Peekaboo finished.

I have been a bad blogger this week, I haven't posted since Monday and I don't seem to have been keeping up with everyone elses blog. I'll try to get better!
I have been stitching though.... Started on Henry again on Monday evening, I decided to work up his body so I can get to his head! I stitched lots of dark brown for the edge of his jacket and then realised it was one square too far to the right!!! Several swear words later I sat and unpicked all the brown and then put him away in disgust!!!
Tuesday I managed to stitch a lot more on him, with Becky in London I needed to keep busy, and the weather was very wintery here - we had snow! So I stayed warm by the fire and stitched. Becky got back safely at 11pm and had really enjoyed herself.
Wednesday I had to go back to work and as I had been away a few days I had lots of work to catch up on, also the boss and the sales guys were back so no sneaky stitching! At stitch club I worked on Capricorn peekaboo. As this was close to be completed I worked on it Thursday night also and now it is done:-

I am pleased with how it looks, I'm sure she'll love it, although I think the goat has a "mean" expression!! I will start Sagittarius over the weekend.

Tonight I will work on Henry again, the girls are off to a Halloween party so I'll have time to myself again.

I have also decided I want to do the 3D Christmas Cottage below -

This was in a Cross Stitcher magazine last year but I was put off with buying all the plastic canvas it asked for. But looking at it again, this is only to back the walls and roof, not to stitch on. So I am going to use cardbroad instead - it'll do the same job I'm sure. I am really keen to start this but will try to hold on until I finish Stuart's birthday card - which I hope will be next week.

Anyway I had better go and get ready for work, I am sitting typing this in my PJ's and dressing gown..... Happy Halloween everyone........

Ginnie x

Progress reports.

Here were my goals for last week -

• Start the next Christmas gift - coaster for MiL yes, started and finished.
• Work on Stuart's 40th card - yes, have worked a lot of the greens, completed the strawberries and radishs.

• At least half complete Capricorn - yes I think I have done more than half, just need to complete the trousers, the goat and the title. And of course the rest of the back stitch as there is a lot of that!

• Complete at least 4 placecards - No ! Only completed 3, another 3 to go.
• Complete back stitching on a cute Christmas penguin I have been working on for ages!! - yes, is waiting to be mounted on card.

So not bad I reckon.

I am on 2 days holiday this week so have managed to get plenty of stitching done. Yesterday after our successful shopping trip I worked on Stuart's card. Today I have done some decorating in Laura's room but also finished another Christmas ornament I started a short while ago. The chart asked for 14ct red aida but I only had 18ct so it is smaller but still cute. Just need to make it into an ornament now..... the fun part!!

This week I am reverting back to my rota - because it is Henry and wives week. But I also want to continue with the Capricorn project and Stuart's 40th as I only have a few weeks to complete them.

Tomorrow Becky is off to London with 4 other friends from dancing who are 18. I am a little nervous as she is only 14 and London is a big scary place! But they are going to the Pineapple Dance Studio for some lessons and she is so excited I have to be brave and just let her go. I know she is sensible and so are the girls she is going with and they have all been before. Early start though... her train is at 8am!!!

Many thanks for all your good wishes for my Aunt, she has had her operation today and we are told she is "comfortable" will hear more tomorrow after my uncle has visited her tonight.

Right off to find Henry!!

Ginnie x

Coaster stitching complete

I have achieved 2 of my goals for this week already. The penguin is all finished I just need to mount him on his shiny red card blank! Then this afternoon I have finished my poppy coaster for my MiL. It is actually titled Meadow Brown Butterfly and as you can see there is a lovely little butterfly on the left and purple flowers as well as the poppies! I managed to stitch this really quickly as I only spent 2 evenings and this afternoon on it. I will mount it in the coaster nearer to Christmas - I will have a finishing off week!!!

