Life - an update

So life has been somewhat busy since my last post.

The Great Tapestry of Scotland exhibition went well and here are some images. The exhibition was even used as a backdrop for a documentary on Scotland and independence by the BBC's Robert Peston. I also successfully staged 3 stitching classes which all went well.


















The panel I stitched on for the Scottish Diaspora tapestry is also completed and is already travelling around.  Here I am at the launch event with my panel.




The past couple of months have been busy for other reasons though - meet Mr M who I met in August and is the most lovely and fantastic man.  Life is certainly a whole lot better with him around.

My life is like a tapestry

So goes the Carole King song. The album Tapestry came out in the year I was born and I heard it growing up. It's still a feature on my iPod now.

The past year has been a tapestry in both the metaphorical and literal senses and Tapestries are a huge part of my life right now.

Recently I've spent quite a bit of time stitching on a panel for the Scottish Diaspora tapestry.

Mostly I stitched on this panel about the First shawl woven in Paisley as part of a stitching group at the Paisley thread mill museum



Other stitchers in the same group stitched this panel.



In September, the whole tapestry is coming to Paisley to visit for an exhibition which I'm helping to organise.


However the Tapestry that is taking up a lot of time is already finished and currently on display in Aberdeen. After Aberdeen, the Tapestry is coming to Paisley and I'm helping to organise the exhibition as part of the Paisley thread mill museum organisation and in association with a group called Weaving Musical threads and West College Scotland. There is a lot of work ahead but it's going to be a hopefully amazing exhibition with lots of other events, including stitching workshops. The exhibition will be at the Atrium at the old Anchor thread mill.



It's an awesome exhibition space and I know it will look amazing there. If you live locally, we need volunteers to help with visitors. If you are interested, leave a comment here and I'll give you further details.

And now back to organising this hopefully fantastic event.

Colour and Who

The dark days of winter are here in Scotland and 2013 is coming to a close. Christmas this year has been a lovely family time after a long struggle to this year and brought a lot of closure. The man who killed my Uncle was convicted and sent to prison for a long time so we can now start to move on.

One thing that I've found a love for this year is colour or more specifically colour work. It's really not as scary as it seems. I've dabbled a little before but decided to dive in full force and knit Little birds by Ysolda Teague.



Which involved steeking or cutting knitting for the non knitters. Again not as scary as it seems.



I utterly love the cardigan and have worn it a lot.


The other big thing for me for the end of this year was the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who. I started watching Doctor Who when I was very small and have loved the show since I first hid from the Daleks whilst they fought Tom Baker. So when it was announced that there would be an anniversary event in London on the day of the anniversary, I booked my ticket straightaway. There was of course, some pre event knitting.

Police box mittens in OMA Tardis and Dreich



And of course the scarf - which was finished off for the event a little shorter than planned but will eventually be fully finished



The scarf even got to meet some Doctor Who companions - Lalla Ward aka Romana II who was my favourite.



Louise Jamieson aka Leela



And Jenna Coleman aka Clara Oswin



I met and listened to many other Doctor Who people which was really cool.

What's going on

The past month or so has gone pretty quickly.  We've had some actual summer weather which was fantastic and life is continuing on as before.

The Paisley 1930s panel is completed and we are just waiting for the exhibition at the Scottish Parliament next month.   

The final panel looked this.

I'm really looking forward to seeing it all together in one place.

The past few weeks have brought some challenges too. My ongoing hand issues have turned into something a little more serious and just over 4 weeks ago, I was found to have a prolapsed disc in my spine.  Thankfully no surgery is required but the cure is time, rest including no exercise and painkillers.  I'm a fairly recent convert to the whole gym/exercise thing but the not being able to go the gym is some thing I'm finding tough, largely because it worsens my insomnia. Things are gradually improving and I'm hoping to be back at the gym in about 4-6 weeks.

More stitching

So the stitching bug is really starting to come back. Last week I found a Sashiko kit that has been around for a while. The little straight stitches helped to soothe what was a very stressful week.



And in a very handy coincidence, it fits with the Monochrome May theme of Theme-a-licious 2013.


