The Birthday Boy & Airedale Stitching

It was Archie's birthday on Saturday, he was nine years old, so we had a little party for him. Here he is helping himself to a French Fancy. He didn't realise you are not supposed to eat the paper case too!

He hasn't changed very much over the years and can still behave like a puppy when the mood takes him. I love this photo of him dressed as Jekyll and Hyde for a fun day. I made the costume myself and he was lucky enough to win first prize.

This photo is from a previous birthday, a couple of candles less, which I made into a card for his grandmother's birthday.

I always keep stitching magazines that have Airdale charts in them and I have made these several times for gifts and for myself. For this sachet I charted the heart and alphabet myself and filled it with lavender I grew in my garden last year.

John has been asking for a hand knitted sweater for some time but I've been putting it off (all those stitches) but decided last week to make a start. I am actually quite enjoying it, the stitch pattern and colour changes make it interest even if I am having to use two circular needles to hold all those stitches!

Stash Busting and Bargain Shopping

What a lovely day today, the sun is shining, the weather is mild and we have had the back door open so the boys can run in and out. Perhaps spring is finally on the way.

It took me a while to get to the needlework shop to buy the thread for my sunflowers so in the meantime I worked some small kits that have been in my stash for years. The Easter bunnies and the flowers I have made into cards. The flower basket, a kit from Needlecraft magazine, is the first embroidery I have done this year. I don't know what I will do with it yet.

I have also made two bookmarks. The sampler style one I will keep for myself and the redwork one I am going to pop into a birthday card as a gift.

The book it is resting on is my latest read, The Snowman by Jo Nesbo - a thriller set during a snowy Norwegian winter. A read page turner with two twists in the tail.

Here are my sunflowers, finally finished:

Couldn't resist this bargain from Craft Superstore this week. A cabinet and craft goodies with a retail value of 100 GB pounds for just 25 GB pounds. Too good a bargain to pass up. I have already started using the cabinet to hold some of my fabric stash of which I have loads.

Here are a couple of cards I have made from my papercrafts stash. A card for a pony mad niece and a personalised card for John's brother in Australia.

Stylish Blogger Award & A Monthly Make

Yippee, the dogs and I are celebrating, we have just won the Stylish Blogger Award all the way from Pam in Chile. Thank you Pam, you can find her blog here

With this award I should share seven random things about myself, so here goes:

1. I always wear heels - I do not feel right wearing flats. I own one pair of flats (walking boots) bought for walking the dogs but I can count on one hand the number of times I have worn them.

2. I have over 7,000 books in my house - We are both obsessed with books: buying, selling, reading and collecting them. They are slowly taking over the house!

3. I am a Londoner - Although I live in the middle of the Norfolk countryside now, I was born and grew up in Greater London. I always wanted to move to the countryside and now I have, I would never go back.

4. I am very indecisive - I take ages to make up my mind about absolutely everything from where to go on holiday to which clothes to buy and then still wonder if I should have taken the other option, LOL.

5. I have always been untidy - I just can't help making a mess wherever I go. John is just as untidy as me so when visitors are due we go into a mad frenzy of cleaning, tidying and vacuuming.

6. I am a rubbish cook - I will sometimes see a recipe in a magazine and it will turn out o.k. but on a day to day basis I just can't be bothered. I once put two Quorn fillets in the microwave and they came out like shoe leather. Even the dogs would not touch them.

7. I am obsessed with crafts - I have tried almost every craft going and those I haven't, I have probably got the equipment for, waiting to be used sometime in the future. I wish I could stick to just one craft but find it is impossible.

I should nominate other bloggers to receive this award but I just cannot choose any particular blogs, well I did say I was indecisive, so I am giving it to every one of my followers who have supported and given me encouragement since I started my blog. You all deserve an award.

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Now for my monthly make. Just this afternoon I have put the finishing touches to this heart cushion.

I drew a heart shape onto a piece of linen, reinforced the shape on the back where the buttons would be with iron on interfacing and spent an evening stitching them all on.
I already had piping cord which I covered with toning fabric and some backing fabric into which I inserted a lapped zip, instead of the button closings I usually use, then sewed the whole thing together. The only thing I had to buy was a bag of Woodware buttons from ebay as I didn't have enough red ones in my stash.

Thank you The Felt Fairy for hosting A Monthly Make as I don't think I would have finished this by the end of the month otherwise.

Work in Progress and Vintage Knits

My sunflower design has ground to a halt as I have run out of thread. It is my own fault because I changed the stitch to one that I thought covered the canvas better. It is the first time I have used stranded cotton on canvas and worked with 6 strands, each skein does not go far. I won't be able to get to the shop until Friday so in the meantime I am working some small kits in my stash.

This Snatch the Dog design came with an issue of Cross Stitcher ages ago and I have made it up into a card.

I got an email advertising this knitting book, Vintage Modern Knits the other day and remembered that I had knitted a similar sweater to the cover design a while back. After rummaging around on top of the wardrobes last night I found it, tried it on and it fits and looks o.k. I cannot remember if I have ever worn it and if so, only once or twice, so I may start to wear it now while the weather is still chilly.

