Tuesday, 21 July 2015

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.

Monday, 15 June 2015

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

Sunday, 7 June 2015

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.

Friday, 5 June 2015

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

Sunday, 17 May 2015

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

Tuesday, 5 May 2015

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.

Wednesday, 15 April 2015

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.

Tuesday, 31 March 2015

End of March

So the end of the month has arrived. The weather certainly isn't Spring like. We've had tremendous winds, rain and thunder and lightening but hopefully April will bring some better weather so we can get cracking in the garden. The crops in the tunnel are doing well and I'm knee deep in Cauliflowers and celeriac so we shant starve😆. Stitch wise the February flower of the month progresses slowly
And who knows, I may finish it next month. Ive had one finish which is the first square in TheSamplerLife SAL.
The Scandinavian sampler comes along apace
And I started a new SAL called a blackwork journey which is based on a selection of sweets.
That's about it for this month. Happy stitching

Monday, 16 March 2015

GG March

Where on earth has this year gone? It's supposed to be spring but it's still bitterly cold here. Some of the daffodils are out but there's many more to come. Ive plants to put in the ground but it's too cold and the veg in the tunnel seems to be soooo slow. Anyway onto stitching. My stitching pile seems to be growing by the week. I'm now working on 10 different pieces of which 5 fit into this category. The first is Spanish Rouge Which is steadily growing
The next is Flower Power which sports a new flower
Number three is The Castle which is finished apart from the mountains of back stitch
The fourth is Hungarian Sampler which now looks like this
And finally a piece called Hertz auf der Wiese by Susanne Schmidt. This design was given to our group to stitch as a SAL although I believe it is for sale on her site www.farbenfroh-Schmidt.de.2013. As you've probably guessed by now my SAL group is German
This is also stitched on a piece of fabric given to me and is light raspberry . That's about all for this month. Thanks for dropping by and commenting. I hope to be able to reciprocate.

Friday, 6 March 2015

WIPApocalypse March

February was such a short month that it seems amazing that we are now into March and, supposedly Spring. This months question was - if time and money were not limiters, which projects would you stitch. I would definitely stitch Tapestry Cats and Grand,others Hat, both HAED designs. I already have the charts but sadly, not the time. The other two projects would be Spanish Bleu by Sampler Cove and Wreath for all Seasons, a Dimensions kit which is unfortunately out of my budget. Ah well, one can only hope. This months projects were Flower Power
Which as you can see didn't progress as well as I had hoped but some progress was made. The second was The Castle by Theresa Wentzler which is now almost finished bar the backstitch which I know, will take forever
The third is Spanish Rouge. Part 10 now finished so only 2 more parts to go
Number four is St Sylvestre by Long Dog which is a slowly ongoing piece.
The final piece is Tulips by Kathy Bungard which was a SAL in an old Yahoo group and which I am now trying to finish.
That's about all for this month. I look forward to blog hopping to see what everyone else has achieved.

Friday, 27 February 2015

February flower and a finish

I can't believe how quickly this month has flown by. The weather is still very cold although thankfully snow has evaded us. We did have horrendous thunder on Sunday. So bad that it actually set my surge protector off on the computers and fish tank. Thank goodness for modern technology. This month I finally finished the January Flower of the Month which was my fifth finish this year.
I managed to start the February flower which is violets.
Hopefully March will be a little kinder and the daffodils and tulips will decide to flower

Sunday, 15 February 2015

Kay's February GG Update

How quickly the past month has gone but at least the snowdrops have now made an appearance and the bulbs in my planters outside the front door are popping up so hopefully Spring is on the way. I had three projects for this Sal last month which has now turned into four. 1. Spanish Rouge by Sampler Cove. I have now finished page 9 and into 10 so hopefully a finish sometime this year
2. Flower Power. This one grows steadily as you can see
3. Hungarian sampler
4. The final one is to be a Christmas present so a finish is a must. It's The Castle by Theresa Wentzler.
Looking forward to seeing what the others have achieved. Happy stitching