A new finish and a new blogoversary winner

First off, I have heard nothing from the original December winner so I've chosen a new one - Barb aka Crazybeads. I will be in touch shortly, or you can email me Barb.

Next up, I have another finish. I started this back in September for the "Christmas Joy" exchange I joined. It soon became apparent that I would run out of thread to finish it, so I ordered more from the USA in late October. It was shipped on November 7th but it took it's sweet time arriving so I gave it up and fished out an old finish to turn into an ornament so I could mail it in time. The thread FINALLY arrived on January 7th - 2 months after it was mailed. I had originally planned to stitch the word "joy" in the tree with silver thread to suit the theme, but it seems pointless now.

• Name of the design is Boule De Noel
• Chart is a freebie from this blog
• Fabric is a variegated green evenweave with yellow tinges
• Thread is silver metallic thread that came free with a magazine plus "Aquamarine" silk thread from Carrie's Creations
• Stitch count is 102 x 112
• Started in September 2013
• Completed in January 2014

It's Christmas again..... and again.... and again.... and again....

Yep, Christmas 4 times over! When hubby asked me what I'd like for Christmas, I sent him some links to a few of my favourite online stores and he chose to buy vouchers to all 4 places! So, not only did I get surprise vouchers for Christmas, I got to shop 4 times, and look forward to 4 packages in the mail. First to arrive was this lot of monaco from Fabtastic Fabrics:

Indian Paintbrush, Wicked Brew, Berry Frost & Hollyleaf Cherry

Next came my order from 123 Stitch:

Mantel Mischief by Imaginating, Gingerbread Street by Sue Hillis & Bear Christmas Ornament by Dimensions

Then I got my order from Steph's Fabbys:

Butterfly by AAN & Lady of the Lake thread

Then finally my order from Colour Cascade Fabrics, again both monaco fabric:

Pink & Purple ice dye & My Island Home

Another finish for 2014

Here's a kit I've had for years and made a very, very small start on at some point. I recently discovered it in my stash and decided it needed to be finished. There's a few similar designs in the series which I may buy. At some point I might even stitch them too!

• Name of the design is Sweet Greeting Gingerbread
• Chart is a beaded kit from Mill Hill. I changed the wording to "sweet treats" from "sweet greetings"
• Fabric is the included 16 count aida band, but I backed the whole thing with stiff white felt
• Thread is the included DMC cotton
• Stitch count is 42 x 79
• Started on January 11th 2014 - this time around
• Completed on January 20th 2014

Look what my hubby made!

For a while I have been wondering what the best way to store my ribbons is. I've gone back and forth on a few different ideas and hubby has made some suggestions and we finally decided on a solution. I have seen many similar designs for cotton reels so you could call this an inflated one. Here it is:

And here it is filled:

Now I'm just trying to decide if I should paint it or not. FYI it cost less than $10. If I wanted another one - I'm thinking my braid collection might need one too - we would just need to buy some more dowel, there's plenty of the other wood left over.

My first finish for 2014

This one took far less time than I was expecting as it's a large project - well, to my anyway. I started this one in late 2013 and finished in early 2014. It's not a great pic, but here it is:

• Name of the design is "Happy Snowman" although I made a few small changes and left some parts out
• Chart is a design by AAN
• Fabric is 28 count snowflake patterned opalescent evenweave from Sew-It-All in Australia
• Thread is DMC #807 for the main cross stitch and #3765 for the back stitched areas
• Stitch count is 157 x 191
• Started on December 28th 2013
• Completed on January 7th 2014

Some tiny finishes - and still seeking Kay!

