November Stitch From Stash & Christmas RAK from Andrea

I thought it was time I got my butt into gear and did my Stitch from Stash report for November. Of course, as I said last time I have chosen November as my free month so besides the spending I did at the knitting and stitching show in Harrogate I also bought a couple of charts and a piece of fabric I couldn't get there, which have arrived,  and ordered a couple of charts I wish that I'd got! They won't be paid for or arrive until next month as I've asked if they can be added to my magazine order when that comes into stock so they'll come off my December SFS! 

So I have a few WIPs to show you and a finish.

Well it's a finish all but the French knots for the eyes and buttons on the snowman!

Country Cottage Needleworks January Cottage

32 count opalascent natural linen

DMC.

I'll be starting the February one next week hopefully! Need to get January made up ready to go on display in the right month!

My robin got a little bit of attention on Saturday evening. Not as much as I'd hoped but every single stitch helps doesn't it? 

August's Poppy is coming along really well. Loving how this looks so far and I have to say it is one of my favourites so far. Living by the sea it is very me!

Monday saw me Wicked stitching with my lovely friend Barb. I hadn't done any last week so I was intent on catching up a bit this week but it didn't happen. I almost got the word Wicked finished :) Barb is almost finished with hers!

As you can see from my blog title I was very lucky to be chosen as a recipient of one of Andrea's Christmas RAKs. Many years ago before Andrea started offering these on her blog I was one of the chosen ones then and I have refrained from entering on her blog until this year. Anyway this lovely package was waiting for me when my DH and I arrived back from our shopping day in York.

Isn't it absolutely gorgeous?! I just love the design and the beautiful way Andrea has finished it. Thank you so much Andrea. I can't wait to get my ornament tree up :) Hope you received my email.

As this month has been my free month on SFS I am guessing that I don't have to declare the amount I spent but I have £59.91 to carry over to next month from last month.  I definitely won't be spending it all but as I'm thinking about signing up for the new Lizzie* Kate mystery I may spend some of it! I will then be gearing up for SFS 2015 which Mel is kindly hosting again :)

Well I think that's all for now. I'm hoping to get settled down to some serious stitching again next week! I've been so tired since Harrogate and we've also been Christmas shopping. I think my DH is ready to go back to work for a rest lol! 

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends :). 

Until next time,

With much love

Sally xxx

In Memory Of My Dad Finish & October Stitch From Stash

Well I did say I'd be back hopefully with a finish and I am! Of course I thought I might be jumping the gun a little as when you think you're close to a finish that last little bit seems to take forever! So without further ado here it is!

Silver Creek Samplers Garden  Bliss

32 count Crafty Kitten Vintage Petals

DMC

In Loving Memory of my Dad.

I just love how this has turned out and am just so grateful to Diane of Silver Creek Samplers for designing this. I know my Dad would have loved it. I am thinking of adding some personalisation but need to find a nice alphabet and work out where etc! I have loved every single stitch of this and think my Dad will have  been with me with each one.

I am planning on starting the Country Cottage Needleworks monthly cottages next but haven't decided on fabric yet! I am probably going to use 32 count raw opalescent linen for them. 

I didn't get on quite as well as I'd hoped with Tralala Tricotine last week as I had a visit from the frog but I'm back on track now. So I only stitched a bit of grass!

A little more progress was made on my lovely robin, another memory piece for my Dad, and I am quite close to finshing the page. So it'll be 3 down, 6 to go!

Before I show anymore WIPs I'll do my SFS report for October.  We have a bonus of $50 ( around £30 ) to spend before the end of the end of the year and I'm very embarrassed to say that I have spent it * hangs head in utter shame *.  Altogether I spent £34.84 on 3 charts, 2 lots of fabric and 1 thread that I needed which means I spent £4.84 of my £15 monthly budget.  I have a total leftover balance of £59.91. Phew! Thank God for that bonus although I would still have been OK! November is going to be my free month but then I will still have a little to spend in December should I want anything I can't get at Harrogate Knitting and Stitching Show!  I've finally started my list but can't decide on finishing items!

Back to my WIPs! July's Delphinium is coming along rather nicely.  I still have the purple ones to stitch but I'll,  hopefully, get those done this Sunday or at least some of them!

