Happy New Year

I'd like to wish all my followers & readers a very Happy, Healthy & Peaceful New Year.


Thank you for sticking with me when I have been an intermittent blogger ~ I am hoping that I will manage to keep the blog updated more frequently throughout this year.  To those of you that leave me comments I'd like you to know that they are very much appreciated.


Today I am struggling with my technology!  Blogger does not want to allow my to upload photographs currently ~ it may be my version of IE that is causing the issue, but who knows.


Hopefully I can resolve this soon and then show you my NYD new start and the Secret Santa gifts from Tuesday Stitching Group.


Until next time




Kate

February's First

Post, that is
I can't believe that we're into the 2nd half of February and this is my first post for the month!  I have been busy with some stitching much of which has been exchange pieces.
The first piece was a Valentine exchange on the Friendly Stitcher Yahoo Group ~ this has now been received by my partner Mary and yesterday I received my parcel from Mary.  The specification was to stitch something heart/love related and also send gift items of chocolate/tea/soap.  I haven't yet photographed my gifts ~ I will remedy this soon and include them in another post together with photograph of the parcel I sent.
The second piece is for the spring exchange on Needlecraft Haven ~ my piece is stitched ready to make up but pictures will be quite a while yet as reveal day is not until 26 March.  I have thoroughly enjoyed stitching the piece I choose for this exchange and will probably make another for myself at some point.
I have also started on Love by Bent Creek ~ I ordered the embellishment pack and the required WDW threads shortly after buying the pattern at one of the Harrogate Knitting & Stitching shows and had intended stitching this for our home.  It seemed appropriate to be used as a gift for my niece and her fiance who will be married at the beginning of May.  I'm finding it to be a lovely project and it's growing quite quickly ~ again no photograph yet.
I should have been able to post pictures earlier in the week of a few gifts that I had finished, however due to the snow our Tuesday Stitching Group was cancelled so I was not able to send the gifts home with their new owners.  Hopefully I should be able to share the pictures this week.
My weekend has been one of shopping and surprises ~ we spent Saturday in York shopping for a wedding outfit.  Shortly after we arrived home GB1 turned up as a surprise for my birthday ~ this was hatched between him and the LM a couple of weeks ago and I had no idea.  He is returning to University later this morning.  It was lovely to have all my boys around ~ a true blessing.

Kate

Secret Santa & Christmas Ornament Exchanges

We're almost at the end of January and it's only 334 days till Christmas ~ just thought I'd get that over with and I promise not to mention it again ~ if I remember!

Our Tuesday Stitching Group have had a Secret Santa exchange for quite a few years now ~ 3 years ago we changed the format and rather than buying a gift for our partner we now each make our gifts.  So for Christmas 2013 I was to make something for Doreen ~ I was organised early and gathered a pattern and supplies however project # 1 and I didn't get on so I abandoned the idea.  A new project search was started and I found something that I thought would be perfect ~ I had a great time working on it and was quite pleased with myself.  Then disaster struck when I somehow managed to scorch it with the iron!!!!!!   I have been ironing since I was 10, ironing was my chore at home from that age and I have NEVER scorched anything (other than myself on a few occasions) in my entire ironing career ~I was completely devastated and disheartened and running out of time too.

Despite the setback I managed not to either fall out with or destroy project # 3 and was really quite pleased with how it turned out ~ and Doreen was delighted with it which is the most important thing.

Eliza's Pyn Pillow by With My Needle mounted on a hand painted and lined box.

This is the gorgeous gift I received from Carol.  I love it  ~ there are a number of reasons:
It's gorgeous
It's a heart ~ well 5 hearts if you count the individual ones
It's made from remnants of the fabric that the group used to make a quilt as a wedding gift for myself and the LM
It includes pieces of the fabric from my wedding dress ~ Carol had a sneaky word with my Sis2 at our wedding party and DH was involved at some stage too
Did I tell you it was a heart?  What's not to love?  Oh, and it as lights too!

I should remember to take my camera to our Christmas dinner next time and photograph all the gorgeous gifts that were exchanged.

I joined two ornament exchanges in 2013 ~ one on the Friendly Stitchers Yahoo Group and one on the Needlecraft Haven Yuku Group.

