Sew Red for Your Heart Received

The postal service here has lately been erratic, and several things have gone missing en route to me. Unfortunately, one was my Sew Red for Your Heart Exchange :o( However, Karen D very speedily stitched another, and put together another super package and it arrived on Friday.

You probably can't feel it, but the extravagant ribbon is red velvet - very nice!

Opening it up, you can see the goodies - a stitched floss tag with some floss drops (my first!), a fat quarter of finishing fabbie, two red heart buttons, Carrie's Creations thread and my fave DMC Color Variations colour.

And just look at the design - the little spools of thread as a band in the sampler - and finished by a cute heart eyelet!

Thank you Karen, for a great exchange, and thanks too to Jill who organised it all beautifully.

Little House Needleworks Exchange

I received this lovely parcel from Lillie. It was my gift on Hooked on Exchanges Little House/Country Cottage Needleworks Exchange. She made this wonderful pillow with the message of "Hope" on it - isn't the finishing and trimming just deliciously frivolous? You can't feel it from a picture, but it is lovely and soft, and the backing fabric is too.

And I received not one but two pin pillows which she had stamped - plus the handmade flower pins you can see.

And if that wasn't enough, there were some cute buttons - very appropriate, as I'm planning a Sunbonnet Sue quilt for my niece, and some delicious sounding teas and chocolate.

Thank you Lillie, for your generosity, I feel very spoiled!

PS In one of those coincidences, the tea came in a good luck envelope from HSBC bank - both my sister and brother in law work for them, and they have a major centre in my home city!

Stitcher's Heart - A Mon Ami Pierre

 

Design: Stitcher's Heart (freebie available here)

Designer: A Mon Ami Pierre

Threads: DMC 75

Fabric: 28 count evenweave, cream

I stitched this lovely freebie for the Stitch Red for Your Heart Exchange over on Hooked on Exchanges. My partner was Marie, and she tells me that due to all the bad weather she has been having, it was one of only two valentines she received this year - I'm glad it cheered you up!

The theme was dear to me, as it is to Jill, the exchange organiser. My dad was taken ill in November last year - frighteningly so. Tests have shown that although he is basically very fit, with low cholesterol and such, his blood pressure is way too high and his heart isn't pumping as efficiently as it should be. He has mild Left Ventricular Dysfunction, and possibly has had it since he was a child, when he had rheumatic fever. The good news is that he's reached 68 without it being a problem before - and he was a coal miner when he left school, and then was a builder's mate and spent 27 years in the police force, all fairly hard on one's heart in various ways. The bad news is that he's going to be on medication for life now, and there is a chance of reduced life expectancy. It's been a bit of a shock, but I think we're all getting adjusted now. My ma's biggest complaint about the situation at the moment is that she had to spend a day phoning round and internet searching because their insurer wanted to triple their holiday insurance premiums! (She's found a company that will cover them for pretty much the original premium, so it pays to shop around!)

Anyway, back to stitching! This freebie was a joy to stitch, and I used a discontinued DMC thread (75) to work it. Actually, I think the thread may only be discontinued in the UK ... although 115 is a close substitute. I traced the heart freehand using the chart as a guide - and it doesn't look as uneven as the picture. I used some vintage Laura Ashley fabric to back it, and some bought cord to trim.

The observant among you will have noticed that the fabric has changed colour between the photos. This is because when I mounted the stitching on the board, I used an aerosol glue, and there was a little seepage in one spot. Using solvent didn't remove it, and the Hermit suggested coffee dying the piece! As I couldn't dismantle the piece, I brewed some strong coffee and dabbed it on with a cotton wool ball, so that I wouldn't soak the card - and then used a hairdryer to "set" the dye and to stop any potential buckling... so, if things do go wrong, all I can say is don't panic and think laterally!

Happy Stitching - Elizabeth's Designs

Design: Merry Christmas (Happy Stitching)

Designer: Elizabeth's Designs. Freebie available here

Threads: DMC (my own conversion)

Fabric: 28 count evenweave, cream

Finish: Pinkeep

I stitched this for an exchange on Hooked on Exchanges. I think it's an appropriate design to display today!

