Flowers for Sarah is done!

One of my favourite cross stitch designers is Blackbird Designs and as soon as I saw the Flowers for Sarah needle case in the Thank You, Sarah Tobias book I knew I had to stitch it.
I stitched as part of a SAL with a few like minded friends which was a great way to get motivated and actually finish within a set time frame.
I used the recommended R & R Expresso 30 ct linen and Crescent Colours threads.
The finishing fabric is Beach House by Blackbird Designs for Moda.
The linen is quite stiff and was well distressed in that some of the creases seem to be permanent but, hopefully, it all adds to the rustic charm of the piece.












The next thing I have to show you is The Couch Companion which is a design by Leanne Beasley of Leanne's House.
I love all the wonderful things the Australian designers come up with and this was a real pleasure to stitch. The Couch Companion is designed to go over the arm of the sofa to keep all your stitching bits and bobs together while you stitch. I made this for one of my friends here in Spain. I hope she likes it!

Here it is folded



and a few views of it open.





All fabric used on the inside of the case are from the Harvest Home line by Blackbird Designs for Moda

I don't think there can be many cross stitchers that are not familiar with Yuko's blog. Yuko is from Japan and she does the most beautiful stitching and finishing. Not only that but her photography is outstanding.
She recently had a blog drawing to celebrate three years in Blogland and I was lucky enough to win one of her gorgeous pinkeeps.
The pinkeep has a Lily of the Valley design. Yuko says when you give someone Lily of the Valley it brings the recipient happiness. Well it certainly worked for me Yuko as I couldn't be happier :) I will call this my Happiness pinkeep and treasure it always.
Because my pictures are nowhere near as lovely as the ones Yuko took I am borrowing them from her blog. Here is the front



here's the back




and lastly one of my own pictures showing the lovely card and pretty threads Yuko included



I also have a pinkeep of my own making to show. I finished the stitching ages ago and have only now finished it into a pinkeep.
It's the Christmas Spot Sampler by Ewe & Eye & Friends. Yes, I know it's a bit unseasonal especially in the heat of the Spanish summer but if I put it away until Christmas I'd probably forget all about it!



Here's a picture of the back. I used fabric from the Sweet Romance line by Blackbird Designs for Moda. I DID say I love Blackbird Designs didn't I?




I think that's all for now other than a few pictures taken while out and about.
The buttons were on a market stall at a place called Guadamar. I did buy one or two but was so spoilt for choice I could hardly make a decision.


This is part of the fabulous beach at Guadamar




One of my friends lives in one of the apartments overlooking this courtyard and the following picture is the view from her balcony







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Thanks so much for visiting my blog today. I hope everyone is enjoying some sunshine no matter where in the world you are.

Margaret

Catching Up

I really don't know how you bloggers out there manage to stay on top making regular posts to your blogs. I seem to be forever lagging behind but even when I'm quiet I'm still beavering away making something so here are a few updates on some of the things that have been keeping me busy.

I've done some sewing and no post would be complete without a bag. Two of the ladies at my quilting group wanted me to show them how to make one of the bags I've made recently so I worked alongside them putting this one together. Fabrics are Madeira by Blackbird Designs for Moda. It's a pattern you've seen before but it's a nice easy one to make and always turns out great.
Here's the front of the bag



and this is the back (you can click on any of the pictures for a close up)



I love to make things out of nothing so with the few scraps that were left I made the matching zippered pouch



I learned to knit when I was a child and have knitted for most of my life until cross stitching took over about twenty years ago. A couple of years ago I started a lace shawl in fine Alpaca yarn. I got bored with it and put it away until recently when I decided to finish it



It's not the best picture. It was difficult to photograph but I hope you get the idea. The pattern I used is the Flower Basket Shawl by Evelyn Clark.

Still in the mood to work with yarn I had seen a lot of lovely granny squares being crocheted and shown off on various blogs so I decided to have a go. I was never taught to crochet but have managed to pick it up with the help of some online tutorials, You Tube videos and Jan Eaton's book 200 Crochet Blocks from which I worked to make these squares.
I used acrylic yarn for my practice squares but now that I feel confident enough I'd like to crochet a granny square throw in cotton




I've also done a lot of cross stitching recently. I finished all of the stitching on the Flowers for Sarah needleroll that I showed in my last post. I've just received the fabric I had ordered for the finishing so will hopefully have that to share next time.
Meanwhile here are some scissor fobs that I stitched and finished a while ago.
The charts are a series of four seasonal Whimzies by Just Nan. I liked the idea of a fob for all seasons rather than framing.






I did take an individual picture of the Winter fob but it looks a bit unseasonal hanging off the Christmas tree so I've left that picture out :)



Hopefully I won't leave it so long before I make my next post. As always, thanks for visiting my blog and for your lovely comments.
Margaret

It's been a while since my last post so here, without further ado, is what has kept me busy since my last blog entry.

First up is a sewing bag and accessories.



