Dear Jane

I’m really getting back into cross-stitch lately and enjoying it, although I am missing my quilting at the same time – if ONLY there were more hours in the day!!!!

What could be better though than a combination of the two! I’ve just bought myself this new chart

(saw it on someone else’s blog as usual!) and couldn’t resist (as usual!!). It’s a cross-stitch pattern based on the ‘Dear Jane’ quilt, but a scaled down version of it. I really love it and can’t wait to get started on it ..... along with many other cross-stitch patterns, some quilting – oh, yes, and I’ve also been having a little go at crocheting lately .... just to add to the pile!!! I just can’t help myself!!!

Valentines and friends!!

Now, as a single person (for the 3rd time now!!), I wasn’t expecting to receive anything in the way of a Valentines treat. However, I was wrong, because when you’re lucky enough to have such wonderful friends as Wendy (The Quiet Room), then you’re not forgotten. When I found a card from the Post Office man the other day saying they had a package for me, I tootled off to collect it assuming it was a couple of DVD’s I had ordered from Amazon. What a surprise to find a big fat envelope from Wendy instead. And here are the contents of that lovely big fat envelope:-



Firstly, lots of lovely Valentines delights – a beautifully stitched ‘February’ pillow, heart-shaped bath treats, choccies (yummie), a very cute little teddy, a reel of ‘East of India’ ribbon (I love ‘East of India’ products), a metal heart ..... and did I mention the choccies ......

here is a close-up of the box of chocolates, but I’m not going to compromise myself by showing you a photograph of the inside of the box – after all, the ‘Sell By’ date is September 2010, so I thought “better to be safe than sorry”, and munched my way through them in about (let me think) 30 seconds – naughty, but oh so nice!!!


and as if that wasn’t enough, Wendy also sent me some belated Christmas gifts. A beautifully stitched ‘Silent Night’ pillow and a lovely ‘Jim Shore’ Father Christmas figurine. Wendy, in her naivety (poor girl) thought I might want to keep the Christmas treats wrapped until next Christmas – ha ha ha – AS IF!!!!



So, all in all, even though I don’t have any romance in my life at the moment, I do feel very cherished and lucky to have such a lovely, lovely friend.

Although I have said it privately to Wendy, I’ll say it here again – THANK YOU SO MUCH.

Random Thoughts!

Although it’s been a while since I posted, it doesn’t mean that I haven’t been crafting! I suppose I could have blogged about life generally instead, but I haven’t really felt like it I suppose – I have been ‘lurking’ though and have been keeping up with all of my favourite blogs!

Anyway, just to prove (if I need to!) that I have been busy, here’s what I’m working on the moment.

It’s a cross-stitch called ‘Random Thoughts’ and it’s by ‘The Drawn Thread’ Company. I’d been on the look-out for a sampler for a while, and as soon as I saw this one on Andrea's blog, I knew that it was the one for me. Of course, there’s always a lot more work involved than you originally think isn’t there?!!! I started it just after Christmas and I’m nearly a third of the way through it.

It’s so hard on the old eye sight that I rarely feel like working on it after work under electric light, so it’s sort of become a weekend thing. By the way, had I mentioned that I’ll be 50 this year? Oh heck ..... it comes to us all!! Anyway, don’t worry, I'll remind you all nearer the time!! It would have been harder still had I stitched it on the suggested 32 count linen, rather than the 28 count that I chose instead!! I am enjoying watching it come together though and hope that I manage to finish it ..... let’s say, by the summer – there’s my challenge!!!!!!

Keep me to it!!

Don’t you just love my new scissors too? I bought them from Yuko in Japan. I see lovely antique looking scissors on lots of other blogs, but hadn’t seen anywhere I could buy them from until I came across Yuko’s blog – thanks Yuko!

Later!!