Gifted Gorgeousness SAL - Hosted by Jo

If instead of a gem, or even a flower, we should cast the gift of a loving thought into the heart of a friend, that would be giving as the angels give

~ George MacDonald ~

Umm, yes it would appear that I have signed up for yet another SAL!!

This one is hosted by Jo from Serendipitous Stitching.  Jo has come with a great idea for a SAL for 2015 and when I read about this on Kaye's blog the other day I just had to join in!

This Gifted Gorgeousness SAL is all about stitching and blogging - something that I can do, and something that I have promised myself I will do more of in 2015!  Jo's explanation of the SAL is:

"I am sure we have all benefited from the generosity of our fellow bloggers and here is your chance to show your appreciation for that generousness by doing what we do best - stitching and blogging about it!"

The rules are very simple and are listed below:

What is eligible for the Gifted Gorgeousness SAL?
Any chart/kit which was given to you
Any chart/kit which you won in a giveaway
Any chart/kit which you bought using a voucher given to you/won by you
Anything stitched on fabric received in the above ways
Anything stitched with floss received in the above ways
Anything embellished or finished with items received in the above ways
Anything which is intended as a gift or prize for another person
Anything else you can somehow shoehorn with word "gift" into!

When do we post?
On the 15th of each month.  Because (a) there are plenty of end of months SALs already and (b) it is 2015 so we should remember the 15th!

So now that I have signed up for this new SAL, what am I going to stitch first?

Do you remember a post I did in June 2013 when Kaye came over to Perth for business and we met for lunch?  When we had lunch we swapped gifts and Kaye gave me these lovely charts (picture below) so for my first entry into the Gifted Gorgeousness SAL I am going to stitch one of these..... not sure which one yet - might have to do the old eenie meenie miney mo trick to choose!

Moutons de Saisons - printemps et été (L) & automne et hiver (R)
Tralala Collection

There is still time to sign up for this SAL - if you want to join in, click on the link to go to Jo's page and sign up and get ready to post on 15th January 2015!

Til next time, happy stitching
Hugs, Stitching Noni xx

ORT's, wherefore art thou?

Hand in hand, with fairy grace,

Will we sing, and bless this place.

~ William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream ~

As another month, and indeed another year, draws to an end and the New Moon rises, I am reminded yet again of how remiss I have been with my blog posts this year.....

My last ORT report was back in September.... but then again given there probably hasn't been too many ORT's in the jar recently you weren't missing much!!

December's ORT report is the last for 2014 and luckily I have a full jar of ORT's to show off!  I did manage to get some stitching done over the last few weeks which is making up for my severe lack of stitching for most of this year.

December 2014 TUSAL

The ORT's on the top of the jar are from the Joan Elliott "Faces" SAL that I have been stitching this week, and just underneath are ORT's from Lizzie Kate's "Jingles".  I will have a "Jingles" update in the next couple of days for you.

As we are nearing the end of the year, it is obviously too late now to sign up for the 2014 event.... but I did read on Daffycat's blog today that she is planning to continue to host the TUSAL in 2015. So start collecting your ORT's and join in the fun next year!

The next ORT report will be the first one for 2015.  I will now empty my jar of 2014 ORT's and start collecting new ones ready to post on or around 20th January 2015.

New Moons - 2015
20th January
18th February
20th March
18th April
18th May
16th June
16th July
14th August
13th September
13th October
11th November
11th December

Til next time, happy stitching!

Hugs, Stitching Noni xx

You know nothing Jon Snow!

It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves

~ Edmund Hillary ~

Did you like my catchy title?  I couldn't think of anything overly witty to write as a title for this post.... saying "I'm back" seems a little bit silly given I have said that many times before and then I go MIA again.....  so when this comment from Game of Thrones came into my head I thought it might work.... Ygritte is constantly saying this to Jon, and I seem to always be saying I'm back... so my title is probably very fitting, don't you think?!?