Merry Christmas to all my online friends - I wish you all joy, love and peace now and for 2010!

Hooked on Exchanges Christmas Exchange

This cheery little chappy with his dove of peace came all the way from the West Coast of the USA, courtesy of Edgar on the Hooked on Exchanges blog.

Edgar and I both love Prairie Schooler, the designer of St Nicholas (who I guess is doubly appropriate as he is really my namesake) and Edgar chose a design from an old OOP book - Book 20 - for me. He is stitched on 32 count fabric and finished into a 'pyn keepe' (Edgar's preferred spelling!).

Thank you again, Edgar!

Trick or Treat - Lizzie*Kate

 

Design: Trick or Treat from Halloween Sampler

Designer: Lizzie*Kate

Threads: DMC as charted

Fabric: 28 count evenweave, colour unknown

This little mini pillow went to Chris H, a fellow member of the Hooked on Exchanges blog. I love doing Lizzie*Kate designs, which is something back a few years I'd never thought I'd say - I thought the designs too simplistic, too childish ... and now I love them - well, most of them! I think initially my thoughts were because I was trying to find my own 'style' in decor, having always lived in shared houses or furnished places. Discovering my own particular way meant that actually, simple and quirky was 'me'.

It's interesting that my own designing style doesn't appear to be the same, perhaps I'm just being over cautious not to plagiarise?

 

I had great fun putting together some 'treats' to go with the package, I think the UK is really beginning to embrace Hallowe'en now.

Fall Needleroll - Heart in Hand

Design: Fall Needleroll from Fall Fobs chart

Designer: Heart in Hand

Threads: DMC as charted

Fabric: 28 count evenweave

I stitched this for Gaby over on the Hooked on Exchanges blog. It seems like most of my stitching these days is for exchanges, I've lost my mojo for 'selfish stitching' but it is so much fun to give - and to receive - to friends all over the world.

I think I will have to stitch this piece for myself though - I loved the colours and the style. I stitched it in the DMC that the chart called for, but I did alter the colour of one of the pumpkins. I think my favourite part though was the specialty stitch band at the bottom - the combination of colours and textures looks great!

I finished off the needleroll with a little acorn charm, and some organza ribbon. This picture shows a little flash glare:

A Little Sea Bathing - The Sampler Girl

Design: A Little Sea Bathing (freebie, no longer on the website)

Designer: The Sampler Girl

Threads: DMC Color Variations

Fabric: 28 count evenweave, antique white

I stitched this for Carol, my partner on the Hooked on Exchanges 'By The Sea' exchange. I adapted a freebie from Tanya, the Sampler Girl, changing the colours a little, and using a different alphabet for the 'signature'.

I finished this as a pinkeep, with ricrac braid to echo the 'wave' theme and trimmed with matching ribbon and pins. It turned out one of my favourite finishes of the year so far, so I think I will have to stitch it again for myself!

To compliment the theme, I made Carol the Hourglass Dishcloth and Anchor scissor fob you can see in the picture below:

To round off the exchange, I added a 'do it yourself' card kit which had shells and other treasures.

Home is Best - Lizzie*Kate

Design: Home is Best

Designer: Lizzie*Kate (a very old freebie)

Threads: DMC Color Variations and DMC

Fabric: 28 count evenweave

I stitched this for Lucy on the Hooked on Exchanges blog - the theme was 'Summer House' and as at the time Lucy's blog was all decked out for the Fourth of July, I thought she might like a piece with the Stars and Stripes - it turned out she did :o)

I backed the pinkeep in blue fabric with little cream hearts in it, and the pins pick up the colours of the threads I used.

Hallowe'en Exchange Received

This is the fun exchange I received from Ellen over on Hooked on Exchanges - a little treat bag ornament which has been beautifully stitched and complemented by a candy corn button. The candy corn lollipop I gave to The Hermit - I've just had some dental work done, plus he never gets nice mail :o) - and was declared delicious! The fabric will be great for my Hallowe'en finishes next year - you can't tell from the picture, but the pumpkins are flannel, so nice and fuzzy :o)

The stitched piece is currently taking up residence on my cabinet with the other autumn and Halloween pieces - it looks great!

Thank you again, Ellen!

