Challenge for a Finish - April

I can now show you the piece I completed for April for Challenge for a Finish........ though I think some of you may already have seen this elsewhere. ;0)

This time the challenge was to stitch a flower design and finish it as any needlework accessory and, as I was so embarrassingly late completing my piece for last month, I deliberately opted for quick and easy and decided to stitch and make a scissor fob:

Design: Scissor Fob

Designer: Gandja, Un Point C'est Tout - internet freebie

Fabric:

Count On Me 28ct evenweave - Aster

Threads: DMC

Finish: funnily enough.... a scissor fob.

This was my first ever scissor fob finish. :0) On the back I stitched some of the outer border and added an initial:


No, it wasn't for me...... the colours and everything were chosen to go with those scissors and the whole lot was gathered together with a certain person in mind who I know loves all things pink and who I thought might need a little cheering up. Am glad to say that Karen liked the gift, so that's me happy too.

The Challenge for May hasn't yet been announced but there's a strong possibility I may not be able to take part, as we go away for a weeks holiday very soon - it cuts in to my stitching time quite badly as in the daytime we are usually out and about quite a bit and most nights we are playing Trivial Pursuits with my DSis, Aunty, Uncle and Cousin. The friendly rivalry and banter always makes for a good night. :0) One less weeks stitching in the month will make things even more pushed than usual though, so it depends on what the Challenge is for as to whether or not I'll be able to fit it in.

Thank you for visiting and for the kind comments - each and every one is very much appreciated. :0)

Challenge for a Finish - March

Yes, I know it's now April 1st (Happy All Fools Day to all!) but I did squeeze this finish in before the deadline, completing the finishing last night, I just couldn't take a pic until today. So here it is, my first ever scissor keep:

Design: Quaker Tree I, internet freebie

Designer: Mary Olson & Candy Scott of The Workbasket

Fabric: Count On Me, Lily of the Valley

Thread: Carrie's Creation, Clover

Finish: Scissor Keep

Told you those Quaker designs were addicitive! LOL Here's how I finished the back of the piece:

This is another fat eighth from the Leafy Glade Spring Collection pack I bought a while ago from The Cotton Patch. It was a good buy as the fabrics have been extremely useful just lately! :0)

As I cut it so embarrassingly close to the deadline with this finish it's made me get a wiggle on with this month's piece: a flower design finished as any needlework accessory. The trawl of the internet on Monday brought up quite a few interesting charts, many of which were saved for later use, whilst the one I chose was printed out straightaway. After tea I gathered the threads and chose the fabric and actually made a start. I'll confess to choosing a quick and relatively easy design with a finish I'm pretty happy about tackling but there won't be any pics for a while as this one will be going off to a new home when it's completed.

Fess up time now: because I'd left the scissor keep finishing to the last minute and was doing that last night I didn't actually do any stitching on NW for UFO Night. Please don't send Mr Stick round though, Julie - I shall be making up for that today and will post an update later in the week.

I must admit that the nice weather we had yesterday tempted me out into the garden for a potter around. It was so warm I was quite happy out there in a short-sleeved t-shirt (no cardigan!) and sandals (no socks!). The birdies were happy, as it meant I did a long overdue refill of the seed feeders and put some more fat seed balls out - I was repaid big time by all the singing they did when they realised there was a foodfest once again. The plants were glad of a little care too: most of the pots had started to get really dry and the flowers and plants were starting to suffer as a consequence. They all sucked up the water I doused them with like sponges. The daffodila and narcissi are starting to get into full swing now, so the bluebells and tulips, which are budding, won't be too far behind. Once the frosts are finally past there'll be a weekend trip to a garden centre on the cards for a couple of plants to replace ones that died off in winter. Roll on some warmer weather so we can actually start sitting out there again. :0)

2009-03-11 10:11

I had a good bit of news last night when Aureen, my Reiki practitioner, phoned. The Development Circle is going ahead and the first meet-up will be on the 14th April, out in one of the nearby villages. Initially there will be just 3 or 4 of us, all women, then when we have caught up we'll be integrated with another small group to continue on together. All told there'll be around 6 or 7 of us then. The first couple of sessions will be for an hour and a half, later they'll be of two hour duration. Not sure what to expect at this point but am looking forward to it, although a little nervous - I never am any good at meeting new folks or going to new places at first. Will let you know how it goes- probably be over at my other blog.

