Glorious June!


I came home from having my new hip on 11th June
--- a new woman!                                                
The sun is shining, the garden aglow and I can enjoy it and look forward to pottering there soon.
Unfortunately our web connection was down and we only got back on line yesterday - really frustrating.                                                


Well, at last I can thank everyone for all their good wishes and messages over the many months I have been grumpy and unwell! My family, so many lovely friends, and crafting, have kept my spirits up.  
I'm walking well, improving each day, and now only have a couple of nasty blisters on my foot to get rid of
--- big smiles all round!                                                                                       

2010 Year of Bio-Diversity










Hearing about this on a TV programme from the Chelsea Flower Show inspired me to stitch my own garden of Bio Diversity!
I used three stitches from TAST 2007 re-visited, on linen coloured with fabric crayons,
23 Wheatear Stitch,
24 French Knots,
25 Long & Short stitch.

Many thanks all for such lovely comments about my previous 'Veldt' picture.

At last, after many painful months waiting for a hip replacement, delayed by other investigations and treatments,
tomorrow is hip-op day.
I'm sure it will be very successful and though I'll probably be having another later, and my spine could be better, I'll be a new woman in a few days time!
I'm looking forward to getting out and about and maybe a bit of gardening.
Stitching has kept me going for months - I'll probably do less as I widen my horizons!

TAST 12
Sorbello Stitch










For many years a visit to see the wonderful vibrant Springtime flowers of Namaqualand has been on my wish list.
I know that I won't be going there now so I'm content that we have seen beautiful Fynbos on Table Mountain - and I've made my own mini Namaqualand 'Veldt' picture!

A mixed month of good and bad days, but still lots of stitching as I'm doing TAST 2010 and the re-run of TAST 2007.
I was 75 on 11th May and had a lovely day with lots of flowers, cards, presents, and best of all visitors. My best 'present' will be on June 5th when, after many months waiting and having other things sorted out, I should be getting my first new hip. I'm counting the days!


TAST 8 Fancy Hem Stitch

TAST 9 Raised Herringbone Band

TAST 10 Cloud Filling Stitch

TAST 11 Bullion Buttonhole Stitch ...'Catkin Twigs'
This is my favourite so far.
I am up to TAST 20 in the 2007 re-run - too many to post here but they are on my Flickr stream. http://www.flickr.com/photos/23261611@N04/4615816401/
Stitching and Flickr keep me going, especially on the bad days!

TAST 5, 6, & 7











Knotted Buttonhole Stitch








Buttonhole Eyelet Flower Stitch






Rope Stitch






All new to me - I enjoyed doing the small picture sampler of Knotted Buttonhole and found Buttonhole Eyelet Flower more challenging, though I got into doing it after a time.
Rope stitch, done in wool, is effective and can be made quite textural - also quick to use. I think I'll use this again more than the other two.
TAST group is at http://www.flickr.com/groups/56846286@N00/
I'm not blogging often just now - but I do make time to look at and admire many other blogs. Hopefully I'll be in better health soon and have more energy to keep up with things!

TAST 3 & 4


3. Beaded Hedebo Stitch


Basic stitch on a narrow Aida band - maybe I'll make a similar one to use on a postcard sometime.







4. Portuguese Border Stitch
A mini sampler in chunky wool on Rustic Aida.





I haven't attempted variations - which are really intended in the challenge - as I'm catching up the first four weeks.
I'll make more effort now that I'm on time target and with a week for each stitch.
Each of the stitches is new to me - I enjoyed doing them and think I can use them in future freehand embroidery.
TAST group is at http://www.flickr.com/groups/56846286@N00/

TAST

This week I decided to focus so joined Sharon B's group Take a Stitch Tuesday.
As it started four weeks ago I have to catch up - though there is no pressure to stitch every week.
The first two are Diamond Stitch and Knotted Loop.
They are less than perfect but I enjoyed the stitching.
http://www.flickr.com/groups/56846286@N00/












Also this week I was told that after a year of investigations and treatments for various health problems I can now have my right hip replaced.
I'll be on a waiting list for 3/4 months but hopefully things will start to improve then.
Ooooh! I need to lose weight and I do love food - just another challenge.
Ironic that I joined "TAST"!

We had a lovely holiday in Spain with some hot and sunny days and cool evenings sitting by the log burner.
I couldn't walk well so relied on a wheelchair (I hate that!!!)
Lots of time was spent relaxing, with a glass of wine, & stitching - I was inspired by the 'face flowers' I saw in a 'point de croix' magazine, tried to do Bullion Knots which I've not done a lot of before, and made this Garden in Stitch & Buttons postcard.


There are various threads, buttons, ribbons and a textured wool border here ...

When we were house bound on several cold and snowy days I explored machine auto stitching with hand embroidery over laid - another picture for my collection ...


.... but Spring is around the corner!




..last day of February
..what a cold and dreary month it has been.

We are looking for the sun, visiting family in Spain, for the next two weeks.
The small picture is a "quick stitch" for a birthday card, from a design by Elizabeth Foster.

