Rotation progress

Goode Huswife - One seed to another progress week 1. Stitched on 35ct linen using DMC

Sheepish Designs - Be Unto you, stitched on 35ct cream linen using DMC

AMAP - Cherub Quaker, stitched on 35ct white linen using DMC.

Well thats my 1st weeks rotation progress, I can't say that I can get into the swing of a rotation, I keep wanting to stitch one of them more than another, so it might end up that I just do my own thing as always LOL!! - Sorry the pics aren't brilliant I did them all in a rush last night.

We had a wonderful weekend, it all started for me on Saturday when I went to help Bev stocktake a little at Fobbles, when at lunchtime Hazel who if you can remember senmt me that wonderful BBD pillow earlier this year which was so awesome!! - Well to cut a long story short Hazel was up from Derbyshire celebrating her wedding anniversary, and decided to give Fobbles a visit and as I was there I got to meet her in person, and she is as lovely IRL as she comes across on her blog, it was so nice to meet a fellow blogger/stitcher and I hope that I might meet up with her again another time, that would be lovely.

Sunday Mark took me away on our little bit of romance time and we went to Ambleside and stayed overnight, it was really lovely and for all I took my camera with me I didn't take a single piccy, but Ambleside, Keswick, Bowness and Windermere was beautiful as always, I know it wasn't far for us to go, about an hour from our side of the Lake District to that side but it made a wonderful change.

From Naomi

Naomi sent me the prettiest bag from the swap with Nina exchange,

Its beautifully quilted and the butterfly design is just so lovely, (I adore butterflies, so Naomi picked perfectly), I was delighted when I opened my parcel when it arrived, I'm a little late posting this so my apologies to Naomi, but we were away which was a wonderful break. Also inside the bag were some lovely crochet lace, pink rose trim and satin ribbon which I know I will use, Thankyou very much again Naomi, I love my bag and will use it next I go to a stitching day out.

Eggs...cetera

This sweet little design is from CEC No. 109 Eggs..cetera, I have loved this small design ever since I first saw it and have had it in my to do pile for years it seems, so I finally got round to stitching it.

Its on 36ct R&R linen Hogs Wild Blue and stitched using DMC. I have finished it as a small hanging pillow, with no frills..... I made a beaded hanger for it and trimmed the top with a brown satin bow.

My rotation is starting very slowly, I have started AMAP - Quaker cherub, which I will stitch Mondays and Tuesdays, Wednesday its a Sheepish Designs days, Thursday and Friday is Goode Huswifes One seed for another and the weekend is whatever I want to stitch days and finishing days, this Saturday is also a Fobbles day for me, as I promised to help with stock taking, Sunday, Mark is taking me away for the night and we come back Monday so not much stitching happening here this weekend, but at least there is no extra work days.

Edited to add: CEC stands for Cross Eyed Cricket. HTH All who are searching for this chart.

Happy Mothers Day

This is the wee something I made for my mum for Mothers Day. Tomorrow is Mothers Day in the U.K. I feel quite safe showing it now as I know Mum won't be peeking via Helens computer at this time of the day.

The design is EEF's Flower Basket from the button magnet collection, its stitched on 32ct linen using a mixture of threads I had in my 'littles' box. Yes, it is a magnet and its about 2" in diameter, it was a really nice little piece to do and I hope that mum likes it too. She'll be able to pop it onto her fridge in her new kitchen. The outer edge is trimmed with narrow ric rac, I didn't take a pic of the sides but you can just make it out in this picture

THANKYOU SO MUCH for all your wonderful comments that you have all been leaving me, I really have been over-awed by them all, its so kind of you and I really appreciate them all.

I have been a little slow in getting round blogs myself again lately but I hope to try and catch up with you all soon,plus I owe some emails to my long suffering friends, which I will try and do tomorrow, its been very very manic at work, I was there again today, but I refused to go in tomorrow, I feel 6 full days is long enough it just makes me so very tired and unable to cope with my life, if I get that tired, and that will never do, will it.

I have been stitching away and have managed to finish my SIL's birthday gift, but not the finishing, I have also got a CEC spring/easter finish to show and I have almost finished another La D da, plus I have started last week Goode Huswifes 'seed for another', which will become part of my rotation - Yep you heard right I'm going to try a rotation - how far I get with this is another thing all the other times I thought I might try, have fell to the wayside, but I will try again, I haven't decided what else will be added as yet, apart from BBD's 'Spring Fling', so watch this space LOL!!

A Small Token

I joined in the Swap with Nina, which has been such good fun, this is the first of what I hope will be many 'swaps',

Enza was given to me as who I was sending too, and today she emailed to say that she had received it safe and sound.

I chose to stitch and finish a Needlebook for Enza as after reading her blog I saw that these are very much her favourite finish, and she does some really beautiful ones, so I hoped that mine wouldn't disappoint, which I have been very much assured by her that it didn't, which is great.

This is the inside of the needlebook, I added the magnet so that scissors could be attached without losing them - I didn't have the right scissors when I took the pictures so used a pair of my own, but I add the Fuschia Pink handled Kelmscott little gems, which were perfect when I sent it.

