Quick Update on Lois

This is just a quick update on Lois. Isn't she beautiful. I'm stitching her on 40ct and as you can see there is a lot of over one in it. I find that its better for me if I do this during the day.

I love the colour scheme of this sampler. Besides the verse in this photo the rose bud is also worked over one.

It's amazing when you are tired and work on a sampler (which is something I really mustn't do). When I started working on the wave pattern above the verse I had either the pattern or the colour upside down and you guessed it. I misread one of the symbols. Anyway to cut a long story short. The wave pattern should be blue with the same symbol facing the other way and it ended up being worked in grey. I decided that I quite liked the grey so I kept it there (or in other words, I couldn't be bothered undoing it LOL Shhhh).

Yesterday, I decided to have what I call a "bliss" day, where I would sit and watch the second part of a DVD that I had been enjoying and that I would also sit and stitch. I watched my second DVD of "Wives and Daughters" and happily stitched the bell flower over one. It was 3 hours of pure heaven. I didn't have to go and pick anybody up and take them anywhere.

Well I better go and do some of the dreaded housework. My eldest son and Daughter-in-Law are coming to spend the night so I had better get on and do some work. I hope you all have a lovely weekend. Looks like we are here. Spring is here. I have forget-me-nots everywhere and my blue bells are starting to open. Heaven.

Happy Dance Time

I finished Elizabeth last week, but wanted to wait till I had visited my Dad for Father's Day to take a few photo's of "The GG Grandmothers". I had the photo's on the computer but lost them when our computer crashed. Silly me also deleted the photos off the camera. Darn.

Elizabeth is my GGG Grandmother on my Mum's side of the family. Her daughter was Lois Kimber below. I decided to do this series of samplers with family names on them for my Mum. She was quite ill at the time and unfortunately spent most of her time sitting in her beautiful bedroom. Mum had a few of my samplers around the walls of her bedroom and they were all greatly admired by one and all. Lois was above her bed.

Lois's daughter was Jane Stevenson and she was my beloved Great Grandmother. Unfortunately for me her daughter my Grandmother passed away a few months before I was born on my Mum's birthday from Breast Cancer. So my G Grandmother was a huge influence in my life. I think I got my love of England and all things English from her. I remember I used to spend a lot of time with her as my Mum was quite ill when I was young. My G Grandmother taught me to knit and I think I also got my love of needlework from her.

Unfortunately, the sampler is only a small one as I wanted to give it to my Mum for Mother's Day and I didn't have time to do a large one befitting someone so important in my live. Anyway, my Mum loved both of them appreciated all the work that went into them.

I just have to find a beautiful sampler now to dedicate to my Grandmother Annie.

With Beatrix I have finished another 2 motifs and started a third. I think this will be a sampler that comes out every now and then.

I have started working on Lois Minshall which is really beautiful. I wanted to start this as I want to dedicate it to my Mum and as the 1st anniversary of her passing is coming up next month the time to do it is now.

The say on Lois is -

A Mother's Love, how dear the name,
What bliss unfolds it sacred power
Then ever may its fairest flame,
Illume my evry given hour.

To all my friends that I have made in the US I just want to say that you are all in my thoughts on the anniversary of this terrible day. I remember waking up the next morning and hearing about this tragedy. We hastily turned the TV on and the whole household sat in shocked disbelief at what was happening.

The End is Near

Well, as you can see Elizabeth is nearly finished. I just need to do one more motif and then it is "happy dance time". The motif that I have to do is the same as the one on the other side. I scrolled down my blog to find out when I started this sampler. Looks like I started it in the middle of June, so it has taken me around two and a half months to complete. Not bad.

I thought that I had better finish Beatrix Potter before I start on another sampler. I am around half way with it. I had better get back into the swing of stitching over one again. I don't mind doing that as I find the samplers are much finer and there's always the hanging room factor LOL.

I had a great time in book shops recently. I love classic novels and I found these ones that I have been after. I used to have The Three Musketeers by Alexander Dumas, but my eldest son loved his books. When he moved out before he got married they all went with him and I am trying to get my youngest son to read them. I also found one of Alexander Dumas's books that I didn't know about. It is called "The Last Cavalier" and is a lost book that was found in the National Library in Paris around 2005.

The other two books are by Elizabeth Gaskell. I have always loved "Wife's and Daughters" and have been looking out for North and South and Cranford for quite awhile. My local book shop which is a really good independent book shop had them on my weekend visit, so I bought them. Now I just have to find time to sit down and enjoy them. What with samplers, blogging and the dreaded housework, it will take me awhile to get through them all. Oh and I still have a lot of Charles Dickens books to read as well. What is a girl to do.

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After a couple of lovely Spring days it has turned cold and it is also raining. We need the rain but I could do without the cold.

I hope that everyone has a lovely week and weekend. Next time I post Elizabeth should be finished.

