Arghh......it's over 2 months!!

Oh Crikey.........2 months!!!!

I haven't done hardly any stitching at all with doing my autism course. It is proving to be a bit more demanding that any of the other courses I have done. I suspect that is because I haven't got any previous knowledge of the subject to draw on. It is a very interesting course though and I would recommend it to anyone.

Lindsay sent me a gorgeous PIF a while ago. It is a cute little biscornu. Thank you Lindsay and sorry it took me so long to let you know. She also sent me some lovely threads to go with it. The batteries are flat in the camera so I will have to get some new ones to post a pic.

As for stitching goals this year, I really failed miserably with them! I have revised them for 2010. I kept the ones that I haven't managed to do and would like to stitch an ornament a month again (think I managed 6 this year in the end).

I WILL NOT START ANYTHING NEW UNTIL I HAVE FINISHED AT LEAST 6 THINGS.

Anything that is a WIP/UFO currently is fair game to be worked on during the year.

I will not buy any new stash other than magazines this year but I would like a piece of fabric for a halloween project so hopefully someone (Colin are you reading this?) will get me that for my birthday.

Not much has happened really in the 2 months I haven't posted.

• I started my new job which is challenging but enjoyable.
• Rachael became a junior playleader at school and helps at dinnertime to keep the younger children amused and happy.
• Rachael is training as a peer mediator at school so she can help children with minor counselling issues at playtimes etc.
• Luke was voted onto the school council to represent his class (25 votes to 7 as he keeps telling me!)
• I passed my last OU course which I was pleased about and was only a few marks off getting a distinction which would have been nice.
• Rachael performed in her first recorder concert which was brilliant and we all really enjoyed it.

If you have made it this far feel free to give yourself a pat on the back! I will try to post more regularly in 2010 - perhaps that should be one of my goals too!!

***** HAPPY NEW YEAR *****

Halloween Exchange received

I received my Halloween Exchange yesterday and it is absolutely gorgeous! The green and orange fabric is much brighter in real life - the flash washed it out a bit. The cross stitch is perfect, I wish mine was that nice! The teddy has been named as Pumpkin by the children and so far I have been allwed to keep him! The variagated thread is a lovely colour too and will come in handy once I get back into some hardanger. There is also a piece of the green backing fabric too.

Thank you for all your kind thoughts on my car trouble last week - they really are much appreciated.

What gives them the right to....

...smash my car window and see if I have anything worth stealing? I took the children to the cinema on Sunday afternoon and came out to find my window smashed. It was little consolation to see several other cars in the same predicament.

The cinema staff were great, the manager filled out a report and filed it with the police and sent two members of staff to clear all the glass so we could drive home. We had forensics come out yesterday and they found several sets of fingerprints, however, I'm guessing that one set will be mine, one set Colin's and probably the other set will be the guy who fixed the glass in the window.

The insurance company were good too. The window was repaired Sunday night, the cheque for my personal belongings will be in the post in the next couple of days and the garage are collecting the car tomorrow to repair the bit of the door where the thieves had prised it. So if you are renewing your insurance LV are now highly recommended in my eyes!

I was really surprised that the police have taken it so seriously. I was expecting it to be a case of here's a crime number and off you go. They really have been really helpful and although I don't actually expect them to catch anyone at least it is being treated well. Amazing really when they have so many more serious crimes possibly to deal with!

The two ladies who came to do the fingerprints, obviously took mine as elimination but they also took Luke's for him too because he was so interested in what they were doing! They don't take prints like they do on TV though!

The Blog Frog

After seeing the link on Daffycat's blog, I have signed up for Theblogfrog too. It should be great to see everyone's blogs and hopefully I will discover some new blogs too.

How's this for customer service? I emailed The Daylight Company about my bulb dying on me so shortly after purchase and was told that they don't guarantee the bulbs because it depends on how often and for how long they are used etc. In the post today was a new bulb free of charge from them. Fantastic customer service from them and I can get back to some stitching...woohoo!!

Thank you for all your comments on my new job, I really appreciate them. I'm really excited but a bit apprehensive too. It's very different to what I have been doing in school but is going to be a role where I could really make a different to someone's achievement in school.

Fantastic News!!

I had a job interview today........and.........I GOT IT!!!!!

I start on 2nd November as a teaching assistant working one to one supporting a lad who is one exclusion away from permanent exclusion. Should be a challenge!

I go in next week to thrash out my exact hours, role and whatnot before starting. I'm quite excited.

On a not so positive note...I can't do any stitching at the minute because the bulb has gone in my lamp. My eyesight these days is not good enough to stitch on anything other than 14 count aida in the dark and gloomy evenings so no stitching til I get another bulb!

