And the winner is...

Thank you to everyone who commented on my blog this week - its always fun seeing who comments on a giveaway post! I decided to have two winners for my giveaway, as so many took the time to comment. I took the list of names to our stitch and bitch at Sonia's on Wednesday, and Louise and Pam did the honours...

The winners were Monique and Ana Christina - please could you both email me with your addresses, and I'll pop something in the post!

I've been working on fruit bellpull all week, this is the last photo I took on my iPhone, at the start of the week:

I'm a bit further on now, but the more recent piccies are on my proper camera, and I can't be bothered to boot up my laptop! Having a VERY lazy Sunday....

Happy stitching folks xx

Not very clever...

During the week I tried to update my wish list and stash list by moving 4 things I recently bought and putting them on the stash list. Instead I managed to overwrite my stash list with my wish list. I don't have another copy of my stash list (I don't think), and it also listed completed projects, many of which I have passed on. AAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHH

So the question is, can I be bothered to reconstruct my stash list? It is quite helpful...

Pants pants pants

Updated to say THANK YOU to the wonderful Aurelia of Eglantine Stitchery managed to find a cached version of the list. I have literally just danced around the house at a level on met when I've finished a huge TW. You are now my most favourite person in the world!

Off to add the 4 charts to the list that I bought earlier this month, update the page, and then settle down to some stitching. FAR more fun than trying to reconstruct the list!

A week in stitches

Last week I was off work - we had plenty of holiday to take, and so we decided it would be lovely to spend some time pottering at home. We did spend lots of time in the garden, and took the opportunity to catch up with good friends, but it also meant I could focus on my stitching. I had 4 things that I wanted to do in my head: finish a quilt top that I'd started the previous weekend, start the quilt top made from the other half of the jelly roll (two quilts from one jelly roll - brilliant idea for a book!), finish the BBD Summer / Autumn / Winter and pull out fruit bellpull again - I think I managed 3.5 out of 4!!

This is the quilt top: 'Strip the Willow' made using half a jelly roll of French General's 'Papillion'. I have planned the colours and cutting for the other quilt (clues are in my last TUSAL post), but I didn't start cutting or stitching yet.

I finished BBD's Summer / Autumn / Winter, the Loose Feathers pattern from 2011. I had some 'fun' re-charting it to say 2013, and then somehow managed to screw up the placement of my initials and the date and motifs, despite lots of counting, charting and double checking. I moved the motif between the Z and the J twice - the second time only by 1 square, but it does look better where it ended up!!

I pulled out TW's fruit bellpull on Sunday afternoon, this is a before photo of the grapes block - I've stitched a bit more green since then.

And finally, a progress so far photo. I'd love to get this finished before I start teaching again in late September. Always the optimist ;)

Don't forget to comment on my last blog post if you'd like to be entered into my 300th post giveaway. Now, where did I leave that needle...

Happy stitching folks x

300th post!!!

Wow, I just logged on to do a run of the mill stitching post, and noticed my last post was number 299 - which makes this one number 300!! That erased my dilemma over what to call this post! I can't believe I have 90 followers, and have had 26,397 page views to date. I *think* I managed to turn myself off the tracking ;) That probably isn't much in blogger land, but for me it's huge, and I am amazed and humbled that people want to read my ramblings and look at my photos. So thank you all, lovely readers.

 So what have I been working on? The 2011 loose feathers design has been my main focus - I did frog and restitch the big white flower, and I am much happier with it now:

I then made a counting error in the alphabet, and had to frog and restitch 3 letters. But it's all sorted now.

I've just got the bottom row of letters to go. I need to figure out how to fit my wide initials into the available spaces, and change the 1 in 2011 to a 3 (I have worked out a 3, just need to think about the spacing). I'm not sure if it would be better to squeeze it all together, or to skip the half motif in the bottom right corner and have more space. Decisions decisions...

A little while ago (2 weeks?) I wanted to stitch a small, so I picked out this needle book by Little House Needleworks. I stitched it in DMC on a  scrap of unnamed overdyed fabric. I love the sheep - too cute :)

It's also TUSAL week - these are my orts. The white ones on top are from the recent frogging... And the background? Well that's something else I've been working on this week, which I will update you on later.

In honor of my 300th post I'm going to have a giveaway... No idea what, as I only realised this was post 300 about 20 mins ago - but it will be stitched by me. If you'd like to enter, please add a comment to this post. I'll draw the winner next weekend.

Happy stitching folks xx

Flowers and frogs

I'm still making great progress with the Summer, autumn, winter sampler by Blackbird Designs, but I think I've decided I need to be visited by some frogs...

The big white flower in the summer panel should be a lovely two tone thing:

BUT, due to the fabulous variation in hand dyed threads, mine is more of an amorphous blob:

I've had a good hunt through my stash, and I think I'll frog the middle of the flower (flax, on the right in this photo) and replace it with straw bonnet (left in this photo). The edges of the flower ate stitched in caramel corn (the floss in the middle) and I think the latter combination gives a much better contrast. So frogging it is...

Happy stitching folks xx

Summer weather, autumnal stitching,

I hope everyone (in the UK at least) is enjoying having a sunny summer for once. At times I find the weather a bit hot and oppressive, but I just have to think back to the last 2 summers and I immediately feel much happier! I just wish my office had air con...

I've been making great progress with the 2011 Loose Feathers charts - I've done about 1/2 of the final panel, autumn. I'm leaving the alphabet til last.

I hope everyone else is having a lovely stitchy weekend - if so, happy stitching xx

Birdies

I've been meaning to post some piccies of my current project for a while. In fact, I took this one (of the Autumn panel in the 2011 Loose Feathers series) absolutely ages ago:

So long ago that I've now stitched most of Autumn, and most of Summer! I'm planning on doing the alphabet in one go.

I'm on holiday in Skye this week, and brought this with me. The only issue is that I've almost run out of maple syrup - I'll have to stitch the final bird when I get home :)

Happy stitching folks xx