Flowers grown and to stitch

I have joined this stitch along, the first design will be released on Jan 10th, 

and just because I can, I have changed the silk colours. It should be stitched in shades of pink, but I'm not a pink lady, so the lilac's and purples are out, I also like to see green , I will probably add a few more colours as I stitch it. 

 I have found this on Pintrest, 

it looks interesting and am just thinking on how I can adapt it for me. 

I have a few projects I purchased last year, so I have loads to do. 

I am still waiting for my order from early December, one of the fabrics was out of stock.

 My ORT's from 2014, the pot is almost full, I will use them for stuffing a little project

 I have been using my Xpress machine, I managed to purchase some die's in the sale, most are for Christmas, so I am full of ideas for this years cards. 

I love the fine detail I am getting.

 Flower's in our sitting room, the Amaryllis has shot up, but the stem is not straight.

 I treated myself to this violet, very pretty and I hope to grow other plants from the leaves. 

We had a lovely afternoon out for Win's birthday, there were 24 people to celebrate her 100th birthday, it was so nice to meet people who's name we knew. To meet her dancing instructor, she goes to a dancing class every Monday evening and her 5 great nephews, who adore her.
Sunday we had a day at home neither of us were feeling well, now we are both off work with another virus, I have not been out since Saturday, we did not see Josh and Sam at the weekend, did not want to pass this on. Not the start we wanted for the new year, our plan is to stay inside get rid of our bugs.

I have had loads of thinking time, last year was good, we changed alot of our habits for the better, our intake of sugar has dropped, we do not purchase ready made things with hidden sugar, I have almost stopped eating yogurts, just having them for a treat occasionally. We no longer shop for unwanted items, we think before buying anything, just because they are in the sale does not mean we need them. This year I want to grow more to eat,  visit some pick your self farms to fill the freezer with fruit and veg, forage in the Autumn.
We have not opened our money pot yet, might leave it until it is full, we have never done that, and we can then have our treat in the spring. My gift from work £100 on a store card, I am keeping until the spring, I can use it in B&Q, if we manage to get a family discount of 20% as well, I can get loads for my garden, I know it's not the best place, but our local store has some gardeners on their staff, I don't really need many plants, but our water feature is broken.

2013, second time around

Not very good for my diet, hubby provided us a treat

I have just returned from a good job interview

fingers crossed

 Everything is looking good on the windowsill next to my desk, Avocado has not any extra height, but the leaves have grown, I love their texture, very pretty. Lemon plant loves it's new pot and has six leaves. Lime plant has not grown much but the stem is now much thicker and beginning to look a bit woody. 2nd Avocado stone is just sat there in it's water.

My ORT jar is filling up, loads of red from my Santa project, I have not picked my stitching up all week, it's been busy in the real world, I did want to use my sewing machine, but again, I have not set it up.

I spend my time here, my 2013 book which I had almost finished had to be abandoned, 

Su and I tried every way to get it back on the system, 

but even though we can see it, we can't upload it.

So I am using the view above to place text boxes and photo's to create the page below, I am working one month at a time, it is much easier to deal with a few post rather than the whole year in one go.   I am working on April, and hope to have it all redone in a few weeks, this will be my birthday present from hubby, 

so I do have a deadline, it's needs to be done within 4 weeks.

Lowspend/nospend September, not spent any money so far this week, will need bread and milk tomorrow, I am enjoying the concept of taking a good look at what we buy and eat, we have been good for a couple of years, and I am proud to say we do not waste food. We make most of the meals we eat from raw ingredients, for years we brought pre made things to put together, this has helped with Fliss being with us and her gluten free diet.

I am beginning to think of Christmas, this year, like last year we are setting a budget for each present and again sticking to it, I am not planning to buy decorations for the house, I have loads with I can reuse, I did buy a new 7 foot tree in January, so I will require some more baubles, but again I am looking for glass, no plastic, I have started looking in second hand shops, I would love a few vintage ones. I will make my cake next month, I will have to purchase some of the ingredients, but as Fliss does not eat fruit cake, I can use the same recipe I have used for the past 20 years.

Paula, you asked regarding the beach huts, as a normal rule, you are not allowed to sleep overnight in the huts, they are a basic hut without windows, but you can furnish the inside how you wish, most have tables and chairs stored for use outside, maybe a camping stove to boil a kettle, some are rustic, basic and then sometimes you pass the most stunning interior. They are a base for spending the day at the beach, the rents are yearly, or you can buy them, but the cost are equal to the value of a small house.

I'm off to school later and then taking the boys to McDonald's drive through, later Josh is going to see a senior school, he has a few to visit to choose where he goes in two years. Sam and I will go to the park, he can ride his bike. I can not believe Josh is already looking at senior school, where has the years gone.

