Summer Fairy finished.

I have been back stitching and french knotting all evening until my Summer Fairy was finished, and here it is.......

Summer Fairy

Cross Stitcher Magazine 2006

Stitched on 16ct white aida with DMC threads.

The pattern actually used beads aswell on some of the flower centres but I decided to omit these and put some french knots in their place instead. I am really pleased with the end result and so is Laura. Not bad stitching speed either for me, I started this in the middle of May this year so around 10 weeks.

Here is a close up of her face, the material looks a little yellow on this as I cut the flash off the camera as it was 'washing out' the details. You can't see the blue behind the knots on her eyes very well in this picture but it is there!!

So next I am moving onto some stitching for my mom's 70th birthday in October. Again this chart is out of an old Cross Stitcher magazine and was designed as a Mother's Day gift but I think it'll suit a birthday too. I am using cream 28ct evenweave and DMC threads but I am not going to make it into a framed picture but into a decorative cushion. I am also not including the charms in the heart and circle shapes, instead I will insert a letter S for her name in one shape and the number 70 for her age in another. It is signed and dated at the bottom so that will make it even more special, I hope.

I will start this tomorrow now as I am 'all stitched out' tonight...... but very pleased with myself on my finish.

Ginnie x

4 Generations

My dad scanned a lovely old photo for me yesterday and emailed it over to me. It is the only one I know of that shows 4 generations of my family - Freeman side (my maiden name).

It shows me as a baby, my dad, my grandad and Walter Freeman (mentioned in a previous post) my great grandad. From my age I assume it was taken about 1968. I am going to get a copy of it to frame but also think I may put copies of pictures like this at the back of my Family Tree stitching when it is framed, as all of the people in the picture are recorded on the stitching.

I also mentioned last week that I had started my stitching hobby by doing tapestries. This is a picture of my favourite one that hangs in my dining room. I bought it in the late 1980s and finished it some time in the 1990s. I think it was called 'calm after the storm' it was from France and I just loved the blues and greens in it.

Tonight I have been to my stitching group, we have changed locations as the room in the pub we were in was always junked up, dark and not very comfy. We have moved to another pub down the road now, the room is much lighter and bigger and we all agreed it was better. In fact we had more members there tonight then we have had for a while.

I have been busy finishing my Summer Fairy, I just have a bit more back stitch to do...... it is never ending. I am hoping to finish completely tomorrow night and I can post a picture then.

Ginnie x

I have new flooring!

What a fun but hectic weekend I have had. The weather remained warm which was great.

On Saturday our friends Sarah and Neil came with their 2 girls, we had a nice barbeque and sat in the garden chatting all afternoon.

On Sunday my friend Aly came over and coloured my hair, it is now grey free in a nice mahogany brown colour. Earlier that day I had a phone call to tell me the handyman would be over at 8.45 Monday morning to start my flooring in the lounge and dining room. So it was a mad panic getting lots of my cupboards/book selves empty etc ready to clear the room today. Then last night we went to another barbeque with some of Stuart's work friends and didn't get home until late.

So this morning we had to get up early and take some of the furniture outside and get the carpet up. It is all finished now and I have a nice rustic oak laminate flooring under my feet. Good job the furniture is all back inside as we are having a lovely thunder storm at the moment!

So I only did a bit of stitching on Saturday night and here is the Family Tree update.

I have extended a little onto the right hand side and filled in the last grandparents box on the right. Here is a close up of the centre piece with it's back stitch wording complete.

Tonight I am back to the "Summer Fairy" I think I will finish it before the end of the week so I intend to start some stitching for my mom's birthday in October. I will show you later in the week what I am planning.

I have also found a new little kit I am about to buy off Ebay, it is a Mill Hill kit of the Sugar Plum Fairy from the Nutcracker. This will be for Becky and the Christmas Tree as we are going to see the English Youth Ballet perform The Nutcracker in September as one of Becky's friends has a small role in it. Here is what she looks like :

Cute or what!!

