May I wish you all a happy & peaceful new year

Hello to you all my special friends, I hope you enjoyed your Christmas break and were able to spend the time with relatives and friends.

It has been a while since I last posted or read any blogs. I do have a good excuse, I unfortunately have had some health problems but also for the past few weeks I have been settling in our 'new girl'. The above pic is of her on her first night here. She's a gorgeous little black/white Shih Tzu called Tilly, Fionna who runs the same rescue we adopted Zebedee from contacted me a short time after we have lost Deeber.

Her owners had handed her in because she had snapped at them when the lady had rolled over on her.......not being rude but I too would snap if someone rolled over onto me! She had a slight eye infection when she arrived and to say I was a complete stranger she was very tolerant of me bathing and putting drops in to say they had descibed her as a 'killer' Shiddie!

When she first came we had a few skirmishes mainly her & Georgia, it was usually kicked off when food was around and Tilly considered she should be top dog. Georgia didn't run and hide or back down like the others and would defend herself resulting in well I suppose the dog equivelant of a catfight.

They do get on better now and are becoming firm friends who cause chaos when playing, it can get a little raucous so I have to call time out occasionally to calm them down. She is a delight to have, should you wish to see some more pics of her just click on Tilly I will be uploading more in the next few days.

I haven't been able to do any stitching at all over the Christmas period, just before I tripped and broke my bifocals and had to wear an old pair which are only sight specs. I'm pleased to say the optician rang today to say they were mended and ready for pick up, I go on Saturday for a new eye test as my sight has deteriorated since the last test I had.

I have enjoyed playing on my laptop which was a Christmas present from Neil, I'm loving it, he couldn't have bought me anything better. Now my sister has her computer it's great because we can keep in touch more, she's getting to grips with it now and beginning to enjoy herself. The next thing is to introduce her to blogging :o) She would love reading all your lovely blogs and writing her own, she has one of the funniest dogs I've ever met, Reo,a Dog De Bordeaux, who always reminds us of Disneys Goofey. She has a wealth of funny stories to keep you entertained.

My craft room is sadly looking totally neglected and untidy, I haven't had the energy to clean up in there and I've just put things inside the door instead of putting them away......I'll slap my wrists with wet floss when I've finished my update! I do feel a lot better now my infection is clearing but it's upset my menieres so bending over is a no no as I fall down! Each evening I say I will start tomorrow but it hasn't happened yet.

I've really missed you guys, I love to visit you catching up on what's been happening in your lives. I hope to catch up on all your news soon,what new projects you've created, how are your families doing.

I did want to make a resolution to keep on top of things this year but am going to take one day at a time and hope to keep my promise to myself.



Take care and may 2008 be especially good to you and your families and may your creative juices flow.
with hugs to you all

Peg xx

A very sad time for us

It's a very sad and heartbreaking time for us at the moment, my beautiful, sweet natured girl Deeber left us on Tuesday 6th November. Her health had got steadily worse over the past few weeks, her arthritis made movement painful, her heart problems got worse not helped at all with the stress of hearing the nightly barrage of fireworks of which she was petrified. She also had kidney failure. Over the past 7 nights loud horrendous bangs were heard and although she was sedated she still got very stressed to the point of her eyes rolling and her tongue turning blue. On Monday it became all to obvious she was so tired and had suffered long enough, the vets advice was that it was time to let her go.

It was really hard spending the last night with her, Megan and Georgia 2 of our little ones didn't leave her side and wherever she lay they lay snuggled up to her sensing her time was near. On Tuesday I took her, our vet was wonderful and said she and the nurse would stay out of her vision so she only saw me and they would be quiet so as not to frighten her. I held her whilst she quietly slipped away, whispering to her to run free to the rainbow bridge where her friends Micky and Lucy would be waiting for her. I know she's no longer in pain and will be like a young pup again but it hurts so much now she's gone. Each morning when I come downstairs I miss her being at the bottom padding her feet, smiling, wagging her tail and 'talking' in her own way.

In all the time she was with us we never heard her growl or bark at anyone. All visitors were welcomed with a wagging tail and a smile, she loved everyone she met. Over the years she brought us so much joy and was our special girl, she welcomed the 4 little ones with a look of 'oh another one heh'. Megan and Georgia both keep looking around for her and can't understand where their big cuddly friend has gone.

I know in time the pain will ease,we have so many happy memories of her time with us.

Run free my special girl, I loved you so much and you will always have a special place in my heart.xx

A new month

This picture reminds me so much of our youngest grandson Jacob. I was asked to pick him up from school and sit with him until a friends Mummy picked him up to go trick or treating last night (Wed). On Tuesday night his Daddy and Jacob came to bring me a door key and a booster seat for my car when I picked him up. Jacob saw the pumpkin's arrayed in from of my fire place and mentioned casually Daddy had forgotten to get him a pumpkin to light up the window and could he take one of mine. I happily said to choose one and just like a boy he took the biggest, roundest one LOL. Yesterday I had to light it for him whilst waiting for his friends.

My younger sister and I are having a little swap of ideas back and forth, she lives about 15 miles away from me. I am so thrilled for her,her partner has bought her a computer for Christmas but has given it to her now. She has wanted one for a long time so we can email each other and send pictures which are to big to send on our m/phones.

When she stayed at our home to look after Deeber whilst we were away she really enjoyed spending time in my craft room and has decided to turn her spare bedroom into the same. We have had some fun asking each other exactly what we've achieved in the past week, her in getting her room ready and me in tidying the total chaos which is currently in my room and no there will be no before pictures as I'm totally ashamed of it. I come upstairs with good intentions and start however after a short time I need to sit or lay and rest to recuperate energy to do more. I want it sorted as it is driving me crazy I like everything to be in it's place, but the sister side of me is holding back a little, I want to wait and let my sisters room to be finished first. She says she feels so excited and is like a child picturing herself sat at her desk or sat at her machine, she asked me if she was being silly I told her a firm NO. Why shouldn't she have some pleasure she does such a lot for other people and doesn't usually take time to do for herself and I want her to revel in the glory a little. She rang me last night to ask if I'd done any, I hadn't apart from look at it wishing my tidying fairy wasn't on holiday when I needed her the most. She made great progress yesterday and even managed to get one wall painted.

