A Couple of Shepherd's Bush Finishes

More Shepherd's Bush I hear you say!! Yes more Shepherd's Bush. What's a girl to do when it's one of her favourite designers and a SAL with two dear friends on a Monday evening??! 

I was just a few stitches short on finishing Simple Joys last week so couldn't resist adding those few stitches before the weekend and getting it made up.

Shepherd's Bush Simple Joys

32 count vintage country mocha linen

DMC ( subbed best I could!)

Started 13th February 2012

Finished 24th February 2012

I backed with a plain calico type fabric and edged it with Nancy's hand dyed ric rac stitched on with beads which Barb had leftover from the kit. 

Another SB i couldn't resist starting during the week was this one. Another one off my stitch from stash list.

Shepherd's Bush Sophie's Pincushion

32 count ivory murano

DMC ( again subbed best I could)

Started 22nd February 2012

Finished 25th February 2012

Again backed in simple calico fabric and trimmed with Nancy's hand dyed chenille trim.

One that I finished stitching just before Valentine's Day but didn't get finished in time. The old calico backing again and Nancy's hand dyed chenille! 

I'm frantically trying to get some gifts stitched as well as get my ornament for the Christmas All Year Round SAL done but the ornament will have to wait I think. I did get some done at craft club this morning but there was much chattering and some muttering to myself as I had to frog a bit too! I did have a new start for SB SAL night last night with Barb and Colleen. I wonder what Barb started after her happy dance last week. This is what I started.

Any ideas???? No? It's The Journey. Again I've subbed with DMC best I can and so far I love it. After much deliberation I decided to stitch it on 32 count vintage country peach linen. It was either that or the mocha one. I love these vintage country linens and could do with a whole stash of them! 

Almost forgot after ages of wondering what to do with my iStitch Mystery stitch and weeks of getting it made up this is what it turned into. Not too pleased with it if I'm honest. I could have done a much better job of it. I need to stitch the pincushion to go inside at some point. 

Remember I said I'd bought myself a trunk type box to keep my ribbons, trims etc in. Well this is it. Some of my ribbons etc are in it but they are just dumped in it at the moment! I need to have a good tidy of them.

Finally Abi bought herself a new camera last week as the one she had didn't do enough of what she needed and as she's hoping to take up photography as a career and is doing it in 6th form we thought it was a good investment for her and so did school as she got a £100 bursery to put towards it. So DH, Abi and I went out a couple of times last week taking photos. Saturday afternoon as the sun was setting we went off to Lissett, a little village not far North from us, where I shot this.

I have a little point and shoot camera and never imagined I could get anything like this.  I am so chuffed with this photo. This is a memorial to the airmen who flew out of the airfield there and lsot their lives. All their names are on there. It really makes you stand and think. It was quite spooky when we drove up to it as it looks so real and as you're walking away you find yourself looking back thinking you're being followed. You can read about it here

Have you all been looking at the Nashville Market releases?? I've had a look and have fallen in love with the Little House Needleworks/ Shakespeare's Peddler pattern pack. Both patterns are gorgeous and the pack contains enough threads to stitch both designs and also the trim for the heart. I must admit my clicky finger has almost got the better of me especially as Anita's Little Stitches has it on sale. I did think that it could be a treat and something to stitch while I'm recovering from my surgery but I feel like I'm letting myself down again so I'm going to be a good girl and wait!

Well that's all for today. Thank you for all your good wishes and hugs for my upcoming surgery. I can't wait to get it over with now. My pre-op assessment is on the 24th April so hoping that goes OK!

Take care everyone. 

Much love

Sally

xxxx

iStitch Mystery SAL

Last night I finished off the iStitch Mystery SAL. It has been great fun stitching this SAL over the past few months and I just want to say a huge thank you to Carol for designing and organising it. Anyway here's my finish. I'm going to mount it in the top of my DMC box soon.

iStitch Mystery SAL

25 count lugana

Victorian Motto Thread

Started 13th August 2011

Finished 11th November 2011

Another little finish is this sweet freebie from Sharon at It's Daffycat. Thank you Sharon for this sweet freebie. If any of you haven't seen it yet pop on over to Sharon's blog where you can find her email to request a copy:) I loved stitching this up as it didn't take very long and it's a cute design. I'm thinking of frogging the footprints and stitching some snow then restitching the prints. What do you think? I never thought about stitching it on white fabby!

Daffycat Designs Snow Hop Freebie

32 count Permin Amber Linen

DMC

Started and Finished 10th November.

Last photo is from my Wednesday SAL with my surrogate sister Lisa. I ran out of B5200 for the snow so moved onto the rabbit! I can't wait to pick it up again as I just love stitching these fun little snowmen.