My last post was back in October when I did the Around the World Blog Hop.... and I mentioned then that I was coming up to my 200th post.  Well this is it!  200 posts in 5 years..... I had planned to mark this very special post in some way.... but I just haven't got myself organised to have something ready for this post.  That special post will now have to wait for a couple of days (or weeks).  But hopefully you will think that it's worth waiting for!

So onto post 199 (a)....

So why have I been MIA so much this year?  Or maybe you hadn't actually noticed that I have been MIA???

I think I mentioned some time ago that work had been very hectic.... if I didn't, here's a quick synopsis, since April I have been doing 2 jobs and working 5 days a week.... I have limited energy reserves at the best of times with low iron levels and RA.... so doing these extra hours (I used to do 4 days a week) and having about 3 times the amount of stress in my work life there has really been no room in my head or spare energy for anything else - so no blogging, either posting or reading, and virtually no time for stitching!  I was also offered a promotion a few months ago which I original said no to.... but then my boss asked me again, and again.... so now I have said yes!!  Which means a busy time ahead, but the good thing is after the Christmas break I will only be doing 1 job again so I am hoping that 2015 will be much better for blogging!

Enough of my work update.... now onto my stitching update!

I have done some stitching this year and over the next few days I will show you my latest updates. The first one being my "Faces of Joan Elliott Mystery SAL"

When I last posted in October I had only just been stitching the border.

"Faces of Joan Elliott" Mystery SAL
designed by Joan Elliott
Status on 30th September 2014

Now the border is finished, the centre is done and I have finally managed to make a start on the first face.  We had a "SAL within a SAL" over the weekend so I got myself organised and stitching again on this lovely design.

I am now going to try and keep stitching this until the end of the year while I am on leave from work to see if I can make some head way and catch up with everyone else.  Joan has designed 4 faces for this SAL so far and the 5th face is due out in Jan.

Now before I go today, I have something else to show you.... a finish!!!

Over the last few months at work we have had a number of changes as we have moved from one section of the business into another section.  This means new systems and procedures to get my head around and as you can imagine, has added to the stress and work levels that I have been dealing with. The reason I mention this is because throughout this time I have been dealing with some lovely ladies that have helped me with all the changes.  One of these ladies (Helen) has become a friend and when she was in Perth recently I gave her a gift to say thank you for her help over the last few months.

'Christmas Ted" designed by Joan Elliott
Cross Stitch Card Shop (stitched in Jan 2012)

Now truth be told I actually stitched this little cutie back in Jan 2012..... I even managed to show him off in a post in his finished state in April 2012 but I had filed him away and he didn't see the light of day again until earlier this month when I found him again and popped him into a box lid!  In the box was a glass angel for Christmas.....

As I close off my post, I want to leave you with the thought that the Heavens gained another star today..

Til next time, happy stitching!
Hugs, Stitching Noni xx

Lizzie Kate "Jingles" SAL September update

I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free
~ Michelangelo ~

Lizzie Kate "Jingles Flip-It"

Lizzie Kate "Jingles" SAL update - stitching with Rita, Annette and Nia

I know it is now October... but finally I have parked my backside in front of the laptop and prepared my September "Jingles" update.

The last time I posted an update this is what "Jingles" looked like:

Lizzie Kate "Jingles" as at 28 August 2014

and this is what "Jingles" looks like  now:

Lizzie Kate "Jingles" as at 30 September 2014

Another block done!  Plus the extra border bit!  Which means that I am nearly half way through the blocks now, but I think I can safely say this won't be finished before Christmas this year...  Oh well, there is always next year!

I know I say this every time I post my "Jingles" update, but I really do love stitching on this design. The charts are all so sweet and so very easy to stitch.  Now I just have to make some time to stitch the next block... easier said than done these days!

Rita has posted her update for August and September already, so pop over and say Hi!  And while you're visiting, don't forget to drop in and say Hi to Annette and Nia too!  Hopefully they will have updates to show us very soon too!

So til the end of October when I should have some more "Jingles" to show you....

happy stitching and jingling!!

