A peacocks garden

Yay!!!! I have literally just put the last stitch in.  I was determined to finish this project in 2019 and I have managed it with 4 hours to spare.  I'm delighted with how it turned out (even though I have no idea what I am going to do with it) and despite some angst over colour choices I have enjoyed participating.  And because the organisers live in Australia (and they had there New Years Eve celebration several hours ago) the first part of the 2020 stitch a long has just been published.  You can find the instructions and information HERE

Happy New Year!

Years End!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas?  The lead up to it seems to take forever what with present buying, making gifts, food etc and then before you know where you are it's all over!  But I had a lovely time thank you!  The week between Christmas and New Year is a nice time to reflect on what has happened over the past year, most of it amazing and some not so good, but I am not going to dwell on the not so good because 2020 is going to be fantastic (I can feel it in my bones)!

At the end of 2018 I made a list of things I wanted to achieve in 2019 and on the whole I've accomplished that - I wanted to finish at least two craft projects every month and even if some of them were only tiny projects I have definitely done that and more, in fact I have 38 items that were finished during 2019 so that can be ticked off as done! (I also had eat less biscuits on my list and that didn't work)

Below are some photos of Christmas gifts I made this year.

 Eight jar lid grips (they have rubber on the other side) - so useful!

 This is my nieces gift tag - actually sewn months ago but not completed until December and went onto her present

 Luscious silk Christmas tree hanging for my son's girlfriend - she loves pink!

Loyalty card holder for a girlfriend

Christmas bauble wreath (I made this back in January and kept it for myself but couldn't show it because Faye made two at the same time to give as gifts)

I have two cross stitch projects I want to finish before the end of the year, A Peacocks Garden (I'm getting really close and I should be able to do that) and January, again it's almost done. I will spend the next few days planning next years projects and activities which is great fun and no doubt I will write 'eat less biscuits' on it again....well it is a wish list after all!!

Here's to a Happy, Healthy and Creative 2020!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!

Slow Sunday Stitching

Its been a lovely few days having Faye and her husband home.  It won't be too long before they return to the UK for good and I am super excited about that!  I have managed to do some cross stitch and have started January and yesterday made a start on the last part of the stitch a long.  I have been putting it off because I didn't like the final border (it has butterflies all round and was just too dominant and distracted from the peacock).  But yesterday Faye sent me a screen shot from the Face book page of a finished version with a butterfly in each corner and I decided that was the version for me...… only problem is I've run out of the pink thread and I'm not sure I have the stamina to go to the shop to buy anymore until after Christmas! Still it can wait, I've plenty more projects to be going on with.  Today I will watch another Christmas film and put some more stitches in January.  I am linking up with Kathy for some slow Sunday stitching and next week I will post the Christmas projects I've been working on for presents.

Merry Christmas!

6 Days of Christmas!

 The goose is completed and I'm very happy with her!  Last week on one of our walks with the dog we found some branches that seemed to fit the bill perfectly for displaying the eight ornaments (there's a pear and a goose egg to make it up to eight)

 The photo doesn't really do it justice (it flattens everything out) but it looks nice and I've put some little lights through the branches also.  Hopefully there will be another seven or eight this time next year......I'll need more than a few branches, more like a tree!)

 On Saturday we put up our Christmas tree, complete with cattle shed for the nativity.  My Dad made this many years ago and unfortunately we are missing baby Jesus!  But I still love it.

 I am linking up with Kathy for some slow Sunday stitching.  In her post today she had a photo of a special cross stitch that she made in 1992.  I can't beat that but every year we have this advent calendar up that was made by my step mum for the children so is probably 25+ years old and Christmas wouldn't be right without that hanging on the wall!  Later this afternoon I will be doing some cross stitch myself but first we are visiting an old lady and taking round a cream tea (not very Christmassy I know but as I'm not a very good cook I thought scones were safer than mince pies!!)

