Gosh time flies.....

Hello lovely lovely happy friends :)

No excuse! I should of done an up date sooner... Cannot believe how much time has passed by... Soon we will be in August!

What have I been up to?? 

Stitching!! Yes been stitching!! 

I had just started the wonderful Scarlet Letter design, Mary Gail.  I love love love it!! That is pretty much all I have been doing. I cannot put it down! 

I am really enjoying the challenge of stitching on 45 count linen too.

Here is my journey so far...

What it will look like....

That is pretty much where I am up to..... It's been wonderful stitching this.  Oh yes one thing I have noticed, my scissors are naff!! Oh they are new, I think I won them in a competition ages ago...

These, the ones in this picture...

Well just don't like them! So jon the sweetie got me another pair! I seem to get on better with the scissors with the longer front...

How pretty are my new scissors?!

Ok.... That is it!! Ha ha nothing else to tell you at the moment... Oh but soon I want to talk about lovely fabrics. Oooh fabrics! 

Happy smiles to you all :)

Until my next up date!!

Xxx

Go me!!

Hello happy friends...

I am still under the weather, lol what a funny saying! Yes still full of sniffles, coughs... Hoping that I am over the worst of it? 

Well today arrived some threads sweetie jon ordered for me... See we sold a few things on eBay recently and that released a few pennies to buy threads! Yippeee!! So they arrived today for the special stitching project I have been dieing to start.

It's a Scarlet Letter sampler called Mary Gail.... Kindly loaned to me from Nicola from the Scarlet Letter group on Facebook.

Nicola very kindly gifted me the fabric to stitch this on too....

I thought the fabric was 40 count.... Ha ha I thought WOW! Now that will be interesting as never stitched on that before! 

My threads arrived! Yippeeee!!

I did some sorting and put them all into bobbins and organized my fabric onto its frame... Then OMG!! The fabric...

Ha ha it's 45 count!! Well a challenge if ever I saw one!! Ha ha 

Once I got started I was fine, stayed calm and stitched...

Then stitched more...

Little close up...

To be honest I cannot believe that I am actually stitching on this!! GO ME!! 45 count!! GO ME!! Lol

I am really enjoying this project, I can totally understand why so many love stitching Scarlet Letter designs.. I am still very excited and happy to be stitching this! 

Ha ha. So that is what I have been up to!! 

Oh yes....remember I had started something!? It was going to be on blue then I changed my Ming and stitched it on 28 count Pearl linen in flax, 1 over 1. 

Wondering what it was!? 

I had waited a long time, a few months to stitch this, see it just kept going missing in the post..

Ha ha had to improvise a little to get it into the frame... It worked! 

Yes a lovely design from Little House Needleworks called "Sweet Rose" ... It came with 2 new colours from Classic Colourworks... Yes the cute pink ones! 

As you can see its tiny! No idea what is going on with me lately, it seems I like to challenge myself to see how small I can go...maybe?? It's all good fun! 

So for the moment I am concentrating on my Scarlet Letter sampler as I love it!! ... More updates soon....

Big smiles to you all :)

Xx

Not a lot going on here!

Hello lovely friends...

Guess what???

I now have some kind of flue bug! Sniffles, cough, temperature, blocked nose.... And cannot be bothered to do anything!  One good thing I guess is the fact that I am already bed bound so can keep toasty warm! Ha ha ha

Well I have been doing things... I think!? What has happened to my memory? 

Not being feeling up to doing much since I last posted so thought I would see if I had the patience to stitch something small whilst feeling poorly.

The design is one I have been waiting forever from a supplier... 4 were posted to me and never arrived...finally this one arrived! I am so happy as its such a cute happy design.  No.... No chart to show you yet, it's a surprise!

I thought looking in my stash would be a quick thing to do, to find the right fabric to stitch on?! Oh no! Seems I am naff at deciding! And I think I have told you all before.... I am useless with colours!! So I posted in a FaceBook group asking for assistance to choose one of the 3 options I chose...

