A Teeny Weeny Mouse!

Hello! I seem to be getting better better at this blogging malarkey as long as I have finishes of course! I may not be visiting and commenting but at least I'm recording my stitching which is why I started a blog in the first place all those years ago. 

So what I have I been up to? A few weeks ago my DH, Abi and I went to York so I said if it's not too far out can we please go the Viking Loom so that I can get some Peacemaker needles. They are my favourite needles and I was down to my last two. While we were there we had a quick look at the cross stitch charts and Abi saw Just Nan Frosty Chillingsworth Mouse and asked if I'd stitch it for her. So I bought the chart and this week I got all the stitching and beading done. Yesterday I got it made up. He's not perfect as it was fiddly to put together but Abi is very happy with him! She's even taken him to work today to show one of her colleagues.

Just Nan Frosty Chillingsworth Mouse

Unknown fabric

DMC

Started 29th May 2019

Finished 30th May 2019

Last Sunday would have been dear Gaynor of Stitchers Anon's birthday so I decided to start something of hers. It stitched up very quickly and I plan on starting another of the primitive hearts soon.

Stitchers Anon Designs Season of Love Primitive Heart

Unknown fabric

DMC threads

Started 26th May 2019

Finished 27th May 2019

As you may know there are a few of us doing a JCS ornament SAL. My plan is to stitch one design out of each of the mags I have so that's over a year! I'm starting my one for June tonight and this one was May's.

Brightneedle To Thee Peace

28 count evenweave

GAST & DMC

Started 5th May 2019

Finished 19th May 2019.

Finally I said in my last post that I wanted to show my WIP on a Saviour's Praise each time so here it is. I'm still taking it steady and I've changed a couple of colours up to now. 

I've had some new stash. Yep I've done it again. Gone for a few months and been very good then splurged a little! I did have pennies from stash sales to pay for it so I don't feel too guilty. Another good thing is I'm getting plenty stitched from my stash too :) So what have you been buying I hear you ask! Well I pre ordered the collaboration between Summer Stitch Workes, Hand on Designs and Ink Circles and I had asked my ONS if they could get me The Scarlett House In The Berry Beginning and they arrived the other week. Then I had asked my ONS to save me The Scarlett House A Perfect World when they got it back in stock and, of course, I had to have the 2019 PS Santa as it has a sheep! They arrived this last week. Oh and I also had to get the BBD booklet The Bells on Christmas Day. I have one more to come once my ONS gets it in for me and that is With Thy Needle and Thread Pink Sparrow Sampler which I fell in love with after seeing WIPs on Instagram. I'll be saving up to get the threads for that one as the colours are gorgeous! I need to have more self control and hide away from the internet! Lol! 

That's it from me for now. See you again when I have another finish!

Until then take care everyone.

Sally xx

Finishes and New Starts.

Here we are almost at the end of March. The weeks are certainly flying by and I don't like it!! I am so not ready for the hot days of summer as, if previous years are anything to go by, it'll be way too hot for me! Winter and Spring I can cope with quite happily but when it gets too hot I hate it. I guess I will just have to accept what comes :)

So what have been up to since my last post. Plenty of stitching of course and some reading. Not as much reading as there should have been as I have discovered a new game ( Hidden City Mystery of Shadows) and instead of reading before I go to bed I'm playing that instead. Sigh! Last night I made a point of being good and picking up my book instead! My current read is Guards, Guards from Terry Pratchett's Discworld series and oh boy it is good! 

Better get chatting about my stitching! I have had two finishes this month so I am quite happy. It's good for my Stitch from Stash ( I'm taking part in a group on Facebook) although I have spent so little I don't really need any credit from finishing! I am going to have a little splurge though when some Nashville releases hit our shores. I so hate having to wait but postage from the States is so ridiculous but then because the pound has been struggling the exchange rate isn't so good so charts etc are getting more expensive here. It's a good job I have plenty to keep me going really! It's not likely to stop me from buying if I really, really want something though!

Anyway the first of my finishes is this sweet little lamb!

Just Nan Lorelei Lamb

32 count white evenweave

DMC

Started 17th February 2017

Finished 17th March 2017.

