A Happy, Happy Day!

Or I should say, a happy, happy two days!  If you're a regular visitor to my blog, then you may remember me mentioning in this earlier post, that our eldest son Jason was marrying his beautiful fiancée Nicola on the 3rd December.  Well there were actually two weddings.  On the Friday we had the legal ceremony at the registry office in Hay-on-Wye, which was before the big day on the 3rd, a Humanist ceremony held at Nic's family home in Herefordshire.  A couple of weeks ago Jase sent me two DVDs full of beautiful photos, and I've chosen just a few of the happy day to share with you.

Mr and Mrs (Jason and Nic)

Jason and Nic with Colin and myself

The room where the ceremony took place

End of the ceremony

Jason with his brother Matthew

Wedding cake with Jason, Nic and Chota topper

The end of a fantastic day

This will probably be the last time for a while that I will find time to blog.  Colin's arriving home on Friday to help with the final preparations for our move to Dubai, so it's going to be a very busy time for us in the coming weeks, with the move and setting up a new home!  I've sorted all my stash ready for the removers to come and safely pack, and long to get back into some serious stitching when I'm finally settled in Dubai.  Until I'm back blogging again, take care and thank you for popping by.  :o)

Friends Count

A little gift for my friend (and hairdresser) Sue for her birthday, which is in a couple of weeks.  She doesn't use a computer so I know I won't spoil the surprise by posting this now.  Sue has been my hairdresser for 30 years, so when I move to Dubai in a few weeks time I'm going to really miss our monthly girlie chats while she does my hair! 

The design is 'Friends Count', a freebie from The Victoria Sampler which can be found on the website.  I've used the listed DMC threads and 28ct cream Cashel linen and finished it as a bookmark, but the design can also be finished framed by omitting the Nun's Stitch edging.  

This is the second time now that I've stitched this for a friend and I expect it won't be the last - I think it's a lovely gift to give, and as well as being enjoyable to stitch, it stitches up nice and quickly too!  :o)

A Stitch In Time

I love my Radley umbrella!  I've had it for a while now, but thought I'd show it off today anyway.  Isn't it just the perfect brollie for a stitcher!  I don't think I'll be having a lot of use for it when I'm in Dubai - I wouldn't even be able to use it here today in Plymouth either, with this wind and driving rain we're having!  :o)

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Just a little late, but Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year everyone!

This is a picture of the newest addition to my collection of Momiji's - one of my Christmas pressies from my Mum.  Isn't she cute!  :o)

Remember Me!

It's been a while again hasn't it - I can't believe how fast the time is flying!  My eldest Jason is marrying his lovely fiancee Nicola on the 3rd of December, so I finally have a finish I can blog about!  I wanted to stitch something for them both, for their special day, and decided I would let them choose the design as I wanted it to be something that they both would be really happy with.  They chose 'Wedding Row' by Bent Creek, which was so lovely to stitch.  The majority of it was stitched last month, while I was away in Sharjah for three weeks visiting Colin.  I had to kit it up quickly before leaving, so kept to the recommended 32ct Belfast Summer Khaki Linen and The Gentle Art Sampler and Weeks Dye Works threads.  I'm really pleased with how it all came together with the framing, and hope that Jase and Nic will be too!

Not only am I getting excited about the wedding, but that Colin will also be home to spend some time with us for a few days - it's been a very long time since Colin, myself and the boys have spent some time together!  He travels home this time next week on the 29th, but will be off again on the following Monday.  

Hope to be back soon with wedding photos to share.  Until then, take care and thanks for stopping by!  :o)

Hexagon Pincushion

Another crochet pincushion!  I love this one!  I came across it on Rivalry last month where I saw it finished in red and beige.  I thought it looked so lovely that I had to make one just like it for myself!  I used DMC Petra No 5 for this one - the original uses 6 colours and I will definitely be making more of these so that I can use some of the lovely colours I have in DMC No 5 perle cotton.  The pattern is by One Loop Short.  A link to purchase the pattern can be found HERE.

I really should get on with some of my stitching again, and I'd love to crochet lots more pincushions too, but I don't think I shall be having a lot of time for either as I'm flying off to Dubai again soon, to stay with Colin in Sharjah.  I didn't mention in my last post that Colin had started his new job in Sharjah, and that I'd been away there with him for a couple of weeks at the beginning of August.  Although Colin had to work we still had a lovely time.  At the weekends (which are Fridays and Saturdays in the middle east) we hired a car and drove into Dubai to do some sightseeing and to visit the many enormous shopping malls they have there.  We also spent time looking around an expat community in Dubai, where we will eventually be moving to.

I'm looking forward to a lovely weekend and hoping to spend lots of pennies at the Creative Stitches & Hobbycraft show at Westpoint, Exeter.  I usually go every year with my Mum, but last year we didn't make it.  We're both very excited and sure to encourage each other to spend lots more then we should…lol!

Hope your weekend will be as fun as mine!  Thanks again for visiting.  :o)

More Pincushions!

I'm still here!  I've no stitchy finishes to show as I haven't done any stitching for weeks, but I have had my crochet hooks out!  It's been a while since I last did any crochet, but I've been itching to do a little for a while now, and because I love pincushions I thought I would crochet a couple to add to my pincushion collection.  The first just came about last week when I was flicking through a book I bought a couple of years ago - A Compendium of Crochet Techniques by Jan Eaton.  There's a section in the book about jacquard and intarsia patterns, with a picture of a checkered swatch.  I loved how neat the colours joined together, so thought I would have a go and in no time at all I finished up with a new pincushion - I'm really pleased with how it turned out!

This second pincushion is a lovely free pattern by Liselotte.  The original pattern is in Danish here, but has also been translated into English here.

Hope you're enjoying a lovely weekend and thank you for popping by!

A Little Finish

I've at last got around to stitching and finishing this pretty little freebie from Reflets de Soie.  The design is called Coeur Romantique.  It's been in my stash for five, maybe six years, and recently I decided that I thought it would look lovely finished as a heart shaped pinkeep, with a little pocket on the back to hold a pair of small scissors.

I've stitched it on 32ct Platinum Belfast Linen, 1 over 1 with The Gentle Art Sampler Threads, Antique Rose.  The twisted cord was made using DMC 712 and I've trimmed the pocket with some pretty lace I bought online from France.

I've had a busy couple of days cleaning through.  Colin arrives home tomorrow morning around 6ish - WOO HOO, I can't wait!  I don't blog that regular I know, but you definitely won't be hearing from me now for several weeks!!!  :o)