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