Winter Posy

There's not a lot to see in the garden today but I picked this small posy -


I made a jigsaw from the photo and I'm doing it this afternoon.
Most days I spend some time "jigsawing" on line as a change from crafting and word games.
www.jigidi.com/puzzle.php?id=2HI6EFA6

Not a lot of blogging recently!
Days have ticked over, indoors because of the snow, knit, stitch, watch tennis when it's on TV, eat & drink coffee (mostly, but a few glasses of wine as well!), take a few photos from windows or doorstep, and generally pass the time quite happily.
This is a textile postcard I stitched - "Snowy Garden"
It represents Winter Flowering Jasmine amongst swirls of snow - a quilted background with embellishment.

Wishing all my friends a happy and healthy New Year .....






I am resigned to lots more sitting and enjoying crafting each day, as before.
The spine injections I had in December, after so many months of other treatments, still haven't improved my mobility a lot - but at least I don't have a hospital appointment for three whole months.
I haven't knitted for about 25 years - saw a book about knitting squares for blankets, and started to explore different textures in knitting.
I doubt I'll make enough squares for a blanket though!
These are all in the same wool - a nice light cream - sorry the colours and shadows here are so poor.
It's quite homely sitting by the fire knitting.

Happy Christmas



No blogging for weeks and now a quickie to say Merry Christmas and to wish all my friends a healthy and happy New Year.

November ....


Wet, windy and dull this morning ......








but later sunny and dry enough to collect a few lovely leaves from the garden.

NO sun--no moon!
No morn--no noon!
No dawn--no dusk--no proper time of day--
No sky--no earthly view--
No distance looking blue--
No road--no street--no "t'other side this way"--
No end to any Row--
No indications where the Crescents go--
No top to any steeple--
No recognitions of familiar people--
No courtesies for showing 'em--
No knowing 'em!
No travelling at all--no locomotion--
No inkling of the way--no notion--
"No go" by land or ocean--
No mail--no post--
No news from any foreign coast--
No Park, no Ring, no afternoon gentility--
No company--no nobility--
No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease,
No comfortable feel in any member--
No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees,
No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds--
November!

Thomas Hood 1789 - 1845

I don't think Thomas Hood got it entirely right - though we do have a postal strike just now!

.. more Autumn colours ..

I haven't been blogging often recently as I'm in an unsettled mood, not doing anything very interesting or original ...
I had a lovely collection of red fibres from Carolyn, love-stitching-red.blogspot.com recently though and really enjoyed sorting out a few bits and pieces to send to her.
Some of the fibres I found were lovely Autumn colours so I made yet another mosaic, adding a couple of pics of an Assisi piece I did some years ago - it's now in Priscilla's dining room in New Mexico, www.flickr.com/people/farmgirlinnewmex.
The red fibres are lovely for Christmas work - hopefully I'll get inspiration to use them soon.

Wessex Stitchery

Mini Sampler


Yesterday I completed this - only 6x9cm but it took several days,
stitching with Caron Wildflowers variegated thread.



The centre flowers are a design called Pembroke, in Gay Eaton's book, 'Wessex Stitchery'.
The outer patterns are my own, done randomly and copied at the opposite edge.
This technique is new to me.
The history of the stitching is interesting - the patterns are challenging - working on finer weave than usual I need a magnifier - I think I'll try another piece!

Autumn













Yesterday we went to the local common for a while before having a lovely lunch at a country pub.
It would have been nice to walk a little way - the sun was warm and lots of 'seniors'
were out taking in Autumn - but I enjoyed taking a few photos from the car park - nearly as good.
Many thanks to all my friends here and on Flickr for your recent good wishes - yes Carolyn, I do try to "enjoy the moment" every day - there's always something to perk me up!

Autumn

This month has come and nearly gone.....






I haven't done much crafting as it has been an unsettled time.
Several hospital visits, a short stay for Femoral Balloon Angioplasty, some days feeling sorry for myself, and still no improvement in mobility!
I'm hoping things will be better in October - next consultation soon - hopefully about having a back injection to improve things.
The Autumn mosaic is from a fabric postcard I made a year ago - I'll shake myself up soon, get positive, and stop moaning.
I have ideas but they don't seem to be coming together - and Christmas crafting is around the corner ......
Do something, silly woman!

Belle Epoque










Today is our wedding anniversary - two years ago a friend gave us a rose bush for our Golden Wedding Anniversary.
It hasn't had many blooms so far but each one is gorgeous.
I need a few notecards so I'll make them from this photo.

Blackberries .....
About 50 years ago we bought a 'Himalayan Giant' blackberry plant and planted it 'out of the way' at the end of the garden.
What we didn't realise was that, OK, we have had lovely big blackberries for cooking each year - but - we have also had blackberry briars growing everywhere in the garden and they take a lot of digging out!
I guess most of our neighbours have plenty too!
Well we have enjoyed pie, crumble, bbs with custard, bbs with meringues, bbs with apples, bbs with pears, and bbs in the freezer for later, over & over & over.
50 years on and I've decided we deserve something more original. So I Googled and found new ideas .......several I'll try, though I'm not too sure about Blackberry & Apple Yorkshire Puddings!
There are lots - one link to 42 recipes is below - sorry I can never get a click link here, but copy and paste works if you are interested.
www.bbcgoodfood.com/search.do?keywords=Blackberry&searchType=recipes

Oh! I nearly forgot - mashed up, the berries make a lovely fabric and fibre dye!