Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Hello, I'm back!! Using my new computer and making my
first blog entry with it. So far.....so good.

And with a finish to show off too. Here is the red sampler all
finished, as of last night. Mostly done at work during my lunch
breaks and in the bus depot on my way home from work at night.
Sadly the true colour of the material I stitched it on does not
show up in the picture. It really sets off the red thread colour
beautifully. But at least you get an idea of what it looks like.
This I will eventually frame for our bedroom I think.


I have arranged to start collecting Crescent Colours threads
through a monthly delivery from Stitching Bit's n Bobs, and
today received the first set of 11, plus two free charts. Aren't
the colours gorgeous??? I have to keep them hidden from
Rupert until I can add them to my thread list and then put
them safely away in my stash cupboard. He likes to steal
them and run away.


And I've been oh so bad with the online bookstore this past
few weeks. Actually, the lot in the picture above were ordered
way back at the end of March, but just arrived last week. I think
they were waiting for the one book to become available before
they shipped the whole order. A long wait, but well worth
waiting for in the end.

The majority of this order is the fault of Jaimie (Lavender and
Lace Stitches/Bell Literary Reflections) and her book blog. I
saw most of these books reviewed on her blog and had to get
them. The only exceptions being Chosen, which is book three
in the YA series that I discovered and started reading earlier
this year, Daughter of York which is the second book by Anne
Easter Smith, and The Art of Domesticity by Jane Brocket.

Jane Brocket's blog Yarnstorm is a feast for the eye and
a delight to read. I've been a fan for well over a year now.
She was approached to write this book based at least in
part on the success of her blog and it was released late last
year. I don't know if it's available in the States yet, and I
think this is the one that held up my order for so long, but
it's a wonderful book. If you love to cook, knit, read, garden,
sew, or simply delight in the simple pleasures of home
and hearth (and appreciate the odd reference to Cary
Grant) then this book is definitely for you. If you don't
know Jane yet, follow the link in my sidebar to her blog
and enjoy!

And Jaimie??? Thank you!


This smaller order arrived today. Nothing gets my heart
pounding like a new book from Elizabeth George. As a
matter of fact I'm reading one of hers right now. British
crime/mystery featuring Lord Thomas Lynley, well
written, eloquent and riveting. Kelley Armstrong is top
of my list of favourite authors too and I always keep an
eye out for her next book. And Julie Andrews auto-
biography covering the early years of her life and career.
Can't wait to read this one too. I've loved Ms Andrews
since forever!! She's an incredible lady.

Poison Study is a reorder actually. I ordered the entire
trilogy in one go back in March, but the first book in the
series arrived in appalling shape. It had obviously been
printed in a bad batch and arrived with half the pages not
separated, the printing on the pages inside misaligned and
falling off of the page, and the top end of the book narrower
then the bottom of the book. Really weird. I sent it back
for a refund, and had to reorder it again. I've never gotten
a book like that before.

Kathy A. : The Carries Creations threads came from
Mary Kathryn's on line store. I always get wonderful
service whenever I order something from her.

The iMac has been a great experience so far. I've only
ever had a PC before, a Dell machine, and it gave me
pretty good service for 7 years. But this one is truly an
eye opener. The graphics....the speed.....the sound.....
and so easy to use. I also got myself an ipod, in red,
and have been enjoying that. I'm really getting into
the 21st century at last.....well, except that we still
don't own a cell phone. Baby steps....

Spring continues to bless us with her prescience and
the garden is looking good. DH mowed for the first
time on Sunday, which is his most favourite passtime.
It can still get quite cool at night though so planting of
pots and stuff will wait until the Victoria Day long
weekend just in case there's a last touch of frost.

That's it for now I think. Thanks for dropping by.

Cheers!!

10 comments:

samplerlover said...

