Dancing Penguins taking shape.....

Hello, to my very patient readers.
From a couple of years ago, where I obsessively stitched and blogged, my life has had a vast turnaround in the past 3 months.  My stitching has slowed down, and I've not been taking as many photos, or indeed felt that I've had something to blog about.
I'm now mentally gearing up to Halloween.  I have the JCS Halloween special, and a couple of charts that need stitching - all I need now is the fabric and the time to stitch.

In the meantime, I've picked up an old WIP from the end of 2010 - Winter Row.
The dancing penguins are cute - and there will be several beads to attach.  If I paid attention to what I'm doing, there is no reason why this should not become a finished item within the next couple of weeks....

I'm waiting on some special fabric from Picture This Plus, to start 'Something Wicked' - my very good friend Nancy, sent me the bestest ever floss - a deep dark blue to purple.  I can't wait to start stitching that once the fabric arrives....

I will endeavour to post on a more regular basis....  now that the days are getting longer, I'll possibly be stitching more..   who knows what the coming weeks will hold?

Happy Stitching
bronny

A return to normality - Stitching again.

I think my mojo may have returned.  Late this afternoon, this snowman was a mere head and shoulders.  I started him at the very end of 'The year of the Snowman', on Dec 31, 2010 and he has been languishing, waiting all through the Year of the Sheep.
Today, I really felt the urge to put needle through fabric and dragged this one out of the WIP pile.  Tomorrow, I might feel considerate enough to give him a nose.  I'm using a really coarse linen evenweave - no idea what it is or what the thread count is. (I'm not that much of a purist)
However, I am feeling better for stitching...
I have found my TUSAL Jar and will be adding a few fibres to that before posting a pic of the Jar in it's relocated space.

Oh joy and peace have returned.  My needles love me again!

A flurry of finishes for my gadgets

I tend to use an open basket, rather than a handbag.  I hate rummaging in the bottom of it when my mobile rings.  I hate that my camera is rustling around without protection now that my GPS is back in it's own bag.  I've been worried that I'll lose my USB sticks with family history photos, cross-stitch patterns/photos and family photos.
Tonight, after dinner - I had a fit of inspiration.
I started with the USB caddy, using the basic idea from the teabag caddy.  It seems to work fine, although I'll test it in the morning and tomorrow I might hand-sew a flap to hold them in.
I then thought that my mobile needed a bag, with a long cord that I can tie to the handles of my basket and reel in my phone when it rings.  I used a little stitch from 2009 that needed a finish, creating a pocket for odds & bods.

Last in the line of stuff to finish, was using a snowman finish from 2010, to whip up a lined camera bag to protect my camera.
A satisfying evening with my sewing machine.

TUSAL - and Snowman Finish

Finally, I seem to have my computer back running and my files re-organised - after the great crash of June 2011!!  I do have a snowman finish to show you - and my current TUSAL.
Here is my Snowman finish - I'm allowed, under the rules, to stitch WIPs.  As this was one of the 7 snowmen charts started on Dec 31 2010 - it qualifies.... so there!!  
Stitchy Kitty Freebie - Winter Blues - and I replaced some of the stitches with beads.  I see this to be made into a companion cushion to the bright pink one stitched last year.

It is also TUSAL day - too dark to show off the TUSAL jar last night - so here's a pic taken early this morning (still dark and had to use a flash)  What a lot of orts there are collected - a lot of blue from a recent sheepie WIP - and possibly the Winter Blues.  Perhaps next month, there will be a little more white and whisper???

For those interested in the Sheepie SAL I mentioned a month or so ago (blush....could not do anything after the crash)  I'm about ready to send it out - will tweak it over the weekend - and set it up as a pdf at work during the week.  I think I might just offer it as a free chart - rather than try to organise myself into a SAL.

My latest finish - Hot off the needle ! (not sheepish!)

A finish !   

It's NOT a sheep !!!

This is the second of the 7 snowman WIP's started on 31st December.

It's a freebie found Marika Belfiori's blog some time ago.  It was the only piece of stitching that was affected by the great house flood of Feb 11.  The ink from the printed chart bled onto the fabric, but not too badly.  I cannot get a good pic of the finish, but the fabric is a soft pinky lilac shade.  Once again, this will most likely be finished into a small wall hanging.

