1 plus 1 equals 2!

She watched and taught the girls that sang at their embroidery frames while the great silk flowers grew from their needles.

~Louise Jordan Miln, The Feast of Lanterns ~

Hello!

I am doing a bit of a happy dance this weekend..... I have three finishes to declare.... eventually, but in this post I have only two to show you.  The third one will be posted when the finished product reaches its final destination next week.

Finish #1

Hallowe'en Ornament SAL 2014

January finish - "Where's Spooky?"

Started 28th January 2014; Finished 7th February 2014

"Where's Spooky?" - January ornie choice

"Where's Spooky?" is designed by Eileen Gurak of Handblessings Patterns.  This design was published in the Just Cross Stitch 2013 Halloween Special Edition magazine.  This magazine has some brilliant designs and I suspect I will be stitching one or two more from it yet!

You can see my post on the Hallowe'en Ornie SAL 2014 blog and while you're there you can see some of the other lovely stitching from some of the other bloggers following this SAL.

Finish #2

Chatelaine - Mini Mandala II - chart B

Started June/July 2013; Finished 14th February 2014

Mini Mandala II - B

This picture is a bit wonky but the stitched piece is straight... I promise!

Close up of "pond" and "gazebo" area

I loved stitching this Mandala - the blue of the pond is such a gorgeous colour.  I am amazed how different the finished piece is compared to the photo included with the chart pack.  There isn't a lot of speciality stitches or beading in this one, but it is just as pretty as the first one of the series.  I have now started the third and final one in the series, so hopefully it won't be long before I have another update for you.

Finish #3
Still to be revealed!!

That's it for now... I'll be back in a few days to show you my secret stitching which is of course Finish #3!

Happy Stitching,
Stitching Noni

Last TUSAL of the year!

“The flower that blooms in adversity is the rarest and most beautiful of all.”

~ Mulan (Walt Disney Company) ~

Here we are again.... TUSAL time (actually it's past TUSAL time... but that is normal for me these days!)

Over the last month I have been a bit slow in filling the ORT's jar, but there are definitely some new ones in there!  As you can see green is probably the most predominant colour on top this time, with a touch of black and white.

TUSAL December 2013
Celebrating Christmas

The ORT's on top are from my Secret Santa stitching for the MS Lovers Blog Christmas 2013 Exchange.  My package is now on it's way to it's destination but I can't tell you where as it's a secret!!

Sneak Peak....  Fabric Scrap preview

Seeing as how I can't actually show you what I stitched and made for the exchange... how about a sneak peak at the fabric I used!  Very pretty isn't it?  Love the name of the fabric - "Christmas at Home"!

Unfortunately this is the last TUSAL post for the year... another year almost over!  I know we always say that time flies these days, but I have to say this year seems to have absolutely flown by quicker than most.... Christmas is just around the corner and a new year is about to begin.  Next year is a big year for our family.. but more on that as we come closer to the big events!

Now that you have seen my last little ORT report for the year, are you interested in checking out what is going on with all the other final ORT reports of the year?  If so, pop on over to Daffycat's blog and join in the fun. I did read that Daffycat is going to host the TUSAL again in 2014, so if you're up for a bit of fun make sure you sign up for 2014.  This is such a fun thing to be part of and it's a good excuse for a blog post and a blog hop!

How about a bit of stitching update!  I haven't done a lot of other stitching other than my Secret Santa stitching, but I have put one or two stitches into my Chatelaine and I even managed to pick up Puppy Love again.

Mini Mandala B - 12 December 2013

Mini Mandala B has now got some backstitch happening around the gazebo and pond.  With a bit of luck it won't long before I get this one all stitched up and I'll be starting on "C".

Puppy Love - 12 December 2013

Puppy Love (MS Lovers Blog SAL) is back on the Qsnaps!  I have three little puppies to stitch between now and the end of year.... oops behind again!! My plan for the next couple of weeks is to get this one finished before New Year's Eve.  From the 1st January 2014 my stitching has a new path to travel... no hints or sneak peeks on this one, you will just need to wait and see when the big reveal happens!

Well, I guess that's about it for this flyby update....

Til next time, happy stitching everyone, see you again soon!

New Moons - 2013

There are no more new moons for 2013!

New Moons - 2014
1st January
30th January
1st March
30th March
28th April
28th May
27th June
26th July
25th August
23rd September
23rd October
22nd November
21st December

Oops, I've done it again!!

How on earth did this happen? Last month I missed two very important blogging dates in my calendar... And this month I did exactly the same thing. I am beginning to see a pattern emerging - a pattern that I don't like!!

Yes, I did it again!! Completely forgot to visit Joyce's blog and sign up for IHSW. I didn't get much stitching in any way last weekend as we were out most of Saturday at the 3 in 1 Antiques, Vintage, Craft fair, and Sunday was spent playing catchup with the washing and general weekend stuff. I think in the end I managed about 2 hours of stitching all up!!

Now if you are a bit more organised than me and you want to sign up next month for the IHSW, or if you want to go a visit some other great blogs and see what others have been stitching over the IHSW, pop over to Joyce's blog and say hello.

You have probably also realised by now that I have also forgotten to show you my ORT's for August.  I think I used the cute kitchen chicken last year for a TUSAL pic.... just goes to show how boring my pics are!!

August 2013 TUSAL

If you are interested in keeping in touch with what is going on with the 2013 TUSAL pop on over to Daffycat's blog and join in the fun. The next new moon is on 5 September so let's see how many more ORT's drop into the jar between now and then. And fingers crossed I will be on time for a change!

And another thing you have probably also noticed I have been very slack over the last month and not showed you any stitching pics!  Stitching this month has been all about my latest Chatelaine and nothing else! 

I started this one after finishing the sheep for the last Margaret Sherry exchange but I haven't been taking any WIP photos.  So here you go!

Chatelaine - Mini Mandala "B"

All the cross stitches are done and now I am starting on the metallic, not that you can see them in the photo. This lovely mandala is going to now go away for a couple of weeks while I start sorting out the next exchange piece for the MS Lovers Blog Halloween Exchange.

So that's it for a quick on the fly post... I really must try and get myself organised again so that I can get back to normal blogging - both writing and reading.  I am so far behind on my blog reading as well, and my emails... so I must apologise for not being up on everyone's news and for not responding to all your emails! Things have been very topsy turvy around here lately but we are starting to get ourselves back on track again.

Til next time, happy stitching everyone, see you again soon!

New Moons - 2013

5 September
5 October
3 November
3 December