A huge prize received!

Hi everyone! I was lucky enough to win the first prize in Babs' wonderful giveaway. The package arrived this week, and wow, what a great prize it is! Thank you so much Babs!

Here is a pic of all the goodies:

Here are some close up pics:

Babs included a lovely edition of Cross Stitch Gold and two Dutch magazines.
A DMC chart with charms, a chart by Diane Williams and some beautiful 3D stitching books for card making.
I was so thrilled with this - hand dyed threads by Nina, as well as some DMC threads and a spool of Kreinik. I have been admiring Nina's threads for a long time and I am so happy to finally have my hands on some of them! (Babs, the colours you selected are so lovely.)
Look at all these lovely goodies, some charms, ric-rac, very luxurious hand cream and a hand made fob!
Lastly (and this could really be a prize on its own) not one, but two pieces of hand made Belgian lace. This lace is designed by Babs and made by her mother. You can have a look at her other beautiful creations on her blog: Madammeke Ongeduld.

This first piece is the Princess lace:
Here is a close up:
This piece is the Brussels lace:
Here is a close up:
Thank you so much Babs - I really appreciate this stunning gift. Thank you also to your mom for all her beautiful work!

Well, that's it for now. Hope to have pics of a small finish and my new start in the week.

Have a great week and Happy Stitching!

A few stitching and craft related pics

Another two weeks have gone by since my last post - I can hardly believe it! I haven't been doing a lot of stitching these past few weeks, but here are some stitchy, crafty pics to share.

Aren't these cupcake chocolates too cute? They were the craze around here this Mother's day - I gave some to my mom, but insisted on taking some pics before they could be eaten :) They had a soft chocolate centre.

These cuties where purchased at a different store - can you see the theme here? They had a strawberry filling! I think I should try to reproduce these in Fimo at some stage :)
A few weeks ago Annie showed an Altoid tin that she covered with some of her lovely stitching and I mentioned that we don't get Altoids over here. So, what did Annie do? She sent me two tins of these 'curiously strong mints'. Thank you so much Annie - I'll be on the lookout for something to stitch to cover them! At the moment I'm enjoying the mints, especially the Wintergreen flavour.

I coloured some fabrics a few weeks ago - pink, green, blue and some blue-green. I'm not sure what they will be used for yet :) The colours don't show up so well in the photo - the colours are actually a bit deeper that in the pic.

I also tried to 'variegate' some of the fabrics - this one is green and pink - it should be fun to stitch on. (Once again, the colours are more intense in person than on the photo)
I also coloured some of this dark natural colour - I absolutely love this shade - I am currently using a similar piece for Feather Fairy.
Lastly, a little bit of stitching! I stitched this little Celtic knot design a few weeks ago and still need to finish it into a pinkeep. I will probably use the fabric in the background to finish it - it matches very well with the yellow-golds in the stitched piece.
I am working on another small design at the moment and hope to share it soon.

As you might have noticed, all my stitching plans and goals are deteriorating, so I am contemplating an evil plan. You know the kind - when your stitching mojo/momentum is lost - there is only one thing to do. A new start! I am seriously contemplating a new (big) start of a piece that I have been admiring on a few blogs over the last couple of months. Maybe now is the time to get it started - will keep you posted:)

Enjoy the rest of the week and Happy Stitching!

I am still here!

Hi Everyone! I have been missing in action for a few weeks - my Grandfather has been ill in hospital. He is 84 years old, but very healthy, so it was a bit of a shock. The good news is that he is home now and doing much better. We also have family visiting at the moment.

I have hardly stitched in three weeks and have not had time to visit all your lovely blogs :( Things are slowly returning to normal, so I'll be back to checking blogs, commenting and stitching soon!

Here are some pics of the last piece I worked on. It is the Hardanger pillow kit that Lee sent me.

I have done the pulled thread work, so now it comes to the cutting and weaving. I have decided to put the piece on hold for a while - I like to do all the cutting and weaving at one time for the tension to be the same, so it will have to wait for a while.

