August?!

Seriously how did it get to be August?! The weeks are just flying by and it's been a while since I blogged. I have to admit that I find it a bit of a chore but I want to try and keep on so that I have a record of my stitching. That was my plan when I said I'd post finishes only and it would seem I can't even do that lol!

Anyway I have been stitching and have had some finishes and I even have some FFOs too. Not many but I have some anyway!

The first finish I have to show is also an FFO! No I can't believe it either! 

With Thy Needle and Thread Snow Birds

32 count pearl grey linen

DMC, GAST, WDW & CC

Started 28th May 2019

Finished 23rd June 2019.

I joined in the Summer SAL on the Sheep Loving Stitchers group on Facebook. We had 4 designs to choose from and I chose this one.

Plum Street Samplers Woolemina

35 count light mocha linen

DMC & Classic Colorworks

Started 8th June 2019

Finished 7th July 2019.

Absolutely loved stitching this one!

Christmas in July stitching started on Instagram and I managed a finish!

Country Cottage Needleworks Merry Christmas

32 count mushroom dot murano

Classic Colorworks & DMC

Started 2nd July 2019

Finished 30th July 2019

Started and finished this next one in a day! 

Shepherd's Bush Joy to Ewe

18 count natural fabric

DMC

Started and finished 30th June 2019.

I really don't like stitching over 2 on 18 count!

Another Christmas stitch started and finished in a day is my July ornament.

Brightneedle To Thee Hope

28 count fabric

DMC

Started and finished 7th July 2019

Final finish is this beauty. Loved every single stitch!

Little House Needleworks Honeybee Sampling

Unknown fabric

DMC & Classic Colorworks

Started 14th July 2019

Finished 27th July 2019.

Of course I can't post without showing a WIP of A Saviour's Praise.

I ended the first half of Stitch from Stash with a very good + figure of over £300 so I was very pleased with ,myself. I'd sold lots of stash as I'd finished with it and also sold threads that I knew I wouldn't use as well having lots of finishes. So part B has started and we are allowed to use any balance leftover and not declare any purchases ( it gets used as a gift). So I have been buying some stuff which isn't good I know. I have still declared some of it though and no I haven't spent £300 or anywhere near that! Lol! I've been wanting some OOP Blackbird Designs books and managed to buy a couple ( Tokens of Friendship and With Needle & Thread) at a very reasonable price ( not extortionate Ebay or even some of the selling pages on Facebook prices!). My dearest friend Barb then gifted me another one ( Peppermint and Holly)  from her stash which made me want to cry but in a good way! I have also bought a couple of sheep charts from the USA that I couldn't get over here ( well I did end up with two of one as a shop over here had one so Barb bought that off me so look out for a SAL of Lulu's Flock next year). The other one was Sheepish Designs Betsy which I have wanted for a long time. Had to get that from The Silver Needle as they were the only ones with stock left. I read somewhere that a distributor had found some stock of it which was why it was available again. I am also trying to collect the Blackbird Designs Magical Mystery Tour charts and so far have ordered Blackbird and Strawberry Fields Forever. BBD have reprinted Eleanor Rigby and The Long and Winding Road which I am waiting to come into stock over here as well as Yellow Submarine which is OOS at the places I buy from. I'm hoping the BBD ladies will decide to reprint Octopus's Garden too. I think I need to hide myself away! At least I'm stitching my stash and getting that down more than I'm adding to it!

Well that's all from me now. I know my blog is pretty boring and I apologise for that and also for the fact that I don't visit your blogs. Maybe one day I'll come back to it properly.

Until next time.

With much love,

Sally xxx

It's A Wrap!

Hello fellow bloggers and stitchers! It has been a few weeks since I was here last but I have not been slacking on the stitching front. I have even ( shush!) done a bit of finishing. Very simple finishing but it's still finishing. There are still lots in the pile to go at though.

So before I start showing my finishes etc I will apologise for my photos! I forgot to change my settings from when we'd been out taking photos at a nature reserve! 

My big finish news and the wrap in the title is this one.

With Thy Needle and Thread O Tannenbaum

36 count vintage country mocha linen

Classic Colorworks, GAST & WDW.

Started 1st February 2019

Finished 21st June 2019.

I am hoping my DH will make me a box tray thing to display it in as for me to get one from the States will probably cost an arm and a leg in shipping. I have been asking him ever since I bought the chart so I'm not holding out much hope really lol!

For my June ornament I chose another Brightneedle one.

Brightneedle To Thee A Very Merry 

28 count fabric

DMC threads

Started 2nd June 2019

Finished 13th June 2019

I have already decided to do another for my July ornament!

I saw that Lainey was stitching Shepherd's Bush I'm Dreaming so, as I had it in my stash, I had to join her! Such a cute stitch.

Shepherd's Bush I'm Dreaming

32 count vintage country mocha linen

DMC & WDW

Started 21st May 2019

Finished 4th June 2019

Now that I have finished O Tannenbaum and Barb has finished Kringle and Woolard we are having a new sheep start and that will be Plum Street Samplers Wool and Flax Company. Lainey is joining us.

