Catching Up!

Thanks to everyone for their kind get well wishes. I am feeling much better this week but not just 100% quite yet. I;ve been doing more reading than stitching. I have completed only one small snowman ornament in the past month and at present I am working on a small school themed design for one of my little mindees Jacob who is going to be starting school on Monday. I am a very proud stitching Mum though as I am delighted to say the Tatty Teddy piece at the top was stitched by my 15 year old daughter Heather as a gift for her friends birthday. She doesn;t stitch very often and I was quite anxious when she choose Tatty Teddy with all that grey and back-stitching but she has done a fabulous job. Two off her friends have also started stitching as well so I am hoping that they have caught the stitching bug and won;t be cured off it too soon...lol!

It seems like forever since we were on holiday but we had a lovely time in North Wales. The weather was the usual uk mixture of sunshine and showers. It was never really cold though and we visited some lovely places along the coast and lots of National Trust houses and gardens. It is back to work for me this week and the kids will be starting school on Monday so it will be back into the old routine from then. Heather will be entering her fifth year of High School and we were delighted when she gained five 1's and three 2's in her Standard Grade exams. She sat these exams in May and it was a very tense day last Tuesday as she waited for her results. Her next two years will be concentrating on her Higher Grades and then hopefully it will be off to University. Craig also passed all his first year exams at University but he won;t enter his second year of Architecture until the end of September. I'm just hoping that now he has his first year over the second won;t be quite as stressful.

I;m off to catch up on more blogs. Be back soon. Hugs!

Still here!

Sorry I haven;t been around but I have been sick with a really nasty chest and throat infection for more than two weeks now. Thankfully I have no kids this week so I am hoping to catch up on all my blog reading and attempt to get back into my stitching. Hope to catch up with everyone soon. Hugs!

Holiday time!

I won;t be around for the next week as we are off on holiday to Wales. We are staying in a lovely recently renovated house right on the harbour. I am looking forward to relaxing with either my stitching or a good book. I don;t care if it rains..lol!

I haven;t had any time to stitch this week but I did look through all my Just Cross-stitch Ornament magazines and chose a great big bundle of ornaments to get started on.

Hope everyone has a good week and I look forward to catching up on all those blogs and stitching.

Hugs!

Three finishes!

Well my eye didn;t get any better until yesterday so most of my week has been spent making up some pieces that were in my finishing pile. They are all Lizzie Kate designs. Follow your heart was stitched on aida band with some perle cotton threads. The baby sampler was also stitched using the perle cotton threads and the cute buttons I purchased a few weeks ago turned out just perfect for the finish. Dear Santa I stitched many years ago but had just never got round to doing anything with it. Hope you like them. Hugs!

A bit cheeky!

I woke up yesterday morning with a lovely swollen eye so I found it rather difficult to do my stitching. Not wanting to waste any of the free time I had I decided to go through my finished box and see what I could find to put together. I came up with this little cutie that I stitched a long time ago and my spring row that I stitched earlier this year.

I have so many pieces that I have stitched that are stashed away in a box. I really need to spend more time finishing them off. Happy Stitching everyone. Hugs!

It's Holiday Time!

Yaaayyy come happy dance with me. School has finished for summer break until mid August so I will only have to work three days a week. I am so looking forward to all that extra stitching and reading time. I;ve been busy stitching some Lizzie Kates but now need some motivation to finish them off into pillows. I recently bought some lovely fabric and cute buttons from http://www.creativefabrics.com/ so I guess I have no excuse about getting started.
I also have at long last managed to track down some off the 32 count jobelan I was desperately seeking. Tandem cottage have got some lovely pale green, blue and pink which I will be ordering soon but sadly they don;t have the elusive yellow that I so wanted to stitch my Happy Mooed on. I reckon I might just stitch it on the pale green, I;m sure it will be just as nice. Hope everyone is having a good week-end. Hugs!

Dance show

Well the dance show is over for another year and it was really good. Heather and her friends had great fun. These are a couple of pictures the photographer at the show took. They performed to Barry Manilows American Bandstand in the blue outfit and did hip hop to Missy Elliots Lose Control in the pink outfits. Heather is on the left hand side of the first picture and centre stage in the pink. I can;t believe my baby is nearly sixteen, the years are just flying by.