Red work heart 2019

You probably know already that I am a big fan of red work.  I LOVE IT! And every year I stitch a new Christmas heart.  This week I finished my 2019 one of a hare and it is now hung up for Christmas with the rest!

 The Father Christmas was the first one I ever made in 2014 and is probably my favourite!

 They are all patterns designed by Mandy Shaw from Dandilion Designs and every year she brings out a new pattern and a slightly different shape/size heart.

 On Sunday I will link up with Kathy for some slow Sunday stitching.  And after I've done a few things (skyped my daughter, skyped my brother, walked the dog....probably that will include a stop off for coffee and cake, prepared dinner and finished putting up the outside Christmas lights) I will sit down to watch a Christmas movie and finish stitching the goose from the 12 days of Christmas series!  In between stitching I will browse the other slow Sunday stitching blogs to see what everyone else has been working on this week.  Sounds like a perfect Sunday to me!!

Camp blankets!

The leak in my airing cupboard made me get everything out to check if it had sustained any water damage and right at the bottom under all my quilts were the children's camp blankets.  Lots of the badges had come loose and they both needed some TLC.  So this afternoon I've been re-attaching them, this time with the sewing machine.  There is no way those badges are ever going to come loose again!  Its also been a trip down memory lane, as the kids liked to buy a badge where ever we went on holiday and I would hand sew them on (hence they had started to come loose and sometimes they would buy several!)  

 Also sewn onto the blankets are there swimming badges, beavers, cubs and scouts badges and rainbows, brownies and guide badges.  My 33 year old son even has a Spice Girl badge on there (he'll never live that one down!)  These blankets used to go to camp with them and many a happy time spent around the camp fire singing camp songs.  Aah such happy memories!

Slow Sunday Stitching

I've had lots of time this week to stitch (mainly because we've been waiting in for various trades people to repair things).  Which means that December is completed and the red work hare is almost done - hopefully get that stitched by next week. I've also made a start on the goose from the 12 days of Christmas series (and I see that mmmcrafts has a 20% off this weekend - might treat myself to the next three instructions in the series!  I've also started to quilt the table runner from the Happy Little Things BOM because I couldn't wait and I really, really wanted to!!

I'm linking up with Kathy's blog for some slow Sunday stitching so hop on over and take a look!

Slow Sunday stitching

I suddenly realised today that next Sunday is December 1st!!  How did that happened and where did November go? It means of course I have a few challenges ahead of me.  I want to try and get my 2019 red work heart done.  This one should be achievable and if its not finished by the first is doesn't matter, its just me putting the thumb screws on!

 I would however like to get December done! Which means I should work on this one today.

 But on the other hand I've only done this little bit on the 12 days of Christmas.  I haven't even started the goose yet!

 I have completed Novembers border in 'A Peacocks Garden' stitch a long.  It was so boring that I could quite easily have not bothered and I really had to make myself pick it up!  Looking at the remaining border that will be released in December makes me think it won't be finished by the end of the year though.

 I have a bit of a dilemma that I am hoping the slow Sunday stitchers can help me with.  We returned on Thursday from spending a few days away in our motor home to discover we had a water leak in the airing cupboard and it is where I store my quilts! I'm not sure if the stains come from the black fabric or from the dripping pipes.  Most of the damage is on the border.  So any suggestions of how to repair would be appreciated.  The quilt by the way was finished in January 2009 so I doubt if I have any of the check fabric left!

Have a great Sunday and take a look at what the other slow Sunday stitchers are working on this week!

Table runner

 As you can see it hasn't taken me long to make the four blocks from Jacquelynne Steves free BOM Happy Little Things!  I was motivated by the guest bloggers after visiting them when block four was released a couple of weeks ago.  But my biggest motivation was seeing Kathy's little embroidered centres on her interpretation of the project!  I decided to miss out one of the borders and put them together using the same fabric rather than a scrappy surround to make a table runner and I'm now thinking of adding a prairie point border to finish off.

I am linking up with Kathy for some Slow Sunday Stitching where you can see how other  Sunday stitchers are spending there day!

