Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Merry Christmas!

Just a quick post to wish you all a very Merry Christmas!  

I think everything is done.....just the last few little gifts to wrap, and then some family time with some Christmas cookies and an old movie or two!

I haven't managed to get much stitching done this last week or so, but there was one thing that just had to be stitched.....



... a congrats card for my son who graduated university. Of course, you know how superstitious we Scots are, so I didn't want to stitch anything until he had all his final grades! My needle was smoking as I had only one day to get this done before he came home.  My son was delighted that I had used one of my own designs....which really pleased me too!





Sorry for the poor quality of the pictures but it's a miserable rainy afternoon here. 

I also framed some stitching that I had completed earlier in the year...



...again, the pictures are not that great :(

This is a Christmas present for my son's girlfriend....hope she likes it!


Well, I think it's time to indulge in some Christmas cookies!

Merry Christmas everyone....hope Santa is good to you!

Until next time...happy stitching!

Rhona

Sunday, December 14, 2014

Being organized is over-rated!

Well all I can say is....so much for thinking I was organized this year! As always I'm having my last minute dash to get everything done in time.  Here's what I have been working on...


This was a free kit from The World of Cross Stitching magazine....such a cute design! My plan had been to make my own card, but I ran out of time and ended up using the card supplied with the kit - so much quicker!

Then I finished up one of the ornies that had been sitting in my to-do pile all summer long....



The little hedgehog stitchings were made into cards....the picture isn't great as it was late at night when I remembered to take the photo!


I also finished the knitted scarf, which turned out fabulously! (well, I think so anyway!)


I couldn't really get a good photograph of it, but you can at least see the wonderful pattern and colour changes. I made it into an infinity scarf and was planning on giving it to my son's girlfriend.....but I'm tempted to keep it for myself! :)  Maybe that's why I'm on Santa's naughty list!!!

I also managed to make some little embroidered gifts. 



I little mug cosy and matching coaster.



And a second one in bright pink...





And the little butterfly button looks adorable on this, don't you think?


I just have to add some more edible goodies to these gifts and then two more pressies are completed.


Phew!

Well, no rest for the wicked as they say! I still have  a few little finishes to get done before Christmas....wish me luck (and a few extra hours in the day!)

Thanks for stopping by at this busy time of the year. I appreciate all the comments.

Until next time....happy stitching!

Rhona

Monday, November 24, 2014

Let the craziness begin!

Well it's the start of a crazy busy week  for me as it's Thanksgiving here in the US.  I think it's a lovely tradition and one that I'm happy to adopt!  I have so much to be thankful for - good health, family and friends, food on the table etc....the list goes on. The craziness of my week is the fact that I have to go and get my kids from university....they both finish on the same day, but one is 300 miles north and the other is 100 miles south! Of course, every train and bus has been booked for weeks, so it's good old Mum to the rescue! Thank goodness that the price of gas/petrol is coming down :) Hopefully the snow that is forecast will stay away till I'm back and pulling up into my driveway, but I somehow feel that it will not be quite so accommodating! Then it will be time to start cooking. We have some friends coming round for dinner with us and I'm one of these people who is always worried that there won't be enough food, so I cook extra, just in case, then realize that I have enough to feed a small army! Heehee...I'm hoping for a day of  stitching and eating leftovers on Friday! Then comes the fun of getting everyone back to uni! Phew, I'm exhausted just thinking about it.

Anyhoo, I finally finished my crochet blanket. I had intended on making it a bit bigger (more of a rectangle) but I was getting really fed up of it and convinced myself decided that it looked rather nice as a square blanket, thus eliminating having to endure more weeks of crocheting those  little shell shapes which I was becoming rather bored with!


I did a couple of rows of single crochet in each of the three colours to make an edge/border which really finishes it off nicely. I wasn't sure about how to do the corners and kind of just made it up as I went along, each corner is probably different, but it turned out fine....well I think so anyway! If there are any experienced crocheters reading this, I apologize if  you're pulling your hair out and wondering what on earth I talking about as you can see an obvious mistake....just don't look too closely at the next picture! :)




Since I couldn't figure out how to photograph it all arty-farty like they do in magazines, here it is just folded up...




