Z - Zany, Zilch, Zeal!

30th April "Z" Post

"Zany, Zilch, Zeal"

Oh my goodness!  I have done it!  Today is the 26th posting day and the very last day of  the "Blogging from A to Z April 2015 Challenge".

Today is "Z" - "Zany, Zilch, Zeal"

Zany: a comical, ludicrous or foolish person; maybe slightly crazy!

Zilch:  zero; nothing

Zeal: great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or objective

Yep, that's me...... one crazy foolish person who has blogged every week day and Saturday for 25 "alphabet" days and has now come down in a crashing heap at the last hurdle!

I have "Zero Z" stitching to show you!!!  But I think I did very well exhibiting a great deal of "Zeal" during April and my "Z" post is all about that "Zeal"! :o)

I did have a "Zodiac" design planned for this post but last night after a full on day of work I felt like a "Zombie" and really just couldn't get myself organised....

Instead my "Z" post is all going to be a "zesty" and even a "zippy" consolidation of all of my April stitching by Designers.

Lizzie Kate

(2 designs)

Brooke Nolan (Brooke's Books)

(5 designs)

Margaret Sherry

(4 designs)

Jean Farish

(2 designs)

The Little Stitcher

(2 Designs)

Joan Elliott

(2 designs + a bit more!)

Snowflower Diaries and Tralala Collection

And then there is all the others......

Now that I have finished my absolute zany month of April stitching, what am I going to do now?  No more A-Z postings, no more stitching to an alphabet theme....

Oh well, guess that means I had just better get on with lots of WIP stitching so that I can come back again in a couple of days and post some progress pics... and who knows I may even have a finish to show!!

So til then.... I think it is nearly time for me to make lots of ZZZZZZZ's.......



Happy stitching and happy blogging!
Hugs xx

Y - You are so Loved

29th April "Y" Post

"You are so Loved"

Today is the second last posting day of the "Blogging from A to Z April 2015 Challenge".  It is also the second last day of April.

Today is "Y" - "You are so Loved"

You: "You" is a pronoun used to describe someone that is being spoken to, or to describe a hypothetical person or group of people

Loved: A strong feeling of affection and concern toward another person, as that arising from kinship or close friendship

I started stitching "You are so Loved" for the crazy January challenge.  After a false start where I had to "frog" out half of what I stitched I did manage to get quite a bit stitched on my second visit to this piece in March.

The leaves near the word look like paw prints.....

This is another design that I am stitching around the missing threads!  It now looks like this:

I know, not a lot of action happening on this one.... but at least another 20 or so stitches have been added overnight!

Tomorrow is the very last post of this crazy April challenge and I still have no idea what I am going to post for "Z"!  Til tomorrow when we will all be surprised....



Happy stitching and happy blogging!
Hugs xx

X - Xmas Kitty

28th April "X" Post

"Xmas Kitty"

Today is Tuesday 28th April and Day 24 of the "Blogging from A to Z April 2015 Challenge".

Today is "X" - "Xmas Kitty"

Xmas: shorten version (slang) of the word Christmas

I know I am taking liberties with the English language a little bit for this post.... but hey, we do use the word "Xmas" in the written form quite a lot these days so maybe it's not too much of a stretch to use "Xmas" for my "X" post!!

Today's "X" post is all about my Margaret Sherry "Christmas Kitty".  This is another Crazy January start but I didn't get very far when I last stitched on this one.

After spending some time last night on kitty, he now looks like this:

Hopefully I will be able to get this one finished on it's next outing....  after all these new starts since January it would be really nice to have a finish!

We are really rolling down the alphabet hill now, aren't we?  Only a couple more letters to go.... so til tomorrow....



Happy stitching and happy blogging!
Hugs xx

W - Winter

27th April "W" Post

"Winter"

Today is Monday 27th April and Day 23 of the "Blogging from A to Z April 2015 Challenge".  In our wonderful state of Western Australia (another "W") we happen to have a public holiday for Anzac Day today so I have been spending my day relaxing with a bit of stitching and planning for my "Z" post....