Hello Bertha

It's a wet stormy day here, we have the last remains of Hurricane Bertha, 

for our spot in southern England it is a welcome amount of rain.

 I know some parts of the UK will have flooding today, but in the driest area, this amount of rain will help our gardens. Bertha will hang around all day, and affect our weather for the next couple of days.

Back to the fun part, stitching.

European Cushion

I have done loads on this, I hope to finish the outer boarders this week. 

I still love this design it is just so pretty.

Once upon a Time, this is Fliss's project 

We have sat and stitched most days this week. The rest has helped to improve Fliss's health. I love the colours on this, it is stitched true to the design, the only colour Fliss is unsure of is the grey title at the top, the shade is used again in each section to add the month. These are colours which I would never choose to use, but it's a design I would never choose either. 

My ORT jar is looking good, I always keep my used threads, they, make the best stuffing for small projects, plus I love to see this jar on my shelf.

 This is from Jan 1st

My windowsill garden is doing well, the root on my avocado is growing, I now have the stone resting on a tripod, in water, so there is room for the roots to grow. I have another leaf on the Lime plant, and the root on my lemon pip is growing, photo's next time. I have not done much in the garden, it's that time of year where you can rest and enjoy all the work. Next week I have Josh and Sam each day, so the garden will be in use, with football and any other game little boys want to play.
I am now harvesting cucamelons, I forgot to get a photo, and as fast as I pick them they are gone, every one wants to try them, the outside bush is doing as well as the bush in the greenhouse. We love the taste and they are perfect little snacks with small tomatoes.
It's gone very dark and we have thunder, so all the lights are on inside, we are going to sort our small attic, it's a mess up there,

4 Days late

All the photo's here were taken on Sunday morning, my plan was to chat about my hour in the garden, in sunshine, doing odd jobs and plant a couple of pots. I had a great time out to lunch with a friend, came home did a bit more stitching and then to bed.

My problem has been I have just got up again, hit by a really nasty bug.

 I did finish this pattern on Sunday night and made a small start to the 4th design. Yesterday I did do a few stitches, but just added to the outside boxes for 5,6 and 7, nothing I could go wrong on. The light today is so poor, I won't bother with photo's.

 I have a new jar for my ORT's, I have had this candle for a couple of years, 

so it's part of the household, now with a new purpose.

 My garden from Sunday, so full of promise. 

Spring is so very close now.

We have had a couple of dry days , but today is more rain, and a new worrying problem. In a couple of locations here in Hampshire, homes are being flooded by ground water rising through the water mains, so instead of water disappearing into the drains, it is flooding out of them, our sub soil is chalk and it is full of water, any water now has nowhere to go. I think we are safe, but one location not to far away has no rivers or local water, but is under almost a foot of water. This winter has to go down in history as the weirdest, wettest I have ever known.
My plan is to stay inside, rest and feel better, I'm not great yet, but I feel well enough not to stay in bed. I plan to go back to work on Monday, on the plus side I have lost 6lbs since Sunday. So today I can catch up on a couple of films and do some simple stitching.
As always, loved reading your blogs, thank goodness for my ipad.

TUSAL 2013

My stitching is coming along well, 

I have one small heart to do and finish the top left hand side.  

 I have not taken part in TUSAL again last year, but I still keep my ORT's, they are perfect stuffing material. I always use this jar and it's pretty full again. I love all the colours, the purple on top is from the hearts.

 My Amaryllis is coming along, I hope the bulb will grow much higher, my bulbs are a poor display inside this year. I am not expecting much for the ones outside in pots, it's been far to wet.

 Earlier in the week I made turkey and ham pie with left overs, once the pie was made it did not look great, but the flavours were good. I shredded the turkey and ham and placed in a large oven proof dish, to this meat I added the pot of cranberry sauce, and mixed all together. I made the stuffing up and spread in on top of the meat, it was the pie top, baked in the oven, the cranberries made the meat moist and we both enjoyed the meal.

We have had another day of storms, rain and wind, plus high tides, again we are very lucky, no flooding close by. Our neighbour's tree is falling over, but it will land in gardens, so any damage will not cause too much problems. Our garden is still good, every thing is just so wet.
Tonight we are staying in, I want to do some more stitching, try and have my 1st finish of 2014, then I want to find another to finish. I have decided not to start anything in January, get a few finishes done and treat myself to a big start in February.
Tomorrow we are out to lunch, Win next door was 99 on Thursday, so we are going for a pub lunch.
Sunday we are hoping to book a break in France for June, something warm to look forward to.
Next week I have a new Christmas tree coming, I have got a seven foot tree on sale, and as you know I do love a bargain, so we can put it up to see we like it and then pack it away for 11 months.
So this weekend we are keeping dry and warm.

