Heeere's Dandy.

I went and collected Dandy Dreams from King Street Framers yesterday. I was really excited to have it back , and they didn't let me down. Gary has done a wonderful job as usual.

It's a pain trying to get good photos without flash glare and reflections but I did my best.Arty shot , lol .Fraser checking it out for me . It is now hanging up on the wall , just got to wait and see if anyone notices , lol .

I'll be back soon with more pics .

Thanks for dropping by ,

Cath

Another one of those weeks .

Thank you everyone for all the lovely comments on my Dandy Dreams finish. The most comments on one post so far , and I really appreciate them . Thank you . Not much to show this week , I finished my secret stitch last weekend , then things went down hill from there. Monday night both kids started with a stomach bug , so no sleep at all on Monday night , and of course they've been off school and nursery . And every other night this week has been disturbed with one thing and another . So , I've been really tired and had a pretty permanent headache , so not got much stitching done at all . I did manage to complete this

This will be used on the special quilt Jane is making this year for fund raising . Not sure if it will be raffled or auctioned , but I will post when I know . Sorry the pic is a bit wonky , had to fold the fabric to stitch it , lol .

I have taken my Christmas piece of the scroll frame , washed it and replaced it on a smaller frame so hopefully it will be easier to do now .

I also got out my Dads sampler to sort out , but am quite disappointed . The fabric is not much bigger than the design is supposed to be , so I've had to replace it with a larger piece . My framers like at least 3" round the design , especially if using a mat , so I need to make sure it will be ok to be framed . Then reading the instructions ,it says to pre-wash all the threads to make sure they're colour fast . I have never had to do this on any kit I've purchased before . So , I'm unsure whether to do this or to just kit up from my DMC threads.

I hope to stitch on one of my WIPs over the weekend , then I'll make my decision next week when hopefully peace will return with the kids back at school , though only two weeks before half term . I think I may need another scroll frame for it anyway , so a trip to the shop is in order .

I've ordered some new stash from Thread Bear , but got to wait a while until it comes in , so can't even show that . Oh well , always next time .

Thanks for dropping by,

Cath

Spread your dreams and let them grow.

I finished Dandy Dreams on Tuesday , but it's been too grey and murky to take photos .

Still not the best quality , but I couldn't wait any longer .

I was unsure how to personalise it , but eventually decided on the year rather than name or initials .

And for anyone who is interested , the back . I have to say , I was quite sad to finish it as I've really enjoyed stitching it . The chart is really easy to follow and it kind of just flows along . It needs a bit of a wash and press ,then will go to the framers' next week. Then I'll have the excitement of collecting it all framed up , lol .

Meanwhile , I've been working on a secret stitch . I'm really excited about it , and very frustrated as I won't be able to show it for a while , but never mind.

Next , on to one of my WIPs , then to set up my Dads' sampler .

Thanks for dropping by ,

Cath

TGIM

Thank Goodness It's Monday.

No ,the weekend was not much better , lol .

Saturday morning , 3 am saw me up with my Daughter who had an upset tummy. Trips to the loo every ten minutes for the first hour or so , then a bit bigger gap in between . I put the old cot mattress on the floor in her room , with a big quilt , but was not very comfy as from my knees down was hanging off , lol .

At twenty past five , she'd been quiet for a while , so I thought I might get away with going back to bed , when she rolled over and said "Mummy , I think I actually managed to get to sleep for a bit " Gee, thanks kid. My reply was , "Great , now see if you can do it again " , "No , I need the toilet " . So at some point after 6am I got to sleep for a while , only to be woken by my lovely girl turning the night light off , so I could sleep as she knows I don't like having the light on . Bless .

Anyway , up and at 'em , got sorted then went and did the grocery shopping . I normally go Friday mornings , but couldn't fit it in with collecting the car . Daughter was fine ,and stayed so for the rest of the day , so we took the kids to a birthday party late afternoon . Another full and busy day .

Yesterday was our cooking round the world meal with my Husbands' family , so he was in the kitchen making a mess most of the day , while I felt fairly ropey. For some reason I always feel worse the second day after a bad night . Nice meal , but we got back later than planned ,so the kids were late in bed and we just flopped .

