An Italian Scot's Stitching Journal...

Green Tree Chart

2010-04-19T09:23:00.002+01:00

Apologies for not getting around to doing this yesterday as promised.

And the winner of the "Green Tree" chart is....

Giovanna!

(I'll be in touch sometime today, Gio.. )

I didn't use very scientific methods to do this drawing: I asked someone else in the house to pick a number! ;-P I was all set to look into Random.org (I've always wanted to use that!) but... well... this was just easier today. :-)

Thank you to everyone else who commented!

I was given two blog awards last week by Karen. Thank you Karen, that was so nice of you! ♥ Particularly, as I mentioned to Karen, considering I don't "blog" very often anymore these days. I'm always surprised that anyone is still even reading my blog! I had big plans to incorporate these awards into this post, but it's going to have to be another day, as I must go work now (bothersome - but it's necessary - otherwise I wouldn't be able to buy stash!) ;-)

Have a great week!

Green Tree & The Violet Sampler Finishes

2010-04-11T18:18:00.011+01:00

** Just to mention, I'll do a "drawing" for the CHS pattern this Sunday (18th) :-) Thanks for your nice comments. **

Has is really been almost three months since I was here last? That definitely deserves a "yikes!" I guess I've been stitching less than I thought. :-) Which is no wonder really now that I think about everything that's been happening this year so far... and our busy time of the year is only just starting too.

I have still been stitching, though! I finished Green Tree by Carriage House Samplings this weekend, and that motivated me to get onto the blog and UPDATE. Even if it's going to be short!

Green Tree by Carriage House Samplings
Fabric: R&R 40-Count Sheep's Straw Linen
Converted to Vikki Clayton silks.

Lovely Nicki passed this chart onto me after she had finished with it (thanks again Nicki). I'd love to pass it on to someone else now that I've stitched it... so please leave a comment if you'd like the chart.

I also finally finished The Violet Sampler by The Drawn Thread. This ended up taking longer than it should have, because I ran out of one of the silks and then had to wait for it to ship from the US... The sampler sadly got chopped in the scanner - didn't quite fit!

The Violet Sampler by The Drawn Therad
(scan without the beads/charms)
Fabric: 32-Count Amethyst (Lakeside Linens)
Converted to Vikki Clayton silks.

I attempted to take some photos after I stitched on the beads/charms. NOT good. I definitely need some photography lessons! Why can't I take decent photos of stitching on darker fabrics?

Very bad Photos!! ;-)
(SORRY)

Now it's time to run back out to the garden... making the most of the lovely weather while it's here!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-19T12:59:00.008Z

Remember me? I know it's been a while. I'm awful at taking "WIP" photos during a project, and I haven't really had a lot of stitching photos to show otherwise. Dull, dull, dull... I know.

I have a few finishes though, so thought I'd pop in with a few photos and to say hello. :-)

Victoria Sampler's Christmas Village that I finally finished this week.

(Dumbarton Castle in the background!)

I used the recommended Smokey Pearl Belfast Linen with all the recommended threads. I did make a few wee changes:

* I used smyrna cross stitch for the snow drops rather than regular cross stitch.
* I used two strands of silk floss for the snowflakes rather than the recommended one.
* For the lettering, I used Crescent Colours Belle Soir Noir (that I had in my stash) rather than the AVAS #3834, as I thought it was too close to the fabric colour.
* I left out some beads here and there, and stitched the beads directly onto the fabric rather than over the cross stitch (as recommended in the chart).

I think that was it!

I thought it would be a nice companion piece to Jingle Bell Xmas Tree Farm that I stitched back in December 2008. This was supposed to be my December/Christmas project, but it ended up extending into my "half of January" project too. I hadn't anticipated how long it was going to take!

And finally, my "autumn" project was Rubie Owl's Sampler by Plum Street Samplers.

(apologies for the white blob covering up my last name!)

Happy New Year! Wishing you all a happy and healthy 2010. ♥

P&P by The Sampler Girl & a BIG new start!

2009-09-08T12:41:00.007+01:00

I'm just dropping by once again to share a few stitching photos. I know my posts are rare these days - but I will stop by when I have enough stitching photos to share.

I finally finished a design by The Sampler Girl! Why oh why it's taken me so long to do that I don't know, as I absolutely adore Tanya's designs and love her wonderful blog. I don't see this one stitched up often enough - and it's very pretty, take my word for it - the scan doesn't do it any justice at all.

Pride & Prejudice by The Sampler Girl
Fabric: R&R 32-Count Crème Brulee linen

As it wasn't intended as a wedding/anniversary sampler I decided the most appropriate would be to use Elizabeth & Darcy's initials instead, and I kept in the year that P&P was published. Just enough specialty stitches to make it very fun to stitch too.

And my new (big) start - Le Marquoir de Justine. I've wanted to stitch this for many years, so I can't tell you how excited I am to have made a start.

For those who don't know the story behind Le Marquoir de Justine... This is a reproduction sampler charted by Anne Pelletier-Pauleau. The original sampler I believe is in a museum in Provence. The original was stitched by a little girl, Justine Matthy, aged 8 in 1818, when she was preparing for her First Holy Communion. She sadly died only two years later at the age of ten.

I would guess that I'm about 1/3 into it. I'd love to keep stitching on, but I'm getting a bit frustrated by the size. I don't like to stitch in hand, and using q-snaps on something this big can get a bit messy at a certain point! So to avoid pulling my hair out, I'm going to take a wee break and stitch on something else for a while instead. Though I can't wait to get back to it!

This is mostly being stitched with NPI silks. There was one NPI I had to switch as it got lost in the fabric - I couldn't find another NPI in my stash that worked, so I subbed it with Crescent Colours Little House Brown instead (an odd choice, but it seems to be working). I'm using Lakeside Linen 40-Count Vintage Nutmeg that I've seen a few other stitchers use and absolutely fell in love with.

I already know the exact spot I'll be hanging this up when it's finished too! :-D

Some Drawn Thread & Sheepish Designs finishes!

2009-07-20T16:58:00.006+01:00

Oh my - I thought I'd forgotten my password there and couldn't log in! Yup, that goes to show how long it's been since I tried to log into blogger... oops! I'm not going to be back to "regular" blogging, but I was uploading some stitching photos to Flickr earlier and thought I'd pop in to say hello and to let you know that I'm still happily stitching away when I get the chance. :-)

Toccata Number One by The Drawn Thread
Fabric: Ivory Belfast Linen
Fibers: Mostly silks (NPI, Gloriana, Waterlilies)
Many more photos of this at my Flickr album.

I haven't done the hemstitching border yet and I'm not sure whether I will or not. We'll see. I have a hard enough time taking scissors to fabric just to cut the right size piece for a project, let alone for hemstitching or hardanger or anything scary like that! ;-P The only change I made to the original design was to Block #6 (the block directly below the letter "B"). I could not get the Honeycomb Filling Stitch to look right no matter what I tried (and I frogged it twice) - it was so untidy looking and absolutely horrible, so I ended up replacing it with the exact same stitch that was used in Block #26 (I forget the name!). It used the same holes for the pulled work, meaning I wasn't left with big gaping holes in the block! Yay!

I can't tell you how much I loved stitching this and how sad I was to finish it. I've pulled out Toccata Number Two and I'm debating about whether to start it straight away or not. I've also moved Toccata Number Four way up to the top of my wish list. If only they weren't so darn expensive! It's sooooo exhausting ;) talking myself into spending so much money on a stitching project when I have so many other beautiful projects already kitted up. Sighs. :)

And before I started Toccata #1, I finished up my Sheepish Designs project that I talked about in my last post way back in April!

Alpha Birds; Alpha Menagerie; Alpha Sheep by Sheepish Designs
(on one piece of fabric, of course)
Fabric/Fibers: 35-Count Crème Brulee linen with NPI silks (1 over 2)

As you see, my photography skills have not improved in the months I've been gone. There are some other photos here, at the end of the album.

I'm only stitching on average I'd say maybe 5 or 6 hours per week. It's amazing how much you can accomplish even with that! The Sheepish Designs project took me 3 months and Toccata Number One about 3 or 4 weeks.

Well, that's it from me. I will drop by again at some point with stitching photos. I hope everyone is well.

A finish, a new start, and taking a wee break...

2009-04-21T12:43:00.010+01:00

I have some stitching photos to share, so time for me to get one of those rare (of late) blog entries in.

Evening Shades the Garden
Blackbird Designs (Loose Feathers #3).
Fabric: Cream Quaker Cloth Linen.
Stitched Over-1.

Photo below to show how tiny it is.

I adore Blackbird Designs (and particularly the Loose Feathers series). I've been collecting the Loose Feathers since #6 was released. I found No. 1 & 3 on eBay recently, so I pretty much have the whole collection. I'd better get my stitching skates on if I want to stitch them all. :-)

I also started another project a wee while ago:

Alpha Birds by Sheepish Designs.
Fabric: R&R 35-Count Creme Brulee Linen.
NPI silks (mostly 1 over 2).

I've wanted to stitch this for a very long time and finally got it out of the box a few weeks back. I plan to stitch the three in the series on the one piece of fabric.

Now... I've been thinking about this for a wee while, and I think I'm going to take a wee break from this blog. Do I post enough anymore to even justify saying that? ;-) I'm thinking not :-) but I will all the same, just in case anyone wonders where I've disappeared to. Asides from the fact that I'm going to be super busy over the next couple of months, I don't think I'm really stitching enough at the moment to make this blog very interesting. I also think I generally just need a wee break from the blogging world too. As I said in my last post, I feel awful that I'm not commenting on many blogs anymore right now (even my most favourites) -- and I DON'T want to be one of those people who starts off each and every blog entry with apologies ;-)

Thank you for the lovely and supportive comments in my last post. I'm still reading your blogs, and I *will* eventually start leaving comments again when I get the chance, I promise!

I'll be sure to update my Flickr album whenever I have stitching updates (I still update Webshots too - I really do need to pick between the two to save myself from uploading everything twice... I mean how daft is that?!)

I'm keeping up with a few of my stitching friends on Facebook (I guess that's another reason why taking a break from blogging doesn't seem that bad!) I've grown to really enjoy Facebook over the past year or two. I've never been into any of the other social networking sites, but everyone seems to be on Facebook these days. I'm back in touch with many old friends and colleagues, not to mention family around the world that I don't keep in very good contact with otherwise. This keeps me up to date with everyone - more so than my blog does (where only my stitching buddies really read it due to the content). I also feel more comfortable with the privacy of Facebook too, so I don't mind putting more information about myself on there, as only my "friends" can see it.

I'm sure I'll be back soon enough, but until then I hope everyone has a lovely spring (or autumn depending on where you are) and I'll look forward to catching up with you on your blogs or Facebook often. :-)

Tina x

Still Here...

2009-03-22T23:04:00.006Z

I know it's been a while. Nothing is wrong and I'm still stitching (albeit not as much as usual). I guess I just haven't felt much like blogging lately and I do feel a bit bad about that. Though honestly, what makes me feel worse is that I haven't been commenting on everyone elses blogs lately. I do a "catch up" on my favourite blogs every 2-4 weeks or so. But by that point, I have so many to catch up on that I find it difficult to leave everyone comments. :-( I'm truly sorry if I haven't stopped by your blog in ages.

Just to show that I've still been stitching a little, this is what I've completed lately.

Morning Birds by Plum Street Samplers

Stitched with NPI silks on Lakeside Linen 40-Count Navy Bean
Loved stitching this and absolutely adore the designer
(love her blog as much as I love her designs!)

Moon Garden by Blackbird Designs (Loose Feathers #8)

Stitched with GAST on R&R 18th Century Rook Linen
I couldn't get a decent photo or scan of this in any way! :-(

If anyone is still reading, thanks for dropping by. :)

I've been stitching - really I have!

2009-02-01T15:51:00.011Z

I'm sorry that I haven't blogged in such an age! I've actually been stitching (I have proof!) - I just haven't been blogging. Usually if I don't post for a while it means that I haven't been stitching very much - but I got a decent amount in last month.

First off though I wanted to share the beautiful floss tag that I received as a gift from Karen.

Isn't it beautiful? Karen also sent me those gorgeous Vikki Clayton silks that I can't wait to use. Thank you again Karen, you are such an angel!

Instead of indulging in "Guilt Free January" this year, I decided to look through my WIP pile. I was really happy not to bring any 2008 starts into 2009 with me, so I then looked through my 2007 starts and I'm happy to report that I finished two!

Quaker Samplings I by With My Needle
Fabric: Lakeside Linen Maple Sugar
(with Crescent Colours Milady's Teal)

Winter Blues by Just Nan
Fabric: Legacy Linen Winter White
(with all the recommended silks)

Some more detailed photos below...

I did have one new start in January (didn't say I was an angel or anything!) I'll share that next time. :-)

I started re-watching ER from Season 1 a few weeks back. I've been collecting the DVDs since they started being released, but haven't got around to actually watching them until now. I thought as the series was coming to an end over the next few months that this was the time to start re-watching. This was my favourite TV show for quite a number of years when it first started -- there wasn't anything else like it on TV at the time. Coming to the end of Season 1 I've absolutely loved watching it again. I haven't seen any of the last few season at all (possibly the last 3 or 4), so I'm looking forward to seeing those eventually too, even though I know they'll be nothing like the "old days".

Did anyone watch the Australian Open Final today? Oh my gosh, how sad for Roger Federer! He was inconsolable. I so want him to beat the record held by Pete Sampras of the most Grand Slam wins. You'd think that he could still do it, but you have to wonder (a wee bit anyway) after today. Though having said that, how amazing is Rafa Nadal? I've been following tennis ever since I was 5 or 6-years-old, but I can't remember two players as amazing as these two. I don't just mean their talent, but what gentlemen. It's always a treat to see them in these finals together: I don't think you'll see a rivalry like this one again for a long time to come. Federer just needs to win another Slam (or two!) this year. ;-)

Thanks for dropping by -- if anyone out there is still reading. ;-)

Happy New Year!

2009-01-02T16:35:00.005Z

Just a very quick post from me to wish everyone a Happy New Year! I hope you've had a lovely Christmas and have a wonderful 2009.

Also a quick (and appropriate?) finish to share - Miss New Year's Fairy!

Miss New Year's Fairy (LE Kit by Mirabilia).
Fabric: Silkweaver Reflections Precious Metals linen.

A little close-up to show how heavily beaded she was (I hadn't realised until I started stitching!)

This was a very quick stitch and is much more pretty in person than the photos show (as I think is the case with most Mirabilia designs).

I was looking over my finishes for 2008 and was surprised at how many projects I've managed to complete (23), as there have been a few periods where I haven't stitched much. What I'm even happier about is that I'm not carrying any projects over from 2008 - everything I started in '08 I finished in '08. That's not to say that I don't have projects started from before 2008 of course. Four of those I should be able to finish with no problems fairly quickly if I put my mind to it.

There's also of course Village of Hawk Run Hollow that I'm 50% of the way through. It seems I'm destined to complete this by stitching three squares a year! Seems like very little, but I guess if it works for me, and I'm not in any rush to finish it, then what the heck. I usually stitch the three squares in quick succession and then get a bit fed up and don't touch it again for 6-9 months... BUT when I do get it back out I'm really enthusiastic about working on it again. Yeah, didn't say that I wasn't weird...

Stitching NY Fairy also made me wonder why I don't work on Mirabilia's more often than I do. I haven't really stitched many over the past couple of years... and I really love to. I think I'll have to pick one out to work on in 2009.

Thanks for stopping by and Happy New Year!!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-22T22:42:00.004Z

I thought I should get a quick post in here otherwise I'm probably not going to get the chance before the new year. I do luckily have a finish to share (so perfect excuse to say hello!)

