Everywhere is progressing

Last Thursday I had my bandage off and stitches out revealing two 8inch very neat scars. My ankle feels like my foot again and I am walking almost normally around the house. It does swell so still needs plenty of elevation and I can't walk far but already I am starting to feel like I did before my fall in April 2017.

We're still sleeping downstairs in the conservatory, as we are not overlooked we only have roof blinds. It's getting light at 5.30 so not too early and this Saturday our clocks go forward an hour so we'll be able to sleep in a bit. 

The garden is progressing into spring, being north facing it takes a few weeks into a new year until we get sun so our bulbs and flowers are a little behind. Everything is now starting to bloom, I'm expecting them to all come out this weekend .... typically we're away but I'm sure they will still be out on Monday when we get home. 

Lady Clare camelia - this should be red but after its first
year it has always bloomed white - stunning flower 

There are so many buds this year

These came out one at a time,
three great colours

DH moved these into the sun to encourage them to bloom

Our fig, new to the garden last year

My finally piece of progression is my Temperature Quilt, a SAL with my friends at Needlecraft Haven. I've stitched up to the 25th March on both pieces.

The temperature is forecast warm today and tomorrow so I'm hoping the yellow will appear again on my day quilt. Because there is no cloud the night temperature is dropping so the light blue may be needed again on my night quilt. It's so interesting to see the changes and the stitch design is very clever, I'm really enjoying this SAL.

Day Time Temperature Quilt 

Night Time Temperature Quilt 

It is nearly the end of March, that's three months of 2019 already. This Sunday is Mother's Day here in the UK - best wishes to all the Mums - and Monday being the 1st April is April Fool's Day so watch out for the spoofs!

Gifted Gorgeousness - March

It's Gifted Gorgeousness time - a superb idea hosted by Jo at Serendipitous Stitching to share our gifts both sent and received. It's lovely to see everyone's gifts which can be:

• any chart, kit, thread, fabric or finishing items you have been given
• any chart, kit, thread, fabric or finishing items you have won in a giveaway
• any chart, kit, thread, fabric or finishing items you have bought using a voucher given to you/won by you
• anything you have gifted to someone else

My first item is a gift I stitched for a very good friend who we met through the wine industry. Last month was the People's Choice Wine Awards, for which I was a judge, and I knew she would be there so made this small gift. She loved it, it now lives in her office. 

A gift for a wine loving friend 

To my huge surprise I won a giveaway on Rosey's blog, Ishkabibble. It's a beautiful chart by The Needle and I with a heart for each season. I have an idea already about how to finish these, although I will be altering summer slightly.

Thank you Rosey 

A week on from my ankle operation and my foot feels ok, the stitches are starting to itch which, although frustrating as I cannot get to them, is a good sign.

Last week my Hubby and daughter bought me some lovely flowers. I had great fun yesterday wheeling into the kitchen (I am not allowed to weight bear until next week) and stretching over the sink to refresh them all. They all look like new and will hopefully last a while yet.

Gorgeous flowers from Hubby

Beautiful bouquet from Philly

It's always nice to give and receive gifts, I hope you've had a lovely March GG too.

Happy dancing !!

You may know that back in April 2017 I had a very nasty fall resulting in a dislocated left ankle which was also broken in three places, and a broken right foot. As you can imagine it took a long time to recover and my left ankle has never been pain free. 

On Friday I returned to hospital to have all the metalwork from my left foot removed and a tendon cleaned/repaired. The operation went well but I am back to using a chair at home as I am not allowed to put weight through my ankle for two weeks. As nothing is not broken this time it is not so painful, just time to heal wounds and soft tissue - hopefully I will finally be able to walk without pain.

An old friend has returned home
for a couple of weeks

It's like going back in time wheeling around the house but at least this time I know how to do stuff. Our bed is back downstairs in the conservatory, we quite like our garden bedroom. 

A sunny morning from our garden bedroom

I have been able to keep up to date with my temperature quilt. We had a few unseasonably warm days at the end of February but March has started to turn colder. It's so interesting watching the changes, when the days were warm the nights were even colder resulting in a big change over 24 hours. 

Night time to 8th March 

Day time to 8th March

I have also managed to finish three more ornaments for my church tree, I find these quite therapeutic as there is no chart to follow, I just stitch. I have another two to do and then some wip pieces I found that just need finishing and will be perfect additions to my Snow Tree.

Three more hardanger ornaments for my church tree

Finally a big happy dance, I finished my La Penseé Positive the night before my operation and so was able to do a little dance around the room. I'm hoping to order the frame soon and have it ready to hang in our bedroom for when our bed moves back upstairs. I've really enjoyed stitching this as a SAL with the ladies at Needlecraft Haven.

La Penseé Positive

My next stitching will be for the Easter Exchange with Needlecraft Haven and a gift. There are also the spring designs in the NH Seasonal Challenge so I don't think I'll be bored whilst resting up.

St David's Day - spring begins

Happy St David's Day 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

St David is the patron saint of Wales, tbe Welsh symbols are leeks and daffodils. I love to celebrate the UK's patron saints with food from that country. Tonight we're having lamb steaks with homemade welsh cakes.