I've been very slack on posting finishes lately. I have about 6 to share but I'll start with a collection of 4 minis from late December. I've had the frames for about a decade so I thought it was time to dust them off and put them to good use. From memory they were a whole 70 cents each.
Here they are:

Details of them, from left to right:

• Name of the design is Candy Cane I guess, it wasn't listed
• Chart came from a random leaflet or magazine, I didn't keep the details
• Fabric is an offcut of white opalescent evenweave
• Thread is DMC cotton
• Stitch count is 20 x 22
• Started & completed in late December 2013

• Name of the design is another unknown freebie so I've called it blackwork heart
• Chart is a freebie I saved from the internet with no details
• Fabric is a random offcut of evenweave 
• Thread is a variegated sulky thread
• Stitch count is 17 x 17
• Started & completed in late December 2013

• Name of the design is Joy I guess, it had no name
• Chart came from a random leaflet or magazine, I didn't keep the details
• Fabric is an offcut of white evenweave
• Thread is DMC cotton
• Stitch count is 21 x 20
• Started & completed in late December 2013

• Name of the design is not listed so I've called it blackwork owl
• Chart is a freebie from Kincavel Krosses  
• Fabric is an offcut of light mauve evenweave, maybe from Fabtastic fabrics ?
• Thread is a random variagated pink thread, maybe a silk?
• Stitch count is 25 x 29
• Started & completed in late December 2013

Desperately seeking Kay!

I have not heard from Kay so I'm sending out one more shout-out. This is the Kay I'm after. If this is you, can you please email me?

Christmas Joy Exchange

A while back I took part in a "Christmas Joy" exchange through the "Stitch, Create, Exchange" blog. I started a design for this back in September but realised I'd soon run out of the silk thread I was using. I ordered more from the USA late October, and it was shipped early November. I hoped I'd get it in time to finish the project but that soon became evident it wasn't going to happen as the deadline to mail was December 1st and I had to mail to Hungary.

As the guidelines indicated I had to stitch something of a fairly decent size I was worried about starting something new with not much time left. I took a look through some old finishes and came across something that would do. I finished into a large ornament and managed to mail it at the last possible minute.

Here's what I ended up sending to Barbara in Hungary - not my best finishing as I didn't have much in the way of excess fabric around the edges.

This was a secret exchange so the person who sent to me was not the person I sent to. This is what my partner Lisa in Australia sent to me.

Oh, and it was a good thing I didn't wait for the silk to arrive - it came on January 3rd, 2 months after it was sent. Here's a pic of my WIP on the original piece. I planned on adding the word "Joy" in silver inside the Christmas tree to go with the theme, and making the bow which goes at the top in silver too.

December Blogoversary contest winner

Better late than never, right? I seem to be so behind on things lately, I've taken this whole quiet relaxing time too far I think. Anyway, I have drawn the final winner of my blogoversary contest for 2013 and it is "Kay". She posted "Happy new year. The chocolate concoction at the top looks wonderful" in relation to my Christmas meal - and dessert. There seem to be a few followers/posters with a variation on the name Kay so that's why I posted the comment she made.

However, there seems to be no way of contacting you Kay, so I am just hoping that you will read this and contact me. If not, we will be back to the drawing board.

Merry Christmas!

Better late than never, right? I did intend to post prior to the big day, but you know how that goes. I wanted to thank everyone for their warm wishes and to send out my own to everyone who reads or follows this blog. I hope your day was enjoyable and spent just how you wanted to spend it, with no dramas and nothing but good food, good company and good memories. Here's how I spent my Christmas with my husband, kids, sister, nieces and parents:

Ornament finishes #2

OK, so a while back I decided my little gift this year to the calisthenics ladies I coach would be a stitched ornament each. Back then I thought I had oodles of time to get all 8 done, but the day of our end-of-year break up saw me madly ornament-ifying the last one or two. Thanks to my participation on the "Christmas All Year Round" blog challenge, I had a few stitched - but not finished - and I had to use one of those to make up the numbers. Here they all are:

Here's the details of them all:

Free reindeer design by http://misst.canalblog.com

Moon Santa by Donna Kooler from the book 555 Christmas Cross Stitch  Designs

Sleepy Koala by Carrol Neilsen 

Free Xmas Assisi Sampler by Kell Smurthwaite

Free Noel design by La Comtesse

Christmas cracker design from an old issue of Cross Stitch Crazy magazine

Joy by San Man Originals

Free reindeer from Stickeule

Ornament finishes #1

For end-of-year gifts for my youngest DS's teachers, I decided to make them an ornament each. Just to complicate things, this year he has 3 teachers as his classroom is a double one, with 2 classes in it. Mr P takes the other class, and DS's class is taught by Mrs M & Mrs H - they job share. Therefore 3 in total. The star santa was an old finish as I ran out of time to stitch another one.