So what else have I been stitching. Well I have almost finished a little gift for someone and tonight I'm hoping to finish the stitching on LHN Travelling Stitcher Needle Case. Only got the border to do. I've been sorted things that I would really like to get stitched before Christmas ( some LHN ornaments, CCN Snowflake Serenade, amongst others!)  plus Chris and I are doing our usual Christmas ornament exchange which I really look forward to. Not long now to our December SAL either.

Best dash and get on with the needle case :) but before I go one very important message to us all. 

Lots of love and hugs

Sally

xxxx

A Birthday Gift and the Winner of the Travelling Pattern:)

Yesterday was my friend Fiona's ( no blog) birthday. We have known each other online for many years ( in fact I'm not entirely sure just how many!) and I wanted to stitch a little something for her. I decided on this little Lizzie*Kate freebie and finished it as a pinkeep type finish. I am very happy to say that Fi likes it :)

Lizzie*Kate Friendship Grows

Unknown fabric

DMC

Started & Finished 2nd October 2011

Birthday Gift for Fi

Now onto the next member of the stitcherhood:) It was an incredibly difficult choice but the travelling pattern will be on it's way to Lesleyanne:) Congratulations and welcome to the stitcherhood! I will get the chart out to you hopefully tomorrow. Don't forget to follow the travelling pattern to Lesleyanne's blog for your chance to become part of it next time:) 

I finally got part 5 of the iStitch Mystery SAL stitched up just in time for part 6 coming out!

Friday evening I made a small start on the bonus chart on my BBD AotH piece and I continued with it last night. Unfortunately I realised that when I'd left the gap for the bonus chart I'd miscounted and hadn't left the gap I should have :( Thankfully it will still fit in but instead of being a three stitch gap at both sides there will be three at one and two at the other. I am so cross with myself especially as I'd stitched a line across the top! Obviously I cannot count:(

That's all from me for now. Not sure what I'm stitching on tonight. Either an SB ornament or Tra La La Duo Noel:) I need to catch on blogs too but think I will do that tomorrow now. It's been one of those weekends as my Dad has been without  his phone due to a fault since Friday afternoon and no working phone line has meant no working Lifeline so we've both been very uneasy. After numerous phone calls to the phone company and a final angry one at 6.30 pm yesterday evening he finally got a working phone line at about 10 pm last night night BUT  the phone kept ringing through the night keeping him awake so yet another call to them this morning! Keeping my fingers firmly crossed that it's all fixed now and he'll have no more problems.  Enjoy the rest of your Sunday.

Take care everyone.

Love & hugs

Sally

xxx

I Seem To Be On A Roll.......

With finishes this week. They are mostly what I've been stitching on for a bit except for one which I started and finished on Monday evening! I can't show two of them as one is Tricia's prize for naming Cecil and the other is a birthday gift, both of which need sewing up so my sewing machine will, hopefully, be coming out to play later today.

Anyway I'll start with my progress on BBD AotH Pumpkin Farm. I couldn't finish this as I ran out of one of the threads. I should have it finished this weekend all being well. I am personalising it for my DH even though he wasn't born in October.

Sunday afternoon I settled down to stitch on Carol R's iStitch mystery. It stitched up really quick and I love how it's looking. I think this will be perfect for my DMC box.

Sunday evening I wanted to get the BBD Peacock Pin Keep Needlecase finished but it wasn't to be. However my Monday evening Shepherd's Bush stitching went very well so I put the last few stitches into it then. I've dyed some white fabric this morning to use as backing for the pin keep and the needlecase and will have a go at finishing it all soon.

Blackbird Designs Peacock Pin Keep

28 count tea dyed fabric

DMC

Started 24th July 2011

Finished 18th September 2011

I decided that I couldn't stand to take SB Wisemen Came with me to craft club again on Tuesday so before I had my new SB start on Monday I finished it. I have a few of these to get made up now so I think I'd better go through my finishing fabrics and see what I can find!

Shepherd's Bush Wisemen Came

Unknown fabric

DMC

Started 30th August 2011

Finished 19th September 2011

My new start for the SB SAL with Barb and Colleen was Rosy Egg. Lisa stitched this a while ago and kindly sent me the chart and leftover silks and there was enough for me to stitch it. I couldn't believe how quickly this stitched up and how tiny it is! It is so cute! I used a scrap of Jayne's Attic COM fabric and can't remember the colour but I think it's perfect for this piece. I need to add a button to this and I think I might have a purple heart button that would be perfect for it. I have no idea how I'm going to finish it though! Any suggestions? I'll have to decide on what to start next Monday! Lol!