I didn't go bargain hunting at the weekend, we went to Paul's on Saturday and Sunday I was just burnt out.I really missed my little trips to the markets and shops but was appeased by the delivery of 2 Jean Greenhowes booklets I won on ebay along with a wonderful book by Valerie Janitch.


I was in doll heaven when I looked through it it's wonderful. I'm looking forward to making the dolls included.

I've spent a lovely time again reading some new blogs, there are so many wonderful lady bloggers out there and I just love spending time visiting with them.
I need to get busy I have so many projects inside my head floating about and they're not coming to fruition which is due to my lack of getting this room tidied so I'm off now to get a start on moving and putting things away.

Have a wonderful day/evening depending on where you are and thank you for stopping by please come again I enjoy your visits.

take care
hugs
Peg :o)

Some new treasures

I didn't really feel like going anywhere this weekend I was so tired not having slept more than 3hrs in 2 nights so when dh asked if I wanted to go to the carboot sale Saturday afternoon I wasn't to eager. He talked me around saying it would do me good getting out in the fresh air. Oh he was soooo right :o) I have been after one of these for ages and the second stall down it jumped out at me, figuratively speaking of course otherwise I'd have been flat out on the floor waiting for an ambulance. Can you just see the headline.....Woman floored by much sought after firescreen!!! police gave a statement that they had a 'hot' lead on and a suspect was now in custody helping with their enquiries.;o)

Anyway enough flippancy....the embroidery in the panel is simply gorgeous and the wood surround is in excellent condition just needing a clean and polish and all for £8 I recently stopped bidding on one on ebay at £15 + £12 postage so glad I did.
We carried on and then I saw a quilt/towel rail another thing I'd missed out on with ebay. The chap was happy to let me have it for £3!! The last one I did early bidding on went on to over £20 + £10 postage, this was becoming a really pleasing day. I went on to find more treasures but blogger is having a problem with uploading pics so I'll post them tomorrow. There was a beautiful table cloth with embroidery at two opposing corners and another 2 with white work and hand crochered lace and my piece de resistance an old unframed Home sweet Home sampler for the princely sum of 50p!

Sunday dh asked again to go to another large c/boot sale, a pattern is emerging here can you see it :o) He was lucky again and got a large camera bag which holds his camera plus all his accessories I bartered and got it down to £7, they're £55 new so he was really pleased. I was ecstatic when I came across a French Louis style triple mirror, in perfect condition. I asked the price expecting double figures and was shocked when she said how does £2 sound, I restrained myself,didn't bite her hand off just paid and moved away quick before she changed her mind :o)






I also bought a beautiful rose duvet cover and matching rose patterned vallance sheet for £2 which I later washed and recycled for some projects I have in mind, a lovely elderly lady had a batch of lace in different sizes so was able to stock up on that too quite cheaply.


I finished the day off with purchasing a beautiful pink roses knitting bag with a large amount of wool all for £3 I'll post pics of those tomorrow with pics of my ebay wins. Don't want to shock blogger into shutting down with an over load of pics :o)

Thank you for dropping by I hope you enjoyed your visit, if you did or didn't I'd love to hear from you. I have found some more wonderful blogs which I've enjoyed reading so much, the links are in my list on the side bar please do visit them.

take care
hugs Peg :o)

A Lesson Learnt

Last week a friend gave me a couple of last years New stitches magazines she had finished with. On reading them I found a lovely pair of mittens to knit which had embroidery on the back of the hand to complete the look. Mmmmm these look nice I thought so started them the next day.

The pattern called for wool but I thought cashmere would be nice and I have quite a lot of it so that's the way I went.
They are knit on 4 double ended needles but I used a circular needle instead, once the cuff has been knit the remainder of the mitten is knit from the inside.

After the cuff I followed the pattern, after the row which required putting 15 stitches onto a piece of wool to keep for the thumb I started the next row, that's when trouble hit!

I knit and undid it 5 times, carefully going over what I'd done but the pattern just went haywire on the 21st row. This went on for 3 days, yesterday I decided to email the magazine and ask if anyone else had found a mistake or was I completely missing the obvious. I've been knitting since I was 10yrs old so am not a novice.
I am very relieved and pleased to say I received a reply to my email today. She told me I could stop pulling my hair out as there are 3 not 1 but 3 mistakes in the pattern!!

She very kindly said she would look through her files and find the revised pattern and send it to me, phew!!! So now I have to put them on one side until I hear from her again with the corrected pattern.

I honestly feel the lesson God was showing me was that unless I live my life on the right path and follow the pattern He has set out for me chaos will and does reign in my life :o)

Enjoy your evening I'm off to read a few blogs

hugs Peg :o)

Humbled by the past

Below are some photos of a Victorian nightdress I recently bought, I won't be wearing it I'm afraid my figure belongs to the Rubinesque period :o). When I bought it I washed it and whilst pressing it I began to realise what a feat this and it's like must have been. It is completely handstitched with tiny stitches, I had to get a magnifying glass to see them properly. I thought about the hours it must have taken, I have 2 sewing machines, 2 lamps especially for stitching with magnifying lamps and I have comfy chairs to sit in whilst doing any of my crafts. When I've finished something I'm really pleased but the ladies who stitched in this era had very little light, perhaps a candle or gas light, in all honesty I cannot say I would be able to complete such a wonderful garment if I had to hand stitch it.

Please click on the photos to see the stitching detail.

This is why I feel very humbled by the ladies of the past, my admiration runs over.

have a wonderful peace filled day

hugs Peg :o)

Why is it always those who are special?

We've had some really sad news , Melissa one of the young teachers at the school dh works at was disgnosed with breast cancer on Tuesday. She is one of the happiest, sweet natured, caring people I know. She made an wonderful impact when she started at the school, with both parents and children warming very quickly to her. To my dh she is like another daughter and often jokes at having a drinking contest to see who can drink who under the table, no, don't jump back in horror it's just a standing joke between them. The consultant is responding very quickly, she has to go into hospital next week for a mastectomy. It has all happened so quickly, may I ask you to keep her in your prayers.