Anyway once I can find all my needlework after emptying the lounge I will begin stitching..... I have a lot to catch up on.

Ginnie x

Finished cards

Ok, so yesterday I said I may not have time to blog and here I am again!

I made both Lisa and Sally's stitching into cards tonight and I was so pleased with how they turned out I felt I had to share them with you.

For my friend Lisa I did another alphabet initial, a letter L. This one has a yellow daffodil on, I found a nice green and pink striped backing paper and mounted the L on that and used a 5" square card.

For my cousin Sally I used a cream 6" x 4" card and mounted the cup cake on a marbled pink backing paper then placed it off centre with some cream organza ribbon down the left hand side.

I think both of them will like their cards but I have to wait until the end of August to send them. At least I won't have a last minute rush on these.

I am still going to be busy at the weekend so can't see me doing much stitching or blogging. We have now been asked to a barbeque on Sunday evening at one of Stuart's work friends. If I am lucky I will have some time to stitch on Saturday evening as my friends will only stay until tea. I have been working on my Family Tree but I know I won't have progressed as much this week as the first time around on my rota. But then any progress is better than nothing.

Hope you all have a good weekend.

Ginnie x

Surprise awards

What a lovely surprise to have received 2 awards over the last day or so. Especially as I am so new to Blogging!!!

Yesterday I received the Kreativ Blogger award from Heather.

Then Today I received the Brillante Weblog from Nicola.


Thank you both so much.

I was not expecting any awards for what I do as I feel it is nothing special, but I am pleased that my stitching and blogging bring other people enjoyment too.

I read the rules on both and know I am supposed to pass the awards on but I have thought and thought all day and just can't make a decision. Everyone's blog that I read is great in different ways, sometimes it's from what you create, sometimes from what you say etc.... All special in their own way. So I have to say I award them both to all the people on my Blog Roll and thank you all for your kind comments and inspiration.

Tonight I have been out for a lovely meal, hence the late blog posting! About 8 years ago I changed profession completely after a lot of stress problems and illness. I used to be a primary school teacher working first with 5 - 6 year olds and then teaching 5 - 11 year olds with learning difficulties. It is a long story as to what happened and why I finished it all but I won't bore you with it now! From the first school I taught at I only keep in touch with one person, Jan. She was my nursery nurse when I was teaching and we always got on very well. After I left teaching we lost touch a little but this year we managed to get back in touch. So tonight Stuart and I met Jan and her husband Paul for a lovely meal, then we went to visit their allotment as they are keen fruit and vegetable growers. We had a really nice night and I am glad we are in contact again.

Of course now I am tired and don't think I'll manage much stitching. But at least I can give you an update on my cup cake..... I worked on this earlier today.

At least you can see what it is now, it just needs the back stitching and the wording and it'll be done.

I have a busy weekend ahead too as we have some friends visiting on Saturday and another friend coming over on Sunday to do my hair (too many grey bits that need to be covered!!!) So I may not post again until Sunday, so happy stitching.....

Ginnie x

A little cup cake

I started a new little motif stitching this morning. It is for my cousin, Sally, for her birthday which is at the end of August. I will make it into a nice card as usual. I have no brothers or sisters so have always been close to my cousins, we grew up together and spent a lot of our summer holidays together. Of course nowadays we both lead such busy family lives that we only see each other a couple of times a year. I know she isn't aware of my blogging...... so I can post pictures. Bet you can't tell what it is yet?? It is going to be a little pink cup cake with a big candle on, it'll then say "Make a Wish" on it! I'll post an update in a few days, it may look more like something then.

I also finished my SamplerGirl - Cup of Cheer. Thanks for all your ideas I think I will go with something like a tea cosy but I am going to look into having a little tea caddy/box for my tea bags and maybe I'll use it around that! I'll let you know what I do with it! I think I'll do the seaside one next, they are really sweet.

