It's DONE!!!

It's finally done!

As you may remember, I was pretty worried about the whole sewing thing for finishing Orlaith's stocking, but I decided on Sunday to bite the bullet and just go for it, and see what happened. I made the precaution of buying twice as much fabric as I needed, just in case, and with that lifeline in place, felt able to begin! After only one false start (I cut the backing fabric the wrong way round the first time!), I carefully designed a pattern, cut out the pieces one by one - the backing, the cuffs, the lining and, most alarming, the linen - pieced them all together, and, after a very deep breath and a calming cup of tea, started up the sewing machine. And it worked! And I'm so pleased! I've attached large photos, just because I'm so proud of myself. I really can't tell you how apprehensive I was about this finishing task - now I'm mainly just feeling relieved LOL!

I also started stitching my Fair & Square Round 4 squares for the wonderful Annemarie, but I know she occasionally drops in, so no sneaky preview photos - I don't want to ruin the surprise.

Oh, and I bought this year's first Christmas ornament on Saturday! H was a bit nonplussed as he was picking out a new shower screen, and all I was interested in was browsing wide-eyed in the Christmas section!

Happy Stitching!

A Quick Post

Just a quick post from me today - work is still crazy! Last night was the Snowbird SAL, so here is my progress with Paradigm Lost - it's going rather well at the moment!

I've also finished Orlaith's stocking - the stitching bit anyway. And, to answer Marne's question, Orlaith is pronounced 'Orla', the extra 'ith' is the Irish spelling. In my experience, Irish seems to use a lot of extra letters that are phonetically ambivalent - somehow they exert their influence over the pronounciation of the word, but not in a way that is necessarily apparent to native English speakers! I'm now partway through attaching the charms (but I haven't taken a photo of that yet), and I intend to get underway with the finishing this weekend. I am quite scared about this, but have had few long conversations with my mum, and we've traded a few emails (hers mainly starting out with NO DON'T DO IT THAT WAY!). But I have lots of finishing material, and frankly I can wield a seam-ripper with the best of them!

Finally, just a quick update on broadband, which will be the key to my finally having time to post regularly and also to read all your wonderful blogs regularly, which I just don't have the time to do anymore at work :( The broadband is set up, the computer is ordered and set for delivery next week, the broadband hardware is waiting for me at the post office to pick up on Saturday. All being well, we should be up and running by this time next week. Phew!

Thanks for stopping by; wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

(Am I the only one planning the tree and getting excited about hauling out the ornaments and Christmas decorations??? It's nearly December!!!)

Happy stitching!

Brrrrrrrr

The weather has really gone cold here all of a sudden - it properly feels like November now! Work's been a bit busy, and as we are still on the brink of joining the 21st century and getting broadband and a home computer (!), for the time being I'm still posting from work - which isn't always easy! Thus my silence over the last few days. Hopefully we will soon be connected at home...

I have been quite a busy stitcher - I spent quite a bit of time finish-finishing some secret stitching which I'll be able to show you over the coming weeks, but until then, I'll have to make do with some of my other project updates!

Firstly - a wonderful thank you to Michelle from the Crazy Exchange for her return gift - she made me a flat-fold in autumnal colours. Not only my very first flat-fold, but her stitching is so neat and precise. And her finishing?? Wow. There are definitely some very talented crafters over at the Crazy Exchange! She also sent me some beautiful silk floss, which I already have plans to use.

Paradigm Lost - the SAL is going really well - if you're stitching either PL or Cirque des Cercles (or have this in your 'perhaps one day' pile), do visit the SAL blog - you'll be impressed and motivated with all the lovely stitching that everyone is doing! I know I am :)

I also managed to keep going on Orlaith's Stocking, finishing the floral backstitching - you can almost see the stocking shape now, and all that is left (stitching-wise) is adding in Orlaith's name at the top, and securing all the little buttons, trinkets, beads and charms. Then it's on to the finishing. Which reminds me, I must look for some fabric to do that with!

And, finally, I had a good session on Awake the Dawning Day - I've finished the birds and the roof of the house, and am now beginning on the house itself. The most recent Loose Feathers design came through my letterbox recently, and boy am I ever looking forward to stitching that! It's called Autumn Song and is a circular box covering along with a needle-cushion. Truly wonderful!

Hope you all have had lovely weekends. Thanks for stopping by!

