A Hermitting Finish :)

Hi every one :) grab a chair a cushion and your drink ... my cuppa is sat at the side of me *slurrrppp ahhhhhh lovely ..lol .... hope you are all sitting comfortably then I shall begin :)
This last weekend was a Hermitting one, hermitting was dreamed up by Joyze to give us a real reason to sit on one's derriere and stitch ... not that I need one ;) but hey it works for me heheheh and this hermitting I was determined to actually get some stitching done and I did and not only that but with a finish to boot YOOOOO HOOOOO * VBG 
I actually finished the Needleworker by LHN using the recommended threads bar two as one didn't show up on the fabric I used which was a Sparklies  called slightly rosy (not slightly nutty which I had been calling it ..lol) and the other coz this mouse likes to stitch with gold needles :)
It was also perfect hermitting weather cold and wet sooo apart from the odd wee bit of h***w**k I did manage to get lots done :0)
I have been working on some secret stitching which will be revealed later on in the year and I finished one part of it ... decided what I am going to stitch for DJ's birthday which will be errmmmm late but hey that's ok as she knows this and it makes the birthday celebrations last much longer ...lol. I have also managed to almost get half way with the second of the ABCD by La D Da so it won't be long till you get it Cath :) and my Autumn Exchange piece has made it to its new owner so I can show you what I stitched for my partner Jan ... in fact I love the design so much I have started it for myself in a slightly different colour way as I couldn't make my mind up which I liked best ...lol. For Jan  I stitched hers on some 28 count marbled evenweave using a thread that Innkfreak dyed herself and it was lovely to stitch with called sage bush :) and the other is with the same fabric but with a threadworks  thread . I shall show you both although I haven't got far with mine ....
Work wise you will be pleased to know that my wee apprentice has started this last week and she is settling nicely so hopefully soon my work load will get less (well not if my boss has anything to do with it ...lol) and I shall be less tired on an evening and I can get some more stitching done instead of mouse napping in the craft room ....lol 
Master Bentley as asked me to let you know he loves his balloons and doesn't mind if he pops them ... his latest game is with a helium filled one which we anchor with one of his toys and he bops and bops and brings it down to play with ... he really is quite good at it ... I managed to take some as Edgar says some "craptastic " photos of him playing but I am sure you will get the gist of them ....
As DH is "retired " now ... read this as never in ...lol my walks have been none existent on a weekend with Bentley but he enjoys going with his "grandad"  and telling me all about it when he gets back in .. soggy wet and a wee bit muddy with a grin on his face ... he is at present snoozing by my feet ....
Next week DD1 and I are off to London for a few days , we are going to the Harry Potter Studios , seeing Wicked , hopefully if the weather is nice the Zoo too but if not the Tower and to do a bit of shopping ... not managed to find a stitching shop near  by yet but I am working on it heheheheh .... 
right after all that waffling another cuppa is on the cards ... I shall load up some photos for your perusal :)

Needleworker by LHN finished :)

popped into a frame I found to give you an idea :)

ABCD by La d Da

Friendly stitches Autumn Exchange piece for Jan

back view 

other thread way for me :)

 Well the kettle has boiled so I shall make us all another brew and pass some cookies round as I am sure by now you are all ready for another ....  thank you for keeping this wee mouse company  and I shall be bobbing in to see you all soon :)
take care and happy stitching , squeak to you all soon :) love mouse xxxxxx

A new bright star in the sky

As many of you know on Friday morning we woke up to the news that there is a new star in the sky .... our beautiful , brave  stitching friend passed away after a long battle with Cancer which she nicked named the Harvard Graduate ....

I started following Pumpkins blog way before the cancer returned and stitched a few wee ornaments to help raise awareness and sent them to The Attic over the pond as they have a big  fund raising event every year and I wanted to do a small part in helping to find a cure.

We then heard the wonderful news from her that she was expecting Junior and she proudly showed off the nursery that her and Mr Pumpkin had done for the wee one's arrival ... I stitched a hanging ornament to match and stitched his name on it and as far as I am aware it is still hanging there for him to look at ... and I kept sending letters every few months (and got some back ..lol) and our friendship grew as these things often do, with comments on each others blogs as well and I hoped that one day I would get to meet this funny brave girl and have some stitching time with her .... 

well I will have to wait a wee while for that to happen now .... and as I said in my Pumpkin Patch day post ... the cottage is ready and I hope that she will have the kettle on ready and waiting so that we can have some stitching time in front of the fire .....

