Goodbye Poppy

Today we took our cat Poppy to the vet as she was getting very thin. They told us she had kidney disease and it would be best to put her down. We have had her for 9 years and she went through some rough times of sickness. She had a stroke about 6 years ago due to taking in poison of some sort. Then she recoverd but lost her sense of hearing. I feel too upset to blog properly today. I'm sorry Poppy for the times I treated you wrong. I'm thankful for the many happy memories you brought us and all the presents you used to bring us through the catflap. Goodbye my Poppycat.

Okay, I caved...

I have a new start! I have started A Most Noble Pursuit which is a collaberation of ten different designers. Here is my small start on the first square which is by The Workbasket. It is worked on 36 count lakeside linen and uses needlepoint silks. What's another BAP hey??



Here is my finish for the JA's March Challenge. I made this little pillow and stuffed it with lavender.



I am having a hard time trying to decide which SALs to join at the moment as there are that many going on.
There's

EMS Rose Sampler
Periphaeria Spanish Sampler
Papillon Creations How Does Your Garden Grow?
Ink Circles Book of Circles mystery
Tournicoton Mystery
and probably several others which I am unaware of. If you know of any then let me know and I'll add them to my to do one day list.

Here's some pics of the kids. One of Elijah smiling. Poor lad he now has three teeth that I can spot. And one of Lily doing her Girls Rock thing with her new electric guitar that her dad bought her.




Hope everyone has a fun stitching week. xx

Oooh a finish

I decided to join the Monthly Finishing Challenge blog and make a pinkeep out of an old Lizzie Kate freebie design I had had stitched up but shelved for years. So here it is. I can't remember what the fabric is but the threads are dmc.






It's the first time I have done a padded pinkeep and the first time doing one of those bow thingys at the top. Don't know if I have done it quite right as it is only pinned on and doesn't feel very secure. Apart from that, I think it looks quite cool and has built up my confidence a bit. The lovely trim I got from John Lewis - they have such lovely trims and things and was only 50p a meter which is not bad all things considered.

Oh and I saw this wonderful book on Staci's blog:

Here

which looks fab so I am going to get my dh to get it for me as part of my Birthday present which isn't till June but hey ho! You'll get a better idea of it on her blog actually.

Well tomorrow is reveal day on the Jayne Attics forum for the March Challenge so I will post another pic tomorrow of another finish I have done.

Take care all.
x

Woohoo I got spoiled.

Today I received my Spring Quaker exchange from Edgar from the SBEBB. I am so blessed! He made me this gorgeous pinkeep with lace edging and he truely spoiled me by sending me three charts off my wishlist, four threads, some lovely fabric and a tin of altoids!! The charts are: LHN Coffee Menu, Sampler Cove's Grace Quaker Sampler and Ink Circles' Quackworth. I have been looking for altoids to get the tin so I can make something with it but not been able to find any over here. Now I just need to find a little design to put on it. I'll also need to find some finishing instructions too. Thank you so much Edgar. I am thrilled!



I have some lovely charts in my stash now. Just to decide which one to start next. Hmmmmm....
xx

Quick update

Thanks for all the lovely, supportive comments you gave me after the last post. It's not post natal depression but other issues that have been going on for a while that have just happened to surface at this time. Mainly rejection stuff that I have suffered from for a long time but hey ho you don't want to hear about all that do you?

So the big news is that Elijah has got his first tooth! It has been confirmed by the Health Visitor that the white lump on the back of his gum is indeed a tooth coming through. She also said that his front gums look "ready to pop" too. So poor guy, that is why he has been niggling so much. He is doing really well in getting into a routine now. We put him down at 7.30 and he has a feed at 11 then goes through till about 5 or 6. Not bad going for a hungry, teething boy! As long as I get some of my time back in the evenings, I don't mind.

So I have been able to get a bit of stitching done. I have been working on Steph's pif but can't let you see that yet. I have done the March challenge on Jayne's attic but not allowed to reveal that yet either! But I have also been working on Patchwork so here's an update on that:

I really enjoy working on this and I aim to get it finished this year. I am just using random threads and silks for it so it will be like a real patchwork of threads.

Something else I have done is booked a workshop that a group from Jayne's attic is going on. It is run by the Bedfordshire school of needlework which is over 3 hours drive away. I have never done anything like this before and I am a little nervous but excited too. It will mean an overnight and possibly a 2 night stay in a hotel. Here is a link to the workshop I have booked.
It is a drawn thread sampler and I have never done this type of needlework before so should be good. I have booked a friend on it too so I won't be alone. It's not till June so I have time to get organised.

