Last Four

This afternoon I begin my holidays as my work closes for it's four week annual summer break. I can't quite believe it, how quickly these last few weeks have gone by! 

Today I'm sharing the last few of the ornaments I made during 2019 - the final tally was 21!  These have all gone to their new homes, near and far. I'm already looking forward to working on 2020's collection.

First up, for Kath, the 2013 Santa by Heart in Hand.  Kath and I have always been big fans of Heart in Hand designs so this is just perfect for Kath.  I'd love to stitch this again for our tree.

One More Stitch by Victoria Sampler, from the 2014 Just Cross Stitch ornaments magazine, I made for Clare.

Jingle all the Way by Lizzie Kate was made for a work friend

And last, but not least, a special ornament for our close friends' new baby, Here Comes Santa by the Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery.

See you soon  xx

Jolly, Round & Kind and a day out to the Races

I've had this Lizzie Kate chart, Jolly Round and Kind Santa 2014, for a few years now and it was a lovely stitch.  I found some new trims on a recent visit to Spotlight and this one was a great match to the fabric I used on the back.

A cute gingerbread button added too

This is for one of my family members.

We had a super busy weekend - visitors staying, the local Christmas parade, a friend's 70th birthday party, a Xmas work do, dinner at my parents and then yesterday it was a lovely afternoon out to the local Christmas Races for a family get together.

Look at those clouds - it threatened to rain all afternoon and we did get a light shower of rain at one stage but luckily, it held off to last evening when it decided to pour down.

Hannah decided to enter the kid's fashion parade, which was a bit of fun

Lastly for today, I snapped this pic on Saturday evening of the sun going down.  The red sun is being caused by the smoke particles in the air that have drifted across from the fires in Australia.

See you soon xx

Peace to All

This ornament is one of my favourites by Homespun Elegance and I've stitched it several times over the years now. This is for a dear friend of mine.

Stitched on 32 count Dirty Belfast linen with all the recommended threads and finished into a flat ornament.  I used some Lady Dot Creates chenille trim, vintage colourway, for the edging.

See you soon xx

Dear Rudolph

And just like that it's the first of December! Seriously, where did November go? We've already started the lead up to Christmas with some festive fun activities and other events. Just two & a half weeks to go before our summer holidays start and this year we've got something extra special planned for over Christmas and New Year's - more about that another time!

This little design was a quick stitch recently, Dear Rudolph by Lizzie Kate. This will soon be making it's way to Australia as it's for a friend's little grand daughter.

See you soon xx

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

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

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 Pudding

I finally finished this cute design recently, Plum Pudding by With Thy Needle and Thread. I used most of the recommended threads and added Classic Colourworks Licorice Red.

Finished into a small pillow and trimmed with some natural jute ric rac, this will be popped into my Christmas pillows basket.

Thanks for stopping by!  See you soon xx

Flora McSample's Treats

These two sweet little designs are from the 2017 Flora McSample Treats pattern by Lizzie Kate. 

I stitched these during Jolly July, using recommended threads and 32 count linen.

I used Lady Dots chenille trim in the Brickhouse colour way, which is looking a bit pink in these photos.  There is a 3rd design on there too, a little stocking, which I'm planning to stitch sometime soon. 

See you soon xx

Lizzie Kate Jolly July Finishes

I'm slowly making my way through the little pile of stitching that's been done over the past few months, including these Jolly July finishes:

Lizzie Kate's Noel stitched on 32 count fabric with the recommended threads

Oh Christmas Tree by Lizzie Kate, same fabric above, most of the recommended threads

Joy, from Tiny Tidings XII, and Lady Dot trim, Sizzle pom poms

Thanks for stopping by, have a lovely week!

See you soon xx

Wise Men by Lizzie Kate

I'd been wanting to stitch this cute Lizzie Kate design for ages so I added it to my Jolly July stitching plans.

I used the recommended threads and the fabric is a lambswool linen.

Finished into a flat mounted ornament (well, it's probably too large to be called an ornament!) using hand dyed ric rac and for the backing, some of the fabric I purchased from the lovely Dellbrook Quilt shop a few weeks ago.

See you soon x

Jolly July Wrap Up

The 1st of August has arrived and dare I say it, there almost feels like a touch of spring in the air and I've noticed it's already staying lighter for a bit longer in the evenings.

Today I thought I'd wrap up my stitching from throughout July. I participated in Jolly July, a stitch along organised by Kimberly from the Fat Quarter Shop, and Priscilla and Chelsea. They had this great idea to get a head start on their ornament stitching, picking 31 ornament starts for the month.

31 new starts would have sent me over the edge, especially since I already have quite a few wips left over from Stitch Maynia, so I found about 15 ornaments I wanted to work on and these were kitted ready to go for the 1st July.

Over the past few weeks, I finished five ornaments and have several more started. 

I also worked on two Stitch Maynia projects, Santa's List and Merry and Bright both by Country Cottage Needleworks.  I guess I'll have to have a "finishing" session some time soon.

Over the weekend I sorted through all my current wips and put together a list of what I'm going to stitch on during August. I've also got a list of some charts I'd really like to stitch and finish before the end of the year, a few gifts as well and the last of the Friends Stitching Circle club projects, a lovely little Blackbird Designs kit,  will be added in there too. 

See you soon x