Totally Useless SAL - New Moon 19 July 2012 Update

Hello again.... it's me here again!

I am typing this as we watch the last leg of the Tour de France.  While our Cadel Evans has not been able to repeat last year's win, Hubby is happy as there will be a British winner instead!  Congrats to Bradley Wiggins.  A wonderful ride by a fantastic sportsman - and well done to all the riders that took part.  It has been fabulous to watch every night over the last few weeks, even if we couldn't stay up and watch it to the end every night.

So on to the ORT report..
Yep, I know - late again....  The ORT report was due on 19th July, but unfortunately the weekend has just flown by and got away from me.  But as they say - better later than never!!

So here it is in all it's glory - my lovely jar of ORT's with it's dragon protector.

ORT's Dragon and Miss Mouse

This month's ORT's and dragon are joined by Miss Mouse and her special beaded pins.  I have been making some beaded pins on and off for a couple of months now and the ones in Miss Mouse are the ones that I haven't as yet attached to a card or pin cushion.  I love doing these beaded pins - so simple to do but so effective when done.

So what craft things have I done over the last couple of months that I can show you.... let me see now...

Completed card for Catdragon (Alison)
Craftbubble Crazy for Kitties Birthday Exchange 2012

The first one is the finished card that I made for Alison as part of the Craftbubble Crazy for Kitties Birthday Exchange.  The card was about 2 weeks late....  The design was from a Cross Stitch Crazy magazine and the designer of the kitty alphabet is Maria Diaz.  A very quick stitch this one.  The paper, flowers, ribbons etc came out of the stash boxes and the pin was one that I made.  I love the beads that I used on this pin - the picture doesn't really show the pin off in all it's sparkle.

Butterfly & Buddleia - designed by Debbie Cripps
Needlecraft magazine issue May 1997

I stitched this card for Valerie from Fee le point as a thank you for the little snow globes that she had sent me  and also to say thank for the pixie gift that she sent me when my MS Lovers Blog spring exchange package didn't happen.  Valerie loves butterflies and I thought this card was just the ticket!  I also sent her a tinkling wind chime with a butterfly.  The design was a free cover kit that was in amongst my stash and as you can see from the date of the magazine I have had it for a long time just waiting for the perfect occasion to stitch it!!  The papers and flowers were all in my card making stash and the pins I made from the beads in my stash.

Card - Butterfly card designer unknown
Cross Stitcher magazine issue 70 (June 1998)
Scissor keep - Summer Strawberries designed by Debbie Cripps
Cross Stitcher magazine issue 110 (June 2001)

The card and scissor keep above I stitched as a thank you for Claire from Dulcinella's chaos.  Claire was also a pixie who sent me a lovely exchange replacement gift, and also as a pick me up as she hasn't been too well of late.  I read awhile ago on Claire's blog that she likes strawberries so when I saw this design in my free gift stash I knew that I just had to stitch it for Claire.  But, instead of turning it into a card I decided to try my hand at making my very first scissor keep.  I even made the red and black cording from some DMC thread.  The papers and flowers for the card came from the stash box... and the pins I made.  I was really pleased with the finished scissor keep.  The strawberries design is so lovely and I think is much nicer finished this way than as a card.  I even had the perfect backing fabric in the fabric stash that I share with hubby....

Back of scissor keep for Claire

I have 3 other little things that I have stitched this month, but I don't want to show them to you just yet as I have to finish and mail them before I can reveal their magic.  They will all be going to the other 3 pixies from the MS Lover Blog.

I will later this week do a post to show you the fantastic parcel I received in the mail from Olga (Ollie) in the Netherlands as part of the MS Lovers Blog Summer Exchange, and I can also show you what I stitched and sent to Olimpin in Mexico as that has also arrived safe and sound.  Oh yes, I was spolit again!!

Before I go I must show you what else I have recently received in the mail....

Chatelaine's fabric, thread and bead kits....
Can't wait to rip these open and start!