This is all I've pretty much been working on since I last posted. It took me quite a while to get into it really (not until I'd finished the first band) and then I really enjoyed it, though it was a bit of hard work - I'd forgotten all the instructions that go along with this designer. :-)

So, here is Victoria Sampler's Jingle Bells Xmas Tree Farm.

The Photo (which as always is too dark at this time of year!)

And the scan (which is a wee bit better, but the whole thing wouldn't fit in the scanner!)

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas. Merry Christmas!

Framing!

2008-12-08T01:03:00.015Z

I had my hands very full coming out of the framers on Friday, and I was so pleased with everything.

First up, all six (though it actually adds up to 15 designs!) Little House/Country Cottage Needlework pieces:

And here they are individually. Though none of the photos came out particularly well unfortunately - no natural light (all taken with my daylight lamp).

Snoopy insisted he be put in here - says he hasn't had much blog time lately!

More close-up photos...

Unfortunately I didn't get any decent individual shots of Ice Cream Sundae or Gourmet Garden.

Then.... remember A Pennsylvania Christmas Sampler? That one was framed in this haul too (and it's the only one of the bunch that's all for me!)

This is definitely one of my most favourite designs ever.

Phew - I think that's them all! No (new) stitching photos to share this time... I unfortunately haven't had the chance to stitch much over the past week. I'm happy I managed to finish my Christmas cards and a couple of letters I wanted to put in along with those cards this weekend. I'm all up to date with that now. Yay!

Thank you for your lovely comments on my last post. I hope everyone is having a good December.

Christmas-y Stitching

2008-12-03T11:00:00.005Z

I love this time of the year. December is definitely one of my favourite months. I normally do the majority (if not all) of my Christmas shopping in November, so that I can enjoy December without the stress of figuring out what presents to buy everyone! I much prefer to pick up gifts when I come across something I like for someone anyway, rather than feeling pressured to buy something just for the sake of it because time is running out.

And of course December is also a favourite month for stitching, when time allows. I got a head start on my Christmas stitching this year with a couple of finishes already!

Christmas Tea by Plum Street Samplers
Fabric: 40-Count Vintage River Willow (Lakeside Linens)
Stitched with the recommended Belle Soie Silk (lovely silks!)

Yule Sampler by The Primitive Needle
Fabric: 40-Count Heritage Linen (Picture This Plus)
Stitched with the recommended Crescent Colours

I hope everyone is having a good start to the upcoming holiday season. Thanks for stopping by, I appreciate it very much. :-)

November - The month of Little House Needleworks!

2008-11-24T14:26:00.011Z

...and a wee bit of Country Cottage Needleworks, too! Yes, I've really spent all of my stitching time in November on LHN & CCN designs. I'm sure I've mentioned before that one of my "projects" for this year was to stitch a bunch of these (adorable) designs for mum's kitchen for either her birthday (which is on 2 December) or Christmas... It took me longer than I expected to finish them up, so to avoid panicking, I've decided to give them to her for Christmas instead. ;-) I'll be taking them all in to get framed tomorrow.

To share those that I've finished this month (though I may have started some of these before November, but I didn't take any WIP photos).

The Tea Series
(Herbal Tea; Iced Tea; Spiced Tea)
Designer: Little House Needleworks
Fabric: Vintage Country Mocha Belfast Linen
more detailed (scans) below...

Coffee Menu
Designer: Little House Needleworks
Fabric: Vintage Country Mocha Belfast Linen

Ice Cream Sundae
Designer: Country Cottage Needleworks
Fabric: Vintage Country Mocha Belfast Linen

Gourmet Garden
Designer: Little House Needleworks
Fabric: Vintage Light Examplar Belfast (Lakeside Linen)

And those I finished earlier in the year...

The Coffee Series
(Caffe Latte; Frappuccino; Cappuccino)
Designer: Little House Needleworks
Fabric: Vintage Country Mocha Belfast Linen
You can see more detailed scans here and here.

Sweet Treats
Designer: Country Cottage Needleworks
Fabric: Vintage Lentil Belfast (Lakeside Linens)

I didn't love the colours in Ice Cream Sundae... I started at the top and it took me a while to get into a groove with it. I still don't love the colours and it isn't a favourite, but it grew on me and it's actually really pretty IRL. And I admit that I did get a wee bit bored towards the end there, but that was more to do with the fact that I only stitched these designs for about 4 weeks. Otherwise I really did love stitching each and every one. :)

At the current time, my mum has THIS up in her kitchen:

I stitched this when I was 13! Time to take it down, mum! (hopefully at Christmas!) ;)

Thanks for stopping by! I know I'm dreadful at updating my blog these days, so I appreciate anyone that still drops by from time to time. :)

P.S. I notice Boomspeed.com has been up and down lately, hence a few of my photos aren't always showing (i.e. the header photo!) Hopefully it'll sort itself out, otherwise I'll need to move them over to another photo hosting site.

A Happy Tina!

2008-11-24T08:48:00.004Z

I wasn't expecting anything nice in the post this weekend, so you can imagine how excited I was to receive a little package from Barbara (one of my favourite people and bloggers - I always feel happy when I read Barbara's blog... between photos and stories of her beautiful family and her amazing needlework, who wouldn't smile when reading her blog?)

And then when I opened the package I was even more excited and touched!

A Brightneedle chart I've wanted for ages, a gorgeous van Gogh bookmark and the Tulip Pynkeep floss tag I'd been admiring on her blog only a week or two ago. :) This is more beautiful in person than any of the photos show. Though there is a much better photo of it on Barbara's blog here.

Thank you Barbara, you're an angel.

I'll maybe be back later on today with some stitching photos (yes, I really am still doing some of that!)

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-30T14:22:00.005Z

I've been so quiet on my blog (and on the stitching front) lately that you probably thought I was going to pass on the Halloween stitching for this year, right?

I couldn't do that! Not that I'm big on Halloween, but I *love* to do a little bit of Halloween stitching every year.

Trix or Treat by Blackbird Designs
Stitched on 32-Count Crème Brulee linen (R&R)

A little note found on the chart: "In the early to mid 1900s postcards were sent to offer holiday wishes. Barb found several from the 1940s celebrating Halloween. These old cards spelled trick differently. She decided to use the old spelling "trix" for this small sampler. We wish you treats not "trix" this Halloween!"

Halloween Spot by The Drawn Thread
Stitched on 32-Count Lambswool Jobelan

Halloween is a Hoot by Heart in Hand Needleart
Stitched on 32-Count Lambswool Jobelan

Those were fun! Is it too early to start some Christmas stitching now?

I just wanted to say a big thank you for all the lovely comments and e-mails I received after my last post earlier this month. Our stitching community is such a wonderful place. I'm only sorry that I haven't been more involved these past months.

My eye has been absolutely fine since that horrible weekend. Having said that though, I've been trying not to overdo it either. So far so good!

Happy Halloween!!

A Finish (Yay!) and Eye Strain (Ouch!)

2008-10-05T11:50:00.004+01:00

Yes, some stitching content at long last! The last time I shared some stitching photos was way back when Rafa Nadal won Wimbledon: and how long ago was that?! I did take quite a break from stitching this summer. I didn't mean to and didn't plan it, but with the summer being as busy as it was... and then when I haven't stitched in a while it's difficult to pick it back up again.

But finally, here's my Sweet Treats finish:

Designer: Country Cottage Needleworks

Fabric: Vintage Lentil Belfast (Lakeside Linen)

I should add that I took this photo at night with the Daylight lamp - IRL it's not as dark as this. I'm planning to do a bunch of food & drink designs (by Little House Needleworks and Country Cottage Needleworks) for mum's kitchen. I'll give them to her for either her birthday (in December) or Christmas - so I'll need to get a move on now if I want to get a few more done.

I was finally starting to get back into stitching a bit the week before last when after just a few evenings of doing it I woke up one morning to the MOST awful eye strain I've ever had. :/ I used to suffer from eye strain quite a bit about 4 years ago. I put it down to lack of sleep due to opening up the new business and being so busy. As soon as that settled down (and I was able to sleep for more than 4 hours a night), I didn't get it very often anymore - maybe once or twice a year at the most. When I suffer from it, it's usually if I'm woken up suddenly (from e.g. the alarm). As soon as the "air" hits my eye when I open it, it's agony. It takes about an hour to get over it: the only way to recover is to relax my eye - ideally go back to sleep for an hour or so if I'm able to. Sometimes the eye feels a bit delicate for the rest of the day, but there's no pain.

However the week before last - OMG it was AWFUL. It knocked me out for the whole day. I was in so much pain - I couldn't even open the eye that wasn't in pain, because it effected the other one. And I'm honestly not a big wimp when it comes to pain. So from 7am through to 3pm I pretty much couldn't open either of my eyes. It was starting to ease up a bit by 2.30-3pm, so I took a nap for an hour and when I got up I could open my eyes again without being in complete agony, but there was still some pain and discomfort for the rest of the evening and the next day. My eyesight isn't bad. Sure, I've been wearing glasses since I was about 19, but I can see fine without them too (i.e. if I forget to take my glasses with me somewhere it's not a disaster). I'm good at getting my eyes checked regularly - I got new glasses six months ago and I'm always told I have healthy eyes. I got some drops for my eyes and I was fine after that, but I've been very careful since: trying only to do the minimum on the computer (which I need to do for work) and no stitching until this weekend (and only a little). I've also bought an anti-glare screen protector for my monitor - which I should have done a LONG time ago, as I have a feeling the monitor is the main cause of this.

So let's hope I have no more eye strain episodes and that I'm back stitching regularly again, because I sure have missed it. I also need to catch up with so many blogs - I've missed that just as much.

Sports Blog?

2008-09-07T23:22:00.002+01:00

This has not turned into a Sports Blog! I repeat, this has NOT turned into a Sports Blog.
I promise I will NOT post any more sports news for the rest of the year (urm, unless of course a Scot wins the US Open tomorrow night, then you'll forgive me if I mention that, right?)

But I just *had* to say....... GO ANDY MURRAY!!!!!!!

*Stitching Updates Soon*

The Olympics!

2008-08-19T12:46:00.010+01:00

Champions: Chris Hoy (centre) celebrates GB's team sprint gold with Jamie Staff (left) and Jason Kenny.

I've read on a few blogs how there was a lack of excitement in the lead up to the Olympic Games this time around. I felt exactly the same. I didn't even watch it the first couple of days. Then I started watching some events, and BOY did I get hooked FAST!

I am so happy and excited that Team GB has been doing SO well. Currently 15 Gold medals (31 medals total) and 3rd on the medals table. Our best Olympics in how long? (well before my lifetime anyway!)

But I'm most proud and excited for out Scot, Chris Hoy, who just won his third Gold at these Games... The first ~~British man~~ Brit (ETA either male or female - my mistake!) in 100 years to win 3 Golds in a single Olympic Games.

Maybe I should have posted this at the end of the Games, but I got so excited when CH won that Gold there! ;-P GO CHRIS!!

I'm going to be sad when it ends, but I'll be counting down the days for London 2012!!

The 1980s!

2008-08-03T02:20:00.005+01:00

I'm sad to say that I still haven't been stitching! But just to check in with everyone and so that you know I haven't fallen off the face of the earth... I was uploading some photos to Facebook and couldn't resist posting this one.

Of course I've seen this photo many times, but my jaw just hit the floor.... Look at that carpet! And the TV! (it only had 3 channels and NO REMOTE! horrors!) Oh look at that purple lampshade (well it does bring out the purple in the carpet... ) All that was missing was the red furry wallpaper (no kidding - I guess it was changed a few years before this photo was taken). Ah, don't you just love the 80s? In my defense, I did NOT pick any of these colour schemes or patterns... shame on my mother!

From L-R is my nonna, her brother (uncle Freddie), my brother, Anna (my mum's cousin), Anna's daughter Francesca, and me trying to squeeze into the photo on the far right there.

I hope that you're all having a lovely summer. :-)

Blog Award

2008-07-26T11:58:00.003+01:00

I was so surprised and chuffed to bits to be nominated for this blogging award this week by Veronica, Gio and Asta... three wonderful ladies who's blogs are an inspiration to me. Thank you ladies! Though I really don't deserve it.

The Rules are...

1. The winner can display this award on their blog.
2. Display a link to the person you have gotten the award from.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs you like.
4. Set the links to the blogs on your blog.
5. Leave a comment on the blogs you have chosen.

How difficult is it to choose among some of the wonderful blogs I read regularly... In no particular order...

1. Michelle at Bleeding Espresso
2. Just Eat Lah....
3. Dani at A Work in Progress
4. Cherrye at My Bella Vita
5. Eleni at But First I...
6. Sasha at Collection of Moments
7. ALL the wonderful stitching/needlework blogs out there... I can't choose just a few! You're all an inspiration to me. Is that cheating? Oh well...

----

A little note... I'm so sorry that I haven't blogged very much lately. I'm behind (once again) on my blog reading too. July has been an incredibly busy month with work, trips, visitors and other things. No stitching either! :( Ah well, c'est la vie.... I'm sure I'll have lots more free time again when the summer is over.

Federica & Aldo

2008-07-15T16:36:00.004+01:00

No stitching photos this week. Can you believe I haven't picked up my stitching in over a week? I'm way behind with my blog reading too!

Congratulations to Federica & Aldo!

Rome 12.07.2008

A finish, some Wimbledon and a quick Meme

2008-07-06T21:43:00.008+01:00

I finished off "A Pennsylvania Christmas Sampler" during the amazing men's final at Wimbledon today (before their first rain break). I took some photos of it in natural light this time, but they ended up coming out worse than the ones with my daylight lamp! Go figure! Move to a warmer (and brighter) climate?! Apologies for the poor photos (again!)

I so loved stitching this, it's definitely on my list of favourites. I stitched it on Picture This Plus Legacy Newcastle Linen with HDF & NPI silks. I'm amazed I finished this over the course of the past week, because it feels like I haven't stitched much at all. It must have been all those tennis matches I've been watching (and stitching to). ;-)

And speaking of which, what a Wimbledon final that was. WOW! I was hoping Federer would win his 6th consecutive title if I'm honest (I bet Björn Borg was relieved - they get to share the record for five consecutive titles now, which I guess should be a safe record for a while!), but how can you not be happy for Nadal? Those are both the greatest of champions in every sense of the word. It's a shame there could only be one winner.

And a little meme that I've seen on several blogs lately and looks like fun.

The Concept:

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd's mosaic maker.

The Questions:

1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name.

And this is what I came up with...

Click to make it larger!

My Answers...

1. What is your first name? Concetta
2. What is your favorite food? Pasta
3. What high school did you go to? Notre Dame
4. What is your favorite color? Autumn colours
5. Who is your celebrity crush? Jeff Bridges
6. Favorite drink? Latte Macchiato
7. Dream vacation? Tuscany
8. Favorite dessert? Sfogliatelle (totally forgot to put this in my favourite "snacks/treats" in my last meme... )
9. What you want to be when you grow up? (when I was a kid?) a teacher
10. What do you love most in life? family and friends
11. One word to describe you. organised (most of the time)
12. Your flickr name. Positano

A note about the "crush": Jeff Bridges! I had a decent selection on the first page of Flickr to choose from, but they all seemed a bit dull... to see him in character as "The Dude" always has me in stitches... The Big Lebowski is such a great film! :-)

I hope everyone has a great week! I'm going to be very busy... I don't anticipate much stitching time! :-(

ETA: In honour of my cousin Aldo who's getting married on Saturday, I found these photos of us from when we were kids - it must have been way back in 1983 in Italy. I'm 8 and he's 9. Very attractive background in both photos huh? Especially the one in the bathroom! LOL! Ah... those were fun summers, though!

