A Small Challenge Finish

It's reveal day for the Monthly Ornament Challenge at Needlecraft Haven
This month the design was from Ajisai designs (chart here)

I missed off the background blackwork snowflakes from mine as they didn't really show up on the fabric I chose, replaced the backstitch bow with one made from real ribbon and finished it as a mug cosy (you can't see in the photo but it fastens around the handle with a button and ribbon loop)

A Cover Kit and Some Sewing

There was a half decent cover kit on Cross Stitcher magazine this month, so long as you ignored the minor irritation of it telling you to use a loop start and stitch with three strands. Yeah, sure, OK,,,how?  How do I do a loop start with an odd number of strands? Oh, and also, if you want me to use a loop start don't cut the threads to 12" lengths. Just saying...
Anyway other than that it was a nice little kit to make this brooch.

I really enjoy stitching on these wooden blanks. He's a bit bigger than I'd normally wear a brooch, but I think he might look quite good on my denim jacket.
On the sewing front I actually made something for me for a change. This is Simplicity 1612 made up in a nice ponte roma jersey I found on EvilBay.

Some slight tweaks to the pattern, (see my full pattern review here if you're interested) but it made up quite quickly, and I'm thinking of making another in a lighter weight jersey. I particularly like this soft-twist keyhole effect at the back.

Gifted Gorgeousness ~ May

Yes, it's the fifteenth of the month again. Time for Gifted Gorgeousness, the SAL organised by Jo at Serendipitous Stitching where we show off any work that we have given or received as a gift or made from gifted materials or...well. you get the idea.
I made this tote bag for a friend's birthday.  She maybe almost as much of a fabric addict as I am (almost)

The amazing front panel is from Cat and Vee. Admit it, you just sang that in your head didn't you?
Here is another picture showing the inside,  the back is the same spotty print as the handle

Check out the other Gifted Gorgeousness entries here

Blood Spatter Ananlysis

Careful scientific analysis of the blood spatter pattern on this Robert Kaufman fabric reveals that it would make a perfect swing skirt for Eloise.
Not easy to get a great picture without her here to model it, but it is a short, fully circular skirt made from the same pattern  (New Look 6313) that I used for Naomi's super-heroine skirt in this post.
Also a little kiss lock coin purse made from the offcuts, because, come the zombie apocalypse, my girl is going to need to accessorise.

I did a spot of beading this week too and made up this dreamcatcher necklace and earring set from a kit from Beads Direct. A bit blingier than my usual style, but kind of fun for summer I thought.

We Are Groot

After I'd watched Guardians of the Galaxy I decided I needed a Baby Groot (or three) in my life.

I made these from two shades of brown polymer clay lightly marbled together (I used sculpey), with a couple of green leaves added and tiny black beads for eyes. They are stuck into the mini plant pots with a little fake moss and a blob of florist's claggy plasticine stuff (I don't know what it's really called, it's dark green and comes on a roll like a giant one of those roll up sweets). They're about 3 1/2" high.
They don't dance though...

Also this week I finally managed to finish and frame this papercut for Eloise. Probably the most intricate one I've done to date

The template is from Wild Child Designs

Flowers and a Finish

But first for those of you who were left wondering, the superhero in the previous post was Iron Man.

Spring has sprung in my little corner of Cornwall and I took these snaps in the garden last week
The earlier flowering of my camellias is covered in blossom this year (I don't know the variety, it was in the garden when we moved in)

There are bluebells and primroses (we are all going to pretend we can't see the stinging nettle to the left of the picture OK?)

Some beautiful forsythia

And this mystery blossoming tree which has appeared where we thinned out a much bigger shrub that must have been hiding it.

The finish is a small sampler with a quote from "Shaun of the Dead".
If you are offended by four letter words then:-
a) you've probably never seen Shaun of the Dead, and
b) you really shouldn't scroll down.
Here in the best Mr X Stitch tradition is a cute picture to stop you scrolling too far and accidentally seeing the sweary stuff

(I love vintage greetings cards)

If you are still with me.

Shaun of the Dead Sampler, chart from Capes and Crafts, stitched on Kiwi Illusions  28ct Snowflakes and Ashes. Stitched more or less as charted, except that I moved some of the blood splats around to make it slightly smaller so that it would fit on the fabric, and I capitalised the w at the beginning because it would have bugged me otherwise

Gifted Gorgeousness - April

Gifted Gorgeousness, a SAL organised by Jo of Serendipitous Stitching, where once a month, on the 15th (Oops. A day late!), we show off any stitching that is either a gift or made from gifted materials.

This month I was lucky enough to win a giveaway from Lynn B at Happiness is Cross Stitching ~ April Showers, one of her adorable Calender Cats, seen here being "demonstrated" by my beautiful assistant Jinx.

Lynn also sent me some matching gift tags and mini fabric labels, but Jinx wasn't prepared to do any more demonstrating.
You just can't get the staff these days...

And here is a gift I made for Eloise. The chart came from here . You can tell who it is right? David couldn't see it even when I told him.
I made him up as a free standing piece following instructions from a book by Judy Odell, which I don't think is available any more. He is weighted (with rice) so that Eloise can use him as a doorstop or a bookend or a paperweight or a cosh or whatever

And finally I made this little (he's about 4" tall) chap from a cover kit on Mollie Makes. That totally counts right?
Check out Jo's blog here for the other posts in the SAL