My DD - Divergent Daughter

My DD or Divergent Daughter as I am now calling her decided a while ago that she wanted a really short hair cut. Pixie cut even. If you know anything about the books A Divergent Collection by Veronica Roth or have seen the films then you will recognise this hair cut as one that Shailene Woodley had done. The actress first got this haircut in the film Fault in Our Stars I believe which she filmed in between Divergent and Insurgent. Anyway, It is a nice cut and one that Divergent Daughter decided she liked most of all. I actually preferred the Ginnifer Goodwin crop but perhaps that is for another day. 

I must say, I admire her bravery. I wish I had the confidence to pull off this haircut. Maybe one day when I have lost a bit more weight. 

Before:

During......

OOooohhhhhhhhhhhh.......

Ta Daaaaaa!!!!!!!

Awwwwww. She has gone and all growed up!

Reflecting....

So very sad to find out the news that Wink has passed away. I'm a bit behind with blogging news so this was a real shock to read. Her sister wrote a post on her blog which you can read here. She was a beautiful woman and a real inspiration to so many people. It is sad that depression got her in the end. 

So I am just sitting here, reflecting; thinking about life stuff and appreciating and counting my blessings. Depression has, and still does to some extent, played a role in my life and I thank my God that I am still here today. I am grateful for the few true friends I have that have stayed with me through the tough times and whenever I have felt alone and lost. 

God bless you lovely people. Don't ever be alone. If you ever feel alone, you know you can always email me to talk or shout or cry or scream or whatever you need to do. I am here for you. For what it's worth.

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A Long-Awaited Stitchy Update and lots of News!

Stitching News.....

Well, hello there! Firstly, I would like to thank all my long time followers for not giving up on me. I am still here although life has been very hectic of late. Now that we have all broken up for the Summer hols, I felt it was about time I gave some time to my poor neglected blog and to also look at where I am in regards to stitching etc. I had been doing incredibly well with stitching goals up until June when I decided to not set any. Well, June became July and now July is quickly becoming August and I need to go back to my regime. It worked really well and I felt like I achieved a lot in the first part of this year. It is good to keep focused!

I want to go back to May and show you what I made for my stitching sister Tracy's birthday. We decided that we would make each other's present this year and add a chart of our wishlists. It worked well. I don't think I posted what I made for Tracy so here it is:

I made her a Hardanger needlebook. I used some Swarovski butterfly crystals for the centre and also added sparkly beads around each square. It really is pretty and sparkly. This was one of my first attempts at Hardanger and I really enjoyed it. I found the Dove's Eyes quite difficult to work but eventually got them. I am really pleased with the result. 

I also wanted to update you on the next CCN ornament that I made. 

I quite liked this one. I am still struggling with these designs. The next one is the Holly Jolly one and I can't see myself stitching it at all. I might even do it as a giveaway near Christmas if I have not made it by then. The next one after that which I need to do is the Christmas Birdhouse which is a nice one. I have added this to my August goals. 

I also wanted to update you on my Gorjuss progress. I have really enjoyed stitching this design. It was quick and fun to stitch and now all I need to do is the backstitch and beads. It shouldn't take me long to finish so hopefully by the next post it will be complete. It is very sparkly which is what drew me to the design in the first place. I would love to get the one with the books as my dd is an avid lover of reading - more about that later!

Next up is Moira Blackburn's Three Things chart which is one Tracy bought me for Christmas (I think?) This goes to show that I DO get round to stitching on charts that people buy me! I do I do I really really do! Anyway, I love this design. I chose to stitch this on 18 count Vintage Country Mocha Aida and I am so glad I chose this fabric. This design is huge. It is one of the biggest designs I have stitched - sampler wise. I juts don't think my eyes could have coped with the finer count of linen. I am glad I chose this fabric as it is wonderful to work on and stitches up really quickly. To be honest, I haven't touched another design since starting it as I desperately want to get it finished. I am nearly half way through it already. The colours are fab. 

Crochet wise, I have been busy making some of these tealight holders ready for the Christmas fair at school. You can find these very easy patterns from here.  They are quick to make up and look really pretty with a tealight inside them in the evenings. 

Some other news!

My good friend Sue from Sueinstitches blog has set up an online needlecraft shop called 

Peakside Needleworks

This is especially good news for stitchers in the UK as Sue is growing her supply of charts from our lovely friends in the US which are sometimes hard to get hold of here. One example is the Hands On chart Stitch Every Day which I had seen on one of the blogs I follow and loved it so much but couldn't find a supplier over here. Sue came to the rescue and ordered it in for me. 

She has a good range of charts in by various designers like:

Blackbird Designs

Blue Ribbon Designs

Little House Needleworks

La D Da

Plum Street Samplers 

and such like.

Her Hand dyeds include Classic Colorworks, Weeks Dye Works and he Gentle Art.

Sue is also planning on doing some finishing work as well in the future. I am going to get her to make up some of my CCN ornies at some point. So look out for that too. 

Please pop over and have a look at what she has in stock and more charts are going to be added. Sue has some of the best prices for hand dyed threads too and if there is anything you want, just let her know! She also has free pnp over £25 as well. 

Take a look and treat yourself!

We also have some other news.....

We have some new family members......

Meet Pepper....

And Nutmeg....

Thank you so much for all the lovely, kind messages you sent me last week when our beloved April suddenly died. I was and still am heartbroken. We felt that the best thing to do would be to get another cat straight away. We have been married for 16 years and have always had two cats at home. When Misty passed away in December and we had April left, we decided to not get another one and so when April died, there were no cats! The house felt very lonely. We got in touch with the RSPCA and went to have a look at a cat that had been there for a while but when we arrived, she had already gone! There were a lot of kittens though and so we chose these two beautiful girls. They are approx 3-4 months old - Pepper being slightly younger than Nutmeg. They are both very affectionate and playful and a delight to have around. 

I am sure there will be plenty more pics to follow. 

Thanks for being so patient with me folks. Hope you all have a good Summer. 

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Sad and Tragic Day

Sometimes you wonder what is really going on. Yesterday we had yet another tragedy in our family. Our beautiful rescue cat, April was tragically knocked down and killed instantly. We were on our way back from somewhere when we got the phone call from our neighbours telling us what had happened. The person who did it drove off and it was another member of the public who started to knock on people's doors to see who she belonged to. 

We were only a few minutes away and she was laying on the pavement in a right state but dead. She was still warm. It must have literally only just happened. We carried her inside then out to the back garden where we buried her . She was still warm when we buried her. Absolutely heartbreaking as I loved that girl sooooo much. She used to follow me everywhere.

Here are some happy memories. 

First photos taken from the rescue home we got her from.

First snaps at home..

She loved watching cat tv..

She liked to stretch...

And snuggle...

She was the friendliest cat ever!!

She liked the birds..

And she sometimes got stuck on the roof!

This was the last snap I got of her, in ds' bed. 

I'm so sad and my heart is breaking. Her little friend from down the street keeps sniffing at the blood where she lay and looking around for her. 

Sorry this is a sad post and is so picture heavy but I needed to do it.

April

Rescued December 2013

Passed away 11th July 2015

Love you forever. 

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