Blog On hold

Really sorry for no blog this week. BUT my excuse is having grandchildren stay, going to work and running out of hours! Will blog just as soon as I can get a few minutes free. Meanwhile two pictures of the children.

Ooops Forgot A Title

Oh dear I think I am becoming a boring old f.... My life has been very much routine. I have had no adventures and my camera has barely come off its shelf:(  Typically this is my week Monday - work and then in the evening a craft group meets in my home. Tuesday - work and then the evening I catch up on phone calls and some crafting. Wednesday - work and a mad dash home before I go out again for Bach choir rehearsals. Thursday - work and then an evening to craft. Friday - work and maybe a walk in the evening if the weather is nice along the canal at Foxton Locks or visiting friends etc. Saturday - at this time of year Mr P plays cricket and either I see my dad, occasionally go out with Mrs A, or I go shopping and cook a yummy meal for Mr P's return. Sunday - church and then I do not move from the house so that I can do crafting! OK in between work I do do housework, ironing, washing etc and try to go swimming 3-4 times a week. So I'm definitely a bore! But in two weekends time we are going glamping for the weekend - so that will be exciting and thoughts of summer holidays are going around my head. Mr P has booked the ferries - Dover to Calais and then St Malo to Portsmouth. We shall be mooching around the Loire Valley, camping, and then ending up at an island for a beachy part to the holiday. Sooooooooooooo looking forward to that.  I enjoy reading other peoples blogs and I get sooo envious when I see them in the middle of beautiful countryside or by the coast. Guess that's what happens when you live in the middle of the country!

It took me till last night to overcome my fed up feelings with my Kate dress and finally finished the neckband(after four attempts to get it right)! Hurray. I can now wear the dress.

I like the buttons on the pockets. Oh and can you see the wee bird!

OK next week I will be boring you with grandchildren pictures as No 3 and family are staying the week whilst her hubby will be having his head in books as he revises for a really big CFA exam.

Tomato plant update:

Plant One last week:

This week:

Golly still getting taller! Uh oh hope it stops soon otherwise I will not be able to keep them on the kitchen window ledge!

Plant Two last week:

This week:

I actually thought the plants hadn't grown much in the last week but I was wrong!

My recent crafting project is one that Mr P cannot get his head around. He kind of gives it a queer look and "what's that or what you going to do with it?" remarks come out of his mouth!

You need to ignore the round metal discs around the edge - they are holding the fabric onto a frame, to keep it taught.  The correct name for this piece of work is a Chemanthy Panel. I guess you could describe it as a kind of Indian sampler! I saw the pattern in the magazine Stitch, published by the embroiders guild, Issue 90.

These circles are actually the chemanthy stitch - they were such fun to do. I also enjoyed sewing the five shisha mirrors. So I don't know what you think to the work I'm doing but I'm enjoying myself.

Finally last night just before I went to bed I decided I needed to let my fingers be holding a crochet hook - getting crochet withdrawals! So started on my first mandala circle, please excuse the colours I was just messing around anyway managed to achieve this much in 20 minutes -not finished yet.

Note to myself - I must get out more and be more adventurous! Hope you all have a good week, thanks for popping by.

Patience

Patience is apparently a virtue. Well I think this is a virtue that I am still needing to learn. Over the weekend I decided it was time to break into my gorgeous expensive fabric and make myself another Kate dress. So Saturday, other than popping out for an hour or so, I spent the day making the dress. But by the end of the day I realised when I tried the dress on that it was too big. So I then painfully went about unpicking the whole of the dress!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry took a picture on my phone - probably says it all my eyes were all blurry! So Sunday I get up, a fresh new day and a new start. Time to put the dress back together but in a smaller size. By the afternoon it was all done. I then try it on only to discover that the neckline is too big! I need to undo the neckline - that means unpicking two rows of machine sewing! Aaaaaaargh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Also means not losing my rag and making any holes in the fabric. So for a third time I redo the neckline. Then time for a tadah! moment but NO the neckline is still tooooooooooooo big! I need to unpick it and rethink it again! I have to be honest and say I could not face undoing it for a fourth time - I think I seriously would have lost the plot and damaged the fabric so sometime this week when I'm feeling calm and collective I will unpick it and make sure that I gather the fabric better. But here's a picture of it so far.

Last night at pic n mix it was a bit of a "show and tell" evening. One lady has made herself what must be the poshest peg bag going!

Even the inside has been beautifully lined.

Then Mrs A bought her newly made quilt - presie for a family member.

If you look carefully you'll see that even the binding is in several colours! Now she likes to be naughty and as the front is sensible she likes the back to be fun.

Meanwhile I have managed to knit yet another shawl with the Gaia Shoulder Hug pattern. A girl can't have enough shawls!

I thought I'd try taking the picture outside so as to get the best image of colour but it's come out much brighter than it actually is. The colour is much softer more heathery coloured.

I adore Noro wool! I love the picot edging.

Lastly, as I am a bit of a bore this week, a weekly picture of my tomato plants. I think they have calmed down in their growth!

