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

Travelling Pattern, A Giveaway Win Plus Some Finishes ( Picture Heavy! )

Well here we are well into September and this is my first blog post of the month.  So much for getting back to at least one post a week!

Anyway, without further ado, I had a comment on my last post from Justine telling me I had her first blogoversary giveaway. I was so excited but felt awful as when I looked at her blog it was almost a week since she'd posted and due to me not looking at any blogs I hadn't seen it. Postie brought a package yesterday and this is what I found inside. All so beautifully wrapped that I hardly dare disturb it! Inside was this beautifully stitched and finished cushion. As I told Justine when I emailed her this is just so me. I absolutely love the colours and the design. Also inside was The Nebby Needle chart True Friend with some GAST threads and a gorgeous birdhouse needleminder. You may remember that I stitched the True Friend design for my dear friend Chris' birthday so I'm looking forward to being able to stitch it for myself as I love the words on it. Thank you so much Justine for a beautiful package.

Also this week I received this lovely package from Dani in Canada. I won the travelling pattern from her and she also sent me some of my favourite needles and a beautiful fob / ornament. Also see the fabric?  The fob was wrapped in that and I reckon I will use it to back Summer Garden with when I've stitched it. Thank you so much Dani!

Here is my start on it. I'm using Craft Kitten 32 count Fantasy Wings linen ( a second that I bought from the Crafty Kitten Facebook page last year ) and I'm choosing colours as I go along. So far I've used Carrie's Creations Hot Pink and Mistletoe.  So look out for when I've finished this as it'll be travelling again. 

Since  my last post I've had a finish or four!  Firstly this one.

Carriage House Samplings Emma's Alphabet Sampler ( from JCS June 2005 )

40 count Cream Gander Linen

DMC

As you can see it is actually finished properly and I am so pleased with how it looks. I had a vision of how I wanted it and it's close!

Next one is this beauty.

Just Nan Marching Orders

Silkweaver Solo 28 count

DMC & Supplied Soie D'Alger Lady in Red

I would like to pass the chart for this on now so if you'd like it please say so in your comment and I'll pick a winner next week :).

Finish no. 3 also made up with the other 3 that needed to made up.

The Little Stitcher 12 Days of Christmas Day 12

32 count Vintage Country Mocha Linen

DMC

Thank you so much Barb for SALing with me on these. Barb and I will be starting a new SAL tomorrow and it will be Tra La La Tricotine :).

The  booklet for the 12 Days of Christmas is now for sale so please email me ( email in my profile ) if you are interested. SOLD

Final finish ( phew ! ) is this one.

Cottage Garden Samplings My Garden Journal June's Honeysuckle

40 count Pearl Grey linen

DMC

I'm all ready to start July's Delphinium on Sunday. Just have to cut my fabric.

Lisa and I are continuing our HAED SAL and although I'm struggling a little with getting used to it and thinking about still having 6 more pages to go is driving me mad I am enjoying it. I do feel better knowing that the last 3 pages are only small!

Frosty Forest is now coming out on Wednesdays in the parlour over at Needlecraft Haven so last night I tried desperately to get Frosty Friends finished but it didn't quite happen. Not to worry though as it will next week!

And I almost forgot Garden Bliss! How could I forget this!

I have some brilliant news this post! Abi has got a job! Yay! Both her and Jess applied for 3 jobs last week. Unfortunately Jess has not been successful as yet  but Abi desperately wanted to work at one of these places and told the lady when she went for the application form that she had been hoping a job would come up as she really likes it in there. To cut a bit of a long story short she had an interview on Monday and was offered it straight away. We are so pleased as she's been looking for over a year. She had her first shift today, which she enjoyed, and she'll be working 6 hours a week for now.

I'll be hopping on a bus tomorrow to go see Chris which I'm really looking forward to. I need to get some stitching sorted to take with me!

That's all my news for now. I'll be back with a stitch from stash report next week and the stash I very naughtily purchased but I'm still in!

Take care everyone.

With much love

Sally xxxx

I am..

A Needleworker.

Little House Needleworks Needleworker

32 count Vintage Country Mocha linen

Crescent Colours ( or Classic Colourworks as they are now known )

Started 16th July 2014

Finished 28th August 2014.

I loved every single stitch of this. I made a mistake so my borders are just single rows but I'm very happy with it. The chart is now for sale along with the leftover threads.  I think there may be enougn to stitch it again. Please email me ( email in my profile ) if you are interested :) SOLD

No other finishes but I did have a new start last Saturday . This is Carriage House Samplings Alphabet Sampler from the JCs mag. It's a companion piece to the 1823 Emma Elizabeth Blackwood Sampler. It is stitching up quite quickly.

No progress on June's Honeysuckle this week as I had something else to stitch so I will, hopefully, get something done on that on Sunday. I did make good progress though on Snowy Friends.  Still keeping my fingers crossed that my placement of this is correct but I don't think I'll be frogging it if it isn't! 

I have almost stitched all the wording on Garden Bliss. I am just loving this as it is so pretty and, of course, it means an awful lot to me. I think my Dad would have loved this on display in his house so, hopefully, he is watching me stitch it and smiling.

