Catching Up! ( Picture Heavy)

Hello! I'm hoping you'll still be with me seen as I've disappeared again. I decided I'm going to catch up today and then, hopefully, blog more regularly. I think what has been putting me off has been I'm so far behind showing my finishes so this post is going to be picture heavy I'm afraid with those and my WIPs!

So let's get started with my WIPs. As you know I am doing a few SALs so first of all this is my sheep SAL with Barb. It is Plum Street Samplers Kringle and Woolard which I'm stitching on 40 count vintage country mocha. 

Another SAL is a Lizzie Kate with Barb and Sue. I have just finished Snow Belles ( see photo further down post!) so I have just started Home is the Nicest Word There Is. I am going to have to frog the E in The and the word Nicest as it's all too high up. 

Barb, Sue and I are also stitching on LHN Farmhouse Christmas still but we are on the last one now. I have enjoyed stitching these but I think I am ready for something different. 

Sue and I are stitching Silver Creek Samplers My Christmas List. I am loving stitching this and hoping to finish it for Christmas and on the wall. Fingers crossed!

I am still stitching on the Dessine Par Elke Christmas SAL but I forgot to take a photo! I can't show my last WIP as it for an ornament exchange so no peeking at that one until it is finished and received.

As you all know we commemorated 100 years since the end of WW1 on Sunday. I made a wreath to put in my window but I don't know what I did with my photo so I'll show that next time! However I do have to show a beautiful glass plaque that was a gift from my dearest friend Barb made by her DH Martin. It brought tears to my eyes when I saw it and I will treasure it always. It is in memory of my paternal grandad's cousin who DOW at the Battle of Arras in May 1917. 

Here are a few photos from our town to commemorate 100 years. 

On Instagram there has been a stitchy wish list tag going round for a while and I popped my wish list up. A few weeks ago I received a lovely message from Jen @spooneriestitcher saying she could grant one of my wishes and it arrived recently. Not only did she send me the chart she also sent some DMC to stitch it with. This is going to be my New Year's Day start! Thank you Jen :)

So onto my finishes now and I actually think I will just let the photos do the talking! 

Thank you for reading and looking at my photos. I know there are a lot but now I am caught up!

Until next time. With much love.

Sally xxxx

March

Happy March! These weeks are flying by so quickly! Last week March came in like a lion with "the beast from the east". To be honest it was a bit of a let down where I live. We didn't get the amount of snow that was forecast but we did get the high winds which gave us a wind chill of -10. This week it is more like Spring although yesterday we did get snow but it melted very quickly. 

So since I was here last I've been getting a fair amount of stitching done. I really need to get myself motivated to do some finishing but I need to go through what I have to finish then go through fabric and trims etc. 

The first piece I have to show was finished last time I blogged but I couldn't show it as it was on the way to my dear friend and fellow stitcher Barb for her 70th birthday.

Silver Creek Samplers Sweet Friendship

28 count cream cashel linen

DMC

Started 19th October 2017

Finished 31st January 2018

Birthday gift for Barb.

I covered a paper mache box with fabric and mounted my stitched piece onto the top. Barb was delighted with it :). Inside the box I popped a sweet little glass bird that I spotted in the local garden centre. 

I have had a few more finishes since my last post.

The Snowflower Diaries I Will Be There

40 count sand linen

GAST

Started 8th February 2018

Finished 27th February 2018

I stitched this one for the third, and final, time.

Lizzie Kate A Little Stitch

28 count Amber linen

DMC

Started 19th February 2018

Finished 28th February 2018.

Final finish is a snowy one!

Country Cottage Needleworks Snow Place Like Home 1

40 count vintage country mocha linen

DMC, CC & WDW

Started 14th January 2018

Finished 24th February 2018

Of course I had to start Snow Place 2 :)

Lesleyanne very kindly lent me all 3 parts of the Lizzie Kate A Little Mystery. I did have it and stitched a couple of the bonus designs ( gifted one of them) then sold the charts. I had forgotten about the piece I had stitched and gifted and came across the photo on my PC late last year and instantly regretted selling the charts! So I have made a start on the main design and got part 1 stitched and part 2 started. Thank you so much for lending me them Lesleyanne :)

My progress on LHN Little Red Barn is going slow but, hopefully, I might have a finish on Sunday. The next one in the series, Horsin' Around, arrived last week. 

Barb and I still doing our sheep SAL ( and our LK one as well as the Farmhouse Christmas with a lovely lady called Sue) and I am plodding away on The Pastoral. I might actually have a sheep soon!