I cobbled two patterns together to come up with this bag. The stitchery, and overall size of the bag is from Crabapple Hill Posy Pockets Handbags and the rest is made up from the Bow Tucks Tote bag by Quilts Illustrated.
The fabric is Moda Simplicity.

To go inside the bag I made a little zippered pouch with a tiny yo yo and button trim, a pincushion with a bigger yo yo and one of the cute needle cases from a tutorial that you can find here Khris has done a great job on this tutorial. It's so easy and only takes about a half hour to make






OK, I just couldn't resist taking this picture



It might have been a good idea if I'd given him a wash first as it seems like the birds have been using him for purposes we won't go into here :)

Staying with the pink theme............I wanted to do some crochet so here's a doily I made from Patricia Kristoffersen's Coffee n Cream Doily book using Coats #12crochet cotton.



Do you remember the mermaid bags from my last post? Well, Sheila and her sister Pamela have been busy making bling to go on our bags. I was blown away when I saw the gorgeous dangly things they have made to hang off the side of the bag and there is also a scissor fob and mermaid needle rest.
You can click on any of the pictures for a better view if you would like.



Every Thursday morning four of us meet up to make bobbin lace.
Now I'm told that children can make bobbin lace but, while I may be approaching my second childhood, this is one craft that does not come easy to me. It takes me forever to produce even the tiniest scrap of lace! Here are two bookmarks that have kept me busy for weeks. It takes Sue, the person who teaches us, just one evening to make one!




There's not a lot of progress in the quilting department either although I have managed to make another hexagon flower from some pre cut fabric hexagon shapes. These are from Keepsake Quilting 100 in a pack made from reproduction fabrics.
I'm not sure what they are going to be used for - I'll decide when I have them all made and laid out.



I don't usually show pictures of my cross stitch WIPS but since I have no stitching finishes to share here's my Blackbird Designs Flowers for Sarah needlecase WIP.
Sorry for the creased state of it. The linen is R & R and it is usually distressed even before I begin bunching it up as I stitch in hand.






Finally I know there are some of you that enjoy the pictures of Spain so here are some from when we went to the market at La Villa Joyhosa a couple of weeks ago.





These coloured houses are part of the old town. They are doing quite a bit of work in that area hence parts of it are cordoned off.




I think that has brought me up to date. I've enjoyed sharing my pictures with you. As always thanks for visiting and for your nice comments :)

Margaret

A long post!

It's a while since I've posted anything but I'm so excited to be showing you what has been keeping me busy over the past few weeks.
A couple of years ago Christine gifted me a piece of gorgeous Laurel Burch Ocean Song fabric. I'd looked at the fabric many times and wondered what I might do with it. I knew I wanted it to be something special but what............
When I made my first dilly bag last year it occurred to me that this would be the perfect pattern to showcase these gorgeous mermaids and so the idea was born.
Ocean Song is an old fabric line and the mermaids are like gold dust to find now but it's still possible to find some of the other fabrics in the range. I bought enough to be able to make two bags as I knew friend Sheila, another mermaid fan, would love one of these bags as much as I did.
I felt these mermaids deserved to be photographed where they would feel right at home so I took the bags to a beach where there are some nice rocks for the photo shoot :) Be sure to click on the pictures for a better view





When Sheila came over to see how her bag was coming along she blew me away when she presented me with this gorgeous Laurel Burch Ocean Song mug!





Now I know for a fact I'll never be able to bring myself to drink out of this mug for fear of dropping it on the hard tile floor we have throughout the house but it will be displayed somewhere safe that I can enjoy looking at it every day.

On to other things... a friend who loves owls had a birthday so I made a matching pincushion and fob for her. The design is one by the Prairie Schooler from the Autumn Leaves book. This is the front view



and here is the back



another small gift I've been working on is a sewing pocket, pincushion and fob.
The pocket and pincushion are from a pattern by Calico Farm and I added the fob by taking a small element of the stitchery design.
Fabrics used are Kona Cotton Natural and the print is Blackbird Designs Madeira



Here's a view of the inside of the sewing pocket



Since there is not a lot of cross stitch content in this post here's my finished Return to the Sea which is a lovely design by The Sampler Girl
I used the recommended threads and a piece of unknown linen from my stash



Another small finish is Stacy Nash Hanging Bluebird Pinkeep. Again this is the recommended threads and unknown linen. This was my first attempt at ageing fabric with walnut ink crystals and I was quite pleased at how it turned out.



Finally, just for fun, here is a picture of the local merceria where I am lucky enough to be able to go to buy trims, buttons etc. The man and wife team that run it know me well and are always delighted to see what I've been making with the things I buy from them. You definitely need to click on this picture! I can take orders LOL.



and since we've already done the nice beach pictures here's a sight you don't see every day in UK which is where I'm from. These goats live about a mile away from us and every day they go out for a walkies. I love to see them out and about even though they do hold up the traffic at times!




Wow! what a long post. Are you still with me? I hope you've enjoyed the pictures as much as I have enjoyed sharing them with you. Thank you for visiting my blog and, as always, thank you for your lovely comments.

Margaret