Jingle all the way

Jingle all the Way by Lizzie Kate was a kit that came out a few years ago. I have already stitched this for myself but this little pillow is going to be a gift for a friend.

Stitched on 32 ct dirty linen and I used most of the recommended threads. The backing fabric was in the small bundle of fabrics given to me last year by a friend.

See you soon xx

October Books

October's reading pile were all books that I thoroughly enjoyed and probably stayed up far too late reading at night!

Tidelands by Philippa Gregory is the first in a new series, The Fairmile. I've been a Philippa Gregory fan for as long as I can remember, and so is my Mum. I purchased this for Mum for her birthday in August and I didn't have to wait long for Mum to pass it back to me. 

This book is set in the mid 1600's and is the story of Alinor, the mother of two children who has been abandoned by her fisherman husband. Alinor is a midwife, herbalist and living in poverty. I can't wait for more in this series.

Where the Light Enters by Sara Donati is a follow up to the previous novel the Gilded Hour. Taking place in the 1880's in  New York, the main characters are two trailing blazing female doctors, cousins Anna and Sophie. Not only is this a great family saga, reintroducing characters from Sara Donati's Into the Wilderness series, but there's also an intriguing murder and kidnapping to solve. Don't let the length of the book put you off, 650+ pages, it's a great read.

Candice Fox and James Patterson have teamed up again with this book, the Inn. The main character used to be detective and now runs an inn with a whole bunch of odd but interesting characters living there. A fast paced, enjoyable read.

The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer I gave 5 out of 5 tear jerking stars - this is definitely one of my favourite books for 2019.  This has a dual story line, Alice in the present and  her grandmother Alina in late 1930's, early 1940's in Poland. This is a beautiful, but heartbreaking story.

What have you been reading lately?

See you soon xx

Fa La La La

This is the Christmas design I picked to stitch for my lovely Mum, Fa La La by Lizzie Kate, a kit from several years ago.

My Mum is a massive Christmas time fan and her favourite Christmas colours are bright red and limey green, like in this design, so it's the perfect choice for her.

I used most of the recommended threads and trimmed the pillow with some Lady Dot Creates Sizzle chenille trim.  The fabric was a great match, found in a small pile of fabrics gifted to me last Christmas by a friend.

I'm so happy that I've nearly reached the end of all the Christmas gift stitching on my list - I'm aiming for the end of November to have it all done and then I can move onto something other then Christmas stitching, lol, or perhaps even finish some of my Jolly July starts.  We'll see!

See you soon xx

Wee Santa 2019

This is Heart in Hand Needleart's 2019 Wee Santa. I used the recommended threads and my favourite vintage mocha Belfast linen.

I found this lovely black and gold dotty fabric recently at my local sewing shop so decided to finish this as a small pillow.

A bit cute don't you think?

See you soon x

Bags and more bags

I've been enjoying a few sessions at my sewing machine lately and over the recent long weekend, I finished off a few project bags I'd cut out and prepared the week before.

First up, these little bags were made using the Stocky Sock Bag pattern by Sandra from Cherry Heart Designs. These are going to be birthday and Christmas gifts for some of the ladies at work.

I've also made up several stitching project bags, mostly for gifts too.

This one I'm keeping!

Aren't the Santa charms cute?? 

If you are interested in making your own project bag, this is the tutorial I followed.

See you soon

Checking In

Gosh, I didn't realise that almost a whole month has passed since my last blog post - the weeks are just rolling by and now November is here, heading into the down hill run towards the end of the year.

Today I'm going to catch up on some of the happenings around here, a little bit of this and that, and then maybe get back into a regular blogging schedule. I do have a lot of stitching and sewing I can't share just yet, but all will be revealed over the next few weeks!

Back in October, Glenn and I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary.  We were married on the 22nd October 2005 at Ahuriri, Napier, beside the sea.

We're not so good at family selfies, lol. 