Shepherd's Bush Rosy Egg

Jayne's Attic COM Fabric ( unknown)

Leftover silks from kit

Started and Finished 19th September 2011

I went to craft club yesterday thinking I had all the threads I needed to finish Tricia's prize and also took something else with me in case I finished it. After I'd been stitching a while I realised I was one thread short so just stitched what I could. I then asked the other lady who cross stitches if she happened to have any DMC 316 on her. Would you believe it she had it! So I "borrowed" a couple of strands and was able to finish that. There were 20 minutes left by then so I started Tra La La Duo Noel:)

Last night I stitched a little bit on Drawn Thread The Sanctuary. I finished the trees at the top and started the bit down the left hand side. I am itching to get this finished especially as I now have The Primitive Hare Christmas Carol Sock chart which arrived yesterday:)

I'm really looking forward to my LHN Travelling Stitcher SAL with Lisa tonight:) Does anyone know of a tutorial or have any tips for making a pouch similar to the one used? 

I also had another chart in the post yesterday. Last week I won Mary Ann's giveaway for Little House Needleworks Summer Splendor which she has recently stitched. She posted it in Friday so it arrived very quickly! I fell in love with this chart from the minute I saw it so was delighted to have won it. I think this will be my next small new start:) Thank you so much Mary Ann and her DH who picked my name:)

I was hoping my JJ's order might be here today as both mine and Lisa's were shipped on Friday and she got hers yesterday. So I'll hope for tomorrow lol! 

That's all my stitching for news so I shall pop off and catch up on your blogs. Thank you for all your good wishes for Jess. She's had her blood done today and the results should be back in a couple of days. Fingers crossed it's clear. 

Hope everyone is having a good week. Take care.

Love & hugs

Sally

xxxx

iStitch Mystery SAL Part 3:)

Part 3 of CarolR's mystery SAL arrived in my inbox on Saturday so I immediately printed it out ready to get started on Sunday morning. Each part has been quick to stitch but this one was even quicker and is my favourite part so far because it's a bird:) I can't wait to see what's next! I'm waiting until I've stitched the whole thing before I decide what I'm going to do with it. I havea box which I bought with DMC threads in it with some of the money I was given for my birthday last December and it might fit in the top of that:)

Friday and Saturday I stitched lots on BBD AotH Pumpkin Farm. I am loving this block because of the autumnal colours and am hoping that I might be close to finishing it next week. I think this is now my favourite block so far and a refreshing change from Happy Birthday!

Finally my progress on Blackbird Designs Peacock Pin Keep Needlecase from last night. I had hoped to get this finished but we have a new member in the family and I was sitting with Abi while she handled him ( more later lol) but I'm happy with the progress I made.

The new family member is Abi's Syrian hamster which she has named Leo ( full name Leonardo after Da Vinci!). She bought him herself and loves him to bits! We are trying to get him used to her ( and us) so we sit for a while after tea and she handles him. He's very good but does have a tendancy to bite now and again but I think it depends on what we have had on our hands! After last night I am thinking she should rename him phsycho! He has a little wooden house inside his cage and he sleeps in it and hides his food in it. However I think he forgets as he was getting the corner of the house in his mouth and lifting it. Later on when we looked he's tipped it on its side then this morning it was on its roof!!! He also climbs up his cage ( which is normal I know!) but the best laugh is when he sits on top of his wheel and it moves so he slips off!! I was helpless this morning watching him. Anyway here's a slightly blurred photo of the mad thing!

Right I'd better get going and do some veg for tea. Roast pork tonight.

Take care everyone.

Love & hugs

Sally

xxxx



It's Been Nearly A Week!

I can't believe it's been nearly a week since my last post. I had nothing to show other than progress and I haven't been in the best of moods but that's best left for my other blog I think.

I've had a small finish, and two part finishes these last couple of days so at least I have something other than progress to show!

Yesterday we went out for Sunday lunch courtesy of my Dad to celebrate Abi's GCSE results ( more on that later) and on our return we were all too full to do much of anything so I picked up my SB ornament and finished that. I subbed all the WDW and GAST on this one for DMC so the colours are probably a bit off but I like it so that's fine lol! 

Shepherd's Bush In A Stable

36 count Sand Linen

DMC

Started 9th August 2011

Finished 28th August 2011

I've now run out of the fabric I've been using so will use some off cuts of other fabric rather than buy more of the same I think.

Also yesterday I finished off part 2 of Carol R's mystery SAL. I am loving this so far and am so pleased with the thread colour I chose. 

After I'd finished part 2 of the SAL I picked up Blackbird Designs Peacock Pin Keep and finished stitching the top. When I looked at it in good light I'd made a bit of a mess of it in places at craft club on Tuesday due to the bad light so not sure what to do when I go tomorrow. I may have to invest in a small clip on light. I'll be starting the needlebook next then when it's all done I can get the chart returned to Barb:)

Now onto my weeks progress on my other stitching ( except for my HAED, I'll post that when I've finished the page which might just be this week). I made good progress on Drawn Thread The Sanctuary on Tuesday. I didn't finish the border round this block as I ran out of thread so I started on the inner bit of it. I'd like to get this block finished tomorrow if I can then I can start on the other bits.

