Keeping my head down...

I had my Critical Theory exam this week, one final essay to write and submit and then I will be free - ish. It's three weeks until I start my new job, and between then and now, I will be tidying up a lot of loose ends, documenting how I do the job, recruiting interns and trying to find my replacement.

I am hoping to get back to regular blogging after Friday's hand in though, I have lots of things to catch up on!

I know it's a holiday for a lot of people across the world, I hope you're all having a nice day off. Me - I'm about to go for a walk while I think about my essay plan. Oh for the days like above, when all I had to worry about was whether I could escape my granny! It's hard to believe in that photo, she was only a couple of years older than I am now...

Wuthering Heights - Free Cross Stitch Chart!

You had a temper, like my jealousy
Too hot, too greedy
How could you leave me?
When I needed to possess you?
I hated you, I loved you too...

I designed this initially as a gift for my tutor, as she taught this novel on a course I did, and then had a flash of inspiration, and made her a similar design featuring the "lost Gothic" novel she edited and is a world expert on. I won't be sharing that chart, as it is very personal to Karen, but I'm happy to share this one - and I think more people will have heard of this book rather than The Mysterious Warning (unless they have memorised Northanger Abbey) :o) Hopefully, stitching this won't have the same effect as my gift did for the good doctor - I made her cry ... she'd taught me for the last four years, and I was hoping she'd be my dissertation supervisor, but there have been cutbacks at the University, and non-tenured staff have been shafted had their hours cut.

I have a very ambiguous relationship Wuthering Heights. It seems to turn up on a regular basis in my studies, and I find it very interesting, but just not very likeable. And those people who think it's a wonderful love story ... *cough*. I've been to Haworth a number of times, as my friend lives nearby, and you can see samplers stitched by Emily, Charlotte and Anne in the Parsonage Museum. The borders to this piece are from Emily's sampler, as are her initials, but the main lettering is from other sources. Although she was referred to in the family as "Emily Jane" I've used EB because Wuthering Heights was published under the nom de plume Ellis Bell. 1847 refers to the date of publication of the novel. Poor Emily died the following year.

Moira Blackburn has done a reproduction of Emily's sampler and also ones by Charlotte and Anne Bronte. Emily's was stitched when she was only ten years old, Charlotte's when she was  just six - amazingly, both were done over one linen thread!

If you would like a copy of the chart, please comment below and leave an email address unless yours is visible in your blog profile. Some people ask for charts but I have no way of getting them to them :o( Charts are sent in PDF format.

If you do stitch this design, I'd love to see the finished article - and there will be a prize for any I show on my blog!

Although there is no charge for this chart, a donation to the MS Trust for this chart would be appreciated. Pennies will do - and you can make a donation by clicking here. You have raised £83 so far with your kind donations - let's see if we can make it a nice, round £100!

There is no obligation to make a donation - you will be sent the chart whether or not you choose to make a donation, as I appreciate that some people are not in a financial position to do so.

This pattern is offered for personal, non-commercial use only. Items made from this pattern may be sold on a small scale basis such as on Etsy or at craft sales. Sales for charity are positively encouraged! This pattern and the text and photos contained within, may not be copied or reproduced for any purpose other than personal use. Please direct people to this blog rather than forwarding the pattern, thank you! Copyright 2010 N M Wray

Happy Birthday Dad!

It's my dad's birthday today, as well as being a Bank Holiday in Canada - for which he sends his thanks :o) My dad turns out to be Bob Dylan's cosmic twin - they are both 69 today!

I don't really know where to start with stories about my dad ... my parents came over yesterday, and dad was reminiscing about his school days, when he was a bit of a naughty boy, who got the cane on numerous occasions! The one for which he got the harshest punishment was when he not only let the tyres down on a hated teacher's bike, but threw away the valves, so that they couldn't be pumped up again... I think my dad's mischievious past was an asset when he joined the police force, because he knew all the tricks!

Dad's been feeling a bit low since the winter, when he had his first serious health scare. He's taking a while to adjust mentally to this, and physically to the medications he's having to take. However, now the sun is here, and he's able to get out and about a bit more, he's cheering up. And my niece works magic too - he's wrapped around her little finger, but I can't complain, because I too am a Daddy's girl still!

