Stitching with lurve ♥

I have been annoyingly bright and breezy today.  We had the quietest weekend we've had in a long time and it was just what the doctor ordered (literally:  I'm taking medication at the moment that is making me sick, headachy and simultaneously exhausted and yet unable to sleep).    Friday night was a bottle of wine and pizza in front of a DVD, sprawled out on the sofa.  On Saturday we had to pop out to look at some flooring for the dining room.  On the way back we found a garden centre with a really nice cafe/restaurant so we had a lovely leisurely cream tea (which was A-mazing) before coming home and resuming our seats on the sofa.  I am almost ashamed to admit that I was hardly out of my pyjamas on Sunday and was pretty well glued to the spot all day:

Andrew went off early to play football so I took advantage of having the remote control to myself and watched a couple of episodes of Lilies which I've just bought the boxset of and love.  It's a nice cosy programme, just right for when you feel like indulging yourself.  I lit a fire, made a coffee and snuggled up with my crochet.  I'm still loving my giant granny square blanket - it's very nearly finished so I'm hooking at every spare moment, taking it everywhere with me. I was originally making this for the caravan but as we'll be closing it for the winter soon I thought I may as well keep this one as a prototype (!) and make another for the caravan.  Look how big it's getting! (And look at all those ends to sew in.)

The dog enjoys a bit of telly too.  We don't watch much at all, so when we do she is mesmerised! 

She honestly does not take her eyes off it.  Occasionally she will jump up, put her paws on the TV cabinet and wag her tail (usually when there are dogs or animals on the screen).  She switches position a lot but her eyes are on the screen the whole time.  She even grumbles when bicycles appear (she hates them). 

As well as my crochet I've decided to hone my hand-sewing skills and am dabbling in a little embroidery.  

This is just part of a template from Mollie Makes on a piece of scrap fabric. You can see on the left there I've been practising chain stitch, a lazy daisy and running whipped stitch.  Or is it a whipped running stitch?  That, anyway!

I really enjoy a bit of sewing although I'm rubbish at it.  My great-grandma, Nana Mabel, set me on when I was very small (about 6 or 7 years old).  She used to give me embroidery transfers, skeins of thread and little embroidery hoops together with old pillowcases and handkerchiefs to practise on.  I loved it.  It's trickier than I remember but I will persevere - I'm using this book to learn the stitches:

It's a great book.  It describes how to do all of the main stitches (for right-handed and left-handed folk) and there are some really nice little projects too.  I had the book delivered to the office last week together with a book called Quilt Yourself Gorgeous.  My colleagues all loved it and had a bit of a laugh at me - why do they call the books such sappy names?!  Very embarrassing!  I mean, Quilt Yourself Gorgeous indeed... ha!

So that was my lovely, lazy, weekend.  I was very much in need of a proper quiet one after what was frankly a crap week.  The house is upside down because the husband thought it would be a good idea to sell the existing dining furniture SIX WEEKS before the new stuff arrives.  I know that he is the financially sensible one of the two of us but, honestly, I think he's gone a bit too far this time!  We had two sideboards which were stuffed full of cookbooks, crockery, table linen, booze and paperwork.  With no storage until the new furniture arrives, the spare room now looks like a wine-bar-come-bric-a-brac shop (oooh, that sounds like my kind of establishment... I may be onto something there!..).  The dining room is empty except for the new dresser, the (gorgeous!) fridge and a side table.  The light that usually hangs attractively low over the table is now dangerously low smack bang in the middle of an empty room and I've walked into it more times than I care to admit.  I know the husband has bashed his head on it several times too because I've heard the swearing.

Added to all of that, changes are afoot at work which I'm finding a bit unsettling but exciting at the same time.  It's going to be a busy run-up to Christmas.

There, I've said it:  Christmas.  15 weeks, kids! 

Nicki

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