GG July

How on earth does it happen. On Jamuary 1st I started off the year working on a respectable five projects. I have finished several of those since them so how can it possibly be that I am now working on 14. Are they breeding behind my back? Is someone sneaking them into the pile? I suspect those cheeky kittens who,live outside the back door have something to do with it. Anyway, my GG projects for this month are 1. Flower power. This as you will know is a chart gifted to me many years ago. I am progressing slowly and am hoping to finish at least the first foxglove by Christmas .

The second is Hertz which is part of a SAL. The fabric for this was gifted to me

The third is my TW castle which is to be a present for my grandson for Christmas. This is now almost finished with just a small amount of backstitching to do, washing, lacing and framing so hopefully you will see it in all its glory soon

The final picture isn't cross stitch it is a gift. It's a hat, scarf and mitts for one of my daughters. We have decided that the main part of gifting this year will be handmade so we are all working hard at creating all sorts of things

Have a good month and I look forward to seeing what the others have achieved.

GG June

I can't believe I've actually managed to write up this groups blog for the whole six months. I usually start the year with all good intentions but,like others, I fall by the wayside. But here I am this year, still clinging on. I have four gifted pieces to show this month. First up is Spanish Rouge by Sampler Cove and yes folks, get the dancing shoes out. It's finished in 18 months which is amazing as I'd allowed 2 years

. This was a chart that was gifted to me together with the threads by my adopted internet daughter and is very precious to me. I look forward to framing it. My second piece is wildflower heart which is a sal I am doing on fabric gifted to me

The third is called Paris and is apiece I am doing for someone else. She started it but couldn't get on with it so I said I would finish it for her and then send it back to her.

The final one is my perennial Flower Power. I've finally finished the rudbeckias and am now working on foxgloves. I lve this one. The chart was a gift and I treasure it

That's it folks for this month. Happy stitching

WIPApocalyse June

I haven't managed this the last couple of months but was determined to post something this time. This months question was whether your stitching was more productive in winter or summer. Personally it doesn't make any difference to me. I stitch every lunch time, for an hour or so before getting the evening meal and again in the evenings until bedtime. It's easier in summer because it's warmer but that is the only difference. Now onto stitching. My WIPs list gets ever longer although I did finish the Hungarian sampler and the EMS violets in May. Pictures are in the previous blog. Having said that I started three more SALs. I shouldn't have. I said I wouldn't but I'm afraid my willpower seemed non existent. I've picked a few that I've stitched on recently to show. The first is wildflower heart which is a SAL. It's stitched on a very pretty light raspberry fabric over one but seems to be taking shape very slowly

The second is Tom Pudding Scandinavian red and white sampler which is another SAL

And the third is St Sylvestre which I am stitching with the Long Dog group

Hope you have a good month stitching and enjoying the summer weather.

Flower SAL, finishes and a bit more

The end of May brought the fifth month of the year to a close. Unfortunately I haven't managed to keep up with the EMS flower sal. February took so long to do I nearly despaired but sheer determination finally won through and it was finished

My second finish for May was the Hungarian Sampler by Palko which was a sal with a Yahoo group but which can be found as a freebie on her blog. I really enjoyed this one and the fabric was fabulous

Always a sucker for punishment I am stitching Elizabeth Almonds Box do delights blackwork sal. Although the fourth part came out in 1 June I finally managed to stitch the first part in May. As its on black I can only do it in daylight, hence the delay. I'm using Carries threads and picking them from my stash as I go.

That's about it for the moment. The weather has improved slightly and we are now picking peas as well as loads of strawberries. Such a pity the weeds seem to grow faster than the veg! Happy stitching x

Gifted Gorgeousness May

It's the time again to update the SAL where we stitch with things that have been given as gifts to us or are stitching as a gift to others. My first picture is of Herz auf der Wiese by farbenfroh-Schmidt.de2013. The fabric for this which was entitled raspberry ice was part of a gift exchange a few years ago. The piece is being stitched as a SAL in a Yahoo group that I belong to. I am currently stitching part 3

The second is the ever ongoing Flower Power, the chart of which was Rak'd to me many years ago. I've finally finished the Rudbeckias, or Echinacea as they are known by here in the UK and am currently doing a butterfly. Hopefully I can start on the foxgloves soon.

The final piece I've worked on is the backstitch on The Castle. I didn't bother with a picture this time as,although I seem to have done quite a bit more, there isn't much to see. For the most part at the moment we are busy in the garden planting veggie crops. We have been digging potatoes and harvesting things like lettuce, radishes and spring onions and I picked the first feed of peas today, do things are on the move. Have a good month. Thanks you for popping by. I love your comments. Happy stitching x

Very late April update

I really don't know where the time has gone. I keep promising to update but never get round to it. Oh well, here it is at last. First up is the EMS Flower of the month

I was hoping to finish this but unfortunately it didn't happen so perhaps next month. I did have one finish this month. Tulips Praise by Gracewood Stitches

And finally for the moment I am getting on with the back stitching on The Castle.

Happy stitching and thank you for reading this blog.

GG update April

I really don't know where the time has gone. It only seems like yesterday that I did the March update. Still at leadt the weather is now warmer and we can get really going in the garden with the planting. On the stitching front I worked on Flower Power. Chart gifted to me

The second gifted piece was Spanish Rouge where both chart and threads were a gift. This one only has two more pages to go so hopefully in the not too distant future

Number three is a SAL that I am doing with a German group. It's a Hungarian Sampler by Palko, a Hungarian by birth. The fabric for this was an exchange gift

And finally, the fourth one is another SAL for the same group. The fabric was also part of the same exchange.

That's about my update for this month. I hope you all have a good month.