Happy birthday dad, here's to many more!

Up to date?

Hopefully, everyone who has requested a chart recently has now received them - I'm sorry for any delays, life is a bit hectic at the moment.

If you are expecting a chart and haven't yet received it please:

- check your spam filter, because I'm sending charts as attachments, they sometimes end up there
- check that your mailbox can accept large attachments - some of the charts are about 1.5 meg
- check that you actually let me have your email address either in the comment or via your profile. No email address = no chart, unless I've already sent you a chart before and you are in my contacts.
- leave a comment to this post, giving your email address and the freebie chart(s) you want.

Thanks for your co-operation, I hope you have fun stitching the charts!

Thank you for the good wishes

Thank you to everyone for the congratulations and good wishes on getting my new job. I know it's tough out there for a lot of people, and I feel very lucky. I've formally told my current organisation I will no longer be working with them (technically, I'm a freelancer) and have suggested an end date - because I'm the type who feels responsibility for everything, that date is actually after any notice period I would have needed to give had I been an employee... but I couldn't leave them in the lurch, these people are friends. The management know, but I'm waiting to tell the others and the volunteers I manage until after Wednesday's team meeting, so I'm having to be careful what I post and where (Facebook!).

Other than that, I had a nice weekend - I went to hear David Crystal give a talk on linguistics and language for children - very amusing, very accessible and engaging. And on Saturday, I visited a "new to me tea shop" with my friend Eleanor, which unfortunately was disappointing (hence no link) - there's a fine line between "quirky" and "total incompetence" and it was on the wrong side of it! We then went to a very nice exhibition at the Graves Art Gallery, which was portraits of influential writers. I came over all peculiar at a little silhouette of Jane Austen, one of only a couple of things known to have been taken "from life". The writers ranged from Milton and Shakespeare to Jarvis Cocker, J K Rowling and Amy Winehouse, which made an interesting selection. And it did kind of bring home to me that actually, I'm a pretty well-read person :o)

Talking of writers, I will be sharing my little Wuthering Heights chart sometime this week, so if the biscornu are not for you, and you like the primitive style, this might be more your thing!

May Biscornu and Fob - Free Cross Stitch Chart!

May brings flocks of pretty lambs

Skipping by their fleecy dams

As a knitter, how could I not have sheep and lambs on the May biscornu? I love how frisky and frolicking lambs become very sedate sheep ... although not always very bright, it has to be said!

A lot of the wealth of England in the Middle Ages and Tudor period came from sheep. It's why, in tiny villages there are huge churches - built on the wealth accumulated from these most humble of animals.

The chart follows my usual format of using only three colours so it should be quick and easy to stitch. I think it will look best on a pastel coloured fabric or natural linen. It might look cute to make one of the sheep black...

The scissor fob can be personalised with your own initials as I've included a full alphabet

If you would like a copy of the chart, please comment below and leave an email address unless yours is visible in your blog profile. Some people ask for charts but I have no way of getting them to them :o( Charts are sent in PDF format.

If you do stitch this design, I'd love to see the finished article - and there will be a prize for any I show on my blog!

Although there is no charge for this chart, a donation to the MS Trust for this chart would be appreciated. Pennies will do - and you can make a donation by clicking here. You have raised £83 so far with your kind donations - let's see if we can make it a nice, round £100!

There is no obligation to make a donation - you will be sent the chart whether or not you choose to make a donation, as I appreciate that some people are not in a financial position to do so.

This pattern is offered for personal, non-commercial use only. Items made from this pattern may be sold on a small scale basis such as on Etsy or at craft sales. Sales for charity are positively encouraged! This pattern and the text and photos contained within, may not be copied or reproduced for any purpose other than personal use. Please direct people to this blog rather than forwarding the pattern, thank you! Copyright 2010 N M Wray

Ch.. ch... ch.... changes

Oh lordy, I'm going to be going from a part time, freelance project manager to a full time, employed communications and marketing manager.

I got the job I interviewed for yesterday! It's going to cut into my knitting time and stitching time - the commute changes from 1.25 hours on busses to a 20 minute walk - but the opportunity of working for a national charity in such a role couldn't really be passed up.