Here is what I come up with.... Thinking blue for a kind of sky look....

Hmmmm it's turned out so much harder than anticipated, ha ha out of all the people that have commented on Facebook seem they can all be chosen! Lol

So I went with...

Thinking this was like a nice bright sunny day....

I started... Then thought no! Not liking this.. Not sure why, I could not put my finger on it...

Then fiddles about for a few hours trying to make my mind up! Came up with this....

It's a lovely flax coloured 28 count Pearl linen.... Yes me being me thought I would stitch it over one! lol

So more on this in my next up date!

A while ago, last year I think.... I had a go hand dyeing my own fabrics... As you all know I love to experiment!  And whilst hunting for fabric to stitch on I came across a few pieces.  They look so very different, ideal for a Halloween stitching project I think.  

I offered it to anyone that made a comment in a Facebook group.... Ha ha I never for one minute thought anyone would actually like or want it!   Seems like people like it! Lol. My reasoning behind giving a piece away was to make someone smile.... Me feeling as ill as I am, I thought I would spread a little kindness.

Here is the fabric I died myself... It's 17 x 11 1/2 inches in 14 count Aida.

I know a lot of people don't actually like to stitch on Aida, but as I have another 'spare' one... Is there anyone here that pops in to see me that would like a bit? Not sure what the size would be, not far off this one I should imagine as I dyed all the same size bits.  The pattern on it may be slightly different.. Ha ha would of been simpler if I had of taken another photo! Lol ha ha this way it will be a nice surprise! Ha ha just let me know if you want it! And who ever I send it to, I would love to see what you stitch on it.

Ok... Well I am going now as I have a banging head ache...

More soon...

Smiles to you all :)

Xx

Lots going on.... + update news!

Hello wonderful friends...

I have lots to show and tell you about, make sure your sitting comfortably as I may be a little while!

So first things first, stitching..... Yes been stitching :)

Remember I left the Blackbird Yellow Submarine design like this... I have not stitched much but I have added to it.

Here it is...

I am rather disappointed in the DMC threads on the submarine... On the cover of the chart it clearly shows several tones of yellow... I have the colours listed...hmmm 

Look here see what I mean...

Bit closer...

I have used 3 different yellow colours, not sure what I should do? Would love some suggestions...

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                                                                  UPDATE

Jon did some digging about and found out that all the charts in print for The Yellow Submarine have the same number on... DMC 3821.  After more digging and thinking jon decided to see if the conversion was correct from Gentle Art threads... BY JOVE HE FOUND THE PROBLEM!! The conversion should of read DMC 3822!! One digit out!! Oh but it made a huge difference! The DMC 3822 looks oh so much better!! Guess I will be frogging now this problem has been solved! Thanks to my wonderful husband! 

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Then as I got disheartened with that I then moved onto something a little more 'fun'...

Yes back onto the Heart in Hand Joyful Journal month series, this time I stitched August. All ready for August!!

I simply love how quick and cute all of these look.... I do hope Linda that won JUNE in my recent giveaway is enjoying stitching hers?

Oooh yes, in fact I hope all my giveaway winners are enjoying stitching :). Love to see up dates :)

As some of you know, I frequent FaceBook...hmmm a lot! Ha ha and I belong to a few groups.  One of the groups is The Scarlet Letter.  I LOVE all yes all the Scarlet Letter designs...but Oh my!! They are expensive! So I pop in and out the group drooling at all the designs being stitched.  Oh there are happy points to this!! Jon, my wonderful husband knew I was wanting to stitch a lovely sampler so he went on the hunt!! Ha ha yes he did!! I mean it's no secret here that we are trying to cope on a low income the best we can... And to my amazement jon found a design in our budget! Well he gave it to me and I was over the moon.  Then he told me he found it on eBay... For £6 including postage!! It's a kit too!! 

Here it is,...

Close up...