But today is all about "W" - "Winter"

Winter: Winter is the coldest season of the year in polar climates and temperate climates, between autumn and spring.  Not my favourite one of the four seasons as I don't really like the cold... but I will admit it can be the most magical of the seasons!

For my "W" post I have decided to show you something new (again!).... this design is actually called "Holly Garland" and it comes from the Seasons series by Jean Farish.  "Holly Garland" is the season of "Winter" which is where the link comes about for this post.

The series of designs are a mixture of cross stitch and white-work (or tone on tone).  These designs have been designed to be stitched on cream fabric with Ecru thread, but could just as easily be stitched on white fabric with white floss (which gives you the term white work)

I bought these designs as they have a mixture of speciality stitches that I haven't done before and my favourite, cross stitching.  Yesterday I started the "Winter" design and spent over two hours trying to get the first stitches (middle eyelet and three sided pulled thread square) done right.....  now I am back in my comfort zone and doing the cross stitch bit!!

So this is where I am currently with this design...

If you would also like to stitch this design, the link to Jean's Etsy store is here

I am enjoying this design so much that I am now going to go back to it for another hour or so this afternoon before getting on with my "X" stitching!

See you again tomorrow....



Happy stitching and happy blogging!
Hugs xx

V - Valentine

25th April "V" Post

"Valentine"

Sorry for the very late Saturday post.... Today has been a very long day - up at 4am to head off to the Dawn Service, back at 7am for a good fry up/gunfire breakfast cooked by hubby and then a day of washing and stitching!

Today is Saturday 25th April and Day 22 of the "Blogging from A to Z April 2015 Challenge".

Today is "V" - "Valentine"

Valentine: Valentine's Day, also known as Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is a celebration observed on February 14 each year. It is celebrated in many countries around the world, although it is not a public holiday in most of them.  

Valentine's Day symbols that are used today include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten valentines have given way to mass-produced greeting cards.

Today's post is a bit of a shoe-horned post!  I was thinking of doing something with Violets, but then I remembered that the "Fizzy Moon" that I am stitching would be the perfect "V" post as it is a "Valentine's" card.

I started stitching "Fizzy Moon" for the crazy January challenge and when I left him he looked looked this:

After stitching on "Fizzy Moon" today he now looks like this:

This little cutie is almost finished now.... but he will have to wait for the next round of stitching as I need to get onto my "W" stitching tomorrow.

My next A-Z post will be on Monday, so til then....



Happy stitching and happy blogging!
Hugs xx

U - Unicorn

24th April "U" Post

"Unicorn"

Thank goodness it's Friday... and it's almost over and I am only now getting my post done!!

Today is Friday 24th April and Day 21 of the "Blogging from A to Z April 2015 Challenge".

Today is "U" - "Unicorn"

Unicorn: The unicorn is a legendary animal that has been described since antiquity as a beast with a large, pointed, spiralling horn projecting from its forehead.   In the Middle Ages and Renaissance, it was commonly described as an extremely wild woodland creature, a symbol of purity and grace, which could only be captured by a virgin. 

I have always been fascinated by the legend of Unicorns... and always wished that they really existed! But then again who is to say that they don't exist!  After all they are in the realm of fairies and we all believe them, don't we? :o)

There never was any question what I would stitch for "U"!  One of the "faces" of the Joan Elliott SAL design I am currently stitching on is a "Unicorn"!

I managed to only stitch a tiny bit of this design last night... today was another early morning so less than an hour of stitching was done before bed!

I still haven't finished the first face but I just had to make a start on the unicorn!

Now it is getting close to bed time again... we have another very early start tomorrow as we are going to Anzac Day Dawn Service so it will be up at 4am to start the day!  So no stitching tonight.... but I will be back tomorrow sometime with my "V" post.

Til then....



Happy stitching and happy blogging!
Hugs xx

T - Tigger

23rd April "T" Post

"Tigger"

And then it's Thursday before you know it!!!   23rd April, Day 20 of the "Blogging from A to Z April 2015 Challenge" has arrived.  We are almost there now... one more week left of this crazy blogging challenge!