(and look, I've changed my blog background to Hallowe'en too, to co-ordinate!)

Fall Needleroll from Lucy

Design: Autumn

Designer: Helga Mandl

Stitched over one by Lucy

I struggled to get a good picture of this because it's a needleroll stitched over one and is pretty small - the design goes all the way round, so you're just going to have to guess how gorgeous it is! It was an exchange I received from one of the lovely people over on Hooked on Exchanges recently.

Lucy's stitching is beautiful and I don't believe it's her first needleroll finish :o) I don't have the patience - or the eyesight - to do a complete project 'over one' - so this is especially nice to have.

It's now on my cabinet with my other autumn/Halloween goodies - thank you again, Lucy!

Quaker Strawberry - Blackbird Designs

Design: Quaker Strawberry

Designer: Blackbird Designs - taken from the JCS Ornament Issue 2006

Threads: DMC115

Fabric: 28 count evenweave, antique white

I stitched this design for the Hooked on Exchanges Christmas in July Exchange (which shows how far behind I am with my blog posting!). The stitching itself was fairly straightforward, but the finishing was a trifle fiddly.

I followed the instructions for the body of the strawberry itself, although I also backed the piece with iron on interfacing. My fabric was a little small, so it was a question of crossing my fingers and hoping that it didn't fray too much when I gathered the top... The leaves I did differently to the instructions in the magazine, as they are just interfacing backed fabric, no wires. The ornament will hang, but Stacy, the recipient tells me it is going on display as it is.

Here is a little snap of the goodies I added:

By The Sea Exchange

Michelle pulled out a blinder for the By The Sea Exchange I received recently. She'd obviously been looking at my blog and spotted some of my likes and dislikes and I think she judged them very well indeed!

 

The design is a pretty new one by Country Cottage Needleworks and I think Michelle has done a super job, making it vibrant but not spoiling the balance of the design - the evenness of the stitching is amazing, too!

The mini pillow is backed in a jewel bright turquoise fabric, and Michelle was kind enough to include more of the same in the package:

She also included a fabulous star pendant. I've had to hide it from my mother, she was coveting it ...

It was a fabulous parcel to receive, thank you so much Michelle! The pillow is now gracefully decorating my bathroom and I can admire it multiple times a day!

Oh - and did you know the 'she' in this rhyme is based on a real person, called Mary Anning? She was an amazing fossil hunter, but because of her humble background and gender didn't get the recognition she deserved for a long time although she was honoured in her time. Apparently, the new Tracy Chevalier novel features her..
 

It's quite an appropriate gift in another way too - I've been out of circulation because I've been working on a new show based on Nursery Rhymes and Fairytales. We had a 'work in progress' showing at a local festival at the weekend, and now we're into revising and refining the concept for an even bigger Arts Festival in October. I was performing at the weekend, which is a *very* rare occurrence and I'm hoping just to be Stage Managing next month - keep the public wanting more, daaaaahlings ... Photos do exist but I think I'll stick to showing you my needlework...

The Squirrel (part) - Full Circle Designs

Design: The Squirrel (out of print)
Designer: Full Circle Designs
Threads: DMC as charted
Fabric: 28 count evenweave
Finish: Bourse

I stitched this for the Woodland Exchange over on Hooked on Exchanges. I took the centre portion of The Squirrel chart and used it for my project. I think I had hopes of stitching the squirrel as a matching scissor fob but making this took a lot of time!

I backed the piece with this fabric from my stash and folded the corners back. I secured them with stitching - the buttons are purely decorative!

I added ribbons in two colours, and the design hides itself away cleverly when they are gathered.

But it can be opened up and sits like a bowl when needed for storing bits and bobs.

This was my first bourse, and I enjoyed making it, although I don't think I got the proportions quite right.

Summer House Exchange Received

I received this very cheerful envelope in the mail on Friday...

It came from Diana O and was just as cheerful inside - the tissue paper has sparkles!

There were several layers carefully concealing this treasure:

Isn't it beautiful? The colours just sing out. I think it must be the silk threads Diana used. Diana tells me that the motifs are from a Brenda Keyes book. Diana made a great choice - Brenda is one of my favourite designers, in fact hanging over the computer I have the "Schoolhouse Sampler" designed by her and which I stitched in 1996. Brenda's website seems to have been expanded recently, I recommend a browse if you like samplers!

