Phew!

Phew is right! I have finished making Christmas cards (all sixty-odd of them) and they are all ready to be posted - once I get the stamps!

No pictures this week, I'm afraid; there are just too many too show, and I am too tired to try to pick out my favourites! I will share one photo though, of the birthday card I made this week for a family friend:

I'm quite pleased with how well this turned out - isn't it pretty?!

Anyway, must get back to knitting the eight pairs of socks I've promised as Christmas presents... Check out my other blog for more info on the Christmas cards and stuff I've been up to - and to answer a question!

Four weeks and counting

I missed a post last week I think, probably because it was my birthday on Friday (picture I of the mosaic above shows my favourite birthday cards and some of the presents I was lucky enough to receive). My husband, whom I love so deeply, really splashed out this year, and, among other things, gave me a Maia cross stitch kit. Unfortunately, I have quite a few projects in my queue at the moment, not to mention the Christmas cards I have been frantically stitching, and picture 2 shows you what they are (namely, Cut Thru Cottage kit from Bothy Threads, Sea Goddess designed by Joan Elliott, Sleeping Cat by Anne Mortimer and last but not least the Maia kit, "Rejoice" designed by Monica Stewart).

I can't wait to start stitching any of these, but I really must finish the Fairy Mother and Child that I have put aside to stitch Christmas cards.

Which brings me to my next subject: Christmas cards. For some inexplicable reason I decided yesterday to make some Christmas cards. I bought some supplies (see picture 3 bottom left) and then made just two cards (pictured bottom right) last night when we got home. For more info on these, and indeed the birthday presents, to-do list and cardmaking essentials I purchased yesterday, visit WordPress.

Apart from that, I have spent this week organising my cross stitch patterns and scanning pictures of them into my computer so I can look for patterns on the computer rather than leafing through the six or seven folders to find what I want. Of course, I haven't had time to tag all the pictures yet, and I expect that will have to wait until the New Year, or at least after Christmas when the children go home.

Yes that's right, we have my husband's children staying with us over Christmas this year. Including Christmas day!!!!!! We are so excited - he hasn't had them to himself for Christmas since he divorced their mother, so this is a long-awaited treat. And I get to play Mum for Christmas and can't wait. It's so exciting!!!

Right, back to making the Christmas cards. They can't be as bad as last year:

In fact, they're already looking better!

Testing, testing.... is this working?

... apparently not! I'm afraid I've got a little lost somewhere along the line, and have missed a post... Well, I guess I'll just have to make up for it then, won't I?!!

Right, cross stitch first:

1. Fairy Mother and Child 3, 2. Fairy Mother and Child 4, 3. Fairy Mother And Child 5, 4. Christmas Characters - Rudolph, 5. Christmas Penguin Card, 6. Cute As A Button Reindeer, 7. Cute As A Button Reindeer Card, 8. Baby Lilly's First Christmas card, 9. Snowy Days AOY card

So as you can see, I have been quite busy. I have done a bit more of the Fairy Mother and Child design by Joan Elliott and stitched a few Christmas cards (and made them into cards and embellished them!) I am now trying to stitch as many Christmas cards as I can, and really wish I had started doing them earlier (and actually done them persistently!). Ah well, not to worry.

The knitting, on the other hand, has not been quite so productive.

While I have actually managed to finish knitting the Zanzibar (a shawl/wrap/scarf/headscarf), and completed one Flutter-by sock (not pictured), the sock is not right and I am starting from scratch.

I blame this lack of creativity on the stress caused by recent events. I hope L is happy with himself.

Anyway, it's my birthday tomorrow, and while I'm not excited about it (partly because I'm poorly), I am looking forward to a trip to the seaside on Tuesday. I hope to be able to offer a more creative post next week!

Until then, keep smiling, keep stitching, and keep smiling some more!

The longest week of my life (and not because I'm blogging about two weekends!)

