A Stitchy Update

Oh my - I cannot believe that it has been more than a month since my last update!  Fortunately I have some stitching to show :)  

I finished this block on Shores of Hawk Run Hollow by Carriage House Samplings.  The whale and background took really long, but I'm glad that the block is finished!

I also started another block on SoHRH - this is the bottom left hand corner and is stitching up much faster than the previous block.  I love how it's turning out - the colours are so striking on the Harvest Beige linen and is even more beautiful in person.

Here is how the entire piece is looking at the moment:

In keeping with my stitching goals for the year I stitched (and finished) a Christmas ornament in February.  This lovely bauble is a freebie by Kissy-Cross.  She has some beautiful freebies - I even have another one of her charts printed out to stitch some time soon :)  I finished this piece as a hanging ornament, trimmed with a little golden bow and backed with green polka dot fabric.

This beautiful piece was stitched by my mom and is called 'Outside my Window' and was featured in the 2005 Just Cross Stitch Ornament issue.  I absolutely love this piece - the snowy crystals and the Gingham bow finishes it off beautifully and it is backed with the pictured blue 'Crackle' fabric by Moda.  (I love the Moda Crackle fabrics - they are great for finishing!)

Michele over at Heaven and Earth Designs had a HUGE leap year sale which led to me acquiring a new chart!  This is Alice in Clockwork and is a Quick Stitch piece by Jasmine Becket-Griffith.  Naturally, I had to start it immediately and it is such fun to stitch!  I love this piece and can't wait to make some serious progress on it :)

As I have mentioned before, I am part of a very lucky group of ladies currently learning the Reticella lace technique through Lee Albrecht's embroidery school.  To thank Lee for her generosity I sent her a package of goodies to use in creating some more beautiful embroidery pieces.

I sent the gift in this lovely biscuit tin:

This is what it looks like when you take the lid off :)

I included some DMC Perle threads in numbers 8 and 12, as well as some linen fabrics, suited to Reticella and Hardanger techniques.  I also included three pieces of patchwork fabric.

I LOVE this card - it is such a beautiful and idyllic scene - I wish I had all those beautiful flowers growing in my garden :)

That is it for now - I have some serious catching up to do on all your beautiful blogs.

Have a great weekend and Happy Stitching!

Michelle

Stitching, Gifts and Stash

Hello dear stitching friends from a hot, hot Cape Town!  I have stitched and finished another Christmas ornament, making it two ornaments this month!  This cute design is by The Prairie Schooler and is featured in the November 2009 issue of The Gift of Stitching Magazine.  I absolutely love Prairie Schooler designs!

 He is stitched on 28 ct evenweave in DMC threads and finished as a mounted hanging ornament.

I have also been stitching on the Shores of Hawk Run Hollow by Carriage House Samplings - it is one of my stitching goals this year to complete at least a few of the blocks on this piece.  That whale is a big fellow and it is taking a long time to fill in the sea background.  I am stitching it on 32 ct Harvest Beige Minster Linen in DMC threads.  (The colour of the fabric isn't completely accurate on the photo - it is actually a very rich colour and the threads look great on it.)

I have also been inspired to work on Train of Dreams by Heaven and Earth Designs.  It is wonderful to see this beautiful picture emerge, but there is so much more stitching to do!

Last week I went to my favourite quilt shop and bought some fabrics, mainly for finishing, but who knows what use I might find for them!

Carol had her birthday earlier this month, so I sent her a little gift:

Her favourite colour is blue - easy for me to remember, since my favourite colour is also blue - so I put a 'blueish' gift together, including a pinkeep, scissors fob, ribbon, thread, fabrics and a chocolate.

The pinkeep is stitched in House of  Embroidery stranded cotton in a shade called Iris.  The design is taken from Elizabethan Cross Stitch by Barbara Hammet - it is one of my favourite stitching books of all time!

I was also so excited to receive this lovely Valentine's gift from dear Annie last week.  Now I have another scissors to add to my collection - it even came complete with its own pouch!  I also love that beautiful Valentine's coaster! Thank you for the wonderful surprise Annie!

That's about all for now - until next time, Happy Stitching!

Michelle

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!

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!