Another craft show haul

I heard the original "Stitches & Craft Show" was back at Caulfield racecourse so decided I'd go, but with low expectations as I had seen the list of vendors and they were mainly patchwork/quilting ones. I was still disappointed with the number of stalls - they only took up one level and even then it seemed a smaller area than past years. I didn't bother to look at any of the quilt displays or check out the "make it and take it" area or any seminars - I went purely to shop. Even though there was only one cross stitch shop, I still managed to get some bits and pieces. Oh, and at said cross stitch shop, the very first chart I saw was for the hibiscus flowers I'd just finished! I didn't even know a hard copy existed. Anyway, here's my haul:

I really should learn to take good pics, but it would eat into my stitching time! I got a 3D card kit, 4 pieces of fabric - including 2 Batman ones for my Batman mad 16 year old son, a karate scrapbook cutout, black & white beads by the roll, 3 rolls of ribbon, black and red ruched edging for ornament finishing & 8 rolls of fancy sticker edges for scrapbooking/card making/to go into my stash and never been seen again ;-)

My hibiscus is finished!

Now on to some Christmas stitching I think. This looks a little scrappy as it's straight from the q-snaps, but I'm sure it will polish up well. I'm thinking a simple white frame, no mat, will do the trick for this one. Here it is:

• Name of the design is Hibiscus
• Chart is one I bought from etsy - The designer is Liz Pasqualini and she designs under the name Hannes Needlecraft
• Fabric is 28 count monaco in "strawberry orange sorbet" by Sunny Dyes Fabrics
• Thread is the called for DMC cotton
• Stitch count is 87 x 199
• Started on June 12th 2013
• Completed on October 19th 2013

Blogoversary prize pics - year long and August

I still haven't sent the July prize as I couldn't contact the winner and have just redrawn a new name - Tabby. Therefore I've skipped ahead to show you what I sent Carissa, the year long winner, and Noni, the August winner. Here's Carissa's prize:

Stitcher's World mag, 2 x Six Strand Sweets cotton thread, 2 x mini frames, sage green hand towel

Here's Noni's prize:

Quick & Easy mag, greeting card, 2 x Six Strand Sweets cotton thread, patterned fabric , thread sorter

I still can't find Meggie - so we have a new winner for July

And the new winner appears to be uncontactable from my end :-(. I can only hope she reads this and contacts me or we will be back to the drawing board. The new winner is Tabby - please email me your mailing address and maybe some likes/dislikes. Thanks!

Fabric for sale!

I have cross stitch fabric for sale if anyone is interested. Aida, evenweave, linen, small, large, white, cream, colours & hand dyed. Actual postage costs are extra. I accept cash from Aussies, paypal or gift voucher to my choice of online store. Take a look if you like. Thanks.

My quilt square is done

I almost finished it by the original deadline of October 1st! Now to wash, dry, iron and mail it to the USA. Here it is, I can't say I'm happy with how it turned out, but it's often the way when you picture something in your head and then try and create it:

• Name of the design - it doesn't have one as I designed it
• Chart is one of mine!
• Fabric is 28 count white monaco
• Thread is DMC cotton - 103(a variegated blue), 156, 3807 & 817
• Stitch count is 84 x 84
• Started sometime in July 2013
• Completed on September 29th, 2013

September blogoversary winner

is...... *_* or "K". One very mysterious blogger! LOL. Can you please email me with your mailing details? Thanks

Meggie - where are you?

I have still not been able to get back in touch with Meggie and I'm running out of ideas. I may be mistaken but I could have sworn she did contact me with her mailing details as I recall she was in the UK. For the life of me I can not find that email - it must have been deleted from my trash as it just can't be found. I will try all the avenues I have already tried again but if she doesn't get in contact soon I will have to redraw another winner.

A WIP Wednesday pic or two

So much for posting a WIP pic every Wednesday - that plan didn't last long! However, I have a couple of pics to show today although there doesn't seem to be a lot of progress since the last time I posted. The first is my hibiscus design which is on the home stretch:

This one is a quilt square I designed. I thought I had ages until I re-read the guidelines and found th deadline to be October 1st. It has since been put back but I still plan on getting mine done ASAP and in the mail to the USA.

** Attention ** Meggie - or Vicky

I have still not heard from Meggie again, and need her mailing address. I'm sure she contacted me and gave it to me but it appears to have disappeared from my inbox/trash/spam/any-other-folder-I-may-have. She is in the UK from memory. Vicky, you said you know her - could I trouble you to give her a nudge from me? Thanks heaps!