To celebrate we enjoyed a meal out at one of our local restaurants.

Late in October we had a four day weekend due to public holidays both Friday and Monday, for Hawkes Bay anniversary and Labour Day.  For the first time in many years, we didn't have any plans or family staying, so we used the four days to get lots of jobs ticked off our list. 

One of the bigger jobs was to create a new garden, which is beside our driveway. I don't know why we chose the hottest day of the weekend to go out and buy the plants from a local nursery and get them planted! 

This area will have some compost put on soon and bark down once the plants have grown a bit.

Glenn bought me a new rose for the garden, which I planted too. This is Margaret Merrill, and it smells divine.

Another new rose in my garden this year is Freesia, I had this in the back garden many years ago, but had to give it away as the garden was taken out to make way for our swimming pool.

My absolute favourite rose is Blackberry Nip, and this is out now too, so pretty.

Hannah enjoyed Halloween night this year - trick or treating with her big cousin Zoe and a couple of friends, a visit to a local carnival and then her school disco. Some of the kids had some really cool costumes on.

Hannah also recently received her Dancing exam results back and we are so thrilled and proud, two Distinction *'s (the highest grade) and two Distinctions, she was pretty happy!

Last Saturday Hannah and I went out with my parents for the day to a Garden Expo, something we do every year.  Hannah was first in line for the face painting:

I think I'll finish there for now and I'll be back soon with some stitching finishes (the ones I can share!)

See you soon x

Joy & Peace, & New Stash

Another of my 2019 Jolly July starts is now finished.  I've stitched Joy & Peace by Little House Needleworks several times now but this is the first time I've added the little sheep instead of the cardinal bird. The sheep is also charted on the pattern.

Finished into a simple pillow using some forest green fabric, a lace trim and a matching ribbon.

A few weeks ago, a small package arrived from 123 Stitch in the US. 

I always enjoy getting the annual Just Cross Stitch ornaments magazine - I have over twenty of these now!  Every now and again I get all the copies out for a browse through.  

Some fabric and threads to be set aside for Little House Needleworks Jack Frost series, which I'm going to start once I finished all my gift stitching.

A couple of the latest Heart in Hand charts - I've started the Wee Santa already, so cute.

Eat Sleep Stitch Repeat  - a fun chart to stitch sometime, not sure if I'll use the charted colours or pick my own.

Well, its a miserable rainy day here, feels like winter again, lol. That's our spring weather for you!

See you soon xxx

Plum Street Sampler's Yuletide Welcome

Well at long last this sampler is actually finished!  

Started way back in September 2014, I've stitched on Yuletide Welcome off and on again over the years, but this winter I decided it was time to get it completed :

Please excuse the wrinkles!

The linen I used was Lakeside Linen 36 count vintage colour I think? I also used all the recommended threads including the Needlepoint silks.

I'm just so happy to have it finished!  See you soon x

September Books

I managed to get through quite a few books during September so here's a round up:

The Betrayal by Kate Furnivall is set in the 1930's in Paris and WWII is on the brink of breaking out. This is the story of twin sisters, joined together by a secret. This kept me guessing right until the end, with lots of twists and turns.

The Dark Lake is by Australian author Sarah Bailey and is a psychological thriller about a detective investigating the murder of her high school rival. This is the first book in a series so I look forward to reading more by this author.

Good Girl, Bad Girl by Michael Robtham, is his latest book featuring a new character, Cyrus Haven, a police psychologist. I really enjoyed this book, fascinated with the characters and the mystery to solve.

Guardian of Lies by Kate Furnivall is another great read by this author filled with spies, intrigue, espionage and murder.

The Storyteller's Secret by Sejal Badani was my most recent Kindle read.  It has two timelines- Jaya, in the present day, who visits her grandparents' homeland of India and hears the story of her grandmother's past from a close household helper. A story of love, loyalty, and friendship.

What have you been reading lately?