Progressing along

My Moonlit Garden is slowly taking shape. Just stars, moon, and words to work on now.

Moonlit Garden - 30 May 2009

I hope to get some more done today. I just have a little housework to do, then I'm into my stitching for the rest of the day.

In response to your comments about my lounge room... Tammy ~ I'm not sure whether it looks like it should be in a magazine, but you're very kind for saying. Thanks! Chrissie ~ I do work on my stitching in the lounge room. I sit in the sofa on the left of the picture, in the seat closest in shot. Now that I have the ottoman as well, I bring it over to the sofa and put my feet up while I'm stitching. How relaxing is that? Melissa ~ yes I know, there's lots of wall room for my needlework. I get a bit unsure as to what ones to put where, then I end up doing nothing about it. It's tragic I know. :) Prime real estate going to waste! Thanks to everyone else for commenting. I wanted to achieve that cosy feel and to create my little haven of peace. Just right for a stitcher. If only I could invite you all over for a cuppa.

Melissa also mentioned about my cats not being in the photo on the lounge or rug. It was quite funny when the rug went on the floor. They walked on it and couldn't wait to get off it! I think it felt unsteady for them. They're a bit more used to it now but they aren't to the stage where they want to lay or sleep on it. I do have a photo I took of the two of them on one of the sofas. They're lying on my new mohair throw. Gosh, do they live the life of luxury!

Sophie and Charlotte

New from LHN

Here's a couple of new ones I saw on LHN's site. Both terrific, and designs I'll add to a future stash buy.

LHN - Colonial Women

LHN - Fresh Watermelon

Something I've been doing lately is choosing and purchasing a new lounge suite. I've bought a 2 seater, 2 1/2 seater, and an ottoman. The colour is sage green. To define the lounge area, I also bought a new thick pile rug in a mocha colour. It's so soft to touch and you almost want to lay on the rug instead of sitting on the lounge, it's just gorgeous! I've tried to achieve a cosy look to the room.

I'm going to try to stitch some more on Moonlit Garden tonight. I'm a bit of a snail with my needlework lately. It will be lovely when it's finished though. Just have to be patient. :)

Pumpkins and Acorns

I did a little more last night on Moonlit Garden - the pumpkin and acorn.

Moonlit Garden - 26 May 2009

It's such a rich coloured design and I'm sorry the photos don't do it justice. You can't see the true colour of the dirty, brown toned fabric (it looks more like natural linen in these pictures). Believe me, it's got a beautiful, warm look to it in real life. The thread colours just seem to jump out of the design too.

I'm so glad you liked my photos of Garden Angel in my last post. It's a gorgeous design and one that I enjoyed working on so much. Nicole, I'm happy to enable you with this one. I'm sure I'll see you stitch it someday on your blog. It's funny how some designs don't grab you at first but once you see them stitched up, they capture your inner desire. It brings me joy just to help people discover hidden gems.

La D Da ~ Garden Angel

This one I stitched and had framed a while back. Thought I'd share it with you...

LA D DA - Garden Angel

I started Garden Angel in 2004 and finished the stitching in 2005. Then it wasn't until 2007 when I had it framed. It's one of my favourite framed pieces. I really enjoyed working on this and I just love the thick frame I picked out for it. I got the idea for this particular frame after I'd seen Chrissie's done. It's a similar look which I think suits this design so well.

Mine is stitched on 35ct Sheeps Straw, using Gentle Art Sampler Threads from memory. I don't have the chart handy so I can't be sure about the threads used. I also have La D Da's Harvest Angel and Old Glory Angel which I'd like to do some day.

I apologise if my photos aren't as sharp as they normally are. I usually use the software in Picasa 3 to sharpen, but since their last update it doesn't seem to work as well. Bit annoying really. Anyway, I hope you enjoy looking at my pictures. There's more photos in my Picasa Albums. Thanks!

EDITED TO ADD:

I forgot to mention about the brass button I added to my Gaden Angel. It's from Homespun Elegance and I put it in the top left corner of the design in replace of my initials and year stitched. I didn't like the way mine was looking and thought the charm would be a nice replacement. Thanks for the kind comments!

Second edition is out!

Some of you may remember my first edition of Pussy Magazine with my gorgeous Birman cat, Sophie on the cover. Well not to be outdone, my youngest cat, Charlotte had to have a cover shot of her own. I managed to get a suitable picture of her the other day. She was just in the right mood. Here's the long awaited follow up to the first issue...