This morning a RABCK (Random Act of Book Crossing Kindness) arrived in the post from fellow UK Book Crosser Millycat. This is the book she sent:

I've only been a member on the Book Crossing site since last July and I must admit to being fairly ignorant as to how most other things work on the BC site, as I mainly use it just to register books that I've either controlled or wild released or have available. It's only recently that I realised there was a Wish List facility and added a couple of books to it that caught my eye as I was nosing around, as you do - though they were mainly on there as a reminder to me to keep an eye open for them in the library or at the Hospice Book Shop. Millycat contacted me out of the blue last week to say she'd seen this book on my WL and very kindly offered it to me. How cool is that? BTW, I'll be looking for someone to pass this on to when I've read it (after I've finished the Dan Brown book) who will also be willing to journal on it then pass it on to another willing journaller. Watch out for more details on The Reading Corner blog some time next month. :0)

Thank you for taking time out of your day to drop by for a visit and for all those who leave a comment an extra thank you. :0)

Reveal Day

It's Reveal Day for the Monthly Challenge over at the JA/S&S Forum. I so love Reveal Day and looking through the album at all the lovely pieces all the participants have stitched and finished - really inspiring.

We were given quite a choice, as we could choose any of the Papillon Creations freebies. I chose the blackwork Celtic design and this is how I finished it:

Hearts and Flowers by Papillon Creations;

Fabric: Polstitches 32ct Stormy Skies;

Thread: Carrie's Creation Twinkle;

Finished as a hanging pinkeep.

Unfortunately this just wouldn't photograph crisply enough so I took a closer view, in the hopes it will show the detail a bit better:

On the back I used a cotton fabric from the Leafy Glade Autumn range that I bought some time ago from The Cotton Patch:

Round the edge I twisted a sparkly silver and a lavender ribbon together and pinned it with cream pins. This piece is so me, as there are many aspects behind the choices I made: it incorporates two of my needlework loves - blackwork and Celtic designs; the design greatly appeals to me as a Pagan, with it's four sides and four "corners" - the four directions; because it's an interwoven design it has no beginning and no end, so makes me think of the eternal cycle (life, death, rebirth); the Celts were a very Nature orientated peoples and their Druids/Druidesses worshipped in the open air, in sacred groves - which decided the choice of the leafy glade backing fabric - which also continues the Nature theme of the stylistic flowers in the design - and silver is sacred to the Goddess, hence the silver ribbon. The hearts need no explanation. :0) It's now on display in our living room, hanging on the wrought ironwork fire "guard" that you can see in two of the pics.

Enjoyed this Challenge and am now looking forward to seeing what Karen has in store for us next month. Thanks Karen. :0)

Meantime I have joined Elisa's Challenge for a Finish blog. Each month Elisa will nominate a finish for us to do which I thought would be a good way of making me try a style of finishing that I haven't done yet....... or that I've been avoiding doing because it's a bit more involved than I've fancied tackling. Like the JA/S&S Challenge, there's no pressure either: if you can't fit it in it's OK, which I think is pretty good, and was the final decider for me. February's Challenge is a redwork heart shape finish. The one I did last year for the JA/S&S Challenge was my first such finish and it was a bit of a steep learning curve which left me wanting to do another one - mostly in the hopes that something was actually learnt from it and that a better job would be made of it second time round....... but I never got around to it. So now's my chance. LOL I shall start looking for a suitable design on Monday as I've been busy with other things today and we're out visiting my DSis tomorrow.

Am hoping to do a catch up post next week with some pics of recent card makes, another NW update and a pic of the ornie finish for the JA/S&S Monthly Christmas Ornie SAL (though I reckon quite a few folks will have seen that already LOL). There isn't another SS update though: I just haven't managed to stitch on it again yet, unfortunately.

