A Little Penguin

Today is supposed to be reveal day for the Stitch and Stash Monthly SAL challenge so I hope I am OK to reveal my finish now:) I must say I am rather pleased with my finish. It took me quite a while on Friday to get it nearly done then I finished it yesterday.

The Workbasket Mr Penguinee

25 count lugana

DMC 310

Finished as a scissor keeper thing lol

It was a bit touch and go as to whether I'd get it finished in time as I mentioned before that I'd made a mistake and had to start it again!

Just a couple of WIP pictures now. Hopefully Julie and Mr Stick will be pleased with me again this week as I did stitch on Chatelaine Spring Morning. I finished the hummingbird, which looks absolutely gorgeous, and made a start on the next and final part. Fingers crossed I might just have a happy dance before the end of August :)

A huge thank you to Susan for emailing me and pointing out where I was wrong on Shores! She saved me hours of trying to work out where so I am very grateful. I feel so stupid at the mistake I've made as I've missed the gap inbetween the blocks so that is why block 6 and 7 will not go right. I must admit this big block has become the bane of my stitching life lol and I can't wait to finish it!!! I did get quite a bit stitched on it these past two nights so, hopefully, I might just get it finished for the end of July!

I'm afraid I have no progress again on HAED Guardian (sorry Lisa). I just could not face picking it up and think I may have to leave it alone for a while again. I feel really bad but this hobby is supposed to be ours to enjoy and everytime I think about Guardian I just think it'll never get finished unless I stitch on it every night and I just can't do that! I love stitching my smalls and I love stitching on bigger pieces that I know I can finish in a year even if I only stitch on them a couple of nights a week ( like Shores). I may go back to it after the summer or when I get other UFOs done, I don't really know.

So instead of stitching on Guardian I finished off Mr Penguinee then I decided that I really needed a small new start so I picked out Shepherd's Bush 2010 Fob which is abolutely gorgeous. I have finished the stitching on it so just need to make it up which I will do soon then be back to show it. I may have to have another new start this coming week!

This evening I'll be stitching on Just a Thought Sampler Garden Casket and, if I get a good evening on it, I might just get all the stitching finished then I can move onto the making up. I think I might just have to sweetheart my DH to help me cut the card for the casket so make sure I get it all correctly measured and cut:)

Thank you for all your lovely comments on my finish for Karan and also for all the good wishes. It hasn't been the best of weeks I must admit and I am still not fully fighting fit as yet. I do feel better than I did so I am hoping that whatever it is is finally going away as I am very fed-up and feeling quite tearful. The most I have done is grocery shopping at Morrisons yesterday with my DH and Abi and by the time we got to the checkouts I thought I was going to pass out :( I was so glad to get sat in the car with a cold drink.

Abi is now on Summer holiday from school and is so happy to finally be off! We are very proud of her as she has been chosen to become a school ambassador from September:) Those who have been chosen are on trial until Christmas and if they do a good enough job they continue.

Well that's all my ramblings for today lol! I have just listed the bits I had up for sale on my blog on Ebay so hoping they will sell!

Hope everyone has had a lovely weekend.

Take care everyone!

Hugs

Sally

xxx

Reveal Day!

Today is reveal day for the Stitch and Stash SAL challenge. Now I must say that I didn't expect to have this finished to show but I finished the stitching up last night and made it up this morning. I love the design I chose and found it purely by chance.

By The Bay Needleart Courage

28 count pink fabric

GAST and DMC

Started 24th October

Finished 25th October

Finished as a bookmark

I loved stitching this piece even though I decided to stitch it over one and huge thanks to Donna of By The Bay Needleart for this design. It is so pretty and I have lost it to Abi! You can find the design here if you've not already seen it. I dedicate my finish to all the women who are fighting breast cancer ( including Susan's Mum Sheelagh) , to all those who are survivors ( my auntie and Lynn )and in memory of all those who lost their brave fight.

I decided I wanted to stitch something for Halloween. I don't really do Halloween but Chris gave me a link to Pattern Mart where there are a few freebie designs. You can fill in a survery and this chart is a free download at the moment for filling in the survey. It is Stacey Nash Primitives Hallow's Eve which I love so I made a start on it last night once I'd finished Courage. I'm not sure I'll actually get it finished in time but I am planning on maybe stitching a bit more this afternoon. Tonight is BBD Loose Feathers night so I won't be stitching on it then.

