Progress & New Start!

My stitching week didn't go quite as planned last week. Unfortunately my diabetes seemed to knock me for six and left my absolutely shattered most evenings so I only stitched a little most nights, forcing myself to at least put a few stitches in.

Monday and Friday night is L*K Lovers SAL night. I carried on working on ABC Halloween.



Tuesday and Thursday evening I stitched on CCN A Bee C Sampler. I hate the material I am stitching this on. It is good old 16 ct aida but it is really rough.



Saturday morning after sitting at the computer for a small time I got up from the chair and hurt my back. Nothing too serious but I decided the best thing to do was to rest it as it was quite painful. So for all of Saturday and all of Sunday I stitched on my new start, Vervaco Pink Flapper with Red Rose. The frogs paid a little visit and I have done some unpicking but am really pleased with my progress but it is not something that will happen often. I have somelovely aida for this, I am not sure if you can see but it is has pink roses printed on it.



This is what it will hopefully look like when I finished it.



On Wednesday, as I had my partner's name in the Rotating Designer Exchange, I was looking through Prarie Schooler patterns trying to decide what to stitch. I think I have decided and will probably start stitching it sooner rather than later.

Until next time, happy stitching

Lesleyanne xxx

New Rotation!

I always said I would never stitch different designs on different days. I couldn't understand how stitchers ever made any progress. That was until I wanted to stitch everything and Lizzie Kate Lovers blog had an SAL. So I now have a new rotation. I couldn't stick to being a one at a time girl although I tried lol. I get bored easily and there are soooo many things I want to stitch. So Monday and Friday nights it is Lizzie Kate night. Here is my progress for last week. This is ABC Halloween that I received as part of my giveaway from Danielle. Danielle started it but didn't enjoy it. She stitched upto the moon and I have stitched from "b". I have to say I am really enjoying this.



Tuesday and Thursday nights are LHN/CCN designs. I started CCN A Bee C Sampler and this is how I have got on with this.



Saturday and Sundays are reserved for Vervaco or Lanarte. I did start a Vervaco I brought off the bay of evil. After stitching on it for two weekends and it bearing no resembleance to the chart I gave up. Lesson learnt! I will start a new one this weekend. I have a freebie chart from http://pauchok.ucoz.ru/ that I am thinking of doing next. I won't be stitching the black or using black aida. I am thinking of using sparkly fabric but haven't actually decided yet. Let me know what you think!



Wednesday night is exercise night so don't tend to get a lot of time to stitch especially when the boys are at school. So Wednesday is going to be my finishing day or putting threads on to bobbins day - you get the picture. While the boys are off school I am going to stitch on the baby samplers so will show a picture next week as the girl one is nearly finished except for the vital information which I will have once she is born.

I am quite excited as I have joined the Rotating Designer Exchange, http://rotatingdesignerexchange.blogspot.com/, that Angela, http://hookedonstitches.blogspot.com/, has organised. The first designer is Prarie Schooler and if you want to join you will have to sign up today as Angela is closing them later on today. I have never done an exchange before, it is a stitched piece only, so any hints and tips you have would be greatly received.

I am very late in saying thank you to Becs, Cath and Sarah for the stylist blogger award they have each given me. It is very much appreciated. I am taking the easy way out and giving it to all those that leave me a comment and I will try to think of seven things about me ready for my next post.

Thank you for reading my waffle and for those that leave comments know that I really appreciate them. If you have got to the end you've done well.

Until next time, happy stitching

Lesleyanne xxx

Gift / Tusal

I had a lovely package from my stitching sister, Angela, yesterday. She sent L*K Life's a Beach finished as a pinkeep, some fabric, buttons, needles, matt board and batting so that I can have a go at finishing. Thank you Angela I love it all.

A close up of the pinkeep.

The backing fabric of the pinkeep.

Next up my orts jar for the second full moon of July. Mostly threads from the baby sampler I have been stitching. I have just over one block to do but have run out of thread and am waiting for my husband to go to the shop next door where he works to get it for me. I'll show a picture next time.



Monday night was Lizzie*Kate night and I finished up Santa wants to Know. I really enjoyed this one and am hoping to finish it into a cube - just have to get some backing fabric on Tuesday when I go into town. Wish me luck I am going to need it.



