Stitchers meet-up!

Yesterday i had a lovely day out. There was a meet-up of stitchers at Nuneaton, its not very far from my home and i had a lovely day. Clare organised it and has pics on her blog of us all - 14 in total. A lot of the ladies are members of Stitch & Stash. It's the first time i have been to a meet-up and it was really great to meet up with Chris, Hazel, Tina, Tracy, Kathy, Lynn, Paula, Lynn, Angie, Maggie & Joyce and to see some of their work. Vicky from India Grace Designs was also there, her designs are gorgeous and so pretty and delicate. Thank you for making me feel so welcome ladies, i had a very lovely day with you all and am looking forward to seeing you all again in October.

Today is reveal day over at Stitch & Stash for the monthly challenge. This month the chosen design was the freebie Hello Spring by Lizzie Kate. I needed a quick finish for a birthday gift for one of DS's friends so decided to put mine into a coaster. We only had 3 finishes in the album this month, i guess the nice sunshine we've had has eaten into stitching time with folks being in the garden more. This week i also stitched and finished my monthly ornament. Some members of the family are elderly and only have small Christmas trees so this month its a small one, the freebie from The Drawn Thread, Santa Keeper (supposed to be a scissor keep!) was the chosen design, i've had this in my pile for an age so felt it deserved to be done.

The second package i sent off has arrived too, i was getting a bit worried with the lack of flying activity due to the volcanic ash problem recently and hoped that she hadn't become lost in transit. Dani in Canada received this un-named bunny and has decided to call her Matilda. This brings the total of bunnys sent out so far to 47. Who would have thought when i knitted and showed the first one for Easter 2008 that there would have been so much interest in them. Some people have emailed asking if i will sell them one, but unfortunately, due to the restrictions on the pattern that i stitch them from you are not allowed to make any gain from them, so they remain an RAK gift as and when i knit one. Also, it does make them a bit more special to me when i send one out. If i have your address from some correspondance in an exchange or similar, and you haven't received one yet, who knows one day a little bunny might come to live at your house ...

Today DH and i are off to visit my brother and SIL and take the little bag that was in the previous post for her birthday. It's been a busy weekend here for us, i hope your weekend has been good too.

Computer free weekend

The weather was so nice we spent most of the weekend outside in the garden even eating our meals and generally enjoying the sunshine. DH pottered around tidying this and that and was in the greenhouse potting on his seedlings and plants and i sat stitching and reading and kept him supplied with tea and homemade cherry and coconut cake. We were also able to watch the bluetits checking out the nest box and blackbirds building their nest in the ivy on the side of the garage. Mr Moe was out there with us too wondering if the birds needed any help! Amazing how much the camelias have blossomed with a few more days of nice sunshine too.

I was able to stitch and finish this Just Nan design, Victorian Treasures VII and make it into the little bag, it will hold a nice piece of jewellery for my SIL's birthday later this month.

The fabric was a piece called 'Sweet Pea' from my stash that i bought when Jayne's Attic was trading, shame it's no longer trading, she offered fantastic service in the UK. I have quite a few nice pieces still be to stitched on in very pretty colours but will have to source hand dyeds elsewhere when stocks get low.

Where do you buy your hand dyed fabrics?

3 more blocks added to Grand Marquoir too, and i've also finished a 4th block since this picture was taken. You'll notice that 2 squares are actually the same colour as they are top and bottom of a small sampler and i felt they would look better this way.

Hope you all had a great weekend. I've been thinking of Edda in Iceland and hope she is ok with all this volcanic activity, its certainly causing lots of problems with air travel here in the UK, i know one family that are due to fly out on their holidays this Friday but are still not sure if they will be going or not.

Have a good week

Well done Royal Mail

The envelope i sent to Mylene with the pinkeep she won in my blog giveaway arrived safely. As a surprise, i also knitted up one of my bunnys over the easter holidays and added that into the envelope, i thought she could keep Mylene company whilst her DH was working away. I didn't give her a name, i wonder what Mylene will call her?