Finally my 3rd SAL with Barb which is Barbara Ana Designs Wicked Since.  I needed a DMC Variations for this, hence the thread I needed and of course I couldn't just order one thread so  bought some linen that was on sale! A massive piece for half the price! Anyway here's my progress on Wicked Since!

Oooh almost forgot. My finished up Shepherd's Bush Rosy Egg ( I think ) which I stitched an age ago and finally attempted a finish a few weeks ago.  It's nowhere near perfect but I am fairly happy with it. I used a polystyrene egg to finish it.

I can't show my other WIP as it's for one of my private ornament exchanges but will say I'm stitching it on some of the half price linen:). Sew and So is well worth keeping an eye on for sale fabrics.

Thank you for continuing to visit me. It still seems quiet compared to how it used to be and I sincerely hope it picks up again as Instagram and Facebook are just not the same . I much prefer blogging!

Take care everyone.

Until next time.

With much love.

Sally xxx

A New SAL With Barb Plus September Stitch From Stash

I don't know about you all but I do love a new start especially when that new start is a SAL with a friend.  Even though Barb is a long, long way from me we settle down a few times a week to virtually stitch together. As you know we finished our Friday night SAL of The 12 Days of Christmas so last Friday our new SAL started. This is Tra La La Tricotine. I'm stitching mine on 32 count white evenweave using Atalie Threads and DMC. Love it so far. I'm afraid the girl is legless at the moment. I had stitched her face minus rosey cheeks and eyes and she looked rather like an alien which freaked me out a little! Lol. So the legs had to wait in favour of the rest of her face and her hair! I already have plans how to finish this when I've stitched it but think I will need some help and guidance lol!

I had another new start on Sunday. This time July's Delphinium. I would love to try and get well on with these now but I know they won't be finished by the end of the year. I like to try and have everything finished so I can start anew but it won't happen as I still have too many to do on these and Frosty Forest.

Typing of Frosty Forest last night in the parlour with the ladies over at Needlecraft Haven I finished Snowy Friends and made a small start on Bluebird Cottage.  Who knew what looked like a little bit of snow that I had left to do on Snowy Friends could take so long to do!

I'm making good progress on LHN Summer Garden which is the travelling pattern. I'm hoping that I might have it finished next week so keep an eye out if you are interested in being the next stitcher :).

Garden Bliss is going well. I'm now on to the garden bit at the bottom. I love how this looks and can't wait to have it hung in my home.

A little bit of progress was made on my robin. Not a massive amount but as anyone who stitches HAEDs will know they don't grow very fast!

I did some making up on Sunday. I used finishing forms to finish My Big Toe Designs Always in my Heart which I stitched late last year from the JCS 2011 Christmas ornament issue. I am delighted with how it turned out. The ribbon, bow and heart were on a greetings card I had saved.

Stitch From Stash report time now.  Unfortunately I had a spend this month. Not only did I spend my full £15 budget but I also spent £8.15 of my balance from last month. *sigh*. Now I'm feeling pretty peeved with myself!  So that leaves me with a balance of £49.75. So what did I buy?  These!

I have been looking for the Tim Hotlz pocket watch fobs since I first saw people using them to mount stitching in. Every time I found somewhere in the UK who stocks them they were out of stock and never got them back in. To buy them in the States meant about $9.50 shipping making them expensive. Anyway I was looking on Patchwork Rabbit and saw that Karla had them on her sneak peak page. Knowing that they are likely to be popular once people know she has them I ordered 2 along with the Blue Bunting chart and the fabric. The good thing is I paid with pennies I had saved from sales from charts I'd finished with but I still have to declare it for Stitch from Stash. I don't know how I'm going to go on for the next month as I may need some fabric as Barb and I are going to start stitching Halloween stuff when we've finished Tricotine. I may have to look at Ebay and see if I can find some bargains! Hopefully I can keep this up for the rest of the year though but leave November as my free month for when I go to Harrogate Knitting and Stitching show and I'll also have to buy the chart  Chris and I are going to be stitching for our December  SAL. It's certainly getting harder as the year goes on and I'm using fabric up!

Typing of Chris I had a lovely day at her house on Friday.  Lots of chatting and a bit of stitching and a look round a couple of crafting shops. I was very jealous as she had started stitching the Hands on Design piece from the last Just Cross Stitch mag. I want to do that sometime! I wish there were more evenings in a week lol!

