Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

Wow, is it really 8 months since I last updated my stitching blog!

Just because I’ve not been here, it doesn’t mean I’ve not been keeping busy with my stitching and knitting though.  My fingers have been very busy!

Back in September last year I cross stitched a few more squares to send to Nicki, to incorporate into quilts, and the theme I chose to do was Carousel Horses. 

 

 

 

 

In October I went to the Stitch Show at Alexandra palace with my cousin and came home with four kits to stitch……… mind you, 3 out of the 4 are still untouched.

The one that I have made a start on is this one, Summer Days (Anchor PCE559)

 For some time I’ve been meaning to stitch a panel to go in my Heritage Album, something to mount my dad’s medals on.

Ideally, I was thinking of some sort of frame of Poppies, but not being able to find exactly what I was looking for, I decided to go with this and adapt it.

As you can see, I’ve stitched on Black rather than the White in the kit and left off the little houses in the background.  Now I need to flip the chart and stitch it again in the other bottom corner, so this is still a work in progress. 

By now we were into 2015 and what better way to start the New Year, than with a spot of knitting.

While at the Stitch Show back in October, I also brought some wool and this book.

 

and knitted these for my God Daughter’s little girl Ava. 

 

 

 

 I was so impressed with her because she was just 17 months when I gave them to her and she already knew most of the animals and the some of the sounds they make.

I enjoyed knitting the animals so much and I had loads of wool left, so I then brought this book

and proceeded to knit this little lot.

 Puss In Boots

 

The Little Mermaid

 Goldilocks & The Three Bears

 

 Pinocchio

 

Cinderella in Rags ( I designed the pumpkin myself)

Fairy Godmother

Cinderella in Ball Gown

Prince

Courtier

 

And finally, my favourite

 

Sleeping Beauty

 here she is in her nightgown

and here she is in her day dress

but there's a secret..........

 

she a topsy-turvy doll

I even knitted her bed!

 

 

After my knit-athon it was back to the old cross stitch and a birth sampler, as my God daughter was expecting for 2^nd child.

 When she had Ava back in 2013 I stitched The Historical Sampler Company’s ‘The Toy Shop’.

Because Nichola and her sister had the same birth samplers when they were little, I suggested that she might like the same for Ava and her sister when she arrived. 

So this one is finished with the same frame and stitched on the same colour background, but I changed up the colour pallet and switched the pictures around,  so it’s the same…….but different!

 

I’ve just started on another of their family traditions, a Bucilla Felt Christmas Stocking for the new baby,  Freya, who arrived at the end of April.

I stitched my  first two stockings for Nichola and her sister Kelly back in 1981. 

Then one for Nichola’s husband Paul in 2010. 

One for their first child Ava in 2013

And now one for Freya.

 

 

I’m hoping she’s not planning on a large family, Lol!

That just about brings me up to date I think. 

I’ll try not to leave it so long before I blog again, but in the meantime……… 

Happy Stitching! 

Sue

x

My First Travelling Chart PIF

^9th September 2013

I’m more than overdue (again) with my 'stitchy' update on the projects I’ve been working on recently, so as it’s my birthday today (I’m 57, but keep that to yourself) I thought it would be a good day to do it.
 

My day started off with a spot of blog hopping and when I called in on  Meari  I had a wonderful  surprise,  I had been picked to receive this travelling cross stitch chart.

  

Isn’t it beautiful! 

 

It’s called Summer Splendor and so far it’s already been to Canada, the USA, Australia, Singapore, Taiwan, Russia, back to the USA and now it’s coming to the UK.!

 I’m so eager to get started on it when it arrives that I’ve already been on line and ordered the materials that I’ll need to complete it, so I can make a start as soon as it arrives and then send it on to another stitcher somewhere.

 

Anyway, on to the things that I've already stitched since my last update.

 Let’s start where I normally do, and that’s with the latest ‘September’ panel for my on-going calendar.

