January Rotation Photos

Apologies for the totally crap photos!

Snapperbets Start

Alphabet Bauble A

Boo Club Start

Joyful Summer Before

Joyful Summer Finished

Grandma's Thread Minder Before

Grandma's Thread Minder After

Scream House Before

Scream House After

February Goals

Stitching Goals
1. Work on Sleigh Ride
2. Work on Charlie is Born (hopefully complete)
3. Complete B is for Bee
4. Complete Lizzie*Kate Black Cat (and maybe Spiders)
5. Complete two Snapperbets letters
6. Work on Cirque des Cercles

Quilting Goals
1. Start Lia's curtains
2. Work on the Quilter's Friend Sewing Kit - hopefully complete it but it's very complicated so I'll be taking it slow!

Current Stitching WIP List
1. Lizzie*Kate - Boo! Flip Its
2. Bent Creek - Snapperbets

3. Dimensions - Sleigh Ride
4. Bothy Threads - Row of Christmas Fairies
5. Margaret Sherry - Santa's Journey Afghan
6. Stitchy Kitty - Snowman Trio

7. Shepherd's Bush - Happy Haunting
8. Glendon Place - Murky Manor
9. Just Nan - Scream House

10. Brightneedle - Garden Party
11. Millhouse Designs - Charlie is Born
12. The Trilogy - Spring Lineup

13. Tournicoton - Coeur de Brodeuse
14. The Cat's Whiskers - Birds of a Feather Dilly Bag
15. The Cat's Whiskers - Grandma's Thread Minder

16. Just Nan - Four Wishes
17. Michael Powell - Cottage Garden 2
18. Bent Creek - Snapperville Series

19. Shepherd's Bush - Be Attitudes Afghan
20. DMC - Wild Ones Alphabet
21. Ink Circles - Cirque de Cercles
22. Stitchin'Spirations - Getting Lost in a Blackwork Maze
23. Midsummer Night Designs - Heaven's Above
24. Teresa Wentzler - Tradewinds
25. Dragon Dreams - Dragon Virtues Afghan
26. Michael Powell - Handmade Houses 4
27. Bothy Threads - Cut Thru Fairy Hill
28. Stoney Creek - Noah's Sub
29. Dracolair - Dawn Awakening

January Roundup

Stitching Goals
1. Work on Scream House - yes, loads done!
2. Work on Joyful Summer (hopefully complete) - yes, it's all finished
3. Complete Alphabet Baubles A - yes
4. Complete Lizzie*Kate - Spooky - yes and I did Treats as well.
5. Complete two Snapperbets letters - even better, I managed 4 plus lots of border!
6. Work on Grandma's Thread Minder - yes and made good progress

Stitching New Starts:
Alphabet Baubles A
Lizzie*Kate Boo Club
Snapperbets

Stitching Finishes:
CCN - Joyful Summer
Alphabet Baubles A

Books Read
Lessons Learned - Melissa Nathan
Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
Swallowdale - Arthur Ransome

January Quilting Goals
1. Finish up my outstanding quilt tops and quilting - nope
2. Make bag - yep!

Other Quilting
Worked on the Quilter's Friend Sewing Kit

New Stash Arrivals
Lizzie*Kate Boo Club - Spooky/Treats, Black Cat/Spiders and Eek!/Creepy
SamSarah - Alphabet Baubles C
Just Nan - Snow Tin
Bent Creek - Frowzen Men
Bent Creek - Snapperbets 5
Bent Creek - The First Fall of Snow
Picture This Plus - FOTM
SamSarah - Shimmers and Sparkles, Trimming the Tree
Quite a large amount of fabric!

So not a bad month for stitching stash, the new arrivals were mainly my 2009 autoships (Lizzie*Kate Boo Club, PTP FOTM, SamSarah's Alphabet Baubles and the Just Nan Tin) plus the final part of the Snapperbet series. My only extra purchases were two new Bent Creeks but they were ordered in 2008 so they don't count as a Wagon slip (Honest Gov) and the two SamSarah's but they were on offer at the fabric sale I went to.

I'm actually enjoying the rotation more than I thought I would. There's enough new stuff in there to keep me enthusiastic and I'm enjoying the satisfaction of working on WIPs and seeing my progress - I was never that good at taking progress pictures before but it really does motivate me so I shall make a real effort to keep up the habit.

I know that come the summer months I'm unlikely to get as much done which is why I'm pushing so hard right now. I'm stunned that I got so much done on Scream House and Grandma's Thread Minder that I may well finish all the stitching for both of them in their next rotation slot!

Roll on month 2 as I'm already ahead of the game with Snapperbets and Lizzie*Kate and hoping for a second finish from the WIP pile...

January Glooms

I don't know what it is about January but I always find myself a tad gloomy. You'll be pleased to know that I'm not as upset at work as I was two posts back - the situation hasn't gone away but my over-emotional state has. Thanks for the hugs and positive comments, I know the issue is that the guy in charge knows very little and doesn't like people who make his short-comings obvious but I just wish somebody higher up than him would slap him down a bit.

I have generally been feeling gloomy though - low energy and no real inclination to do much - but I've noticed that the gloom is lifting as the month draws to an end which is great. The upside of the glooms is that I've stitched up a storm this month and have more than achieved my rotation goals for January (but that's another post).

I haven't read much this month though which always makes me feel bad but one of the Stitching BBs I belong to is discussing a reading list and that's enough to start whetting my appetite to get back to it. To tell you how bad it was, I actually spent 10 mins in Waterstones a week or so ago and left without buying anything! I think the last time that happened I was still getting pocket money LOL.

So - looking forward into February and beyond, I'm in a much brighter mood. Today is the first payday after Christmas which is always a good day. A friend is visiting this weekend and I'm going to lead her astray by introducing her to my local quilting shop - not only that I ordered something for her from the US so she owes me the payment - practically free stash shopping if you think about it.

My Mum is coming over to stay for a week which should be nice. We'll still be going to work and nursery but she'll have company in the evenings. We're driving her back at the end of next week as my first quilting course of the year is on Sat 7th. We're also going out for sunday lunch with friends both this weekend and next so my goal of catching up with friends is definitely being achieved.

I know it's a bit early but I hope you all have a good weekend too as I'm unlikely to find time to update the blog other than my scheduled Rotation/Goals post.

Meet Muffin

The newest member of our household...



She's a baby sister for Toast, Crumpet and Sesame and seems to be settling in well.

Our hutch is full now so no more additions to the family for the foreseeable future - when we get round to building them a proper living area outside that may change though!

A pile of pink

So I've just finished washing and ironing all the fabric I've bought over the last couple of months and here's the selection that will be used in Lia's room:

Pink is really not a colour I like at all so I get extra Mummy points for buying such a lot of it!

This one is going to be her curtains:

You can't really tell from the picture but the fabric is very glittery. In fact there's quite a few glittery ones in there which explains why most of this weeks washing is coming out a bit sparkly!

I also got a selection of Christmas fabrics that were on sale:

And finally some red fabrics that were on sale:

This years Christmas quilt is going to be done in blues and snowmen so the Christmas fabrics are for that (yes I know there's a couple of red ones in there but they were cute and on sale...)

As for the red fabrics, it's my favourite colour and I intend to do a red hearts quilt at some point in the future.

Annoyed

Those of you who have been reading for a while will know that my job was at risk of redundancy last year and, although it now isn't, I'm not happy where I am but feel unable to leave for various reasons.

I work for an IT department who have various customer organisations who we provide various levels of service for - from support to development and they purchase our time annually. I'm the web developer for the team and have been involved in many projects over the last seven years and have never once missed a deadline or failed to deliver what was asked of me.

However, like all organisations ours is a hotbed of office politics and one Manager in particular is hell-bent on Empire building. This particular Manager works for one of our Customer organisations and, for historic reasons, does not like our department (basically because we make his lot look bad as we're good at what we do).

Anyway, said Manager was at the head of the movement to get rid of me. I was particularly pissed off with him because over the last three years I've continuously covered his butt and saved him when three Managers in a row quit running his web services section. He's never had cause to complain about my work (but he does constantly slag off our whole department whenever he gets the chance.)

