Wednesday 17 December 2014

My Birthday and 3, Yes 3, Finishes!

Last Friday was my birthday and I was rather spoilt by my family and friends. I had a lovely day but will admit to feeling a little down as well as I was missing my Dad. I had been rather silly and decided not to make myself a cake then wished I had but I ended up buying a small cake from Tesco on Saturday!  I had a lovely visit from Gill in the morning then later on in the afternoon Chris and her DH Andy came for a cuppa and a chat.

Speaking of Chris we have now completed our private ornament exchange. I think this is a case of great minds think alike as even though the pieces we stitched were different we used the same finishing technique!

This is mine to Chris.

Little House Needleworks Snowy Days ( JCS ornament issue 2014)

32 count  Nougat linen

DMC

Private ornament exchange with Chris.

This is what Chris stitched for me and I LOVE it! Some of you may remember this was in my top 5 from this year's ornament issue! Thank you so much Chris.

Onto my lovely birthday cards and gifts now. I shall let the pictures do the talking so here we go.

From my DH. He also gave me a Nominations Claddagh charm which means my bracelet in now full :)

From Jess

From Abi.

From Barb and her DH. I need to get a better photo of the beautiful snowflake that Barb's DH made.

From Chris.
From Julie.

From Michelle.

From Lisa.

From Karan.

From Christine.

From Gill.

From Lesleyanne.

I received gift vouchers for Sew and So for my birthday and Christmas from Lainey so I treated myself to these.

I also received some money from my sister and her partner,  my brother in law and his wife and my DH's auntie to I have treated myself to Mani Di Dona Winter Days Sewing Basket with some of it and that is on the way from Italy. That will be my last chart purchase other than my autos until at least June!

Thank you so much to my family and friends for the lovely cards and gifts.  You are all so kind for thinking of me.

The magazine I ordered through Crafty Kitten back in October arrived along with the two chart I'd asked to be added to it. That will come off my December Stitch from Stash.

Finishes and WIPs now. Sorry for the picture heavy post.

I finished this ornament a couple of weeks ago but have waited until I posted it and it had been received and opened by my lovely friend Michelle. I am happy to say that she loves it.

Blue Ribbon Designs A Woodland Wish

36 count fabric

DMC

Gift for Michelle.

First finish was this one which was my Friday evening SAL with my dear friend Barb.

Tralala Tricotine

32 count white fabric

DMC and Atalie threads

SAL with Barb

Second finish is my Monday evening SAL with Barb.

Barbara Ana Designs Wicked Since

32 count Colour Cascade Fabrics Silver Springs

DMC and DMC Variations

SAL with Barb

Third finish is one which is only available on Candy Cane Stitchers on Facebook.

Barbara Ana Designs Silent Night

40 count sand linen

DMC

So those are my finishes and now I'll quickly show you my WIPs.

A little progress on CCN Frosy Forest. The Foxes are still blind I'm afraid!

I've been stitching quite a bit on the SAL I'm doing with Chris and I love how it's looking.

Finally progress on CCN February Cottage.  Love the colours in this one!

A few weeks ago I had my eyes tested and have finally had to give in to having distance glasses as well as reading. I couldn't stand the thought of having to swap and change glasses so I went for varifocals. My reading prescription hasn't changed.  I picked them up on from the opticians on Sunday and am now trying to get used to them. I'm finding it a bit difficult just having a small area to read through when I'm used to having the full lens but I'll keep trying as I have a 30 day trial with them. I have found them great for stitching and watching TV as I can easily find the bits I need to look through! They're useless for my PC though and I have to use my old readers from 2011! Last time my reading prescription changed the optician told me I'd need to use my old ones!

I will be back with one last post before Christmas as I need to do my final Stitch from Stash post then I'll be gearing up to try and do even better in 2015!

Until next time take care everyone and my heart goes out to the families of those killed and injured in Australia in that terrible hostage situation. 

With much love.

Sally xxxxx

28 comments:

Vickie said...

Hooray Sally! I am glad to see you were treated as a Queen on your birthday. :) Such lovely presents.
You have many great projects going.

Jane said...

Happy Birthday Sally, WOW you are so lucky to have so many lovely friends who sent gorgeous gifts for your birthday ~ it must have felt like Christmas had come early!
Your finishes are lovely as are your WIPs and I see you purchased the 'Snow' chart pack from LK, I have too but not too sure on the colour of the fabric supplied so hesitating starting it at the mo!
I'm sure you'll get used to your new specs soon, that sounds a great idea of have a 30day trial ~ I must investigate!!!
Look forward to your next post ~ I love to see your stitching, it's very inspiring x
Jane x

Justine said...