TUSAL

 A few more threads this time

Big pot all pushed down, I love the mix of colours

TUSAL

 I hang my head in shame, this is from a month's worth on stitching, I really need to pick up my frame. On the plus side the cushion I am knitting is growing, pic next time.

 We had a busy weekend, Josh and Sammy came on Sunday, we had loads of fun, Josh loved racing the cars, and got good at it very quickly.

 Sammy is just mad on every thing about Bob the Builder, I love his curly hair, so cute.

I managed to sort a few pots in my garden, planting bulbs and winter pansies, I have a few more to do, but their flowers have not died down yet.  We went for a cycle ride which was fun and saw Su, Gav and Shannon, so a true family weekend.

TUSAL

 My ORT pot is looking full of greens and pinks from Sweet Flowers and shiny threads from the Christmas ornament, my TUSAL pot is getting full, I have not stitched at all over the weekend far to busy.

 We  had fun at the wedding, hubby was best man, hence the long jacket, and I wore the dress I had from our 25th wedding anniversary,jacket was purchased for daughter Su's wedding, it's nice to get a second run from clothes.

 Both my beautiful daughters from Saturday night, Su's birthday meal, both looking lovely, I am proud to have both so close and happy, my dress here was from Fliss's wedding, 13 years ago, I love it far to much to get rid of it, without the jacket, it's a great dress for a night out.

We have the rest of today off, going for a cycle ride soon, we are using Su and her hubby Gav's bike, we are thinking of purchasing bikes, but I want to be sure we ride together OK, I am much slower than Kev, and I hope he will be OK with my speed.
Then I will pick Josh up from school followed by an evening in together and an early night. No plans for stitching today, just time with my lovely hubby.

TUSAL - August

 Not so much this time, but my big pot is looking good.

TUSAL - May

I will be in France on Sunday so here is my TUSAL early, another busy month

ORT's from Sweet Flowers and Patchwork Sampler, I might need a bigger pot this year!

TUSAL - and a giveaway

 My TUSAL monthly pot is almost full, two weeks of being at home stitching, both Patchwork sampler and Sweet Flowers are coming along nicely, I'm just over half way through this months design on the latter and itching to get back on the sampler.

I will post on Sunday Sweet flowers, not much stitching time now, we have our youngest grandson Logan visiting with mummy and daddy for the weekend, fun and laughter is promised.

My daughter Fliss has a beautiful blog called Joshy and Belle, and she is having a give away and has asked me to send you to here  you can win a $50 voucher for Novica, with loads to choose and shipping any where, have a go, you might be lucky.

I have not done anything with the Penguin, which I want to travel around the world and be stitched in every country, I promise on Sunday I will start him on his journey, if you want to add your name leave a comment here

I'm off to start my weekend, enjoy yours what ever you are doing.

Travelling Penguin and an early TUSAL

 Not having my own mum around on Mothering Sunday, leads my mind to focus on my daughter and her hubby and two sons, they had lunch with us along with Su and her hubby Gav, Kev cooked a perfect meal, and we all had loads of fun together, what a perfect little family.

I have started Patchwork Sampler, but last night I frogged loads, just two stitches out caused loads of problems, best not to stitch when watching a good film, not sure why the fabric has yellow marks in this photo, I'm stitching on pure white.

 TUSAL
 I won't be around on Wednesday, loads of colours, pinks, greens and oranges.

 My pot is looking good already

 I have had so many nice comments regarding Tribal Penguin, I want to send him on a journey, can we get him around the world, if you would like to stitch him and then pass him on, please leave a message on this post, he is very easy and quick, I will start a list on my side bar of where he goes, if I pull you name all you have to do is post about him when you have finished and send him on. I will watch and report on each stage of his journey, and see how he looks at each stage, I'm sure someone will stray from black and white. I will choose next week, normal thing names in a hat.

I am ready for hospital, so 7.30am I will be off, and not back until Friday, which means I shall have loads to read, and plenty of rest time to enjoy all your blogs.

See you soon.

TUSAL Feb 2012

 My small pot is really full this month, I have done loads of stitching, Green from Laura's rug, random from Paula's heart, black from the penguin and pinks from Romantic sampler.

My jar is looking good, my girls have not noticed I have soft threads in there yet, but I'm sure they will be back soon.

I have done more stitching on both Tribal Penguin and Romantic sampler, and the next part of Sweet Flowers is due out this week. I'm spending the next two evening with Fliss and the boys, daddy is away for a few days, and I am looking forward to having Friday off to spend with Su.

I love today's date 21.02.2012, it is so balanced, have a good day what ever you are doing.

TUSAL Jan 2012

 Not loads of ORTS, but it's a start

Life got in the way of stitching yesterday, not a good day at all !!

Signs of Spring, the wicked white witch is loosing her clutches,
sorry to non Narnia fans!