Stitching Noni xx

TUSAL September 2014

I was trying to daydream, but my mind kept wandering

~ Steven Wright ~

The quote above quite accurately describes my state of mind lately.... no clear focus on anything!  I keep thinking of all these things that I need to do, but still nothing gets done!!  Oh well, at least the new moon appears every month without any help from me!

September's TUSAL report does actually have some colours to show.... I have been stitching on "Jingles" and my Hallowe'en Ornie 2014 Blog piece, so there is a mixture of Christmas and Halloween colours on top of the jar this month.

TUSAL September 2014

I must admit I was struggling to think of something exciting for my TUSAL photo this month.... see told you I have no focus... my mind keeps wandering!  While looking around for the perfect companion to my ORT's, I spotted the Wandering Buddha sitting on our shelf of reflection!  Maybe he will help me focus on my stitching for the rest of the year and the next few TUSAL photos will be overflowing with ORT's!

That's it for yet another short ORT report.  As we are nearing the end of the year, it may be a little late to sign up for the 2014 event.... but if you would like to sign up anyway and join in the fun for what is left of the year, then pop on over to Daffycat's blog and start collecting your ORT's!  And if you don't want to join in with the ORT collecting, you will still find links to some great blogs that you can read to while away the hours!!

The next 2014 ORT report will be ready for publication on or around 23rd October 2014.

New Moons - 2014
23rd October
22nd November
21st December

Til next time happy stitching!

"Bee" happy and keep stitching!

Hugs, Stitching Noni xx

Lizzie Kate "Jingles" SAL August update

We all need empty hours in our lives or we will have no time to create or dream

~ Robert Coles ~

Lizzie Kate "Jingles Flip-It"

Lizzie Kate "Jingles" SAL update - stitching with Rita, Annette and Nia

I suppose you thought I had forgotten all about my "Jingles" SAL with the girls.... well, I am here today to let you know that "Jingles" is on the move again.

The last time I posted this is what "Jingles" looked like:

Lizzie Kate "Jingles" as at 2 June 2014

and this is what "Jingles" looks like  now:

Lizzie Kate "Jingles" as at 28 August 2014

I haven't quite managed to catch up to where I should be at this stage of the game, but I am getting there!  I love stitching on this design - it is so much fun and I am really looking forward to picking it up again in September.

Don't forget to pop over and check out Nia, Rita and Annette's SAL updates for the month.  Til the end of September when I have some more "Jingles" to show you....

happy stitching and jingling!!

Stitching Noni xx

Honeybees and Lavender

The pedigree of honey does not concern the bee, 

a clover, anytime, to him, is aristocracy

~ Emily Dickinson ~

My own Lavender and Bees

Bees and Lavender would have to be two of my favourites things.  When I started typing this post I was going to include a web image of some bees and lavender.... but then I realised that all I had to do was go outside and take a photo!  But as with all great plans, the wind and bees decided not to co-operate.  But I did manage to get a photo of a bee on my pink ruffled lavender eventually!

Now why do I post about bees and lavender do I hear you ask?  Well, this post was inspired by my musings as to what to stitch for the exchange that Heather (Heather's Stitching Story) had arranged.  As previously mentioned, I was late sending the exchange package to CJ.  Partly this was because I was very time poor when trying to get organised for this exchange, but the other issue was that I couldn't think of what to stitch! Until I decided upon a theme of "Bees and Lavender".

Then everything fell into place.....

Firstly I went straight to the Snowflower Diaries Blog and downloaded the "Lavender Girl" design that I had had my eye on to stitch for quite some time.  Once stitched I turned the lavender girl into a pretty little hanger.

"Lavender Girl"
Designer: Maja, Snowflower Diaries
Stitched July 2014

So that was the Lavender stitch.... now for the bee stitch!  I remembered that I had downloaded a freebie sometime ago which had a beehive and bees as the design, and from memory I thought that it should be a quick stitch.  The other great thing about this design was that it had some different types of stitches instead of just cross stitch, so a great way to spread my stitching wings and try something different.

