Guest Room (picture heavy posting)

This is what I have been so busy doing and I might add really enjoying too.

Evening shot of the new style room

Peeping through the 'Looking Glass' would you like to come and stay?

Evening shadows falling in the room

Let me show you a better view of the pillows/cushions on the bed, the pillowcase came from Laura Ashley, the bird pillow I made to match the blind and the angel cushion my SIL Dawn made as a gift for me last year.

This wall has the script on it - I would love to say I wrote this freehand, but I didn't, I ordered it from America, as this wall was difficult to place pitures on as the you would have to walk round the bottom of the bed and they would get knocked I thought about this and decided as I didn't want it plain so when you woke up on a morning you just saaw a blank wall, I wanted my guests to feel a little inspired after a good nights sleep.

A little vignette on my lovely Ikea drawers that I built myself - I do have plans to paint and paper these the same as the tallboy drawers, but not just yet - these hold a lot of my stitching things.

The bed I built myself as well and its a small double bed, its a beautiful ivory iron bed and very comfy! The tallboy I painted with Dulux 'Timeless' and then papered the front of the drawers with 3 different Laura Ashley wallpapers, then added new drawer furniture in the way of little china bird handles. You can just see a snippet of my roman blind I made, the blind and the cushion fabric is by 'French General' its a soft linen and red colour - tres elegant!

The walls I painted in Soft Linen by Laura Ashley which is a beautiful matte paint but boy was it a pig to put on, it didn't like going over a satin paint at all.

The little chandelier lampshade, I bought in Dunelm Mill and had to build it together, which was a bit of a fiddle only having one pair of hands, but it looks lovely and when its turned on it casts little dew drops around the room on the walls.

I hope you enjoyed your stay, and will want to visit again, my door is always open and I still have a couple of more things to do in the room and add a couple more pictures on the wall, but its now at the stage where guests are welcome to come and stay.

I've joined my post to Cindys http://romantichome.blogspot.com/ show and tell Friday, Cindys blog is so lovely hope you'll pop over there too.

A surprise gift from Annemarie

Truely Spoiled - yep thats what I am, I received a wee parcel from Annemarie (http://ortsandends.blogspot.com/) as I had won the lovely Goode Huswife chart giveaway she held last week, I expected an envelope to drop through the door. Imagine my total and utter surprise when its was a box that was being delivered, and inside the box was the chart and this wonderful wee pincushion made by Annemarie, its so wonderfully stitched and put together and the backing fabric is perfect for it too its vintage browns and lovely.  Plus there were some threads and the most wonderful pink stripy pair of socks which I love and will wear tonight when I go for my driving lesson....... (that is if its still on its been snowing on and off since 11am this morning - great big flakes - fed up with snow, I want some sun and brightness and warmth!!)

I am sooooooooo lucky - Thankyou An again - hope you got my email.

Til later this weekend with more pics of mystery project (s) from posting below

and now for something totally different

Just a little teaser of what I have been up to lately, I promise to share much more over the weekend, but I have been having fun and making my space my own!!

Thankyou too for all your encouragement for my 'other' new adventure into the world of driving I really have appreciated your encouraging words xx

Moi... Driving indeed

Yes you heard it here first, I have finally succumbed and had my first driving lesson tonight - yep tonight - in the dark- in the drizzling rain - 51 years of age and finally learning to drive (pat on the back puullease).

How did it go? I hear you ask - well it went ok, I'm in one piece, the car is in one piece and the instructor hasn't reached for the valium yet, I had a lot of fun, and drove along an A road to Egremont (YES an A road not  a B road or a country lane its a fully certified A road) and back, its a good 20 mins drive just one way and I also drove around a housing estate several times, I only stalled twice (both times at a junction, and I didn't kangaroo hop at all) can't wait for Friday when its my next lesson, mind you I have had to have 3 glasses of wine when I got in and a great lump of chocolate and my head is buzzing - just can't imagine sleeping at all LOL!!

Wish me luck for Friday!!

Garden of Life - Blackbird Designs

An old finish finally framed. This is 'Garden of Life' by Blackbird Designs which was a SAL I joined in on,  I finished it a couple of years ago and never got round to doing anything with, well now I have framed this lovely piece.

I've stitched it on 40ct cream linen using the recommended threads, and enclosed it in a lovely Mother of Pearl Frame I bought in Marks and Spencer, this is now sitting on the drawers in my bedroom.

