Birthday Stuff!

I haven't posted recently as my stitchy bug has run off.....sadly it didn't take my stash buying bug with it!  Although, I have had a birthday so stash buying is allowed...right?

I'll share what goodies I got from my wonderful friends and also from my lovely hubby!

These are the bits that Hubby bought me along with giving me cash to spend on whatever I wanted too!

 

He got me some lovely gifts, including a few unicorn related items!  He did manage to get me a wonderful Vervaco kit that I've been looking at for a while.  This is a better picture of it:

I got some lovely chart gifts from friends too! Alicia (Crafty Princess) bought me the lovely Alice Vignette - Tilton Crafts.  

She must have had a sixth sense about this as just afterwards, the whole range of Shu Mizoguchi charts were retired!  As I had a lot of them on my wishlist I wasn't able to snag all the ones I wanted, but I did buy 6 of the most wanted ones:

The lovely Nikki gave me Curious Introduction - Aimee Stewart (HAED) as well a voucher for Crafty Kitten!  I'm waiting on my order from Crafty Kitten as I ordered a fair bit with the money I got but the voucher was put to good use and I'll share the fabby purchases when they arrive!

The lovely Rachel and her sister Petrina bought me a voucher for Cross Stitch Heaven, which I've used to order some threads and Thread packs.  

An incredibly kind friend called Lesli sent me a massive box full of lovely chocolates.  She's had a rough year and I was so touched that she though tof me and sent such a wonderful gift!

I also purchased the 40 skein 1840 collection from Nancy at Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe.  It didn't take long to arrive in the UK and the colour range is simply stunning.  It really is a bargain for the amount of thread you actually get and the quality is wonderful.  If you haven't had a look I suggest you do....!

I have also ordered myself a pair of Gingher scissors!  They aren't cheap but I've heard they are amazing quality and have a lifetime guarantee.  

Phew....I really do think myself so lucky having wonderful friends and I honestly can't thank them enough for the gifts and birthday wishes.

Final note, it's International Hermit and Stitch Weekend (click for more info) this weekend and as Hubby is away visiting his parents so I'm digging out Mini Starlight - Linda Ravenscroft (HAED) and hoping that my bug plays along!  I look forward to checking out how other people do too!

IHSW - July

I've not been blogging as much recently due to a family visit and other stuff going on, however this post is just an update for what I've been up to this weekend!  I actually managed to do a little bit of stitching in between a shopping trip to IKEA and my American Cocker Spaniel, Charlie, needing surgery on his mouth, which he now recovering from very well, so it's been a bit of a busy one for us!

I've only done a bit but it was all on Pyramid 4 - Ciro Marchetti (HAED).  I took a picture on Friday when I moved my QSnaps so you can see the whole thing:

Then this one was taken this morning:

I've only really done a bit more of the border, but I managed to finish the shading stitches all the way to the bottom! I'm really enjoying this at present so I think I'll stick with it.

Hope you all had a good weekend.  Thank you for stopping by!

Messenger

Ok....I admit defeat, the rotation that I had planned at the beginning of the year has fallen by the wayside.  I'm not really worried about it as the main thing is that I am enjoying my stitching and that is the most important thing to me.  I've finished all the "obligation stitching" (i.e. stuff as gifts/for other people) so I am perfectly free to stitch what I want!

I've started and completed Messenger - Firewing Designs, stitched on Crafty Kitten's July 2012 Limited Edition fabric (28ct Jazlyn).  It is the most lovely blend of pinks, oranges and yellows.

Other than Messenger, I've mainly stitched on The Three Fates by Jasmine Becket-Griffith (HAED)

This was where I left it last time:

This is where I am up to now:

I've made it to the other side of chart and it's starting to look like something!  

I've also decided on a new start and although I don't have any pictures to show you as yet , this is what I've made a start on:

It's Mini Starlight - Linda Ravenscroft (HAED).  I love unicorns and I really wanted to stitch one, I also wanted to stitch a Linda Ravenscroft chart so this is a perfect choice!

Also I need to say HUGE thank you to Alicia - The Crafty Princess for gifting me this lovely chart out of blue!

It's another HAED chart called Midnight Rose - Bente Schlick and it absolutely gorgeous!  I can't wait to get the thread together to make a start on it!

I'm still behind on the blog reading, but I am catching up so you may find some comments on posts from a while back!

IHSW - April 2014 & a Finish!

