A Little Pre-Xmas Stash

I ordered some stash over the last two months and it's only just arrived recently. The first lot was from Stitching Bits and Bobs. This I ordered early October and because one chart had to be ordered from the supplier, they hold back your entire order. This can be a bit frustrating, along with my priority package taking three weeks to get here! Anyway, the main thing is I have finally received it safely. I ordered some Victoria Sampler charts for Mum as part of her Xmas present. Another one of theirs she wanted to buy as she already had the accessory pack. This, I think, was the chart I was waiting on (Heirloom Nativity Sampler). These charts aren't in the photo.

Stash from top left clockwise: Plum Street Samplers - Hares' Christmas, LHN - The Family Sampler, Sarah Street ~ Faithfulness, Pumpkin Hollow Farms, BBD - Honeysuckle Manor book, and Farm House.

The next lot I got from The Rocking Horse. All Shepherds Bush kits.

Our Hearts Pin Cushion, My Land, Liberty Scissor Fob, The Journey, Lucky Sheep, Liberty Pin Cushion, My Pins, and Blue Snowman.

All lovely kits with beautiful supplies included. You probably won't see me stitching them soon, but one day I'll get to them.

Well, I've calmed down a bit since Oprah has left the country. I wasn't one of the lucky ones to actually see her show being taped in Sydney, since I would have had to have taken about three days off work. December isn't a good time to do this since it's our busiest time of year - no one is allowed to have any annual leave for all of December where I work. Plus you had to go into a lottery style draw just to get tickets! Knowing my luck, I wouldn't have got any. So I just kept up to date with all the news on the TV. Those at the first show's taping were given a necklace that you can actually buy yourself. Worth $AU450, it's not cheap, but it's certainly lovely. An Australian pearl hanging within a silver 'O'. Only available for a limited time, you can buy it from Kailis Jewellers Australia online. I'd love to buy one myself, but it's a bit too expensive for my budget.

So I hope everyone's gearing up for Xmas and are all organised. I've purchased all the presents I needed to get and tonight I'm going to sit in front of the TV and watch Carols In The Domain (live from Sydney), while wrapping my presents. It's a little tradition I've started and gets me in the festive mood.

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 New Start ~ Ah, 'Tis Spring

You can tell I'm back at work now - less blogging and stitching time. I'm happy to say though that I've started on Ah, 'Tis Spring and have chosen to do it on a 35ct Linen (322). This is a rich, butter yellow. I had the choice of 28ct Alabaster also but I was drawn to the warm tone of the butter colour. Unfortunately the photos don't show its true colour very well.

So I made a start on Wednesday but after getting everything sorted out first (cutting fabric, bagging threads, counting to starting position), I didn't get very far with my stitching. Only a couple of rows at the bottom.

Ah, 'Tis Spring - started 17 March 2010

Then I got a little more progress done last night. Some more of the grass and there's some carrots popping up throughout. I'm stitching this using 1 over 2 threads. The threads are a variety of brands and it's a conversion from the DMC listed in the chart (not my conversion though).

19 March 2010

And lastly is a few charts I received in the mail yesterday. They're by Stone & Thread and the main one I was wanting was Garden Flowers but saw the other two and liked them.

Stone & Thread - Live Humbly, Hoppity, and Garden Flowers

I did receive some more stash from Country Stitches recently when they had a Valentines sale. I may show that another time though.

The weather here has been lovely lately. Autumn can be the most settled time of the year, with warm temperatures without being too hot here. Though last year we didn't get much Autumn weather sadly. Anyway, today I've been busy out in the garden, doing some minor pruning and tidying up. I'm finally getting my garden into some sort of order and it's a nice feeling. I've planted a few more plants recently, I have some more to be planted, and I've purchased a couple of rose bushes to put in the garden. Roses are what I'm wanting to get more of. I love their hardiness, the blooms, and I'd like to be able to cut their flowers to bring inside. Wonderfully scented varieties I like, and I just adore David Austin roses with their multiple petals. I'm always drawn to the pink ones too. It's funny, I love pink these days, but I never used to be fussed about it when I was growing up. Our tastes do change over the years.

