Okay big update - lots of pics

Right something is definitely up with my camera - it is not charging properly but I have managed to get six minutes on it to get some pics and download them!! First up is this lovely gift from Lisa from Needles and Threads. I won a blog giveaway from her a while ago and look at what she made me - isn't it beautiful. It is a lovely thread holder and i love the pocket at the back. She sent some lovely extras too, all of which I'll use. Thanks so much Lisa. I love it.





Also I was admiring Margarets little bird sampler a while ago and she sent me the chart and some linen and thread to go with it!!! Wow I am so amazed at the generosity of stitchers!



I also got my Prairie Schooler exchange through. At least I think it is this exchange as Rebecca (can't find her blog) didn't put a note in with it to say what it was or where the design is from so I am presuming it is the PS exchange. It is a lovely strawberry emery - my first and is very nice. So if you are reading Rebecca, thank you very much.



Cheryl got my little gingerbread men ornie that I made her for her newborn. I got the idea from Danybrode's blog and I was quite pleased with my humble efforts.



Now you may remember the post about my "I am Half Sick of Shadows" project that I eventually gave away to my Dad to work on. Here is how I sent it to him:



And here's a pic of it that he sent me today!! How much progress is that??



Now onto knitting. I am araid I have started getting the knitting bug again. I joined a group called Ravelry (takes about 4 days to get an invite)and it is amazing. I would really recommend it to knitters and crocheters. I found a lovely scarf pattern on it and here is my progress on it:



It is hard to describe what it will look like in the end as its not your usual scarf! So I will take a pic of me or someone else modelling it when it is finished!
Speaking of knitting, here is Lily learning to knit - just a minute long but you're welcome to share this precious moment with me if you care to:



lily knits!

Oh and before I forget here is my christmas ornie (unfinished as I am going to finish them altogether) for this month:



I must admit, I feel like my stitching mojo has gone awol this month! I have hardly touched the BP and have only just started the biscornu. I think maybe I overdid it with that french mystery. I have finished stitching it up but need to finish it now and yes I did get those vital finishing instructions. It is like a littel pillow inside a pouch and I hope I'll be able to finish it sometime. Right now I want to get my scarf finished and I also need to get on with some exchanges but I just do not feel in the mood for stitching right now.

Oh and I have put the BP blog back to the public domain for a bit if anyone's interested.

We have just come back from our friends house in Wales - so lovely and DH has some pics so I'll get them off him soon and post them up. Well that's me updated for a while. Happy stitching and thanks for reading everyone. xx

Just to let you know..

I have loads to update but my camera's playing up! Hopefully get it sorted soon. I'm still alive and well. xx

Winter House exchange from Karen

Wow all the way from Australia! Karen sent me this gorgeous pinkeep of a LHN design and she sent me some wonderful extras too. Some six strand sweets, another perle thread which is beautiful, several other threads in a blue range, some pretty printed fabric which I am sure to use, some butterfly buttons and a fab notebook!



Thanks so much Karen, I love it. This was my last exchange from the sbebb as it is closing down. I'll miss it. It was a lovely group of exchangers and I have learnt a lot from it.

For any readers wondering why they can no longer read the Beatrix Potter SAL. I have had to make this blog private due to a hacker getting in and using it to spam (possibly) dangerous adverts. It is now only open to its members only although this is up for a vote. I am sorry for all the well meaning and honest people out there who genuinely did just want to read but I have had to do it for the safety of the members. I have never come across this before so have taken what I believed was the right course of action. Hope you will understand.

Have a fab week and thank you for all the encouragement on the french mystery. I am up to the last part!
xx

French Mystery Part 2

Here is my Part 2 of the mystery. I am sure the first parts colours are supposed to correlate to the second part (I think I made a mistake here). Never mind - it is only an experiment. Thanks for all your lovely comments and encouragements. I am stitching this up quickly and I think you were probably supposed to choose either the cross stitch or the speciality stitch and stitch two of those but I did one of each. Another ooops!!

Thank you Leena and everyone else who has offered to help me with the translations. I will surely be knocking on your doors soon.

Some have asked how I manage to get so much stitching done. That is such a big compliment as I don't feel like I get enough done! I do struggle to juggle childcare, housework, blogging, stitching and prayertime in my life and I never seem to get a right balance. I like deadlines though and feel I achieve more when I have a deadline set. I sometimes get an hour of two in the day when I can stitch when Elijah has his nap. Then in the evenings as well. But I also try to blogread as well as you guys are so my stitching inspiration.

Thanks for all your encouraging comments. I'll be popping by your blogs soon,

xx

This is indeed a mystery...

At the end of last year I signed up for a mystery on a french blog. I don't speak a word of French - never had a single lesson. The designer Anne Marie has been sending out charts bit by bit each week or so and I have been steadily collecting them. Yesterday we all got an email marked "important" so I used babelfish to translate and the jist of it was that if you haven't sent your photos of your stitching you won't get the finishing instructions!!!! Oh heck thinks I and begin this mystery which is indeed a mystery as I haven't the foggiest idea what it will turn into. I only hope I am understanding the instructions correctly and am stitching it right. So yesterday I stitched up part one.



This will be a mystery for me as well as any of my readers. So I have sent her that photo and now onto Part 2. Hurry hurry hurry!!! I have till next week to get all parts in so I get the finishing instructions.

xx

Oh, snow! and an award!

Jeanne and Sally gave me this lovely award:



Thank you both so much. I am supposed to tell you my 5 addictions now. Hmmmm...

1. Stitching - obvious
2. Blogging
3. Chart collecting - esp freebies
4. Food - esp chocolate, and crisps (chips in the USA)
5. My kids and husband - my wonderful family.

Now I cannot possibly nominate 5 blogs as I go through so many of them and they are all wonderful but recently I have been browsing a lot of french blogs and some are listed in my sidebar at the top so check them out! I am going to add to these as time goes on. And, no, I don't understand a word of french, I wish I did, but I just get so inspired by looking at all the pictures.

Now it has done nothing but snow here all day and now night and I am a bit peeved as my DH and I were going to go out on a date tonight. I haven't seen him in 3 weeks so his parents offered to sit for us so we could go out. Well, due to the bad weather we have had to cancel. I am due to go out tomorrow night too and also Wednesday and I hope they won't get cancelled. No, I am not a socialite really, it is just that a few things have come along at once!

So here is some footage of my dd playing in the snow with our neighbours. My dd is in the red coat:


MOV04529.MPG





Just for some stitchery, here is my biscornu for the January basket!



As you can see, it is yet to have a button attached. I am yet to find a suitable one. The design is from the book Repertoire des Frises and it uses Carries Epiphany thread and DMC jewel effects. I am intending to do all my basket in Carries and use designs from Repertoire des Frises. I love that book and you can get it from Amazon France and is so worth the purchase.

That's me for a bit. I have been trying to get through as many blogs as I can but there are just so many wonderful blogs. I just can't comment as much as I'd like! Do know that I am reading though. xxx