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

A HUGE Finish!

Hello stitching friends!  Well, I have not been blogging, but I have been stitching!  I have finally finished my Historic Countries Sampler from The Gift of Stitching Magazine!  After getting very far with it last year it was packed away and 'resting' until I suddenly decided that I wanted to finish it this year.  It was great fun to stitch and I am very happy with the result:

It is a bit difficult to photograph the entire piece due to the size (this really is a biggie!), so here are a few closer shots:

It is stitched on 28ct antique white Jubilee with the recommended DMC threads.  This is a big one off my ever growing WIP list!

I have also been stitching a few smaller designs and am currently working on an Angel by Joan Elliot, but more on that in the next post.

It seems that Spring is finally arriving - we have had a few sunshine days, but nights are still bitterly cold.  It was a very long, cold and wet winter and it is so good to finally see the sun again!

That's it for now.

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

My Internet lives again!

Hello Blogging friends!  Oh my, I have been longing to do a post, but we have had such trouble with our internet connection, but it all seems to be sorted out for now.

I have been doing a lot of stitching and will show progress pics over the next few weeks, but firstly I want to show you the wonderful prize I received.  I won Lee Albrecht's Christmas draw at the end of last year and a few months ago the package arrived.  It was so much fun to receive a brown paper package!

Here is a look at the goodies inside.  A lovely magazine containing some Reticella work, postcards, Perle cotton, a Brazilian pin and some wonderfull organic soap!

Here is a close up of the small kits, they are so sweet and I absolutely love the Matrioska thread keep!

The main prize was this wonderful Hardanger Christmas Stocking kit - it is so beautiful!  Lee also included a calender, containing beautiful pictures of her work and kits.

The students from Lee's embroidery school also wanted to get involved in sending some gifts and I was lucky enough to receive this lovely package from Larissa.  She included a card, stunning dog print fabrics, sweet treats and some other goodies.

Look at this cute fabric - I love it!

This piece of fabric is also great and I love those buttons - she must know how much I love dogs!

Thank you so much to Lee and Larissa!  I appreciate these beautiful, thoughtful gifts so very much!

I have a lot of catching up to do on blogs and will also post some of my stitching updates soon.

Happy Stitching!

Michelle

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

A Finish and a Start

Hello stitching friends!  I had such fun stitching and finishing this little pillow.  This sweet design is by Atelier Soed Idee and was featured in Das Stickcafe Magazin, which is currently a free download :)  I love Atelier Soed Idee's designs and this was just in time for some Valentine's Day stitching. 

It is stitched on 28 ct white evenweave in Nina's threads in a shade called 'Old Berry'.  It is finished with some beautiful patchwork fabric and trimmed with lace and buttons.

I also started a course in Reticella lace with Lee Albrecht recently.  I have been wanting to learn this technique for a long time and it is such a privilege to be part of the group learning this beautiful art form. Here is my first block all done:

That's my stitching update for now!  I am planning to finish the block of Shores of Hawk Run Hollow that I am working on soon, but my fingers are also itching to stitch another ornament!  (Not to mention how keen I am to work on Train of Dreams!)

Enjoy what is left of the week and have a great weekend!

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

Stitching Goals and Gifts Sent and Received

Can you believe that we are already ten days into the new year?  This year, for the first time I have decided to set some (hopefully obtainable!) stitching goals for myself.  The first goal being to stitch more Christmas ornaments - at least one a month.  Here is my ornament for January:

It is a 'Treasure Christmas Pincushion' by MTV Designs and was featured in the November 2008 issue of The Gift of Stitching Magazine.

It is stitched on 28 count evenweave fabric in DMC stranded cotton and House of Embroidery threads and trimmed with gold seed beads.  What a fun stitch!

Some of my other stitching goals include finishing at least a few blocks on my Shores of Hawk Run Hollow start and to completely finish the huge Historic Countries Sampler from The Gift of Stitching Magazine.  I am also going to try to restrict my amount of new starts until a few WIPs are done.  That being said - there are some new starts in the pipeline, but I will tell you more next time!

I sent out a few gifts to some blogging friends over the Holiday season and am happy to report that all gifts were received in good order.  This little package went to Edit - I love the little Winter Wonderland cushion and might even make one for myself  this year!

This package went to Annie - I am definitely enjoying pincushion finishes at the moment!

This gift went to Babs, along with an extra scissors fob for her mom.  I was lucky enough to receive some of the lovely Belgian Lace that her mom makes in a giveaway some time ago.

Here is a close up of the hand made gift goodies:

I also sent a gift to Lee in Brazil:

Here is a closeup of some of the contents of the package.  Lee collects thimbles and I found this cute little fellow in a local antique store - perfect for a Christmas package!  I made the fob, biscornu and scissors/needle book for her - all in pink!

I was also lucky enough to receive a lovely Christmas package from Edit.  I absolutely love the fabrics and can't wait to use them for some finishings!   I also love the ornament - it was on my 'to do' list and now I have one.  Thank you for the great gift Edit!

That is it for now!

Until next time - Happy Stitching!

Michelle