The Last Gifted Gorgeousness of The Year

 Hi and welcome to December's Gifted Gorgeousness post. See Jo's blog here for full details, but essentially Gifted Gorgeousness is a monthly chance to show off anything we can shoehorn into the category of "gifts".

As is usual in December a lot of what I've been making I can't really show yet, but I can show you the ornaments I sent and received in the Needlecraft Haven Ornament Exchange

Here is the ornament I sent to Julie

And here is the truly beautiful Christmas tree ornament that Clare sent to me

Also I made me and the girls matching Christmas t-shirts, because we aren't too old for that right?

Online Advent Calendar Day 6

 Hello and welcome to day 6 of the 2020 online Advent Calendar as hosted by Jo of Serendipitous Stitching

I haven't really done a lot of specifically Christmas crafting this year, but here is a picture of this year's Christmas door wreath, made using foliage from our garden, which sort of counts (as always, please refrain from observing that the door needs painting).

And here is a Christmas table runner I made last year, and which miraculously remained unstained enough to use again this year

The discussion topic for this year's Advent calendar is your favourite book for this time of year. Although I read voraciously I don't really have any particular seasonal favourites so I thought I'd mention a couple
of the books that the girls used to love when they were small

Mog's Christmas by Judith Kerr has Mog the forgetful cat, at first upset and confused by all the busyness of Christmas (she is particularly alarmed by a tree walking around), but eventually everything calms down ("the tree had stopped walking about and made itself all pretty")

or there is this one

Eloise at Christmastime by Kay Thompson (Illus Hilary Knight). We only discovered Eloise by chance, picking up the book purely because our elder daughter is called Eloise, but were utterly charmed by the adventure s of this precocious little rich girl, who lives with, and pretty much runs rings around, her nanny in New York's Plaza Hotel

Gifted Gorgeousness November

Hi and welcome to November's Gifted Gorgeousness (if you don't know what GG is by now, visit Jo's blog for a full explanation, but, in a nutshell, on the 15th of the month we show our gift related crafting)

As usual November is a month when I've made lots of things but can't show any of them yet, but I do have a couple of exchanges to share. Firstly there was the Needlework Haven Hallowe'en Exchange. I showed the Fob I stitched for Mary in my last post, but here is the lovely double sided initial fob I received from Clare.

We also completed the postponed Needlework Haven Easter Exchange at Hallowe'en

Here is the ornament I made for Justine

And here is the very pretty one I received from Julie

 finally a small "make" I added a fur collar to this purchased denim jacket for Naomi

Trick or Treat Blog Hop 2020

 Hello and welcome to the Trick or Treat Blog Hop 2020 as hosted by Jo of Serendipitous Stitching

Some Spooky Stitching for you to enjoy

This is "Witches Cat" by Durene Jones, stitched over 1 and finished as a scissor fob. (you can find the chart on Facebook here) 

This post has been brought to you by the letter F

For your next letter please go to visit Beth

Gifted Gorgeousness October

 Well that came around fast! It's Gifted Gorgeousness time again. Time to show our gift related crafting. For a full explanation see Jo's blog here

Two spooky things to show this month, both of which I made for Eloise.

First this shirt. 

I started with a vintage (1970's) blouse pattern for this, but I re-drafted the collar and sleeves, and added piping down the centre front.

Then there is this dress

This is partially self drafted, using elements from Gertie's Ultimate Dress Book and my own bodice design.

In both cases the fabric is from Art Gallery Fabric's "Spooky and Sweet" collection, and it was gifted to me by Minerva in exchange for a blog post.

There are other spooky makes in the pipeline, but I'll show them next month

Gifted Gorgeousness September

 It's Gifted Gorgeousness time again, where we share our gift related crafts. For a full explanation, and a list of all the participating blogs please see Jo's blog here.

A little bit of stitching to show this month. It was Clare's  birthday last week. As you may know, Clare decorates a themed Christmas Tree at her Church each year, and this year her chosen theme is a bouquet of stitched flowers, so I stitched her this little pansy, then I stitched it again on plastic canvas and made up a matching brooch for her.

Double bonus GG points for this one because the chart was in an Italian Cross Stitch magazine that Naomi bought for me when she was studying in Siena.

I can also include this dress I made for myself as the fabulous gingham effect and floral fabric was gifted to me by Minerva. The pattern is the Rockabilly Dress from Gertie's Ultimate Dress Book

That's about it for this month. Hoping to be more productive for the October update

Still Catching Up with Alice

 Here is my latest block finish for the Alice SAL. This is "Painting the Roses"

The back stitch on this one was insane!

Next up "The Duchess"

Gifted Gorgeousness - August

 Welcome to August's Gifted Gorgeousness, the monthly showcase for gift related crafting hosted by Jo of Serendipitous Stitching

This month I can show the pieces from the Cyberstitchers Christmas in July Exchange I took part in.

Here is the Needlebook I sent to Theresa (It has her initials on the other side)

And here are the wonderful stitched goodies I received from Deb.

and finally a little cross stitch I did using a free design from Durene Jones

Summer Blog Hop - Stitching Friends

 Hello and welcome to the Stitching Friends Summer Blog Hop. 

This Blog Hop has been arranged by Jo of Serendipitous Stitching. We have all been allocated a "Stitching Friend" to tell you all about, and to choose a design for. Have a read about this blogger and see if you can guess who it is. (If you're really stumped the answer is right at the bottom of the post)

This blogger lives in France, and loves to take part in exchanges and blog hops. Because of this she stitches a lot of "smalls", but she also has some much larger projects on the go, including a stunning Chateleine design, and a sampler combining LHNs Little Sheep Virtues and CCN's Sheep in the Meadow

She stitches a lot of sampler style designs, and loves Just Nan. 

