Smalls SAL April 2016

Hosted by Stitching Lotus

Today is posting day for the Smalls SAL hosted by Stitching Lotus.  This is my first posting for this SAL... I have always watched from aside while people posted all their Smalls for the month and now I have decided to join in the fun.

During April I finished the following Smalls.  You have seen then all in previous posts so I hope that you don't mind seeing them again.

"Christmas Bauble"

Designer: Jody Rice (Satsuma Street)

Cross Stitch Stitch #208

Stitched for Christmas Ornie SAL Blog

Started: 5 April 2016

Finished: 6 April 2016

Stitched on plastic canvas with DMC threads

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

"Halloween Portraits - Ghost"

Designer: Blue Ribbon Designs

Just Cross Stitch - Halloween 2015

Stitched for Halloween Ornie SAL Blog

Started: 6 April 2016

Finished: 6 April 2016

Stitched on plain 28ct Linen with DMC threads

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

"With Love"

Designer: Lesley Teare

Free Gift - Cross Stitch Card Shop

Mother's Day gift for my Mum xx

Started: 7 January 2016

Finished: 15 April 2016

Stitched on 14ct Aida with threads included in free gift

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

"Very Merry Christmas"

Designer: Medina Originals

Just Cross Stitch - Christmas 2015

Stitched for JCS SAL on Facebook

Started: 19 January 2016

Finished: 23 April 2016

Stitched on 32ct Belfast "Camofudge" from Stitches & Spice

with DMC threads

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

That's all folks.... see you next month..

Happy Stitching!

Hugs xx

Purple Haze and more!

Web image

Today is Anzac Day... 

a day when we remember those wonderful men and women

who fought for the freedoms that we take for granted today

I have a bit of a stitching update for you today... and another finish :o)

Finish #16
"Very Merry Christmas" - Medina Originals
Just Cross Stitch Christmas 2015 magazine

Very Merry Christmas - Medina Originals
JCS Christmas 2015

Very Merry Christmas is my finish for the JCS SAL on FB.  I stitched this on 32ct Belfast "Camofudge" from Stitches & Spice.  Unfortunately I couldn't get a good photo that shows the true colour of the fabric.... the progress photo below is a bit closer to the true colour of the fabric.

Sadly I had an email from Noami the other day to say that due to ill health she is closing down Stitches & Spice.... such a shame.  I love her fabrics - hopefully she has enough in stock so that I can get some more of my favourites before the doors close for the last time!

Stitching Update:

Joyful World SAL - February (Snowflower Diaries)
I managed to get a little bit more stitched on the bottom row of "February" over the weekend

February - Joyful World SAL
Snowflower Diaries

Next up is a long forgotten WIP... "Faces of Joan Elliott SAL".  I haven't stitched on this since September last year.  I decided to pick this one up again yesterday for the Stitch Maynia Colour-A-Day "Purple Haze" event. (Colour-A-Day is where one day a month you stitch only that day's colour)

"Faces of JE SAL" - purple haze stitching

For "Purple Haze" I started the fairy in the bottom right hand corner... the Holly Fairy (I think she is called).  This is all the purple in that fairy done now!  Update photo of the whole piece is below:

Well, that's it for this update... time to get back to my stitching again.  Not sure what I will work on today - it might be my Chatelaine WIP or maybe back onto the fairy or Joyful World...  Spoilt for choice at the moment!

So til next time... happy stitching
Hugs xx

Gifted Gorgeousness SAL 2016 - Update #4

Continuing on with my tradition of being late for posting.... here I am late again for my GG post! :o0

Friday Frolic & GG Entry:
This month I have a finished gift to show you.... this was one of my DUCSJC2016 and Cross Stitch Crazy January starts.  When I left it on January 7 it looked like this....

... and now after stitching on it last Friday night for Friday Frolics and IHSW it is finished... and framed!

Finish #15
"With Love" - Designer: Lesley Teare
Free Gift from Cross Stitch Card Shop

With Love - Designer: Lesley Teare
Cross Stitch Card Shop Freebie

The free gift included a card but I decided to paint up a small frame and use the card opening as a mount instead. (Think I went a bit overboard with the dots!! I was definitely feeling my inner dottiness when I painted this on Sunday!!)

So where does the gift part come into my latest finish? Well, I will be sending this one to my Mum for Mother's Day... (hopefully she doesn't read my blog before next Sunday...)