Sorry I have not commented on many blogs lately. If you have had a comment from me then you are in the minority! I have been savouring any free time I have and have been using it to stitch and watch the series 24 with my dh in the evenings! I promise I will get back to commenting soon. Hope everyone had a blessed Easter and bank holiday. Catch up soon. xx

And the winner is....

As hand picked by my daughter!! Well done Carla. You have won my Needlebook. I don't think I have your snail mail address so please email me it and I'll get it sent off to you as soon as.

So I have had a very hectic couple of weeks and not been on blogland at all!! Last week my dd was in a dance production which lasted all week into the wee hours of the night. We were shattered, she was not. She had a wonderful time dressing up in her costumes and wearing make up and having her hair sprayed with a serious amount of hairspray. She adores being up on stage and being the centre of attention. I wish I had her confidence.

So that was last week and this week has been emotionally hectic. I have a lot going on with my emotions right now and am having to go "see" someone about it. Nothing too serious and I will get fixed but it's been a hard week.

The great thing is that we are now able to start to settle Elijah into an evening routine. It's at the stage where he is crying when we put him down but after about 5 to 10 mins he settles himself. This means I will be able to pick up my needle and thread again! Yippee. I already have made a start. I have begun a pif and Stephanie if you're reading, here's a sneaky peak. Like I said it might take me a while to do.


And speaking of stitching, I am still undecided on threads for the Spanish Mystery that Periphaeria is doing. I came up with this combo of pastels which I thought would look nice on the Cashel Couture linen in Lemon. The Cashel comes ready hemmed and would look good as a table piece I think.


I am still a little nervous about starting an sal when I have so little time on my hands and also when I have never seen it before. The parts are once every two months so I have time to decide when I have seen the first part.

So here is a little pic of Elijah as he is two calendar months old today.

Have a good week.

xx

Another gift and a giveaway!

Hello all. I have not had chance to blog for ages due to Elijah starting to be a bit more demanding in the evenings. I received this lovely lottery piece from Barbara last week but haven't managed to get the time to put it on my blog. I don't know about anyone else but it takes me ages to take pictures (and they're never very good) and then download them onto a host to put on my blog. It always seems to take a long time. So sorry it's so late being put on here Barbara and that the picture's not very good:( This beautiful hanging ornie was made by Barbara for Elijah's room. It's so beautiful and I love it. You can't see the top but it has two little heart buttons attaching the ribbon. She also sent these cute little mittens which Elijah has already worn!


Because of all the lovely, amazing gifts I have recently received from the lottery, I have decided to give away my little needlebook that I made for the lottery. I really like this piece but I feel to give it away since I have been the recipient of soo much stuff.

You can click on the picture to see more pics of it, back, inside etc... The design is from Repertoire des Frises and uses DMC Variegated threads. There are felt pages inside to place your needles. The first needlebook I made was the one with the little house on and I use it all the time. A very practical piece of stitching equipment! So if anyone would like it then just reply to this post and say so. I will do a draw in two weeks time or thereabouts.

I have been agonising over the Periphaeria spanish sal. I dunno what colours to choose. I would like to be creative and pick colours myself but without seeing the design I don't know if the colours I'd pick would be right. Does anyone else have this lack of creativity problem going on??

I am desperate to start something new in my stash but I have been hard pressed to get time to even finish my spring quaker exchange piece. It's a good job I started it early. I have nearly managed to get it done but Elijah has started to be a little more demanding now. I long to start my Collaberation sampler of A Most Noble Pursuit. I have all the silks and fabric for it so it's ready to go. Maybe sometime soon.

Well hope you all have a good stitching weekend and don't forget to put your name down for the giveaway. It's open to anyone.

Hugsxx

Elijah pics and a new mystery sampler

Wow Elijah is one month old today - one calender month that is. Here are some pics of him from today. He looks much cuter irl to be honest!!




I also got an email today from Periphaeria Designs that she is going to be starting a mystery sampler for this year and some of next and best of all it's free. So I would recommend signing up for her newsletter so you never miss a part. After it has finished it will no longer be free. Sounds exciting and can't wait to see what part one is like. To help support the Lady I ordered some of her biscornu charts today and rec'd them very quickly. I got Nita's lace, Courtyard of Alhambra and Beescornu

I also found this excellent finishing tutorial for a scissor case from Linda's blog and I think it is wonderful. I am definitely going to try one of these out:
Scissor Case
And then I spent the last part of the evening browsing lots of new blogs and getting inspired again. In between cradling my baby and being puked on a few times!

Till next time...

Another quick post

Boy I do have a good baby that allows me a bit of time to stitch and post! Wanted to quickly show what I have stitched recently. It was both my sisters' birthdays recently so I decided to make them both a biscornu each to add to some other stuff I gave them. Here is one I made for Fiona which is actually one I started in hospital but didn't get very much done.


