WOYWW....

Sitting for any length of time is still causing me problems so sewing and computer time is having to be done in short spells but I've had another acupuncture session on Monday night and I am feeling it's helping so I've got everything crossed.

I was really chuffed that I managed to make the four  Memory bears you saw cut out on my desk last week.....

...aren't they fab?  The stories that my customers tell me about bears I've made for them really fill my heart with joy because they mean so much to who they are made for....I'm really blessed.

I have at least two more coming today to be made too :-)

As a special request I made a back pack for one of the little bears and when I put the pic on my Facebook page I had a lot of really lovely feedback about it.

It's been suggested that it could hold special items ....a little bear to keep treasures safe....sounds good to me.  I've made the pattern now so if any of my customers like the idea I can make more.  :-)

The only other thing on my desk this week is the ever growing pile of finished Christmas cards....up to 44 now but I still have more to make!

Thanks for calling by.  My Ipad has decided it doesn't like leaving comments on many of the blogs so comments will have to wait now til I am able to sit at the lap top....please be patient with me.

Hugs,

Annie x

This week's smiles...week 298

Another catch up of my weekly smiles and although my sciatica hasn't gone I must say that the treatment I had at the beginning on the week seems to me improving things so I am smiling rather more than I was.....thankfully.  I am doing my best to stand to work when I can and to have a lie down to do my exercises as instructed.....I'm even stood typing this on the laptop :-)

So just a few quick smiles to share with you today...

I have to say this photo really makes me smile....This is my little boy having a cuddle off his little boy.  Yes he's 31 now but he will always be my little boy.

This is a photo of my visitor from Wednesday this week.  It's our very own Kate from Spain who has been over in England visiting all her gorgeous boys and their families.  Her one son Mike, who I have met before because he lives/works close to me very kindly dropped his mum off to meet me then picked her up later.  I felt so honoured to have yet another blogging friend give up some of their precious family time to drop in to see me....and she's every bit as lovely as I imagined.  Thanks Kate xxx

My last pic is one of 4 memory bears in the making....simply because I can.

I stood to cut them out and have sewn them in short bursts at my sewing machine and I have to say it was all doable....not perfect but manageable so I'm really smiling now.

And even better still is that all being well I will manage to finish them later today.

So there you go.  It doesn't take a lot to make me smile so I hope I've made you smile too.  Please leave me a little message and if you can then please link up to something that has made you smile this week too.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW...

It's just a quick post from me today because I am to keep sitting down to only short spells.  I saw a Dr on Friday who confirmed that it is sciatica that I have [as if I didn't know!] and she gave me strong pain tablets and muscle relaxants but they of course come with side effects....they do my head in [as the kids would say] and they have to come with a bottle of laxatives!  That was the good news!  She then said it could last 18months to 2 years!!

So Monday morning after sleeping most of the weekend due to the pain tabs I booked in with a physio who also does acupuncture....she's got magic hands but after a good examination she says it is my sacro-iliac joints that are effected and they are trapping the sciatic nerve on my right hand side. :-(  She gave me some physio and a treatment of acupuncture and has sent me home with gentle exercises to realign my pelvis and I am to sit only for short periods and to lie down twice daily!!....I will be doing everything I can to improve it because I really don't want to be suffering 2 years!.

So on my desks today is very little.....

I've moved my Janome machine over onto my table so that it can stay set up to sew my Christmas cards....and I"m doing those in short bursts.....as you can see it's in the morning sunshine.

That's freed up my Juki machine to do the sewing jobs quickly as they come in to keep on top of my work.

The other end of the room I've got my blind hemmer and overlocker ready to keep sewing jobs cleared too....but as you can see at the mo they are both idle as my work load has lessened thankfully.....but I do have many more memory bears coming before the end of the week to make but I promise they will be done at a leisurely pace too.

Today I am having a special visitor so you may need to come back on Friday to see who that is.;-)

Thanks for calling by.  I wont promise I will get round every desk this week but I will do my best.

Hugs,

Annie x

This week's smiles....week 297

Hello all.  Happy Friday.  Firstly I will say sorry for the speed of my post today and for the lack of comments because I'm really struggling with my sciatica.  Since last weekend it's got progressively worse and after a phone call back from my Dr yesterday I'm now on strong pain tablets and muscle relaxants and I'm off to see her this morning so I'm hoping things improve soon.

I've managed to keep all my sewing jobs up to date but have done little else all week and sleep has been in short bursts being woken in pain in between but, you know me, I've still had lots to smile about.  I have the most wonderful, loving, caring family and bless him my darling hubby has even had to help me dress this week as my feet appear to have moved into the next room and I can no longer reach them!....I will conquer it and will reach them again soon I hope.

Since we moved in here there has been a very overgrown garden at the side of us and Monday saw two tree surgeons sawing, shredding and generally clearing the whole garden giving us so much more daylight.  It was sad to see some of the trees go but it had all become far too overgrown.....I think our new neighbours have gained about 12 foot of extra garden and it will be so much more manageable for them.

It's gone from this.......

......to this.

Of course I wasn't the only one watching the goings on closely.

Milly is the only dog we've ever had that likes to sit up and beg.....I guess she can see a little more of what's going on from there.

The only other thing I'm sharing with you today is this 'over the years' collage of our eldest Granddaughter, Phoebe who was ten this week.  She's a beautiful girl with a good heart and a gorgeous dimple in her cheek.