Fabric stash :-)

Just a little stash purchase this time:

This pretty piece of fabric came from fellow Aussie Dyah Baiton - I came to know about her fabric through a facebook group she is a part of. She has her own facebook page where she sells her fabric, although I think it's a bit of a hobby more so than a business. As far as I'm aware, she doesn't have a store but will do a big dying session every so often then offer her fabric up for sale, or in this case a type of auction. It seems a few dyers do this - they will post pics of each piece with details, including price. If you are interested in going into a draw to win it, you just make a post indicating such below the picture. At the end of the sale period the dyer will choose a random winner to purchase the piece. You can add your name to as many or as few pieces as you like and if you happen to win a heap, you have the option of saying no to any/all and then she will do a redraw. I think I put my name down for a few, but this was my favourite and I happened to win the draw! I paid $12 plus $2 postage for it - very reasonable for a piece this big being shipped from an Aussie as we pay a fair bit more to get supplies here. Definitely check her out - I don't think you'll be disappointed!

Some WIP pics and why you should never start a project when you are sick

I haven't been stitching a lot lately, mainly just once a week at karate. I have been going between two projects, my hibiscus flowers and a quilt square for a fellow 123 stitch message board member. Here's where I'm at with the flowers:

Here's my WIP pic, and the pattern I designed for the quilt square:

On another note, I have been sick for weeks. Firstly with just a cold but a cold that wouldn't quit. Then as I was getting over that I caught the flu and am still dealing with a lingering cough. At the tail end of the flu I was getting a bit on edge and felt the need to stitch something mindless and easy. I'm sure it was my mood and my need to stitch NOW, but I just couldn't find a pattern I liked that I had saved or in my stash. I jumped online and searched for monochrome designs and was drawn to a free salamander pattern. Why? Who knows - I've never been interested in them before. I chose a variegated orange floss I'd bought recently and a similar orange fabric and off I went. The problem was the mix of the variation and the type of design just meant it didn't quite work, and parts of the thread blended into the fabric a little too much. I kept persevering, in the hope that it would magically look better the more I stitched. It didn't. In the end I gave up and decided stitching when sick and stir-crazy is not a good combination. Or at best have on hand a simple pattern already kitted up - when I'm in my right mind and not semi-delirious. Lesson learned!

I am still alive! August blogoversary winner too!

I have been so slack busy I've had to drop some things. One of those things seems to be the ball, especially on sending out my blogoversary prizes. I am about to head off to the post office to mail the July, yes July, prizes to Carissa & Meggie. Carissa, I will also include your August prize as postage will probably be cheaper if I make it one parcel.

UPDATE - MEGGIE I SEEM TO HAVE LOST YOUR ADDRESS. CAN YOU PLEASE CONTACT ME AGAIN? THANKS

The August winner is Stitching Noni - congrats. I will try and contact you to get your mailing details and some likes/dislikes.

My August "monthly freebie challenge" piece is ready to be revealed

This month was a choice of designs to stitch, either "Meow spoken here" or "Woof spoken here". As I currently have a cat I chose the meow one. Here's my completed design:

• Name of the design is "Meow spoken here"
• Chart is a freebie from Stitch Kitty 
• Fabric is an offcut of lightly mottled pink and white evenweave
• Thread is DMC #105 - a cotton variegated thread for the cat face, and a slightly darker solid cotton for the whiskers, mouth and eyes. The rest was stitched using silk thread from Carries Creation Threads. The blue for "meow" is Electric Blue, the mauve for the paw is Boysenberry, the orange for the word "spoken" is Orange Zing, the ball of wool is Love Always, the border is Bubble Gum, and the word "here" is Aquamarine
• Stitch count is 50 x 50
• Started on August 14th 2013
• Completed on August 17th 2013 using some soft pink fabric for the edges and background, then finished off as a mini pillow/stuffed wall hanging, with a strand of pink beads around the edges. 

A Christmas tree finish

I'm getting in early for Christmas! Here's something I stitched just because it caught my eye:

• Name of the design is well, another unnamed design
• Chart is a freebie from a French blog that no longer exists it seems
• Fabric is an off cut of white opalescent evenweave
• Thread is "Boysenberry" silk thread from Carries Creations
• Stitch count is 93 x 82
• Started on August 17th 2013
• Completed on August 21st 2013