So, cutting a long story kinda short, he has recruited a team of developers which is totally ridiculous because he has a team he can use (the one I work for). This is of no surprise to me, I've not only been aware of them arriving, he's had me down there talking to them and passing on knowledge.

The one thing that saved my job last October was my knowledge of a product called SharePoint. If you don't know what that is don't worry and if you do surely you're too geeky to be reading my blog LOL. All you need for the purpose of this rant is to know that I've worked with SharePoint for five years now, been on several training courses and have done a lot of 'fit for purpose' testing around it so I think I can say I'm an expert.

And that fact is known across all of our Customer Organisations.

In fact I was in a training session all day yesterday for the handover to our team of the SharePoint project that saved my job.

Yesterday was also the day that a call was logged with our Helpdesk regarding SharePoint by a member of said Managers team. Someone who obviously has no clue about SharePoint, and I mean no clue, and who, when I spoke to him on the phone obviously did not want to speak to me at all and was INCREDIBLY cagey about what they want to do.

I'm just really, really pissed off at being constantly ignored by these idiots. They have zero knowledge about this product, they know that I do have extensive knowledge yet they absolutely refuse to acknowledge my existence.

For some reason I'm feeling particularly sensitive today and have been fighting tears of frustration. I don't care what they think about me, I just hate being in a place where people can get away with behaving like this. The project I'm working on was commissioned by the CIO who is the boss of the Manager I've been discussing so I know that I'm okay for now, I just wish that someone would put him in his place.

Thank god it's Thursday and I'm outta here for three days now. I think I just need a bit of a break from all of this - maybe it's the events of the last three months of last year finally catching up with me. The bad news is I have no holiday left until it resets on 1st April so I can't even take some time out.

Well done if you've read to the end of this - I'm not usually one for self-pity but, as I said, today I'm feeling a little overwhelmed for some reason.

Stash!

Firstly I apologise as I meant to take some nice stashy photos yesterday but I stepped into a timewarp sometime around midday and arrived instantaneously at bedtime...

Right on time my lovely stash parcel from Drema at Needlecraft Corner arrived last Thursday containing my first three Lizzie*Kate Boo Club charts, the last part of Bent Creek's Snapperbets, the two new Bent Creeks - Frowzen Men and First Fall of Snow, SamSarah's C is for Cupcake (chart, buttons and fabric) and the final three SamSarah Monthly Baubles I needed with buttons - July, August and September.

Boy was that fun to open!

I also had a shipping notice for my PTP FOTM so that should arrive towards the end of this week. I've never before done a monthly club for either fabric or floss so I'm ridiculously excited about it.

Finally, Drema is shipping out the first 2009 Just Nan tin as we speak. If I'm honest I'm not sure I like this one too much. It's typical, I didn't sign up for an autoship last year and then freaked when she released the Halloween tin because it was gorgeous. I did manage to get all of last years tins but I thought I'd sign up this year so I didn't have to stress about it. Oh well, I may like it more when I see it IRL and if I don't I may think about recharting the birds (I have a problem with their faces).

Rotation wise I'm still on track. I stitched up Lizzie*Kate's 'Spooky' over the weekend so now have to work on Scream House for a week. Theoretically that leaves me almost a week spare this month due to Joyful Summer being finished so quickly. I think what I'll most likely do is keep going with Scream House till the end of the month as I'm quite keen to get it finished (it'll need at least two more rotation slots though, if not more).

I didn't get much crafting done this weekend as we had friends staying - a very enjoyable reason for not doing much it has to be said. It was my Best Mate and her family - she's Lia's Godmother and I'm Godmother to her little boy. Three kids under five in the house was quite a challenge! What's really great is that they are coming back down at Easter and she and I are taking the kids away for a couple of days whilst the two DH's completely redecorate Lia's bedroom.

Completely as in remove the paper from the ceiling, fill in all the cracks, repaper, paint, etc. We'll then have the carpet replaced so that we can get her new bed in for her birthday at the beginning of June. DH isn't that enthusiastic about DIY so having a 'buddy' who is there to help him will mean it gets done properly.

My grand plan is that we do each room in turn and do them properly. Since we moved in all we've done is paint four rooms which is fine because it's all in pretty good condition but I'd like to get each room done - for example our bedroom has several layers of paint over several layers of wallpaper and the wallpaper is bulging and flaking in a few places so I'd like to strip it back completely and start fresh.

However, I think that if we get Lia's room done now and focus on getting the garden done too then that'll be a great acheivement for 2009. We can pick another room for 2010 (probably the bathroom). By the time we've done the lot we'll probably be ready to move LOL.

Of course a small lottery win would be a great help with that plan...

It's the little things...

I've just realised it's the 15th today which means my Picture This Plus FOTM is being sent out today. Another reason to stalk the postman!

I got the invoice yesterday for the parcel that includes the Lizzie*Kate charts. Hopefully that means the parcel won't be long behind it...

Oh and I finally have closure on the saga of my car accident as the final cheque arrived yesterday from the Insurance. I'd be celebrating a bit more if it didn't almost exactly match the sum we have to pay off on the Credit Card for all the expenses incurred in replacing the car and contents. Still, it means we've broken even money wise which is the main thing.

I've also been signed off by my Physio and my neck and wrist pain are almost completely gone now which is fantastic!

Da Da Daaaaaaaaa (da da da, da da da)

I just got us tickets to see War of the Worlds at the O2 Arena in June. DH is a huge fan and we missed seeing it last time it was on so when a colleague mentioned she was going I just had to get tickets. I've even booked the babysitter (Mum).

Before we had Lia (and nursery fees) we'd go to several shows a year in London but it's so expensive - tickets aren't cheap for a start and then you add on train fare, food etc, and we just don't have the disposable income we used to.

We do have a local theatre (which we do attend) but for me it's the big shows that I like and often who is starring in them. Plus London is fun. At the moment my wish list includes Wicked, Oliver and Joseph and I'm hoping that we manage one at some point this year. We usually go and see something around my birthday (April) but now we've got the WOTW tickets that's not going to happen. Plus I'm on a quilting course the day before my birthday...

In other news, I'm still stitching up a storm and my rotation is going well. Lizzie*Kate have the Boo Flip its border chart on their site now so I spent yesterday evening getting started on that. I'm still waiting for the charts to arrive but they should be here by the weekend (fingers crossed) as I'm itching to get started on them. We have friends coming to stay for the weekend so I won't get too much done but hopefully I'll manage a little bit of stitching.

School Part 3

This is the final update for now (I promise!)

We went to view the two schools whose catchment area we are in, the one next door and a CofE School about ten minutes walk away, and we've put down the CofE as our preference.

The CofE school is much nicer and DH is happier with the inclusion of the church. It has around 150 pupils aged 4 - 11 and has a really nice family atmosphere. They also have great links with the community and encourage parents to be involved as much as possible and it was just a nice place to be.

The school next to us wasn't awful but it's much bigger (350 pupils) and much less 'friendly'. I didn't like the fact that the classrooms all have the toilets and cloakrooms attached and the pupils eat lunch at their desks so there is no need for them to ever leave their room and mix with the other kids. They have one full school assembly a week which is the only time they are all together. They also had less external activities.

Another thing that really bothered me was that one of the teachers had a facial piercing below her lip. I am old fashioned enough to think that inappropriate and yes I know it makes no difference to her skill as a teacher but it really put me off. There seemed a much more defined line between staff and pupils at the CofE School, a level of respect that seemed lacking in the other one.

Anyway, as those are the only two schools close enough to us for it to be easy for DH to drop off we aren't bothering to look at any more. I won't be heart broken if Lia ends up at the school next door but I am prepared to try and appeal against the decision. Interestingly the CofE School told us they get quite a few transfers from the other School - three already this year - so that might be an option in the future.

So now we wait and hope. We'll know the decision at the end of March...

My First Bag!

How proud am I! I want to make smaller projects this year and have about a dozen bag designs in my stash so I thought I'd start with one that seemed fairly simple and here it is:

Other than it's style it's not at all like the original pattern which calls for some words and flowers on the pockets and middle band on the left hand side (and is done in pastels) but this is much more me.

