Things I must do for December

Well I have been giving it some great thought about the things I must do in December and have made myself a list again, this time on here instead of on paper.
1. Mark out blocks for Neighbourhood RR
2. Do some more work on WIP - Les Dentelles by Keeping Tradition - This is how it looks up to today. As you can see I still have a way to go with it.
3. Start Woodland Walk when the fabric arrives.
4. Stitch Friendship Sampler by Brightneedle.
5. Stitch snowman Mailart exchange from the Stitch and Stash board in readiness for posting imediatley after the New Year.
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While we are on this subject

here is another, again I would be willing to trade/buy etc etc. This is by Carriage House Samplings and is called Berries and Pins
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Has anyone any idea where...

I can find this, I saw it the other night in someone elses wish list and immediately fell in love with it. If anyone out there has it to trade/sell I would gladly do or know where in internet world I can order it to the UK? The design is by Lynne Nicoletti and it is called A Robins Christmas
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Finished it

I have finished mums mailart envelope tonight. I have really enjoyed stitching it. The front is a Scandinavian Stitches design from JCS Ornament mag. I used NN overdyed green for the fir branches. The back is a Pat Rogers Counted Collection design from the 1997 JCS Ornie mag. I again made changes and instead of gold around the hearts I stitched the whole heart in DMC varigated red. I also added red ribbon in place of the gold, plus I changed the holly leaves colours from DMC 500, 501 & 502 to my own choices to match the overdyed on the front. I really enjoyed stitching this one and I know mum will love it and it will come as a complete surprise. Now to get it weighed and put the stamp on and post tomorrow...
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Busy weekend

Have been so busy this weekend, we have been decorating the lounge, how come when you do that particular room, every room in the house becomes massively untidy, I think and untidy fairy appears and makes it that way!! well at least thats over and done with for this year!! It un-nerved poor Floozi, he didn't like it one bit and it took a lot yesterday for him to come in and have something to eat, but at least now its all back to normal he appears to be. Tash, well she doesn't care as long as she has a nice warm bed to lie on and her food arrives on time. LOL!!

I have been busy stitching on mum's mailart envelope, I nearly have it finished now I can sit in the lounge, I stitched sitting on the bed yesterday, but just can't get comfy. When I've finished it, I will put up a picture.
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Mailart finish

Well I have put together and finished my mailart envelope I was doing, I'm really pleased with it. I have stitched it on tea dyed evenweave. The front is a Blackbird designs 'Candy Cane which was in the 2003 JCS ornament special and the back is also from the same magazine and that is Lizzie*Kate 'Peace', I used my own colour thread choices and used Kate Kloths hand-dyed St Patricks green, on the back of the envelope I added the tiny gingerbread man, it was supposed to be a silver bird house, but I didn't have one and I love the little 'man'
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Stash man has cometh

Lovely day today, not only is it Friday, but the stash man made another delivery today, I received Thisbe needleroll and Stitchers needleroll in the post today, I won them on ebay the othr day, well actually I only bid and won Stitchers, but the lady was so nice as when I opened the envelope she had also added Thisbe chart as she had a spare and thought I might like it, I thought that was lovely of her and a complete surprise.
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Snow Days

I finished this up yesterday evening. Its a small kit by one of my favourite designers Shepherds Bush. Its called 'Snow Days'. The snowman is stitched on 32ct natural linen, using soi d'alger thread. It is supposed to have an outer border but I didn't like it much so I frogged it out. I made it up into a small ornament. I couldn't decide on the trim to begin with, but as its such a lovely delicate design I didn't want to swamp it with cording or the backing fabric so I had some small pearl bead trim which I thought went really well as the beads which is supposed to be snow are petite beads so that decided for me the trim. Although the wee beads on the fabric which is the snow do not show up very well on the photo.I backed it using a soft blue check flannelette fabric.
I really enjoyed stitching this and I just might do another.

