TUSAL 2015....late already!

So here we are with the very first TUSAL pic of 2015 and I'm already late with it! Oh dear! Not a good start at all.....hangs head in shame.

For anyone who doesn't know about the TUSAL please head over to Daffycat's blog here to find out all about it, and hopefully join in with the madness!

So here's my ort jar for January...

Sadly, not many orts there....but it could be worse...it could be empty! Hopefully there will be more orts in the jar in my next TUSAL picture next month.

So this month my son headed off overseas to do his masters degree. Of course, something like that deserved a good luck card....

The stitching was quite simple and my plan was to do layers of coloured paper on the card to make it a bit fancy. Unfortunately, we were forecast a major snowstorm and I really wanted to get the card in the mail before the storm hit so that it could be on it's way while we hunkered down to survive the blizzard conditions predicted. So, due to lack of time ( and lack of planning on my part!) it ended up a bit less fancy than I had intended. Anyhoo, it's the thought that counts!

So while the snow storm rages outside, I have been working on a some crocheting. One of my Xmas gifts was two balls of the most gorgeous yarn....so soft and wonderful colours. And in true Rhona fashion,  I decided to pick a rather complicated pattern...why walk when you can run?!!!

Here's my progress on a wonderful shawl pattern...

I'm not sure if there are some mistakes in the pattern (it was translated from German) or if I'm just a bit thick when it comes to reading crochet patterns, but the pattern doesn't seem to be  symmetrical ...so I'm just kind of winging it on the bits that don't seem to be right. Of course, that could be a recipe for disaster and lots of rattling down of hours and hours of work. Fingers crossed that it works out for me! Hopefully this won't take me months and months to finish...but who knows!


Until next time...happy stitching!

Rhona

It's been a while!

I can't believe that we're more than half way through January and I'm just getting round to writing my first post of 2015!

First of all.... Happy New Year!

Well things have been a bit manic in my household which is why I haven't posted. Lots of changes....some good, some not so good, but life goes on.

On to some of the good stuff. I have to show you some wonderful stitchy goodies that I got for Christmas. My daughter gave me these beautiful embroidery scissors....

They are wonderful! They feel heavy and solid....and cut like a dream!  The company does quite a few different styles (all absolutely gorgeous) so I can feel a collection obsession coming on ;)

And then my wonderful hubby, who ignored our rule of 'let's cut back on our Xmas spending', bought me three gorgeous cross stitch kits...

I'm amazed that he managed to pick the perfect designs....although I have a sneaking suspicion that  my Amazon browsing history kind of helped!  Now I have to make the difficult decision of which one to start first....and that's a good dilemma to have!

I have managed to get some stitching done and have been working on something that I started ages ago and have had sitting in my stitching basket gathering dust....or as I like to call it... a hibernating WIP  :)

This design isn't very big but seems to be taking me ages! There's lots of blending of colours and various numbers of strands to stitch with which is why I think it takes me so long....as well as the fact that I'm the Queen of slow stitching!

Now that I have managed my first post for 2015, I hope to be able to get back to reading and commenting on all your lovely blogs.

Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time...happy stitching!

Rhona

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mega Mini Month Madness number 4

This week, I went from this....

....and this...

...and made this...

Yup, this is the year that I'm finally going to be organized for Christmas! Woohoo!

All those craft ideas that I have for Christmas? They're in my planner.

That 'must stitch' design....that's in my planner too (along with a note of the threads that I need to buy!)

And that new recipe I want to try....yup, that's in the planner, along with a list of the ingredients so that I don't get home and realize that I am missing the one crucial ingredient !

I had seen quite a few Christmas planners on Pinterest and decided that was what I needed to keep me organized, but they were all made using three ring binders. I have nothing against three ring binders...they're great for holding recipe pages torn from magazines, cross stitch charts, and you can find plenty of free printable pages....but they are rather cumbersome to be carrying with you to the supermarket or to the mall! :) I wanted something that I could pop into my bag and see all the lists I had made and scribble notes inside etc.  Then when visiting the lovely, and very talented, Helen Phillips blog I saw that she had made a Christmas memories book using a spiral bound journal which you can see here.   Bingo...the perfect solution!

So here's a better picture of the planner, which was just made by covering the original notebook with some fancy Christmas papers and, of course, my stitching!

I even covered the inside page!

Not too much layering of paper, so it was quite quick to make.

Can't forget the back!

Just have to make sure I have a pen in my handbag!

Roll on Christmas!

Until next time...happy stitching!

Rhona

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