A Pennsylvania Christmas Sampler

2008-06-29T11:42:00.005+01:00

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!

2008-06-22T18:39:00.006+01:00

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

2008-06-10T13:03:00.003+01:00

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

2008-06-03T14:39:00.005+01:00

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! ;-)

Progress on VoHRH

2008-05-26T11:32:00.007+01:00

I was hoping to have this square (#6) finished before posting a progress photo of Village of Hawk Run Hollow, but I didn't get much stitching time in this weekend as things were a bit hectic. Hopefully I'll have it finished up soon.

So, as I don't have much stitching progress to share, I found another of these annoying questionnaire thingys to do instead. ;-)

1. How do you hold your fabric? I love my Q-Snaps and Lowery Workstand.

2. Floss licker? Urm... yeah. : ) The wee bit I've licked is never normally used anyway, because by the time I get to the end of it, it's cut off. Yeah, I know... TMI.

3. How do you thread your needle? Trim the end and/or lick it ;) and it normally manages to go through.

4. What needle do you like best? My favourite (that I've tried) are Piecemakers 28.

5. Are you a needle loser? Not anymore. A few years ago I lost a needle, spent about an hour looking for it everywhere that you could imagine (and I never did find it), and I was a nervous wreck that Snoops would find it. I vowed to be very careful in future about stuff like that, and I haven't lost any since then that I know of.

6. What fabric do you prefer to stitch on? Always Linen. It depends on the project, but always 32ct through to 40ct. Belfast, Edinburgh and Newcastle bases are my favourites. I do enjoy using the R&R linen for Blackbird Designs projects: though R&R isn't something I'd normally pick myself for other projects, as it's a bit on the stiff side.

7. Bobbins or floss bags? Floss bags for just about everything. I've never really liked bobbins. I even have a full set of DMC in floss bags. I took a couple of photos to give you a better idea of how I store my "master" DMC set:

I have 7 separate lots of DMC on the rings above (e.g., Ring 1 has DMC Blanc-372; Ring 2 has DMC 400-699, etc.. ), and they're all put into the basket you see. Using the floss bags are also good because you can obviously fit multiple skeins of each colour in each bag. I haven't come up with a better solution for storing my DMC so far (if I want to keep them as they are and not on bobbins, and storing up to about 8-9 of each colour in each bag if I want to). The basket takes up very little space in my craft room too. I've been doing this for about 6 or 7 years.

8. Are you a scissors collector? Not really, but I do have a few of most of the most popular scissors on the market (e.g., Dovo, Gingher, Dinky Dyes, Kelmscott... ) SO I guess I probably do have a wee collection, but I don't consciously collect them.

9. Do you do your own framing, and if so, do you lace or pin? My framer does everything. I've tried lacing and framing myself and it's come out fairly OK, but it's not something I enjoy and I don't feel confident enough in my abilities to do it right.

10. Are you a floss floozy? Oh yeah!

11. Silk? Love. Those I use most are probably Vikki Clayton and NPIs, but I also love AVAS, Gloriana and most of the others. The new(ish) Belle Soie has also become a favourite recently.

12. Railroader? More often than not.

13. Are you a pattern or designer snob? I've never really thought about it, but I probably am.

14. Do you get antsy when you give someone a stitched gift? Not usually. I'm selective about who I give stitched gifts to, and I'm fortunate that I have a bunch of people (friends, cousins, my mum and grandmother... asides from my grandmother and one cousin-in-law, all non-stitchers) that genuinely love stitched gifts. Mirabilia designs always seem to be a hit for non-stitchers for some reason!

15. Have you reached S.A.B.L.E.? Probably many times over.

16. Do you wash your projects? I try very hard to keep my projects clean so that I don't have to. The only projects I've washed in the past are those that were stitched entirely with DMC, and even then it's been very seldom that I've had to.

Thanks everyone for visiting my blog and your lovely comments! I always appreciate them so much.

Coffee Series Finish & Friday Feast #191

2008-05-18T22:19:00.007+01:00

I finished the last square in the Little House Needleworks Coffee series this weekend... I'm happy to report no thread shortages on this one. ;-)

That's them all done now! Sorry for the poor quality photo below - shame they don't all fit into the scanner. They were stitched on Vintage Country Mocha Belfast linen with Belle Soie silks.

From Friday's Feast: A Buffet for your Brain

Feast One Hundred & Ninety One

Every now and again I'll do one of these!

Appetizer: What is the nearest big city to your home?

I live on the west coast of Scotland, and Glasgow is circa 25-30 minutes away. The airport (Glasgow) is 15 minutes from us, and I'm fortunate to also live 10 minutes away from beautiful Loch Lomond. Though of course, Scotland is a pretty small country compared to most, so *everything* is close by - Stirling is less than an hours drive, and even Edinburgh on the opposite coast is only about a 70 minute drive away!

Soup: On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how well do you keep secrets?

I'd say 9? I'm very good with secrets (if someone has asked me to keep a confidence), but I guess no one is perfect.

Salad: Describe your hair (color, texture, length).

It's black, naturally curly and fairly long (though looks deceptively shorter than it is because of the curls). I never (or very rarely anyway) go to the hairdresser. My mum took a hairdressing course when she was in her late teens (she went along to keep her cousin company) and cuts hair really well. It's always a huge decision for me to get my hair cut anymore than just a regular trim, because it takes forever to grow back to (what looks like) a decent length again due to it being so curly... Other than a trim every 4-5 months, I haven't had my hair cut in about 3.5 years (see photos above). I also don't know what I'd do without my leave-in conditioner - if they ever stop making it I'll cry!

Main Course: What kind of driver are you? Courteous? Aggressive? Slow?

VERY SLOW - because I don't have a car! ;-P I don't need one. I'm very central to everything, don't mind walking, and there is very good transport in the immediate area when I need it. If I ever really need to get a car I will, but I don't see it happening any time soon. Stress free and it's nice not to have that expense.

Dessert: When was the last time you had a really bad week?

I have a bad day every now and again, but fortunately no bad *week* for so long I can't remember when the last time could have been!

A Happy Dance & Mini Mandala Mystery 1

2008-05-14T12:07:00.006+01:00

I finished Parts 1 & 2 of Mini Mandala Mystery 1. I even added the beads (which I normally leave until the very end). As there's just one more part left, and it fit's comfortably in my q-snaps, I thought what the heck... I can't see any pulling or damage happening to the beading when I do part 3.

If you're stitching this design yourself, you've probably noticed that mine looks a good bit different than it should. I had some BIG issues with the silk perle that you were supposed to backstitch the walls with. It was SO bulky and untidy looking (to me), so I ripped out the bit I'd stitched and used DMC 413 instead for the backstitching (I only used the perle for the gates) and I think, (?) IMHO, it looks much better. More delicate looking anyway. Unless of course I completely read the instructions on the chart wrong... Silk Perle for all that backstitching on the walls??? I dunno... I'm not sure, but it's done now, and I'm not frogging all that backstitching at this point, thank-you-very-much!

And a finish!! Where My Heart Blooms by Blackbird Designs (Loose Feathers #29).

Stitched with all the recommended thread on R&R Korty’s Special Blend linen. This was a SAL with Karen, Nicki & Sue. I loved stitching this and I loved our SAL. :-)

And finally, as he hasn't made an appearance on this blog for a while, I'll sign off with Snoops (looking more than a little ticked off by my disturbing his relax time!)

His Royal Snoopyness

Mini Mystery Mandala I

2008-05-06T10:46:00.005+01:00

I haven't stitched a whole lot this past week (the sun is shining in Scotland! Gotta make the most of that when it happens, y'know?!), so I unfortunately don't have any progress photos of Where My Heart Blooms to share this time. I did stitch on it a wee bit, but not enough to really justify taking a new photo.

I do have a wee progress photo to share, though. Of the new Mini Mystery Mandala I by Chatelaine. I'm stitching this one with DMC instead of the NPI silks. I started it on 1 April when the first instalment was released, but I only got so far, as I had to wait on the specialty threads to arrive... they finally arrived at the end of last month, so I resumed stitching and I'm working on Part 2 now too. No beads yet - I always leave those to the end.

Anne was asking what fabric I'm stitching the Little House Needleworks Coffee series on. It's Vintage Country Mocha Belfast linen. I also used that fabric for The Old West. I love it for Little House Needlework Designs and as it's a regular Belfast Linen, it works out a lot cheaper than the hand dyeds too.

Frappuccino & More WMHB

2008-04-29T11:53:00.008+01:00

I have new WIP photo of Where My Heart Blooms. I'll say it again, this is so lovely to stitch!

I'm looking forward to seeing my fellow SALers progress!

I also finished up the second Little House Needleworks coffee square... Frappuccino...

Sorry, not a great photo, I know. :-( A scan of them both together:

I'm stitching this 2 over 2, not 1 over 2 as the chart suggests. I normally always use just one strand when I'm stitching with silk (even on 28-Count & 32-Count fabric), as I prefer the more delicate look, and I normally think 2 strands of silk looks a bit bulky on most fabric anyway, but I prefer the stitches on this particular design to look a bit "fatter". So as the chart states 1 over 2 (and it's a kit, so they only give you so much thread), I was panicking a wee bit that I may not have enough thread, but of the two I've stitched so far I've only run out of one colour: Teddy Bear on Frappuccino (though not by much really). I luckily had some extra of that colour in my stash, so all was well. :o)

Caffe Latte & Where My Heart Blooms

2008-04-22T11:52:00.005+01:00

I had a wee finish the other day!

Caffe Latte by Little House Needleworks on Vintage Country Mocha Belfast Linen with Belle Soie silks.

I plan to do these on one piece of fabric; then the tea series on another piece of fabric, as a gift for my mum. I think they'd look perfect in her kitchen, so maybe she'll hang them in there.

Then I started a Blackbird Designs SAL over the weekend with Karen, Nicki & Sue... for Where My Heart Blooms...

Any time I start a Blackbird Designs piece I find it so hard to put it down, and this is no exception! It's at times like these that I'm glad I don't follow any rotations! Though I'm going to be strong ;-) and put it away for a couple of days now and concentrate on another coffee square, otherwise I'll end up having it finished by the end of the week! ;-P (though it does deceptively look like I've stitched more than I have - I still need to fill in the whole left side of that house which is going to take forever!)

I Thee Wed Finish & a lot of Jane Austen

2008-04-13T12:49:00.004+01:00

Well, I didn't hang around when I got my fabric for I Thee Wed... a little over a week later and it's finished.

I LOVED stitching this - I couldn't put it down. I used NPI and Lakeside Linen Vintage Pear Newcastle linen.

I'll always refer to this as my Jane Austen project - I lost count of how many Jane Austen adaptations I watched while stitching this! Though I had to laugh... I only recently started watching the TV series Spooks (a.k.a. MI-5) on DVD, and I lost count of how many of the cast from this have been in Jane Austen adaptations. Off the top of my head I'm remembering Matthew Macfadyen (Darcy in the most recent Pride & Prejudice); Rupert Penry-Jones (Wentworth in the most recent Persuasion); Peter Firth (Henry Tilney in the 1980s Northanger Abbey), Gemma Jones (Mrs. Dashwood in the 1995 Sense & Sensibility, and she was also Bridget's mum in Bridget Jones's Diary - which is also an Austen connection, right?!); and of course Anna Chancellor (Caroline Bingley in the wonderful 1995 Pride & Prejudice) - who is also apparently related to Jane Austen (eight-times great aunt). I remember a scene in the 5th (?) season of Spooks where Adam Carter (Rupert Penry-Jones) was seeing a psychiatrist and he had a Jane Austen book with him and said he likes to read Austen because she's a very 'good observer'. :D Then don't get me started on the Elizabeth Gaskell links to Spooks... only to mention that Richard Armitage (North & South) is joining the cast of the latest series!

I finally completed another month of my Heart in Hand "Monthly Mania". This one has been slow going! It took me ages to find this linen band years ago for this project, but it's 27-Count and oh my goodness the stitching is HUGE compared to what I'm used to these days (lots of 40-count projects).

I'll stick to it, though. Even if it DOES take me years to finish!

Schoolgirl Lessons

2008-03-30T21:11:00.007+01:00

I had a little happy dance this weekend! Albeit a tiny one! ;) This is Schoolgirl Lessons by Little House Needleworks. This design was screaming at me to stitch it over one. So I used some Quaker Cloth Linen and the recommended Belle Soie silk.

And to show you a bit better just how tiny it is...

You probably won't remember back in 2006 when I asked for ideas on something to stitch for my cousin Aldo who was getting married. Then I never mentioned it again! Well, their plans changed. They decided it wouldn't be very practical having their wedding in Scotland, as they have too many family and friends who would have needed to travel from Italy to Scotland, including some older relatives who wouldn't have been able to do it at all. They're now getting married in a medieval village just outside Rome this July instead. :-)

So I got myself organised this weekend (seeings as the wedding is less than 4 months away at this point!) and finally decided what to stitch them. Last week I started a letter from the M Designs Alphabet Series, planning to do the letters of their first initials along with the M Designs Celtic Heart in the middle... I was stitching it on a piece of Newcastle linen with Cherry Waterlilies. Luckily I didn't get TOO far when I realised it just wasn't going to work. I hadn't realised how variegated that colour was and I just don't think it works for this design. I had seen something else stitched with it before and it seemed perfect! Oh well...

So I've scrapped the whole M Designs idea (sorry M Designs, I do love you and will use your letters for something else someday!), and I've now decided on I Thee Wed by Prairie Moon instead.

I think it's really adorable and unusual! I just need to wait for the fabric to start it... it's in stock, so shouldn't take long to get here.

Village of Hawk Run Hollow - Block 5

2008-03-25T10:15:00.003Z

I hope everyone had a nice Easter. The weather wasn't too bad up this way... I know it snowed in lots of places in the UK, but we seemed to miss it.

I had a good bit of time to stitch. As Block #5 seemed like a quick stitch, I went ahead and completed it... and it really was very fast. Not a house in sight!

It's back in it's box now until next time!

Back to Village of Hawk Run Hollow - Block #4

2008-03-16T23:25:00.007Z

I've been giving some attention to poor neglected Village of Hawk Run Hollow lately. Oh my goodness, it takes ages to stitch one of these squares! On the bright side, Block #5 (next up) looks a bit lower maintenance than the last three. I've also reached a milestone - I'm 1/3 done! Horah!

Sorry the photos are so dark... no natural light! The first one is a scan, so shows the colours a bit better.

Thanks everyone for your lovely comments on Flea Market Souvenir. It was lots of fun to stitch... Please don't let the "sewing" put you off... if I can attach those pieces of fabric together, anyone can! ;-)

Flea Market Souvenir Happy Dance!

2008-03-05T18:08:00.004Z

Yay! I finished it up this morning. Can you believe this is my first happy dance of 2008? That's really not good!

First of all, this is the last panel I stitched...

And this is it complete, with my wonky sewing skills (there's a reason you never see any "finishing" on this blog!) Luckily for me, I guess it's supposed to LOOK a bit wonky, that's the beauty of this design... ;-)

It's always great fun to do a SAL with KarenV. :-)

Flea Market Souvenir - Part 2

2008-02-29T11:44:00.002Z

Just a very quick post from me, to show my progress on the Flea Market Souvenir SAL I'm doing with KarenV. This is progress from week 2... the second panel. Maybe I'll have a happy dance this time next week?

Flea Market Souvernir SAL

2008-02-23T16:51:00.011Z

I started a SAL with KarenV on Monday, of Blackbird Designs Flea Market Souvenir. This is my progress for the week:

It's so fun and relaxing to stitch. I'm using all the suggested materials, including the R&R 30-Count Kansas City Blend fabric (which I'll also be using for Part 2, and the R&R LaCrosse Blend for Part 1).

