Mary Busby time

Between being in Chester all day and watching the last episode of ER last night I didn't get much done but I did get the blue motif finished and the little brown one done (click on the pic to get the full thing)

I'm away next weekend with a bunch of other UK stitchers for our annual weekend long GTG so no update on this until Monday at least (that's assuming I get some done on it)

Thursday evening I finished Living With Charm but haven't had chance to take a pic yet, fingers crossed I'll get it done tomorrow

Chester (pic heavy)

We headed into Chester to walk the walls and so that Mel could spend the day with her BF.

After lunch in the Cathedral grounds off we went.

Our starting point was the Eastgate Clock we had planned to walk clockwise around the walls but the section just after the clock has collapsed so is currently closed

Looking towards Morgan's Mount

The Water Tower




Caleb refused to go back in his buggy after posing for pics so he was helped along by Auntie Mel and yours truely (that's Mel's BF btw and not some random guy in the pic)

The Castle

We ended up at the River Dee which was the plan all along
At times the weir flows backwards when the conditions are right, one of these days I'll be there to see it (they do let you know when it's going to happen)

The suspension bridge over the river

We headed back to the city centre and the bus through the Roman Gardens

This Hypercoust is reconstructed from pieces found during a dig at the Bath Building

Find more info about the walls here

Yum Strawberries

We did the weekly shop today and right before we left to the house Caleb fell asleep on the sofa on top of a favourite toy

While we out I bought a punnet of Strawberries just for him (no one else eats them) and once we got back home he had a few

Some of them were quite big and they still went in whole and got pushed back in when they dared to sneek out a little as he chewed, LOL

Bank Holiday Monday

We woke up this morning to a beautiful sunny morning and made plans to go to a local Mere for a walk round and so the Caleb could feed the ducks

In the end we didn't see that many ducks but we did see this guy

And this was the largest family of geese we saw

At the opposite end of the mere from where we parked and started our walk round there is a bench carved from a single tree trunk

Caleb & Auntie Mel posed for a pic

And just because there is such skill in the carving a few pics

Mary Busby update time

Not much progress this week as I had a busy day yesterday but still I got the blue motif half done. Next week will probably be the same as Lucy and Caleb will be here so I doubt much stitching will get done

To answer a couple of comments from yesterdays post...

Sharon, yes it's a owl

Kristin, we were talked through making him at craft club so I have no idea where the orginal idea came from

I've got a new friend

So far he/she is nameless

This little guy was the project at WI craft last night, very easy to make and uses up scraps of fabric to boot

Crackers!

Yes I am but that's not what this post is about :)

I thought I'd share one of my beading WIPs with you for a change and since this one is the most interesting to look at right now that's the one you get. Last November I did a class at The Bead Trail on how to make crackers and this is as far as I've gotten with mine! The bottom one (minus the edging) and the left hand one were either done or started in class so I could get the pattern nailed. The right hand one is the main body and there's still quite a way to go yet and then I have to come back and do the decreases so it pulls in as well as do the other end.


It was either 10 days or so before or after this class that I did the Angel Box which is why they never got finished, now I'll be working on them when I want a break from my new project which is mostly dark colours (and only has 4 1/2 rows of black beads so far hence no pic of that, it's just too boring right now)

Finished the Poppy box

One of my goals for this month was to finish this box and I did it a few days ago.

The lid isn't as charted, there should be little picots on the corners but I didn't like the way mine sat so undid them and left them off and the body is done in 2 drop peyote.

Day trip

Today was the first WI outing of the year and we went off to Southport until just after lunch when we moved onto Rufford Old Hall

We weren't allowed to take pics inside which is a real shame because they had some amazing samplers (some dating back to 1849). What annoyed me was that not only could I not take pics of them but they had no information about them at all other than they were mostly early Victorian and there wasn't a single pic in the guide book either, guess what my comment card said :)

Birthday Start

In keeping with my long standing tradition of having a new start on my Birthday I started LK's ABC Lessons.

Lizzie Kate's ABC Lessons

Ivory Murano

Crescent Colours

I had a pile of other things picked out and was going to ask Mel what one she thought I should go for but I was reading blogs first thing and all of a sudden I had an urge to start ABC so I did :)

The Lucky winner is.....

I tried to get Toby to pick a name out but all he wanted to do was pose on the side of the Dragon Bowl so Mel picked one instead

Congratulations Shel your Morning Song is ready to go as soon as I have your address

Mary Busby Update

Thank you for the Birthday wishes, I do appricate them. I've had a quiet morning and this afternoon I've been at a WI afternoon tea fundraiser, lucky most of them forgot or didn't know it was my Brithday so I didn't have the embarassment of them singing at me :)
Mel is cooking tea tonight and I'll be putting my feet up and working on present to me, a new start :) Yes I know I need one of those like I need a hole in my head but it's tradition!

Yesterday's effort included the centre of the brown motif, a couple of tiny letters and a start on the blue motif on the top right. I had planned to start a motif on ethe left but I discovered that when I did the conversion I made a boo boo and I have a yellow instead of a peach so I'll have to have nosey online to fix it.

Lulu, the chart for the Donkeys was designed by a fellow blogger from pictures of the ones owned by the person the hanging is for, I will ask her if I can share it.

And lastly you still have a few hours to enter my Birthday Giveaway

Donkeys

I finally finished my second square for the group wallhanging project I'm involved in.

This has been one of those projects that no matter how much I stitched on it it never seemed to get anywhere (reading the Twilight books again prob. didn't help either, I have a really hard time putting them down!)

Don't forget you still have a couple of days to enter my giveaway for a completely kitted up Morning Song

Scossor Fob Exchange part 1

This morning the postman brought me this gorgeous fob from Chris for the Scissor Fob exchange on Exchange Heaven. Chris wrote that she had a peek at my blog and saw that I liked sunflowers so she stitched me one :)

The back has a couple of busy little bees on it and Chris also included the scissors and a pack of Sunflower seeds :)

Thank you so much Chris it's perfect

Birthday Giveaway

A few days ago I told you about the stash I was given and I mentioned that I would tell you about the other thing I was given, well this is it. A fully kitted up Lavender & Lace Morning Song.




It's not to my taste at all so in celebration of my birthday this coming Saturday I'm giving it away to one of you. I will point out that from the looks of it whoever handed it in had started it then changed their mind and unpicked the tiny bit they had done but I had to look hard to spot the area that had been frogged, it was the single strands on the organiser that gave it away in the first place.

You have until Midnight (GMT) Saturday 16 May to leave your name on this post only and I will get Mel to draw a name on Sunday

Good Luck

Thundersprint

I was feeling better this morning so I decided that I would go to Thundersprint and even though it's been going since 1997 this is the first year I've made the effort and I'm sorry I waited so long!

I got into town just in time to see the cavalcade but I wasn't in a good place for pics :( the building in the background is the Council Offices and right down at the back on the right is the bull Ring

After the cavalcade (somewhere in the region of 150 bikes roaring past you) I wandered up to the paddocks (aka a car park at the other end of town)

I was lucky enough to get close to James Toseland

Then I went over to watch the speed trials timing it just right so I got there as the Spitfire flew overhead. I happened to stand right next to an old friend without noticing her until she said Hi, we've not seen each other for years!

I know you can't really tell what this pics all about but it's JT on his time trail, he played to crowd and spun his bike round in a circle while still reving to leave a huge rubber circle on the track (AKA another car park). Unsurprisingly he came last but the crowd loved it

I had a really nice afternoon and will be attending again next year, if you get teh chance to go next year do and let me know. I'm also tempted to go and see if that circle is still there tomorrow!

Just in case your interested you can find out about my home town here