I finally finished off the ‘Toy Shop’ Birth Sampler from The Historical Sampler Company, after my Goddaughter delivered of a beautiful

baby girl.

 All I was waiting for was the birth details to add to the centre and then frame it, which is all done now.

Next up were some more squares for SOLAK. ( Stitches of Love and Kindness)
This was my WIP from last time and the last of the squares I stitched for Jack’s quilt.

did you guess it was going to be Goofy?

The next five were for Kathryn’s quilt and she had asked for cat’s dogs, and musical instruments.

 

I’ve been bad and not even picked up Celtic Autumn but after the SOLAK squares I went  on to stitch three hearts for the  Kid’s Company Heart Yard Project

 

So that’s about it until my next update but I do have a couple of WIP’s.

 

Obviously the first is Celtic Autumn which I won’t bother showing you this time, seeing as it hasn’t changed by a single stitch but the second is worth a look.

It’s not a cross stitch but an appliqué Christmas Stocking.

This is actually the forth one of these I’ve made.

The first two kits were brought in Fort Lauderdale, Florida when I was there on holiday back in 1981 and I stitched them for my two Goddaughters.  Every year they had pride of place on the mantelpiece and when the girls left home to share a flat the stockings went with them.  Next up, Nichola’s fiancée moved in and then comes the request to make one for him, which I did after ordering it on line from America a couple of years back.

They married and moved into their own home, taking their stockings with them and then Ava arrived……………I’m just preying she doesn’t have a BIG family. Lol!

This is where I’ve got to so far.

I really love doing these kits and would one day love to make one of the beautiful tree skirts but the cost is putting me off at the moment……..suppose I have to think of it as an heirloom.

So that’s most definitely it for now.

Happy Stitching!

Sue
x

 

TUSAL – July 2013

It’s time for an update on the stitching I’ve been doing over the last couple of months and there’s also a  New Moon this evening which means it’s TUSAL time too,  and time to visit Sharon’s blog,  ’It’s Daffy Cat’.

I didn’t join in with the TUSAL last month, mainly because I was away on my holidays in Spain.  I did get some stitching in though.

Here I am enjoying the sunshine, beautiful view and rather nice glass of Pimms.

 

 

For my holiday stitching I decided to make a start on the Toy Shop Birth Sampler from the Historical Sampler Company, that I planned to stitch for my Goddaughter’s first child, due at the start of August and I’m happy to report that it’s finished all but the name, weight and date of birth.

 

My ORT’s from this went into a ‘Traveling Tusal’, namely a little plastic pot that I had taken with me and were added to my jar when I got home.

 

I also managed to stitch the ‘July’ panel for the calendar but have to confess that the one for ‘June’ hasn’t been finished yet. 

It didn’t seem so important because having completely missed the June TUSAL I wanted the July one finished for today, so I’m going to try and finish it for next month and then hopefully I’ll have two to show you.

June also saw me stitching mini samplers, fourteen in all, for an ATC (Artist Trading Card) swap, to celebrate the fourth anniversary of   What’s On Your Workdesk  Wednesday.  
 

This is a group of nearing 200 crafters who as the name suggests, reveal what’s on their craft desks each  week. 
Thirteen of the little samplers were less than 2 inches square and the last one, which I put in a frame for Julia who hosts the group was around four inches square.

 So, that’s about it stitching wise.

 

I haven’t put a single stitch in Celtic Autumn in two months, but with the sampler all but finished I plan to get back to her now and possibly make a start on Angle in White, which is planned as a Christmas pressie for someone.

 

 

And last but not least I can finally show you the finished Bent Creek sampler that I was teasing you with back in May.

It’s called Bad Hare Day and I made it for a lovely lady called Jan, who made me a beautiful roll to keep all my knitting needles in.  She had no idea I was stitching it and it was just perfect for her because she has a love of Hare’s.

 

Big thanks to everyone who takes the time to stop by and leave me comments, I really appreciate it and love reading them.

Happy Stitching!

Sue