Honey Pin Cushion
Designer: Keepsake Stitches
Stitched July 2014

The "Honey Pin Cushion" is a freebie from the Keepsake Stitches website.  I loved this design and it was so simple to put together as a little cushion.  Of course it was only after I have put it together that I realised that I had stuffed up my bee on the back.... it should have been yellow and black... not yellow and blue! Goodness know what I was thinking when I stitched that!  But hey, every masterpiece has to have a deliberate mistake, doesn't it!!!

So that was the stitching side done, now all I had to do was find some extras....

Exchange gift sent to CJ
July 2014

As you can see from the photo above, I also sent CJ some lavender inspired gifts - a lavender scented candle in a tin, 2015 diary with lavender fields on the front cover, lavender coloured beads, pen, notebook and sticky notes that are sort of lavender coloured!  I hope that she liked the gift... and more importantly that it arrived safe and sound!

I did find a third design to stitch but, as I was almost three weeks late sending my package off, I decided not to include this one in the package... which meant that I didn't have to rush and I could take my time and really enjoy the stitching of the cupcake.... I just fell in love with this cupcake as soon as I saw it - it was one of those "I have to stitch this now" moments!!

"Honeybees Cupcake"
Designer: Durene Jones

This sweet little design was published in the World of Cross Stitching magazine issue 216.  They have a regular feature called "Cupcake of the Month" designed by Durene Jones.  Some of the cupcakes are really sweet but this is the first one that I just had to stitch right there and then!  Not sure yet how I will finally "finish" this sweet cupcake but I will certainly show you when it is finally all done.

So that's it for Honeybees and Lavender - two of my favourite things!!  It's now time for me to buzz off and leave you in peace to smell the lavender....

Til next time, happy stitching
Stitching Noni xx

TUSAL August 2014

The young moon has fed

Her exhausted horn

With the sunset's fire.

~ Percy Bysshe Shelley ~

Wow, can you believe it.... a TUSAL post from me!!! The last one was way back in May....  although I did take a photo for July but just didn't get around to posting anything!  So does this mean that I have been stitching if I have some ORT's to show... Oh yeah!

So here she is - my TUSAL jar with some very pretty ORT's and a very happy little gardening "Daffodil Day" teddy.  "Daffodil Day" is the Cancer Council of Australia's big country-wide fundraising event.  It is held every year and besides selling Daffodils to raise funds for cancer research and support for cancer patients, each year there are all sorts of other merchandise to buy.  This year they had some gardening teddies and I just could not resist the charms of this little fellow!

TUSAL August 2014

In the ORT's jar this month (and previous months since my last post) are the colours of my exchange gifts, a pretty little Durene Jones cupcake from WOCS that I just had to stitch, Jingles and on top of the jar, my latest Halloween stitch - photos of all to follow in future posts.... after all I have to keep you wanting more!! LOL!

That's it for this very short ORT report.  If you would like to sign up and join in the fun for what is left of this year, then pop on over to Daffycat's blog and leave a comment saying that you're in and start collecting your ORT's!  And if you don't want to join in with the ORT collecting, you will still find links to some great blogs that you can read to while away the hours!!

The next 2014 ORT report will be ready for publication on or around 23rd September 2014.  Hopefully I will now be back on track with more regular posts and stitching!

New Moons - 2014
23rd September
23rd October
22nd November
21st December

Til next time happy stitching!

"Bee" happy and keep stitching!

Hugs, Stitching Noni xx

From South Africa to Australia

If instead of a gem, or even a flower, we should cast the gift of a loving thought into the heart of a friend, that would be giving as the angels give

~ George MacDonald ~

Sometime ago I signed up to an exchange the Heather from Heather's Stitching Story was running.  Now I must hang my head in shame at this point because I was almost a month late sending to my partner.... and looking at the tracking website she still doesn't appear to have received the package a month after I posted - the package seems to have arrived in the USA and stopped dead.... fingers crossed it isn't held up too much longer with Customs and the postal service and it is delivered to CJ very soon.....