And these are some photos of my friend Michelle's little girl Abbie, just because she's so adorable! The quality of the photos aren't good as they're copies from the photographer (I didn't think to scan the originals that I got until I'd framed them... duh)

My mum got her the little white dress for Christmas. ;-) She'll be celebrating her first birthday on April 16th. And as you see, I've already found a frame for some of my favourites...

Scotland Photos!

2008-01-30T12:10:00.000Z

No stitching updates this time! The past few weeks sure have been bad for stitching I'm afraid. ;-) So I thought I'd share some photos of Scotland for a change... I know I don't do that very often on this blog.

My birthday was at the end of last week, and I had such a nice time this year! :-) My dear friend Cilie was over from Norway to visit and we managed to fit lots in.

First of all though, I was overwhelmed when I opened a birthday package from KarenV late last week...

Thank you, Karen! I'll treasure these beautiful gifts!

Cilie went just a little bit crazy with the gifts this year and brought me over what seems like most of the shop in Drammen... !

Thank you again, Ceels. :-)

Loch Lomond was a wee bit on the wet and windy side...

But Edinburgh was amazing when we were there at the weekend. Even the sun was out!

As I didn't get too many photos on this trip, these are from another trip to Edinburgh that we went on a few years ago and belong to Cilie and Eleni (can't remember which is which - as I have them all in the one folder!)

Bummer that I'm back at work now!

Happy New Year! (& lots of old WIPs)

2008-01-19T22:09:00.000Z

I think the title of this post shows it's been a while since I was last on here. ;-) And as the next couple of weeks are going to be a bit busy too, I thought I should try to get at least one post in for January!

I put together a list of my WIPs over the Christmas holidays, and I have to say I was a bit horrified at the amount I have -- I honestly had no idea! So here I'm going to share everything I have started. Some of these you'll have seen before, others not (meaning I probably haven't worked on them since I started this blog 2 years ago. Yikes!)

The first one is a recent start (the ONLY recent start)... sorry it's a bit washed out...

Winter Blues by Just Nan
A photo of the completed design here.

Village of Hawk Run Hollow by Carriage House Samplings
Photo of the completed design here.

Alpine Seasons Garden by Chatelaine
Photo of the complete design here.
Notes: This was started when it was a monthly class soooo long ago! :-( I did really well, until I got to the flowers surrounding the bit above... !

Watergarden by Chatelaine
A photo of the complete design here.
Notes: I started this *years* ago... I've done a bit more, but this was the last photo I took.

Assisi Peacock Sampler by Giulia Punti Antichi
A photo of the complete design can be seen here.

Deco Spirits by Mirabilia.
Photo of the complete design here.
Notes: I'm stitching mine vertically and I've replaced the Gold Kreinik with Silver Petite Treasure Braid.

Winter Beauty Princess by Passione Ricamo
Photo of the complete design here.

Winter into Spring (former) Mystery by Pamela Kellogg.
The final square (Spring) is below...

Quaker Samplings I by With My Needle
Complete design here.

Monthly Mania by Heart in Hand
All 12 months can be seen here.
(I'm doing mine as a bellpull)

I bet you thought that was everything! Ha! I also have the following as WIPs (but don't have any progress photos):

Peacock Cypher by Just Nan
Little Bands of Silk by Indigo Rose
Nova by Genny Morrow

I'm going to put links to all these in my sidebar, in the hope that it may encourage me to work on some of these more often. I do fully intend to finish them all one day.

You're welcome to make me feel very ashamed of myself!

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-20T10:51:00.000Z

..and one last Happy Dance for 2007!

Blackbird Designs Blessings Be Thine.
Stitched on Korry's Special Blend R&R Linen.

Sorry about the squint scan. I'm not even going to attempt a photo as it's so dreary outside. And COLD! Oh-my-gosh, I can't remember it being as cold as this for a long time. We normally get fairly mild winters here in Scotland.

I can't believe it took me 4 weeks to stitch this. When you consider this has been the ONLY stitching project I've been working on, that's just sad! I guess it's a busy time of the year though, and it's luck that I've managed what I have. It was lovely to stitch, as are all of Blackbird Designs charts. I think it's safe to say they're one of my favourite designers. :)

I know I've not posted as often in 2007 as I did the previous year, and I've not been as good as leaving comments on everyones blogs regularly as I used to either (which is something I feel quite bad about)... but do know that I'm always reading your blogs and being inspired by you. We have such a wonderful little community - I know I for one would probably stitch much less without you all.

As this is likely to be my last post before the 25th, I wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas! Whatever you're doing, I hope you have a peaceful and happy holiday.

xoxoxo
Tina

Frames, Frames & More Frames

2007-12-16T12:18:00.000Z

No stitching updates, but lots of framing photos today!

You'll probably remember this one, as I finished it just a few months ago. You can see a scan here (scroll down a little). This is a Christmas gift for my dad.

Little House Needleworks The Old West

This next quartet are all for me! I asked my framer to leave them simple, as I'm going to hang them together and I feel they'd have been a bit overwhelming if they'd had mats, etc. Not the greatest photo in the world... but you can see photos of them individually here and here.

Just Nan's In The Square series
(Winter, Autumn, Spring & Summer)

You probably won't remember this one! I stitched it last year, and finally got it framed. I decided that I'll give it to nonna for Christmas. You can see a better photo of it right after I finished it here. I asked my framer to show lots of the fabric, which I think is gorgeous (the photos don't do it any justice at all).

M Designs Christmas Tree

I stitched this way back in May.... it only took 3 weeks! For my mum's 60th birthday which was on December 2nd. She loved it! Again, not a very good photo... but you can see close-up photos here.

English Roses by Mirabilia

And finally... this was also for my mum. Again, better photo here (scroll down).

Geranium House by Country Cottage Needleworks

I haven't had a lot of time for stitching over the past couple of weeks (I guess I'm not the only one!), though I've been making sure to stitch a wee bit every day, so I'll have a new happy dance soon.

I hope everyone is enjoying the festivities. I love, love, LOVE this time of the year!

New Look!

2007-11-30T14:52:00.000Z

I don't know about you, but I was getting really sick of all that purple! And it was a wee bit too fussy for me... So here's the new look for now!

It appears I've yet again come into problems with this page showing up OK in both Firefox and Internet Explorer... only this time it seems that the header photo is showing up fine in Firefox but not IE... I can never win! :-) Oh well... I'll try and sort it out eventually...

In case you're wondering, the header photo is the town I live in: my house is right across the road from the castle you see in the middle(ish) of the photo.

I'll have some new stitchy photos soon!

ETA - As I didn't have any photos to share this time, Snoopy volunteered:

Before he fell down with exhaustion after all the posing...

It's a tough life for some!

Christmas Elf Fairy Finish

2007-11-19T14:37:00.000Z

Brrrr it's been so cold the past couple of days in Scotland. After such a nice autumn, it's a shock to the system. 8)

The cold weather is a great excuse for my favourite hobby though, right?

I finished off Christmas Elf Fairy.

My (now) obligatory scan AND photo - I can never make up my mind which one to add, so you get both. 8) She's stitched on a piece of Reflections Winter Skye Lugana I had. I normally only ever stitch on Belfast/Edinburgh/Newcastle Linens anymore (I just prefer them), but I have quite a number of pieces of Lugana and other fabric in my stash that I really must use up!! I would normally never even comtemplate stitching on opalescent evenweaves (Lugana/Jobelan) after some bad experiences (it's so difficult to find the holes in the fabric!!), but this wasn't so bad at all... much less traumatic than I remember it anyway! LOL

Heather was asking if I plan to do all the Mirabilia holiday fairies, and no, I'm not planning on it. I don't like them all, TBH. I'll definitely do Miss New Years and possibly Valentine, but that's all I plan. I don't like Thanksgiving Fairy, and I've tried really hard to like the Easter Fairy. Well, never say never... I'm very often swayed by gorgeous WIPs I see... I've disliked a design before and then after seeing a gorgeous finish I've put it on my wish list! All your lovely blogs out there have a lot to answer for.... 8)

Thank you for all your lovely comments on the Shepherd's Bush finish, btw! I really appreciate those so much. I see there are quite a lot of SB HH WIPs out there - they all look fantastic... I'm looking forward to seeing some Happy Dances soon. 8)

Yay Glasgow!

2007-11-09T15:06:00.001Z

Happy Halloween!

2007-10-29T10:41:00.000Z

Well yeah, OK, I know it's not for another couple of days, but I have a Halloween finish, and just in case I don't get the chance to post again before the end of the month... :-)

I've been working on Happy Haunting (by Shepherd's Bush) over the past couple of weeks, and finished it yesterday.

Photo (a bit washed out) with all the buttons sewn on:

And these are scans of the top and bottom before the buttons were put on... I think the scans are a bit nicer than the photo, hence why I'm adding them.

What a fun stitch that was! I always panic when I'm sorting the threads in the kit for a Shepherd's Bush design... I'm always convinced that there's no way it's going to be enough thread, but it always is... !

And to make this post a wee bit longer ;-) This was my Halloween finish from last year. Still one of my favourites!

Now I think I'm in the mood to stitch something Christmas-y or maybe winter themed? Hmmm.... I'm becoming quite the seasonal stitcher aren't I! ;-P

Autumn Stitching

2007-10-15T10:52:00.000+01:00

I've been busy stitching this month, so I have lots of photos to share (for a change!)

I finally finished the Just Nan seasonal squares series, with Autumn in the Square:

I did try taking some photos, but they didn't come out very well, so this is the scan. No charm in the middle, as it's a scan... but in case you want to know what the Falling Leaves Gold Vision charm looks like...

Very pretty! I so loved stitching this series... I'm very sad they're all done. :-( You can see the others in the series here. They're all stitched on the recommended Light Mocha Cashel Linen. I'd have preferred stitching them on Belfast (my favourite fabric), but I wasn't sure if the charms would fit as well... and in the end, with all the specialty stitches in the designs, doing them on the Cashel turned out just fine.

Next is Acorn Hill by Little House Needleworks. I stitched this on a 40-Count (a Lakeside Linen fabric) with the recommended Belle Soie Silks.

Sorry it's a bit squint. 8-/ Lucky I didn't go into photography, eh?

I also finished another Little House Needleworks design recently... The Old West! Not my usual sort of thing, but my dad loves this kind of thing, and as he's almost the only person I know that I haven't stitched anything for yet, I thought it was about time! So his Christmas present is sorted!

Scan above; photo below (as it shows the fabric a bit better... one of the Vintage Belfast linens). After I'd already started this, I saw someones finished piece on Silkweavers "Desert Sunset" linen - how perfect a fabric was that?! I wish I'd thought of it myself... :-)

I loved stitching this!

And here is some more progress on Quaker Samplings I by With My Needle... I've still got a good bit to go before I finish this one. It's fun to stitch.

I'm working on a Halloween design right now, so I should have some progress to show before the end of the month.

I'm itching to start a new Mirabilia design too. I saw someones progress on the Mirabilia bulletin board of Winter In My Garden stitched over-1. Oh my, how gorgeous! Got me thinking to how lovely the four from the In My Garden series would look framed together over-1. But over-1 isn't my favourite thing to do -- enjoyable if it's *part* of a design, but not the ENTIRE design. I wonder if doing them over-2 on 40-count would look as pretty? They'd be a little bigger than the over-1 of course (I think only 3"), and I know I love stitching on 40-count. Hmmmm.... will have to give this some thought.

Otherwise, work has been busy again. I think lots of people have been travelling around due to us having a much nicer autumn than summer... they want to get some travelling in before the winter hits us.

Pink!

2007-09-21T11:05:00.000+01:00

I thought "pink" was an appropriate title for this entry! ;-)

I've had a very busy September - it's turned out to be busier than July! Go figure -- tourists confuse me! I guess of course it could be that the weather has been nicer in September than it was in July/August... This week/weekend there's been a ladies golf tournament at Loch Lomond, so just about everywhere in the area has been full - we've even had 2 golfers staying at the GH (and their caddies too :-) ) Fun!

I've still managed to do a bit of stitching. I only wish I had more time for it, but I'm always happy if I can get even just 20-30 minutes in a day.

I finished Crystal Roses by Just Nan the other day. What a pleasure to stitch! I'm only sorry that the photos didn't come out too well... I took a ton of photos, and this one was the best of the lot (which doesn't say much, does it!) I've added the second photo as it shows the sparkles a wee bit better...

Edited to Add: I've just taken a scan of it too.... sorry, this is overkill, you'll be sick of the sight of this one!

These are some recent photos of Michelle's wee one, Abbie Rose, who was born on 16 April.

Isn't she adorable! Though I'm thinking she was getting a bit fed up with all the posing she was having to do at the end there... :-)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Firefox Users!

2007-08-10T12:55:00.000+01:00

I've gone into the template and changed everything in the HTML colour white (ffffff) to black (000000), hoping for the best ;-) (seeings as I couldn't pinpoint exactly which part was giving the problems - not very good at all this HTML stuff am I!)

Has this solved the problem? I hope so.

Karen & Isabelle: thanks you two for all your help and suggestions (and pointing it out to me, or I'd never have known). :-)

Thanks everyone for your comments on Seasons in the Square. And yes, I do hope to frame them all the same and hang them together. Hopefully by the end of the year.

Summer in the Square Finish

2007-08-08T21:44:00.000+01:00

I've had so few finishes lately, that I thought I'd get on here right away and share this new one. ;-)

It's just a little one, but a finish all the same. Just Nan's Summer in the Square...

To go with Spring in the Square

and (my favourite so far) Winter in the Square

Now I only have Autumn in the Square to go. I've really enjoyed doing the Just Nan Seasons in the Square series. They're so much fun and don't take long to finish at all.

New Look!

2007-08-03T12:10:00.000+01:00

Just updating the look of the blog (long overdue)... I found this template and thought it was so darn cute!

Stitching Photos

2007-07-30T11:32:00.000+01:00

I have some stitching photos to share this month, as promised (though I'm cutting it a bit fine as usual!)

With the little stitching time I've had, I think I spent most of June and July finishing off block 3 of the Village of Hawk Run Hollow! I completed #3 almost one year to the day I started the project. Hmmmm. So if I keep going at this rate, I'll be finished VoHRH in July 2010! Yikes. I hope it won't take that long. :-D Mind you, if it does, I'm not bothered. I still enjoy working on this, but I know that it's a project I'd easily burn out on if I worked on it more than I do. This works for me, and I'm not in any rush to finish it.

I was all set to do the Scottish flag, until I realised when I was trying to chart it that it wasn't the easiest flag to do - would have taken lots of fractional stitches, and I just didn't have the heart for it (I left the flag to the end, so I was getting a bit fed up and really wanted to finally finish the block off). SO second choice was the Italian flag, which was easy peasy!

I've also been working on Quaker Sampling I (With My Needle). My last progress photo (I really need to take another).

And finally a wee finish!

Geranium House (by Country Cottage Needleworks). I decided to start this one when my mum was getting concerned that some geraniums she'd ordered for her garden hadn't been delivered - she waited weeks and weeks for them. The geranium's did get delivered in the end and all was well. :)

I hope everyone is having a good summer!

Non-Stitching Catch Up...

