~ Ta Da.... 'La D Da' ~

Bbbbbrrrrrr!! it's getting cold here in sub -tropical Queensland. OK, not quite as cold as some people experience during winter but nevertheless cold!! Cold enough for me to have the heater on. Ben is curled up in what I call 'a little ball of dog' these nights. It amazes me just how small a big dog can curl up into!!

I mentioned some stitching I was doing a while back which I couldn't reveal at the time, well since it has now reached it's destination, I can finally show you what I was working on. Here is my La D Da ~"Three Sweet Hearts" ~ (left to right) Autumn Heart, Winter Heart, Daisy Daisy. I stitched these on 35ct linen with silk threads.

Hee hee, just a joke...no it wasn't snowing when I took this photograph (probably not very likely either here) but I found this cool trick on my photo editing programme that allows me to make snow (or should that be ...fake snow)

Anyway, they were a birthday gift for a special friend and I have heard today that she liked them.

Happy birthday dear friend!!

Sandra and I are working on our SAL and have nearly completed our third project for the year which I will be able to show you soon.

Thank you for all the comments left on my blog.

'Winter dies into the spring, to be born again in the autumn'.
~Marche Blumenberg

~ We Have Finished ~

Yes, Sandra and I have finally completed our second SAL for this year, With My Needle 'Flowers For Lily'. This sweet little sewing case is only quite small and will make another nice addition to the 'cake stand'. We each chose our own threads, linen, lining fabric and ribbon and it is always interesting to see how the two different combinations work out when we have finished.
Sandra is a hard act to follow when it comes to finishing and her pictures shows once again the perfection I always know she will produce in her version. I feel a little intimidated by her level of finishing but lucky at the same time to be stitching along side her as it spurs me on to try and finish mine as best I can and she is always happy to help me out with ideas and hints when I don't really know what I am doing. So thanks again Sandra for sharing in this SAL with me.

This was my first ever attempt at making a mattress pincushion and the first time I have ever done nuns stitch too. We both added coins to the fob to give it some weight. Mine has an Aussie 10 cent coin which only just fitted inside and Sandra's an English penny. The scissors tuck neatly in underneath the mattress pincushion.

Now look at Sandra's version...

I just love how she has added the name of the project into the side of the mattress. Also, check out her Picasa album to see photos of her version of the scissor weight and her gorgeous butterfly scissors.

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog.

May the wings of the butterfly kiss the sun
And find your shoulder to light on,
To bring you luck, happiness and riches
Today, tomorrow and beyond.
~Irish Blessing

~Monday, Beautiful Monday ~

It is a dull, kind of dark day here on the Sunshine Coast today and I said to Ben this afternoon ~ 'Do you want to hang out with Mum and listen to some music?' To which he immediately replied he thought that was a great idea!! So what nicer way to spend this kind of an afternoon than stitching (and yes, Sandra, it is the assembling of FFL I am working on) with your faithful friend at your feet and listening to your favourite music....... I LOVE that!!

Thank you so much for your kind wishes last week. My cold is much better now and I love those aloe vera Kleenex, much kinder to the nose :)

'Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.'
~Berthold Auerbach

~Monday, Beautiful Monday ~

~ Is it just me? ~

......or do you sometimes not have your 'thinking head on' too?

Yesterday, I was feeling really pleased with myself for doing a couple of days worth of stitching to catch up and finally finish the stitching part of my current SAL, Flowers For Lily. I heaved a sigh of relief and even kind of looked forward to starting on the assembling part of this project today.

This afternoon I thought I would make a start only to find I had made one big BOO BOO!!

Take a look at this photo and see if you can spot it!!

Yes, of course you can. I certainly didn't have my thinking head on when I never thought about leaving enough space between the pieces to allow for seams!! Oh dear, back to the drawing board and I am going to blame it on the horrible cold I have at the moment.

As always, thank you very much for your comments.

OK, I am off to the shop to buy more tissues :(((

Never say, "oops." Always say, "Ah, interesting."
~Author Unknown

~ Not quite cupcakes!! ~

When I saw this two tiered cake stand, I remembered Sandra once telling me she had bought a cake stand with the idea of using it to display smalls. Thanks for the idea Sandra, it seems to have worked - well, that is if I don't stitch any more smalls. Now I just need to find a place to put it out of reach of a certain 'shadow' who as I have mentioned before, does like to welcome any visitors with a needleroll (which are now displayed high up out of his reach) but I am sure something off this little display of goodies would work just as well. Yup, I know my shadow...... I can read his mind!!

Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.
~Mark Twain

~ Not Much Stitching ~

Hello there ....it has been a while I know but I have been a bit busy and time has got away on me lately. Busy, has meant there hasn't been a lot of time for stitching recently with one thing and another going on and what I have in fact stitched I can't really show right now anyway :)) it is for a gift!

I have also been a little remiss with my current SAL too. Sandra and I are still working on Flowers For Lily Needlecase and while Sandra is making good progress with hers, (have a look here )I have managed to lag a little behind and will be needing to do a fast catch up this coming week to make up time. As Sandra reminds me though, it is not a race and I agree, it should not become a burden.

When I started my blog I made the decision to write only about stitching related topics or things about Ben (My Shadow) and I mainly try to stick to this rule but I really want to tell you about the wonderful time I have had recently with my darling grand daughter - Miss Three. She has been staying for a few days with us as her Mummy and Daddy needed to take an urgent trip out of the country. Although we see her often she has only ever stayed over for one night at a time on her own before and so this time has been for a bit longer. What an absolute delight it has been having her to stay. She is a darling and we have had such fun together. It is wonderful seeing things through the eyes of little ones again and how they take joy in things going on around them. Yesterday, we went to look at the kangaroos at the local University and on Wednesday, we went to 'The Wiggles' concert. This had been planned for months. What a fun time we had. We sang, we danced, we clapped and we both thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Thank you Miss Milly for sharing this fun time with Nana.

Ben has been really enjoying having a little person around too. Labradors and little people are made for each other. Today, we found fairies in the garden and here she is showing Ben her basket of fairies although he was a bit too pre-occupied with eating his bone to be really interested:)))

We made fairy cupcakes too and of course the best part is adding the sprinkles

I don't know if you have ever seen this You tube video. I think it has been around for a while and was brought to mind again recently by Mimi but it exemplifies my thoughts of Labs and children being made for each other. Take a look if you have a moment.

I did go to the Brisbane Stitches and Craft Show last week and I have to admit to being a little bit disappointed this time. It just didn't seem to have the same appeal as it normally does and I wasn't the only person who felt this way. Other's also felt the same. I am usually quite overwhelmed by the beautiful fabrics and usually find some treasures I just 'have to have' but this time - I never came away with one piece of fabric and only bought a couple of threads. some lace, a bit of felt and a chart. Oh well, there is always next time.

Sadly, my shadow had another seizure this week and as you can imagine it is a very scary thing to watch and very stressful but after it is over, although it leaves him very edgy and clingy for a while afterwards, he doesn't appear to suffer any effects.

Happy Mothers Day to all Mothers.

'Childhood is the most beautiful of all life's seasons.

~Author Unknown~