More Halloween Ornaments

It seems my black tree is now going to have at least 4 Halloween ornaments on it this year!! Lol. With about 6 weeks to go until Halloween it will, hopefully, have more. I stitched up 2 more since my last blog post and, to top that, all 4 are actually finished off ready to hang! I seem to finish things and leave them for a while before actually finishing them to display so I have now decided that I should finish each piece as soon as I can ( if finishing supplies are readily available either in my stash or from a local shop. If not then they will have to wait a while :)

So here's my 4 ornaments all finished up.

Homespun Elegance Boo Freebie

SMF Howling at the Moon 28 count fabric

DMC

The felt is even all the way around on this. It just looks as though it isn't with the angle of the photo!

Casey Buonaugurio Designs

Jack O Lantern

unknown fabby, possibly a Jayne's Attic.

DMC

Finally two you've already seen when they weren't finished up!

I have been managing to stay off the PC in the early evening, in fact I've hardly been on the PC in an evening at all, just last Thursday to chat to my friend Louise. So I have got quite a good bit done on my WIPs and hope to carry on that way. I have two gifts to get going and time is running out so I really need to knuckle down! Lol! Anyway block 8 on Shores is coming along and I have just have the sea to finish filling in ( and lots of it!!!) plus the swirly bit on the right to match the left. I am not feeling despondant anymore with this. Lisa and I have been chatting and she is trying to get back into her stitching and really wants to get her L*K ABCs finished so I said what if she stitched on it two nights a week like I did Shores and she liked that idea so she is now stitching along with me on a Friday and Saturday with the promise that we'll keep each other motivated ( lots of butt kicking if needs be!!!!). So Lisa, as you asked ( just a day late!!!!)  here's my proof that I stitched on Shores:) How are you doing with ABCs??

I stitched a little on Little House Needleworks Holly and Berries last week and am really enjoying it. It stitches up quite quickly. I may try my hand at a flat fold finish for this but I'll see how big it is when I'm finished first.

Last night was my Blackbird Designs Their Song night. I sat down quite early on last night determined to get on and get plenty stitched. Before I knew where I was it 10pm and this is what I'd achieved. It's amazing what you can do when you set your mind to it!

It's JA SAL night with Barb tonight so I'm really looking forward to that. I promised Barb that I would do better this week and do better I will!!!

I had word from Susan at Hanging by a Thread that the JCS ornament issue was in last Friday so I paid for it and am now eagerly awaiting it arriving with me. I had hoped it might come today but I don't know if she has sent it yet.

Last week I received Little House Needleworks Singing the Blues and some of the gorgeous daisy trim she used on her Cherry Wood Stitches finish in trade from Michelle. Thank you so much Michelle. Once I have finished The Sampler Girl Jane Austen Sampler Stocking I am sending her the chart in trade and also stitching her something for the LHN and the Cherry Wood Studios chart she sent me the week before:) Michelle and I seem to have very similar tastes!

Jess has finally got internet access so I was chatting her on Facebook for a bit this morning:) She was trying to get into her uni email and portal so she could register online but couldn't get it to load. I asked her for the addy so I could try it but it wouldn't load for me either but Mum does have brains ( even though my girls sometimes think I don't!!!) and put it in a search engine and tried a link from there and it worked!!! So Jess has the proper link saved and I left her to get on with registering! She sounded well but had had a bit of a to do on Saturday. It was the Freedom Festival in Hull and she and two friends had decided to go see McFly. They had to wait in a queue to get to the stage and she said it was very crowded and everyone was pushing and shoving. Well she doesn't do too well in crowds like that  and she was near to tears and had to ask her friends if they could leave and when they got out she realised her legs were shaking. Bless her.

Abi starts her role as a school ambassador this week. She has two duties and will also be asked to help out at parents evenings and other activities. If she does well at it she will become a permanant ambassador later in the year.

I am still feeling out of sorts and every day now for several days I just get this uncontrollable feeling and the tears come. I really don't know what's wrong me. I haven't felt this way for such a long time and really wish I didn't now. I am sure it will pass soon but my stitching certainly helps me.

Well time I went and got some dreaded housework done! Thank you for all your wonderful comments:)

Take care everyone.

Hugs

Sally

xxxx

More Winter Wingding and Stuff!

I decided yesterday to do some finishing up. Blue Ribbon Designs Winter Wingding had been wallowing in my finishing pile since I finished the stitching a while ago as I couldn't decide how to finish it. Anyway I decided on a simple pillow finish so out came my sewing machine. For all it's a simple finish I am rather pleased with this. Please excuse my photos in this post as it's been rather dull and I've struggled with the photo editing program I'm using.

Another one that has been waiting to be finished is Just Nan 4 Wishes. Like my other JN finishes I've used a simple bell pull finish. I have run out of space on my JN wall so this one will have to go on another wall!

Finally I stitched this little fob up when I stitched the LHN Needle and Thread Scissor Bed a while ago but never got around to adding the cording so that was another job for yesterday and is now complete :)

I've had two more finishes this week so I'm rather happy! I think I have missed having a good few finishes and now that I'm getting quite a few it makes stitching on the bigger pieces easier! If that makes sense. Anyway first finish is Just A Thought Sampler Garden Casket and Accessories. Obviously this now needs making up but it might be a good idea for me to wait until I am on my own to do it. I have loved stitching this and I just hope I can do the piece justice when it comes to making it up.