Since the blanket was finished (just in time for all the snow!) I then turned my attention to Twilight Fairy who has been sitting gathering dust. I managed to get quite a bit of the black grass stitched, but I have to admit that it's a bit boring! Last week I was complaining about stitching white on white, this week I have gone to the other extreme and am stitching black on navy blue....just as painful! Still it will be worth it in the end.


I might sound a bit crazy here, but I keep thinking that the little fairy looks like she's wearing a pair of wellie boots! :) Anyone else see it?


Until next time...happy stitching!

Rhona

Monday, November 17, 2014

Round The World Blog Hop!

Today is my turn to post for the Round the World Blog Hop!  The lovely Cath from The Stitchin’ Chicken asked me to join in, you can check out Cath’s blog by clicking here.  

For the blog hop we have to answer some questions then ask three other bloggers to join in….

So here we go, first question -

   What am I working on?

Mmmm, lots of things! And when I start to think about it, I feel a bit guilty as I have quite a few projects being juggled at the moment! I’m going to cheat a bit and instead of writing about them, just post pictures of them all....


...the crochet blanket which is almost finished!


 ... the free kit from this month's World Of Cross Stitching magazine...


...some felt elf slippers to practice some new embroidery stitches...


...some more heart and stars felt ornaments for Christmas (must get more done on this project ...soon!)


...aren't the colours gorgeous on this knitting project? And I'm loving the wooden knitting needles....




...and also Dimensions Twilight Fairy, which is a bit of a killer on the old eye sight! The magnifying glass has to come out for this project…it is lovely but I’ll be soooo glad when it’s finished.  This picture is from the last time I showed her on my blog. I have been working a bit on her and  I’m planning on showing my progress on this project in my next post….

Mmmm... I think I have a bit of a problem...I seem to be a bit of a serial starter!

    How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I don’t think my work differs from others, except maybe that I do quite a few different types of crafts. I’d love to be able to try more but there sadly isn’t enough hours in the day for me…or pennies in the pocket!  :)

    Why do I write/create what I do?

This question is easy…I love creating…I can’t stand do be sitting doing nothing. My hands always have to be busy. The thought of sitting down to watch the TV without doing some cross stitching or crocheting etc just seems like such a waste of time to me! (Except when Outlander was on the TV….I needed my Jamie fix without any distractions!!!)


     How does my writing/creating process work?

See it, like it, do it! Sometimes with a bit of frogging in between!

For the last part of the blog hop I have to ask three people to join in. I didn’t hear back from one of the bloggers I asked, but you won’t be disappointed with the two who have very graciously agreed to join in! So, next week, please head over to Pull The Other Thread  and also Naughts and Cross Stitches ....thanks for joining in, ladies!

Until next time…happy stitching!


Rhona

Monday, November 10, 2014

A couple of small finishes!

After being so organized with the mini madness month finishes during October, November just seems to be whizzing by and I realize that I'm late in posting!

So I was hoping to have one last finish to sneak in at the end of October, and was on track to be able to get the back stitching done on the very last day of October, but  a migraine put paid to my plans :(

So although I didn't get him done for October, at least I can say I have a finish for November!


In fact, I can say I have TWO finishes for November....



Yayy me! 

I'm looking forward to be able to get back working on Twilight Fairy who could probably be renamed Dusty Fairy as I haven't worked on her for months! I'm hoping to dust her off and start working on her again tonight. 




Hopefully I'll have some progress to show with her next post....as well as my crochet blanket as I'm getting close to finishing that too!

Until next time...happy stitching!

Rhona

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Mega Mini Month Madness number 5

I have another finish for this week's mega mini challenge. And let me tell you, this one was a challenge to finish! I'm not a fan of stitching white on white and this one seemed to be nearly all white on white, luckily for me it's such a cute design that I was determined to get it finished....



Am I the only stitcher with an aversion to stitching white on white?

This is another Margaret Sherry design and is a sort of companion piece to the one I did for Mega Mini Month Madness number 3. The difference is that I stitched the first one on pale blue aida, but had none left for this design. (Yes, some stash enhancement is definitely called for now :)  )

Not only did I manage to get this piece done, I also managed another felt heart!  I can now score off two things in my Christmas planner.....such a good feeling! Here's the felt heart for this week....




All that needs to be done is the ribbon for hanging.


I'm hoping to maybe squeeze in another small finish before the end of the month.....this challenge has really set my needle on fire!