I can understand how her parents feel, we have just gone through a cancer scare with our own daughter. She had some tests done but when she went for further tests she told the consultant she didn't want to go ahead with them and refused to have them or any treatment he was offering. We still don't know what the outcome will be as when she takes it upon herself to be stubborn she does it with a capital S. All we can do is put her in Gods hands and pray they would be negative.

Thank you for visiting, I'm sorry it wasn't a more happy post

take care
hugs Peg

The coming of autumn and other things!

The original of the above picture can be found here


Isn't it wonderful to see autumn as we Brits call it sweeping across our countryside? Those beautiful copper tones which somehow bring back memories of a past childhood. When I was young, living in a village with my grandmother, and the nights started to draw in we used to make 'winter warmers'. These consisted of an old washed out treacle tin with holes punched in the sides and a string or wire handle around the top. Deposited in the tins was a small amount of coals from the fire, we took them outside and swung them around making wonderful pictures in the darkness of night. When the fire inside had turned to glowing embers we popped chestnuts into them using pliers or tongs to retrieve them for eating once they were roasted.There was no separation then even we girls had winter warmers, nowadays it would be considered extremely dangerous but surprisingly not one of us were ever injured. Autumn brings back so many wonderful memories.

Last night and part of this evening I visited some new blogs which really blessed me with their content and the photos included. I love reading about other peoples lives and seeing the talents they display in their creations. Take a look at my 'blogs I visit' list and please do visit with some of these ladies I can promise you a veritable feast.

Well tomorrow should see the temporary end to our postal strike, I'm so glad, I'm expecting some goodies purchased from ebay, hope they don't all come at once or dh will pass out ;o) I have ribbons from Hongkong, fabric and 2 much sort after at a reasonable price feather eiderdowns from sellers here in the UK. A fabric panel from the US which is of a scarecrow so I can stitch him together to go with my lovely round pumpkins for an autumnal display. That reminds me I have some lovely spidery fabric somewhere amongst my stash must find it out.

This is all of course if there is no backlogging of our post and parcels. Everyone has the right to strike it's a free country but what puzzles me is are they going back to even harder conditions when they have to catch up on the backlog?
We have a lovely young postman, his name is Tim, he's always smiling no matter what the weather and I know he'll be glad to get back to work so he can have his usual morning treat of a bacon sandwich at the school where dh works.

Our parcel postie is Ron who graciously puts any early morning parcels into a storage bin and a card through the letter box telling me where he's left it. This is in consideration of me, he knows I'm not good at getting around in the morning so doesn't like to disturb me. Does the post depot realise how much some of their posties do for people on their rounds I wonder?

It's almost 2am here so I think this body is ready for it's bed. I need a clear head to get some of my stitching sorted tomorrow and it's my stitch club day so I will be enjoying the company of the lovely ladies who never fail to make my day with their wonderful sense of humour.
Take care and thank you for popping in, I hope you enjoyed your visit, you're always welcome, just like my house door my blog door is always open to visitors :o)

hugs Peg

Those left behind

I am not a political animal, rightly or wrongly I find politics boring. I have no interest in getting into an argument with anyone about how our country is run. We've seen the back of Tony Blair and are now at the mercy of Gordon Brown, whichever way he leads us we'll have to follow unless anarchy rears it's ugly head.

I do feel though for the many parents and families who have lost their loved ones killed in action. Sons. daughters, Mum's, Dads, Brothers, it goes on and on. **Last May 28th we were to be found in the waiting room of a strange hospital a long way from home to where our eldest son had been airlifted after a horrendous motorbike accident. The dr's were fighting to save his life, in the words of one of them, his body and internal organs were totally smashed and his body broken. They told us they would fight and work on him but he wouldn't last the night through. **

I have put bold on the sentences above because apparently it has upset someone and they have reacted so viciously I think I should clarify. This person trawled through 5 yrs of posts to find something to critisize me for.

I was not and did not want to imply I was physically in the waiting room of the hospital, neither was my husband he was sat on a train coming home from the Isle of Skye to be with my son and like me living a night of hell and uncertainty.
After hearing the news of his accident my heart and mind did not want to accept that my beautiful boy could die. I along with my daughter and sister spent the night here waiting for phone calls from my son in law and son, my mind and heart were inside the room they were in working on my son, willing him not to die and for God not to take him from us. The same with my daughter, it could have snowed and my roof fall in and I wouldn't have noticed my mind was elsewhere as would any other loving mothers be.

My cry to God was please not to take him, take me, I've lived my life my children are all grown and living independant lives, he has a wife and 2 beautiful young daughters and everything to live for. I don't to this day know why but God gave us back our son, it was a long hard year and he is still recovering. He will always have a disability and I have to ring him sometimes to reassure myself he is still here.

I feel it very sad that this person (my sister) should feel the need to bring up the pain of 5yrs ago to make her look good in the eye's of others. I have news for you dear, it doesn't, it makes you look a sad vindictive and vicious person who can't get on with her life. How much better you would feel if instead of being so bitter and twisted you looked for something positive in life.

I once told you that you would end up a sad, bitter lonely old woman if you didn't change your attitude to other people and how you speak to and treat them sadly you have. Bitterness eats away at you, try looking for the good in people before trampling on them.

Had God decided it was time to take my son I don't know what I would have done, but I can know the pain parents are going through when their child is taken from them. Contrary to believe it doesn't matter whether that child is in his first yrs of life or left home with children of his own the pain is no less.

One such are the parents of Sgt First Class Matthew Blaskowski one of the many who have given their lives that we may live. If like me you would like to leave a message of condolences for his parents and family please click on the link below. Please do not leave messages anti or pro war, they don't need that but if you can find it in your heart to let them know you are keeping them in your heart and prayers I'm sure it would help to know you are there. Sgt Matthew Blaskowski

Thank you for visiting and reading, I hope you enjoyed your time here I love to read comments left by such as yourselves so please feel free, who knows you may have the most wonderful blog which like the many others bless me whenever I read them.
Take care, let your family know you love and care for them

hugs from my heart

Peg :o)

Can't understand why?

