BBD progress...nearly there!

I hope everyone who celebrates Mother's Day in March had a wonderful day. My son made me a lovely picture instead of a card as he told me I could then keep it up all year instead of a few days like a card aww he can be sweet!

My kids gave me some lovely homemade gifts this year and all very practical too.

A very handy tote bag personally designed for me 💕

And a beautifully handcrafted wooden spatula 💕

I even managed to squeeze in a little bit of stitching over a few days last week.

I've managed some stitching on 'her sampler' by BBD. Another band of those bloomin eyelet stitches sheesh! so glad they are over and done with.

Oh what joy to be back stitching cross stitches and how much quicker my stitching went too.

This is where I am up to as of today. Another border of those blasted eyelet stitches has finally done for me lol. I've given up and put it away again. Although to be honest I had to put it away in favour college course work. Hope you all have a faby week and thanks for stopping by.

Happy New Year!

Goodness! Where has the year gone? I last posted in the summer months and now Christmas has been and gone! I hope you all had a wonderful time we enjoyed some Birthday celebrations..

My girlies became teenagers just before Christmas and yes all my kids are Adventure Time fans hence the request for a Beemo Birthday cake.

Christmas was busy lots of visitors and lots of visiting, lots of fun and lots of food but it was all good.

I hope you all had a good Christmas and I wish you all a peaceful and healthy New Year. Our tree is now packed away for another year and the house has been given a good clean. I started back at college in August and the workload has been heavy with no time for stitching or much else!
Over the holidays I have been catching up on blog reading and also treated myself to a crafty magazine, Prima's Christmas Makes issue to read over the holidays and it came with a wee freebie kit to make a gingerbread man.

He looks such a jolly little fella!

I do have a little bit of stitching to share with you.

This little flower pot is stitched in felt and is a teeny pin cushion I had sooo much fun making this during the summer. I followed this wonderful tutorial african violet pincushion tutorial

I stitched some of Blackbird Designs stitch along during my summer holiday and haven't had a chance to stitch any more since. I am loving the soft colours and look forward to seeing it finished. 

Also managed to finish the stitching on this little kit from atelier which eventually will be a lavender cushion.

De-cluttering, Diets and a little bit of Stitching

Well the de-cluttering has been going well lots of 'stuff' cleared out. As I have a few hobbies *cough* I ahem have quite a lot of stash. Actually to be honest a lot more than I realised! I've been busy sorting....oh my! Where to put it all *blush* it's made me realise I have far far too much 'stuff' so......now sadly I am on a diet....a stash diet to be precise I am not going to allow myself to purchase any new kits till I have made a substantial dent in what I already have *sigh*.
I did have some fun moments while clearing out, you know when you discover stuff you forgot you had. For instance my grans, great grans and great aunts doilies..I'd forgotten all about these.

 and some vintage clothing I collected over 20 years ago now...eek!

 What a state it was in all horrible and yellow having been stored in a cardboard box in various attics over the years. After a bit of googling where I discovered cardboard and old textiles don't mix! Oops! have given them all a good wash and look.......not perfect but I am really pleased with how these have turned out.

I think it was the needlework on these pieces that drew me to them in the first place it amazes me with the amount of time theses ladies would have had to spend working how they ever had the time to   make such wonderful items.

I am keeping the family pieces but the vintage stuff I will get rid of probably on ebay, now they look lovely and clean it would be a shame to shove them back into the attic! Let someone else enjoy them.

Needlework wise I have done very little as it has been very hot and sticky here. Living next to a field we have the same problem every year around this time blasted corn lice! Eugh horrible critters they get everywhere behind the picture frames inside the laptop screen they crawl over everything and we
can't sit out in the garden without being covered in the critters and they just make you itch all over. After living here for so long you'd think id be used to them by now lol. Anyone who lives near fields will know what I am talking about...roll on harvest time. Anyway to get back on track we have to keep the windows at the back of the house shut and run fans which means I can't stitch for long as things get blown around lol. Oh well it's not for ever.
I have managed to finish BBD Forget Me Not really love how this has turned out not sure how I will have this framed not that I have a lot of choice my local framer has a very limited selection, oh how I envy others with super duper framers. I have toyed with the idea of ordering frames online but I am afraid I will get the measurements wrong.

