Monday 9 December 2013

Harrogate , stash , stitching and gifts :)

Hi every one :) .... sorry for being so quiet for a wee while but life got in the way as it does on occasions and I just didn't have the time or the energy to write :(
but hopefully now I will make up for it hehehehe.... so be warned ... grab a buttie , a brew and a few biscuits as you  pull up your chair and join me ....
ok are you sitting comfortably then I shall begin.....
At the back end of November it was the annual Knitting and Stitching Show at Harrogate and as you know I don't miss it if I can help it ... how else is a mouse to get her fix of sumptuous goodies ....
This year we decided to hire a house for the length of the show (Thursday to Sunday) and what a gorgeous one it was .... we had a really gorgeous bathroom with blue lights in the flooring surrounding the bath not to mention the changing lights in the shower ... the kitchen was fully equipped and everything was just sooooo nice :)
It was really nice to be able to come and go and have friends over for tea and also for Kate to bob over for a few hours to chill after a busy day at the show :) it made every thing  so much more pleasant we thought :)
On the Thursday we went into the show, Ally Frances and I  and while I wandering round I saw a familiar face .... Stuart from the Great British Sewing Bee  and he kindly had his photo took with me and admired my travelling stitcher quilted bag I made  OHHHH the Fame hahahahah ... *gives a wee wave just in case he reads my blog .... ;)
I pootled round the show Friday and Saturday looking at all the stalls over again in case I missed something ... sometimes you couldn't get near due to all the excited visitors to it .... and came away with lots of eye candy ... DD commented that I hadn't bought as much as I had before.. Whoops ...lol  but what I did get I was happy with ...and came away with lots of ideas to do stuff ... hopefully I can remember when I get round to doing ...lol
Sunday came round all to quick and this year we decided we would actually wander around Harrogate and visit the Pump Rooms as the costumes from Downton Abbey were on show ... unfortunately we weren't allowed to take photos inside ... it was a lovely wee museum and it was nice to see them close up ... and boy were those peeps small and petite ...  we also watched a video of days go by and had a good giggle at the clothes and they way things were going I remember this and that ... DD enjoyed wandering round too ... after there we popped into the big park and had a gorgeous pootle round looking at the roses that were still in bloom and spotting the robin (thanks DD) before heading back to get something to eat before we set off back home ....
Ally went back home on the Monday which I took off to recover ... next year remind me to take off longer ...lol 
While I was away DJ sent me a wee parcel and I was allowed to open one of the goodies inside as it was an ornament for my tree and wow it is gorgeous .... this is what she wrote on her blog ....Last, but not least, I can show you this ornament I sent to my dear friend Mouse.  She has told me she has received her package and I told her she could open her ornament to hang on the tree.  This was stitched on 45 count over two threads.  Yes, I've been told I was crazy in the past, and I can honestly say, though I loved the result, the stitching was difficult on such compact count.  Treasure it Mouse, as I dare say I won't be stitching on such a high count again. 
DJ don't panic I will ...lol I love it :)
I managed to get the Travelling Pattern off to Cath  and I know its been received .. she is going to have to send it back as I didn't have time to fill in my bits in the book ... and I haven't quite finished my second piece ... almost there :)
I have also sorted my craft room out and packed away my scrap booking stuff and my card making things ... the room looks loads better ... a wee bit more fuller than it was ....lol but I still have things to sort out and reorganize that and I have been busy stitching and sewing but I can't at the moment show any of this ... but all will be revealed very soon after all Christmas is coming wayyyyy  tooo quick for my liking ....   you would think that as we know its on the same date every year that we would be sorted and organised and everything but No not a scooby do chance this year ... sooo Christmas could be a wee bit delayed until the New Year folks ...lol  in fact scrap that it WILL be delayed .... there isn't a mouse chance that my goodies will get to folks before then as the Post Office in there wisdom decided to go on strike at one of the busiest times of the year .... soooo to be on the safe side ( I have things that haven't turned up ) I am not posting out until after the big day ... think it makes more fun that way as it extends the holiday festivities ....  that's my excuse and I am sticking to it ...lol 
ok I think I have waffled on a wee bit soooo I shall go and pop the kettle on again and  upload the photos for you to drool over :)
Gorgeous ornament from DJ 


