My first cross stitched biscornu finished!

I am so excited because I have just finished my first cross stitched biscornu!

Here are the pictures, I just love the little Father Christmas, don't you?

I will probably stitch lots of Biscornus for a while!

The pattern is from Just Cross Stitch Ornament Magazine 2008 designed by Louise Henderson of Cherished Stitches.

Stitched on 32 Count Belfast Linen

Colour - light mocha

DMC threads

Mill Hill Beads

Swarovski Crystal in the centre

Prairie Schooler Ornament

I finished this Prairie Schooler Ornament, it is from the Just Cross Stitch Ornament Magazine 2008, I sooooo loved making this one!I used DMC threads stitched on linen, topped off with Swarovski Crystals. Click here

I just love Pink!

You can get the letter L here

Materials used

25 count dublin lugana linen

Dinky Dyes silk thread

stitched 1 over 1

Mother of pearl thread ring

Swarovski crystals

Materials used for blog giveaway and more stitching news.

As promised I have listed the materials I used to make the blog giveaway Christmas ornament:

• Fabric - Zweigart 32 Count Brittney - Lurex, silver flecked white
• Flowers-Dinky Dyes Silk thread, Lilac number 111 but any DMC color would look the same.
• Centre of flower-Kreinik metallics Fine (#8) Braid colour number 9300
• Merry stitched in DMC number 210 and backstitched in dark purple DMC
• Purple trim on outside edge - Madeira Glissen Gloss Estaz colour number 19
• Mill Hill Antique Glass Beads colour number 03053
• Metal ornament for the back

I hope you enjoy stitching this as much as a I did!

My first Biscornu and stitching news

I am currently stitching my first Biscornu, it is a Christmas design, and I have finished stitching the Priarie Schooler Christmas Ornament, I will post pictures shortly.

The Christmas Noel design at the top of the page was completed a number of years ago, it is

Celtic Christmas by Lavender and Lace, I though it would be a good idea to show it to celebrate the season!

Thankyou for looking, Merry Christmas everyone!

Blog giveaway - we have a winner!

Congratulations - the winner is Barb aka omashee!

Barb leave a comment with your email and I shall send you an email with the details of when I shall post it to you.

Thankyou so much for all the lovely comments, I was inspired to stitch more of these in other colours, I was also surprised how many of you love purple!

I wish I had the time to stitch you all one, but I am going to put the list of materials I used so that you can at least copy the colour scheme. I shall post them over the next few days.

I will be doing more blog giveaways in the future so keep watching!

Happy stitching!

Cross stitched Purple Ornament blog give away!

Click on the pictures for a closer look

These are the cross stitch ornaments I promised to show, the one on the left is similar to one that I made for a recent ornament exchange and the purple one was an experiment with colour and texture, I wanted to know how different they would look! I was really pleased with the result and I hope you are too because I have decided to give away the Purple Christmas Ornament as a blog giveaway in celebration of Christmas.

All you need to do is leave a comment and say why you would love to receive it, when it is drawn I will then invite the winner to leave another comment on the post with the email address and I shall send it to the lucky person!

The draw will take place on Saturday 20th December at 6.00pm GMT.

Good luck everyone, I look forward to reading your comments!

Finished cross stitch

Miniature stitched piece

Hi everyone, I thought I would show a picture of something not connected to Christmas in this post. I have stitched 1 over 1 on 25 Cream Dublin Lugana linen using DMC thread number 115, it is a Mon ami Pierre free pattern, unfortunately it is no longer available. 

I am unsure what to make with it yet, maybe a tin topper or a mini pin keep?

I am currently working on some more Ornaments, I have just started on my first Prairie Schooler Christmas Ornament and I was looking at one of my Paula Vaughan work in progress, the Porch Swing, it looks really nice, I shall post a picture later.

I have shown here the stitching lamp I use when stitching on linen because quite a few people have commented that they find the holes too small, I could not stitch on linen if I did not use this magnifying lamp, what a difference it makes. You can clip it on your stitching hoop, however I do not always use a hoop so I clip mine to a folder placed on my knee.

Happy Stitching!

Mirabilia and Lavender and Lace projects.

Two of my favourite designers are Mirabilia and Lavender and Lace, here are two projects I finished a number of years ago, up until the summer of this year I always stitched large projects but now I rotate and stitch smalls too.

I have also completed a number of Paula Vaughan designs ( I will eventually post the pictures )and I have recently purchased some Heaven and Earth Designs, if you have never seen them click on this link ,they are quite breathtaking but very detailed.

Spring Queen by Mirabilia

Sweet Dreams By Lavender and Lace

Christmas Ornament arrived at it's new home!

Now I can show you the ornament I stitched for the Christmas Ornament exchange in the Hooked on Exchange Too group as my partner Marjean has now received it.

Including the goodies

This is a Glory Bee pattern designed by Nancy Boyarsky featured in the Just Cross Stitch 2008 Christmas Ornaments Magazine on page 54. I decided to add beads to give it a little sparkle, I used the colours given in the pattern using DMC threads 816, 890 and 725 and I stitched it on 32 count Belfast Linen in Light Mocha.

