I made it back to work yesterday. I am just so pleased to be well enough to go back.
We had a wonderful couple of days in York. I loved it and really want to go back but without the non-shopping male part of the family.

The Merchant Adventurer's Hall

a real hornbook (they also had a horn window)

unfortunately they didn't sell these in the gift shop

rats ahoy!

I've made a little scissor fob as I kept losing my scissors and it was driving me nuts. Its based on a Bent Creek halloween design Pumpkin on the Hill - I never got round to stitching it for this year so put the Blackbird on a green Shepherds Bush inspired hill instead. Its stuffed with some wool roving so I can use it as a needle park too:



Molly has finally decided to live downstairs after 5 yrs of self imposed isolation upstairs. She is not afraid of the dog at all and spends most of her time asleep on the window sill. The living room looks like a knackers yard now though with all these pets lying round unconscious:



Luke came home from school delighted yesterday as he has been put into the top group in his class for literacy. This is such a big improvement for him and he is so pleased with himself.

I've still been slowly improving. Really trying to take it easy some days just to make sure I don't overdo it. I'm actually going back to work next week after almost 6 months off! I'll go back to my job as a chemotherapy nurse and build up to working 12 hrs per week. I've reduced my contracted hours from 18 per week as really want to make sure I don't go sick if possible. I'm SO pleased to be doing the job I've done for almost 20 years and love.

I actually managed to take Luke to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London yesterday. Mike dropped us outside as he was working nearby. We spent an hour in the British gallery looking at Tudor/ Jacobean furniture, clothes, wall hangings etc. Luke had interactive activities to do on computer terminals scattered about. It was great but we'd both had enough after an hour. We headed down the road to McD's for lunch and then went to Harrod's to look at the Food Hall. Unfortunately Luke couldn't stand the smell in the main hall (very cheesy as they have a huge cheese counter) so we retreated to the in store ice cream parlor where Luke had the most enormous hot fudge sundae.


We then wandered back to the museum and sat in the lovely autumn sun until Mike collected us. I was knackered when we got home and really hurt all over today but boy was it worth it.

Today I'm doing as little as possible. We are going to see my friend Mandy tomorrow (yay!) and then going onto York - saying I'm looking forward to it is an understatement. Luke has just done Tudors at school so we're going to the Barley Hall and the Viking museum then to DIG and the Merchant Adventurers Hall.

I've been doing some stitching on Oriental Harem Garden (onto part 2). This is going to be a long term project as it takes ages but I'm enjoying it:



I'm also stitching Quaker Six Mains, a freebie from A mon ami Pierre, on 25ct linen. I'm doing it in very muted colours and using small silvered beads for the eyes and flower centres:



I also received the chart for 'The industrious bee sampler' in the post from USA today. I saw the one that Becky had finished on her blog and loved it. So its in the queue.



I'm hoping to start Shepherd's Bush Finch Song next. I want to get lots of smaller ones done so I can cover a wall in the hallway with them


I've done no knitting or spinning this week. I've got some Pigeonroof studios roving which is calling to me loudly though.

I've got some fab news and I'm hoping I don't jinx it by putting it on here - I'm starting to feel better! I'm so hoping its not a flash in the pan and I go back to zero again. My muscle and joint pain is reduced and so is the fatigue. I was awfully ill with the flu and have just seemed to get better and better recovering from it. I don't know whether the flu bug has kick started my immune system properly or something.

But anyhow, I've been spinning (!), some soft singles from Lakehouse Loft:






and doing cross stitch on my new slate frame ..... yes, its bloody enormous, 40" wide to be exact but its good. Took a bit of getting used to but now I am its great. Just bloody enormous. Its handmade from beech by a bloke on ebay



so after I bought this, I found another frame listed in a totally random section of ebay and put a ridiculously low bid of £2.99 in for it - and won it. Its 24" so I now own 2 needlework frames.



Sparky is getting his winter coat and has had an inexpert trouser trim by Mum. I do wonder if we run a pet hotel sometimes.
There really is no need for this kind of behaviour, is there?



I've bought some fabric and floss to make a start on this Quaker sampler too. I don't think I'll make it so big. I've chosen pale blue, grey, lavender, ecru colours. Its a free pattern which is nice.

I've been searching ebay for Lego - Luke is really into castle Lego at the moment and I've managed to get him 5 new knights and 12 armoured war horses so far. I hope the little ratbag is still into castle lego by his birthday. His best friend is having his birthday party soon at Laserquest, which they specially chose for Luke (he feels quite awkward in company but they know he loves laserquest). How nice and thoughtful was that?

anyway, I'd better go and get stitching. I've decided to leave the weaving until I'm a lot better and put my loom away so it doesn't look at me.

