Saturday 3 September 2011

YOOOO HOOOO am back :)

HI every one :) have you missed me ???? make sure you grab a cuppa or two and a dunker this is going to be a lonnnnngggg post with lots of pictures :)
As you all remember I was setting off to sunny Glasgow last Wednesday .... well it was sunny until I reached the border hahaha then it poured down soooo much I couldn't see the road in front...... apparently that was Scotland's way of saying hello ..lol . 
The scenery was fabulous and the heather was out on the hills and it looks soooo soft to touch from a distance but don't do it close up as it prickles  hehehe 
I set off from the mouse house at 9.30am and arrived in one piece around 2.30ish and after a wee bit of ...woops that bit of motorway isn't on the sat nav.... I found Ally's pad and parked up ..... then the fun started we had to unload the rather full boot up 3 flights of stairs eeeeekkkk ..... luckily one of her neighbours "Q" came and helped with everything and then the kettle went on :)
The rest of the day was spent yacking , drinking tea and doing a show and tell as well as giving Ally her PIF (photo later) and meeting the famous miss Minnie May .
Thursday we went up to the shops for a pootle round and to see where Ally volunteers at the PDSA as well as getting some of Jim's gorgeous "tablet"...... we stopped of to partake of some refreshments at a local cafe and I was impressed with the Scottish snowball .. being used to the tunnocks one's here  and of course I had to partake of one with my cuppa.... well a girl has to keep her figure up hahahahah and yup I did take a photo ;)
Friday was spent stitching as the weather didn't know whether to be sunny , thunderstorms and lightning or just normal !!!! sooo I spent my time stitching on the Romantique SAL and almost finished it there (just done the last bit today) while Ally did some more on her crocus cushion ......
Saturday we had arranged to meet up with some fellow stitchers at Largs which is a wee coastal town about  an hour away from Glasgow..... the weather was kind to us and the road was fabulous to drive down  with a hill of 10% going round a steep bend or as I called it "hell fire corner" !!!! we managed to find a parking space after we almost joined the queue to get on the ferry to Millport I think it was ....and strolled along the promenade to Nardinis to partake of one of their famous Ice creams and meet up with the girls .. as Ally and I were first there we had some lunch of delicious home made lentil soup and a sandwich before we had the Ice cream and you've guessed it I took a photo of it hahahaha
the rest of the girls arrived and we spent a couple of hours yacking and doing a wee show and tell .... Maureen had left hers in the car ..lol  Dee showed us her Drawn Thread Alphabet and it was Gorgeous and soooo neat on the back too well you just have to have a peek don't you hehehehe..... 
We decided to have a stroll round the town to walk off the ice cream and bobbed into a few shops and grabbed a few bargains too ... Laurna bought a beautiful pink checked type of Twiggy Hat .. wish I could remember the name of the designer and wore it while we were there later on when the weather got a wee bit cooler as we strolled on the sea front .... stopping every so oft for me to take pictures of the views etc as per usual :)
it was great meeting up with the girls and spending a short time with them .. we will have to have a longer stay next time as we had all travelled quite a way to get to Largs ,we decided to set off back before it started to rain and get dark ....
Sunday dawned another lovely day but as we were shattered we decided to have a stitching day again ... for all those who know ally please make sure you are sat down for the next bit of waffle ..... are you ready ???? please don't have a slurp of your tea just yet as .......... I taught Ally how to sew on the machine and the over locker and yes I did get evidence hahahahaha .......now you can slurp and pick yourselves up hahahah ....... I had a look at Ally's lovely antique hand machine and after a wee bit of mmmming and ahhhh ing we managed to get it to sew but we need to find some better needles as the ones I had brought with me were too rounded they needed to be flatter (she has got a picture of the machine on her blog .......http://allysstitchinglife.blogspot.com/) ..... so if you get chance go and bob over and see it :)
while the over locker was out I went round all her fabric in her basket soo that it was all neat and no frayed edges and also her WIP basket soooo I know exactly what she has got and how far she has got with it too ...lol........ after tea I worked on my Autumn Challenge pattern for the samplermakers group and it felt like a "Blue Peter " moment as I was armed with coloured pencils and prit stick heheheh ... and I quite like the end result ... hopefully I can get it stitched in time :)
On Monday we went to a business meeting re Ally's soon to be new shop (fingers crossed all works out) before we went onto the gardens where Ally spends a lot of her time tending her plants ( I came home with a couple ) and went round the secret walled garden which was absolutely lovely and I can see why she spends so much time there :)
Just popping to put the kettle on .... who wants one ???? be right back :)
right were was I ??? ohhh yeah  Tuesday we went to the "Millicast " shop for DH as its his birthday next week and he wanted some tanks from there and as it is only 10 mins walking from Ally's pad I thought I'd better go heheheh ..... when we got back we had a well deserved cuppa before settling down to some more stitching ..... Ally is doing Blackberry Jam by the Sweetheart Tree and was struggling with the Scotch stitch on the Gingham fabric and so I helped her get back on the straight and narrow and now she is well pleased as she is now almost halfway done with the piece ...seee I do come in useful heheheh.... I did the restart to my Winter Whites by LHN and worked on that for the rest of the night with Minnie purring beside me  :)
Wednesday was spent at another meeting and pottering round the shops again and browsing through charts and magazines and getting stuff ready for my homeward journey the next day which I have to say was dreadful as there were two accidents one only 500 yards in front of me which stopped us on the motorway for an hour and the other which had the other motorway I needed to get  onto blocked off and I had to do a detour across the moors luckily given instructions by a lovely local lady (unfortunately there was loss of life at this one :( 
I finally arrived back home to the mouse house after a 9.5 hour drive totally exhausted and first thing I did was make a brew  and have some cereal as not had anything to eat or drink since 12.30 and it was now almost 8 pm .........
Well if you are still reading this you deserve a medal ..lol  and I shall now say the photos are almost here .....
there is one more thing to say.... Anglea (http://hookedonstitches.blogspot.com/) has received the personal exchange piece I did for her YIPPPEEEE I can now show you that as well :)  