Joy of joys today was also a stash day, the stash delivery man (postman should I say), finally brought me Marks 'Woodland walk' pattern which I'm really pleased about. Now I am definitely changing the aida fabric, I'm going to have a look in my stash and see if I can find one I like better and of course for me it will be either linen or evenweave.
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Joy of Joys I've found it

For months now I have searched high and low for my needlework bar frame, I've had cupboards out, under the bed, in the attic, even behind the spare bedroom wardrobe, Why you may ask, well I do have a particular penchant for this bar frame, its one I don't have to stitch the fabric on first before I roll the bars , this one I can snap the material on, a bit like q-snaps but its wooden, and I love it, its a good sized width 18" so its great for a lot of my projects and it fits comfortably in my hand or on my floor stand, well to cut a long story short I found it and in all places the back of the pantry, I must have had a blonde moment when I put it there or as Mark says "one of my vague days" LOL!! The best thing of all I had put it on my Crimbo list but couldn't remember where I got it from in the first place, I think it was from the Knit and stitch show at Harrogate.... talking of which that's on this weekend, and this will be the first time in 5 years that I haven' gone, gutted I am, but Mum and Helen are off there and they will have such a great day on Friday, and I'll be there in spirit and on the mobile every ten minutes I'm sure.
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No stash Tuesday

No stash in the post today was awaiting some silkweaver fabric I won on eBay but it never arrived but the lady has emailed me to say she is ill and hasn't been able to get to the post office to send it, but hopes she can get someone to do it on Thursday , hmmm we will see, I have such a suspicious mind!!
I was expecting an order from Sew n so they emailed last night to say it had been dispatched but as yet its not arrived probably tomorrow, its for Mark, he has asked and asked me to stitch him something nature, he wanted a pheasant but there appears not to be any decent pheasant charts out there, unless anyone knows of any? So this is a Pollyanna Pickering kit called Woodland Walk, I will of course change the fabric as its on Aida and I much prefer to stitch on linen or evenweave, I think a subtle hand dye will be nice but I will wait until I actually see the design in the flesh so to speak before I make my decision.


Nearly finished the actual x-stitch on my mailart, then its sew the envelope up time. Have got my SB Snowman ornie to sew up too, at least I have cut the fabric and got the trim for it.

Sorted through some of my housey charts too when I got in from work, I thought I had more than I have but I'm sure I have sufficient.

Phew ... what a relief

Stupid me, was having a blonde moment on Saturday and bid a lot of dollars for a Merry Cox small stuff which was in 4 magazines and the lady was selling on ebay the 4 magazines, the material and silks and beads to use, she put it on ebay for $11 ... couldn't beleive it so gaily went and bid without reading it all first one thing was after reading properly, she didn't take paypal, well OK you say, but I live in the UK she lives in the US, then she doesn't ship to anywhere but the US, panic set in thought NOOOO don't want to retract the bid as it will affect my status which is 100%, so thought HMMM I have 2 people in the states I could possibly ask a mega favour and send them a gift certificate for stitching or paypal them, anyway all the worry has been taken away and someone has outbid nme by a lot, and I thought my $48 was a lot, its now standing at $71 phew to steep for my blood, plus I couldn't get it anyway.

I had such a busy day at work today organising 26 men is like organising a bunch of school kids sometimes!!LOL!!

Tonight it was 'Fit Club' at least it wasn't as fast as last week my knees suffered too much, but it was really enjoyable this week, we actually all stayed in with the new routine.

Karen gave me a cd of the new Il Divo to download onto my iPod, must get on and do that sometime this week.

Have put a few stitches in the Mailart envelope and am busy scripting the address then it will be the back to do, haven't quite decied what to put on that yet, I think it will be either gingerbread men, or holly and snowflakes, will decide after I've eaten can't do anything on an empty stomach....................

Here is my other finish for the weekend

This is the bottom part of Shepherds Bush Angel Pie. I stitched this on 28ct evenweave which is a hand dye I had in my stash by Dyeing for you. Its a lovely lilacy, lavender shades though the picture makes it look a lot darker than it is. It has tiny stars stamped all over the fabric. I jazzed it up the design a bit and added a button to the sledge and some tiny buttons to Santas tunic. I also added a few drop beads to the antlers on the fluffy sheep. I want to make this into a pillow which I hope to do over the next week or so.


Today has been quite hectic, I haven't even started any sewing on the Mailart envelope I'm doing, I must go and stitch. We have been sorting out cupboards in the kitchen and the 'Wardrobe' in our bedroom, what a clear out we have had, Mark has heaps to take to the tip and I am sending all the clothes and shoes and handbags (I never knew I had so many bags, its like my shoes they must multiply in the night when we are asleep), to the clothing bank and hopefully they will go to someone needy, I looked at a few of the things and thought eBay, but then I would have to photograph them, list them, measure them, store them until I sold them and then post them, and I thought Naaah!! can't be doing with that I want the space in the cupboards.

My finishes this weekend

This is the first of my weekend finishes.

