Goodbye July & Hello August

There goes another month and the stitching plans for July just did not happen. Not a stitch went into Shores and there was no monthly Christmas ornament either, oh dear.

Needle has been put to fabric this past week. Must admit though it was just a little. So, at last, some stitching photos to share.

It's time for the RR to fly again and this time i stitched on Dusty's. She chose to have Christmas ornments for her tree. The holly wreath with the golden bells was my choice from the designs she marked a preference for.

It really is very colourful and beautiful and her tree will be so lovely with the 6 ornaments from this Round Robin on it at Christmastime. It was a clever choice and something i hadn't thought of doing before in a RR.


With time marching on the Sampler for the winner of the Best in Show at our horticultural show in September had it's final stitch added too, it just needs to be fitted into it's frame ready for the big day.


I am telling you if this was my school report, the teacher would have written .... 'must try harder, could do better, easily distracted recently' LOL

What's the big distraction? It's the Book Borrowers group. I am loving having my nose in a book and discussing it each week at the group. The english teacher comment for this would be so different though. I might just be the teachers pet ... 'Julie has improved her reading skills and is making good progress on her reading list this year' and i might just get an A grade as i have read 4 books since my last post just over 2 weeks ago. That is an all time record for me as i always said i was a very slow reader.

Ok, you all want to know what i have read don't you.

Last post i showed you A Tangled Summer by Caroline Kington, a family story that was very enjoyable and some turns in the story that i didn't see coming. Angels in My Hair by Lorna Byrne was the next one, that was an unexpected choice as i had another book lined up but it kind of jumped off the bookshelf at me asking to be read and i read it in just a couple days. A true story about an irish mystic and her life, another very good read.

The saga of dear Agatha Raisin continues and one of the ladies managed to locate the next 2 books in the series. Book 3 The Potted Gardener and Book 4 The Walkers of Dembley were picked up at a car boot sale. I am so loving Agatha and her ways and she is a great topic of conversation at the group each week. We are all becomming Agatha stalkers and i have even treated myself to the Agatha Raisin companion book that i saw when out last week.




We are desperately trying to decide who out the actresses we know would play the part of Agatha. In the BBC radio 4 plays (which are not the same as the book and have been adapted for radio and changed a little and in my opinion no where near as funny and good) she is played by Penelope Keith but she just doesn't seem right some how. For those who know Agatha, who would you choose to play the part?

oh yes, and what teacher comment would be on your stitching report for July??

I celebrated my birthday on Monday this week and was totaly spoilt by stitching friends i have come to know over the past few years, i've taken pics but this post seems to have gotten quite long so i'll show you those over the weekend. I'm a little behind with blog reading too, sorry.

Hope all is well with you all and thank you for taking time to drop in here, i do appreciate each and every visit and comment.

Much love

x

Summer Postcard Blog Hop

I'm playing along with Jo at Serendipitous Stitching and the Summer Postcard Blog Hop.

Instructions were easy, send her a pic of something you stitched that shouts out summer to you and enclose a little postcard message. She will send off the pics at intervals to different bloggers and we all get to meet new bloggers and see their stunning work, simple, but a great idea. I decided i wanted to join in and duly sent off my design. It's not too late to join, pop over to Jo's blog to find out all about it.

I opened my emails today and i've received a lovely postcard from Pat at The Southpaw Stitcher.


Pat's messasge reads ....

"Even if it's not summer where you are, just close your eyes and imagine the warm sun, gentle breezes and maybe a gull or two to help you build your sand castle. Wish you were here.

Hope your summer is fantastic.

--Pat"

Perfect Summer stitching Pat, i could do with a lovely day a the beach and some nice warm sunshine. I'm going to have a lovely read of your blog Pat and enjoy 'meeting you'.

Thank you Jo for organising this.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Another email that arrived this week was from McKenna at Chic Crafting telling me that i had been tagged.

