Circue de Cirque dilemma

Oooh I got another award given to me by Olenka and Charlene!! I am very surprised but happy and it means a lot to me. Does this mean I have to nominate 14 blogs??? Well if you are reading this then I nominate YOU because it is so hard to choose. All the blogs are great in different ways.

Okay onto my CDC dilemma. I am stitching this on 32 count mulberry linen using Thread Gatherer's Spring Frocks. I really like the colour and it has been my intention of stitching the actual circles in delica beads. So I finally finished the first page and began to do the delica beads. Small circles in pink and the medium circles in purple. I am really not sure what I think of this and whether it looks right or not. It is quite hard to do the beading on the linen so if it's not going to work, I'd rather cut my losses and frog them now!! What do you think. I can handle honest opinions although I know I'll probably get differing opinions on this. Should I do the actual circles in delica beads or should I do it all in the same thread??



So onto goals seeing as it's the first of the month tomorrow. Here are this months goals and how I have done (fairly well I think):

1. Finish Steph's Pif - done and sent!
2. Finish and send off Summer House Exchange - done, sent and rec'd!
3. Make Biscornu for SBEBB Biscornu exchange - done the stitching just need to make up
4. Make scissor keeper for the MFC - done!
5. Join in the UFO nights on Tuesdays with Polar Santa - did one night!
6. Order some Prairie Schooler charts for the PS exchange - done!
7. Work on "A Most Noble Pursuit" - NOOOOOO but there is always tonight hehe
8. Work on "Patchwork" - no
9. Work on "Cirque de Cirque" - yes!!
10.Start and finish DD design Love for JA MFC - yes made my first floss tag!
11. Work on Loopy Lou "Ruby" design - yes!

As well as this I also made the three teachers' lavender bags and I also started my autumn colours biscornu.

So for August here are my goals:

1. Finish and send off biscornu exchange
2. Work on A Most Noble Pursuit
3. Complete at least one motif on Patchwork
4. Do at least one UFO night on Polar Santa
5. Start Prairie Schooler exchange
6. Do a freebie
7. Start the GoS wallet with the rajmahal art silks I bought

So that is all for this month. Happy stitching. xx

Summer House

Here's what I stitched for MamaJoan for the Summer House exchange. It is a freebie from Les Grilles de Maryse and stitched on vintage country belfast linen 32 count using dmc threads. I really love how this turned out and glad I can finally post a pic. I sent her some extras from her wishlist and have a couple extra things to send too which I have been waiting ages for. You can see pics on her blog.

I will be sending out Steph's PIF this week so hopefully I will be able to post up more pics of my long awaited secret stitiching! I have been working hard on CDC too and think I may do a little blog feature on what I plan to do with it to get some opinions and encouragement as it seem sto be going really slowly.

Have just seen a lovely get together for Christmas over at Jayne's Attic which I really would like to go on. I have asked my best friend Amanda if she is interested in going so that may be something to look forward to.

Hope everyone is having a nice weekend. Thanks for all the lovely comments. I appreciate each and every one of them and always try to return them. xx

Some finishes.

Yesterday was a good post day. I received an order I placed at sew and so which included some prairie schooler charts for the upcoming exchange and also some cream belfast linen and some rajmahal art silks. I am planning on stitching the stitchers wallet in the gift of stitching mag with them. I think it was one that Kirsten herself designed but I could be wrong. Anyway, the colours are just gorgeous. I can't wait to get a bit more time to make a start on it. Secondly, Rachel's PIF landed through the door! This is what she sent me. It is so gorgeous. Thank you so much Rachel. The little scissor fob is stitched over one and is so sweet!





I also managed to get two challenge pieces finished last night too. It is the first time I have made either a floss tag or a scissor case so I ma pleased how they have turned out.
This was a free DD Design and was the JA Monthly challenge. I used some thread that Edgar sent me. I have to admit I wasn't too confident about hammering in the eyelet so I got my dh to do it for me. I didn't use interfacing as I didn't have any but I think I will get some and use it next time just to keep it from fraying.