These are the gorgeous ornaments I received ~ on the left hand side from Mary in the FS Group and on the right hand side from Clare in the NH Group.  I really enjoy participating in these exchanges and now have quite a haul of beautifully stitched pieces from stitchers from around the world ~ I omitted to take a picture of my bowl displaying them all.

My ornament to Mary on the Friendly Stitchers Yahoo Group ~ Noel 2013, a free design from Mamilou Creations.
This was stitched on 35ct Barely Bronzed from Sparklies with DMC threads - I made one substitution as I didn't have one of the called for colours.  The bottom of the design had some wording which I omitted and added a strip of lacy trim in it's place.  For the back I used some lovely green spotty fabric from my stash and the hanger is made from a couple of ribbons, one stitched onto the other.

This is Christmas Morning by The Stitcherhood, a design from the 2012 Just Stitches Ornament Edition.  Stitched on 32ct fabric ~ colour unknown, I must get better at keeping my fabric with better detail.  Just two colours of DMC were used for this design which I stitched for Becs on the Needlecraft Haven Yuku Group.  I used a fabric which had a wreath design in red/green for the reverse with a hanger made from the same DMC used for the stitching.

I'm looking forward to this year's ornament exchanges already!

Kate

TUSAL & A Birthday Gift

Firstly my ORTs for the year so far ~ looking a wee bit boring at the top of the heap due to piecing a small quilt/play mat for a friend's little girl.  There really hasn't been too much stitching going on at all for me for several reasons ~ lack of time/holiday/illness etc.  I'm hoping that is going to change as I have many things to get on with ~ some with deadlines.

 Next is the birthday present ~ for Heather from Tuesday Stitching Group.  This was stitched last year however events took over the finishing and it got left for quite some time.  It's from Chez Elisa and was a really quick stitch ~ the hardest part was the finishing.  I finished it as a small wall hanging by making a cord and adding a fabric yo-yo to the back.  I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

I'm way behind with just about everything but I'm hoping to be back soon with more news & stitching updates.

Kate

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

SAL du Printemps

Although with the weather we are having currently you may think that summer has arrived ~ not complaining, just saying. 
I joined this SAL hosted by Marie ~ there are 205 of us taking part.  It's a spring mystery ~ this is my completed Part I

I'm stitching on 23ct linen (colour unknown) with the recommended DMC threads.
Part II should be arriving soon.
Tuesday stitching group met at Sylvia's this week ~ I worked on Simple Joys from LHN.  This was my New Year's Day start, I haven't stitched on it much as other things have taken priority but it's coming along.  No picture to share currently ~ will get to that soon.
Carol & I are off to the Pins & Needles show at Newcastle Racecourse today - hopefully we'll find some goodies to adopt.

A Little Bit of Christmas

Originally I bought this thinking it would work as an ornament tree, however when I hung some ornaments I didn't like it - neither the tree nor the ornaments showed up very well, I have to admit to being disappointed.  So I tried the little jingle bells that were bought to spruce up our door wreath and didn't make it there.  I love how it looks, and the light it sheds is a lovely warm white.
The little angel sitting under the tree is the project that Sandra from The Crafts House designed for our Tuesday Stitching Group's last visit back in November.  She looks just perfect sitting there with the warm glow of the tree above her.

And here she is a little more clearly ~ we painted, glued, shaded, stamped, blushed, beaded and twisted ~ isn't she sweet!

The LM is off on his travels again tomorrow and on Saturday GB1 is off to a medical taster course at Nottingham University ~ a whole 5 days away from home, by himself!  As I'm sure many of you have experienced with your own children he's not phased in the slightest at the prospect ~ me? I'm a wee bit apprehensive.

Sleep is calling my name ~ eventually, with barely 5 hours in the land of nod between the last couple of nights ~ I'm off, night.

Kate

A Spot of Painting & TUSAL

Our Tuesday Stitching Group have our next meeting at The Crafts House this week for our Christmas project ~ I'm really looking forward to it, I have an idea of what we will be making but you will have to wait and see.

 This is our last project from back in September - a cute row of gingerbread men in a frame.  We always have a great time with Sandra and I'm sure that Tuesday will be as enjoyable as ever.

I have also been spending some Sunday mornings painting with the Diary Dames ~ this snowman with his mug of hot chocolate was one of my recent finishes.  I have a couple of others to share with you soon ~ they just need some final titivating before they make an appearance.