Until then I know we will keep her in our hearts and celebrate her life every year .... and I will light my candle for her 

“If ever there is tomorrow when we're not together... there is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we're apart... I'll always be with you.” 
― A.A. Milne

with love from a heart broken mouse xxxx

A few stitches goes a long way and other tall stories :)

Hi every one :) hope you are all well and doing lots of stitching ??? Maggee grab a comfy chair and your cuppa .... its gonna be a long post ...lol... but there is cake too ... lots of it to keep you all going hehehehe....
well apart from the Pumpkin Day post for Cathey which was wonderful to see all the pumpkins springing up every where ... I have been rather quiet which I know is unlike me ...lol but there has been a couple of good reasons ....
1) been poorly with an upper respiratory infection and when I laughed it sounded like my bellows had broken, fortunately antibiotics have made things much better :) and ...
2) last weekend there were four large celebrations going on .... We at the mouse house threw a surprise 80th birthday party for my MIL and it was also my youngest DD's 21st birthday last Thursday and to combine it all we celebrated our 25th Wedding Anniversary (slightly early I might add) but while all were there why not ....and my DH retired from his "normal job" and is loving being at home at the moment except that he is never in ...lol 
Ally came down from Scotland to be with us from the Friday till the Monday which was lovely and she helped with all the chaos  ...lol we were frantically making flower pompoms right up until the last minute  not to mention we were both blowing up balloons and getting the room ready ... I did manage to get a photo of one of the tables ....
There was 80+ of us and we all had a fabulous time and got some gorgeous presents and my MIL has forgiven us ...lol  She was like a social butterfly going round to see every one and thoroughly enjoyed herself ... PHEWWW ... she says we can throw her a party any time but not to be secret again ... we said next time we threw one for her she will have forgotten that bit ...lol 
While Ally was here we did manage to get some stitching done ... in fact Ally surpassed herself by finishing one RR on 36 count and almost got another one done while she was here too .... I managed to get the ABCD by La D Da finished and started on the second one ... sooo it won't be long before its on its way to Cath and back on its way to Peggy :)
I reversed stitched the Sheep on Curly Q this last week and re stitched a bit more in the right colour thank goodness ...Sally  has finished hers but I don't think mine will be done that quick ...lol  .Thursday night I managed to do a tiny bit more on the Needleworker ..... I think the weekend was catching up on me ....and instead of stitching I was cuddling Smokey Chris's cat and nattering to her and Bev....
Saturday saw me stitching away merrily on the Autumn/ Halloween exchange piece for my partner Jan .... I can't show you yet of course but hopefully soon as I am wanting to get it into the post for her next weekend all being well ....Today I worked on it some more in between doing the gardening as it was a gorgeous day and I wanted to start trimming things back and generally tidying things up for winter ......My neighbour had the same idea so we spent a pleasant afternoon with the secateurs ..lol and a  cuppa too .... 
I managed to remember to take a photo of my TUSAL too Phew ... so I shall bob that up later  on too ....
Well Autumn has finally appeared at the mouse house ... the trees all around are changing their hues from green to gorgeous reds and russet browns .... interspersed with scarlet berries and orangery rose-hips... in fact on the pootle with Master Bentley I was trying to figure out the DMC numbers of all the colours on them .... sad I know hahahahha it was like the confetti stitches on a HAED ....and no Cindy I haven't done any more but I did show Ally it ...lol  ...
Things are hopefully going to calm down abit at work as we have two possible apprentices coming for a trial run tomorrow to see if they can cope with what I have to do on a daily basis ... hopefully one will make the grade and I can get on with stuff that has been put to one side while I concentrated on the important now stuff .... so please send positive vibes for me tomorrow :)
In a couple of weeks DD1 and I are going to London for a much needed break on my part at any rate .... we are going to the Harry Potter Studios and also to see Wicked and if the weather stays nice we will be going to the Zoo  as well :)
Then it will be almost time for Harrogate again ....  haven't got a list this time as I have got everything I need.... said no stitching mouse ever hahahahaha...
Ok I shall bob the photos up while I  make another cuppa for every one ....

Gillies RR

My Flower on Gillie RR

Ally's RR 

My wee bit 

 love those french knots ..lol 

table decorated with the paper flower pompoms 

one of MIL's many flowers she received 

rather large cake for us all 

Ally and Bently High Fiveing :)

MIL 

See Ally did stitch ..lol

ABCD by La D da done on Sparklies slightly nutty
with Highland Garden Gloriana silk thread

whoops more goodies 

Curly Q looking a wee bit better 

and more cake 

Bentley and his new passion Balloons and yes it is in his mouth

getting there slowly 

ABCD done again on Sparklies Glacier Fabric
stitched with Blueberry Gloriana Silk thread
and yes I am stitching it backwards ...lol

TUSAL :)

OOOO seeing the photos reminded me that I actually got two RR's done for when Ally came so that she could take them back with her ... one was Gillie's Funky Flowers and I did the right hand pink on and the other was actually Ally's RR where I did the wee bird house ... cooo fancy forgetting I had stitched on them *DOH ....
OK I had better get this post finished otherwise you will be here until tomorrow reading it heheheh .... hope you all have a wonderful stitchy week and I shall catch up with all your posts soon :) 
take care one and all, love mouse xxxxxxx