Friday 22 November 2013

The week of odds and ends

This week I seem to have filled my time with odds and ends.   All profitable and all on the "to do" list but not as enjoyable as constant stitching!
The HD3QBEM has had a fair few dropped stitches in her knitting so I have been repairing that.  Then she decided to "tidy up so that there wouldn't be a mess left for the children".   That plan went well until we reached papers that she could no longer read properly so I was eyes and ears for an evening.  
My oh my!   Photos of my grandmother at 21 in 1924 (I wish I had her looks),
my grandparents wedding in 1926,
letters my father wrote when he was travelling in India (still carrying Delhi Dust inside their plastic pocket), various birthday cards, etc etc.   I am amazed -  the HD3QBEM is very decisive!   A pile to go through the shredder; another pile to go in the rubbish bin; and another pile to go to Little Brother.  
Next shelf had two framed samplers stitched in the days before blindness came -  one is going to the storage cupboard in the garage (postpone that decision?!) and the other to a granddaughter (when I get to writing the accompanying letter).
The end result was empty shelves and a happy mother -  but no stitching!
Tonight I am going to have a stitch session - accompanied by a most interesting audiobook.   My local library provided this one "A Teardrop on the Cheek of Time" - all about the history of the Taj Mahal.   I'm enjoying the history of the moguls while stitching on my Naxos Necessaire and plan on making good progress this evening.   Three of four panels are done as well as the needle case panel and the scissor keep panel so on I reckon I am half way through the stitching.   So far so good.
The Dutch Hussif is at the stage where no further stitching can be done until the next 'pages' are completed.  I won't be doing any more on that until my two weeks of summer holidays which start in one months time.

Tomorrow I have to go to the City and exchange my bus ticket as they have changed the system and my old electronic ticket will expire on Sunday.   The HD3BEM has a small list of Christmas shopping I need to do for her and I have a few items on a list myself.   When am I ever without a list?

My list of  "Want to Stitch" for 2014 includes the following
Mermaids Sea Chest -  Lauren Sauer
Acorn Stitch Roll - Heritage Needlework Guild
My Favourite Things Stitching Basket - Ellen Chester
A small item for Little Sister
A small item for Little Brother

And with that I'm off to my lamp, my needle, my stitching and the delights of the Moguls of Agra.







5 comments:

cucki said...

Aww such beautiful photos ..
And I love your want to stitch designs too
Big hugs x

Smily-Света said...

I like old photos, they have a very special mood. My husband researches old certificates of birth and often shows me the pictures or notes there.

Ann at Beadlework. said...

I do like your mum's approach, she sounds like a lady who gets things done. It must be "tidy and sort" time as I'm in the midst of doing the same. I've decided on the radical approach as I have way too many craft supplies.

Chris said...

What wonderful pics of your Grandmother. What a beautiful woman. Love seeing the sampler too.
Your 2014 list is looking good, fabulous projects.
Have a great weekend!

Pamela said...

The pictures and the sampler - what treasures! Your want to stitch list looks like what I would put on my list!