A small finish

It seems I very rarely have any finished stitching to show off here.........this is because I'm more into the big projects that seem to take forever to do.
I recently stitched this little Printemps design by Marjorie Massey and had planned on waiting until it was finished into a pinkeep before taking a picture.
However, I need to find some red toile fabric for the back of the pinkeep and I have no chance of finding that here in Spain. I go to England on Saturday for two weeks so hopefully will find something suitable there.
Also in the photoshoot are a couple of little things my friend Brigitte in Germany has stitched for me over the years. I thought they made a pretty display and it's nice to be able to show off Brigitte's lovely stitching here.
The other picture is my progress on Sanctuary by the Drawn Thread. It's stitched on 36ct Elegant Bean linen using NPI silks. I love this piece and my aim is to finish it this year.

Sunday morning fiesta.

If there's one thing the Spanish love it's a fiesta - any old excuse and they're having a party.
I'm not sure what this one was in aid of but there was a big stage set up in the middle of town, lots of booths around the side where the wine was flowing freely in both senses of the word. Lots of different tastings of this or that local delicacy and a giant paella being cooked off to one side.
I'm a member of the line dancing team at the English Speaking Club and we were to do a demonstration. It's the first time in my life I've ever tread the boards LOL and I was terrified. Luckily the event started 90 minutes late (another Spanish trait) so instead of the 16 dance routines planned we only had to do four. DH took pictures but, thankfully he had the camera in the wrong mode and the pictures didn't come out - yes, honestly!
Another thing I had wanted to show you was our patchwork and quilting group booth. They'd put on a wonderful display but that picture didn't come out either.
Anyway, it was a nice morning in the sun. The pictures that did come out are of the paella (I didn't fancy any of this!) horseriding and some Spanish dancing.

New stash!

I've seen this design by Fancy Work stitched up on a few blogs and it was love at first sight.
Mary Kathryn at eHandcrafts online ordered the chart in for me and was also good enough to find the tin for me as well.
I'm really looking forward to stitching this although I wish my name was a bit shorter....... I think I might have to stitch Margaret over one as don't think it will fit on the little needlecase!

A sunny day!

After some very dismal weather just lately the sun has finally made it's comeback so I thought I'd share a few more pictures of the urbanization where I live.
The first two pictures are the view from our 4th floor apartment front balcony. There is a nice park directly beneath us, the swimming pool (not open until the beginning of June) and further down, a rose garden, petanka court and a little park for the children.
The last picture is a view of the mountain range from the back balcony.

Rainy day gardening

One of the reasons we decided to retire to Spain was to escape the dismal UK weather.
However, while the UK has been basking in unseasonably hot, sunny weather for the past week we've been having unsettled weather.
Yesterday is was raining heavily :( so we decided to go to a nursery garden to buy a couple of planters.
I couldn't believe how cheap the plants were at this little nursery and I really enjoyed our visit even with rain dripping down my neck!
Living in an apartment I do miss my garden although there are some gorgeous flowers on the urbanization for all to share.
Here's a picture of one of my planters taken from the balcony window. We bought two of these planters and our neighbour across the hall came with us and bought two also so we have a nice display of geraniums.

Easter Bunny exchange

Yesterday I received a wonderful box of goodies from my bunny buddy Judy who was paired up with me in the For the Love of Stitching group bunny exchange.
Inside the big egg was the little basket pincushion and matching scissor fob that has a cute china bunny charm.
Peanut butter candies in a bag shaped like a carrot :) a couple of chocolate truffles and a golden egg containing five skeins of Kreinik silk Mori thread.
Wow! I was so spoiled and absolutely delighted with everything that Judy sent.
OK, I know that Easter is now behind us but I just wanted to share a few thoughts on the Easter Bunny.........

THINGS I'VE LEARNED FROM THE EASTER BUNNY


Don't put all of your eggs in one basket
Walk softly and carry a big carrot
Everyone needs a friend who is all ears
There's no such thing as too much candy
All work and no play can make you a basket case
A cute little tail attracts a lot of attention
Everyone is entitled to a bad hare day
Let happy thoughts multiply like rabbits
Some body parts should be floppy
Keep your paws off other people's jellybeans
Good things come in small sugarcoated packages
The grass is always greener in someone else's basket
An Easter bonnet can tame even the wildest hare
To show your true colors you have to come out of your shell
The best things in life are still sweet and gooey

Beatrix Potter Sampler SAL progress

Here's a progress pic. of my Beatrix Potter Sampler. I'm working on this as a SAL with other members of the For the Love of Stitching Yahoo group.
Roberta, one of the group members, is leading the SAL and is posting weekly assignments. I dithered about with several thread choices and wasn't happy with any of them. I finally saw a finished BP sampler done by Lori who posts to the Legacy board. I fell in love with the way hers looked so started mine in the same shade of Vikki Clayton silk - Dusty Rose. I think the fabric is 36ct Zweigart Antique White linen.
I'm a few weeks behind everyone else but hope I will be able to catch up.

It's been a while..............

Poor blog - it's been a while since I last posted anything new here.
Things sometimes get in the way and a two week family visit has kept me away from the PC.
I recently took part in a bunny exchange on the For the Love of Stitching Group and as I heard today that my partner received her package I can upload a picture of the pinkeep I stitched for her.
The chart, Brown Bunny, is by Ewe and Eye and Friends. It's stitched on 32ct linen using one strand of the recommended Anchor thread.