2007-06-30T12:32:00.000+01:00

I've always blogged at least once every month since I started, so I didn't want June to go by without at least one entry, though this one isn't going to be terribly exciting I'm afraid. :)

My job has been busy. No surprises there. This is the time of the year that getting a day off is rare. Though I've organised it a bit better this year than I did last year, so I'll get SOME time off at least (even if it's just 2 days off every 17-18 days or so). I have a lovely Norwegian family staying at the GH this weekend anyway, and it's people like this that make not being able to take normal time off worthwhile. I love our scandinavian guests - I think if I only ever had Norwegians and Swedes staying I'd be quite happy! :-)

One of my dearest friends who I've known for 15+ years is Norwegian, so it shouldn't surprise me. She's off in Italy right now celebrating her birthday (entering a new decade!). I know she reads this blog from time to time (though she's NOT a stitcher!), so Happy Birthday Cecilie!!

I've been stitching a little most days, but haven't felt compelled to take any photos just yet - I know I should have. I need to work on that. :)

I need to look at setting up wirless Internet. I do have a laptop, but it's not wireless, and although it's a perfectly good laptop, it's quite a few years old (maybe 4?) and doesn't have a wireless card in it. I may actually look into buying a new laptop and giving the old one to my brother. It would certainly make computer/Internet time much easier. The house is three stories and my office (along with the main PC) is right at the top in the attic and it's not terribly practical to spend much time up there in the summer.

It can get warm up in the attic during the summer. Snoops has found the perfect spot to sleep (what you can't see is the fan in front of him).

OH yes, a very happy Snoopy!

I will work on getting some stitching photos posted next month.

Hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

Eight Random Facts Meme

2007-05-20T12:26:00.000+01:00

Dani tagged me. I'm usually pretty bad about doing meme's, but here goes...

The Rules:

-Each player starts with 8 random facts/habits about themselves
-People who are tagged write a blog post about their own 8 random things and post these rules
-At the end of your blog you need to tag 8 people and post their names
-Don’t forget to leave them a comment and tell them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

I have a Bed & Breakfast/Guest House.
It's unclear yet which it is. It's too big to be a B&B, but a bit too small to be a Guest House, so I'm stuck in the middle. The Tourist Board can't make up their minds either, so just let me choose! I'm thinking of expanding though, so if I do, it'll definitely be a Guest House!
When I was 13 I had 60+ Pen Pals! In my early/mid twenties I still had 15 or so pen pals. I don't really have any anymore (given that I haven't written a "pen pal" letter in years), but I do still keep in touch with a few of those pen pals who I've met and are great friends now (waves to those who read this blog).
While I was at uni, I was an International Operator for British Telecom... which is actually a great job to have (schedule wise) if you're a student.
I LOVE old movies - two of my favourites are Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn. I'm way too ashamed to tell you how many DVDs I own!
I'm BIG on making lists. I make a "to do" list at the start of every week and I'm very good at working my way through it. If I didn't make a list I'd get very little done. I'm pretty organised about things otherwise, though.
I can't sing (I wish I could!), though in high school I played the flute and clarinet.
I got my first PC when I was 17 back in 1992 (mostly for word processing - made life easier having all those pen pals! lol); and I made it onto the Internet a few years later. At the time I only knew TWO people who had e-mail. Oh how times change....

I'm supposed to tag eight more people, but it seems everyone's done this meme already! Consider yourself tagged if you haven't!

English Roses Happy Dance!

2007-05-14T16:04:00.000+01:00

Just a quick post to share my Mirabilia English Roses Happy Dance.

Fabric: Silkweaver Sandcastle (Classic Linen).

A few notes...

About 35-40cm cuts of the silk ribbon will do per rose (to avoid any waste by cutting the lengths too long).
I ran out of the #157 4mm YLI ribbon. I got 5 yard packs of all the other ribbon called for and this was more than enough – apart from the #157. I was going to improvise with what I had (perhaps do a few more of the roses in the other darker pink colour), until I had a look on eBay, and there was a lovely UK seller on there selling it by the meter… so I got 2 meters which was all I needed (she didn't mind that it was all I was buying, bless!) But if you do run out and can't buy it by the meter, improvising with the other pink colour would work out just fine!
Only one pack is needed of the Mill Hill 00168 & 03035 beads, not two of each as the chart recommends. I had plenty of each colour left over at the end just from the first packs.
Be careful with the Kreinik – I only just had enough of each colour (especially the 021). I use short lengths of the Kreinik when I use it mind you, so I probably waste more than the average person. :)

I probably won't get this framed until the autumn, as it's a birthday present for mum, and her birthday isn't until December. I'm really happy I got it done with so much time to spare. There's nothing worse for me than feeling pressure to finish a stitching gift!

Thank you so much everyone for your lovely comments on the framing in my last post.

Back from the framers...

2007-05-01T13:16:00.000+01:00

I had my hands full coming out of my lovely framers this morning. :) I thought it best to take some photos while I had the chance, as most of these pieces are gifts.

Gloria by The Silver Lining, for my grandmother:

About two years ago I asked nonna Giulia if she'd like me to stitch her anything in particular, and she asked for a rose, as it was my grandfather's favourite flower. Though he loved many flowers (he was a wonderful gardener).

The next two are for my cousin Rita's new baby girl Serena, and my friend Michelle's new daughter Abbie:

The Birth Band by The Drawn Thread

Baby Garden by Just Nan

And this one.... is all for me!! I finally got Quaker Garden by Blackbird Designs (one of my all-time favourite designers) framed!

And finally, another progress photo of English Roses. I'm not bored with it yet, so I'll keep going for now. I've done the top half of the silk ribbon roses and leaves since this photo was taken, so I think I'll start the beading next, even though I have quite a bit of stitching to do at the bottom yet.

I searched and searched the Internet for photos of her by other stitchers and can you believe I couldn't find any?! (that was a first!) I found a few that had just stitched the lady in the middle, but not the rest of the design... very pretty they were too... but I had wanted to see what the silk ribbon roses were supposed to look like! :) Hopefully I'm doing them right...

Mirabilia English Roses & a few Happy Dances!

2007-04-27T01:07:00.000+01:00

I took a few photos/scans today, so I thought I'd update my blog in the wee hours of the morning. As it's late, please do ignore any spelling mistakes.... or any more than usual anyway ;-P

I finished The Birth Band by the Drawn Thread for my cousin's new baby, Serena:

I also finished Baby Garden by Just Nan for my friend's new baby Abbie Rose:

And to go with that one, a photo of Abbie Rose and one with her proud big brother Thomas Luke... I don't think he's figured out what to do with her yet mind you!

Those two are both in being framed... they should be back from the framers on Tuesday. I had lots of fun stitching both!

I also had a new start last week - English Roses by Mirabilia.

It's a bad photo, but it shows my progress at least! Sans beads (I'll do those at the end - and it looks like there's quite a few!) I had to have a go at the Spider Rose with the silk ribbon (at the top) as I've never done one of those before... Glad to say it was easy, so I can get on with the rest now without panicking too much about the other 25 odd! ;-) This one will be a gift for my mum's birthday in December.

And I think that's me up-to-date now with stitching news.

A HD & a couple of WIPs....

2007-04-03T14:20:00.000+01:00

I started Gloria by The Silver Lining in November 2005 and finally finished it at the weekend. Stitched mostly with Anchor thread 1 over-1 on White Quaker Cloth.

For you Silver Lining guru's out there shaking your head in disgust. Would you believe it if I said the right side leaves just blew off? All these high winds in Scotland - you take your eyes off something for a SECOND and look back and it's gone!

OK, OK... Nonna's birthday is on 8 May, and I need to get it framed before then. It was never going to happen if I'd had to do those other leaves, trust me! I thought it looked just fine without them. I'd have plodded on otherwise. It's taught me that big over-1 projects aren't for me, though. I had all these plans to do a large Heaven and Earth Design too... Yeah, that's not going to happen. :) I'm still going to do another of their (HAED) Quick Stitches at some point to go with the one I've already done, though.

I thought these photos were a laugh and had to share. I was finishing off the backstitching when Snoopy noticed that I had my camera out. He did make me smile, the attention seeking wee pest!

I have another few Works in Progress to share too. This is Heart in Hand's Monthly Mania.

I'm doing these as a long bellpull after finding the perfect linen band for it. It almost didn't fit, though. I'm pulling out the inside running stitch (?) on the fabric as I go along, which has worked out really well.

I also started the Drawn Thread's Birth Band yesterday for my cousin who had a baby girl on Friday (30/03).

My Scottish cousin no less, so I actually get to see this baby! :) Rita was two weeks early and had to have a c-section, but they're both doing great. Beautiful baby is called Serena. :)

What a nightmare trying to get a decent photo of this on the white linen! So apologies for the poor photo. Even the scan I tried was a mess. I'll have to practise before my next update.

One of my best friends is due any day now too. I'm not sure what I'm going to stitch for them yet. I have a few things that I could start right away (e.g. Just Nan's Baby Garden)... but we'll see. I'm absolutely loving stitching the Birth Band though, I may even do this one again.

Snoopy trying to catch some sun again (I can't blame the poor wee thing to be honest, he hasn't seen much sun since last summer!)

He's chilling out on the rug as I type - because yes, you've guessed it, that's where the sun is shining now. :)

Happy Easter everyone!

wee update before April arrives...

2007-03-25T15:31:00.000+01:00

Karen emailed me on Friday and asked why I haven't blogged in so long. Well, here I am! ;-) I've been stitching much more lately. I even finished Just Nan's Spring in the Square last week. I didn't get a good photo (it's a bit washed out!) :

Here is a scan (without the lovely charm in the middle, though - and very crooked, oops!)

I've now completed two of the Just Nan Squares. Here is Winter:

I've really enjoyed doing these. I hope to get to Summer & Autumn very soon: they're all kitted up and ready to be started, so it'd be nice to get them done. Especially as I know exactly where I'm going to put them...

I've been working on some other WIPs lately too. I'd really like to finally get The Silver Lining's Gloria done before nonna's birthday in May, so that's the one I'm focussing on just now. The last progress photo I have:

I've pretty much completed those leaves on the left side and I'm about to start the bunch on the right side.

I'll be busy getting my accounts together soon for the end of my business year (something that I really don't mind doing strangely enough - as I'm pretty organised and keep good records and keep everything updated weekly). I can't believe that I'll be going into my third year of the business already, though. Time sure does fly.

And finally, some photos of Snoopy I took the other day. He was being adorable snoozing directly in the sun rays coming in from the window. :) He's just plain annoyed in photo #3 as I guess I disturbed him too much with the camera (sorry Snoops!)

Garden of Life

2007-03-06T09:45:00.000Z

One more post today (I know, two in one day, that's a shocker!) to share my happy dance, and for those who read my blog for stitching updates and haven't had very many lately *grins*

I finished this up the last week of February, before all my relatives descended upon me! Someone is borrowing my digital camera at the moment, so I've only managed a scan. I did this as a SAL with Karen in January and February, though was very remiss taking any progress photos. I'm looking forward to seeing Karen's finish. :)

I used all the suggested materials, including the R&R Alabaster linen.

Zia Christina's Surprise Birthday Party!

2007-03-06T09:18:00.000Z

Edited 25/03: I've deleted the photos from the party, as I didn't want to keep them up for too long (not having asked everyones permission if it was OK to have photos of them on the net!)

My mum's auntie (zia Christina) turned 80 on 25 February. We had a surprise birthday party for her at The Lodge in Loch Lomond. Just about everything went according to plan in the end ;-) and everyone had a lovely time. :)

So, mostly for anyone we know who reads this blog (relatives in Italy mainly), here are a few photos I took. Though I'm sure Fede & Aldo's pictures will be much better, whenever they get around to developing them. :)

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Zia C was surprised enough as it was when she arrived just with the few relatives she spotted first: but look at the expression on her face when she notices everyone else at the back, including her son who she thought was still in Italy. Aldo had actually called her (on my mobile!) just before she left, to wish her a happy birthday and to express how sorry he was that he couldn't be with her on her 80th b'day. She bought it. ;-)

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Lots of (happy) tears! Shame these two photos didn't come out -- hopefully Federica's will have come out better (she's in front of me snapping away). :)

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Even zia C's best friend and neighbour in Italy, Angelina, (on the left) made it!

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The only photo of Loch Lomond I ended up taking! The weather was really lovely all day - no rain at all.

I came across this one the other day of zia C, my mum and nonna, in Filignano circa 1950-51. I love these old photos. :)

Non Stitching Update....

2007-02-08T21:56:00.000Z

Well, it really seems that winter is not my season for stitching. It used to be the season that I stitched the most, so it's a bit strange. I think it's to do with having more time in the winter than I do the other seasons, and due to that I'm catching up with friends, have relatives and friends visiting. Basically taking advantage of the freedom I don't have when I'm so busy working, and I simply don't get around to doing a whole lot of stitching or craft stuff.

That's my excuse for being quiet anyway. ;-)

I've been busy organising a surprise party for the end of the month. My great aunt (zia Christina) turns 80 and this is the first time I can remember her having a birthday in Scotland (as she lives in Italy). Her son asked me what I thought about having the party here rather than Rome and as always, I got volunteered into doing the organising. ;-) It's been a treat, though. We'll have relatives flying in from Italy (you've gotta love those cheap Ryan Air flight from Rome to Glasgow) and we're having it at The Lodge in Loch Lomond. The fun bit though, is that zia Christina hasn't got a CLUE what's going on (and neither does her sister - my nonna, as she can't keep a secret, so we didn't tell her either *grins*). They won't know until they get to the restaurant - not even about the relatives flying in from Italy. I'll definitely have to remember and bring my camera!

Other than that, since I last posted I turned 32 (yeeks!), and I've been busy with home improvements. I had new laminate flooring put down in the attic conversion. The attic is my retreat - I even have my craft room up there. It's been carpeted for years and yuck how I always hated that carpet, apart from the fact that Snoopy really made an awful mess of it. Cats + Carpets = Not Good!

So here are some photos of the new attic:

Sorry, that was overkill - I've probably broken Blogger! It isn't completely finished - I'm still waiting on some rugs to get here and I haven't put everything out that I plan to yet, like photos and you'll see some cabinets are still half empty - though I'm keeping it as simple as possible. I put up floor to ceiling bookcases on one wall in the craft room (not shown), so most of my books are in there now. Much better - it doesn't look so cluttered.

When it comes to stitching, I do need to take a photo of my progress on Garden of Life (Blackbird Designs), the SAL that I'm doing with Karen. It's the only thing I've stitched on the past couple of weeks. :) I also need to take a photo of the beautiful gift that Karen made me for my birthday. I should really have done that earlier on, it's too dark now to get a decent photo. :-(

Hopefully it won't be so long before I blog again!

First HDs of the New Year!

2007-01-06T12:09:00.000Z

After I posted last time, I had a few days of R&R with lots of stitching, it was lovely! Spots became very addictive and I had a happy dance on the first day of the New Year....

I thought it was a nice way to start the new year anyway. ;-) I only needed one skein of each colour to complete it. I did mine 1 over 2 on 36-Count Linen, though. The chart says you'll need 3 skeins of the Dark Dusk, but it's also charted for 32-Count Linen (so therefore 2 over 2 I'd assume). I bought two skeins of the Dark Dusk to be on the safe side, so I may just use the extra one I have for Spots II if I ever get around to stitching it. :)

My second HD was yesterday. I finished Blackbird Design's Evergreen (Loose Feathers #17)

This was also awfully fun to stitch. I ran out of the WDW Havana, though (luckily I had another skein in my stash). I used all the recommended threads and 30ct Iced Cappuccino. I got all my supplies from Drema at Needlecraft Corner... she's so good with the Loose Feather "kits". Makes it TOO easy to spend money... ;-P

I've been scanning my stitching lately rather than taking photos, as the light is SO bad. I can't even get a decent photo during the day lately.. ugh. Roll on the spring!