The next finish is the Monthly Finishing Challenge blog scissor peep case. I have never done one of these before either and wasn't entirely sure the best way of doing it. I used another Lizzie kate freebie I have had lying around for years and finished it in the same backing fabric and trim as the other Lizzie Kate freebie I had.



Again I am quite pleased with my first attempts. I will definitely be doing more of these in the future.

And, I am not the only one who has done some finishing. Look at this...



Yay! My dd has finially finished her butterfly!! It has only taken her over a year but for a five and a half year old, I don't htink that's too bad really!! I have ordered her some more little designs that can keep her busy over the summer holidays!

Okay, I have 6? days left of this month inc today to get my goals met and I am well on my way. I have been working on biscornu for exchanges but I will return to the three projects I have not touched in a while, namely: Patchwork, CDC and A Most Noble Pursuit and see if I can make any progress befor ethe end of the month.

My dh is ministering in Prison today (he plays in the worship) so I may get some guilt free stitching time in!! Have a great weekend everybody.
xx

An award and some stitching.

Wow I was doubly blessed yesterday as Not only did I win an Emily Dickinson bag from Tanya, I received a kreativ blogger award too from Sally. I never really think of myself as being particularly creative so this means a lot.

Now I need to pick my 5 nominees with the following rules:)
1. The winner may put the logo on her blog.
2. Put a link to the person you got the award from.
3. Nominate 5 blogs.
4. Put links to the blogs.
5. Leave a message for your nominees.

I nominate the following which is very hard to do as all your blogs are wonderfully inspiring:

Harmien Xstitch.nl
Staci Snippets and Stash
Andrea The Craft Room
Stephanie In Stitches
Su Contemplating my Needle and Thread

And finally some stitching to show:
These are what I made for Lily's teachers as end of year gifts. It is the freebie from Les Grilles de Maryse Naturally I filled them with lavender. Each is stitched on different bits of fabric I found in my stash and I sttiched the whole design and just stitched them up one of the sides. The teachers liked them anyway. I think they look quite sweet.





And speaking of last days...



Here's my dd this morning. Her last day in reception!! How fast has time flown??? My little girl is growing up.

Happy stitching everyone. xx

Christmas in July

Yesterday I decided to pull out a UFO that I have not worked on for a year, maybe even two. It is quite shameful really as I only have a corner to do, plus a whack load of french nots which run all over the design. It is Polar Santa and is now a discontinued chart I think but not sure. Jayne's Attic runs a UFO night every Tuesday night so I decided to join in. Plus it is one of my July goals to join in so I have accomplished another goal yay! Here are my before and after pics:






It feels strange working on aida again after so long on linen, but it makes for a nice easy project, even on that navy! Hopefully I will get this one finished in time for Christmas.

Thanks for looking and for all your postive comments re the parking ticket. It looks like we are going to have to pay the £100. Like we really need that right now! :-(

xx

Quick update and pics of Elijah

Goodness, it's been a while since I posted. I can't believe how fast the time is going. I have been making lots of progress on my goals and have finished my pif and the summer house exchange. However, both partners are going to have to remain a little patient while I await the mailman bringing extra goodies to send with them both. So for obvious reasons, I cannot post pics as yet. I have made a start on the biscornu exchange too and am half way though the challenges. So much secret stitching.

I am trying to remain calm at the moment as we are havign a tough old time of things lately. One such incident that is "testing" us at the moment is to do with a car park ticket. Yes you heard right. We bought a ticket and put it in the car and during our time around the shops Elijah started getting a little niggly so dh went back to the car to try and settle him. Unbeknown to him, the wind blew the ticket over under his tomtom so it couldn't be seen. When we went back to the car a man was writing out a ticket for us. When he realised we did have a valid ticket he said he still had to write it out as he would be done for "taking a bribe". He did write on it though that we did have a valid ticket and assured us that we would not get a fine. We did get a fine. My husband refused to pay it. They sent a bigger fine. Now my dh is prepared to go to court. The company in question is called "Excel" parking. Yes I will name and shame them! They do this to people all the time and are making a packet! My dh is standing his ground as he still has the ticket in question. I hate it when unrighteous companies try to steal from good, honest people. It makes me so mad!! Anyway, rant over.

