Showing posts with label stash. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stash. Show all posts

Sunday, 23 November 2014

Didn't we have a lovely time at the Harrogate annual retreat :)

Yoooo Hooooo its me again .... yes another post soo soon ...lol I have just got back a few hours ago from the annual Knitting and Stitching show held at Harrogate (UK) and boy do I need some new feet ..lol, any hooo pull up a chair grab your brew ... there may be some cookies left in the tin ...and enjoy the post :)
Thursday dawned bright and early ... well more early than bright but hey at least it wasn't snowing ...I packed the mouse mobile and tootled off to go and pick up Roz and Chris my companions for the journey as they were just going for the day I said come with me and save yourselves from setting off earlier and two trains to get there ... well I had fun trying to find Roz as I am not sure if the sat nav had a sense of humor or that I put it in wrong ! but find her I did, after a wee phone call and directions I picked her up and we headed on our way to Chris's and then onto Harrogate via the fog on route .... we actually made good time and I dropped them off near to the venue before I tootled off to find our house for the next few days (mine , Ally's , Sandra's and Maureen). I managed to park outside the house doing a parallel park for the first time in years and it wasn't a bad attempt either heheheheh...
I popped my stuff in and then tootled down to meet Ally and pass her the keys so that she could get in and wait for Sandra before coming down to the show later ...in the mean time I bobbed into the show and found Chris and Roz  and Kate and also Sally   and her DH ... Sally was truly impressed with the show and was as giddy as a kid in a sweet shop ..lol I arranged for her to come back to the house later on that night for a cuppa and a natter too so that she could show her goodies and I could do the same .....before we parted ways to carry on shopping ... then while I was talking to another Kate ....Kate  from Sparklies .... my phone rang and Gill was right behind me ... Gill is also Sally's friend and had spotted me and wanted to make sure it was me ...lol so we passed a pleasant few minutes chatting before we parted ways too and I made my way from Sparklies after buying a couple of pieces as you do to Jane Greenoff's stall to purchase my major thing on my list .... this piece which I will show you later in the photos was one I wanted last year but hummmed and ahhhh'd as it is rather on the expensive side but as I said to my friends I still want it after all this time ... I am going to get it ... and I did ... Bill kindly held onto it until the end of the night when it was time for me to go home :) I found a few other bits and my bag at the end of the night was a wee bit full heheheh .... 
We decided that we weren't cooking that night when we got back to our wee house and called for a Chinese which was rather scrummy and we had just finished when Sally and her DH called round for the cuppa ... sooo we had a lovely few hours chatting and sipping tea and drooling over purchases's we had made that day :)
Friday dawned rather wet but that didn't dampen our spirits and we  tootled back down to the show ....I ended up helping Trudy Ann one of the lovely exhibitors at the show as the day before she had had some stuff taken from her stall and it got rather busy with customers while I was browsing sooo I did my good deed for the week and served a few for her :) 
Friday tea time we had invited Sheila(one of friendly stitcher members who was there too ) as well as Kate from Sparklies to tea and we had a wonderful night .... we served Spaghetti bologna and Eton Mess our way ..lol .... when they had gone on their merry way back to their pads for the week we got out some stitching and stitched into the early hours of the morning ... in fact I finished a wee ornament ... yes you read that right I stitched and finished something heheheh .....I am surprised that we actually got any done as we were laughing all night and I can't remember what about ...lol 
Saturday was a bit of the show and a bit of the town ... we managed to visit Duton's for Buttons, Samuel Taylors and the Remnant House as well as take some photos of the lights decorating the trees around Harrogate .... and we even stitched Saturday night too ...I was on a roll .....
Today only Sandra and I went back into the show as Maureen had an early train to catch and Ally an early bus .... we tootled round the show and as it wasn't as packed managed to get to look at all the stalls as well as go down into the Hall's underneath and see the costumes on display .....soon it was time for us to part too and go on our merry ways ....and I can safely say that this year was pretty good ...lol and looking forward to next years now and I had better start saving my pennies up :)
I have taken piccies of my stash but I can't show you all of it as some of it is for prezzies for peeps ...but I hope you like what I can show you :) I am looking forward to using the charts/ fabric and trims and know what I am going to use them with etc etc etc etc .... 
ok the kettle has just boiled again sooo tea, coffee ???
International halls Harrogate


Eaton Mess our way

Maureen , Kate, Ally, Sandra and Sheila :)

stitchy progress

Walk down to the show 

love this :)

Maureen photo bombing 

Hall M of the show the only one I could get a photo in :)

view over looking Harrogate from the town centre


taking the lights 



bit of stash

and a bit more

and some more

my big purchase :) 

seee I did stitch :)

Kate from Sparklies stall :)

students work in Hall E

Jane Greenoff and Sue Hawkins having a rare five mins :)
Sew there you have it .... my adventures of Harrogate Stitching show again over for another year ... Master Bentley is bopping me to get him some more food ... he is rather pleased for me to be back ....
hoping to get more stitching done now my mojo has come back from its walk .....so that I can show you progress photos next time :)
take care one and all and happy stitching :) till next time :) love mouse xxxxxx