Thank you for all those lovely, kind comments and for taking the time to visit. Hope you're all enjoying the weekend. :0)

Remember, Remember......

No, not the 5th of November - a bit too early for that just yet. Remember this little chap and his buddy?

Well, would you believe I finally got in the mood for finishing this week? Yay! I spent some of Tuesday afternoon with the cold melt glue gun putting things together, then some of Wednesday evening sewing the edges and adding the trim. Here's the result:

Still not too sure about that ribbon but it needed to be sturdy enough to hang from a door handle and obvious enough so that DH and DS will spot it and be careful (that's the theory, anyway. Reckon it'll work? Nah, me neither!). That bold orange does look good against the dark wood of the door though, so it's growing on me. :0)

This is what I used for the back:

That was from a remnant I picked up at a bargain price from the Creative Fabrics sale some time ago. I haven't been able to complete the Fall ornie yet as it needs a charm adding first and I'm waiting on some charms arriving, along with a few other goodies, from Thread Bear. Well, you can't just go buying a few charms from such a great stash place, can you? ;0) LOL

When the finishing on the ornie was done I picked up the Good Friends Count SAL piece and finished the stitching on it. The next job is to find some suitable beads and add them. I've been putting that job off as it means going delving in a cupboard in DS's room and to get to it I shall have to move a mountain of his stuff first. Nope, not one member of this family knows what minimalistic living is all about. Yep, I really meant it when I said send out the search parties if you didn't hear from me again - I could literally end up buried under that mountain of cr*p he's got in there. ;0)

I made a start on the finishing on the JA/S&S Challenge piece early Thursday evening - a bit fiddly, thanks to my hands being a bit iffy at the moment, but I got there in the end. Need to do a little more to it, then it's done and I can take a pic to send to Karen for the album. No pics on here until Reveal Day at the end of the month though, sorry. It's nice to be this organised......... it doesn't happen that often, so I like to take full advantage when it does. LOL

Last night was the turn of the Sea Stars SAL but I shall leave that until next time - I want to finish off the motif I was working on, as there's not much left to do, before taking a pic.

I didn't go to bed until about 1.30am again. This time I dropped off quicker but I still kept waking up through the night. :0( Helen: I'm even crankier than the pedlar's dog now. LOL It's one of those half remembered sayings from childhood (like: more bent than a fiddlers elbow) and I guess they were cranky 'cos they were flea-bitten, mange ridden mutts who got to traipse up and down the country and had to try sleeping in hedge bottoms when there was no other shelter. Glad to say I ain't got the fleas or mange..... well, not that I've noticed..... and my beds lovely and comfy but the good night's sleep just ain't happening. LOL

Lisa: I may have the meditation CD's...... it doesn't necessarily mean I get the meditating bit right. LOL More often than not I get too relaxed and keep falling asleep. Still, at least I usually feel a bit better afterwards....... so long as I don't get a crick in my neck! There are quite a few good books and CD's out there that may help. I get some of my CD's from here. If you want to do the whole setting the mood bit: I get my incense sticks from here - they are the only ones I've used that don't set me off sneezing. I shall probably try nodding off..... oops, I mean meditating again this afternoon.

Many thanks for visiting and especially for the kind comments you leave. Hope you're all having a good day. :0)

Ta Daaa.......

Yes, it's Reveal Day for the JA/S&S Monthly Challenge. This month's design was a freebie called Noel by Windy Willows and this is how I chose to make it up:

Stitched 1 over 1.
Fabric: unknown oddment of 28ct evenweave.

Thread: Carrie's Creation Plymouth Red.