Another Finish - not a sheep, but a Snowman!!!

Hot off the needle.. Not a sheepie, but one of my snowmen WIP's started on 31st December.

This Curtis Boehringer design will be made into a small bellpull.  I really like the hand-dyed aida that it's stitched on.  It comes really close to the edges, but will be fine when sewn up with some razzle-dazzle fabric.  

Not sure what Sheepie or WIP will be picked up next....

Dont forget to enter my giveaway - there will be multiple winners, the main winners will receive a stitched item from me!

Farewell to 2010 - the Year of the SNOWMAN - and a Final TUSAL

Looking back at completed works - my list shows that this year I completed 12 snowmen.  A dozen Snowmen!!!!  yay!  This is my last one finished on the 29th.

Today I completed a scissor fob/ornament - taken from Martha's Sampler  Club Blog - the freebie chart I offered on the 1st Dec.

I still havea full WIP list - and will process that tomorrow and add it to the sidebar.

Today, in preparation for 2011 - the year of the SHEEP, I found some more snowmen charts that I wish I could have made the time to stitch.

My rule is that any new chart started in 2011, must be a Sheep Chart. The exception is WIP's, Halloween and Christmas, and any compassionate projects required. 

hmmm.... exceptions to rules...  that works for me.

So this afternoon, while the temperature outside zoomed to 40c, I gathered some aida and some floss and ferreted through the extra snowmen charts to find a few more that I could not live without.  I started:

• Home Sweet Flaky Home - found in Stoney Creek Dec 07 issue
• Snow Friends - Diane Arthurs chart - intended to be stitched as a triplet - not as a long strip
• Winter Blues - a 2005 freebie from Stitchykitty
• Sampler Winter - a 2008 freebie from Marika Belfiori's website
• Winter Lineup - a chart from 2006 released by The Trilogy - Twisted Threads/Bent Creek/Heart in Hand
• The Welcome Home Snowman - a small chart from Curtis Boehringer
• The Design on the back cover - The End - another chart from Curtis Boehringer
•  

Add those to the carry over WIP's for 2009 and I think I have a good start.

Tomorrow, New Year's Day - I start on my first Sheep Chart. I am infact, starting a Cy-Baaaa stitch-a-long with my friend Karen.  We are stitching something for the EWE Year!!  I'll post a pic tomorrow evening.

TUSAL - Time for me now to empty my decanter of all the threads collected for 2010 - ready to start afresh tomorrow morning - REMEMBER - THE NEXT NEW MOON FOR TUSAL IS JANUARY 4th.

What did/have/will you be doing with your 2010 TUSAL collection?

Another Snowman Finish for 2010

I had a day off work yesterday, and apart from commit a tidy around my sewing table and fabric boxes, did not feel that I had done much at all.

However, at 9pm I felt the need to stitch another snowman, one of the charts I had uncovered earlier in the evening. (I now have some charts sorted into Snowman, Sheep, Do ASAP, Ah-That's where that WIP chart went, Christmas and Other piles)  I picked San-Man's, Kisses from Heaven.

Stitched on dark blue aida, using DMC - including one of the new varigated, and Mill Hill white beads for the snowflakes, I finished putting the last bead and my signature in just before midnight...

I had to wait until daylight to take a picture!

 I also did a small bit of craft.  I had started a jeans quilt some months ago - and of course, after ripping out all the seams, could not throw them out because they could prove useful sometime.... (naturally!)  Well, some time ago, browsing on blogs, I found this idea - and do you think I could remember who to credit??  I dragged out the gluegun late yesterday and made this pot stand.  It's about 8" round and may end up as somebody's christmas present!

Another Snowman finish - itty bitty hot off the hoop!