As you know I recently stitched my first ever Chatelaine designs - the Rose Garden Freebie.  I absolutely loved stitching Rose Garden and decided that I wanted to do another one.  I actually had a Chatelaine sitting in my stash that I have been a bit nervous about starting, but now I am going to start it.  I have been onto the European Cross Stitch website and purchased the thread and bead kits for the two designs that I have - Mini  Mandala II and Alhambra Gardens.  I decided that if I am going to do these I might as well do them properly with the proper silks etc.  And with the Aussie dollar being at parity or above the US dollar it makes heaps of sense to get these kits while I can.....

However, don't get too excited dear readers - I have to finish off a couple of things before I can start the Mini Mandala.... namely a birthday card for August & September Craftbubble exchange, 2 cool cats for the MS Lovers Blog SAL, and a Christmas Card for the MS Yahoo Group Christmas Exchange.  Once I have made a good start and finish on these things I will then allow myself to start the Mini Mandala.... that will be my reward!!

Well dear readers, that's it for another ORT report.  See you all again same time next month... Pop on over to Daffycat's blog if you are interested in signing up or keeping in touch with what is going on with the 2012 TUSAL.

Til the next new moon on 17 August 2012, happy stitching and may your collection of ORT's keep growing!

New Moons - 2012

17 August

16 September

15 October

13 November

13 December

Normal Service will be resumed shortly

Web image

I am really sorry that I haven't been around for awhile... in fact it appears that I have been missing in action for nearly a month....  How do I know that - well, next weekend is IHSW and my last post was my TUSAL and IHSW from last month!

I'm not really sure why I haven't been blogging lately.... my motivation for most things seems to have waned a bit over the last few weeks since we lost Daisy dog.  I have been trying to keep up with everyone's blogs but even that has been a wee bit slow as well!  Apologies though as I haven't been commenting as much as normal and there are an awful lot more posts on Byline on my iPhone that I still haven't managed to read yet!  But I will get caught up soon....

And to top it all off Hubby and I have been doing a lot soul searching as to whether we should move closer to the city.  This is the second time this year that we have thought about moving and both times we have come to the conclusion that we should just stay where we are and save the money we would have spent on moving.  In this economic climate I think that saving money is probably the best solution all round....  And the other thing is every house we looked at just didn't cut it in one very important area - no decent sized room for a craft room!!  After all when you have 2 crafters in one house who both love collecting stash you need a decent sized room to store it all in!!! ;o)

So with all the emotion of losing Daisy, and then with all the stress of thinking about moving house, plus work has been very busy for both of us, by the end of the day I just don't seem to have the energy to do much else...  so that's why I haven't been around very much.

Hopefully things will start to pick up soon especially now that the Doctor has decided that I need a weekly shot of iron in the rear end!!  So fingers crossed my motivation will come out of hiding and then slowly everything else will fall back into place....

I may have been a bit slack on the blogging front but I have managed to do some stitching - albeit very small things.  Stitching bug is still here but not enough to focus on a big project.  I have been doing some thank you stitching for the little MS Lovers Blog pixies that sent me pressies for the spring exchange.  I haven't quite finished them all yet but I will show you some in my next post - which I promise won't be in a month's time!!

Hubby and I do have a bit of good news to look forward to.... besides our holiday to Hong Kong in a couple of weeks!

About a month ago we met by pure chance a lovely lady who lives down the road with a gorgeous Cavalier King Charles who just happened to be pregnant!  The three beautiful puppies were born just over 2 weeks ago and the last two weekends we have been visiting and falling in love....  We hadn't planned to get another puppy so soon after Daisy going but sometimes fate deals a hand that you just have to play with.... and that is what we are going to do.  We are going to take one of these gorgeous little puppies - a cute little Blenheim girl.

Our new baby - 2 weeks old

Now we just need to think of a name for her??