I've also started some small cross stitch kits that I bought from Atelier in France. And it's all Annettte of California Stitcher blog fault ;0) she posted gorgeous pictures of the kits and before I knew it I had some on order, go on have a wee nosey, dare you to not be tempted as well *grin*. They are lovely little kits as Annette says and a great price for what you get, the website is all in French but with google translate on hand and my very rudimentary school French it was easy to navigate and place my order. The parcel arrived very quickly and I was delighted with the little kits which are in French but very easy to understand without knowledge of the language.

You are supplied with the linen, hand dyed threads and silk ribbon for finishing. My plan is to turn all these into little lavender sachets to hang in my wardrobe. I've already bought a large bag of lavender.

These are soo pretty and fairly quick to stitch so I am hoping to have them completed fairly quickly corn lice and weather permitting of course!

We have also been celebrating someone's 8th birthday and the birthday boy announced he wanted a creeper cake from Minecraft. Those of you who have children of a similar age will no doubt have heard of Minecraft and will know what I am talking about the rest of you will no doubt be staring at the picture thinking has she flipped? What on earth is that!? Lol I am no domestic goddess but did what any mother would......google and have a bash! 

Turned out not too bad little bit wonky but the birthday boy was thrilled...and it tasted not too bad either!

Thank you for stopping by and I hope your all enjoying the summer.

Stitchy progress

It's not all work and no play for this girl *grin* I have some progress pics to share with you, BBD Forget Me Not is nearly finished as you can see just a little to do at the bottom, it kind of got put to one side as I lost one of my skeins of blue thread ( think I left it behind at the swimming pool when taking twin 1 to her swimming lesson)

So while Forget Me Not got put on the back burner I pulled out my kit for the Miniature Needlelace Lavender Hearts by Jenny Adin-Christie, these are soo teeny and cute! Smaller than I expected and took longer to make than I expected too lol but I love them! Jenny's instructions are frankly foolproof she takes you step by step with plenty of pictures you just can't go wrong. I can see me making lots of these in odd moments they are sooo addictive and the smell of the lavender is just...ahhh....gorgeous! I have put mine on my scissors for the moment and can't stop picking them up and smelling them. I love the dotty backs, they are so cheery and make me smile.

Took a little break from making the needlelace hearts as my wonderful hubby treated me to an introduction to stumpwork class at the Wemyss School of Needlework at the end of June to make this...

For completing my first year at college. The class was taken by Helen McCook and she is an amazing teacher with lots of patience and willing to spend time showing us and explaining what we were to do, some of the lady's were quick learners and got on with the task in hand some and here I include myself in this group were not so quick lol and needed a lot of support. Helen was lovely and would come round to those of us needing help individually.
I have not done any form of embroidery since I was very young when my gran taught me but it really never grabbed me and I much preferred doing cross stitch. However I have always admired the old stumpwork pictures that you often see in old stately homes and wondered how they made them so this class really appealed to me. I can honestly say it did not disappoint. I did not get my butterfly finished at class it took me another week or so of on off stitching to complete it but I am kind of proud of it and like to think my gran is looking down and saying ' thank goodness she's finished something!' Well here it is..

The Wemyss School of Needlework is a wonderful place to hold a class, in the classroom itself you are surrounded by wonderful examples of old needlework and the windows let in plenty of light so we didn't really need to use the lamps that were supplied for our use. I was fascinated with the work stands supplied called Lowery Stands they are not the most attractive looking stands but boy were they sturdy and did the job.....no I mustn't be tempted I've got a floor stand already and I am meant to be de-cluttering!
The school is also a museum and there were examples of needlework and old photos on all the walls even in the toilet which might explain why some of us seemed to spend an age in their *sheepish grin*
We ate a lovely lunch surrounded by more examples of needlework and kits and threads, sadly I had to rush out the door at the end of the class due to fractious kids and hubby waiting in the car for me so didn't get a chance to have a good look and spend some pennies....hmm perhaps in the light of current goings on in this house that may not be such a bad thing...but I will go back. I would love to do another class it was a wonderful and memorable day. Sadly I can't share any photos of inside the school with you all as we were not allowed to take any I assume because of the old needlework and pictures, I would recommend if you are ever up this way do check out if any classes are on or to even just visit the shop and museum well worth a visit in my humble opinion!

