Another week bites the dust!

Well my hubby was working today so I got up early and did some stitching while watching tapes of this weeks American Idol. I didn;t agree on the ones who got sent home and from this weeks performances my favourites were Casey and Crystal.

As this is the final day of February these are my last two freebie designs. They are just something a little fun that I made up myself. I am now really anxious to get started on something new, so I have looked out my fabric and thread and tomorrow I will be starting on the My Little Heart SAL from Sylvia's blog. The chart for March is another cutie and was posted today so I need to get a move on and catch up.

I also want to say thank you to anyone who takes the time to read my blog and especially those who leave me a comment. None of my family or non-stitchy friends blog so I really appreciate all the people who are now regularly following my blog and leaving comments. The only problem that I am having with blogging is that I am finding too many wonderful new blogs to read and it is eating in to my stitching time...lol.

Michelle is having a Mystery Stitchy Giveaway so please pop over say hello and have a go.

http://stitchcraftplace.blogspot.com/

I hope I am not going to have the Monday blues tomorrow and the first of March will bring us some nice dry weather, roll on the spring. Hugs!

Finished this one off today. I added the cording as an after-thought so it doesn't look to great at the bottom but it is a lesson for the next time. It has been a long time since I have stitched so many pieces in the one month. I know none of them are very big but believe me they are a lot of stitching finishes for me. I have really enjoyed my february freebie challenge and it has introduced me to a lot of new designers.

While out shopping yesterday I decided to have a browse at the stitching magazines. I very rarely buy one these days but when I saw this mag which has a very appropriate name I just had to have it. It contains the most stunning projects including embroidery, patchwork, stumpwork and cross-stitch. It makes someone like me wish I could do all these other beautiful crafts but I can only cross-stitch. I haven't had a chance yet to sit down and study the charts in detail but if possible one day I would like to attempt to make the Etui. Happy Stitching. Hugs!

Getting the hang of it!

As you know finishing isn;t really my strong point but I have started to get the hang of it and I have found my last few finishes not too stressful. Sorry this little pillow is the one that I can;t find the link to the freebie chart from. I am still hopeful someone out there will recognise it. (Thanks to Mylene we now have the link to this design and some lovely other ones at
http://ancsanaplo.blogspot.com/search/label/free%20chart)

This was the first freebie design that I stitched this month. The chart is from The Sampler Girl. I loved how the design fitted perfectly on a nice piece of banding.

This freebie can be found at http://cargaudlabrico.canalblog.com/archives/2009/01/index.html . The chart suggests that you stitch the whole piece with the one colour of thread but I wanted to define the birds. I think it turned out okay.

Two of my mindess cancelled today so I only had one child I had to drop off at school so I now have a free afternoon. I really need to go catch up with some emails and then get off here and stitch but I start browsing blogs and all those great overseas online stitchy shops looking at all that great stash that I so want to have. I just need to find an extra job to pay for it all...lol. Hugs!

Oh no more Snow!

Couldn't believe my eyes when I woke up to more snow this morning. Thankfully two of my mindess didn;t attend so it meant that I didn;t have to walk back and forth to school and nursery today. My new little mindee is settling in really well, he wanted to stay at pick up time so that is a good sign that he is happy here.
I have been stitching up a storm the past few days and I have made two of my freebie designs into small pillows and finished stitching my final piece that I posted a picture of in my last post. I am now really looking forward to starting something new. I really like the My Little Heart SAL that I have seen posted on quite a few blogs so I may try and play catch up with that one.
Happy Stitching, Hugs!

Someone needs Time Out...

Okay, come on own up, who needs time out in the naughty chair. Here at Tinytots you have to sit for a minute for each year of your age, so I am guessing some people may be there for a while...LOL! I was so good last night. I stitched for over an hour while watching the amazing ski cross and on returning from a tea break I noticed that someone , yes you know who you are, had sent that little green pesk to hop all over my stitching. The rest of my night was spent rip, rip, ripping, so I am now as green as the frog. For future reference names will be noted and persistant time outers will have all stash removed.

Another one done!

Yay! Another one done. I really enjoyed stitching this freebie design as it was quite a quick stitch for a slow stitcher like me. You can;t really see the colours great in the photo but I used Six Sweet Strands Black Licorice and Grape Jelly. Now, I can't post the link for this one as the one on my chart just doesn't work and as I have printed off so many freebie charts this month I can't remember where I found it. Please let me know if anyone recognises it , thanks.