Hi Judy, I just checked your blog awhile ago to see if you had posted a new post but you hadn't. So its lovely to hear that your new computer is working out ok for you.
Thank you for your lovely comments regarding Margaret. She is beautiful, but I seem to have one small problem. Where to put her. Thats the problem with having a small house. I think I will have to move a few small samplers in my youngest sons bedroom. My middle son has a few in his room but unfortunately for me he keeps buying soccer pictures which are taking up my wall space. He keeps ruining my plans LOL. Oh well what can a girl do with a 20 year old soccer fan. Wait till he moves out I suppose, but I won't hold my breath waiting LOL. The trouble with me is that I now have to become very selective on the samplers I do. I think I have about 4-5 that I want to do.
Your Bristol sampler is coming along nicely. I have always liked them.
Yes Beatrix was truly amazing. I have not only books on her but pieces of china. My favourite is a Peter Rabbit potty for a child. I always call it a "guesunder" - goes under the bed. Thankfully it has never been used.
I love Anne of Green Gables. When my sister was around 22 she asked my mother if she would buy her the complete collection of books. I think she has read them all a few times. I know she has been to Canada a few times, but not sure it she has been to Prince Edward Island.
I have nearly finished my David Copperfield. I usually read when I am on my own at breakfast time. I try to read a chapter or 2 at a time, but unfortunately sometimes I get on the computer and well what else can say. The day just goes.
Well this looks like another marathon post. You and I seem to have to longest posts. If you want to email me instead my email address is sandra.moffitt@gmail.com.
If you go back to one of my earlier posts at the end of September to will see a couple of photos of where I live. The 3 sisters are truly spectacular and people come from all over the world to see them. There is an aboriginal story about them. Anyway better go and do some housework - take care -Sandra.

Pumpkin said...

Congrats!!!! Gorgeous finish! I love it :o)

Personally, CC are my favorite threads. They have such lovely colors and they show a lot of color changes.

More books! LOL!

Kathy A. said...

I loved your red piece! congrats on the new computer - nice tohave you back online

Carla said...

Congrats on the finish and the new computer!

Lynn said...

The red sampler is gorgeous! Isn't it great working on a piece where you don't have to change floss? It seems to go more quickly that way.
I'd love to try out a iMac just once to see the difference. Who knows, I might never go back to my PC either.

mainely stitching said...

Wow, what a great book haul! I'm already looking forward to hearing what you think of them all! The Sarah Waters one is setting off bells in my head - not sure if I read it, or intended to. Will have to check...

Your finish is great! I really love how it came out. It's going to look great framed!

Jane said...

You're welcome!!
You are so funny! But you have a great stash of books there. I hope you enjoy Deanna Raybourn's stories, I know I did. And Fingersmith is fabulous! It is one of those books that I heard more about from other bloggers after I read it then before.
Your finish looks fabulous and congrats on the new computer!

Littlebit's collections said...

Hi, I just came by to thank you for you comment. I like reading all sorts of books. Right now Im reading Diving Comedy. My mom found a new version of it that was still writen in old english/poetry form cause thats the only way I would read it. I also enjoy a good mystery, horror, fiction, classic, and comics like Calvin and Hobbes. My dad is an archer and taught my brother, sister and I but Ive been doing it for a few years now. Its actually quite easy. They set the bow for how much you can pull, my bow is set to like 25 lbs. Not that much. At first its a bit difficult to figure out but once you get the hang of it, it just gets easier. Im hoping that I will be able to put a picture of my bow up soon cause its something very special to me.

staci said...

Congrats on your sampler finish~~it's absolutely gorgeous!

stitcherw said...

Your red sampler looks wonderful, congratulations on a beautiful finish. The flosses look so yummy too, can't wait to see what you decide to stitch with them. However, with all your wonderful new books it will be hard to find time to do both, to bad we can't figure out how to put more hours in a day for reading and stitching.

I also love Elizabeth George, and adore her Lynley series. I've read some, listened to some on CD, and enjoyed watching several on BBC. My DD recently got Poisen Study and is looking forward to reading that.

Glad your new computer is working well for you. At some point I need to look at getting one. I've never owned a new one, have always had one that someone gave me as they were getting a new one. Getting a new one that I selected will really be an odd experience.
Sue