Hi everyone,
Another month has flown past and I seem to have very little to show for it.
Anyway, here is the round up for September.
A while ago friends Angela, Sheila and I decided to work on this Jardin Privé design as a SAL.



Angela does not sew (or so she tells me) so the deal was that if she stitched the piece I would finish it into a bag for her and Sheila would make her own bag.

Here are the bags I made. My piece (the bag on the left) was stitched on 32 ct linen and the one Angela did is on 40ct linen so the bags are slightly different in size



The fabric line is Petite Maison by Bunny Hill Designs for Henry Glass Fabrics.
I love the little house design used for the back of the bag



If you've been reading my blog for a while you'll know I love to make things into sets so I made matching pouches and eventually, there are to be fobs too but those are still a work in progress.



and finally here's a photo shoot of all three bags which includes the one (on the right) Sheila made for herself


On to other things............I'm enjoying the SAL with Carol so much so that I'm stitching the piece twice
here it is in blue stitched on 36 ct antique white linen with Vikki Clayton Paua Abalone variegated silk.



and here is the pink version stitched on palest pink 40 ct linen again using a variegated silk by Vikki Clayton



A while ago I showed you my progress on a Stacy Nash piece. Here is an update on where I am with it now



There's not that much more left to do and I'd love to get it finished but other things keep getting in the way.

Finally a couple of pictures from our three day mini break to the beautiful city of Toledo which is dominated by the Gothic style cathedral which was begun way back in 1226






We took the little tourist train which is a 45 minute (very bumpy) ride around the outskirts of the city



which afforded us some panoramic views of this historical city



and the medieval walls around it



Finally you may have noticed the new blog layout which includes a for sale button.
I am about to load some pictures on there as soon as I publish this post.
If there is anything you are interested in please email me.
Postage is not included in the price but will be charged at actual cost.
Thanks for looking!

Margaret

Last day of August

Hi everyone,
As always I'm having a last minute panic to get a blog post in before the end of the month. So, with just a few hours to spare, here's some of what I worked on during August.
A couple of posts back I showed you the lovely book by Anni Downs that I won in her giveaway to celebrate the launch of the book.

This is the needlebook and pincushion from the book and I also took one of the little designs to make a scissor fob



The needlebook has more stitchery inside



and opens up further to reveal a felt needlekeeper and pockets



The zippered project bag and supplies pouch are not in the book but I wanted to make a bag to keep everything in. I took the stitchery design for the pincushion and stitched it onto the smaller pouch.



to make a nice set


I'm afraid I've fallen behind with my Christmas ornament a month stitching challenge.
I cheated by finishing a small design that had been in my finishing basket since last year.
It is a free design found on Nan's blog
I stitched it over one on 28ct fabric using Vikki Clayton silks and I used the beaded edge finishing tutorial on Andrea's blog





I took the small holly design and stitched it on the back only this time over two threads





So that's my ornament for July but I still didn't make one for August!

Another one out of the finishing basket that I stitched months ago is this pillow.
It's Basket of Memories by Blackbird Designs. I stitched it with GAST Antique Rose and finished it with a crochet edging using DMC perle cotton.


In the past I've struggled with putting lace or trims around a pillow and had never thought to use crochet until I saw a post on this French blog
see post for August 29th. I thought it was a great idea but had no idea how to do it so Google to the rescue and I came up with this
which worked a treat. It's not easy to crochet with a pillow dangling down!
Maybe I can improve with a bit of practice but overall I'm quite pleased with it.

I've been trying to get into embroidery a bit more and have been enjoying Bari J's website We Love French Knots

I stitched this fun sampler from a free download on Bari's website.



Finally, I can't resist showing you these





Those of you from UK that have been to Betty's Tea Rooms in York and have sampled their Big Fat Rascals will recognize them :)
Sheila sent me Waitrose recipe she found online which I took as a massive hint that I had to bake them for her next visit so I did and they were good!
They are huge and I'm sure they are 1000 calories each so only for special occasions!
Well, that's it for this time. Thank you for visiting my blog and for your lovely comments on my last post.
Margaret

July round up

Hi everyone,
Here's a round up of what I've been working on during the past month but first I want to show you some lovely belated birthday gifts that I've been spoiled with.
This beautifully stitched and framed piece came from my lovely friend Pat in the USA
The design is by Homespun Elegance
and is one of my favourites.



Pat also sent me this gorgeous little Blackbird Designs cupcake finish from the Honeysuckle Manor book.



Friend Angela (no blog but she should have) blew me away with this gorgeous stitched piece which she finished as a needlework accessories tin.



Inside the tin is a very dainty little scissor fob which is stuffed with lavender and a very clever needle minder magnet.



This picture shows the back of the fob which is backed with the same fabric and finished with a little charm.
Please click on any of the pictures for a better view of the work that went into these tiny pieces.