December  TUSAL

second of the Travelling Pattern pieces
done a wee bit more to this but not photographed

first one finished and sort of framed ..lol

see looking much better ..lol honest 

Ally's and mine room 

just look at that bathroom 

Stuart (Great British Sewing Bee )and I 

One of my favorite stalls eh Kate ...lol 

another drool at that bath ..lol

dusk 

in wee park land opposite the show 


nearest we got to Betty's 

Dragon ... Astrid :)

The Pump Rooms with the costumes inside

smelt beautiful

Squibbble

more roses

gorgeous copper colour

Robin

ermmm not quite sure ...lol

outside the pump rooms 

stash

more stash

closer look at the stash

oooo and some more 

Coughs* did she really say I hadn't got as much ..lol 

Sparklies Grab Bag picked specially for me :)


and finally another gorgeous rose :)

 and there you have it .... I will be popping round to see you all as soon as I can :) I almost forgot that it was Tusal time the other day ... I took the photo on time Daffy but didn't get round to posting it till now ..  but hey better late than never eh ??? ..lol ;) Thanks for all popping round and welcome to my new followers ... :) hope you enjoyed your visit to the mouse house .. please pop by again :)
take care and happy stitching one and all :) love mouse xxxxx



36 comments:

Margaret said...

Ok, that bathtub stops me in my tracks! lol! So nice that you rented a beautiful house while in Harrowgate. The show sounds lovely, and to see the costumes from Downton Abbey. Wow! Lovely pics of your trip, and lovely stitching too.

Tricia T said...

Look at all that gorgeous hand-dyed fabric!! Oh, you are going to have SO much fun!!!

Bianca said...

Harrogate looks awesome. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the stash.

Catherine said...

I so enjoyed this post! That bath is wonderful!! And that stash ~ so fun! Loved seeing your pictures from when you were out and about. How fun that you got to see the Downton costumes. There is going to be an exhibit here next spring and I plan on seeing them!

Annette-California said...

What a fantastic weekend. Loved the house you stayed in and You got some very lovely new stash. I clicked on the photos to see the colors of linens you got. Now I want some Caribbean Blue for me:) Your ornament is beautiful that you received.Great photos and LOVED your post. Happy Holidays. love Annette

Christine said...

Sounds like you had a wonderful time in Harrogate.
Beautiful ornament too

Jane said...

Brilliant post Mouse!
Drooling big time as I never got to the Show this year when it was in London and now think it'll be wise to wait and see if all the Sellers have restocked by their return visit next year!!!
WOW! that's some serious stash ~ I have to show DH your pics, I'll never be moaned at again BUT seriously it's so much nicer when you can see these things in person rather than use the internet especially the hand-dyed items!
Love the bath ~ perfect place to relax after a heavy days shopping!
Good idea to delay Christmas, I'm no further ahead than you!!!
Have a good week xxx

gracie said...

I appears the shopping was a success.... thanks for sharing the scenery with us.

Julie said...

Beautiful ornament from DJ.
Love that bath, must have been heavenly relaxing in there after a hard days stash buying ... and what a lot of lovely goodies you got too.

Tina said...

Gorgeous ornament,beautiful house a nice bath to go and relax in after all that hard work stah buying.lots of eye candy there....love all your fat quarters ribbons etc
X

Tina said...

Ps nice to see mrs mouse again lol
Glad she's enjoying living at yours

Shirlee said...

Beautiful photos mouse! The ornament from DJ is really nice & wow, what a lot of stash you brought home! Thanks for sharing : )

Chris said...

Wow Mouse! It looks like you had an amazing getaway. What a great event. The place that you stayed looks wonderful. So great that you got to catch up with friends.
I love all the pics.
Have a wonderful rest of the week!

Mii Stitch said...

