Travelling pattern winner

Hi everyone,
Just a quick post to announce the next destination for the Life's a Stitch travelling pattern. It is now on the way to Mouse in the UK.
So for those of you that were not lucky this time you can check out Mouse's blog and keep an eye out for when she announces it is time for the pattern to travel again.
I have not done much stitching or sewing since my last post so have only a few small things to show.
First is this strawberry pillow which I bought as a kit from Simone at Soed Idee
I didn't want too big a pillow so I swapped out the 30 ct linen in the kit for 40 ct and then I had to cut some of the fabric pieces down slightly.
I also used some of my own ABC trim instead of the letter N that was included in the kit.



Next is a heart shaped pillow using one of Dany's designs


I took a small section of the pattern to stitch a little sprig of the flowers on the back and the date is stitched over one.



In my last post I showed a needle case or huswife made in pink toile fabric and I mentioned that there were two more in the works.
Here they are finished



I used fabric from an old Blackbird Designs line called Madeira in a schoolgirl sampler print. Here's how the outside of the case looks



Out shopping the other day I found a cute little wooden tray in Casa and had to buy it. The base is only four and a half inches square which I thought would be perfect for this lovely design from Blackbird Designs book A Schoolgirl's Work



Since I'm a bit short on stitched/sewn things to show you here's a pic of some yummy new stash from Simone at Soed Idee. Actually, the thread and ric rack are by Nancy at the Victorian Motto Shoppe but it is cheaper for me to buy them from Simone than to send to the USA for the same thing.



Lastly, I forgot to show this lovely Queen's Jubiee tin that friend Angela gave me on her recent visit. It was filled with yummy Marks and Spencer shortbread which is, sadly, just a happy memory now.




As always a big thank you to followers old and new for your continued visits to my blog and for your lovely comments.

Margaret

Life's a Stitch - the travelling pattern is ready to go again

Hi everyone,

I was happy to be chosen by Michelle to be the next stitcher of the LK Life's a Stitch travelling pattern. I dropped everything to get it stitched up fast and here it is finished as a pinkeep.

I found the perfect fabric in my stash for the backing.




So now the travelling pattern is ready to move on. If you would like the chance to be the next stitcher to take part please leave a comment on this post.
You must have a blog and you need to stitch the piece in a timely manner and then send it on to another stitcher. I was stitcher #16 and the pattern has been to Canada, USA, UK and Spain so far.



I've been in the mood for some finishing so I pulled out the Hedgerow Birds Project Bag by Blackbird Designs which I stitched about eighteen months ago. It's been lying in the stitching basket ever since so I'm very happy to have it finished at long last.
This is the front of the bag


Here's the back. I chickened out of doing the buttonholes because I knew that if I messed them up it would turn into something very ugly and I didn't want to take the chance.



Here's a peek inside so you can see the lining fabric I used. It's one from an old Blackbird Designs line called Rhubarb and Ginger.
The Ric Rak is one of Nancy's hand dyed from her Victorian Motto Shoppe. It is the perfect match.


I haven't stitched many Christmas ornaments so far this year but I've had this one on my mind ever since I saw it stitched and finished on Carol's blog
and I wanted one just like it. I stitched this over one on 25ct fabric and finished it with homespun fabric.
The design is by The Sampler Girl and is in the 2011 Just Cross Stitch Christmas Ornament issue.



Here's another one from the finishing pile that finally turned into a finished object.
This is Shepherd's Bush Mermaid Sampler. Friend Sheila gave me her chart and leftover threads from a kit and I loved stitching it.
I used silk ribbon for a ruched ribbon trim



the backing is silk Duponi courtesy of friend Angela.




There hasn't been a lot of sewing done in the last couple of weeks but I did manage to make one small needle case from some pretty toile fabric


it's my go to pattern from the Remembering Adelia book by Kathleen Tracy

this is how it looks inside



there are two more in the works that I will show next time.

Finally, I showed a pack of Cath Kidston postcards in my last post that were a gift from my friend Angela. I found some cheap frames in Ikea, chose my four favourites and now they are ready to hang in my craft room.



I think that's it for now. As always a big thank you for visiting my blog and for your lovely comments.

Margaret

Where to start.........

Hi everyone,
I didn't mean the gap between posts to be quite this long but I have had a V.I.P guest staying and I wasn't at the computer as much as I would normally be.
Friend Angela from UK came for a ten day visit. This was very exciting as we have emailed back and forth for about twelve years and spoken on Skype but until now had never met in person.
Angela brought paper chains, paper hats and little UJ flags so that we could have a belated jubilee party on the day mutual friend Sheila came over.
It was actually morning coffee rather than afternoon tea but how we enjoyed our cheese scones and coffee cake!




It was almost like a birthday party as there were gifts!




with a patriotic theme - fabric, ribbon, cotton tape and Angela's gorgeous handmade pinkeep cards.



and also some Cath Kidston goodies - fabrics, buttons and a fabulous set of postcards.



Once we had demolished the edible goodies we set to work and soon the table looked like this!



Angela had made me a very special gift of a covered notebook with a beautifully stitched mermaid on the front. Isn't it gorgeous?




She wanted to learn how to make a bag so we had a little bag making class and what a great pupil she was!
Here's the bag Angela made using fabrics from Moda's Peace on Earth fabric line



and here's one I made earlier made from Rural Jardin fabrics by French General for Moda. The pattern is the Charm Party Tote by Quilts Illustrated




I also made a tiny keychain clutch from this pattern to attach to a tab inside the bag



Angela has had this primitive doll on her wishlist for some time now so I granted the wish and made one for her



I think that's probably enough for this post but since there is not a lot of stitching content this is Letters Scissor Pouch by Stacy Nash that I stitched a long time ago and finally finished.



It was so nice to spend time with a stitchy friend who I am missing already!




I learned how to do an altoid mint tin finish and hope to show that off next time.
For now thanks for your continued visits and lovely comments.
Wishing you all a very happy weekend.
Margaret