Just need to negotiate a handover with my client - and hope they give me a good reference - and then, by midsummer, I will be in a new job! I'm quite sad to be stopping working for the circus, but this job, although it is a fixed term contract, offers me more security and - of course - more money.

May Goals

My goal for the month is just to get through! May is awful in terms of the commitments I have - two family birthdays, and then all the assessment for my Uni courses. And to add to the stress, I'm looking for a new job - I didn't get the previous one I applied for, but I have an interview for another job tomorrow, which is more money and in walking distance of where I live - it's about 20 minutes stroll away, and another 5 minutes takes me to the quilt shop. If I got the job, it would be dangerous at lunchtimes...

May Goals

Finish:

• Chevron Socks 2 - I'm halfway down the foot on the second, so it shouldn't take long
• My Needle and Floss Comfort Me - it's more or less just the lettering to do. Keep looking at my blog for details of the draw to pass the pattern on
• You Shall Be Queen Afghan - the border

Finish UFO:

•  I'm going to give this a miss this month.

Start and Finish:

• A gift for my favourite tutor - I've designed it myself. There's two parts, one of which I may share on my blog.
• Early Christmas ornament for exchange

Frame or Have Framed

• Bee Merry
• Bee Mine
• Bee Joyful

Finishing:

• Country Cottage - I want to make this into a cushion for my niece.

Giveaway:

• May Biscornu and Fob Chart - this is done, I'm going to post it at the weekend.
• Get previous things posted out

Fundraising:

•  £20 for the MS Trust - it would be amazing if I could get £27, because then I would get my target, but mustn't be greedy!

Right, let's see how I get on with these!

April Review

We're almost halfway through the month, and I haven't reviewed April yet. Not that it feels like May, we apparently had a snow flurry in Sheffield yesterday, but my eyes were glued to the computer screen. At least that essay is in - and now I only have an exam and one more essay to do this semester. If I chose to finish my studies now, I would have a Dip. HE, but I'm going to slog it out for another two years to get my degree and graduate.

Anyway, where was I?


Finish UFOs:

• Lizzie*Kate Round Robin - Lizzie*Kate - no, not even looked at
• Passing Time - DMC (Little Suzi's Zoo) - ditto

Finish:

• Chevron Socks 2  - no, these are still on the needles, but closer to being finished
• You Shall Be Queen Afghan- by the end of April, I had finished and blocked all the squares, so I'm counting this as done! I knitted 33 squares for it this month, more than one per day!
• My Needle and Floss Comfort Me - Waxing Moon - no, not a stitch was placed

Start and Finish:

• F is for Friend (Prairie Schooler ABC SAL)- no, not even looked at

Frame or have Framed:

• June- no - the frame has been chosen, just need to mount it.
• Sow Kind Seeds - ditto
• Morning Song - yes, and the framers did another super job
• Bee My Honey Bee - no, still waiting

Giveaway:

• April Biscornu & Fob Design - yes, and you can find the chart here
• Easter Biscornu & Fob Design - the design is done, but I'm going to be limiting the freebies from now on, as I have plans :o)
• Get previous giveaways mailed out- er - no. Sorry!

Fundraising:

•  £20 for the MS Trust - I received two extremely generous donations overnight on 30 April/1 May, so I'm going to count this as done - thank you ladies for your contributions!

 So, what else did I do? Apart from Uni work, job applications and such?

• Hooked on Exchanges Winter House Exchange - I will share pics soon, I promise!
• Clapotis 2 - another large wrap knitted and I love it!
• Liberty Print Pincushion - one of my oldest UFOs got made up into a finished item - yay!
• Bee Happy - framed
• Be Kind - framed
• Be Gentle - framed

 So, not one of my most productive months in terms of number of projects, but when you consider that the afghan has 48 squares in it, actually not bad!

Still Here...

But otherwise occupied. I currently have a few paragraphs in search of an essay ...it's all a bit of a dog's breakfast, and I'm not sure how it's all going to come together.

I'm trying to think of something profound to say about the relationship of literary theory to life ... and then I've got to tie one particular theory to one literary text to back up my argument and well - I can do the separate bits but the linking is driving me crazy as I can't just say "it's obvious, innit"! LOL

I'll be back, but don't expect me to surface before Wednesday, after it's handed it...