Stitch from Stash 2014

If you have been reading me recently you will know that I have joined Stitch from Stash 2014 which is being run by Mel at Epic Stitching ~ the general rules are as follows:

• New starts in 2014 will be from stash
• There is a budget of up to £20/month to top up with necessary supplies ~ thread/fabric etc
• Post to your blog what you have been stitching on/new starts/items purchased
• Email Mel your stats monthly

Now I tried, albeit half-heartedly, to stitch from stash last year and fell off the waggon with visiting 4 shows during the year, I didn't go mad but I did buy new patterns.  This year, with the aid of the other 129 participants of SFS2014, I will stay on the stash waggon ~ I plan on saving the balance of my budget each month and using it for a treat, not sure what yet.

So, here is my January report:

JANUARY BUDGET

I made a couple of purchases this month ~ I visited Grace & Favour on Saturday and was looking for buttons and trim for a couple of projects that are at the finishing stage.

Budget	20.00
Buttons	-0.60
Ribbon/trim	-2.50
Thread	-1.39
Fat Quarter	-2.50
Balance	13.01

NEW STARTS FROM STASH

 

Home of a Needleworker by LHN

Fabric ~ Sparklies 28ct Brittney Gingerbread

Thread ~ recommended DMC 

This was my New Year's Day start and I am stitching 1/1.  I have completed a couple of other LHN designs over one and I like the way they turn out ~ I have a few more of their designs in my stash and I'm not certain I would stitch them over 2 now.

The Sheep Day by The Little Stitcher

Fabric ~ 32ct painted evenweave colour unknown

Thread ~ WDW Bark & Carries Creations Snow White

My first finish of 2014

 

This piece was stitched as the January challenge on the Needlecraft Haven Yuku Group.  Christine finds us a freebie to stitch each month and we submit pictures of our finished pieces to her.  Christine keeps a Gallery which is made public on reveal day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Valentine stitching for an exchange on the Friendly Stitchers Yahoo group ~ secret until my partner has received.  All items used for this project were also from my stash.

 

WIPs & UFOs WORKED ON

La Pensee Positive by Jardin Privee ~ finished Part III & started Part IV, picture on my previous post.

Jolly Holiday by Lizzie Kate ~ small pillow finish with fabric from stash, forgot to take a picture!

I also worked on a couple of other items which I can't show as they are for gifts.

 

And that concludes my January report

 

So far I am enjoying the challenge ~ I have spent quite a bit of time sorting my stash which I believe will help me along in the months to come.  I have a App on my phone called Floss Checklist and I have started to add all my threads so I have an "at a glance" record.  The App covers about 20 different companies, so it's quite comprehensive, and is very easy to use.  I have an Android version ~ not sure if it's available for other systems ~ and feel if was definitely worth the sixty'ish pence outlay.

 

Till next time

 

 

Kate

 

 



 

 

A Few Firsts

Some great firsts have been recorded throughout history ~ my firsts for the beginning of 2014 are perhaps just a wee bit less noteworthy.

My first post ~ and hopefully not my last!
I have had things to report however with life being busy in the run up to Christmas, work, collecting GB1 from university etc my posts were sparse to say the least.  I guess I also got a little lazy ~ having the benefit of my ipad makes access to the Internet/social networking/emails etc very easy.  What I do not find easy is posting via blogger, either via the app or the net ~ in fact I find it a hugely frustrating event, am I the only one?  I can't manage to master uploading photographs as I like to have them, text decides for itself where it will reside and which font.  So the laziness comes in when I start to think about having to fire up the PC ~ which is in the conservatory ~ or dig out a laptop.  And to add to the frustration when I did get a laptop out on Wednesday night because it hasn't been used for so long it required 91 Windows updates ~ which I did ~ and then it decided that the version of IE was too out of date to be of any use.  I packed it away and went to bed!
This morning we have laptop #2 ~ which so far seems to be working ok!

First TUSAL
Was actually 1 January 2014 ~ I had about 3 orts to show ~ please see explanation of laziness/ipad frustration above for why I did not share.
The next new moon is 30 January and I will curb the laziness to share a picture close to that time.  If you have no idea what this SAL is about you can read about it on Daffycat's Blog.

First 2014 Start ~ definitely not the last!

This is Home of a Needleworker from LHN ~ my New Year's Day start.  I'm stitching this 1/1 on 28ct Gingerbread Brittney fabric from Kate at Sparklies with the recommended DMC threads. The couple of threads on the LH side are actually my meagre pile of orts.