Most of this past weekend was spent stitching on the Paisley 1930s panel of the Great Scottish tapestry project. As the deadline for completion draws close, I brought the panel home with me to stitch on. I made a lot of progress and completed the central female figure.



The whole panel looks like this.



I'm really looking forward to seeing the finished panel hanging with all the others in the Scottish Parliament in August.

Last week was stressful for 2 very different reason. Firstly I was waiting to see if I had passed my most recent MSc module. Thankfully I have. The second reason was that the police made an arrest in the hunt for the man who killed my Uncle and finally at the end of the week, a man was charged with murder. The next few months are going to difficult but I'm much more hopeful we will get justice for my uncle.

2013 plans and themes

This year, I'm hoping to stitch a lot more. I am going to join with Heather's theme-a-licious themes again. Again the graphic for this year really swung it for me - how could I resist the lovely David Tennant as the Doctor.



Stitching wise, I hope to finish Autumn Queen and Japanese Octagon box, which are both long term WIPs and I think this is pretty realistic. Anything else is a bonus.

Knitting wise, I think it might be a year of cardigans and socks. Some of my previously knit socks are a little worn and I have a lot of sock yarn so that seems like a perfect match. I've worn the Stevie cardigan I knitted last year a lot and my wardrobe really needs more cardigans for the somewhat variable temperatures at work. I also want to get more comfortable with colour work this year.

Life goals for the coming year are fairly simple - continue with the MSc and the job and have more fun. I'm hoping that my Internet dating journey results in finding someone special and I'm currently working on that.

2012 progress report

Well 2012 is finally over so it's time to look back at the year, both from a craft and life perspective. It was a very challenging year for me.


Stitching wasn't something that happened a lot this year. My stitching slump has continued somewhat although I am seeing signs of it ending.. I made quite a bit of progress on Autumn Queen and I'm hoping to finish it in the next month or so.

Here's what she looks like now



Another big finish was Elizabeth's stocking by Shepherds bush which I also turned into a stocking, along with 2 previous Shepherds Bush stockings. One for me and the others for my sister and her husband - they loved them.








Knitting continued to take up a lot of my time and I finished quite a few things, most of which you can see here.




I haven't been so good at updating photographs and sharing progress however. My computer began to slowly die earlier this year and finally gave up the ghost in September but it has now been replaced with a shiny new iMac so I'm gradually trying to catch up.

Life has remained very busy. I've now finished the second module of my MSc and am anxiously waiting my results. Work has remained very challenging as I've started working towards promotion but it continues to go well.

September brought my 40th birthday and a lovely trip to Ireland. Being 40 has turned out to be much less scary that I would have ever thought and in a lot of ways, I feel like it has freed me from a lot of things. I had said I want to try a lot of new things before my birthday, time meant a lot of that didn't happen but I have tried a few new things. Having been very single for a long time, I've been trying Internet dating, it's been scary, sometimes frustrating and upsetting but ultimately fun so far. More about that later though.

Sadly the situation regarding my uncle's death has turned out to be more devastating that we hoped. He was murdered and the police are currently looking for a suspect. This site explains the situation and who they are looking for - www.michaelpoldingmurder.co.uk . It has made 2012 a very difficult year indeed.

New year, new post, new plans

Happy 2012 to everyone. I'm very glad to see the back of 2011 as whilst there have been lots of good things to the past year, my family and myself have had lots of problems and dramas to deal with, particularly in the last couple of months.

Still new year, new start and it's going to be an exciting one. 3 of my cousins are having babies, a very good friend is getting married, I have a big birthday (my 40th) and in a few weeks I begin studying again. I'm starting a Masters degree in Oncology via an online course in addition to working full time so I'm going to be busy.

I want to get back to Cross stitching more this year too. I have a lot of cross stitch projects which are in progress and I really want to get back to them. As a bit of motivation, I'm going to join in with 2 stitchalongs with the stitching community.

The first is 2012 WIPocalypse organised by Measi, where you work on your existing projects and report back at each full moon. It's a no pressure SAL which really appeals.

I'm going to combine it with Theme-a-licious 2012 organised by Heather, firstly because I have projects that fit in all the themes and secondly it has the best SAL graphic with the lovely Nathan Fillion.