Slow Sunday Stitching

It is Remembrance Sunday here in the UK and we happened to be out walking the dog across Wilverley Plain at 11am.  We reached a high point when we heard a distant cannon boom and stopped in the beautiful sunshine and looked out across the gully filled with brown bracken and gorse bushes, it was silent and there was no human, dog or pony in view and stood still (even Lola stood next to us)! And after 2 minutes the cannon fired again and we carried on. Sometimes it's good to just stand still and take everything in and maybe we should do it more often.

I fell down that blog hopping rabbit hole on Monday!  jacquelynnesteves.com has been running a free block of the month called Happy Little Things and on Monday part four was published with several guest quilters showing there different interpretations of the pattern. I started off with Kathy's blog and loved her embroidered centre squares and someone else had done there block in red and someone else had made there's into a table runner.  The stars were obviously aligned because I just couldn't help myself and pulled all my red fabrics...

The little flower embroideries definitely cried out to be sewn in red!

In my excitement to make the second block I sewed it together wrong and had to unpick it (note to self read the instructions first!) Although to be fair I didn't mind how the 'wrong' block looked but decided I should try and get it right!

I have one more flower to embroider and will finish that this afternoon.  They are really quick and only take just over an hour to make. Hopefully by next Sunday I will be able to show all the blocks completed and sewn together.  I am linking up with Kathy for some slow Sunday stitching.  

Happy Stitching

November

It was lovely to get out and walk today (in the sunshine) following yesterdays gale force winds on the south coast. Apparently there were gusts of 109.4mph recorded on my bit of coast and consequently the poor dog had a very short walk and then we hunkered down and I did lots of sewing (there's always something good out of these stay in doors bad weather days!)

November is on display (unfortunately you can't see the off white flowers on the background) and I can start work on December now.

 And of course November has been posted for 'A Peacocks Garden'.  It is a narrow outer border so should stitch up pretty fast, although I think it will be a bit boring.  Still its got to be done!

I've also been putting stitches in my hexie quilt.  I've still a long way to go with it but it is rather nice having it draped over my legs in the evening, watching TV and sewing!  It has a narrow border, about 3 inches I think and I'm wondering a) what pattern to quilt around it and b) as it's on the edge of the quilt how do I do it?  Do I have to add some waste fabric to the side so it still fits in the frame? I know there are lots of hand quilters out there who hopefully can advise me - thanks!

I am linking up with Kathy for some slow Sunday stitching.

Five Gold Rings!

Well not actually five gold rings only one (thank goodness).  This has been my least favourite one to sew and was a real fiddle to get it right and if I'm being super critical it doesn't sit evenly.  The written instructions from mmmcrafts are brilliant and extend over 12 pages and do help to make the process idiot proof!  Anyway I thought I would post some photos of the process involved in making these little Christmas ornaments

 And the final gold ring!  I'm away in the motorhome so don't have the others to go with it but I think they will look good as a collection.  The photo below is my messy work area and as you can see I was being well supervised by Lola!

Tomorrow we head home but I will hopefully link up with Kathy's blog for slow Sunday stitching.

November

Its been a rather slow week on the sewing/crafting/quilting front but I have achieved lots on the decorating side of life.  I would far rather be sewing than wielding a paintbrush and I hadn't realised how much work would be involved when I started.  The area of hall, stairs and landing is far greater than I realised!  Still I have made a start on November (peacocks seem to be featuring in my life at the moment - although this one was no where near as complicated as the one in the middle of A Peacocks Garden).  I have also been practicing my hand quilting most evenings for an hour or two on my Grandmothers Garden quilt.  And it is true practice has improved my technique and I'm even managing to quilt in different directions instead of hauling the quilt around every time I go around a corner, so that's good (although it wouldn't be good to inspect it too closely).  I will take a photo during the week and post a progress report.  In the mean time I am linking up with Kathy for slow Sunday stitching although no stitching for me yet, I'm back to the painting for now!