And then I felt I had to make one for Wendy, even though she might not be quite into it, I felt I couldn't leave her out. They are both made from threads and fabrics given to me by people recently. This one is from a Periphaeria chart from Outi and uses Atalie threads which she also gave me.


I also recieved this beautiful chart from Jeanne and some lovely baby stuff too. This was a chart on my wishlist which Jeanne had and offered to send me. Thank you so much Jeanne.


I am finding a little time to stitch and blog so I decided that I would sign up for the SBEBB Spring Quaker exchange. I didn't think I'd be able to participate in any exchanges so soon but Elijah is a really good baby and just wants to eat and sleep at the moment. Although I haven't been commenting on every single blog, I have been looking at them and getting inspired. I am amazed how much stitching some of you have done already. Some of you already have quite a list on your 2008 finishes! Thank you for all your wonderful comments on my blog. It is wonderful to know that there is even a single person who takes an interest in me!

Hope you all have a great stitching week. xx

Lots more goodies..

My goodness! I have been inundated with gifts galore! It feels like my birthday every day. Several more lottery pieces have arrived for me.

First up is Dianne's gift which is this cute drawstring bag and inside she has put a bag of Hershey's chocolates. It's so lovely. Thank you Dianne.


Next up is the beautiful biscornu from Mindy who also sent this lovely wooden thread keeper made by her father and also some thread she used for the biscornu. Not only all this but a gorgeous beaded scissor fob too. All lovely Mindy. Thank you so much!!


Outi's gift also arrived and with it she included a Periphaeria design and some lovely floss. Thank you Outi. I love it all.


Leena's piece also arrived and Leena made this cute pair of booties for Elijah too! This is the first flatfold I have ever had and I love it. Thanks Leena!!


Next up is my Frosty Friends exchange that Amysc sent to me. It's so lovely. A beautiful snowman cushion backed with snowman fabric and lots of other goodies too. She sent me 3 charts and a charm for one of them, 2 pieces of fabric and 2 threads. Thank you so much Amy. What a perfect gift.


Now, some time ago I entered a competition on Sara's blog and lo and behold I won!! I guess I was really blessed last year to win so many things. Sara was very secretive about what the prize would be so I was totally blown away to receive this gift today!!

The ornie she stitched is by Teresa Wentzler and she also sent me some sachets of cocoa, hand made chocolates, body lotion, threads and a great Lizzie kate kit in a box which I have never seen before. Really cool stash Sara. Thank you so much.

And just to treat myself, like I really need more treats hey, I bought the Mary Peacock Sampler chart ond these great miniature putford scissors from the Sampler Guild and they arrived the very next day. Wonderful service. I don't know when I'll actually get around to stitching it but it's nice to have in my stash. And I just adore the scissors.


So that's me for a bit. Sorry if I have made anyone green eyed! I have been slowly working my way through blogs and responding to my comments. I was so blessed to receieve so many lovely comments concerning my new baby. Elijah is doing well but unfortunately I have ended up with an infection in my wound which has made it very uncomfortable for me. It was just about healed too when the infection set in. So I am now on antibiotics and cream to sort it out. Hopefully I'll be a lot better next time I write. I have been working on a biscornu and not sure whether to give it to my sister for her birthday or to keep it or give it to someone else. I will post a pic of it next time I write when I hopefully will have finished it. Small, easy projects this year I think.

Till next time, happy stitching.
xx

Welcome Elijah John Henry..... Long post, lots of pics

Here's our beautiful new arrival, Elijah John Henry, who came as planned on the 8th January at 10.15 weighing in at 9lb 3oz!! Yes I do have a habit of giving birth to big babies! Lily weighed 9 lb. I'm recovering well from the section - a lot better than last time. We only got home on Monday due to him having to stay in hospital an extra couple of days as he had jaundice. He is fine now though. He is absolutely adorable and is very cuddle. He likes his cuddles. I'm very tired as I'm only just starting to catch up with sleep after having none in the hospital for 6 days!. I did take some stitching in thinking I might have to wait a while for the csection but they did it straight away.
Here is a video of his first cry!!! Just as he was taken from me. (hope it works)

elijah 041.mpg

Since I have been away I have started to recieve some lovely goodies through the post from the cross stitchers lottery.
Here's what I have rec'd so far:

This is from Stephanie which is absolutely stunning. She even sent some extras - the fabric of which I took into hospital with me. Thank you Stephanie.




This is from Cheryl who also sent me a couple of baby vests too. Thanks Cheryl. I love it.