2 Lovely Awards

I have received 2 lovely Awards - Brillante Weblog and also I Love Your Blog Award from MJ at Sampler Stitcher.

Thank you so much for the awards. I really appreciate being given these awards. It is really nice to know that other people appreciate the work that you do.

I have to nominate some people whose blogs that I enjoy reading and who also inspire me. The trouble for me is that I do not know who to pick. Everybody whose blogs that are on the right hand side of my blog do that, so I nominate all of you lovely ladies.

I am currently having a hair pulling time putting this post together. I wanted to put the award below up with the other one but this stupid computer won't do it. My computer expert (13 year old) is too busy chatting away to his mate to come and help me. This is what I call an AHHHH moment.

Now back to normality, thank you again I really appreciate it. Last year when I started blogging I never thought that I would met such lovely ladies from all over the world and also that they liked my work.

Strawberries Are Very Addictive

Over the weekend I made something that I have always liked and have always wanted to have a go at making. I made myself some strawberry pincushions and I found them quite addictive. I made 8. 4 of them have emery powder and the other four have just wadding. 2 are covered with golden beads and the rest are just covered with 3 running stitches. I think they are lovely.

I found the pattern a long time ago on the Martha Stewart website. I hope the link works.

Some of them have different shaped tops as I felt like being a bit different. They are so easy to make. All of mine are made by hand. In other words I didn't use the sewing machine.

As you can see Kitty is now called Elizabeth Welfare, 1806, Sussex. Elizabeth was my GGG Grandmother and she continues my collection of samplers dedicated to my Grandmothers. When I finish her I will group the other 2 samplers that I have done so you can see them.

I really haven't done that much as I haven't been feeling very well over the last week. I have one of those backs that if I sneeze the wrong way I end up in agony. The past week was one of those occasions. I haven't done much stitching or been on the computer for long as I couldn't sit for long periods were I was comfortable.

My Hestera Harmer pattern arrived on Friday, so she is all kitted up and ready to go. I have worked out that I have around 7 large samplers that I have kitted up that I want to do. I don't know where I am going to put them. Maybe I will have to buy a bigger house LOL. Don't tell my DH.

Over the last few weeks I have met another lovely lady in blogland. Her name is Joan and her blog is called My Place...My Little Place?

If you have a few moments to spare, please stop by and welcome her to blog land.

Kitty Update

This an update on Kitty. I decided to travel down to the bottom and do that before I do the other side. Kitty still looks lovely and I am enjoying working on her. The right hand side is a mirror image of the left hand side. I have decided to call her Elizabeth, so she will soon be known as Elizabeth Welfare, Sussex, 1806.

I have 2 pages of my book to go, so hopefully I will finish her in 2-3 weeks. Below is a close up of the bottom section.

My DH is suffering from a serious sprained wrist (just joking). I have ordered Hestera Harmer from America and I hope it will come sometime this week. I'm still pretty sure that I am related to her which I find quite interesting. It was one of those charts that I just had to have.

On the medical front, I spent a few hours up at the local hospital with my youngest son. He was doing swimming for sport, (now don't laugh). He was swimming along happily with his eyes closed and crashed into the wall of the pool and broke his nose, damaged his cheek bones and ended up with mild concussion. Thankfully it could have been worse and now besides having a sore nose and a slight headache, he is ok. The Doctors at the hospital wanted to know if he was training for the Olympics. One of his brothers wasn't at all sympathetic and told him that he was always calling "Big Nose" from "The Life of Brian" for years.

It's been very cold in the mountains over the last few days. We woke up this morning with a light dusting of snow everywhere. It started to snow yesterday afternoon. My DH was playing golf in it. But the sun has come out so hopefully it will start to warm up soon.

Well that's all for now. Thank you for dropping by and for leaving your lovely comments. It is really lovely to think that someone appreciates your work.

Hestera Harmer 1843 Sampler

Last Night I downloaded The Attic's Newsletter and their "Sampler of the Month" and there is a photo of this most beautiful sampler above. It is called Hestera Harmer 1843 by Queenstown Sampler Designs and when I read the name I thought to myself, "That's interesting", as I have a GGG Grandmother whose maiden name was Ann Harmer. Then when I read that she came from Sussex, I thought now "that is really interesting" and I think that somewhere along the line I am related to Hestera.

I know that Hestera's parents were John and Jane Harmer and that my Ann's parents were William and Mary Harmer. I have previously discovered that all the Harmer's on the Sussex line all go back to the mid 15th century to a John Harmer. I think that Hestera and my Ann are related. I haven't found out if they are cousins or Aunt or Neice yet, but I am following this story with interest.

I can see that I will have to do a bit of arm twisting to see if I can send to America to purchase this truly beautiful chart to add to my collection. All I can say is that I have fallen in love with this beautiful sampler.