TUSAL & Travelling Pattern

Well I'm behind again so two quick things to catch-up on.

First my February TUSAL post.

Wow I have absolutely amazed myself and added a lot of orts this month as I've been stitching up a storm, not only finishing the Travelling Pattern but also starting a The Secret Project which has come on way faster than I expected, which is good.

I have also done the draw for the Lizzie Kate Travelling pattern and it should soon be heading across the ocean to Lynda at A Cozy Little Place for Stitching. Do hop over to her blog if you want another go at stitching this pattern.

Not a lot else has been happening as I have been unwell and not felt like doing much except watching the Winter Olympics, although now I have a ton of things to catch-up on but if GB carry on doing well in the curling not much will get done this week either.

Away from Stitching

Although I have been able to pick my needle and thread up for the first time in ages I have also found time to do a few other things as well.

The other half and I have enjoyed a great walk along Derwent Edge, we were lucky enough to enjoy  a great day weather-wise and I took far too many photographs, but as I'm meant to be starting a landscape and food photography business that's no bad thing.

Ladybower from Whinstone Lee Tor

The Wheel Stones

The Salt Cellar

Ladybower from Pike Low

Although it appears that the business is going no-where just yet I have started researching shots and I'm currently busy starting to work on my portfolio for the food side of the business. This involves me acquiring some new Photoshop skills so time is also being invested in an online course.

We have also relaunched my Peak Walker website so it is now responsive and I'm currently trawling through the 382 walks trying to spot errors. I'm also considering rewording many of the walks to make them more SEO friendly so the website goes up the rankings. Anything to help build my profile.

I'm also starting to look into how I want to sell my images and should soon have a selection of cards that people can buy.

Lots of planning at this stage but hopefully it will soon be producing some results.

Ready to Travel

Best plans and all that......

Original plan - start posting regularly on Thursdays as that's the evening the other half goes out, except of course then he didn't go out and then I was ill, so no posts. Hey ho that's life.

On the other hand I actually have a finish and a new start.

I have finished stitching Love is Best and so after a prolonged residence in my house this particular Travelling Stitching Pattern is ready to move on. Please if you read these post advertise the fact it is ready to move on or even  tell me that you would like to have it next. If you are interested in having the pattern next then please post a comment at the bottom of this post making sure I have a way to contact you. I will leave it open for a fortnight and hopefully send it on its way Monday 19th February 2018.

Edited- The draw has now taken place and the pattern will be travelling across the ocean to Lynda whose blog is titled A Cozy Little Place for Stitching do pop over there if you hope to be the next person to offer it a home after Lynda

Love is Best

This particular pattern came to me over two years ago when I was between cataract operations and the plan had been to stitch it up after the second operation, however after that op I had to wait to get new glasses to be able to see to stitch and by the time that was done I had started my HNC in Photography. That was a two year course that saw me travelling 130 miles twice a week to attend two evening classes and with all the course work I had no time for stitching at all, which is why it has stayed here for far too long.

Although I have finished the stitching I still haven't decided on a finish I considering turning it into a cube and have been looking at the wonderful Twisted Stitcher's blog and YouTube posts for inspiration. Finishing it will also mean buying stuff so I want to be sure what I'm doing before I head down that route.

This week I also kitted up a new project, it is a big project and it is time sensitive. As I can't be sure who sees my blog I'm not going to say too much about it other than for now to refer to it as the Secret Project. Please if over time you start to recognise what the Secret Project is don't say until the reveal as it is intended as a gift for a special occasion.

The Secret Project - Week 1

I ended up starting the Secret Project twice as on the second day I picked it up only to find out I had gone wrong (again) and would have to unpick most of the stitches I had done the day before. I'd made the mistake of buying linen that wasn't very even and I hated handling it and so I made the decision to but some new material. In the process I discovered a great new stitching shop in Darley Dale that I have driven past hundreds of times and never been in, if you are nearby it is well worth a visit. Actually I say a stitching shop, it is actually two shops, and I only visited one shop and that was the one meant for people who quilt and not the embroidery shop, which is few yards down the road, so who knows what wonders there are in there to lighten my bank balance.

TUSAL

I have joined the TUSAL which is run by Daffycat. Basically every month you post a picture of your ORTS. If you want to know more about the TUSAl or even join it follow then more information can be found here, TUSAL or by clicking the link in my sidebar

I have been a member of the TUSAL previously and have kept my ORTS in a jar which sits on my sideboard as a piece of growing artwork. My husband doesn't get it but the jar stays there year in year out.