First IHSW
 Is this weekend and I have a date with a chair and my stitching bag ~ I hope to work on Home of a Needleworker, La Pensee Positive ~ a beautiful SAL from Nathalie at Jardin Privee (I have the last part to complete), Needlecraft Haven's monthly challenge which for January is a gorgeous freebie from Laura at The Little Stitcher.  I think that is plenty to keep me out of mischief.

In other news I signed up for this


which Mel at Epic Stitching is running.  The title says it all really ~ we do have a monthly budget available for supplies however I am going to try and steer clear of spending on any stash ~ as you may imagine I do have a fair bit squirrelled away to work with.  Wish me luck!





Aside from stitching I have a couple of housey jobs to complete and unfortunately the LM is poorly so a good dollop of TLC is in order.  The really bad news is that GB2 needs the rocket up the derriere again in terms of cleaning/tidying his room ~ oh boy!

Whatever your weekend brings I hope you enjoy it.

Kate

 

Years End

Well almost.
I hope this post finds you all well and that you have enjoyed a peaceful Christmas.  We have had quiet, family time so far ~ New Year celebrations are ahead of us and we will be spending time with my Sis2 and her DH who from here on in shall be known as McBiL ~ being my brother in law who resides in Scotland.
GB1 has been home from university ~ his final lecture was December 13th, however he was committed to work until 19th when we collected him to bring him home.  With the studying/revision he has needed to do and also working back in his old Costa store we've seen very little of him.  It's still been lovely having him home ~ not sure that GB2 agrees!
I've signed myself up for stitching only from stash during 2014 ~ check out my page link across to the right ~ I've made a start listing the charts/kits that I have in my stash and as you will see there is plenty to keep me going!  I'm sure I can do this, do you fancy giving it a try?
I'm watching The Holiday again while sorting out fabric for my New Year's Day start ~ Home of a Needleworker by LHN.  I already had the thread pulled and stored in the pattern wallet so it seems like an easy option.  I may even make 2 starts as I am planning to stitch a Christmas piece a month ~ with this in mind I have The 12 Days of Christmas Parts I & II  from The Little Stitcher so my 2014 ornaments will be themed.
Being reasonably certain that I won't be posting again this year I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you all for reading my meagre posting efforts this year ~ I'm hoping that I will be better at updating my blog in 2014.
Here's wishing you a Happy, Healthy & Stitchful New Year.
Kate

It's been a while..........

A long while really and I must apologise ~ there have been a few things that have eaten into my time and left none spare for blogging, in fact I started this post a couple of weeks ago and then other things got in the way of me adding the pictures and posting!  I have been trying to keep on top of reading what you have all been doing, but even that has taken a bit of a back seat at times.

Stitching has been slow to non-existent, I did manage to finish my New Years Day start.

 

LHN ~ Summer Splendor

Recommended threads with one substitution

Fabric unknown

Started 01 January 2013

Finished 09 March 2013 

 



I plan to finish this into a bag ~ when that might happen is anyone's guess though.  My latest LHN project is Be True which was a birthday gift from Barb last year ~ I'm stitching one over one on 28ct so it's going to be just the perfect size for a scissor fob.
I've also started stitching the Drawn Thread "Love" scissor keep ~ I'm stitching this 9 times as they are to be the place cards for the Ladies who will be at out wedding.

 

 

The Drawn Thread - Love Scissors Tag

Recommended Needlepoint & Northern Lights Silk

Sparklies 35ct Edinburgh Linen ~ Barely Bronzed

Started 09 February 2013

 

As of today I have 4½ stitched so I'm halfway there!  You must excuse the crumpled appearance, thought I'd leave the ironing until they are all finished.

 

And a closer picture ~ I love the muted colours and the variety of stitches.  Our wedding is quite small and we wanted to include some handmade/personalised items ~ I know that each of the Ladies will appreciate these gifts.  We have something a little more manly for the Guys!  Well I have work tomorrow ~ another thing that gets in the way! ~ so I guess I had better go get some sleep.  I'll be trying very hard to be here with better regularity than I have displayed so far this year. 

 

Till next time.

 

Kate  

 

 

Autumn & Winter Exchanges 2012

Last year Clare at Needlecraft Haven ran a Four Seasons Exchange ~ due to a number of things I didn't post any pictures from either Autumn or Winter.