I started back on my Family Tree last night, which was fun I hope I can make good progress on it this week. Already I am running out of some of the green colours that are in the tree part, so I may have to make a visit to the Needlework Shop!!

Now I must go and water the plants as it has been warm here and due to get warmer.... I don't suppose it'll last but while it's warm my plants are crying out for water.

Ginnie x

Lovely weekend

My weekend started well when my postman bought me a parcel containing my Cashel Linen.... not bad as I only ordered it Friday afternoon. It looks really nice and I can't wait to start.

Then in the afternoon I took my mom and the girls to the cinema to see Mamma Mia!

What a fantastic time we had, I would highly recommend it. I have never laughed and cried so much in the cinema. If you want to see a fun, feel good film.... go and see it. We were singing Abba songs all the way back. That DVD will be on my Christmas list!!

Saturday evening I was able to work on my "View from the Terrace" quite a bit. I think it is looking really nice...... all I have to do to complete it is the different shades of blue in the sky, the border and a small bit of back stitching around the cottage. So next turn round I'm hoping to complete it.

Today has been a nice, dry day so I made the most of it and did lots in the garden. The lawns got cut, edges trimmed, weeding and watering etc etc. Then I had a good tidy up around the house, plenty of washing, sorting, hoovering......

I thought I'd show these 2 tapestries today as I am sad to say I have just put them up the loft! I started my venture into needlework by sewing tapestries. When I was about 13 my mom bought one to do while she was nursing my grandad, I had a go..... and ended up finishing it for her! Then we had several holidays in France where I discovered the most fantastic Needlework shops, most of which sold so many different tapestries I was spolit for choice. These are 2 I bought over in France and completed in the late 1980s. But I just have no room for them anymore...... so until I have a bigger house (which is probably going to be never!) they will have to be stored away. I do still have one beautiful one on my wall which I will show another time..... and one still on a frame somewhere, virtually finished but stored away somewhere waiting for me to get around to completing it. Once I got into cross stitch I never looked back!!!

Now after all that washing I have a pile of ironing :-(

But I will fit in some stitching as I want to work on Julie's card. This is about half completed now.

Next week is back to the rota and week 1..... My Family Tree. Really looking forward to getting back to this.

Ginnie x

Cup of Cheer

End of term today, I have a very happy house.... Stuart is an English teacher and has finished today but is working next week at Summer School, girl's finished for 6 weeks....... Only me going to work over the next month and half!! Oh well as I don't start work until 10.30am I can have a little extra time in bed in a morning!

Started a new little "Freebie" today, I was browsing several sites last night that I had seen mentioned on other blogs when I came across samplergirl. I really liked a couple of her free charts, there's one called "By the Sea" quoting Jane Austen and then "Cup of Cheer". I decided to just go for it and started cup of cheer this morning. I had some 28 ct evenweave in my stash, I picked the colours I wanted to use and started to stitch. I'm pleased with how it looks so far. What I don't know is what to do with it when I have finished. I would like to make it into something different but need some ideas......... Any suggestions gladly received??

I spent a while stitching "View from the Terrace" last night and I'm so pleased I swapped to this for my rota. I really enjoyed stitching it and can't wait to get this finished. In anticipation of finishing it soon I ordered my fabric for my Victoria Sampler today. The pattern suggests 28 ct Cashel Linen in platinum, I decided to go with the recommendation and have order a "fat Quarter" so I should have some spare! That should arrive in the next day or two, can't wait!

Now I have a nice peaceful evening of stitching ahead as Stuart has gone out with some work friends and the girls are watching a DVD.....

Perfect night!!! lol

Ginnie x

Change of Rota....

Oh dear last night was another night of no stitching.

Firstly we went to the girl's school for "Presentation Evening". Laura was getting a certificate for her effort in German...... Becky just missed out on a Maths one... but she didn't mind. The evening dragged as it was for all Year 9 and 10s so lots of clapping etc. But well worth going to of course, they both work very hard at school.