This is a wonderful treasure I saw in a charity shop 4 times before I took the plunge and bought it and am so pleased I did, don't ya just love it?

I can't change the date on the last post. It was of course posted on Sunday 7th and I haven't a clue why it says October 2nd.

I've just been reading through some lovely new blogs, this time I'd added them to my blogs I like to visit so you may also have the pleasure of visiting them.

Now I need to go to bed, I keep nodding off and my chin keeps slipping off my hand LOL, not a pretty sight I can tell you!

Hopefully will get the chance to post later on,

hugs Peg

Another week gone!

I thought I'd share a few of my treasures with you all, these are some of the beautiful items left by my MIL when she passed away.


I have no idea who the woman and little girl are I just love the ambience of it, the beads and pearls also belonged to her.



These nylons were given to me a while ago, they had been bought for a friends Mum as part of a Christmas gift from her husband years ago. As you can see they were never worn and came complete with packaging.


If you click on the picture you will see they were purchased in 1963, the year before I left school. I have them in my bedroom tied with a pink ribbon.


This delightful teapot is one of my favourite things, annoyingly I chipped a piece off getting it ready for the picture thankfully I have the piece so will glue it back on.


This is the scene on top of the teapot, isn't it just adorable?


These small heart shape boxes were in her belongings too, I love their simplicity.



These two small candle holders are so pretty and share a place on the chest of drawers in my bedroom with the Lavender and Rose water.

I have a few more to share with you but will save those for another day, :o)

I have a 100 or more ideas running through my head on quilts and a few other things I'd like to make, I need to make more time for what I want to do. The weeks seem to go by so quickly or is it because I'm getting older?

The other day I managed to buy some 'net' curtains in Pops Attic a delightful second hand shop I've been driving past for the the last 20yrs or more and never entered until a couple of weeks ago and it's an Aladdin's cave. They were only a few pence each, I bought them because of the beautiful 16" deep thick cream lace which is on the bottom. I've spent a couple of hours today removing this from the 'net' so I can reuse it I have a few projects in mind for it.

I talked hubby into going to a large car boot sale about 15mins drive away this morning. It's been running for yrs but we've never been, within 5 mins of being there oh boy was he glad we'd gone.......we came across a seller who had not one but two nearly new tripods, luckily he had his camera with him and was able to try it for stability. He chose the one at £12 which means now I can have sole use of the lightweight one we recently purchased. This of course spurred him on :o)

I wanted two wooden table lamp bases for our bedroom, yes similar to the ones I use to collect and paint then gave them all away a few years ago! I'd been looking on ebay for those and a large mirror for our bedroom wall just above the 2 chest of drawers but they were either way out of my price range or were reasonable but collect only. The collect only's were about 300+ miles away so not cost effective.

I'm cock-a-hoop now because I found not only 2 but 3 of the lamp bases I wanted and got them at £1.50 each and further on I saw an old large wood framed mirror so made a beeline for it. The two chaps were asking £1 for it, can you believe it??? they said if I gave them £4 I could have the fan and the 3 kids in the van too......I settled for just the mirror LOL. The wood is in excellent condition and the mirror needs cleaning but no marking or chips I'm sooooo pleased. I just need to sand it down and paint it now, I also got a lovely pr of white curtains with a lilac trim down one side with beautiful flowers embroidered around the edges. It's been a weekend of bargains, yesterday we had to go to Matlock to take hubbies time sheets or he and his staff wouldn't have been paid this week because of the postal strike. Whilst there I called in the charity shops and found a delightful large crocheted blanket and a small one too. They both came out of the wash looking perky and beautiful, to end our weekend of bargains I came home to find I'd won a darling little throw/quilt for a few £'s on ebay.

Earlier in the week I won 2 feather Eiderdowns on ebay, sadly they won't be here before the end of next week because of the postal strike, but I can wait, just hoping they don't get lost in the backlog of parcels. I was also searching for a quilt rail to hang them on but although they start at a reasonable price they go rather high with the fanatical bidding. I checked out my local Argos and can get a brand new one for £12.99 so may go that way. I have the perfect place on the landing to put one and display the quilts I have, our landing is barley white walls with white paintwork so the quilts will add some nice colour without being garish.

I need to get some of my stitched samplers framed so they can also be hung on the walls, they look pretty bare at the moment.

Well I think that's all for today, thank you for popping by I hope you enjoyed your visit, please leave a comment even so I can pop into your blog too. I already read so many but I just love them and feel really at home in them all.

Take care, until next time
hugs

Peg :o)

A wonderful sight to see....

As you can see from the images below we had a few airbourne 'visitors' over our houses this past week. It was an amazing site to see, we often get them coming over and threatening to 'fall' in someones garden but they usually manage to lift themselves up at the last minute. However as you can see the red/cream one didn't quite make it.....I took the first pic of this one but the others are taken by Neil, well I can't run downstairs and I certainly can't run after a falling balloon :o) I'm glad to report they came down safely and happily there were no casualties except perhaps a little wounded pride. They finally came to rest in the field behind the next street to us and as you can see had a few spectators.
They were certainly more entertaining than the fast roar of the fighter jets which go over frequently practising low flying. The poor doglets think armageddon has come on such occasions!

Thank you for stopping by, I hope your weekend is restful and peaceful

hugs Peg

An enjoyable week

A bad hair day and what happens if you leave your bed to use the bathroom.....you lose your place!!!





I have had the most enjoyable week whenever I have had time to spend on the internet this week. I've been reading blogs I had in my bookmark but also visiting new ones, these ladies have shared their homes and it has been truely amazing visiting each one. I have felt so warmly welcomed, some decorated in past era's, some with the relaxing neutral tones but all so inspiring.