There was a bit of a trial with my Autumn piece ~ it went into the black hole of the postal system, whether that was on this side of the pond or stateside Dusty didn't receive her gift.  So a new one had to be finished and shipped out, fortunately this one did eventually turn up.

This is Autumn Sampler by Lizzie Kate stitched with the recommended threads on 40ct linen.  I made this into a small bourse ~ just the right size to carry threads for a project.  Pictures of the outside and the completed bourse follow.

Here's the gorgeous needle roll that I received from Julie ~ my very first one.  I love it, the colours, the design, the trim & buttons ~ just all of it.  Thanks again Julie.  The text on the picture should read - FROM Julie

Julie was my partner to stitch for in the Winter exchange and I stitched part of the design of Snow White by LHN.  The fabric is 32ct Rue Green linen and I used Finca Perle #16.

I finished it as a needle book/thread organiser.

Christine stitched this little beauty for me ~ I must apologise for the quality of some of the pictures today ~ this one certainly does not capture the colour of the gorgeous fabric.  Thanks so much Christine.

I hope I can do this type of seasonal exchange again as I really enjoyed participating in this one ~ thanks to Clare for organising it all.

Hope to update you with Christmas exchanges next time.

Kate

IHSW Catch Up

Did you all hermit at the weekend ~ I did & in more ways than one.  The first type was staying out of the weather.  We had snow the whole weekend, groceries were delivered Friday so there was no need for us to venture out.  The LM had a pressing need to give some TLC to the LM car ~ the wayward cover had been removed during some windy weather ~ do you remember that cover?  So the LM car was cleared of the snow that had settled on her, cleaned, dried and snuggled under the cover once more.  It may appear that I am poking fun at the LM (as if I would...) about going out in the snow to clean a car ~ well I shouldn't really as while he was out there he cleaned my car too.

On to the second type of hermitting ~ the stitching kind ~ after looking forward to the first IHSW session of the year I'm afraid it fell a little flat for me.  I did stitch, and enjoyed what I managed it just wasn't all that much. 

I finished the stitching on my January ornament for the Christmas Ornaments All Year Round SAL.  This is a freebie from Nikys Creations.  I plan to finish this as a luggage tag ornament.

I stitched a little on Summer Splendor by LHN ~ I started this while we were staying with Sis2 and her family at New Year.  There wasn't much stitched on it that day either as champagne was in the mix.

 

I also managed to start the finishing ~ always sounds wrong ~ on my piece for the valentine/friendship exchange on the Friendly Stitchers Group.  Can't show a picture of that until it has been received by my partner.

 

For the second week running our Tuesday Stitching Group was cancelled ~ I was going to stitch however I've spent the time sorting through pictures on the camera memory card, got a wee bit lost in looking at them as you do.  Watch out for some updates on exchanges from last year.

 

Stay safe & warm.

 

Kate

 

 

Stash Pictures ~ That's All

From Nimble Thimble

LHN - Thread Gatherer

Drawn Thread ~ Morning Glory

Drawn Thread ~ Sisters + Friends

Drawn Thread ~ Love Scissor Tag

There was another design but as it has no picture other than the chart I'm not uploading it for obvious reasons.

From Castle Court Quilters

Yummy Christmas fabric ~ I already had the piece on the right

Finca Perle, stitch ripper and fabric with sewing accessories

Late IHSW Report

Nothing new there then!

Last weekend was hermitting weekend ~ I had plenty of time to be stitching, around shopping for presents for the LM (Yes he's clocked up another year!) however I didn't acheive a tremendous amount really.

I did manage to complete the final part of the Spring mystery SAL ~ it looks a little wonky in the picture.                                                                                               This has been a lovely stitch and I think I will make a small pillow when I finally get into "finishing" mode.                                                                                             I replaced the called for white thread with DMC 543 so that the stonework on the house would show better on my fabric.  I also stitched over the bird with this ~ yes sheer laziness on my part ~ I should have unpicked it but decided against that.           There is a small autumn freebie also by Marie which I hope to stitch at some point ~ hopefully Summer & Winter will be available too.

Next was to find a snowflake design to complete my April ornament for the Christmas Ornaments All Year Round SAL.  This is an extract from LHN Fresh Fallen Snow which was in the Just Cross Stitch Christmas 2011 special - there are two snowflakes in the design so I need to add the second one, stitch up and stuff.  Next month is a gingerbread man theme.