Until next time...happy stitching!

Rhona

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Free chart and tutorial







Check out www.TangledThreadsAndThings.com for the tutorial and free chart for this Christmas planner!

Friday, October 17, 2014

Mega Mini Month Madness number 3

Another cute little design to show you for this week's mini  finish. This time it's a Margaret Sherry design that was a free chart from Cross Stitch Crazy a few years ago.....


Awww...aren't they cute! I stitched these adorable little polar bear cubs on pale blue aida which you can see slightly better on this next picture....


I didn't follow the chart exactly and also altered the sky to half cross stitch.....much quicker to do and since the background is already the blue fabric, I thought it worked rather well.


I'm not sure that the eyes stand out enough so I may go back and either add another stitch to make them a bit more obvious, or  do the eyes in a shade darker. 

So....I'm giving myself a little pat-on-the-back for another mini finish completed for the challenge. The next design for the challenge is already started, but there's not enough to show....yet!

Finally, here's a picture of one of my Christmas designs that featured in this month's Cross Stitch Gold magazine....



Cross Stitch Gold Issue 115
Immediate Media Co.

The model was stitched by the lovely Caroline Lord, who, like me, ended up singing Christmas carols in the middle of summer all because of this design! :)

Until next time...happy stitching!

Rhona

Thursday, October 9, 2014

Mega Mini Month Madness number 2!

Oooh...I'm loving this month of stitching minis! I feel so organized :) 

Click here to find out all about Mega mini Month Madness.

After stitching the hedgehog last week, it dawned on me that the design would be perfect for my niece who breeds hedgehogs. Then I remembered that I had another hedgehog design would be even  better for my niece and her hubby....



Heehee....I'm sure they'll love it. I think that I might add a couple of white french knots for the mistletoe berries before I make it into a card.

And still adding to to the list of Christmas finishes, here's more....


I plan to make  quite a few of these felt hearts and stars to hang along the mantelpiece at Christmas. These ones are very plain as I was really just experimenting with the size of the shapes. The next few will test my patience and skill (or lack thereof!) at embroidery as I plan to decorate the shapes....well that's the plan at the moment! I'll let you know how that all turns out...if there are no more felt ornament pics you'll know that the whole plan was a failure! :)

Until next time...happy stitching!

Rhona


Friday, October 3, 2014

Mega Mini Month Madness number 1

Here's my first mini stitching for the Mega Mini Month Madness hosted by Pull The Other Thread.  The challenge is to post one mini stitched piece every week for the month of October.... a great way to get a jump start on the Christmas stitching!


This is one of my designs that was in Cross Stitch Crazy magazine last year.....such a cute little hedgehog, don't you think? He's going to be made into a card....once I get some Christmas papers from the craft store!

I've got all the threads all ready for mini number 2! Wow.....this is so unlike me to be so organized....let's hope it lasts!

Just a little reminder that you can still get the free 'Everything Stops For Tea' chart by clicking here.......enjoy!

Until the next time...happy stitching!

Rhona


Friday, September 26, 2014

Everything stops for tea........free chart!


Just to give you all a bit of a warning....I am going to be mentioning the 'C' word in this post even though it's only September! :) So if it's too early for you to be hearing the word 'Christmas', you might not want to keep reading...although you will miss out on a lovely free chart!

My goal this year is to make quite a few homemade Christmas gifts - that was  my goal last year and probably the year before that too, but sadly I always leave things to the last minute and end up having to go with shop bought gifts...and a lot of disappointment on my part! 

But this year, I'm starting early! I'm determined to do more homemade gifts this year. Here's part of gift number one all stitched up..... 




I've got a couple of ideas of how I want to incorporate this into a cute little gift, but I feel good that the stitching is done...yayyy me! I'll show you how I finish this off as a gift in another post.


So in the spirit of Christmas (yes, I know it's a bit early for that!) I have a little gift for you....the chart! To get your copy of the chart, click here. (I've got my fingers firmly crossed that the link will work) And for the key, click here. If you'd like to change the colour scheme, please feel free to do so. I stitched this on 14 count cream aida and the stitched area is approx 15.4 cm x 10.3 cm. (85 x 57 stitches)

Please remember that the charts are for your own personal use only. Using the charts to make gifts for family and friends is fine (I'd love to see how you use them!), but please do not offer the chart for re-sale.