I have stitched it on Sand 32ct linen and used a mixture of Carries Creations thread and WDW, the design is one of the new Nashville releases called 'A small token'. Instead of finishing it as a pincushion I did the needlebook, and as I wanted to make it a little different I used the style of the other new BBD design, 'Wild Rose Journal' but instead of using rings I used ribbons and I used the same ribbon for the needlebook fastener. I also added Enzas initials.

Tulip Pincushion & Fob

I sense a theme going on here lately with my posts - tulips, baskets, spring.... Blackbird Designs......

Barbara emailed me today and said that she had received my Spring Exchange piece that I stitched for her and that she was VERY happy with it, so that made me very happy too.

This is from the Sarah Tobias book by Blackbird designs, I have stitched it all on 35ct cream linen and used a mixture of DMC and WDW.

I added the scissor fob, by using one of the tulips and birds and added the year and Barbaras initials. To make it a little more unique I have blanket stitched around the edges of the pin cushion and the fob, its not meant to be evenly blanket stitched, its meant to be a little rougher to give it a less romantic look, I strived for a more rustic look, anyway whatever the final look is, Barb's happy with the finished result and thats the important thing.

Spring Basket

One of this weeks finishes, I started this on Sunday evening and finished it yesterday. It's Easter Parade Basket by Blackbird Designs.

I have stitched it on 40ct R & R alabaster linen using the recommended GAST threads, it was a really lovely design to stitch and I had it in my 'to do' pile for a long time now and I really don't know why I left it there so long before I started it.

Hope you have a good weekend and thankyou too for all the lovely comments that you have been leaving me I really appreciate them.

Petite Exemplaire No 2

As I am feeling distinctly springlike I made myself a little stitch and finish. Its 'Petite Exemplaire No2' by one of my very very favourite designers Ewe & Eye & Friends (EEF). I've stitched it on 40ct linen and made it into a wee thread palette using some Moda fabric that I had, the zingy green fabric was perfect for this wee design and I have trimmed it with some lace I bought when I was up in Scotland last November.

Hope everyone is having a good week so far and that your weather has made a turn for the better, today apart from a shower this morning its been blue skies and sunshine, though a very cold wind, not that I have seen much of it tucked away in my office, but it was nice standing in the sunshine waiting for Mark to pick me up at hometime.

Spring.......

.... is arriving and its come all the way from The Netherlands just for me.....

Barbara and I have been doing a year long exchange called the Seasonal exchange which originated from our own dear Becky, when the board closed Barbara and I decided we would like to carry on with it. Yesterday this wee beauty dropped through the letterbox, Its called Mama Bird and is by Brightneedle, Barb has stitched it (so beautifully) she tells me using HDF linen and silk thread, I love the finishing and the satin ribbon around the edge too, and it smells wonderful too.

BUT Not only did I get this wee beauty I also received......

TA DA....... One of Barbaras Prim creatures (which I adore, and I am already the proud owner of a prim sheep called Gert!My name choice not Barbs as my sheep looks like a Gert), this one Barbara has called 'Prim Fem' bird, and she is VERY feminine with her lace flower wing and pretty pink colour. Now to think of her name hmmm!

I love the choices Barb made to stitch and finish for me and will be saddened when our exchanges come to an end - we only have one more left to do and thats the Summer one. Hopefully mine will arrive at Barbaras door in rapid time I'm sending tomorrow.

Just to show you them both together - Aren't I the lucky one!!

Also a big thankyou to both Elisa AND Dear Yuko for nominating me for this wonderful award, I have to say I was really really flattered and I am passing it back to ALL of you as I just cannot list all the blogs that make me smile its impossible for me - so please take it with you when you leave as I think all your blogs are in my top 10.


Hope you are all having a good weekend, I finally have 2 days off - yippeee, today and tomorrow though tomorrow is taken up with dentist and clinics, but its a day off, I only realised yesterday (whilst at work) I have only had 1 day off in the last 3 weeks, no wonder my poor brain is frazzled LOL!!

Rosemary Pinkeep

I was very happy to hear today that Barbara had received her gift from me and that she really like it. You may remember in an earlier posting that Barbara was the very very kind friend that bought me the new BBD book and sent me it by way of a RAK. Well I wanted Barbara to have the first piece I stitched from the book, so I opted to stitch Rosemary pinkeep, though mine is stuffed with lavender and yes Barb it was from my garden LOL!!.

The whole piece including the backing fabric I tea-dyed after stitching but before I put it together. The perle round the edges was also put in the same tea-dye, this gave the fabrics and threads a much more muted colour, I stitched it on 28ct natural linen and used the recommended DMC colours.

This was a real sweety to stitch and finish and I have lots of others planned from the book to stitch and finish.

Sail Away SAL Part 3

Well Part 3 is complete, all ready to start on Part 4 now, and as from today I can start on Part 4, but I will have to finish the other couple of little things I'm doing first.

I am so enjoying stitching this pretty piece and I love the colours. I'll add my initials in the wreath part when I have finished the whole of the sampler. I think that my next Fobbles SAL is going to be Glad Tidings, and I have another SB design - Family Sampler planned as a SAL with my SIL Dawn at some point this year. So its a SB SAL year for me!

Thankyou too for all the lovely comments that I received for the exchange pieces between Carol and I, and thankyou too for your continued visits I really do appreciate them.