I managed to come up with a few more article headings. Hope you have a chuckle reading them! Remember, it's just a bit of fun. :)

Another thing I did recently was watch a dvd called Miss Potter. It was so 'delightful'. That's the perfect word for it. I just loved it! It stars Renee Zellweger and Ewan McGregor. Based of the life of Beatrix Potter who was an amazing woman with such talent. It's the type of movie you could watch over and over again. Delightful!

More Moonlit Garden

I decided I was going to try and stitch some more on Moonlit Garden last night.

Moonlit Garden - 18 May 09

I've really got to put some more effort into this one. I don't want to start on something else until it's finished. Usually I like to work on one piece at a time (if you hadn't already guessed). Once this is completed then I can make a start on the next Stacy Nash Group kit. I'm looking forward to that one!

Apple & Cinnamon

Yesterday I went shopping for my Dad's birthday present. I found a lovely potted arrangement of blue and white flowered plants in a terra cotta pot. I also found something for myself. :)

It's the most gorgeous scented candle in an apple and cinnamon aroma. They're Australian made and are supposed to last 100 hours. The brand is Glasshouse Candles, they have numerous candles in different scents, and the one I chose is called Strasbourg. It has that wonderful country smell of freshly baked apple and cinnamon. I had it burning last night and the aroma was just divine.

Now I know you can get similar candles in the US. Yankee Candle comes to mind, and I just adore their range of goods, but to find something similar here is wonderful.

I'm finding it hard to get into a stitching groove since the weather here has turned cooler and the daylight hours shorter. It's not really motivating me. I'm feeling more tired when I get home from work each night, and the weekends have been fairly full lately. So I'm sorry I have no progress to show.

Last week though I was given another award, this time from Zetor. It was so unexpected and I thank her very much for it.

I'd like to pass it on to:

Tammy

Jurga

Bea

Marti

Susan

Snip

Be sure to drop by these wonderful blogs and enjoy some stitching time with them.

I do find it difficult to select people for these awards, so I have tried to choose new ones this time that I may not have selected before. Everyone is deserving though and please do not feel left out if your name is not shown.

Happy stitching!

Here's what else I ordered

My Stacy Nash Group kit comes in a Priority Mail envelope and can accommodate a reasonable amount of weight. So I decided that before my kit was shipped out this time, I'd contact Jeanne at Country Sampler (who's organising the posting out of the kits) and add some items to the shipment. This way I'd just be charged for the price of the charts and not have to pay anymore than I would have already for postage. These are the charts I got which are all on their website...

One from Indygo Junction that I hadn't seen before called Vintage Pincushions. Lovely old, vintage style designs to create pincushions that look as though they're from yesteryear. The other chart in this photo is from Blackbird Designs called Blessings Be Thine. This one I've seen a few other ladies complete and it looks wonderful finished. I don't think it's readily available at most needlework shops, so I was thrilled to find it listed at Country Sampler. I wasn't sure whether they'd have any in stock but went ahead and ordered it anyway. So I was quite pleased when it arrived. It's a Christmas design but not one that's too obvious.

Now I couldn't pass up the chance to get a few more Stacy Nash patterns. These two booklets I've been eyeing for quite some time. A Simply Early Christmas has a festive theme to it, though I must admit I haven't even looked inside this one yet because I don't want to undo the gorgeous ribbon that is wrapped around the outside. I just think it looks so special.

The From Me To Thee booklet I have looked through and what a delight it is. So many interesting patterns and wonderful pictures. It's a feast for the eye! I just adore primitive looking things, so Stacy's creations appeal to my inner desire for the simpler style. Here's a few pictures from the pages within.

And lastly some more Stacy Nash charts. These ones are called Christmas Goose Pinkeep, Cherry Hill Cupboard Sampler, and Simple Joys Pinkeep. I love them!

What a delightful stash enhancement. I'm so pleased with everything I ordered. Hope you've enjoyed sharing it with me.

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all those wonderful Mums out there! It's Mother's Day here and I spent the day with my mother. This year I gave her a bunch of flowers and a decorative small satin cushion covered with thick lace and a satin fabric rose on the top. It can be hung or placed on a table as a decoration. She absolutely loved it.

I bought this cushion in my favourite gift shop Wrappings. It's made by Queensland wholesalers Miss Rose, Sister Violet. They create the most gorgeous giftware and homeware items with a real vintage, feminine look.

I also managed to get some stitching done last night as I'd hoped. I've completed the roof on the house, so now it's on to the rest of the design.

Moonlit Garden - 9 May 2009

The cooler weather here has left me a little less motivated with my needlework. Plus I've been busier lately too. I find I stitch more during our Summer months. Moonlit Garden is a lovely design though, and I'm enjoying working on it. Slow as I am at the moment, I'll still keep at it.