My only criticism for myself is that I should have taken longer fitting the base as it's rucked in a few places but as I'm the only one that will care (or notice) I can live with it.

Today we went on an excursion to Farnham as there was a quilting and fabric sale there (DH indulged me). It was pretty good although filled with women of a certain age marking their territories with their (ample) bosoms! Poor DH and Lia didn't stand a chance so spend most of their time queuing for a drink whilst I attempted to get somewhere close to the stash.

I did pretty well, I was mainly looking for pink/lilac fabrics for Lia's birthday quilt as I don't have many in my stash. My best bargain was a bolt of lilac fabric for £20 instead of £45 which will be the backing fabric for the quilt. I'm still looking though my stash to pick a quilt design but I'm hoping to start it next month so I'd better get on looking.

In other quilting news I also discovered what is probably the closest quilting shop to me. It's called Village Fabrics - they do have a website but it's not very good which is one of the reasons I didn't go sooner. It's about 30 mins from me and again DH indulged me with a trip out there a week ago and it's fabulous! Not only that they do classes so I may find myself there more often!

In fact DH put a few small kits into my basket when we were there so I truly do have one in a million!

Other than maybe popping back to Village Fabrics to introduce a friend to their delights I am going to try and be good between now and June as I have more than enough projects to get done for Lia's room. In June it'll be my annual crafters weekend away which coincides with a trip to at least one quilting shop. Then in July we're holidaying for a week on a farm that has a quilting shop on site. Those kind of holidays can get very expensive!

Impatient

I have my fabric from PTP, I have my flosses all ready and I'm VERY impatiently waiting for my Lizzie*Kate Boo Club Flip It to arrive...

Cold

We're in the middle of a cold spell here in the UK and the temperature dipped to -8.5 outside last night. Now I know some of my international readers may laugh at the idea of that being cold but we're a country that just isn't used to the thermometers going that low.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining (other than my general complaint that it's not snowing) as I love the cold, I'm definitely designed to live in a cold climate - let's face it, you can always put more layers on, when it's too hot there's only so much you can take off...

However there was a problem last night as only half the radiators in the house were hot. We didn't realise this till after we'd put Lia to bed because we'd pretty much stayed in the kitchen up to that point and the rads were working in there. However when we went into the lounge we could practically see our breath it was so cold!

DH did a minimal amount of investigation, ie touched the radiators and said 'they're cold', and claimed to be baffled. His response was to turn the heating on to constant to see if they warmed up over night! Given the heating had been on for the previous three hours and they were stone cold I figured it unlikely they'd miraculously cure themselves.

So the rest of the evening was spent swaddled in quilts (DH can never complain about my hobby now he's used them in a practical situation) and it wasn't until after I gave in and went to bed that DH decided to experiment with bleeding the radiators (something I had suggested) and lo and behold it worked! Great news as it means we don't have to call out a professional and pay an extortionate fee (especially if they'd just bled the rads and cured the problem, I wouldn't be a happy wife).

So fingers crossed tonight will be much warmer - it's not so easy to stitch when you're bundled up in blankets...

School Part 2

Firstly, thanks to those who've left comments with advice or emailed me, it's all been really helpful.

I forgot to put in the previous post that we have an appointment to go and look round the school next door this Friday (but thanks Ginnie and Sharon for suggesting going to have a look). I picked Lia's nursery on gut feeling alone and that's been a success so hopefully my gut will help out this time too.

I also like Sharon's point about how the teachers engage Lia, that wouldn't necessarily occur to me, or to look at the artwork etc that's displayed around. See, there's many things wrong with the www but it's fantastic that people I've never met IRL can help me out so generously.

Andrea, thanks to you too for de-lurking and letting me know your thoughts, I have a feeling I'll end up like a job interviewee asked 'do you have any questions for us' and not know what to say but I have made a mental note to ask about bullying.

DH and I had a long chat last night and I think we both feel that the school next door is our best option as long as neither of us hate it on sight. It's not only the convenience for him dropping Lia off, it's simple if anyone else is doing the pick up / drop off too (ie my Mum if she's staying over). Also in a dire emergency the old lady next door would be able to take Lia in.

At the moment we don't know that many people who live local to us. It's weird I know because we've lived here for 10 years now but neither of us have actually worked in the town we live in. I'm actually looking forward to Lia starting school as I'll be meeting other parents and hopefully get a bit more involved in our local community.

We both hope that sometime in the next 12 - 24 months we are able to change jobs and work locally but you just never know. DH started a new job this time last year and had been hoping to be closer to home but ended up more than doubling his commute time for a job that was too good to refuse!

Dh is still going to have a chat with the GO Church just in case they have any thoughts to add and also to find out about the Greek Sunday School. I've also asked a colleague who's wife is a teacher if she has any words of advice. She is based in the next town over to us but she may know about the school or at least be able to give us some pointers for questions to ask.

I've stopped worrying so much now I have a (basic) plan of action but I'm now more worried about the fact that DH is hysterical with laughter about the fact the teacher showing us around is called Miss Chick. Why are men so infantile??? LOL

School

Unbelievably (at least for me) Lia is due to start school this year. 3rd September to be exact (which is co-incidentally DH's name day* so hopefully it's a date he'll remember).

We have to get the application in to the Local Council by 20th February so I'm now going slightly mad looking at School League tables and not really knowing where to start.

That last sentence may seem really strange to those who know where we live because we live next door to a Primary School. Literally, next door. The school buildings occupy the land at the end of our garden and the entrance to it runs down the side of our driveway/garden.

However, it's not the best school around. In fact it's quite low down in the league tables. So I'm now torn with convenience and wanting the best for her. All this is made more difficult by the fact that we live in a town I didn't grow up in so I don't know the schools. I also work in a different town (as does DH) so I don't even work with anyone who knows the schools and Lia is in nursery where I work so nobody there knows the schools as all the other kids will go to the schools in this town.

Hence me going a bit mad trying to get information on the schools. It doesn't help that the 2008 league tables are delayed now until March so I'm working on old data and the new data won't arrive till a month after the application deadline.

So the facts that I have at my disposal are:

1. My brother and I both went to a not-so-great primary school and we did pretty well for ourselves.

2. The school is next door to the house which would be so convenient for dropping off and picking up. Especially for DH as I have our car on work days.

3. We're about 500 yards outside the catchment area of the best school near us.

4. It probably doesn't even matter what school I pick as the Council just allocate as they see fit

The only other piece of the puzzle we haven't considered is Religion. I'm non-religious but DH is Greek Orthodox and Lia was christened GO too. I know there aren't any GO schools around but it may be that we think about Catholic or CofE Schools for her. DH is going to ask at Church this weekend if there is any affiliation between the Greek Church and schools in the area (there is quite a large Greek Community in the town.)

I have briefly considered the option of a fee paying school as the cost would roughly equate to that of her current nursery fees but if we have another child we'll need that money for their nursery fees and if we don't have another child I was hoping we could use the money to overpay our mortgage.

Also, I think that, given both DH and I are pretty intelligent, we are more than able to assist her with things at primary level so it's better to save our money now and consider a fee paying Secondary school if it comes to it (the closest Secondary school to us is REALLY not one I'd like to see her attending).

Honestly, as I keep telling friends who are having their first babies and who can't see beyond the worry of giving birth, it's nothing compared to the decisions one has to make once the child is here...

*In Greece you have a Name Day that is generally viewed as more important than your birthday - it's the day of the Saint whose name you have, so if you're called George your Name Day would be 23rd April (although that's a crappy choice because they have tendency to move name days around Easter so they don't get in the way, so George's all over Greece often have their Name Day moved). However, anyone who doesn't have a birthday around Easter has a set Name Day and, as mentioned above, DH's is 3rd September.

Rotation Substitutes

So, with my Rotation plan finalised I have extended my plans so that I know what I will substitute in after any finishes. In all cases the first named project on the list will be completed before I move on to the second, etc except in the case of Slot 8 the 'Small WIP' rotation where projects will continue to be rotated until they are all complete (I will work on each one for one week a month).