Thank you ladies for sharing the talented gifts you have. We in the UK don't have the large spacious homes our cousins over the pond enjoy, the delight of having an ensuite bathroom or a basement for those washing/drying machines or storage areas to me would be wonderful. Some of our older victorian houses do have cellars but they don't usually have windows in them, the attic space in most of our modern homes barely has standing room never mind the space to add a further room. However in saying that I have read blogs whose owner has a small cottage which has been decorated in Shabby chic style and is a joy to behold. I'm not speaking for everyone else but to me that says it doesn't matter what you have it's what you do with it.

I've read Cindy's blog tonight, her home is beautiful, so warm and welcoming and decorated with taste and her talent shines through in each picture. If you need a delightful experience then visit her blog and let her take you through her home. What is most surprising is how she has achieved beauty without spending a lot of money, she has dedicated time and love, she still has more to do and I look forward to seeing her next project which if I remember right will be her kitchen.

I bought some wonderful bargains this week which I will share in my next post it's to late to start taking pictures tonight. I have been trying to purchase 2 vintage feather eiderdowns but each avenue I've tried has been a dead end. I asked at charity shops but sadly they throw them away when they come in, they are not allowed to sell them because of fire regulations, I did say to one that they could throw them at me then and I'd pick them up but she didn't bite. I haven't given up trying, I could make my own but then it wouldn't be vintage, mind you it very well could be by the time it would be stuffed! I can just imagine the fun the munchkins would have chasing the feathers all over. We're fighting now for floor space under my desk, I think my feet belong there they think they should have first shout and lay there despite the over large bed I have in here for them!
It seems strange that something we cuddled up and felt safe under when we were children is now such an expensive item. I've watched 7 of them sold on ebay today none of which went for under £40. One which I thought very pretty and was going to bid on but thought it would be snapped up by a big spender at the last minute only went for £15.55. I could have kicked my desk if I thought it wouldn't hurt, I didn't go with my hearts leading, I hope the winner has many happy years with her quilt. I have put a few feelers out in other directions so am hoping to be successful.

Have a lovely day and may you be blessed in all you do
hugs Peg

What a week of bargains

I won this beautiful embroidery on ebay, I won't be changing the frame I like the weathered antique look it has. I'd love to find out the history behind it, the stitchers name and address is on the reverse, I think she must have entered it in a show or competition with the message on the back requesting the string and rings for hanging are not removed, I love it.

I've also won 2 other embroideries, one is a gorgeous Peacock design and the other is either chinese or Japanese. They are both stitched in embroidery I don't personally do but I just loved the look of them. I did bid for several really old samplers but of course they went wayyyy over the limit I had set myself. I would dearly love to have one which was stitched in the 1800's knowing that what was probably stitched out of duty is now dearly loved for it's own beauty.

I managed to get a frame for my own historical sampler last week, I stitched this in 2005 and it has sat patiently with the others waiting for a frame. I found an old one in our RSPCA charity shop. It is a frame within a frame but the inner frame will have to be left out to accommadate the size of the sampler. I have so many needing framing I'm ashamed at my lack of effort.

I have been buying fabric again this week, I won a lovely crisp, fresh looking pr of curtains in blue and yellow which I'm still undecided to use as curtains or as fabric for quilting. I was pleased to win auctions for vintage linen sheets and pillowcases which I have already washed, ironed, aired and put away. I've bought some new lavender satchets to put amongst the linen to keep it smelling fresh.
I don't want to use them until I have sorted out a white bedspread for each of the single beds. I was winning a bit on 25mtres of White Damask fabric which would make wonderful bedspreads but I have a sneaky feeling some clever, better off sniper will probably out bid me in the last few mins of the auction. I do it myself so I can't grumble, I just think the Damask will look great with a quilted throw folded over it.
I would love to win two of the many feather Eiderdowns on ebay at the moment but two reasons prevent me doing so. Dh has asthma & I'm not sure it would be good for him and also each one I've liked has gone to way over £70-80 so out of my league. I have been wondering if I just pop the Eiderdowns on in the daytime and take them off at night if it would still affect him?

I was able to get quite a bit of fabric from our flea market yesterday, here it is with the linen sheets/pillowcases pre washed. The fabric cost me 50p each item, there was 2 king size duvet covers, a single duvet cover, a king size sheet, brand new still in pkt, a dusk pink floral curtain. The blue stripe fabric next to the top is 4mtrs of Danish fabric I won on ebay. A great week for bargains as I said. The quilted floor runner is another bargain from ebay. The partial little black and white head belongs to my little Megan, she was admiring the rug too :o)

I also had a fantastic trade with a seller on ebay which I will share when my extra special item arrives, I'm hoping that's tomorrow but who knows, I will share a pic and the story of my special item later
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A bounty of fabric


My lovely quilted floor runner


I have been enjoying some wonderful blogs these past 2 nights, they are ones with a vintage theme and oh what joy there is to behold looking through them. I have a massive list of blogs I like to look at I bookmark them because I can never remember where I've seen something :o)Thank you ladies for providing a wonderful nostalgic visit.

I had a go at shabby chic today, my daughter gave me a lovely basket which would happily grace any shabby chic store so I thought it would be nice to pop my current crochet project in to be displaid therein. It was just to the side of my chair and I must admit looked nice, I had to answer the door to the postie and when I returned my shabby chic effort was strewn across the floor with both wool and granny squares seeing who could win the race around the coffee table! I did ask the munchkins which one had decided to decorate the floor with my wool but no-one owned up they all just looked around counting the flecks of micro dust which flutters through the air in a shaft of sunlight. So much for that idea, I won't be beaten I will think of something else :o)

Why did God create.............

..........mice & rats??? I haven't a clue and will ask when I meet Him. I don't see any redeeming features for them. I am absolutely petrified of them both and it's not just their tails it's everything about them. I know some people have them as pets and love them but I haven't a clue why and have never come up with a feasable answer.
I get into a very bad state if I think there's one near, I can't help it. I can't say I'd rather face a large tiger than a rat or mouse because I wouldn't but they may as well be that big. I even had nightmares the next night about them. I'm worried now about leaving my back door open for the dogs to go in and out because although I have 5 I know not one of them would attack one. We thought we had a problem last winter and put poison down from the enviromental health, unfortunately one of my dogs got into the garage and started eating it! We had to rinse his mouth out straight away zoom off to the vets for injections and medication and keep watch on him for a few days, happily he had no long lasting ill effects.