Here are the rules:

1. Post the rules
2. Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post
3. Come up with 11 new questions
4. Tag 11 people and link to them in your post
5. Let them know you tagged them so they can answer the new questions

McKenna's 11 questions :-

1. What time of day do you prefer to stitch?
McKenna: Anytime after dinner
Julie - Evenings, I dont usually stitch in the daytime except at weekends

2. Three favourite colours? McKenna: Green, Blue, and Purple
Julie - Green, pink and purple

3. Do you have a sweet tooth?
McKenna: Try sweet TEETH
Julie - Chocolate mainly and i can never resist a dessert, so i guess that's a yes

4. Do you stitch for charity?
McKenna: Yes, I stitch for World of Charity Stitching
Julie - Not at the moment

5. Aida, Linen, or Evenweave?
McKenna: Aida (I've never used linen or evenweave)
Julie - Evenweave, i will use linen but it can be stiff, not an aida stitcher anymore

6. What month is your birthday in?
McKenna: October
Julie - July

7. Do you like to cook?
McKenna: I LOVE to!!
Julie - Yes

8. How long have you been blogging?
McKenna: Almost 1 year
Julie - My first blog post was end of December 2006

9. Who taught you to cross stitch?
McKenna: My mother
Julie - I first tried it at school in a sewing class

10. Favourite flower? McKenna: Rose
Julie - I like all flowers and always have fresh seasonal ones in my home, but my favourite is the freesia

11. Have you ever soiled the cloth you're stitching on?
McKenna: I dropped a dried cranberry in the bag that held Teddy Tea Party, and now there's a little red stain in the very bottom corner of the aida.
Julie - Yes, chocolate has a lot to answer for and i once dropped a flourescent marker onto a project when i was crossing off the chart, luckily it was yellow and i could stitch over the blob of ink so it didn't show in the finished piece

It's really hard to choose just 11 people and a lot of bloggers have already done this so if you wish to have a go or just want to do another time then....

Here are my 11 questions :-

1. What's the smallest count of fabric you have ever worked on?
Julie - 40ct - stitched a small ornament, only once though

2. Do you stitch gifts to give away to family and friends?
Julie - Yes always

3. Do you have a favourite needle that you just have to stitch with, because it just fits your fingers perfectly and stitches much better than others?
Julie - Yes, sad i know!

4. What other crafts do you enjoy apart from stitching?
Julie - Knitting and crochet

5. What's your worst disaster with a piece of stitching?
Julie - Cutting a piece of fabric too small for the design and not realising till its halfway stitched - lesson learnt the hard way - measure, measure and measure again.

6. Have you ever met up with stitching blogging friends in person?
Julie - Yes, twice a year regularly with stitchers from across the UK and from the Needlecraft Haven forum.

7. Have you ever thrown away a piece of stitching/knitting/crochet that you just couldn't carry on with?
Julie - Yes

8. Do you sell or giveaway charts etc that you have finished with?
Julie - Give them away

9. Do you have a long wish list of charts you would like?
Julie - No, i tend now to only buy things that i am going to stitch straight away, i have lots of things in my stash that i would love still to stitch that i have acquired over the years. There are only 2 things on my wish list - Elizabeth Designs - Natures Alphabet and Shepherds Bush - Holly & Ivy Sampler

10. A lot of stitchers seem also to be readers, are you?
Julie - Most definately, an hour with a good book at the end of the day in bed is a must

11. What helps you to unwind and relax when stressed?
Julie - Calming, peaceful music and meditation.

Consider yourself tagged if you haven't been and would like to take part, i'm looking forward to seeing your answers and what questions you come up with.

x

Crochetdermy anyone?

Hello friends

The computer is home after it's hospital stay and DH says all seems well after he tested it last night, so today i can have a play and chat to you all, i really want to show you what we saw at the weekend.

Do you remember this post from way back in August 2010 when i told you about a local lady who was creating Crochetdermy for the Olympics and she would be making 3 huge lions.

They are finished and the posters have been displaying where and when they will be shown.

They were outside the Curve theatre in Leicester's cultural quarter last week and Saturday evening we went along to view them before they moved on.

They were spectacular and H...U...G...E




I was eager to know just what she had used to create them and was really pleased to see it printed on the exhibit.