The little ornament finish is soo cute!!!! Seriously?? Is that your stash??? OMG, I'm soo jealous!!! You found some real treasure :) Enjoy & have fun x

Joyce Clark Frank said...

What a wonderful place to stay and enjoy friends. Love the ornament. Wow, a lot of great stash, know you will enjoy it.
Enjoyed all the pictures and your posting.

Rhona said...

Heehee...what a wonderful haul of stash....and I know you'll make good use of it! That bath tub is gorgeous, what a wonderful weekend you must have had.

Dani - tkdchick said...

It looks like you had an awesome time AND got lots of amazing stash!!!

Michelle said...

Lovely photos - if I had got to look around Harrogate the first shop I would have visited would have been Cath Kidstons - think Andy was happy we were too worn out to look around!

The Inspired Stitcher said...

Oh Mouse, what a fun trip! I can see why you were smitten with the rental house. Love all the new stash. I actually just bought the LK To Do List too! Love it! Thanks for taking us along with you. So much fun!

Vickie said...

Whoa! The stash!! What a lovely catch-up.

Sarah in Stitches said...

Wow, looks like you had a great visit to the show! The house you stayed in looks gorgeous, and that stash!! You're going to be busy for a while playing with all that :D

Andrea said...

Looks like you had a great time at the show. It's nice to make a bit of an event of the whole thing. Harrogate is beautiful, ahhh the famous Betty's. The house looks lovely, not sure about those blue lights though. Great stash.

butterfly said...

Love all your stash, you are going to be so busy .
Thanks for sharing all the wonderful photos.
My craft room is such a mess right now it will take me a year to get it all tidy again. hugs.

Denise SA said...

Wonderful ornament from DJ and lovely stash

Southpaw Stitcher said...

Hi Mouse--Just love all your photos! Looks like you had a grand time at the show. I'm impressed with your new stash enhancement. The wooden spools caught my eye. Are you planning on using them on the new Victoria Sampler pattern? Your alphabet piece looks fabulous and is coming along nicely. Your robin looks a lot different than the robins over here.

Maggee said...

It DOES look like a LOT of stash, but if we compared it to shopping over here where there is a LNS, where we can pop in all the time... it is about the same for a few of us stashaholics! NOT me, of course!! heheheheh... Great post as always!! Hugs!

Anne said...

Wooohooo! Look at all that stash to play with! Your craft room will be bursting at the seams!! What a fun trip you gals had. That bathtub is soooo cool. I want one with lights around it! Not sure who Stuart is but he looks like a great chap!! Love the frame you chose for the Traveling Pattern. So perfect. Great little ornie DJ sent to you. Very sweet of her. Where's Bentley?! Hugs!!

Lesleyanne said...

Sounds like you had a wonderful time. Gorgeous new stash. The ornament from DJ is lovely.

Vonna Pfeiffer said...

I love that wee little Mouse ornament :) Perfect for you!
And all the lovely photos!

Kay said...

It looks wonderful, are you sure you didn't get much!!

Carol said...

Wonderful post, Mouse--and I love your new ornament :) Have fun with that gorgeous new stash!

Jo who can't think of a clever nickname said...

Great post! Are you sure those are stash photos and not just another stall? Kate Sparklie's must have looked rather sparse once you'd finished!

Love DJ's ornie she made for you too.

Cricket-bug Corner said...

lovely pictures!! Looks like a great time!!

Beth said...

Michelle - It looks as though you had a wonderful time in Harrogate. Though your beds look to have been rather Spartan, that bathtube - wow! I am glad you were able to find so many wonderful things to buy. I'm wondering, would you like to pop on over and have a go at organizing my craftroom (ha-ha!). Now I MUST go to Harrogate and visit Betty's - that's still on my England To Do List.
PS - Just saw the lovely quilt your group gifted Cathy for her birthday - well done!

Brigitte said...

Wow, the Stitching Show at Harrowgate must have been fantastic. I'm totally impressed by your new stash, a great haul that you could get there.

Lindsay said...

You left out about the bit about stalking me on Thursday :p and you could of waited till I was out the way to take a pic of my dragon!!