I also must do a post on the 11 Questions thingie that is going around.  I have been tagged by two lovely bloggers (Kaye - Kitten Stitching and Anne - Doll's Musing) and I still haven't managed to answer their questions....  So a bit of thinking to do and then I will do a post to reveal all!!

So that it from me for now.  I just wanted to pop in and let you know that I am still alive!!

Oh, and if you get a chance keep an eye on Hubby's blog as he is planning a giveaway and he is looking for hints as to what makes a good giveaway.  He is slowly collecting bits and pieces so pop on over and give him some clues!

See you all again very soon for some pure energy stitching... or something like that anyway!

Keep safe, and happy stitching...

Double Bubble! TUSAL & IHSW Update June 2012

Hello again!  Long time no post....  I do seem to be a bit behind in everything this month for some reason.  Not sure if it's the weather or just getting over the stress of losing Miss Dinky Dog....

Things are getting back on track now... so July should be a better month for stitching and blogging (I hope).

This post is a bit of a double bubble for you - a TUSAL update as well as an update on the IHSW that was last weekend... or wasn't as is the case for me.

My ORT's jar is full of lovely thread this month but as all my stitching was secret stuff I can't show you any pretty pictures.  Sorry.... pictures will come once the packages arrive at their destinations around the world.

ORT's and Dragon - June 2012

Now for my IHSW report - well there is not a lot to report here.  All I managed to do was a bit of stitching on Sunday as we were out most of Saturday.  My little bit of stitching is to be turned into a card for the Craftbubble Crazy for Kitties birthday exchange... a card that is late!!

Cat Alphabet - Designer Maria Diaz
Cross Stitch Crazy

I can't remember the issue of Cross Stitch Crazy this design came from but the designer of the kitty alphabet is Maria Diaz.  Such cute kitties!  I should get this made into a card over the weekend and then in the mail on Monday to the UK.

If you want to see what everyone else has done over the weekend, drop in on Joyce's post for this month's IHSW and click on the list of links!  There is lots of visiting to be had and no doubt a lot more stitching to see than I have to show you this month!!


Before I go I have to show you the gorgeous package that arrived for me last week on a day of rain and fog and cold winter winds!  Nia from Caixinha de Pirlimpimpim sent me a lovely box that she painted and then added this delightful Margaret Sherry hedgehog to the top.  And look what is inside!  Nia made these gorgeous flowers and filled the box!!  Thank you Nia :o)

Cute little hedgehog

A box of sunshine from Nia

This lovely little gift from Nia was a replacement gift from when the Spring Exchange didn't work for me..... I think I have been well and truly spoilt by the ladies on the MS Lovers Blog!  Thank you all so much :o)

Well dear readers, that's it for another ORT report and an update on last weekend dismal stitching weekend.  See you all again same time next month.... Pop on over to Daffycat's blog if you are interested in signing up or keeping in touch with what is going on with the 2012 TUSAL.

Til the next new moon on 19 July 2012, happy stitching and may your collection of ORT's keep growing!

New Moons - 2012

19 July

17 August

16 September

15 October

13 November

13 December

Giveaways and Candy for all

Hello again!  I have been meaning to do a giveaway post for ages and just haven't got my butt moving... now I find that all the lovely giveaways that I wanted to tell you about have all been done and won.... so as usual I am little behind in the news department!  I do have a very bad habit of reading a post on my iPhone, saving it there to come back to when I'm on the laptop, and then forgetting all about checking my iPhone when I am using the laptop.... needless to say time waits for no one and certainly not for me!!

But, I do have a saving grace - there are some lovely giveaways happening right now so lets get them out there and shouted about!