I would love the Tricotine chart Sally if it hasn't been sold already. Please let me know. Happy birthday! You received some lovely gifts. Glad you celebrated even though you were missing your Dad. Great finishes and new stash too!

jane said...

What a great blog post Sally, all your pics look fantastic, thanks for sharing!
I managed to stitch a little bit yesterday so am looking forward to getting going again.

Tricia T said...

Happy Birthday, Sally! It looks like you have lots of fun stash to go into the new SFS season. :) I'm waiting to do some shopping until after the last report... LOL!! :) Beautiful stitching and finishing, too. Methinks I need to check out the Candy Cane Stitchers group... :) Have a splendid day!

Hazel said...

Happy belated birthday Sally. You got a lot of lovely gifts. Stitchers are so very kind. x

Michelle said...

Oh Sally you received some lovely gifts. I am so pleased you liked your Jane Greenoff Sampler Kit. I adore my stitched christmas piece its stunning. Here's to continued friendship in 2015 xxx

Angela said...

Everything looks lovely! Congrats on your finishes :)

Vonna Pfeiffer said...

Oh my goodness Sally! What a haul you have there :) Your and Chris's finished tag ornaments are gorgeous! And I love all your gifts for your birthday! All your WIP stitching is done perfectly as always :) Have a Merry Christmas!

Melody said...

What a lovely group of birthday gifts! It sounds like you had a great birthday.

Christine said...

Such a lot of wonderful gifts Sally!
Beautiful stitching and finishing as always

WendyCarole said...

Some great birthday gifts and lovely finishes.

I couldn't cope with varifocals and went back to bi vocals. When Iwas teaching I couldn't make the adjustment quickly enough John seems to find varifocals ok.
However we both have computer glasses because having to tilt my head to see the screen puts a big strain on the neck. John spends all day on a computer at work and finds it a big strain. I just got a cheep £25 pair from spec savers.

Linda said...

Happy Birthday Sally. You received some lovely gifts. Congrats on all the cute finishes. Awesome stitching as always.

Linda

Cindy's Stitching said...

Happy Birthday to you. What pretty gifts. The little purse really adorable. What pretty stitching pieces, all of them. You have plenty to keep you busy.

Margaret said...

Happy belated birthday! What wonderful presents you received! Love your finishes as well, and great WIPs! hope you get used to the glasses. It's never easy, I still don't know if I'm used to mine.

Mouse said...

ooooo lovely goodies you got there for your birthday ... as I said before how did i not remember it from last year !!! at least you got your Christmas box hahahhahaha .... gorgeous stitching progress and beautiful finishes :) love mouse xxxxxx

butterfly said...

Happy Birthday Sally , I missed this one with Christmas sorry I will send you a little gift in the new year .
Love all your birthday gifts from family and friends .
And your Wips are looking fantastic, hugs.

Julie said...

Lots of lovely piccies to see in this post. Wonderful goodies for your birthday.
Super stitching!

Mii Stitch said...

Wow! That's a birthday & a half!! :D
You have received so many lovely gifts, you will be busy for a little while :)
Love the exchange finishes, both ornaments are just adorable!
Wishing you a lovely Christmas time, whatever you'll be up to xxx

Carol said...

Oh, you lucky birthday girl!! What wonderful gifts you received from friends and family! And I love what you stitched for Chris, Sally--the finish is adorable, too :)

I hope you adjust to your new glasses--I've been wearing glasses or contact lenses since I was 12 years old and am blind without them. Good luck and Happy Birthday!!

Clare-Aimetu said...

Lovely birthday gifts :-) and great finishes too

Southpaw Stitcher said...

Wonderful array of presents you have there, and your finishes are beautiful! Happy belated birthday, Sally!

Mary Ann said...

Lots of lovely birthday gifts! And, your 3 finishes are fantastic!!

Andrea said...

Wow what a full post! Beautiful birthday gifts. Great WIPs and your finishes are lovely.

Heather said...

Happy belated birthday! What lovely gifts you received! I love the ornaments and the finishing that you did for each other. Those are both kitted up waiting for me to stitch. :-)
Your stitching is lovely as ever!

Mary - Lecoeurceltique said...

A lovely selection of birthday gifts, Sally. You're finishes are great..

Brigitte said...

Happy belated birthday wishes to you, Sally. You have received such lovely and thoughtful gifts from family and friends. Enjoy them all.

Miamina said...

A very belated Happy Birthday! You got some lovely gifts :) I love the charts you've bought too.

Great stitching and progress with lovely finishes.

Have a wonderful Christmas!