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.