Wicked Wednesday woes

Wednesday we were up and at the train station for the 9.15 to Lancaster where we then had to catch our second train of the day to Heysham Port and finally the ferry over to the Isle of Man.

All started well and I worked on one of my Halloween stitches until we got to Crewe when our train came to a standstill and we were asked to leave the train and it was then cancelled.  There was a line side fire just north of Crewe which then caused numerous trains to be cancelled or delayed.  Our ferry was due to leave at 14.15 and it was 11.00.  We were 87 miles away.  It then became necessary to find a taxi company that was prepared to drive us there as the train operators were unable to tell us when trains would likely to be going north again.  Thankfully a company called Rainbow Cars and a lovely driver named Simon came to our rescue and got us there for just after 13.30.  An unexpected cost but we were just thankful to get to the ferryport.

My progress on Halloween understandably came to a halt but here is where I left it.

Once at the Ferryport we were supposed to collect our tickets from the tour rep but he too was delayed due to the line side fire.  Fortunately he had rung the ferry company and we were able to collect our boarding passes from the ticket desk and finally we got on board and set sail.  We could finally relax and enjoy the three hour crossing.

We finally arrived in Douglas, Isle of Man just before 18.00 and then it was just a short walk along the promenade to our hotel.  After unpacking it was time to freshen up and go down for the first evening meal of the week.  The menu was fantastic each evening and catered for all tastes.  We decided to take an evening stroll to properly unwind and enjoy the beginning of our holiday.

The view from our hotel dining rooms.  The Tower of Refuge.

The Gaiety Theatre and Opera House

Manx Electric Railway

The beach and promenade Douglas.

Yesterday evening when it was finally a little cooler I picked up my Tinsel Tuesday project and added a few more stitches while enjoying the tennis.

Tinsel Tuesday travels

Last Tuesday I worked on my Tinsel Tuesday projects while we were on our way to......

...... the Isle of Man.

We started our travels just after midday and while on the train to Birmingham, our overnight stop over point, I was able to finish Tree Farm.  Loved working on this one.

I was also able to make a start on the next one in the series called Quaker Birds.  Only a little bit done on this one as once we got past Cheltenham the train seemed to pick up speed and it became a bit difficult getting the needle in the right place.

We walked around Birmingham once we had checked in and enjoyed the sunshine and called into The Wellington for a couple of drinks before we had our evening meal, we've been there a few times as they always have a great selection of real ales of which we are both partial to.  After our meal we went and watched the second half of the England match and finally saw them win a penalty shoot out.  Not too late to bed as we knew we had an early start in the morning for our next leg of the journey.

Projects on the go count

Okay I have finally got round to making up a spreadsheet of the WIP's I have on the go.  This list does not include Tinsel Tuesday, Wicked Wednesday or Smalls, primarily as they are smaller projects these will go on a separate spreadsheet to see how many I can get done by the end of the year and subsequent year counts.

The grand total of projects I have both long outstanding and recently outstanding is.......................

22

and here is the list.

Title	Designer	Date Started
Adventure Awaits SAL	Caterpillar Stitches	24th June 2018
Joyful World SAL	The Snowflower Diaries	January 2016
Extinction Mystery SAL	Gecko Rouge	5th April 2018
Halloween Mystery SAL	Lizzie Kate	July 2012
My Garden Journal Series	Cottage Garden Samplings	2015
Down The Rabbit Hole	Gecko Rouge	April 2018
Flora & fauna cushion	Cross Stitcher Issue 332	June 2018
Peter Rabbit hoop design	Hobbycraft	16th June 2018
Damask Roses	Mirabilia	14th June 2018
It's Only Forever	Gecko Rouge	20th August 2017
Landscape	Yiotas X Stitch	??????
Popcorn Calendar	?????????	??????
Fisherman	Cross Craft Designs	??????
Four Horses of Apocalypse	Kustom Krafts	2001?
African Angel	American School	??????
Alice In Wonderland	Soda Stitch	2015/2016?
Country Spring Lady	Yiotas X Stitch	??????
Fishermans Lodge	Craft Collection	??????
Doctor Who	Mystitchland	2014?
Love Tree	Bothy Threads	2017?
Stitching ABC	Design Works	2016?
Rainbow Flotilla	Anchor Designs	2017

I will now work on my collection of kits to be started spreadsheet next!

SMS

Yesterday was Suit Myself Saturday,  most of which was taken up by going to the Exeter Scrapaholix crop.  I didn't actually do any scrapbooking, instead I took along some stamps and ink and prepared for my beginners card class next month.

When I got back home it was to see that hubby had been very busy clearing part of the garden where we want to put some garden sheds - perhaps that is why it is raining today lol.

In the evening while hubby was watching football I did manage to add a few stitches to It's Only Forever. 

Freebie and Finish Friday

Firstly a huge apology to Julie, thank you for your recent comments but somehow I appear to have deleted them rather than published them.  I really appreciate each and every comment and would not have done it deliberately.  I think I accidently hit the box when I was going through and deleting the anonymous comments.  So sorry.

Another beautiful day, part of which was spent with Harlee-Jay,  Colette, Lincoln and Sebastian playing in the garden and making the most of the sunshine.  This evening  I did manage to work on the bee freebie I started last week and I am pleased to say I have finished the stitching.

I now just have to fully finish this as a needlecase.  Sadly it won't be today.

 The sun is starting to set, so for the rest of the evening we will sit and relax in the garden.  The temperature is just right and we can watch the sun set - there have been so many amazing sunsets over the past week or so.

Throwback Thursday

Another hot and sunny day where I spent some time rearranging things in the conservatory which even in the morning was extremely hot, but it was something that needed to be done.  After my chores were done I was able to sit down in the rearranged, clean and tidy conservatory and decide which of my throwback WIPs I was going to work on.  Landscape came out the winner today.  This is how it looked when I started.

Following on from yesterday's Halloween project I worked solely in black to outline the middle section of this design.  As I was feeling tired I felt his was the safest option.  This is where I have left it until it's next outing.

While tidying up I remembered I hadn't posted a photo of this months Hook and a Book kit.  This month it involves a Tunisian crochet pattern.  Again this is something I have never done before so it will be another challenging kit for me.  Unfortunately there was a delay with the kit which meant instead of receiving it at the beginning of the month I didn't get it until the end of last week.  I doubt I will get time to complete the project before the end of the month which is what I was hoping to do with these new kit subscriptions.

The beaded scarf which came with my Sonic Knits kit is still waiting to be worked on.  I am hoping that Sunday will be the day I can dedicate some time to it as hubby is out for the day.  Fingers crossed I am hoping I will finally get the pattern right

Wicked and woolly Wednesday

Another beautiful day.  I managed to work on one of the bonus Halloween charts that came with the LK Mystery Halloween SAL this morning.

This afternoon I met up with my friend Sarah at Shaugh Prior and we took Max for a walk to Cadover Bridge.  As most of the walk is under the cover of trees it helped keep us all a bit cooler.  Max enjoyed a dip in the river when we got to Cadover Bridge.

We enjoyed an ice cream before going back the way we came.  It was nice to catch up with my friend as well as getting some exercise.  Having said that I think I will be aching in the morning.

Craft meeting this evening when I will try to get some crochet done.