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Tuesday 29 March 2011

Birthday Princess

I've entered a challenge on MSCSG.  What we were asked to do was stitch one of Margaret Sherry's Sketchies and be creative, use painted fabric, coloured threads and add a little touch of yourselves! It can be a new saying, buttons, lace, anything you want.  So this is what I have come up with.  Adding Mill Hill glass seed beads 00553 and Metallic threads.


Birthday Princess by Margaret Sherry


Letter Prize has arrived

My letter prize has arrived in the post today.  I can't wait to use the Madeira Silk threads.  I've never used silk thread before.  I received 10 spiral packs of silk threads and a thread cutter from Madeira together with a leaflet about the silk threads.

Prize for "Valentine Smooches" letter in Cross Stitcher Magazine.


Happy Stitching Everyone


Saturday 26 March 2011

Cross Stitcher Magazine

I seem to have been dashing around this week, meeting up with friends and family, so not much stitching done.  But I did have a letter published in Cross Stitcher Magazine Issue 238.  I sent them a picture of my "Kiss Me" Valentine Card by Margaret Sherry.  They cropped the picture to show the mice only, and also reversed the picture, so that the heart shaped balloon was on the left and the rose on the right.



Here is what my letter says in the magazine:-

Valentine smooches
When I received my copy of issue 236 I completely fell in love with Margaret Sherry's kissing mice (above) and dropped everything I was doing, so that I could find some fabric and threads to start stitching it straight away!  I've just finished it this morning and had to take a photo to share with you.  This will make such a great Valentine's card for my husband - he's going to love it.

And yes, he did love it.

-ooOoo-

This is not the first time that I have had a letter published in Cross Stitcher Magazine.  Last year I stitched Dr Who's David Tennent from the "Stitch A Star" part of the magazine and this was also printed in the magazine.

David Tennent as Dr Who


Happy Stitching Everyone


Monday 21 March 2011

Spring and Birthday Month Giveaways - More have been added.

Carol is having a Spring Giveaway, so just go to "Stitching Dreams".  Here is what you could win.
The Giveaway will be open until 2 April 2011.

Here is what you could win on Stitching Dreams.

Also visit Rhode Island Stitchers for there Spring Giveaway. The Giveaway will be open until 15 April 2011.
The winner’s name will be drawn randomly on the 16th and announced via blog post.

A brimming basket of beautiful patterns!  And lots more.

This time its a Birthday Month Giveaway by Barbara from To Stitch or Not to Stitch.
This is open until the 31 March 2011.


This is just some of what you could win.

Yet another giveaway on Teresa's blog who is celebrating one month of blogging.  
This is open until 31 March 2011

Just one of the items you could win on Terea's Blog.
Here is another Giveaway by Mina on Sari Knitting and Stitching.  Draw will be done on 3 April 2011.

Cross Stitch Charts you could win.

And here is another Giveaway from Tatyana on Tatkis - mouse house.  Closing date is 13 April 2011.

Mystery Prize!

Happy Stitching Everyone


Friday 18 March 2011

Let's Bee Friends

Well, I'm so glad to say that I have finally finished stitching "Let's Bee Friends" by Margaret Sherry.  At least he has been one of the easier ones, when it came to back stitching.  I stitched him for the March SAL on the Yahoo Margaret Sherry Cross Stitch Group (MSCSG).  I first started him in June 2010 as he was a free cover kit in Cross Stitcher Magazine 226.  Thanks to the group SAL, he is now finished and not a UFO anymore.

Let's Bee Friends by Margaret Sherry

- oo0oo -

SPRING IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER

The robins are singing and the Great Tits are in our nesting box.  I'm amazed that we still have Long Tailed Tits in our garden, they have never stayed so long with us before.  Also the daffodils and primroses are starting to come out. 

Robin

Long Tailed Tit

Primroses




Daffodils

Happy Stitching Everyone


Tuesday 15 March 2011

UFO/WHIP Update - "Time and Season Sampler"

As promised, here is an update on the Moira Blackburn "Time and Season Sampler".

This is what it looked like on Sunday morning.



And this is what it looked like today.


I'm very pleased with how it has progressed since I last posted.  But I will have to put it down again as I have another UFO that needs to be finished this month, namely  "Let's Bee Friends" by Margaret Sherry.  I will post a picture as soon as it is finished.

Happy Stitching


Monday 14 March 2011

Derwent and Howden Reservoirs

I went for a lovely walk in the Upper Derwent Valley on Saturday with a group of friends.  This time we started in Fairholmes which is close to the Derwent Dam.  We walked along the side of the reservoir until we reached Howden Dam, and then retraced our steps.  As usual I took lots of photo's along the way. 


