Airedale Terrier in Stitches

 I finally finished my Airedale Terrier cross stitch I started last year.  There were so many colour changes that it took me ages.  I found the perfect frame in my craft room so it just has to be washed, pressed and framed now.  I love his cute expression.  We both think he looks a lot like our darling Archie.

 Wilberforce has been in the wars yet again with an eye infection and has to wear the "cone of shame" yet again.  With the help of eye drops and antibiotics it has healed quite a lot since I took this photo.  He still has to wear the buster collar except when he is eating or we are with him as he keeps trying to scratch the skin off!

 Higgins is in fine fettle, he never seems to get ill (touch wood) I guess the Welsh Border Collie is a pretty hardy breed.  Here he is enjoying a Jumbone type treat.

 I have finally finished my patchwork squares and have started putting them together.  I am not sure if patchwork is my forte though.  When sewing clothes or home furnishings if a seam is 1/4" bigger in some places it doesn't really matter but with patchwork it means the squares don't line up so you have to be super accurate which I find a bit tedious.  I have got to learn how to quilt it next, with the help of another class so it will be quite a while before I finish it.

My cross stitch sampler is coming along faster than I expected probably because it is in one colour so there is no stopping to rethread and join different colours.

The weather has been so warm and sunny this week, hotter than Spain and Greece so we have been in the mood for spring cleaning.  I started with my craft room and have filled three bags of craft stuff (it is amazing how the trends change) for the Wet Nose animal rescue shop and have been going through my hundreds of craft magazines to see if I can reduce them.

The issues I did not want to keep have gone to my local hospital shop and any with ideas I like I have stuck in this hardback book and then recycled those magazines.  I have a lot more shelf space now.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

As most crafters know, you can never start your Christmas projects too early.  In fact many, including me, make them all year round.

I have made a few new decorations this year including these three, I just have to decide how to finish them off .

 

 I like to try any new craft magazine that comes out and no. 1 of Love Patchwork and Quilting is a good one.  It came with a kit to make a patchwork Christmas bauble but with careful cutting and stitching I was able to make two from it.

I don't make so many cards these days but was determined to make a few for special people this year.

Of course, no Christmas is complete without some sweets and this recipe is one of my favourites.

 

 Unlike many recipes this one uses milk instead of cream or condensed milk so as long as you have a bag of dessicated coconut in the cupboard you can make it when the mood strikes.

I even spotted the ideal Christmas jumper in a magazine, no not one of the corny reindeers or robins type and when I went to Wallis to buy it there was 10 pound off  too.  I didn't go for the matching trousers though, head to toe leopardskin may be a bit too Bet Lynch from Coronation Steet or Kat from Eastenders! I will wear it with my skinny jeans instead.

 

The boys love all their presents at Christmas although it is pretty much Christmas every day in our house with all the treats they get.  John got them a bag of giant sausages (about 18" long) although by the time I went upstairs to get my camera this was all that Higgins had left.

 

 

This and that

I seem to be doing a bit of everything at the moment, hopping from craft to craft but I have managed a few finishes.

I am still going through an embroidery phase and this is the first of four designs in a kit I have had for about twenty years!  It came as a free gift when I joined a book/craft club.  Here are the other three designs:

 

I have now blocked the filet crochet piece I was working on.

 

I was going to buy a blocking kit but at 25 quid, including a yardstick (which I already have) I thought that a bit steep. So I bought a pack of welding rods for 2 pounds and using my cutting board with a sheet of plastic over, pinned it to size whilst damp, using the grid. Once dry I gave it a couple of burst of spray starch and voila...

The finished panel.

The March panel from my block of the month course is now completed.  I am not sure about the outer fabrics.  The centre is o.k. but I may redo the lilac/pink and blue section or else add some embroidery as I am not entirely happy with it.  I will leave it for now and have a think when a few more are finished.

 I am still working my way through the Wagamama cook book, I think this, the Teriyaki stir-fry is the best so far.  As with the other recipes I subsituted the chicken for Quorn.

I have just started knitted a dog, I think it is obvious what breed, ha ha.  It looks a little weird at the moment but will hopefully have it finished next time.

Summer is Here!

Can't believe summer is finally here after such a long hard winter.  I have slapped the fake tan onto my pasty pins and am making the most of the outdoors before it all ends.  The summer is so short if you don't get out there, like that Boots commercial, you will miss it.

Although I have not been using my computer I have still been crafting.  I'm doing a block of the month course with Craftsy as I have always wanted to make a quilt but joined late so I have only managed the January and February blocks so far.  I hope to catch up eventually.

I have finished the large cross stitch project I was working on - a map of Norfolk by Heritage Crafts.  This is the fourth of these maps I have worked, not sure where the other three went to, will have to try and dig them out although I haven't seen them since we moved house.

I have been in an embroidery mood lately and just finished Cornfield with Poppies by Rowandean.  It had been in my stash for several years so thought it was about time.

Saw this hydrangeas kit in my local craft shop and decided to give  it a go. Only took a couple of nights.  It is by DMC.

Then I found this flower basket kit which was given away with the now defunct Needlecraft magazine

 I have found four embroidery kits that have been in my stash for about 20 years!  I have started working one of these now.

 We are still trying out the recipes from our Wagamama recipe book and here is the Chicken Ramen.  Very tasty.  Because I don't eat meat I always substitute chicken in recipes for Quorn fillets. As you can see it looks just the same and tastes good too. 

Wilberforce's eyes have now cleared up and his buster collar, much to his relief, has been removed.  Here is a picture of him and Higgins playing in the paddock yesterday.  We have booked Wilbsy in at the grooming parlour as he is looking so scruffy - we had to leave it until his eyes were better.

 

Have fun and enjoy the summer.

Scotty Dog Patchwork Cushion

This is my latest finish. I took part in the embroidery challenge (redwork) on stitchers showcase and decided to make it into a cushion. The pattern in free to downlown at the Bustle and Sew blog here who also have other lovely patterns both free and to purchase.

I found a piece of cream fabric in my stash and pinning the pattern underneath, traced the design onto my fabric, with a water soluble pen, using a lightbox. I only have a small lightbox, originally bought for paper crafting, but it did the job.

I used DMC 498 stranded cotton to work the design in stem stitch and after washing to remove the pen marks, trimmed it to the required size with a rotary cutter.

I have a lot of small fabric scraps leftover from other projects so after working out the size to fit around the front panel, making sure they lined up at the edges, made patchwork strips and sewed them to all four sides.

After that I made some matching binding, a back panel with three buttonholes and put the whole lot together. This was my first time trying redwork and I am glad I took part in the challenge as I have something very different from my usual makes and have extended my stitching repertoire at the same time.

Happy stitching,

Shirley