And they're off ...

                                                             

Hello everyone!

Well, back to school for the kiddies, back to routine and homework !!!  

Ryan started High School yesterday and he was a bag of nerves going in but he came out with a big smile on his face so that's a great sign!!  

First day nerves for my big man!!

It was so strange walking just Conor, Mark, Katie and Cara up for the bus!!  I kept looking behind myself to see if Ryan was behind me lol  He was at home waiting for me to get back for a lift!! James checked him over to make sure he had his tie on right and shirt buttoned up haha  I think he is more of the mother hen!!  The next big milestone in our family is James off to Uni on 19th Septemebr!!  

Conor and Mark

Cara, Katie, Mark and Conor

Katie

Getting on the bus!!

One problem the kiddies always have is finding their PE kit bags when everyone's look the same so I hunted down bags that would be easily spotted by them and I ordered these from eBay ... I am totally delighted!!  

Kiddies PE kit bags

I think it is time now to get some stitching done :D  I am currently stitching Cara's mermaid and I Hope to be able to get it finished for her soon!

Have a great day!

love me
xxxxx

I made ...

B A G S!!

Hello Everyone!

I hope you are all well and had a great weekend :)  We have had a lovely weekend, well a lovely few months off the 'norm' of routine ... but I do love routine!  

This is what I made at my beginners sewing machine class!! 

A Lavender Bag

A bag for my Cross Stitch stash

Katie Modelling My Bags

I must say I totally enjoyed my day learning to use a sewing machine :)  I am now saving up for a machine of my own!!  Cara has already started a 'wish list' of goodies she wants made haha!!  She has a lot of trust and faith in my abilities haha!!  

Joan Elliott Stitch A Long with my
Sewing Machine Jar

The last few days have been busy sorting things out for school as the kiddies go back tomorrow :) Ryan  also starts big school tomorrow!!

Uniforms/PE kit/Coats all ready for
Tomorrow!!!

There is and will be lots of change going on in this house as James has his date now for Uni, and he moves into his residence on 19th September!!  Life seems to be flying by at the moment!!  

I will post some photos of Ryan in his big school uniform :)... I just hope its not too much of a struggle to get up super earlier tomorrow lol

Have a great week all!

Love me

xxxxxx

From ....

THIS ...

TO ...

I am totally made up :)  It was more hard work trying to get a photo of her framed than it was stitching her lol The light kept reflecting off the glass!!

Sewing machine course tomorrow .. I cant wait!!  I will let you know how it goes and I just hope I don't come home with the machine sewn to my jeans lol

Love me

xxxxx

Great news and a Mermaid for Cara

Hello there!!

After a busy couple of weeks (as usual lol) and a heart echo scan for Katie I can say that Katie's hole in the heart has nearly closed :)  For all you people familiar with a pin pick ... well that just how big the hole is now :D  Totally delighted!!

A child born with 2 holes in her heart now only has one teeny weeny little hole that should close on its own in the next year or so!!  We have to go back in 2 years for another echo scan and with luck the hole shall have vanished!!  She is not on any medication and has never needed an op!! Absolutely amazing!!  

Katie (with tongue out) Cara and me!!
Love my hair band lol 

Finally I have started stitching something other than my Summer fairy lol  She is at the framers still waiting to be framed :)

This week I have stitched some on stitches onto a piece of fabric and 'Dah dah' ... a mermaid started to appear haha!!  

This is another of Joan Elliott's fab designs :)  I bought 'A year of magical Stitching' chart pack and the mermaid I am stitching is from July

Mermaid for Cara

We have had 'fun' this week as one of our cats, Charlie, went missing and after a big Facebook plea and numerous hours and hours of searching around the streets, two people spotted her in our local area!  They kept her amused, after phoning the vets, and once her microchip was scanned to confirm she was our Charlie we were reunited with her :) Fantastic!!

Never underestimate the power of social media and the generosity of good people!!  

Charlie

Next week I am off to a one day beginners sewing machine course :)  I cannot wait to learn how to use a sewing machine!! I am really looking forward too this :D

James, my 19 year old, is in charge of the kiddies ... but I suspect that it may well be Cara who is in charge haha!!  Poor James will be hen-pecked all day lol I will let you all know how I get on with the sewing machine and how James survived the 'monsters' lol lol :D

Have fun and keep safe everyone

Love Heather

xxxxxx

She's Finished!!!

Hello to you all!

The summer Holidays are going swimmingly ... literally lol The rain has not stopped at all for weeks!!  I think we need an arc building haha

Laura and Abby moved out a few weeks ago and its very strange I must say!!  James is off to Uni in 4 or 5 weeks time ... the family is shrinking!!  No doubt James will be home every few weeks with a bag of washing and to raid the fridge haha!!

With the weather so bad I ended up booking Mark, Katie and Cara into the local summer scheme for a few hours a day just so they had something to do!  Where has the sunshine gone?

The kiddies are at their fathers this week so I sat down and finished my Summer Fairy :D Delighted!!

Summer Fairy Finished
04 August 2015

Summer fairy

Of course the children have a list of stuff ready for me to start now lol There's no rest for the wicked lol

I already 'had' to stop my Fairy stitching the other week to stitch a doggie for Cara!!  Oh the chore of such a task lol

Cara's Doggie

I have also stitched and posted my exchange for the Margaret Sherry blog exchange but I cant show photos just yet :) I think the next task will be Cara's mermaid and then Ryan's dragon!  Both designs by Joan Elliott ... I think they are as hooked on her designs as I am :D

Well, I must sort out Cara's mermaid stuff and get cracking lol
Happy stitching and crafting everyone :)

Love and hugs
Heather
xxxx

Pen-pals for Kiddies

Hi there,

My two youngest Katie (nearly 8 years old) and Cara (5) would each love some pen-pals!!

Any of my regular readers have children/grandchildren or know of children that would love to correspond with either or both of the girls via snail mail post?

I don't mind posting outside of the UK  :)

If so please either leave a comment with e-mail address for me to contact you or drop me a line heatherloismail@gmail.com

Thanks!

Love me
xxxxxxx

Totally delighted!! #projectoftheweek

Hello All,

Yesterday my Summer fairy was voted project of the week by the World of Cross Stitching magazine :)

I cannot believe how many lovely comments I got and also all the 'likes'  Totally over the moon!!

I can imagine that you are all getting a bit fed up of looking at the lovely lady lol  

I aim to have her finished asap!!  I am just waiting on more metallic thread to arrive so I can finish her dress off and get more beads on!!

This nomination was a lovely surprise and a nice birthday gift to me lol  Its my 44th Birthday today!!

Wow I am getting old haha

The British Heart Foundation and @YorkshireMOS are doing a giant Heart of Steel and by making a small contribution people can have names engraved on this giant Heat of Steal ... needless to say I am having, with Katie's full agreement, her name engraved on the heart :)  As many of you know she was born with 2 holes in her heart.  One has closed and in August she is due a scan again to check on her progress ... fingers crossed .... anyway click on the link and have a look at this magnificent project being organised by lots of companies!!  Its amazing!!

Heart of Steel
Photo https://twitter.com/@YorkshireMOS

Bye for now

Love me

xxxx