Here is a close up of one of the corners:
That's it for now - hope to have some more stitching to show soon. Enjoy the rest of the week and Happy Stitching!

Mini Pincushion Finish

Hi from a somewhat cooler Cape Town! Yes, our temperatures have finally started to drop - great news for heat-hating me!

To top that, I actually have a small finish to share. This design is part of the "Stitching Treasures Needlework Set" by Deborah Thorpe in The Gift of Stitching Magazine.

It is supposed to be a scissors fob, but it is a bit to big (it is stitched on 28ct evenweave and they recommend a 32ct), so I finished it as a little pincushion instead. The set also has a needle book and a sweet bag, which I would love to make in the near future. I'll also use one of the small motifs to make a matching scissors fob.

Here is my progress on the Hardanger pillow by Lee Albrecht:

I have finished the cross stitching on it, now it is on to the pulled thread work.

I have another small lined up - the quick finishes are such fun!

Enjoy the rest of the week and Happy Stitching!

Ink Circles Progress and Hardanger SAL

The start of a new week...again! I stitched one of the big "fishtail" corners of Book of Ink Circles by Ink Circles this week. It is my favourite block on this piece so far and was divine to stitch. I am hoping to do another small block or part of the border this month in order to keep up with my goal of finishing this piece this year.

Here is the third part of the Hardanger SAL by Mamen:
The fourth part of the SAL is already due again by the end of the week!

I think I should try to stitch and finish a small before then, so that I can at least have a finish to show. (I often find it "depressing" when you only stitch on big pieces that are nowhere near finished. A small finish always helps to boost morale and makes you eager to get back to those big pieces!)

I have my eye on a pretty little scissors fob, but I will keep you posted!

Hope you have a great week with lots of stitching time!

A Lot of Hardanger

Oh my, I am such a bad blogger - I can't believe it's been almost two weeks since my last posting!

I have been (mostly) working on Hardanger the past two weeks. Here is part two of Mamen's SAL, stitched in ecru and blue-grey.

When this SAL is done it will be finished into a lovely bag like this:
I have also started on the Hardanger Pillow kit that Lee sent me. I have done all the Kloster blocks and started on the cross stitching.

Here is a closer view of the centre design:

Since I have not been doing such a lot of stitching I thought I would share some stitching that I did at school. I made this Candlewick pillow when I was twelve years old. We had to do it as a project for needlework class and it was supposed to be our project for the semester.

Of course, already loving to stitch at that age, I finished it within a week! My teacher didn't know what to do with me for the rest of the semester, so my mom had the idea of making an entire bedspread out of various blocks like these. The bedspread is packed away at the moment, so I will share some pics of that at a later stage.
Here is a close up of one of the hundreds (really something like five hundred!) Bullion roses on the project.
Here is a close up of the cotton lace and satin ribbon on the edges of the pillow. The lace and ribbon are repeated on the bedspread.
Well, it's a four day weekend here - I have a lot to do at home and hope to get some serious stitching done!

I hope you all have a good weekend and a Happy Easter!

Two Blog Awards!

What an amazing way to start a long weekend - I have received two blog awards!

The first one is this Beautiful Blogger Award, given to me by Cath (Stitching Chicken) and Vinniey (Sometimes I Stitch).
Thank you so much Cath and Vinniey!

Here are the rules of this award:

1) Thank the person who gave it to you

2) Paste the award on your blog

3) Link to the person who gave you the award

4) List 10 interesting things about yourself

5) Pass the award on to 10 blogs and link to them

Here are the 10 things about me:

1) I'm left handed

2) My boyfriend and I have been together for 10 years - we were in the same science class in high school. He is Dutch.

3) I am currently working on my third degree in Medical Science and plan to start work on my PhD next year.

4) I'm of Dutch, German and Italian descent and my home language is Afrikaans, which is derived from Dutch.

5) I am a huge Sci-fi and Fantasy fan. I'm a Star Trek nut job and I enjoy many other sci-fi series. (Stargate Universe starts again next month - yeah!)