I did manage to do a bit more sneaky under the desk stitching at work over the last couple of days but not as much as I was a little busier! But Stuart's 40th card has grown thanks to that. I will post an update on thatnext time as I will work on Stuart's card again tomorrow as he is out all day. He is going down to Wembley to watch the NFL match, he and some of his football friends are going on the train and he tells me he won't be back until well after midnight! The girls and I are going shopping to buy some of their Christmas pressies - clothes and shoes probably!! Then we are having a Big Mac and McFlurry supper!! yumm.

Last night Stuart was out also! so the girls and I watched "PS I love you".... oh what a lovely film but boy did we sob!!! At one point we all had a big mansized tissue each mopping up our tears! What a sight we must have looked!! Good film though.

My Auntie has had her operation date bought forward to this Monday (27th) so I thought I would post a picture of her to wish her the best with her operation and recovery. I hope all my blogging friends can send their love and prayers for her too! My auntie is the one in the middle of the photo with my uncle on one side and my mom on the other. This was taken at my 40th Birthday party last year. It is not the clearest of photos as this was taken with my old camera and has had to be cropped a bit to reduce the people in it!

Tonight is TV night - Strictly Come Dancing and X Factor... love them both. So I will have to stitch during breaks and after! I will continue work on Capricorn Peekaboo tonight.

Ginnie x

Penguins and poppies!

I am doing well at achieving my goals for the week. Firstly here's my little penguin I have been working on for a while - cute isn't he I love penguins.... I have finished all the cross stitch now and started on the back stitch this morning. When complete I will mount him on a card. This was from the Cross Stitch Card Shop 62 that I subscribe too.

It has been pretty quiet at work, the boss and 2 sales guys are at a trade show in Germany and my friend Julie is off sick (Julz hope you feel better soon - I've been lonesome!) This meant I could do some sneaky under the desk stitching!! I work in the reception area so away from the rest of the lads (only 5 others!) but they do pass me to go to the loo and make tea/coffee. I stitch and stitch but as soon as I hear the inner door go the stitching hides back under the desk!!! hehehe. I have managed to finish Stuart's placecard and start my dads. I have also done a fair bit on Stuart's 40th card today - lots of green lines.... all will become clear when I show that one.

Last night I started my MiL's coaster, it is on 18ct aida so seems to be stitching up quickly, I think I'll get this done in the next week which will mean 2 out 3 pressies done before the end of October. Here it is so far -

I am off to Stitch Club in a minute and will take my Capricorn Peekaboo to work on there. This is coming along well and I'll show you an update on that next time. I also now have the Sagittarius chart (thanks Shellie) which I will start next week.

Ginnie x

Monday morning!

What a dark and damp Monday it is here in the West Midlands, really didn't want to get out of bed this morning! The only thing that kept me going is that next week is half term and I have a few days holiday....yeah!!

I managed to get plenty of stitching done over the weekend and I feel that my Family Tree shows a little progress again. I achieved my one goal of completing the left side of the tree, it is looking so nice! Here is an overall picture -

And here is a close up.... As you can see the little "Mom" of the family and her little house are complete (Except back stitch!) In front of Mom will be some children and below her is where I stitch one of my daughters names.

I also had another little start..... I know I have loads on the go but that's the way I love to work!! I promised my friend Julie that I would do some stitching for both her daughters who have birthdays in December. She mentioned something to do with their star signs would be good..... So when I found this Capricorn design in the latest WOXS magazine I just had to stitch it. I just need the chart for Sagitarius next which was in an older issue, luckily Shellie is helping me out with that..... many thanks.

I am changing my rota for the next few weeks as I have so many little bits and pieces to stitch. Instead I am going to just set myself goals each week as I enjoyed that last week. So sadly D for Dancer is staying in it's bag for a little while longer and here are next weeks goals -

• Start the next Christmas gift - coaster for MiL.
• Work on Stuart's 40th card.
• At least half complete Capricorn
• Complete at least 4 placecards
• Complete back stitching on a cute Christmas penguin I have been working on for ages!!

There that should keep me busy!!!!

Well I'd better go and get ready for work :-( I'd sooner stitch!!

Ginnie x

Back stitched bookmark and placecard.