No Marching Orders this week either as I didn't have much to do Needleworker and wanted to finish it. After that was done, rather than get more stitching out, I decided to see if I could finish knitting the front of my top and here it is! It's not going to be finished this summer but finishing one side has given me some incentive so get on with it but I don't know when!

On Tuesday I spent a lovely day at Gill's caravan again. I took my blanket to knit this time and finished the strip I was working on and started another. Really need to get on if I'm going to have it finished by the end of the year!  We never seem to stop chatting when we get together but we still manage some crafting!

Then on Wednesday I was so excited to have my surrogate sis Lisa visiting for the day. It was so good to have a catch up and do a little stitching. Lisa was stitching a lovely AAN design called Corsetto in red and black silk. It looked stunning.  You're not going to believe what I stitched on! HAED QS Spirit of Winter Robin!  I had a bit of a panic when I picked it up though as I struggled to see the holes and I must admit I'm now worrying that I'm no longer going to be able to stitch on them. Once the Alphabet Sampler is finished I'll bring the Robin into my rotation and see how I get on. It may well have been the light so I'm hoping I do better using my  lamp. Fingers crossed as I really want to finish this one. Also Gill and I have decided to bring our Gelsinger mini Santas out again in October and Lisa is going to join us with hers too :).

A wee while ago I was saying I'd just started to collect Country Cottage Needleworks Cottages of the Month and Heather said she would happy to send me any I didn't have when she had finished stitching them. I felt quite awful as I only had the first two but look what arrived yesterday :). Thank you so much Heather. I'm looking forward to getting started on these hopefully in October then I can display each month next year in place on the Lizzie*Kate ones I've had on display each month for many years! I have promised Heather I will send her something for sending me these :)

On Sunday we went to the Driffield Country Fair. I'm afraid to say I don't think we'll be going again as it wasn't very good. I did snap a few photos and have just quickly sorted these two of Fluffy ( yes he really was called Fluffy!) the Monitor Lizard and Zorro the 8 week old Little Owl :)

I think that's all my news for this time. I may not get a post in next week as my DH is having the week off. Don't think we'll be going out much but we do have the odd job to do at home. First one will be going through boxes in the loft to see if there's anything we can get rid off! Then me and the girls are having our hair cut. New hairdresser as ours is finishing and moving to Tenerife. I've never found choosing a new hairdresser so stressful but Vicki has cut our hair for about 10 years now!

Take care everyone. Looks like summer is back next week here in the UK so enjoy it while it lasts! I've been enjoying the slightly temperatures.

With much love.

Sally xxx

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

A Little Bit of Winter

No, not the weather! Just my finishes from the past week! All winter themed ones which is nice. 

I only had a little bit to do on Day 10 of The 12 Days of Christmas with Barb on Friday so it didn't take me long to get it done. Only 2 more to go now. I have loved stitching these as they are so quick and easy. I think I'll wait until I get tne other 2 done then make them all up together.

The Little Stitcher 12 Days of Christmas Day 10.

32 count Vintage Country Mocha linen

DMC

My second finish is this one. So pretty and I think I'll make it into an ornament for my tree.  Loved stitching this and this week I plan on starting Marching Orders which is another Just Nan.

Just Nan Wintry Mix.

32 count unknown fabric

DMC

Final finish this time is part 3 of 9 but still a finish! I took it to craft group yesterday to pop the final few stitches in and many of the ladies were admiring it.

Country Cottage Needleworks Frosty Forest Snowman's Cottage

32 count Pearl grey linen

DMC & WDW

I was stitching away in the hope of getting Carriage House Samplings 1823 Emma Elizabeth Blackwood Sampler but didn't quite manage it! Just the rest of the border and a couple of black stitches to go. I'm going to stitch the alphabet chart as well then, if Faye still would still like the mag, I'll be passing it on.

I think my needles were on fire stitching June's Honeysuckle on Sunday. I've got behind on these as I really would have liked to get one per month done but as we're now into August and I'm still on June something tells me it's not happened! 

Finally progress on my lovely Garden Bliss.  This is just so nice to stitch and so comforting to work on.

Has anyone signed up for the new ornament series by Country Cottage Needleworks? I haven't as I'm going to wait and see what each one is like. I was extremely tempted when they were first announced but as time has gone on I talked myself out of it. Glad now that I did as I need to be a good girl for a few more months then I can have a good spend up lol. I have bought already this month ( more about that slip up in my Stitch from Stash report ) but as we have a bonus this month that we can spend before our budget my whole budget will get carried forward!

I tried to get a photo of the super moon the other night but because of the cloud couldn't until it cleared which meant it was high up in the sky so, to me, it looked like a normal moon! Posting a few more of my recent photos too.

We have a lovely sunny day up here today although it is rather windy. We've had a couple of days of awful wind and rain and even though we do keep getting the odd shower the sun is shining brightly in between times. It is feeling rather autumnal is a morning now but I don't think summer is over yet. The forecasters are saying it will return but I have to admit that I'm enjoying these slightly cooler temps.

Until next time.

With much love

Sally xx