Next month Sue and I are starting Little Dove Designs Christmas Wishes which I am very much looking forward to. I'm also joining in a Christmas/ Winter SAL on the LHN/CCN Facebook group. I will be stitching CCN Merry Christmas because I have it in my stash and it is kitted up. 

I have been making a little progress on A Saviour's Praise. I decided to choose my own colours for the alphabet but ended up having a frog the A as it didn't show up. I am now happier with it. Just deciding as I go along! 

Finally the bit of finishing I have been doing. I have a couple ready to sew up and another sewn up but have run out of white pom pom trim. I need a trip to Hobbycraft! 

That is all for now. See you in another week or so!

With much love Sally xxxx

Three Finishes & A Little Stash Enhancement!

Hello fellow stitchers! As usual I have been busy stitching away and have manged 3 finishes since my last post. It would have been 4 but guess who can't count and had to take out nearly all the vine border and start restitching it?! It was one mistake that I couldn't leave!

My first finish was my ornament for April. A few friends joined me in stitching an ornament a month from the JCS ornament magazines going on for as long as we want. I have 18 mags I think so for me it'll be 18 months! 

Knotted Tree Needleart O Holy Night ( 2013 issue )

32 count Permin Amber linen

DMC

Started 7th April 2019

Finished 21st April 2019.

I'll be starting my May ornament tonight which will be one by Brightneedle.

Next finish was this one. I took part in a SAL on the Sheep Loving Stitchers group on Facebook. We have a choice of several designs to stitch on and I had this one in my stash!

With Thy Needle and Thread Have Ye Any Wool

40 count pearl grey linen

DMC. WDW, GAST & CC

Started 30th March 2019

Finished 28th April 2019.

Our next SAL starts sometime in June and I have chosen Plum Street Samplers Woolemina which I have in my stash.

My final finish is one I've had in my stash for a few years.

Abby Rose Designs Angels Watching Over Me

20 count evenweave

DMC, WDW & GAST

Started 8th April 2019

Finished 1st May 2019

Lainey kindly sent me some 20 count evenweave to try and this was stitched on a piece. It was lovely to stitch on. 

So my stitching plans for the next few weeks are to finish Coeur de Cygne without having to frog anymore, try and finish O Tannenbaum and have a few starts.

I have had a little stash enhancement this last week. I have to admit that when I first saw this design by Shakespeare's Peddler  I didn't take to it but a SAL started on Instagram and as people showed their WIPs I fell in love with it. Of course it seems to have been very popular and the two places I found that stocked it in the UK were out of stock so I had to wait as patiently as I could for it to come back into stock. 

I decided to get the called for WDW and will be using DMC instead of Anchor. I bought some 25 count vintage country mocha evenweave to stitch it on and I'm hoping it'll look OK. I was going to make a start this afternoon but my fabric needs pressing first so I'll probably wait until tomorrow evening. I am waiting for one more Nashville release to come back into stock and a couple of newer ones to arrive in the UK but I am pleased to say that stash sales from threads I hadn't used and charts that I'd finished with will pay for them. It's been nice having the money there to buy the few bits I've had.

Actually stitching from my stash is going well and I have got my stash pile down a bit and haven't added the same amount as I've stitched! I can do this!!

That's all my news for now. The weather seems to be crazy and I see some places are still getting snow. It has come rather chilly here after some silly high temperatures. 

Until next time.

With much love,

Sally xxx

Lots to Show.

Hello everyone out there in blog land! It has been 6 weeks since I last blogged and I will admit that I really don't know where to start! I have so much to show you so be prepared for a picture heavy post although I may end up forgetting some bits! I really need to blog more regularly. 

First of all you may remember me stitching Garden Bliss by Silver Creek Samplers almost 2 years ago. It has been languishing in my finishing pile waiting for me to to get my head around personalising it for my late Dad. Well I finally did it and had it framed. It's been hanging on my living room wall for a few weeks now.

Barb, Chris and I have been getting on with our ornament SAL. I managed to get another one made up, finished stitching June's and July's and started one for August.

I needed to order the eyes for my August one and the only place I could find them online in the UK was Sew and So. I couldn't just order those so I also ordered a DMC I had run out of, CCN's Merry Christmas My Deer, which is the one Chris and I will be stitching for our December SAL, and one of the CCN Gingerbread Village charts as Chris and I are planning to do a SAL of it next year and sharing the cost of the charts. I have been very good this year when it comes to stash buying and I have to say I am very proud of myself. Compared to other years I've bought very little and long may it continue!

I finished off With Thy Needle and Thread Sweet Violet as a simple pillow. I do love how it turned out even though it is a simple finish. 

I passed the chart onto Lainey and look what she sent me as a thank you.

Isn't it just so cute! Thank you so much Lainey.

Of course Sweet Violet was stitched with Barb for our sheep SAL and since then I've stitched 2 other sheepy designs and started a 3rd.

Barb suggested that we stitch on one thing for a week each month and I thought it was a brilliant idea. This week is the week and I decided to stitch on my HAED Mini Jolly Old Fellow. I feel very slow on my HAEDs compared to some of the people who stitch them but I do stitch on other things as well. 