I hope you've all had a wonderful Easter weekend, whether it's something you celebrate or not.  I used it as an opportunity to get some extra stitching in as it also happened to be International Hermit and Stitch Weekend too!

I decided to work on The Three Fates.

Before:

After:

It's not that easy to see as it's still on the QSnaps but there is some progress!

I also managed to get Celtic Fairy finished as well, I did hope that she'd be done soon and I pushed through and got her done!

Wide shot

Close - up

Apologies for the slightly crumpled picture as I haven't pressed her yet.  Whilst I love the fabric, I think I made a bit of a bad choice as you can't see the moon clearly behind her.  I still like it though and it is a bit clearer in person as the sparkles help.

She was stitched on 28ct Jazlyn in Dawn Blush from Crafty Kitten Fabrics using DMC threads and the chart was designed by Joan Elliott and featured in CrossStitcher Magazine Issue 227 (July 2010).

Now to look through everyone else's posts!

Confetti......

It's been a while since my last post, I wish I could say that I've been doing a stack of amazingly exciting things, but sadly that's not the case.  I've been a bit under the weather and the stitching suffered, also the fact that I seem to have reached very confetti heavy sections in a few of my WIP's has made progress very slow and there didn't seem to be much to show you, however I can't wait until I'm satisfied otherwise I'd never post anything!

Let's make a start with Joan Elliott's Celtic Fairy:

It's coming along really well and I'm really hoping that the next picture I show you she'll be nearly done! 

Next up, The Three Fates - Jasmine Becket-Griffith (HAED)

It still doesn't really look like much yet, but it's taking shape and coming along pretty well.

Next one is Pyramid 4 - Ciro Marchetti (HAED).  I've not shared any picture of this for a while (no idea why not) so I'll find a few for you.

This is one of those confetti nightmare projects, I really can't describe how confetti heavy those feathers are....and I've got to do the ones on the other side as well :/  I'm not sure about those pale patches on the face and I may unpick them and redo them in the darker colour to make it look more even, what do you guys think?

Another WIP that I haven't posted pictures on for ages is QS Clara - Hannah Lynn (HAED). Apologies for a ropey photo!

This is really confetti heavy although there are some large blocks of colour as well so switching between them makes it bearable.  This was one of the first HAED's I stitched and I am finding that I seem to have found my preferred HAED fabrics and it's 25ct & 28ct, so stitching this is not as enjoyable as others are but I will persevere and get it done eventually!

There is a project on and off that I haven't shared, it's not for any particular reason other than I've just not gotten around to taking any pictures.  It's Dirt and Glitter - Zindy Nielsen (HAED)

It's stitched on 28ct pale pink Lugana 1 thread over 1 fabric thread.  As you can see, not done too much yet, but I love it already!

I've also stitched a card for a friend who's birthday it was recently.  It was a cover kit from World of Cross Stitching magazine and as soon as I saw it I knew she would like it.  I switched out the fabric for some hand dyed that I had from Sunny Dyes.

Again, I apologise for the bad picture, but I took it right at the last minute as I was packaging it up to send over to New Zealand!

I'm going to try not to leave it so long next time and post a little more often :)

Now...to make a start reading through all your blogs!

A bit behind.....

As usual, I'm a bit behind on my blog reading and updating....I blame all you wonderful people who keep updating your blogs regularly!  I promise to read them all but I might not comment on all, that doesn't mean that I don't love the work you produce!

Well, I've done a bit of stash buying, although I'm too scared to put it all in one place to take a picture!  Needless to say it included a fair bit of Crafty Kitten Fabric (one of my favourites!), some Sparklies fabric (another favourite!), Ink Circles charts and new QSnaps.  I've finally got my fabric for the AAN SAL, so I plan to start that very soon, possibly next week.

I've a few project updates for you though, so there are some pictures to see!

This is one that has been unloved since mid 2012 and I decided I'd quite like to finish her this year.  It's Joan Elliott's Celtic Fairy:

The fabric doesn't show up too well, it's a lovely pale yellow with hints of pink through it.  I'm really enjoying this stitch so I think I'll keep on with her this week too.

Next up, another project that hasn't seen any love since I initially started it back in 2013, The Three Fates - Jasmine Becket-Griffith (HAED)

It's starting to look like something rather than some splodges of blue, actually no, it does still look like splodges of blue!

Last one for you is Endless Dream - Vacher (HAED)

A bit of progress, although I can still see the mistake, as I stitch more it is becoming less noticeable!