I finally posted off my final assignment for my last OU course. Now I just have to wait until the end of December for the result. In a couple of weeks the next course starts which is Understanding the Autistic Spectrum. Should be interesting and relates to work this time.

Think Pink

This is just a little quickie for anyone that lives near a Hobbycraft. They have got a fantastic pink bolt of fabric for breast cancer awareness. It is pink - obviously - with tiny little pink ribbons on it. Would be a fab backing fabric. It was £13 something a metre but I think you can get as little as 10 cm unless that has changed. I know a lot of ladies stitch for this cause. If anyone wants me to pick some up for them email me and let me know.

My bulb has given up the ghost in my lamp - I'm so cross as it isn't very long since I bought it. I have emailed Daylight to see what they say but I don't expect to hear anything much back. We shall see!!

Thank you for all the comments you leave, although I don't tend to respond to them generally, I do appreciate every single comment. It is always nice to discover new blogs through the comments too. Thank you for visiting!!

Halloween exchange

I have heard that my halloween exchange arrived safely, so here is what I stitched for it. It is the Brittercup Designs ornie from Just Cross Stitch Halloween issue 2008. I left off the heart in the end. It was fun to stitch but was actually the first time I had stitched a whole design over 1. I would still like to do this one for myself sometime too.

Rachael went back to school today. She is still complaining of earache but is much better in herself and has finished the antibiotics. Hopefully the earache will keep clearing and not get worse again!

I'm still stitching the needlebook for the exchange so can't show that. Well actually I say still stitching, I found one that I liked even better so I have started stitching that for my exchange partner instead. Summer in Sussex is comming on great and hopefully I will be ready to begin construction by the end of the week. I will take some photos tomorrow when there is decent light and post my progress.

New stash to fondle

Long long ago...well March in fact, I received a gift certificate for Downsunshinelane.com which is definitely my favourite ONS. As I wanted the JCS ornament issue, Amy held the rest of the order for me until it was in. Today it arrived!!!

I got some finishing forms to try as I would like some round ornies but there isn't much chance of me doing that with my finishing skills without a bit of cheating! L*K Housework never killed anyone, Winter thread pal and Winter Wonderland chart to complete it, CCN Mermaids, Nora Corbett Bluebell and Letter R, Blue Ribbons Behind the Gate and of course the magazine too. Our postie must have wondered what was up with me. I had rung the sorting office this morning to see if they were delivering it today as I had paid the customs charge on Wednesday so I knew it was on its way. He knocked on the door and I opened it with a huge grin on my face and near enough snatched it off him! Well it makes a change from bills and junk mail!!

Rachael has been poorly all week with an ear infection and flu symptoms. She was seen by the doctor on Monday and given anti biotics that are apparently her first lot since she was 1. I find that really hard to believe although in truth I can't remember her having any. She is 10 now so I suppose that must show she is a pretty healthy child - well apart from her diabetes...lol.

I am working on a needlebook for the Tiny Treasures Too exchange at the moment so once again my stitching is secret. I have also made a start on Summer in Sussex but have only done half the roof so far which means it is not really worth a progress piccie at the minute.

Don't forget there is still time to vote in the poll over on the right. It seems people mainly start in the middle still at the moment.

Poll added

I just want to be nosy, so I have added a poll to the top of the right side bar. I am curious about where people start stitching from when starting a new project. If you want to comment to explain your reasons for where you start from where you do please leave a comment on this post. If I am using a frame and my stand, I like to start from the bottom left. The reason for this is because I stitch with my left hand under the frame and my right hand on top. That way I don't put my hand on the stitching so much whilst stitching. However, If I am stitching in hand, I prefer to start from the top left and work down and then across so that my left hand is stitching and my right hand holds the fabric so again there is not too much contact with my stitches.

Autumn exchange arrived

Lisa posted that her autumn exchange has arrived so I can post a pic of it now - thank you for letting me steal the pic Lisa. I finished as a pin keep. It was the first time I had made one and as it was so easy I think I will be making more of them now. Unfortunately I just couldn't make a bow that looked half way decent so it ended up without one. If anyone knows of a "complete idiot's guide to making a bow" please let me know where it is!!

I have finished the exchange piece for the halloween exchange and that will be on it's way to its new owner tomorrow. Once it's received I will post a pic.

Luke was substitute for his team yesterday. They were playing one of the better teams in the league and he came on just before half time. Unfortunately about 5 minutes after half time he gifted the opposition a goal for them to go 2-1 up. He was determined to make up for his error and then played a cracking 15 minutes of really good football and one of his team mates scored to make the final score 2-2. It was actually a really fair result as both teams played really well and neither deserved to lose.

I have signed up for another Open University course which will start in November. This time I am going for Understanding the Autistic Spectrum which although covering just about every issue surrounding the various conditions also covers education so should be helpful with job hunting too.