I thought my bookmark looked nice even before the back stitching had been done. Tonight I finished all the back stitching and think it looks even better. I am sure my auntie will be thrilled with this, because I am. I found working on the plastic canvas easy and would certainly use it again. I need to trim it down now and add a tassle to complete it.

I have also started a mini Christmas project yesterday. I bought an old Christmas Cross Stitcher magazine off Ebay as I liked the poinsettia on the front. But inside the magazine I fell in love with a table set that included a table runner, napkin rings, napkins and place cards. I know I won't have time to do all of it this year, but I decided to get the place cards done for this Christmas and work on the other bits for next year! The design used just a plain red cotton but I choose my dark red variegated thread. This is the first one with my initials, I am working on Stuart's now but we always spend Christmas dinner with my mom and dad too so I have 6 to make in all. Once complete I will fray the edges and attach to a small folded card.

I have been working on the Family Tree too, because I have worked mainly on the green bits I don't think it'll look like much has been completed but I am happy with how it is going. I have also managed to work about 15 stitches in Stuart's birthday card!! I must put more effort into that next week.

Hope everyone has a good weekend.

Ginnie x

Some recent cards.

No new stitching updates today as I haven't taken any photos. I have been working on my Family Tree and have nearly completed the left side of the tree. Tonight at stitch club I started the back stitch on my lily bookmark but haven't quite finished that either, so I will update on both of these later in the week.

So I thought I would show 2 other cards that I have completed recently but not shown on my blog yet. The first was a birthday card for my friend Steve, who is a great singer and loves music. I mounted the stitching on a black card but the photo doesn't really show it's a card!!

Secondly I sent this to my friend Sophie last week for her birthday, she sent me a text to say she had received it and loved it, so I thought I would show it now.

So i'll get back to stitching now, but as it is nearly 10pm I think it'll be a short session tonight, I am always tired when I have been out to my club!

Ginnie x

Last week's progress

Here is my progress on last week's projects. I did manage to complete all the cross stitch on my lily bookmark but haven't done the back stitching yet. I am going to continue with this during the week along with My Family Tree. I love the pretty pinks behind the flowers.

We were invited out for tea on Sunday afternoon. Our friend's Pete and Lesley threw a small surprise party for their son who has just completed his 9 weeks training in the RAF. We had a nice afternoon and lots of nice things to eat. Their daughter, Helen is the one who is getting married and having a baby next year. They have found out they are having a girl - so I can adapt my stitching to suit!

Here is Dusky Dreams, I didn't put much time into this last week but it is progressing so I thought I should update you. There are some petit cream beads in between some of the pink stitching but the photo hasn't captured them!

Mamma Mia was fabulous still, I still laughed and cried and I could still sit and watch it over and over again! Looking forward to the DVD release now next month.

So this week is Family Tree time again. I have set myself a small goal - to finish the left part of the tree in the 3 shades of green. Then I am going to move down before I move across!!! So leaving the right side of the tree to a later date!! I also want to finish the bookmark and start Stuart's 40th birthday card as his birthday is just over a month away.

Thanks for all your lovely comments, I really love to hear what people think and appreciate your support.

Ginnie x

Here's another hobby

Just thought I'd show you a bit of one of my other hobbies today - Doll's House collecting. Well I have only 1 house (no room for any more) I have had it for about 3 years and it was bought as a kit. Stuart built it for me, then I decorated it and then started to furnish it etc. It is supposed to be late Victorian style. But I go through fads of working on it, it's not as exciting as cross stitching but looks nice!

Here is the inside of the house -

There are 2 top rooms too - the bathroom and nursery, but they need the most work still so I have left the roof down. Here is a close up of the kitchen. (I forgot to paint the ceilings and need to empty the house and do them all one day!) I loved the decorating part best of all!! The furnishing part is just costly.

Of course I have used my cross stitching skills too on the house! Here is a cute little cushion I made and I also have a mini sampler already finished that I want to make into a wall hanging but I haven't got a photo of that.... I'll have to find it!!

I have continued to work on my bookmark which is still on track to be finished by Sunday night. I'll show you it when it is complete! My Auntie went for a hospital appointment on Thursday and found out she hasn't got to go in for her operation until 10th November! So a bit of a wait but the doctors were still all very positive, which is good.