I've made some good progress on my SK Dragons History too. I haven't stitched on it for a couple of weeks but I will get back to it! Those eyes are so cute!

OK what else have I been stitching? Hmmmmm. Oh yes! LHN Soft and Sweet! I finished that one then made a measly start on Season's Greetings. I guess it's a start though! I've had this in my stash for nearly 2 years so it was time I started it.

Another finish was the bonus sampler from the Lizzie Kate The Little Mystery. I wasn't keen on the colours as I was stitching it but now it's finished all the colours have come together nicely. I have the 3 charts and embellishment pack for sale if anyone is interested :)

I think I had finished the stitching on LHN Hands to Work last time I blogged and now I have it made up!

I think I just have 2 things left to show you. ( breath a sigh of relief! I'm so sorry but it has been 6 weeks!). I've been picking up Tilton Crafts Always ( Alan Rickman tribute ) a little bit and am still stitching black. Lol! Typing of Tilton Crafts if you've never seen Shelley's lovely charting and love stitching BAPs then please head on over to Tilton Crafts and have a look. If you're on Facebook search for her page as there is a coupon code to use for 25% off charts and there's only a few days left :)

Final stitching to show is the bonus block on my Anniversaries of the Heart piece. I haven't done as much as I would have liked but again this one hasn't been stitched on much these last few weeks.

We had been talking about having our bathroom done last year but just never got around to it. We'd asked one firm to give us a price a few weeks ago but they never got back to us ( one of my pet hates!) so we asked my DH's cousin ( we'd have asked him in the first place but we didn't know he did them ). He said he could do it before he went on holiday otherwise it would be 3 months after that meaning it would be nearly Christmas. Getting it done before he went on holiday meant a mad rush to try and get a bathroom suite and all the bits needed for the job and lots of stressful moments! Getting it done wasn't straightforward as he found problems that had be fixed but, having said that, it was a good job really otherwise it would have led to more problems and more than likely lots of damage! It's not quite finished yet but it is so good to have a new bathroom. We bought this house in 1988 and the suite was in when we bought it. Next job will be the dining room! 

Last week my DH and Abi were on holiday from work but we didn't do much. We had a couple of trips out so the girls could do a bit of shopping and I ended up adding 5 books to my collection! Oh dear I really must stop it for the rest of the year but Abi and I are still waiting for CL Coffey to do a signing in Hull for her new book and we keep hoping it'll be soon! I have also been looking for a Snape Pop Vinyl figure and have looked in every shop that sells them whenever we have been out. We walked into Waterstones in York and there he was! So I had to buy him! 

I think I now need to go hide away from books and get on with reading some of the ones I already have! I'm currently reading Sourcery by Terry Pratchett but have found it hard to get into. I am finally enjoying it, put my stitching away last night and had just starting reading the next paragraph when the power went off!

Well I had better stop waffling, get all these photos uploaded and publish this. I do hope you won't all have left me and will still visit.

Until next time.

With much love.

Sally xxx

June?!

Oh my goodness I cannot believe this weather we are having on the east coast of England! It is more like Autumn! A few weeks ago I turned our heating off but I'm seriously thinking of putting it back on again! I also can't believe it's June already!

Before I show my stitching I want to sincerely thank all of you who have stuck by me and continued to visit and leave comments even though I haven't been visiting and commenting on your blogs. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it and truly value you all. I know I am losing visitors because I'm not commenting.

So what I have been up to. Wella fair bit of stitching ( still have to get down to some finishing ), a bit of reading, some knitting and I hopped on a bus last Thursday and visited Chris for the day:).

My two HAED WIPs are going well at the moment. I must say that I am enjoying stitching them more than anything else at present how long that will last I really don't know! I have finished pages 1 and 4 and started page 2 on Mini Jolly Old Fellow and finished pages 1 and 2 on SK Dragons History. Love the dragon just peeping!

I am desperately trying to get on with my BBD AotH but you know when you really don't want to stitch on something? Yep that's how I feel! However I am determined to get on and get this done over the next couple of months.  I have stitched more on this since I took the photo so the border is almost done.

I have almost finished the 6th and final Shepherd's Bush Fold piece but I couldn't get a good photo of it. Hopefully by the time I blog again it will be all done and put together.

My dear friend Barb is not well at the moment so please keep her in your thoughts. I have still been stitching on our SALs and this is my May ornament.

Lizzie Kate Up on the Rooftops

Unknown fabric

DMC.

At long last I have finished our other SAL.

With Thy Needle and Thread Sweet Violet

40 count sand linen

GAST & DMC.

Finally my other WIP is Little House Needleworks Hands to Work which I am rather enjoying stitching.

I will leave you with a few photos with my new camera.  I loved my other one but had been struggling with it. I thought it was me but my DH tried it and he had the same problem. He suggested that I maybe get one like his. I looked into trading mine in and ended up online. I got a quote,  they picked my camera etc up, inspected it then gave me more than they had quoted so my new camera ended up costing me just a few pounds more. So I now have to learn how to use it!

Until next time.

With much love.

Sally xxxx