1. Laundry Day, 2. Love's Journey - day 2, 3. Love's Journey - day 3, 4. Love's Journey - day 4, 5. Love's Journey - day 5, 6. Love's Journey - day 6, 7. Love's Journey - day 7, 8. Love's Journey, 9. Love's Journey - back before backstitch, 10. Love's Journey - back with backstitch, 11. Lilly's First Christmas, 12. Fairy Mother and Child - fabric, 13. Fairy Mother and Child - day 1, 14. Fairy Mother and Child - day 2, 15. Flutter-by-20091109-3, 16. Flutter-by-20091109-1


It really has been a long week, but that's family stuff that I'm not at liberty to talk about at the moment, so in the meantime, amuse yourself with the above pictures.

Yes, I have finished Love's Journey by Lesley Teare, which is a Christmas present for my in-laws. It took a mere 44 hours, so I am pleased. You can visit my other blog to vote on how neat and tidy you think the back is.

I have started stitching Joan Elliott's Fairy Mother and Child, which I absolutely love, have finished another Christmas card and turned the heel on the first Flutter-by sock - hooray!

So you see, I really have been quite busy. I think I have been trying to distract myself from what has been going on. Just so you know, it hasn't worked, and recent events are still going round and round in my head....

This week: 25th to 30th October

1. MidnightMissionDay20.jpeg, 2. MidnightMissionDay21.jpeg, 3. MidnightMissionDay22.jpeg, 4. MidnightMissionSantaSack.jpeg, 5. Jaywalker3.jpeg, 6. Jaywalker6.jpeg, 7. Flutter-by1-20091029.jpeg, 8. LovesJourneyDay01, 9. LovesJourneyDay02.jpeg

I know it's a couple of days early, but I'm not going to have time to do this over the weekend...

It has been a very busy week in the house of craft and penguins: I have finished cross stitching Midnight Mission by Lucie Heaton, finished knitting my Jaywalker socks, started knitting a pair of Flutter-by socks for my step-daughter for Christmas and started cross stitching Lesley Teare's Love's Journey Willow pattern piece for my in-laws for Christmas.

I have also discovered that by leaving a large piece of horse chestnut tree outside the back door my husband has managed to get rid of all the spiders in the house!!! Apparently, this will also work if you bring conkers into the house (in case you don't have a horse chestnut tree to cut into pieces).

We have been annoyed by the postal strikes (why can't they just sort it out?!), worried by the ATI card in my husband's PC and impressed by certain companies' swift responses.

So, until next weekend, I'll wish you adieu!

This week: 17th to 24th October

Haven't I been busy?! For extra information about each individual photo, please go to my other blog and you should be able to find everything you need.

I'm afraid I don't have much else to add to this; I have spent the entire week making these little decorations, as well as some others that I haven't bothered to photograph because I haven't sewn them up (not that I can't be bothered, it's just that they didn't look quite good enough so I didn't see the point in wasting time sewing them up). I also made a witch with a broomstick (but no feet because I didn't have any felt) and a miniature pumpkin - the pumpkin did go to the sale, but I forgot to photograph it first (I thought I had already!) so I'll just have to make another one!

I must congratulate myself for doing so much in so little time, but also chastise myself for over-doing it and making myself ill. If you want to read more about this, go to my fibro blog.

Until next time, have fun, try to laugh and don't take life too seriously!! I'll blog you next week!

Tuesday 13th October 2009

Although I have officially moved to WordPress, I thought I would revive this blog, hence the change of appearance and addition of extras etc...

I have been asked to knit some small Christmas decorations for my Mum's Soup-A-Bazaar (previously known as Soup Morning) so when we go to town tomorrow, I will have to stop in at Franklins at get some Sirdar Chunky Snowflake and some Christmas colours of double knitting yarns. I think it might actually be fun!

I can't wait to finish stitching Lucie Heaton's Midnight Mission and get on with the rest of the projects waiting to be done - I've nearly finished and it seems to be taking forever to do the last little bit!

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