Thank you so much for the gift, Diana. I will cherish it for the care, thought and skill you showed. And thank you too for the 'extra' you put in, naughty girl!

Sheep in the Meadow - Shepherd's Bush

Design: Sheep in the Meadow (freebie)
Designer: Shepherd's Bush
Threads: DMC as charted
Fabric: 28 count evenweave, unknown colour

I stitched this for the Hooked on Exchanges bookmark exchange. It's a design I've stitched before - and lost, the Round Robin I did it for never returned home - and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I didn't have the called for buttons and charm, but found substitutes in my stash.

And here's a picture of the entire exchange I sent to Maria:

Bookmark Exchange Photos

I'm not going to apologise for the number of posts I've made today, catching up with my blogging, because this really deserves to be seen - I'm going to show you all the wonderful exchange Irmeli sent me all the way from Finland!

Although she has no blog of her own, she's obviously been reading mine, because my bookmark featured not only one of my favourite motifs - a beehive - but was stitched in my favourite colours!

Here is the whole exchange - with the bookmark, a sweet postcard, cute buttons, ribbon, fabric in my favourite colours - and a piece with sheep on!, and chocolate (very yummy!)

Here's a close up of the front - isn't it pretty?

And there's the back, personalised too. The piece is beautifully stitched and finished, and way too precious to go into a book, so it sits in a basket on one of my bookcases, where I can admire it without the risk of losing it!

Thank you so much for this gorgeous exchange!

Winter Quaker Exchange

Designs: Quaker Needlework Accessories
Designer: With My Needle (Ellen Chester)
Source: Just Cross Stitch Ornament Issues
Threads: House of Embroidery, Touch of Grey (27A and 27C)
Fabric: 28 count jobelan, antique white

I stitched these for Laurie for the Hooked on Exchanges Winter Quaker Exchange. I thought using the designs from the Christmas Ornament issues would be appropriate, but I wanted to make the designs wintery, and not Christmassy, and the House of Embroidery threads seemed to talk to me of grey and icy winter days! House of Embroidery threads are lovely to work with and the colours are gorgeous!

I finished the swan as a pincushion (I think the original called for a needlebook) and beaded the edge with one of my last purchases from my now-closed LNS.

The reverse has mine and Laurie's initials stitched over one in a fairly random placement, using the alphabet from another design in the series. I like to think of the flowers as snowdrops, carrying on the winter theme.

The scissor fob was tiny - just over an inch square - and manipulating the fabric to bead the edges was tricky! I think it was worth it, though!

This time, I just put Laurie's initials on the reverse.

One day, I will stitch the entire series for myself ...

And I'm so pleased my new camera takes decent pictures :o)

Biscornu Exchange Arrived

I'm slightly behind in posting pictures of goodies received, but how could I not share this beauty? Verona from Hooked on Exchanges stitched it for me, and it is so pretty and delicate. The finishing is just perfect, too, with two cute little buttons.

What a lovely addition to one of my smalls baskets, thank you so much Verona!

Bloom Where You Are Planted - The Victoria Sampler

Design: Bloom Where You Are Planted (freebie available here)
Designer: Thea Dueck, The Victoria Sampler
Threads: DMC
Fabric: 28 count evenweave

My partner in the HoE Biscornu Exchange was Gabi, and having looked at her blog, I thought that she might like a design from The Victoria Sampler, so I chose one of the freebies and set to work.

I also liked Just Nan's way of using two different fabric colours for a biscornu. Isn't it amazing though just how different a design can look on a different background?

I used DMC threads through out, and I personalised the back with our locations and the blog name - our names were a bit too small to fill the space :o) I used beads to fill in the corners.

This was taken with my old camera, so it's not a very good picture of the top - the flash has washed out a lot of the detail, but the none-flash photos were too blurry to use!

Here is a close up of the back. For some reason, this photo came out fine!

And this is the full package I sent to Gabi - I went for nice flowery things to complement the stitched piece.

I do enjoy making biscornu, and receiving them too - my next post will show the one I received!