This is my Made in England pillow for my friend in Cananda for her Christmas present.
Its stitched on 28ct Minster Linen, the designer is British designer Helen Philipps and its taken out of her Garden Notebook book. The floss is all British hand dye by Kate of Kates Kolours and the lavender I used to stuff the pillow is from my own garden. The lace is a piece I had in my sewing box and that I think was made in England.

I am a Rose

You are a Rose:
You are creative, sensual, passionate, and bold. You pour your heart into everything that you do. Alluring and gifted with strong sex appeal, you very easily draw people in with your animal magnetism.
Symbolsim: The rose has always been a flower heavily loaded with symbolism. In general it symbolizes desire, passion, beauty, and enchantment

Found courtesy of:
http://quizilla.com/users/FaerieFriend/quizzes/Which%20Flower%20are%20You%3F

Whoo hoo its friday!!!

News on the Neighbourhood RR, with MarieLouise quitting it has caused a flurry of activity. Barabara is going to ask Marie, An is going to ask Harmien and Dianne is going to ask one of her friends. If one or more decided to join in which I hope they do it will make our RR bigger and better plus make blocking the fabric easier. The original Dijon sampler which you can see has been outr inspiration and looking at that there is about 11 participants. Harmiens stitching is lovely and so is Marie's they would both be a real credit to the RR and it would be lovely if they would join.

Oh am I pleased its friday, what a week its been when I got home tonight a friend who must have known had sent me this, which I thought was really funny

Having a bad day?

A man was working on his motorcycle on the patio, his wife nearby in the kitchen. While racing the engine, the motorcycle accidentally slipped into gear. The man, still holding onto the handlebars, was dragged along as it burst through the glass patio doors.His wife, hearing the crash, ran in the room to find her husband cut and bleeding, the motorcycle, and the shattered patio door. She called for an ambulance and, because the house sat on a fairly large hill, went down the several flights of stairs to meet the paramedics and escort them to her husband.While the attendants were loading her husband, the wife managed to right the motorcycle and push it outside. She also quickly blotted up the spilled gasoline with some paper towels and tossed them into the toilet.After being treated and released, the man returned home, looked at the shattered patio! door and the damage done to his motorcycle. He went into the bathroom and consoled himself with a cigarette while attending to his business. About to stand, he flipped the butt between his legs.The wife, who was in the kitchen, heard a loud explosion and her husband screaming. Finding him lying on the bathroom floor with his trousers blown away and burns on his buttocks, legs and groin, she once again phoned for an ambulance. The same paramedic crew was dispatched.As the paramedics carried the man down the stairs to the ambulance they asked the wife how he had come to burn himself. She told them. They started laughing so hard, one slipped, the stretcher dumping the husband out. He fell down the remaining stairs, breaking his arm.

Well I have almost finished the SB tonight. I just have the beads and buttons which I decided to place on it and the actual stitching will then be finished.

I want to start on An's surprise Christmas envelope next so I want to try and get that done over the weekend, Harmien asked me tonight to send her a picture of its progress as she is in an exchange for envelopes and would love to see mine too.

My ABC's

And here is another courtesy of Gemmas blog, but about me

A. Ambidextrous
B. British
C. Careful
D. Daft
E. Effervescent
F. Fastidious
G. Glamorous
H. Heterosexual
I. Impetuous
J. Jovial
K. Knackered
L. Loyal
M. Myopic
N. Nocturnal
O. Obsessive
P. Paradoxical
Q. Quirky
R. Romantic
S. Sexy
T. Talented
U. Unstuck
V. Vague
W. Warm
X. X-rated
Y. Yawning!
Z. Zealous

10, 9, 8 ...............

Visited Barbara's blog who had visited Gemma's blog and had pilched this, I thought it was good so now I've jumped on the bandwagon too....

10 Favorites

1. Favorite Season: Autumn.
2. Favorite Sport: Rugby Union.
3. Favorite Time: Night.
4. Favorite Color: Black.
5. Favorite Actor: Alan Rickman.
6. Favorite Actress: Julia Roberts.
7. Favorite Ice Cream: Chocolate.
8. Favorite Food: Chicken.
9. Favorite Drink: Coffee.
10. Favorite Place: At home.