Slot 1 - Christmas Project Rotation
Sleigh Ride - Heirloom Christmas - Santa's Journey Afghan

Slot 2 - Halloween Project Rotation
Scream House - Happy Haunting - Murky Manor

Slot 3 - BAP 1
Cirque des Cercles - Noah's Sub - Dawn Awakening

Slot 4 - BAP 2
Grandma's Thread Minder - Wild One's Alphabet - Tradewinds

Slot 5 - Lizzie*Kate Flip Its
Boo Club - Holidays - Living

Slot 6 - Baubles
Alphabet Baubles - Monthly Baubles

Slot 7 - Bent Creek Series*
Snapperbets - Snapperville

Slot 8 - Small WIP Rotation
Joyful Summer
Charlie is Born
Couer de Brodeuse
Garden Party
Spring Lineup
Tempest
Four Wishes
Birds of a Feather Dilly Bag
Snowman Trio
Row of Christmas Fairies
Handmade Houses 4
Cottage Garden 2

When the above smalls get down to only five projects I will then include my final outstanding WIPs until they are either finished or slotted in elsewhere. They are:

Lost in a Blackwork Maze
Heaven's Above
Be Attitudes Afghan
Dragon Virtues Afghan
Cut Thru Fairy Hill

* After 2009 I may decide to include Snapperville in my 'Smalls Rotation' and use the Bent Creek slot as a 'new smalls' slot instead but I will review that nearer the time. My main issue is to reduce my current WIPs to under 10.

Last finishes of 2008 and first of 2009

Here's pics of my last 2008 finishes:

2008 Christmas Quilt:

Bargello Quilt:

Sue Hawkins Thread Keeper:

And here are my Just Nan 2008 tins completed:

Initial Stitching:

Four Tins:

Sizzle Tin and Pinwheel

I did the tins on New Years Day when I also finished Joyful Summer:

I did cheat a bit as I did quite a lot of stitching on Joyful Summer on New Years Eve but it's my first official finish of 2009 and my first Rotation success! I left off the French Knots and backstitching on the flowers as I don't really like it - apologies that the pic is a bit washed out, the fabric is a nice bright blue IRL.

I still have the 'In the Tin' projects to make up for the other three tins but I intend to slot them in soon.

Thanks for all your encouraging comments about my rotation and 2009 plans, your support is very much appreciated. Talking of which, Lindsay, your offer of a SAL for 4 Wishes is great but it's only scheduled for 1 week of attention from me this year so I think I will decline for now.

An Apology

To those of you who aren't interested in my crafting and come here for info on the family, I'm sorry, as the last few posts have been dominated by my reviews, goals and plans and so will the next few be.

As I've mentioned I'm currently very bored at work as I have very little to occupy me and this is dangerous as I end up doing a lot of surfing and my clicky finger can get over-excited which leads to serious bumps off the Wagon.

So, to combat this I've been focussing on my crafting projects and how best to organise my time, hence the extended boring posts you've had to endure with a few more to come.

However, once the days lighten and spring is on the way I intend to get out into the garden and start seriously working on getting it tidied up so I can blog about that project. We're also going to start taking Lia to dancing lessons in a couple of weeks so no doubt that will be a fun topic of conversation as well.

After the last six months we're due some quiet times in 2009 and I'm determined to catch up with old friends more often, especially those we cancelled events with when life got in the way this year. We've already got one holiday booked as we're returning to the Villavin Farm Cottages we stayed at last summer but this year we're filling all three for a week as MIL and FIL, Mum, Sis, BIL, Nieces, Nieces Husband and Great-Niece are all coming too. It should be great fun and hopefully the start of a tradition of family holidays where we all get together.

Also, given a very good friend gets an extremely good discount at Disneyland, we're talking about a trip to Paris sometime in May. Plus there will be the obligatory trip to Greece at some point but it won't be early in the year as MIL is still recovering from the accident.

Oh and of course there's my Stitcher's weekend GTG to look forward to at the beginning of June - our third year!

Strangely this is the first year for six years I don't know anyone expecting a baby or getting married although there's plenty of time for that to change I guess. The biggest thing on the horizon is that Lia will start school in September - I can't believe how fast time has passed!

Obviously the current economic climate could throw us a couple of curve balls, as could life in general, but if I've learnt anything over the last few months it's to appreciate what I've got and to make the most of life.

January Goals

Stitching Goals
1. Work on Scream House
2. Work on Joyful Summer (hopefully complete)
3. Complete A is for Apple
4. Complete Lizzie*Kate - Spooky
5. Complete two Snapperbets letters
6. Work on Grandma's Thread Minder

Quilting Goals
1. Finish up my outstanding quilt tops and quilting
2. Make bag

Current Stitching WIP List
1. Lizzie*Kate - Boo! Flip Its
2. Bent Creek - Snapperbets

3. Dimensions - Sleigh Ride
4. Bothy Threads - Row of Christmas Fairies
5. Margaret Sherry - Santa's Journey Afghan
6. Stitchy Kitty - Snowman Trio

7. Shepherd's Bush - Happy Haunting
8. Glendon Place - Murky Manor
9. Just Nan - Scream House

10. Brightneedle - Garden Party
11. Millhouse Designs - Charlie is Born
12. The Trilogy - Spring Lineup
13. CCN - Joyful Summer

14. Tournicoton - Coeur de Brodeuse
15. The Cat's Whiskers - Birds of a Feather Dilly Bag
16. The Cat's Whiskers - Grandma's Thread Minder

17. Just Nan - Four Wishes
18. Michael Powell - Cottage Garden 2
19. Bent Creek - Snapperville Series

20. Shepherd's Bush - Be Attitudes Afghan
21. DMC - Wild Ones Alphabet
22. Ink Circles - Cirque de Cercles
23. Stitchin'Spirations - Getting Lost in a Blackwork Maze
24. Midsummer Night Designs - Heaven's Above
25. Teresa Wentzler - Tradewinds
26. Dragon Dreams - Dragon Virtues Afghan
27. Michael Powell - Handmade Houses 4
28. Bothy Threads - Cut Thru Fairy Hill
29. Stoney Creek - Noah's Sub
30. Dracolair - Dawn Awakening

WIP Pictures

So, given my intention to stick to my rotation this year, here's pics of all the projects that are on the list apart from Tempest, Snapperbets, Boo Club Filp Its and Alphabet Baubles as they are all new starts.

Happy Haunting

Sleigh Ride

Joyful Summer

Grandma's Thread Minder

Charlie is Born

Cirque des Cercles

Scream House

Coeur de Brodeuse

Garden Party

Spring Lineup

Four Wishes

Birds of a Feather Dilly Bag

Snowman Trio

Row of Christmas Fairies

Handmade Houses 4

Cottage Garden 2

At the end of each month I'll post progress pics for each WIP I've worked on (and hopefully some completed pics as well!)

2009 Goals

Stitching

I've thought about this a lot, probably more than I need to LOL, but I want to be a bit more focussed on what I'm stitching every month so I can get some of my WIPs off the list.

So, I intend to rotate between Halloween and Christmas projects every month, so a Halloween one in Jan, a Christmas in Feb, etc, with the idea that I can get Happy Haunting completed by November and Sleigh Ride by Christmas. Possibly.

I also intend to focus on one small WIP from the list per month so I can hopefully clear some of them off the WIP list too. The first focus projects are Garden Party, Charlie is Born, Spring Lineup, Joyful Summer and Coeur de Brodeuse.

I will also try and stitch one SamSarah alphabet bauble a month, a Lizzie*Kate Halloween Flip-it a month and two Snapperbet letters a month.

Also, each month I'll pick one other larger WIP from the list to stitch a bit on - I'm currently thinking Cirque and Grandma's Thread Minder will be the first two I want to focus on.

Scrapbooking
Yes I do this but haven't for years - I have so much stash though that I have to do some projects so I've listed a few that I think are achievable.

1. Our wedding album
2. Lia's baby album
3. Christmas Album
4. Quilting Album

Quilting
1. Make some smaller projects like bags, ornaments, placemats, bowls, etc
2. Make a 'Little Girl' quilt for Lia's birthday in June
3. Work on reducing my fabric stash a bit!

