Last exchange of 2016

I took part in a Christmas/Winter exchange at Friendly Stitchers and received these two beautiful ornaments and thread from Meg (Committed Stitcher).

Christmas/Winter exchange 2016 - Friendly Stitchers

In exchange I stitched The Drawn Thread's 'A Spot of Winter'. I had considered finishing it as a flat ornament or hanging ornament but felt it looked too large; so it was finished as a pillow. I replaced the snowflake charm with mistletoe as the charm I had was too large.

A Spot of Winter - The Drawn Thread
stitched on 32ct Smokey Pearl Belfast with recommended threads

A scarf and other knitting

I decided I wanted a simple, long scarf so I knitted a single rib scarf in Anny Blatt fine kid wool. It took longer to knit up than I thought it would but it was perfect for working on in the evenings as I didn't have to concentrate too hard on what I was doing.

Single rib scarf using one each of 2.75mm and 6.5mm needles
Anny Blatt fine kid wool, Carmin

I also wanted a simple sweater that would knit up quickly so I'm knitting this sweater in Anny Blatt fine kid, Genepi. The back is almost finished. As I am a tight knitter, I am using 6.5mm rather than the recommended 6mm knitting needles for this jumper.

Jumper using Anny Blatt fine kid, Genepi on 6.5mm needles

Needless to say with all this knitting, I'm doing very little stitching at the moment. However, as my Granny used to say 'A change is as good as a rest' and I find it hard to sit in the evenings and not be doing something with my hands.

My first Christmas exchange of 2016

Thursday morning was opening day for Needlecraft Haven's Christmas ornament exchange.

I love the excitement of opening my packet to discover what is inside and as you can see I was not disappointed. I received this lovely snowman ornament from Angi. 

 I stitched Prairie Schooler's 'The Night Before Christmas' for Lindsay.

The Night before Christmas - Prairie Schooler
Design taken from CrossStitch Collection magazine
Stitched on 32ct Belfast Natural linen using recommended DMC threads

Some 'finishing' finishes

I got my sewing machine out some days ago to complete some stitching as ornaments. Two of them I can't show yet as they are part of Christmas/Winter exchanges. I will show them when they have been received and opened by their recipients. In the meantime ...

I have finished the stitching I received from Joyce in the Friendly Stitcher's Unfinished exchange. I am pleased with this finish. Thank you once again Joyce for such a pretty design.

Autumn design - Unfinished exchange from Joyce now finished

For my youngest niece I decided to finish this design as a hanging ornament so that she has something soft to hold/squeeze (she likes her soft toys). I had thought to put cording around the edge but decided against it as she still likes to pull things apart. No point in putting temptation in her way.

Sweet Hugs Gingerbread Boy - Keepsake Stitches

Fabric: 32ct Belfast Flax linen

Threads: Suggested DMC and DMC alternatives

Until next time, enjoy your stitching or whichever crafts have you engrossed at the moment.

Miniature hexagon quilt finally finished

I feel as though I have taken forever to complete this miniature quilt but it is now finally finished. I am pleased with the end result even though I can find fault with my work. My next task is to find a suitable wall hanger for it.

Design: Josette, found in Magic Patch hors serie, no.91, 
'15 quilts miniatures'
Fabric, Moda charm pack  'Icicle kisses'

One ball of wool = one finished scarf

Once I got into the pattern on this scarf, I didn't want to put my knitting down. So here is the completed scarf. It looks shorter than the model but I had the recommended tension. My sister will be happy with this length as she didn't want it too long. I just need to buy more wool so that I can knit one for myself.

Albertine - Louisa Harding
knitted with Louisa Harding Pittura wool

A stitched finish

I finally finished stitching Country Cottage Needleworks' 'Silent Night' at the weekend. I'm considering mounting it on an eight inch canvas frame that I have. I love the colour combinations in this design.

Silent Night - Country Cottage Needleworks
Fabric: 32ct Belfast Pearl linen
Threads: Recommended DMC, Weeks Dye Works and sampler threads

Another finish - Pansy Cameo Square

As some of you will know, I love Just Nan's designs and when I decided to stitch something for a birthday card, I knew I would find something suitable in her designs.

This card is for an 80th birthday and the recipient loves pansies. It's an ideal match, I think.

Pansy Cameo Square - Just Nan
Fabric: 28ct Cashel White linen
Threads and beads: As listed in design except for
Lavender Hex beads which were replaced with French knots

One ball of wool = one scarf

Last week my sister and I were in a lovely little wool shop, Tricot & Co, in Mirepoix. She fell in love with some yarn and a scarf pattern so I agreed to knit it for her. I bought this ball of Louisa Harding wool ...

... to knit this scarf.