This will probably be my final february freebie design as there is only one week left and I would like to try and finish off all the free charts that I have stitched this month. I am hoping to sit down tonight and get it finished while watching some of the Winter Olympics. I was soooo disappointed when the two British curling teams got beat yesterday but it sure was something that we got a gold medal in the womens skelton.
I have a new little 22 month old boy starting tomorrow. Hopefully he will settle in well and won;t take long to get used to our routine. He is a big Thomas the Tank, digger and tractor fan, so I will have to see if I can find any charts to stitch for him. Fingers crossed his first week goes well.
Mmmmmm dinner is nearly ready, I can smell the yummy roast chicken wafting through from the kitchen..lol. Guess I better go eat. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday. Hugs!

Latest freebie finishes

This cute little dolly was a fun stitch. It is a free download on this site http://www.tezukuritown.com/lesson/sew/index.html .

I love this little biscornu it was so tiny and cute when I put it together. I need to look out for some more like this as they would look really great displayed in a little basket.

http://lenkasdesigns.blogspot.com/

As I mentioned in a previous post finishing is a big pain too me but a lot of glue, a little patience , just a few bad words and I am quite happy with how this pillow turned out. The pretty freebie chart can be found at http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/main/18669910/379891642

I found this pillow finish using felt and blanket stitch on another blog and thought I would give it a try. The finishing isn;t perfect but it was quite a quick finish so I will definately be trying it again.

I am looking forward to getting back to stitching tonight, no more finishing for a while. For any new readers to my blog I decided that in February I would stick to stitching freebie designs There are so many fabulous free charts out there and it is also a great way to discover designers that are new too you. You can get lost in the freebie gallery for days...lol.

http://freebiegallery.blogspot.com

Happy stitching, hugs.

It's nearly midweek again!

I can;t believe tomorrow is Wednesday already and it is back to work for me. There are just not enough hours in a day, I need so much more stitching time. I have managed three finishes, a pillow, a tiny biscornu and a little cute dolly. I will post some pictures tomorrow.
With the time difference I don;t get to see a lot of the events live but I am really enjoying the winter olympics. The downhill and the men and womens snowboarding events were really exciting and I am looking forward to the mens skating tomorrow. Sadly the British mens curling team (which are actually all scots) got beat today, fingers crossed they do better in the next game.
Hope everyone is having a good week. Hugs!

And the winner is!

Congratulations to Kellie from Kentucky, you are the winner!

Thank you to everyone who took part. I have really enjoyed doing my first giveaway and I am thrilled that so many people are now following my blog. I am really looking forward to reading all those blogs new to me and getting to know some new people.

Happy Valentines Day!

February Freebie Giveaway!

Ok here is my first February Freebie Giveaway as promised in my last post. Please bear with me as I am new to all this. My giveaway is a thank you to all those who read my blog, leave comments and brighten my days by letting me into their blogging world. Also to hopefully meet new people to follow my blog and make new friendships. Thank you and good luck to everyone who takes part.

Entry Details

1. My Freebie Giveaway items are Bent Creek Be Mine chart, fabric, thread and buttons.

Liberty Heart chart by Trail Creek Farm, Magnetic Frame,Heart Card,Pack of Needles,Heart Buttons, Pink 28 count evenweave, pink dmc threads and a gold heart pin.

2. To enter please leave a comment on this post only. (Remember to leave your e-mail addy if it is not available on your profile).

3. Get a second entry by becoming a follower on my blog. Please let me know in your comment if you have become a follower.

4. Get a third entry by posting about my giveaway on your blog or website.

5. The winner will be chosen at random on February 14th 2010.

Thank you for taking the time to stop by my blog and enter. Hugs!

SAL Finish

This is my SAL piece for February. I wasn't too happy with my attempt at making a heart shaped pillow so that is why I am only showing the stitched portion of the photograph. I get soooo frustrated as no matter what I do I am just no good at normal sewing, my finished attempts always look like something a child has made. I've tried all these finishing tutorials, gluing instead of sewing but I just suck at it.

I can't give up though as I have tons of stitched pieces that I need to do something with, so be prepared for lots of moans and groans on my next postings as I attempt once more to somehow finish off my february freebies that I have been stitching this month.