The one picture is a little blurred as I was too far away but it just shows her receiving her certificate off the Chairman of Governors. The second is her showing it off!!

When we got home I had an email from a new "Family Tree" contact, we share the same great great grandfather..... her ancestor was Walter Freeman's brother (Who I mentioned last week). So I spent the rest of the night in a genealogy mode. I am waiting to hear back from her today, I hope she has some photos to see if there are any family resemblances!

Anyway back to my rota, sorry I have failed....... I have put Lilliput Lane back in the drawer, I just couldn't feel motivated to do it so I have swapped this week's rota to "View from a Terrace". I choose this one as I am half way through and I really want the frame it is on to do D for Dancer on..... so if I work hard on this I can start my new one soon.

To finish here is the card I did for Nicky's birthday, it is a Daisy ABC one again as I love doing these, they are simple but effective. I am a bit bored of them now though as I have done loads...... I also have a tulip and daffodil ABC pattern.... I am trying those next.

Ginnie x

Lilliput Lane week

Well I am on week 4 of 4 of my stitching rota... hasn't time flown?... and I have managed to stick with it.... so far.

Week 4 is my Lilliput Lane Cottage kit by Ancher, this is how the stitching looked on Monday before picking it up again. As you can see the fabric is very creased as it is been a WIP for about 10 years!!! whoops....

I used to collect the Lilliput Lane Cottages in the 1990s and this was one of my favourite pieces. We also visited Kendal (In The Lake District, Cumbria) around the same time... so when I saw the kit I had to have it. And I've done a fair amount on it... but then the roof started to bore me... and then I bought other kits... and so it went away. I was inspired to start it again after a re visit to Kendal this May.

Here is the cottage the stitching is based on: -

But last night I just couldn't motivate myself to do much of it. I flitted between several little things but did finally put in about an hour (maybe less!)

The way I see it though, any progress on it is better than none, so I will try to do a bit more later. It will be nice when it is done.... if I can ever iron all those creases out.

Just also want to add a "Get Well Soon" message to my friend Sophie (who I know reads my blog). She had her tonsils out yesterday after suffering problems with them for years. Hope you are back to your normally cheery self soon :-)

Ginnie x

Sunny day out

I'm afraid I haven't done any stitching yet today as we have had a family day out!

My daughter Laura, as I have mentioned before is a great history lover, she really wants to become an Archaeologist. Because of that she recently became a member of the BYAC (Birmingham Young Archaeologist Club). This week is National Archaeology Week and an event was being held at Weoley Castle Ruins near Birmingham (Pronounced Wheelie). It was more of a fortified manor house than a full blown castle and was most significant in Medieval times. Sadly is has been in ruins for over 200 years.
The weather was just right for it, sunny at times but not too hot. We took a packed lunch which we ate in the moat (well its not there now but where it would have been!), we had a guided tour around the ruins, we watched a Mommers Play and we looked at some "finds" and spoke to a lovely man who was in charge of sorting and cataloguing all the "Finds" in this area. He was a great encouragement to Laura, he gave her loads of information and said when she was a little older if she gets in touch with him he'll help her with some voluntary work at digs etc. So here a couple of pictures....

The Ruins

Lunch

Knight on horseback?

Mommers Play

So my Warwickshire Map has had no work done on it today. Therefore how it finished yesterday is what you will see on the photo. I was pleased with how much I had done but now looking at the photo it doesn't look much! At least it is taking shape, most of the top half is complete except for a few symbols, there is a compass symbol to go on the top left then I can carry on working on South Warwickshire!

I have some ironing to do now (thanks to all the girl's trip washing!) then I may just spend some time stitching some of my cards..... I may even look through my stash and charts to think of ideas for Lisa and Sally's card, although I have seen a sweet "Cake" card I may do for one of them.

Hope everyone had a good weekend.

Ginnie x

Package arrived

I had a very busy and productive day yesterday.

