September starts & news

 Hello friends, 

This week is the last week of the term for Hannah, then the school holidays start.  We're now counting down the days until our family holiday. This year we are heading to the Sunshine Coast in Australia, a part of Australia we've not been to before.  We are really looking forward to checking out the gorgeous beaches, some sight seeing, perhaps a visit to Australia Zoo, chill out time, and there might be some shopping :) 

Also, some other news to share, we are closing down my husband's joinery business at the end of October.  We've been in partnership with our friends for over 24 years, and the guys first started working together in the joinery factory as apprentices, straight out of school.  But the time has come for the business to close, our friends are moving to another area of New Zealand  and Glenn will move onto something new, nothing has been confirmed yet, but he is very excited for whatever opportunity might come his way.  With Hannah heading to Napier next year for her beauty therapist's course, there's going to be lots of positive changes for our family in 2027. 

So today I’ve got a handful of new projects to show, and some recently finished items.  This month's stitching has been all over the place, as I knew I wanted to start a couple of new samplers for #samplerseptember, I've also had a bit of stitching I've been working on that I can't share just yet, and I've also got a few ornaments on the go. 

Let's start with the finished things first:

This set of ornaments is from Cathy of Hands on Designs Merry Moments Collection:

Sweets for Santa

Light the Way

Plaid Tidings

Hark how the Bells

A Vintage Rocker

I stitched these all on 32 count natural Belfast linen with the recommended DMC threads, and used a selection of trims and Lynette Anderson Christmas fabrics for the finishing. 

This is Santa and Rudolph by Stitching with the Housewives, stitched on 32 count black lugana fabric.

Now for the newly started projects.

I recently had a lovely catch up with my stitching friends, we laughed and laughed, and I think it was what we all needed, along with some yummy snacks and lunch together :)  I did manage to get a few stitches done, and the project I took along to work on was House Rules by Primrose Cottage Stitches.  I'm stitching this on 36 count Tuscan Path by Fox & Rabbit, with the DMCs.

I got my holiday stitching project underway, House of Quaker Lane by Brenda Gervais.  This linen is so pretty, Red Cedar by Cedar River Linens.  I'm using DMC ecru thread.

I've been wanting to stitch this Erin Elizabeth design for ages, Merry Stitchmas. Fabric is 36 count vintage mocha Belfast linen.

This photo just wouldn't turn!  Another design that I've been wanting to start for ages, by Shakespeare Peddler, and I'm using the recommended 36 count Aztec Red linen by Weeks Dye Works and DMC ecru.

On Friday the threads I needed for my next sampler start arrived in the mail. so this was my Friday night project. Amazing Grace by Brenda Gervais, linen choice 40 count Sandcastle by Fox & Rabbit, recommended threads.

I also started another of Cathy's Patreon ornament club designs from the second collection, the Quilted Gingers, Cape Cod Cross Hatch

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that a small stash parcel arrives from 123 Stitch before I go on holiday as it's got a couple of threads needed for another potential start, and also this year's Wee Santa by Heart in Hand chart.

We had a family dinner catch up at the start of the month, and my lovely Mum had organised little birthday cakes for the special birthdays we had in our family earlier in the year.  What a great surprise Hannah, Marcus and Zoe each got, and the cakes were divine!

Lastly for today, it was this very good boy's "gotcha" day anniversary on the 12th, four years :)

Four years of joy, mischief, lots of river and beach walks, silly nonsense, snuggles, dog biscuits and treats, and fun! We are going to miss him so much while away but he'll be having the time of his life as our friends Bruce and Alison are going to be looking after him.

I'll be back in a few weeks, mid October, wow, how the months have been flying by this year.

See you soon xx