I accidentally started another snowman yesterday afternoon, instead of starting VS Xmas Tree Farm (still not happy with my floss toss and will have to wait until the weekend when I can floss toss again in daylight) Instead, I picked up a Drawn Thread freebie - a snowman keeper. I grabbed a scrap of evenweave and started stitching. It was only after I'd finished the snowman, and started to stitch the eyelets when I realised that I had mis-read the instructions. 'Stitch using 1-ply' does not translate to 'Stitch over one, using 1-ply' ! ! ! ! So I fudged the placement and size of the eyelets in the background and finished it off into a mini-fob - after all - as it is "2010-my Year of the Snowman", you would think that I would have at least one scissor fob made by now.... HAH!! So now that this one is finished, I've started another one - This time the right size!!

Giveaway Winner ! (and another snowman finish!)

Thank you all for posting and your entries. It certainly was a milestone that is worth celebrating. My son's friend, Danny stayed overnight and on Sunday morning, once everybody had surfaced, I arranged entries into the Pink Bowls of Destiny (love that term, thank you Edgar). Danny drew the following winners:

Post Office kit (plus): Margaret (Solstitches)
Bluebells & Daffodils (plus): Val Laird
Patchwork mags(plus): Beck
Various Charts : Nutmeg

I am finishing off the stitched item for my 100th follower today : Sharona
YOur prizes will be on their way by the end of the week - Congratulations!!!!

What I didn't show you was my purchase to celebrate Mum's birthday yesterday at the Antique Fair.
This little enamel teaset is not complete, although the 3 coffeepots all have their lids. I have 12 tiny cups, four saucers, four bowls, four plates. One cup is missing it's handle. They have some weight to them, I don't think that they are aluminium. I feel that there is some age to them - and they were just whimsical enough to appeal to me. (new mantra - I do NOT need to start another collection theme - doll's toy sets!!!!) I call them tiny, the coffee pots are just under 1" tall.

SNOWMEN - SNOWMEN - SNOWMEN

Another snowman finish for 2010
Bent Creek's Winter Row.
Stitched on soft blue 14count aida - using Needle Necessities floss for the most part - the orange carrot noses were an obscure hand-dyed found in my stash.

As this is rather a wide finish - it is not likely to end up as a cushion. However, I might fashion it into a wall hanging.......hmmmm the possibilities...

Hot off the machine: Pink Snowman Cushion !!

Hip Hip Hooray!!!! I was playing around yesterday with the Ohio Star block and a method of piecing that had me intriqued. The bit I played with will be made into something or other. I had dragged out these three fabric colours, and knew they would work with the hot-pink fabric of my snowman finish from a few days ago. (where on earth i've put the other snowman finishes...oh well-somewhere safe for now) Anyway... I pieced the patchwork and knew I wanted to put the stitching off-center - and played with the fabric that was left over. So here is the front of the cushion.
I'm a bit thingy about wasting one whole piece of fabric for a back of a cushion, so decided to have a play at another technique for the back. A bit of crazy patchwork, but I'm not that thrilled with it. It does fill out the back of the cushion quite well, and who will be looking at the back all the time with the stunning stitching on the front anyway??? The cushion is only held together with two pink buttons, the extra 3 white ones are for decoration. Now to move onto another quick project, while the sewing machine is on!!

(and as this is post number 198 and I have now 97 followers - perhaps I'd better scout around for a 200/100 giveaway????? - stay tuned!)

Another Snowman finish - Hot off the Hoop!!

Although this is another snowman finish for '2010 - The Year of the Snowman' - I am happy to have finished this one off. It was not a fun stitch - I kept making errors in counting and re-stitched each section at least twice. This was a full kit at least, so I don't have to do anything more with it. It came made as a pillow, complete with inner cushioning.
Now to move onto my Pinetree quilt for today - and perhaps a tad of Halloween stitching......
Happy Dancing - another snowman for the year!!!!

Hot Pink Snowman - hot off the needle !!!!

Here it is...Hot off the needle at 1am - Sunday morning.
I was not going to go to bed until all the backstitching was done. I decided to sign it : bronnyb June 2010 the year of the Snowman.
I'll be making this one into a cushion.
Woo Hoo !!!! so pleased that I've another finish done!!!
(time for bed now.....)

Snowman WIP - you'll need your sunglasses - glare alert!

Bright isn't it?????

