I've had quite a rough couple of months with restarting work and stopping anti-convulsants which were making me really ill but I'm back!

I've got completely addicted to reading the 'Outlander' series by Diana Gabeldon. This is the best series of books I've ever read. I finished the last one I have (snow and ashes) and have started reading them from the beginning again while I wait for Echo in the Bone to arrive (hopefully next week). I just adore the characterisation and story lines. Sparky is getting used to being called 'me wee cheetie' slowly (funnily enough I had a Scottish Aunty who used to call cats 'cheeties').

I've managed to do a bit of spinning again but nothing really to show for it. It was just so lovely to sit and spin again. Its so soothing and meditative. A lovely friend in the US managed to acquire some Hello Yarn 'Thrive' which I've been lusting after so its next on the wheel:



I finished my Bent Creek Blackbird Sampler and have started Awake the Dawning Day by Blackbird Designs. I've almost finished the house and just about to start the vines and flowers:



I seemed to have acquired loads of cross stitch charts since Xmas, some already kitted up and ready to go!

The ones on my urgent to do list for 2010 are:

Angel Cat by La d Da. I'm going to do this in a deep vivid ginger colour in honour of the dearly departed Oskar J Cat:


Bittersweet Moon:



When you see this by Blackbird Designs:


I also was lucky enough to get £30 in vouchers from www.thread-bear.co.uk so have also ordered more charts and some threads. The charts I've bought are Mocking Bird, Garden Angel and Delivering Posies.

And I may have got carried away today to buy the new chart from Tralala!! called à la belle étoile. My present to myself for having the mother of all migraines today:


and also Morning Bird from Plum Street Samplers and the threads to make it.


So I think I may have more than enough to be getting on with at present.

Luke had a wonderful Xmas and 2 weeks off. He is growing like a weed and is very content and amusing at present. The animals also seemed to have a good time. Photos to follow.

Happy New Year everyone. I'm hoping 2010 is going to be a really good year for us all.

Will write a longer post soon x

We went to the Supreme Cat Show at the NEC in Birmingham on Saturday. Luke had a fabulous time. He met the artist who draws Simon's Cat and got a book with his name and an original sketch in it from the artist. Luke was delighted and has laughed and laughed over this book.


We saw lots of different types of cats, as you'd expect. Some were more laid back than others:



some had definate signs of breeding (don't want to write in breeding in case the cat police come after me .... oops!):



and some just wanted to play (this was my favourite little cat):



Luke tried out the human sized scratching post:


and then we were well catted out. We all thought that Sparky was much more show cat than any we saw there.

I've almost finished the alphabet on Bent Creeks Blackbird Sampler. Then I get to do the 'good' bits of blackbird, house and pumpkin!

I've actually finished some cross stitch. This is 'Softly Spring' from Shepherd's Bush. I got the chart ages ago in a stack of old charts off ebay and thats the first I'd heard of Shepherd's Bush. Now I adore them. Obviously someone had used the threads etc that came with this kit so I made a DMC conversion using variations for shading. Its brighter than ones I've seen online but I adore it. I dyed the linen with coffee and its lovely and old looking.




I've also purchased some other Shepherd's Hill kits on ebay - Shepherd's Hill for me and Shepherd's Earth for Mum for Xmas. I adore the little sheep on top of Shepherd's Hill!



I'm currently stitching Blackbird Sampler by Bent Creek. I'm using the DMC threads but have mixed some (1 strand each of 2 different colours) to make the colour more like the original. You can see my progress so far below. I'm enjoying the speciality stitches. Rice stitch is just so dense though, isn't it?

And here below are the threads I've bought to do Blackbird Designs Awake the Dawning Day (chart on order from USA as we speak) and Bittersweet Moon (chart on order from UK as we speak). I'll use DMC for the colours I didn't buy.

I've been working 2 x 4 hour days per week for past 2 weeks and really struggling. The pain and exhaustion the day after my shift has been really disabling. I finally got to see a Dr at the Chronic Fatigue clinic yesterday though and he said I should cut down to 2 x 3 hour shifts twice a week with a half hour break for at least 3 weeks before increasing by an hour. I'm hoping my manager will be patient enough to stick with it. It makes me feel really despondant seeing how disabled I am compared to the other nurses. Part of me thinks that this improvement in my health won't last anyhow and it all seems a bit pointless struggling along to work but I love it when I am there and need to just keep plugging along.

I have had a 6 day reprieve from migraines which was wonderful but paid for it overnight with an absolute corker of a headache. So not much stitching got done today.

We're off to the National Cat Show on Saturday in Birmingham. We're taking Luke and his cousins. Can't wait to see all the p'ed off Ragdolls. Mike and I went years ago. Never seen anything like it. There are some real cat fanatics there with their babies. The kids are going to love it.

