Reveal Day

Its reveal day for the Stitch and Stash Monthly Challenge. This time we chose the design "Be True" from Plum Street Samplers. Mine is stitched on 36ct cream linen and finished as a pinkeep/hanging ornament, I trimmed it with a ready pleated cream ribbon with a narrow black ribbon over, and green and purple pins. The album of finishes is here.

I've been lucky enough to recieve two blog awards in the last week or two, and I'd like to say thank you very much to the ladies who nominated me. I hope you don't mind though if I don't pass them on to named individuals, because I can never choose just a few blogs, I love so many, for so many different reasons. I'll just say if I read/comment on your blog consider yourself nominated.

Silk painting, Spring and ladybirds

The Art Group I go to had a visiting teacher last week, who showed us the basics of silk painting. I think I may have found a new craft obsession (because I don't have enough of THOSE).

I dyed a scarf in shades of gold, and made this panel. It started out as cherry blossom, but I think it toook a detour into hydrangea somewhere along the way.

I also made this more abstract one, I'm planning to use it as a background and embroider over it. At first I thought beach and sea, but now I'm seeing more dry stone wall in the foreground with fields behind. What do you think?

Its officially Spring now, and someone must have told the garden because suddenly there are loads of flowers out. I've even got one small purple carnation, but I think maybe its a bit confused.

I had a lovely piece of post during the week, when I recieved this beautiful ladybird fob from Mylene. Isn't it just stunning? And yes, the daffs are in the garden

Mothers Day, More Stash and a Sneak Preview

Happy Mother's Day! Hope all the Mums out there are being spoiled rotten. The girls got me these lovely flowers. The slighly odd looking one is a bath ballistic from Lush, it smells all delicious and citrussy and the paper label tied to it is impregnated with wildflower seeds so I can plant it in the garden, and use the stick to mark where I put them. How perfect is that? Got to love Lush (and the girls).

The halo slipped a bit last week and I shamelessly bought this new stash (I have precisely NO will power, its official), left to right: Blackbird Designs - Snow Garden, With thy Needle and Thread - Miss Lapin and Just Nan - Needle Tweets. Well, I can call the rabbit and bird ones my Easter Egg...

And finally a little preview of a new design I just finished stitching. This is one corner of the sampler, now I need to come up with some "smalls" to go with it

Snow in Spring

It is definitely spring here. Look I can prove it, here are my snowdrops and crocuses (crocii?). There are primroses out and the first daffs are already showing their colour, yesterday I even dug the infamous sack of you know what into the veg bed.
Despite all these harbingers of spring however, there was a little snowfall in my house a couple of days agao when this little chap landed on the doormat. Gaynor accidently found herself with two of these charts and was kind enough to offer one on her blog, and I was the lucky winner. She also included the cut of grey fabric and gorgeous threads shown. Thank you Gaynor, so far I have been good and resisted starting him as I have a couple of other things I must finish first, but who knows how long my will power will hold out...

Draw Results and a Challenge Revealed

Thankyou for your blogoversary wishes. Eloise did the honours for me, and here you see her drawing a name from the "Teacup of Destiny".

And the winner is .......

Sally

I'll make a start on a little something for you soon Sally.

Note: the hand with the psychedelic nail polish is Eloise's not mine ;D

Its reveal day for the February Challenge on the Stitch and Stash forum. This month we stitched a Valentine design from Primitive Betty's . I stitched mine in Weeks Onyx and Lancaster Red, with metallic gold for the key motif, using a scrap of orphan linen and made it up into a little hanging pillow trimmed with a ribbon bow and a key charm. The album with the other finishes can be found here and is well worth a look.

Blogoversary Draw

Yes, little bloggie will be three tomorrow.

In honour of this momentous occassion, I am holding a draw.
Leave a comment on this post before midnight on Friday and I'll draw a name on Saturday and stitch a little something for the winner. Feel free to spread the word on your own blogs.

Good Luck!

Stash and Sh*te

We've had the Dung-Runners here today. I'd never heard of this before we moved here, but the Young Farmers bag up all the sh*te one morning, and then sell it door to door for charity, so The Cancer Research Fund now have some of my cash and I have a large sack of something looooovely to dig into my vegetable patch. I won't share a pic with you ;D

My other shopping this week is much more photogenic. I got a parcel from one of my favourite eBay sellers with beautiful hand-dyed linen, threads and other textile goodness. I feel one of my sea embroideries coming on...