Of course no post is complete without my HAED pieces. Lisa and I stitched on the 25th of last month on our stockings. It doesn't look much but at least it's progress!

We are also doing well on our 300 stitches a week SAL. Last week I got carried away and did more but this week I haven't done any yet BUT Lisa is visiting tomorrow so I'm going to do mine then. We are both so excited to have the opportunity to have a stitchy afternoon again :)

Finally I'm still plodding along on the dragon. I'm getting there slowly!

Oh I almost forgot about the Stichrovia Quotes to Live By WIP. I only stitch on this at craft group and if I have something I need to get more done on it doesn't get much love. So it's going slow but I have got a bit done on it in recent weeks.

After Lizzie Kate's announcement about her retirement I decided to add a couple of her charts to my stash. I know I'm doing stitch from stash but I knew I'd kick myself if I didn't get them so I bought Winter Smalls and Collect Moments. Then the other day I was thinking maybe I'd get a few more. The places I use seem to be sold out of a lot and taking a while to get more in but I managed to do a couple of orders and picked up most of what I wanted. There is another but it comes with threads so I'll just look out for it chart only on the Facebook selling sites. I did miss out on it when a friend was selling some stash! 

Thank you so much to all of you who left good wishes for Jess. It really means a lot. She is doing really well, has been to the hairdressers, doctors and out to Dungeons and Dragons which she plays with old school friends without having a panic attack. She is also back at work. Work have been so good and very understanding.

So that is all my news for now. Until next time take care everyone.

With much love,

Sally xxxxx

Ornament Finishing

Hello from a very warm England! Phew it has been way too hot for me but it's been so nice to see the sun. 

So I've been getting some finishing off done on the ornaments from my SAL with Barb and Chris. In the photo below are Lizzie Kate Up on the Rooftops, Country Cottage Needleworks Peace, The Snowflower Diaries Pure Love and Blue Ribbon Designs Snowmates. I'm really pleased with how these turned out. I still have Hands on Design Plenty to finish off then I'm up to date with my ornaments at least!  I still have lots of other pieces to finish to display! 

I have made a start on my ornament for June. Can you guess what it is? I'm sure you will be able to as I have stitched it before for Chris for our private yearly ornament exchange. Chris is catching up and has stitched her May ornament and started her June one this month. Barb is feeling much more like her old self and is back to stitching  on her ornament and on our sheep SAL too.

I have had a few other new starts . I seem to be on an LHN kick at the moment! Oh and sheep!!

This one is the Soft and Sweet thread pack. I'm not sure what the fabric is but it's a very pretty shade.

Then this one is Welcome Spring which is free with the purchase of the 3 Classic Colorworks threads. I am stitching this for the sheep SAL Barb and I are doing. As you can see another sheep and a very cute one at that!

I'm feeling very good about my stitching at the moment. I think I had got in a bit of a slump and wasn't keen on anything I was stitching except for my HAEDs but having a couple of new starts has certainly given me a boost. Plus I've gone through my stash and sold some charts that I regretted buying. I'm finding that behaving myself and not buying so much is helping too. Having said that I did pop an order in with Karla over at The Patchwork Rabbit for some threads for the final bonus  block on my AotH and I couldn't order just the threads could I so I ordered another part of Jardin Prive Histoire De Moutons! Just 2 more to buy now!

Typing of my AotH I finished Elizabeth Jane barring the personalisation ( this block is for my Dad. He wasn't born in December but this one has to be his ) and I made a start on the final bonus block. I can finally see the end and my determination to keep going with it until it is finished is paying off. I dread to think how much it'll cost me to get framed but it'll be worth it for such a special piece.

I am not too sure about this Lizzie Kate piece I am stitching.  It is the bonus sampler from the Littles Mystery and I'm just not sure I like the colours.  It's the DMC conversion. I may like it more once it's all finished. I didn't stitch on it on Thursday as I finally plucked up the courage to go on the local  photography group's walk.

Ooooh I almost forgot! I have finished Hands to Work!  I love this piece. It's so pretty.

Little House Needleworks Hands to Work

Unknown fabric.

DMC.

Last but  by no means least are my two HAED WIPs. These seem to be such slow going now as I've been trying to cross country across the pages like I did with the challenge on the Facebook group. There seems to be an awful lot more confetti on this page of Mini Jolly Old Fellow and I couldn't really tell that I'd made any progress. So last night ( progress from last night not shown ) I decided to go back to cross country over 10 rows and it seemed to go better until I found myself going back to across the full page lol!

That's all my news for now. Enjoy your stitching and I hope the frogs stay away!

Until next time.

With much love,

Sally xxxx