But I digress - again!

My post today is to show you what I received from my partner in the exchange - Theoria from "My Little Corner of Cyberspace".

Theoria hails from South Africa and she sent me these gorgeous hand-stitched gifts, as well as some chocolates (Lindt... my favourite - they lasted long enough to take the photo!!), some needles, scissors, bookmark, buttons and charms (cute), a notebook and some lovely trim which wrapped the whole package up, and the cutest doggie cross stitch kit!

Thank you Theoria, I just love everything you sent.  The photo doesn't show how pretty the stitched items are - they are just lovely!

I will be back again soon to show you what I sent to CJ and also update you on some other stitching that I am currently doing now that my stitching bug is finally coming home to settle again!!

Til next time, happy stitching!
Hugs, Stitching Noni xx

Normal Service will be resumed..... what is normal service?

I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think, 

all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read 

and all the friends I want to see

~ John Burroughs ~

Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible!

Of course that is assuming that anything I do can be considered as normal!!!

As you may have noticed, I haven't been around much lately..... but things are starting to look better and there is a light at the end of the tunnel in regards to my working days which, fingers crossed, will mean I can start doing "normal" things again!  I have so missed my regular stitching and blogging over the last 4 months - I even turned down a promotion at work just so I can get back to my normal state of mind instead of being in a permanent state of confusion and exhaustion!

I have been slowing getting back into doing a little bit of stitching over the last couple of weeks so I can even show you some stitching progress and finishes in my next post.  I have even managed to stitch on "Jingles" which will make Annette and Rita smile!  I am probably way behind the girls but there is still a few months of the year left for me to catch up!

My Halloween Ornie SAL progress is dismal to say the least...... My last update was for April, which means I completely missed May, June and July.  But I can report that I have started a new Halloween stitch for August which if I am creative with will cover me for a couple of months of themes, but it won't quite catch me up on this SAL!  Oh well.... as the quote above says each day is just too short!!!

Now seeing as how this is supposed to be a short and sweet "please don't forget me" style post... I had better sign off and get back to work!!

Til next time when I will have some stitching pics for you to drool over... happy stitching!

Happy Stitching..... and may the frog pass you by!
Stitching Noni xx

Lizzie Kate "Jingles" SAL April Update

Goals are dreams with deadlines

~Diana Scharf Hunt ~

Lizzie Kate "Jingles Flip-It"

Lizzie Kate "Jingles" SAL update - stitching with Rita, Annette and Nia.

The last time you saw my Lizzie Kate "Jingles" I had only just started the first design in the series - Deck the Halls.  Well I am happy to say that I have now finished that one! Yippee!! It only took me just over a week to stitch, which hopefully is a good sign for the other ones to come!!!

Now all I have to do is get this back on the Q-snaps and start stitching the next one before the May update!!

Til next time, happy stitching and jingling!!
Stitching Noni xx

I'm a Jingle-ing!!

In ancient times cats were worshipped as gods; they have not forgotten this

~ Terry Pratchett ~

Sometime ago Rita from Il Mio Mondo a Colori asked if anyone wanted to join in on a SAL that she was organising to do with Annette and Nia.  The design that the girls had chosen to stitch together was Lizzie Kate's "Jingles Flip-It" series.

Lizzie Kate "Jingles Flip-It"

Rita thought that it would be a great idea to see if anyone else might be interested to join in and stitch this cute design as well... and so far there are 11 stitcher's who have joined in the fun.

Now originally I said that I wouldn't take part as I didn't think I would get the time to stitch it especially with the other SAL's that I have already signed up to stitch this year.... but this design just kept on kicking at me and eventually I gave in and bought it!!!

Rita and Annette have been very good and have posted regular updates over the last couple of months and they are well into their stitching.  Hopefully I will catch up.. but probably not!!  If I can get close to a finish by the end of the year I will be very happy!