And finally my progress to date on LHN's Simple Joys ~ it hasn't changed a great deal since you last saw it.                                                                                          So there you have it ~ the sum total of my hermitting weekend.  It really doesn't amount to much however as ever I did enjoy the time.  I was thinking about all the other hermitters around the world all stitching away in the different time zones ~ perhaps next month I should start on Australian time and finish in US time!  That would make for some mammoth stitching spree ~ worth considering.

Kate

PS  Blogger & I don't seem to be getting along right now ~ have no idea why the spacing goes all cooky when I publish!!

Confessional

It's been ten days since my last post.....................

And during that time I have done some stitching, some stash sorting, a bit of stash buying, a bit of painting and a fair amount of procrastination.

                                          Mystery SAL Part III

A quick stitch ~ there is a wee bird hiding on top of the lower case p, he's white and just a little bit hard to see ~ but he is there.
I gave up on finding my DMC 3752 and used 794 and as soon as I had it stitched ~ yes, you guessed it ~ I found 2 skeins of 3752.
No matter, I think the shade I used looks grand.  Part IV is due tomorrow, or today depending on how long it takes me to complete this post.




Dawn of Spring SAL from Friendly Stitchers Yahoo Group

Finished Part I eventually ~ tried eyelets in the third band, however they didn't sit right on my fabric so out they came and I reverted to Smyrna stitch.
Band four is charted for three of the large motifs and space to add initials and year ~ I have an idea for how I might finish this piece so I will be stitching the two outer motifs and leaving initials etc until the end. 
Band five is also started and hopefully I will be continuing with this at Tuesday Stitching Group ~ I'm hosting this week.




                                          Simple Joys by LHN

Has grown some since you last saw it ~ I've quite surprised myself with how quickly this is stitching up, especially as it's one over one.  I'm loving everything about this, the fabric, the colours and the sentiment of it.
I would have liked to be finished the stitching this week ~ as quick as it is I think this may be overly optimistic.






Last week our quilt group had a visit to The Quilters Cupboard ~ I came away with some fabric to add to my stash.  I planned on using some of it at my monthly stitching day in Penrith on Saturday ~ unfortunately I had to cancel my trip due to lack of sleep Friday night.  I was very disappointed but it was a good idea not to get behind the wheel of a car with insufficient zeds.  After our shopping spree we headed back to a local Italian restaurant for a meal ~ the food was lovely.
Sunday was the latest meeting of The Diary Dames up at The Crafts House ~ the weather was deceiving, it looked beautiful but turned out to be extremely cold and while we were there we saw more of the white stuff, both hail & snow.  I have nothing to share with you from our visit as my project is not yet finished ~ should be complete at the next visit.
Today I spent a few hours with Sis2 ~ her DH had business in the area so she had travelled with him.  We had a nice meander around Durham and lunch in Vennels Cafe.  The cakes looked gorgeous ~ we were good and didn't have any ~ the corned beef pie, three pepper quiche and salad were however delicious.  If you're ever visiting Durham it's worth a visit, oh and the tables are all old treadle tables.

I'm off to attempt to sleep.

Kate

Stitchy Update

I have been a little better at getting through some of my stitching this week so here are a few progress pictures.

First up is my (almost) finished part II of the SAL mystere du Printemps from Marie ~ it's missing the lake as I currently have no idea where my DMC 3752 has wandered off to!  Don't you just love it when that happens?  I'm sure it's in that most wonderful of "safe" places ~ shame that my memory will not unlock the key to where that is currently.  So far this has been a lovely quick stitch and Part III is due out on Saturday ~ hopefully I will be able to get on with it fairly quickly and also locate the rogue & elusive 3752 by then too.  I'm enjoying doing these few spring things of late as it makes a change from the Christmas things that I have committed to for the whole of this year.

Next is my New Year's Day start ~ Simple Joys from LHN ~ this was a gift from the very lovely Barb for my birthday last year.  This is growing faster than I expected it to as I am stitching over 1.  There was a blip at the end of last week due to an unwelcome visit from the dratted green croaking creatures ~ I managed to stitch 2 full and 1 partial flower using the wrong colour!  All is well again now though as I managed to undo the mistakes and have completed two of the flowers again in the correct colour.  I am working on adding some words of dedication to my Lovely Mum to this piece.

I have now finished my March ornament for the Christmas Ornaments All Year Round SAL ~ I just haven't remembered to take a photograph yet!  More thought should have been put into my March stitch, Jolly from Miss Crescent Crowne, as for March we chose our own theme, if I'd looked at April's theme ~ snowflake ~ I probably would have chosen something else to stitch.  Nevermind I think I have more designs with snowflakes I can use.  Hopefully I can share a picture of my March ornament with you soon.

