Oh Happy Dance!

Hello my lovely stitching friends, 

Today I want to show you a couple of Happy Dances.....

First up is an old UFO, called Alphabet Sampler and it is from an old cross stitch magazine (I only seem to have my photocopied pages, but I think it is an old Jill Oxton mag).  

When I picked it up for Friday Frolics a couple of weeks agon, I only had the outer border to do.

By the end of  the Friday evening, I was up to here:

So, as we had the long Easter weekend, I determined to finish it before I went back to work on Tuesday morning. This is how I went....

That heart in the mouth moment when you hope like mad that the border matches up!

Phew! It did!

And, here we go.... Success!  All finished!

I am just in love with it!  I love the soft, antique look of it and I can't wait to get it to the framers.

And my second one is an FFO, I framed (myself) Saturday's finish of The Snooty Parrot Sampler fob in a small frame.  I am very happy with how it looks.

Lastly, my monthly sewing group had a group project day recently and we all made a dilly-type bag.  I chose William Morris fabric and I am very pleased with the result.

The interior pockets and lining - isn't the fabric gorgeous?  Love that pink.

Lastly, I would like to invite you to join in the fun of my Merry Xmas in July exchange.  Just click on a present below to sign up.

hugs, 

    

 

Smalls SAL _ April 2017

The Smalls SAL is hosted by Stitching Lotus

First up is a Small which I forgot to post about in February (although I did post about it here on my March GG post).  It was the initial heart pillow which I stitched for the Swap organised by Cheryll for Valentine's Day.  This was sent to Sharmayne.

This is a modified Blackbird Designs piece.

This is most my recent Smalls finish - it the scissor fob design for Barbara Ana's A Snooty Parrot Sampler SAL (which I started in 2014!)

I have a sweet photo frame that was my mother's (we found a box of them when we cleaned out Mum and Dad's house in January - my DDIL persuaded me to keep the box of them for my stitcheries and I am so glad that I listened to her as they have been useful already), so I am thinking of framing it instead - maybe keeping it on my desk at work as it is such a sweet finish.

Next up is a FFO of my March Smalls SAL finish and the FFO of another long finished stitchery - both into cushions.

With the top cushion - I again, literally checked out my fabbie stash and pulled out this gorgeous paisley fabric which matched the design perfectly and when I didn't have enough for the back, I went back and pulled out the plain burgundy fabric - I think that this shows that I have way too much fabric!

I also found the perfect pearl ribbon floating around in my bits and bobs drawer!

I also found the perfect pearl ribbon floating around in my bits and bobs drawer!

I also finished stitching and FFOed March for the 2004 Cross Stitch Surprise series (January to December) 

... and I am very happy to report that I am way ahead on my "Smalls" finishes for both the  Hallowe'en Ornie SAL and the Christmas Ornie SAL.

February: Witchy Poo

March: Creepy Crawly Spiders

April: Winged Creatures

May: The Witch's Familiar, the Black Cat

Day Three: Three French Hens for March.

Day Four: Four Calling Birds for April

... and Day Five: Five Gold rings for May (although to be fair, this block was finished in January for a FB challenge).

And here is the whole piece so far - lots of border to keep me busy over the next few months until it is time to finish Six Geese-a-laying for June.

So, I am feeling very, very happy with all of my Smalls achievements!

If you would like to see what everyone else has stitched this month for the Smalls SAL, please click here.

hugs, 

Halloween Ornament SAL update

.... I have been having so much fun stitching this free design from Barbara Ana (just scroll down the page a little) for my May Halloween Ornament for the SAL.  Actually this website - Cyberstitch.com/free_patterns -  is a virtual cornucopia of wonderful free designs by some wonderful designers - well worth checking out.

I now have almost two houses and a pussy cat (looking a bit like a scaredy cat).  The moon is about halfway done now, too.

hugs,