Kitten Stitching - Lovely Kaye is having a giveaway to celebrate her 1st Blogoversary.  She is also hoping to get to 200 followers before her giveaway closes on 18th June 2012.  If Kaye gets to 200 followers before the closing date then there will be a second winner... and for every 10 new followers over 200 another winner/s!  So pop on over and say hi to Kaye and become a new follower.

http://kittenstitching.blogspot.com/2012/06/nearly-my-first-blogoversary-must-be.html

Doll's Musings - Sweet Anne is having a giveaway to celebrate 200 followers.  To join in with this giveaway pop on over and say hi to Anne, but be prepared because you will also need to tell Anne what your very first cross stitch finish was and/or what your first blog post was.  Anne's giveaway closes on 22nd June 2012.

http://dollsmusings.blogspot.com/2012/06/200-follower-giveaway.html

Bizzi Hands - Me ole' work mate Sally is having bit of a card making / stamping candy surprise candy giveaway to celebrate her birthday.  This birthday candy giveaway is going to run for 48 days (from 25 May) - not sure why she chose such a strange length of time for a giveaway!! :o)  Now Sally has said that for every 5 people we get to join in the fun she will keep adding to the goodies.  So why not pop on over, sign up and let Sal know I sent you.  By my reckoning this giveaway should close around mid July, but I never said I was good at maths!!

http://bizzihands.blogspot.com/2012/05/birthday-candy.html

I know that there are some more out there, but for the life of me I can't remember where I saw them!  If and when I see them again I will update my sidebar and do another post - if I'm not too late that is!!

Til next time, happy stitching and keep those frogs under control!

Thank you...

Mental note to self - don't let the cat step on the laptop keyboard while typing a post..... whole posts can just disappear!!!  And to make matters worse the auto-save happened at the same time so I couldn't even salvage what I had sitting in my drafts from earlier today when I started typing!!  So let's try again....

Today's post is one big Thank You!  Thank you to everyone who has commented on my last post about the passing of our beautiful Daisy dog.  I have tried to personally reply to you all, however a couple of you had "no-reply" on your comments and I haven't been able to locate an email address for you.  Both Hubby and I thank you all for your lovely heartfelt comments, thoughts and hugs.

It has been a very sad week but we managed to survive the first week without Daisy.  Each day gets easier.. although coming home and not having a big bouncing puppy waiting for you is still heart wrenching and can be a struggle.  Daisy's ashes were returned to us on Friday - while it's not the same as having her here with us we both feel that her spirit is still here in house.  I am sure that I have felt her here many times over the last week and I felt her presence very strongly just before the door bell rang on Friday when Lawnswood returned her ashes... Very strange I know....

Now I also have some other Thank You's as well.  Remember I mentioned in a previous post about the exchange that went a bit awry?  Well, since receiving my replacement exchange pressie from the lovely Valerie a couple of weeks ago I have since received another 3!  Lovely pressies have arrived from Claire in Belgium and Francesca and Laura in Italy.  I wonder what my mail man thinks with all these international parcels arriving for me?!?

Pressie from Claire - Dulcinella's Chaos

Pressie from Laura - con le mie manine

Pressie from Francesca - Violetta: a cross stitch lover

I have such lovely friends on the MS Lovers Blog and I thank you all so very much for being so generous.  The gifts are all lovely and have certainly put a smile on my face.... especially this last week.  Thank you :o)

Before I go, I just remembered that I haven't mentioned the postcard exchange that I recently did with Shannon from A Bit of This and That.  Shannon sent me this lovely postcard from your home state of Michigan.  Doing a postcard exchange was great fun.

Thank you Shannon

Now for a quick stitching update.... I haven't done a lot of stitching this week but what stitching I have done is all very secret squirrel stuff for the MS Lovers Blog summer exchange, so unfortunately I can't share this with you just yet!  Once it is finished, mailed and has arrived at it's destination then I will share.  I am hoping that what is in my imagination for the final finish actually works.... otherwise I will be in trouble!!

Well dear readers, that is it for this week.  Hope you all have a wonderful week and for those of you in the UK, enjoy all the wonderful celebrations that are taking place for the Diamond Jubilee for our fabulous Queen.  An amazing achievement for a great lady!

Til next time, happy stitching