Finally the bit you've all been waiting for the photos which I shall let speak for themselves .......
take care and thanks for putting up with me waffling ..lol
love mouse xxxxxxx
Minnie May

River at the back of Ally;s

Snowball :)

Really friendly Locals

glass houses 

Beautiful memorial 

yep Ally using the overlocker :)

Largs 

Chunky Fudge YUMMM

The girls admiring the view

Still largs

Ally's PIF and others done for her :0

The potting shed

Secret Walled Garden

Inside the Garden

Passport and my pocket money

Angela's Cushion 

Winter Whites LHN restart

Poinsettia House LHN

Romantique SAL 

45 comments:

Catherine said...

Sounds like a grand time - except for the driving. ;)

Ali said...

Ooh glad you are back safe and sound - looks and sounds like you have had a great time - lovely photos xx

butterfly said...

Looks like you had a great time . love all the photos, Its great to spend time with friends

Nancy said...

Sounds like you had a fun time with friends! The pillow you stitched for Angela is gorgeous!

DJ said...

So glad you had a good time, Mouse! I wish we lived close enough to meet for afternoon tea!!! Lovely pictures, makes me want to make a trip to Largs! Your Sampler takes my breath away, it's going to be beautiful when it's finished! Angela's pillow is lovely, not just the stitching but the finishing as well! So glad you are home safe and sound after your experiences on the road. *Hugs* I've missed you!

Heth said...

Scotland is a great place to visit, especially when you are with friends... looks like you all had a good time. Stitching too! Your Romantique SAL is gorgeous, oh! and love the pillow.
hugs
Heather

Shebafudge said...

Glad you had such a fab time! I absolutely love your Romantique SAL piece, the colours look amazing together.

gracie said...

Your stitching pieces are lovely and so is Angel's pillow....love it.

Teresa said...

Sounds like you had a lovely time. It is nice to get away and visit a friend. I had a grandmother named Minnie Mae. Well now after all this reading I may have to go put the kettle on.
Teresa's Heartfelt Stitches

Cross Stitch Queen said...

Mouse, mouse, is that you?????? Missed you a whole lot. I see you had a great time! (well, let's forget the weather part).

The pictures are amazing. Your stitching fabulous as usual.

The food....I can't get the picture of the ice cream sundae out of my mind.

Glad to see that you got back safely and .... the cat scared me a bit, but you did say it was friendly .... lol

CSQ (who is having a giveaway soon!)
http://betweenthestitches.blogspot.com

cucki said...

looks like you had a lovely time..i really love your stitching and cute pillow..
hugs xx

marly said...

Back safe and sound with some nice photos. Glad you had a great time. That garden is magnificent and then there's that Chunky Fudge. Oh my!

Unknown said...

Sounds like you had the most marvelous time and I had missed your updates. How yummy do that snowball and ice cream look....mmmmmmm yummmmm... and that garden oh my how'd I'd like to take a turn round that. Glad to hear you got back safely. The stitching is looking pretty good too, but the snowball and ice cream look yummier rofl :D

Parsley said...

Your absense was noticed. So glad to see a mostly good report on your time away. Looks like a lovely time.

I surely would enjoy knowing your favorite recipes to go with a cuppa...white tea, right?

mdgtjulie said...

Everything looks lovely Mouse. I always like to see your pics. The gardens are wonderful, and so is the scenery!! Love the pic of her cat. She's lovely! And grats on the finish. I love the purple in her PIF. It's a lovely color. And the sheep are cute! The progress pic of Romantique is fab too. I LOVE the colors in that. (I know, I've said it before, but it's sooooooooo true!!) Your ice cream looks fab too. It's making me want some, and I haven't had any in so long. My freezer wouldn't keep it cold!

Jennifer M. said...

What a fun adventure you had. :) Let me tell you those overlock machines can seem scary for some. I used to sell them and they were not easy to sell. Your pictures are so pretty. I love the garden ones and of course your stitching photos. Your project to Angela came out wonderful. I'm sure she loved it. :)

Jen

blueladie said...