Back to my Jingles... on Friday the last of my back ordered Weeks Overdyed threads arrived from Stitches and Spice and the time was finally right to start stitching!  Yesterday saw me spending an hour or so preparing to start on the first design.  Needle and thread and fabric finally met while I was watching a couple of episodes of "House of Cards" last night - yes, I can now say that I have started to "Jingle"!

And this is how far I had managed to get last night by the time I had stopped stitching for the evening:

LK "Jingles" - "Deck the Halls"
as at 12 April 2014

Not a lot achieved so far.... but a start is a start!!

I have taken a long shot of the fabric so that hopefully you can see how nice it looks.  Unfortunately the photo doesn't quite show the shine that it has and the colour is not quite the same as in real life.  The name of the fabric is "Sugar Cane Crunch" and it is a very pretty opalescent 32ct hand-dyed Belfast fabric that I got from Stitches and Spice.

Hopefully by the time of the official update at the end of the month I will have a lot more stitching to show you!

Til next time, happy stitching and Jingle-ing!!!

Where's Witchiepoo??

When witches go riding, and black cats are seen,

the moon laughs and whispers, ‘tis near Halloween.

~Author Unknown

Wilhelmina W. Witchiepoo was one of my favourite characters from H.R Pufnstuf!  I just loved her!  However when it came to choosing my design for the March Hallowe'en Ornie SAL Blog I couldn't find a Witchiepoo to stitch....  so we will have to make do with the image that I found on the web!

Web image

So what did I stitch for my March ornie?  Well, it could only be one of the lovely seasonal witches from Maja's Snowflower Diaries blog!

Jo mentioned in one of her posts on the SAL blog that three (3) to thirteen (13) witches make a coven... and then when I was deciding what to stitch Jo also commented on my post that three witches can make a coven and how two of Maja's Spring Witches had already been stitched... so if I stitched Spring we would have a coven!

So I stitched the Spring Witch, and we now have a coven of the Snowflower Diaries Spring Witches for March!

Spring Witch (The Snowflower Diaries)
Started 23 March 2014, Finished 4 April 2014

This little witch is such a cute design, and very easy to stitch.  I stitched my little witch in DMC threads and it was stitched on some gorgeous sparkly fabric which unfortunately doesn't show up on the photo very well.

The fabric that I used to stitch my witch on is 32 ct Belfast (yes I know, 32 ct!!) and is called Wintered Marble (grey)"" but it is actually cream not grey.   This fabric is new to me and comes in a pack of fabric that I recently ordered from an Australian hand dyed fabric on line store - Stitches and Spice.  Their hand-dyed fabrics are lovely and this is the second piece of their fabric I have stitched on.   (Can't show you the first piece yet as it is travelling to a location far, far away!)

So now onto the April stitch which is "Owls".  I have already picked my owl design out and started stitching. I am stitching another design from the Just Cross Stitch Halloween 2013 special edition magazine.  Will post an update soon.....

So til next time when I will either be updating you on my owl friend... or showing you my secret stitch.... have a great week, happy stitching!

Big hugs,
Stitching Noni xx


Hallowe'en Ornie SAL 2014 Themes
April -Owls
May -Monsters
June -any freebie chart
July -Pumpkins
August -Ghosts
September -Black cats
October - Trick or Treaters
November -Bugs, insects or spiders
December -Free choice

A flyby post.....

Yep, this is a real flyby post.... I have been very lazy lately in regard to my blog and haven't posted for a couple of weeks, and I am so far behind in my blog reading as well. I even forgot to sign up for the IHSW last weekend. No excuses, I knew it was happening last weekend, I just didn't get around to signing up.... But I did stitch.... Sorry no peaking though as it is a surprise stitch and you can't see it til the recipient sees it.... Sorry! Oh, and no hints either!!!

Anyway, the reason for my flyby post. After stitching my little Dracula friend for the Halloween Ornie blog, I signed up to follow the Pickle Barrel Designs blog so that I could see what other gorgeous designs Nancy releases... When I went for a visit to her blog the other day guess what I saw... A post with three new releases and a giveaway! For me to enter the giveaway all I have to do is leave a comment and send a new follower over to Nancy's blog to say hi and to leave a comment to say who sent them.

