A Peacocks Garden

 I haven't really known what to do with last years stitch a long - it doesn't really fit in with my décor!  But there is a Needle and Thread Facebook page and I saw that a couple of people had framed there finished embroideries in fabric, so yesterday I auditioned some fabric from my stash.  Consulted my stylist (DH) and we decided the purple fabric would fit the bill.  So yesterday afternoon I set to work adding a border , bagging it and sewing a sleeve on the back and Tah Da here is the finished piece now hanging in my downstairs bathroom!  Note to self: cut a shorter piece of dowel for the back!! Oh yes and everything I make that doesn't have a natural home ends up in the downstairs loo!

And here is what arrived in the post this morning......

The tread and the linen that is (the odd bits on the side are from a kit I completed a couple of years ago).  So despite saying I wasn't going to participate in this years stitch a long I am!!

Cross stitch, crochet and a swan a-swimming!

It's been a busy week with guests staying, and although it has been lovely having them (and they are not demanding in fact they always bring a meal already prepared and a yummy cherry pie and custard came with them this time!) it is always nice to get the house back in order with all the extra washing done, dried and ironed - which means for me I can relax back into some serious sewing!  So here is February almost complete and hopefully over the weekend I will get it finished and mounted and up in time for the first next Saturday.

I've done five of the twelve so far and I think I am ready to move onto something different, although March is my birthday month and is really pretty so I might just squeeze one more in then I can say six down and six to go!  But I will see how the mood takes me in February!

I have however been going great guns with the crochet - it's easy to chat and crochet so was good to do with my guests in the evenings.

I can't tell you enough how much I LOVE this and it isn't looking so much like a scarf now and much more blankety.  I wish I could photograph it true to colour but its just too dull and grey to do it justice.  You'll just have to take my word for it - it's gorgeous!!!!!

I had an urge today to start another felt Christmas ornament from the 12 days series.  I've had fun deciding on my colours and picking out some threads.  The prep work is done and I can start the embroidery sometime over the weekend.

Tomorrow I will link up with Kathy for some SLOW SUNDAY STITCHING which I am really looking forward to.  Once Lola has been walked I plan to put my feet up (ramp up the central heating - it's turned really cold) and sew!! I really can't think of a nicer way to spend a Sunday!

Ray of Hope and crochet

I've finished Hope from the Linen and Threads website. It's a charity cross stitch pattern with the money going towards helping the animals that have suffered in the terrible fires that have been raging in Australia.  The website is HERE

And Hope displayed on my little wooden house.  I've also been doing some crochet and have just completed the first fifteen rows - every colour has now been used.  And I love it so much!  The pattern is now set into my head, so I no longer need to refer to the pattern and each row is progressing much faster.....I can even watch some television and not make any mistakes!!!!  You can find information about the crochet along HERE

I will link up tomorrow to Kathy's blog for some SLOW SUNDAY STITCHING and tomorrow I must press on with February's cross stitch!

More postcards and more crochet!

A trip to have lunch with friends yesterday was thwarted by Lola being ill Saturday evening and all day Sunday.  She was feeling very sorry for her self poor love and although she isn't 100% today she is definitely better.  That meant staying in, watching TV and jumping up and down every half hour when we thought she wanted to go outside - and also standing outside watching her every more!  So I've got a couple of pictures to show you of two days of confinement!

 A few more rows done on the dahlia blanket

 I bought this little cross stitch pattern in support of a wild life hospital in Australia helping some of the animals rescued from the terrible fires.  It comes from LINEN AND THREAD

 And three more postcards to add to the collection!  I printed the apples and pears onto calico in a class several years ago and never really knew what to do with them.  I seem to have a huge stack of them - thats five used up!

Slow Saturday Stitching

 I'm writing my slow Sunday stitching post a day early because I won't be around much tomorrow, but I have managed to get some slow Saturday stitching in which has been lovely!

My first stitching job was to close the gap in my red work table runner.  I am so pleased with it - its my first ever table runner and my first ever prairie points.  I can safely safe it won't be my last at either of these things! I didn't put prairie points all the way around the runner because it was long enough already but I did wonder if it would make it look unbalanced (odd) but no I like it!

I've added a photo of the back because I like the fabric!

I've also added a couple more rows to my Dahlia blanket and I'm loving every new colour.  Still can't count though and I've have had to pull back stitches in several places!

And of course I've put in a few stitches to my February cross stitch.  This one has a cute duck and drake on it so I'm looking forward to doing them!

Hopefully I will get a chance to link up with Kathy's blog for SLOW SUNDAY STITCHING. 

Craft class

Yesterday I spent a great day at my craft class with the girls.  I really enjoy this group and probably more so now we each lead a class (and occasionally pay for a tutor to come in and do some more complicated things). Yesterday we made postcards, each bringing in unfinished 'works of art' from several years of classes.  I made a start on some Christmas cards (am I a bit sad to be doing that now or am I super efficient?).  Some glitzy fabric that I made years ago was the motivation for Christmas cards.  I won't show them now however, I will save them for 12 months time!  I did make four postcards - three for birthdays and one for my valentine!

 My valentine never reads my blog so I have no worries that he will see it before February 14th!

 The two flower cards are from photos I took at a National Trust garden and then posterized them on the computer before printing them onto fabric and embellishing them.

And a close up of six rows of the Dahlia blanket from Attic 24, I started crocheting at the weekend.  The colours are not true but it is a wet and damp day here on the south coast so the light is pretty poor. Im improving my tension with each row and getting the hang of the pattern now.  But it's been a while since I did any crochet so I have to get into the swing of it again! 

Christmas gifts

I don't have anything to show you this week so have posted some photos of projects completed by Faye and Amy (my son's girlfriend).  Faye made about 25 of these little hanging 'ugly jumpers' and she very cleverly made them individual - my son's one had a storm trooper on it!  And the one she made for her husband is in West Ham Football colours (even the cats got one each and they are also wearing capes in West Ham colours)! You can see more of them on her blog HERE

 Amy is new to cross stitch, but Faye and I have definitely converted her and now she is a tiny bit obsessed!  She made us this very cute picture.  Not sure whether to hand it up at home or in our Motor home?

 My DH bought me the Dahlia wool pack for Christmas (Yay very happy) and on Friday Lucy from ATTIC 24 started her crochet a long.  I then spent three hours last night trying to chain 195 and then complete the first row.  I seem to loose the ability of counting when I start crocheting and today I ripped it all back and will try this afternoon with no distractions to start again!

 This lovely dish was also a Christmas present and holds my wool pegs beautifully - necessary when the bands come off the wool and the colours are similar!

And finally a photo of Lola on Christmas morning with her present.  She then proceeded to take every piece of wrapping paper under the dining room table to rip up into tiny shreds - arrrr bless!

Despite not having any of my own stitching to show I am linking up with Kathy for the first SLOW SUNDAY STITCHING of 2020.  Hop on over and take a look. I know there will be lots of new projects and challenges to look and read about!

New Years Day

New Years Day on the beach!

There are always more spectators than swimmers, but every year we walk the dog along the beach to enjoy this spectacle (and lots of money is raised for the local Macmillan Nurses - a great charity)