Mouse, what a wonderful tale of your journey and visit with Ally. Thanks so much for taking the time to post it and the pictures. I so enjoyed reading it. :) Cathryn

Angela said...

I'm so happy you had a lovely time in Scotland :) I absolutely love my pillow, the design is one I have admired and wanted to stitch for myself! Thank you so much again, the one I picked for you is turning out so much nicer than I had hoped, the design and colors are perfect this time.....and that's my only hint! LOL.

Kate said...

Glad you had a good time visiting your friend. Love the pictures, thanks for sharing.

Midge said...

It looks like you had a grand time. Thanks for sharing.

Lesleyanne said...

Sounds like you had a fantastic time. Your stitching is lovely. The pillow your stitched for Angela is stunning. Thanks for sharing the photos.

Cindy said...

I loved reading about your time away....what a wonderful thing to be able to spend time with stitching friends, see the beautiful countryside, enjoy great treats.....and all the rest....sounds like a little slice of heaven.....glad your back...i enjoy your posts :D

#HeatherMakes said...

Looks like you have a lovely time and lots of yummy things to eat as well as yummy stitching done. Nice to see you back. xx

Susan said...

Sounds like a wonderful trip! Thank you so much for sharing. our Romantique is coming along beautifully

pam said...

What a wonderful holiday. Glad you shared it with us. thanks for all the great pics

Sally said...

Sounds like you had a fantastic time Mouse. Lovely photos. Thank you so much for the lovely postcard:)

Love the pieces you stitched for Angela and all your WIPs are looking lovely.

Anonymous said...

What a grand time for you both (except your drive home, I know I would have stopped off somewhere,) Good company, good food, good places to see and stitching too, weren't you spoilt? Love the photos, and the stitching is wonderful, of course, and Ally must have been thrilled to learn to machiner stitch too, Super. Shelley

Peggy Lee said...

So glad you had a lovely time. I hate long drives but am usually so anxious to get home I'll motor on anyway!

Two words: CHUNKY FUDGE?? Oh my!!

Tricia T said...

What a fun trip you had!! I *love* the postcard you sent. : ) I feel like I was there too. Those gardens are amazing, and I love Minnie May. Wish I wasn't allergic to cats! : (

Glad you're back!

Thoeria said...

Sounds like an absolute fun time! Glad you made it home safe and sound :)

Christine said...

Sounds like a wonderful break. The piece you stitched for Angela is beautiful

Karen said...

Looks like you had a fun-packed trip!

Jenny said...

Oh, that is one adorable pillow! Super-sweet!!! Angela is a lucky lady indeed.
The garden pics are wonderful (makes me a wee bit embarrassed about my weed collection at home...), plus now I need to ask DH for a potting shed rather than the potting bench that I have requested in the past... LOL
The romantic piece is so COOL! It is both traditional and sweet, but also completely rad - great pick of all the colors there (I know that I have said it before, but I just needed to say it again!)
Oh, and yeah, we did miss you - great to have you back! :-)

Meari said...

Welcome back!

Sounds like you had a wonderful trip.

Nice stitching!!

Maureen said...

It was so nice to meet up with you again Mouse - but definitely will have to be a bit longer next time, and this time i will remember to bring everything out of the car lol!

Linda K's Stitching Corner said...

Welcome back...I just found your Blog and I dearly love reading your Blog and looking at your photos...your trip sounds so wonderful.

I too have a blog and here is the link:

http://lindakscreativityworks.blogspot.com

I hope you will become a follower on mine as I will on yours.

Love your stitching too. You are doing some beautiful projects.

Take care & Happy Stitching
Linda K, Railroad

Myra said...

What a great time you had! Isn't it great meeting up with stitching friends?

Susan @ Real Girl Designs said...

It sounds like you had a wonderful trip - I'm drooling over the snowball (haven't had once since I lived in Australia), and that yummy sundae!

Thanks for sharing all the wonderful pictures!

Joysze said...

Sorry, my dear Mouse.... catching up on blog reading finally. Wow!!! Sounds like you had a blast. It's a wonder you came home. ;)

Love your pics!!!

Rhona said...

Glad you had a good time. There's nowhere as nice as Scotland! And as for those snowbals......mmmmm!

TinaTx said...

Sounds - and looks - like a great time!

Glenna said...

Oh, my goodness. I so love Scotland anyway, and to add friends and needlework and a snowball to it! Fabulous--wish I had been there! Loved reading about your adventure!

Pumpkin said...

Oh wow! Sounds like you had a fantastic time :o) I've always wanted to travel to Scotland. Love the pictures.

I saw the pillow that you sent to Angela! You did a beautiful job :o)

Anna van Schurman said...

What a nice visit you had. Your romantique is coming along nicely.

Cross Stitch Queen said...

Hi Mouse:

Just wanted to let you know that I am celebrating my 100th blog reader
which means I am having a giveaway!

http://betweenthestitches.blogspot.com

Hope you like a few of the items!

CSQ