Another gift from Angela. A tiny apron which I'm sure you'll agree has the cuteness factor :)




It has a pocket with a little notepad and pen which is just perfect to hang in the kitchen to jot down those little shopping reminders.
Oh, and there was a lovely little Eiffel Tower notebook and one of Angela's hand made cards in the package as well.



Thank you Angela I absolutely love your gifts!

Now onto the things that have been keeping me busy these past few weeks..........
I finally finished the quilt I have been making for my baby grandson Max.



Fabrics are by Red Rooster with an Old McDonald's Farm theme.

This is the main picture panel


The quilt is all hand quilted



This is the back of the quilt



and finally the label I sewed in the corner.



No post would be complete without a bag :) This one is made with fabric from the Moda Lilac Hill range. Pattern is the Oak Park Bag from Loft Creations which can be purchased as a PDF download here



Cross stitch has taken a back seat with so much sewing and quilting going on but when I have had time to stitch I've been working on this Pears and Strawberries Sampler Sewing Bag by Stacy Nash



using the recommended DMC threads and 40t linen.

I've knitted some socks. Actually, I don't wear socks but it can be freezing cold here in winter so these will make good bed socks!



Finally some crochet granny squares. The fabric you see in the background is Cath Kidston and I wanted to make a crochet granny square afghan using the same colours.
I've done about twenty squares so far but this will be more of a winter project and is currently on the back burner.



Well, that's it for this time. It's very hot here so I'm leaving you with a nice view of the ocean.



Thanks so much for all of your lovely comments on my last post. I do read each and every one and appreciate you taking the time to say hello.

Margaret

A little bit of everything

Hi everyone,
Once again there's been way too big a gap between posts but instead of boring you with my excuses I'll just get on with the pictures as I have a lot to show you.
Hmmm, where to start.............
I was motivated to have a little cross stitch finishing fest one weekend and managed to get three small ornaments finished.
The first is Needles and Pins Heart Pinkeep from Country Stitches
I followed Brenda's instructions for spraying cream linen with coffee before baking in the oven and then I stitched it with the recommended DMC threads. I have to say I absolutely love how this turned out.




I just managed to squeeze the backing out of a 5" square from a charm pack as I thought it went so well with the design.



The next one is Blackbird Designs Winter Garden Pincushion which is my May ornament for the Ornament a Month Challenge.





I used the recommended threads and trimmed it with chenille yarn. Instead of using fabric to back the piece I took one of the motifs and stitched it again three times.



The final ornament is Shepherds' Bush Merry Merry Be which was a kit friend Sheila bought me for my birthday.



This was the first time I've attempted the ruched ribbon trim and while it's not perfect I quite like the way it looks.
I backed it with fabric from the Moda Peace on Earth range. This ornament will count as my June ornament for the challenge so I'm happy to say I've managed to keep up and hang in for the first six months.



On the quilting and bag making front I am still working on hand quilting a quilt I've made for my baby grandson. Pictures to follow soon (hopefully) and I also made another bag from a pattern by Bareroots using fabric from the Blackbird Designs for Moda Garden Party line.




Here's a close up of the stitchery design. You should be able to click on it for a close up if you wish



I haven't done any crochet in a while but have plans for this yarn




which will become a Cath Kidston inspired granny square throw. I'm looking forward to making this.



A few weeks ago I entered a giveaway on Australian designer Anni Downs blog.
You had to guess how many buttons in a jar to win a copy of her latest book and imagine how thrilled I was to be one of the two winners!
I could hardly wait for the package to arrived and when it did, well, all I can say was I had high hopes and I was not disappointed!



The book has 112 pages and is crammed full of designs that I absolutely love.
There are patterns for three quilts, a table runner, a pillow, bags etc.
and for those of you, like me, that live in a place where just about every single thing has to be purchased sight unseen online I thought I'd show you lots of inside pictures so you can see for yourself how nice the book is.



How lovely is this little needlework bag?






and the accessories to go inside it





Another bag - LOVE this one



Finally, I want to show you some sweet little pin books that my friend Angela has been making.





Each pin book is printed onto quality cardstock which is then gently distressed for an aged look. They measure about 3" X 1 1/2"

How about this one with the popular 1940's Keep Calm and Carry on motto



each pin book has matching wool felt interior with three pearl head pins



I've kept the best til last of course and here is the latest mermaid in my collection.
This one is trimmed with narrow grosgrain ribbon and vintage buttons




I think these little pin books would make great gifts for stitchy friends or maybe you would like one of your own. If so just email me. I can then put you in touch with Angela who is happy to make them to order for you at a reasonable price.

That's it for now so, as ever, a big, big thank you for visiting my blog and for your kind comments
Margaret