Today is "T" - "Tigger"

Tigger: Tigger is a fictional tiger character originally introduced in A. A. Milne's book "The House at Pooh Corner".

Tigger never refers to himself as a tiger, but as a "Tigger". When Tigger introduces himself, he often says the proper way to spell his name is: "T-I-'Double-G'-Er (T-i-gg-er), which spells 'Tigger'".

"Web image"

"Oh, hey, hey. Look, look, look. Oh, what a strange-looking creature. Mmm, look at those beady little eyes, and that "purrposterous" chin, and those "rickydickorous" striped py-jamas!"

[looking at his reflection]

Tigger is my absolute favourite "Winnie the Pooh" character - that's not to say that I don't adore the others but there is just something very special about Tigger.... and of course "Tigger's are wonderful things. Their tops are made out of rubber, their bottoms are made out of springs."

My "T" post was originally going to be a "Tombstone" as I need to stitch one before the end of April for my Hallowe'en SAL posting..... but I just so wanted to stitch a Tigger for "T" that the tombstone got dropped like a hot rock over the weekend and Tigger took it's place last night!

A nice bit of cheeky yellow face appearing after a couple of hours stitching last night.  This particular design was included as a freebie with the UK Cross Stitcher mag way back in June.

That's it from Tigger and I, it's time for us to bounce on out of here.... see you tomorrow!



T-T-F-N, Ta Ta For Now!
Hugs xx

S - Spring Bouquet

22nd April "S" Post

"Spring Bouquet"

On my goodness... here we go again!  You are so going to be so sick of seeing me after this challenge has finished!

Well as we know today is 22nd April and that means that it is posting Day 19 of the "Blogging from A to Z April 2015 Challenge".

Today is "S" - "Spring Bouquet"

Spring: that wonderful season that comes after a long hard winter!!

Bouquet: a word of French origin, pronounced [bu.kɛ], may refer to a number of things most commonly -
Bouquet (wine), a fragrance or odor, especially when used as a description of wine
Flower bouquet, an arrangement of cut flowers

As I mentioned yesterday my "S" stitching is a WIP that has been hanging around for awhile and is beginning to feel very neglected!!

I started this WIP about a year ago but not a lot of progress has been made since then.  It is a Margaret Sherry design and I am stitching it as a SAL with the girls over on the MS Lovers Blog.

I did do a few stitches during the Crazy January challenge and I left "Spring Bouquet" looking like this:

Last night I stitched on some of the white of the belly and started on the other side of the bouquet. Unfortunately due to a very early start this morning I had to go to bed early last night so I didn't manage more than an hour stitching.... :o(

"Spring Bouquet" now looks like this:

Sorry, the picture is not the best.... I really must get more organised so that I can take better photos preferably in daylight!!

I will be back tomorrow with my "T" post.... so til then I will take my tired and exhausted body to the kitchen and make a cup of tea in an attempt to wake up so that I can do some more work this afternoon!



Til then.... Happy Stitching and Happy Blogging!
Hugs xx

R - Red Christmas Deer

21st April "R" Post

"Red Christmas Deer"

Back again.... and later than originally planned!  Goodness me where has the day gone?
Today is 21st April and posting Day 18 of the "Blogging from A to Z April 2015 Challenge".

Today is "R" - "Red Christmas Deer"

Red: Red is the color at the end of the spectrum of visible light next to orange and opposite violet

Christmas & Deer: see previous posts for explanations.... :o)

Oh, the fun of finding an "R" design.... not quite as hard as "Q" as I was thinking of using anything that had an "R" in the name or "Red" as a colour in the design.....  but then I remembered that I had seen this gorgeous design sometime ago and "R"'s fate was sealed!

"Red Christmas Deer" is another gorgeous design from Laura aka "The Little Stitcher".  This one is a freebie on her blog and the link is here.

Now if you're wondering what strange sort of fabric I am stitching the deer on... I will explain!

A number of years ago while shopping at Ikea I came across some plain tea towels that were edged with a red and white Scandinavian style trim (as you would expect to see in an Ikea store!).  I used one to stitch a Margaret Sherry design on (Link is here if you are interested in seeing the finished product), but the other one has been sitting in my cupboard just waiting for the right design to come along....