And now for some pics of Elijah taken at six months last week:

It is really difficult getting good pictures of him as he stops smiling as soon as the camera flashes. I think he is camera shy.

Have a good week everyone. xx

July goals

I haven't made any goals for a while as I can't stand to watch myself failing miserably at them month after month. However, I do see the benefits of having them as they do motivate you to achieve more so even if I don't actually meet them surely some progress is better than none at all.

1. Finish Steph's Pif
2. Finish and send off Summer House Exchange
3. Make Biscornu for SBEBB Biscornu exchange
4. Make scissor keeper for the MFC
5. Join in the UFO nights on Tuesdays with Polar Santa
6. Order some Prairie Schooler charts for the PS exchange
7. Work on "A Most Noble Pursuit"
8. Work on "Patchwork"
9. Work on "Cirque de Cirque"
10.Start and finish DD design Love for JA MFC
11. Work on Loopy Lou "Ruby" design

There! How many do you think I'll actually achieve???

I have also just found out about this upcoming show in Bakewell. Anyone planning to go??? It's about 40 mins from me so I think I will try and make arrangements to go. Would be nice to have a meetup with some of you. :)

Got my friend Amanda coming over tonight for a stitch night and we are going to work on the Loopy Lou design we started at the weekend workshop.

So that's all from me for a bit. Time to get some serious stitching done. Have a good week everyone and thanks for reading. xx

Longish post. Loads of pics.

What an exciting couple of weekends I have had. Last weekend was the Jayne's Attic weekend away in Bedfordshire. It was wonderful! I learned some new stitches:


Met some lovely people:


Amanda and I had a great time.


I was a little nervous about going away with people I didn't know from the internet but I shouldn't have worried. Everything was fine and I would definitely do it again.

This weekend was even more exciting. It is my dh's 40th birthday today and last night I booked us in at the Wizard's Thatch luxury hotel in Alderley Edge. It cost a huge amount just for one night but it was so wonderful. It is a 300 year old cottage that is covered in roses and flowers. Inside it was timber beamed and laid with wooden floors. There was a lot of nostalia inside too. Framed pieces of old newspaper clippings and pages adorned the wall, some from as far back as 1700s. The four poster bed was spread with red and gold sheets and tapestry curtains. Fresh flowers filled the rooms. I didn't want to post all the pics as there are so many but here is a slideshow for those of you who wish to see them all. As you can see of the ones of me, I still need to lose my baby weight :(



Wizard’s Thatch June 08

And finally, here is my first tin!




Not a fantastic tin topper I admit but a tin topper no less. I tried to put a scissor holder in the top twice but the lid would just not shut down!! So I ripped the top out in the end.

So this is me. I am speeding away on my pif although had a slight dilemma with the ribbon that came with it as there wasn't enough but a massive Thank You to Leena who kindly sent me more so I'll be getting on with that tonight or tomorrow.

Have a good weekend. xx

I'm off...

I'm off to the Drawn thread workshop weekend away with Jayne's Attic crew. Have a good weekend everyone and I'll post up some pics when I get back.

xx

Thank you Stephanie!

Wowza! I got a wonderful parcel today from Stephanie (In Stitches) for the SBEBB ABC Exchange. Not only did she stitch me a wonderful piece from Ewe and Eye and Friends but she sent me a load of other goodies too. Here's a pic:



This is a list of other goodies she sent me:
Magnetic alphabet letters (my dd will love these)
Magnetic wooden "H"
Brass "H" charm
Stitches and Spice fabric (Steph knows I adore this fabric)
Silkweaver fabric
Alphabet fabric
Cath Kidson Bath melts and mitt
Tin of mints and 4 bags of sweets yumm yumm yumm
La D Das Alphabet chart with the NPIsilks to go with it!!!!!!

Here are some more detailed pics of the exquisite stitching:


Inside the bag:


Gorgeous beaded edging:


This was wonderful to recieve and really cheered me up. Thanks so much Stephanie. I love it. xx

I am in Love..

With DMC Variations 4210!! I wanted to stitch something for the tin topper challenge on the Monthly Finishing Challenge blog and stitched this motif from an AMAP chart I have on 36 count Edinburgh Antique white linen (which I have also come to adore) but found that the design is too big for the little Altoids tin I have :(


I guess I will save it for another finishing challenge.