Till next time.

Kate

Less Pins More Papercraft

This is what Carol & I found when we visited the Pins & Needles Exhibition at Gosforth Park yesterday.  It is quite disappointing that there are fewer and fewer exhibitors that cater for stitchers' needs coming to our local show ~ we still managed to buy a few things though.

Summer Splendor from LHN together with a thread pack of the recommended Crescent Colours.
Let's Sew from Ursula Michael ~ loved this when I saw it on the flyer I received from Trudy Anne.
I Do from Heart in Hand with a couple of the threads converted to crescent colours.
Several fat quarters & an half metre of button design fabric
Dale Burdett's book of borders.
Some charms and a copy of Complete Needlecraft by Agnes M Miall ~ first published in 1943, the year my WP's were married.
We did enjoy the day, sitting outside in the glorious sunshine to eat our lunch, meeting people we know (and love) and generally having a good time.
I've spent today doing very little, some exercise, a couple of household chores and some stitching which I will share with you soon.
Hope you're enjoying the warm weather ~ I hear we're about to revert to more seasonal temperatures over the weekend.

Kate

IHASW & A Birthday

Well this last weekend was a hermitting one ~ I managed some progress:

A little progress on my LHN Simple Joys ~ this was a gift from the very lovely Barb last year.  I made a start on this one on New Year's Day while we were staying with Sis2 and her family.  Stitching over 1 on 28ct evenweave, it's quite slow progress but I'm really enjoying it ~ probably because there's been no sign of the wee green ones!  I may change my mind if they decide to turn up.

Most of my stitching over the weekend was concentrated on Jolly Holiday by Lizzie Kate ~ this is my February contribution to the Christmas Ornaments All Year Round SAL ~ this month's theme was Christmas Tree.  I searched through all my Ornament Magazines and found lots of trees ~ I just wasn't inspired to stitch any of them.  Then I remembered winning this one in a giveaway from Maggee back in April last year, and I'm loving it so far.  If I remember correctly next month we get to choose our own theme.  I also managed a little on a piece that I'm doing for a spring themed exchange on Needlecraft Haven.
Last week saw another birthday for me ~ don't they come round with alarming speed?  I was treated to some gorgeous gifts.

I haven't been able to wear my old watch since the last night at hospital with my Lovely Mum. 
So the hugely thoughtful LM bought me this one ~ it's a complete change from the previous one, even has a bit of sparkle with the four crystals.  I love it!

We had a very brief visit from Sis2 and her DH on Sunday and they brought me this glass wall hanging.  Beautiful colours and of course perfect subject matter for me.  If you don't already know I have a bit of a "thing" for hearts.  It's staying in it's little corrugated card box until I decide where it will reside, probably in our room with the many other hearts that are already there ~ still I don't want to make any rash decisions.

We'll be seeing Sis2 and her family again over the weekend as we are off to view a couple of venues for the wedding and they're both up in Scotland ~ perfect to spend more time with them.  We'll be seeing both of their daughters too ~ the youngest of which was engaged a couple of weeks ago so there might be fizzy stuff involved!

Next up is this gorgeaous heart themed gift from Carol (the lovely C) ~ the most gorgeous linen, buttons and a heart shaped glass dish.  Thanks Carol, I still haven't decided what to use the fabric for.  It needs to be something very special so it might be some time before you see it again.

This cute little package from Doreen came with an intriging message on the tag ~ some gorgeous co-ordinated spotty (another favourite) fabric.  I opened the fabric out to find the following details on the selvedge.  How lovely is that!  Thanks Doreen ~ not sure I will be able to cut this one.

 I had other gifts, a frame to hold a photograph from the WP's wedding, almost 69 years ago, lovely flowers, pink fizz and chocolates ~ thanks to everyone for being so kind.

I have been blog reading I just don't seem to have sufficient time to comment much at all ~ so apologies.  I'm hoping this will change soon and I can get back to leaving comments each time I visit to read what you have all been up to.

We're enjoying some milder weather today and the sun is shining too ~ always a boost to see it.  Have a great Tuesday.