I have until the end of the year to complete it and based on my sample knit of the pattern, it will take me that long. It will be a pick up and put down project for when I'm in the mood for knitting.

Back to my stitching

I haven't spent much time stitching over the past month as my sister was visiting. We spent a lot of time drinking tea and talking and it was great to have so much time together.

Before she arrived, I had continued to stitch my tree border on 'Alpine Seasons' and this is where I've now got to. These winter trees on the left are quite slow.

Alpine Seasons Garden - Chatelaine
as at 10 October 2016
Fabric: 32ct Belfast Sand linen
Threads: Recommended silk threads

Yesterday, I started to stitch the church on CCN's 'Silent Night'. I love how the colours work on this fabric. I hope to finish this by next Monday. We shall see.

Silent Night - Country Cottage Needleworks
Fabric: 32ct Belfast Pearl linen
Threads: Recommended DMC, Weeks Dye Works and sampler threads

More Alpine Seasons progress

Last week, I spent most of my stitching time on Alpine Seasons Garden and now I am approximately halfway around the mountains section.
I'm not sure if it is coincidence or not but since I am stitching with silk threads, I find that my hands get very dry. I don't have this problem with DMC. Has anyone else experienced this?

Alpine Seasons Garden - Chatelaine
as at 12 September 2016
Fabric: 32ct Belfast Sand linen
Threads: Recommended silk threads

I missed last Wednesday's night in Needlecraft Haven's Parlour but I managed to set aside some time for CNN's 'Silent Night' at the weekend. I finished the two smaller trees and added the snowflakes. Tonight I plan to start stitching the church.

Silent Night - Country Cottage Needleworks
Fabric: 32ct Belfast Pearl linen
Threads: Recommended DMC, Weeks Dye Works and sampler threads

Alpine Seasons Garden progress

It's been months since I had this design out. I worked pretty solidly on it during the past week and went from this

Alpine Seasons Garden - Chatelaine
as at 29 August 2016
Fabric: 32ct Belfast Sand linen
Threads: Recommended silk threads

to this by Monday morning. The two photos made me realise that I had made more progress than I had realised. It's slow going but I'll get there. I'm looking forward to the day this will be framed and hanging in my living room.

Alpine Seasons Garden - Chatelaine

as at 5 September 2016

Fabric: 32ct Belfast Sand linen

Threads: Recommended silk threads

On Wednesday evening I stitched in Needlecraft Haven's Parlour and made some progress on CNN's 'Silent Night'. I finished the large tree and added its leaves and star.

Silent Night - Country Cottage Needleworks
Fabric: 32ct Belfast Pearl linen
Threads: Recommended DMC, Weeks Dye Works and sampler threads

Some Christmas stitching

Last week I decided to do some Christmas stitching. This gingerbread boy design will be for my youngest niece. It was a quick stitch from the 2012 Just Cross Stitch Christmas Ornament magazine.

Sweet Hugs Gingerbread Boy - Keepsake Stitches
Fabric: 32ct Belfast Flax linen
Threads: Suggested DMC and DMC alternatives

I also started 'Silent Night' by Country Cottage Needleworks. I love how the thread colours show up on this fabric. The fabric, threads and chart were a Secret Santa gift from Jennifer at The Stitch Specialists in 2012. This will now be my Wednesday Parlour night stitching at Needlecraft Haven.

Silent Night - Country Cottage Needleworks
Fabric: 32ct Belfast Pearl linen
Threads: Recommended DMC, Weeks Dye Works and sampler threads

Unfinished exchange

Over at Friendly Stitchers we had an unfinished exchange where you stitched something small and sent it with fabric / other notions to your partner who will decide how it should be completed.

My partner was Joyce (Joyce's Love of Life) and she sent me this lovely autumn design with some woollen material and ribbon. I haven't decided how I will finish it - maybe as a hanging ornament?

Autumn design - Unfinished exchange from Joyce

I stitched this Told In A Garden design 'Friendship quilt' and sent it with some backing fabric and a small canvas and easel stand (not shown). I'm curious to see how Joyce will finish it.

Friendship Quilt - Told In A Garden, The Bookmark Collection
Fabric: 28ct evenweave in a natural like colour
Threads: recommended DMC threads

Joyful World SAL and a little quilting

I finished August in the Joyful World SAL this week. This one was special to me as it reminded me of my father's last dog. He was a great canine friend. I was pleased with how my lazy daisy stitches came out. Usually they never lie as I would like.

August, Joyful World SAL - The Snowflower Diaries
Fabric: 40ct Newcastle Vintage Mocha
Threads: Suggested DMC threads

I've made progress on quilting my hexagon quilt.

