Suddenly it's Summer!

I don't know where the times goes - one minute it was Christmas and now, suddenly it's Summer!
I recently took part in a Good Ole Summertime exchange with one of my Yahoo stitching groups.
My partner has received her package so now I can share what I made for her.
I always associate Summer with strawberries. The Wimbledon tennis championships = strawberries and cream! Happy hours spent in the strawberry fields picking pound after pound of strawberries and eating as many as went into the basket :)
I decided to go with a strawberry theme so here's what I made........



I had some very pretty strawberry print fabric in my stash (incidentally my partner gifted me this fabric one time LOL) so I made a thread tidy bag. For the pincushion part I took an element of the design from LHN Milady's Strawberries as it went so well with the fabric.




I also made a little scissor fob using a design by the Prairie Schooler. Just a reminder here that you can click on any of the pictures for a better view.



On to other things I can't remember the last time I made something for myself so I took one one of my older finishes and turned it into a pinkeep just for me.
The design is from Heart in Hand but I stitched it so long ago I don't remember much more than that it was a set of four seasonal designs. Here's the pinkeep front



and here's the back



Finally. I want to share a picture of the prettiest little pinkeep I received from my friend Angela. A few of the girls in our stitching group had a get together in Holland earlier this year. I had planned to go but some major renovations to our apartment took every spare penny and I decided against it.
Angela had stitched one of these little pinkeeps for each stitcher at the gathering and even though I wasn't there I was lucky enough to still get one along with some other goodies.
I have to tell you I didn't take this picture. I'm using it here with Angela's permission. I fell in love with the little bunnies and asked if there was a pattern as I would just love to make one but, sadly, they were purchased at a nursery garden gift shop.
So here's the front of the pinkeep.



and here's a view of the back. Isn't the little tulip print fabric pretty? I just love this pinkeep.



As always I would like to thank everyone who visits my blog for taking the time and for the lovely comments you leave here. Wishing you all a very happy Summer!

Until next time.

In the Pink (again)

Oh no, not more pink I hear you cry! For anyone that does not love pink you need to look away now :)
I made this tote bag from a pattern by Quilts Illustrated called Charm Party Tote.
The fabric (a charm pack of course) is Moda Quilt Pink 11.
The picture I took is a bit far away but you can click on it for a better view.




I took the bag out on location because the pink bushes below our apartment are so pretty at this time of year



Here's a close-up of the bag to let you see the little flower buttons that are sewn at the corners of the squares.



and there were squares left over so I just had to make a matching pincushion as I'm sure this will be used as a project bag. There are roomy pockets inside the bag - ideal for all those quilting bits and pieces.



I'm sorry there is no cross stitch content in this post. I do have one small finish, then there are finishes that can't be shown and various pieces that are half finished so hopefully next time.

As always, I would like to thank everyone who visits my blog and for your nice comments. I take pleasure in reading them all and would love to respond to each and every one but unless your email address is in your profile I'm not able to reply.

In the Pink

Just a short post today....I started taking pictures but the camera batteries were exhausted before I was halfway done so I'll save the other things I had to show for another time.
This is just a little set I've made using some pretty pink toile fabric that I fell in love with.
The drawstring bag pattern is by Gail Pan. I found a bead necklace on the market for just one Euro and pulled it apart to get the beads for the ribbon drawstring.
I also made a little scissor fob and a matching four patch pincushion. I just stitched a couple of the flowers from the embroidery design on the bag and I think it turned out nice. You can click on the pictures for a better view.



This pincushion is from Cinderberry Stitches pattern Stitched Trilogy



it was a bit hard to get the shape just so with this style of pincushion and I think I'd have preferred it if it had been a bit smaller but it was an enjoyable project to work on.

Sorry this is so short. I have lots of stuff in the works so will hopefully make up for it next time.