I'm hoping to get some knitting done this year too plus there's quite few sewing projects to get to also. 2012 is definitely going to be a busy, busy year.

More knitting

Time is pretty much flying by at the moment. My job is really busy at the moment so I'm pretty brain dead when I get home hence the lack of posting here.

I have been knitting away. Here's my latest finish - Stevie by Sarah Hatton from a recent Rowan studio in Rowan wool cotton.



I've also been trying out some colourwork in the form of mittens. Mitten one is done so far. The pattern is by Garnstudio/Drops and was originally fingerless mitts but after the last two winters, I think mittens will be more useful.



I'm planning a relaxing weekend of crafting so hopefully I will have more progress to share soon.

Of sewing, secret knitting, splints and framing

The past couple of months have been quite busy with an annual stitching weekend away with friends, Knit Nation and just general life busyness.

Prior to Knit Nation, I had agreed to test knit some lovely new sparkle yarn from Old Maiden Aunt yarns, ready for it's launch at Knit Nation. The yarn is merino sparkle in the shade Dreich and the pattern is Undine.



Another thing that has been taking up my time of late is sewing. I grew up with a Mum who made a lot of my clothes. My mum spent many years working in clothing factories as a sewing machinist. I have sewn clothes in the past with her help but I decided recently that I'd like to try to sew on my own.

So far I finished a Wrap style blouse in some very basic black fabric. This was my testing garment to see if I could do it.

Last week, I moved on to a tunic top with a concealed zip. The pattern is Juliet tunic by Serendipity design studio. It was a little tricky as I had to adapt adjust the skirt part of the tunic to fit my hips and lengthen it. The having to lengthen the skirt section blew my mind as I'm really not tall, only 5ft tall. Usually I have the exact opposite problem. But it now fits really well.

My most recent finish was another wrap blouse from the same pattern. I've altered it somewhat at the arms and shoulders so it fits better.

I've also managed to frame up a recent cross stitch that I already had the frame for.

The only downside lately has been a further recurrence of my previous hand problem so my right hand has been strapped up in a splint for the past month or so and I'm currently having more physiotherapy to try and resolve it. Thankfully it seems to have improved over this weekend so I'm feeling a bit more hopeful about it that I was last week.

Prize Draw for Cancer Research

Just like last year, I'm going to be participating in the Race for Life 5km for Cancer Research. Its a 5km women runner only event for Cancer Research, the leading UK charity for research into the causes and treatment of all cancers. Cancer Research does amazing work and they have a great website full of useful and accurate information for Cancer patients and their carers. I use their site a lot in my work with cancer patients so its a cause close to my heart.

Last year Lilith of Old Maiden Aunt yarns donated a gift voucher for her webstore as a prize for a draw for anyone who donated to my sponsor page. I'm very pleased to say that Lilith has repeated her offer again and has offered some prizes for anyone who donates.

The first one is a kit for Fugue, a design by the very talented Kate Davies, knitted in lovely OMA yarn.

The prize is for the full kit. She has also offered a couple of skeins of her lovely merino sock yarn as separate prizes.

In addition, I'm offering a prize of a pair of hand knitted socks to fit the person who wins this prize. I'm hoping to have a couple of more prizes to offer which I will sort out in the next day or so.

So how can you win one of these lovely prizes. Well its pretty simple. Donate to my Race for life page using the link at top right of my blog page or visit my fundraising page to donate. Due to the rules regarding Gift aid, you can't gift aid your donation if you wish to be entered into the prize draw. Any donation of whatever size would be greatly appreciated. The race is on the 5th of June and I will keep the draw open for a week after the race.

More knitting finishes

The knitting production line continues here at the moment. The Baby Yoda outfit went down very well and the Father to be is very pleased with it. He went looking on line to see what I might be knitting for a baby that was Star Wars related and I have apparently exceeded his expectations.

I've finished the remaining baby knits and handed them over. The mum to be has promised a picture of the baby wearing the Yoda outfit once he makes his appearance.

