A Trifle From A Friend ~ and other news

A wee while ago I took part in a Spring Pincushion Exchange on the Friendly Stitchers Group ~ unfortunately I did not receive my pincushion from my partner.  So Mouse took it upon herself to stitch one up for me so that I did not miss out - how kind was that?
The design is A Trifle From A Friend by Plum Street Samplers.  Mouse has stitched it on hand dyed linen and used Crescent Colours Blooming Crocus for the stitching ~ topping it off with a lovely double ribbon bow.
The wording from the design is stitched on the back too.

Mouse also included a gorgeous Gloriana silk thread ~ Hydrangea.  This is my very first Gloriana thread and it is fabulous ~ so soft, can't wait to stitch with it.  Thanks so much Mouse.

I have managed some stitching over the last week ~ almost caught up with my 2011 Christmas Challenge stitching.  I now have April & May ornaments stitched and will be making them up this week ~ pictures to follow soon.  In addition to ornaments I have 2 Tuesday Stitching Group birthday gifts almost made up ~ hopefully they will be with their new owners next week, obviously no pictures until after re-homing.  I have two more gifts planned/started and 1 further where I am seeking a suitable design.

It was reveal day on Needlecraft Haven on Sunday for the May Stitching Challenge - mine was stitched and I had a trip to Just Quilting on Saturday with the Lovely C to get finishing fabric as my stash was lacking on that front ~ purely for this project I might add, not quantity!  I had planned to complete the finishing on Sunday morning however my head had other ideas!  The most horrid headache took up residence and I was only fit for sleep ~ so no stitching, or anything else for that matter.  I hope to complete it at some point this week.

If you are a regular reader you will know that I am usually late in posting my unofficial TUSAL update.  Yesterday was the prescribed day so I feel less guilty on this occasion!  I was pleasantly surprised when I decanted them for photographing as with the lack of stitching I hadn't expected to have much to show ~ I'm not sure if that is a good or bad thing!
I hope that you all enjoyed the long holiday weekend ~ Saturday was spent fabric shopping and attending our monthly EG meeting.  This month's speaker was Katie Chaplin from Japan Crafts who talked us through Japanese dressing protocol with the aid of her trusty model Dolly.  It was a very informative and enjoyable afternoon.   Sunday I was wiped out with that nasty headache.  On Monday we had a lovely visit from my WP's ~ it had been planned for a little while and originally I was to collect them, however Sis2 was down to stay with my Dad for a few days so she brought them along.  It was lovely to spend time with them and a huge bonus that we also got to see Sis2.  The birds graced us with their prescence while we sat chatting in the conservatory ~ Dad was delighted by the goldfinch & bullfinch which he said were to be seen in great numbers when he was young.
I feel that time is passing by so quickly at the moment ~ how can it be June already?  Tuesday saw the regular meet of our stitching group, yesterday the Lovely C & I had our usual trip to Quilt Group ~ not that we did any quilting ~ I was back-stitching Christmas ornaments! It was a good evening though with a few giggles and some dubious translating of the words on C's french sampler.
The LM is planning his trip away with military preciseness, he's trying to be surreptitious about it but failing ~ I can "see" his thought processes!  I have many things I would like to get done during the time he is away, stitching, organising etc but the list will be fluid ~ if it happens great and if it doesn't there's no harm done.
I'm progressing with the weight loss ~ ½ stone down so far which I am really pleased about, plenty still to go!  Hopefully LM will have time to give my bike a mini service before he departs as I would like to take advantage of the light mornings and nice weather to get out there before work.
The weather has picked up here today and the day has started bright and warm ~ long may it continue.
Not long until the weekend arrives.

Kate