 I will leave you with pictures of my ORTs ~ at least a couple of month's worth as I have missed posting, together with the year so far in the Christmas bauble.  Check out the crocheted flower pin cushion too ~ a gift from the Lovely C

We're almost back at Monday ~ again!  Hope you have a good week.

Kate

Fabulous Fabric

and lots of it.
Given to me by one of the Ladies at our Tuesday Stitching Group ~ how lucky am I?  Lots of 32ct & 36ct and a few others too.
I have to confess that it's not all in the picture either as I have already used some of it!

Kate

A Quick Finish

 Joy Ambigram by Meg Shinall

From November Issue of TGOSM

Stitched on 28 ct White Cashel Linen

DMC threads

Homemade Cord

This was such a quick finish ~ I completed the stitching Monday evening and put it together Tuesday at Stitching Group.

Seasonal stitching is quite prevalent in my world at the moment and I will have more ornament finishes to share with you soon.

Don't forget the Travelling Pattern is waiting to be assigned a enew home on Sunday ~ leave a comment on my last post if you are interested in joining The Stitcherhood.

Kate

iStitch SAL etc

Just a quick update on one of my holiday stitching projects.
This is Part II of the SAL that Carol is currently running.  I was a little late submitting my picture so have just received the chart for Part III today, and I am planning to stitch it this evening at Tuesday Stitching Group.
You must forgive me if I am a little quiet on the blogging front - my Mum had another fall while we were on holiday.  One hip replacement later & fingers crossed that the recouperation continues well.  There's planning afoot this week for physiotherapy to get her mobile again ~ hopefully the upright kind of mobile.
There should have been a family gathering this coming weekend to mark my Dad's 90th birthday ~ I'm not sure what will happen at the moment as I'm quite certain that Dad would prefer to have Mum by his side to mark this fantastic milestone. 
Last weekend was a LM (I may have to re-name him FM - Fiance Man!) family gathering to celebrate his Parents' Golden Wedding Anniversary.  A fabulous time was had by all ~ some more than others I have to say.  We were able to catch up with people we don't see often enough, particularly the two who travelled from Australia.  Lots of people were desperate to see my engagement ring, unfortunately it is still with the designer being re-made to fit!  So they had to content themselves with the picture on my phone ~ as I have to, one week down, possibly still 5 to go before I get to wear it. 
I haven't had a proper look at the photographs from the weekend yet but I should be able to show you the cakes that LM had made for his Mum & Dad at some point ~ they were brilliant and very well received.
Hope you've all weathered the storm safely.
 
Kate

Blog Giveaways

Sharon at Daffycat has stitched two real cuties for her giveaway based on a Bent Creek design with gnomes - a lovely scissor fob and tiny needle minder.  Beautifully stitched and finished!

Terri at Dixiesampler is having a welcome back to blogging giveaway following a bit if a traumatic time with internet/blogging related matters.  I just love the huge wooden button in Terri's profile picture ~ I need one!

It's Tuesday Stitching Group for me tonight - I should get very close to a finish!  Tomorrow evening the Lovely C is hosting a few of us from the Wednesday Quilting Group - there is usually a wee bit of hilarity so I am looking forward to it.  Quilting Group will start to meet again in early September - I think I may even get onto a quilting project when we reconvene!  I have signed up to a BOM quilt being run by Carol at Just Quilting - it's a Christmas wall hanging and I shall work on this at quilt group ~ I haven't allowed myself to start this yet as I really must get a few other things out of the way first ~ famous last words!

Smile today - people will wonder what you're up to!

Kate

 

Top Secret!

I'm quite excited about this top secret project ~ I have joined a SAL through Nataliejo at L'Atelier Perdu.  I joined late so I have only until 21 July before part two is issued!
I love the thread colours and the 32ct fabric that have been recommended for this.  We have been set a mission for next time too - we need to find 7 co-ordinating printed fabrics for making up - guess that means a trip to Just Quilting at the weekend ~ what a chore that will be!!
I must resist starting until I have my Tuesday Stitching Group birthday gifts finished.  I am hoping that the current batch of 3 gifts will all be ready to be re-homed on Tuesday next week.  One is finished, one is waiting to be made up and there is the teeniest amount of stitching to complete on # 3 before it can be made up.
Wish me luck.