She was so fiddly to put together I'm actually surprised that she looks like she should!

Second finish is this cutie.

Stitchers Anon Designs Season of Joy

32 count raw linen

DMC

Started 21st February 2017

Finished 23rd March 2017.

I won this chart in one of Gaynor's giveaways so would like to let someone else stitch it and pass it on and we'll make it a travelling pattern. Please say in your comments if you'd like to stitch it. 

As I had finished my piece for my sheep SAL with Barb I had to have a new start didn't I?! I have a few charts with sheep on them ( no surprise really!) and, after much delberation, I decided to start Midsummer Night Designs Bloom which was a gift for my 50th birthday from Lisa in Scotland. I am stitching it on 32 count Vintage Country Mocha linen and am using good old DMC. It is charted for Anchor so I went online and converted it to DMC.

Monday's Barb and I have been stitching on Winter but she has finished hers and is now starting another one of the seasons. I am still stitching away on mine but, hopefully, I should have it finished soon.I don't know what I'll be stitching once it is finished but we'll still be SAling even if we're stitching different things.

I have been quite bad and had two more new starts. As you know I got HAED Guardian out again for the challenge on the HAED Facebook group. Well as excited as I was to be stitching on it again I have ended up not enjoying stitching on any of my HAEDs. Three is just too many to have on the go at one time so I made the decision to put Guardian away again until one of my others is finished. If I end up hating stitching them I may well never stitch another again and I really don't want that. After all we are supposed to enjoy our hobbies aren't we? So I had a new start in Guardian's place. I have been itching to get started on this since last December. Well, actually, probably since I bought it God knows how many years ago. This one is Atelier Perdu The Magic ( no longer available). I am stitching it over one on 32 count Vintage Country Mocha. Yep I did say over one! That is what it says on the chart. It is fine unless you have a visit from the frog! Getting those little stitches out is not easy and at one point I did think shall I just throw this piece and cut another but I didn't want to waste it! So out it came and I managed to get the bit restitched. 

My other new start was at craft group yesterday. I had been stitching Season of Joy there so, as that is finished, I started LHN My Lady at Christmas. I had ordered Chromatic Alchemy Cassa-Rose ( my last splurge before the start of the New Year ) especially to stitch this one. I didn't get a massive amount stitched but it's not bad for 2 hours including chatting and a tea break!

I have also been doing some finishing. I had 3 things sewn up ready to put trims etc on and they've been sitting there for a few weeks. One of them is Mouse's ( very late) birthday gift. I was telling my girls yesterday how awful I felt ( to be fair I didn't start stitching it until after her birthday because I struggled with what to stitch ) and Abi said when is her birthday. I said January! Jess had this look on her face that said "What?!!" and Abi burst out laughing. So I was shamed into doing something about it! So Mouse your very late birthday gift will be in the post tomorrow! I will show it next time I blog. Here are the other two finished!

Sotto La Neve is coming along nicely and should, hopefully, be finished soon. I think I will be sick of stitching white at the end of it though. I am almost done with the white in the trees then I have to do the ground in white and then all the snow falling! I know it'll be worth it.

Of course no post would be complete without Mini Jolly Old Fellow and my dragon! I don't know if you can see where I've stitched on Mini Old Fellow as it's all light thread but I should be stitching some blue next week! The dragon is going well too. I'm feeling better about these now that Guardian has gone away again. 

That is all my stitchy news for now. Thank you for visiting me and for all your lovely comments. 

Until next time.

With much love.

Sally xxx

March?!

Well here we are in March! Really??!! It hardly seems like 5 minutes since last Christmas. Oh how I wish time didn't go so fast! It also hardly seems like 5 minutes since I did my last post. I don't seem to be getting any better at keeping up with it all but never mind. At least I keep trying I guess.

So since my last post I've finished something that I can't show. It needs making up but my enthusiasm has been non existent. Maybe this weekend I'll give myself the mighty push I need and get it done. No other finishes but I am hoping to have the odd one or two this month.

However I have had a page finish and a couple of new starts. The page finish was on my lovely Father Christmas. It's been a long time coming but page 5 is finally done so I just have 4 partial pages. Doesn't seem much when I say it like that but it's still plenty lol.

