*Happy Halloween*

A big spooky hello to those of you who celebrate the Halloween Holiday. Here in Australia we don't actually get a holiday for this occasion but it is still celebrated a little with young children wandering around, trick or treating throughout the neighbourhood. The stores of course like to get into the act and sell a variety of Halloween costumes and an assortment of related products. Anyway, I hope you're all enjoying the celebrations whatever you do to mark the occasion.

It's been a while since I dropped by last so I thought I better do an update to let you know that all is well. Actually, all was not well last week. I was home all week with the flu and will go back to work tomorrow for the first time since. I still have the last bit of it lingering but I can't stay home forever, right? My girls (cats) enjoyed having me home. A little more entertainment for them during the day. Plus they were able to get a snack here and there that they don't normally have while I'm at work. Still, I'm sure they'll love the peace and quiet when I go back.

So the picture up above is one I've taken and played around with for Halloween. It's of Shepherd's Bush Little Witch that I stitched up a number of years ago. It's got the Jill Rensel mat around it and has a black wooden frame with detail. I thought it was quite suitable for this time of year to show you a picture of it.

The other things I have to show you is some charts I bought a short while ago from Country Stitches. I love Brenda's designs and find it hard not to add them to my stash every now and then.

Broom Hilda, St. Noel, Pumpkin Farm, and Fruit For A Song charts by Country Stitches

Nothing else to show right now. I'm still not stitching which is quite annoying (to you and to me). I'll have to find something really tiny to do, to get back into it. I know I have some small projects in my stash, it's just a matter of sorting through them and finding one that suits. I've had a couple of offers for SALs which is very nice but I'm not in the right frame of mind to tackle this. So I will have to decline on the offers, sorry. I will do one again some day, I'm sure.

That's it for now. Have a Happy Halloween everyone!

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Country Stitches Stash

Not much happening here so I thought I'd post some pictures of some stash I got from Country Stitches at their Valentines Sale in February.

First up are some patterns by Brenda of Country Stitches and her design name of With Thy Needle & Thread.

Sewing Bird Pinkeep, Miss Lapin, and Mary's Best Handework

Then a couple of sampler patterns.

Pineberry Lane - A Faithful Friend Sampler

Heartstring Primitives - Grapevines At The Old Homestead

A bit of Stacy Nash.

Letters Scissor Pouch Pattern, and Basket Of Flowers Pinkeep

A lot more of Stacy Nash! A few of her booklets all freshly sealed in plastic.

From Hollyhock Farm, Merry Hallowe'en, and Goode Tidings

I got some prim accessories also, keys and rusty old pins. I also wanted to get a piece of Platinum Belfast to see what the colour was like. Brenda uses it in so many of her patterns and I was curious. It is a little like Weeks Dye Works Linen in comparison.

There was a chart that was out of stock but was arriving in a week or so of my order, so Brenda kindly held back on sending my other items so they could be shipped together. When she told me she had sent my package after this slight delay, she mentioned I'd be busy. I had forgotten most of what I'd bought so by the time I received the parcel in the mail, I can understand what she meant! Perhaps I went a bit overboard but what a delight to receive all these goodies in the mail.

Now, I have a little cat story to tell. On the weekend I was out in my front yard, pottering around in the garden. I allow my two cats out for a romp whenever I go out the front (as they're normally indoor cats) and they love it. This day I was keeping an eye on them and noticed they were hovering around the front gate. The gate has a gap at the bottom, big enough for them to fit through. My youngest, Charlotte, thought she'd pop under and have a look at what's on the other side of the gate. I saw this and quickly called her back in, and she immediately came back. Then I got into some weeding and forgot about them for a few minutes. When I looked around to see where they both were, I could see Sophie but Charlotte was nowhere to be seen. I walked around the front yard, nothing, then went around the back yard, nothing, had another look round the front, called out her name and gave a whistle or two, but still nothing. Then I gave it one more try with calling her name and then I heard this little meow. Have a guess where she was... in the next door neighbour's yard! I went to the front, opened the gate and started walking to the neighbour's, then all of a sudden out she comes scurrying like she couldn't wait to get back to familiar surroundings. What a cheeky thing she was. This is the first (and hopefully the last) time she's been out of my property. Birmans are an indoor breed so you have to be careful if you let them outside. My girls usually love to wander in the front yard for a short time, but I guess Charlotte was feeling a bit more adventurous on this day.

My cheeky Charlotte - 3 year old Birman cat

A Package Arrived

I received an order I'd put through to Country Stitches in the mail yesterday. It has the chart I'm going to work on next (after I've finished Angel In Your Heart), and some other things I decided to get.

First up I got some charts from With Thy Needle & Thread. They're fast becoming one of my favourite designers.

With Thy Needle & Thread - Love & Be Loved, Be Kind & Be True, and Easter Peep

Be Kind & Be True is what I'm going to work on next. I will be doing this as a SAL with Melissa. We both loved this chart when we discovered it and are looking so forward to working together on it.

I also got a chart by Stacy Nash.

Stacy Nash - Homespun Christmas Pinkeep Ornament

Then lastly some bits and pieces. Reproduction fabrics which will go with a few Stacy Nash patterns I have, some old looking rusty snowflake charms, linen thread, and primitive rusty safety pins with bells. All great for primitive needlework.

Primitive rusty snowflake charms

I'll also update you on how I'm going with Angel In Your Heart. I haven't had a lot of stitching time so not much progress to show. I'm just tossing up on the colour I'll settle on for the stars in the design. The one I chose has come up a bit deeper to what I wanted, though it still maybe alright. I went to a craft shop a lunch time today while at work and had a look at some yellow DMC threads. I picked out a few and the one I'm leaning towards is 677. It's a little softer and has the slightest green tinge to it. The original colour in the design is GA Summer Meadow which doesn't really work for me. It's all down to personal choice. Here's a peek of my progress with the deeper yellow (Soie D'Alger Silk 4232) that I may pull out.

Happy stitching everyone, thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful week!