Welsh cakes cooking 

A tin full ! 

I also make sure we have daffodils in the house from today as it is the start of spring. I make sure we have fresh ones all the way to Easter which this year is mid April. I use my Grandma's vase until Easter time when it is used for my Easter Tree.

Spring is here

I really enjoy making themed dinners and changing things around our house for different events, holidays and the seasons.

As it is now spring I have changed my Jardin Prive tree and my Drawn Thread mantle picture. My spring mini pillow is also now on  display.

Jardin Prive - Spring

The Drawn Thread

Mini pillow

Springtime is when our days get lighter and warmer and the garden comes to life - it makes us all feel brighter after the dark days of winter.

February progress

Just a quick update on my February progress. I had a few days of no stitching but I have finally completed the second free chart 8n the Winter Challenge on Needlecraft Haven.

Free design from Aliolka

I have mounted it on a box lid ... more details about what it is for later in the year.

Here's my progress (still on the frame as I am mid stitching) on La Pensèe Positive from Jardin Privè 

I am up to date to the 14th with my Temperature Quilts. I have recorded this week but I might not get them stitched for a while. This is how they look so far.

Day time

Night time

Just a few days left and it will be spring, how quickly the days go, it is nice to see the sun a little more and see the bulbs growing.

Gifted Gorgeouness - February

It's Gifted Gorgeousness time - a great blog sharing idea hosted by Jo at Serendipitous Stitching. A chance to share any gift we have sent or received - we all link our blog to Jo's and can then visit everyone else's blog to see their wonderful gifts. Thank you Jo for organising GG2019.

February is a special month for us, not only celebrating Valentine's Day and our Engagement (photos in my previous post) but our daughter's birthday. Every year I stitch her a little something; this year I've made a Newton's Law bookmark. He is so cute, most years I've stitched Newton or Tatty Ted.

Newton's Law Bookmark
for Philippa's birthday

Unbelievably this year she is 25, so many years, so many wonderful memories which are added to each time we're with her in Cardiff. We're just back from a few days visiting her, always a lovely time. I was very pleased her cake made it, especially as I kept it hidden in the tin/bag until after dinner. It's a lemon and lime cake (homemade) with gin and tonic icing (from Sainsbury's).

Philippa's Cake

Yesterday was Needlecraft Haven's Valentine Exchange, an exchange of friendship. Everyone who signed up stitched a card which had to have a heart included in the design, include a sweet treat and a skein of thread to match the card.

It's an anon exchange with everyone signing their card 'stitching love from everyone at Needlecraft Haven '. I had to wait until today to upload my GG blog as today is the reveal of who sent to who.

I'm quite a practical stitcher and like my work to be useful so I decided to stitch a broach and pin it onto the heart. The hardest part was finding a card the right size and getting the brooch pinned on. I stitched the heart on perforated paper and embellished it with beads.

The sweet treat was Green and Black's Raspberry and Hazelnut Dark Chocolate and the threads were DMC 899 and S899. My parcel traveled over to France to Mary, her blog is Le Coeur Celtique.

My heart card for Mary

The brooch pinned on to the fabric 

The Valentine's Exchange I sent to Mary 

I received a beautiful card from Sue, I'm hoping I will be able to use it on the top of a box as it is too lovely to be put in a drawer. Sue also sent some lovely red fabric with hearts on, some matching ribbon and some stitching fabric that has small hearts in, I have not seen this before. DMC 924 was the matching thread and my sweet treat was a bag of chocolate hearts - thank you Sue for a super exchange parcel.

My beautiful card from Sue

My Valentine's Exchange from Sue 

A month of lovely gifts, February is always a special time, I hope you've had a lovely month too.

Secret Stitching Sweetheart Blog Hop

The lovely Jo at Serendipitous Stitching has organised the Secret Stitching Sweetheart Blog Hop. She is so good at these hops which are a fun way to meet new bloggers and to see each others amazing craft work.

For this Blog Hop we had to send Jo a photo if a heart we had made. She has then sent everyone in the Hop a heart photo - this is the beautiful heart I received.

However I have no idea who it is from ... for this hop we have to visit all the Bloggers taking part who Jo has listed on her blog and say in the comments when we spot our photo - oh what fun it will be to hunt for my photo and discover whose craftwork made this beautiful heart ??

Here's the link to Jo's blog so you can go hopping - Secret Stitching Sweetheart Blog Hop 

Thanks Jo for another great Blog Hop,  happy hopping everyone!

I love Valentine's Day mainly because Hubby and I were engaged on February 14th 1986 ... how time flies 😍

Engagement Memories from our Keepsake Book

This year we have celebrated at breakfast instead of a special dinner tonight. We have been in Cardiff visiting our daughter and as a real treat last night we stayed at the Celtic Manor, a hotel I have always wanted to visit. We have to be home this evening and will be busy so our stay was last night which means this morning we've woken up in this lovely hotel.

Celtic Manor

Super King bed

Our amazing room 

It is opening day for Needlecraft Haven's Valentine Exchange today, I'll be opening my parcel once we're home and I'll be posting about the gifts sent and received in my next blog.

I hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's Day celebrating love and friendship.