Smalls SAL/Hallowe'en Ornie SAL update...

Well, here is my Smalls SAL update - a couple of days late, I am afraid!  As is often the case, my Smalls this month are related to my Hallowe'en stitching.  I am just scraping in for my July Hallowe'en ornie for the Haunted House theme but I am a day early for my August Hallowe'en ornie for the theme Black Cats, although my cats are not quite black but there is a ghost cat! lol!

July: Haunted House from the Side Panel of  "Halloween Days sewing basket" by Simona Bussiglieri of Mani Di Donna on page 89 from JCS Halloween Ornament Magazine 2015.

August: Halloween Cats - freebie from Kreinik, which you can find here.

I am very pleased with my finishing on both of these cushions.  I think that maybe I am finally getting the hang of creating a nice finish.

TraderVic keeps asking me why there is so much stuff in my sewing room but, of course it is full of my stash so that I can always put my hand on the perfect fabbie or ribbons or buttons or beads for finishing.  For my haunted house I found some gorgeous reproduction fabric in different shades of lilac and the perfect ribbon - do you like the pretty little purple bow underneath the haunted house?

Furio approves....

I love the ghost kitty and do you see how Furio has snuck onto the top of the right column and Milo has crept underneath the ghost cat?

I finished it with little black cats on a ribbon.

And the bottom and backing fabric is black kitties on black!

For both of these designs I used overdyed 28 count fabric from my stash, plus various DMC and specialty threads which I chose myself.

Click on the wee ghostie below to check out what other people stitched for this month's Hallowe'en SAL.

... and you can check out everyone else's Smalls SAL update, here.

New SALs update:

I am so thrilled, I have had a wonderful response to my Christmas Ornie SAL blog, which you can check out here.
Also, I have had some good interest in my other two new SAL blog ideas: Americana and Prairie Schooler, which you can read about here if you are interested in joining.

Plus, watch this space for a new idea coming from me and my SSF, Kim from Wisdom with Needle and Thread.

hugs,

Oh no! I have had two more ideas .....

.... I am sure you remember that a few weeks ago I had an idea - an idea to start a Christmas Ornie Blog.  Well, I have been very pleased by the response to this, lots of lovely bloggers have decided to join in the fun at the Christmas Ornie SAL 2015 blog.  (By the way, it is not too late to join this SAL blog, if you wish - just leave me a comment letting me know).

Now, I love these sort of blogs, you have all month to stitch a little something on a theme.  I find that it really focuses me and makes me so much more productive each month with my craft.

So ..... I was thinking.... and thinking .... and thinking .... and I came up with the idea for two more SAL blogs.  Oh no!  Or maybe Oh Yes!

Idea Number One:  An Americana SAL.....

I love what I call Americana stitching or what is sometimes called by U.S. stitchers Patriotic stitching.  We just do not seem to have that same sort of genre of designs here in Australia.  I think my love of Americana began when I studied American history in Year 11, I still remember my textbook was called "From sea to shining sea".  Let's see, that would be forty years ago now - lol!  I learnt about the seven colonies, then the thirteen colonies and on it went - fascinating.

So, I found that I am drawn to stitching American designs, like Liberty Lane below:

Idea Number Two:  A Prairie Schooler SAL.....

I am sure that most of you have heard the sad news for us that Prairie Schooler is closing down:




An era is ending, but I know that so many of us love Pamela and Nancy's designs and have lots of them in our stash.  Surely enough to get us through a few more years of stitching  - lol!

So, the idea with both of these SALs is that once a month (whenever we feel like it), we post our progress on our Americana and Prairie Schooler projects on the SAL blogs.

If you are interested in joining either or both of these SAL blogs, please just comment on this post and let me know - I only need one other person for each SAL to get going.  They will be relaxed SALs, I promise but should be lots of fun!

I am hoping that you all think that these ideas are "OH YES" - please come join me!

hugs,

Xmas in July Gifts which I made and sent....

.... to three, hopefully, happy bloggers.  Here are all of my parcels piled together ready to post.

Now, this is what I sent to either Lyn or Michelle (sorry, silly me forgot to take note before I posted these two parcels). Update: to Michelle.

I sent these three gifts to Julie from Jewells and yes, she loved them - luckily for me, blue is her favourite colour!  (Coincidentally, Julie sent all those lovely gifts to me, I posted about last post for the swap)

.... and these three gifts were sent to either Lyn or Michelle.  Update: Lyn.

