October came early ~ well sort of

In the post before last I declared that I was going to stop the rotation and only stitch spooky stuff for the whole of October. Well folks October came early!

I really wanted to make a start on 'Open House' but did not feel that I could start a project before finishing something else. I stitched the Boo tin lid from Just Nan.


I finished this on Sunday morning and Sundays are Mary Wigham days, so, I stitched on her until my Aunt and Uncle arrived.

In the living room are my Mum, my Aunt and me having a good old stitchy time, both of them on their UFOs and me on Mary Wigham. I have to say that I ended up frogging most of what I stitched. My Dad and my Uncle were in the garden pruning what, in recent years, has turned into a 'Whomping Willow' of a corkscrew willow tree. It was almost the size of the house (I say, was, because on Monday, whilst I was at work, the trainee tree surgeons chopped the whole thing down!). Well the tree branches and leaves started to pile up. So, stitching was suspended for the rest of the day whilst a clean up operation was mounted.

On Sunday evening, when peace and tranquillity had been restored to the garden, and the willow had less branches than before, I was able to take up stitching once more. Well that was the plan, my Aunt had taken the Mary Wigham charts home with her! What a shame! I had a legitimate excuse for starting 'Open House', so I did!


You may ask where was The Other Half whilst all this deforestation was going on. The answer in Scotland saving this for the nation.


In a previous life this half of a carriage, the only one left, looked like this.

Built in 1907 of teak, which is why it has lasted so long, this Dining Saloon must have been a spectacular sight, all varnished and shiny.

Half of this carriage was sold to a young couple in the 1950s who had it put in their back garden. They lived in it whilst their house, the cobblers shop, was made fit to live in. The carriage has remained in the garden ever since. The lady of the house is now 97 and will shortly be moving in with her daughter. The carriage became 'under threat' and had to be moved before the winter. It is now in a safe place and we will wait and see what will happen to her.

Back to the stitching.

The early arrival of October was, however, short lived. This week I have stitched on White Nights. Tonight I am hoping to finish the grid in the top left corner.


Next week I think I might just have to go back to Open House!