Shawl Knitting

Last year when I went to KAN (Knit August Nights) the Knitting Retreat & Festival held yearly in Napier, I purchased a skein of Yarnfloozy yarn, called New Jeans, a gorgeous blue with a stellina (metallic) sparkle.  Not sure what I was going to make with it, I stopped by to see Libby from Truly Myrtle, and because I'm new to shawl knitting, Libby suggested her Settler pattern, nothing too complicated :)

All winter I've been wanting to cast it on but needed to finish some socks first, finally last week I made a start.  Of course a new knitting project needs a new project bag right?  I had a pattern in mind too, recently purchased from Sandra of the Cherry Heart blog, the Stocky Sock Bag.

The fabric I used was given to me several years ago by Kath, and is from Minick & Simpson's Prairie Paisley II range.

The perfect little bag for a one skein project, I'll definitely making more of these soon!

See you soon xx

Santa Sunday Ornament Finishing

This year's mission is to have all my 2018 Christmas ornaments for family and friends stitched, finished and popped away by September. So far I'm on track as I've been participating in the weekly #santasundayxs on Sundays and sometimes fitting in more ornament stitching during the week.  Another thing that helps is to have plenty of patterns kitted with threads and fabric ready to go so as soon as one is finished, I can get started straight away on the next.

I recently had a lovely afternoon finishing a few stitched ornaments, also catching up with some crafting friends.

Majestic Bird by Homespun Elegance

from an earlier issue of Just Cross Stitch Ornaments Magazine

stitched with recommended threads on cream 32 count linen

Starry Night by Helga Mandl

pattern from  the Gift of Stitching magazine 

stitched with recommended threads on 32 count cream linen

A Year in Chalk - December by Hands on Design

stitched on 30 count gunmetal linen with recommended threads

Hallelujah by Little House Needleworks

stitched on 30 count straw linen with recommended threads

See you soon xxxx

Mice in the Sewing Room

This little pattern was a lovely stitch, Mice in the Sewing Room by Brenda Gervais/With Thy Needle and Thread.

I used all the recommended threads and finished it into a simple pillow to display on my craft book shelf.

See you soon xx

Current Projects

I was so pleased to see another chart in this series has just been released and it will now be on its way in the post. I started stitching this chart, number 4,  last month when I was home from work on sick leave but only managed a small start. 

The linen for this design is 36 count Oaken by Picture this Plus.

This week I finished another ornament from Hands on Design's Chalkboard ornament series. I had planned to stitch one of these a month over the year but so far I've only done two!

My Cosy stripe blanket is underway  too:

A few rows each week and it might be done by summer, ha ha.

See you soon xx

Farmhouse Christmas Series

On the weekend I finally finished Part 5 of the Farmhouse Christmas series by Little House Needleworks. 

I think I've mentioned previously there had been quite a delay between receiving Part 1 and Parts 2 & 3, so Part 4 had been released by the time the other charts arrived in here in New Zealand. Over the past few weeks I've been slowly catching up, and now Part 6 is on it's way!

I'm stitching all the parts on to one piece of 32 count vintage mocha belfast linen, the colour in the photos isn't very true because of the winter light at the moment. I divided the fabric into sections - there are twelve on my piece so I will have fabric left over for another project.

Whoops, I've just seen a missed stitch in this one!

I am planning to make each one into an ornament but I will probably do this later in the year, once all the charts in the series have been stitched.

See you soon xx

Pretty Socks & a New Book

I've so enjoyed knitting these socks so far - pretty yarn and great pattern! The yarn is by Knitcola, a NZ yarn, and the pattern is the Drippity Drop Socks by Kay F Jones. I'm hoping to have these finished soon as I'm planning to cast on a shawl at the start of July. 

I received a lovely surprise in the mail late last week from Kath, a belated birthday present!

This is Gail Pan's latest stitchery book and it is filled with lots of gorgeous patterns. Some of the ladies I work with have purchased the book too so we thought we might have a little stitch along over the next few months.

Also, for those asking on my last post, the tutorial I followed to make the vinyl zippered bags is by Calico. They are heaps of fun to make!