Have a wonderful Sunday! Not sure the weather is going to be good so stay warm, safe and dry.

Hugs

Reveal Day

Today is reveal day for the Stitch and Stash SAL challenge and I just finished this last night and have emailed a piccie today to Karen for the album so I was cutting it a wee bit fine but at least I managed to stitch it! I have just done a basic ornament finish with a gathered ribbon edging. I think this may well be the last one I stitch for this year as I have so many other things I want to get stitched before Christmas. I enjoyed stitching this one though and am looking forward to displaying it at Christmas.

Windy Willows Noel

Unknown Fabric

Needle Neccessities 1531

The Back

The NN thread I used was sent to my by Michele as part of a prize for her blogoversaray draw last year and the backing fabric was sent to me by Yuko as a thank you for sending her a La D Da freebie she liked that I had stitched so this is a special piece:)

Tuesday night I finally got the HUGE motif on Sea Stars done and did a more of the sea monster. I still have a fair bit to do and can't see me getting it finished on Tuesday so I'm going to stitch some more on it tonight to give me a better chance!

As usual Wednesday was SAL night for smalls ( quick stitches, tiny treasures etc) on the HAED forum so I stitched on my Letter J. It is still going well and I must admit I am enjoying stitching on this more than I have done on a HAED since I abandoned Winter.Next week I hope to make a start on some Christmas stitching starting with one of the stockings I want to stitch for DH and I. I stitched the girls one each afew years ago and I think it's only right that DH and I have one too! Lol! Oh and I'd better stitch a card for DH's auntie for her birthday seen as I've stitched one every year for several years. Not sure what to stitch this year but I'll have a look and see what I've got.

My charts for the MM&I RR/SAL have arrived today so I will be having a go at more planning and see how it goes! I do have one more to come as I couldn't resist the new LHN Holly and Berries as I thought it was ideal for my neighbourhood.

I hope everyone is having a good weekend and making the most of the lovely weather we're having here in the UK.

Hugs

Reveal Day!

It's reveal day for the S&S monthly SAL challenge:) This month's freebie chart was Drawn Thread The Caron Keeper which was a lovely quick stitch and easy to make up:) I chose to finish it as on the chart so here's my version.Drawn Thread The Caron Keeper

Caron Waterlilies ( colours used not as charted)

I sent this off to Paula for her birthday ( Happy Birthday Paula!) so I added our initials on the back and the year. I hope she received it safely and I kept my promise of no green things:) Lol! OK so there's green on the keeper!

Indigo Rose The Bee Charmer is going well. I'm just about done with the stitching and probably would have been had I not been stitching and watching Dr Who at the same time! Lol!

Tonight is SAL night with Nic so I'm looking forward to that. I'm hoping to get a bit more stitched than I did last week!

My eldest DD Jess has just started a blog. She loves sketching so has created it to show them off. She says it probably won't get updated very often but I was wondering if you could pop over to say hello and just give her a bit of encouragement please if you have time? I think she'd be really happy:) Her blog is http://sketchyskyline.blogspot.com/

Thank you everybody for your lovely wishes for our wedding anniversary yesterday:) We just had a quiet day with DH being at work then he went to his Dad's last night to watch the speedway on Sky Sports ( we don't have the sports or movie channels) so it was just me and the girls! Lol! I was feeling a bit fed-up anyway after looking through our wedding photos as I looked so pretty and thin!

My DH has to go for a kidney function scan next month. He had kidney stones before we got married and had to have surgery. A few years ago he had to have more surgery to open up the tubes as they were narrow then we discovered that because the tubes had been narrow and he'd had the stones there'd been damage to his right kidney and it doesn't work as it should. So the consultant just wants to keep an eye on things and see how well ( or not) it's functioning. We're not unduly worried as it doesn't cause him any problems and the consultant is quite happy not to see him again until next year.

Have wonderful Sunday! We're forecast to get heavy rain today. Hope not as I have Abi's PE kit to get dry for tomorrow!

Hugs

SAL Challenge Revealed!