I can now work again on my Forget Me Not sampler as I have ordered the missing thread and ordered some threads and linen to finally make a start on on Black Bird Designs SAL which I signed up for but as yet not started so no excuses now.

Finally we have had a couple of wet days (well it is Scotland) which means cool nights and I have managed to get a little more done on my socks. They are progressing but very slowly, I seem to spend as long un-twisting my needles and yarn as I do knitting! Hmmm maybe I need shorter needles, I certainly need to pay more attention to where the pattern starts on my yarn in future.  No matter these are just for me but I am rapidly coming to the conclusion I am no natural sock knitter *grin*

Thank you for popping by.

Jenny Adin-Christie and updates

I was browsing online recently looking for something totally unrelated to needlework when I stumbled on Jenny Adin-Christie website and wow! What a treat and a feast for the eyes her work is just amazing, now I don't usually do any form of needlework other than cross stitch or petitpoint and I am happy to admire other forms of needlework but that's usually as far as it goes however her kits are gorgeous and I fell in love with the Miniature Needlework Lavender Hearts kit they just looked sooo sweet .......so I ordered a kit ...mmmm naughty I know but I justified it as a wee reward for finishing my first year at college that's ok isn't it? I was soo excited when the postie brought my parcel and when I opened it the kit was beautifully wrapped in tissue paper, I don't know about you but I always feel a little bit special when opening a parcel that has been wrapped prettily. The kit itself is beautifully presented in its own little calico bag with a colour picture on the front of the finished item.

The bag will be handy for storing the work in progress and then could be easily reused for something else as the picture will easily peel off the bag. Would you like to see a closer picture of the hearts? Well Iam only too happy to oblige!

The kit comes with everything you could possibly need to complete it.

There is a list of the contents included and just look at what comes in the kit!

There is a very detailed step by step set of instructions very useful for the likes of myself who has never done any needlelace before. 

Jenny even includes all the different sizes of needles you are going to need in their very own little needlework book with the size of needle next to each one. No excuses for me using the wrong needle for the job then lol. Oh and that little scrap of material is for practising making needlelace loops and Jenny even includes extra thread to practice with she seems to have thought of everything and covered it I am well impressed!

Oh how I wish I could share with you the scent of that lavender! I do love the scent of lavender and these little hearts are going to be extra special filled with this. The kit comes with enough materials to make two hearts and if you wish you can choose which two you would like as I couldn't make up my mind cos I liked all three I left it up to Jenny to pick for me and very glad I am too those colours are gorgeous.

This shows you what is included in each little package: the materials, all the necessary threads, beads and ribbon for finishing it. Can't wait to start this now!

I haven't been slacking I do have some progress pictures to share with you to. First of all BBD Forget Me Not still loving this design and I've managed to get all of the vines stitched, will finish the pot at the bottom then back on to the flowers me thinks or maybe I should stitch some more of the alphabet hmmm decisions decisions.

I have also knitted some more of my socks.

Oh my! I have had such bother with these socks and I've chalked up yet another 'sock lesson learnt' this is the third time I've knitted the pattern part. I have ripped out twice already and all because I didn't read the pattern all the way through. The original pattern was downloaded from Ravelry and I just worked from that, however if I had read the amendment on Ravelry I would have saved myself a lot of heartache *sigh* oh well I am on the way with them now and I do like knitting both socks at the same time but........it's taking forever lol.

Under Pressure!