So many thanks for dropping by my corner of the world and many happy stitches!

What Does A Girl Need?

MORE STASH!!!!

More? I hear you say. Yes, more! This lot is from Needlecraft Corner that I ordered last month. No, there's nothing from the recent market releases unfortunately (I'm trying to hold off on those) but a few bits and pieces I wanted to get.

First up are some charts. Some of them aren't available everywhere, so I was happy to get them.

NOTFORGOTTEN FARM - Dirty Snowmen

PLUM STREET SAMPLERS - Sophie's Sheep

NOTFORGOTTEN FARM - Ah, 'Tis Spring

LITTLE HOUSE NEEDLEWORKS - Fresh Watermelon, and Bee Sampler

Next up are threads. These ones are for a project I'll be doing soon. The clue is in one of the charts above.

OK, you guessed it.

Then some linens.

The top three WDW are 35ct with the Belfast being 32ct. The Beige has the slightest bit of a green tone to it if anything. It's only an undertone so not too obvious and it's a better colour than I thought it would be. The Linen has come up a bit pinkish in the photo, which it's not. It's an off-white colour and the same I'm doing BK&BT on. I love it and wanted more on hand. The other two I didn't get for any particular project but there will be ones where I'll need a blue coloured fabric for them. Don't they look scrumptious?

And lastly, a couple of Wildflowers threads which were being cleared out at a good discount.

WILDFLOWERS - Rose Quartz (top), and Rose Blush

So a bit of a mixture of things there. I know I always like seeing other peoples stash when they show it on their blogs, so that's why I like to show mine. You sometimes see something you hadn't before. I love those little discoveries.

Latest on BK&BT - it's finished! Yes, I stitched the last stitches today. The man and woman have eyes now and I'll show you pictures of it tomorrow. I'm going to get back to Angel In Your Heart next and hopefully it won't take much longer to complete.

Til tomorrow ~ happy stitching and stashing!

Some New Stash

I finally received my Superbowl Sale order from The Silver Needle and I've now taken some photos to show.

Needlework accessories.

Sajou Thread Palette and Needlecard

A selection of buttons.

Weeks Dye Works wool cuts.

(left to right) Sweetheart Rose, Kudzu, Whisky or Mustard Herringbone(two cuts were the same), Gingerbread, Sand Houndstooth, Camel, and Pecan Herringbone

Shepherd's Bush charts, fabric, and buttons.

Jill Rensel mats.

All of this was sent in two big boxes, can you believe? They really could have sent them in one. So you can save on one end but lose on the other.

Now I haven't been stitching much in the last couple of days. I've been out or had people visiting, but I got a little done tonight. I think Melissa is ahead of me as she only has some letters and personalization to complete. I'm still working on the tree and have the rest of the letters to do. All that's needed is some quality stitching time to get closer to finishing this lovely sampler.

Thanks to all for your comments and to those who just drop by for a visit. Elisabetta, I'm stitching this on 35ct Linen by Weeks Dye Works (Linen is the colour). Til next time, happy stitching!

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!

Part Two ~ Silver Needle Stash

Here are some more pictures of the stash I received from The Silver Needle's New Year's Eve sale.

SB Witch's Treat and Halloween Night charts

JABC Buttons for these charts

Witch's Treat Buttons

Halloween Night Buttons

SB Holly Night chart with Buttons

Holly Night Buttons

SB Santa's Coming chart with recommended linen cut

Santa's Coming Santa Button

28ct Lambswool Linen pieces

JABC Buttons for SB Bethlehem Christmas and Santa's Christmas charts (already have the charts)

SB Sail Away and Snow For All kits

HE 'Spooky Stuff' Button Sampler chart with two pumpkin buttons (need four), and four flag buttons for Freedom House Button Sampler chart (already have the chart)

SB Egg Button which goes with their Hide and Seek chart (don't have this chart yet)

I also got a couple of other linen cuts. They were 32ct Cafe Mocha for CCN The Bakery, and 28ct Pearl Grey for CCN Forest Snowfall. The Cafe Mocha I thought would be a little lighter than what it is. It's a darker, natural type of linen. The Pearl Grey is more grey than I would have thought too. I was expecting slightly more blue to it but I guess it looks similar to what the chart shows.