The rest of my week has been pretty crazy. My mindees have been a real handful, the six year old has been very mouthy, the four year old forgot what the bathroom was for then I had a real scare when the two year old developed some nasty spots that we thought could be meningitis. Thankfully it turned out be either a an allergy or something viral. My hubby and Heather were both unwell so it has been a pretty long stressful week. I just hope as the song says "things can only get better" . Hugs!

Two small finishes!

I am in a bit of a Lizzie Kate mode just now and these are a couple I have stitched in the past week. I need to stitch a small baby and wedding design before the beginning of July so today I am starting the small design from Lizzie Kates Birth Sampler and then I am going to do Lizzie Kates Just Married. Thankfully they should stitch up quick as I don;t have a lot off free time for stitching this month. June is always rather hectic as it is the end of the school term and I need to attend prizegivings, graduations, sports day, etc and this week I have my daughter Heathers annual dancing display. She has been dancing for 12 years now and we were delighted on Wednesday when it was announced she had won this years seniors best dancer award. This will also be the first year I don;t need to go back-stage and do her make-up, hair and out-fit changes as she is old enough to cope with that by herself now so I will actually get to sit out in the audience and enjoy the show. Hope everyone has a good week. Hugs!

My Summer Plants!

Thank you so much to everyone for the kind comments on my Girl about Town stitching cube. My nieces party was the day before her birthday so she was waiting until then to open her presents. Hopefully I will hear soon if she liked it. I have no stitchy pictures to post today so I decided to photograph some of the new plants we bought last week for our garden.



We had these two pots and baskets left from last year so we bought a bunch of bedding plants and my hubby filled them. I'm sorry but apart from the Lily I have no idea what the names of the other plants are, I just choose them for their colour..lol.

My favourite flowers in our garden are the roses which grow directly under our front window. I especially like the red one. They have just started to flower and I can;t wait until they are in full bloom. As well as flowers in our garden both my husband and myself enjoy visiting gardens and just recently we have joined the National Trust for Scotland. There are lots of great properties to visit including castles, palaces and country retreats http://www.nts.org.uk/Home/ Hopefully we will get round to visiting some in the next few weeks. Hugs!

Cube Finish

I;m glad to have this one finished, just hope my niece likes it. I;ve started stitching on a small Lizzie Kate design called Miracles Happen. I really want to start on Happy Mooed by Barbara Ana but I just can;t find any pale green or pale yellow 32 count evenweave. If there is anyone out there who reads my blog and you have any of this fabric for trade or sale can you please contact me. Hugs!

Nearly Finished!

I should hopefully have a stitchy picture to post tomorrow as I managed to finish the small design I was doing for my niece. As usual I changed my mind and instead of a pillow I opted to make a cube. I always get so stressed out putting my stitching into some kind of finishing, especially when it is a gift for someone. I am so grateful for glue as I really struggle with any normal sewing. I am so in awe of all the beautiful finishes I see on so many blogs. If anyone has any hints or tips on finishing please share. Hugs!

Tearing my hair out!

Can;t believe I am so stupid! As you can see from my post below I purchased some new stash especially to stitch as a birthday gift. Well my brain must have got fried last week as for some reason I thought that I had about a month to stitch up and frame the piece but then yesterday as I was checking out a date in my diary I noticed that my niece's birthday was in just over a week. I am not the quickest of stitchers so even if I had the threads in my stash I probably would never get it finished on time. So plan two, I am off to try and find something that will get my needles smoking and not my brain..lol. Wish me luck. Hugs!

Giggle time!

I had intended to make this into a pillow when I finished it but I noticed my husband had some black mountboard so I asked him to cut a mat for me. I am very pleased with how it has turned out. For some reason my camera has made the frame look more red than orange but at least the stitching colours are okay. Not quite sure what I am going to do with it now but I suspect once my teenage daughter sees it she may want it for her room. Hugs!

New Stash!

These are the latest additions to my stash. I couldn't believe it this morning when I saw the postman had a package for me. I only ordered these charts on Monday from Joanne at 123stitch.com and five days later they arrived on my door-step. This has to be the quickest I have ever recieved mail from the States. Whimscial Heart is by Ewe & Eye & Friends. I saw this stitched up in someones album and just had to have it. Hopefully I will be able to find some 32 count evenweave in a similair pink fabric here in the UK as I am itching to get stitching on it. The other chart is by Sam Sarah Designs. I love the bright colours and the words on this one. I have been looking for something to stitch for my niece's 21st birthday and thought this would just be perfect. Hugs!