I really want 2009 to be about reducing the stash I have, especially for quilting and scrapbooking. I don't have guilt about the value of my stash but I do feel guilty about the volume that's not used.

Happy New Year

May 2009 bring you all you wish for...

2008 Roundup

Number of WIPs on 01/01/08 - 27

Number of WIPS on 31/12/08 - 28

Number of new Stitching Starts in 2008 - 28

Number of Stitching Finishes in 2008 - 27

Number of Books read in 2008 - 65

Number of quilts finished in 2008 - 12

So I failed in my bid to reduce my wip list. Not only that I checked back to January and I only finished 3 projects from my wips, all my other finishes this year have been new starts.

So for 2009 I must do better and hopefully my rotation will give me time on new projects as well as allowing me to focus on getting current WIPs completed. If I stick to it I could have as many as 10 projects gone from my WIP list by the end of 2009. If I'm honest, I'd be happy with 5.

I also almost managed 100 blog posts this year - more than double last year - so I shall continue to try and increase the number of posts in 2009 so I can break the three figure barrier.

December Roundup

December Stitching Goals
1. Work on Sleigh Ride - yes
2. Work on Snowman Trio - yes
3. Complete and make up the Just Nan tins - completed but not made up
4. Complete the Sue Hawkins Thread Keeper - yes

Stitching New Starts:
Just Nan - Jingle tin and biscornu

Stitching Finishes:
Sue Hawkins Thread Keeper
Just Nan - Jingle Tin Topper
Just Nan - Biscornu

Books Read
Magyk - Angie Sage
Christmas Mystery - Jostein Gaardner

December Quilting Goals
1. Finish Christmas Quilt - yes
2. Finish baby quilt - yes
3. Finish Heart to Heart quilts - yes
4. Finish Christmas Panel - yes
5. Quilt bargello - quilted and finished
6. Make up Jungle quilt top - no
7. Sew some more of the flannel quilt blocks - yes

Other Quilting
Baby girl quilt - finished and gifted

Current Stitching WIP List

1. Dimensions - Sleigh Ride
2. Bothy Threads - Row of Christmas Fairies
3. Margaret Sherry - Santa's Journey Afghan
4. Stitchy Kitty - Snowman Trio

5. Shepherd's Bush - Happy Haunting
6. Glendon Place - Murky Manor
7. Just Nan - Scream House

8. Brightneedle - Garden Party
9. Millhouse Designs - Charlie is Born
10. The Trilogy - Spring Lineup
11. CCN - Joyful Summer

12. Tournicoton - Coeur de Brodeuse
13. The Cat's Whiskers - Birds of a Feather Dilly Bag
14. The Cat's Whiskers - Grandma's Thread Minder

15. Just Nan - Four Wishes
16. Michael Powell - Cottage Garden 2
17. Bent Creek - Snapperville Series

18. Shepherd's Bush - Be Attitudes Afghan
19. DMC - Wild Ones Alphabet
20. Ink Circles - Cirque de Cercles
21. Stitchin'Spirations - Getting Lost in a Blackwork Maze
22. Midsummer Night Designs - Heaven's Above
23. Teresa Wentzler - Tradewinds
24. Dragon Dreams - Dragon Virtues Afghan
25. Michael Powell - Handmade Houses 4
26. Bothy Threads - Cut Thru Fairy Hill
27. Stoney Creek - Noah's Sub
28. Dracolair - Dawn Awakening

Totally Spoiled

So it's back down to earth with a bump today as I'm back at work and Lia is back at nursery. DH is at home however (the git) and I imagine he'll spend most of the day playing Guitar Hero...

Christmas was a good one, my Sis and BIL are fantastic hosts and we had a lovely few days staying with them. Mum did okay, she even came to the Carol concert with us on Christmas Eve which she'd said she wouldn't attend. It's a lovely one, outside in Canterbury Town Centre, and the Archbishop of Canterbury attends every year. It certainly set up the Christmas mood.

Lia was totally spoiled. I can't believe how many toys she got - admittedly she got a lot of them from us but I didn't figure in just how many she'd get from other people too. On the whole she was really well behaved and her excitement levels weren't too bad. She did go to sleep on Christmas Eve under the covers though as she didn't want Santa to come in and scare her.

We were back home on Saturday (nightmare drive, it usually takes 1hr 45 mins and it took over 4!) so have had a bit of time to relax but I could have done with a bit more. I did intend to sort Lia's room out yesterday and clear out some old toys so there's room for the new ones but that didn't happen so I'll do it next weekend - this means that most of her gifts are still in bags in our bedroom.

She has one more gift to get - a dollshouse - I'd actually think about not bothering with it apart from the fact that several people bought her furniture to go in it LOL. Plus I know she'll love it.

I'm consoling myself with the fact that she won't be so spoilt with toys for her birthday as we're going to decorate her bedroom and change it from a babyish theme of jungle animals to a little girl's room and this will include new carpet, curtains, bed, etc so we'll get people to give contributions to that rather than buy her more toys.

As for me, I too was spoiled, I got my Behind the Gate full kit, a Mamma Mia DVD and some lovely earrings from DH (from Magpie Nest - check out the link if you like silver jewellery). I also got MASH Season 3 DVD, some great fabric, some Lizzie*Kate Flip-its (three of the Christmas ones and one of the general series) and three more of the SamSarah Baubles Charts with linen and buttons.

I hope you all had a great Christmas and that you were all spoiled too.

Quilts with legs...

As promised, here's piccies of the finished quilts (all clickable for larger versions)

Baby Boy quilt for my nephew



Little girl quilt for my great niece



And yet another quilt for Lia



I did manage to get the two sides of binding done yesterday so I could sew on the final two strips last night. I probably would have had a HD if I hadn't spent a couple of hours on the phone with a friend (much better use of time than sewing on binding!)

I also got a lot of the packing done - I didn't have to do quite as much as I thought as DH is home today so I left him with a list...

I possibly won't get a chance to post again before Christmas so Merry Christmas to you all and I hope you have a wonderful Festive Season however you celebrate.

Quilting Update

Well my fingers are suffering from multiple stab wounds and my wrist is a bit sore but I've made fantastic progress on achieving my quilting goals.

At the last update on the 14th I had:

1 completed quilt
1 completed quilt bar two sides of binding
2 with wadding and backing cut ready to layer
2 with wadding cut and backing needing sewing before layering

As of last night I now have:

4 completed quilts
1 with two sides of binding to be sewn on
1 with four sides of binding to be sewn on

Even I am stunned by how much I got done in the last week. I have the quilt that needs four sides of binding on with me at work today with the idea that I can get one side done in my lunch break and then hopefully the second one tonight so I can sew on the last two strips.

We're off to my family tomorrow evening so I can take the last two quilts with me and hopefully get them done while I'm away. I have to do a lot of packing tonight otherwise I think I'd finish another one, possibly both.

So to finish my quilting goals for the month I just need to:

1. Complete the binding on the last two quilts
2. Complete the Christmas panel (which will also come away with me for Christmas)
3. Sew together the Jungle Quilt top
4. Sew some more of the flannel blocks (although I have done some so technically this goal is complete, I'd just like to get them all done)

I shall also take Sleigh Ride with me over Christmas and the Jingle Biscornu as I'm getting stitching withdrawals!

We're back on Saturday morning so I'm hoping that next weekend I can get the Jungle and Flannel quilting bits done and then I'm set to start the New Year with some new projects with a clear conscience.

We had a lovely weekend - Friday we saw Santa and Lia, although very shy, seemed to enjoy it (although if you ask her she'll say the huge icecream she had was the best part of her day). We then had friends over on Saturday and Sunday and I cooked a Christmas lunch yesterday so now we're really starting to feel Christmassy.

Poor Lia had a nosebleed at 1am this morning so I'm a bit fuzzy headed today. She is at nursery but I've told them to call me if she has another and I'll be more than happy to leave work and take her home!

Oh and yes, there will be photos, I just finished too late last night to get any taken...

Stuck

I'm stuck in my job and I'm not enjoying it. There, I've said it so I can't ignore it any more.

