up against it and get warm and cosy, whereas when it's hot there is no way to get away from it. That's my logic anyway :-)
Fearful of the future, when Elsa wakes to find her husband has fled, she is forced to make the most agonizing decision of her life. Fight for the land she loves or take her beloved children, Loreda and Ant, west to California in search of a better life. Will it be the land of milk and honey? Or will their experience challenge every ounce of strength they possess?
From the overriding love of a mother for her child, the value of female friendship and the ability to love again – against all odds, Elsa’s incredible journey is a story of survival, hope and what we do for the ones we love.
Who is he really? And what could make someone change their mind about the human race . . . ?
Sunday 7 February 2021
New knitting
Wednesday 3 February 2021
Tuesday, the new Sunday
Monday always used to be my cleaning day but since I've been looking after Bonnie on a Monday Sunday is now the day I throw the house inside out, as we say here.
Sunday's used to be my day off, my day for sitting and stitching in the afternoons once dinner was over, now I play house all day and do everything that needs doing, of course, it also means that Mark is at home too so I can enlist his help with things like cleaning windows and changing the bed, neither of which is my favourite job ;-) I find doing it like this gives me more free time, it's then just a matter of keeping on top of the daily things, plus I usually add one other job a day in, like cleaning a cupboard out or ironing, although there is not a lot of ironing now there is just the two of us. I find this way of doing things works for me, my mind can't cope with untidiness, I feel calmer when things are in their place and I'm lucky that Mark is the same, he is not untidy around the house, I don't think I have ever had to pick up his clothes, or a wet towel off the bathroom floor.
He came ready trained in those things π
With all the jobs done that leaves Monday free for me to just concentrate on being with Bonnie. When she comes, just before 8am, we usually go out and feed the birds, she then has her breakfast and looks out the kitchen window to see what birds come. We will then decide what we are going to do for the day and where we are going to go for a walk. When we go out we take a hot chocolate and a water bottle to warm us up when we get back to the car. We also have to take some nuts for the squirrels and bird food, when we are walking she likes to leave food out for them under the bushes and trees. The day usually involves making cakes or biscuits, she is getting really good at weighing, mixing and rolling. In the afternoon we will play a game and for the last hour or so before tea she likes to watch Bing or if I can persuade her, we put a film on, (being a nanna gives you an excuse to watch all the Disney films again π)
I love my Monday's with Bonnie, she's no trouble at all and very entertaining, three is such a great age, don't you think? and I hope when she is older she will remember all these little things we do.
As much as I like my day with Bonnie I do look forward to Tuesday's off too. Yesterday all the daily things and the extra job (sweeping off the drive) were done by 10am so once I'd been for my walk I sat down to start a new project.
This is Somebunny Loves you by Cottage Garden Samplings
This is my 5th book of the year. I gave it 3 stars but only because of some of the dodgy accents the narrator used, I loved all the characters, especially Hubert.
While I was stitching and listening Mark worked on our jigsaw. Well I say our jigsaw, but I've only worked on it once with him, I did the robins.