Kate

Mid Week Report

Isn't time passing by quickly at the moment?  Wednesday already!
The Tuesday Stitching group Ladies were at my house last night ~ eight of us in total.  Our two hours were over in what seemed like about 10 mins.  As most of my current projects are secret ones I was not able to stitch ~ should have been a bit more organised really.  I enjoyed the chatter and had one or two things to seek out for people so I wasn't totally lazy! 
I'm off to quilting group tonight and I'm planning on being more productive ~ not sure what I'll be working on yet.

Roll on the weekend ~ I have a Saturday of stitching planned.

Kate

June Events

LM was away at Le Mans and returned 14 June ~ happy to be home but more tired than expected, he could barely keep his eyes open.
I walked to Tuesday Stitching Group that week ~ our host lives not too far from me so I decided to walk to boost my exercise for the week.  It was a hard walk as it was all uphill!  I did feel better for having done it though.  We were a small group that night and our host, who always treats us to lovely homemade goodies had made strawberry pavlova ~ it was wonderful.  There was also a show and tell as she had finished her quilt ~ had I known I would have taken the camera to get a picture as it is absolutely fabulous.
LM had planned that we would go out for the day on Wednesday, so we set off to Richmond in North Yorkshire.  I was driver for the day ~ well LM had just driven back from France, and I really enjoy driving which some people find strange.  We had a lovely time ambling around chatting & looking in gift and antique shops. 

We found the perfect baby gift that had been eluding us in Dot's Place on Castle Hill ~ a gorgeous shop that's well worth a visit.  LM found this in a n antique shop ~ a 100ft metal retractable tape measure bound in leather which looks barely used. We got Fathers' Day gifts while we were there too.  We lunched at The Crossview Tearoom ~ fish & chips for LM and Bacon, mushroom & stilton baguette for me.  If you're going to Richmond I can recommend this place ~ the staff were really friendly and the food is all freshly cooked and was gorgeous.

One of our favourite places in Richmond is York House Antiques, sorry I couldn't find a link for this ~ it's an Aladdin's Cave of a place arranged over several floors and you could spend hours looking around.  They have a mix of old and new, weird and wonderful.  I'm fascinated every time I go.  I got this flat iron.

I didn't fancy a run up the motorway so we detoured a little (especially as I missed a turn!) along the A66 via Barnard Castle, Staindrop, Tow Law & Lanchester ~ it was a lovely drive, much nicer than joining the stream of vehicles up the A1.  If only we could spend every day just ambling around ~ how nice would that be?
Have a happy Monday.

Kate 

TUSAL, New Starts & Shopping

 

Firstly TUSAL ~ left shows my ORT's for June and right shows the first six months of this year in a christmas bauble.  You can see there are many colour changes ~ for me there are just a few too many fuzzy bits!

I have a number of new starts ~ unfortunately I can't show any of them here yet.  There should be one that could be pictured if only I could establish where it is!  It's a freebie from The Primitive Hare called Merry Yule ~ my Christmas Ornament for June.  It's still a WIP at the moment ~ I will show it once I can find it and get a photograph.  The others are all birthday gifts for Tuesday Stitching Group which should be finished and re-homed soon.

I bought these fabrics from Michelle who was having a bit of a de-stash ~ I love the colours, especially the green.  I have plans for at least one of them but at the moment I'm not sure about the others ~ they will be found a use!

I also bought the new book by Mandy Shaw from Dandelion Designs ~ Stitch With Love

It's full of gorgeous stitcheries and things to make such as cushions, bags, blanket a Christmas wreath and gift tags, aprons and the fabulous sewing tidy pictured below. 

Hope you're enjoying the weekend.

Kate

Christmas Catch Up ~ Birthdays Too

At the beginning of the year I joined the 2011 Christmas Challenge to stitch an ornament a month throughout the year.  It started off well ~ January & February on time, then I got a wee bit behind!  Well now I am back on track ~ March was completed a little late and I have just finished my April & May ornaments at the end of last week. 

This is my ornament for April ~ a freebie offered by Threadwork Primitives.  I have stitched this on 18ct natural aida with WDW # 2264 Garnet & # 1279 Holly.  It is finished with a hanger of plaited # 8 perle cotton.

Started 31/05/11 & finished 01/06/11 ~ a very quick stitch.

Above right is a picture showing the reverse of both my April & May ornaments.