My ORT Jar

Most of the ORTS in the jar are from previous years the only new ones added so far this year are the green and blue ones.

They come from the few stitches I put into a PIF/Exchange I was working on before my blog got abandoned and the Travelling Stitcher's Pattern that I started yesterday evening.

PIF/Exchange Piece

Love is Best - Travelling Stitcher's Pattern

Goals

Exercise-wise last week should have started out on a good note as on Monday we headed out to Monsal Dale to do a 7 mile walk, but as the ground was so frozen we walked so slowly in terms of my fitness it made no difference what-so-ever. It was a bitterly cold walk but we enjoyed some great views at the start.

Monsal Viaduct

Looking towards Preistcliffe

High Dale

River Wye

The route and  more images can be found on my Peak Walker website which also had an upgrade this week and is now responsive, so it works on mobile phones etc.

Other commitments meant Tuesday and Wednesday were going to be difficult days to fit any exercise in so it was Thursday before I finally got to the gym. In the end although I was a 10 miles short of the total for the previous week I still managed 42 miles and remain on target for reaching the goal I set myself of covering 2018 miles this year. I also found a Facebook Group that comprises of a group of people who are aiming to walk 1000 miles this year, so I've joined that as well just to give me two goals to aim for, my 2018 goal includes time on the bike at the gym and swimming.

I've also been thinking about my stitching and have decided that rather than picking up Celtic Autumn, putting a few stitches in her and not getting any sense of achievement I would start working on some of the small projects I have on the go. On Thursday I put a few stitches in a PIF I was doing for someone and never finished. If  When I get it finished I will have to track them down and send them it. Whilst I was searching through my stash I also found a Travelling Stitching Pattern I appear to have never started, now I know that fell apart because I started my HNC just after my second cataract operation and found I never had time to pick my needle up. I aim to get that started and moving again. Stitching-wise that is properly enough to be going on with for now. Hopefully my next post will contain some stitching pictures, I just have to get back into the habit of taking before and after shots.

Of course the really big goal for this year is to build up my photography portfolio and start working as a freelance photographer which is quite daunting, but nothing ventured nothing gained and the worst I can do is fail.

Back

Well I tried using Wordpress but just couldn't get on with it and I miss blogging I thought why not see if I can get this blog going again, although at the moment stitching is a very rare activity.

Where to start - I could go on forever about 2017 but lets just say in too many ways it didn't go to plan and so by the end of the year I weighed a stone (14lbs for those who don't understand proper weights) more than I did at the start of the year. To be fair more than half of that went on in December which was a month that started with a haoliday where a lot of good food and wine was consumed and ended with Christmas.  The last three months of the year also saw me spending far too little time in the gym so a significant decrease in my fitness levels also accompany the gain in weight.

On a more positive note I passed my HNC in Photography with Distinction and was forced into launching myself as photographer, my son got engaged and my daughter has secured herself a new job.

So to 2018 - given there is wedding to attend in January 2019 the priority is too shift a lot of weight as I know exactly what style of dress I want for the wedding and it requires a figure to die for. With that in mind I have made exercise a priority for this month with the first goal being to get back to the pre-holiday weight and the second to be regaining some power in my legs and finding my stomach muscles again.

Since the 27th December I have been able to fir at least one sessions of exercise in every day and since the Sports Centre opened after the New Year Holiday I have been able to get both a walk and trip to the gym or pool in every day. So far THIS YEAR I have already lost 3lbs  4lbs, although I am realistic enough to know that the weight loss will slow down.

Since Christmas I have also begun to catch up on the backlog of walks from my website. The first walk was in October when John and I enjoyed a walk around the Goyt Valley taking in the ridge to Shining Tor Shining Tor walk details

Cats Tor from Shining Tor

The second walk was the one which marked the start of our November trip to the Kirkstile Inn in the Lake District. This time we enjoyed long distance views of the Pennines and Shap Fells thanks to the blue skies and a bitterly cold wind on that day Seat Robert walk details

Looking across Wet Sleddale Reservoir to Seat Robert

I need to get the website up-to-date as John has made it responsive and it needs to be relaunched so it makes sense to get all of the 2017 walks on the site before we launch the new version.

Sewing at the moment looks like being a none-starter , although I did briefly pick up my needle in 2017 and put some more stitches in Celtic Autumn, I would dearly love to finish her but she is so fiddly at the moment that I get fed up with only being able to put a few stitches in before I need to move to another section or change colour.

Here's to hoping 2018 will be a little more successful than 2017.