A sunny and hot weekend

Whew, I am pleased that this week is over.   Today started off with a fine drizzle of rain but has cleared to a beautiful hot sunny day.  
Yesterday the HDHBEM was discharged from hospital but while it is good to have her home she hasn't strength or energy to do much more than move from bed to chair.   This morning I washed and set her hair in curlers for her and even if I say so myself, I did a reasonably creditable job!   However I have no wish to become a hairdresser and when she says "Thank you dear.   It feels much cleaner" I feel damned with faint praise. Ha ha.
Then this morning I had to take a pair of shoes to be repaired so called in at the LNS and at the Library.
Here's a picture of the stash from each.   Can you tell which came from where??

The new embroidery hoop was a necessity as my current one is starting to delaminate - proof of overuse perhaps.   The hardanger runner was made by the HDHBEM around 25 years ago -  I love it and have it in constant use.

And the books are to add to the stalacmite of reading material beside my bed.  "Friendship Bread" seems to have a recipe for a 'bread bug' at the core of the plot.   I wonder about those bugs and am mindful that this book is fictional but it wouldn't be very expensive to try it out.   Some years ago I did have a 'yogurt bug' which worked well.   Perhaps this is something similar.

I am currently stitching on Victoria Sampler's Heirloom Nativity Sampler and truth be told I am not enjoying it very much.   When I get the words and the next two bands done this piece will go into respite care for a time and I will try something else.   As it isn't needed until Christmas I can please myself a little can't I?  Here's a wrinkly snapshot of the top.   A gold star charm goes into the middle of the top and pearl beads go above each white heart -  at the end when I will do all the beading in one fell swoop.

Have a great evening everyone.

What did I do to deserve this????

Good evening all.   Thank you so much for your good wishes to the HDHBEM.   She is doing well and in her own words "the lovely Indian gentleman doctor insists I stay here until he is happy" so she certainly won't be home for a while.   Pneumonia is best controlled in hospital so I am happy to concur with the lovely Indian gentleman doctor :-)

Now you won't believe what happened to me today?   I went to work early so I could leave early to visit the HDHBEM.   But at around 8:30am the general manager came and asked me to take a colleague to the Emergency Department.   I could hardly believe my ears.   Hadn't I just spent a major portion of my long weekend in precisely that place?   But orders are orders so off I went.   At 10:30 the ED doctor sent us off to another hospital for a hand specialist to review and comment.   A loooong wait and finally at 2pm we met a nurse who said the doctor would be along soon.   At 3pm the doctor came and we both got back to the office at just after 4:30pm; my colleague in a cast and me barely holding on to the remnants of a good mood.   No lunch, no morning tea no afternoon tea and no sense of humour left!  I hereby go on record that I do not care if I never see the inside of a hospital emergency department ever again.   Whatever did I do in a previous existence to deserve this????   What a day.    Of course I went up to visit the HDHBEM after work and told her the story..... and you know what?   She laughed!

Naturally there are no stitching photos but I have a snapshot of the small cardigan the HDHBEM knitted for baby Kelly.   I hope to see her again this weekend and deliver this.   Don't you love the buttons -  they are a perfect match.

Have a great night everyone.

How not to spend a day off work!

Today is a public holiday in New Zealand and I had a long list of 'chores and of pleasurable activities'.   However last night we made yet another visit to the Emergency Department and the HDHBEM is tucked up in bed on Ward 65  and I still have my long list of 'chores and pleasurable activities' as well as a slight giddiness due to fatigue.   Before hospital visiting hours start this afternoon I am determined to cross items of that list so....
The car is washed
The runner beans have been taken out of the garden and consigned to the organic refuse bag
The laundry is done and pegged on the clothes line
The GARDEN BALL is completed
The cardigan for Kelly has its buttons sewn on (photo of that one later)

Oh yippee.   All the chores are done.   I can cope with a list of pleasurable activities!

Now for a report.   The Twisted Oaks Designs "A Patchwork Garden Pincushion Ball" was a joy to stitch.   I love the mathematical twist to the construction, the chart instructions were excellent, the floss was a joy to stitch with and it turned out pretty well.   This chart is highly recommended.   Sometime designers have wonderful ideas but their instructions lack a certain something.   Not this one - it's wonderful.  Here's a couple of not so good photographs.

 And following my "promise to self" that each finish means I must tidy up the unfinished smalls -  I am stitching up a tiny lavender bag.   Only three of these unfinished smalls to go, so that has been a satisfactory lesson in self discipline.

My niece and her partner have just returned to New Zealand after three years in the UK.   They travelled home via India and during their three weeks there, Heidi came across these lovely lace motifs which she kindly brought back to her Aunty.   I'm looking for inspiration as to how to use the elephants as I already have an idea for the flowers.   Any suggestions?

And this is one of the beautiful white lilies that I have flowering at present.   Its scent and beauty are a real cheer at present.

Hope your day is going better than mine. 

The postman has been busy this week!

Good evening to you all.
This week the postman has been busy.
First he brought me a package all the way from Japan.   I won a giveaway on Tussie Mussie and Sanae sent me some wonderful charts, beautiful silk threads and Japanese needles (made by a firm that is 300 years old!)   Do go visit her blog -  she currently has a snapshot of some wonderfully unique Bird Apartments!