Finally, Pat is having a belated birthday giveaway draw.
Just pop over to Pat's blog and leave your comment for a chance to win. I have no idea what the prize is but, knowing Pat, it will be something very nice!

Dilly Bags and More Mermaid Treasures.

I had no idea what a dilly bag was until a couple of months ago when a friend brought one of the Australian patchwork and applique magazines in to my quilting group. I saw this bag in the magazine and just fell in love with it. I'd never done applique before and my machine is very basic so I decided to go with hand blanket stitch around the flower shapes.



I really like the way it turned out and it's BIG. You wouldn't believe how much this bag can hold. I think it makes a great sewing bag the way the pockets go around the side.


By a strange co-incidence my friend Char had been working on a dilly bag at the same time and imagine my surprise and delight when she sent me this bag as a surprise gift.
I absolutely love the bag that Char made. Everything she makes has a special something about it that makes me smile. I love the fabrics she chose and the cute teddy bear applique which makes up one of the three blocks.



This block has yo yo flowers



this is a crazy patch block. There's also a log cabin block and see the special swing tag Char made


It's a slightly smaller bag than the one I made but it still holds such a lot. I can definitely see more dilly bags in my sewing future!

Well, thanks to my lovely friends my mermaid collection is growing all the time.
Angela treated me to Ellen Chesters Maidens of the Sea cross stitch chart just because. I had had my eye on this design ever since it was released and am thrilled to finally have it. I love the two fish thread winders that come with the chart. Also in the picture are the Rue Green linen I'm planning to use, a scissor fob made by me (with an ocean theme of course)and a gorgeous mother of pearl thread winder in the shape of a mermaid that came from friend Sheila who also lives in Spain.
(Click on the picture if you want a close up)



and from Yuko in Japan came this gorgeous mermaid pinkeep. The design is from Carriage House Samplings alphabet series but see how Yuko personalized it especially for me?



Instead of M for Mermaid Yuko stitched M for Margaret! What a great idea. I just love it Yuko and can't thank you enough for this beautiful keepsake.

Finally I just wanted to share the latest additions to my pattern library.



I bought the book Rotary Magic because it is such a good teaching aid for a novice quilter like me. I bought Quilts from Grandmother's Garden sight unseen only to discover that it's a miniature quilt that uses 1/4" hexagons!!! I thought I was crazy enough wanting to do hand piecing in the first place but 1/4" hexagons has to be insanity.
Finally, a new cross stitch book by Blackbird Designs. Thank you Sarah Tobias is a book of designs based on an antique sampler. I love this book and am looking forward to stitching from it.




I'm sorry for the long gap between posts. Sometimes life gets in the way - I'll try to do better.
In the works I have stitchery, cross stitch and a quilted bag made from charm packs.
Hopefully I'll be sharing those with you soon.

A Little Bit of Everything.

Well, it's been a while since my last post but I finally have a few new things to blog about.
I've finished a couple of pinkeeps - the first one is a Brightneedle freebie design Humble Daisys.
I went out on location for the photo shoot LOL. Roaming around the weeds and nettles on a piece of waste ground near to where I live. Anyone passing would have probably thought I was nuts but I had to find a daisy!
Please click on the picture as it looks so pretty when seen close up.

I couldn't decide which picture I like best so you get to see both of them :)

I have no idea what the purple flowers are but they are so pretty. I snapped this picture on my way down to the beach.

The second pinkeep is one of the JBW French Country series using the recommended threads and linen.




Still with the cross stitch I stitched a Stacy Nash Primitives design which was supposed to be a sampler pinkeep drum. Here's how it should have looked



I had so much trouble with it as nothing I did even remotely resembled a drum so here's what I ended up with

I turned the stitched piece into a zippered pouch from a tutorial I found here
I thought the zippered pouch would make a great project bag so I made a matching needlecase. Here's a view of the back of the needlecase

Moving on to stitchery now I just love to visit Nadine's blog and on my last visit I saw the most gorgeous little heart shaped stitchery piece. This reminded me that I had started a heart shaped stitchery from the Bronwen Hayes Flower Bed Quilt book.
I quickly finished the heart and turned it into a little door hanger.