I made it back to work yesterday. I am just so pleased to be well enough to go back.
We had a wonderful couple of days in York. I loved it and really want to go back but without the non-shopping male part of the family.

The Merchant Adventurer's Hall

a real hornbook (they also had a horn window)

unfortunately they didn't sell these in the gift shop

rats ahoy!

I've made a little scissor fob as I kept losing my scissors and it was driving me nuts. Its based on a Bent Creek halloween design Pumpkin on the Hill - I never got round to stitching it for this year so put the Blackbird on a green Shepherds Bush inspired hill instead. Its stuffed with some wool roving so I can use it as a needle park too:



Molly has finally decided to live downstairs after 5 yrs of self imposed isolation upstairs. She is not afraid of the dog at all and spends most of her time asleep on the window sill. The living room looks like a knackers yard now though with all these pets lying round unconscious:



Luke came home from school delighted yesterday as he has been put into the top group in his class for literacy. This is such a big improvement for him and he is so pleased with himself.

I've still been slowly improving. Really trying to take it easy some days just to make sure I don't overdo it. I'm actually going back to work next week after almost 6 months off! I'll go back to my job as a chemotherapy nurse and build up to working 12 hrs per week. I've reduced my contracted hours from 18 per week as really want to make sure I don't go sick if possible. I'm SO pleased to be doing the job I've done for almost 20 years and love.

I actually managed to take Luke to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London yesterday. Mike dropped us outside as he was working nearby. We spent an hour in the British gallery looking at Tudor/ Jacobean furniture, clothes, wall hangings etc. Luke had interactive activities to do on computer terminals scattered about. It was great but we'd both had enough after an hour. We headed down the road to McD's for lunch and then went to Harrod's to look at the Food Hall. Unfortunately Luke couldn't stand the smell in the main hall (very cheesy as they have a huge cheese counter) so we retreated to the in store ice cream parlor where Luke had the most enormous hot fudge sundae.


We then wandered back to the museum and sat in the lovely autumn sun until Mike collected us. I was knackered when we got home and really hurt all over today but boy was it worth it.

Today I'm doing as little as possible. We are going to see my friend Mandy tomorrow (yay!) and then going onto York - saying I'm looking forward to it is an understatement. Luke has just done Tudors at school so we're going to the Barley Hall and the Viking museum then to DIG and the Merchant Adventurers Hall.

I've been doing some stitching on Oriental Harem Garden (onto part 2). This is going to be a long term project as it takes ages but I'm enjoying it:



I'm also stitching Quaker Six Mains, a freebie from A mon ami Pierre, on 25ct linen. I'm doing it in very muted colours and using small silvered beads for the eyes and flower centres:



I also received the chart for 'The industrious bee sampler' in the post from USA today. I saw the one that Becky had finished on her blog and loved it. So its in the queue.



I'm hoping to start Shepherd's Bush Finch Song next. I want to get lots of smaller ones done so I can cover a wall in the hallway with them


I've done no knitting or spinning this week. I've got some Pigeonroof studios roving which is calling to me loudly though.

I've got some fab news and I'm hoping I don't jinx it by putting it on here - I'm starting to feel better! I'm so hoping its not a flash in the pan and I go back to zero again. My muscle and joint pain is reduced and so is the fatigue. I was awfully ill with the flu and have just seemed to get better and better recovering from it. I don't know whether the flu bug has kick started my immune system properly or something.

But anyhow, I've been spinning (!), some soft singles from Lakehouse Loft:






and doing cross stitch on my new slate frame ..... yes, its bloody enormous, 40" wide to be exact but its good. Took a bit of getting used to but now I am its great. Just bloody enormous. Its handmade from beech by a bloke on ebay



so after I bought this, I found another frame listed in a totally random section of ebay and put a ridiculously low bid of £2.99 in for it - and won it. Its 24" so I now own 2 needlework frames.



Sparky is getting his winter coat and has had an inexpert trouser trim by Mum. I do wonder if we run a pet hotel sometimes.
There really is no need for this kind of behaviour, is there?



I've bought some fabric and floss to make a start on this Quaker sampler too. I don't think I'll make it so big. I've chosen pale blue, grey, lavender, ecru colours. Its a free pattern which is nice.

I've been searching ebay for Lego - Luke is really into castle Lego at the moment and I've managed to get him 5 new knights and 12 armoured war horses so far. I hope the little ratbag is still into castle lego by his birthday. His best friend is having his birthday party soon at Laserquest, which they specially chose for Luke (he feels quite awkward in company but they know he loves laserquest). How nice and thoughtful was that?

anyway, I'd better go and get stitching. I've decided to leave the weaving until I'm a lot better and put my loom away so it doesn't look at me.