I've been contemplating what to pick up next. I have so many things I could stitch, but I was thinking of maybe picking up a UFO instead. Take poor neglected Winter Beauty Princess by Passione Ricamo which I started nearly two years ago to the day. I got a decent amount done at the time, but then I put it away and forgot all about it...

I think the problem is that I have so many other things that I'd rather be stitching on. I really liked this design when it first came out, but I've fallen out of love with it since then. I still like it, but as I said, there are just OTHER things I'd rather stitch (I'd love to start another Mirabilia for one thing)... there is so much white in this design that I haven't even started, and not to mention the masses of Wisper thread which I don't like at all (I'll probably sub the Wisper for something else or I'll NEVER ever get it done...!) Don't worry though, I'll get back to her at some point... maybe even this weekend. ;-)

It's been almost a year since I started this blog, and it's been wonderful getting to know so many of you. I appreciate each and every one of your comments, it makes stitching even more fun (if that was even possible!)

Happy New Year to everyone! :-)

Sue: sorry, I should have mentioned it... the fabric for WBP is Silkweaver's Expressions Romantic Interlude (I got a special cut from SW, as a Fat 1/4 wouldn't be large enough).

SAL Progress

2006-12-30T10:49:00.000Z

Just a WIP photo while I'm remembering ;-) of the SAL I'm doing along with Karen of Spots I by Lilybet Designs. I've really been a bad SAL buddy (sorry Karen). We were meant to be stitching on this over the holidays, but I've managed to get very little done so far. :( I hadn't realised how busy the holidays were going to be. I have a few more days off though, and I plan to do NOT A LOT! I've got my Nikita and Farscape DVDs out and I'm going to stitch, thank you very much. :)

I'm doing Spots with the suggested Kreinik Silk Mori (Dark Dusk and Dark Gold) on Lentil Lakeside Linen Edinburgh linen. Karen is doing hers with her own colours and it's looking absolutely gorgeous! I can't wait to see more of her progress.

BTW, I still can't leave comments on most blogs I've tried to. :-(

I hope everyone had a nice Christmas... have a safe start to the New Year!

7 Days to Go....

2006-12-17T23:54:00.000Z

(Not that I'm counting or anything... !)

I have some stitching photos to share this time, at last! So just to prove that I've been stitching a little...

Some finishes...

Christmas Joy by Elizabeth's Designs:

On Platinum Cashel linen with all the suggested fibers.

Angel Melody by Just Nan.

But as you see, I haven't got around to putting it in the little WhimZi frame as yet:

This kit was extra special to me, as it's an exclusive for Needlecraft Corner, and Drema sent it to me as a Christmas gift last year.

And a little Work in Progress...

Evergreen by Blackbird Designs (Loose Feathers)

On 30-Count Iced Cappuccino by R&R. Sorry this photo in particular (though none are very good) is so dark.. that's what I get for taking it in the evening! :(

BTW Veronica, thank you for the "Happy Name Day" greetings on the 8th - I'd completely forgotten about that. :) Everyone did (we don't celebrate name days in the UK!) - though my cousin in Italy sent me a text that evening to remind me too, bless ! ;)

I've been keeping up with everyones lovely blogs but I know I've been very remiss when it comes to leaving comments. I did actually try to leave a few comments last week but couldn't (!!) I think someones trying to tell me something... !

I hope everyone is enjoying the fesivities. One last photo -- Snoopy was getting into the Christmas spirit last week.. He looks terrified, but don't worry, I was just trying to get his attention for the camera, not torturing him with tinsel! ;-)

Merry Christmas!

21 Days to go...

2006-12-04T12:30:00.000Z

Just a quick post from me, as it's been too long again. No stitching photos to share this time, though I should have a few soon - I've been stitching Christmas designs lately, just because I'm in the mood for it. :) I always feel daft for posting when I don't have stitching photos though - hence why I haven't posted much over the past couple of months. :(

To those who asked (though you've probably forgotten after all this time - sorry!) - no, that's not the fabric I was thinking of using for Pearl Lights -- it was the first one on hand that I thought the pearls would like nice on. :) Although I haven't made up my mind 100% on the fabric, I was thinking of just a (plain) natural colour, as I plan to do all the Lights eventually and I think a natural fabric is the only one that will suit all of them.

Work has been very busy - who'd have thought it at this time of the year! I'm taking two weeks off for Christmas/NY though - can't wait! My aunt is coming over from Italy to spend Christmas in Scotland too. She lands in Prestwick on December 16th and I can't wait to see her!

I had an order arrive from Hotel Chocolat today: yum!! All Christmas presents, though... I even wrapped them all up this morning, to make sure I wasn't tempted! LOL I think the slabs are going to particularly go down well with the chocoholics in the family. ;-P

I'll hopefully have some stitching photos to share soon, but in the mean time, Snoops is standing in again...

Chatelaine Pearl Lights Embellishments

2006-11-13T16:42:00.000Z

I received my pearls embellishment pack from Martina Weber today for Pearl Lights.

They are so beautiful! They're made up from her own stash of fresh and saltwater genuine pearls. She only has very few packs of these (I think she said 10), so if you want a pack do let her know before they run out.

Among them are natural coloured sweetwater pearls, the flat shaped ones are very rare and precious Chinese Sweetwater Keishi pearls, and there's even a genuine South Sea Keishi Pearl in there! My photos do them no justice at all.

Pearl Lights

I so want to start this now! :-) It's one design I've seen very few progress photos of. I remember before it was released, some stitchers were discussing how they'd like to use pearls they've had in their families for generations. How lovely it would be to see progress photos with all the different pearls!

Bad Blogger!

2006-11-12T14:00:00.000Z

Still Here!

Yes, I'm still alive. I thought I should put in a wee post today while I had the chance, it's been way too long. :) I've been catching up with friends lately and doing other nice things (other than working all the time!). After the busy spring and summer I had due to work it was difficult to see too many friends regularly.

A local friend of mine is having a jewellery party at her new house on Friday. The jewellery is Bohemia Jewellery created by another dear friend of ours, Debbie (who I've known since our first year of high school) and her friend Kary. Their handmade jewellery is absolutely gorgeous! They're going to start selling online in the very near future too and are available to do parties in the Glasgow/Central Scotland area.

I'm so happy that it's going so well for them. And no wonder when their creations are so beautiful! I tried to take some photos of my Bohemia Jewellery stash but they did no justice to the pieces at all, so I'll leave you with a photo of one of their fancy boxes instead... ;-)

Stitching

I've still been stitching, but only a wee teeny tiny bit (most) evenings and only on the one project for the past couple of weeks. So here is my progress on Village of Hawk Run Hollow. I finished up on Square 2 and oh-my-GOSH what a lot of stitching that was... I didn't think it was ever going to end!

I think I needed a bit of a break from stitching, TBH. I did a LOT of stitching over the spring and summer to fill in gaps during the day while I was working all those long hours. So of course because of that I haven't had any stitching photos to share, and as this is mainly a stitching blog, I thought it would be a bit dull of me to post with no stitching progress pics. ;-) SO I'm happy to finally have one to share!

Internet Shopping

An update on this sorry story. My credit card company graciously refunded the payment (so I'm not out anything), and they're now chasing PayPal for the money (who I assume is going to therefore chase up the company). So that's good, but I would rather something be done about the awful company (a.k.a. Diana Tharpe of Stitcher's Dream in Texas) who quite happily lied to me and stole the money in the first place. Ugh.

Moral of the story: ALWAYS use a credit card for Internet purchases if it's possible. Don't rely on PayPal to get the money back for you, even if you play by their rules (e.g. make the complaint within the 40 days etc..). Be careful if you're using funds from your PP account to make a purchase - only do that if it's a company you trust. Unless you're protected by a credit card, if the seller/company has emptied their PP account out you've had it if you're making a claim and they're dishonest.

I've been using the Internet for 12 years and making purchases on the 'net for nearly as long, and I've rarely had any problems (knock on wood). I was one of the unlucky ones that had my credit card information stolen from a glitch in the system of DVD Pacific a few years back. I had quite a number of unauthorised charges due to that, but of course, the CC company put that straight, and I got a new card sent out. It happens. Maybe I've been lucky, but I've also always used a bit of common sense and protected myself using a credit card. I should also add that DVD Pacific is a great company who I still order from and have no problems with...

---

Other than that, I've been really enjoying November (to think, it used to be one of my least favourite months of the year!) I'm also almost DONE with my Christmas shopping! Woohoo! I still need to get something for Steve and my brother and I think that's about it other than a few bits and pieces. Though I already have a good idea what I'm getting them, so no problems there. :)

Hopefully it won't be as long till I blog again!

Christmas Tree Happy Dance

2006-10-19T00:16:00.000+01:00

Just a quick post from me (yikes - two posts in as many days, it's a miracle!) to show my Christmas Tree HD that I finished putting the buttons on last night..

And so that you don't have to squint too much to see the "Christmas" letters. Aren't I thoughtful? ;-P

This was by M Designs stitched with all the suggested materials: Rainbow Gallery Nordic Gold (Silver!) metallics on gorgeous Phoenix Picture This Plus linen and the special button pack (yes Heather, I did use those in the end... {g}).

Thanks everyone for your lovely comments on the framing in my last post. :)

Paula -I'd love to know if you ever make it to the Glasgow branch of The Framing Workshop. I've only ever used the one in Dumbarton, and it'd be nice to know if the other branches are just as good.

Blogrolling seems to be working again now, but thanks for the tips! I've made a note of Bloglines and Google Reader and will look into those if this happens again. :)

Some Framing Happy Dances...

2006-10-16T14:20:00.000+01:00

I know I've been an awful blogger lately. I've had so much going on and not many photos to share of stitching. I picked up a couple of pieces from my wonderful framer on Friday, though.

So let me present, Halloween Fairy (in plenty of time for Halloween!)

And Petal Fairy:

I'm giving Petal Fairy to my mum, as a thank you for all her help over the summer months with my business. I don't know what I'd have done without her!

A note on the framing: I was charged a total of £30 for *both* frames. That's the cheapest yet! I was actually quoted £14 for HF and £23 for PF... and he ended up taking £7 off that when I went to pick them up. Do I have the best framer in the world or what?

I hope to have a bit more Internet time this week... so that I can catch up with my blog reading for one thing. Though what is UP with blogger?! I can't see who's updated their blogs recently or anything.

Christmas Tree WIP

2006-10-08T17:46:00.000+01:00

I had little time to stitch last week. I always try to stitch for at least half an hour every evening to unwind if I can... I think that's the most that I managed, so I don't have many photos to share, sorry. :-(

Will one of Snoopy trying to escape from the house and then throwing a tantrum when he realised he couldn't get out do?

Otherwise, I did do a bit on Christmas Tree (by M Designs). This is very fast to stitch, as there isn't really a lot of stitching to do. I love the fabric (Picture This Plus Phoenix Cashel), though I can't say I'm completely crazy about stitching with the Rainbow Gallery Nordic Gold!! It's OK though, not as bad as I thought it was going to be. :)

This is my progress from last week:

Currently known as "....stmas"

So, other than that, I've been busy with work (I can't believe the amount of tourists still around in October - mostly Aussies!) and other stuff. My oldest (and one of my dearest) friends, Michelle, popped in last week to tell me some good news: she's expecting her second baby next year! A wee brother or sister for Thomas. :-) She's due around the same time as my cousin, so I'll have to start thinking of something to stitch for them both.

Last of the Happy Dances for September!

2006-10-01T17:16:00.000+01:00

Has it been a week since I last blogged?! I'm only just noticing. Ah well... I do have a few Happy Dances to share that I finished during the week. Not that they took long to complete. It seems I'm much more into smaller projects lately so that I can have my happy dances sooner! ;)

First though, thank you for all your *wonderful* suggestions regarding a wedding project for Aldo & Federica. I knew I was doing the right thing asking you lovely people. :)

Some notes about that....

I'd completely forgotten about the Teresa Wentzler wedding sampler. It's STUNNING, but it's too big a project for me to tackle in 7-9 months (I need time to get it framed too). I think I'd cope with just about everything, but not that border! Oh my! I get into a cold sweat just thinking about it! LOL I'd love to do it one day, but not for this... too much pressure.

I'm also going to stay away from anything with TOO many words, as their first language is not English (though they undertstand it much more than they let on!) Some of the Victoria Sampler pieces are gorgeous and would be perfect, but I haven't tackled hardanger yet either, so I don't think I should learn with this one. :) And I'm not confident enough with my finishing skills to do a pillow or anything like that yet (I wish I was!)

I was drooling over some of the French & Italian designs suggested (I love Renato Parolin - thanks Elena! I have a few of those designs in my stash already and I also love GPA); the Passione Ricamo and Long Dog designs are beautiful too.

Christine: I've been following your progress on the PC design, it's absolutely stunning, and I love the colours you chose. :) I would love to do this one day, but I think it would be too much hard work for Aldo to read and it'd lose it's charm which are the beautiful words as well as the design.

I'm thinking it's going to either be one of the Sweetheart Tree designs that were mentioned (Katrina's is just beautiful as a few people have mentioned!) or the M Designs letters with the heart in the middle of their Initials. I remember that I saw someones finish of this maybe a year or two ago and it looked wonderful: it was the couples initials with the heart in the middle and their names and wedding date at the bottom, and of course there's also the Celtic connection that's a bonus. Absolutely perfect! If I choose to do the latter I'll have to have a think about thread and fabric colours... Hmmmm...

I'm also going to buy the Trilogy's Wedding Spots (thanks Nicki), as I know I'll use that for someone at some point, it's lovely!

Honestly though, thank you EVERYONE for your suggestions, I'm keeping a note of all of these designs, as I know they'll come handy in the future!

My cousin (one of those in Scotland this time!) just announced she's expecting her #2 baby next year, so that's another project for me to think about now too!

......

Now for some recent finishes. The first is A Stitch In Pine (by Hillside Samplings):

Stitched on 30-Count R&R Light Espresso linen, with the suggested threads. Aaargh, isn't it awful after you've stitched something and taken a photo that all the imperfections come out and you're making a list of what you have to fix on it!!

I haven't actually stitched on the button yet, it's just sitting there. :) I have a feeling that this button is actually no longer available to buy. Hillside Samplings put out a free chart when this happened a few years back of a substitute tree you can stitch in it's place (there's also a substitute acorn for "A is for Acorn" and a substitute pinecone for "Gathering Pinecones"). If anyone needs a copy of the free chart let me know.

Right Side Close Up: (close up of left side is in previous post)

And the second is Heart's Secret by Victoria Sampler (Cathy Jean):

Stitched on Vintage Autumn Fields Belfast linen with all the suggested threads and very strange blend combinations. I thought after the heart that the blending was over, but nope! Both the leaves and the birds are blends too (of WDW this time rather than Gloriana silks). Weird, weird, weird! I'm happy enough with it now that it's complete, though. I wonder if all of the Cathy Jean designs are like this, though?!

I left out the words from the design, until I figure out how I'm going to finish it, etc..

Yikes, it's the 1st of October already! Wasn't I just saying the same about it being the 1st of September the other day? Time sure does fly...

Ideas Needed for a Wedding Design!

2006-09-24T16:09:00.000+01:00

My cousin Aldo and his fiancee Federica (in Italy) got in touch with me this weekend and asked what I thought about them getting married in Scotland next summer. They got engaged in Scotland last year, and they would really love to get hitched here too. They also asked if I'd mind being their "wedding planner", as there's a lot of stuff they obviously can't organise themselves from Italy. I was honoured they asked and I'm very excited about the whole thing. I hope it all works out and they'll be able to manage it.