The other things I got were CCN Princess Parade and LHN Fa La La charts, along with some various threads for different projects.

Oh, and the Jill Rensel mat for one of my SB finishes. I'll show you that another time because I've done a whole range of photos for it which will be better displayed on its own.

The needlework markets are always exciting to see what comes out. The upcoming one later in February this year will have some interesting things, I'm sure. I'm itching to see what new designs are going to be released!

Thanks for your comments as always, and have a wonderful stitching week.

A Little More of a Glimpse

Here's more of a glimpse into what I got from The Silver Needle this week. The latest designer to join my list of favourites is With Thy Needle & Thread. I adored stitching Miss Snow Fairy and there's a number of their charts that have captured my eye. I was able to get some of them through The Silver Needle.

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Along with these I ordered the Witch scissors to go with the SB Scaredy Sheep Scissor Fob (which I have bought previously), and a purse size Crystal Nail File by Dovo. I have the larger version of the nail file already and I love it. It's supposed to never dull down and is gentle on your nails.

More goodies to show next time!

Silver Needle Stash ~ Sneak Peek!

OK, here's something to tantalise your taste buds and will leave you drooling. I'm going to show you a sneak peek of my Silver Needle New Year's Eve Sale order.

There's hidden treasures underneath what you can see, but you'll have to wait a bit longer to get a glimpse of everything I ordered. It arrived in the mail today and it's something I look forward to receiving every year. I've been placing an order with them on New Year's Eve for the past four or five years. I usually get things that can be hard to order through other needlework shops since The Silver Needle site is so comprehensive. Plus they allow the discount on everything in the shop so I can always be guaranteed of getting some Shepherd's Bush kits/charts. I was also able to get a Jill Rensel SB mat for a piece I have stitched a number of years back. I'm so pleased with it and I'll show you some pictures when I get the chance.

I also wanted to thank you for your compliments on my photos and stitching. Some of you are under the impression I have finished Summer Iris. Sorry, but I still have a little to go on it. Though this will mean I'll have more photos to show when I do finish it!

As for my photo presentation, there's always room for improvement. I'm just wanting to try a few different ways to present them to make it more interesting. It enables me to bring out my creative side too.

Just to reply to your comments about my last post: Susan, my photo collages are done through Picasa software. There's a link in my sidebar if you're interested in downloading it. Let me know if you need any help with it. Melissa, I'm still deciding what my next project will be. It may be a Ewe Eye & Friends chart (you'll know which one) but I just have to make a final decision on the threads.

Thanks again for you kindhearted comments. I get such delight in reading them. Have a happy week with needle in hand!

So Indecisive

I'm having trouble trying to work out which way to go with Snow Fairy. After consideration on the white thread, I'd decided to go with DMC 712 (instead of 3865). I pondered over people's suggestion of Weeks Whitewash, but thought it was still too bright for the look I wanted. So last night I got everything out to make a start.

I'm working on 35ct Weeks Parchment Linen which is paler than the Dirty Linen that the chart calls for, and stitching 1 over 2. As I began stitching with the 712 thread, I began thinking that maybe it was too light! The thread that is. Then I thought maybe it's not the thread, and perhaps I need to change the fabric! What a state I was getting myself into. I'm still not 100% sure which way I'll go (although I do have an idea), but this was as far as I got with it. Really shows the amount of thinking I was doing, instead of stitching. :)

Miss Snow Fairy - started (maybe) 4 December 2009

The chart is in colour which is fantastic. It really makes it easy to know which colour thread to look for. I also noticed, that on the chart itself they've called it Miss Snow Flurry. Don't know whether this is a printing error or whether it's deliberate. I think the Flurry suits it better really. So stick with me to see which direction I take this project in. You'll never know which way it will end up! (I bet Tina's not having this much trouble with hers.)

