Small Finishes and a Little Stash

It is now safely in the tin along with it's other five predecessors. Six down ~ six to go!! Here are our two versions for June. Brightneedle ~ To Thee Peace from 2003 Just Cross Stitch Ornament Book.
Sandra stitched her version over one......

and me ~ well, guess who didn't read the instructions correctly and stitched hers over two!! The fabric shown behind our stockings is what we backed them with.


Oh well, it makes it interesting and different to say the least :)

My other little finish is this heart door/drawer hanger, a gift for my friend Mary.
It is taken from one of the blocks of Shepherd Bush Wandering Vine.

After recently enjoying a couple of Stacy Nash Primitive Designs finishes, decided it was time for some new Stacy stash. This lovely raw linen, four fat quarters with a very country feel and these charts arrived the other day so I look forward to a new Stacy start soon.

I have been trying to get a little more done on my CHS Strawberry Blonde before making a new start just so it doesn't feel neglected.

My shadow reminded me that he hadn't made an appearance recently so I thought I better show you another photo of him so here is the lazy thing lying at the top of the stairs the other day looking very sleepy :)

"Labradors [are] lousy watchdogs. They usually bark when there is a stranger about, but it is an expression of unmitigated joy at the chance to meet somebody new, not a warning." ~Norman Strung

This and That

Last Thursday, I spent the day at the Stitches & Craft Show in Brisbane where I spent several enjoyable hours browsing the stalls. There was all manner of crafts on show, beads by the mile, scrapbooking, stamping, patchwork, cross stitch, beautiful threads, cardmaking, knitting ~ you name it, it was probably there. I only bought a few little bits and pieces as I really didn't need a lot. One purchase I did make and am quite excited about, is my little mini ironing board and iron which I had seen at a previous craft fair and wished afterwards I had bought. So this time I didn't pass it by. It is a perfect size to have in my sewing room to use when I am needing to iron seams open or press a little piece of fabric etc. Isn't it cute!!

I also bought three fat quarters, one being this beautiful green Moda fabric which I think goes perfectly with this gorgeous Moda Sampler tin which is a recent addition to my growing tin collection/addiction.

Not a lot of stitching progress to show you but am making slow headway with my Strawberry Blonde and have made a start on my May ornament in my stitch-along with Sandra This month we are keeping our colour choice a surprise from each other so I can't wait to see what Sandra has chosen. One thing I know is that it will be beautiful as Sandra always does the most beautiful stitching and has great taste in colours.

We are having the most glorious Autumn weather at present with crisp mornings and evenings and gorgeous days, perfect for gardening. I wanted to show you my vine again. This is Petrea Purple Passion that I showed you a few weeks back when the flowers were beautiful purple. Well now they have turned green and are still beautiful but in a different way.

Isn't nature interesting!!

"If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy, if a blade of grass springing up in the fields has power to move you, if the simple things of nature have a message that you understand, rejoice, for your soul is alive."
~ Eleonora Duse

Another Little Bird

Here is what flew into a tree in my garden today. It is The Goode Huswife 'Primitive Bird'. I just loved this design right from when I first saw it and I knew I had to stitch it which is what I did as soon as I got the chart. I stitched him on 32ct linen (chart calls for 36ct) so he is a little bigger but not too big. He measures around 9 inches. I coloured the cord for the hanger with Parisienne Essence to try and keep with the primitive look and it seemed to work well. I really love this piece of linen but unfortunately, I never wrote on it what it was so have made a mental note to myself to make certain I label my linens from now on so I know what they are and can order them again in the future. I really, really love this colour with it's mottled aged appearance and it was just perfect for the look I was trying to achieve.

The Postie brought me some lovely mail today too.


And this is what was inside this nicely wrapped package......



Three beautiful linens ~ Lakeside Linen Vintage Examplar, Birds of a Feather Sparrow and Birds of a Feather Meadowlark.

Now I must make a start on my April ornament. I think Sandra has hers all stitched and probably assembled as well by now.

'Don't the little birds set their tongues in motion as soon as the day has dawned. They never stop their thanks'...

Exciting Mail

I just love when I get packages like this delivered to my door.


Especially when the contents are like this.


My package contained a piece of beautiful Meadow Rue Lakeside Linen, some gorgeous silk threads and these cute heart shaped scissors which are probably most impractical but very cute none the less. What I couldn't wait to receive was the latest book from Blackbird Designs ~ Thank You, Sarah Tobias. I knew it had the chart for the beautiful Flowers for Sarah needle case in it and you know how it is when you just 'have to have' something . Now that I have that in my hot little hands, I will anxiously be awaiting another package that will arrive soon with the threads and linen for the needle case.