I'm knitting socks with wool/ nylon mix to see if they hold up better than the pure wool ones I've made which wear through the foot within weeks. Its just going to be a mindless, plain sock using Kangaroo Dyer yarn. I love this yarn and are pleased with it so far. Will take photos when past the toe ;0)

I've started my 'Oriental Harem Mandala Garden' cross stitch from Chatelaine Designs and are really enjoying it. This is progress so far:


I posted Mum's birthday present to her, a Milkweed Shawl made with MadTosh sock yarn. She was delighted (!!) and I really enjoyed knitting it. The yarn was lovely too and blocked out really well.





we're all over the dreaded swine flu and Luke even managed to dodge the bullet. It was horrible proper flu too. nothing worse. The cats were delighted that we were both in bed for an overlapping period of about 10 days. I've been exhausted today and just slept all day. Haven't had a migraine for 5 days though which is great considering I've had them almost daily for last 5 weeks, really horrible ones.

We had to take one of the cats to the vets and then the dog next day (flea allergy and sore leg). Just what you need with flu. Our window cleaner says he's just going to paint a plague cross on the door and avoid me as someone is always sick in our house (usually me though)

o i n k.
f l u k i l l i n g m e
s e n d b u z z b a r s

Mike has probable swine flu and is horrendously unwell with it. I haven't seen him so ill since he had his stem cell transplant in '95. Luckily I'm feeling a bit better last few days. Migraines have slowed down again thank g-d so I was able to go and get some anti-viral capsules for him.

It was very easy to arrange this - I just filled in a form on the internet and got a special code to give to the pharmacist. Despite this I still had to ring the GP as he lost his spleen in a motorbike accident in 2000 and I needed to check whether they wanted him to have a course of antibiotics to stop his chest flaring. But they didn't.

Rosie has been so good. She has been up lying on the bed with him and been really quiet and still. She realises Dad is sick 'cause she would usually be bouncing round like a loon on the bed. Cats couldn't care less.

I really really hope that Luke and I don't get it. I had real flu in early '90's when I was a student nurse and it was awful. I had a temperature over 40 degrees celcius and was delerious for 3 days. All by myself in a student room - I can vaguely remember the GP coming to see me and nothing else. Thank god for the friends that must have looked after me.

So I may disappear for a while. Take care.

I on the up again. Just out of bed after another bad migraine and busy as a bee trying to spend the whole day doing craftwork!
I really don't know why my head has kicked off again big time. The cats are delighted though to have the electric blanket on full time.

I've finished Mum's Milkweed Shawl and will block it later once cat removes itself from back bed (well, you can't just shift them, can you? imagine the black looks!)

I started knitting a doily last week. Even my Mum laughed out loud at me. Its a Herbert Niebling pattern called Loewenzahn which should be knit with crochet cotton but I'm using cream Sirdar Calico which is a DK weight cotton/ acrylic. Its a lovely fibre to knit with and is so soft. No idea what I'm going to do with it - think I will knit whole doily pattern and add to it to make it bigger for a lap blanket (or cat blanket more likely)

I also came across a gorgeous cross stitch designer called Martina Weber of Chatelaine Designs. I was looking for Persian tile designs to convert to fair isle for my planned handspun vest but got side tracked. She does the most wonderful Garden Mandalas. I've bought the chart to Oriental Harem Garden and spent the morning looking for the threads etc. The design has lots of beads on it so it will really sparkle.
The only problem is that its 27 inches square. Yes, 80 cm square. Why I didn't check the size I'll never know but its so gorgeous it will be worth it. A lifes work I think!

Luke has gone happily bobbing off to first day back at school this morning.
He has been given the hard word about behaving himself and not refusing to work. He sometimes point blank refuses to do things 'as thats not going to help me be an engineer or to earn money'.
I can see his point (which I don't let him know obviously) but he's got to learn not to be so stubborn. As his head teacher says 'if he makes 18 without one of us strangling him he will be a wonderful man'

If he misbehaves, first he will have me going to school with him. Then Grandma if I'm too soft. Then Nana, ex- head teacher for hard line schooling. (well, thats what I've told him. I think he knows deep down that Nana is a lot nicer than that!)
He knows I'm not joking either.

And I still haven't posted Maeva's May birthday present. I keep adding things to it. I may just post it in parts.