Happy stitching!

A Relaxing Day Off

Whoops - no time to chat today! I had a very relaxing day off yesterday to collect the car and rest up my ankle, and as a consequence am manically busy at work today! I got lots of stitching done on both Orlaith's Stocking:

...and also on Spanish Wine. It's so wonderful picking up a some of my bigger projects that have languished in the WIP pile whilst I've been finishing up Christmas stitching and exchanges! Sorry for the blurry photo.

Thanks for stopping by - sorry for the short post!

Happy stitching!

Slowly Recovering

Both the car and I are slowly recovering - thank you for your kind wishes! The car is at the 'doctor's' today, and I'm keeping my ankle up as much as possible. The swelling is slowly receding, but the colours are blooming :)

I stitched a couple of hours on Orlaith's stocking last night, but there isn't really much progres to show you, so I'll save a photo until I've completely finished the band above Santa. Then, treat of all treats, I got out Awake the Dawning Day and had a good ol' session on it - it felt really good to dig this out of the WIP pile. The last time I stitched on this was at the beginning of September - *guilt*. It was the birds I was working on last night, and the top ones are half done.

**Just had a car update - it was a loose wire, and no major repair needed - hurrah!!

Thanks all for stopping by - happy stitching!

More Progress on Santa, and 2 owies

I stitched on a little bit on Orlaith's stocking this weekend - Santa now has all his backstitch on his person completed, and is carrying his star-topped staff. This week, I'll plough on and do the swirls and moons above him - and then I'm nearly there! Now I need to start thinking about what I'm going to line and back the stocking with, and find some fabric quickly. Orlaith's birthday is the 16th December, so I'm hoping to have this stitched, finished and posted by the 10th December at the latest. It sounds like I have so much time, but I'm quaking in my socks about the finishing, so I'm hoping to steam ahead with the stitching, and leave myself plenty of time to do the rest.



The rest of the weekend, I stitched on my piece for the Cross Stitchers' Lottery. Now, I'd like to know what you all plan to do - are you going to show progress photos? So far I haven't, and I think I'm leaning towards keeping it a secret until I post the final photo on the Lottery blog - I think a surprise would be nicer - do you? So, for now, it's all on the QT.

In fact, I wasn't going to do a lot of stitching this weekend; instead I had a number of plans involving visiting friends, clearing out the garden and planting my spring bulbs, and going on a shopping trip for lots of lovely finishing bits and bobs in Reading. But two owies have prevented my doing any of that. First, I sprained my ankle in my hockey game on Saturday - I was going to post a photo, but even I was slightly taken aback by the photo H took - it really does look as if my ankle is afflicted by elephantiasis, so I think I'll just leave the swelling and beautifully emerging purple and green colour to your imagination! So Sunday was spent hobbling about and muttering 'ow, ow' constantly under my breath, but I might still have managed the shopping trip (at a very slow pace!), had not the second owie involved our poor car. After doing the shopping (rather heroically and despite being temporarily crippled! LOL!) on Saturday evening, I got back to the car, loaded in the bright orange Sainsbury's reusable shopping bags, got behind the wheel and...nothing. I immediately thought battery, but the lights and radio seemed to work, so I called the RAC, waiting a suprisingly short time (only 15 minutes!) and he eventually got the car started. Not fixed though, so that's another job for this week. But it left us rather stranded at the weekend, as I wasn't able to walk all the way to the train station, and there is no shopping to speak of in our little village! But nevermind, I can't claim to be too disappointed, since I got to stitch all weekend, and I'm really loving stitching on my secret Lottery project (tantalising you, I know!).

Well, I'm off to ring the garage now and sort out the car's owie, and I need to get my feet back up (it's difficult at my desk at work, but I'm giving it my best try!) to try and heal my ankle speedily. Thanks for dropping by!

Happy stitching!

Santa is Done!

Yes! I have finished stitching Santa! He is resplendent in pink and green (and blue and plum), and I've thoroughly enjoyed stitching him. In case you are wondering why he is holding his arm out as if he is in the middle of a fist-fight, there will be a staff in his grip, which is part of next month's stitching job. Also left to stitch are some moon and spiral motifs, some flowers, and Orlaith's name, right at the top.

