Goodbye 2008

This will be my last post for 2008 and I hope 2009 will be a safe and happy year for everyone. May there be lots of productive stitching ahead of us, and some beautiful new patterns brought out by our favourite designers.

I am about to go shopping online for some new stash through The Silver Needle. They're having their annual New Year's Eve sale, which I have participated in for the last few years. I end up getting most of the things I order and it's a fun way to get some belated Christmas presents for myself. I'll be sure to let you know what I get when my order comes through the mail.

I'd like to show you some pictures taken on Christmas Day at my parents house. A few handmade items go on show around this time of year. Lots of needlework Mum has made, and Dad has even created some paper mache 'Wise Men' after seeing them on the cover of a Shepherd's Bush chart.

Christmas Day 2008

Happy New Year everyone!!!

Three days of stitching

I've had a great Christmas break, having four days off work in all. I should have spent the time cleaning up around the house, but chose to stitch instead (a much better option). This is where I'm up to so far.

Life And Liberty - 28 December 2008

I'm onto the pudgie next which I'm sure I'll enjoy. Kath wanted to know if I was going to stitch an Australian flag instead of the American one. I'm going to stick to the American. Firstly I couldn't be bothered coming up with an Australian version (my laziness coming out there), and secondly I love anything Americana. Their patriotism is fantastic! I have a lot of American style country decorating items in my house, so anything along that theme fits in well.

I was back at work today but all I could think about was working of Life And Liberty. That would be much more productive, don't you think? I've only got three days at work this week then another four days off. Yippee!! Don't you love the holiday season? More opportunity to stitch!

A sheepie and birdie

I worked some more on Life And Liberty yesterday and am liking it so much. I managed to get the sheep done, then did the bird sitting on him, and some motifs.

Life And Liberty - 27 December 2008

I've been trying to change my template and am not having much luck. The one I'm wanting keeps coming up with an error message when I preview it, and the solutions they suggest don't work. I may have to go back to the one I had before with the buttons. So forgive me if you see weird things happening with my blog for the moment.

A start on Life And Liberty

I got my Life And Liberty kit out yesterday, after a bit of gardening in the morning. I didn't feel like doing much else apart from stitching, so I thought I'd indulge in my favourite past time. This is going to be so enjoyable I can tell.

SB Life And Liberty - started 26 December 2008

It's stitched on 32ct Antique Ivory linen with a mixture of beautiful silk threads (Au Ver a Soie, Gloriana, Thread Gatherer, and even a Soie Belle). I love the delicateness of stitching with one thread strand at a time. I'll look forward to posting my progress pics for this one. Next I'll work on the sheep. I love them, with their dark faces and legs. So cute!

Life And Liberty

I spent a lovely Christmas day yesterday with my family, and I hope everyone else had a wonderful day also. Thanks so much for your Christmas greetings, they were all well appreciated.

Now I'm wanting to get into another project and the one that's calling for me to do it is Life And Liberty by Shepherd's Bush. It's a bit bigger than the last two I stitched, but I hope not too big enough that it won't take me too long to complete. I like the idea of all the separate motifs, and of course the pudgie and sheep. It allows you to do as much or as little each time you stitch.

Shepherd's Bush - Life And Liberty

Merry Christmas

Wishing everyone a safe, happy and joyful Christmas!

Another Christmas finish

I wanted to get Adore finished and was able to achieve that last night. I've enjoyed stitching this one so much. Not too big, but enough to keep you interested.

DESIGN - Shepherd's Bush ~ Adore

STARTED - 14 December 08

FINISHED - 21 December 08

FABRIC - 32ct Natural Lite Linen

THREADS - Au Ver a Soie and Mori Silk

Fa La La

Here's another oldie. It's a small Shepherd's Bush Christmas kit called Fa La La. I did this one in 2006. A quick finish that can be stitched in a day or two. It's so cute and I just love the hat!

SB Fa La La - stitched in 2006

I went to see Four Holidays last night and liked it. Quite funny in a few parts, weird families, and a happy ending (with another laugh). A good, lighthearted Christmas movie.

I didn't get those Christmas presents wrapped yesterday, so I'm having to do that today. I'm so keen to finish up on Adore. Hopefully soon!

Nearly done

I had a relaxing night stitching last night after a busy week at work. I wanted to get more done on Adore and achieved a bit more than I thought I would. Now all to go is the sheep and wording.

Adore - 19 December 2008

Today I have housework to do, wrap some Chrissie presents, then tonight I'm off to the pictures to see Four Holidays. Hope it's good!

I'm Adoring this!

I did end up getting a little done on Adore last night. This pattern is so enjoyable, that I'm really happy I chose to do it next. Just had to show you some more pics. :)

Adore - 17 December 2008

I love these smaller sized Shepherd's Bush kits. So much fun!

More Adore

I was in the mood for stitching again last night. These smaller charts are better for me to handle just now. I really feel as though I'm getting somewhere in a short space of time. I ended up finishing the row of trees and houses.

Adore - 15 December 2008

Tonight I was chatting to friends and family on the phone, so no more progress on my stitching. Hopefully tomorrow night!

Adore

Well, I had a look through my stash and these were the choices I came up with for a new start.

All Shepherd's Bush kits - Adore, Rejoice, Jingle, and Come.

How I made my choice was by the fabric and thread colours, because I could have done any of them and been quite happy. Adore won and I got started on it today.

SB Adore - started 14 December 2008

Hopefully another quick stitch on it's way.

A Christmas finish

The weather's turned bad here. We've had more rain since I don't know when, and you'd think it was Winter rather than Summer. So I decided to take the opportunity and finish off Santa's Fill. Once you get into it, it's really a quick one to do. I find I don't get a lot achieved stitching at night, so I love the chance to stitch on a weekend during the daytime.

SB Santa's Fill - shop exclusive kit

Started - 3 December 2008

Finished - 13 December 2008

Fabric - 32ct Irish Creme

Threads - Soie d'Alger silk, Silk Mori, and Threadgatherer handpainted silk

Three Amethyst beads included

So what to stitch next... perhaps I should stick to these small projects for the moment. :) Maybe another Christmas one. I'll hunt around in my stash and see what I have. That in itself is a lot of fun.

Til next time ~ happy stitching all!

An interruption I don't mind

I have some more progress to show you on Santa's Fill but it's not as much as I thought I would (again!). I was happily stitching away tonight thinking that I would get a decent amount done, then the phone rang. It was a friend I had worked with over ten years ago. She ended up moving to the country a good two to three hours away. We usually catch up with a call round Christmas/New Year time and find out what each of us have been doing throughout the year. We both end up laughing so much and talk as if we'd only chatted to each other recently. It's so good to catch up. So after about 1 1/2 hours or more talking to her, it got too late to continue with my stitching. It's an interruption I'm happy to have if it means catching up with a dear friend. So this is where I ended up with my progress...

Santa's Fill - 9 December 2008

The red thread is a Thread Gatherer variegated silk and I find it hard sometimes to decide which direction to take the colour variance. I suppose it doesn't matter because either way it gives it a unique look.