I mentioned in my last post that I was going to start Just Nan's Lorelei Lamb which Chris bought me for my birthday in 2015. Well start it I did although I haven't got a massive amount done. I just hope it actually looks like a lamb by the time I have finished!

My other new start is Stitchers Anon Designs Season of Joy which was one of the charts I won in Gaynor's giveaway on Facebook. I am stitching this one at craft group and am loving every single stitch.

I have some determination to get Sotto La Neve finished. Last week I ended up frogging quite a lot of one of the trees as I had miscounted so I was not a happy girl. This week it went much better and I've started filling in bits of red on the trees. Hopefully it won't be too much longer but there is a LOT of white to stitch!

Winter is coming along nicely. I'm leaving the back stitching until last and just concentrating on getting the cross stitching done. I started the door this week. Barb is working on the W.

I am still stitching a bit each week on Guardian but I doubt very much that I will manage to finish the challenge of a page finish. I am not even half way yet and there is only about a month to go. I should have known really that just stitching on it one evening a week would not be enough but I'm not stressing about it! If I manage it I do and if I don't, no worries!

Finally it's progress on the final page on SK Dragons History. I am so over this WIP! I will finish it but I'm just not feeling it anymore. When it's done I'll be making it into a bookmark for Abi. 

That's all my stitching news for now. On the book front I set myself a challenge on Goodreads of reading 15 books this year. I really need to get more read if I'm going to do that! I am doing a little better now. At the moment I'm reading Alice by Christina Henry. I bought it last year after seeing it in Waterstones then  after reading some reviews I wasn't sure if I really wanted to read it. However I started it last weekend and am really enjoying it. It's very dark and disturbing, not my usual read, but it is very good.

That's all from me for now. 

Until next time.

With much love.

Sally xxx

Birthday Gift for Julie.

Yesterday it was my long time stitchy friend Julie's birthday.  So I set about finding something to stitch a while ago but I always seem to end up last minute finishing somehow.  I seriously need to remedy that!  Anyway this is what I stitched for her and am delighted to say that she loved it :)

With Thy Needle and Thread The Sewing Bird

36 count Vintage Examplar Linen

DMC, WDW and GAST

Birthday gift for Julie.

I have had a couple of other finishes this week :)

.

Plum Street Samplers Ghoul Tidings

35 count WDW Straw linen

DMC & GAST

This one was finished just in time! I now need to get it finished to hang on my calendar.

Country CottageNeedleworks August Cottage

32 count natural opalescent linen

DMC

No other finishes but, hopefully, by Monday there should be 2 more!

I almost forgot to show some bits I have got made up! Two were half done and it's taken we weeks to get on to actually finishing! The first two were finished ages ago!

Carriage House Samplings 1823 Emma Elizabeth Blackwood Sampler from the June 2005 JCS mag.

Just Nan Marching Orders

Little House Needleworks Comfort.

Barb and I will be trying to get this one finished this evening then we can start the next one.

Sunday evening will see me stitching away to try and get November's Chrysanthemum finished!  I am loving the beautiful bright yellows of the Chrysanthemums in this one. Just so pretty.

Of course no post of mine would be complete without my lovely Robin. 

Last WIP is my Thursday evening stitch A Full Heart. Look I now have some sheep in the field! 

I received an envelope from Kathy this morning. A while ago I had seen her gorgeous finish of LK 6 Snow Belles on Facebook and very cheekily messaged her to ask if she was selling the charts and if I could buy them from her if she was. Bless her she said I could have them which I appreciate so much.  I will repay her kindness one day though :). Thank you so much Kathy :). These will, hopefully, be a Winter stitch for me.

I am happy to say that the leaking boiler is now fixed but I have kept the bowl underneath it just in case! I will be relieved to get a new one fitted before the weather turns chilly. My cousin, who is gas safe registered etc, is going to fit one for us.

As for me I am still not quite right yet and am beginning to think I never will be fully! I was going back to the drs today but decided against it when I saw my usual dr was not there and by the looks of it won't be for another 2 weeks. However I know I really need to go back so I'll have to go and see someone else next week.

I managed to get all caught up with my blog visiting and commenting but I now need to start again lol! At least I'm not a long way behind now!