And, just for a change, and because I thought it would be nice for you to see something other than Orlaith's stocking this month (!), below are photos of the return Crazy Exchange that I sent to Marne, who sent me a lovely email this morning saying that she had received it and really liked it. Isn't exchanging fun?! :)

Above: front of scissor keeper and scissor fob, Below: reverse of same

Design: L'Oiseau et la Brodeuse by Reflet de Soie, reverse of scissor keeper 'M' from an AMAP alphabet
Linen: Silkweaver 32ct (poss Periwinkle Mist - can't remember now!)
Fibre: Crescent Colours Belle Soie Silk: Ocean Tide

I'm very much looking forward to the weekend, as we're heading off to a friend's house for lovely food and tasty wine, and I get to bond with their sweet little kitten, and try (fruitlessly, I anticipate) to get H to agree that cats are nice things... LOL :)

Have a wonderful weekend, and thanks for stopping by!

Happy stitching!

More Santa

It's been a whole week since I've posted. I've been feeling quite down about work - especially about commuting, so I haven't felt too chatty recently. I'm determined to be more upbeat though, and to give serious thought to changing my job, rather than just moaning endlessly about the awful commuting I do! So, you've heard it here first - something's going to change, and the first thing is my attitude!!

Right, with that out of my system, I'll update you on how Orlaith's stocking is coming along! I managed quite a bit of stitching at the weekend, intermingled with the rugby world cup final, some wine, my hockey game, more wine, watching the 2nd disk from the latest series of 24, and more wine still. Oh, and recovering from the wine. That took a few hours LOL!

So, to Orlaith's stocking: I have nearly finished Santa's jumper, and have only the sleeve to complete - I was getting a bit worried that I was running out of the dark green colour for the jumper, but then realised that the sleeve is, in keeping with Santa's general aesthetic eclecticism, mainly pink. I had been slightly anxious that my goal of finishing Santa was going to be too much this month, but in fact I'm nearly done, with only his beard, face and hat to complete, along with his pink sleeve. In fact, I'm progressing quite nicely overall on all my goals. Now, whether this is because I set myself a manageable amount this month (for once), or whether with the colder and darker nights I'm spending more time on my stitching sofa, I'm not really sure!

I came in to work this morning to find an email from Dani - I'm officially a member of the Snowbird SAL Dani and Kathy have set up for people stitching either Paradigm Lost or Cirque des Cercles starting 1st November! Hurrah! As you may remember, I'm stitching PL already, although I've not picked it up in 6 or 8 weeks, so I'm a little ahead of the game, but it will be wonderful to stitch it along with everyone else and have their progress spur me on - I admit that although I've been busy with Christmas stitching recently, I have been avoiding PL just because I'm feeling the teensiest bit overwhelmed by it at the moment. But that will all change come November! I think that Dani is still accepting members if you're interested, especially for PL stitchers as I think CdC has us fairly comprehensively outnumbered!

Happy stitching!

Eccentric Dress Sense

I'm progressing well with Santa on Orlaith's stocking - his dress sense isn't improving any though LOL! His navy and pink/plum check trousers are completed, and now I'm on to his green jumper. The jumper is large (well, it would be given the size of Santa's belly!) so I may need to get some more green before I reach the end of it :)

Other than Santa's attire, I managed to finish a Crazy Exchange, so that will be out in the post in the next few days, and hopefully photos soon! I also finished my return Crazy Exchange for Marne, so I'll post photos when she gets that.

And we've had good news: Royal Mail and its union(s?) have reached an agreement, so no more strikes, hurrah! Post as normal from here on in, what a treat!

Hope you all had wonderful weekends, and thanks for stopping by.

Happy stitching!

Santa's Growing

Another rainy, cold, dreary evening in the UK equals more progress on Santa! His stripe-y socks are now done, and I'm on to his check trousers - although the pink is a bit difficult to see in the photo. It will soon be joined by navy checks and plum dots (Santa has a very loud dress sense it seems LOL), so will soon show up better.

I also managed to do a little bit of secret stitching last night, so I'm just about on track with my goals for this month :) Only one more day to go before the very irritating Royal Mail strike is finished with (although only temporarily, I gather), so I should be not only receiving post on Thursday, but also will be able to post off a couple of exchanges which are sitting in my stitching room (aka H's office) waiting to go!

Happy stitching all and thanks for dropping by!