Kate

Last & First

I finally finished The Sampler Lady by LHN on 29 December 2011 ~ my last finish for the year.
She's stitched 1/1 on 28ct cream evenweave with the recommended threads ~ most of which I won in a giveaway on the Needlecraft Haven group quite some time ago.
Mostly I loved stitching Grace, as I named her, however I made a mistake with the stitching on her face and she was ensconced in a cupboard so I didn't have to think about frogging ~ huge mistake! I took the plunge last week to sort it out and here she is all complete. I haven't added my name ~ I just stitched the K in a different colour. 
I don't usually make New Year resolutions, however I have decided that I should make this one........
Never put away a project that contains an error ~ frog it now!

And this is my New Year's Day start, Simple Joys by LHN.
Stitched 1/1 on the same fabric as The Sampler Lady with the recommended threads.  This was a gift from the very lovely Barb for my birthday last year.  I'm stitching it in memory of my lovely Mum who took pleasure in the simple joys in life.

Kate

Weekend Review

Snow was not very far away from us this weekend, I saw white covered cars and a little on the roadside while out and about.  We however have a surplus of the wet stuff ~ I can tell you LM was not amused.  Outside enjoyable car tinkering had to be postponed on Saturday and instead the paintwork sanding in the en-suite called his name!  And what a fine job he did too. 

I attended my first Embroiderer's Guild meeting for the year on Saturday with the lovely C.  It was a cold one, no heating in the hall, and a technical hitch prevented us having full view of the slides that accompanied the speaker's talk.  That said it was a good afternoon and an interesting subject ~ tapestry weaving.  As usual C managed to find some bounty on the sale table and came away with a batch of Sampler & Antique Needlework Quarterly magazines which she has generously shared with me together with a few american crochet magazines.  I found a lovely DMC book which I will share another time as I have not managed to photograph this yet.

Stitching and finishing were slower than I expected ~ On one of the birthday projects I found that some 1/1 work that looked really nice was in fact incorrectly placed and had to come out, this held up progress quite badly.  It's hard enough to remove 1/1 but it was stitched in quite a dark colour which left deposits.  Once the corrections were made and the addition of one of the final motifs I set this aside ~ I really don't like working on something I feel has become a chore - I shall return to this soon.

My new love, The Sampler Lady by LHN, was given quite a lot of attention as you can see from this photograph. 

Aside from changing the actual size ~ I'm stitching 1/1 ~ I had to change the Ecru as it did not show up sufficiently well on my fabric, I still have the left cuff to remove.  I tried 712 but this also failed to bring anything to the party so I finally settled on a nice buttery shade (I think 677 ~ but will have to check!) for the alphabet, cuffs, ruffle and petticoat and I'm quite pleased with the results so far.  I have stitched my initial in Manor Red ~ this will be my signature on this piece.

I also made a start on a spring pincushion for an exchange that I have signed up for on the Friendly Stitcher group ~ I can't show you anything of this one until after it has been received by my partner.

Monday has arrived all too quickly ~ as usual.

Kate

Weekend Report

Tuesday arrived and I realise that I have not reported on my weekend stitching yet. 
Firstly I would like to thank all those who have taken the time to read and comment on my posts - until beginning this blog I didn't realise how much people visiting and moreover leaving lovely little messages could mean so a huge thanks to all of you.  A special note to those who have commented regarding my LM and his scissor purchasing capabilities - we have a trade with birthday/Christmas gifts - I like needlework bits and pieces and he likes....... car parts!

Once again the weekend raced by, I managed a fair amount of stitching/crafting:

• Completed the stitching for the monthly challenge on Needlecraft Haven - this month is Love (freebie) from The Stitcherhood.  No picture of this until reveal day at the end of the month.
• Finished off some stitching for a birthday gift which I can't show until after it has been given to the birthday girl.
• Completed the stitching on Jingle My Bells from Poppy Kreations - this will be my Christmas ornament for the month 

Stitched on 28ct evenweave, unknown colour with DMC 500.
I added the metal snowflake in place of the charted wreath and candy canes.



I'm not happy with the bow for the bells so will be re-doing this - perhaps with some #5 perle cotton.

This was another Harrogate purchase, I believe from 2008, I have the special frame for it where the design fits into an aperture in Santa's hat - update will follow once framed.

I'm looking to make a new start soon, yes even with all the other WIP's and UFO's!, and will probably choose from a number of LHN designs that are in the pending pile, The Sampler Lady, Necessities Sampler and Home of a Needleworker are currently in the running.

It's stitching group tonight, not sure what I will be taking with me.

Enjoy your day - tomorrow brings the joy of being half-way to the weekend!

Kate