As the title suggests I am feeling a little bit under pressure at the moment, college is drawing to a close and it's been a bit frantic getting all the last bits and bobs done and handed in. I've sat soo many exams this last wee while my head is spinning......but the end is in sight just one more big exam to go and in a fortnight I will be FREE let me just say that again ....cos I like how it sounds.....I will be FREE!! To do whatever I like....well ok..almost anything ;0) I did have a break this past weekend I had just had enough and I was missing stitching so I dug out Forget Me Not by BBD and made a start would you like to see?

I found this a really relaxing project to stitch and I am loving the colours. I have chosen to stitch it using the recommended threads and colours but I am stitching it on 40 count linen using one strand of floss over two threads and I like how it's turning out. It's not going to be a big project but right now that is just fine with me!

Ah those mellow and soothing colours good for the soul. I can't wait to come back to this project not long to wait!

I like to have a mix of projects on the go to pick up something that takes my fancy be it a big project or little ones. Iam a huge fan of  Maja of The Snowflower Diaries designs and have stitched a few which you can see in early entries on this blog. So I was tickled pink when I saw that she was having a giveaway  on her blog just check this little lot out!

Not only can you win three copies of her newest patterns but also 2 pieces of 32 count linen hand dyed by Maja and 15 skeins of gorgeous Nina's Hand Dyed Threads! Wow! Who wouldn't want to be the lucky recipient of that lot! Certainly not me which is why I've added my name lol and hope you will all pop over and join too cos if I don't win I would love one of my lovely blog buddies to :0)

Just click on the link above or the picture to take you to her blog and good luck if you decide to enter.

New stash

Following on from my last post regarding my trip to Dundee, I paid a little visit to a wool shop and added to my stash. I got some cheap wool ( it was reduced honest! ) to practice knitting two socks at the same time, here's hoping I can get two matching socks. I've already made a wee start on them even though I haven't finished the last pair off, naughty me.

I just had to start them off to see how the wool was knitting up. I am using Drops Fabel and liking them so far.

I also bought this ball of sock yarn by Schoppel as I really like the colours but will make sure I can knit a matching pair first before I start using it.

They will be bright and cheery for cool autumn days. I know we are heading into summer and the days here are starting to warm up but I am slow at knitting and need to plan ahead.

I've also been doing a little online shopping to add to my stash. It was exciting when the parcel arrived through the post even though I knew what was going to be in it I was like a child at Christmas  full of anticipation. Oh boy the parcel didn't disappoint. Would you like to see what I treated myself 

too? I thought so ok then.

I've had my eye on the BBD Forget Me Not pattern for quite a while but it has been out of stock every time I've gone to order it but luck must have smiled on me cos I've got one now. While browsing, cos it just seemed silly to buy one little chart when there was shipping to be paid, I fell in love with this Stacy Nash Primitives Tribute to Summer Sampler. There is just something about the colours in this one that just called to me. Ok you will have noticed that I didn't just buy the charts I thought I may as well kit them out so they are ready to start when the mood strikes. I don't know about you but I hate wanting to start a project then having to wait while I order the necessary threads 

and linens...inevitably I go off the boil....and start something else.

Forget Me Not will be stitched using the recommended threads but will be stitched on 40 count linen as they didn't have the recommended count I don't mind will end up a little smaller but that's ok.

Summer Sampler with there commended threads and linen. The colours look lovely here don't they? Well I have one teensy wee gripe about some of those colours.....

These two threads GA Apple Cider and GA Lambswool are according to the chart the colours for the outer border leaves and flowers. Now I know that computer screens and chart colours can be a little misleading but do these threads look remotely summery to you? Cos they certainly don't to me!

This one in particular really had me scratching my head, I've been on line searched for images of this sampler completed, looked at colour samples for GA Apple Cider and they are all GREEN or various shades of green but definitely green folks! I know colour lots can change but this is pretty dramatic. Now the above thread to me looks brown no green not even a snifter of green in it and there is no way, no how, nuh uh that I will be stitching a border of dead brown leaves on my summer sampler. Whew! Glad I got that off my chest lol! So what to do? Well I am just going to have to look through my stash for a green that I do like and a lighter shade for the flowers simple.

Now this combination is much more pleasing to my eye, lighter coloured flowers and green leaves, much more summer like.......and breath....