In the morning the postman bought my package from the USA containing my "D for Dancer" chart and accessory pack. It was very exciting! the little pack has all the threads, silks, beads and charms I need to complete the project all I have to get now is the fabric.

This is a close up photo of the cute gold dragonfly that has to be attached (not the clearest of pictures but it is very small!)

I think I will use one of my smaller frames to stitch this on..... which at the moment has my "View from the Terrace" on, so I must wait until this is finished the start my new one. As I am about half way through "Terrace" I reckon by the end of August I can start "D".

I had a look at the instructions.... urmm lots of different kinds of stitches that I'm not used to.... this will be a challenge..... may be looking to other bloggers/stitchers for advise if I struggle. Here is what some of the instructions look like...

I haven't opened the accessory pack yet, but I hope I can sort all the threads out ok.

The girls were back at lunchtime yesterday from their trip to Ingestre Hall. I was very pleased to see them, they had a great time but were very tired and looking forward to their own bed and decent food. As they then spent the afternoon resting I had a nice afternoon of stitching!

My ABC daisy cards I make have proved popular, I have been asked to make some for someone else... so I was busy doing a D and a T!!

After dinner I spent the evening on my Warwickshire Map, I am really pleased as I have managed to do more of this than I thought I would. Initially I was going to do all the place names, trees, rivers and boundaries.... then go back and fill in the symbols, but last night I decided to do a few "factories" and "mines". Once this one is finished I will use this frame for Henry and his wives stitching, as you can see I have been planning ahead!

I even managed to sew a bit more of Snowman No. 3 before bed!

Today I am going to Betty's stitch shop again as I need a few DMC cottons.... hopefully will get some stitching in later today.

Ginnie x

I do decoupage also

I feel a lot better today, thank goodness, thanks for all your get well soon comments :-)

I have been busy doing a mixture of stitching, trying to make sure I do some of my Warwickshire Map to stick to my rota but I have also been doing some of Julie's card which is looking great in the turquoise metallic braid, she is really keen to see what I am doing for her.... but she has to wait until the end of August!

I have also been working on my Snowman Christmas card which is looking really cute too.

Otherwise I spent some time yesterday making a decoupage birthday card. I enjoy papercrafts too, especially decoupage but I am not addicted to it as much as cross stitch. It was my niece Ellie's birthday yesterday she was 6 years old, so I found this lovely papernation decoupage of a fairy to make for her!

She looks really cute!!

I only started decoupage last year and tend to copy ideas out of magazines etc as I am not that confident to try my own things!

My other favourite card I made was for my friend Sarah's 40th birthday back in March, I used a gatefold card for this one.

Tonight I have also managed to decorate some of Becky's room. They are back from their trip away tomorrow and I can't wait. I have booked the day off work as they need collecting from school at midday. I am a bit disappointed to have not heard from them tonight but last night they phoned and they seemed fine and are really enjoying themselves. Tonight they were having a talent show and a disco so they are probably too busy with that to think about poor old mom!! So I am going back to my sewing now....

Ginnie x

Warwickshire and Family History

I have been unwell still today and ended up not going into work and spending most of my day in bed!! I've got such a rotten cold, I've been sneezing everywhere!

So stitching has been tricky!! Feel a bit better now though.

Thought I would show my Warwickshire Map as it was last week and explain why I choose to do this particular county chart.

At the moment it only has place names, trees, rivers and boundaries sewn. It will then have symbols to represent building etc and the County Emblem.

As I have been tracing my family history for years I have found many connections to Warwickshire on my dad's side of the family, so it was something I always wanted to stitch but only bought the chart last year.

In the early 1800s my family were living in Warwick, by the mid 1800s they moved to Stratford Upon Avon. My great grandad was called Walter Freeman he was born in Stratford and married an Annie Clarke. Her family had lived in Knowle for years (Also on the map) The picture of them must date back to the 1920s or 30s.