6) I have lived in the same house all my life.

7) I did Ballet for 14 years.

8) At work I am privileged enough to work with people from many countries, including South Africa, Switzerland, Canada, Germany, Austria, The Netherlands, Australia, The Gambia and Cameroon. We also have collaborations with laboratories in the US, The Netherlands, Norway and France.

9) I enjoy a variety of music, including classical, Gregorian chants, pop, hip hop and lots more. My favourite band is the Black Eyed Peas.

10) I have visited New York twice to visit family and spent a lovely white Christmas there once. They have since moved to California.

Here are the Blogs that I nominate for this award:

1) Edit (Fuggosegeim)

2) Manka (Little Rose Cottage)

3) Lee (Flores no Jardim)

4) Karen (Karen's Handiwork)

5) Olga (Olenka's Stitches Blog)

6) Jackie (Scattered Threads)

7) Ulla (Stickzeit)

8) Margit (Margit's kleines SchokiStubchen in der Blogwelt)

9) The Shabby Stitcher

10) Lonneke (Life with Skipper)

The other award I received is the Sunshine Award and was given to me by Jackie (Scattered Threads).

Thank you so much Jackie - I really appreciate it!

Here are the rules for this award:

1) Put the logo on your blog or within your post

2) Pass the award to 12 bloggers

3) Link the nominees within your post

4) Let them know they received this award by commenting on their blog

5) Share the love and link to the person from whom you received the award

Here are the 12 blogs that I nominate for this award:

1) Cath (The Stitchin' Chicken)

2) Vinniey (Sometimes I Stitch)

3) Babs (Borduurmeisje)

4) Carol (Stitching Dreams)

5) Dani (Black Belt Stitching Wizard)

6) Annie (Annie Bebop's Coloring Book)

7) Barbi (Blissfully Stitching)

8) Sharon (It's DaffyCat)

9) Michelle (Michelle's StitchCraft Place)

10) MBroider

11) Blu (Therapy by Thread)

12) Tatkis (Mouse House)

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

A Lot to Share!

For a change I have a lot to share! Firstly, here is one of my new starts: It is Feather Fairy by Nora Corbett. I know - it looks really weird with the leg sticking out like that, but I always start at the bottom and the foot was the best starting point for me. (Had I known she would look so dismembered and unbalanced I would have started with the skirt!)
I just love Mirabilia designs - actually I have a little, OK a big problem! I have started a few Mirabilia's before, but I have never finished one! Here is an example:

It is The Kiss and is absolutely gorgeous! I started this about 10 years ago, but never managed to make good progress on it - I hope I will do better with Feather Fairy!

Here is a close up of some of the metallic on The Kiss:

My other start is a Hardanger SAL by Mamen. The end product will be a beautiful bag.

Here is my start on it - I am making two, the Ecru one is for myself and the blue/grey one is for my mom. The pieces for the SAL only come out every second week, so there is enough time to work on other projects.

Since I have two new starts, I decided to make up for my wicked ways by also working on one of my WIPs. This is Book of Ink Circles by Tracey Horner from Ink Circles.

The plan is to finish one block/section each month. My goal is to finish the piece by the end of the year. For this month I have already completed the top, middle block - I still need to fill in the green knot design.

Last, but certainly not least - I received this lovely postcard from Edit. It is detail from the Lion Courtyard at the Alhambra - she sent it to me because I stitched Girl from Alhambra by The Solaria Gallery recently.

Thank you Edit - it is a beautiful postcard and interesting!

Well, that is enough from me for one post. Enjoy the rest of the week and Happy Stitching!

A Finish and a Few Fobs

Hi from a still sweltering Cape Town! Yes, I am still complaining about the heat - it is over 40 degrees Celsius today and has been like that the entire weekend - hopefully it will 'break' soon - there is a massive thunderstorm predicted for this evening.