It really only seems like 10 mins since I had a phone call from my daughter Amy in the middle of the night to tell me she had just given birth and just how much she had fallen in love with her new baby daughter.  :-) :-) :-)

That's all my shares this week.  I hope you've got lots of lovely things you can share with us this week by linking them up below.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW.....

Another week, same desks, different photos.  I'm just one of many who snap pics of their work desks each week to share their creative makes with friends all around the world.  If you'd like to know more and hopefully join in the fun then please pop over to Julia's and The Stamping Ground for details and join in the fun.

This week has seen lots of action over here at Sewing by Annie's.....

These are the 6 little Memory bears that arrived for me to make last Wednesday...now completed and collected.

I will share a little tale with you next....On the Tuesday before I had had a phone from a lady saying that her daughter would be bringing items of clothing to make 6 Memory bears for her so when the lady arrived on Wednesday morning I had to chuckle when she said it wasn't her mum that had rung.  I hadn't taken her name because when she rang it was my day off and I was in the middle of changing a dirty nappy so answering the phone was a little difficult.  This of course means there is another lady coming wanting 6 MORE bears making plus the lady the ones are for in the pic above told me, when she collected them, that her friend wants 3 making and I am already expecting 4 more to make plus there are possibly a further dozen that had enquired about them that may well turn up before Christmas .....I have a feeling I'm going to be busy!!

Hence why this rather large bag of toy stuffing arrived at my door this morning....a further 5kg!!!  It takes a lot of stuffing to make a little bear.

 A lot of you suggested that my new little travelling bear should be called Biscuit so he's got his new name....I rather liked the idea of taking a biscuit with me on my travels ;-)

You can see he's been watching over me making a start at my Christmas cards....22 done many more to go yet.

That's all from me for today.  I will hopefully call round to see what you've all been doing this week.

Hugs,

Annie x

This week's smiles....week 296

It's been one of those weeks when I've needed to focus on keeping busy to override the dull, constant pain of my sciatica....I really will be glad when it goes now.

I've had lots of lovely sewing to occupy my hands and mind and have had plenty to smile about so here a few of my shares...

Here's my little trick or treaters that called at my door for Halloween with their friends.

Fab outfits twinnies.

Here's Amy's three in their Halloween outfits on their way to their friends house for a Halloween party.....even Poppy dog likes to line up for a photo.

I thought I would also share with you colours around our garden at the mo.....don't you just love the colours of Autumn and the few flowers that, so far, have survived the frosts we have had?

Those are my shares for this week.  Please share your smiles by linking them below.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW....

Oh wow what a busy week it's been here and there more arriving today to keep me busy....I've got a lady coming with items of clothing to make 6 memory bears....yes 6!!! Plus another lady is coming lunchtime wanting several sewing jobs done so never a dull minute here for me......and my sciatica still hasn't gone!!!

So? What have I been up to?.....

My special blogging friend Ellie [we have only met three times but she knows me sooooo well] sent me a voucher for Doughtys for my birthday with instructions to spoil myself so I bought this gorgeous fabric and have made two large cushions to go in our motor home. ....I made the cushions and covers.

It was suggested by several of you that I should made a travelling bear to come with us in the motor home so here he is....I've made him from an old fleece jumper of my hubby's so he's really cuddly and of course he had to have a back pack and hat for his camping trips....I still plan to knit him a scarf to go round his neck.

I haven't thought of a name yet...any suggestions?

You may get to see some of his adventures over the months ahead. :-)

Update......Scarf knitted.  He's all ready for his first adventure now.....but is still needing a name.

My darling hubby bought me a gorgeous new purple fleece as part of my birthday present and of course the sleeves needed shortening to fit me but just look .....even with all the threads I have I didn't have one to match!!....Who would have believed that?

The other thing that's on my desk today is a bit of paper crafting.....card and scissors were involved at least :-)

We have the twins calling round trick or treating with some of their little friends tonight so I had to make the effort lol.

That's all from me for this week.  I will do my best to visit as many as I can but I have a feeling I'm going to be rather busy this week.

Hugs,

Annie x

This week's smiles....week 295

It's been my birthday week so there's been lots to smile about.  When your birthday is mid week you just have to catch up with family members at the weekend so it spreads the celebrations over a week....and I've been well and truly spoilt.

There's been...

• Flowers
• Parcels to open
• Envelopes to open [with the help of little Theo of course]
• Hugs and kisses and of course
• Cake....a chocolate cake too :-)

Here's just a few of my smiles...

I was treated out to brunch by Theo and his mummy, Gina, on my birthday morning and then Theo and I enjoyed lots of fun and giggles for the rest of the day....here we are playing and singing 'Wheels on the bus'.

Cant you have a lot of fun with a cardboard box, some paper plates and some double sided sticky tape?

The box was what my next smile came in.....

On Wednesday my hubby took the day off to run me to the Dr's for my annual blood tests and then took Milly to be clipped.

During the morning he had an erection on the front drive....this is a new clip on awning for our motor home and will allow us to put up table and chairs etc and then unclip it to drive away whilst we are camping.....exciting times eh?

When these two get together they are inseparable.  Lulu is such a loving big cousin to little Theo.....and I rather think the feeling is mutual.

Here's Steve trying on his new Shrewsbury Town football hat and scarf....a late birthday present and he's rather pleased with it as you can see.

 This is my last smile to share with you today...it was sent to me from our Dutch friends and as you can imagine it's caused lots of giggles.....if only eh?

There you go.  That's a few of my smiles for this week.  I've showed you mine now show me yours by linking them up below.

Hugs,

Annie x