So much to do , not enough days in my hours .

I'm back,    I think .

My blogging mojo had taken a bit of a vacation anyway , but everything was knocked for six with Catheys' passing .
  I had been in regular contact with Cathey over the last few months , as had a lot of others and it just feels so wrong . I keep half expecting another e-mail to pop up in my box . I'm sad that I didn't get to say a proper goodbye to Cathey , but I guess the quick hellos were more of a comfort to her anyway.

 I will continue to celebrate Pumpkin Day in her memory , so to everyone else who joined in , how about making it an annual event ? Maybe next year we can do something with it to raise funds for Cancer Research?

 Anyway , in my time off ,there have been lots of things I could blog about and also some that I should ,so I guess I had better get on with catching up . I'll start with the stitching , as I still need to get some pics for other things .
 Still not got back into my HAED , but I am hopeful for next month . Meanwhile I have been busy with charity squares for Love Quilts UK .

 A cheeky Spongebob for a boy with a lovely smile.

 Pretty butterfly. This was charted monochrome , but the little girl loves pink and green so I chose some nice colours .

 My latest finish .

  Hubby was sitting over the other side of the room when I was stitching my name on this square and he commented how good it looked , and that it seemed really detailed . I held it up to give him a better view and he said "Oh, I didn't realise I was looking at the back , it's even better than I thought ."
 So here's a back view .

 This is my newest start . I have now started on the colouring in part . I have other squares to do , but thought this would be easier for this week as the kids are on half term .

 And this is a birthday card I made for my lovely friend Lainey .

Lainey and I celebrate our birthdays very close together , I also sent her some sheep for her ever growing flock .

 So , my birthday turned out to be a lovely day , in all ways. The weather was gorgeous and hubby surprised me by taking the day off work and taking me out for the day. I knew nothing about it until opening my cards.
 Kudos to the kids for keeping a few secrets. Hubby and the kids got me some new Pocket Dragons , have to get pics yet though .My big sis got me some lovely earrings and otherwise , I had money. Yay ! Lots of stash shopping , I thought . Not so .
 As hubby was taking me out , I asked to go to White Peak Embroidery. What a let down. I was so disappointed when I got there. There was absolutely nothing I wanted to buy . Now how often does that happen when you let a crafter loose in a shop ? They had no charts ! and only a few kits . The thread selection was ok , but expensive I thought, so I bought one wisper thread and we left .
  As we were on the right track anyway , we continued on to Bakewell so I could go into Wye . Another bust .I got a look at the JCS Christmas ornie mag and decided no to buy , which saved me some cash as otherwise I may just have bought it unseen , so no new stash .
 I have since gone on line and ordered some fabric and LKs Promise Me chart and a Q -snap to try , though I do really need to get some more fabric. I just ordered basic aida for my charity squares .

 I am so jealous of you in the USA with your amazing stitch shops . I want to visit a good needlework shop .

 So , my giveaway ended on my birthday. It took me a few days to get organised and make the draw.
With around 120 comments , I used the random number thingy , just didn't get a pic. The number chosen was  28 , which is   MELANIE  (Monraker Lampwerks) .
 So, Melanie , can you get in touch with your mailing details and also if you have a wish list of any crafty stuff. I do have a few things put away for the give away , but would like to send something you want too .
 Thanks to everyone who took part .

Also, I am now sorted for the Needleworker chart . Thank you . I will post about that and other things next time . This post seems very long .
 Thanks for dropping by ,
 Cath