If you click here , you'll see how I used the design before....mmmm, don't those cookies look good!!!

I've also done a couple of coaster designs to match this piece...so make sure you visit again....you never know when I'll be giving them away! (Soon, I promise.)

With all that talk about tea, I think it's time to pop the kettle on and make a cuppa!



Until next time...happy stitching!

Rhona


Monday, September 22, 2014

A little French Christmas finish.....

After a wonderful trip to Paris with my daughter, I really wanted to stitch something to remind us of our trip.....photographs aren't enough!!! 

Unfortunately for me (perhaps not so for my credit card) the one cross stitch shop that I really wanted to visit (and had figured out how to get there) was closed for the week while we were there. Click here for the website and all their lovely designs.....excuse me while I drool quietly in the corner! 

So, sadly, photographs and memories would have to suffice.....until I came across a lovely design on Pinterest, which I just had to stitch....



It's another freebie design and the chart can be found here


It stitched up quite quickly and the colours look gorgeous although they look a bit strange in the picture - the reds of the ribbon are actually a rich burgundy colour, not a horrible brown as it's showing. 

This freebie design along with the free alphabet heart design that I stitched a few weeks ago, got me to thinking how nice it was to get free charts....so,I've decided that I'll post one of my charts for anyone to download and stitch....pop back next week to get the chart! Free stuff (especially cross stitch) is always good :)

Now, if like me, your thoughts are turning to Christmas stitching and are hoping to be organized and not leave it all to the last minute (Ha! I NEVER do that!), you might want to pop on over to Pull The Other Thread blog and sign up for the Mega Mini Month Madness. The rules and sign up can be found here. (oh my goodness....so many links in this post!) Basically you have to post 5 mini finishes in the month of October...anything goes. I'm planning on getting some Christmas card stitching done....just have to decide what designs to stitch....and that, dear friends, could take me a while!

Until next time...happy stitching!

Rhona





Monday, September 15, 2014

A little Christmas finish...





.....a free kit from this month's Cross Stitch Card Shop magazine. Cute or what?!!  I did manage to get the colours mixed up and stitched the dark purple instead of the light purple, but you'd never know if I hadn't said anything!  You'd think that by now I would be able to read a cross stitch chart correctly  ;) So I have yet another design to be made into a Christmas card....good job I've a got a while to get my  Christmas card making mojo in top gear.

Also on my to-stitch-for-Christmas list are my designs that were featured in this month's Card Shop magazine....


Cross Stitch Card Shop Issue 98
Immediate Media Co.

....I'm totally in love with the little wire hangers...aren't they adorable?  

I've also been quite busy getting odd bits done with my crochet blanket....remember the one that I made rather on the large size....here it is now....




....this is how it looks all rolled up .... and all those loose ends waiting to be stitched in...



...and now you can see just how much I have done! I think I may be almost half way there. Hopefully I'll be finished by the time the really cold weather arrives. 

Until next time...happy stitching!

Rhona




Sunday, September 7, 2014

Almost a disaster!

Having made the decision to actually do something with my stitching (other than adding it to the 'to be finished' pile) I decided to take the plunge and do the bit I hate....finishing. These are all the bits of stitching that I have, sitting in the above mentioned 'to be finished' pile.....


....mmmm....just one or two to be done!!!

After taking this picture I just unceremoniously dumped the stitching back onto my desk and grabbed the heart shaped alphabet to do something with. I grabbed some pink felt and some card stock and went gung-ho with the scissors. As my courage began to wane I decided to sketch out a template for the heart and grabbed a pen to mark the felt with the shape I wanted. After tugging at the pen top for a few seconds it finally popped off .....splattering bright red ink everywhere! I should have taken a picture but I was in such a panic to get the stains off that grabbing the camera was the last thing on my mind. Luckily the stitching gods were looking kindly down on me, and the ink splatters were only on the edges of the stitching, the bits that shouldn't really be seen....phew! Lesson learned....never open a (leaking) roller ball pen close to stitching.

Anyhoo, my accomplishment for this week is getting the heart shaped alphabet finished as a hanging.....





...and not a single spot of red ink to be seen!


Until next time ...happy stitching!

Rhona