Pears!

Yesterday I finished the BS on the pears block of Fruit Bellpull:

I've started the border of the plums block, which is my third block of 6.

It's also TUSAL time again - well, really it was on Friday - but here are my ORTS as of about 10 mins ago! If you are new to the concept of the Totally Useless Stitch Along, you need to pop by Sharon's blog and read more (and admire her lovely stitching while you do!).

I've been a bit listless this weekend, and couldn't settle to anything, which means I've not made much progress. Maybe this coming week will be more productive!

Happy stitching folks

2013 - the year of the Happy Dance?

So these are the two projects I finished over the weekend:

Tatty Teddy 'A New Baby'. It's an anchor kit, but I substituted the aida for laguna.

And then 'Leafy' headband by Happy Living (I found it on Ravelry):

This is done in a lovely soft Debbie Bliss Alpaca and Silk blend - it feels WONDERFUL.

I've finally found my camera card, so I can share a photograph of the other ornament I sent out for the TWCOE - Partridge in a Pear Tree by Milady's needle, from the 2012 JCS ornament edition. I really enjoyed stitching this and was very pleased with how the finishing turned out:

On Sunday I picked up fruit bellpull again, and last night I finished the xs and started the bs on the pears block - a bout of insomnia helped speed the bs along - I'll share a photo as soon as I have completed the block - maybe tomorrow?

Happy stitching folks x

First Finishes

On Friday I started and finished a new project - My Heart is True pincushion by Nicoletta Farraruto and Blackbird Designs (Eddu got me the My Heart is True book for Christmas). I stitched it on a scarp of linen and backed it with a scrap of lining fabric which matched each other perfectly. I stitched the project in DMC, but substituted the 3857 with 3859, a lovely dusky lilac. I gave the project to Sonia for her birthday:

While I had the machine out I finished Summer Iris into a little cushion, using a piece of duck-egg blue fabric left over from the Teacher's Pet quilt I finished last year - the colour matches perfectly, but you'll have to take my word for it, as I forgot to put a piece of the fabric in the background:

I finished the edges with button hole stitch - the recommended finishing technique for My Heart is True! I did spend a long time debating a natural cotton lacy edging I have in my stash, but decided on a simpler version:

Here's a photo of the two projects together, leaning against a lovely Morroccan lantern my cousin gave me for Christmas:

Yesterday I had a stitch and bitch and crafted pretty much all day, and had TWO MORE happy dances - but the projects aren't in a state for photographing yet! I'm back to work tomorrow, and I'm going to miss all this lovely crafting time. Ho hum....

Happy stitching everyone x

Photo catch up...

My lack of blogging last year meant I never posted photos of some projects, so here is a random mix of things I forgot to photograph and post about...

This is how far I got with the pears block on fruit bellpull... actually not too much to go to finish this block, at which point I'll have done 1/3 of the bellpull. It's weeks since I've stitched on this.

Fruit Bellpull (c) Teresa Wentzler

I started this on Christmas day - it's a birth sampler for one of my best friends niece's. The backstitching around the edges of the bear is horrific, and the chart is really dreadful - the lines are so think I have to guess where some should go. But it's looking fine, no indication some bits were fudged...

Tatty Teddy 'A New Baby', Anchor kit

I started this little BBD piece during the Olympics. I probably finished it then too... I actually have no idea (and I'd forgotten I'd stitched it until I saw the half done photograph when I was looking through them yesterday. So it's a very late happy dance! It's dark here now, and the camera has darkened the corners of the photo - but you get the general idea!

Summer Iris, (c) Blackbird Designs

Finally, here is my final ORT report for 2012... All of the orts I've created since the new year have been gathering on the arm of my sofa! The greys on top are from Tatty Teddy. There are lots of green in here - not surprising given this year I've focussed on Gaelic Banner and Fruit Bellpull!

And all ready for the new orts for 2013...

I started a new piece today (very small), which I want to finish finish before I post a picture, I never seem to finish anything properly. I should have made that a goal. Anyway, backing fabric has been chosen, so it's time to dig out the sewing machine.

Happy Stitching

2012 in Stitches

Having survived the food, family and booze and settled into the New Year, it's time for that yearly recap again!

This year my bloging was rather erratic (hope to improve on that this year), and as I sorted through my photos and stitching stash I even found finished projects I'd not shared. Tut tut! I've had a bit of a tidy up of this blog, moving the links of finished projects (which connected to webshots) to a newly created page. Amazingly I only had 3 listed finished projects where I couldn't find a photograph, one of which I'll photograph shortly; one of which I'm not sure where it is (bookmark...); the third was a gift. Oh well...It's not bad for 5 years worth of happy dances though!

Looking back I realised I accomplished much more than I thought I had. Only one enormous cross stitch, but 11 small and 6 medium projects, 2 lace projects, and (for the first time ever) I finished quilt-sized quilting projects - THREE of them! So here we go:

Cross stitch:
Unicorn ornament (TW)
Partridge in a Pear Tree ornament
Two Grey Hills (NP Designs)
Let's Get Fancy Scissor Fob (Sweetheart Tree)
Heartstruck Friends I (Midnight Stitching)
Summer Iris (Blackbird Designs)
Heartstruck Friends II (Midnight Stitching)
Quaker Pin cushions (Milady's Needle) - all six of them
Heartstruck Quakers I (Midnight Stitching)
Heartstruck Quakers II (Midnight Stitching)
E scissor fob
Lincoln Cathedral from Castle Grounds (Needlecraft Centre)

Art Nouveau Peacock (Barbara Thompson)

Christmas Mandolin (Mill Hill)

Lace Projects:

Bedfordshire Lace motif (Christine Springett)

Bedfordshire lace butterfly (Christine Springett)

Quilting projects:
Purple sampler quilt (my design)
Amish star (Oakshott)
Teacher's Pet

At the start of 2012 I had the following WIPS:

*Eeyore's problem
*Peacock firescreen
*Gaelic banner
*Fruit Bell Pull
*Lincoln Cathedral from Castle Grounds


*Green cardigan
*Crochet scarf

*Bedfordshire lace butterfly
*Milanese lace

*Amish star quilt
*Sampler quilt
*Teacher's pet quilt


So how did I do with my goals? Last year I wanted to:
1) Finish my Bedfordshire lace butterfly YES
2) Complete another lace project YES (but only a little one)
3) Finish Peacock firescreen YES. I also finished Lincoln Cathedral
4) Work on all three of my other xs WIPS YES - although I counted 4 others, not three.
5) Finish Teacher's pet quilt YES
6) Finish another quilt YES - I finished another TWO (but only just!)
7) Finish my green cardigan Almost, I'm in the process of stitching it up
8) Finish the crochet scarf Almost - all of the flowers are done, I just need to join them together
~ and, as always ~
9) Stitch lots, on what I want, and enjoy it!! Of course, but this was an easy goal!

This year I am starting with the following WIPS:

*Eeyore's problem
*Gaelic banner
*Fruit Bell Pull
*Night
*Peacock Majesty
*A New Baby (Tatty Teddy)


*Green cardigan
*Crochet scarf

*Milanese lace

*Bedfordshire rose leaves

I THINK that's it....

In 2013 I'd like to:

1) Finish A New Baby

2) Finish Gaelic Banner

3) Finish Night

4) Work on all of my other xs WIPs

5) Finish the green cardigan

6) Finish the crochet scarf

7) Finish Bedfordshire rose leaves

8) Start Wisteria lace edging

9) Make a quilt

~ and, as always ~
10) Stitch lots, on what I want, and enjoy it!!