For the back I used some fabric I bought from my LNS:

I used a gold edged burgundy organza ribbon for a ruched edge finish - another technique that was a first for me but which I'll certainly be using again some time, as I'm very pleased with how this turned out. There weren't as many finishes in the group album as I was expecting but those that were in there were lovely and there were some more finishing ideas to pinch. :0)

With October being Breast Cancer Awareness month Karen has posted lots of links to freebies (and useful links) with this in mind, so the Challenge is an open one: we can choose, stitch and finish any one (or more) of the pink ribbon designs we want to - I've already chosen the one I want to stitch. I am hoping lots more of the S&S Forum members decide to join in with this one as I think it's a brilliant idea. My piece will be stitched with my SIL Helen and Aunty Doreen in mind........ unfortunately they were not survivors.

Last nights plans to tackle the second motif on the Ozark SAL didn't happen........ I got waylaid by the Online Needlework Show, spending quite some time browsing through all the booths. A pleasant way to spend an hour or so but I was a bit disappointed by the time I'd done, as I didn't really see anything that grabbed me enough to want to go and find a seller. :0( By the time I'd finished the browsing it was getting a bit late to start the motif so I did a bit more on the Halloween ornie instead. This one seems to be taking forever to stitch, for some reason, despite it not being that much bigger than the Fall piece I did - must be the colour changes slowing me down. LOL

Today was a pleasant day. The weather was nice, for a start, and I got a trip out of the house - unlike last weekend, when DH had to work.

DS was up and out and off to Brigg Farmers Market to stock us up on lots of tasty goodies. This week, as well as the usual items, he came home with some diabetic banana and walnut cake for DH to try (better for him than the other cake and scones he sneaks when he shouldn't) and some eel steaks to try. I'm happy to try the cake but not quite so sure about the eel, though I'm usually game to try most things at least once..... so long as they're legal. LOL At least it's not jellied eels - now those I definitely do draw the line at. Anything that looks like it's covered in snot does not appeal at all, thank you very much. Blech!

My trip out, with DH, was a walk down our local High Street. First stop was Il Sorriso for dinner: we had their home made beef and vegetable stew, which comes with a thick slice of bread and butter, and we also had a warm drink. As I'd finished reading my last book and had registered it on the Book Crossing site (see The Reading Corner Blog in the side bar for more details) I took it with me, to release it into the wild there. Got my fingers crossed that this one gets picked up quickly and starts travelling far and wide, as the previous book (Labyrinth by Kate Mosse) seems to be staying put in Chapel Stile. Maybe I should try some controlled releases with my next books, as that way I know they'll be read and passed on.

After dinner we popped into my LNS. I was after some finishing bits for the Halloween ornies - no pumpkin coloured cording in site but I still came away with some goodies that will be useful for other finishing jobs. Well, tell me: who on earth, in their right minds, can walk out of a LNS with empty hands? LMAO Next stop was the Help The Aged charity shop for a look-see at the book selection and I didn't come out of there empty-handed either:

I love Dave Eddings fantasy books and am gradually working towards collecting all of them. The middle book with the odd title I bought out of curiosity: I want to know what made it an award winner and if I would class it as a good read. The Candace Robb book is a medieval murder mystery and I usually enjoy the history/thriller mix. I've got quite a few non-fiction books waiting to be read, like those I bought earlier in the month, but do like to mix a good fiction read in there as well, otherwise it gets a bit heavy going, and these will do quite nicely.

We also called in at a couple of other shops for some bits and pieces and the chemists for DH's new meds (Elisa: they're the same tablets as yours but DH has to take these on top of the gliclazide he's already taking, as they weren't keeping his blood sugar levels down enough. Hopefully the combination will do the trick). After that we stopped off at the Malt Shovel for a cold drink (pint for him, J2O for me) and a rest before tackling the walk home - all that shopping and the warm weather was very drying. :0) DH was happy to sit and watch the Grand Prix qualifying when we got back - he'd taped it - while I was happy to settle in front of the computer.
No stitching again tonight as I've been blogging and blog reading/commenting, having a natter with my DSis, catching up with forums and generally pottering around - hope to make up for the lack tomorrow, after we've been iron shopping (Karen: nope, irons definitely don't bounce. Wonder if the Dyson bloke fancies a new challenge? LOL).

Many thanks for the kind comments about Sea Stars. Thank you for visiting. :0)