So then I set about stitching another motif - same colours, same fabric, again from AMAP and I think this will fit :)


Cathy B wrote me to say she got the ABC exchange I sent her so I can now show pics. This is La D Das A-Z and between I made into a pinkeep for her:

and I also wanted to get her a chart off her wishlist but when it came I was just too tempted so made it her as well as giving her the chart. This is Notforgotton farm's Alphabet pinpoke and I stuffed it with lavender and backed it with the same fabric as the pinkeep. I sent her some extras too but don't have pics of those.


Did I mention that Sally sent me the Brightneedle chart? Here it is, I so love this.


Also got the Thank You Sarah Tobias chart from Down Sunshine Lane this week fromthe GC that Jenn sent me. It is fab and can't wait to stitch something from this book.

I have been extremely tired this week and have had very little sleep for the last three nights. I sometimes get these attacks of insomnia!! Don't know how much stitching I'll get done this week and I have also got our weekenders trip away with the Jayne's Attic forum on Friday too. I am looking forward to it but just hope I can stay awake the whole weekend.

Thanks for all your comments, they mean so much. Happy stitching. xx

More gifties!

Look what the postman brought me today!!

First up is this gorgeous scissor fob from Carol that she sent me for my birthday. Thank you Carol I love it. She has even personalised it on the back for me.



Next up is the freebie exchange I got from Leigh! Leigh has so spoiled me by not only stitching this pretty design and edging it with silk ribbon but also sending me all these extras. She sent me silken ribbon, fat quarters, and Blackbird designs Bits & Pieces Stitcher's Journal from my wishlist! I feel very spoiled. Thank you Leigh.

I also decided to buy Thank You Sarah Tobias chart from Blackbird designs with the gc that Jenn sent me. Thanks again Jenn. I am sure I will enjoy stitching that design.

Dawn B - thanks for the email hun - I got it.

Yesterday I turned....

well I'm not going to give my age away lol but somewhere inbetween 32 and 34!! So here's how my day went....

Woke up to my dd rushing in and giving me the gifts she bought. She really loved going shopping and choosing something for me and I think she made a lovely choice.



Next giftie was from dh who bought me perfume and bath stuff but he is also paying for my weekenders trip away which is in two weeks yeehaa!

Flowers from dh and another friend:



My friend bought me an AMAP chart which means a lot as she is a new stitcher and really shows she put some thought into what I like. My sisters put together and got me some fat quarters which will be great for exchanges.




When I went online, I found that Jenn had sent me an online gift voucher!! So I was really pleased with that. Thanks Jenn! And in the post Tracy sent me this bunch of goodies:


Amazing gifts, thanks hun!

So the morning started with me having to drive dh to the airport to hire a car and then he took me for lunch in John Lewis. £18 for two salads and two drinks!! Afterwards we picked Lily up from school and went in the park as it was so nice. Before we went out for our meal, Lily and dh sung happy birthday to me and I blew out the candles on my cake. Thorntons chocolate cake with truffle cream and chocolates on the top!



Lovely meal with frinds in an Italian that we frequent ended my day. Oh yeah another friend bought me three more books in the Tudor Novels by Philippa Gregory. Carol - I am nearing 200 pages into The Other Boleyn Girl and loving it!! Parents and in laws gave me money so may have a little online spend. I have seen some gorgeous caramel coloured Athalie threads which I fancy. Will look nice on the BP quaker.

Oh Yes, something else. This is what happened when we went out for our meal:

She lost her first tooth!!

So all in all, a lovely day. Thanks for all your best wishes. xx

Exchanges received

Found out that Staci received my freebie exchange in the post today and that she likes it yay!! I made her a mattress pincushion with a freebie from Les Grilles de Maryse. I have had to pinch her pics as I forgot to take some doh!

These are the extras I sent to her as well. I also know that Angie got my Needleroll in the Jayne's Attic Needleroll exchange. I struggled to find a pattern so I rummaged through my old magazines and found a pretty band sampler. I took a few bands out and came up with this:

Sorry the pics are a bit blurry. I was so proud of myself for making one of these and learning the hemstitching. I used it for the Monthly challenge blog too.