Sunday, 14 September 2014

Stitching, Stash and the Same Celebrity :)

Hi every one :) hope you are all as well as can be expected ... the kettle has just boiled and I do have some cookies in and I think some cake too ... help yourselves with your brew :)
Well I must apologize for not bobbing round as promised to your blogs this last week but I haven't had any spare time to do much to be honest ... hopefully normal service will resume asap :)
The stitching side of my title is not very much ...lol I have managed to finish the exchange piece for Libbie my partner over on Friendly Stitchers  and have decided how I am going to finish it and that is a far as anything has got .... and as such I can't reveal it any hoo ...lol
The stash side is a wee bit more heheheh .... Its not all stitching stash but to do with stitching ... I have bought some fabulous bureau drawers and a cute sewing box for my new room when it is finished ....and a couple of items from the charity shop which caught my eye .. I even remembered to have my camera with me to show you them and how the room is progressing a wee bit :)
I did buy some more fat quarters but that is another story ...lol
On Saturday morning Ally and I took the mouse mobile to a wee village not far from the mouse house where my celebrity was signing his book again, yes you've guessed it Stuart Hillard was at the Oh Sew Sweet Shop and we called in on the way and got Chris to join the merry gang to go and say hello again :)
We had a fabulous couple of hours were I got to be the photographer for a few peeps while they had their photos taken with Stuart ... even I managed to have one taken as well eeekkkk ..lol  and Stuart is as lovely and entertaining in real life as he is on the tv:) he was telling how things were done for the Great British Sewing Bee and he also had some of his quilts with him (the ones that are in the book ) and boy are they nice and my kind of level of quilt making too .... soooo much sew that I have booked in for his class there in October .... eeeekkk I will have to get the machine out and have a practice :) I joked that I was his number one stalker (in a nice way ) and one of the ladies said "well you know you have made it when you have one " hahahahah.. I bought some Christmas fabric just because  and also some lovely pastel fabric for my new room to do something with .... and I wasn't going to get anything whoops .....
My other bit of stash is a chart from Belinda  from Samplings  from a blue ribbon ....she is doing another 60 mile walk over three days to raise money for Breast Cancer research and other excellent avenues with her team "Twinkle Toes ... if you click on the link it will explain it all in more detail ... I donated last year and also this and can't wait to get the charts kitted up and started :)
Gaynor from StitchersAnon fame is also doing something for this worthy cause ... for every euro you donate you will get a raffle ticket and you could win one of the lovely prizes donated .. I need to wait until my next pay day now to get my raffle ticket due to being skint now ...see above ..lol 
oooo and I remembered I have got the "Without a mouse " chart by BBD .. I ordered it at the Harrogate show from Trudy Ann and it arrived this week :)
I have it authority that the sweetie bouquet I made for Jennifer was delicious and I realized that I hadn't show you the finished project .... that I shall remedy in a few minutes ...
This morning Ally and I took Master Bentley for a pootle in the woods and I took my camera with me ... there were thousands of mushrooms all over the place and I managed to take a few decent photos of them too and we bumped into Jasper who is a wolf hound crossed with a lab ... he can smell yummies a mile off ... he sat for a photo for me with the promise of one ... this I gave to his dad to give him as once you have given him one ...he bounds at you all the more ...lol  It was a lovely walk and you can tell the season is changing ... the leaves are starting to turn brown and fall from the trees like a flurry of snow and there are signs that the squirrels are hiding the nuts for through the winter .... It was a lovely walk and we were out for ages .... needed a restorative cuppa when we got in ... Ally was amazed at how many grapes we have on the vine and they are just about turning from green to black .... once the birds have had their fill on them the vine is going to be cut right back and hopefully we can claim a wee bit more of the garden ....lol I was amazed as well to see that the million bell clematis that is on the fence had a flower out in bloom today too .... 
Well I have just made another brew and shall join you in sipping it mouse like while I upload the photos for your perusal :)
hellooooooo :)
this is soooo me :)

my new welsh dresser

found the perfect mirror for the room too

start of operation back to black :)

just a wee bit more to go heheheh

Stuart signing some books at the shop

my new sewing box 

my new big  fabric drawers :)

stitching box closed 

new door ...getting there :)

Ally , Stuart and Chris

one of the ladies helping Stuart show off his quilts 


another colourway which is just me :)

apparently this one took a weekend ..lol 

charity shop finds :)

whoops a wee bit of stash 

inside the Oh Sew Sweet Shop

Mouse and Stuart :)

the moon last night

this made me giggle ... zipper lighter ,..lol


million bell flowered in September 


escaping back to the car 

Hellooo from Jasper


grapes any one ???

Jennifer's present :)

Soooo there you have it folks, another chapter in the life of the stitching mouse :)... I hope you have enjoyed your visit today and that you all have a wonderful stitchy week ... take care one and all :) love mouse xxxxx