They are at this present time keeping me from using my tumble dryer and getting food out of the big freezer both of which are in the garage. My electric scooter is also in there so I have to ask dh to go for anything we need out of there. My family spent ages telling me I was paranoid about them and was imagining it well at the beginning of last week I went in the garage to put clothes in the tumble dryer, the day before I had taken some fluff from the dryer door and foolishly not thrown it away. It was still at the side of the dryer and there in plain sight was all the evidence I needed. The droppings on the fluff looked like both mice and rat droppings, sis and dh say they're all left by mice but believe me folks if that's true the are some pretty large mice in the garage!!!!!!!!! and until they are evicted I'm not going in there.

My stitching news

I've been concentrating on my Chatelaines which I'd neglected for a while. Below are my upto date pics and progress so far. The Tuscany Town is Martina's new Mandela and the Mystery sampler 3 doesn't have a name yet. I'm stitching this one for a friend who loves swans, she's great and is very special to me.

I've also bought Passione Ricamo's Queen of the Fairies, Mirabilia's November Topaz fairy and Passione Ricamo's Galetia. I have started QOTF on SugarPlum fairy opalescent which I bought from Ladystitches on ebay, she has some gorgeous fabrics which she dyes herself. I've only a few stitches so far. I'll be stitching all on Hand dyed fabrics, I bought quite a stash of them recently so have plenty to choose from.







I still have plenty of wips in the cupboards and it's going to be a weeks job deciding which ones I'm taking away with me to work on. I may take some knitting away with me too, think I'm going to need a car for just my stuff alone :o) pity dh doesn't drive!

I haven't had chance to catch up on all your blogs for quite some time, it's taking all my time trying to keep up with emails but I promise to drop in soon.

Take care and enjoy your stitching and I hope the stitching fairy is very good to you and brings you all pressies real soon.
hugs Peg

Sorry it's been so long again!

Gosh life has been so busy here the past few months, Neil has been quite ill, he went on a weeks school trip to Northumberland, phoned me the first night not feeling well. He deteriorated during the week, I offered to go and fetch him home but he's a man so said he'd stay the week out! This led to almost 2 wks off work with a severe chest infection and fluid on his lungs. I'm pleased to say he does feel a lot better now but gets tired very quickly. School breaks up this Friday but he has builders in so can't take any time off next week.

Some good news............

We have managed to book a weeks holiday in Cumbria, I didn't think we'd be able to get away, couldn't ask anyone to take 4 dogs for the week :o) but we've found a place where we can take the Shiddies. Deeber won't be coming with us, she's getting old and isn't well a lot of the time so my sister is coming to stay for the week and they'll have a girlie week together. She adores Julie so is probably not going to miss her Mum. We're away 4th - 11th August, I've never been to Cumbria or the Lakes so am really looking forward to it. The cottage is on a working farm just outside Brampton so we're in short travelling distance for the Lakes and the bottom of Scotland.

Our other good news is we are adding to our furry family, I've been looking for a while for another little girl to add to our family, I was hoping to adopt one who came into rescue with another girl but the rescue understandably want to home them together as they've bonded, I think they were kennel mates. I would happily add another 2 but dh would probably have a relapse so I continued to look.

A beautiful little girl came into the same rescue I had Megan from last yr, she's not a Shiddie but a Lhaso Apso and she's gorgeous!! I saw her and just fell in love with her. She hasn't been mistreated, her owner is a registered breeder who is having to retire through ill health. She is 2 1/2yrs old and I'm just waiting to hear when I can collect her. She's been spayed today so will need a few days to recover. Hopefully her pic will appear here:


Her name is Georgia and Eileen says the pic doesn't do her justice, I'm so excited and can't wait to get her home. I'll fill you in more on her when she's with us.

Our other little munchkins are thriving, Zebedee is improving a lot but occasionally relapses into his old ways and tries to amputate a finger or two from my hands. He's still not letting me near his face so at the moment we can't see his eyes and he can't see us very well either. I don't want to put him through a general anaesthetic again so am working on getting him to trust me to brush him and getting through lots of sausage treats.

Paul is continuing to improve, the Dr's aren't wanting him to go back to work yet, when he does they've recommended just going for a couple of hrs perhaps twice a week, it will also depend on what his work place can set up for him. He's no longer able to do his old job. It was a bit of an emotional time when the anniversary of his accident came around and I thank God daily for letting him stay with us. His determination is amazing.

The rest of the family are doing fine, Craig took his family to London last weekend, Jacob wanted to go to the Star Wars exhibition, he loves Star wars. Laura is due back from Thailand, she's been with her friends family.

Paul's girls have both been away, Ellice to France with the school and Molly went on her first school sleep over trip to an outdoor pursuits here in Derbyshire.

James has done really well in his business studies exam and has spent a week on work experience working with his Dad, he's off to Turkey on holiday with his Aunt soon.

Lesley, Andrew and Sam are all going away in August.

Mum is doing well most of the time but is getting forgetful, because I don't see her everyday now she looks a lot older each time. Her wit though is still as sharp :o)

I'm plodding on with good days and bad days. Thankfully we weren't affected by the floods as were some friends of ours. Sadly they both have had to move out of their homes and it will probably be Christmas or the new year before they can return.

I'll update my stitching news in another post so I can add some pictures.
Thanks for visiting and reading

take care

Hugs Peg

A long time

Again it's been a long time since I posted, life has just got in the way and a lot has been happening here, to much to bore you with so will just get on with it.

