Happy New Year!

Here's hoping 2013 will be a really good one.
I have so many goals that I'd like to reach this year. I want to continue losing weight. Lost almost 4 stone so far, but have plenty more to go to look & feel the way I'd like to. I want to get this house sorted out. Which means a huge clear out-especially of clothes! And get myself organised properly. I want to be a better wife to my wonderful husband. That means helping out more with cooking and not taking him for granted. And of course, there's loads of stitching I want to do. I need to start framing the pieces I finish too. I have a bad habit of just putting them in a box and not having them out to appreciate & admire my hard work.
So, feel free to pester me and keep nagging me to achieve these goals because I need a good kick up the bum sometimes! :-)

Happy New Year!

A Good Marriage-finished & framed

6 months after our 10th anniversary, I finally got round to taking it to a framers to get professionally framed. I've only ever done this with 2 other pieces-something for my Dad's 50th birthday and my Titanic picture.

I'm not certain where to hang it yet, though. In the living room would be nice, as it'll get seen more there, but we're likely to be redecorating that soon. Should I hang it there for now, or find somewhere else for it to go until after we're done redecorating?

What a year...and it's not over yet!

Sorry for not updating this blog much in 2012. I've had a rubbish year, health wise. I've put my back out badly twice-once I even had to call paramedics out as I was on the floor in total agony every time I moved an inch. Also, I had surgery last month. I had my gall bladder removed, so I'm still recovering from that. My wounds (keyhole, so not too bad) are healing well, but I can't go back to the gym yet. And now I've got a chest infection. At least I have chance to sit and stitch, as even putting a load of washing in the machine leaves me out of breath.
I'm currently working on a lovely Christmas ABC Sampler by Design Works. I started it on Saturday (10/11/12) and plan to finish it on the 11/12/13. I'm stitching it on white sparkly aida and it contains metallics and beads, so I'm hoping to stitch one letter every couple of weeks.

I've finished some small tree hangers for Christmas gifts. I bought the snowflake hangers in Boots sale in January. I've stitched my mum a reindeer luggage tag (as well as one for myself!) and I'm working on a Forever Friends pic for mum's birthday.

I've had a few other finishes. A couple of small samplers and of course, A Good Marriage for our anniversary that I *did* finish in time. It's not framed yet, but I've been recommended a local framer, so once I'm well, I'm going to take it there to see how much he'd charge to frame it.

It's almost that time of year to dig out the Christmas stitching and hang that on my walls. It'll be a very different Christmas this year...because we've now got a kitten! :-) She's almost 8 months old now. We've had her since she was 6 weeks and rescued her from a church cellar where her mum had had 4 kittens. Blossom (our little tabby) had escaped & my husband found her, then a week later we managed to discover & rescue the others and they've been rehomed. Most of the time she's well behaved with my stitching. She sits on my legs and watches me stitch.

I'll update this post with photos when I get on the pc.

I've had a few finishes so far this year. I stitched the Water Dragon design again on hand dyed fabric for Bob's Christmas present-although it was finished a bit late. The pic is terrible & I haven't had chance to iron the fabric and frame it properly yet.

Then I stitched a little pillow for Valentines Day.

After that I finished off a partly stitched Heritage kit that mum found when sorting through my spare room.

Now I'm working on a Lizzie Kate design for our 10th wedding anniversary. I'm doing it on some beautiful hand dyed sparkly evenweave (called Sparkling Promise-MANY thanks for the fabric, H. It's stunning!) and it's coming along nicely so far.

Edited to add photos on 5/3/12

Skating reindeer card

I stitched this little card for my mum for christmas too. She was raving about how neat my stitching is. <>

Happy New Year everyone! Hope 2012 is a good one for us all.

Stitching for Christmas

I have been in the mood for stitching something Christmassy, so I had a rummage through my charts and found a lovely Lizzie Kate design called 'Dear Santa, We've got cookies!' which I decided to stitch for myself.
It only took a few days, so here it is...

Then I thought I would stitch something to go in one of the tuck pillows I have in my stash. Again, I decided on a Lizzie Kate chart. It's one of the Flip It Stamps range & it will be a birthday present for my Mum.

When searching in my garage for a frame to frame up Meg & Mog, I found a small frame which would fit the Queen Anne House I started a while ago. I had finished all the stitching & beading and it was just waiting for me to add the tree button to it. I left the glass out of the frame as all the beads made it too 3D to fit nicely under glass. It looks good, though and is already hanging up in my spare room.

Spooky Stitching!

After starting this fab design in 2009(!) and not finishing it for Halloween that year, I have finally dug it out again and finished off the last bits of stitching. There wasn't much to do, although using the glow-in-the-dark threads on Mog's eyes, Megs shoes and Owl's eyes was a bit tricky.
All I need to do now is find a frame for it and get it framed & hung on the wall by October!