Thank you for your visits and for all your lovely comments. It makes my day to read them :)

Until next time.

With much love.

Sally xxxx

Travelling Pattern, A Giveaway Win Plus Some Finishes ( Picture Heavy! )

Well here we are well into September and this is my first blog post of the month.  So much for getting back to at least one post a week!

Anyway, without further ado, I had a comment on my last post from Justine telling me I had her first blogoversary giveaway. I was so excited but felt awful as when I looked at her blog it was almost a week since she'd posted and due to me not looking at any blogs I hadn't seen it. Postie brought a package yesterday and this is what I found inside. All so beautifully wrapped that I hardly dare disturb it! Inside was this beautifully stitched and finished cushion. As I told Justine when I emailed her this is just so me. I absolutely love the colours and the design. Also inside was The Nebby Needle chart True Friend with some GAST threads and a gorgeous birdhouse needleminder. You may remember that I stitched the True Friend design for my dear friend Chris' birthday so I'm looking forward to being able to stitch it for myself as I love the words on it. Thank you so much Justine for a beautiful package.

Also this week I received this lovely package from Dani in Canada. I won the travelling pattern from her and she also sent me some of my favourite needles and a beautiful fob / ornament. Also see the fabric?  The fob was wrapped in that and I reckon I will use it to back Summer Garden with when I've stitched it. Thank you so much Dani!

Here is my start on it. I'm using Craft Kitten 32 count Fantasy Wings linen ( a second that I bought from the Crafty Kitten Facebook page last year ) and I'm choosing colours as I go along. So far I've used Carrie's Creations Hot Pink and Mistletoe.  So look out for when I've finished this as it'll be travelling again. 

Since  my last post I've had a finish or four!  Firstly this one.

Carriage House Samplings Emma's Alphabet Sampler ( from JCS June 2005 )

40 count Cream Gander Linen

DMC

As you can see it is actually finished properly and I am so pleased with how it looks. I had a vision of how I wanted it and it's close!

Next one is this beauty.

Just Nan Marching Orders

Silkweaver Solo 28 count

DMC & Supplied Soie D'Alger Lady in Red

I would like to pass the chart for this on now so if you'd like it please say so in your comment and I'll pick a winner next week :).

Finish no. 3 also made up with the other 3 that needed to made up.

The Little Stitcher 12 Days of Christmas Day 12

32 count Vintage Country Mocha Linen

DMC

Thank you so much Barb for SALing with me on these. Barb and I will be starting a new SAL tomorrow and it will be Tra La La Tricotine :).

The  booklet for the 12 Days of Christmas is now for sale so please email me ( email in my profile ) if you are interested. SOLD

Final finish ( phew ! ) is this one.

Cottage Garden Samplings My Garden Journal June's Honeysuckle

40 count Pearl Grey linen

DMC

I'm all ready to start July's Delphinium on Sunday. Just have to cut my fabric.

Lisa and I are continuing our HAED SAL and although I'm struggling a little with getting used to it and thinking about still having 6 more pages to go is driving me mad I am enjoying it. I do feel better knowing that the last 3 pages are only small!

Frosty Forest is now coming out on Wednesdays in the parlour over at Needlecraft Haven so last night I tried desperately to get Frosty Friends finished but it didn't quite happen. Not to worry though as it will next week!

And I almost forgot Garden Bliss! How could I forget this!

I have some brilliant news this post! Abi has got a job! Yay! Both her and Jess applied for 3 jobs last week. Unfortunately Jess has not been successful as yet  but Abi desperately wanted to work at one of these places and told the lady when she went for the application form that she had been hoping a job would come up as she really likes it in there. To cut a bit of a long story short she had an interview on Monday and was offered it straight away. We are so pleased as she's been looking for over a year. She had her first shift today, which she enjoyed, and she'll be working 6 hours a week for now.

I'll be hopping on a bus tomorrow to go see Chris which I'm really looking forward to. I need to get some stitching sorted to take with me!

That's all my news for now. I'll be back with a stitch from stash report next week and the stash I very naughtily purchased but I'm still in!

Take care everyone.

With much love

Sally xxxx