A lovely trip out .

 Hubby took the week off work last week , so we could go out and about with the kids .

 We are lucky to have lots of natural attractions locally, but tend to always go to the same places. We had , however been trying to make a list of new things to do and see. So , we decided to go to Chesterfield Canal last Monday , for a change .

  We parked up at Tapton Lock , walked as far as we could one way and then returned for a picnic lunch before heading off in the opposite direction for a while .
  To say how close it is to the centre of town , it was fairly quiet and peaceful .
 Lots of lovely things to see.

The buddleia bushes were full of butterflies and bees . I love to see butterflies ,especially the Peacocks.

So pretty .

 Look at the size of this bee .

You can see the Crooked Spire from the tow path .

 Love these flowers. I thought that they looked a bit like orchids , but on investigation at home , it turns out they are called Indian Balsam and are classed as a destructive weed due their high transplantation rate. apparently the seeds spread a long way , very quickly .

Still think they are pretty though .

 More butterflies .

 We were pretty amazed to see the size of the fungus growing on this tree.

 Each one was bigger than a dinner plate .

 And of course ,we have to have ducks .

 We spent a happy half hour or more watching these two diving to the bottom and popping up again , so cute .

 Another species of butterfly. I need to look in my book to see what kind they are .

 Cool spiral bridge .

 Wild teasel . We managed to get a couple of the smaller ones . boy are those things prickly .

So , all in all a lovely day out . Me and the kids got a couple of bits from the shop. Well , you need souvenirs of good days out , don't you ?

 Tuesday , hubby took the kids to the park while I did the shopping  . Wednesday was an even better day out , but I'll save that for later .
 Thanks for dropping by ,
 Cath x

The three B's

 Birds , Bees and Butterflies .

I recently took part in the Birds , Bees and Butterflies exchange through the Stitched With Love Exchange blog. The gallery is now up , so I can show what I sent and received.

 This is what I stitched .

 The little butterflies are made with straight stitches gathered together in the middle, very effective . I added the eyelet stitches for a bit more detail 

The back looked a little plain , so I added a felt butterfly with beads for the body .

 And this is the whole package .

I haven't heard back from my partner yet , but hopefully she likes it .

 This is what I received from Kim. It was a totally gorgeous package , and I love it all. The kids are both after the stitched hanging , and I really like the owl pendant .

So cute .

All three b's ,lol .

 Thanks again Kim for a great exchange . Lots of lovely goodies . I do like a good exchange .

 A quick note for Margaret Sherry fans , I have listed my bookazine on e-bay . The item number is 321183610546 .

 I will be back soon with more news .
 Thanks for dropping by,
 Cath x

Pretty Butterflies .

Yep, today at 2.03 pm saw the last stitch go into Butterflies.
 I am happy it is done , but to be honest , it's a bit of an anti-climax after so long feeling like I wasn't getting anywhere. It doesn't help that there is no-one here to admire it. Hubby at work (probably until late) and kids at school ,so I have come to show off here.

Excuse the wrinkles , she is fresh from the bath ,lol.

 I will hopefully get better pics when she is dry and ironed , though she will then go away for a while waiting to be framed .

 I will not be starting another one straight away , though the urge is there. I want to try and get my WIP/UFOs cleared up, though making no promises ,lol.

 Thanks for dropping by ,

Cath

Birthday Cuddles.

Yesterday was the boys' 3rd birthday ,and for the first time in ages , they were snuggled up together,

 Finley didn't really get a choice in the matter , though. Fraser just climbed on him and that was it.

  Fraser spent most of the day suffering with a tummy ache , so maybe that's why he felt the need of a brotherly hug . I only feel a little bit sorry for him , as it was probably self inflicted. He has a terrible habit of eating things that he really shouldn't .
  Luckily , he felt better by tea time and was able to enjoy his saucer of chicken as a birthday treat. The kids insist we have to celebrate ,lol.

  I have managed a few sessions of working on Butterflies over the last couple of weeks . Probably around ten hours give or take . This is where I'm at now .

I've spent about four hours on it today , and though I know I've done quite a bit, it feels like not a lot to show for it . There are lots of odd single stitches and fiddly bits now I'm on the last leg .
 There is no organisation in the stitching any more , I just choose a symbol and try and do all of the stitches in that colour . Of course ,as soon as I start the next colour , I find one or two that I missed previously ,lol.
 Still hoping for a finish soon though.

SPECIAL REQUEST
 If anyone has stitched LHNs' Needleworker chart and no longer wants to keep it , I am interested in buying/trading for it . I love the chart but am not keen on CC threads so would want to choose my own.
 Also looking for LK Promise Me , but will probably buy that anyway as I want to stitch one each for my kids .
 Thanks for dropping by ,
 Cath