Gifted Gorgeousness March

 Well that came around fast! It is time for the March edition of Gifted Gorgeousness, the monthly blog hop where we show off our gift related crafting. For a full explanation see Jo's blog

Just the one thing to show this month. This little pillow I stitched for Barb for her birthday

The design is free one from Kincavel Krosses though I swapped in my own colours. The little rosette decoration is just a length of the ricrac gathered and rolled.

February Gifted Gorgeousness

 Running a little late with my GG post this month. 

If you aren't familiar with GG pop on over to Jo's blog for a full explanation, but in a nutshell it is a monthly show and tell of gift related crafting.

So what do I have to show this month? 

I took part in a Valentine's Exchange on Needlecraft Haven. This is the beautiful card and stitched pillow I received from Mary

I sent to Clare but I forgot to get a photograph before I posted it so you'll need to check out Clare's blog to see it

I also made this shirt for David this month

Check out the little Kylie and the Machine label I tucked under the pocket

 

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?

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

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

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!

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 :)

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.

Gifted Gorgeousness January 2020

Welcome to my January 20220 Gifted Gorgeousness Post. If you don't already know, Gifted Gorgeousness is a SAL devised by Jo, which allows us to show off pretty much anything that we can describe in a sentence using the words gift and craft. For full details see Jo's blog here.

Kicking off the Gifted Gorgeousness Year is always the easy post because of  Christmas. I already posted about all the wonderful craft related gifts I received in my Happy New Year post, so this post will be about various things that I made for other people.

Lets see... I knitted the girls a hat each. Pattern is "Head Sock" from The Purl Bug. Here is Eloise wearing hers on Christmas Day at the beach. 

I forgot to get a picture of Naomi's hat, but here she is wearing a little devore velvet slip dress I made her. 

The pattern is New Look 6347. Double GG points on this project as I was gifted the fabric by Minerva

I also made them a silver necklace each, (it's just the lighting that makes them look gold)

I made some of these star shaped fabric mats in a variety of colours and patterns for a few of my friends. 

And finally, a little Year of the Rat ornament I made Naomi for her Chinese Zodiac collection

Happy New Year

A Very Happy and Healthy New Year to you all.

I'd like to share just a few of the Christmas gifts I received this year.

Thank you to Barb for the lovely felted robin and holly wreath, to Karan for the pretty violet hand dyed evenweave, and to Clare for the Christmas print fabric and DMC threads.

Thank you to Julie for the very useful folding mat/bag, and to Robbin for the gorgeous hand-loomed scarf and handy travelling scissors.
And here are just a couple of the things I got from my girls

My Little Cthulhu!!!!!! Isn't he adorable? Look at his little tentacles!
They also made me a calendar. This is the cover.

You might be forgiven for thinking it was both up-lifting and life-affirming.
Until you open it and see January

I'll share the other months throughout the year.
And finally, my round up of 2019. The final total was 73 finishes, 41 books read, and 12 pairs of shoes bought, and the nearest guess was Clare with 74, 47 and 11. I'll get some sort of little prize in the post to you in the next few weeks Clare.
I've reset the counter, so if anyone wants to try and guess at the 2020 total just pop your answer in a comment on this post.

December's Gifted Gorgeousness

Here it is, the last GG post of the year (for more details about the GG blog hop please see Jo's blog)
I've just taken part in the annual Needlecraft Haven Ornament Exchange, which I'm pretty sure counts as Double GG (sounds like a bra size!)
Here is the wonderful ornament and other goodies that I received from Clare

And here is the ornament I sent to Mary

Design from this year's JCS Ornaments Issue. The red and lime are the new DMC Etoile threads. It's the first time I've used them. I wasn't sure at first as they looked as though they wouldn't give very good coverage, but actually they've worked really well and the glimmer from them is lovely and subtle.

Gifted Gorgeousness for November - Nothing to See Here

Nope not a thing. No stitched gifts, no exchanges. Nothing. I have been working on a lot of gift pieces, but I can't show any of them yet. Pop over to Jo's blog to learn more about GG, and see how much better everyone else has done this month.
I did make myself this dress using fabric gifted from Minerva, so that is going to have to do.

Sorry, lots more to show after Christmas I promise

Hallowe'en Exchange, Challenge and Temperature SAL Catch Up

You know what it's like. You wait all month for a bloggable stitch, and then three come along at once!
The exchange first. This was the Hallowe'en Exchange on Needlecraft Haven. We had to send a stitched ornament, a trick and a treat.
Here is the lovely gift I received from Mary.

Thankyou Mary, they are all wonderful. I shall be displaying my "Christine's Potions" ornament all year round.
And here is what I sent to Justine.

The ornament is a design from Aliolka , The treat is a Lush Bath Bomb, and the trick is a mint tin filled with creepy crawlies.
The Alioka designs were the chosen designs for the Seasonal Challenge on Needlecraft Haven, so that finish killed two birds with one stone, but I decided to stitch another of the designs as a gift for Eloise

So then, of course, I had to stitch one for Naomi as well, only all the Aliolka designs had that cute little spider, and Naomi does not do spiders. Not even very cute ones, so I combined Aliolka's skull motif with a kitty from a Barbara Ana design and stitched her this one (which you've already seen if you saw the Hallowe'en Blog Hop post)

And finally here is an up to date picture of my Temperature SAL