I hope that they loved them as much as I do - I love every minute of the making, stitching and finishing.

Thanks Cheryll for being an awesome swap mama - you can check out what other people received if you go here.

hugs, 

Christmas in July Swap.....

..... Each year for the past few years, I have taken part in two Christmas in July swaps, an Aussie one run by Cheryll from Gone Stitchin' and an international one run by Kim from Wisdom with Needle and Thread.

I have sent off all three sets of my gifts (pics in my next post) and I have received the two Aussie swap parcels (and opened them) and I am just waiting for the overseas one to come - it will be a lovely surprise when it does come.

So, without further adieu, here are my lovely gifts  (I can tell you, I have been wonderfully spoilt!):

The single parcel at the back is from Julie and the three at the front are from Ilene.

So, I opened Ilene's first:
See the gorgeous ornaments she used as tags?

The first parcel from Ilene contained this gorgeous stitched table topper and some yummy heart chocolates in a sweet heart tin (if TraderVic is lucky, I may share some with him - lol!)

Furio approves!

Inside the next parcel were some lovely Christmassy handtowels - just perfect for my kitchen.

The third parcel had two lovely wall hangings - a christmas tree and a snow man.  Thank you so much, Ilene - lovely gifts.

So, then Furio had to help me open Julie's large parcel. Imagine my surprise when I found it was full of lots and lots of goodies!

Gorgeous button present tags, a little friendship book and some christmas ribbons.

A cute reindeer.

A christmassy thread catcher (or chocolate bowl) plus an apple and rhubarb scented candle (now how did she know I had been making apple and rhubarb compote yesterday?).

More Christmas ribbon.

A christmas apron - perfect!

oooh, what is inside this tin?

Some crocheted wash clothes and...

... some cat salt and pepper shakers, oh, I love them, Julie.

They are perfect with my little dutch girl and boy and my thimbles (and can you see Henry Viii) lurking in the background?).

Julie and Ilene, I cannot thank you enough for your lovely gifts, I feel so spoilt - I just love them all.


hugs to everyone,

Ooops! Nearly forgot....

My Christmas in July swap!

I was so busy cooking and baking up a storm that I only just remembered to check it all out late last night! lol!

I am off to see my Dad later this morning (Sunday), so yesterday I decided to make some delicious food for him to brighten up his Meals on Wheels usual diet.  It took a lot of the day but was worth it. I find that cooking and baking meals for loved ones, soothes my soul - do other people feel like that, too?

This is what I made:

Apple and rhubarb compote (I have this for breakfast with some yoghurt and a sprinkling of muesli - delicious!)

Apple-raspberry crumble muffins - my Dad loves something sweet with a cup of tea.

Pumpkin soup - the batch I made last Sunday disappeared within 24 hours and I like to freeze soup in portions to take for work lunches, hence the need to make some more.

Lastly, sausage rolls (I always add some zucchini and carrot to the meat mixture)

Now, loads of all this was made yesterday and I was the only one home for dinner! lol!  However, TraderVic came home early evening from the footy - cold and dejected as his beloved Tigers had lost but I soon warmed and cheered him up by fussing over him and heating up soup and sausage rolls for him for a late dinner.  He loved the muffins, too.

There were some other things I was busy with, too. Firstly, having a real life phone chat with one of my partners in crime, Linda from Stitching with my Furbabies.  Not as long a chat, as I would have liked as it is expensive ringing from Australia to the U.S, if you chat too long! lol!

Lovely talking to you, Linda, my dear - lots of love from me to you!

But I was also busy with some Finishing - when I was ferreting around in my fabric stash cupboard, I found this stitched piece: January Cat, which is a freebie from Cyber Stichers.com.  I cannot find when I did the actual stitching (not a post could I find anywhere), so I am counting yesterday's Finishing into an ornament as a Happy Dance.

I finished it as a sweet little heart ornament, with a sweet reproduction fabric as the backing.

  

I then hung it on my ornament tree - now, I do not think I have shown you my gorgeous ornament tree, which my dear friend, Lisa, gave me as an early birthday present - it is just perfect for hanging my ornaments on!

Okay, next post will be showing off all of my Christmas in July goodies, which are all gorgeous!

hugs,