A Pennsylvania Christmas Sampler

I've admired this design by The Goode Huswife for a looooong time. So when the chart (which has been OOP for a while) came through my letterbox last weekend I had to start it right away. The reason I haven't stitched quite as much as I should have, is because I decided that the blue I'd initially chosen for it didn't work (it was something I had in my stash - I didn't want to buy the blue I should have chosen and wait for it to arrive!) Big mistake! I ended up buying the NPI from Sew & So, and bless them, it arrived just 48 hours after I ordered it. So after ripping out the wrong blue, I'm very happy with the new one. :-)



And as I don't have much stitching to show, a meme to fill up some space...


Where were you 10 years ago? Finishing off uni and working P/T at British Telecom (International Operator). The Call Centre was a 10 minute walk from the house - I had it good!


Five things on your to do list for today.

I'm waiting for guests to arrive, so while I do that (and won't be able to venture far from the house)....

1) Catch up on my weekly accounts (Sunday is my day to do that).
2) Answer some e-mails and write a couple of letters (work related).
3) Laundry (someone has to do it!)
4) Fit some stitching in (I'd better!)
5) Watch the Euro 2008 Final later on this evening (despite no Italy :( )

Exciting day, huh?


Snack foods I like.
Hmmmm there are lots that I "like" I'm sure ;-) Ice cream is good in the summer and I also love fresh fruit salads (in the summer). Currently I also have a thing for almond croissants - I've only just discovered them and they're very yummy!


If I were a billionaire.
I'd need to think about what I'd like to do long term (if I wasn't going to "work"): definitely travel, take classes for "fun", share with family and friends. But I'd give most of it away (to good causes) - who the heck needs that amount of money?


Places I’ve lived.
Although I've stayed in Italy for large chunks of time when I was younger (two months was the longest I think), I've only ever really lived in Scotland.


People I want to know more about
Anyone who cares to fill this out... Please leave me a message if you do!

Sweet Treats!

It's been a while since I last posted! I missed last week out completely... and I was doing so well posting once a week too. Oh well. :-)

I've managed to get a wee bit of stitching in over the past few weeks. I've mostly just stitched on the "Sweet Treats" series by Country Cottage Needleworks. This is a really bad photo - it's taken very late at night (you can click on it to see a larger version though of course). I'm stitching it on Vintage Lentil Belast linen (Lakeside Linen). I haven't actually sewn the buttons on yet, they're just placed where they're supposed to go - I'll leave the buttons 'till the end!


I've decided to stitch a bunch of these "food" (and drink!) designs for my mum. I think they'd look adorable in her kitchen! So let's see how many I can complete and have framed for her birthday in December.

Now, I'm cheating a wee bit here, as I stitched this back in 2005. This is Mini Mandala Gardens I (#3 in the first series).

I used the recommended Mill Hill beads and I was really unhappy with the way the cluster of crystal beads in the centre of the design looked... they just didn't fit on the Belfast linen! Or I didn't do a very good job of making them fit anyway! ;-) So I finally got it out over the weekend, ripped out the beads and replaced them with petite crystal beads instead. It still looks a wee bit wonky, but nothing that won't be fixed when it's stretched for framing. I'm much happier with it anyway. It would have been nice to use delicas... but I didn't have the patience to source just the few beads that I needed. You can see a before shot in my Flickr album here or straight here for the enlarged version.... bad huh? I can't believe I left it so long to fix it!

Thank you for all your lovely comments on Mini Mandala Mystery I. Isn't Martina Weber (Chatelaine) a fabulous designer? I wish I had the stamina to complete one of her large Mandalas! I have two started and a few others kitted up... one of these days! Nicki asked if I planned to stitch all the Mandala's in this new series (Mini Mandala Mystery Gardens - there are 4), and I absolutely do! Martina gave us a sneak peek of all four and I loved them all. I like that they're not as expensive as the large mandalas (and I've also been using DMC instead of the NPI) and that they're easy enough to complete in the three months.

Mini Mystery Mandala 1 Finish

I finished this up yesterday. The last part was fairy quick to stitch.



I used Antique White Belfast linen with the DMC conversion (for the NPIs - otherwise I used all the other recommended thread).

This was a FUN project! I love the mini Mandala Gardens and freebies. You're getting your Chatelaine fix and a quick-ish happy dance... quick isn't a word you can use with the large Mandala Gardens. ;)

I hope that the second in this series will be released soon. I wasn't sure what the schedule for it is going to be?

The Rain Fell & Block #6 VoHRH

Just a quick post from me today. I had a few finishes since I posted last week.

I first of all got to the HALF WAY POINT (yes, I'll announce that in red!) of Village of Hawk Run Hollow! I never thought I'd get there! (I'm generally pretty bad at enormous projects like this one, but I think taking it one block at a time does help psychologically... ;-) )

Block #6

I also started and finished The Rain Fell by Little House Needleworks. I needed a break from all that 40-Count stitching, and this was perfect. I had contemplated either stitching this over-1 or on 40-Count... but my eyes needed a break! So this is stitched on the recommended R&R 30-Count Americana Blend Linen.

I did the raindrops with Smyrna Cross (stitches) rather than regular x-stitch because I thought they stood out a bit better (I also did her buttons that way). What a fun and relaxing project to stitch... and no eye strain! ;-)