Walter and Annie had 14 children who all survived into adulthood (2 of which are still alive) they moved to Lapworth about 1910 when Walter became a Lock Keeper on the canal. With the job came a barrel-roofed cottage which is still around today and we often have a trip to Lapworth in the summer to walk along the canal to see the cottage. At the time it had no electricity or running water etc and they bought up most of their family there!!

This is a picture of me outside "LockHouse" in 2006. Walter and Annie lived there until just before Annie died in the 1960s. My dad remembers many a summer holiday spent there with his nan and grandad. It is a lovely cottage very unique to that part of the world. I hope we go and visit again this year as we never managed it last year and it is only about an hour away by car.

On my stitching I want to add a little symbol to represent Lock House but I will add that near the end. I think it'll be great when it is done but it isn't the most interesting stitching I am doing because of the lack of pictures and colour.

I am missing my daughters lots... they called tonight and Laura has come down with this cold too, so she was feeling a bit sorry for herself. I think they are missing home too but they are enjoying the experience.

Well I am going to continue with the map now.

Ginnie x

Girls away from home

We had to get up early this morning as the girls had to be in school before 8.30am to catch the coach for their week away! They have gone to Ingestre Hall in Staffordshire, an old stately home that used to belong to the Earl Of Shrewsbury and was bought by a local council and converted into an arts centre/studio etc for schools. (I think they do weddings etc at weekends too)

Becky is doing Dance and Laura is doing Drama for the week. On Thursday they perform what they have done to the rest of the group. The other subjects that they could have chosen were Music and Art. They have been very excited all weekend and couldn't sleep last night. It looks a very grand place doesn't it?

The photo below was taken this morning as we were about to set off.... suitcases packed.

I was a bit sad to see them go as I will miss them lots but they will be back on Friday. They have called tonight and they are ok, their dormitory was a bit basic but they were enjoying themselves. I just hope they sleep tonight as they have a busy week ahead!!

So you would think I would have plenty of time to stitch but I am out tomorrow and Wednesday night then I also want to try to do some decorating in Becky's room. We moved house 12 months ago and Becky's room is one of the only ones not decorated!! It is still blue and she wants lilac! My dad has said he will come round in the day to help and I'll have to do some at night.

I seem to have come down with a cold as well today and can't stop sneezing.... so stitching is fun!!So far I have done a few cards after tea and now I am going to get my Warwickshire map out (It is upstairs!!) I will post a picture tomorrow of how much was complete at the beginning of the week, lets hope I make some progress.

Ginnie x

Great buy!

I have just been buying on Ebay.... and have had a great buy. The D for Dancer chart + accessory pack on my wish list would cost about £30 from UK websites.... I have just bought both from a seller in the USA for $17.41 (about £9) and that includes the postage to UK...... very happy can't believe I won the bidding!!! Can't wait for it to arrive.

That has brightened up my somewhat dull day, this is what the weather has done in the Midlands most of today..... rain, rain, thunder and rain. I was also still feeling unwell but better than yesterday. I called my mom and dad this morning who are in Dorset in their caravan and they are having it just as bad as here. They are glad to be coming home tomorrow!

Stuart has been out all day at a "Festival of Football" day, he has just got in and he is shattered! He coaches the youth team for Redditch Arrows American Football Club. I think he got a little wet too!!

The girls have been excited as they go away tomorrow for the week with school, I have been helping them pack their suitcase. I'll tell you more about that on tomorrow's posting.

And as for my Summer Fairy I spent some of last night and then this morning doing a bit more of her before calling it a day at lunch time. If I had continued for another day or two I reckon I would have finished it but I am sticking to my rota and have packed her away for a few weeks. I mainly have some leaves to finish at the bottom left, some of the Light Effects white on her wings, some blue on the moon, a couple of french knots in the blue flowers and then lots of back stitch. (Ignore the date on the photo I have just realized I have written June instead of July!!)