Hand dyed aida in fluro-pink - probably not quite what the designer thought of...but it leapt out at me when I pulled the design out of my snowman pile. I'll have to stitch the smile on the snowman pretty quick though - I keep feeling at the moment that he's frowning at me.

I'm stitching him with needle necessities floss again - the same melted marshmallow for the snow again, although I am bringing out the DMC-B5200 for the snow on the tops of the letters and the snowflakes (might add a bit of sparkly blending filament for that bit)

It was our 23rd wedding anniversary yesterday - Not a great bit of celebration as it was Jam session day and DS1 & DH spent the afternoon and evening out.

I did however, present DH with a card and some cutlery (23=silver plate) for his lunchbox. I wrote inside: "Isn't it KNIFE to know that after all these years, I still like to SPOON'd time with you - Just FORK the fun of it - lets try for another 23 years!"

groan away.....silly, but it's a typical 'me' pun for a card.

Happy Stitching everybody!!!

2010 - the Year of the Snowman - another finish

Here it is - hot off the needle.
One of the charts I won earlier this year - Curtis Boehringer - The Christmas Snowman - stitched on hand dyed pale blue aida - with Needle Necessities colours. Not the DMC flower thread called for.
I have declared 2010 to be the Year of the Snowman - any new projects started must contain a snowman. I can however pick up an old WIP.
I keep seeing cute little sheep so far this year...2011 may end up being the year of the sheep!
Happy Stitching!!

Another Snowman finished - what next????

I've finished Cold Hands Warm Heart (Lizzie Kate). I changed a few colours around - as you do and found a simple button to use as the bobble for the hat. I'm going to finish this one into yet another cushion. If I can drag myself away from the computer, I might just work my way through a couple of WIP's next - I am trying not to start something new. Although Inspirations is calling me, I've recently aquired a Victoria's Sampler Xmas Tree Farm sampler...hmmmmm...there IS a snowman in the bottom corner. I'm also feeling like cutting up some fabric and making use of some of the patterns found in my oodles of patchwork magazines I'd recently aquired.... hmmmm so much stash - so little time!
Sneak peek at my chookies - sent off to the US for a chook block swap. No further pics until my blocks return!

Of Roos, WIP, Full-moon Snowman S.E.X., 50c bags and more....

To start with..here is my current WIP of 'Cold Hands-Warm Heart'. I'm stitching with whatever jumps to hand, following the general colour recommendations. I think the blue in the mitten is a Dinky-Dye. The red in the beanie is one of the new DMC variations. I've used DMC silver metallic as well. It's on a hand-dyed 14ct aida. I can see this to stitch upon at night. It's been on hold for a few days while working on a Patch swap - I can't show photos of that yet, until the patch comes back...
As of this morning, here is where I'm up to on the B Sampler. I've done everything except for the bees and the final verse. I've changed the original verse to something that suits ME far better. It doesn't show well, but the fabric is far more a minty green. I hope to have this finished this weekend.
This morning, being a weekend, meant that I could take my camera and see the critters that make odd noises during my weekdday pre-dawn ramblings. It's a bit far away, but you can see one of the local 'roos in the next paddock. I saw 10 this morning, and a kookaburra sitting on a wire.
I was lucky to win a prize on the 123 message board last month, with tales of my idiotic full-moon behaviour. I was asked what was my preference in charts - and I replied 'Snowmen' and samplers.....well here is what arrived in time for the very next full moon! Lots and Lots and Lots of SNOWMEN!!! (Harry actually approves of one sampler - the Victoria Samplers Winter Sampler!!!) There is also quite a few DMC threads to play with...I just don't know what to start first....
This morning, while sourcing some fabric at a patchwork shop, I found a thrift shop asking 50c to fill a bag with shirts....I only picked 4 shirts, the one on the bottom right in particular leapt out at me. I'm not planning on wearing them, but converting them all into patchwork fabric. All 4 are cotton fabric (I checked the labels) and the other three are stripes and checks....I'm sure they will come in useful someday...
It's a disease, I tell you!!!


And following my last post....the mouse appears to have taken up residence in the bottom of the pantry or behind the fridge. ......... it's days are numbered!!!!