Now I want to show you the newest addition to my mermaid collection :)
I received a lovely surprise in the mail from Roberta who sent me a belated birthday gift. It seems like my birthday went on forever this year but hey, I'm not complaining!
Here is the little glass mermaid. Isn't she just gorgeous? By the way, she's lying on some fancy fabrics I have saved for the day when I do an ocean themed crazy quilt block but I'm not sure when I'll ever get round to that! The little mermaid looks like she is swimming in a sparkling sea doesn't she?

Roberta also sent a tin of Key Lime Coolers - delicious bite sized cookies in the most gorgeous tin that has a view of the ocean and a pretty Marjolein Bastin card. Thank you so much Roberta.

Another friend did something really special for me. Domy is from France and when I told her I loved the cross stitch designs by French designer Isabelle Vautier she told me she would soon be going to a stitching show where Isa V. would be one of the vendors. Domy offered to shop on my behalf by getting me Isa V's book and she was also kind enough to send me a French stitching magazine as well.

Here's the inscription Isa V. did for me in both French and English

and here's a page with some of the many lovely projects

Still on th subject of books and reading matter here is my latest book purchase.


I enjoyed the recent BBC dramatisation of Cranford so much that I wanted to read more of Elizabeth Gaskell.
OK, I'm almost done but I just wanted to show you the prize I won on Nancy's blog


This was for guessing the date and birth weight of her new grand daughter. I guessed the correct date and was within a couple of pounds of the weight. Now why can't I correctly phrophesy the lottery numbers???
Oh, and I'm happy to tell you that one of the three apron swaps came good in the end :)
Maria lives in PA and made me this apron on her treadle sewing machine.

She told me she chose the blue fabric to remind me of the ocean which I love.

Next time I will be showing off two bags. One is made be my friend Char and the other by me.

Exchanges and gifts!

No, you're not seeing double! I really did stitch this pinkeep and scissor fob set twice. The first set went to Hazel in UK who was my exchange partner in a Valentine's Day exchange. The second set went to my friend Angela, also in UK, whose birthday is today. Happy birthday Angela!
The pinkeep design is from the series A Year in Stitches by Shepherds Bush. The little fob is A Rosey Year also by Shepherds Bush. The picture will show at its best if you click on it for a better view.


I didn't have enough of the lavender linen to back both fobs so one is backed in cream silk to match the backing fabric I used on both pinkeeps.

Next I want to share some pictures of what I received from Hazel in the Valentine's exchange.
The first picture shows a beautiful heart shaped pinkeep stitched on palest green linen. It has a little ceramic button in the shape of a flower pot and the edge is trimmed with pink ric rak braid.
Once again be sure to click on the picture for a better view.

Here's a picture of the back of the pinkeep. Hazel stitched our names and the date - such a nice touch.


Also in the package was a pretty little coaster stitched in shades of pink, a gorgeous handmade card with a beaded heart, chocolate hearts, white ribbon with red hearts on it and some heart shaped buttons.


Do you see the little heart shaped ornament hanging from one of the flowers in the vase? Hazel made that as well from sequins and beads - so pretty!

Still on the subject of gifts here's a pinkeep I stitched for Heidi's birthday

As the design was French I used a pretty red toile fabric for the backing

Finally, I received a wonderful surprise from Bren who sent me the most gorgeous vintage half apron I have ever seen. Made from pink ginham fabric and fully lined with organza fabric it's all hand embroidered in a technique known as "chicken scratch"

If you want to learn more about the technique go here
Bren told me this apron would not have been worn to do housework. The sheer organza panel would have shown off the dress the hostess would have been wearing underneath.
I'm absolutely thrilled to have this apron. Thank you so much Bren :)