I am not going to be working until next Wednesday now, so I am planning to get all my house work , laundry etc done tomorrow so I will have lots of free time this week-end to stitch, sew, watch the winter olympics, some movies and check out some of the blogs from the new followers I have. Hope everyone has a good week-end a happy valentines day. Hugs!

New Stash/Chart Help

Now I was only supposed to go to Sewandso and order two gast threads that I needed but this pretty tan evenweave and cute Trilogy chart just seemed to find its way into my basket. I then received an email from creative fabrics so I just had to go over there to check it out and look what I got..lol.

I have purchased quite a few times from creative fabrics there are regular sales ,discount codes , quality fabric and first class service. http://www.creative-fabrics.co.uk/

I have finished stitching my valentine freebie from the sisterhood and kitted up another four or five freebies to keep me busy. I am also working on my own small freebie design, which I just drew on squared paper. If I wanted to display the chart on my blog can someone tell me please how I can do that.

I am also trying to trace this Love chart that I stitched for an exchange quite a few years ago. My print-off is a bit worse for wear now and I would like to re-stitch the chart for myself. It says on my copy that it was a freebie from kreinik but I know it wasn;t the kreinik site that I originally printed it from and on checking the current site and trying google I just can't trace the chart. I'm hoping someone out there recognises it and can tell me where the chart is. Hugs!

February freebie finishes

First of all thank-you to everyone who has entered my giveaway and has added themselves as a follower to my blog. I have had a peek at a few new blogs already and look forward to discovering some more.

I have had great fun this week working on my freebie charts. The first one I completed was Be Mine by The Sampler Girl. I stitched this on aida band with punchberry and hyacinth gast threads. http://www.thesamplergirl.com/articles.php

The next one was Plant Kindness Reap Friendship by Sharon Manspeaker. I stitched this using Aquarelle cotton threads and instead of stitching the flower I used a button. Sharon has lots of wonderful freebies on her blog at http://www.xstitchhappy.com/search/label/cross%20stitch%20freebies

A few more stitches and I will have also finished Valentine by Primitivebettys. I seem to be kinda stuck on a heart theme just now but even though this is the month of love I would like to find some other small cute freebies. If you have any to share please leave me a link, thanks.

My hubby Ian has gone out with his camera club today, Craig has gone to Glasgow and H is working so it is a real treat for me to get some peace and quiet. I love getting the house to myself to just sit and stitch and chill out. I have been re-watching the tv series 24. This is one of my all time favourite shows. Sadly I don;t have sky tv so I am not able to watch the new series that is showing at present. I will be counting the days and hours until it is released on dvd. So, I am off to settle down with my stitching to watch series 3. Hope everyone is having a good week-end. Hugs!

Yummy Truffles

I made these yummy truffles this morning, they are so easy to make. All you need are three ingredients, oreos, cream cheese and chocolate. Crush the oreos, mix with the cream cheese and dip in chocolate. Hubby and the kids loved them and my Mum has just called to tell me she has made a batch to take to her patchwork class tonight. I will definately make these again.

No pictures yet but I have finished my February SAL piece into a pillow. I tried to make a heart shape but its a bit of a wonky first attempt. I've also stitched my first feb freebie, Be Mine by The Sampler Girl. It is a really pretty chart. Off to start on my next one.....Hugs!

Freebie February

Okay I have decided that February is going to be freebie month for me. I have been inspired by all those stitchers out there who have been posting lovely stitched freebies on their blogs recently. I spent a few hours this afternoon printing out a nice bundle of charts to get me started.
I am also going to have two freebie giveaways, one on Valentines Day and one on the last day of the month. I will post details later in the week on how to enter.
I have finished stitching my Happy Heart Day sal piece and I am now attempting to make it into some sort of pillow. Wish me luck as this is the part I hate, I just suck at finishing.
Well done to Roger Federer on winning the Australian open yesterday, he totally out-played Andy Murray. Andy is still young and learning , his day to win lots of majors will come. I am a total couch-potato when it comes to sports. I am really looking forward to the Winter Olympics this month. I love the ice-skating, ski-jumping and bob-sleighing.
Hope everyone has a good week and gets to stitch, stitch, stitch. Hugs!