Week Two

Week Three

Week Two

Week Three

Bye all.

Bank Holiday Weekend - White Peak Embroidery, Abbey Park

Oh isn't it lovely to have an extra day off work to enjoy time with others. Saturday morning Mrs A and I were off on our travels again. Now this may sound crazy but we took an 80 minute car ride to visit one shop! Madness I know and it was all my idea! But back in February or March of this year I found a new sweetie shop but as I was with Mr P didn't really spend very much time having a look. Now don't get me wrong Mr P is wonderful but I didn't like to keep him waiting in the car for hours on end, so I opted to take my partner in crime back to White Peak Embroidery,   in Darley Dale, Derbyshire. Now what I had not realised at the time was that four doors away was another shop owned by the same people called Heirs and Graces. So this time I went armed with birthday money and a shopping list. I've got a new project in mind and needed some new embroidery stash! I do not think we have anywhere in Leicester that sells anything like this shop does. Not only do they have sewing supplies but also lots of wool, books etc. Needless to say we ended up staying there a good three hours! The other shop sells a huge huge variety of fabrics. The most I have ever seen outside of a quilting show. Oh boy I could have spent a fortune. I saw so many adorable fabrics that would have made wonderful dresses but hey ho I only have one birthday a year and only have so much time in a week to make things. This is what I purchased.

I'm sooooo excited about this new project, as it is something I've never done before. I keep waking up at night thinking about it! Sad aren't I? Will share more about this project once I've got going on it.

Now the wonderful owner pointed us in the direction of these wooden things. I've seen them before and never really stopped to see what they are for. But they provide a frame to attach whatever sewing project you are working on and there are special nails to hold the fabric taught. She said they were better than hoops and when I got home and had some time I finished off a project on the frame and it was fantastic. So glad she pointed them out. She also runs various different classes and I think one day we will be back having one. She's a wonderful lady and I'm sure she must make a great teacher. Oooh nearly forgot to show you what Mrs A bought....... with her birthday money.

Little project that I finished....

Now I suggested to Mrs A that we would be at the shop for about an hour - so the consequences of being there longer meant that when I got home I had precisely one hour before my family descended. In that time I had to vacuum and dust, make a spaghetti bolanese and a steam pudding. They arrived just as I was putting the pudding to steam into the bowl. Wow what timing! Amazing what you can do when pushed! Now if you don't like babies then it's time to switch off! I note that I took about 130 photographs of the grandchildren in two days! Don't worry I'll pick just a few to show you!

Ayla's favourite position to fall asleep - on her daddy, being hugged. Much rather sleep like this than in her bed. But she does sleep all night in her moses basket - so you can't complain.

Rowan is a cuddly child and loves to give out cuddles too - just like his mum (who still sits on my lap for cuddles  - so privileged).

He often enjoys trying to play the piano, like grandad, and amazingly doesn't just bang on the notes with his fist.

He spent ages standing on this stool watching the chickens. He tries to say the word "chicken" but it's such a difficult word for a little one to accomplish. So we are trying to get him to say "hens" instead.

On Monday, yesterday, the sun was shining and so we headed out to Abbey Park. Shamefully Mr P and I have lived in Leicester for at least 8 or 9 years and have never been to this park. We will be back. We had a wonderful time. Rowan loved being outside and walking. Golly I have no idea how far his small legs carried him.

We all had fun throwing blossom over him! He walked all the way to the miniature train line and then part of the way to the swing park. Then had a ride on grandad's shoulders.

This was followed by a walk around the pet corner, but his little legs were getting very tired and so we headed back to the car to retrieve the picnic. But by the time we sat down he was exhausted and had a tantrum. It was soo funny to watch and we had to be careful and not let him see us laughing - bless him.

But after a good cry and throwing him self onto the grass he suddenly stopped and decided to eat again! Oh the trials and tribulations of a toddler.

Meanwhile Ayla has been fed too and is looking all cute in her buggy.

Well for a short while until she too ends up on grandad.

We were going to walk back to the miniature trains but poor Rowan was too tired and so we headed home so that he could take a nap and grandad too! Now I have to say grandad has been very much in vogue this weekend. I was useful for cuddles and food supplies! But grandad was the hit. Even as they were leaving to return home Rowan was rushing up to grandad with MORE books to read! It was very sweet, but as I went to remove the books in order for them to leave I was in Rowan's bad books and he refused to kiss me goodbye - bad grandma!

It was sooo lovely to have time together and it only took about an hour to get the house looking normal again!

OK change of subject - tomato plants. You remember that last weekend I planted two tomato plants, suitable for indoors. Here's a reminder of what they looked like last week.

 Oh boy what has happened in one week! I'm worried that I have been bought the wrong plants, or someone has swapped the labels!

 Plant One......

Plant Two............

Golly if this is a weeks growth what size will they end up?  Perhaps I should turn this question into a competition? Well I think I have exhausted you all with my weekly gossip. Hope your week is a good one.