I've been able to complete my Mira' Midsummer Nights fairy and she'll be going to be framed along with Mira's Garden Verses sometime this week. I'm also trying to get Mira's Butterfly fairy finished so I can start Passione Ricamo's gorgeous new design The Fair Queen. I've ordered the chart and the bits I didn't have in my stash from the lovely Jacqui at Celtic Rose I can happily recommend the service she gives and she's a lovely person too. She will post abroad as well as here in the UK. My chart and bits have arrived so I'll get them when I see her Mum on Wednesday at our stitch club.I'm still undecided on the fabric I'll use, I have several pieces here and have also bought some from Debbie at Hidden Treasures I'll decide when I've got all my fabric here and do a floss toss.

I made a decision a few weeks ago to go back to the stitch club I used to attend before having more health problems, I was a little nervous not having seen them for over a yr but I needn't have worried it was like going home after a long absence. The ladies were so welcoming and a lot of hugs went around. It was wonderful being back amongst them, they're a lovely set of ladies and we do have a lot of fun. I really look forward to going each week which apart from visiting family, hospital or drs it's the only social gathering I go to. Jean one of the co runners of the group had a birthday last week and brought us her present from her daughter Jacqui, mentioned above, she'd had someone stitch MD's Summer Queen in pinks and had it framed for her Mum. It is gorgeous and a lot of hard work has gone into it. I much prefer her in pink than blue. I do have her kitted up and she was on the back burner but after seeing her in the flesh she'll have to move up the chain of projects.

We've had a bit of a rough spell with Zebedee again and I've been bitten several times resulting in stitches. I got to the edge of my tether about 3 wks ago and contacted the rescue with a view to taking him back, I felt I couldn't do anymore with him. However the rescue, after saying it was ok to take him back failed to contact me again but meantime I had found a group on yahoo which is run by Mary Nelson a qualified dog behaviourist and bless her she has sent me a sort of retraining programme on how to overcome the problems we're having. I've read through it and am already putting it into practice. We love this little man and if working hard with him for a few months can get him to be more social and happy then we're happy to do it. I know the rescue is really busy and I'm not critisising them for not getting back to me, perhaps it wasn't meant to be. So master grumpy is still with us in the hope we can help him become mr happy :o) I wasn't happy at the thought of giving up on him and felt I was letting him down, yes he's grumpy and bites but he has a really cute face.

Neil & I are going out this evening, we're off to a presentation ceremony. He has worked for our local council since 1974 and they are supposed to recieve a long service award at 25yrs but the invitation is a little late :o)better than never.

I've been stocking up on hand dyed fabrics recently and the colours are amazing, I still like the parchment colours for samplers but the Mira's take on another dimension on hand dyed. There are some really talented ladies out there who are trying their hand at dyeing fabric themselves and are making a fantastic job of it. I can see how they become inspired, our sunset and the following early evening sky last night was amazing. I looked at it for quite sometime considering which projects the colours would suit. I don't have the talent for dyeing so will have to rely on the other ladies :o) I am a bit sorry I've started my Chatelaine designs on white fabric now after seeing some of the lovely one's stitched on h/dyed but I have and I'm certainly not frogging them!!

I've also been transferring my MH beads into small box containers and have had a jolly time doing that! The ever present dogs around my feet have come under scrutiny for beads dropped in their fur much to their disgust. I'm almost there, it will make life a little simpler when I have to take beads from my stash for projects.

I've been able to spend more time with our youngest grandson Jacob, he is quite a little character and calls me Nanny much to the amusement of the others. The only problem is he's quite put out when I can't play football with him :o)

Paul is doing extremely well in his recovery, it will soon be the anniversary of his accident and it's still taking a lot of coming to terms with but I keep telling myself he's still alive and his determination to get as much of his life back as possible is amazing. He went at the beginning of April for a check up and some tests, they are now trying different things with him. I went over last Thursday and had a great time with him and then the girls and Philly when they came home. Our local chemist had a special on for juicers, we bought one a few weeks ago, I love fruit and veg but Neil has problems eating his 5 per day but this is a great way of keeping up on the nourishment and vitamins they provide. I took one over to Pauls as they recommend he ups his veg,fruit and fibre intake, he's another Neil so it will be a good way of making sure he gets them. The girls love doing anything with cooking or experimenting so I'm waiting for a new concoction coming forth when they get started.

James has had his midterm results and report and has done exceptionally well getting high scores in each subject. Craigs son Sam has just returned from a visit to China with his school and Laura is going to Thailand with her friend and parents in the summer. Whatever happened to the school trips to the seaside 50miles away long gone are those days :o)

Well I need to start getting myself ready for our night out, hopefully it won't be as long before I post again. I haven't had the chance to read up on anyone esle's blog lately and I really miss them.
Take good care of you and happy stitching, knitting, reading or whatever is your favourite pastime.
hugs Peg

Dont forget the blog party!!

Gosh what a long time since I chatted to you, I've not been to well so have not been online much. More medication added to the already long daily dosage so hopefully will feel a lot better soon.

Don't forget to pop over to the biggest blog party on the net just click on the link on my side bar and visit a few new blogs and get to know some new friends.
I thought you'd like to see the above pics, the one with my Grandson James was taken at Christmas, he was actually trying to get a toy from under the sideboard when Zebedee decided he would make a great perch! The laughter was so spontanious I couldn't resist taking the shot.
The one of Zeb & Paddington speaks for itself really, I caught Paddington parceling Zeb up after a stressful day, I think Pads was hoping he'd get him in the post before I realised he was gone :o))

What's been happening here in my neck of the woods, well Neil didn't get any climbing in whilst in Scotland the weather wasn't good climbing weather. He was able to get some hill walking in which isn't really his bag but at least he got to spend some time relaxing with his friends.

I was able to get quite a bit of stitching and knitting in whilst on my own, I've finished 1 of the socks I showed you in my last post, I just have the button band to knit for a long waistcoat I've knit up and have finished a sampler by Indidgo Rose called Lilacs & Amethysts. I think I'll be framing this one, it's to big for a pinkeep and because it has beads included I'm not really wanting to make it into a pillow/cushion. I'll try and get photos posted tomorrow.

