~ Autumn, Beautiful Autumn ~

You probably get the picture - Autumn along with Spring, are my two most favourite seasons. Not that here in the sub-tropics, we get a lot of the beautiful Autumnal colour changes that the cooler climates get, but it will eventually bring a reprieve from the high humidity and very hot temperatures that can be rather exhausting.

My current SAL project seems very appropriate ~ Blackbird Designs ~ Autumn Song. Sandra and I have both finished the box top stitching and Sandra has also finished the box band and has started on the pin cushion, while I am still lagging a little behind and still finishing the alphabet box band.

It is interesting seeing the subtle but noticeable differences in our two projects ~ Sandra's (bottom picture) is stitched on 32 ct even weave fabric with GAST threads and mine (top) is on 30ct Korty's Special Blend linen with WDW threads.

Although I have read over the instructions for assembling the sewing box several times, it is still not really becoming clear to me yet so I can see that being quite a challenge.

On a trip to Brisbane to see my two darling grand-daughters last week, I managed to finally stop off at a little Patchwork shop I had passed by on the way many times before, so this time I stopped off for a look. I picked up these three fat quarters and a pair of cute little floral scissors.

The fabrics are Blackbird Designs from the Harvest Home series and the other Cottage Charm is a sweet sampler design alphabet.

Ben, hasn't made an appearance for a while so here he is enjoying a treat the other day and sporting a little shaved patch on his arm after a trip to the vet for a check over and blood tests. Sadly, he recently gave us another scare when he had a second seizure. The first was last October, and it seems the diagnosis is epilepsy. This apparently, is quite a common thing in dogs and often occurs around Ben's age. (He turns four next month) For the present moment we have made the decision , with the approval from our vet, to watch and wait before making the very serious decision to put him on medication, which will be every twelve hours for his lifetime.

Ben also reminded me that I needed to say thank you to all who take the time to visit our blog and for leaving us comments which we love to receive.

Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree.
~ Emily Bronte

~ A Magic Carpet ride ?? ~

I think my shadow thought so when not seconds after I had put the mat outside to air, he had found it and was looking at me as if to say...

'Thanks Mum, nice of you to put this here for me!!'

Gotta love it!!

We went to the movie 'Marley and Me' the other night. I have to say, I was apprehensive about going after having read the book and knowing how it ended. You could have heard a pin drop in the theatre and I don't think there would have been a dry eye in the place. I cried my eyes out just as I had done when reading the book. I was so glad to come home and be able to give my shadow an extra big cuddle.

I found this photo of him which captures him in full flight and shows his absolute love, enthusiasm and delight in going to the beach.

Yes, there has been a finish this week. Here is 'French Country Dog ', a chart Sandra gave me at Christmas.

I made it into a cushion for the little cane chair I have for my grand daughters. Now, I have two grand daughters, I will try and get another chair and I have another doggy chart in mind to stitch another cushion.
It is already SAL time again, my goodness the weeks are going fast already. better get onto my three hours stitching.

“A dog doesn’t care if you’re rich or poor, big or small, young or old. He doesn’t care if you’re not smart, not popular, not a good joke-teller, not the best athlete, nor the best-looking person. To your dog, you are the greatest, the smartest, the nicest human being who was ever born. You are his friend and protector.”

-Louis Sabin

~ Needleroll TLC ~

Anyone who knows anything about Labradors, will know how they love to greet visitors with a 'gift'. For my shadow, the gift is usually a needleroll carefully plucked from the basket of needlerolls which I have on display. It is his way of saying 'welcome, here is something my mum has made for you'. Darling Ben, I am sorry to have to tell you this but no matter how glad we are to see our visitors, I really don't want you to give away my needlerolls. Anyway, after quite sometime of having to retrieve my needlerolls from my beloved shadow's mouth, I noticed some of 'our gifts' where becoming quite.....how shall I put it......grubby!!
I needed to take action and I guess since some of them had been in the basket for several years, a little TLC wasn't going to go astray.

Here are the de-stuffed, washed and out to dry needdlerolls.

A few days later, after being re-stuffed with all new stuffing, attention to their ribbons, and a basket make-over, here are the spruced up freshly smelling needlerolls posing nicely for a photo shoot.

Now to try and teach Ben to 'LEAVE'!!!

Sandra and I are into week 2 of our new SAL and are dedicating three hours stitching a week to it. These are our results so far.

Chrissie's

Sandra's

It is interesting seeing these too different versions, stitched on different fabrics with different threads, taking shape.

"No matter how little money and how few possessions, you own, having a dog makes you rich."

~Louis Sabin

~ You would have to agree ~

You would certainly have to agree that I have the nicest stitching friends and I just couldn't wait to share with you how they have spoilt me this Christmas.

Dear Sandra and Mary, if you are reading this, it is giving me a chance to say thank you one more time for not only your beautiful gifts but your friendship that has grown out of our mutual love of stitching.

Look at this ....
Back in July, Sandra stitched me a bourse for my birthday and these precious little accessories she has stitched for me for Christmas, go with it. Now I have this beautiful set.

There is a pinkeep, needlebook and a tiny scissor fob which is stitched over one. My Gingher 'Lanell' scissors match this to perfection.

But wait....there is more!!!

Sandra knows I love tins and that I also love fairies and look what she sent me as well ...

Inside these tins was more treasure ~ shell buttons, GAST threads, a thread winder, and a dear little waxer which Sandra had made and is in the shape of an oak leaf. I also received a Cath Kidson carrybag :) Don't you just love those 'Bygone days' tins.