See you soon xx

More Project Pouches & Crochet

Gosh, the weather here today is terrible, lots of heavy rain and wind. It would have been the perfect day to stay home by the warmth of the fire but it's off to work and school we go.

Last week I finished a few more zippered vinyl pouches, I so enjoy making these. The red Christmas one is for me and the others will go into the gift box. 

Ever since I started learning how to crochet, I've just loved Lucy from Attic 24's blog with all the colourful photos and gorgeous creations.

I've now made two of her blankets, the Morland Blanket and also, the Cupcake Stripe blanket. I've had the yarn kit for a Cosy Stripe blanket for ages now so on the weekend I decided it was time to get it out and make a start.

Like the other blankets, it will probably take me a few months but I'm looking forward to using these delicious, happy colours over our winter months.

See you soon xx

Queen's Birthday Weekend

Last weekend as Monday was going to be a public holiday, we headed off to Taupo for a two night stay. 

A visit to the Huka Falls :

Lots of swimming in the motel's heated pool :

A visit to Mind Junction to check out the Lego Displays :

It was so good to chill out and relax. I'd packed some knitting and stitching but didn't get much done on anything as I still wasn't feeling 100%. I did watch a few episodes on Netflix of Designated Survivor, my favourite to binge watch at the moment.

See you soon xx

Lots of Books

Looking back through my "read" list of books for the past month, there's quite a selection.

Some of these were library books, others I've been reading on my Kindle.

The Tattooist of Auschwitz - the unforgettable and compelling story of Lale Soklov and how he becomes the main tattooist of Auschwitz. A very emotional read.

The Fallen - #4 in the Amos Decker series, another blockbuster thriller by David Baldacci, this has action from the beginning to the end.

The Jade Lily - this story takes you from World War II Austria to Shanghai, to modern day Melbourne, told in two different time frames. Loved this!

Want you Dead - Roy Grace series # 10. I just love the Roy Grace series and I'm pleased I still have several to go.

A Year at Hotel Gondala - by my favourite Kiwi author, a story about Venice, its food and interesting characters.

Night School - Jack Reacher # 21, a flashback to when Reacher is still in the army and it's 1996.

 Play Dead - #4 in the series featuring no nonsense detective Kim Stone. Hard to put down this is a gripping thriller from start to finish.

No Safe Place - fourth book in the Lottie Parker series, another nail biting crime thriller.

What have you been reading lately?

A Week of WIPs

Winter has well and truly arrived here with the temperatures dropping considerably in the past week. Just waiting now for the first frost of the year, brrr. And with it, has come the first round of winter bugs at our house, Hannah having a few days off school late last week and then myself this week with the coughs, sniffs, and a blinding headache. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed we don't get another repeat of last winter when poor Hannah was sick on and off again for about 6 weeks!

Anyways, with the cooler weather there is nothing better than crafting by the fire in the evenings and I've been making lots of progress on all the things I have on the go at the moment.  I'm not usually into rotations, etc with my stitching and other crafts but lately I've found that if I write out a little plan for the week, working on a different project each day, it's a great way to make headway on some of these things.

So starting with Mondays (evenings) - Sock Knitting and this also includes the little knitting group at work on Mondays.

Tuesdays is for With Thy Needle or Blackbird Designs projects:

Wednesdays - dishcloth knitting, I've been knitting quite a few of these for gifts.



Thursdays I've been stitching on Yuletide Welcome by Plum Street Samplers, one of my oldest wips.
As of last week I've only got this bottom section to go.



Fridays I've been catching up on the Farmhouse Christmas series. For some reason or another, there was a considerable delay for Part 2 & 3 being sent out from the US but my auto order has been sorted now and Part 5 should be here any day now. Loving this series!

 Saturdays are for a new start, the Cross Stitch Nation, but I've only managed a few stitches on this so far.

Finally, Sundays are #santasundayxs, and I'm working on this year's Christmas ornaments. I've got several designs kitted and ready to go, and I keep adding to the pile, lol. Hopefully this will mean I'll have them all stitched and finished well before December.

We're looking forward to the long weekend coming up here, its a public holiday next Monday, so Glenn, Hannah and I will be away for a few days, enjoying the hot pools again in Taupo.

See you soon x