Today was extra nursery for my Son , but got a call mid afternoon to say he wasn't feeling well , so I went and picked him up , only to go back half an hour later for the end of school. He was fine as soon as he got home , so not too worried , though he has gone to bed early tonight ,lol.

Anyway , some stitching . Here's a pic of Dandy Dreams which I took Saturday morning .

I stitched on it a bit on Saturday , though Friday saw a frog come visiting , so had to unpick and redo a lot that had been done on Thursday . Also done some today , so more progress than this now .

And , just remembered I didn't show my end of year ort collection , so here it is . The pot is getting some more bits in now , so see how I go .

I also thought I'd share a recent pic of my boys . Still cute and cuddling . Thanks for dropping by ,and thanks for the lovely comments ,

Cath

The dandelions are growing ...

Slowly , lol .

I haven't had as much time to stitch as I would have liked this week , with one thing and another , but I am enjoying working on Dandy Dreams again . Here's a quick pic of the progress :

It looks a bit dark as it's very grey , foggy and yucky here today .

I've also done a couple of charity squares . These butterflies are for a personal quilt for Anna , one of the girls in Rachels' Place . I loved the chart for the rainbow one , but the light blue seems a bit bland . I think I'd have preferred a brighter shade really .Love the little owls .

And , remember this ? Well , I was really pleased and excited when I got a message from the designer herself. Rhona Norrie has just started her own blog , so please visit here to say hello and give her a nice blogger welcome (I'm sure a few new followers would be appreciated too ;-D ) . I have to say , it's given me a renewed enthusiasm for carrying on with this piece , so I really want to get cracking on Dandy Dreams so I can restart this and start my Dads' pic.

Thank you everyone for the comments on my last post . I appreciate each and every one of the 17 comments , just got to keep aiming for more , lol . And thank you to my new followers too , I'm up to 85 , woo hoo . When I hit 100 , I'm planning a giveaway , not sure what yet , but I do have a few ideas , so spread the word !

Thanks for dropping by ,

Cath

HAPPY NEW YEAR !

Hope everyone has a wonderful year filled with love , fun and stitches .

First , I'd like to thank everyone for the lovely comments on my Dads' sampler . I am looking forward to stitching it , but have decided not to rush into it . I want to get Dandy Dreams finished first , I think . I don't like having too many things on the go at once , and already have WIPs ,but I'll go into that later.

I am not doing the Crazy challenge or anything like that , it would totally do my head in to have new starts every day for 15 days , even if they were small . To all those who are doing it though , I really admire you .

A quick re-cap on 2010 .

I finished 97 stitched pieces , 65 of which were squares for charity and 32 my own . Of my own projects , there was one big (Chicken Run) , 7 small-medium (the main one being Moon Struck) and the rest were all smalls.

I also stitched and stuffed a few teddies and had a go at crochet .

And , I read 89 books .

My last three stitches of the year are :

My last three Digimon characters . I have really enjoyed stitching these , but glad to have a break for a while. Thanks again Dawn for the charts .

Actually ,the last one was finished this morning , but I'm counting it as a 2010 finish so I can start with a clean slate.

I don't do resolutions , but I have a few aims and wishes for this year .

My aims are to stitch my Dads' sampler and complete my WIPs ,

Dandy Dreams

Christmas Recipe , started 2009 but I stopped stitching when my cousin was killed and didn't get back into it . I think I may fit his initials in somewhere discreet . And Three Little Maids , never been shown on this blog before . Started either early 2009 or late 2008 . Will be finished 2011 . Also, just realised I never showed my other stitch from the JCS mag

I made it into a little cushion, but I'm not totally happy with it , so may stitch it again , we'll see .

My wishes are to stitch

Bent Creeks' Hen and at least one of the Rows ,

LK ABC lessons

McDonald's Maple Leaf

Flamingos

And to at least start one of my L&L charts. There are lots more , but I'm trying not to be too optimistic , lol , and of course , some of these may not happen .

I'm also hoping to do more stitched cards and ornies and maybe some more individual exchanges with different people , so if anyone is interested in exchanging with me , please let me know .

Thanks for dropping by ,

Cath