Now as if I wasn't spoit enough with that, look what my dear friend Mary has given me. The beautiful scissor holder she has stitched holds the pink breast cancer scissors of which part of the proceeds from every sale goes toward breast cancer education and research. I just love it and especially what it symbolises.

Mary also gave me a beautiful panel of the Twelve Days of Christmas (similar to the one shown in the photo) You quilt it and embellish it. On a trip to Toowoomba yesterday, I was lucky enough to stop by a beautiful shop called The Quilters Angel at Highfields and guess what I found. The perfect fabric to back and bind it and also a lovely hanger which fits it perfectly so I am all set Mary to hopefully have it ready for next Christmas. Here is a photo of the panel.

So you see what I mean when I say I have the nicest friends.

Ben and his 'bestest' friend Indy had a lovely Christmas too and here they are waiting to give the doggie biscuits their seal of approval.

Until next year..

True friendship comes when silence between two people is comfortable.

~Dave Tyson Gentry

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

Scissors

I have a small but growing collection of Gingher Designer 4 inch scissors.

Penelope is my oldest pair and Freedom my newest. I definitely prefer some pairs to others and I would say my favourites are probably Penelope, Lanell, Ashley and my second newest pair, Emma.
I can't wait for Roberta be released around September. As well as these designer series, I have a black oxide pair that I use in my stitching. I don't normally use my designer ones but do use them when I need to cut something with precision such as the bottom of tassels as it can be difficult to get them straight and the Ginghers are VERY sharp. I wish I had some of the older designs but don't think they will become part of my collection now as they go for very high prices. I really would like to add Julia though as they are very pretty.

Indy is my daughter's little dog. She got her from the Refuge a few months back and she she was two on Thursday. She got her beautiful new bed for her birthday so brought it over to show Ben and stayed for a sleepover. At night, I take off Ben's collar and I tell him he is getting his 'jamies' on, so here he is in his 'jamies'.

Don't these partners in crime just look a picture of innocence and as if 'butter wouldn't melt in their mouths'. Looks can be deceiving!!

"Animals are such agreeable friends - they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms"

~George Eliot

Nellie 2001 ~ 2005

Our beautiful Nellie left us three years ago today.

"Run Free Sweet Nellie"

Here is the sampler I stitched as a tribute to my precious girl. It is a combination of two designs by Homespun Sampler called Nellie's Garden and Nellie's Garden Revisited. Since she loved being with me in the garden, I felt it was very appropriate.

Amazing Resemblance

Have you ever noticed the beautiful shape of a dog's paw? It is a perfect teddy bear shape. Ben's are even fluffy like a real teddy bear and of course the right colour too. I took this photograph to show you what I mean. I was down on the floor practically standing on my head to do this and the next photo captures that ~ 'Mum, what on earth are you doing'? look on his face.

The teddy bear cake is the beautiful birthday cake my DH and DD made for our precious little grandaughter's second birthday. Didn't they make a great job of it and it confirms my theory of the shape. Happy birthday darling Milly!!

Sandra and I have finished our May ornaments and I couldn't wait to see what Sandra had come up with for this month. We kept our colour choices a secret from each other this time we stitched A Needleworker's Pocket by With My Needle from the 2003 Just Cross Stitch Christmas Book. There are three pieces in this series and we are planning to stitch the other two at a later date so we have a nice set.

Here is Sandra's version .....

and my version .....

The background fabric is the fabric we used to line the pockets with. Now we are looking forward to June and even planning what we will do next year.

"Grandchildren are a grandparent's link to the future, and grandparents are the child's link to the past."

~Unknown

Happy Birthday Ben:)

Today my big beautiful boy turns three. He came into our lives when he was just nine weeks old and has grown from this gorgeous little puppy ......


into this handsome noble man......

with a lot of 'in-between'

Thank you my beautiful faithful friend for the joy you have brought into our lives.

" He is your friend, your partner,
your defender, your dog.
You are his life, his love, his leader.
He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat
of his heart.
You owe it to him to be worthy of
such devotion."
.....Unknown

The Contents Revealed

My friend Sandra and I are doing a stitch-a-long this year in which we decided to stitch an ornament each month for a year. I have just finished my March ornament which is "Merry and Bright" by Little by Little Designs from the 2007 Just Cross Stitch Christmas book. We both stitch the same ornament each month and it is exciting seeing how each of us chooses to finish them and how different they look with the selection of our threads and fabrics. Sandra finished her March ornament a while back but I was a bit slow this month as I decided to stitch mine over one thread and I am convinced it takes twice as long to stitch over one. That brings me to the contents of the tin....

I am using the tin to store my years ornaments. It only has three in it so far but it is going to be exciting by the end of the year when it has twelve in it.
Here are our ornaments so far. Mine on the left and Sandra's versions on the right.




I haven't posted a picture of my shadow in a while so here is Ben today doing what he does so well, being very laid back and enjoying a spot of sunshine close by as I was outside taking a photograph of my ornament.


Happy Stitching!
Chrissie and Ben :)

Partners in Crime

Last weekend, my husband and I had a night away looking after our darling grand daughter. Our daughter 'babysat' Ben for us at our house and brought along her little dog Indy who is Ben's best friend. Now, this is not the first time these two 'partners in crime' have got themselves in trouble but I have to say I was not one bit happy when I saw what they had been into this time and I think when I show you you will understand why!!



Now you wouldn't think these two innocent looking faces could have any part in such a crime now .......... would you?? I really rather liked my needleroll!!