So that was my Friday Frolic stitching... now onto the rest of weekend's stitching...

IHSW Update:
On Saturday I decided that it was high time to start another of the Snowflower Diaries "Joyful World SAL" pieces as I am woefully behind in stitching these cute designs.  Also, I thought that I could use "February" as part of my Stitch Maynia "April Showers Bring May Flowers" SAL entry.  (My stitching for Mum is also an entry for that SAL)

Snowflower Diaries - Joyful World SAL - February

This is where I got to after stitching on this on Saturday, Sunday and Monday evening.

So overall I had quite a successful IHSW!

I do have another WIP to show you... this one is a 2015 WIP that I started as part of last year's crazy January challenges.  When I last showed this one on my blog back on 1 February 2015 it looked like this:

It now looks like this:

Flowerpot Kitty - Designer: Helz Cuppleditch
Free Gift - World of Cross Stitching magazine

This is a Helz Cuppleditch design and was a free gift from The World of Cross Stitching magazine (WOCS).   I have to admit that I am finding the threads in this freebie absolutely horrible to stitch with.... they won't lie flat and they keep fraying/shredding..... and if I have to frog... oh my goodness don't get me started on that! I suspect they are very cheap!! I now remember why I put it away after starting it last year! But I am nearly finished so I will leave it in the stitching basket and try and get it done before the end of April.

The rest of the week just gone I have been stitching on my JCS Christmas Ornie... fingers crossed that will be finished over the weekend.  Sorry forgot to take a progress pic last night...

So that is it for my latest stitching round up.... Before I go, I would like to thank you for all your lovely comments on my last post.  I really appreciate your kind thoughts and wishes :o) I am feeling a lot better this week so hopefully that is a good sign that things are settling down again!

This weekend we have a long weekend here in Australia for Anzac Day so I will be resting, stitching and catching up with Floss Tube, or the many episodes of the Good Wife, Silent Witness and whatever else I have taped on Foxtel!  So a big weekend ahead...

Til next time, happy stitching

PS: if you have noticed all the purple on this post... besides it being my favourite colour... this is my tribute to Prince who passed away overnight ;o( 2016 is turning out to be a very sad year..... ;o(

Jo from Serendipitous Stitching hosts the Gifted Gorgeousness SAL.  The GG SAL is about stitching charts/kits or using fabrics & threads that we have received as gifts, won in giveaways or anything that is intended be a gift or giveaway prize... or anything else that you can loosely use the word "gift" for!!  If you wish to sign up for this SAL, click on the button below or the button on my sidebar and you will be re-directed to Jo's blog.

TUSAL & New Finishes....

Hello... I'm back... and late again!  TUSAL posts were due last week but... unfortunately I was not a very well bunny last week and the thought of doing anything on a computer was way beyond me! (I did stitch though!!)

Web Image

Have you ever noticed how chronic fatigue can be so debilitating at times?  (After seeing my specialist a couple of weeks ago I can now add Fibromyalgia to my RA, low iron and menopause issues - great just what I want one more chronic fatigue problem!!) 

Last week was not a good week for me... I left work early on Monday as I thought I had a migraine starting... but it was much more than that in the end!! I needed to take Tuesday and Wednesday off work and barely managed to drag myself out of bed on Thursday and Friday to go to work... (you must be sick when your boss tells you that you look terrible!) but Friday afternoon saw me visit the doctor and one iron infusion later I am slowly getting back to normal - even though my normal is not that fantastic at the best of times!!!  Saturday and Sunday was spent veggie out on the couch again with my stitching as I could not do much more than that and today is the first day in over a week that I have started to feel better... Being a couch potato is not good for the size of my backside.... but great for my stitching!! :o)

But enough complaining.. you didn't come to visit my blog to hear me complain - you came to see some stitching so that let's get the show on the road!!

TUSAL / ORT Report & Stitching Updates:

So first up... one very late TUSAL photo....

I know a bit of a lazy TUSAL photo this month!!  I decided that I had better empty the small tin of ORT's and couldn't get up the energy to take a photo so I decided to take a progress shot of my new start and the ORT's together!!

The new start is "Queen Anne's Lace" by Nora Corbett.  This was a "free" design that was published in the Just Cross Stitch magazine (April 2016 issue).  I started stitching this on 3rd or 4th April and this where I was when I took the photo on Saturday afternoon.