Next the postman brought me a box from Shiela (no blog).   One of her stitching group ladies donated a lot of linen and kind Shiela thought to send some to me.   Some of the colours are not readily available in New Zealand and I feel really blessed to receive this wonderful supply. 

In my mind these pieces are already turning into, needle cases, hussifs, samplers, hardanger etc etc etc Wouldn't it be nice if every weekend we had extra long days, extra supplies of energy and the optimum conditions for stitching! I think I would love that.

Today I went out for a walk twice!   Once around Cornwall Park where I wished I had my camera with me.   If the weather holds fine we will go back on Monday and I will take some snap shots.    Then late afternoon I went for a walk up and around my local volcano, Mt Eden.   So thoroughly exercised, well fed and watered I am settling in for a night of stitching and TV.  I have been continuing on my Garden Ball -  I am doing this exactly as the kit and each of the pieces is a different colour of 28 count linen.   This is a dreadful photograph but shows the progress made.

Only one colour linen to go and then I should be able to construct the ball itself.   Hopefully this will be a finish by the end of this long weekend -  yes!!!  Monday is another public holiday.   Does anyone else plan out what they are going to do next, even before they have finished the current project?   I do.   I have a list of projects that I want to do in 2012 (an ever growing list I should say) and I have already chosen that the next project will be The Victoria Sampler Heirloom Nativity Sampler.   This is already kitted up and ready to go so of course I am getting impatient.   Today when we went out shopping I didn't go anywhere near the needlework shop -  too tempting by far.   There are enough projects and supplies in my cupboard to last me into next century (well almost) so I don't need to go out adding to the stash.   How long will this self-control last I wonder?

Well, that's all to report for today.  

A long weekend

Good evening everyone.   I have been back at work again this past week and after three days off it was hard to settle to routine and catch up on the pile of paper.   Now we have Monday as a Public Holiday and I am enjoying a long weekend and have a long list of chores.
The wedding went well although the weather was a disaster.   Saturday and Monday were fine and hot but Sunday, the day of the wedding was Wet Wet Wet.   And windy -  we all realised afresh why our capital city is called Windy Wellington!   Hence no photos except a few my Little Sister has sent me.   I know I have introduced you to the HDHBEM before but has Little Sister shown her face?   I can't remember - but here we are, the three women of the family.

Besides the bride and groom there were four bridesmaids, a best man and three groomsmen, two flower girls and a page boy so the bridal party travelled by bus!

My new niece-in-law is very creative and made the cake topper herself.  This is the "best photo" I have of the bride and groom at present (ha ha. By way of explanation- my nephew loves Batman)

Now for a stitching catch up. I have finished the Sajou M and it has exceeded my expectations. I love the flow of the letter and the colour of the thread. Now I will need to choose a suitable frame and it can go on the wall.

While away, I did all the tacking on the Red Toblerone and made a start on the stitching.  

 Progress was rapid until the HDHBEM reminded me that this was to be my Guild project so I stopped that and started another project -  Twisted Oaks Designs - 'a patchwork garden ball'.   There are 18 segments done on six different colours of 28 count linen, using mainly Dinky Dyes Silks and Simply Shaker Overdyed threads.   This is my start on the G of garden.

Today, before the HDHBEM and I went into the city on the bus to do some shopping for her, I made a chocolate slice and iced it.   We came back for a quick lunch at home and then out to do the grocery, fruit and vege shopping.   Also, we went to the garden shop and then I planted some lettuce, carrots, silverbeet and some new parsley plants.  A quick 45 minute walk and then I made a new recipe for dinner -"Cod Fillets Pizza Style".   Very nice; we shall try that again.  Wow.   Written like that it sounds a very busy day.   Tonight I will relax with some stitching in front of Midsomer Murders.  

Before I depart...

Good evening all,
Tomorrow morning the HDHBEM and I leave to drive to Wellington where my Little Sister's younger son is getting married.   It is an 8 hour drive from here and far too much for the HDHBEM to do that in one hop, so we stop off part way for one night.  
Tonight I will finish my packing, but the necessary things like needlework (two pieces just in case, as it would be terrible to run out of stitching!), books (we will be away four nights so of course I need 6 books!) and my cameras are all in the suitcase.   I must rush now to my wardrobe and dig out some shoes and a dress to wear to the wedding so I am not a disgrace to my family.  Don't worry Little Sister, I am only joking.   I promise to scrub up well enough on the day.

Over the past few nights I have managed to get this far on another M for my collection.   This is a Sajou alphabet, stitched in one strand of silk floss over two threads of antique white 36 count Edinburgh linen.  Hopefully this will be completed this weekend. 
I'll be back next week with some more photos.   Hope you all have a great weekend

Both of us have been busy!!

Two items to show tonight -  one the product of the HDHBEM's knitting prowess.

Isn't this little pink baby cardigan cute?   Tomorrow it will begin its journey to Amy's house, hopefully to arrive before she leaves to visit her new grand-daughter.  
And I have finally take photographs of the Bits and Bobs sewing pocket.   One of the front with the cute beaded berry toggles.

And a side on shot to show the pocket between the folds.

This was a very interesting "pocket" to stitch and I enjoyed learning a new type of construction. 
As an aside, isn't the tartan tin gorgeous?   One of my Japanese friends sent it to me - full of their famed 'Mary's Chocolates'.   Currently it is still two thirds full - I am enjoying the tin almost as much as the actual contents!
Have a good evening everyone.