I've mentioned previously that I was waiting for some new stash to arrive. It showed up on Thursday. All Shepherd's Bush kits that I bought online from The Rocking Horse. Barb had a sale on with 20% off, so I took advantage of this. She always puts a sale on before Christmas, so it's a good opportunity to buy gifts for others or even for yourself. These are all for myself this time. (If you want to know when she has her sales on, you need to join their email list.)

Shepherd's Bush kits (from bottom left clockwise) - Finch Song, Holly And Ivy, Into The Night, Thanks A Lot, Patriotic Snowman, and in front Remember.

Holly And Ivy's one of their new ones, with Patriotic Snowman an older one. Thanks A Lot was what I was going to do if it had have arrived earlier. I wanted to do this one over the Thanksgiving period. We don't celebrate this holiday in Australia but I feel like we do in a way through stitching. Lots of American holidays are celebrated through their cross stitch patterns. The SB Thanks A Lot kit could be thanks for any occasion though.

Well I mustn't stay on this computer for too long if I want to try to work out what to do with Miss Snow Fairy. Wish me luck!

A Feast For The Eyes ~ New Stash!

Yes, a little more stash has come my way. A couple were limited edition so I decided to get them now instead of being disappointed when they were no longer available.

(from bottom left) Shepherd's Bush - Scaredy Sheep Scissor Fob kit, Here We Go A Haunting kit, and La D Da A - Bird In Hand kit

Firstly I'm going to show you the SB limited edition folk art box which has inside their kit for Here We Go A Haunting.

It's a wooden box painted black outside, and has on the top of the lid a picture of the stitched piece.

Inside has the kit which includes chart, fabric, threads, and a button.


The kit comes with the limited edition box for a short time only for no extra cost than the kit itself, but beware, some shops have already sold their supplies of it. I got mine from Stitching Bits and Bobs.


Next is also a SB kit called Scaredy Sheep. This is a scissor fob and is a companion to Here We Go A Haunting. The witchy scissors don't come with the kit but you can order them separately from the Shepherd's Bush girls or other needlework shops may have them too. These I will definitely have to get in the future.


Lastly is a new release from La D Da called A Bird In Hand. Again, they have brought it out in a limited edition kit including 35ct WDW Straw fabric, Needlepoint Inc. silk threads, and hand-made cord to turn it into a cushion, along with finishing instructions. The fabric and threads have lovely warm tones and I've tried to take pictures to show the real colour of them. I think I've achieved that.


I'm really pleased with all of these. The only down side to them is that they increase the chances of choosing my next project that much more harder. :) Not sure whether I'll do another Halloween one this time of the year though.

I went to see The Time Traveler's Wife last night and thought it was really good. I usually see romantic comedies, so this one was a change to that, although there was still the romance to it. Loved Eric Bana's part and Rachel McAdams did a wonderful job too (I liked her in Wedding Crashers). You had to keep on your toes with it because of the time travel but the linkage was done well and you knew what was happening.

Well, the weather here is going crazy. It's decided it wants to be summer and we're in a mini heat wave (low 30s) compared to what we've had lately. There's been limited spring weather, so we're not really prepared for this heat. Melbourne is renowned for it's unpredictable weather though so it's not surprising. The best part is that we've had some really good Spring rain and the gardens are growing like mad. It's been a while since this has happened. Our poor gardens have just been trying to survive, let alone thriving.

Just having a quiet day today. The pussy cats are taking it easy too. They've been flaked out on the floor because of the weather. I don't blame them really.

I'll try to get some more stitched on BBB. Nothing more since my last progress on it. I better get cracking though, otherwise it will be Christmas already and I'll still be working on Halloween!

Take care all and happy stitching. ~x~x~x