Christening Gift

My friend Gill asked me to make for her something she could give her daughter to commemorate Matthews christening next week, so after looing through my patterns trying like mad to find something suitable Gill chose this cute JBW design - Sampler rabbit - isn't it a cutey?
I have stitching him on 36ct Antique white linen using 1 strand of 'Denim' Carries Creation thread. As Gill left the finishing decisions up to me, I thought I would do a simple finish (and as I wasn't feeling 100% this week, I thought would be a bit of a no-brainer finish for me) but like all finishes the ideas just keep flapping around my head until I came up with the one above.  I knew she didn't want anything to fancy so I made a small flat ornament and curved the edges. I added cording I did with DMC thread and then added some narrow navy ribbon for a bow tie for the rabbit and on the top of the flat ornie. The hanger is a cute cream and blue spot ribbon I had - just to add a little more interest. The backing fabric is navy and white gingham check fabric

How I am longing for some better weather now we have cold, rain and wind here in Cumbria - YUK!!

I am feeling much much better thankyou, your kind enquiries I have been very grateful for, as were your comments, I still have an abcess on the side of my gum, but that has started to drain - in total I had 3 - 2 on the gum and one starting on the offending tooth (and this from me who goes to the dentist and dental hygienist every 3 months) my face still feels a little sore as does the gum, but I feel lots better than I did.

Now someone asked me and I really apologise as to whoever it was as I can't remember who it was at all - re the heart finishing on the 'weekend stitchery' post - the answer to your question is I draw the shape on the fabric - allowing for seams and cut it out then I hand sew my finishes - I never use a sewing machine I like to feel in control of my pieces of fabric and the sewing machine never makes me feel like that - I know it takes a little longer by hand but I prefer the finish - HTH??

I am busy stitching a couple of gifts at the moment so will share them soon - again no work on 'Finch Song', but I do have some new ideas buzzing around my head for something a little different.....and ending on a final Happy Note I won a giveaway myself on Annemaries blog ( http://ortsandends.blogspot.com/ ) for a Goode Huswife chart which is OOP, so I was very happy and it really made my day, seeing as I haven't won anything for ages and ages and I have been feeling so very rotten so it was an exciting pick me up!! Another pick me up were the scissors from Yuko has arrived and ooo they are so pretty, I have been showing them off to my ex- SIL Dawn today tempting her to splurge and get some soon I hope!

 I hope that you all have a good weekend

And the Winner is..........

Margaret B - http://blog.thefrenchbear.ca/

I will email you tomorrow Margaret for your details, I have just had my tooth pulled out and am feeling quite queasy, so I am going to bed. for a lie down.

Giveaway

I thought as I hadn't done a giveaway for quite some time and as I am getting truely fed up with the winter I would do a little giveaway for a softer, warmer time - Valentines Day!!

Now I do have a couple of little rules for you and these are:
1. All you have to do is leave your name in the comments part for THIS POST only   if you leave a comment on another post I'm afraid you won't be entered, and neither will email entries

2. I also need to know how to contact you in case you are the winner! Please don't forget to leave me YOUR NAME & EMAIL details when you post in the comments (as again I will not be able to enter you into the drawing)

This is open to everyone even if you don't blog, and wherever you might live.

I will draw the winning name ON  Thursday 21st January (usually between 15:30 - 16:30 GMT), so check back to see if you have won.

Now you are probably wondering what I'm giving away well its just a little trifle and I reall hope that you like it and want to join in ............

...... The designer is Heart in Hand and its called 'Roses are red', I've stitched it on 32ct Antique white linen, using Gentle Arts thread - my own choice as usual LOL! and I have added a little ribbon rosebud (I know its not red, but I only had the dark pink), then its finished as a little ornament with a satin ribbon hanger, sewn on with a mother of pearl button on the back.

Thankyou for your kind concern about my gum abcess, I have ended up off work for most of last week, my face swelled up on the right side - it was huge, my top lip looked like I had had botox (with half a trout pout) and I looked  like a cross between Quasimodos sister and Churchill the dog, (Uk'ers will know who I mean for the dog) not at all attractive I can tell you, and usually I need all the help I can get to look part ways nice - most of the swelling has gone down, though there is still a bit there today on my top lip and under my cheek bone, but the antibiotics have certainly started to work, its been quite painful too, I can't lie on the pillow with my cheek on the right side (which is my normal way) as it gets much to painful and wakes me up. But I need to work so I am braving the banter of the guys I work with and going in tomorrow with plenty of pain killers and killer retorts LOL (I hope LOL)

So even though I have been off I have done little stitching apart from my giveaway and nothing on 'Finch Song', but I have stitched something for a friend this weekend to celebrate her grandsons christening, which I'll show later this week when I've done the finishing

 

Weekend Stitchery

Well this was my weekend stitchery and finishing. The design is by Stacy Nash and is from the lovely booklet 'from Me to Thee, that I received for my birthday. The design is simply called Heart Pin cushion.