Oooh I almost forgot! Jess was saying she really wanted a poncho for winter so I said I'd knit her one if we could find a pattern she liked. She eventually found one so I asked my friend Gill if she could order it for me along with the yarn. It arrived last week, I started it at the weekend and here is where I'm at after my crafting morning this morning with Gill.

It's knitted in 2 strips then sewn together. The yarn is Sirdar Softspun Chunky and it is beautiful. It has a lovely sheen to it.

Before I forget there wasn't much interest for the Just Nan chart I was giving away but the winner is Christine. Christine I'll get it in the post ASAP.

Thank you to all those who congratulated Abi on finding a job. She did 6 hours last week and this week has done 12 as one of the girls is on holiday.  She's waiting to hear her shifts for next week. She is loving it. I have seen a change in her since she started. She smiles much more and seems so much happier. Not having a job had got her down. Hopefully Jess will find something soon as well. There seemed to be a few advertised all at once and now nothing! 

That's all from me for now.  Thank you for visiting and for all your lovely comments. I must get around to visiting you all very soon.

Take care everyone.

With much love.

Sally xxxx

August Stitch From Stash and A Finish

Here we are with just over a week left in August.  The year seems to be flying which is quite scary!

So just 4 more months to go on Stitch From Stash although I would like to carry it on next year and just buy fabric and threads when I need them. Even though I've felt a bit of a failure when I've bought charts I haven't bought anywhere near what I have other years and only once did I dib into my carry over budget. So this month we had a £15 bonus because of St Charles market which we were allowed to spend before the actual budget. I did spend at the beginning of the month on Hands on Designs At The Beach. I'd asked Karla at Patchwork Rabbit if she could get me it about 6 weeks beforehand so I spent £6.80 on that ( when I get around to it I'm stitching it is for a gift ) then one of my stitching friends on Facebook was selling off some of her stash so I bought Blue Ribbon Designs Sampling in the Square for £5. I also had to buy a skein of white DMC at a cost of 80 p. So I spent £12.40 of my £15 bonus meaning I have my full £15 budget to carry over. So that's a total of £57.90 to carry over :). I have been tempted to  buy more as there are sales going on here and there BUT I now have something spurring me on to be good. I have been bursting since my DH suggested it and I can't keep it in any longer! My DH suggested we go to the knitting and stitching show in Harrogate and stay over a few days so he's booked a guest house and all I need now are show tickets and a list lol! I would not have gone had he not suggested us going as I am terrible and think of the cost etc. He's told me I had better buy something! I know it's a while away yet but I have never been before to that one so I hope I can find something to buy! So I will either use my carry over or make that my free month! It will depend on what I spend.

Right better get onto what I've been stitching before you get sick of my rabbiting on! I've had a finish since my last post although that shouldn't be a surprise as I was close to it last post.

Carriage House Samplings 1823 Emma Elizabeth Blackwood Sampler ( from JCS mag June 2005 )

40 count cream Gander linen

DMC

I have loved stitching this and it looks pretty finished. Not sure how I'll finish it yet. I need some inspiration! Tonight I'll be starting the Alphabet Sampler chart to go with it.

I've had a few new starts since my last post which is good as getting through my stash a little lol! I started this one last week and it is stitching up beautifully. It is Just Nan Marching Orders which I'm stitching on a 28 count Silkweaver Solo using DMC and the Soie D' Alger Lady in Red silk that came with the chart.

I started CCN Snowy Friends from the Frosty Forest series. I just hope I've got this right as I should really  have started with the border but I had run out of white and didn't have any in my stash! How typical is that! I have a wee story to tell about this piece as I had a lady ask me if I did commissions and how much would I sell this for when it was finished! Needless to say I had no idea and it's not for sale anyway! 

Barb and I made a little progress on Day 11 of the 12 Days of Christmas. I think we might have all these finished in September then we're planning on starting the Tra La La sheep chart.

I think Needleworker might just get finished this week. I got a good bit stitched on this on Wednesday as I went to see my friend Gill for the day at her caravan so we spent the day chatting and stitching and that is what I stitched on. It was lovely to get away for the day and just chill and the beauty of it was it just a 10 minute bus ride away but I could have been hundreds of miles away! Anyway I just have the red bits to stitch then the top and bottom border but because of the mistake I made I think the borders will just be a straight row of stitches.