So last night I decided to get the tea towel out, grab some 14ct waste canvas and get stitching! When I have finished stitching the Christmas Deer I should have a lovely "red" Christmas tea towel with a Scandinavian look to it!

If you like these last two designs that I have been showcasing, please drop by Laura's blog and Laura's Etsy store and have a squizz at all of the beautiful designs that she has available.  You won't be disappointed!

Tonight's stitching will be on a poor long suffering WIP..... no more new starts for a couple of days now!!

You may have noticed that I still haven't done my IHSW post, hopefully tomorrow will be an easier day and I will have more time to plan my next couple of posts.....



Til then.... Happy Stitching and Happy Blogging!
Hugs xx

Q - Queen of the Bees

20th April "Q" Post

"Queen of the Bees"

Oh dear, it's another Monday!
Today is 20th April and posting Day 17 of the "Blogging from A to Z April 2015 Challenge".

Today is "Q" - "Queen of the Bees"

Queen: the female ruler of an independent state, especially one who inherits the position by right of birth.

Bee: a stinging winged insect which collects nectar and pollen, produces wax and honey, and lives in large communities.

Put the two together... and we get a Queen Bee - the single reproductive female in a hive or colony of honeybees.

"Q" was tricky.... I thought of "Quaker" designs, "Quilt" designs, "Queer" designs, "Quirky" designs and nothing really jumped out of me!

All the time that I have been thinking of "Q" designs I kept coming up with "Queen Bee".  I finally remembered, after numerous hours of searching and thinking of "Q" designs, that I had seen a couple of Queen Bee designs.  So after some more time searching on Google... I finally found what I was looking for!

Let me introduce you to "The Queen of the Bees".

Image from "The Little Stitcher" Etsy Store

This gorgeous design is designed by Laura aka "The Little Stitcher".  

I have been following Laura's blog for some time now and have drooled over her gorgeous designs... and now I have one!  It was so easy to purchase the chart... I bought it through Laura's Etsy store on Saturday and on Sunday morning it sitting in my email waiting for me to print and start stitching!

Last night I started stitching on this gorgeous lady and I managed to get some of her dress done.  I am using only DMC threads and stitching her on the most beautiful light blue fabric (just for something different....)

The fabric is from Tammy at Colour Cascade Fabrics here in Perth, and is called "Island of Avalon" - 32ct Belfast.

I will be back tomorrow for with my official IHSW post (which I meant to do today), as well as my "R" post - assuming I can think of what to stitch for "R"... see you then!



Til then.... Happy Stitching and Happy Blogging!
Hugs xx

P - Peter Polar Bear

18th April "P" Post

"Peter Polar Bear"

Saturday has finally arrived.... today is Saturday 18th April and posting Day 16 of the "Blogging from A to Z April 2015 Challenge".

Today is "P" - "Peter Polar Bear"

Polar Bear: The polar bear is a very large carnivorous bear whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle, encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses.

Peter: Peter is a common masculine given name. It is derived, via Latin "petra", from the Greek word πέτρος (petros) meaning "stone" or "rock"

I currently have three "P" designs on the go... and I had originally planned to stitch on Nora Corbett's "Prancer".... but with a rather sore left shoulder and total exhaustion bearing down on me last night, I decided to get out "Peter Polar Bear" instead and put a few stitches in to him.

This design is, as you may already have guessed from his name, another one of the Advent Animals from Brooke Nolan.

When I last stitched on "Peter Polar Bear" he looked like this:

I only managed a small number of stitches last night before I had to go and find my pillow.... but he does now look like this:

That's it for "Peter Polar Bear"... he will be back again soon!

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and comments about my shoulder injection.  The injection went well, wasn't too painful but as it was done while I was in the CT scanner I had to stay absolutely still.... and that was the worse bit - do you know  much your nose can itch when you can't move a muscle!!  Fingers crossed I will have an unfrozen shoulder in a few days!

I will be back tomorrow for my TUSAL post... see you then!



Til then.... Happy Stitching and Happy Blogging!
Hugs xx