Just A Thought Sampler Garden Casket

32 count Belfast linen

DMC and Threadworx

Started 28th March 2010

Finished 1st August 2010

My final finish for today is...... wait for it........ a Halloween ornament! Yes I will have at least one ornament on that black tree! Not made up yet but that will happen soon lol. I would like to try and get some nice bright ribbon for it.

Raise The Roof Boo Whoo ( JCS Halloween issue 2008)

Possibly a Jayne's Attic fabric

DMC thread & JABC Buttons

Started sometime in 2009!

Finished 4th August 2010.

Onto my WIPs now :) I didn't quite get blocks 6 & 7 finished on CHS Shores of Hawk Run Hollow but it was close so I should get it finished this weekend then I can move onto block 8. I am not so bothered if I don't get a block a month done on this. It was my plan but I am just wanting to enjoy it rather than think that I must finish it :) If it's not finished by the end of the year I shall just hold off starting my big piece for next year then it'll give me more time to save up and collect the charts!

Monday evening was my  Jane Austen SAL with Barb which I look forward to every week. I had the DMC that I'd run out of so the verse is now finished as is the ship and I have sea too!!! So now you can linger and gaze at the sea lol! I just love Tanya's Jane inspired designs.

Lastly and a little closer to a finish is Chatelaine Spring Morning. Once I've finished all the stitching there are a lot of beads to sew on so that'll probably be a good afternoon's work. I prefer to sit at the dining table when I sew beads on incase I spill them!

So what's next? Well I have decided to replace the casket with Blackbird Designs Their Song which Nicola kindly sent me last year when she had stitched it. It was a bit of a toss up between that and Shepherd's Bush Emmanuel's Song, which Barb kindly sent me, but I decided on Their Song because I've had it the longest then once that is done I'll make a start on Emmanuel's Song. Last night I made a small start on my SB roll for this month and I chose Violet which is really pretty. I'll continue to stitch on that tonight then once it's done I'll be starting LHN Holly and Berries I think.

I have added The Cat's Whiskers For My Friend Scissor Case chart ( gently used) to my for sale page so it's there with Just Nan 4 Wishes and M Designs Reindeer Needleroll and Sampler. Please email me ( in my profile) if you are interested:)

It looks very much as though my days of being a SAHM are numbered but I have to admit that going back out to work after nearly 16 years is scaring the hell out of me and also I am scared that I won't be able to find a job and wondering what hell we'll do if I can't. We need another wage coming in as we can no longer manage on DH's wage alone. So when DH goes back to work after his holiday I'll be job hunting. I can't say that I'm too happy about it as I wanted to do this on my terms not being forced because everything is going sky high beyond what so many of us can afford, but I know we're not the only ones in this situation. So no stashing for me unless I have pennies in my PP account! Good job I have plenty to stitch but I'll be putting some bits on my Christmas list lol!!!!

Well it's time I stopped waffling on and got caught up on blogs.

Take care everyone!

Hugs

Sally

xxxx

Petit Chat For Julie

Yesterday was Julie's birthday and a while ago I saw a wee design stitched up on Moreen's blog which I thought would be ideal for Julie. It is a freebie by Tralala and can be found here As Julie likes purple I picked DMC 95 to stitch it with. I made it into a pinkeep and stitched our initials to stick to the back of it. I heard from Julie yesterday and am delighted that she liked it :)

Tralala Petit Chat

Unknown fabric

DMC 95

Finished as a pinkeep

For Julie for her birthday.

As I said in my last post I did pick up the Halloween ornament I started way back when. I got a few rows of stitching in before I realised I'd miscounted almost back at where I started my afternoon's stitching so had to frog!!! Lol!!! Sometimes I do wonder about the state of my brain :) Anyway I did manage to get it all restitched before I went to bed and here is where I finally left it on Thursday evening. This one is from the JCS Halloween issue 2008 and is Raise the Roof Boo Whoo? So at least when I get this finished I will have one ornament for my black tree! I have a few others in the pipeline including more from this JCS issue.

In the piccie below you can see two charts that have come to live with me this week :) Barb kindly sent me the Plum Street Sampler Love Notes chart as she knows I like hearts and also that it is mine and DH's 25th wedding anniversary next year. I told Barb that I had looked at this chart many times and love it so will be stitching it as soon as I can :) A while ago I lent Claire Little House Needleworks Holly and Berries, which you may remember I stitched for Chris' birthday last year, and have recently had the urge to stitch it for myself. I asked Claire if I could please borrow it back but she couldn't find it or some of her other LHN charts so, bless her, she ordered it for me and it arrived yesterday. I felt bad that I had asked then she'd ordered one for me. I think once I finish the Halloween ornament and do the SB roll for August I will start it. I feel the need for some wintery stitching in this muggy weather :) Thank you so much Barb and Claire xxxx

Stitching on Shores went quite well last night so I am still hoping to be on track to finish block 6 & 7 tonight. Keep your fingers crossed for me please ( obviously not while you are stitching!) Tomorrow I'm hoping to finish all the stitching on the Sampler Garden Casket seen as I remembered to get the DMC 3051 I had run out of which also means I can finish the verse on Return to the Sea With Jane Austen on Monday.

Once again thank you for all your kind comments. I am feeling a little better now but am also feeling a bit frustrated as one day I don't feel so bad then the next day I feel yuck. Don't know what to think!!! Lol! I spent a little time at my Dad's this morning. With not feeling well I haven't been going as much so I watered his cucumber and tomato plants while I was there. I'm not happy with his weight loss so I am hoping to be there next time his dietician visits as either whatever she is suggesting is not working or he isn't taking notice!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone! My DH has now finished work for 2 weeks so we can all chill :)

Hugs

Sally

xxx