Garden Bliss is coming along really well and I have to say that I am loving stitching it and I think the fabric I have chosen is perfect for it.

Finally a little bit of progress on June's Honeysuckle.

The other week when I had finished Wintry Mix I asked dear June if she would like the chart as she had said that she really liked it. So I popped it in the post to her. Look what she sent me! Isn't that snowman chart so cute? June said she had stitched this and thought I would like to stitch it and she is most definitely right! She also sent me a sweet sheep, some thread and some lovely ribbon as well as a beautiful postcard of her garden and a thank you card. Thank you so much June. I have the perfect fabric for the snowman so he's on my to do list :)

I have seriously been thinking about changing my rotation and stitching on less each week but then I think about the variety I have and I don't get bored quite so easily. However I then think I'd get things finished quicker lol but then I'd have more to make up and end up frustrated because of that! Finishing is not my strong point and I'm always on the look out for different ways. At least when I go to Harrogate I'll be able to see finishing fabrics, trims etc and get some bits to finish stuff in my pile off! I'm planning on staying away from buying anymore "big" designs and sticking with smaller ones but any I have in my stash will get stitched. Well maybe not all the HAEDs I have! I'd need to live until I'm about 300 to get those done and have a mansion to hang them all in! Lol! I'm going to have to pick out the ones I really, really want to stitch which will be difficult!

I'm getting excited for the new series of Doctor Who to start tonight. Can't wait to see what Peter Capaldi is like as the new doctor .

That's all from me for this post. I'll be at Gill's caravan for a day again next week with my knitting this time then on Wednesday I'm excited to be seeing my surrogate sis Lisa as she's coming for the day :).

Until next time take care everyone.

With much love

Sally xx

July Stitch From Stash & Another Finish!

It has soon come around to my Stitch From Stash report. I can't believe that we are a week away from August.  Also ow on earth did that happen?

This month does seem to have been rather productive in the finishing department and I have also started some older stuff from my stash :).

So my big finish for July is this beauty.

Brightneedle Lo How A Rose ( from the Better Homes and Gardens Christmas book )

32 count Crafty Kitten Fall Foliage ( lighter dye that Dawn did for me )

DMC

Started 8th March 2014

Finished 20th July 2014.

The book is now on the way to Barb :) Thank you Lois once again for sending me it.

I have made a little progress on Country Cottage Needleworks Frosty Forest Snowman's Cottage.

Day 9 of the 12 Days of Christmas didn't quite get finished so Barb and I will, hopefully, finish it this Friday.

Almost finished JBW Designs Our Family.

I made a start on June's Honeysuckle.

New start in the parlour over at Needlecraft Haven was Little House Needleworks Needleworker. I messed up and had to frog twice!

Another new start in place of Warm Winter Woolens is Just Nan Wintry Mix. I've had this in my stash for God knows how long!

Do you remember this finish I had last year? Finally all finished up properly!

I'm debating what to start in place of Lo. It may be a Carriage House Samplings from a JCS magazine that Suzanne passed on to me a while ago then I bet it passed on as I promised it to Faye. I've sorted threads and fabric.

So before I announce the winner of the Jane Greenoff chart I'd better fess up to my little bit of spending for July. Last year some of you may remember that my sister and I had a poem read out at our Dad's funeral and I was after a chart of one of the verses which was his favourite. My sister remembered him writing it in her autograph book and he'd bought me a bird bath with the verse inscribed on it. Well at the time I couldn't find anything that I liked so, just on the off chance, I emailed Diane of Silver Creek Samplers to see if she would consider charting it. I had a lovely reply from her then left it at that. A few weeks ago I noticed that she had some new releases and there it was! The verse I had asked her about so beautifully charted. It is called Garden Bliss. Thank you so much Diane for a beautiful design. I will admit to having tears in my eyes when I saw it. I entered a contest she had running to win our choice of her new releases but decided that I would buy it when the next Frosty Forest auto came out which it just has so I'm hoping I won't have too long to wait for it arriving. So I spent about £5 on that lovely chart. My Frosty Forest doesn't count as it's an auto. That leaves me with £10 from the July budget so I have £42.90 to carry over :).

