Angelic Stitches

Hello dear stitching friends!  Finally - a post from me!  I hope you have all been keeping well as the year is quickly moving along and the festive season is fast approaching.  Would you believe that there are already Christmas decorations in some stores and that gift wrap and Christmas crackers are lining the shelves?  

I have been getting some stitching done, here is my latest offering:

This beautiful angel is designed by Joan Elliot and was featured in a Cross Stitch Card Shop magazine.  She is stitched in DMC thread and gold braid on a natural 28 count evenweave and trimmed with seed beads.

She is part of a set of four and I would like to stitch a companion piece for her, but I will leave that until next year.  I will probably try to find a frame for her so that she can be on display this Christmas!

I was also the lucky winner of a great giveaway Mary over at Colorado Stitcher had a while ago - I won the latest version of the My Memories Suite Digital Scrapbooking Software.  It is going to be great fun playing with this software and processing some of my photos - hopefully I will get more scrapbooking done, but I'm sure some stitching time will be lost!  Thank you Mary for this wonderful prize!

Our Spring has been slow in arriving, with today being one of the first sunshine days of the season.  Here are some pics I took over the weekend, in between rain storms.  Our garden is slowly coming to life - here are some Inca lilies ready to open:

And guess who should be lurking behind the plants!  Lexi loves being in the garden with me, but sometimes she shows the plants too much affection and flowers and buds are lost!

Here are the first roses in bloom:

That is it for now - I have been stitching a few Christmas ornaments, but sadly no finishing has happened!  I hope to share some more stitching (and finishing) soon.

Enjoy the rest of the week and Happy Stitching!

Michelle

Some Stitching

Hello dear stitching friends!  Well, Winter has truly set in here in Cape Town, but we are fortunate to have a bright, sunshine day today and it is wonderful outside.

Here are some updates on my stitching of the past few months:

I have made some progress on the Reticella lace course that I am doing with Lee Albrecht.  I just love all the delicate patterns and the variety in the lacy designs.

Here is a little Christmas ornament that I stitched a few months ago.  I still need to do the finishing and might go with a flat finish, using the fabric pictured for the backing.

It is stitched in Madeira silks on 28 count self dyed fabric.  It was such a treat to work with silk for a change!  I also love the slightly more antique tones - especially the 'Old Gold' colour.

And now - a little bit of stash!  I came across these lovely ribbons at an outdoor craft market a few months ago.  They were sold by weight - what a great find!

Here is a better look - I have so many ideas of how to use them for finishing :)

Here is a picture of my 'baby'.  Lexi, our Bullmastiff puppy turned one year old in April!  I must say, I can see that she has grown a bit since then :)  She is so extremely spoiled and such a loving young lady (and sometimes very naughty!)

That's it for now - I will share some more stitching progress in my next post - I have been spending a lot of time on my Heaven and Earth Designs stitching, but at the moment I'm working on a few smalls.

Until next time - Happy Stitching!

Michelle

Christmas Ornament Finish

Here it is - my first Christmas ornament finish for this year!  It is a freebie and can be found at Gazette94.  The moment I saw this chart I just new I had to stitch it :)  It is stitched on 20 count Pewter Lugana in DMC and House of Embroidery Threads and finished off with a few crystals.  

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Here it is pictured on the fabric I used on the reverse side of the ornament - I just love the 'old world' snowmen.

I have already started stitching my next ornament and hope to have it finished very soon - it is one of the very popular designs from this year's Just Cross Stitch Ornament Edition.

Lexi, our puppy was kind enough to 'pose' for a photo today.  I can't believe she will be eight months old next week!

That's it for today - have a great week and Happy Stitching!
Michelle

I'm Back - With Some Finishes!

 Hallo dear stitching friends!  After a long absence I'm back in blogland again - I even have some finishes to share!  I  have been stitching some of Thea Dueck of The Victoria Sampler's beautiful Christmas pieces.  This is called 'Heirloom Christmas Sampler' and contains cross stitching, specialty stitches, beading and hemstitching.  I had the chart in my stash for years (and even started the backstitching on the tree a few years ago) and the time finally came to stitch it!

 I really enjoyed stitching this piece and just love all the detail.  It is stitched on 28ct cream Quaker Cloth in DMC stranded cotton and Perles, as well as some overdyed floss.

 Here is a pic of the entire piece - it is a bit difficult to photograph, since it is so long.

 Some close ups - I loved 'decorating' the tree :)

 This finish is called 'White Christmas' and is also by Thea Dueck.  This chart was also in my stash for years!  It is stitched on white 28ct Quaker Cloth in DMC stranded cotton, Perles and silver petite treasure braid by the Rainbow Gallery.  This piece also has cross stitching, specialty stitches,hemstitching and beading.  

Stitching these samplers inspired me to start a new Hardanger piece.  It is a runner and is designed by Mamen   of Hardanger Carpacar and is called 'Harmony'.  It is stitched white on white with DMC Perles on 28ct white Quaker cloth.  This piece is going to be absolutely stunning when it is - eventually - finished.  I plan to start stitching some Christmas ornament soon, so it will have to step aside for a few weeks.

 

And finally, I don't think I ever mentioned it, but we had to have our six year old Bullmastiff, Jenna put down, due to cancer.  We miss her every day, but on the upside - we have a new Bullmastiff puppy!  Her name is Lexi and she is a handful :)  Here is a picture of her (on our bed, if you don't mind!) - she is about seven months old now.

That's about it for now - I hope to be visiting all your lovely blogs soon.  Have a great week!

Happy Stitching,

Michelle