I am really pleased with how it is looking and will finish it on my next rotation.

So tomorrow I start the next week of my rota and continue on my Warwickshire Map.... looking forward to moving onto something new. Tonight I'll continue with some of my cards.

Ginnie x

Lazy day

Only a short posting tonight, no pictures because I haven't taken anymore!
Thursday night went well, the production was a collection of some of the Brothers Grimm tales. Me and a couple of the other members of the Parent Support Group served the refreshments in the interval, but it wasn't too busy so managed to get home by 8.15pm.
Been feeling unwell myself today.... seems Becky's illness has passed onto me so felt very lifeless all day. Therefore did little work and quite a bit of sewing! My fairy is looking really good and I can't wait to show it tomorrow, there is a lot of back stitch yet to do but otherwise most of it is complete. So also spent some time doing Julie's stitching and some of my 3rd snowman Christmas card!
One thing I am loving about reading other people's blogs is discovering new designs/charts etc that I hadn't heard of before. Last night I looked through "Elizabeth Designs" and liked lots of those. I seem to be drawn more to the designs that feature a slight mixture of stitches and threads etc. Problem is my "want list" will keep growing and growing......
Back tomorrow with more news and pictures I hope!

Ginnie x

Summer fairy coming along nicely

I have only worked half a day today as Becky has been unwell and off school. Normally they go to my mom and dads if they are ill as they are only round the corner, but mom and dad have gone away in their caravan for a few days so I was stuck! Becky didn't want to spend all day on her own so we compromised and I worked until 1.30 and booked half a days holiday. As Becky spent the afternoon lying on the sofa I was able to do some stitching!!

My Summer Fairy is looking good, her face and wings are progressing well and by Sunday I think I may be close to finishing it. Although I don't think my Light Effects thread stitching looks very neat but it should be ok when the back stitching is around it etc...

I also finished Nicky's Birthday card and will show that soon but in the mean time this is the card I did for Stacey.

I have used this Daisy ABC design a few times as it is really quick to stitch and looks effective on the blue daisy backing paper. I hope she liked it.

I am enjoying my rota more than I thought, it inspires me to do as much as I can before the Sunday cut off! I am still getting my cards etc done in betweeen. I have retrieved my Lilliput Lane project from my moms and I'm looking forward to the week when I can work on that!

Tonight I have to go and serve refreshments at the girl's school for their Year 7 production so probably won't be back until 8.30pm but I will continue with my Fairy then.

Ginnie x

Very happy have Henry chart!

Sorry for not posting yesterday, that's the first day I have missed since starting. Seemed to spend most of my evening doing little bits and pieces. Needed to cut the grass as it is due to rain again now for a few days, needed to do some ironing :-( Only got a bit of stitching done on Summer Fairy, but some is better than nothing.

My best news was a kind comment yesterday from Srinity saying she could help me with my search for Henry VIII chart. She has a copy and was able to send me a scanned version of it.... which I have just downloaded and printed off. I am so happy and think it is such a kind gesture, cross stitch bloggers are so friendly. Of course now I really want to start it.... but I must be patient as I will need one of my large frames for it and I don't have one free, so I will store it safely away until I am ready to start (yes of course that''ll happen!)

I also have a new "want" that I spoted yesterday on the web. It is a sampler by The Victoria Sampler and is called D is for Dancer (by Thea Dueck). It would be great for Becki as she is the dancer in the family but it'll be a challenge as it uses all sorts of threads etc that I am not used to - silks, braids and Au ver a Soie thread! It also has a cute golden dragonfly on it. Here is a picture of the chart -

I think it'll have to go on my Christmas list!! as the accessory set is £21 and the chart £7....... I like to start my Santa list early!!!

Well tonight is my "Crafty Hands" club night so I will work on my View from a Terrace, I have also been doing Nicki's birthday card. It is Stacey's birthday today so she should have received her card..... I will post a picture of it tomorrow.

Ginnie x