Here is a small finish I had recently - it is a Primitive Emery by Nicoletta Farruato of Niky's Creations and was featured in the February edition of The Gift of Stitching Magazine. I stitched it on self-dyed 28ct evenweave in the recommended DMC thread. The leaves are made from patchwork fabric and attached with blanket stitch. The blanket stitch is worked 'unevenly' to give a more rustic look. I just love this little piece!
I have been looking for a scissors fob, but there is not much available locally and I couldn't find the colours or combinations of beads that I was looking for online, so what to do? Of course I made some of my own! Here is the first one I made - I love the Jade/Blue tones.

I also made a few other combinations. The round beads on the Rose colour fobs are exquisite hand crafted glass beads with a foil effect and embossed pattern - they are so gorgeous - they each have a unique pattern!

If you are interested in any of these fobs please pop over to my sales blog - there is also a link in the right-hand panel of this blog or send me an email.

I also have a new start, actually two :) I will post about them soon - in my defense - the one is a SAL that only comes out every second week. Enjoy the rest of the week and Happy Stitching!

A Beautiful Gift from Brazil!

I have been so lucky lately - I have received another wonderful stitching gift! Lee Albrecht from Flores no Jardim sent me a package containing two of her beautiful kits. Lee has an embroidery school in Brazil and specializes in Hardanger embroidery and also combines cross stitching with some of her Hardanger designs.

I regularly visit her blog to admire the lovely work of her and her students (wishing I had more time to do some Hardanger embroidery again!) - this year she decided to send a kit to a different country every month and I was chosen for February!
This is the kit I selected, it combines cross stitch and Hardanger to create a stunning rose accented pillow. The kit contains chart, fabric and all the threads.

She also included this Hardanger kit - it is her basic course in Hardanger and contains a full set of instructions, fabric and threads.

You can have a look on her blog for more of her beautiful designs. Thanks again Lee - I will definitely enjoy stitching these lovely pieces!

Furthermore, it is still sweltering here - temperatures of over 30 degrees Celsius predicted for the next two weeks and they are already saying it will probably persist for the next month! To top it all off, I woke up with a sore throat today!

Enjoy the rest of the week - I have a small finish that I will share soon :)

Happy Stitching!

A Big Finish!

I finished Girl from Alhambra by the Solaria Gallery this weekend! I really enjoyed stitching this piece - it is so well charted and the colours are so beautiful.
Now, what to do next? I know I should take out one of my WIPs, but I don't think I'll be able to resist a new start! There are so many things in my stash that want attention :)

It has been absolutely sweltering here over the past week - temperatures are over 30 degrees Celsius, actually closer to 40 degrees Celsius some days (it was 42 degrees Celsius/ 108 Fahrenheit on Saturday afternoon)! The night temperatures also stay well in the twenties, so guess who is hardly sleeping at the moment! Autumn (and Winter) can't come soon enough for me.

Enjoy the rest of the week and Happy Stitching!

A Prize Arrives!

Yes, I actually won something! I was lucky enough to be a winner in one of Jolene's lucky draws. The prize was one of ten grab bags, containing ten charts each. This is my first win and the prize arrived yesterday :)

Here is the entire content of the package:
Here are some of the charts that you can't see in the other pic...

And a few more that you can't see in the first pic...

Jolene was also generous enough to include a chocolate and a card - that card is so beautiful, it looks good enough to eat! Thanks Jolene!

I hope to have a progress pic for "Girl from Alhambra" soon. My progress on her has not been as fast as I had hoped, but she is getting there - I should have a big finish in the not too distant future!

Enjoy the rest of the week!

Valentine Finish

I stitched this Valentine Freebie by Primitivebettys this week and finished it into a pincushion. I first saw this design on Mylene's blog and thought - "now there's a must stitch".

It is stitched in DMC 777 and 3799 on self-dyed fabric.
The red border around the design is worked in chain stitch - I wanted some more red around it to "frame" the design. I am so happy with the way it turned out :)

Now it is back to Girl from Alhambra - I can't wait for that big finish!

Enjoy the rest of the week and Happy Stitching!