I started this job seven years ago and it was great, lots of diversity, great people, plenty of projects etc. Then I had a baby, took six months off, and came back to a different place. I've thought about this a lot lately and my return from maternity really did mark the beginning of the end, almost like some people were just waiting for me to pop out number two.

Sure there have been organisational shakeups and other external factors but the truth is that I just never got back to a decent workload. I'll admit that at the beginning that was great - Lia was five months old when I returned to work and dealing with her and a job meant that if the job was a bit slack then it was easier to cope some days.

But now I'm bored. Totally and utterly. The project that was supposedly going to 'save my job' is still being worked on (an external contractor is doing the initial work and they've missed their deadline) so I'm at work with nothing to do. So I am bored. Really really bored.

Part of me wants to start looking for a new job but the truth is that the reasons for staying here are much more compelling than for going:

1. In the current economic climate it's much better to be at risk of redundancy from a job you have 7 years service in than one you have a few months service in

2. Lia's already stressy about going to nursery ('it's too young for me mummy!)' to move her now would be such a hassle only to have to do it again in a few months when she starts school

3. Maternity benefits, as in if I get pregnant then I'll get some if I stay where I am

4. We need two good salaries as we might have to subsidise Mum for a bit if her house sale doesn't go through after probate is sorted

5. We're still paying off the credit card and will be for most of 2009 as well

Weigh those issues up next to boredom and sticking with this job seems best for now. Unfortunately.

The problem is of course that boredom at work leads to lethargy at home and I have very little motivation to get out and do anything. You may think that's a strange comment given how I'm motoring through my quilting and stitching but it's actually doing something physical that I have a problem with and, whilst I haven't put any weight on, I feel like a lump that just sits around.

So I am determined to get out of this slump and spend 2009 working towards something better for me. The lack of work at work is also causing a slump in my skills being up to date so I intend to use the time I have with nothing to do to work on retraining my brain in preparation for getting a new job. In January Lia is going to start dancing lessons and I intend for us to go swimming as a family once a week as well. Come her birthday she'll get a bicycle so hopefully in the summer we can go out on our bikes - sure she's only small but I'm not exactly fit so she'll probably beat me!

I also want to get the garden into a state where she can play in it so that's more physical work in the spring. All of these things will hopefully kick start me into getting a bit more active. We have a Wii fit and I really enjoyed using it when we first got it but that's been gathering dust for a while so I shall dig it out again.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not depressed and I'm well aware that I have much to be thankful for - I have a great husband, a fantastic daughter and we have two good wages so can afford treats, holidays, etc but I just feel like I'm stuck someplace I don't want to be right now.

I've even come to the conclusion that I'd like to go down to part time hours and be home more with Lia but for now that's out of the question. DH's job is fine - it's a small company and they're doing well - but one never knows how things will go and we'd be hard pushed to live on just my full salary if anything did happen to his job. Plus I need to know my Mum is financially secure as well.

So I'll look at 2009 as the year to get moving, body and brain, and hopefully by the end of the year the recession will be heading towards an end, my Mum will be sorted, and we can look at our options.

Anyway, on to some less depressing things!

I've finished quilt number two and quilted number three so just have the binding to do on that one. Quilt four is going to be pinned tonight and hopefully I'll have three and four completed by the weekend.

We're off to see Santa in London this Friday which I am most excited about. Then on Saturday a friend is coming over and staying till Sunday when I'm going to do an early Christmas dinner for us and another couple. I'm still not really feeling festive but I'm sure I will be after the weekend. I'm working Monday and Tuesday but we'll be heading over to my family Tuesday night and I can't wait, if nothing else just because I get to cuddle Finlay again LOL.

Finishing quilt number three will mean that I've completed my Christmas gift shopping / making so it's just an evening of wrapping and we'll be all ready.

Lia's Christmas Message

December Goals Update

First a couple of pictures:

And here's a close up of the blocks - the dragonfly fabric is also the backing fabric:

This quilt wasn't actually included in my December Goals but it was 'commissioned' by a workmate for a baby girl (her partner's granddaughter) who arrived in the world at the beginning of this month. Because I used fabric from my stash she paid me with six metres of wadding which helps me with the rest of my quilting goals as I now have more than enough to finish my other quilts.

If you're mad enough to read my 'goals' posts (if you ignore them and who can blame you, they're long!) you may remember I had ambitious quilting plans for December.

These were:

1. Finish Christmas Quilt
2. Finish baby quilt
3. Finish Heart to Heart quilts
4. Finish Christmas Panel
5. Quilt bargello
6. Make up Jungle quilt top
7. Sew some more of the flannel quilt blocks

So, at the 1st December the 6 quilt tops I wanted finished this month were in the following state:

3 finished
1 needing three layers of border attached
1 cut but not sewn
1 not even planned

Today, roughly the middle of the month, I have:

1 completed quilt (the one not even planned)
1 completed quilt bar two sides of binding (the one that was just cut)
2 with wadding and backing cut ready to layer
2 with wadding cut and backing needing sewing before layering

I've done about 3/4 of the quilting and binding for the A-Z Christmas panel I want to finish (goal 4). Also, I've sewn together 10 more flannel quilt blocks (goal 7).

The only thing I haven't made any progress with is the sewing together of the last jungle quilt top but you never know, I'm doing well.

I've also managed a bit of stitching and have completed the Jingle tin topper and done a bit more of Sleigh Ride. I haven't stitched much though as evenings have been spent hand quilting or sewing binding. No doubt there'll be more quilts to show off before the weekend though.

Finally, if you've made it this far here's a treat for you, Lia has a fancy dress party next week and I have a friend who just started working at the Disney Store (and gets a great discount) so here's a Christmas Fairy just for you all:

My 2009 Rotation

So, since I mentioned it, I'd better post it (more incentive to stick with it for a start). The main idea is that I achieve the following:

1. Reduce my WIP list
2. Stitch some new things so I don't get bored
3. Focus of some of my larger WIPs

Project 1 will be either a Christmas or Halloween WIP, Project 2 is a small WIP, Project 3 is my monthly autoship SamSarah Bauble, Project 4 is a Lizzie*Kate Boo Club SAL, Project 5 is Bent Creek's Snapperbets and Project 6 is another large WIP from the pile.

So, I stitch one week each on projects 1 & 2, projects 3 & 4 & 6 get as long as they need and project 5 is given what is left of my stitching time that month. Just Nan tins are squeezed in as they arrive!


January
1. Happy Haunting
2. Joyful Summer
3. Alphabet Baubles A
4. Lizzie*Kate - Spooky
5. Grandma's Thread Minder
6. Snapperbet A&B

February
1. Sleigh Ride
2. Charlie is Born
3. Alphabet Baubles B
4. Lizzie*Kate - Treats
5. Cirque des Cercles
6. Snapperbet J&R

March
1. Scream House
2. Coeur de Brodeuse
3. Alphabet Baubles C
4. Lizzie*Kate - Black Cat
5. Grandma's Thread Minder
6. Snapperbet S&K

April
1. Sleigh Ride
2. Garden Party
3. Alphabet Baubles D
4. Lizzie*Kate - Spiders
5. Cirque des Cercles
6. Snapperbet C&D

May
1. Scream House
2. Spring Lineup
3. Alphabet Baubles E
4. Lizzie*Kate - Eek
5. Grandma's Thread Minder
6. Snapperbet L&T

June
1. Sleigh Ride
2. Tempest
3. Alphabet Baubles F
4. Lizzie*Kate - Creepy
5. Cirque des Cercles
6. Snapperbet U&V

July
1. Murky Manor
2. Four Wishes
3. Alphabet Baubles G
4. Lizzie*Kate - Pumpkin
5. Grandma's Thread Minder
6. Snapperbet M&E

August
1. Sleigh Ride
2. Birds of a Feather Dilly Bag
3. Alphabet Baubles H
4. Lizzie*Kate - Fright
5. Cirque des Cercles
6. Snapperbet F&N

September
1. Murky Manor
2. Snowman Trio
3. Alphabet Baubles I
4. Lizzie*Kate - Brew
5. Grandma's Thread Minder
6. Snapperbet W&X

October
1. Sleigh Ride
2. Row of Christmas Fairies
3. Alphabet Baubles J
4. Lizzie*Kate - Monster
5. Cirque des Cercles
6. Snapperbet G&O

November
1. Murky Manor
2. Handmade Houses 4
3. Alphabet Baubles K
4. Lizzie*Kate - Ghost
5. Grandma's Thread Minder
6. Snapperbet H&I

December
1. Sleigh Ride
2. Cottage Garden 2
3. Alphabet Baubles L
4. Lizzie*Kate - Halloween
5. Cirque des Cercles
6. Snapperbet P&Q&Y&Z

When the larger projects are completed I intend to swap in the following WIPs to take their place:

Heirloom Christmas
Wild Ones Alphabet
Noah's Sub
Be Attitudes Afghan

Getting Organised

Well the weekend was more fun than I could ever convey in a blog post. There were nine of us at the GTG and we spent most of the day hysterical with laughter. Plenty of food was eaten and cups of tea drunk and very little actual stitching was achieved.