Owl for Mr P, Santa for Mrs M & Star for Mrs H

I also gave them a nice glass jar with either coconut ice or fudge in it.

Along with a plant each as well. Here are the gifts all together:

I also chose to make one for Mrs R who is the parent of one of DS's fellow students. She is very involved in classroom activities and each year she makes every student in her children's class a gift of a bauble with their name & year written in glitter pen on it. Quite impressive as she has had 6 kids!! Anyway, DS has 4 baubles for each of the last 4 years he has been in the same class as this boy. I decided to return the favour and give her a stitched ornament. This one was a rushed finishing job - ornament-ified in 30 minutes in time to give it to her personally.

Here's the details on the designs if anyone is interested:

• Name of the design is Santa Owl
• Chart is from designer Carrol Neilsen
• Fabric is an off cut of white opalescent evenweave
• Thread is the called for DMC cotton
• Stitch count is 66 x 56 
• Started & completed way back in 2011 - made into an ornament in December 2013

• Name of the design is Star Santa
• Chart is from the book "555 Christmas Cross Stitch Designs" from Donna Kooler
• Fabric is an off cut of white opalescent evenweave
• Thread is the called for DMC cotton
• Stitch count is 43 x 48
• Started & completed in May 2013 - made into an ornament in December 2013

• Name of the design is Twinkle 
• Chart is from the booklet "Ornaments Galore vol 2" by Ursula Michael for Leisure Arts
• Fabric is a one-off piece of 28 count monaco from Fabtastic Fabrics
• Thread is the called for DMC cotton
• Stitch count is 45 x 50
• Started & completed in December 2013

• Name of the design is Christmas Bouquet
• Chart is a freebie from ABC Cross Stitch Patterns but I can't seem to find it there anymore
• Fabric is an off cut of white opalescent evenweave
• Thread is the called for DMC cotton
• Stitch count is 66 X 56
• Started & completed in December 2013

November blogoversary winner

is........Lisa V! I have emailed you Lisa, and will do my best to get a package out ASAP. One more winner to go before the year long contest is over. Stay tuned, and don't forget to comment in Decxember to have a chance.

Awesome karate news!

I have some exciting news on the karate front. Last weekend my 11 year old son graded for his first dan rank, one level above black belt. In our association, the gradings are quite long and hard, which they should be to attain such a high level. They start by doing a 5 hour session on Friday night, which is a lockdown type session - you drop your kids off and you can't stay to watch, they will be released when they are finished. Of course your mind starts to imagine all kinds of things the longer you wait and it's a sense of relief - on child and parents part - when you pick them up unscathed. However, DS was a little scathed. He almost passed out during one part and was checked over by a physio (he hurt his neck during a headlock type manoeuvre) and was able to continue on after resting a while.

Then they go back the next morning for 1 1/2 to 2 hours before a lunch break, and back into it for a couple more hours, followed by a presentation. As DS already has a black belt, he was given a "hakama" - a floor length pair of black wide leg pants that look like a skirt, and requires a degree in engineering to put on. He also received a new certificate which is hanging proudly next to his black belt certificate above his bed. Next step? 2nd dan in 2 years time if he is ready, willing and able.

Some Christmas stash - for me!

I recently took advantage of a Christmas ornament fabric pack sale from one of my favourite hand dyed companies - Fabtatstic Hand Dyed Fabrics. Joni started up this company not long ago and has built her business up to a very high standard in a very short amount of time. I do believe I was her very first customer and will continue to buy from her as long as she can feed my addiction for hand dyed monaco fabric - my absolute favourite fabric to stitch on. Oh, and she is super friendly to deal with and will do her best to dye something to your specific needs too. Anyway, enough advertising for now :-).

The ornament pack was $12 US, plus very reasonable postage, and in return I got 6 pieces of mystery hand dyed monaco in sizes suitable for ornaments. Here they are, I am very happy with all of them and will use them all at some point.