This afternoon i'm off to the dentist, not my favourite place to go but it has to be done. I wont be telling him that one of the stitching club ladies has a birthday tomorrow so we''ll no doubt be having cream cakes at this evenings meeting LOL

Blooming marvellous....

What a wonderful few days of nice spring sunshine we've had. Daffodils are blooming in their pots and at long last my camelia bushes are flowering. These are usually in flower mid February so are very late this year. Dh has spent a lot of time at the allotment planting things out and the greenhouse is blooming with new shoots on his seedlings. I bet you've all been busy in your gardens too.

I've had my nose in a book so only a small amount of stitchings been done in the evenings. Here's the birthday pressie for SIL's mum, a small something to put into her card. Grand Marquoir has been out too and it now has 2 more motifs, i can't stop stitching on this! A couple of 'other things' went off in the post last week too, i'll show you those when i know they've been received.

Enjoy your stitching and craft projects, thanks for visiting

Be gone froggy!

I hope you all had a lovely easter weekend, it's been quiet here as DS has had a tummy bug and DD has been over to visit for some advice and quality family time. The weathers not been good so i've spent quite a bit of time with needle in hand doing one thing or another whilst DH has been watching motor racing with either car or bikes on the TV.

Exhibit A - all frogged out and re-stitched back in after i missed out the inner border row the first time i stitched it! It's a good job lugana fabric is so forgiving when you make a mistake. I also added a couple more of the little motifs. It seems to have grown really quickly now the big motif is in, there are only a couple more to add before the alphabet on the bottom.

Another birthday at the stitchy club this month so a bookmark and the traditional marmalade is all ready to be given away. We're not meeting for the club on Wednesday this week as the community centre is closed for the Easter hols so we're off to the local pub for a nice meal instead.

Monthly challenge is complete too and pic sent for the album. This one is also now wrapped up to give as a gift to a friend of DS who celebrates her birthday later this week, sorry but a no show till reveal on 25th of the month.

Having finished my Just Nan Ice Garden for the Just Nan SAL at Stitch & Stash, Dusty and i decided to exchange charts. She had just finished stitching Memories, and so beautifully stitched it was too. She had received my envelope and last week hers arrived here with me from over the pond. A wonderful surprise was inside with the chart, Dusty had stitched me this beautiful and delicate hardanger angel. It is so lovely, the back looks exactly the same as the front, i wish my hardanger work was as neat as this. Thank you so much Dusty she is beautiful and i will treasure her.

There is a Lindt easter bunny sitting on the sideboard tempting me, i've been so good and resisted him whilst i have been stitching this weekend, but i think the time has come to see if he tastes as good as he looks ...

No fool like an old fool!

Thats what my dad used to say, as he was born on April Fools Day. Today he would have celebrated his 74th birthday, this is one of the last pictures i have of him in my garden.

This year i know he would have been smiling at me as i have been the biggest fool!!

My Ladys Quaker went with me to the stitchy club last night and i carried on with it when i got home (3 1/2 hours worth of stitching) but when i came to take an update picture this morning i realised its all got to be frogged out, the mistake is so obvious, a whole round inside the biggest motif on the design is not there so the inner part is all done in the wrong place. How could i have carried on for so long and not noticed... oh well ... we've all been there... guess what i'll be doing tonight LOL

I can show you an update of GM though, i love this piece and am finding it hard to put down and do other stuff, all 9 motifs have been added during March. This month i have 3 small birthday gifts to make as well as the monthly challenge and the xmas ornie so i dont think there will be so much progress in April. I also did a little on Irish Garden so my stitching goals for March did get done.

DH drew a winner for the pinkeep, congrats to MYLENE. Can you please let me have your address and i'll mail it out to you after the Easter holiday. Talking of Easter hols, i hope you all have a wonderful Easter with your families and the weather is kind to those who would like to be spending time in their gardens or visiting places of interest. We have no special plans for this weekend, getting up late and doing whatever we like for a few days sounds like a good plan to me!

Love and {hugs}
xxx