I enjoyed stitching on LHN Travelling Stitcher knowing that Lisa was stitching with me. I love the colours in it. It's so pretty.

Finally Blackbird Designs Pumpkin Farm. Love the colours in this one too and it's still stitching up fairly quick. 

I've been pretty restless these past few days and can't seem to settle to stitch for long before I'm up and wandering about. I seem to be worrying about every little thing and I wish I could stop it. 

Some brilliant news is Abi's GCSE results. She was so nervous when we set off to collect her results as she didn't think she'd done very well and when we got outside school she didn't want to go! When she came out with her envelope I was watching her face and thinking by the look on the face she hasn't got what she wanted but she was in shock! She got 2 A's, 7 B's and a distinction in her IT which is equivalent to an A. She also got a pass in an IT module that her and a few others were "guinea pigs" for. This is all to go with the A, B and C and two distinctions she got last year. So she was one very happy girl with very proud parents:) She was so relieved when we got out of the school grounds that she started to cry, bless her. She enrols for 6th form at her school on 6th September and starts on the 8th:) 

I hope all my blogging friends that were in the path of Irene are safe. 

Take care everyone.

Love & hugs

Sally

xxxx

A Finish &Two SALs

Thank you for all your lovely comments on my last post and my fantastic day with Lisa. We have both been through some tough times with depression and anxiety and have spent many a time trying to help each other chatting on MSN so it was lovely to be able to get to spend the day together. We were lucky enough to get to spend a bit more time together on Friday afternoon when she invited me up to her caravan:) I really wish we lived closer. 

On Wednesday evening both of us, Lisa in her caravan and me at home, stitched a little more on LHN Travelling Stitcher. I really love how this is looking and like MBT Designs A New Day it will be special for both of us. I mentioned to Lisa on Wednesday when we started it that I was going to do the initial bit over one so that I could stitch both our initials on it:) 

Thank you to everyone who played along with my name the sheep:) Lisa and I have decided he should be called Cecil as we both like that one so I'll be sending a little something to Tricia for suggesting that name :) Give me a few weeks though! Lol!

I am so happy to report that I have finally finished Blackbird Designs AotH Happy Birthday! I can truly say that this was my least favourite so far although I love the colours and the design I just did not enjoy it as much as the others. I think it could have been the Lazy Daisy stitches and in the end I left the lower ones off. This one is dedicated to my wonderful late mother-in-law Pat who was the best m.i.l. a girl could wish for. My DH and I were married in 1986 and Pat passed away in 1999 and in those 13 years we only ever had one cross word and that was caused by someone else sticking their nose in! I added her birth year and the initials of her parents.

Blackbird Designs AotH Happy Birthday

36 count Rosewood linen

GAST & DMC

Started 8th July 2011

Finished 13th August 2011

I think I'm going to stitch Pumpkin Farm next but will make up my mind on Friday!

As I said in my last post I just managed to get a place in Carol R's iStitch mystery SAL and the first part of the chart was sent out on Saturday. I did say to Carol that I hoped I could keep up and keep up I reckon I can! I had planned to stitch it on 35 count white superfine linen which I bought from Sew and So ( how nice it is to have funds from Ebay sales :) ) but I changed my mind and am using 25 count instead stitching one over one. The thread I'm using is an unknown Victorian Motto thread which Nancy kindly sent me for free when I purchased some threads from her. It's a lovely colour. Anyway I started this when I'd finished Happy Birthday on Saturday evening and finished it yesterday evening.

Once I'd popped the last few stitches into the SAL last night I picked up Blackbird Designs Peacock Pin Keep and started the top bit. I'm enjoying this one a lot and I think it'll be a quite a quick stitch but the making up may take a while!

Almost forgot my progress on HAED Guardian from last Thursday evening. I'm thinking I may just post monthly progress on this one as it's quite slow going really. What would you rather see, weekly or monthly?

Thank you for your lovely comments for Jess on my last post. I think she's going back to the doctors ( unless she changes her mind!) as she's thought about what he said to her. She was worried about the side effects of the oestrogen pill but has now decided to give it a go rather than put up with painful, irregular cycles.

I finished my Beating the Blues program ( CBT) on Thursday and am now waiting to hear from my counsellor as he's supposed to get in touch with me once I've finished. It has helped to a certain extent but I know I'm not as I should be just yet. It'll come and I know I'll have setbacks.

Time to go now and get on:)

Take care everyone.

Love & hugs

Sally

xxxx