Felt and 2" squares

 The postman arrived this morning with a lovely little package containing felt! I was very strict with myself and didn't open it until I sat down for a rest from the decorating!  Unfortunately where I normally buy my 100% wool felt from is no longer trading so I had to buy a wool/acrylic mix felt instead.  It definitely isn't as sumptuous as the pure wool felt but still nice.  It was also difficult to get the colours right buying on line.

 But I think these colours will co-ordinate OK with what I already have.  All I have to do now is soak it (that takes about 15 mins per sheet) and dry.  I can then start making the next Christmas ornament in the 12 days of Christmas series - a gold ring!

To take a break from the wall paper scraping (that's all done now thank goodness) I started to look through a fabric stash basket and discovered rolled up in some grid flannel, lots of floral 2" squares!  They must have been languishing at the bottom of the basket for years and I think I was probably collecting them for an impressionist quilt or I think it could also be called a waterfall quilt (oops no its not its a colourwash quilt).  Some of the fabrics I recognised but others not, so I suspect I was collecting them from classes I attended.  Anyway I shook them off the flannel and ironed them - nearly 200 in total and yes I did count them.  That's what happens when the decorating gets on top of you and you are looking for avoidance tactics!!

 Oh well back to the decorating, it definitely won't get done on its own!!

A Peacocks Garden

It's been a really soggy week, with lots of rain (and I do mean lots.)  So I decided in my wisdom it would be a good time to do some decorating! And I really, really wish I hadn't started.  Anyway what it means is I haven't managed to do much sewing this week.  Although I did finish off Octobers part of the Peacocks Garden.  

There needs to be a second acorn between the squirrels but I would like to put my initials and the year and depending on November and Decembers section of the stitch a long the date may well go between there feet!  While I'm on the subject of acorns I was driving through the forest a couple of days ago and saw eight pigs munching at the side of the road.  When I see the pigs out in the forest I know that autumn has arrived.  They are let out to hoover up the acorns in October (can you see the connection now?) because acorns are poisonous to ponies. 

My DH is busy cooking a roast dinner for lunch, so I have another hour to do more wallpaper scraping (I think they used super glue to put this wallpaper up!) and then I plan on slowing down with some stitching.  I would like to start the month of November (its a rather nice Peacock - but not as complicated as the one above).  You can see October attached to the little bird house that DH made to display each month in the previous post.  In the mean time hop over to Kathy's blog to catch up with the other Slow Sunday Stitchers and see some of the photos from the retreat day she organised last week and see photo's that Gail took of the projects that everyone was working on that day!

October's bird house

Ta Dah!! My DH finished the little bird house display for me and I'm so pleased with how it looks!  Hard to tell the proper colour from the photo but its a nice milk chocolate colour that sets off the cross stitch perfectly.  Just have the rest of the months of the year to sew now!

Slow Sunday stitching and a ta dah!

I always stitch on Aida, mainly because I find it much easier on they eyes, but really wanted to see how I got on with some linen.  So I picked this small project to play with and I am really pleased with how it turned out!  The pattern comes from The Snowflower diaries and was originally a free stitch a long back in 2016.  You can see the blog HERE where you can still pick up the patterns as far as I know.  There is also a face book page and lots of people are still stitching this little 12 month project.  I saw a photo on face book that displayed each month in a little wooden house and I showed it to DH and asked if he could do something similar for me and here is a photo of work in progress!

It now has a roof and is painted, along with a bird perch.  When I have mounted the cross stitch I will post a completed picture.  But it is very cute and I really like it!!

I also completed the Colly bird from the 12 days of Christmas collection (HERE).  Now on to five gold rings - except I am only going to make one!

Today Kathy who hosts slow Sunday stitching is hosting a slow Sunday stitching retreat day.  I really wish I could have been there it would be so good to meet in person everyone who posts regularly on her blog!  But alas I live a continent away!  But I look forward to seeing photos next week of what went on and I hope they all have a wonderful time!