9 Currents

1. Current Feeling: A little sad.
2. Current Underwear Color: White.
3. Current Windows Open: Blogger, Outlook, 1-2-3 stitch.
4. Current Drink: Vodka & Diet coke with lime.
5. Current Time: 19:58
6. Current Mobile(s) Used: Samsung E350.
7. Current Show on TV: La Femme Nikita.
8. Current Thought: Wonder if Marks fell asleep
9. Current Clothes: T-Shirt & Tracky bottoms.

8 Firsts

1. First Nickname: Claris
2. First Kiss: What about it?
3. First Crush: Peter Hall.
4. First Best Friend: Liz.
5. First Vehicle I drove: Mini.
6. First Job: Babysitting.
7. First Movie: Bambi.
8. First Pet: Hamster - Hammy sweet little thing
9. First Shave: er.......!!!!

7 Lasts

1. Last Drink : Vodka & Diet coke
2. Last Kiss: 5 minutes ago.
3. Last Time: 5 minutes ago oh now its 5 and half.
4. Last Time Shaved: Legs and pits in the shower this morning.
5. Last Web Site Visited: 1-2-3 stitch.
6. Last Movie Watched: The Transporter.
7. Last Pill I Had: Thyroxine.

6 Have You Evers

1. Have You Ever Broken the Law: Yes.
2. Have You Ever Been Drunk: Ooooh Yes!!.
3. Have You Ever Kissed Someone You Didn't Know: Yes
4. Have You Ever Been in the Middle/Close to Gunfire or Bomb Blast: No
5. Have You Ever Skinny Dipped: Yes - hasn't everyone??.
6. Have You Ever Broken Anyone's Heart: Apparently.

5 Things

1. Things You Can Hear Right Now: Robby Williams on my iPod
2.Things on Your Bed: Bedding, Tasha, pillows, cushions, trousers
3. Things You Ate Today: Prawn Sandwiches, chicken, roast vegetables, chocolate, banana.
4. Things You Can’t Live Without: Internet, stitching, caffeine, pets, nicotine, Mark.
5. Things You Do When You Are Bored: Moan, smoke, sleep, eat, listen to music.

4 Places You Have Been today

1. Bedroom
2. Work :-(
3. Lounge
4. Post Office

3 Things On Your Desk Right Now

1. Pens
2. Note pads
3. Envelopes

2 Choices

1. Black or White: black
2. Hot or Cold: Depends.

1 Thing You Want To Do Before You Die:

Have a ride in a hot air balloon

gemmak's BLOGS

gemmak's BLOGS

Needlework Prayer

I've said my stitching prayer for the night, this one I finished the other week its by Little House Needleworks and I stitched it 1/2 and used Swampwater WDW for the words, I love it and have it in my drawer ready for framing.
Still busy stitching SB Angel Pie didn't do much last night and haven't really done a stitch tonight yet.

A bit disappointing news as MarieLouise has dropped out of our Neighbourhood RR, with all her problems she is having at the moment I wasn't surprised as its such a big commitment and the real world has to take priority. But it was still disappointing none the less, I have let the rest of the 'team' know and Barbara - bless her is trying to find an 8th person, hope that she can as it will be much better for laying out the material Oh that sounds so selfish and I don't mean it too.

Contemplating my needle and thread

Well I have decided that I would do my blogger.
At the moment I'm busy stitching the bottom part of Shepherds Bush Angel Pie, I thought I would stitch using a hand-dye fabric from dying for you, its got wee stars superimposed on it, when its finished I will place a picture.

I have been busy thinking about the massive RR that I'm involved in after the New Year, its a neighbourhood, I'm so, so excited about it all, I have bought new charts, hunted out old charts so I have loads of choice a wee houses and bits and pieces to make gardens and gates, fences and walls, I have even put myself together a note book. At least we have sorted amongst us all, our likes and dislikes and the order of the rotation. We haven't to send on until March as we decided a 3 month rotation was enough time, so this RR will last about 2 years as there are 8 of us in it.

Poor Mark is bored with it already, as I keep chattering on about it!!

I have had a busy year stitching, I have made lots of small, in fact miniature ornaments for the miniature tree. I think the biggest I've stitched is a about 1 3/4" I did them all 1/1 and it was great fun, I still think I need to do a couple more yet, but I will decided later. There is a few of them included in this blog.

I have also been busy stitching Christmas Gifts, I have done quite a few scissor fobs, I have stitched 2 scissor cases but as yet haven't stitched them together.
I still have to stitch a Mailart envelope for a friend in Holland and I'm involved in a Mailart exchange again in January the theme is snowmen, so I want to get started with that.


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