Federica, who is the same age as me, is very into crafts. She doesn't stitch much - yet (I'm working on that!), but she makes beautiful patchwork designs and other things. She gave me this as a gift when they were here 11 months ago:

And I gave them this:

She is one person I know who really loves and appreciates stitched gifts... So my point to all this is, I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions as to what I could stitch them as a wedding present? I wanted something very special. I considered one of the Lavender & Lace wedding designs, but I don't know if I fancy the pressure of trying to finish something so huge in less than 10 months. Does anyone have any favourite wedding/marriage designs? I would really love and appreciate any ideas you may have - even a sampler would be nice, it dosn't have to be L&L/Mira style.

Luckily I didn't ever get around to giving her the link for my blog, so it's OK for me to talk about this on here for just now!

I haven't had a huge amount of time to stitch this week. I've been working on A Stitch in Pine (by Hillside Samplings):

Closer up:

Thanks everyone for your lovely comments on my last two "happy dances", I appreciated each and every one. :)

As for how I managed to complete Halloween Fairy so quickly (10 days). It really wasn't difficult at all -- she isn't even half the size of a normal Mirabilia design. In fact, I think she was even easier and faster to stitch than the freebie Mirabilia angels/cherubs! Of course that was the only thing I stitched on during that period. I find that I can happily be a one at a time stitcher if the project only takes about 10 days to complete. I find that's normally my time limit and then I start getting bored - hence why I take a LONG time completing larger projects! ;-)

Quaker Meetinghouse Finish!

2006-09-20T22:28:00.000+01:00

I didn't think I'd manage to finish this today, but it's been MISERABLE outside, so it was the perfect night to stay in and stitch. :) Karen and I have been doing this as a SAL. We had to put it away for a wee while after we ran out of the Tartan Plaid Crescent Colours, and only picked it up again yesterday. I couldn't put it down until I'd finished. What can I say, I loved stitching on it that much. :)

A few details: mine was stitched on Kiwi Illusions Tussock Belfast linen with all the suggested Crescent Colour threads. Halloween Fairy was also done completely in Crescent Colours and I have to say this is my favourite cotton floss now. It's absolutely wonderful to stitch with. It states you'll need 2 skeins of the Tartan Plaid for this design... I needed about 2.5, and I think if you're stitching it 2 over 2 on 28/30/32 Count you'll definitely need more than 2 skeins.

Thank you again Karen for the extra skein of Tartan Plaid thread. I can't wait to see yours!!

Halloween Fairy Happy Dance!

2006-09-17T13:54:00.000+01:00

Just a quick post from me, seeings as I've just taken a photo of my new happy dance and wanted to share it. ;-)

She only took 10 days to complete. Fabric: Sugar Maple Fabrics Burnt Papyrus 28-Count Lugana. I ran out of Crescent Colours Dandelion Stem *and* Black Coffee. I'd recommend purchasing a second skein of the Dandelion Stem and making sure the dye lots are the same. As I said in a previous post, if you happen to run out of the Black Coffee (which you may not - I only just ran out), I don't think it's a big deal using a very dark brown shade of DMC for the backstitching (e.g. in the wings) instead, rather than having to buy a whole additional skein.

Of course, as this is a kit, you may want to contact the manufacturers to see if they'll send out the extra floss you need? After all, you're spending all that money, they should really be giving you enough of the materials you need.

Wonderful & Dreadful Online Stitching Stores

2006-09-13T13:22:00.000+01:00

I received a wonderful package from Needlecraft Corner today. I'm sure I've mentioned Needlecraft Corner before. It's my most favourite Online Stitching store par none. There are always great sales on, but what makes this store so wonderful to me is the customer care and attention you receive. Drema (the owner) is one of the nicest people you could ever meet. They will go out of their way to order things in for you, have them sent exactly the way you want, etc.. They must make notes in all their customers files to help them remember how we all like to have our orders shipped -- e.g. for me, if it's a medium/large order I always, always prefer to have it shipped Global Priority, for safety (and it doesn't hurt that it gets here so quickly either!); but if it's a smaller (in size and expense too) order then Air Mail does. :)

I've been fortunate not to have had too many bad experiences with Online Stitching Stores, but unfortunately my luck ran out this summer when I had the misfortune of ordering from Diana Tharpe of Stitcher's Dream in Texas.

Long story short: ignored e-mails, then followed by obvious lies, ended in me being forced to initiate a PayPal chargeback as a refund was not forthcoming. This concluded in my favour this past weekend, but unfortunately they were "unable to recover any funds from the seller's account". What does this mean? I'm out $35, as I doubt very much that Diana Tharpe is going to refund the money she has ~~taken~~ stolen or send the item that I ordered in early July.

It's *truely* not the money that makes me upset, it's the fact that people can get away with this... do they not even have a conscience? It's a shame too, because it's put me off ordering from smaller stores that I haven't heard a great deal about.

Drema's package came at exactly the right time, as I was feeling quite down about the whole dreadful experience earlier this week.

This definitely put a smile on my face, which arrived with a sweet note:

:-)

I thought I deserved a stitching treat after working so hard all summer! That Picture This Plus linen is to die for! It's not something I'd have found any other use for I don't think, but it's perfect for that Christmas Tree design.

Leslie: the only two colours you need to worry about running out of with Halloween Fairy are the Black Coffee and Dandelion Stem. I think I JUST have enough of the Black Coffee, but it won't be a disaster if I run out, as I can easily use a dark brown shade of DMC for the backstitching, wings, etc.. there's not enough variegation (in the dye lot I got anyway) for it to make a difference. Dandelion Stem on the other hand would definitely be a problem. I've only just started using it for the wings, but I can already tell that it'll be unlikely I'll have enough. I luckily have another skein of this in my stash (which was for another project), and the dye lot looks to be the same. Definitely watch out for that, though.

Nicki: fantastic you'd like to do a Mira SAL at some point! :) I'll let you know what I have in my stash... I'd be really happy to do any of the ones you've mentioned really! I got Autumn In My Garden today from Drema too. ;-)

Don't be impressed at me doing Rainbow Ride at such a young age. Did you see those huge blocks of colours?! It was VERY easy! :) I tried to stitch Angel Procession a year or two later, and it sadly had to go in the bin! (I think that's the only cross stitch project I've ever had to literally throw away) LOL

Halloween Fairy

2006-09-10T16:26:00.000+01:00

OK, I sort of cheated and started a Mirabilia Limited Edition Fairy. ;-) I wanted to have another happy dance soon!! I'd like to get this finished and framed in time for Halloween. I don't have many Halloween pieces and it's fun to put them up during those holidays. :)

The coverage isn't actually bad, as the fabric is 28-Count Lugana (Sugar Maple Fabric's Burnt Papyrus). I'm a bit of a linen snob, and normally don't use below 32-Count anymore, but I had a fat 1/8th of this in my stash and thought it would work well. It just would have been MORE perfect if it had been a fat 1/8th of Belfast linen instead! ...or maybe not... the dye is different on evenweaves and linens as everyone knows, and it may have been too dark if it had been the linen, so I'm sure it worked out just fine. ;-) I saw this stitched recently on Sugared Snickerdoodles linen (also by SMF) and oh my GOSH it was BEAUTIFUL, I almost ordered it myself... but I didn't want to wait for it to get here (being the impatient soul that I am).

She looks kind of spooky with no limbs or head, doesn't she? Ach well, it's Halloween, so I can get away with creepy... ha!

Someone asked why I don't scan my stitching rather than take photos as I always do. Well, I guess it's just personal preference. Sometimes I couldn't scan them anyway, as they're too big for the scanner... but I feel on the scanner there's sometimes TOO much detail and I'd have to tweak them anyway... Yeah, the digital camera is my friend. :) I only wish I'd had a digi cam in the 1990s... there is so much stuff I gave away before I had the chance to take photos.

Take these two:

Rainbow Ride was the first large project I ever stitched when I was very young (like 13 - so it would have been circa 1988), and I stitched "Break Time" a year or two later (both by Design WorksTM and still available to buy). My grandparents brought them both over to the family house in Italy where they've been ever since, and I only finally got some photos of them taken a couple of years ago! Now I just need to track down the rest... !

Wendy: I forgot to mention the other day, that although I won't actually be finishing Deco Spirits into a bellpull (it'll be framed), I'm stitching it bellpull style rather than the way it's charted.

Wonderful Surprise and some progress...

2006-09-07T12:01:00.000+01:00

I got a wonderful surprise in the mail today!! Karen had told me yesterday that the Tartan Plaid thread for our Quaker Meetinghouse SAL was on the way, but she didn't tell me that she was also sending her pattern for "This Too Shall Pass" Scissor Keep! I was admiring her beautiful finish a few weeks ago, and was kicking myself for not buying it when I had the chance.

(sorry I should have taken it out of the plastic before taking the photo)

Thank you so much, Karen. That was the sweetest and kindest thing and has made my day. :-)

I've had a few relaxing days off this week. I haven't managed to get much stitching done though, as I've been doing other things. This is how far I got on Heart's Secret before putting it away:

It looks WEIRD (and not necessarily a good weird) - I mean blending overdyed silks?! especially those colours! Well, it was annoying me, so I decided to put it away for a bit... I'll probably get over the weirdness the next time I get it out!

I started a new Mirabilia instead!! It wasn't Stargazer, though. I'll take a progress pic over the weekend and let you see. ;-)

I think (hope!) the blog has gone back to normal, as I haven't had any more problems loading the page, and as nobody has said otherwise...

Blog Problems

2006-09-04T12:04:00.000+01:00

Carol, Thanks for pointing that out to me. I've been getting it too, and was hoping that it was only effecting me!

I haven't changed to beta blogger, so it can't be that. I'm wondering if it's the NeoCounter Tool? I've taken it away temporarily to see if that makes a difference (though I've kept NeoEarth).

Please let me know if anyone is still getting any script errors.

If anyone has any tips they're always welcome too - my HTML skills are basic to say the least! ;-)

Thank you!

*Edited to Add*

Well, that didn't work! I've now taken away NeoEarth too.

*Edited to Add (again - sorry!)*

It appears it was NeoEarth [though I'm still not 100% sure]. Apparently when there are too many "hits" on the counter it starts to malfunction, because it can't cope. Hmmm. OK. Wish I'd known that before spending £6 for the 6-month premium subscription! Lucky I wasn't tempted to get the 12-month subscription. I think I can still use it, as long as I use the "list the last 100 cities only" option; or something similar. I'll look into that another time.

Old & New Projects

2006-09-03T22:48:00.000+01:00

Thank you for all the lovely comments on Petal Fairy everyone. :) I appreciate them so much.

As for what I'm going to work on next... Well, I started a new project this weekend: the Victoria Sampler's Heart's Secret by Cathy Jean. It's a very cute project that hopefully shouldn't take too long to complete. I'm having a hard time getting used to the very weird blends the chart calls for, though. Don't get me wrong, I've done my fair share of blends (read Teresa Wentzler), but blending variegated overdyed silks (Gloriana) is just really strange to me, especially colours as vibrant as this!

I told myself that I wouldn't start a new Mirabilia until I finished Petal Fairy, so I may have a new start soon now that she's done. I'm a little undecided as to which, but the favourite at the moment is Stargazer. I still have Deco Spirits as a WIP too, and I want to work on that a little over the next week or two. I started it 2 years ago and I absolutely LOVE it, I don't know why I've only finished the first block! I've started a little on the second block too, so it should be easy to get back into. I took a photo of the Earth block that I've completed:

The one thing about Deco Spirits that you can never tell from any photos is how much it sparkles. There is a ton of Kreinik used (I switched to #4 and Petite Treasure Braid). It's really stunning. This is a fairly big project, but as it's 4 separate blocks (Earth, Air, Water & Fire) you get to have a mini happy dance when you complete each one. :) If you're a stitcher you know how important having a happy dance (even if it's only a mini one) is! :))

Then of course I have Village of Hawk Run Hollow calling out to me too. I haven't touched it since I finished the first block... I also really need to work on finishing Gloria by The Silver Lining, as I want to get it finished and framed in time for Christmas, for nonna.

So I have lots to keep me busy. I'm trying very hard not to start lots of new projects, no matter how tempted I am. I love almost all of my WIPs, so I should show them the attention they deserve. ;-)

Petal Fairy Happy Dance!

2006-08-31T22:42:00.000+01:00

It's September already! Well, almost... I still have about an hour of August to go!

I'm one of those strange people that's relieved the summer is coming to an end. It's not because I don't like the summer - I do, but since I work most of it with very few days off I'm exhausted by the end of it. I actually felt relief today when I looked at the calander and realised tomorrow is the first of September. I'll still be fairly busy in September and October but not like the previous three months when it was non stop. Of course come January (and most likely before) I'll be fed up with the horrid weather and all the free time I'll have and wish for the spring to arrive already! Typical!

I haven't been neglecting my stitching, though. I worked hard and finally finished Petal Fairy! I spent the last couple of days just beading -- I prefer to do all the beading at the end, as I get into a "groove" when I get started, so it works out better that way.

She was started in January 2005, so it was about time! Here she is...

She was stitched on a Silkweaver Solo (Belfast) as mentioned in a previous post somewhere. I can't get a decent photo of the fabric... and apologies for the wrinkles! She needs a bath and a press before taking her to the framers, I think.

I had to start a second spool of the Kreinik (though didn't use too much of it) (thanks again for the warning Nicki); I didn't have to buy any extras of anything else... I just had enough of the darker beads... I think with about 7 or 8 beads left - I left out some of the thingys (?) on her head that used those beads though, so I'd have probably run out otherwise.

I KNOW that I'd never have finished her any time soon if I hadn't been inspired by Harsha and Nicki who have been stitching on it too. Harsha finished hers a few weeks ago in a beautiful conversion; and Nicki is just about finished too. :-)

Well, that's it for August from me! I hope I have lots more time in September for some of my favourite hobbies... hopefully I'll be able to catch up on my blog reading too!

Beautiful Stash!

2006-08-25T11:29:00.000+01:00

Look what arrived in the post for me this morning!

Isn't it GORGEOUS?! It's one of a new line of scissor fobs by the hugely talented Amy of Haute Water Designs. My photography skills leave a lot to be desired and the photos really don't do the fob any justice at all... you can see the one I bought and others here (mine is Summer).

It was like Christmas this morning when I opened the envelope - it was wrapped beautifully in that gorgeous little purple bag. I'll be treating myself to another one very soon, and maybe some earrings too. :-)

Well that was definitely needed, as I haven't had much time to stitch this week at all and I'm working all weekend....

Off to admire my beautiful new fob some more... ;-)

Happy Birthday Nonno Peppe

2006-08-22T12:47:00.000+01:00

This isn't a stitching post (for a change). I couldn't let this day go by without honouring my grandfather ("nonno Peppe" to his grandkids), who would have been 90 today.

He was born in Glasgow on the 22 August 1916, the 5th of 6 children. He spent his first few years in Scotland and then the whole family went back to Italy, where he grew up.

This photo was taken around 1919/1920. From left to right: my great grandmother, Maria Grazia, my great aunts Katerina, Annie and Kate; my great grandfather Achille; and at the front my great uncle Alec and nonno Peppe (Giuseppe). The youngest (Rita) hadn't been born yet. The thing that most strikes me about this photo is how much the "kids" look like their own kids.

This photo is one of my favourites. It was taken around 1923 at a big gathering in Filignano, Italy. Nonno is right at the front in the middle with his legs crossed. What a wonderful photo.

Before the second world war, nonno went back to Scotland where two of his sisters had settled and had businesses (cafes and restaurants - very common for Scots Italians in those days), and he opened a "fish and chip" shop in Glasgow with his brother, Alec. This is him in front of the shop.

They were always having fun! L-R nonno Peppe; uncle Alec and auntie Katerina. A lot of people thought he looked like Charlie Chaplin back then. :)

He went back to Italy when the war started and served in the Italian army.