Please do go and visit the Pickle Barrel Designs blog and say hi and let Nancy know who sent you before 31 March 2014 and you never know I could be the lucky winner of a brand new Pickle Barrel Designs chart. There are 3 new releases being given away. I can't decide which one I like yet.... Maybe "Life Lessons"... Thank you in advance for helping me win... And don't forget to enter the giveaway too!!

Well, my flyby post is now at an end as is my train ride into work.... Hopefully this will post before I hit the tunnel and lose my connection!!

Til next time, happy stitching

Stitching Noni xx

Posted with Blogsy

Count Me In!

Sewing: A creative mess is better than tidy idleness

~ Author Unknown ~

Well hello again!  I am back to show you (finally) my finished February stitching for the Hallowe'en Ornie 2014 Blog.

My February design was "Count Me In" by Nancy Greenburg of Pickle Barrel Designs.  This design was published in the Just Cross Stitch Halloween Collection 2013 issue.  Such a fantastic source for Halloween designs.

"Count Me In"
Started 20th February 2014, Finished March 2014

I love how the orange stands out on the purple coloured Aida.  Very Halloween-ish colours!!

The March theme is Witches.  I have found so many different designs to stitch which contain witches, but I am still not sure which one I particularly want to stitch!  Although the Snowflower Diaries Seasonal Witches are very high on the list.

That's it for the time being.  Unfortunately not a lot of other stitching has been done lately except for the Count!  So now I had better get myself organised with some of my other stitching projects that are either on the go and waiting in the wings otherwise I won't have anything else to show you on the next post!

Til next time, happy stitching
Stitching Noni x




Hallowe'en Ornie SAL 2014 Themes
March -Witches
April -Owls
May -Monsters
June -any freebie chart
July -Pumpkins
August -Ghosts
September -Black cats
October - Trick or Treaters
November -Bugs, insects or spiders
December -Free choice

Secret Stitching Revealed

Chains do not hold a marriage together.

It is threads, hundreds of tiny threads which sew people together through the years

~ Simone Signoret ~

Happy 50th Wedding Anniversary Mum & Dad

After many hints on previous posts about the secret stitching that I was doing, I can finally show you what I stitched for my Mum and Dad's 50th Wedding Anniversary.

50 years of marriage is quite a significant milestone and I wanted to find something nice to stitch for them to mark this milestone.  I looked at many designs, rejected more than I put in the stitching pile but I still wasn't happy with the designs I had found!  You know how it is sometimes when you just can't find the exact design that you want to stitch...  To be honest I don't think I really knew what I wanted to stitch.... but I did know that I wanted something simple but exquisite - something meaningful.... 

And then all of a sudden I found it!  A Joan Elliott Sampler from The World of Cross Stitching Magazine (issue 129).  In the magazine it was stitched for a 25th Anniversary, but as the design included an alphabet and numbers it was very easy to adjust it to suit a 50th Anniversary.

So without further ado.... I present the 50th Wedding Anniversary Sampler I stitched as a gift for my parents to celebrate their marriage milestone.....

"Anniversary Sampler" designed by Joan Elliott
World of Cross Stitching, issue 129

In the original design there was a stitched heart above the swans heads, however I decided that I would add a beautiful Swarovski crystal heart instead.

The fabric that I used to make the wall hanging is a Robert Kaufman fabric - The Culture Club "A Passage to India".  The colours in this fabric are just beautiful - such a bright mix of blues and golds and purples.  All the colours in that were in the sampler.

Happy 50th Wedding Anniversary Mum and Dad - may you have many more to celebrate! xx

On that note, I will say goodbye....  as it is IHSW this weekend, I am now going back to park my butt on the couch with my stitching and start watching Hercule Poirot in the hope that I will have something to show you after the weekend.



Til next time, happy stitching!
Stitching Noni xx