While I wait for my thread I am going to have a new start, Country Cottage Needleworks A Bee C Sampler, as it is calling me lol.

Until next time, happy stitching

Lesleyanne xxx

New Start / IHSW

I want to thank those of you who left words of encourgement on Sweet Dreams Baby. Unfortunately I think I left it too late. I spoke to my Mum that day telling her how much I was hating stitching it although I didn't know why. She said as it was a gift and if I really hated it that much to stop stitching it. She suggested I stitch the baby sampler I stitched for my other nephew's babies and so I started this sampler on Friday night after trying a couple more times to get into Sweet Dreams Baby. I stitched on it the whole weekend making the most of International Hermit and Stitch weekend organised by Joysze at http://joysze.blogspot.com. I have really enjoyed my stitching this week after several weeks of being quite unmotivated by it. I have never spent so much time going through my patterns as I did these last couple of weeks.

This is my new start from the Cross Stitcher magazine, July 2008, designed by Helen Philipps.

Hopefully when finished it will look something like this. A work colleague will make it into a cushion so that it can be easily transported to my nephew in Ireland when his baby is born, due end of August. I will be stitching a blue version for my new great nephew, Robert, who was born in June and it will be given to him for Christmas as I have done for the other babies born to my nephews.



Last night was Lizzie*Kate Monday. I stitched some more on Santa Wants to Know. I love stitching this and can't wait until it is finished as I am going to have a go at making a cube finish, my first. Elaine at http://themainhoose.blogspot.com recently finished a cube finish so I emailed her and asked her where she got her cubes from and she kindly sent me the link. Cross stitchers really are the best.

Thank you to those who leave comments, I really do appreciate them.

Until next time, happy stitching

Lesleyanne

Progress and Finishes

First up is my progress on L*K Monday. I am really enjoying this and it is coming along well. I actually think I got quite a bit done, well for me anyway.

Next we have Vervaco's Sweet Dreams Baby, which I am not enjoying for some reason, more like pulling teeth at the moment and I have had to unpick what I did on Saturday night so am even more annoyed with it today lol. Lily thought she would like to get in the photo too. At the moment I seem to want to stitch anything but this and have been looking through my stash making lists etc anything rather than actually stitch but I do have to stitch it as I have a deadline.

I stitched a freebie from L*K A Hug will do for Sally,
http://stitchingplace.blogspot.com/, as she said on her blog sometimes you just need a hug so I sent her one. I stitched this on a pink 28ct evenweave that I brought from Michelle and I actually finished this one all by myself, a first for me as my mum usually closes the top up for me. My only complaint with it was I could have put some more stuffing in it but a lesson learnt for next time. I didn't have a heart ornament to attach so used a heart topped pin.



Lastly for today, my eldest son, Andrew, was thirteen on Monday so I stitched him L*K Birthday wishes as he said I had never stitched him anything. I framed it myself, not very well lol, with a frame from Wilkinsons.

I have also spent the week looking for my finish of LHN Ponsietta House that I stitched. I can't find it anywhere and am really annoyed so if anybody knows where it is please tell me. I have seen it on a blog framed and would really really like to get it framed in a similar manner if only I could find it.

Until next time, happy stitching

Lesleyanne xxx

Tusal / Progress

First up is my Tusal for July. Threads from Simple Joys and Sweet Dreams Baby are in for this month.


Next up is my progress on Vervaco Sweet Dreams Baby. Coming along slowly as at the moment due to watching too much Wimbledon. Maybe next week I will really get going.

Lastly is my new start for L*K Monday, Santa Wants to Know, not a lot of progress as I had a job deciding what I wanted to stitch despite spending most of Sunday going through my L*K charts I was still undecided on Monday but I do love the colours in this so that is what finally swayed me. Again I am hoping to get more progress on this on Monday.

Sorry both projects are still in their hoops I couldn't be asked to take them out and iron them lol.

Happy Canada Day to my Canadian friends. Happy 4th July to my American friends. I hope you both have lovely long weekends and get plenty of stitching in.