It was just the tonic I needed and I want to thank all of those who attended for a completely silly day. Poor Lia may take longer to recover though - she spent a lot of the time telling us off for being 'too noisy'!

One of the things I mentioned to them all is that I've devised a strict stitching rotation for myself in 2009 and yes, this was one of the things that caused the most hilarity given they all know how bad I am at sticking to this kind of thing. However they should also all know that the more they tease me the more stubborn I'll get about sticking to it.

The thing is though I've completely failed to reduce my WIP list in 2008 - in fact unless a miracle happens this festive season I'll end the year with one more WIP than I started with. I've had lots of finishes (28) but most of those (25) were new starts rather than existing WIPs. I've never had a problem with the value of stash I have but I am starting to have a problem with the volume - I have so many projects, all of which I still love and intend to stitch so I need to work on reducing what I have.

This is also true of quilting and scrapbooking and whilst they aren't included in my rotation plan they are included in my general hopes for 2009. I want to get four scrapbooks finished and I want to use my quilting skills to make smaller items such as bags, table runners, etc as there's a limit to the amount of space we have to put large quilts.

I hadn't intended to post my rotation plan on this blog but I probably will now I've written about it. I do reserve the right to edit it though but only when a project is finished and I have to swap another project in. I will also take pictures of each piece before and after they're worked on so I can monitor my yearly progress.

So 2009 will be the year of stash consumption. Honestly it is. And if I stick to my plan I could have as many as 10 projects off my WIP list, progress on around 7 more, several quilting projects and four scrapbooks to show for it. Not to mention a warm fuzzy glow from being so good and reducing my stash.

Comments and stuff

I love getting comments (who doesn't) but I'm really bad at acknowledging them which isn't good.

So I just wanted to say thank you for all your recent comments, the kind thoughts are much appreciated and the nice comments about my projects are most generous and always make me smile.

Lisa - I have seen the Christmas Countdown design (linked to enable those who might not have seen it) and it's on my wish list. Luckily I don't love it as much as Behind the Gate so I'm not tempted to do anything rash.

I should confess though that I have made one more stash purchase, the Just Nan Jingle Tin. I didn't pre-order these so have had to wait until the one ONS in the UK who stocks them gets them delivered - consequently I've had to wait almost a month longer than if I'd ordered them from the US. Oh well, it's not like I didn't have anything to keep me busy!

They should be delivered tomorrow and I plan to start them right away so I can try and achieve my goal of getting them all made up by the end of the year. I've done all the stitching on the first three tins so I should have time.

I've not made the same mistake with next years tins, I've signed up for an autoship so I don't have to stalk the internet daily LOL.

I've been cracking on with my quilting. The baby quilt top is now all sewn up (sorry no pic, I finished late last night) and I've made progress on my christmas wall hanging panel too. I'm hoping to get two or three quilts layered and pinned in the next couple of days and one quilted so I can start sewing the dreaded binding on. That's my least favourite part because I always think about how much stitching I could get done in the time it takes.

The good news is that I should have both Christmas gift quilts finished by next week. I'm actually being really ambitious and have set my quilting goals this month as finishing four quilts, quilting but not necessarily binding a fifth, finishing my wall hanging panel and putting together a sixth quilt top!

Nothing like setting oneself a challenge...

I'm having a stitching GTG at mine this Saturday. There should be around nine of us getting together and a couple of people are staying over so I'm sure much chat and laughter and very little actual stitching will be on the cards. As such, I apologise in advance to any readers who are in the Berkshire area of the UK, if you hear a lot of women laughing so hard they can't breathe that'll be us...

Sleigh Ride WIP and some quilting

So here's how Sleigh Ride was when I picked it up:

And here it is now:

I'm really happy with my progress - and with how good this design looks viewed at a distance - stitching close up you don't see the subtleties.

Also, here's Lia's advent panel - there's a chocolate penny in each of those pockets!

And finally here's this years Christmas quilt top. It's a bit of a crap pic but I'll try and get a better one when the quilting is done (click for a bigger pic)

November Roundup and December Goals

November Roundup

November Stitching Goals
1. Finish the Just Nan Over the Top and In the Tin series - up to date but don't have the last tin yet
2. Work on Happy Haunting - no
3. Work on Scream House - no
4. Work on Murky Manor - a little
5. Make a Christmas Ornament - no

Stitching New Starts:
Sue Hawkins - Thread Keeper

Stitching Finishes:
Just Nan - Boo! Needlebook
Just Nan - Hop! Tin Topper
Just Nan - Hop! Needlecase
Bent Creek - Big Zipper

Other stitching:
Bent Creek - Big Zipper
CCN - Joyful Summer
Dimension - Sleigh Ride

Books Read
Run - Ann Patchett
Down River - John Hart
Class - Jane Beaton

November Quilting Goals
1. Quilt and finish my bargello quilt - no
2. Quilt and finish the two Heart to Heart quilts - no
3. Finish making up the blocks for the final Jungle Quilt - yes
4. Finish making up the blocks for the Heart to Heart flannel quilt - no
5. Finish the advent panel - yes
6. Finish the A-Z Christmas panel - no
7. Finish the Countdown to Christmas blocks - yes

Other Quilting
Quilters Friend Sewing Kit (cutting)
Christmas Quilt

December Goals

December Stitching Goals
1. Work on Sleigh Ride
2. Work on Snowman Trio
3. Complete and make up the Just Nan tins
4. Complete the Sue Hawkins Thread Keeper

December Quilting Goals
1. Finish Christmas Quilt
2. Finish baby quilt
3. Finish Heart to Heart quilts
4. Finish Christmas Panel
5. Quilt bargello
6. Make up Jungle quilt top
7. Sew some more of the flannel quilt block

Current Stitching WIP List

1. Dimensions - Sleigh Ride
2. Bothy Threads - Row of Christmas Fairies
3. Margaret Sherry - Santa's Journey Afghan
4. Stitchy Kitty - Snowman Trio

5. Shepherd's Bush - Happy Haunting
6. Glendon Place - Murky Manor
7. Just Nan - Scream House

8. Brightneedle - Garden Party
9. Millhouse Designs - Charlie is Born
10. The Trilogy - Spring Lineup
11. CCN - Joyful Summer

12. Tournicoton - Coeur de Brodeuse
13. The Cat's Whiskers - Birds of a Feather Dilly Bag
14. The Cat's Whiskers - Grandma's Thread Minder

15. Just Nan - Four Wishes
16. Michael Powell - Cottage Garden 2
17. Bent Creek - Snapperville Series

18. Shepherd's Bush - Be Attitudes Afghan
19. DMC - Wild Ones Alphabet
20. Ink Circles - Cirque de Cercles
21. Stitchin'Spirations - Getting Lost in a Blackwork Maze
22. Midsummer Night Designs - Heaven's Above
23. Teresa Wentzler - Tradewinds
24. Dragon Dreams - Dragon Virtues Afghan
25. Michael Powell - Handmade Houses 4
26. Bothy Threads - Cut Thru Fairy Hill
27. Stoney Creek - Noah's Sub
28. Dracolair - Dawn Awakening

Stash, stash, wonderful stash...