This afternoon I am going to see Mamma Mia again!! Stuart is out on a course today, the girls are at a birthday party so mom and I decided to go and catch the film again before it finishes in cinemas.... I loved it so much last time and am really looking forward to going again!

Hope you all have a good weekend.

Ginnie x

Lily bookmark

I have spent 3 evenings working on my Lily bookmark, a Christmas present for my Auntie. I am enjoying it a lot. Stitching on the plastic canvas is ok, but the chart is a pain as some of the symbols are the same just in blue or black. In the un natural light at night I am finding it hard to distinguish between the blue and black!!! I am hoping I can get this complete by Sunday night if I continue as well as I have been doing.

News about my Auntie is that she will probably go into hospital next Monday for her operation. So fingers crossed that all goes well.

Sorry just a short posting tonight, I have just returned from Stitching Club and I am tired again. I think I'll stitch a little more than have an early night.

Ginnie x

Henry week 1

So here is Henry after just one week of stitching. I have really enjoyed this week of my rota and have spent quite a bit of the weekend stitching on him. You can see both his hands now, more of his tunic and lovely red cloak and some more of his legs in fetching white tights!! I will look forward to picking him back up in a few weeks time.

I also finished my little scissor keep yesterday. It is a freebie from Casey Buonaugurio called Jack-O-Lantern. I could only find pink ribbon though so I had to finish it with that. My mom saw it today and asked me to make her a scissor fob too...... ok I'll add it to my "to do" list!

Thanks for all your supporting comments for my Auntie. I will update you next week when we hear anymore news, she is just waiting for her operation date now. Next week I have Dusky Dreams on my rota and I want to begin my Christmas gifts. I hope I can get all three done before Christmas but I aim to do one at a time as one completed is better then three half done. Because my Auntie has been on my mind a lot I am going to start with her bookmark. In fact I have just started it before blogging, it's stitched on plastic canvas, bit of a pain but it'll be fine when complete.

Ginnie x

Good and bad times

I have had a strange few days of highs and lows. Firstly my mom had a lovely surprise when she opened my cushion on her birthday. She really loved it and was quite emotional about it on the phone to me!! She has since showed it off to her neighbour, her hairdresser etc....

Sadly we had some upsetting news on her birthday; my Auntie (who I am doing the bookmark for) had been called back after a mammogram to investigate a lump! We had to wait until Friday to hear the outcome. It is a small cancerous tumor but the Doctor is very optimistic that it can be fully removed with only a small amount of surgery and after a course of radio theraphy she should make a good recovery. So still a little worrying but looks very hopeful. When my mom called my Auntie's daughter (my cousin) it turned out they had had an even worse week as her husband's mother had passed away on Monday!

So not the best of birthdays for my mom, but we still managed to go out for a lovely meal last night. We have a fantastic Chinese Resturant just down the road called the Emerald, the girl's love it there too... we eat loads and the girls tried squid and duck!!! I was so full and tired when we got home that I was unable to do any stitching!!

Our other good news on Friday was that Laura has managed to secure a work experience place at her old primary school and she as over the moon. She has decided she wants to be a Nursery School Teacher now when she is older and I think she'll be great at it. Just need to sort Becky's place out now... this has been such a nightmare!

I have been doing well on Henry though, my other colours arrived so I have all I need now. Several of you asked what the final picture was like.... well I only have this small one that came with the scanned chart.... but you can at least see how it will look eventually.

I forgot to mention on my last post about my Pooh chart. As only Shellie and Deb requested to be entered in the draw I felt a bit mean just picking one of them.... so I sorted them both out with some Pooh goodies!

I will update my Henry stitching now on Sunday or Monday, I am going to get back to it now while Stuart is busy starting his Christmas Cake (he always does it early so he can add plenty of booze to it over the weeks!) I am very lucky as I am a bad cook and Stuart is a good cook!! So he does most of the cooking in our house... yeah!!!

Have a good weekend.

Ginnie x