L-R Nonna Giulia, my mum & nonno Peppe. After the war ended, he got married to my grandmother, in November 1946 and my mum arrived a little over a year later on 2 December 1947. He had moved back to Scotland when the war was over, but when his father fell ill, they moved back to Italy again when my mum was 11-months old.

They stayed in Italy for a further 6 years, until my great grandfather passed away, and then returned to Scotland in 1955, this time for good. Glasgow, Scotland: my mum doesn't thank you for this photo of herself ;-); it's a great one of nonno, though. Now, you'd think he had some important documents rolled up in that smart briefcase, wouldn't you? Nope! He liked to get dressed up to do the Saturday shopping in Glasgow city centre every week, bringing mum along with him. That's spaghetti in the briefcase!

My uncle Achille came along in 1959. Mum was 11.

He was never happier than when he was surrounded by family and friends. This is at his nephew Nino's wedding to Lela in the mid-1960s in Rome. My mum is on the far left (circa 17-years-old), and nonna Giulia is next to her. Nonno Peppe is right in the middle with a big smile on his face. My uncle Achille is the little boy in front of him

Down the pub with the boys! Nonno is second on the right, along with one brother, two brothers-in-law and his cousin and best friend Giovanni (in the middle).

This is such a classic photo of nonno Peppe. This reminds me of him more than any other (he didn't smoke a pipe btw, this was for the photo only). Taken in the early 1970s in Glasgow. A man he worked with was an amateur photographer and we have dozens of photos similar to this, as he was very snap happy. :) You can see the amusement on his face - not another photo shoot!

My parents' wedding in April 1974.

With his grandkids in 1981.

He took us to the photo booth in town often. We thought it was cool. 8-)

On one of his last trips to Italy (with my uncle Achille), circa 2000.

Another special thing about him was that he LOVED to see what I was stitching. He was genuinly fascinated by my stitching and the things I created on fabric. I'd make him stuff all the time, and he'd take it over to Italy with him and tell everyone about how his grand daughter stitched this and that on a BLANK piece of fabric that had NO printing on it (LOL). I remember my first little stitching project when I was about 8. It was a bookmark. I still have it and boy does it look awful ;-) but he thought it was the best thing ever.

Happy Birthday nonno Peppe. I miss you every day.

QMH Progress & Some Framing

2006-08-20T20:20:00.000+01:00

A little bit more progress on Quaker Meetinghouse Sampler. I'm putting it away for a wee while now. Karen's kindly ordering more skeins of the Tartan Plaid Crescent Colours for us, so I think we're both going to wait for that to arrive before continuing with it. A warning for anyone that's thinking of kitting this design up - if you're doing it 2 over 2, you will definitely need at least 3 skeins (not 2 as the chart says)... you may possibly even need a 4th, and as the colours are variegated, you'll want to make sure to get them all at once to avoid dye lot problems.

I thought I'd share some photos of recent framing I've had done too. These are NOT recent finishes though, I might add -- I stitched "Friendly Enemies" and "Doggie in the Window" when I was in my early teens! They were just pieces that were in desperate need of professional framing. Some of the photos are not very good -- my mum's dining room (where they live) doesn't have great lighting for taking photos - or it does but if I keep half the lights on I can't get a good shot of the pieces as the light reflects right onto the glass. Ach well.

Friendly Enemies

Doggie In The Window

The Kiss (Mirabilia)

I have an absolutely wonderful local framer. He never seems to charge me more than £20 per piece. What's that, about $35-$38? For the whole thing - frame, mat and labour (for medium size framing too - e.g. a regular Mirabilia size piece). I've mentioned it before, if anyone in the Dunbartonshire area is looking for a framer his name is Gary Merchant and the shop is The Framing Workshop. I'd drive hours to get my stitching framed at this place, he's the best.

I have NO excuse to put off getting things framed anymore!!

More Quaker Meetinghouse

2006-08-16T15:29:00.000+01:00

Another quick post to show my progress on QMH.

Karen, thank you for the offer of splitting the skein if we need it, you're a gem! :-)

I don't know if the way I stitch means I use more thread than most people (?!) but the photo above is the whole first skein of Tartan Plaid, so I can't imagine the 2nd one is going to do me. Aaargh! It's funny though, but when I was ordering it I'd debated whether to get a 3rd one or not. Hmmmm.

ETA... Margie, the design uses all Crescent Colours which I absolutely adore (they're much nicer than GAST or WDW, IMHO).

Quaker Meetinghouse SAL Day 1

2006-08-14T23:12:00.000+01:00

Thanks for the nice comments everyone, I always appreciate them very much. :-))

Aaargh Nicki, extra beads needed for Petal Fairy too?! She's a high maintenance fairy this one. ;-)

Just a quick post from me tonight with a photo from Day 1 of the Quaker Meetinghouse SAL that I'm doing with Karen. I didn't get much done, but it's a start. I love those Crescent Colours! Sorry about the wrinkles... I'm always too impatient to iron fabric before I start a project, but I've never had any problems after it's been in the Q-Snaps and then laced when it's being framed, so I don't worry too much about it.

Petal Fairy has some Wings!

2006-08-11T13:41:00.000+01:00

Well, I spent most of my stitching time this week working on PF's wings. I finally got them done last night. Nicki - thanks so much for the tip regarding the Kreinik, because I totally ran out of it! ;-) I luckily bought a second spool after you mentioned it... I know that I go through a lot of Kreinik, as I always use short strands when I'm stitching with it (as I'm pretty hard on the poor Kreinik!), so I knew it'd probably happen. It would have been very frustrating if I'd run out when I was nearly done. I guess I'll be doing the flower next (maybe next week); then I'll have to do all the beading. So I may have a happy dance fairly soon. :-)

On Monday I'll be starting Quaker Meetinghouse... a SAL with Karen. I'm really looking forward to that - I've been dying to do QM, and Karen's SAL's are fun. :-)

Village of Hawk Run Hollow Happy Dance!

2006-08-05T17:09:00.000+01:00

Just Block 1 - I'm not that fast. ;-) 11 more to go...

I finished this up yesterday. I'd really love to start Block 2 today, but I'm going to be good and stitch on Petal Fairy a little bit more if I get the chance instead.

Cathy & Karen & everyone that's going to use the Vikki Clayton conversions on VoHRH -- I'm dying to seeing your progess! So hurry up and start it soon! ;-)

Petal Fairy Progress

2006-08-03T12:29:00.000+01:00

I managed to give Petal Fairy some legs as promised! I'll give her some wings next. :-) No beading anywhere yet - I'll do that at the end, as I'm using Q-Snaps and don't want the beads to get crushed. Seeing Harsha's and others progress on this inspired me to pick it up again. I'm not going to start another Mirabilia until she's done, and as there are a few I'm dying to start, I'd better get her finished!

Thanks for all your nice compliments on the Village of Hawk Run Hollow. I've been following others WIPs on it and I'm amazed at how fast some stitchers are! Very inspiring!

Leslie, yes it's just the one strand of NPI I'm using on the 40-Count. :)

ETA: Michelle, the fabric for Petal Fairy is a Silkweaver Solo (Belfast). I think that Sugar Maple Fabrics' Northern Skies is quite similar to it. This is the SW Solo:

Village of Hawk Run Hollow

2006-08-01T11:36:00.000+01:00

I was going to wait until I'd completed the first block before posting a photo, but it's been too long since I last blogged! Where does the time go?!

I've really been enjoying stitching this. I'm using the 40-Count fabric (and the NPI), and I'm so glad that I went with that. I haven't really stitched many projects on 40-Count so far (that will definitely be changing), so I was a bit nervous about doing such a big project on it... but I'm really glad I did now. I'm very happy with the coverage and I'm having no problems at all.

I'm thinking of maybe trying to complete one block of these per month. I'd be no good doing this as a focus piece (or stitching on it until it's done), as I know I would get fed up too quickly, then it'll just lie as a UFO... I think one block per month sounds a lot more sensible.

Work was very busy last week. I have 3 days off this week (woo!), another 2 days off next week, but then that's it... I'll only get one more day off (if I'm lucky), until September 5th. Sighs. Ach well... I expect after September I'll get a lot more free time with the holiday season coming to an end.

The weather has cooled down over the past couple of days too, which I'm grateful for, TBH. I love the warm weather when I can relax (e.g. on holiday or with days off), but working in it is awful when it's as warm as it has been. Though typical that it gets cooler when I get some days off!!

Quaker Meetinghouse SAL

2006-07-24T12:12:00.000+01:00

Karen, I'd love to do a SAL on Quaker Meetinghouse. I put in some stitches last night (only a few of the letters), but I'll put it away now and wait for you. It'll give me the excuse to definitely start VoHRH this week instead - I can live with that! ;-P I'm doing QM on Kiwi Illusions Tussock Belfast. I was thinking of a higher count, but I had this in my stash and really liked it. First time I've used Crescent Colours and they're so nice to stitch with (much nicer than GAST and WDW I think)... and I love the Tartan Plaid colour (nothing to do with being Scottish either!) I'm thinking of buying some more of this for some other designs. :) What about you, have you decided on a fabric for it yet?

Signing off with Snoopy, seeings as I don't have any new stitching photos to share! Poor Snoopy - second to stitching!!

Stitching Plans!

2006-07-23T19:32:00.000+01:00

Thanks to everyone for your lovely comments on Quaker Garden, I appreciate them very much. :-) Lots of people are finishing up on this lately... it's fun to see!

Just to show that I actually stitched on Winter into Spring a wee bit last week:

But I have to admit that I'm fed up with it again. :-( I manage to get a few hours work done on it and this always happens... I end up not picking it up again for months. :'( Ach well... one of these days I *will* get it finished...

I think I'm going to start Quaker Meetinghouse this week. It's calling out to me! ;-) As is the Village of Hawk Run Hollow... I'm very tempted to start that too! I also feel like picking up Petal Fairy and doing a little bit of work on her, as it's been a while. Let's see how I go!

Quaker Garden Finish!

2006-07-20T12:15:00.000+01:00

Quaker Garden (Blackbird Designs Loose Feathers #19). Stitched 2 over 2 with all the recommended threads (GAST & WDW), on the recommended 30-Count Garden State Java R&R fabric.

I finished this 15 minutes ago! I almost completed it last night... I had about 15 stitches left to go, and was determined to get it done today as early as I could. ;-) This stitched up really quickly. The only reason it's taken 17 days from the day the SAL started, is because I haven't really had much time to stitch over these past few weeks. I think I'm going to have to pull out another Blackbird Designs project to start on now, because I'm going to miss this one. :-)

Thanks so much to Karen for organising the SAL. It was a lot of fun seeing everyones progress and knowing so many others were stitching along.

Pamela Kellogg Designs

2006-07-17T16:49:00.000+01:00

A few people have asked if the Winter Into Spring pattern is still available to buy. I've searched the Internet and the only place I can find it is here (scroll down to about half way). They're available to buy individually - note there are restrictions on how to make payment, and they come in pdf format only. I noticed lots of nice free patterns on that web page too. Thanks Pam. :-) She's always been very generous with her freebies! She also has a Bulletin Board for anyone that's interested. That's where the mysteries took place a few years back.

More later. I've been too busy to blog or stitch over the past days. :'-(

My New Wallpaper

2006-07-13T17:30:00.000+01:00

Harsha's recently finished (and framed) Stargazer just blew me away... Lookie at my new wallpaper. :-) (with Harsha's approval!) Isn't her stitching stunning? Yet another design that's gone WAY to the top of my "to do" list now -- I've even picked my fabric for it (a Silkweaver Solo). What a great inspiration my new wallpaper is...

Stash!

2006-07-12T16:29:00.000+01:00

My #2 Global Priority package from Drema arrived this morning! WooHoo! My VoHRH silks and chart are here. :-) It took almost 2 weeks to get here, though! I don't think I've ever had a GP package take longer than 5 days before... It must be the Glasgow holidays (?!) that's delayed things a bit.

That wasn't everything that arrived, though...

*Blush*. That's really IT for stash for a while, though...

And it's all a bit of a bore for Snoopy... I mean how much stash does a girl need?!

ETA:

Jean: Swans is by The Workbasket (link), as is Crowflower. Too true, I should have bought Snoops a gift too... I'm a bad kitty mum! ;-)

Michelle: I'm still undecided as to when I'll start VoHRH, but I don't think I'll be able to resist for long. Especially when I see all the wonderful WIPs! :)

Purrrr!

2006-07-11T15:55:00.000+01:00

Thanks for the encouragement everyone, it's appreciated. :)

I'm going to aim to have it done by October some time, I think. That gives me plenty time to do a little on it every week and not put myself off. I'll make sure to post progress pics, so you can make sure I'm sticking to it. ;-)

Laura: It's a deal! You will need to post your progress pics too!!

Snoopy says Hello

Purrrrr!

UFO - Winter into Spring

2006-07-10T21:16:00.000+01:00

Two entries in one day.. you'll be getting sick of me!

I don't have any new stitching photos to share unfortunately, as I haven't had a lot of time to stitch. I was looking through some UFO's earlier today though, and I've decided that I really need to finish off some of these projects that were started so long ago. I think the first one I need to tackle is the (former) Winter into Spring Mystery by Pamela Kellogg. I started it on 1 January 2004 when the mystery started; kept up with Parts 1 & 2, then got side tracked (as you do) ;-) I managed to finish Part 3 last year and I even started part 4, but I haven't touched it since. It's been (I'm sure!) close to 18 months since I've stitched on it. Photos follow:

Part 1 (January)

Part 2 (February)

Part 3 (March)

Parts 1-3 together:

Part 4 (April) WIP:

So as you can see, I don't really have much left to do. The remainder of part 4 and then the beading around the edges that you can see in Part 1. The squares are 8" x 8" (so not small). I do like the design (my favourite square is Part 1), but my tastes have changed since I started it... there are so many other designs I'd rather spend the time on is the problem. It's also on plain White 28-Count Jobelan. I have nothing against that fabric, but it's not something I'd really stitch on anymore.. But I really want to finish this. I need some encouragement is what I need!

World Cup 2006

2006-07-10T17:01:00.000+01:00

I've had a busy weekend, and I'm WAY behind on my blog reading. I'll hopefully get the chance over the next couple of days to catch up a bit. Though I don't get any more complete days off until next Tuesday & Wednesday now. This week is probably one of the busiest weeks of the year for me, with the Barclay's Scottish Open golf tournament taking place in Loch Lomond until Sunday.

I'm sure most folk know by now that Italy won the World Cup last night. ;-) And they won on *penalties* of all things: I guess they've been practising. :-) I'm of course very happy they won, but I didn't enjoy the match much after the second half. The first half was fantastic... if the match was based on the first half, Italy deserved to win. Based on the second half I just don't know... Italy were so negative.

The French player Zinedine Zidane was an IDIOT headbutting Marco Materazzi (what was he thinking??). How awful to see him get sent off in the final match of his career. :'( As much as I wanted to see the Italian's win, I was very sad about that, as he's been such a great player. If the final had been the semi-final Italy played against Germany I'd have been MUCH happier. *That* was a match to cheer and get carried away with. The one last night was a bit of an anti-climax.

Well done to the Azzurri, though. They've almost been there many times... this was long overdue, and it couldn't come at a better time for them with the state of the sport in Italy at the moment. :O)

I was going to add some photos (stitching related), but blogger won't let me! Aaargh! I'll try again later, as I don't want to upload them all to Photobucket, though I'll need to if blogger doesn't behave...

ETA: Italy didn't concede a single goal in the entire tournament. The one in the USA game was an own goal, and the one in the final was a (dodgy) penalty. That's pretty impressive, and I think deems them worthy of the championship. :-)