Wednesday 27 April 2011

Work in Progress Wednesday

In an attempt to shame myself into finishing some long-ago abandoned projects, I am now nominating my Wednesdays to be 'Work In Progress Day'.  On this day each week I will faithfully promise  not to start on anything new but to push forward with the incomplete.  So to get me started I have photographed a selection of the things that will be getting my attention again.

First, a tapestry that is destined to go atop a piano stool my Mum has been keeping for me.  This was to be a useful extra seat in the dining room and I started it when I was expecting our daughter...15 years ago.  Oh dear!


It's a William Morris design - Strawberry Thief (III).


I think I put it aside partly because our little bundle of joy had arrived and there didn't seem to be time to do it and also because it was getting twisty and I was anticipating the difficulty of getting it straight.  I really need to attach it to a frame I guess.

This is what it should look like in the end...


It's from this gorgeous book, jam-packed full of the prettiest designs.


Also on my hit-list is this...



As you can see, it is a French cross-stitch.  I liked it because it reminded me of my friend Lesley.  

Hmmm...That sounds like I am likening her to a cow so I'd better explain. 
One long-ago day (I think when I had gone to stay with her to make my wedding dress), we took a drive through the Lincolnshire countryside from her home in Louth.  As we drove past a field of cows of varied breeds and colours, I think it was I who commented on the 'mixed-up cows'.  This idea amused us more than somewhat - the imagined conversations of confused bovines, struggling to make sense of life and its meaning kept us giggling for some time.  And it has become a bit of a long-running joke...Hence I had to buy this cross-stitch!

There's also this little heap of 'nearly there' s.   


You can see that I have enough to keep me out of trouble for quite a few Wednesdays!  I will let you know how I get on with things!

Yesterday was a bit of a strange day (to say the least) as Mr Used-to-Bees ended up being admitted to hospital with his back problem.  I can't help but feel enormously relieved that hopefully things will soon move forward, though it is very odd not to have him here making our bedroom look untidy!  On Saturday I had had to take him to the Out-of-Hours Doctor, who prescribed morphine to add to his Tramadol/Diclofenac/Paracetamol cocktail, but even this wasn't stopping the pain, and he couldn't walk more than about three paces without collapsing.  So in the end an ambulance had to be called (because I couldn't get him safely out of the house to seek medical help) and he's now awaiting a scan to find out exactly what is going on.  So my blogging time may well be curtailed over the next days - hopefully not weeks...

Off to work now - maybe the fairies will get stitching whilst I'm out...

8 comments:

  1. Gosh it sounds like you've got your hands full I hope you find out the cause of his pain soon, I know my friends husband suffered for weeks and then it just corrected itself.
    I like your idea of allotting a specific time each week for those forgotten projects.

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  2. What beautiful projects to keep you busy on Wednesdays! The Strawberry Thief design is so lovely, and will look just marvellous on your piano stool. So sorry to hear about the terrible pain your husband has been suffering ~ I do pray that the doctors will be able to diagnose and treat him effectively. Poor you going through all that with him too! Loving thoughts and prayers, Brenda

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  3. Oh dear...poor Mr UTB. Well he's in the right place to get help. It happened to me about 3 years ago. My family doctor couldn't seem to find out what was wrong and I was in the same boat. I couldn't stand longer that a minute. Turned out it was fixable. I'm right a rain now. Except for the odd back pain due to my age:)

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  4. I hope they can sort his back out. The pain must be awful. Lots of lovely projectsto finish !

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  5. can't wait to see things finished! hope hubby is okay soon

    Josie x

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  6. Poor hubby, I hope they fix him up soon. xxx

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  7. 15 years is pretty good going!, think I would of given up by now, so well done you. My significant other bought me a tapestry bookmark 3 years ago, its about half finished , so i think i might take a leaf out of your book and get it finished before I'm too old to see the stitches! Good luck with your quest xx
    sophie

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  8. Hi hope hubby is doing ok - i'm a bit of an old hand with back problems so I can fully sympathise. Hope the hospital can sort it out they did for me they were marvellous - unlike one of my GP's who told me to get on with it.

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