This is from Carol which is so lovely and is set on a real wooden box!! Very impressive. I can store my threads in there. Thank you Carol.


This is from Edgar. Great fabric and my favourite Season. Thank you Edgar.


This is from Dawn who also sent some extras. I really need that ribbon lol! Thank you Dawn - it's fab!

This is from Aniza - so sweet and I love the fabric colour. Thank you Aniza.

This is from Yasmin. I adore the thread colour. Thank you Yasmin!!

Phew Loads of goodies.

Also as if that is not enough to show I also have finished the Simple Little Quaker design. Here it is stitched on 32 count lavender mist belfast linen using Dinky Dyes Amethyst thread.



Also I can show you what I stitched for Jeanne for the Frosty Friends exchange as she has recieved it now. It is by Beardie Designs and is called Winter pocket. I sent some extras too but didn't photograph them.




So going to be a bit busy now but will try to get on as soon as I can. All the best everyone. xx

Can I squeeze in a quick one??

Happy New Year everyone! Hope 2008 is a happy and prosperous one for you all. Was not going to post till baby came but a couple of things have happened that I just need to write about. First off I am so pleased to announce that I won the cross stitchers lottery!!! I can't tell you how chuffed I am to be recieving so many lovely stitched pieces. I look forward to recieving some great gifts in the post!

Also, today I recieved this beautiful wall hanging from Judith!


Its so pretty Judith. Thank you.

I have also been adding to my stash! Well, I'm not giving up my favourite hobby just because we are adding to our family lol. Just a short break perhaps. I figured that if I didn't get these charts now then maybe I'd never get them. The only place I cound find these charts was Wyndham Needleworks. Let me know if you know of another supplier of Exampler Dames designs. I only found two other suppliers but their stock of charts was low. So here are what I ordered:

Examplar Dames "Love"
Examplar Dames "Faith"
Examplar Dames "Prosperity"
Indigo Rose "Mary's Pin Pillow"
Indigo Rose "Peek a boo Pin Cushion"
Carriage House Samplings "Folk Art Pincushions"

So just a last splurge with some Christmas money I got this year. It might be a while before I splurge again.

I have also nearly finished Simple Little Quaker. I am into the last page and am pleased with how it is turnign out. If I don't get it finished before I go into the hospital then I shall be taking it in with me!! I don't know what I'll be taking in if I do get it finished - maybe my Patchwork. Or maybe a little biscornu design or something. I will be staying in for a few days to recover from the c section and dh will be at home in the evenings with dd so I may as well take something in to occupy myself with.

Oh also to thank Tracy for her lovely Christmas treats I sent her a parcel and amm pleased to say it arrived safely. Unfortunately I didn't take pics of what I sent but you can find it on her blog.

Until baby arrives then.......

xx

The end of a fab year!

This year has been a great year for me stitch wise and other wise and a lot of it has to do with blogging. All the wonderful people I have met through this blog and all the wonderful inspirational blogs I have read have moved my stitching on to a different level. I have learned a lot. I have learnt new techniques and how to finish items into things I never thought possible. I have been beautifully gifted and received some gorgeous goodies in exchanges. My stash has increased considerably as has my wish list and I have more wips than ever!

Obviously I don't know how next year is going to go as I am having my baby in 11 days time. I have plans to stitch samplers mainly esp getting my CDC finished and Patchwork finished and I also want to start the Collaboration Sampler that I have kitted up. I also have a few quaker designs in mind too. I will have to see how things go. I will be stepping down from exchanging for the time being until things start settling down.

I have completed my design for the Frosty Friends exchange and will post up a pic as soon as the recipient rec's it.

Here is one I have started and is coming along at a nice speed. It is the Papillon Creations Simple Little Quaker. It is stitched on 32 count Lavender Mist linen and uses Amethyst Dinky Dyes Cotton.

It is lovely to do and hopefully it will give me another finish before the end of the year.

And here are the wonderful gifts that Tracy sent me.

She sent me some lovely charts with the threads and extras to stitch them with. I love the gloriana. I will use it on my Patchwork.
and here are some gorgeous knitted items that her mum and aunt made for me. Love them all. She also sent me some teddies and a bib and she also sent Lily some card making stuff which I thought was just so generous. I feel so blessed to know you Tracy. Thank you so much. Here is a close up of the gorgeous blanket.


Oh and if you are wondering, the first picture is of my dd and my dh doing her first solo in church. She sang down the mike whilst dad accompanied her on the guitar. A very special moment that I thought I'd like to share with you all.

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and that you will have a blessed and prosperous new year and all through 2008. The next time I post will probably be after I have had baby so watch this space.

Hugsxxxxxxxxxx