Okay so I've gone a bit mad re stash purchases in the last couple of weeks - call it retail therapy!

I discovered that Picture This Plus are going to start a Fabric of the Month Club next year so I've signed up for the brights (of course). Only a Fat Eighth each month but it'll be good to build up a stock of their colour range - I don't know why their fabrics appeal to me so much but they do and they're fabulous to stitch on. I'm currently waiting for a piece I ordered to do Victoria Sampler's Heirloom Christmas on and I'm also going to order a piece to stitch the new Lizzie*Kate Halloween Flip-its.

I also ordered Blue Ribbon Designs 'Behind the Gate' as my Christmas present from DH. Needlecraft Corner does a special package for the chart, linen and floss which is what I shall be getting (and no, I don't mind knowing what's coming from Santa, I get just as excited).

I've also ordered my own present from my Mum this year. Understandably she's finding the idea of Christmas a little difficult and isn't really inclined to be Christmas shopping. When Lia was born the whole family revised their Christmas purchasing and we all agreed to just buying presents for the children in the family rather than the adults (other than spouses and parents). This means that I only get presents for DH and my Mum plus Lia, Luisa and now Finlay. It makes much more sense as we don't have to scrabble around thinking about what we want or what we can buy adults who have more than enough junk.

For Mum this means she only has to do DH & I and my Bro & SIL plus seven kids (she has four step grandsons). She bought Lia's presents last time they visited us and I think the rest of them are all going to get money this year (two are too young to care and four are old enough to be pleased with cash LOL).

Anyway, back to my Christmas gift, I was looking for a particular quilting pattern when I came across these designs. I immediately forgot all about the quilt pattern I was looking for because Jacqueline de Jonge appears to design quilts just for me! I've ordered the patterns for The Colourful Quilt and Joy (see I said she designed just for me LOL). Unfortunately the fabric kits are way out of my price range but I'd actually rather use up fabric in my stash and supplement that if I don't have enough (unlikely!)

I've also ordered a couple more of the SamSarah Monthly Baubles designs - I've stitched two and have five more in my stash so I've got more than half. They're so cute and stitch up really quickly which is great. So that's my gifts from Mum.

I'm also taking part in a Secret Santa exchange on one of the boards I belong to so I've had a lot of fun buying things for my partner (and of course one or two bits have fallen into my stash too). Even better the gift I receive will be a parcel that I have no idea about.

I'm not going to even try and get on the Wagon again but I'm hoping to make my 2009 stash purchasing a bit more organised. As well as the FOTM club from Picture This Plus I have an automatic shipping on the SamSarah alphabet baubles (approx one a month), the Lizzie*Kate Halloween flip its (6 charts) and the second set of Just Nan Over the Top Tins (four in the year).

None of those are particularly expensive but having a couple of packages a month to look forward to should hopefully mean I don't get stash withdrawal. I'm also thinking that I might add my stash purchases for each month to my monthly roundup posts (I know they're long enough already LOL). It will hopefully make me think more if I see what I'm spending written down!

Oh and I followed a link from someone else's blog this morning (yes you Paula) and just had to get this. It is absolutely my last stash purchase of 2009, even though I adore this one too...

A Big Big Happy Dance

I finally finished Bent Creek's Big Zipper. To be fair, it's not my fault it's taken so long - they released the first part early last year and the last part a couple of weeks ago!

I'm pleased I finally finished this one as I didn't feel I could start another large Bent Creek design till it was done. I may well start Snapperbets in the New Year now.

A Christmassy Finish

I saw this at the NEC Festival of Quilts and fell in love with it. At the time I didn't think too much about the blanket stitching (which is just as well as I may not have bought it if I had)!

It's called 'Countdown to Christmas' (no surprises there!) and obviously is meant to start at 25 days but given I've only just finished it I thought this year I'd start counting early (and skip 33 days as I only have one 3 LOL). The frame comes apart so when we get to single figures I can take one part away - maybe next year I'll make another panel that could hang in its place (when I've recovered from the blanket stitching!)

So here's the whole thing:

Here's the rest of the numbers:

Here's a close up of the Santa panel (apologies for the flash, the buttons are all the same colour IRL):

And here's a close up of a number:

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas...

Happy News

Baby Finlay came into the world at 11.50pm on 13th November weighing in at 7lb 5oz. Mother and baby doing just fine.

Auntie Joy is over the moon and Lia is excited to go see her little cousin. Given we've only just come back home we won't be heading down to Kent again till next weekend so I'll have to contain my excitement for a whole week but at least that gives my Bro and SIL time to settle down a bit.

Mum was going to see her first Grandson this afternoon.

A Sad Time

It's been a long time between posts I know but I have a very good reason for that because my family have been having to deal with the sudden death of my Stepdad.

He had a massive heart attack on the morning of 28th October and, although the paramedics managed to get his heart beating again, he had been gone too long and all brain function had ceased. He passed away peacefully at 6.15pm on Wednesday 29th October aged 75.

It was a total shock as he hadn't been unwell - he survived a major heart attack 11 years ago but had been in good health since with a miriad of pills keeping his heart functioning. In fact he didn't know anything about it as he had got up, dressed, made his bed, folded his pjs, put his hearing aid in and was heading out of the bedroom to get breakfast when his heart just stopped. He wasn't a brave soldier by any means and if he'd felt even slightly unwell he would have woken my mother before doing any of the above.

He had been a part of our family for 16 years - both my brother and I were at University when Mum met him and we were both glad that Mum found a companion because it meant we could feel less guilty about moving on with our lives and leaving her at home alone. Over the years he became a very important part of our family, the person everyone would go to for advice and assistance and he was delighted when Lia was born as she was his first granddaughter after four grandsons (he had two daughters of his own). I always said that although he wasn't my father he was, without question, Lia's grandad and he certainly never differentiated between her and his 'real' grandsons.

His hobby was stamp collecting and really, most of us dismissed it as a boring hobby done by a quiet, kind of boring, man. On his retirement however he volunteered to work in the archives of the Royal Philatelic Society and spent the last 14 years organising and cataloguing them. He received the gift of Fellowship of the RPS, something that is only given out once a year at most (if they don't think anyone is worthy of the honour in a certain year they don't give it) and the Society held a 2 minute silence in his honour when they heard of his death.

A quiet and unassuming man he may have been but he was respected by all who met him. He was also a published writer of over 100 articles for various stamp magazines, even managing to have an article in all four current philatelic magazines in the same month earlier this year.

Obviously I've been spending time back home with my Mum and family - the funeral was Tuesday and went as well as these things can. I read the eulogy - I'd never done anything like that before but I felt that I could and that it would be nicer for one of the family to do it than a stranger.

I'm back at work now and trying to get back to some kind of normality. Poor Lia has been up and down for the last two weeks as she understands something has happened but, at 3, can't really grasp the events in full. She is telling everyone that 'Grandad is with the Andrials' and she knows that she can't see him now but I've told her she can talk to him on her toy phone and she seems okay with that.

I'm now going to focus on Christmas and making it magical for Lia. I love this time of year and adore decorating the house so I'm on a mission to clean and tidy thoroughly before the end of the month so the decorations can go up on 1st December. I'm also going to totally focus on Christmas projects between now and the end of the year so Sleigh Ride will finally get dusted off and worked on as well as a couple of other Christmassy WIPs and I ordered some fabric from Picture This Plus to stitch Heirloom Christmas on so I shall be starting that at some point.

My previous post about November Goals was posted in a hurry because I had it pre-written and needed to post something after my 'Great Weekend' post before I wrote about all of this so some of those goals might be missed. I have continued to stitch though (long evenings at my Mums) - it seems to be reading that has suffered the most as I just haven't been able to concentrate much.

And of course the silver lining in all of this is that my brother's wife is due to give birth any day. I felt so sorry for her as her due date was Tuesday, the day of the funeral, but Junior obviously felt it wasn't the time to come out and say hi so we're still waiting. The new baby (no we don't know what flavour it is) will certainly be a welcome distraction for us all.