I liked the design so much I made two - oops no I made three - no in fact I made four!!!! There was no way that I could part with this ornament unless I had a second one nearly finished all for myself!

The others are quite different, I shall post pictures when they are all ready.

I loved the fact that it was really easy to stitch.

Happy Stitching!

Christmas Ornament sent today.

I have posted my Christmas Ornament today for the Hooked On Exchanging Too Group, it should take about 7-10 days to arrive at it's destination, I really hope my partner likes it, I will post a picture when it is received. I liked this one the most out of all the ornaments I have stitched, in fact, I liked it that much I made two, one for my partner and one for me.
I knew that if I did not make two I would struggle to part with it!

Happy Stitching!

Noel and Peace ornament completed.

Finally finished the Christmas ornaments! The Noel is from the Gift of Stitching Magazine (no longer available) and Peace is from Christmas Ornaments Just Cross Stitch Magazine 2008.

I stitched the Noel ornament using 2 threads over 2 using DMC threads but I have forgotten the number of the colour, I finished stitching it last week but I had run out of the binding and had to wait until I had time to get some more! I am pretty sure it was not the colour suggested in the pattern. I used 32 count Belfast Linen, light mocha. It was really easy to stitch and I love the result of this one.

The Peace ornament is on page 81 of the Just Cross Stitch magazine, I did this 1 over 1 using the colours in the pattern, obviously it took a while longer to do this because I used smaller stitches and you really need to concentrate on the pattern but I liked the result. I used 25 count cream Lugana. I posted a close up picture of this ornament in an earlier post, it gives a better idea of how it looks.

I have one more finish that I will be mailing tomorrow for the Christmas Ornament Hooked on Exchanging Too, I shall post a picture when my partner receives it.

Now I know why everyone says that ornament stitching can get addictive!

Happy Stitching!

Stash

I just had to buy some lovely Christmas coloured threads and beads to decorate some of my ornaments, I am looking forward to using these. I have also finished a couple of Christmas ornaments that I will be posting over the next week or so.

Happy Stitching!

Christmas Ornament arrived from Joan

What a lovely surprise I received in the post this morning, it was the Christmas Ornament from Joan in the hooked on exchanging group. She enclosed some tins, piecemaker needles and pins that were on my wish list and also enclosed a handmade chicken pincushion, some lovely ribbon, a handmade bag and a snowman notepad. Thankyou Joan I was very pleased with everything you sent, you read my blog very well!

Here it is!

What a beautiful mattress pincushion this is, the photographs do not do it justice. The stitching was perfect and the goodies were a lovely surprise too, thanks for reading my wish list Jennifer, I am really looking forward to using this blue silk thread!

I was so thrilled with it, I took it to work to show the ladies and they loved it too!

Mattress pincushion received from Jennifer

7.30am this morning the post person delivered a very special package from Jennifer W in the hooked on exchanging group.

Wow, wait until you see this, it is absolutely beautiful -Jennifer it took my breath away! I have tried to email you but I am getting a failure delivery, I will keep trying.

I will post a picture as soon as I can.

A pink creation!

I just could not resist making something Pink, I love the colour and the feel of this silk by Dinky Dyes it is so beautiful to work with. I have stitched this pinkeep on Antique White Dublin Lugana Linen 25 count, 1 0ver 1 using a lovely alphabet from tempusfugit . The scissor fob was stitched using DMC threads and Mill Hill white beads.

I will be sending this to a friend who I have not seen for a while, I hope she likes it!

Christmas Ornament work in progress and new purchases

I decided to treat my self to some Prairie Schooler Autumn Patterns and some lovely silk thread by Dinky Dyes, I just love using silk thread! The work in progress is a My Big Toe Designs Christmas Ornament from the Just Cross Stitch Ornaments Magazine 2008, stitched 1 over 1 on 25 count Dublin Lugana using DMC threads 315, 520 and 803. I am also stitching a Christmas Ornament for the Hooked on Exchange Group Too but I cannot post a picture until it has been received by my partner.

I have only just started using linen and I would really appreciate some tips. I would love to know what everyone's favourite linen fabric is, what stitch count you like best and if there is any particular color that you could not do without? I have heard that Legacy Linen is really nice to work with but I don't think I can get it in the United Kingdom. Does anyone particularly use this make?

Any comments greatly appreciated!

Cross stitched Peacock Mattress Pincushion has arrived.

  



 

The Peacock Cross Stitched Mattress Pincushion has arrived at it's new home! I am so glad you liked my exchange Jill, it was a pleasure to stitch, and yes it really was my first mattress pincushion stitched over 1.

I live only just over an hour away from the home of Beatrix Potter and I based the exchange around that theme. I included a porcelain thimble with a picture of Beatrix Potters house on it, some postcards that showed the garden where Peter Rabbit lived and some purple DMC thread that I knew Jill would like and last but not least, the mattress pincushion pattern was a freebie from Papillon Creations . It was stitched on 25 count Dublin Lugana with DMC threads 3765, 3816 and 422.