Helllooooo

I feel like the white rabbit from Alice in Wonderland - I'm very late. And not only for an important date, but for all sorts of things; maybe even for everything. And if I could even remember half of what I'm late for, I'd probably faint dead away. Why has life suddenly gotten so busy??

But enough panic; I'll put rhetorical questions aside for the moment, and instead tell you that I've finished my Fair and Square squares! I haven't posted them yet as there's still a postal strike here in the UK - yes, again, still - so I want to wait until the backlog has cleared a bit before posting these just in case they get lost. So no photos yet, but imminently. I also finished my return Crazy Exchange gift for Marne, but again waiting for the strike to finish before posting. Postal strikes aren't fun. I really dislike them. Just for the record.

But I do have a photo I can show you of Orlaith's stocking! I finished the bottom third last month, so this month's task is to finish the central motif - Santa! I know I had a little blast earlier about Christmas being in the shops already, but surely Christmas stitching is allowed??? I feel it's a very different thing LOL :)



So here is my progress with the stocking so far: Santa's skate and part of his stripe-y socks. I'm not particularly looking forward to finishing this - my sewing skills are nascent at best, but I'm pinning my hopes on my wonderful mother to help me, despite the fact that she is more than 4,000 miles away...

Happy stitching and thanks for dropping by!

Even More Secret Stitching Revealed!

Willeke let me know that she safely received the second of my PIF Promises last week. Leena inspired me to try a heart-shaped pinkeep, so with the help of her instructions here, I was able to finish this Tournicoton freebie called 'Coeur Printemps' as a heart pinkeep - my very first heart-shaped one! Leena's instructions were excellent, and her tip about the tracing paper was inspired. I painted the pins to match with nail varnish to match the threads, and Willeke tells me she is delighted with it, so I think that can be chalked up as a success! I also stitched Willeke a small biscornu scissor fob, this one a freebie design from Periphaeria Designs. Can you tell that Willeke likes hearts??!

Front view and back view of Willeke's PIF: Tournicoton freebie 'Coeur Printemps' stitched on 36-count Lakeside Vintage Exemplar using Carrie's Creations, DMC and Crescent Colours threads, finished as heart-shaped pinkeep. Periphaeria Designs freebie 'Ring o' Hearts' stitched on 36-count Lakeside Linens Vintage Exemplar using Carrie's Creation thread and finished as a small scissor fob biscornu. Please ignore dusty windowsill!!

Phew - that's now most of my recent secret stitching revealed, only a little more to go...

I also had some time this weekend to devote to Orlaith's stocking, and have even managed to stitch the first 1/3 of it as I had tasked myself to do - hurrah! Next month's 1/3 is the Santa which covers the main part of the sock - I'm looking forward to stitching it, as it means that Christmas is not far off! That said, I was horrified to find selection boxes (translation for non-Europeans - large boxes of chocolate put together by the major chocolate manufacturers and featuring their best selling chocolate bars, only available at Christmas and often decorated (the boxes, not the chocolate) with santas, mistletoe, holly, reindeer, etc) in the shops 10 days ago. The kids have barely gone back to school, and already there is Christmas gear coming into the shops??? At least in Canada (and I presume in America too) you get Hallowe'en and Thanksgiving before you really get stuck into Christmas!

Happy stitching all and thanks for stopping by!

My First Stocking

I spent this weekend doing quite a bit of secret stitching (it gets boring, me telling you that doesn't ?!). I'm hoping to get it in the post today, so hopefully there will be photos revealed soon...

I also started my very first stocking! I'm hoping a September start will be in time for our niece's birthday, which is the week before Christmas. I don't think that H's side of the family know about my blog, so think it's entirely safe to post pictures here. I've chosen a Shepherd's Bush stocking, called 'Robert's Stocking' because it has a nice big jolly santa, and some reindeer, which feels quite festive. I'm stitching it on 20-count raw linen and using DMC Perle #5 threads. It's certainly easy to see after much recent stitching on 36-count fabric! I feel I'm going to be in at the deep end with the finishing, but I'm hoping a few in-depth conversations with my very talented sewer-mum will set me on the right path. At least it will give me an opportunity to use my new sewing machine :) Here is my start (I've started at the very bottom, as it was the widest part of the design).

Hope you all had wonderfull weekends, and are feeling fully recharged for the week ahead!

Happy stitching!