Packed Post

Lots of things to show you…so I will keep the wording on the light side….firstly I can reveal my exchange received and sent for the Summer Holiday Exchange on the “Stitched With Love Exchange” blog…this is what I received from April…

and this is what I sent to Shannon…

I stitched Tanya’s freebie “To The Beach” using hand-dyed linen and Crescent Colour threads and edged it in ruched ribbon.

I finally got around to making up some pillows today..

I did have a little spurge at my favourite shop yesterday….a mug in a tin, sewing scissors in a case, vintage buttons (used on the pillows), a fat quarter bundle and some green/rosebud fabric (used for the garden pillow)

No more writing…it’s getting late…have a good Monday

Hugs & Stitches

Just Perfect & Adorable PIF Gift…

That’s really all I can say about the pillow that arrived for me this morning from Gaynor…it’s in my favourite colours…from one of my most favourite books “Little Women” and from one of my favourite designers too….and along with this Gaynor also sent me Cath Kidston’s Label & Sticker Book too…what a treat….do you want to see the Perfect & Adorable PIF Gift…well here it is…

Been very busy decorating here…the lounge is just about done…my dad (who is a decorator) is coming tomorrow to paper the chimney breast which is having a feature wallpaper on it, Mark is busy doing the trim around the laminate flooring and then we can start making look like a room again!! I will be busy framing some pieces of my stitching to put up in one of the alcoves….photo’s will follow once it’s all complete.

I have been busy stitching for exchanges, giveaway’s and PIF’s so no stitching to show at the moment I am saddened to say.

Talking of giveaway’s mine is open until 23rd December…you can enter here

Until next time…in the words of Jerry Springer…”take care of yourselves and each other”

Hugs & Stitches

Fancy One This Friday??

A Jane day that is? I stitched this little treasure over two evenings and finished it up as a pillow last night…I love this design.

The Sampler Girl - “Fancy A Jane Day?”

28c Cashel Linen in Antique Ivory

Dinky Dyes Silk “Nana” (Ltd Edition)

I have also finished up another piece for an exchange so cannot reveal that to you as yet.

I am waiting with baited breath for my Down Sunshine Lane delivery of my next LHN Ornie chart as along with this is coming the JCS Christmas Ornie edition….can’t wait!

I am still busy stitching the curtains and bunting for Martha’s room, I managed to get into town on Wednesday (in between the wind and downpours we have been having all week) to buy the extra piece of curtain rufflet and some purple gingham which is the other fabric to go alongside the pale lemon and white polka dot fabric.

Isaac is all excited today as all the children from the Catholic schools in the city have gone to the racecourse to watch the Pope’s Big Assembly on the BIG screen, they spent yesterday making flags and banners. I remember going to see Pope John Paul II at the racecourse in 1982, we set off walking from church at 5am on a pilgrimage, it was a boiling hot day and there was thousands there for the Mass…a day to remember!

A bit of exciting news…I am starting to teach needlework at Isaac’s school every week to the Yr 4’s (8 year olds) they are studying the Victorians so we are going to design little samplers for them to stitch..SO a little plea…does anyone know where I can obtain paper to use to design the samplers or does graph paper do the job?? I also am going to be helping out in Isaac’s class with maths, which is a bit funny as maths is not my strongest subject, hence I have taken the bull by the horns and enrolled myself on a course starting next week, teaching me to teach maths to little ones :0).

Well I have rambled quite enough..I hope you all have a fantastic weekend…

Hugs & Stitches

Elisa x

Emma Finally Finished

I have finally finished stitching Tanya’s “Jane Austen and Me…the Emma Project” I adored this piece, the colours are so lush…a total joy to stitch. It is stitched on 32c Antique White Belfast Linen with the recommended DMC threads.I have not decided how to finish her as yet but will show you when I have.

 

I took a couple of piccies of a chocolate faced little monkey yesterday so you all could see..

 

Not a lot happening here at the moment, we did manage to get the garden into some semblance of order over the weekend, just in time for the sunshine :0) great planning eh!!

My friend has got 3 girls and has just given me a huge pile of summer dresses for Martha so the washing machine is on overtime…at least I can hang them all out to dry in the lovely sunshine.

Back to the bathroom this weekend, wood cladding to finish then for the painting to commence.

