Shores Block 10 Completed!

Can you believe it - the start of another week! I'm trying to concentrate on typing this post while the Netherlands/Slovakia Round of 16 World Cup match is on - very difficult to concentrate indeed! Hope you are all still enjoying the soccer, coming to you from SA - it has certainly produced a lot of interesting results so far - South Africa, Italy, France, America, Australia, New Zealand and England have all been eliminated already!

Wow -The Netherlands just scored another beautiful goal - they are up 2-0 in the 84th minute! Apologies for the running commentary, but soccer fever has taken over the entire country. The Netherlands is also a very popular team here, since many of us have a Dutch heritage, especially in the Western Cape.

I actually have a little bit of stitching to show - I finished block 10 of Shores of Hawk Run Hollow:

I am really enjoying this piece and can't wait to move on to the next block. I am also working on some small stitchy gifts for the winners of my Blogeversary Giveaway. You can still enter the draw by leaving a comment on my previous post. You must also be a follower of my blog and remember - I will post to any where in the world!

Another soccer update - The Netherlands have just beaten Slovakia 2-1 and are through to the quarter-finals - Yeaaahh! Prepare for some more of the Orange invasion!

OK, I'll try to focus now - entries into my draw are open until the end of the month. I will draw the names on the 1st or the 2nd of the month.

Enjoy the rest of the week and Happy Stitching!

Blogeversary Giveaway Announcement! (Edited)

Hi from a cold, wet and soccer world cup crazy Cape Town! As I mentioned in my previous post my one year blog anniversary is drawing near and I am doing a giveaway to celebrate.

I am going to be giving one grand prize and two runner up prizes. Here is an approximation of the grand prize:

I will be including some hand-dyed fabric, threads, beads, ribbons, lace, buttons, needles, hand lotion and a hand made scissors fob. If I have time I also hope to add a small stitched gift. The runner up prizes will contain similar stitch related goodies, but on a smaller scale.

So here are the rules - to enter in the lucky draw for the giveaway all you have to do is be a follower and leave a comment on this post only. It does not matter if it is the first time you leave a comment on my blog - everybody is welcome to enter :) Please leave an email address where you can be reached if it is not on your profile. Entries will be open until the 30th of June.

Edit: Please note that the giveaway is open to everyone in all countries - I will post to anywhere in the world!

That's it for now! Enjoy the rest of the week and Happy Stitching!

A Small Finish and a Big Start

Yes, I actually have a small finish to show! I stitched 'Small Token' by Blackbird Designs on self-dyed 28ct evenweave in DMC threads and finished it as a pincushion. I absolutely loved stitching this piece - the colours are so lovely and look really good on the fabric. The fabric is coffee/tea dyed and was the perfect size for the stitching and the finishing :)

On to my new start - Shores of Hawk Run Hollow by Carriage House Samplings - I have been admiring this piece on many blogs for quite some time and finally decided to also give it a go! This is my favourite piece from the Hawk Run Hollow range.
Here is my start - I'm stitching it on 32ct Harvest Beige Minster Linen in DMC threads. The fabric is a lovely rich colour and seems to be reasonably close to the recommended shade. You can't see the colour accurately on my pic - it has been grey skies and storming - not great for taking accurate photos. That being said, I am extremely happy about the winter weather, especially after the extremely hot weather we had this summer!
I also noticed that I have been blogging for almost one year! When did that happen? I think this calls for a celebration, so watch this space for an announcement about a giveaway!

That's it for now! Enjoy the rest of the week and Happy Stitching!