Goldcrest
We were so very pleased to see some Goldcrests flying about.  They are similar to the Firecrest and also the smallest European bird.  I was very lucky to get a photo of one of them.

Derwent Dam


Derwent Reservoir




Wild Snowdrops


Howden Dam

 - ooOoo -
UFO Stitch Along

I belong to a forum that has a weekly UFO Stitch Along.  This group really helps me to keep focused on my stitching.  So, every Monday you will find me busy stitching, and on Tuesday it's "Show Time".  I have promised to show my "Time and Season Sampler".  So watch this space for an update.

Happy Stitching



Sunday 13 March 2011

Angels by Lavender and Lace

I thought I would show you some of my stitching that I have already finished.  I have been collecting freebie charts since 2008, and I thought it was about time that I started stitching some of them.  I have always loved Lavender and Lace designs and I decided in 2009 to start stitching the freebies.  Here is what I have stitched so far.

1999 Angel
1998 Peace Angel
1990 Christmas Angel
2003 Christmas Angel Ornament
1989 Stitch Upon A Star Angel
1987 Angel with Wreath
1986 Peace Angel
I have put a direct link to each design underneath each angel.  You can find all the Lavender and Lace "Free Christmas Designs" here. 

Please note that I did not have all the correct beads and threads, so I chose the nearest that I had in my stash.

Happy Stitching

Friday 11 March 2011

Spring is just around the corner

It's not long until spring is here, and I went out into the park on Monday, taking lots of photo's of the flowers.  But I also spotted my first Butterfly of 2011, a Red Admiral.  I would think that it has been hibernating and has come out to explore. They are mainly summer migrants to the UK and are commonest in July - August.

Red Admiral

Purple crocuses

Golden Yellow Crocuses

White Crocuses

Purple Crocuses

Friday 4 March 2011

Women's World Day of Prayer

Today is the Women's World Day of Prayer. It is an ecumenical movement organised and led by Christian women who gather together on the first Friday in March each year to have a service which is written by a different country each year.  That country becomes the focus of the worlds prayers on the day itself, which begins as dawn breaks over the islands of Tonga in the Pacific and countinues across each continent until the last services of this special day are held back in the Pacific, on the islands of Samoa, circling the world in prayer for 36 hours.  This year we are lead by the women of Chile. 


Embroidered  by Norma Ulloa

The cover of the service booklet this year was designed by Norma Ulloa (picture above) who was born in Concepcion, Chile, 78 years ago. At the beginning of the 1970's, Norma joined a gorup of women who did crochet work in a workshop in a neighbouring village called Copiuleum.  In 1974 a German artist from Concepcion, Rosmarie Prim, who taught a special form of embroidery, entered into a relationship with them and created the Artisans' Centre.  Las Bordadoras de Copiulemu (the Embroiderers of Copiulemu) who a result of this initiative.  They started embroidering on the cloth of flour bags using wood and their own needles.  Rosmarie Prim taught them the method and established the condition that they were not to copy or seek inspiration in designs from magazines or advertisements.  Instead they embroidered the things they saw in their daily lives.

Each of the embroiderers has here own style.  Norma Ulloa liked simple designs using soft colours.  She embroidered in all her free moments and it was always late when she went to bed.  Before she started working on the Women's World Day of Prayer picture for 2011, she tried to imagine what life was like in Jesus' time, she read the bible and thought a great deal.  Her idea focused around prayer and bread.  She said of her work: "The upper part depicts Christ praying and healing.  On the left he is praying and the apostles have fallen asleep.  On the right is the healing of a lame person.  The lower part is related to bread.  First there is the wheat.  In the centre Christ is multiplying the loaves and the fish.  Finally there is the threshing with mares, a rural motif common in village life."  Thinking of Christ while producing this work, she felt deep emotion and joy and as she progressed should found it got better and better.

Sadly Norma Ulloa died of heart failure shortly after the earthquake in Chile in February 2010, which struck the areas surrounding Concepcion with great force.

[Please note that the above notes were taken from the WWDP Service Book 2011, page 27.]

I hope you enjoyed reading about this different style of embroidery.  I found it quite fascinating and just wanted to share it with you all.

Happy Stitching






Wednesday 2 March 2011

March OWL SAL

Hello and Welcome to all my new followers.  I've been amazed to see the numbers rise over the short time I've started this blog.  And also, thank you to everyone who has posted such lovely comments on my blog, which I love to read.

So I thought I would share my latest stitching with you all, as it's just over a week since I last posted.

OakHaven Designs - OWL Stitch A Long.

I only just printed off my chart for March yesterday and now I can show you my stitching, as it's now finished.

Irish Owl

Valentine Owls

Snow Owl, Valentine Owls and Irish Owl.

It's a long time to wait for April!  So I will be able to stitch my "Time and Season Sampler" instead.

Happy Stitching Everyone