I was that happy I told everyone in The Scarlet Letter FaceBook group! I must say everyone in the group is so nice.  The lady that runs the page did something rather wonderful... And just simply blew me away.  She has allowed me to stitch her Mary Gail sampler and very generously gifted me the fabric to stitch it on.  I was speechless... Such love,y kind hearted people within the stitching community.

Here it is...

Close up...

How lovely is that!!! 

Jon found a cheap place to order the threads for this beauty... I am so impatient .... Waiting for them now!!  Oh yes and this will be my hardest challenge to date as its to be stitched on 40 count! Ha ha I can do this.... Can I? Itching to start this!! 

Oooh yes... Sorry yes there is more...

A while ago I showed you all a little stitching project I did, it was actually what started me off challenging myself stitching smaller!

This one...

Maria Diaz design called Friends Forever...

I loved stitching it and as it was out of a magazine... Cross Stitch Collection I posted it on their FaceBook wall!  And to my amazement they contacted me to put it in their magazine! 

Look!! Here it is... 

The magazine, issue 252, August 2015.... 

Eeeeek...

Yes .... For those that are not aware... I should explain!! On Facebook I am know as Dora France... See it's my nick name all my friends and family call me.  Dora... Ha ha because I don't shut doors! And France because I used to live there! Simple as that!

GO ME!! ha ha 

So I bet your all wondering what I am doing now? Ha ha seeing as how you have all fallen asleep from boredom I will save that for my next post! Ha ha a

Thank you so much for popping in... Always lovely to see you!!

Big happy smiles to all of you :)

Ooooh something new...

Hello wonderful friends, I have been busy!!

First thing to share with you all is my latest finish... It's the wonderful Scent of Ginger designed by Stitchers Anon.

Here is my journey...

There it is!! I have left off the top and bottom border as I am not sure how I am going to finish it yet.  It was a happy design to stitch, I loved it.

So after completing that in erm... Record time I thought about doing something different.  I like sewing in general and found something whilst surfing the web the other day.  I liked the bright colours of it and the fact I could stitch some structured stitches and basically what I want too.  

I bought it from www.seekitout.co.uk and got a bargain as there was a code (summertime) enabling me to get a rather handsome 50% off!! 

Here it is....

A stitch kit designed by Nancy Nicholson.

Look at the lovely threads, love how they are tied up...

I started to stitch...

Made it up as I went along really....

I love the effect it has.... I really like it... Lots.

Have to see how this progresses!!

I do have some news to tell you all.... It's about my MRI results I had on the 6 th JUNE.  

Jon has been phoning frantically all around the hospital to try to speak to a someone connected to me when I had the MRI.  Jon did eventually get to speak to a consultants secretary.  Apparently I have very little cartilage left in my left knee, the bones are grinding against each other and at any moment in time the rest of the cartilage could go... The secretary said I would 'know' about it when that happens! Hmmm even more pain?!  So all my details have now been passed onto the relivant consultant to see what they are going to do.

Here is where I kind of lose the plot... See I know I will need surgery... But I have never ever been knocked out under anesthetic , and am frightened.  Oh I have no idea when this if this happens will happen? But I cannot not think about this.  

When I was in hospital I was told what ever the outcome of my MRI result I would not get a new knee replacement.  This is because new knees only last around 10 years, and ha ha I am too young to have one! How darn silly!  And now I have an added complication, I take fragmin injections daily to prevent blood clots.. So my blood is thin, oh yes thin!! 

I really have no idea what they will decide to do with me!? All I am concerned about it getting out of this  bed, i have been here all year, apart from the in's and outs of hospital!  I cannot spend the rest of this year in bed... 

I guess it's only natural for me to worry, yes worried what will happen to me.  So I guess I will be staying in my bed until something happens. Ho hum! 

I will not dwell or be unhappy about this or my situation... Life is just too short.  I need to live, be me, enjoy life and smile! So this is what I will do!! 

I will of course let you all know what is going to happen with my knee, when I know! Until then... I will SMILE!! :)

Ok... So smiles to you all :)

Xx