Now that I know my SAL challenge piece has been received by it's new owner I can reveal it at last:) I decided to send it to Sammy Jo as one of my PIFs and she loves it, so I am very happy!

Blue Ribbon Designs Alphabet Tree

Own coffee dyed aida

DMC 107

Finished as a sweetie dish

Instructions courtesy of Christine ( Alchemy Stitchcraft)

My finishing isn't brilliant but I am very happy with the way it turned out for a first attempt. Thank you, Christine, for your brilliant instructions. It was funny as both Helen and I did this finish this time! This month's challenge piece is The Caron Keeper so I'm looking forward to stitching that one:)

Tuesday evening was Ink Circles Sea Stars night and I'm pleased with the progress I made. Finished the motif I was working on last week and stitched a few fish!

Thank you for all your hugs and kind words following the passing of our beautiful budgie Billy. The girls are heartbroken and I just keep thinking about him and wishing he was still here. The house is just not the same without him as he was such a character. We loved him and he gave us so much love in return and always brightened the worst day. My Dad used to breed budgies as did DH's uncle so we have both grown up with budgies in the family ( I had one of my own too) so we've always had a love for them. Now the girls have too. Billy was our second one. The first one was 7 when he passed so it was quite a shock to loose Billy at just 4 but they are prone to strokes and we knew that. We had no warning as he had been fine all day, being his cheeky, mischievous self. We have decided that, although we can never replace him and we'd never get another like him ( he was one in a million) we are going to get another one.

Hugs

SAL Challange Reveal!

Today is reveal day for the JA/S&S SAL challenge:) I am not sure if the album is up on group but I'm posting mine here as I don't know when I'll get to blog again as we've got a busy-ish weekend. This month Dragonfly Stitches Valentine Heart was the winner of the vote and I'd just like to say thank you to Kris, the designer, for allowing us girls to use her gorgeous design. I chose to stitch mine on SMF ( I think) Sun Dappled Glade ( part of my present from Karen at Christmas) using Dragon Floss Friendship ( a gift from Julie). I made it up into a pincushion/ pillow whatever you want to call it and edge it with two different coloured ribbons. This was my first time using a ruched ribbon finish and I want to say a special thank you to Julie for explaining how to do this as I'd tried to follow some instructions but couldnt! I am rather pleased with how this turned out:)

I decided to have a small new start yesterday. Well I actually had two! One I started and finished but it's a pressie so not showing it yet and the other I started and actually managed to get a fair bit done. So here's a little peek of what I started! Lol! Any ideas?!!!

Sammy Jo has made my day by awarding me with the You Make My Day Award so thank you so much Sammy Jo:) I can't believe I have had this award three times and I am passing it on to all the blogs I read ( not just the ones listed here as I have loads more on my Google Reader).

Thanks for looking:)

Hugs

It's Reveal Day!

It's finally reveal day for the S&S/JA monthly SAL challenge and the photo album is up on the MB so I can show my finish! The design chosen for January was With My Needle Eliza's Pyn Pillow. I chose to stitch mine on 32 count linen ( can't remember the colour) but over two instead of over one. I used GAST and Ozark Sampler threads. I decided to make this up into a bourse and I am pleased with the way it turned out:) It was lovely to see all the different fabrics and threads the other girls had chosen and how they'd finished them off. We are now voting on February's challenge.

Yesterday afternoon I had the pleasure of meeting up with Chris again. We spent a few hours chatting and showing each other some stitching and Chris handed over her Quaker RR to me for me to stitch on:) I don't think she could quite believe the amount of stitched pieces I have on my walls!!! Looking forward to seeing you again, Chris, in a few weeks:)

I'm not doing bad with HAED quick stitch Girly Gothic this week. I'm hoping to get the first page finished but it very much depends upon how soon I get stitching this evening and tomorrow evening! I must admit I was feeling a little despondant again with my HAEDs as they just don't grow fast enough. The first few I stitched I got a lot of satisfaction from but now I just feel I can't get on fast enough with them. Anyway I went through the charts I have and have a few more for sale. I've still got more than I will ever stitch though!

Still in two minds about this year's Loose Feathers Club but I know I will cave eventually. There's no way I want to miss out but I'm unsure of where the best place to buy from would be.