Running Late

 Another new month and a promise of Spring but before I step into March I need to tie up my February loose ends, I always seem to need an extra few days to do that but to be fair February was a short month.

The Monthly Birth Flower

Violet

I have to be honest I just finished this yesterday, I did enjoy sewing it but the leaves are sewn in chain stitch which is a first for me I have never embroidered leaves in chain stitch before and honestly I don't think I will again I'm not sure I like the finish, I found it quite hard to get the stitches even and neat, it will have to do, I won't be redoing it that's for sure.

You can find the free templates for the Birth Month Flowers here

Another thing I did manage to do thank goodness was to give my embroidery threads a bit of a tidy.  I couldn't for the life of me decide on a proper system of how to store them, there are just too many, this was them before stuffed into a bag and thoroughly tangled.

Yes I was ashamed and I don't know how I dare show you that photo! 

In the end I sorted them into piles of each colour 

and then just put each colour into a plastic bag and those were were then placed into a drawer.

not perfect but better than the way they were before and, they can all be found in one place.

Learning Italian seems to be taking up an awful lot of my time without me seeming to get anywhere. It is obvious that my ability to  retain knowledge has gone right out of the window. We were given a list of about 20 words to learn, I applied all the methods I used to use when studying in my younger days even going so far as as writing each one down several times, by the end of the week I had managed to remember just one! I kid you not, it's like banging ones head off a brick wall.  I have decided not to try so hard and who knows one day l may wake up fluent in Italian haha, perhaps I should just give it up as a bad job.

My February

   

1. A Little herd of miscarriage elephants.
2. Another Pentagon bowl, that's two and I may make one more.
3. My valentines day treat, it's cherry flavour but I wasn't impressed, it will be the original Turkish Delight from now on.
4. Violet February birth flower.
5. Tidy embroidery threads at last!
6. New fridge freezer. 
7. Memory box for my DIL
8. Fridge magnets waiting to be placed onto new fridge freezer.
9. The attempt at learning Italian continues.
10. End of life blanket square.
11. My attempt at needle felting below.

 Thoughts for March

• Sew the March birth flower (daffodil)
• Try and finish an embroidery work in progress.(yes it's still not finished)
• Make at least two end of life blanket squares.
• There has been a call out for knitted and crochet Teds (I'm thinking about it)
• Prayer squares.

There are several other things buzzing around in my head, this is the problem too many ideas and not enough time, added to which I'm hoping that the weather improves and if it does there may be a bit of gardening going on which means there may be very limited time left for crafting and for Italian come to think. 

What are your March thoughts, have you made any plans?

Take care until next time. 😘😘

Linking with 

Slow Stitch Sunday over at Kathy's Quilts

It's Got To Be Hearts!

 Once again thank you for the kind comments on my last post, I did enjoy putting that round up together and yes Babs I may do one at the end of each month, it's like a photo journal really and it would be good to look back and see what happened at a glance.  Why don't you all join me.😊

Valentines day is just around the corner and although I don't celebrate it, I love hearts and always use this time of year as an excuse to make some in some shape or form, I have a heart theme going on in my home and you can find hearts in every room.

This year I decided to kill two birds with one stone, produce a heart in a c2c square and by doing that I was learning how to follow a c2c chart something which I have been wanting to learn to do for a while, especially after seeing the lovely blanket Amanda made back here. 

Sarah has some adorable free designs on her blog however I followed this pattern here for the heart square.

It was easy enough to follow the chart but those ends at the back and sometimes even at the front were a challenge, but once they were woven in you can't even tell they were there. It hasn't put me off, I will make something else using this technique, like everything else the more you practice the easier it becomes.

 I enlarged the square to 12 inches using groups of two half trebles, then I made another in the same way.

Then I made two simple c2c square's ..

then the four squares were sewn together to make another 24 inch square to be added to a memory blanket.  So it was three birds with one stone really.😄

And that's not all! 

Remember I said that I would like to try needle felting well like you Jo I have a needle felting kit, I can't remember where I bought it from or why, I have been wanting to try needle felting for a while and must have bought it on a whim but the fact that I can't remember doing that is quite scary really.

This is as far as I've got I'm afraid and yes it had to be hearts for the simple reason there was a heart template in the kit and I love hearts and it's the season of love 😍

It was easy enough but wanting to develop my skills I joined a Facebook page for beginners and when I saw what they have produced it put me off! how can they be beginners? the intricate little creatures they have created wow! I then looked at some YouTube tutorials on how to make needle felt pictures, they make it look so easy but believe you me it isn't.  So I have put it to one side for now making simple shapes is easy enough and it is very satisfying to stab the needle through the wool over and over again, I'm thinking maybe stars for next Christmas but you never know watch this space. 

Health

I did one of those online NHS consultations last week because I was getting no better, a couple of days later the receptionist at my GP surgery rang me and said that the Doctor had read my consultation and he wanted her to give me an appointment. I was quite stunned I was actually going to see a GP in person face to face for the first time since the start of the pandemic.  Well I needn't have got so excited as it was the practice nurse I saw, I'm wondering where the GPs are hiding.  Anyway she was lovely and listened to my chest and prescribed some antibiotics for me, I started taking them in the morning by late evening I could actually slightly taste the camomile tea I was drinking and now four days later feel much better, I'm still coughing and congested but not nearly as much, I can tell that this thing whatever it is will take it's time but as long as I feel well enough to go out and about that's all that matters. 

Spring is just around the corner..

Have a lovely Valentines Day if you are celebrating, take care and see you next time. 😘😘