Well I can rest easy now, knowing that another exchange has arrived safely, I suppose I better get stitching on the Christmas Ornament exchange now.

Thanks for looking everyone, have a nice day!

My partner has received my first exchange.

My partner Heather has received my first exchange from the Rotation Stitchers group. I stitched the Pinkeep design from Pam Smiths Prairie Schooler from The Gift of Stitching Magazine on Dublin Lugana 25 Count, 2 over 2 for the Pinkeep and 1 over 1 for the scissor fob. The reverse side was stitched in DMC thread 3828 and the letter H was taken from an alphabet from the tempus fugit blog I also included some nice fabric but I forgot to include it in the photograph.

Sent my second exchange

I have posted my second exchange on Monday 13 October, I am hoping it will not take too long to arrive. I have made a mattress pincushion in the Hooked On Exchanging Too group, it is a lovely design and I do hope my exchange partner likes it. I am also currently stitching a Christmas Ornament but the posting deadline is not until mid November so I have plenty of time.

Happy cross stitching everyone and thanks for looking at my blog!

My first ever exchange received.

I have just returned from a weeks holiday and I received a lovely parcel from Susan in the Rotation Stitchers Group, it is my first ever exchange and I was thrilled! Thankyou Susan for the lovely pin keep and goodies, I love the fact that you designed it yourself, I really appreciate everything.

I am a little worried that my exchange has not been received yet, I sent it two weeks ago, although I am trying not to panic too much because it does have quite a distant to travel.

In a previous post I promised I would post a picture of my first practice mattress pincushion, I made a few mistakes in it but the next one was so much better, even though I say so myself! I will post a picture of this when my partner has received it.

Here is the link to Casa Mia where you can get the free pattern, isn't it a lovely design?

Sent my first exchange today

I have sent my first exchange today, I do hope it arrrives safely.

My son is studying for one semester at University in Wisconsin, USA, he went shopping with his girlfriend the other evening and they bought me the Just Cross Stitch Ornament Magazine, I am so looking forward to reading it.

I am currently stitching a mattress pincushion for the Hooked on Exchanges Too group, I did a practice one as I had never made one before, I will post a picture of it when I get a moment to spare.

Happy cross stitching!

First exchange ready to send

I cannot believe it is nearly a month since I posted! I have been really busy at work but I have now finished my first exchange and it is ready to post for the deadline on the 30th September. It is a pinkeep for the Rotation Stitchers group and it is a first for me in a number of ways;

• First group I joined


• First exchange I have ever been involved in


• First time I have stitched on linen


• First time I have made a pinkeep

I am really looking forward to my partner receiving this and I do hope she likes what I have sent her, obviously I cannot post a picture until I know she has received it, but I will show you as soon as I can.

First prize again for my sisters quilt!

Here it is, the prizewinning quilt!

My sister entered her quilt in another show and won first prize again, I entered the blue embroidery in the previous post and it won first prize and the butterfly embroidery won second prize.

I have also displayed the cross stitch that my Mother entered, The Christmas Visit By Butternut Road, this won second prize, needless to say we were all quite pleased!

Updates on stitching.

I have just finished stitching my first ever exchange, I am quite excited about sending this across to the other side of the world. I have nearly finished my second exchange and I have also signed up for my third - looks like this could become addictive!

Happy stitching everyone and thankyou for reading my blog.

Blue embroidery ready for the show and my new exchanges!

I have joined a few stitching groups and I have signed up for a couple of exchanges, I am really looking forward to being involved. My first one is a pin keep exchange for Autumn, I am concentrating on that one at the moment and the next one is a mattress pincushion that does not need to be sent until October, however I will never get any stitching done if I keep looking at all the blogs!
I usually stitch on Aida but I have started using the linen that I ordered in the previous post, for some reason I was afraid of using it but I am quite pleased with the results.

I am preparing for my next show on the 6 September, my sister will put her quilt in this show and I shall be entering the butterfly and blue embroidery pictures, I am not sure what my Mum will be entering but I will show you the pictures after the show. I may even enter my exchanges if they are finished in time!

The blue embroidery is from Leon Conrad Designs Ltd, Flowers of Joy in Blue, it has beautiful bright blue gem stones but the picture does not show them off too well.

Have a nice day everyone and happy stitching!

Showtime !

It was our local village show on Saturday and my Mother, sister and I all entered, I put an embroidery in the 'general embroidery section' ( this 'Butterfly Passion' pattern can be found at www.dimensions-crafts.com ), my sister entered a quilt in the 'any other handicraft section' and my mother entered a cross stitch in the cross stitch section and we came away with some prizes! I won First Prize and my sister won the First Prize and Special show prize for her quilt, unfortunately I do not have a full size photo of the quilt but here is the one I took at the show, I shall post a full picture of the quilt later. There are twelve blocks to represent each month of the year, each block was stitched individually and pieced together, it looks amazing when you see it close up.

My Mother was a little disappointed that she did not win anything but she has won the special show prize at this show two years ago and she won best in craft and best in show at another show last year! I shall try to get some pictures and show you the trophies.

We are entering in another show at the beginning of September, I will keep you posted!