Sunday Moooo!

I had a lovely day out yesterday having lunch at a local garden centre with my friend Liz. I spotted this cute cow in the shop and couldn;t resist buying it. Don't ask me why but I just love cows. I started collecting ceramic ones a few years ago, the first one I purchased was the red heart one and it still remains my favourite.

I have stitched a few of the really cute freebie ones from http://lesmarottesdenath.free.fr/ope%20jmfmv/grilles1.htm and sometime in the future I plan to do more. I think they would make a great round robin or even better a cow exchange..lol. Hugs!

WIP!

This is my WIP. I just love charts with bright colours so I am really enjoying stitching this one. I've got some free time tomorrow so lets hope my needles will be smokin..... I'm also still in a bit of a pillow fest mood so I reckon that is how it will be finished off.

My best friend came for a visit on Tuesday night, sadly she doesn't stitch but she did bring along her darling dog Daisy. I would love to have a puppy but there are so many restrictions and regulations with my job it just isn;t possible just now. Also my hubby isn;t too keen either, he reckons if it came to the crunch we would have to choose him or a dog...mmm dog, dog, dog...LOL! Hugs.

Summers Here!

At last summer seems to have arrived. It is a beautiful warm sunny day. My little mindees Jacob and Oscar got out to play in the garden and while keeping a watchful eye on them I even got a chance to do a little stitching. I've started working on a really cute chart that was designed by a lady on the old uk aion board. It has lots of lovely bright colours with smiley faces and reads It takes time to giggle.
Happy Stitching!
Hugs

Sunday blues!

I am not having much fun with my stitching this week. It didn;t take me long to stitch the above design but I spent many hours with glue stuck to my fingers trying to make a pillow. Thankfully you only get to see the front. I also think it looks a bit bare and I need to find some buttons to dress it up a bit.
Yesterday I started stitching Wee Seashore by HeartinHand but when I picked it up this morning I discovered that darn frog had kindly visited me and I had to rip, rip, rip. I didn;t have that much done on the design but I just wasn;t enjoying stitching it so it has now joined my ufo pile. Hopefully after dinner tonight I will find something in my stash that will put a smile on my face..lol.
Hugs!

A Wedding Gift

I am wishing with all my heart today that I could be in Wisconsin with my dear stitching friend Elaine (shutterbuglady) as her daughter Amber is getting married today. I have been following all the joy, excitement and ups and downs since the engagement was announced and it has been really interesting to learn about all the different wedding traditions in the US compared to the scottish ones. I wish Amber and Nathaniel all the joy and happiness for the future and I hope they like this small gift I made for them.

Hugs!

New Finish

Well my week-end has been mostly taken up with stitching and putting together this pillow. I saw the idea on someone elses blog and thought I would have a go. The only part I am not happy with is I forgot to turn in the top and bottom ends of my stitching so it is kind of frayed looking. Guess I have learned for the next time.
Hugs!

This and that!

At long last there seems to be some signs of spring in my garden. Our weather has been much drier and temps are starting to slowly move up now. I can;t wait until it is warm enough to be able to sit outside in the garden at night with my stitching or a good book.

Sadly I didn;t get to start stitching my Happy Mooed chart. I was all set when I discovered I didn;t have any 32count fabric so it will have to go back to the bottom of the box. Instead I have started a little freebie called Bee Mine by Barbara Ana. It should stitch up real quick.

I also want to say thank you so much to everyone who takes the time to read my blog and post comments. I really appreciate it.

Hugs!

My first Biscournu

Well I didn't throw my biscournu in the bin. I thought it turned out okay and I will be attempting another one later in the year. Thanks to Lori for enabling me, I have already purchased a snowman biscornu chart by BarbaraAna and a few other designs from a wonderful site she told me about called Creative Poppy. You just pay for your charts then a few minutes later you can download them. I printed off the ones I ordered last night and I was very pleased with them. I;ve decided to stitch Happy Moood by Barbara Ana next, so I am off to get it kitted up so I can get it started soon.

Hugs!

Yay, it;s finished!