So onto the winner of the chart I was giving away. Just 4 people entered, Gracie, Bianca, Dani and Cucki, and the randomiser chose Cucki :). Cucki I think I have your address so I'll get it in the post to you as soon as I can.

I was very happy to receive a message from Dani to say that I'd won one of the travelling patterns, LHN Summer Garden, so watch out for that one when I receive it and get it stitched :). Thank you Dani :).

Finally thank you to everyone who posted congratulations for Jess on her graduation. Let's hope it isn't too long before she can find a job. Poor Abi has been looking a year and still not got one. She's applied for several but not even been offered an interview.

So that's it from me for today. I should be finishing a gift so better get this post published and get my sewing machine out!

Take care everyone and  try and stay cool in the  rather warm weather we're having. It has been too hot for me I'm afraid!

With much love

Sally xxxx

 

June Stitch From Stash

It's that time of the month again when all us stitch from stashers send in our reports! It hardly seems like 5 minutes since I was doing my May report. I really don't know where the year is going and cannot believe it is July next week! 

Since my last report saying I have to be good I have been bad. *hangs head in shame and steps into the naughty corner*. Having said that I have not gone over the £15 budget which means I haven't gone into the $50 ( around £30 ) bonus which Mel allowed us for the final two weeks of June.So I spent the grand total of £10 from my £15 budget leaving me with £5 to add to my accumulated budget of £27.90 meaning I have £32.90 leftover. I did actually spend more, as I bought two sets of charts and threads, but the other one was a gift for Barb it does not count :)

I must admit that I still feel like I've failed a little as the idea for me was not to buy charts until December but I've not been feeling too happy or healthy of late so the treat I had this month and last month were a wee pick me up. I really do need to behave for a few months now and try harder to get more stitched from my stash!

So this is what is what I bought along with the two Atalie threads for it.

I fell in love with it after seeing it stitched up on a blog so off I went to Des Filles et Une Aiguille to see if they had it. I ordered on Thursday and it arrived on Monday. 

Stitching wise I have started two things from my stash one of which I can't show as it is for a gift. So this is one start.

Nothing to see really. No snowman and no cottage! It is Country Cottage Needleworks Frosty Forest Snowman's Cottage.

So the rest of my pics are WIPs. I really need to get my stitch on as I'm itching to get at least two of these finished so I can start some news things! 

This is one I really want to get finished. I'm loving how this is looking and now I've got going with it again it's growing quite quickly.

Tonight I'll be stitching on The Needlework Shop, another one I would like to get finished, and it now has a roof so maybe I can open soon!

Shirlee and I stitching on Warm Winter Woolens. I don't know how my poor sheep is staying upright as she only has one leg at the moment bless her. She looks very proud of her jumper though :)

Finally some progress on May's Lily of the Valley. I am loving each and every one of these pretty designs.

Last week I saw an ENT specialist at our local hospital and for the first time in a long while I came out feeling a little more positive. I have had feelings of being off balance getting gradually worse for a long time plus the odd bout of vertigo. To cut a long story short he thinks it's damage in my inner ear from ear infections so I am going to be doing vestibular rehabilitation with a physio. I don't know when I will get seen but in the meantime I have a few exercises to do to get me started. Then today I have been back to my GP about gynae stuff after 6 weeks trying a form of HRT and, in all honesty, I feel a little like I'm fighting a losing battle getting sorted. Granted she's sending me for a scan to see if that shows anything but she also wants me to take some medication for nerve pain even though I kept telling her I wasn't in pain. I haven't got the medication yet as I'm in two minds what to do. I don't want to take something that's going to make me feel ill as the vertigo and feeling off balance can that do enough! Then if the scan doesn't show anything she's sending me back to gynae but after the attitude of the consultant I saw back at the end of April I don't want to go. I think that in the end I'll have to live with it and hope there's nothing nasty hiding somewhere! *sigh*

No other photos today as I haven't sorted through any but do you remember the male Red Crested Pochard from a few weeks ago? Well we've finally spotted the female so I have a photo of her.

That's all for now. Thank you everyone for keeping visiting me and for your wonderful comments. I'm still stitching ( obviously ) and will continue to do so. I don't know what I'd do if I didn't stitch! I love the stitching community as everyone is so friendly and helpful ( apart from the copyright infringers of course!) and I'd be lost without you all.

Until next time.

Take care everyone.

With much love

Sally xxxx