Apology, Explanation, A Hanging Heart & A Smile

Hello Everyone,

Apologies for being a poor blogger and even poorer commenter over recent weeks. Fact is, due to the arthritis which affects my hands, arms and shoulders, I'm finding keyboarding painful. The last few months have been particularly bad and I'm now limited to what I can do. Such a pain!

I've been referred for physiotherapy, of course, and hopefully this will help me deal with the painful spasms I'm experiencing. In the meantime, I'm having to limit the type and amount of craftwork I do, not to mention keyboarding!

However, being unwilling to give up altogether, I have a plan. That is to continue blogging, just less frequently, for the foreseeable future and see how that works out. Mostly I'll post photographs but accompany them with less chat ... that could be a relief to some folk :)

So, in that spirit, here's a photo of a hanging heart I've just finished making.

I hand embroidered the flowers using a transfer from Lesley Taylor's lovely book, Flowers. The design is done on cream cotton with DMC embroidery floss. I haven't embroidered by hand in 50 years, and it could be my last for another 50 years!  I should live so long :)

As it is Friday, I can't forget to add a little funny for Annie's Friday Smiles.

I'd love this little kitty to take me through my physio exercises :)

So there you are, my tale of woe, my plan, and my latest creation, and something to smile about.

Take care and happy crafting,

Happy Mother's Day

Wishing every mother a lovely day. 

Hope you are being treated and spoiled today.

Friday Smiles

Morning Smilers,

It's been an incredibly busy week at Chez Worthington. Out on Tuesday, new floor laid Wednesday morning, vet's appointment in the afternoon, and out all day at the Stitching, Sewing & Hobbycrafts Show in Glasgow with my daughter yesterday. The result of all this gadding about is that I have loads of photos to choose from for Annie's Friday Smiles.

First up is a photo of my great-granddaughter, Rhian, all smiles after her wee operation to remove a bead that 'just fell into' her ear.

It proved to be a wee bit more difficult to remove than the average foreign body stuck in an ear. Despite trying various methods and instruments known to do the job it wouldn't budge and Rhian got more and more distressed so it was decided it was best that she was admitted to hospital to have it removed under general anaesthetic. The op was a success and, as you can see, she came through the ordeal with a big smile on her face.

Next, a few of photos from our trip to the show yesterday.

To give an idea of how tall this giant medieval lady, part of an amazing knitted display, here's daughter, Juli, standing beside alongside. Juli is about 5' tall so I reckon medieval woman is at least 8'.

Just about everything you see is knitted, even the leaves and the tent!

I just had to take this shot of Juli struggling to find a bag in her bag. We had a giggle at how difficult it was proving to be. Here in Scotland, since the bag charge was introduced in 2014, we're well practiced at carrying a stash of bags wherever we go, just in case, but it can be quite a struggle to release them from captivity :)

Finally, not a joke this week but a sentiment that really appealed to me.

We met a lot of lovely people in Glasgow yesterday, from the two delightful ladies who shared our taxi to the SECC, to the very interesting and interested and informative women who were responsible for the fabulous displays of quilts and embroideries, to the traders who were very happy to help us with our purchases, to the lovely lady who was sitting beside me while we ate lunch, and I can say without reservation they all 'had hearts like dogs'!

We're off on another trip out today. This time through the lovely hills and dales of Galloway. Despite the snow that's happening elsewhere in the UK, the weather is on our side here so I think it will be a lovely day.

Wishing you all a very smiley weekend.