Hoping you all have a good week…

Hugs & Stitches

Elisa x

Birthdays,Walking,Decorating & Some Stitching

It seems like an age since I last blogged but this have been hectic here as always and I just haven’t had the time to get on the pc much apart from emailing checking!! Plus I have been a bit under the weather..unfortunately one of the wounds on my back where I had a mole removed developed a nasty infection and I have been on the hugest strongest penicillin..they made me feel quite rotten. But it’s all cleared up now so I am back to fighting fit!

Isaac celebrated his 6th Birthday at the end of April and had a good day and received lots of presents: a scooter, DVDs, Ds Games, books, a globe, clothes and a special day out at the North Yorkshire Moors Steam Railway, as he wasn’t having a party I decided this would be a nice day out for him and 2 of his friends. He is going to wait until the weather improves so we can spend a lovely day out having a picnic on the moors…it’s just too darn cold at the moment…I am sat here with a big wooly cardi on to try to keep warm.

Walking…..well finally Miss Martha is up and off she started walking 2 weekends ago and there is now no stopping her…along with the walking came the non stop talking she is such a chatty little girl, she is 18 months old on 21st May..where does the time go…unbelievable really.

Mark and I have been busy each weekend wallpaper stripping and preparing the bathroom, this weekend as the kids were at their Dad’s we really cracked on with the tongue and groove cladding for the bathroom walls, I have to say I was a dab hand with the power tools this weekend, I mastered the art of a jigsaw and palm sander quite well…lol!!

Next weekend as we are not child free we aim to (weather permitting) tackle the wilderness that tries to pass as a garden!!

I have done quite a bit of stitching this past month…firstly for my lovely friend Michelle’s birthday I stitched her this needleroll..I used Carol’s Sew Blue design stitched on 28c cream Jobelan using Japanese Marblethread.

Other stitching progress includes a small amount on my “Cheryl” SAL piece I am using 32c Murano Vanilla fabric and Dragon Floss “Precious”, it is coming along slowly.

Again a small amount of progress on my LHN SAL piece…I am currently 2 ornies behind where I should be so I need to get the old needle smokin’ on these too. 

I have naughtily started a new piece which I just couldn’t resist it any longer…it is Tanya’s Jane Austen “The Emma Project”, I am stitching it on Belfast Linen in Antique White using the recommended DMC threads…

A small stitching finish to share too…this is for Isaac’s teacher for the end of the year, I need to finish it into a little hanger, this is stitched on 28c French Country Linen in Cashmere using Vikki Clayton silks. Notice the lovely gingham heart…my special friend Michelle kindly brought that back from her stitching weekend in France, which I was originally booked to go on but sadly could not attend, isn’t it delightful!!

Oh and finally…no Elisa blog post would be complete without a bit of CK…lol. I have had my eye on this piece for months and months…so I finally treated myself to it…it is the perfect size to put all my stitching essentials in to keep in my corner of the lounge where my stitching lamp and WIPs are housed…

    Thanks for reading my wafflings…lol and many thanks as always for all your kind comments.

Happy Stitching

 

Elisa x

You’ve Been Framed!!

I finally managed to get to the Range at the weekend and get a couple of frames to frame a couple of finishes, firstly a 2009 finish Primitive Betty’s “Spring Tyme Sampler”, it’s impossible to buy square frames unless there is already a picture in it, so that is what I had to do…here it is…

My second framing was Carol’s “Sew Pink” design, which I found difficult to find a frame for it as it’s not a standard size, so I had to make a fabric & ribbon trimmed mount/border for it…

 

Not a lot of stitching took place on my JN SAL piece last night as it took 3 hours to do the framing, but I managed a few satin stitch strawberries and mosaic flowers during Law & Order UK and Larkrise to Candleford which I recorded from Sunday evening as I am a Dancing on Ice addict…lol!

I am waiting with baited breath for the mail this week as I have some packages on their way, firstly 2 pairs of Yuko’s divine scissors, 2 charts from Tanya at The Sampler Girl; “Jane Austen & Me…The Emma Project” and “From Pleasant Hill” and I also purchased a couple of Stacy Nash charts from Staci, that should make a change from the bills!!

I am doing well on my scarf knitting project…about half a scarf knitted so far…I hope to finish it so I can wear it at least once this year…they do say to expect more snow so that may be a reality.

Hope you all have a good week and as always many thanks for all your comments I really do appreciate your time and compliments.

Hugs & Stitches

Elisa x