In addition to stitching this blogger also enjoys embroidery, knitting and crochet, and she is a superb quilter.

I thought this blogger would enjoy the design "Compagnie de Moutons" from Jardin Prive as it has lots of lovely sheep as well as traditional sampler motifs.

Add caption

Pop on over to her blog to see a list of everyone taking part in the Blog Hop.

Have you guessed yet?

The mystery blogger is Mary from La Coeur Celtique

Quick Alice Update

I'm about a month behind on the Alice SAL, but I just finished up block six - the Dormouse and the Hare.

Next up, Painting the Roses Red.

Gifted Gorgeousness July

Well another whole month has slipped by and it's time for Gifted Gorgeousness again.
For a full explanation of the Gifted Gorgeousness Blog Hop, where we show our gift-related crafting, please see Jo's Blog.
This month's finishes are quite similar to last month's
Some sewing:-
A dress for me. The pattern (New Look 6301) was free with my magazine so that counts right?

and a rainbow cushion for Naomi (pattern can be found in Sew Magazine)

Some silver-smithing:-

A couple of  claw set sea glass rings

and an assortment of different rings for Eloise

Maybe next month I'll have something a bit different to show

Gifted Gorgeousness - June

It's time for another Gifted Gorgeousness, where we show anything we can manage to shoehorn into the category of gift gifts we've made or received, or projects we've done using gifted materials. See Jo's blog for more details
This month I've done quite a bit of sewing again.
I made Naomi a couple of high/low hem skirts (Pattern hacked from New Look 6434), using up fabric I had in my stash.

 The chambray was originally bought to make my husband a shirt, but he wasn't keen on the print

I don't know what this crinkle pleated slinky satiny stuff is but I do know it was a swine to sew

I also made this outfit for Eloise, the skirt is McCall's 6931 and the top is New Look 6483. The fabric is from Micheal Miller and is called "Kiss of the Spiderwoman"!

 I've been playing with silver again as well. I made a sea glass pendant for a friend's birthday, and some captive rings for Naomi

That's about it for this month. Hopefully some actual stitching next month!

Alice Update

This month's character in the Alice SAL was the Mad Hatter.

I also made this mixed media picture of a sardine tin this week, following a tutorial on the Seasalt website.

In un-related news I planted a Kiwi plant in the garden when Naomi was very small (they were her favourite fruit). It has grown like a triffid ever since without so much as hinting at a kiwi, but today, after 18 years it has flowered!

And in case you were wondering, here is this months not-so-uplifting sentiment from the calendar the girls made me

Gifted Gorgeousness - May

It's time for Gifted Gorgeousness, the monthly Blog Hop organised by Jo where we show the things we've made as, received as, or can otherwise shoehorn into the category of gifts.
Quite a few sewing projects for my GG post this month. Lets see...
I made the girls a top each from some funky tattoo print jersey

I made this top for Eloise for her Birthday

and also this dress

Loki approves

The sharp eyed among will notice that all the pictures are of Naomi, this is because Eloise lives some distance away, so her makes have had to be posted to her.
This was a cover kit with Mollie Makes magazine, so that counts as a gift right?

And I finished off the blackbird applique I showed a couple of posts back. The design/kit was from last year's Spring Craftpod, which was a gift from me to me :)

Alice Update

Running a little late on this month's installment for the Alice SAL, but I got it finished before the next one came out so I'm calling that a win!
Here are the Tweedles

Next month is The Mad Hatter, really looking forward to that one.
A gratuitous picture of Loki, because the way he was lying made me laugh so hard

And here, for those of you who have been looking forward to it, is the May page from the "inspirational" calendar the girls made for me!

Gifted Gorgeousness - April

A couple of days late, but here is my gifted gorgeousness post for April (If you are new to this GG is a Blog Hop hosted by Jo at Serendipitous Stitching, where we show off anything we have made as, received as, or made from something received as a gift - or anything else we think we can get away with shoe-horning in for that matter)
I've got a few things I can share this month (and a few I can't, so that's next month's post sorted too!).
First up is the pendant I made for a friend's birthday. It is a piece of local seaglass for which I made a claw-setting from recycled eco-silver. A bit of a steep learning curve making the setting but I think I've got the hang of it now!

Then there is this shirt I made for my husband. The pattern is Simplicity 1544, and the fabric is a cotton lawn with a kind of William Morris-ish pattern of stylised bluebells. The collar band and inner cuffs are in a contrasting plain purple cotton.

And finally the piece I stitched for the Needlecraft Haven Easter Exchange.I finished as a "lollipop" and it's displayed with a wooden tulip my girls bought for me in Amsterdam. The design is from La Comtesse et le Point du Croix It's still here as we are keeping the exchange virtual for now and posting out later, so I can't say who it is for in case they read this.

That's all for this month. Off to work on some May gifts now.

Easter Treasure Hunt Blog Hop

Hello, Happy Easter, and welcome to my post for Jo's Easter Treasure Hunt Blog Hop. 
We were asked to show a piece of Easter/Spring stitching. I planned to show the Blackbird applique piece from last year's Spring Craftpod, but as you can see it isn't finished!

 

Instead here is an Easter Banner I made a few years ago

Now the bit you are really here for. Your letter is

and your next stop is

 Here