Before you think I knitted that lovely fair isle yoke, I have to fess up - it came from a vintage knitting "instant fair isle" kit. I think it is from the 50's or 60's and still in it's original packaging when I bought it for 3.00 GB pounds at a car boot sale. It just goes to show, if you keep things long enough they will come back in style, LOL.

I don't make many cards these days unless they are stitched ones but made an effort for my other half today. The image was a free download from the Create: website and I found an appropriate verse online too:

Roses are red, violets are blue

I made this card just for you

It's not the neatest, it wouldn't pass a test

But it's made with love - that makes it best.

Happy Valentines Day all,

Shirley

And the winner is........

We have now drawn the winners of the blogiversary giveaways. Everyone's name was put onto equal sized pieces on papers and entered into the draws they specified. Some people entered one and others both and then John drew the winners out of the boxes for me. The stitching prize was drawn first and that went to... VINTAGE SEA MUSE.


Then the doggy prize was drawn and that one goes to ...KATHY.

Congratulations, if the winners will please email me their addresses via my profile page I will put your prizes in the post.

I wish I could send a prize to everyone but even if you didn't win (or if you did) Kttycat is having a great Valentines giveaway on her blog here. Why not hop over and check it out.

Have a great weekend,

Shirley

A Monthly Make: Cath Kidston Purse

I am taking part in The Felt Fairy's Monthly Make and this purse from Cath Kidston is my January make. The kit is from CK's book 'Stitch' which I got for Christmas. I have her other two Books, 'Make' and 'Sew' and it took me 18 and 6 months respectively to make those projects so joining has given me the incentive to get on with this one.

I have made a start on the bargain needlepoint kit that I found in a charity/thrift shop for just 2.69 GB pounds. I am working on it on week night evenings whilst watching t.v. I watch two episodes of the US programme 'Unsolved Mysteries' followed by an Australian show called 'Crimescene Forensics'. Nothing like curling up with a good crime show and some stitching on a cold winter evening, LOL.

Had a nice surprise in the post this morning when all these stitching goodies turned up. There was a note saying they were a competition prize but I don't remember the competition or even entering but as most stitchers would agree, you can never had enough stash.

Last week I made this White Chocolate and Cranberry fudge. I am not much of a cook but this was so quick and easy that even I couldn't mess it up. Anyone with a Tesco Clubcard would have seen the recipe with their last statement but I have included it below. Everyone agreed that it was delicious.

There is still time to enter my giveaways which closes midnight on Monday, 31st January. Just add your name to the post below.

Happy crafting

Shirley

1st Blogiversary Giveaway

I can't believe I have been blogging for 1 year. Where has that time gone? I have had great fun and met lots of lovely people from all over the world so I've decided I would have two giveaways to commemorate my blogiversary.

The first giveaway is for stitchers and comprises:

2 pieces x 32 count linen, 15" X 18" each in oyster and twilight blue

Needlecraft back issue with mini cottage kit

Cross Stitch Magic

Pot Pourri Sachet Kit

Christmas One Nighters chart book

Mothers day card cross stitch kit

Clotted cream fudge

The second giveaway is for dogs comprising:

Dog's Christmas Stocking

Dog treats

Rope toy

'Woof" collar (medium/large size)

and Clotted cream fudge

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The giveaways are open to anyone who wants to enter. All you have to do is become a follower (or if you are one already) and leave a comment after this post stating if you would like to enter the stitching, dog or both giveaways.

It will close on Monday, 31st January and I am happy to post to anywhere in the world.

Good luck,

Shirley

The Lavender House

Rather than start any new projects, I am trying to finish off some of those I started last year. One of those is The Lavender House, finished at last and filled with dried lavender harvested from the plants I introduced to my garden last spring.

I cut a few bunches of lavender (leaving some for the bees) tied them up with twine and left them to dry hanging upside down in our boiler room, which is very warm. You can see the jar below filled with the dried lavender and also the book the pattern was taken from - 3D Cross Stitch. I used 22 count hardanger and it was very fiddley to put together so I would not make another one in a hurry!

Cross Stitcher magazine published my Jan Constantine Britannia cushion project in the current issue and sent me these lovely silk threads and a plane friendly thread cutter pendant and needle threader.

I enroled on a crochet course at the end of last year which is keeping me very busy but I am still keeping up with all my other crafts in between. Here is a teddy bear I crocheted a while ago using a pattern from Annies Attic. I am hoping to improve my skills and work some more advanced designs with the help of the course.

Better Late than Never

Hope everyone had a lovely Christmas holiday, I did and even managed to finish off these two heart decorations over the break and hang them on my tree. At least I will have more decorations for next year and as I said in the title, better late than never!

"The boys" all enjoyed their Christmas and had so many presents in their stockings we had to ration them to one or two a day. The pics below show Higgins playing with a squeaky cracker, opening some of his presents, Archie with a rawhide candy cane and Wilberforce doing what he enjoys most - nothing!

Happy new year to all and I hope you have a peaceful, prosperous and healthy 2011.