I've stitched it using DMC and on 30ct fabric which after stitching it all and finishing I soaked in strong coffee, I am pleased with the result very much.

I have hand-sewn it all together and the backing fabric is by Moda.

Well the rain has come and is beginning to wash the ice away - thank heavens and its not as cold as it was which is good. My ever troublesome gum abcess has reared itself up again and I'm suffering in silence, I am going to make an appointment for the dentist tomorrow...... - Yuk!

Snowy Night - CEC

Due to the weather conditions we are having over here, I thought I would stitch myself one of the lovely strawberries (lateral thinking of summer LOL), from Cross Eyed Cricket and as 'Snowy' Night is very apt for most of us, thats the one I chose to stitch.

I did of course change the linen - mine is stitched on 32count Raw Linen and is stitched using 1 strand of thread. All threads are the recommended DMC. Instead of just stitching little x-stitched snowflakes I opted to use sparkly white petite beads, just to give it a bit of snowy sparkle effect.

The top is finishes with ribbon ruffles and a very large snowflake I found in my stash, though you can't see it here....

.......Also............

I thought I would show you my progress on Finch Song. This is a lovely design to stitch, and the silk threads are as always lovely colours and feel so nice to use.

Hope you are having a great weekend, mine has been filled with stitching and stitching and stitching... all my visitors cancelled coming this weekend due to the poor weather conditions and forecasts, so I ended up with no visitors but plenty of stitching!!

My Pins

Another sweet design from Shepherds Bush, this was one of the kits I got from Fobbles last week, its a really rapid stitch and very easy finish - I did the lot yesterday, everything was included, the pin is delightful and finishes it off perfectly.

My Mum, Dad and brother Ian are arriving here with me later today and stopping for a night which will be lovely, I'm really looking forward to seeing them. I've put all my decorations away this morning and had a clean up, doesn't it always look bare when you take them down - even though I didn't have a lot up in the first place LOL!

My First 2010 finish

Firstly I would like to say HUGE thankyous to all who came to my party, I really enjoyed seeing everyones 2009 finishes it was great fun - so much so I think I'll do it again at the end of this year.
Did you all have a good New Year?? I spent it with my Best Friend Karen and her family - which is quite usual for me, as we have our first BBQ of the year whether its raining or snowing - This year was wonderful we had no wind/rain or snow it was very bright and very very cold. We also had our usual fireworks which as always were spectacular.

This little wee finish is my first for 2010, the initial is a french freebie (I think its a Sajou one)When I had downloaded it so long ago now I didn't write on where it was from.

I've stitched it using Poinsetta Gloriana silk thread that I received from Cathy on our Christmas ornament exchange and I have stitched it on Antique white 35ct linen, it was just perfect for the little 2.5" x 3.5" frame I had already and will be going into my newly dramatically altered guest bedroom, photos of that I will show as soon as its completely finished its sooo different to what it was before and I am sooooo pleased with the result so far.

Happy New Year

A day early I know, but I wanted to take this opportunity to wish all my readers and commenters a Very Happy New Year.

Phew and what a year this has been for me and I hope that next year is MUCH MUCH better, I can't remember when I had such an awful year, but never mind, this year is almost over and a New and exciting one is about to begin.

Thankyou to my loyal readers for your support to me throughout this year, sometimes I don't know what I would have done without some of you and thankyou too for all the lovely comments that you have made about my stitching and finishing ..... You really don't know what they have meant to me. Without your encouragment and support I might have just stopped my stitching, especially over the last couple of months, my interest wained a little, but I think I am back with new plans and finishes in mind.

I always think that LIFE has a funny way of showing you the way forward and that its really one BIG adventure, I look forward to sharing lots of stitching, gardening and decorating projects with you in the coming months as I have a few things planned for my home and garden, some of which I have just about completed and will have to share with you.

So thankyou again for the time you spend with me here in blogland, I for one can't wait to see your lovely projects during next year.