Design: Josette, found in Magic Patch hors serie, no.91,
'15 quilts miniatures'
Fabric, Moda charm pack  'Icicle kisses'

Since it is just the inner and outer edge of the centre rosette that is being quilted, it is not obvious in the above photo what I have done. So here are a couple of close-ups. I'm finding it hard to produce even stitches.  I've read in Kathleen Tracy's latest Sentimental Quilter blog post about Tiger Tape. This is supposed to help you learn to space your stitches evenly. I'm tempted to give it a try but I suppose what I really need to do is just practise and be patient.

Potted Poinsettia - Travelling pattern winner

In time honoured fashion, my dear husband chose the next recipient for this pattern by choosing between the letter 'D' or 'S'. He was bemused by my request as I didn't explain why he was doing it until he had chosen.

He chose the letter 'D' for Deb. If you email me your address, I will be able to post the pattern to you on Wednesday, Deb. I hope you enjoy stitching it as much as I did.

Latest stitching

It's been a week of stitching little bits and pieces on different things as I had a couple of items which were almost stitched.

I finished my hardanger piece at the beginning of the week and though I say so myself, I really like the colours. In fact I decided that I would use it as a coaster so I went looking for some coaster covers I had. I found them - three different sizes, but they were all round! So I'm back to my original idea of finishing this as a lavender sachet.

Hardanger Coaster - Abi Gurden, Bee's Needleworks
Fabric: 25ct white evenweave
Threads: Anchor #5 perle 386, Anchor #5 perle 1304, DMC 3823

I had only the border to complete on April's Joyful World SAL so I finished that one evening.

April, Joyful World SAL - The Snowflower Diaries
Fabric: 40ct Newcastle Vintage Mocha
Threads: Suggested DMC threads

The following day I completed the outstanding stitching on Snow Days from Little House Needleworks.

Snow White- Little House Needleworks
Fabric: 28ct unknown linen in a thyme-green colour
Threads: DMC 3865

For now, I've skipped May, June and July and I'm stitching August from the Joyful World SAL.

August, Joyful World SAL - The Snowflower Diaries
Fabric: 40ct Newcastle Vintage Mocha
Threads: Recommended DMC threads

All in all a satisfying week, stitching wise.

Back to Hardanger

It's been a while since I did any hardanger so I pulled out this design by Abi Gurden of Bee's Needleworks.
It was a complimentary design when I signed up for her Confetti of Hardanger SAL a couple of years ago. I hope to complete the stitching over the weekend.
When it is finished I think I will complete it as a lavender sachet/cushion rather than a coaster.

Hardanger Coaster - Abi Gurden, Bee's Needleworks
Fabric: 25ct white evenweave
Threads: Anchor #5 perle 386, Anchor #5 perle 1304, DMC 3823

Potted Poinsettia - Finished and A Giveaway

It's taken a few weeks to get there but I've finally finished my stitching on LHN's 'Potted Poinsettia', also known as the Perambulating Poinsettia. This has become a travelling, gifted chart and so it has acquired an alternative name.

I was gifted this chart from Christine (The Alchymyst's Study) and I now would like to gift it on. If you'd like to be the next person to stitch it, please let me know via the comments box below. If more than one person is interested, I'll draw a name by the end of Sunday 14 August 2016. I will also include a small 'stitchy related' gift which will fit in a standard size envelope. Give the cost of overseas postage these days, I think we all find ourselves being practical, hence the self-imposed size restriction.

I haven't decided on how I will finish it yet, but here it is.

Little House Needleworks - Potted Poinsettia
Fabric: 28ct Cashel Flax linen
Threads: Atalie - Les 4 Saisons, Carmen and Desert

Here comes the bride ... (Juliet mouse)

Romeo the Groom Mouse doesn't need to wait any longer for his Juliet. She has arrived!

Just Nan - Juliet the Bride Mouse
Fabric: 32ct Silvery Moon Belfast linen
Threads: Recommended DMC, Kreinik #4 Braid #3231 and accessory pack

Here are Romeo and Juliet together. I hope these will be a fond reminder of their wedding day for our cousin's son and his bride.

Just Nan - Romeo the Groom Mouse and Juliet the Bride Mouse
Fabric: 32ct Silvery Moon Belfast linen
Threads: Recommended DMC, Kreinik #4 Braid #3231 and accessory pack

It wasn't any easier inserting Juliet's tail than it was Romeo's. I'm sure there is a knack to it but I don't know what it is. As I struggled with the tail I kept my fingers crossed (literally speaking) that I wouldn't tear the fabric. If you know an easy way of doing this, please let me know as I have the Christmas mice on my 'to do' list.

Romeo is waiting on Juliet

During this spell of hot, sunny weather, I have been stitching ... slowly.
Just Nan's Romeo the Groom Mouse has now been stitched and finished but as you see in the photo below, poor Juliet is still waiting to be made up.

