Sunday stitching

I'm starting to take all the interruptions to my sewing time very personally. I make a plan and then something happens to wreak havoc and prevents my happy time from happening. Now don't get me wrong, I'm happy at other times as I have a fabulous husband and great children and we have lots of happy adventures together but sewing is my relaxation. It gives me the space to unwind and play. I can be really creative and also make an amazing amount of mess. It gives me time to stop worrying about things I should have done and to just be me. My last post was on the 24th April and I shared the trip we made to Chatsworth whilst on holiday in Derbyshire. I had several other visits to share and we also went to Suffolk for a walking weekend however I didn't have time to post because on the Friday I received a phone call from our Dean of College to say we were having a 5 day Ofsted inspection of our apprenticeship courses. Ofsted puts fear and dread into the minds of people working in schools and Further education and although I work in a university the apprenticeships are inspected by Ofsted. We came home on the Saturday night from our weekend trip having cut it short so that I could go into work on the Sunday and make sure everything was in order. All week we had meetings and teaching observations and each night I got home late and was exhausted. We were told the result on Friday and the outcome was good although we won't get the feedback for a couple of weeks. On Friday night I crawled into bed really early and did the same on Saturday. I had no energy to relax with a little hand stitching! Today I'm still feeling very weary but I'm starting to get myself together and did a little stitching this morning. Someone please tell me it's safe to get the machine out and crack on with my sewing again!

Whilst we were at Chatsworth I saw this counted cross stitch sampler and could't resist buying it. It's designed to celebrate the life and work of Jane Austen.

As you can see it has a lot of motifs to stitch in the style of needlework of the time but also includes modern designs for her house in Steventon, the Bath assembly rooms and Winchester cathedral. The designers Riverdrift House have also included two characters from one of her books (guess who they are.)  If you like cross stitch go HERE to visit their web site. I put the kit contents on the table and Picasso just had to check it out. He went away when he realised that it didn't involve food!

On Saturday John and I took Scamp on our annual walk to see the bluebells. The weather was dry but at the top of the hills the wind was very cold. I didn't take my camera with me as we have done this walk so many times over the years but here are a couple of photos from last year. I just love the drifts of bluebells

We also saw a lot of this little yellow flower, yellow archangel. It is so beautiful.

When we got home my monthly subscription box had been delivered. 

These are probably not fabrics I would have picked and at first I wasn't attracted to them but now I have had a little time to think about how I will use them I like them a lot more.

I have done a little more on my bunnies garden stitchery and this is what I will work on this evening. This is a small piece and I had hoped to have it finished. I'm not going to give any suggestion of when it will be complete as whenever I do that something goes wrong and I don't get any time for stitching. Lets just say it will be done when it's done and I will be cherishing the time I am able to spend on my stitching.

I'm linking up with Kathy for her Slow Sunday Stitching party Pop over and see what everyone has been working on. I have some programmes recorded and I'm going to decide what to watch while I stitch. I'm looking forward to a lovely relaxing evening with my stitching, the cat or dog on my lap, a nice cup of tea and a good programme to watch.

Tomorrow I need to get my machine out and do some sewing and I need to decide what I'm working on this month.

Lyndsey