Sorry I don;t have a picture yet but I finished my first biscornu tonight. I really enjoyed stitching this and I was surprised at how easy it was to put together. I should be able to post a picture tomorrow. Now what to do next?

Hugs!

My WIP

Finally had some time to do some stitching. This is the top piece of my first attempt at a biscournu. The other piece should be stitched tonight and all being well I will attempt to put it together later this week. If it turns out okay I will post a picture otherwise it will be in the bin.
It is back to work and school here tomorrow, so I probably won't have as much time to get online. I;ve really enjoyed reading everyones blogs and having more time to chat. Hugs!

Needlework show

I've been so busy this week that at night-time I have been too tired to pick up my stitching. I thought that being on holiday for a week I would at least have a few days to just sit and stitch but once I started clearing out all the clutter I just found more and more stuff to do.
I did manage though to get a look at the online needlework show and these are a few designers which are new to me that I really must add to my stash.

This design is by Country Garden Stitchery and is called Rememberance. I just love the pretty colours in this piece.
Check out the website at.

http://www.countrygardenstitchercy.com

This design is called Love Me by Hands to Work. Another really pretty chart which I think would be really pretty for a wedding or engagment chart with names and dates added.

http://www.handstowork.com/

Last one is another really pretty design by a french company Tom and Lily Creations and is called Heart. They have got lots of charts that I would love to add to my stash but the really frustrating thing is it would be cheaper for me to buy them from the States than getting them sent directly from France. Crazy or what?

http://www.tomandlily.com/

Hope the links work. Hugs!

No Stitching & Aching feet!

Now this is my dream bath-tub, how I wish I could just jump in and relax for a few hours. I;ve been out shopping all day so my feet are killing me...
My son is having his bed-room re-decorated so we spent a whole three hours in Ikea. Being male he just couldn't make a decision one way or another about what he wanted. All that time and the only item we ordered for him was a new bed. My day wasn't quite a complete waste though as I managed to pick up lots off boxes to try and clear up my stash cupboard. I'm hoping to have a major clear out in the next few days so make sure you check out my picturetrail for sale or trade album.
I have started on my biscournu design but I have had no time since Sunday to pick it up, hopefully I will be able to grab a few hours tomorrow.
Hugs!

Stitching Sunday

Two finishes to post today, my chicken and sheep. My plan is at some point to stitch another sheep and then try and find some farmyard fabric to frame around them.
I've found a little chart called Nosegay by Just Nan which I am going to attempt to make into a biscournu. I;m not a very fast stitcher so this will probably take me all week to complete. I should have extra stitching time though as the schools are still on spring break here and this week the only kids I have are my own.
Hugs!

Another day!

I don;t have any stitching pictures to post so I thought I would show some pictures that my husband took last year. He recently joined a camera club and was delighted to win first prize with the above entries. I;m not a big bee fan but even though I am biased I have to say the pictures mounted and framed look stunning.

I didn;t get as much free stitching time as I thought this week. I finished one small chicken design from Rico book 84 and I am just about to back-stitch a sheep. Think I have got a bit of a farmyard theme going..lol. I;ve also printed off some online freebie charts and I am looking forward to my first attempt at a biscornu.
Hugs!

Two Finishes..

I am not very happy with my pictures as I dont have my photoshop programme on this computer. The one that is on here sucks. Anyway this is Here I am all ready for the name and date to be inserted. Baby girl wanted..lol. The colours have turned out really pretty. I love stitching with katies kloths threads and look forward to the day I can add some more to my stash. The fabric looks white but it is actually a really pale pink.

I have added a list of blogs to my page. I spent hours at the week-end reading through them all. I just love hearing and seeing pictures of what other people are stitching. Once I get my stitching albums sorted out I can hopefully link them in here along with a new wish list. I haven;t made a list for ages and recently I have seen so many new charts that I would love to have. Two new designers at the top of my list are Helga Mandl and Barbara Ana.

My second finish this week is Home is where we share by Lizzie Kate. I once again used the GAST colours that I had in my stash. I now need to find a little silver heart charm to hang above the door. My little "mindees" are moving to a new home soon so I thought this would be a nice gift for them.

I haven't decide what my next project will be yet. The kids are on holiday for two weeks now, so I should have a lot of extra time to stitch. Do I choose lots of small pieces or something large? Check back soon to find out what I have choosen.

Hugs!