Slowly adding to my blog list. Still need to write down exchange dates so I don't forget them. Rachel reminded me she was about to start my pif I signed up for and it has reminded me to get on with Steph's that I have begun. So tonight I am going to finish the stitching on my summer house sbebb exchange then I will do a bit on Steph's pif. I have also got two biscornu (biscorni??) to think about too. I really do need to get organised. Another rotation perhaps??

Have managed to get a babysitter for my big day next week so dh and I can go out for a nice meal. Woohoo! Escaping the house for a night. What a treat!!

Till next time, have a good weekend everyone. Thanks for your comments.xx

Changeover has begun

Alas I did lose some widgets and page elements so in the process of putting them back in. Collecting blog addresses from comments and links to other blogs so bear with me if you're not on. Also need to go and write down my stitching deadlines. Very important!! Lost my blinkies too. I like it though. Will have fun re-doing it. xx

Finished!

Design from Repertoire des Frises

Stitched on 32 count willow green belfast linen

Stitched with Needle Necesseties 135

Thanks for all the lovely comments saying you couldn't see the stitch! Unfortunately it was one of those stitches that makes the rest of the design not meet up at the end. And, as it was a biscornu and had to be perfectly square, I had no choice but to unpick the left hand row. It didn't take too long and had it finished last night. So this is for the monthly challenge blog. So far these challenges have been not too difficult. I am dreading it if the challenge is something really difficult that you might need a machine for or if you have to do loads of sewing in neat straight lines. I think my worst challenge "fear" would be a basket lid!!!

I have finished my abc exchange piece now but awaiting something to send with it. Sally mentioned in her blog that Jacqueline Holdsworth from Needleprint is re-releasing authorised copies of the Beatrix Potter Quaker Sampler on ebay. I spent my whole bank holiday waiting for her to put more charts up as they were and are selling like hotcakes!! So, finally, I got my copy. Yay!! Sally, Tracy and I are thinking of doing an SAL on it next year so if you fancy joining us, jump on in!!

I may be changing my blog background soon but the only way I can figure out how to do it is by losing all my added pages and elements which will mean slowly putting them all back in again. I will probably work on doing this this week. I think it's nice to have a background that suits your own individuality. I can only try and see I suppose.

Well it's my birthday next week so hoping to get some stitching stuff this time. No-one tends to buy me that which would be the best thing they could buy me really. Well both my friend and my sister have asked me so I have given them some ideas so hopefully I'll get something stitchy. My birthdays are usually very disappointing days so I am not getting my hopes up too much. I have decided I am going to take myself off on my own and spoil myself and do what I want to do even if only for the evening. It may involve just sitting in the car on my own with a book and some cake but hey that's fine!!

Yesterday I broke the washing machine by putting something in it that disintegrated into the machine so now I'll have to wait on somebody coming round today to fix it I think. :(

Happy stitching day everyone. Take care. xx

What an Idiot!

So here I am happily stitching away at my biscornu for the may monthly finishing challenge blog in a gorgeous colour of Needle Necessities thread. I have worked up the left side and then across the top and down the right side. Hmmm lovely isnt it:


and then I spot this!!!!!!! Can you see the misplaced stitch at the top of the left row before it curls up. Out by one stitch!!!! So I now have some unpicking to do.

It really spoke to me actually about mistakes that we often make in our lives and how sometimes we have to do some "unpicking" and starting again. We have a friend who is getting married soon - her 3rd marriage. We are having a little night of celebration for her and if we have a word of encouragement or a poem or something to give her then we can do it then. I am thinking of giving her this as a gift to help her remember that God is still weaving and embroidering her life even when she has made "mistakes" in the past.

Doh! I sent off two exchanges and completely forgot to take pictures of them. I'll have to wait till they have been rec'd then "borrow" the photos!!

And here's a couple of pics of Lily and Elijah at four and a half months old.




Just got "The Other Boleyn Girl" by Philippa Gregory. I only read about one book a year but I am really enjoying this. I love tudor history.

Race is on to unpick and finish this biscornu so I'd better get on with it. Have a good stitching week. xx