May's ornament was an equally speedy stitch ~ this is Christmas Baubles a freebie from La Matassina Rossa.  Started & finished 01/06/11.  Stitched on 28ct evenweave ~ colour unknown with Carries Creations thread in Grumpy, Happy & Dopey and WDW # 2220 Curry.  The hanger for this is made from beaded trim.
I have enjoyed stitching these ~ nice to have some quick finishes ~ a good way to help motivation to get back in the swing of things.
June's design is already chosen, I already have fabric in mind so just need to settle on the threads.
I mentioned in my last post that I had the next two birthday gifts almost completed and ready for re-homing.  The first batch of gifts were re-homed in February and I posted that I had mis-placed the fabric for one that was stitched and just awaiting finishing.

This is 16th Century Celtic Christmas by Moss Creek Designs and was published in the Just Cross Stitch Ornament Edition 2009 (I think!).  I have not noted the fabric in my journal but I believe that it is 32ct linen ~ the thread is Dragon Floss # 65 Passionate Plum and the finishing fabric was from my stash.  I followed a tutorial from this Italian blog ~ making one slight error in that my pincushion is not square!

 The second gift was for the hostess of yesterdays Tuesday Stitching Group meeting ~ any ideas on her profession?  This scissor keep was stitched on 40ct Antique White linen with SSS Blue Raspberry, Kiwi Lime Pie, Watermelon and DMC 951 & 3045.  The ballerinas were an Internet freebie that I printed a couple of years ago unfortunately I do not know where from.  The cord is made from the three SSS threads used for the dresses.  Below you can see the reverse.  Both gifts were well received.

I must apologise for the poor photographs ~ I always have problems when photographing 40ct fabric, obviously I need more practise!
There are only 4 more gifts to complete, unfortunately 3 of the birthdays are this month.  It will probably be July before before I have them all finished and re-homed.  One is started, one is kitted and I still need to find a suitable design for the third.

LM serviced my bike at the weekend so yesterday after work I did a 30 minute ride on The Derwent Walk.  It was a lovely evening and there were plenty of walkers along the way.  It's a long time since I last cycled but it did feel good to be out and active.  I'm hoping to go out again before work ~ so I had better get off to bed!

Kate

A Trifle From A Friend ~ and other news

A wee while ago I took part in a Spring Pincushion Exchange on the Friendly Stitchers Group ~ unfortunately I did not receive my pincushion from my partner.  So Mouse took it upon herself to stitch one up for me so that I did not miss out - how kind was that?
The design is A Trifle From A Friend by Plum Street Samplers.  Mouse has stitched it on hand dyed linen and used Crescent Colours Blooming Crocus for the stitching ~ topping it off with a lovely double ribbon bow.
The wording from the design is stitched on the back too.

Mouse also included a gorgeous Gloriana silk thread ~ Hydrangea.  This is my very first Gloriana thread and it is fabulous ~ so soft, can't wait to stitch with it.  Thanks so much Mouse.

I have managed some stitching over the last week ~ almost caught up with my 2011 Christmas Challenge stitching.  I now have April & May ornaments stitched and will be making them up this week ~ pictures to follow soon.  In addition to ornaments I have 2 Tuesday Stitching Group birthday gifts almost made up ~ hopefully they will be with their new owners next week, obviously no pictures until after re-homing.  I have two more gifts planned/started and 1 further where I am seeking a suitable design.

It was reveal day on Needlecraft Haven on Sunday for the May Stitching Challenge - mine was stitched and I had a trip to Just Quilting on Saturday with the Lovely C to get finishing fabric as my stash was lacking on that front ~ purely for this project I might add, not quantity!  I had planned to complete the finishing on Sunday morning however my head had other ideas!  The most horrid headache took up residence and I was only fit for sleep ~ so no stitching, or anything else for that matter.  I hope to complete it at some point this week.