I'm really happy with how my stitching is going so far this year, maybe a bit less than I hoped for, but all in all, a good start to the year!

As a final note, I want to wish you a Happy Valentine's Day!

We don't really celebrate it, I feel blessed everyday and although I don't feel I need a special day to tell my loved ones how much I love and appreciate them, I know it can be really fun!  This year we decided to sponsor a kennel at the local Dog's Home as our present to each other!

January IHSW

I actually managed to get some stitching in during this IHSW and it was on a WIP that hasn't been touched since August 2012!  I'm thrilled to be working on it again as it's a lovely picture.  It's Endless Dream - Christophe Vacher (HAED) as I've not worked on this for a while I'll show you what it'll (hopefully) look like when it's finished!

Before (Aug 2012)

After

I had a slight colour incident but hopefully it's not noticeable!  I'm pretty happy with progress that I made and I'm happy to add it into my current (informal) stitching plan.  If you aren't familiar with International Hermit and Stitch Weekend, click on the little picture on the sidebar and it'll take you to Random Ramblings which gives you all the information so you can join in next month!

It was lovely to have some comments about the book blogs and I'm very sure that Emma and Thea will be pleased to have a few more visitors to their pages.  As a few seem to be interested in books, I've added a small link on the sidebar to show the book I'm currently reading and if you click it, it'll take you to the Amazon UK page for that book which gives you more information about it and also reviews. 

Thank you for reading, hope you all had a great weekend.  I look forward to reading all your posts, even if it takes me a while!

Reading!

I know that some of you love reading, as I do and a couple of my online friends have started new book related blogs.  As yet they are still growing so I figured it wouldn't hurt to give them a little mention in the hope that it might attract a few new followers for them and also introduce you to some books that you might not know about or have thought about previously.  I love finding new authors!

If you have a few minutes please stop by and have a look, I know they would appreciate it!

Gizzimomo's Book Shelf and Itzy's Reading Corner 

Thanks very much!

Another finish!

I really had hoped to get this completed before the New Year, but as usual my plans never quite go as I want them too!  Ah well......I can now say that I've got another finish in 2014....it makes me look a bit better as I'm not really likely to have many this year!

This is the Lizzie*Kate Christmas Mystery SAL for 2013:

I apologise for it not being pressed, I will do it very soon though!

You may have noticed my blog has had a bit of a revamp, it really wasn't intentional.  I was trying to tweak a few things and messed it up and ended up deleting all the formatting!  That's the last time I try and be clever!  I couldn't find a background that I liked so I decided to go fairly plain, but I actually like it a lot.  It may well change again if I see something that grabs me!

Those of you that have followed my blog for a while may remember that in 2012 I completed a Henry VIII sampler.  I finally got it framed and I gifted it to my Mum for Christmas as she has always loved it and I knew she would appreciate it.  She's not usually an emotional person, but she was really overcome when she opened it, which surprised me, but confirmed that I'd made the right decision.

It was hard to get good photo's once it was framed due to the flash but hopefully you can get an idea of what it looks like.  

Also, I've got an updated picture of where I'm up to with Pyramid 4 - Ciro Marchetti (HAED).  Not masses more done but at least it's something!

 I'm slowly catching up with all the blog posts, it seems that the New Year has renewed everyone's passion for blogging, which is wonderful to see!  I apologise if I haven't commented on them all. Hopefully once I've caught up I can get into more of routine and comment much more as I know how nice it feels when I get comments!

Thanks for reading!

Happy New Year!

First off, I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year!  I'm sorry my blogging presence tailed off at the end of last year, this year I aim to post a little more regularly.

For this year, my stitching plans are as follows:

ENJOY STITCHING!

That's right, no real plans!  I've got a number of WIPS that got neglected last year and I'd like to pick some of those up and make some real progress, there may be some new starts along the way too.  

I have signed up for the Alessandra Adelaide Mystery SAL that's taking place on Facebook (check out her FB group for info) and I intend to stitch this during the year at my own pace.

Prior to Christmas I was trying to get a birth sampler done for my cousin's 1st birthday, sadly I didn't manage it, but I did finally get it finished yesterday

It was a DMC kit and I loved how colourful it was.  I've yet to get it framed but I can take my time and look for a nice frame now.  

I didn't manage to finish the Lizzie*Kate Mystery SAL prior to Christmas, as I was stitching the birth sampler, so I'll be aiming to complete that early this year.

I look forward to catching up with your blogs too!