So, if you want to create something like this you will need to get your supplies sorted - a 10mm hook and 36 miles of wool from 150 Derbyshire Dales sheep - anyone want to try and make something similar? Dont forget it will take you almost 2 years full time work and if you are lucky you might get awarded a lottery grant to help with the cost of it.



ROAR ......


All those circles and curves and straight lines to get exactly the cover for the polystyrene shapes and WOW Mr Lion, what big feet you have!





The wool looks so rough when you see it close up, i wonder how many blisters she got from her time spent doing this?



I was in awe of them and am so pleased i got to see them close up after following Shauna's progress since she started them. Well done Shauna, simply amazing!

You can read more about them and where they will be on show at Lionheart Project blog.

and now for something a little smaller ....

Happy Birthday Karan, here's the 'little' something i made to send to Karan for her birthday, a little covered tape measure.




I've also been very lucky this week. Linda had a giveaway on her blog and as i was the lucky winner. Postie brought me this beautiful package today. Thank you so much Linda, such a nice assortment of goodies.



The little handmade card is adorable, the verse reads ...

Buttons and patches
and the cold wind blowing
The days pass quickly
while i am sewing

I wish i could say that my days recently have passed with me sewing, but alas that would be untrue. I am having to force myself to pick up needle and thread and stitch. I've frogged out the disobedient letter 'T' and re-stitched it in the correct place and have added another letter. I'll be taking it with me to the stitch club tonight so will show you an update next time.

I'm happier with a book in my hand at the moment and have finished the Maeve Binchy one so that was taken back yesterday to the Book Borrowers and my mystery bag this week contained this book.


Look at the little wording at the bottom of the cover. A tale of barley, blackberries and some very bad behaviour... now doesn't that sound interesting LOL.

I hope you are all safe with ongoing floods that we are having in the UK and that the US folks are ok in the hotter climates you are experiencing.

Much love

x

I saw the Olympic torch!

Monday evening, July 2nd the Olympic torch relay came through Leicester. It was passing by just up the road from where DH works so we went along to see it.

Here's the moment it passed by right in front of us - not a very good pic though!

Tuesday afternoon was the Book Borrowers group and this week one lady brought along a bunch of bags that she had sewed for us.


We had decided previously that it would be a good idea for one of us to put a book into each of the bags of an author that perhaps we had not read before and on the way out we would each pick up a bag and read the book that was inside.

My bag this week contained ....


I've never read Maeve Binchy so it'll be interesting to read this. This group is growing and becomming a nice friendly place.

Thanks for all your comments about Agatha Raisin and her adventures last post. I thoroughly enjoyed that book. We had a great discussion about her yesterday with lots of laughter about her 'funny ways' and things she got up to. I think i'll have to read a few more of her tales in the future.

Stitching is going on, but only slowly. The sampler for the winner of the 'Best in Show' at our Fruit and Veg show in September is progressing.

A frog visit though as it looks like i am going to have to take out the 'T' as it's just too far to the right...gggrrrr. The letters are 2 spaces apart but i have counted 2 from the blue at the bottom of the letter 'S' instead of 2 from the top and it is way too obvious that it's wrong.

Want to see a pic of the wrongness? Yes, of course you do, lol.



3 posts in a week i can hear you all saying, whats happened to Julie and her blog. The new 'all singing and dancing' computer we had a couple of months ago has developed a problem and it's going to the computer hospital to get better. Not sure when i'll be posting a blog post again. I'll still be able to read blogs and comment but just not upload any of my pics to mine.

Thanks for stopping by to read my wafflings.

Much love

x

Summer Exchange

Yesterday was opening day for the Summer Exchange at NH.

My partner was Mary (no blog that i know of) and i chose to stitch the Jardin Prive free design Arbre du l'Eté and make a pin pillow.


I received from Clare. She made me a cake and hand delivered it to me. It came complete with the most beautiful stitched Summer cake band stitched on aida banding.


The little flowers are speciality stitches and it looks so pretty.


It's backed with greaseproof type of paper and i'll be able to use it often. Here's a pic of the full design on the band when i took it off to cut the cake. Thank you Clare, i love it!



I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend with those you love.

x