I spent a wonderful time with my eldest son Paul on Wednesday, sometimes I feel the need to talk to him or see him to assure myself he really is recovering from his accident. I can't explain the feelings I get, a friend said it's possibly post traumatic stress, she says mothers tend to go into auto pilot at times like that and it doesn't hit us until all calms down. He is doing well and I'm so proud of how far he has come, it may even be next year before they even start to conside him doing work of some kind but hey as long as he's still with us I don't care. He's very faithful in his physio and excersise, I know in his heart he would love to get back on a motorbike but this will just not be possible but he is driving a car although they had to buy an automatic.
Our grandaughter Ellice is growing up, she was 13 last June and went into town with some friends on Saturday shopping, Paul and I were talking about how when he and his siblings were that age it was safe for them to be away from home but how it has all changed now. He admitted it wasn't going to be easy to let her go but they would have to start somewhere and she hadn't done anything to be grounded for so he couldn't use that as an excuse :o). I got to spend some time with my other grandaughter Molly who has the funniest, sweetest nature you could wish for, she's a delight to be with.

My sister and I took Mum to the Audio unit at our local health clinic a couple of wks ago, she was having trouble with her hearing aid. I can't take her anywhere, she was flirting with the young chap who was looking after her, she had the other people in stitches with her antics. Looking at her she looks so fragile but her character is so strong and if my sense of humour lasts as long as hers I'll be happy.
Our weather has been full range and back again, today has been mild with some sun, tonight we're back to strong gales which I know is going to knock fences down. It's lashing with rain also, our garden is a bit of a quogmire which the dogs delight in, they really enjoy being caked in mud!

Take care
hugs Peg

All alone but a productive weekend

Well this is my second night alone, Neil rang earlier whilst he was waiting for his meat & potato pie to cook. They'd arrived safely at the cottage last night and had just eaten and gone to bed. Today was a slow chill day, tomorrow will be a climbing day weather permitting. I'm missing him already, it doesn't take long, I know I can watch what I want on tv, eat when I want but when you're so used to the companianship of a partner his presence is greatly missed. He's my soulmate and I'm only half a person when he's not here. I'm sure the womens libbers will take great humbrige at that but I don't really care I probably love him more today than when I first fell in love with him and I don't mind who knows it.

He's a lovely man my DH, he gave me permission to spend some of his money in his paypal account to buy some more stash, now I wasn't going to turn down the offer was I? I have bought some lovely bargains from ebay and will post pics as and when it arrives.

We have had a great variety of weather these past few days, the forecasted 6" of snow arrived on Thursday so as usual Britain came to an almost standstill. We got ours on Friday, this postponed Paul, Philly and the girls trip to Wales for the week. However during Saturday the weather got warmer and the evening saw drizzling rain which of course started to melt the snow. Sunday was a beautiful warm sunshine day all traces of snow gone. This evening we've had rain again and it's still raining as I write. We certainly don't get bored here in the UK......lol

I finally finished the Regia socks which I'd had so much trouble with. They are the striped pr. the pattern is Regia no 33 Kreativ and knitted in Regia 4ply sock yarn in Jacquard.

The second pic is of a sock I started just a short time ago, I found the fantastic instructions and pattern here at Susan's She has a wonderful blog and I am enjoying following the instructions and seeing her wip too. I'm knitting these in James C. Bretts Marble no 6. I'm also pleased with myself for mastering the magic loop method......mmm sounds a bit like birth control doesn't it.....oops get one's mind out of the gutter and back on the matter in hand :o)I'm hoping to graduate to 2 circular needles soon and then to knitting both socks at the same time. I have also finished the White ribbon wool scarf I was knitting for a little girl called Holly. I'll take a pic tomorrow and post it.

Earlier tonight I watched the dramatization of Mrs Beaton, I'd recorded it on my computer earlier in the week. It's thoroughly enjoyable to watch and a sad surprise she was so young when she died. Her book came about due to her boredom once her new home was as she wanted it, her husband, Samuel Beaton was a publisher and her visiting him at his printshop one lunchtime led to the idea of her now famous book.

She was a complete novice in the kitchen when she married, although as the eldest child her 16 brothers & sisters gave her great experience with the raising of children. The sad death of her first two boys and later her own was thought to be contributed to Samuel having Syphillis which led to his death. Her neighbours Mr & Mrs Brown who had become their close friends moved into the Beaton home when Bella died to take care of Samuel and the two surviving boys. In the dramatization nothing was said about the boys after their fathers death, it would be interesting to see if they remained with Mr & Mrs Brown or were reunited with Bellas parents who frowned on Samuels lack of provision for his family.

On that note I am now going to do the sensible thing and go to bed whilst I feel tired. I don't sleep well and even less when Neil's away. Who knows tonight may be a good one for sleeping.
take care
hugs Peg

Stash buying, well just a little

When we went to the Harrogate show my sis and I were looking for different things, she wanted more wool for the baby things she's knitting for the arrival of her new grandson. I was looking for xstitch and quilting supplies.
When I stopped knitting 8 yrs ago I gave away all my wool which had filled the whole area under our stairway, one part of me regrets it now but the other half is happy there are many children out in Rumania being kept warm with the jumpers and cardi's etc knitted with the said wool.

Now of course I have to build up my wool stash again.
The top pic is Ribbon wool, I'm knitting a scarf for a little girl called Holly who has seen my DD's and wants one the same. I thought I'd finished knitting with this but alas!
Pic no 2 is Sock yarn purchased from a great seller on ebay, when DH saw it he asked 'do people wear odd socks then when they hand knit them then?' I swear I'm going to hit him before long, moving him into the garage is getting nearer and nearer.... ;o)

Pic 3 is more DK for socks, the lovely yarn at the front was the last 3 she had, it's wool but so very soft. Pic 4 is more yarn for crocheting another blanket.

I bought the latest issue of Simply Knitting the other day just for the set of stitch markers I forgot to bring them upstairs so will take a pic later. I've yet to decide where my knitting and crocheting stash is going to be stored. My cupboards & drawers are full, I was going to be artful and display it in baskets but if I do the munchkins will be stealing and running off with it so I have to think of another place.

Well off to answer more emails, take care
Peg