Until next time, happy stitching

Lesleyanne xxx

Stitching Finishes and a Winner!

The winner of my blogaversary is Mylene. I used the random organiser. Congratulations Mylene please could you email me your address so that I can get the charts in the post to you. Thank you to everyone who took part I only wish I could send you all something as your comments really brighten up my day.

I am sure many of you know I hate finishing my stitching into things. So when Karen V of My Favourite Things, http://kvstitching.wordpress.com/, offered a finishing service I was keen to give it a try. So I sent off Peppermint Twist and a recent visit I haven't shown you L*K's Jingle and this is how she finished them. I am absolutely delighted with both of them. I can't believe my stitching could look this good. Thank you Karen and be sure I will be sending some more your way. I have borrowed Karen's pictures with permission as my camera's batteries are out and I don't have any more.

I have been stitching on Vervaco's Sweet Dreams Baby and have made some progress probably not as much as I would like as I have also been watching Wimbledon. Destressers are very much in need at the moment which is probably why I have been stash buying which is not good for the purse. I will show what I have brought when it arrives.

On Monday L*K Lovers blog are having a stitching day so I am going to have a look in my stash and start a L*K design not sure which but will show it next week.

Until next time, happy stitching

Lesleyanne xxx

Stitching Finishes & New Start!

These are the two finishes I promised to show last week. First up is LHN Simple Joys. I loved stitching this although I ran out of the colour Tigers Eyes, so left the border around Simple Joys off as the DMC equivalent just didn't look right. I finished this whilst I was on holiday. I must apologise as my border doesn't look straight only it is it is due to how tight I have the fabric on my hoop. I framed this myself and don't think it looks too bad. It is going in my bedroom.

Secondly is Lizzie Kate's Birthday Wishes. Another great piece to stitch. I have blanked the name and date off as it is for someone who might see my blog. I changed a couple of the colours as they were pink and it wasn't appropriate so changed them to reddish colours. I have to say I am really pleased with the end result as I don't usually change charted colours.



Heres my new start that I started on Tuesday of this week. I actually started on Monday but stitched a whole block in the wrong colour so started again on the Tuesday making sure I used the right thread for the right symbol lol.

In case you are wondering with any amount of luck it shold look like the picture below when I have finished. It is called Sweet Dreams Baby by Vervaco. I am stitching it in Pink and Blue as I have another family baby due in September which is hopefully, according to the scans, going to be a girl.

I was supposed to be taking part in ISHW (international stitch and hermit weekend) this weekend but my plans went to pot as my nephew's wife gave birth to my great nephew, Robert, so I went to visit them in hospital instead.

Until next time, happy stitching

Lesleyanne xxx

Blogaversary Giveaway

I can't believe that I have been blogging two years today. I have "met" some lovely stitchers and have discovered new designers and designs and am frequently enabled by your lovely stitches.

So I am having a giveaway. All you need to do is leave a comment with your email address on this post only and I will enter your name in a hat and pick a winner. I will leave the giveaway open until 26 June 2011.

You will win the charts below:-



L*K Jingle including fabric and embellishments
L*K Spring Fab Fob
L*K Snowman 10 - I was lucky enough to be given this chart for my birthday (so I am giving away the one I brought).
LHN Be Merry - Belle Pepper
LHN Simple Joys

I have stitched these charts but make a working copy so they are almost as good as new.

I have got three finishes to show you but will leave that until next time.

Until next time, happy stitching.

Lesleyanne xxx

I'm Back!

I am back from my holiday in Bude, Cornwall. We had a lovely time. The weather was gorgeous, except for the journey down. Here are a few pictures of what we saw. I have caught up with all the blogs I read, you have all certainly been very busy with lots of lovely stitching.

Merlin's Cave at Tintagel

View from a King Arthur's castle window



Part of the entrance to King Arthur's castle


King Arthur's stone


Beach Huts at Westward Ho! (or sheds as my children like to call them)

Beach at Port Isaac (where Doc Martin is filmed)

View at Port Isaac
Boscastle
Boscastle

I have managed to finish two pieces which I will show you next time, might even be three, you never know lol.

Until next time, happy stitching

Lesleyanne xxx