TUSAL.. Bling... Stash...

As they say a picture paints a thousand words.... so who wants to see lots of pictures?

I have a rather boring TUSAL photo... then some bling... and then some stash acquisitions!

TUSAL
Well here they are... my ORT's for the last month.  Lots of gorgeous colours in that tin!

Essentially TUSAL posts are all about stitching and saving our ORT's (Old Raggety Threads) and every New Moon those of us participating in the TUSAL post a picture of our ORT's, and then leave little msgs for Daffycat on her blog to show that we have been stitching and have posted our wonderful pics. 
Next New Moon - 4 June 2016

********************

As my credit card will reliably inform you I have been on a bit of stash/bling buying frenzy!  And slowly all my purchases are landing in the the mail box!

First up I have Bling...

Gina (Gina's Unique Boutique) was having a moving sale so I just had to indulge... to be honest I do not know what I will do with them all (except have them in the craft room collecting dust) as I tend to only use them when I am stitching on large projects!  But they were so pretty.... :o)

I have a couple more coming from Julie (Nifty Needle Nannies) and once they get here I will show you a pic...

Next up I have some new pretty Stash Acquisitions.....

I am the first to admit that I am normally very boring when it comes to threads... DMC all the way! Occasionally I will branch out to Weeks Dye Works or NPI Silks or Caron Waterlillies as required by a specific chart but I haven't ventured very far into the world of hand-dyed variegated threads before! Until now that is!

Have a look at these stunning threads that I ordered from Jodryi Designs in the UK.  I also bought the April Limited Edition Fabric (Cairn's Birdwing Butterfly) and the matching thread (thread is the one on it's own on the right).  It helps that she was having a sale which meant that I could order twice as many as I might have normally ordered!

Next up we have a Mira added to my stash....

One of the many Mira groups that I am in on Facebook is having a "Queen of Peace" SAL and I have always wanted to stitch that gorgeous design.... but as it is an Out of Print chart I was not able to find it in Australia.... so I when I did find someone (Hawkins Hobbies in the UK) who had it for sale I just had to buy it (along with the Krienik, beads and treasures).  The kit also came with the fabric but that went into my stash as I am doing this on something else.... as you will see very shortly!

I am hoping to have this stitched and ready to take with me to the Mira Retreat next May (yes I did say next May - 2017!) in Katoomba.... after all I don't want to be the only one without a Mira lady to show at the retreat!! :o(

So that's it... my credit card has melted now from overwork!

So til my next post, happy stitching
Hugs xx

December is here....

Happy December.... here we are on the first day of December and it's the first day of Summer here in Australia, not that you would really know it in Perth at the moment.  We have been having the most delightful weather - not too hot, not too cold, just right!  Although it is apparently going to start warming up towards the end of the week, but so far we have had a very mild lead up to December.  Yes, there has been the odd day when the temp went up to the high 30's during November, but there was been rain and lot of very cool, almost cold nights.  We still have the quilt and blanket on the bed, and I have only just taken the flannette sheets off.  Very strange for this time of the year!  I am enjoying every minute of it too as it won't last - Summer will be here with it's full blast of high 30's to mid 40's any day now!

I meant to show you my latest stash additions yesterday in my post... but I forgot..  Still never mind that just means that I get to pop up in your blog reading list again and say hi!

My latest stash additions are actually all related to making cards.  As you have seen over 2011 I have been stitching for the Craftbubble "Crazy for Kitties" group birthday and Christmas exchanges.  This has been such fun and most of us have signed up again for 2012.  We also have some newbies in the list as well.

With the card exchanges I always like to send a small "kitty" inspired gift.  For 2011 I managed to find some kitty notebooks and fridge magnets, but I always have my eye out for anything that has a kitty on it and is small enough to mail overseas with the card.  On the weekend when we were out shopping I found a shop that had lots of kitty things to buy - so I did!  As Hubby said, "if you don't get them now when you see them, you probably won't be able to find them the next time you come looking for them', and that is so true.

So here's what I got - kitty magnets, bookmarks, key rings and hangers.  Lots of pink ones... which wasn't planned it was just how it happened!  So that's all the gifts for next year's birthday exchange sorted, but it won't stop me looking for kitty inspired things as you just never know what you will find when you least expect to.  It feels good to be so organised.... now all I have to do is to be organised and on time with my stitching!!  That might be a challenge....

Kitty gifts for 2012 CB birthday exchange

While were at the shopping centre I finally managed to scout out where the scrapbooking shop is, and once in there that was just as dangerous - or could have been if I hadn't been looking specifically for Christmas paper for my card (which by the way you will notice I didn't end up using - see previous post to see the card).  But hey, stash is stash and it never gets wasted!

Christmas paper, kitty brads and lovely pins

Close up look at kitty brads and pins

As you can see I even managed to find some kitty inspired stuff in the scrapbooking shop as well.  These gorgeous brads will be perfect for the exchange birthday cards.  I also found some lovely pins which I plan to use when I finally get around to making some pin cushions - whenever that may be!!  Nobody said you have to use stash as soon as you buy it!

Well, I guess that's about it for today.  I hope that the rest of your week goes well, see you all again real soon!

Til next time, happy stitching and happy stashing!

Another addition to the ever increasing stash...

Well I guess it is true, you can never have enough in your stash....

Recently while checking out some cross stitching blogs I came across a really lovely Maia design that I couldn't stop thinking about.  It is called "Winter's Majesty" and is based on the artwork of Karl Bang.

The more I thought about it, the more I wanted it - so I started searching online for the design in Australia and didn't get very far.  But, I did find it on the "Sew and So" website, and while I know I should be supporting Australian online and local retailers, with the Aussie Dollars being so good, I decided to buy online from the UK.  Unfortunately, while I was on the Sew and So website I also found 3 other Oriental style kits that took both my fancy and my hubby's fancy....  Plus they had a very good sale on and a good sale is my one weakness!

I was really pleased (and surprised) that I only had to wait just over a week for the package to come from the UK - not bad! 

So now all I have to do is finish my "Bonsai and Buddha" and then I can start "Winter's Majesty".


Winter's Majesty



Pagoda View

Temple View

The Great Wave off Kanagawa
(this is the one that Mark asked me to order)

Now that my stash has increased yet again, I will need to add another couple of years to the already amazing lifespan that I must have if I am ever going to stitch everything I have in my stash!

Still, what is a cross stitcher without a stash??  I don't think there is any such thing!!!

Until next time,