Ooo and please come join the party - (post below) and add the link to your 2009 review it doesn't have to be in pictures, but it would be lovely to see or read what you have done and Mr Linky is free and easy to use to add you here - Thanks to Jane for being the first to join in and getting the party rolling.

Annual Stitchy Review 2009

Well as promised its 'Party Time' to join my party all you have to do is to be sure to add your permalink below, and not your general blog address. If you aren't sure how to obtain your permalink or have any questions about using Mr. Linky for this post. You will find Mr Linky at the end of this post.
Here are detailed instructions.

Please be sure to mention and provide a link back to the host blog, http://susimac.blogspot.com, so your readers will be able to find links to all the other annual review posts that day.

To use Mr. Linky, you will need the "permalink" to your Annual review post. What is a permalink? A permalink is the direct link to your Stitchy annual review post, instead of just your general blog address. It will give your visitors a way to find your post easily...even weeks later, without having to search through lots of other posts.

Permalink: It's easy to get the permalink for your Stitchy annual review post. All you will need to do is right click on the title of your Stitchy annual review post, select "copy shortcut", then paste that specific link into the Mr. Linky box you will see here when you come by to sign up. ...have fun! :-)
Looking forward to all your great Stitchy Annual review posts!

Remember it doesn't have to be a mosaic, it can be just a picture or a few to show your Stitchy review it can also just be text.
The more the merrier I say for all that join the party!!

So without further ado here is a sampling of my favourites I have done for this year!!

This is a sampling of my favourite Shepherds Bush finishes that I have done during 2009.

This is a small sample of some of my favourite 'picture' finishes I have completed during 2009..... and finally

Here is some of my very favourite 'Smalls' finishes that I have completed during 2009

I have so enjoyed showing you a few of my very favourites that I managed to complete this year and I can't wait to see yours, Mr Linky is below waiting for you to get started.

Hope that you are already planning your stitching for next year I know I am, I've been to Fobbles today and have treated myself to a few Shepherds Bush kits - Finch Song and Holly and Ivy being 2 of them, Finch Song I think will be my New Year start. Whats yours going to be??

Year in Review

I've stolen this idea from a couple of blogs (not stitchy ones) and thought it was a wonderful idea - I'm going to host a stitching year in review party It will be this Thursday and I hope at least some of you can join in! It's a chance to look through old photos that you posted on your blog over 2009 and share your favorites in one post. You can either do a photo mosaic or just post individual photos. I'll put MckLinky up Thursday morning (with instructions on how to use it) if you would like to join in! - I hope that you will, I'll be posting mine up then too.

Glad Tidings - Shepherds Bush Part 2

I mentioned in my earlier post that I had also completed 'Glad Tidings' the Picture as well as the little fob, and so without further ado - Here it is.......

......again this was a wonderful small sampler to do, I really enjoyed every stitch and the rich warm colours of the silk thread was a joy to use. This was of course a kit and I haven't changed anything about it - Yep you heard me right I haven't changed a thing, I loved the fabric and the design and the colours -- OO I could go on and on LOL!!

I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas, I did, I was expecting it to be quiet for me as this was my first Christmas on my own, but it turned out not to be so. The 2 eldest nephews turned up on my doorstep this was after I had had lots of phone calls from my mum, dad, sister and smallest nephew and neice. (Mum and I opened presents over the phone together, which was great fun and quite a giggle).

They stopped by me before they went to their grandmothers (Marks mum), I was so delighted to see them, then after their Christmas dinner they turned up again and we spent the whole evening together, it was a wonderful surprise and I really enjoyed their company.

Merry Christmas

Glad Tidings - Shepherds Bush

Todays little ornament is Glad Tidings fob, by Shepherds Bush. this was a little kit and I used everything that was included and finished it how it was suggested. Isn't the little sheep a cutey. I have also stitched Glad Tidings large design which is a gorgeous one to do, I really recommend it if you are a Shepherds Bush fan, but I haven't taken any pictures of it yet, but I will soon.


I loved this little treasure when I was stitching it, the colours are so pretty.

Thankyou all for your very very nice comments about my Christmas decoration pictures, I didn't do an awful lot this year, but sometimes less is more as they say, I still have a couple more to show if you aren't getting tired of them by now.

Heres hoping that you don't all have to hectic a Christmas Eve, and if you have that last minute rush, that it goes smoothly. I received a box from Mum and Dad yesterday with some parcels inside, they are sitting there tempting me, but I will resist until tomorrow LOL!!

Candlelight

Reflections of Christmas