I haven't done much more as I spent the last couple of nights stitching on a card for my sister who is celebrating the big "50" on 25th April!

While I am showing one Nora Corbett... how about I show you an update on another Nora Corbett design...

I last showed you "Prancer" back in December 2015.... when he looked like this:

He now looks like this:

I have been stitching on "Prancer" over the last couple of weeks as one of the Nora Corbett FB groups has been doing a couple of SAL's and you know me with SAL's... I just have to give them a go!!! Once I have finished the Kreinik on the bottom my next step is the Whisper thread for his tail... I have never used that thread so I have been putting it off!!! Then it will be onto the border and bling - and with a little bit of luck he may be a finish in May!!

Finishes!
I have 2 new finishes to show you!!

Finish #13
First up is my Halloween Ornie SAL Blog design - the theme was "Ghosts".  So here is my Blue Ribbon Designs "Ghost".

I continued on with my Blue Ribbon Designs stitching and stitched another small (insert quick) design from the Halloween Portraits" by Blue Ribbon Designs.  This one took me the better part of Tuesday afternoon/evening last week when I was at home feeling sick and miserable!

I do think that he is a funny looking ghost... but a ghost he is!  The bottom on the ghost is confusing me as he looks like he has way too many feet... or is that supposed to be a flowing ghostly robe??

Finish #14
My second finish last week was the April choice for the Christmas Ornie SAL Blog - theme for April was Ornaments/Decorations.

As soon as this month's choice came up on the stitching plan I knew exactly what I wanted to stitch... I found this design in the Cross Stitch Crazy magazine last year but wasn't sure what to stitch them on (perforated paper, plastic canvas or fabric) - I ended up choosing plastic canvas and once I have stitched a couple more of them I will cut them out and make them into felt backed ornies.

The Christmas Bauble is designed by Jody Rice from Satsuma Street.  Love the colours!  The pink/purple colour is just so lovely...  This is the first time I have stitched anything from Jody/Satusma Street.... Another lovely easy quick stitch!

So that's it for now... all up to date once again.  Next scheduled posting date is Friday when it will be GG update time again!

So til then, happy stitching!
Hugs xx

The Alphabet Club - Detention for Letter "I"

"They only met online, but it changed their lives forever"

It's time for "The Alphabet Club" (TAC)

Did you notice I am on time this month.... Lets see if I can amaze you with an "I" post!

Icebergs: people who swim in winter regardless of weather and water temperature
Icky: a difficult situation or predicament; or unpleasant surroundings or environment
Icy pole, ice block: frozen popsicle, lollypop
Iffy: dodgy
It's gone walkabout: it's lost, can't be found
Idiot box: Television
In like Flynn: a person who is enthusiastic, lively or swift in deeds, actions, or dealings with others
Ironbark: extremely tough hardwood lumber
Ironman: a muscular, healthy life saver; or one who competes in triathlon events
Iron Underpants: girdles, figure controlling underwear

Iced VoVo
Today's Aussie food institution item is a biscuit that I grew up with... and I loved so much I could devour a whole packet on my own!  Today unfortunately they are bit too sweet for me... and I swear they are not quite the same as they were in the 1970's!

web image

An Iced VoVo is a wheat flour biscuit topped with a strip of pink fondant on either side of a strip of raspberry jam and sprinkled with coconut.

It's made by biscuit company Arnott’s, an Australian food institution itself and now a subsidiary of U.S.-based Campbell Soup Company. Previously known as Iced Vo-Vo biscuits, the brand was first registered in 1906.

On 24 November 2007, the Australian Prime Minister at the time, Kevin Rudd, made a light-hearted mention of Iced VoVos in his election victory speech, jokingly urging his team to have a strong cup of tea with an Iced VoVo before getting to work. This reportedly led to skyrocketing Iced VoVo sales, prompting Arnott's to send a shipping pallet of the biscuits to the Prime Minister's office in Canberra's New Parliament House.

So there you go... That's it from me for this month's Alphabet Club post... I am now going to have a strong cup of tea (the only way to drink tea!) and a Iced VoVo to celebrate it being Saturday and I managed to get to Detention on time for a change!!


Hooroo for now!  Happy Stitching!
Hugs xx



If you would like to join in the fun of "The Alphabet Club", pop over to Chiara's blog (The Grey Tail) to see what all the fun is about and link up your post for the Letter "I".  Posting is generally the first Saturday of the month.