Just Nan - Romeo the Groom Mouse and an unfinished Juliet the Bride Mouse
Fabric: 32ct Silvery Moon Belfast linen
Threads: Recommended DMC, Kreinik #4 Braid #3231 and accessory pack

With the exception of inserting his tail, this was easier to make up than I expected. It makes me wonder why I kept putting it off during this past week. Below you can see a close-up of Romeo on his own, waiting for his Juliet.

Just Nan - Romeo the Groom Mouse

Fabric: 32ct Silvery Moon Belfast linen

Threads: Recommended DMC, Kreinik #4 Braid #3231 and accessory pack

I've made some progress on LHN's "The Potted Poinsettia" but it is not yet finished. It's larger than I would like but that is my fault for stitching it on 28ct and not 32ct as planned. By the time I realised my mistake, I had stitched too much to feel like starting again.

Little House Needleworks - Potted Poinsettia
Fabric: 28ct Cashel Flax linen
Threads: Atalie - Les 4 Saisons, Carmen and Desert

Christmas in July

Just wanted to share that Carole who blogs 'From My Carolina Home' is holding a 12 days of Christmas tour from the 14-25 July to get started ahead of time with ideas for handmade gifts, table toppers, recipes, mini quilts and lots of other crafty things. In addition she will be joining in a blog hop and having giveaways too. See here for more information.

A short update

I'm pleased to say that I achieved my goal from last week, that is, to get my hexagon quilt to the 'sandwich' stage.

Here it is! The dark red fabric with the deep cream pattern is the backing fabric and will also be the binding.

I want to start quilting the rosettes ... now. Maybe I'll take it on holiday with me next week. We are self-catering, so there is a chance that I might be able to do something in the evenings? That's probably wishful thinking.

Design: Josette found in Magic Patch hors serie, no. 91,

'15 quilts miniatures'

Fabric: Moda charm pack 'Icicle Kisses'

I've started stitching "The Perambulating Poinsettia" that I won in Christine's of The Alchymyst's Study give-away. I plan to finish it by the end of the month so that it can continue its travels via a give-away here. I took lots of photos but I found it very hard to capture the true colours of my fabric and thread. This is the best I could manage.

Little House Needleworks - Potted Poinsettia
Fabric: 28ct Cashel Flax linen
Threads: Atalie - Les 4 Saisons, Carmen and Desert

Happy May Day

In our local town, there is a flower show held every May day. Since I am not always here when it is held, I made sure to be there today. The sun was shining and though there was a cold breeze blowing, there was a good turnout of people. For a change, in addition to an update on my hexagon quilt, I thought I would share some of the photos I took at the flower market. I hasten to add that I am not the gardener in our household. I enjoy looking at flowers but everything else to do with them I leave to my husband.

First up is one of the stalls selling lily of the valley (muguet). These are traditionally sold on the 1st of May here as symbols of springtime and good luck.

Lily of the valley

A selection of the plants available to buy as well as some metal garden ornaments.

A selection of hens, birds, wind chimes and other garden ornaments

Finally, the latest progress on my miniature hexagon quilt. I'm almost halfway through stitching the rows together (the bottom left section). I hope to finish this part of the project and add the batting and backing by next weekend. After that I will be putting it aside for a while as I have two wedding samplers (both in the same design) and a house warming gift to stitch before the end of the July. I have stitched both the designs for these before so I know it is achievable within my timeframe.

Design: Josette found in Magic Patch hors serie, no. 91,

'15 quilts miniatures'

Fabric: Moda charm pack 'Icicle Kisses'

My latest toy and miniature quilt update

I love visiting family but it is nice to get home and back to your own bed. It also means that I can pick up on my stitching and quilting. Even though I take a small project with me when I'm away from home, I find that I rarely have time to take it out and do any work on it. I know that this will happen but I take something anyway as I like to know that I have something with me, in case I have some free time.

For ages, I wanted some way of being able to look at my charts when stitching rather than having to keep lifting them up and down from the cushion beside me. I read that some stitchers found a music stand helpful so when I saw one for sale in a charity shop, I bought it to try it out.
I'm so glad I did. It is easy to read my chart without having to put my stitching down. I wish I had got one sooner. I like that it doesn't take up much space and I am able to adjust the angle of the lectern that holds the chart.

My music stand for holding charts and diagrams

This photo of my miniature hexagon quilt is a little out of date as I have now started to stitch the rows together. I'm looking forward to getting to the quilting stage. There are errors in that each hexagon is not exactly the same size but I have learnt lessons from this project that will be helpful in future projects. It is very soothing stitching this by hand.

Design: Josette found in Magic Patch hors serie, no. 91,

'15 quilts miniatures'

Fabric: Moda charm pack 'Icicle Kisses'