First up, another pair of tiny shoes in Yoda green

And a Ten stitch blanket in some James Brett marble chunky

Karoline asked in the comments, what pattern I used for the light saber in the last post. Well I used this one that I found on Ravelry. Its really just a jumbo felted icord.

As well as the baby knitting, I've also managed to finish knitting something for me. The Pattern is Milkweed by Laura Chau and the yarn is Handmaiden Camelspin.

I was hoping to perhaps get some stitching done this weekend but my body has managed to conspire against me. On Friday night on my way home from work, I managed to trip up on the stairs and on my way down, I put my hand out to save me. Unfortunately I put out my right hand that I fell on last year and I also had my keys in my hand. I've managed to flare up the previous injury again. Thankfully I can knit/write and type but anything that involves pinching my thumb and first finger together is uncomfortable and painful. That rules out stitching for a few days until it settles. Hopefully it will settle soon.

Happy Christmas

Several things have kept me from posting lately. They can easily be summed up in three words - teeth, snow and work. Work has been very busy with training someone new. Ongoing problems with one tooth has meant 6 separate dental appointment, 2 different dentists and 2 days in bed very unwell. Thankfully things seem to be settling now and I have a dentist I can trust.

As for the third thing, snow. Well this has mostly been the view out of my window for the past few weeks. Britain has had a very severe winter so far. The snow is a little less deep now but its been very cold where I live - the high most days is around -7 C and its been falling to -12 C and lower at night.



I will leave you with some pictures of wintery Paisley. Firstly the view of Paisley Abbey this afternoon as the sun went down.



And a picture of the old mill building at the end of my street. The river is only partly frozen today but earlier in the week it was completely frozen over. I was hoping to catch site of the otter that has made its home in the river of late but no luck.



Finally I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas.

Hello again

Life has been a bit busy lately for a variety of reasons.

First up, the final total that I raised for Race for life was £250, which I was incredibly pleased with. The voucher for the OMA yarn was won by Anna from my knitting group and I'm busily knitting a pair of socks for the sock prize winner. Time has slightly run away from me lately but if you donated and I haven't been in touch yet, I will be as I would like to give a little something to everyone who did donate.

Work has been keeping me busy. I can't quite believe I've been in my new job for 9 months already and it all seems to be going well. They've been pretty understanding with hospital appointments as the thumb problem that I had earlier in the year has continued to cause difficulty and I've been attending physio sessions for the past two months. Again I have a delightful thumb splint to wear and will probably have to wear it on and off in the future as my physio has discovered that the injury was aggravated by the fact that I have hyper mobile thumb joints. Its not just the thumb joints but also my ankles. The ankle joint effect has caused me to fall 3 times in the past couple of months so I've been a bit bruised and battered.

Thankfully the thumb problem has not stopped me knitting although it has affected my ability to stitch at times. I have finished a couple of things, including a long term sock WIP.

Oh and there was also my annual stitching weekend with friends in there, a trip to London from Knit Nation, a visit to the Knit Camp market place and a Ravelry meet up picnic but more on them in the next few days.

Keeping busy

Time has really flown by lately. My new job is keeping me busy plus I've been out and about a fair bit. There has been quite a lot of knitting lately also.

I finished my Citron shawl. The pattern is from Knitty.



And a long term UFO - a felted bag from the Rowan Felted collection book. I'm planning to add some decoration to the front of the bag once I figure out what I want to add.



Then I finished some socks for myself - the pattern is Heart and Sole by Ysolda Teague and the yarn is from the Yarn yard.



There has also been some gift knitting - Socks and a little cardigan for a friend's new arrival







And some stripy socks for the daughter of a friend who was keen on getting some hand knit socks.



Finally a little lace cardigan for me which is my latest finish. The pattern is Liesl by Ysolda Teague and the yarn is Malabrigo worsted.



Quite a lot of knitting done really. Commuting on the train has really increased my knitting time so I seem to be making more progress. Not much stitching going on however. I'm still getting some pain in my thumb following my fall earlier in the year and stitching seems to aggravate it a little so I'm having to take it easy. Hopefully it will settle down soon.

The other thing going on is that the date for the Race for life 5k for Cancer Research is coming up very soon. More on that shortly as I have a couple of prizes to offer up for anyone donating.