If you are a regular reader you will know that I am usually late in posting my unofficial TUSAL update.  Yesterday was the prescribed day so I feel less guilty on this occasion!  I was pleasantly surprised when I decanted them for photographing as with the lack of stitching I hadn't expected to have much to show ~ I'm not sure if that is a good or bad thing!
I hope that you all enjoyed the long holiday weekend ~ Saturday was spent fabric shopping and attending our monthly EG meeting.  This month's speaker was Katie Chaplin from Japan Crafts who talked us through Japanese dressing protocol with the aid of her trusty model Dolly.  It was a very informative and enjoyable afternoon.   Sunday I was wiped out with that nasty headache.  On Monday we had a lovely visit from my WP's ~ it had been planned for a little while and originally I was to collect them, however Sis2 was down to stay with my Dad for a few days so she brought them along.  It was lovely to spend time with them and a huge bonus that we also got to see Sis2.  The birds graced us with their prescence while we sat chatting in the conservatory ~ Dad was delighted by the goldfinch & bullfinch which he said were to be seen in great numbers when he was young.
I feel that time is passing by so quickly at the moment ~ how can it be June already?  Tuesday saw the regular meet of our stitching group, yesterday the Lovely C & I had our usual trip to Quilt Group ~ not that we did any quilting ~ I was back-stitching Christmas ornaments! It was a good evening though with a few giggles and some dubious translating of the words on C's french sampler.
The LM is planning his trip away with military preciseness, he's trying to be surreptitious about it but failing ~ I can "see" his thought processes!  I have many things I would like to get done during the time he is away, stitching, organising etc but the list will be fluid ~ if it happens great and if it doesn't there's no harm done.
I'm progressing with the weight loss ~ ½ stone down so far which I am really pleased about, plenty still to go!  Hopefully LM will have time to give my bike a mini service before he departs as I would like to take advantage of the light mornings and nice weather to get out there before work.
The weather has picked up here today and the day has started bright and warm ~ long may it continue.
Not long until the weekend arrives.

Kate

ORTs and More.....

Yes I know it's almost a month since this should have been posted ~ good job I'm only following the TUSAL unofficially!
Offerings to 3 May followed by my year to date all neatly tucked into a Christmas bauble.

 

A few weeks ago I did a little trade with Michelle who was de-stashing and I bought several skeins to boost my GAST collection.  They arrived all neatly labelled in their little floss away bags ~ great trading with you Michelle ~ Thanks!

Here's a quick update on Grace ~ The Sampler Lady ~ she's almost complete!  I only have her face, hands and collar to finish ~ unfortunately the other night at Tuesday Stitching Group I mis-placed some stitches on her face so I have a wee bit of frogging to do.
I have some new starts but can't show them at the moment as they are secret stitching ~ a couple of gifts and also the latest monthly challenge on the Needlecraft Haven group.
Another long weekend is almost upon us ~ it's our monthly EG meeting Saturday and apart from a visit from my WP's we have nothing else planned.  Enjoy whatever you may be doing.

Kate

You've Got Mail & Tuesday Stitching Group

I don't know about you but I love receiving mail ~ the real physical type.  Electronic mail, text messages etc are great too but there is always something quite special about mail that lands on your doormat.
Yesterday I arrived home to find these on my doormat ~ obviously not like this, they had been suitably attired in a handsome padded envelope for their journey across the pond!

Just look at what was inside that gorgeous oriental pouch!

I joined the scissor fob exchange over on the Friendly Stitchers Yahoo group and this is what I received from my partner Jillann.  Now, Jillann had a spot of bother with the mailing process and it was originally returned to her before it made it's way to me ~ but a happy ending!

I love the sweet design and the colours that Jillann has used, and aren't those scissors just the cutest?  Also included were three reels of HDF silk - Thank You so much Jillann!

I have heard that my package was received too ~ here is what I sent

I stitched Jillann's initial using a freebie alphabet on 40ct Antique White with Polstitches floss in Hedgerow and used the same thread for the cord.  A few crystals in matching shades were added to the bottom.

Jillann mentioned that she liked rabbits so having used a thread called Hedgerow it seemed appropriate to have a wee bunny on the back.

I included a few threads and also a pack of Cath Kidston tissues.  I was so pleased to hear that my exchange being received had brightened a gloomy day for Jillann.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Tuesday Stitching Group last night ~ catching up with peoples' news, both happy & sad. I worked a little more on my Sampler Lady ~ if I can work out how to get a photograph out of my phone I can show you a size comparison between my 1/1 version and that of the Lovely C who completed it over two.

Today is Wednesday ~ may seem obvious but I need reminding!  After the glut of Bank Holidays resulting in shorter working weeks I am having issues remembering where I am.

Till next time.

Kate